These Are The Results Of Our Training!
Curtis glanced briefly at the crystal dome where Xander and Falael were inside, his worry bleeding into his expression.
He didn't know what was going on other than the fact that Xander was helping Falael with whatever information he had given them.
Still, they had been inside for a while, and he was beginning to wonder if something had happened.
But just as he was considering asking...
His eyes lit up, and the dome of ice scattered into mana, revealing the shapes of two people inside.
Xander looked the same as before, while Falael, well, they looked a bit pale, and their skin was clammy. Moreover, their eyes were puffy and red. But strangely enough, they seemed almost... lighter?
'What happened?' Curtis was confused.
Meanwhile, Aubrey, who had been experimenting with her newly gained visual abilities, stared at Falael with wide eyes, like she had just seen something shocking.
"Alright guys, come closer." Xander gestured to the other two, and they slowly did so, Aubrey still looking at Falael in surprise.
"Okay. So here's what's gonna happen," Xander gestured between Falael and Curtis.
"Curtis, your job is to take the knowledge you've acquired and apply it be creating defensive constructs that are as durable as possible while using as little mana as possible." Then he turned to Falael.
"Falael, your job is to get accustomed to the changes while also using the defensive constructs Curtis makes to test out your new firepower and Mana properties. Basically it's a game of attack and defend, just using your newfound abilities." Hearing this, Curtis and Falael nodded thoughtfully.
"As for you, Aubrey. Well, first try and apply what I taught you to your main spells, like Oversight. Then get accustomed to it. If you can do that quickly, I suggest learning how to swap between normal vision, ultraviolet, and infrared. If possible, using all three at once, and getting the relevant information from them." He explained, and the girl shifted her attention from Falael before nodding.
"What about you? What are you gonna do?" Curtis asked curiously, and Xander's expression turned a bit wry.
"Doing something that has been long overdue. Going to the library to find a damn telepathy spell we can use."
"Oooh ×3." Understanding dawned on their faces. Indeed, the communication issue had been pending for a while now. So it probably made sense to settle it now that they had an illusion of freedom.
"Will the Sergeant allow you to leave, though?" Aubrey asked with furrowed brows.
"She said anything goes as long as we are actually doing something productive. I don't see why this wouldn't count." He shrugged before adding in his heart.
'And if she refuses I'm going to say something very ego-bruising words.' Xander then turned his attention back to them.
"But yeah. You guys know what to do. I'll be back once I've memorized the spell to relay to you." Without further ado, he turned and walked away.
As he did so, Curtis and Aubrey immediately turned to Falael with expectantly looks in their eyes.
"... What?" They raised a brow at the sudden attention.
"Well... what did Xander teach you? And was it helpful?" Curtis asked with unmasked curiosity, and Aubrey nodded in agreement.
Falael averted theirs gaze.
"... I'll tell you after."
"Aww.
***
As he thought, Sergeant Alya made no move to stop him when he left the training field, though, she very blatantly stared at him as he left, but it was hard to take her seriously with Mia asleep in her arms.
As Xander walked, he briefly thought about the things he'd taught his squadmates and contemplated himself.
'What I've given them is a way to move forward more effectively. I still gotta focus on myself a bit, though. Then again, like I mentioned previously, I have what I'm working on as well.' He smiled to himself. 'I'm curious to see how they develop.'
Eventually, he reached a 4 storey building that was exceptionally wide. And at the entrance, the words 'Library' was boldly written.
Students were going in and out of it, and Xander also entered without any hesitation.
'According to my Card, I have access up to the second floor before I'm unable to proceed any further. But that should be enough.' He hummed as he quickly spotted the staircase and quickly ascended.
As he did so, the number of people around him reduced, which wasn't very surprising due to how the library worked.
There were three ways to gain access to higher floors of the library. One, you increased the level of your card, but that could only get you so far. Two, you advanced to the next year, but again, it was fairly limited.
