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Shapes

"Eh?! Void element? Wha... what's that?", Sophie asked, not sure why her idol teacher was acting so weird.

Beta, too, was very interested in the teacher's answer, so he carefully listened.

"The void element is something so rare that it hasn't been seen for hundreds of years, even in the major cities. Just think about it. How can one even get in contact with the void? Even more ridiculous is how can one even feel good there? Imagine being in the void with nothing surrounding you. That is something people usually fear.", Lores said with a slightly shaky voice.

Everyone now had a similar expression that their teacher had earlier. Compared to lightning, this is much, much better! Brian just crossed his arms with an all-knowing smile as if he had predicted the outcome from the start.

"Then... is it a strong element?", Sophie asked, but this time in a really small voice.

"Strong? Of course, it is! If he trains it properly, he could simply let a whole army disappear without any trace whatsoever! And he won't have to worry about money either, because there's still an occupation only people with the void element can assume - Voidweaver!", Lores said, getting more and more excited as he continued on.

"What are Voidweavers?", the class asked in unison.

"Voidweavers are people that, as the name suggests, weave their void power into fabric, creating things like void bags! Those are bags that are small in size but actually could even fit a whole house in it! Since no one has seen a void element for a long time, void bags are tremendously expensive. Of course, the art of how to make them was also lost, so it's only a possibility. But, I believe that with a lot of training and countless experimentation, he might be able to do it!", Lores explained everything in one breath, too excited about having the honor of seeing an almost extinct element.

When Beta heard the word experimentation, his eyes glowed. "I don't care about weaving some bags, as I would probably be able to store things without having to create such a bag. However, I can't just ignore the potential. If I seriously experiment on it, I might be able to create a lab-to-go. If I always have to exert much of my power just to get it out it would be too exhausting. But as long as I have such a bag...", when he thought to that point, he couldn't help but grin.

"Sadly, we don't have any means of helping you at this academy. The void element is just too rare... You will have to find everything out by yourself for now. I'll talk to the headmaster and see if we can help you somehow.", Lores said with a sigh.

Beta didn't mind it though. That would just mean more fun to him. He also wouldn't be influenced by previous generation's thought and could go at it with a free mind. Others would panic in this situation but as usual, Beta is delighted instead.

"Okay, okay… We should really start with class now or my beloved class will be left behind by others. So, we will begin the next level of training, soulpower manipulation. Since you just managed to attain your soulpower, the first thing you will train is shaping it at according to your will. At the moment, your soulpower is only a thread, but to make an arrow or similar things is not possible without being able to change the shape of your soulpower. So, let's start with the easiest shape. Create a sphere!", Lores said, back to his usual serious look, as if nothing happened before.

The students looked at him weirdly. They're somehow slowly getting used to his usual mood shifts, but they quickly followed his instructions and willed out their soulpower, trying to form it into different shapes. Beta, too, was doing the same. Even with the knowledge of how to manipulate soulpower that he got from the orbs in his body, he still had problems. Firstly, the information he got was just an instruction, he still had to practice, feel, and test it himself before actually making good use of that information. Secondly... he couldn't see the shape of his void power. Sensing his void power and at the same time shaping it, was way more strenuous than just the usual task of manipulation. At first, his classmates thought that he was pretty lucky, but seeing this scene, they couldn't help but pity him.

As time passed by, everyone got used to manipulating their soulpower more and more. Finally, someone raised his arm, indicating that he had finished the task. When everyone looked at that person, they were surprised. It was Beta. The one with the hardest task had finished first.

"Magnificent! Truly a good job, Beta! It only took you an hour to make it! You may now continue with the next shape, cylinder!", Lores said, looking at Beta fondly. He didn't expect Beta to be first at all. He knew how much harder it must be for him to accomplish this task. "Aahh… I'm truly blessed to have this gifted child in my care… I must do my best to protect him while he's still growing." Swore Lores in his heart.

