Jean was having a wind bending practice with the sweetest creation as his student. The dark- haired master seemed to be a true professional of his craft if not one "but"... He was constantly trying to touch, pet, smell the girl. It’s no sin to cut off the balls for this perversion. However, his talent to escape notice sincerely amazed Kyon.

Jean, by virtue of his position, had long noticed that all noble ladies smell nice, but the scent of that young lady was outstanding. A glass of booze an hour before the session became his good tradition. It helped to keep it cool, but with every passing day, he found it harder and harder to keep it together. Well, Yurich’s daughter was a beauty, no doubt about that. After Elsa escaped, she became a symbol of the family for a reason. Even if everyone had heard of her charm before.

«That’s right. Good girl! Very good! And can you do this?» - He kept praising the girl. There were purring overtones in his voice. The man was immensely pleased, and the girl’s success was not the only reason.

Jean understood that Juno was way out of his league, but he was quite content with the indirect contact. Her smell, grace, cute face... Watching her slender flexible body... He was having the time of his life. Later at night, he would empty out the tension accumulated during the day. Luckily, the moons, the only witnesses to his weakness, are not inclined to reveal the secrets of those who trust the cover of the night.

Less than five minutes later, the girl stopped the fight and wiped sweat of her forehead.

«Маster Jean, my energy is running out…»

But master was "unrelenting":

«Just a little more and that’s it!»

One minute of fight and the girl lost her speed, her attacks became equivalent to the fragility of her little body.

Another moment, and she lost her balance, her nose inches from the master’s chest. The latter, taking advantage of her weakness, held her tight and got away with it. It was the boost he needed for a couple of days.

Kyon snorted with contempt. {Sick bastard… Little bitch, however, deserves this master.} Juno was completely unaware of the man's motives. Is it naiveté, or simple stupidity? It had to be sorted out.

Jean paid her another smarmy compliment:

«Excellent! I admire you, my lady. Take a rest. In two hours, we’ll resume our practice.»

Juno nodded.

«Yes, master!»

Kyon observed that the girl had excellent upbringing, judging by the respect she paid to her master, even if he was below her status. Look up to your teacher, that sort of thing. Traditions and customs of patriarchal families were highly appreciated there. {What the deuce did you swear like a fishwife when taking to Flitz, then?!}

Juno left the training area and went to the mansion. Her master straightened his uniform and decided to take a walk in the park, whistling something under his nose.

Kyon slipped out of his hiding place and followed the master in the shadows. It was time for his perfect plan. He caught up with the man and said respectfully:

«Great master Jean, tell me, please, how high is your rank in the family?»

The master glanced over the slave with contempt, lingering at his face that was bruised all over, and waved him off as an irritating fly.

«Stay away from me, scum.»

Кyon was a little taken aback and lagged behind the master. The little people were not welcome there. It was like in the Middle Ages, the noble looked down on their servants.

However, Kyon bit the bullet and caught up with the man again.

The master turned quickly and was about to punch the insolent boy in the nose when stopped short as if he stuck to the ground.

The boy bowed his head. He was holding a piece of snow-white cloth, spotted with blood stains here and there.

«Sir, this handkerchief belongs to my lady. I am giving it to you, so that you could hand it to my lady and prove yourself a true gentleman.»

Jean snatched the handkerchief, turned away, and pressed it to his face. He smelled it noisily. His whole body shivered with excitement, delight, happiness... He was in seventh heaven from the cocktail of turbulent emotions.

Once Kyon wondered what’s the point in smelling dirty underwear or lingerie? Science had given him a simple but intelligible answer. In the groin and armpits of any man or woman are located pheromones to attract the opposite sex.

What are they for from an evolutionary point of view?

- You get more looks and smiles from the people you know and complete strangers, as well.

- Everyone says you are the hot one.

- Love experience is way more passionate.

- The opposite sex is constantly attracted to you.

He found out that it’s desirable not to wash earlier than 3 hours before going on a date in order to maintain the concentration of pheromones. The smell of stinking sweat will not have time to develop in such a short period of time.

Pheromones are odorless. They reach the vomeronasal organ in the nose, take hold there, and different feelings arise: from affection and passion, to love and blind worship.

These pheromones absorb well into clothes. People get pleasure sniffing them. In a sense, Kyon understood Jean’s maniacal desire to smell Juno's things.

The man hastily hid his prey in the pocket, like a thief. When Kyon uttered “Hmmm”, he turned around and said with almost no neglect in his voice:

«I like boys like you... Your name is Kyon, right?»