Third, you made considerable contributions to the school. This was a surefire way to ensure access to even the top floor, but getting enough contributions to reach that point were equally difficult.
Xander guessed that he could have asked for access to the third floor with the information he sold at the Information Club, but he chose not to try since that was an easy way to identify him.
Eventually, he arrived at the second floor.
It was quite spacious with a lot of bookshelves. And in the reading areas, the few people who were there were almost all seniors. Moreover, around each table—the occupied ones—there was a barrier that isolated sound, which Xander thought was pretty cool.
He first looked at the labels of the bookshelves and soon spotted one for mental spells.
'Alright, let's see...' He slowly perused the different books along that shelf, and after a few minutes of looking, he found what he believed he was looking for.
'Communication, Telepathy, and Mental Linking. This should be it.' However, just as he was about to grab it, a gloved hand reached at the same time and bumped into his.
'...' Xander turned his head and looked at the figure of Samuel, who seemed taken aback.
"Oh, what a surprise." The shorter boy said with a slightly embarrassed smile.
'Bullshit, I noticed you following me.' Xander stared at him flatly before grabbing the book and pulling it out of the case. As he did so, he felt the card in his pocket warm up slightly before returning to normal. It was the library checking if he was actually eligible go carry a book from that floor.
After securing it, he stared at Samuel who now had a pleasant smile on his face.
"Yes?" Xander tilted his head and waited for the other boy to state his reason for approaching him.
"Ah, straight to the point once more," Samuel hummed. "Well. You seem busy, so I won't take much of your time." He fished for something in his pocket and took out a note before handing it to him.
'Major Deja Vu.' Xander stared at the note for a few seconds before taking and opening it.
He briefly read through its contents, then his eyes widened slightly, and he glanced at Samuel with a raised brow.
"Why are you showing me this?" At that, Samuel just smiled vaguely.
"No particular reason. I just thought that you might be interested." He replied.
"And what makes you think that?" Xander folded his arms, and Samuel's smile grew slightly.
"Call it a... gut feeling." With that, he grabbed the book that had been right next to the one Xander picked and turned away.
"There's no problem if you aren't interested. But I do believe you might regret it if you don't attend, so..." He turned the corner with a wave. "Hope to see you there."
"..." Xander stared at the spot Samuel had been for a few seconds, then he sighed and also turned.
'He's planning something. I have no clue what it is, but he seems keen on recruiting me. Or at least getting on my good side. Quite cunning for someone who isn't even 18 yet. That said...' He glanced at the note in his hand, then pocketed it before finding a table to sit.
'For now, let's observe and see how things go.' He sat at a table and opened the book.
***
'Wow.' In the training field, Aubrey—who had more or less gotten accustomed to her new forms of vision—couldn't help but marvel as she observed her teammates.
On one side, Curtis let out a breath of cold air. The ground beneath him was frozen, and floating around him were numerous circular shields a meter in diameter each.
Opposite him, Falael stood with their wand raised remnant mana sparking around them as they too exhaled, both of them concentrating immensely.
'It's incredible, honestly.' She hummed, using Oversight to gain a larger range of view.
'In regards to Curtis, his defenses were already above average. But after applying what Xander taught him, it's like his ice is almost... stubborn. Like it consciously refuses to be broken apart. But despite this, his actual mana expenditure is negligible, so he can control his contructs with much more ease.' She shifted her attention to Falael.
'And Falael, it's hard to explain, but they have a strange... weight to them now. But that's not all. Not only has their mana pool gotten better by a significant level, their mana itself... its properties have changed. It's much more concentrated and potent, and it's almost the opposite of Curtis. While his constructs refuse to be broken apart, Falael's attacks seem to 'strip away' whatever they come into contact with.' She shook her head.
'And they are improving in real time, too. Curtis is very quickly getting the hang of forming ice in this new way, and Falael is getting better at controlling their spells to avoid wastage. Did Xander know this would happen? And just how did he manage to come up with such incredible theories? And what has he developed for himself?' She smiled wryly to herself.
