After a warm shower and a change of clothing, I ate dinner with my family. The experience mimicked the habitual family dinner. Precisely what I was longing for, a peaceful life that wasn't fake.

Concluding dinner, my parents went off to bed, leaving me behind with Tehla.

Closing my eyes, I smiled and laughed. "You wouldn't believe what happened today!"

Forming a stern face, Tehla shifted her eyes down at me. "What did you do?"

"What? I didn't do anything," I said, looking down at the floor. "But... I did manage to lightly damage my combat gear."

Tehla released a sigh of relief. "Is that all?

I nodded, taking out the broken gear from my wristband. "Here you go."

Her smile turned into shock as she pressed her lips together, furiously grabbing the gear. "HOW..." Pausing, she stuttered, rapidly blinking. "How did you even manage to do this!?"

"You see, I basically-"

Her eye twitched, interrupting me. "Have you been getting into more fights? First, your uniform, now this."

"No, no," I waved my hands in the air. "I can explain this! I tried to perform magic, and I guess the results speak for themselves."

"Stop joking," she twitched her eye.

Rubbing my scalp, I shrugged. "I'll show you if I have to." Pausing, I tugged my lips up and smiled. "Please, just get me a new uniform."

Tapping her feet, Tehla turned around. "Follow me."

We went downstairs into the training area — a place where I would occasionally train after school or Alren's bullshit. Though, the school's facility caused infrequent training in my house.

'I didn't think this through,' I glanced down, noticing my pajamas.

"Show me," Tehla cleared her throat and glared down at me.

"Basically, I create a-"

"I didn't ask for an explanation. Show ME," Tehla gaped at me, yelling.

I stretched my legs, taking in a deep breath. "Lightning."

Lightning coursed over my body as I began jumping up and down. The lightning calmly emitted sparks. Mostly covered, I scanned the surroundings, looking for an ambient sphere.

Finding a singular ambient sphere and stepping forward, I simultaneously whispered. "Link."

*BUZZZ*

I remained standing, heavily breathing in and out. Though the pain was doable, I turned my head, creating eye contact with Tehla. "Basically, I did this, but-"

She neared me, looking down then up, and her anger cooled as she showed a neutral face. "Demonstrate what caused your gear to break. I won't repeat myself again."

"I'll get hurt," I said, closing my eyes.

Grabbing my shoulder, she shook her head, looking down at me. "How so?"

I looked up at her, deepening my voice and crossing my arms. "I can't control how fast I go when I use this magic. I'm not sure if you understand what that means. So, let me say it in simple terms. I will smash into the wall if I use it!"

"Tell me where you'll go, and I'll dampen the damage," she said, not blinking while looking at me.

'Damn it,' I examined my surroundings, deciding which combination of spheres to link. I walked to the sphere where I wanted to end my link and pointed at it. "Tehla, I will be here, so please dampen the damage, or I'll actually die!"

She nodded, walking where I was, standing there.

Moving away from that area, I arrived a plethora of feet away. "Are you ready?"

Tehla nodded. "Go whenever you're ready."

I closed my eyes, opening them. The orange hue from the ambient spheres colored the room, allowing me a clear sight of my track. 'I'll link to those two,' I thought, looking at the two spheres, the last one ahead of Tehla.

"I'm going to do it!" I shouted, augmenting my body with lightning. Walking forward, I roared. "LINK!"

*BUZZZZZZ*

I slammed into a soft object, but a buzz echoed in my ears, causing me to close my eyes.

"You sure are a good liar," someone said, causing my ears to reverberate in pain.

"Ow," I winced, opening my eyes. The first thing I saw was Tesla's chin.

I quickly got up, standing up from Tehlas's lap. Trying to avoid eye contact, I looked at the ceiling, clearing my throat. "As you can see, that's what caused my gear to break."

"You see, I would believe you, but I'm not a dumbass," she muttered, standing up.

I remained blinking, shocked at the fact that Tehla cursed. Out of everyone to curse...

I was screwed...

She grabbed my shoulder, lightly pressing it. "I hate it when I'm lied to."

"I'm telling the truth," I immediately said. "That's how my gear-"

Letting go of my shoulder, she circled around me, almost like she was examining me. She came closer to me, grabbing a piece of my hair and pulling it out.

"Ahh, what did you do that for?"

Ignoring me, she answered. "I pulled out a piece of your hair for lying."

Lowering my eyebrows, I clenched my fists and jaws. "I told you the truth! Damn it! I'm telling you the truth."

"Sure, sure," she said, lowering her body, now face to face with me. "You're telling me you have the orbitals or even mana reserves to do such magic. Of course, you don't, so please abide by me and tell the truth."

'Was she referring to how I did the links?' I thought, slightly afraid from the animosity erupting out of Tehla.

"I use the Ambient magic and connect to them. I call this a link, and I can make conjuring or augmenting types of magic more accurate and faster. But, I do have to say, I'm not too sure how it works. I stumbled upon linking while messing around with an ambient sphere."

Standing up, Tehla smiled. "Thank you for telling part of the truth."

