62nd of Season of Air, 57th year of the 32nd imperial era

"Don't worry, you're really close, much closer than someone your realm has any right to be, and I hate to interrupt you, but now it's time for our daily lesson." Lady Alabaster didn't mention that Newt was closer to figuring out technique tracing than fourth realm awakened. Even the majority of Newt's seniors at the fifth realm lagged behind him when it came to creating traces for their techniques, even if the boy didn't know what they should be used for.

Unaware of his achievement, Newt was frustrated. The thicker clumps of energy obeyed and stayed where he placed them without suffering from the vibrations, but thin tendrils squirmed as power flowed through them. He had managed to have both Granite Crust layers active at the same time, but as soon as he struck his hand, the surge of energy shook the strings, and they tangled before exploding into a chaotic flow in a matter of moments, forcing Lady Alabaster to act.

"Don't sulk and don't try that technique without a senior mageknight supervising you. Today, after our appointment, I will introduce you to your fire instructor. He is my peer, and there are a lot of things you can learn from him. And if you are doing anything new or risky, do so near the training field, where Lord Elmshade can intervene—"

"Stop adding to my workload, Al," a disembodied voice said, and Lady Alabaster shrugged without minding it.

"He's not bad, just sounds cranky. Anyway, let's start today's lesson. Strip to the waist and lie down on your back."

Newt hesitated for a moment, but did as his master asked before Lady Alabaster got to repeat her request.

The trimmed grass tickled his reinforced body as he lowered himself to the ground.

"Close your eyes and feel the energy surrounding you. This is one area where mages and mageknights suffer a massive disadvantage compared to knights. Knights are blind to mana before forming their mindcore, so learning to feel the energy to perceive it is the next natural step in their evolution. For us, however, it feels like a step back, or even straying from the obvious path. The less talented students never master this technique, and as they advance in realms, it becomes a crippling point in their perception and combat ability."

Newt immediately recalled Lady Frostgrave mentioning that at some point sight becomes a hindrance in battles, because regular vision can't keep up with the speeds at which mageknights move.

Lady Alabaster was unaware Newt had already received the lesson and continued speaking. "It may seem absurd to you, but once you reach a higher realm, you will be grateful for this exercise. Now, your skin is touching the earth, try to feel its energy flow into you. This step should be basic for everyone. Once you master perceiving mana flowing into your own body, we will spread that sense outward. Take all the time you need. You're young, and even if we have to spend a hundred years on this meadow, it will be an investment into your better future."

Magmin would've said he would eat me if I couldn't figure it out by the end of the day, or something. There is no try, just do or die and all that.

"Focus! Don't let your mind wander."

Obeying his master, Newt closed his eyes and focused. He didn't understand why he had to take his shirt off and display his gaunt frame to the world. Mana passed through layers upon layers of earth and rock, and it could penetrate his clothes just fine.

"Empty your mind; your eyebrows are dancing like they are putting on a performance. Stop thinking and feel."

Newt stopped thinking. It was easy. He focused on his breathing, counting with each inhale and exhale. Meditation and realm-shaping were much easier than just doing nothing and breathing. He was in his realm, making modifications, constantly busy with something—

"Stop thinking! I'm gonna start whacking you with a stick if you keep it up. No thoughts, just feel the motes of mana enter your body. Differentiate them by type, observe the air energy just drifting through you, and the earth energy, sucked in by your cores."

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"Master, what happens if you have dual earth-air affinity?"

"Shut. Up. Don't. Think."

Newt sealed his lips and searched his body for motes of foreign energy. Tiny particles of earth-aligned mana drifted up from the ground and entered his body, the yellowish-brown nebula was thrice as dense inside him than what his mindcore saw in the air.

Why is that? Does the mindcore not catch all of them, or is the ground really injecting a considerably larger concentration of energy into me than into the air?

"You're thinking again." Lady Alabaster's voice was stern, a complete mismatch with the bubbly persona making fun of another mageknights just moments ago.

"I can sense the earth energy entering my body from below, and fire energy entering where sunlight touches my skin. But something seems wrong."

Yes, the density of fire energy in my body matches what I can see in the air, so why is the earth energy different?

"Oh? What's wrong?" Lady Alabaster's voice returned to neutral.

"There seems to be more ambient earth-aligned mana inside my body than there is in the air."

"That's normal," Newt could hear his master's smile. Apparently, she was satisfied with his observation. "Can you tell me why there is more ambient earth-aligned mana in your body than in the air?"

The question caught Newt by surprise. Wasn't his master supposed to answer such questions?

"Maybe because the air is the opposite of earth?"

"How about you think it through a bit more? Look around with your mindcore."

Newt did as his master said. The motes of earth-aligned mana were the densest in the ground. His gaze only penetrated half an inch deep, but the concentration was many times what it was in the grass, which in turn was much denser than the mist that escaped into the air.

Newt examined his own arm, but his mana was countless times denser than the few strands of ambient energy, and it was impossible to determine what was happening inside him. He was about to ask his master how he was feeling the energy inside him, but guessed it was also one of the lessons she was trying to teach him.

So, how am I sensing the infinitely fine, immaterial motes of mana? Newt closed his eyes and laid his head back on the grass. It took a few moments, but he quickly found the loose particles floating through his body, gravitating towards his dualcore.

I think that the earth-aligned ambient mana is denser in me than it is in the grass. Why is that?

Newt cleared his mind of questions and perceived how the particles moved through him. After they passed his skin, they didn't head straight for his cores. Their paths zigzagged and constantly changed, like a fly smacking against windows and furniture.

What are they colliding—? Oh.

"Master, do we sense ambient mana with our own?"

"Maybe." Even though Lady Alabaster didn't give Newt a straight answer, the smugness in her voice told him he was correct. "How do you think something like that happens?"

"The two energies collide and interact." The words came out slowly, but Newt was certain he was correct. "I don't really feel the energy in a tactile sense, but it's the closest sensation that comes to mind, and I can tell them apart, regardless of the fuzziness. The earth feels heavy and like it collides with my energy; the air just flutters past, while the fire energy feels like warm licks and caresses."

"Everyone feels natural elemental energies in a different way. Airheads say earth energy is clobbering them; for me, fire feels like someone prickling me with a needle, while the air slips through my grasp, and I identify it by a void where I know the energy is."

The unhelpful words were gone with her ward having reached the proper conclusions, and Lady Alabaster was once more instructing.

"Can you tell me now how you would go about sensing your surroundings?"

Newt considered the question. It was obvious he should do so with mana, since he was supposed to build up from what he was doing. But how should he actually put it to practice? Blanketing the whole world in his own mana seemed wasteful and unsustainable for longer periods of time.

"Am I supposed to project my mana around myself at all times?" he asked, doubtful of his answer.

"More or less, yes. This seems impossible for you right now, but the quality of your mana gradually increases with your realm, and the quantity balloons. You are supposed to take the first steps now, but you won't really use this technique until you have reached the fifth realm. The entire mana reserve you currently have will one day be a drop in the sea. The range at which you can project and control your mana now is about two feet, ten at the peak of the third realm. At the peak of fourth, it will be a hundred feet, then a thousand, then ten thousand."

Lady Alabaster suddenly stopped, realizing she was getting ahead of herself. "The following exercise is for those several layers beyond your current realm, middling fourth-realmers, but I think the sooner you start, the better you will be. Now, try to extend the energy outside your body and into the earth. Feel the energy flow and try to discover what is hidden beneath the grass."

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