Kyon nearly collapsed at his words. He liked him, sure thing. However, he bowed his head respectfully, pulling a sweet smile on his face:

«Yes, sir. May I ask you… Tell me if I can do any favor to you in return of which you would give me the sphere with the basic grade of pure energy.» - Kyon took the bull by the horns. He couldn’t miss the moment of good nature this master of hypocrisy deigned him. As he understood, pure energy was the most simple yet significant element.

The words of the slave perplexed Jean for a moment and then outraged him: how dared this scum ask him for the basics of pure energy?! It was a great sin and humiliation for any master to give anything which concerned development to anyone but his own student!

He wanted to send this “obliging dog” to hell, but there was something in his words...

«What do you mean by favor?»

Kyon answered immediately:

«I can do anything for you… I often come into contact with my lady, which you can easily tell by my face…» - He giggled softly. - «Sometimes I am allowed moments of free time even if only for a short while… I will get you something from her belongings in exchange for the basics of pure energy.»

Jean’s eyes bugged out. He grabbed the slave by the neck, shook him roughly, and hissed in his ear:

«Trying to get killed, scum?! What are you up to!?»

Kyon exhaled and mumbled miserably faking fear on his face:

«Master Jean, my lady beats me severely, I can hardly resist her… Once I asked her to give me the basics of the elements but she turned me down flat! I beg you, give me the basics. I will give the world for them! Without them, I will die here…» - His acting skills were god level: trembling chin, raised eyebrows, on the brink of tears...

The man gasped: the boy was serious! No kidding! Jean looked cautiously around, put Kyon on the ground and even smoothed the collar of his shirt. Then he whispered:

«Can you really get me something that belongs to Lady Juno?»

The master turned into a different man: the irritated, contemptuous, scathing hater of slaves was now interested in business.

The boy nodded weakly, a single tear ran down his cheek.

Jean scratched his chin thoughtfully, ran his fingers through the hair, swung heel to toe, in short, portrayed the mental process. Could he really let just anyone have the basics of pure energy? His pride would be crushed. On the other hand, his pride had long been wringing in torments of hell: he had a crush on his own student! Banal lust had long taken the place of honor instead of his pride.

It was the lust that pushed him to that decision. Jean had absolutely no fear that the boy would spill the beans about his plan. No one would ever believe a slave.

Jean bent over Kyon and said quietly:

«The basic grade of elements cost an arm and a leg but I will exchange it for an item of Juno’s clothing.» - He added to conceal his perversion: - «Actually, I don’t need her clothes that much, the point is to check if you’re worthy of this knowledge! I am a noble master. If I see your motivation, of course, I’ll let you get stronger. I don’t care where you stand, all that matters is what’s inside you» - His straight finger hit the young man’s heart area.

Kyon wanted to throw up but he kept a straight face.

«Yes, sir Jean. I’ll do my best to complete the mission till tomorrow!»

The man snorted and patted the boy on the shoulder:

«Good luck in your challenge. Above all, never give up… The energy is worth mountains of gold! Do it in the face of the danger and you will be rewarded. You know, I used to be just like you… And now look at me what I’ve become, hehe!» - He was about to stroke his nonexistent beard, that’s how deep he got into the character of an old wise man.

Kyon was at the end of his contempt. He bowed, squeezed a smile and asked:

«I am willing to give my life for the energy! Besides, I don’t have much choice… Could you tell me more about the basics of the elements?»

Jean frowned slightly, but nodded. He wanted to keep his image as a master for any worthy student.

Kyon learned a lot from his words.

What is energy? There are who-knows-how-many phases of soul development. With each next phase, you have ten times more elemental energy, and also a way more developed body, that is, you get stronger. Strength and talent are always a priority when assessing your status in the society. Wealth, power, beauty, intelligence and position are also important, sometimes essential, but energy is the most solid, illustrative criterion.

Each phase has ​​10 stages. However, numbers are not in use. When referring to one’s position, they say, for example: “This man is at the beginning stage of the base phase,” “This woman is at the middle stage of the second phase,” “This young man is at the finishing stage of the Superior phase,” “This lady is at the peak stage of Noble phase (4).”

Every three stages, the name gets changed: "at the beginning/middle/finishing stage" and the 10th stage is always called "the peak stage."

Jean said that each of the 9 elements has a basic grade. There are three grades all in all: basic, advanced and superior. For example: the basic (1) grade of the wind element, the advanced (2) grade the fire element, the superior (3) grade of the ether element. The exception is the principal, the lightest and most important element of energy, which has various names, from spiritual power to pure energy. Its key is in the navel.