"No problem," I murmured, turning my body. "Good night." I yawned and walked towards the exit, quickly trying to get out of the situation.

"No, not yet," she cleared her throat. Tehla was still standing, waiting for me to come back. "Do that again."

"Are you serious?" I muttered, viewing my clothing. "My clothes are getting ripped, and you want me to do more?"

"Your clothes are already tarnished, so no harm in ripping them more," she said, not even smiling at what I thought was an attempt at a joke, but perhaps it wasn't an attempt. Perhaps Tehla was dead serious. "This time, add more magic into your augmentation."

I sighed, walking back to the same place and pointing at where I would travel. "Should I link to more ambient spheres as well?"

She shook her head. "No." Pausing, she stared at me. "Just add more magic into augmentation. Add the most you can."

"I'll try," I said, augmenting my body.

*ZZZZZZZZZZ*

Viewing my body was outlandish since the lightning sporadically emitted off me, creating a violent buzz. The buzz was different from when my ears would ring after a link. The buzz created from the lightning on me felt more calm yet dangerous.

I took a deep breath, visualizing the link. I closed my eyes and stepped forward. "LINK!"

*BUZZZZZ...*

'What happened,' I thought, not hearing anything except my own thoughts. I opened my eyes, noticing lightning surrounding my body.

I tried moving, but I couldn't, almost like I was being forced into a direction. I moved my head slightly up, noticing Tehla standing in front of a plant emerging from the floor. I also noticed that my clothing was even more torn. Even the lightning was oddly moving.

Why did it seem like everything was going in slow motion? My clothing and lightning oddly moved, and it felt like Tehla was in slow motion.

'WAIT,' I realized, trying to force myself to move but unable to do so. Why was I viewing everything in slow motion?! Why?

I tried moving my legs and arms, but only the slightest movements occurred. I was being forcefully pushed toward Tehla.

Suddenly, my eyes were boiled in pain! But before I could think of the boiling sensation...

I slammed into something, losing consciousness.

**MORNING: SIX A.M.**

"Enough! Wake up," someone said, yelling in my ear.

I opened my eyes and noticed Tehla in front of me. Rubbing my eyes, I grunted. "Can I sleep?"

"No," she said, lifting up my blanket. I tried moving, but she pinned me down with her hand on my chest. The clothing I wore was blue pajamas, different from the one yesterday — red pajamas.

Tehla grabbed my sleeves, revealing bandages around my arms. She began unwrapping the bandages. She also lifted my pants, unwrapping bandages around my knees.

"Stand up," she ordered, squishing all the bandages into a ball.

Standing up, I stood in front of Tehla as she grabbed my head, unwrapping a bandage around my head.

"I left your new combat gear in the bathroom," she pointed at the bathroom, adding. "Put it on and eat breakfast. Meet me at the combat room immediately after you are done."

Yawning, I grew a frown. "Shouldn't I be resting? I have the tournament tomorrow."

"I expect you in the combat room soon," she said, not even looking at me, walking out of my room. I was confused as to why Tehla was aggressive... She was usually reputable and friendly.

Not thinking much more of it, I got ready and ate breakfast. After breakfast, I entered the training area, seeing a waiting Tehla.

"Alright, I'm here," I yawned, getting closer to Tehla.

She informed me, handing me a rock — gem — of some sort. "Yesterday, you fainted from the magic you used."

"I realize..." I said, holding the rock.

She kept a serious face. "I believe there's a reason for the occurrence. The more magic you initiate, the more magic you form."

"What?" I questioned, tilting my head.

"Your lighting becomes greater in magical density; the more you use that magic of yours. I believe a link is what you called it." She stood tall, looking at me. "You said your magic is dictated by ambient magic. So, I want to test your magic by having you use minimal mana for augmentation."

She quickly added. "Make sure to keep hold of the gem and use the same amount of ambient spheres as you did last time."

"Alright," I pointed at where I wanted to lastly link. Tehla walked there, standing slightly behind the sphere.

"Lightning," I whispered, trying to minimally augment my body while also gripping onto the rock. I stepped forward, whispering. "Link."

*BUZZZ*

I shook my head, immediately standing up.

Tehla sighed with relief. "I was right."

Around me was a soft plant, yellow yet sponge-like. It consisted of many pours, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that I immediately got up. There lingered slight soreness, but nothing abnormal. It was similar to the soreness I felt after linking to a singular sphere after using augmentation.

The plant suddenly dissipated, Tehla letting her lips tug to the left. "My presumption was correct. Your lighting magic accelerates as you travel through this move you call a link." She continued, standing in the same position. "Hand me the gem."

I neared her, handing the once white gem, now gray.

Nodding her head. "Indeed, your augmentation does increase through linkage."

Questioning her, I stared at the gem. "What does that rock signify?"

"Try one ambient magic with minimal lightning," she said, ignoring my question.

"Alright, but I don't need your cushion for this," I informed her, slightly augmenting my body and stepping forward. "Link."

*BUZZ*

I smiled, not feeling any soreness from the singular linkage. Handing Tehla the gem, she tossed me another white gem.