"Here I come." At that moment, Falael declared, and Curtis nodded. "Y-Yeah!"
With a swift chant, several magic circles appeared above Curtis at haphazard angles, and from within them, condensed starlight shot out at insane speeds.
The starlight seemed to sear the air itself, but the heat did not spread out and was completely condensed within the beams.
But despite that, Curtis still reacted accordingly. He moved the shields around him rapidly, holding them at an angle so the beams were deflected rather than tanked fully.
Seeing this, Falael smirked slightly, and the number of circles doubled, immediately causing the pressure to spike.
'Ever since my mana pool took this shape, my endurance hasn't just increased, but the properties of my mana have changed as well. It's like... if before i was calling my magic starlight, now It's truly embodying that concept. Making my attacks faster and more potent.' The beams showered Curtis entirely, raising a cloud of dust that covered him. However, Falael showed no triumph.
'That said, I'm not the only one who improved.' The dust cleared, revealing Curtis who was entirely unharmed, just that now, the number of shields around him had also increased.
'It's strange.' Curtis thought as the defended against more of Falael's attacks.
'Before, I had to consciously imbue mana into my constructs to ensure their stability. But... after envisioning the particles Xander taught me about and applying it. Not only are my constructs much more durable, I don't need to add any more mana to maintain them. If I wanted, I could create them and leave them without imbuing more mana, and they wouldn't dissipate or weaken. And they are cheaper to make, too.' Falael prepared a more potent spell, and Curtis quickly made numerous shields overlap.
As soon as he did, a thick beam of starlight collided with them, shattering most of them, but the rest held up, completely dissipating the energy.
'I only need to pay attention to controlling my constructs after they are made and making new ones when some get broken. No more worrying about pouring mana into a single spell. So I have more mental energy to spare.' A smile slowly crept on his face, his eyes turning more lively.
"They seem to be enjoying themselves." Aubrey, who had been observing quietly, turned to Xander who had come to stand beside her, naturally having noticed him approaching.
"Yeah..." She just said. They were silent for a few seconds, then Xander spoke.
"Don't you have questions?" At that, she finally turned to him directly.
"I have many, but... I'm not sure you would be receptive to answering." She sighed. "At the very least, I know you don't have any bad intentions." Hearing that, Xander looked at her with some surprise.
"Oh? What makes you so sure? For all you know, I could be doing this to experiment on you guys." That made Aubrey roll her eyes.
"Very funny, but," She pointed at her eyes. "My perception magic isn't limited to beasts, you know? I pay attention to people as well, and I've learned to read certain signs people show to determine whether they are trustworthy or not. And so far, you haven't given off any signs of being untrustworthy. If I had to point out something, it would be that..." She tilted her head, and Xander observed her intently.
"You seem... mature. A lot of them time when someone like Falael is throwing a tantrum or whatever. You give off the vibe of an adult choosing not to engage with a child's nonsense."
'... Scary.' Xander exhaled and looked up.
"Well, you aren't entirely wrong. I have a pretty matured mindset. So whenever someone like Falael starts acting up, I remind myself that they are still a teenager." He shrugged, and Aubrey tilted her head before nodding slightly.
"I guess... People tend to mature quickly in Tatonia with how much goes on. You probably fall in that camp?" That made Xander laugh.
"Do I? I guess that means I'm not as unique as I though." Aubrey giggled slightly as well, which was the most emotion he'd seen from the girl in a while.
"Maybe... Anyway, with that said..." She peered at him intently. "You have something you want to tell me, don't you?" Hearing this, Xander smiled a little before facing her.
"Well, first of all, I found a pretty decent telepathy spells we could use. And I believe you would be the best person to be the... anchor for it, so to speak." He replied.
"And?" Aubrey raised a brow, and Xander's smile widened.
"And..." He stepped a little closer. "I just wanted to know. How would you feel about learning how to fight?"