After Zoeske became able to use magic, he and Jacob returned to the village. Leon was shocked at how fast their session had gone. He couldn’t believe the intensified aura around Zoeske’s body was that of someone who had just learned to use magic.

  “That’s good,” Alia said. “Now let’s go to the farm again.”

  As Zoeske walked beside Alia, Leon slowed down to talk to Jacob. He said, “How did he learn magic that fast?”

  “Besides the special exercise Jacha provided us with,” Jacob said, “he really showed excellent imagination skills. I really wonder how his imagination skills reached that level of accuracy.”

  “What concerns me more is my aunt,” Leon said. “She doesn't seem surprised at all.”

  “You noticed that too?” Jacob said.

  “I guess we’ll find out soon,” Leon said.

  The farm had hundreds of tea trees. The Malinians fed the fungi, which grew beside each tree, with magic every day, distributing the work between groups of three to five people. Each group took care of 80 to 100 trees.

  “The process of feeding these trees requires a tremendous amount of magical aura,” Alia said. “We use the magic of enhancement at a specific power to avoid overfeeding the fungi. However, one of the groups will preserve their aura in case we get attacked by anything.”

  “You guys are amazing,” Zoeske said.

  “We are unified,” Alia said.

  “Is that the farm’s fence?” Zoeske asked.

  It was a worn fence, but somehow, it did the job. They walked in and stood beside a tree. Jacob knelt down close to the fungi. He looked at Zoeske and said, “Use your magic as before to observe my aura.”

  Jacob then surrounded the fungus with his hands, and the aura around his hands became thinner and more intense. Alia explained, “If you noticed, my son weakened the aura around his hand and intensified it at the same time. It’s like water turning into honey. This is called Magic of Enhancement. You can put a lot of aura around any part of your body or decrease it and intensify it, and there are actually many other ways you can use the magic of enhancement.”

  “Come and try it,” Jacob said.

  Zoeske knelt down beside Jacob. He did exactly the same as him, but when he tried to reduce the aura around his hand, nothing happened.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Jacob said, “You are trying to decrease the aura around your hands?”

  “Yes,” Zoeske responded.

  “Aura can’t just increase or decrease based on our imagination,” Jacob said. “If you want to make the aura around your hands thinner, imagine the aura around your hands being blown by air toward your shoulders.”

  Zoeske imagined it the way Jacob described. He said, “Wow, it worked.”

  (This kid is insane,) Leon thought.

  Time passed quickly, and the sun almost set. The sky was purple, and the breeze made the Sugmali tea tree’s aroma prevail around the small village. People returned to their houses and turned on the lanterns.

  Alia brought new clothes for Zoeske and Jacob. She said, “These are for you two.”

  “Thanks, Mom,” Jacob said.

  “Thank you,” Zoeske said. He examined the clothes carefully and wondered about their weight.

  “How cute,” Alia said. “You look like a cat being given food.”

  “We make our own clothes, that’s why they’re heavier than you expected,” Jacob said.

  (That doesn’t explain why they’re heavy, though,) Zoeske thought.

  “Now go and take a hot bath,” Alia said.

  They had a barrel filled with hot water. They would relax in it after cleaning their bodies in semi-cold water with a locally produced body wash.

  Zoeske looked at the weird body wash: a greenish-grey clay that foamed after rubbing it. While he was too focused on testing the body wash in his hand, he suddenly heard the water pouring behind him. He turned back and immediately covered his eyes.

  “W...WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Zoeske said.

  “Huh?” Jacob said, with confusion illustrated on his face. “Why are you covering your eyes?”

  “YOU TOOK OFF YOUR CLOTHES,” Zoeske said.

  “And what?” Jacob questioned. “Stop acting weird and clean yourself. You’ll have to help me carry a quilt and a pile of hay.”

  (Is that normal here?) Zoeske wondered. He was a bit embarrassed, but he felt comfortable after seeing Jacob looking the other way.

  “We are not savages, you know?” Jacob said. “I know what’s on your mind, but here we try to minimize our consumption as much as we can bear. We don’t use more than what we need, and that’s why we need to share everything we have. So, don’t worry, I will not look at you.”

  “Oh, sorry then,” Zoeske said. “I looked at you earlier.”

  “It’s fine,” Jacob said.

  (That’s what I noticed while Alia took me on a trip around the village. They don’t have vegetables, fruits, or bread. It’s the only thing they are getting from outside. Probably, they get food from the kingdom and the town and pay extra taxes after they took this land illegally. In addition to that, they surely pay for their tea leaves’ transportation to the kingdom. With that, they are left with nothing,) Zoeske thought.

  After they ate dinner, both Zoeske and Jacob went to the room and prepared the new bed. Jacob slept in his bed that was supported by a frame, while Zoeske slept on the ground on a pile of hay. The room was dark, although the moon’s light illuminated it a bit.

  Zoeske looked at the sky as the window was to his left. That night was peaceful and calm. The sound of owls and the breeze encouraged meditation and relaxation. But Zoeske felt frustrated after he remembered Leonel’s learning pace. He asked, “How do you engineer an ability?”

  “Huh?” Jacob said. “Can’t you rest a bit?”

  They were silent until Jacob said, “This is a bit hard to understand now, but I’ll try my best to explain it…”