I caught it, questioning her. "What should I do now?"

"What you just performed, you did it yesterday too?" She asked, storing the gray gem away in her necklace.

It took me a while to remember, but I shrugged. "I believe so."

Growing a more relaxed face, she questioned. "Try linking to more than two ambient magic, but keep a minimal amount of augmentation."

I nodded my head and pointed at where Tehla should stand. She stood behind the last sphere, allowing me the confidence to augment myself.

"Lightning," I muttered, persisting a small flow of mana through my body, though I began to question if it was the lowest I could maintain. But, I knew that I couldn't stress myself too much. It wasn't like magic was exact math or something. I needed to go with the feeling of it.

Visualizing the five spheres and connecting to them, I stepped forward, closing my eyes. "Link!"

*BUZZZ*

Opening my eyes, I was wrapped around the yellow plant. My muscles felt a bit sorer, but perhaps that was because I multi-linked for a second time.

Standing up, I felt oddly relaxed, almost like a burden had been lifted.

But from that odd feeling, I knew something was wrong. This feeling was an old one... A one without magic.

I gaped at my surroundings, realizing my mana had been depleted because my surroundings no longer held any ambient spheres.

I stared at my body as I tried to utilize more mana in my system, but it was futile as my reserves were completely empty.

"Hand me the gem," Tehla said, reaching her hand near me.

Handing Tehla the rock, now gray, she informed. "That's odd..." She paused. "Why has your lighting reached a maximum? Could it be an equilibrium?"

"Is something wrong?" I asked, curious about what she meant regarding my lightning reaching a max.

Waving her hand in the air, Tehla muttered. "Focus on restoring your reserves through meditation. We have more tests to complete."

"That's going to take hours..."

"So be it," she said, closely examining the rocks.

Clicking my tongue, I sat down near the dissipating yellow plant. I shut my eyes, thinking of magic flowing through my magic circuits. I continued the flow through my orbitals, finally reaching my core. But only if it was that easy. I needed to continue the process. Over and over...

A process of difficulty and uncertainty. Magic is refined through the circuits and orbitals, then stored in the magic-core — mana reserve. The whole process was another reason why countries debated mana versus magic. But current days have portrayed mana as the better term. In essence, mana free-floats in the core.

Damn, I was a nerd...

*FIVE HOURS LATER*

"I'm ready," I informed Tehla.

The woman let out a scoff, her dedicated eyes focusing on me, letting her posture slightly subside. "You'll have to do one more test."

"What is it?" I questioned, standing up.

"Try linking to one sphere, but when you do, immediately link to another," she ordered, adding. "I'd like to know if a spontaneous linkage is doable."

'That sounds cool,' I thought, thinking about the phrase spontaneous linkage.

"Also, catch," she threw a rock in my direction — a white gem.

I caught it, looking around and laughing. "You better cushion me if this goes berserk."

"Lightning," I said, slightly augmenting my body and stepping forward. Gripping the rock, I focused, yelling. "Link!"

*BUZZ*

'Again,' I thought, sliding on the floor. "Link!"

*BUZ-*

The link broke halfway, not fully connecting, causing me to fall to the ground. I jumped up, trying again. "Link!"

*BUZZ*

The linkage worked, but why didn't it work right after another link? Before I could try doing another spontaneous link, Tehla cleared her throat. "Would you mind handing me the gem?"

I turned around, facing her. I opened my hand and displayed the rock, currently crystal clear.

"It appears that spontaneous linkage isn't possible..." she whispered, grabbing the rock and storing it away. She lowered her lips, fixing her gaze on me. "During the tournament, don't use multiple linkages. Honestly, I am worried about you using even singular links; they don't seem harmful if not used spontaneously, but still."

"Why?" I asked, holding back my slight anger.

"Just don't use it," she affirmed, looking me straight in the eyes. "Draining your reserves to such a degree isn't good for you. It doesn't take a scientist to see that. Though, I'll further discuss this development with Alren."

Clenching my jaw, I questioned. "Is it fine to use conjuring links?"

Taking a few seconds to answer, she responded. "That and regular singular linking should be fine, but still, I'd be wary of it."

I didn't want to argue or stay near the area any longer. Tehla was getting on my nerves. 'Why was she able to dictate what I could or couldn't do?' Realizing that I was starting to sound like a pubescent teen, I shook my head, asking. "Is that all for now?"

"Indeed," she replied. "For now, at least."

Trying to keep calm, I waved my hand, walking out of the combat area. I wanted to get mad, but I couldn't. Tehla had always been useful and friendly, and I mean, she still was, evident with getting me new combat gear. But when I finally thought I was onto something, she ruined it. How could I possibly get better at anything without practicing it?

During these few hours of me practicing linkage, I learned so much. I could utilize singular links easily — not including the spontaneous version. Furthermore, multiple links were possible but depleted my reserves. Multiple links seemed to carry the same depletion, or at least that was what I understood from Tehla concerning equilibrium. I even found out how to utilize linkages without fainting.

Was I going to really handicap myself by not utilizing my most useful magic? Time would have to tell because I was unsure.

I was unsure...