“If you want to craft your ability, you should be patient during the process, because it requires a lot of time to find an idea for a versatile ability that will be effective in different situations.”

  Jacob sat on his bed, facing Zoeske. He raised three of his fingers and said, “There are three approaches you can take. First, crafting a purely imaginative ability—this approach is not recommended. Second, a theory-based ability. While this sounds somewhat similar to the first approach, it actually blends reality and imagination. The last approach is a reality-inspired ability; it’s the most complex and effective of all.”

  Jacob held his chin, thinking. He took a bit longer than expected, which confused Zoeske.

  “What is it?” Zoeske asked.

  “I’m trying to find a good example,” Jacob said. He rubbed his head, which sparked an idea. “That’s a good one!”

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  “Let’s take my hair as an example,” Jacob said. “My kinky hair, with its structure, has many properties: preserving heat that emerges from the scalp more than straight hair, water and oil cannot distribute easily in it, and trapping odor and moisture for a longer time. There might be even more properties it has that other hair types don’t. Imitating kinky hair would grant you access to all its properties without overthinking it. To clarify, instead of making up something imaginary to preserve heat, you can imitate kinky hair and gain all its natural properties. Materializing a sheet covered with kinky hair would preserve heat, trap moisture and odor, and have many other properties that I didn't list. In contrast, materializing a sheet that solely preserves heat might have far fewer properties than expected.”

  “This definitely requires a lot of thought,” Zoeske said. “So, instead of wasting my magic to create a single effect, I can imitate something, and it will naturally contain the same properties as the actual object.”

  “Exactly,” Jacob said with a large smile. “Magic is amazing, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” Zoeske said. “I’m so grateful to you guys for teaching me all of that.”

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  “This is only your first day,” Jacob said. “Many things await you.”

  “By the way, do you have any idea what ability you want to craft?” Zoeske asked.

  “I was encourged to craft my own ability now,” Jacob said. He lay down on the bed and looked at the ceiling. “But I want to enjoy the journey of exploring my own tendencies and learning more. What about you?”

  Zoeske said, “Your example encouraged me to rethink my ideas.”

  “So you already had an idea of what kind of ability you wanted?” Jacob asked.

  “Somewhat,” Zoeske said.

  “What was it?” Jacob asked.

  “Something like a bomb,” Zoeske said.

  “That’s interesting,” Jacob said, thinking, (I wonder what the real reason is that brought him here.)

  The day ended peacefully, and neither of them slept that night. Jacob sensed Zoeske’s hidden frustration in the middle of the night while observing him and pretending to be asleep. He was meditating and practicing magic while lying on the pile of hay, which amazed Jacob.

  Zoeske’s mind was filled with the memory of Leonel quickly mastering magic. He felt incompetent, and the more he learned about magic, the more Leonel’s ability confused him—the ability to view past events accurately through a magical screen. But the fact that he barely knew the basics of magic eased his frustration.

  Over the next three days, Zoeske barely rested. Whenever he found a chance to practice controlling magic, he took it. Within this time, he became able to start learning intermediate magic.

  On the morning of the fifth day, at the farm, during a brief break, Zoeske, Jacob, and Leon were sitting under a tree. Protecting themselves from the sunlight.

  Leon asked, shocked, “Wow, how is that possible?”

  Zoeske nervously laughed, feeling uncomfortable with the attention he was getting from Leon. He said, “Hard work, maybe?”

  “We all worked hard to improve our control and use of magic, but you did it even faster than our prodigy, Jacob,” Leon said.

  “Stop it; you’re annoying him,” Jacob said.

  “How long did it take you two to intuitively control your magic?” Zoeske asked.

  “One week,” Jacob said egotistically.

  “Three…” Leon said, embarrassed.

  “I just practiced all the time,” Zoeske said. “Without dedication, it would've taken much longer.”

  “It’s not about that, actually,” Jacob said. “He’s just a dummy. He always sleeps in lessons and barely practices.”

  “At least I don’t cry over the slightest mistakes,” Leon said, annoyed.

  “Huh?” Jacob said, preparing to argue with Leon. “That was four years ago.”

  A loud, painful strike landed on both of their heads. Alia came from behind. She said, “Go back to work, you two.”

  “Ouch,” they said simultaneously and ran back to the farm.

  Zoeske glanced at Alia’s muscles; it terrified him. He said, “I apologize on their behalf.”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Alia said. “You’ve developed a solid skill in controlling the flow of your aura. We still have eleven days before Jacha returns. We’ll resume classes tomorrow. inform the two morons there please.”

  “Sure,” Zoeske said.