Chapter 23 - Making progress

"Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" John let out a loud scream as he finally finished the entire stack of papers that Oberon had given him. He threw the papers onto the desk and leaned back in his chair, exhausted.

"Why are you making such a fuss? It was barely 200 questions, and you had the entire evening to solve them," Oberon questioned with a look of disbelief on his face.

"I know, I know. It just felt like a lot more. It's been a long day, and I was just so relieved to finally be done," John replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Well, regardless of the reason, it's time to move on. I'll be grading these papers today, and I'll give you the results during our next class," Oberon said, before letting out a slight sigh.

"Deal," John said with a nod, before quickly gathering his things and rushing out of the room. "Finally some time to myself," he thought as he made his way back to his room.

He glanced at the clock on the wall and saw that he had about two hours before his scheduled training session with the Grand Duke. "I'll make the most of this time," he said to himself, before settling onto his bed, legs crossed.

"Fhuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu," John let out a deep breath as he entered his conscience space. He closed his eyes and focused his mind, eager to make the most of this time to train and improve.

"Can we offer you aid in managing chaos energy, John?" Pallas queried with a look of eagerness.

John gave a nod of agreement. "Any help would be greatly appreciated. But did you actually find a way to balance the three energies this quickly?" he asked, his expression filled with curiosity.

"As a matter of fact, we did," Pallas replied with a hint of pride. "Although I may have mucked up during the time travel spell, I'm still considered the greatest scholar among the dragons. With a little help, something like this was quite easy."

John's expression showed a hint of disbelief. "Stop boasting. But for some reason, seeing you as a scholar just doesn't seem right."

"I understand where you're coming from, but no matter how hard it is to believe, the lizard is definitely smart," Kostas interjected.

Pallas huffed in annoyance. "I can hear you two, you know."

John and Kostas said in unison, "And?" with confused looks on their faces.

"Nothing," the dragon lord grumbled, clearly frustrated.

"Stop sulking and explain how I can form my core," John commanded, waving his hand dismissively at Pallas' outburst.

"Before I get into that, I want you to understand that all of this is extremely theoretical. No one has been crazy enough to attempt mixing these energies together, even to this day," Pallas warned.

John nodded in understanding. "I get it. So, tell me."

"If you're ready, I'll begin explaining. As you may have noticed, chaos energy tends to overpower the other two energies within you right now. This is because it is, by nature, superior to both divine energy and mana. Its source is primordial in nature," Pallas began, ensuring that John was ready to listen.

"If we were to keep all the energies within you equal, this would allow the chaos energy to dominate everything. And since you currently cannot control the chaos energy within you, it wouldn't release its control over the other two energies," he continued.

"The solution we've devised," Kostas interjected, his eyes lit with excitement, "is to adjust the ratios to 5:5:1." Pallas nodded in agreement, a proud smile on his lips.

"This way, the chaos energy won't be able to completely overpower the other two," Pallas explained, his voice carrying a hint of pride. "With practice, you'll be able to master the balance and exert full control."

John considered this, his brow furrowed in thought. "What about the flow of the energies?" he asked, his tone inquisitive. "How will I integrate both of your methods into this new approach?"

"Our theory," Kostas said, rubbing his chin, "is that if you can reverse the flow of the chaos energy, it'll be most effective."

"We're still working out the specifics," Pallas added, his expression turning serious. "Right now, we can't say for certain what impact the stars will have, but we'll keep brainstorming."

John nodded, his eyes determined. "If you come up with anything, let me know. I want to try it all."

"Just keep in mind," Kostas warned, his expression grim, "that while our solution will make you incredibly strong in the long run, right now you're still quite weak. This process will be slow, and we don't even know how you'll progress through each stage, given we don't yet know how to form the stars."

Despite the warning, John didn't let it discourage him. "I understand," he said resolutely.

"Don't be discouraged," Kostas said, a comforting hand on John's shoulder. "The information Lord Chaos provided us with was invaluable, and by the time you've formed your core, we'll have something prepared for you."

Pallas nodded in agreement. "In the meantime, focus on strengthening your vessel. The energies inside you are just waiting to burst out, and without a strong body to contain them, you won't even have a chance at forming a core."

"Got it," John said, determination in his voice. "Can I start gathering mana and divine energy now, so I can eventually form my core?"

"Of course," Pallas said, smiling encouragingly. "The process will be slow, but it's up to you to figure out how you want to gather energy."

"Thanks for the support," John said gratefully, a small smile on his lips.

"Now go on," Kostas urged, shooing John towards the exit. "Leave the brainstorming to us. Focus on gathering the energy you need, because we can't help with that."

Pallas offered John advice on how to gather mana and divine energy. "Try to make your energies flow through your veins," he suggested. "They will pull in free energy from the atmosphere, like a river."

John took a deep breath and stepped out of his consciousness space. Despite trying for two hours, he was still unable to move the mana in his body. Frustrated, he exclaimed, "Nothing is happening! This is so frustrating."

Pallas tried to reassure him, "Calm down, John. Our method may be strong, but it's also going to be slow. It's normal to have trouble on your first try, also I wasn't sure earlier, but now I can say for certain that you will be needing to learn how to direct chaos energy before you start forming stars, or this issue will get worse."

John's expression showed his concern. "I know, but we don't have much time," he said.

Kostas shook his head. "Even if you did know how to manage chaos energy, it's unlikely that you could take part in any conflict from here in the north," he pointed out.

John hung his head, "I know, it just sucks."

Hans interrupted their conversation, "Your Highness, it's time for your training with the Duke. He's waiting for you in the training hall."

John got up from his bed and followed Hans to the training hall where he had shoveled snow earlier. "I'll be right there," he said, eager to move on from his failed attempts at gathering any energy.

"What weapon do you use?" The Grand Duke asked from the center of the field, not bothering to greet the young prince. He crossed his arms, observing the boy with a critical eye.

"The spear," John replied, examining the Grand Duke who wore simple training clothes, rather than his extravagant attire.

"Grab one, and come here," The Grand Duke commanded, pointing the wooden sword in his hand towards the rack of weapons now fully visible since John had cleared the field.

"Can you tell me what we will do right now?" John asked as he picked up a spear and approached Dante.

"Do you know what is the best way to learn how to fight?" The Grand Duke asked with a wide smile on his face for the first time since he had met John this evening. He twirled his wooden sword, the muscles in his arms flexing as he showed off his agility.

"What are you talking about?" John asked, confused. But before he could even finish his sentence, he noticed the Grand Duke lunging towards him.

"Get beaten up. Your body will automatically learn what I'm talking about, hahaha!" The Grand Duke laughed maniacally and started his barrage of attacks on John, a sight which resonated with many of the knights who were also training in the field. They, too, had suffered through such an initiation.

"No way, I'm a child. You insane bastard!" John exclaimed as he jumped back, parrying the occasional attack.

"Come on, kid. Fight me, stop running," The Grand Duke taunted, jumping up and down, sword raised high.

"You crazy son of a bitch!" John backed off, trying to catch his breath.

"Hahaha, you're going to have to try a bit better than that if you want to land a hit on me," The Grand Duke teased, twirling his sword in his hand with ease.

"Huff… fine. I didn't want to use it yet because I can't use mana properly yet, but here goes nothing," John said, taking a lowered stance and starting to move his spear.

"Heavenly Spear Dance… second technique - Celestial Waltz,"