Formation Experts' Duel

I met up with Remi the following day. She made some improvements, but required a few tips here and there. We didn't chat for long, since I planned to visit the Academy's library. With the feather my grandpa provided, I could access the third floor at most. The last floor was designated for the top students of the First Class, as well as the teachers.

Henry was one of such students, since his feather had a golden tip. Of course that didn't change much, the third floor Formations were good enough at that stage. The selection of books on the third floor wasn't as big as the previous floor. Moreover, each book mostly focused on one Formation at most.

The books explained the whole process in great details, which made it even easier to learn. Though I found that their Formations were a bit different than ours. The differences weren't big usually, but they were obvious to someone who studied something else. Our Formations had different flows, but Human Formations had one flow only. The so called monodirectional Formations, which could only work under that certain flow.

Once disrupted, the Formation would break by itself. That reminded me of something from my childhood. My grandpa, during his first visit, placed a Formation on a sword. He didn't activate the Formation himself, but rather assigned that task to my mother. After checking out the Human Formations, I was able to figure out why the Formation broke that time. The answer was; on purpose. My mother knew about the monodirectional Formations, hence she purposefully disturbed the flow.

I had no clue why she did that in the first place, but the end results made sense. Grandpa's Formations wouldn't simply explode, especially with his granddaughter around. 'Moreover, these are supposedly advanced Formations, but they use a lot of intermediate Runes. Maybe the last floor has more books with advanced Runes only. I'll learn a few of these, then ask grandpa to grant me access to the last floor', I figured.

I couldn't copy or take any books and notes outside. The students were only allowed to study the Formations at the library. Though it was a bit painful, I remained at the library for most of the day. Before the sunset, I've managed to memorize a few Formations. They weren't that difficult, surely nothing compared to the Formations used for the fast travel Formation. Though that gave me something to show to my grandpa.

Upon my return to the tower, I learned that Tara and Teri went on an unusual date. They used most of their money to buy some things, which they'd sell for more profit elsewhere. "You could at least pay more attention to your boyfriend, you know?", "Teri didn't complain. Besides, we visited a few nice places too. Why, are you jealous? I heard from Dawn that some sort of guy was stealing glances at you. Hehe, why don't you try him?", she replied.

"Whatever, have fun then", I replied before heading to my room. "You sat at that library for most of the day, eh?", Dawn asked. "Formations are my interest after all. What about you? Tara and Teri went on a 'date', so you had to spend this whole time all alone", "Really? I'm not bored, don't worry about me. Besides, I've managed to check some things out in the meantime… Something bothers me about this Academy", she replied.

"Hmm? What did you find exactly?", "The students are weird. I'd understand rivalry, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Moreover, there are certain groups within the students. I'm not talking friends, but rather factions. That doesn't seem to concern the Third Class students, but Second and First Class, that's a different story. I've seen how people challenge each other rather seriously, which doesn't seem to be that rare", she explained.

"That's quite accurate. I had the same thoughts about those First Class students. They also discredited past figures from their achievements. I'm not sure why", "Maybe ask your grandpa. He's bound to know more than we can observe", she proposed.

"Nah, he's not going to answer such questions. Perhaps he would about the discredited people, but not much else. I'll try the library later on. I don't have the access to the last floor, but maybe there will be some answers there", I replied. Dawn decided to watch the people of the Academy a bit more. Both of us knew something wasn't right, and she treated that as a sort of training.

Of course the affairs of the Academy didn't really concern us, yet something compelled me to find out more. Perhaps curiosity, or the fact that Remi and grandpa lived there. We decided to leave it at that for the night, and hit our beds.

The next day, I showcased a few Formations for my grandpa. "Really good, and you managed that in a single day?", he praised. "Yea, once you know Formations to such an extent, learning something new shouldn't be an issue, right?", "Hehe, no wonder you felt so confident in your skills. Very well, I'll make a new feather for you. Since these Formations don't pose much of a challenge, I wonder how you'll find the Formations on the top floor", he replied.

