There I was, tangled up in the trees, left with more bruises than a class with Professor Unda.
"ORIN!" I shouted, calling to my companion.
'You know I can read your thoughts right?'
'Help me down, I can get the plants off but I won't have time to stop my fall.'
'Free yourself from the branches, I'll catch you.'
I did as Orin commanded and found myself in his jaws, then on the forest floor.
"Thanks, Orin, I have some theories about Eneru that I need to test."
"Need me to bring you into the air again?"
"Nah, I need you to help me with your Eneru."
'You're going to do something dangerous again aren't you?'
'No.' I hid my plans in a corner of my mind that no-one sharing my mind could see.
Spirit kept talking but ultimately relented to let me do my experiments.
"First is Wind Eneru, I'm quite sure it's more like Pressure Eneru, meaning it could probably manipulate water if it is infused with Eneru. My past life's work on steam pipes gave me the idea."
After a short ride on Orin, we arrived at a saltwater lake, one that I confirmed to be Eneru rich.
"Try manipulating the pressure of the water."
"Sure."
The water responded to Orin's commands and became a high pressure ball.
"Alright, so since that worked, now the only question is whether you can use telekinesis on the water. Because if you can, a more apt name might be Fluid Eneru."
"Couldn't even use telekinesis on air, I doubt the water will work."
Despite his attempts, both on air and in water, Orin could not move either.
"Alright, that's ok, now we know it's real capabilities and limitations."
"What's next?"
"Next is Heat Eneru, I'm convinced that it's the same as Cold. I worked on diesel engines in my past life and I know that heat is a form of energy, and cold is the absence of that energy. I need a subject. Yomo and Laura are the only two people I know who can use my hypothesized Thermal Eneru and gods know I'm not getting Laura's help."
"Hey, Yomo!"
"Ingeneer! What's up?" That was my new nickname, I both loved and hated it.
"I need your help. You can use Cold Eneru right?"
"Yessir"
"Ok, so hear me out here, Cold and Heat Eneru have the same reaction to the identification crystal right?"
"I'm not sure I follow."
"Don't worry, just do what I say and I think you can use Heat Eneru. What is the process you use to make an ice knife?"
"Well, I use the Eneru in my core to calm the air until the water vapor in the air solidifies into ice."
"Alright, reverse that. Excite the air."
I handed him a stick and let him focus. After a few moments a heat mirage appeared around the stick, but when I looked up Yomo was sweating.
"That's enough Yomo, it worked perfectly."
Yomo gasped for air and breathed heavily for a moment.
"That is INTENSE!"
'Hmm, maybe heat and cold are more like pseudo-affinities with thermal magic. In this case, it makes it difficult, but not impossible, to manipulate the opposite Eneru. It is possible that it just requires practice though.'
"I'd practice using heat, it's important that you learn both heat and cold."
'That's enough theory crafting for today, I've got to prepare for the benchmark for the second year.'
After questioning a few professors I managed to get the schedule for the exam day.
There were four tests on the first day: Eneruology II, Enchantment, Physics II, and... Metal Weaving? Whatever that meant. The following day, we had four more Runic Language II, Math II, Self-Defense, and Aptitude. The difference now was that there was a practical exam on the third day, and there was absolutely no information about it.
'So, the two subjects I'll focus on learning more about are Metal Weaving and the practical exam.'
I went to the library and took the book "Metal Weaving for the Uninitiated"
I sat under my tree and skimmed through the book, looking for key concepts.
'Metal Weaving is literally just making metal Eneru conductive, meaning it can take enchantments and I can manipulate it. I'm going to need so many lessons on this.'
Next up I need to collect information on the practical exam. After asking around for a while, it became clear that the exam is always different, but that doesn't mean I can't gather intelligence on it. I went back to the library and opened the impossibly large book of school records. After reading for several hours I came to a conclusion.
'There is never violence, and there is a pattern. There are three tests, one to test agility, then one to test strength, and finally one to test wits. The tests were almost never literally three tests, they might be two or even just one, but they always had components that made up the three tests.'
'You cannot tell your friends if you want to win.' Spirit broke the silence in my head
'No worries, they'll have to figure it out themselves, I'm not giving freebies just because they're my friends.'
'Ah, isn't it nice to finally agree on something?'
'Yeah, that way you don't have to nag me for the next ten days about it.'
'I don't nag!'
'Do too'
'If anyone nags you it's Teacher.'
'Teacher- wait, shut up, I have an idea.'
I opened my glider and started manipulation the air around me, making a high-pressure zone below my wings and a low-pressure zone above my wings, generating lift. I hovered barely above the ground for a bit but I slowly increased the pressure difference between the top and bottom of my wings. I went up faster and faster, and once I was high enough, I pushed the glider forward with telekinesis. I changed my glasses into flight goggles and went faster and faster, I found myself back at the schoolyard and I had gathered a crowd.
'Let's give them a show. Shall we?'
'Dangerous stunts are my forte Spirit, let's go'
I flew around doing flips and rolls for a bit and attempted landing.
'Retract your wings right before you hit the ground, make an air cushion to slow your fall, and tuck and roll.' Spirit had been tasked with finding a way to land safely.
'Yeah! You'll land safely and look awesome!' Orin chimed in.
I dove towards the ground and pulled up at the last moment, bleeding a lot of my velocity. I used telekinesis to slow myself down further, finally retracting my wings and rolling to safety.
"WOOOO!" I shouted, "FLYING IS AWESOME!"