Beta himself thought that it wasn't much. After he got the feeling for it, he simply willed his soulpower to take on the shape that he was imagining and it did. He had created a sphere. Although he couldn't see it, he could feel that it was similar to a small marble. Relying on his senses instead of his eyes proved to not be detrimental and actually helped him.

A few minutes later, Brian also raised his hand, quickly followed by Domian who didn't want to be outdone. They both had finished before the second hour even started. Brian had what looked like a burning pebble in front of him. Domian had a round copper nugget. They were both not satisfied with their time, so they didn't dawdle around and directly started with the next shape.

It took five more hours until everyone had finally finished the sphere. Lores then stopped the class for a bit and signaled them to be quiet.

"You all finished forming at least a sphere now. So, I guess it's time to tell you something. The students in other classes have one week to form the sphere.", Lores said in a calm voice.

One week?! Every one of them had managed to finish it in not even seven hours! The difference was just too big!

"Do you now know what it means to be in the S class? You are not just slightly more talented than the others. You're the cream of the crop! But don't be arrogant! There are still many others out there who are just as, if not even more, talented than you are! There are quite a few families, clans, kings and directors of big companies that let their young talents be home tutored by special experts! Since you already have great talent, the only way left for you to do and not be surpassed by people like that, is to constantly practice.", Lores said in a reprimanding tone as if he knew what they had on their minds.

When they heard the first part about how big the distance of their talent from the others are, most of them really felt like slacking off a bit. But once they heard their teacher reprimanding them before they had even acted on their thought, made them feel like open books. Seeing the ashamed and guilty looks of his students, Lores was satisfied.

"It's good that you understand. Actually, the duration you took to manipulate the sphere is connected to the duration of acquiring your soulpower. The lesser time it took you to bring out your soulpower, the faster you'll be with learning how to manipulate it. Due to having the chance to familiarize with your soulpower longer than the others, your connection is sturdier, thus giving you more control. So, I'm guessing our dear Beta was able to achieve his task a lot faster than all of you.", Lores looked at Beta, waiting for confirmation.

Beta didn't disappoint his teacher and only nodded slightly without showing any arrogance at all. Lores smiled widely which made Beta feel awkward since he can tell that a few eyes were glaring at his direction, even a slight harmless bloodlust oozing. "Aiyaya, girls can be really scary when they are jealous… he just smiled and me and this is what happens…", thought Beta as he kept to himself and acted like he didn't feel anything.

"Teacher, how long did it take for you to finish this task?", asked Harald, a student of the earth element. Even after asking this, he had on a blank face that seemed to be never changing, which reminded everyone of a stone statue.

Lores pushed up his glasses while throwing his head back while saying "One and a half hours. At that time, I was hailed as a genius that only exists every five hundred years."

The girls of the class were smitten by their teacher's performance and skills, eyes glowing with awe. The boys on the other hand had different thoughts.

"Teacher, Beta made it in an hour. What kind of genius is he?", Tristan, a boy with a fiery temper said when he couldn't take in the sight of the girls swarming over their teacher anymore.

Lores suddenly froze. He awkwardly looked at Tristan and finally gave his answer. "Ahem… He is of course a legendary genius!".

After saying that, he suddenly told them class is finished and that they will have a week time to form at least thirty different shapes as he hurriedly slid out of the classroom.

The class was flabbergasted. What just happened? Was he so ashamed that he couldn't stay there any longer? And what's with that unfair treatment? The other classes had one-week time to form one shape and they actually had to do thirty? Too cruel!

Beta was a bit disappointed when he heard his teacher's words. He had already finished twelve shapes, so he wouldn't need much more time to finish the task. He completely disregarded what their teacher said about him being a legendary talent though. He had the help of the two orbs, which made him think that it wasn't that surprising to accomplish such a feat. He happened to be lucky enough, that was all. Plus, he also didn't slack off and put more effort in his training, so he'd rather accept a compliment saying he's a hardworking student rather than a genius.

"To truly improve, I should give myself higher goals... Within this week I will try to form at least sixty shapes!", Beta said, full of determination.