"We'll see... I have a question though. We visited that Hall of Founders in the city, and they had some Formation masters and experts on display. There were a few which were supposedly discredited, why?", I decided to ask. "... Well, that's many years ago, and the Academy decided not to honour their achievements. Though as you pointed out, people can learn about them in the Hall of Founders". His reply didn't contain any answers. He basically repeated me.

"Yea, but that's not an answer. I asked why?", "... They didn't conform to the rules set out by the Academy. Questioned things and such, therefore they were discredited", he replied. I wasn't sure what rules he meant, but grandpa didn't want to continue that subject. He told me not to worry about it, and focus on the Formations instead.

'Grandpa told the truth, but not the whole truth. He hid something from me, and simply doesn't want me to get involved', I figured, once outside his office. Ignorance is bliss, as people say, but that didn't help my curiosity at all. My other option was Peet, he seemed interested in me for some reason. I decided to use that to my advantage, and maybe find out more.

I planned on searching for him, but that turned out to be unnecessary. Henry and others found me instead. Rather than found, they waited for me at the bottom of my grandpa's tower. "Good morning, Anna. How's your stay at the Academy?", Henry asked. "Hehe, there are loads of Formations in the library, and a whole city to enjoy ourselves. I'm not complaining", I replied.

They seemed really pleased with my attitude towards Formations, and the city. Henry even proposed testing out our Formations, something of a spar but for Formation experts. I decided to agree, since Peet was there, and therefore my chance to speak with him.

Henry and his group took me to the main building, then to one of the private rooms. No one would disturb us, we could compare our skills in peace. They urged me to go first, and so me and Henry stepped towards the middle of the room. "Choose any Formation you want, and I'll do the same. Once we are done, we'll activate both of them at the same time, and see which one is stronger", he explained.

I nodded, and decided on a water based Formation. Of course the Formation I'd use belonged to the Academy, therefore none of the Northern techniques would be revealed to them. Both of us focused on our Formations, and mine got finished first. Henry took a bit longer, but completed his Formation shortly after me.

"Three, two, one… Start!", he exclaimed while both of us activated the Formations. Henry's choice was fire based Formation, therefore he was at a disadvantage already. My Formation was called Expanding Pond Formation. As the name suggested, from a simple puddle at first, the volume grew bigger and bigger, until most of the floor was covered with water.

Henry's Formation burned some of the water, producing steam in the process, but he wouldn't win. The Formation belonged to the Academy, but the flow and expertise of Runes belong to me. A short while later, my Formation created enough water to completely extinguish the flame. I've won, but mostly because my choice was very advantageous.

"I've noticed that your Runes are really good, actually, better than any of us here", John commented. "Yea, I've practiced for a long time. Besides, I had an advantage", I replied. "I'm surprised myself. Taking the advantage under consideration, you had an upper hand, but my Formation wasn't weak by any means. You have great talent, and I'm sure you'll reach mastery in the future", Henry praised, but didn't seem that happy.

"How about we have a go next?", Mike proposed. "Sure, we can have a go as well", I agreed since there were three Formations in my arsenal. Of course counting the ones from the Academy only. We chose a Formation each, and worked on it. The others were eyeing me much more closely that time. They wanted to see my technique properly, but I didn't modify these Formations in any way. They could watch, but wouldn't get a lot out of it.

My choice was a wind based Formation, whereas Mike chose an earth based one. He produced a sturdy and thick stone wall, while I produced a few wind blades. In the end, his earth wall managed to survive. Mostly because the effects of my Formation weren't constant. Once the wind blades got released, that was that. We weren't allowed to activate the Formation once more.

"I'm surprised you are so proficient in two areas. Wind and water, quite the unusual combination", John said. I wasn't sure what he meant. I was proficient with all my Formations, no matter which Element. "You guys only use water Formations, for example?", I asked.

"Yea, people usually specialise in one area. Of course more talented people do specialise in two. John for example specialises in wind and auxiliary Formations. Mike in earth Formations, Mila in water Formations, while Peet in wind Formations. I specialise in fire and earth Formations", Henry explained.

'Does that mean they only learn about the Runes necessary for these types of Formations? That's dumb, and inefficient', I figured, but decided not to question it. John was next to propose another spar, but got declined. "Spar between each other a bit. I've already shown you some of my best Formations". With that excuse, they left me alone.