The thing is that this element has only the basic (1) grade. There’s only one grade and nothing above. And that’s what Kyon wanted to master first of all.

The boy had already set his heart on being all-embracing elemental wizard when Jean added that anyone could master only a few elements, depending on their talent.

One element bender is a mediocrity. A pathetic practitioner who exists to be defeated, to be a doormat, to be used by the more powerful masters. They have a lower limit of development, no one pins any hopes on them. Moreover, in almost one hundred percent of cases, they choose pure energy as the first element, as it is the simplest, most multifunctional and fundamental for any formation, attack, defense, movement technique, military equipment, etc.

Two element bender means a confident practitioner, able to reach some heights. They are appreciated in any family, they are valuable tactical warriors who can, due to the additional element, specialize their attacks. They are not that highly respectable, but some of them are quite talented and even reach certain limited heights.

Three element bender happens very rarely. This bender is destined to become a respectable person. The level of their development is way higher than that of the others. They will definitely get a higher position, they may become respected formasists or no less respected alchemists (creators of medicine), they may become unsurpassed warriors, commanders in chief or someone higher. Three element practitioners are the central part of any family, they are often adopted if they have no surname; good masters take them as students; people are happy to marry off their daughters to them and even happier their sons. Juno bends 3 elements.

Four element bender is a genius who will be cherished and encouraged all the way. They are happily adopted by elders; great masters take them as students, girls are crazy about such guys, and guys would kill for such girls. Four element bender can shake the whole empire, become a key person.

Five element bender is a celestial genius. Few people believe they exist. Heaven itself is against their existence. They take too much luck from heaven and the lightning of justice can’t kill them. It’s officially confirmed that only the Empress bends five elements and it is not a myth. She is respected, honored and worshiped for this. The Empress is a truly legendary person who deserves her title of a blood-drenched sovereign.

The more elements a practitioner can bend, the faster they develop, the higher is the purity of their keys, and the greater is their fate.

At Kyon's reasonable question - «Is there any sense in grades above the basic one?» - Jean pulled a face expressing contempt for stupid slaves. He replied, however, that the basic grade gives only basic skills of element bending. The advanced grade enhances the element, skills for its bending, enables you to practice some complex techniques. The superior grade is within power of those masters who have dedicated their whole live to get it: they can create a very powerful technique out of this element, making all enemies drop dead just by saying their name. It does not matter what phase of ​​development you are at, even at the base phase, you can have all the three grades of the elements. It all comes down to talent.

{So, the higher the grade of the element, the more powerful it is and there appear more ways you can actualize it.} – Kyon nodded thoughtfully to his own thoughts.

Jean added that it all comes down to the innate talent, race, kin, or mental abilities how efficient you will master the basics of some elements, the rate of your understanding, and limit of your comprehension. Everything as usual. If you are born to a good family, you will rule people.

After the story, the master wanted to continue with his walk, but Kyon asked one more question. Jean was about to strangle the stubborn slave. However, he stepped on his pride instead of smothering the boy and answered.

Technique is something much more effective than using elements at the basic grade. You can let out a simple weak stream of flame or create a fiery arrow of high power instead. The difference in power can be enormous at the same cost of energy.

Kyon thought that it violated the law of conservation of energy, but in the end, he decided that it did not. Most likely, any technique or simple release of the elements is constrained by the limits of the outside power; the fewer the chains (limitations), the closer the energy is to its real power. The chains are removed (partially fall off) by higher grades of elements and skillful techniques. However, the more powerful the technique, the higher grade it requires, so it’s interdependent.

Jean added that technique can combine several elements at once. For example, strong ice techniques combine “water + coldness.” Even if you have the basics of water and coldness, it will take time to master the technique.

Accordingly, the higher your rank is, the easier and faster you will master the technique, and the more powerful it will be.

According to Jean, when you master a technique, there’s a characteristic click in the soul, as if you have reached enlightenment. After that, you can use the technique easily enough, almost automatically.

{As if “the program code” of this technique gets engraved in the soul.} - Kyon liked this interpretation.

To put it simple, a higher grade of elements makes your life easier, makes you stronger, enables you to master different techniques quickly, and amplifies these very techniques.

Kyon rubbed his hands with glee. He licked his chops at the thought of getting the basics of pure energy. There was only one problem: where could he get an item of Juno's clothing?