Patricia looks at her professor, "What is it, Miss Cassidy?" She and her professor entered the classroom, "I need you to look out for Veronika." Patricia bites her lip, "I am already doing that before you even said it, Miss Cassidy. The thing is… she doesn't want to. Every time that I tried to protect her, she's always pushing me away, telling me that I should avoid her."
"That kid has gone through some things, I can't blame her if she's acting like that." Cassidy sighs, "I can't always be by her side, even that's my duty as your secondary guardian. I want to make her feel safe especially now that she has returned. She's a tough young lady, I see that through her, but people could only handle some things. Even she's prepared with what will she encounter once more, I'm afraid that no one is mentally and emotionally strong enough to just endure it all. A friend will be suitable for her, someone that she could lean onto. Since you guys are already roommates, I think you will be perfect for the task."
"I will try, Miss Cassidy. It's just… if she stopped pushing me away, I could do that quickly as possible." Cassidy smiles, "Don't worry, the tough shell she's in will open up for you. It's just she's cautious after everything that has happened to her. I understand that her trust would not be for everyone, given the events before this day. She said it herself that if she just didn't want the best future for herself, she wouldn't be coming back in here."
"Why does she not want to come back? Is there something that's still bothering her in school? Maybe I could take care of it." Cassidy chuckles, "You're a brave and a kind woman, Patricia, but I am afraid you can't handle it by yourself. Even I, a teacher who has the greater ability to do an intervention, couldn't do anything for a struggling student like her. She said that she could handle it. I trust her but as I said, people could only take some until they've reached their limits. That's why I am entrusting you to at least try to soften her hardened heart. If there's anyone who could relate more than me, it's someone that's almost the same age as her."
"I understand, Miss Cassidy, but won't you mind telling me what really happened to her?" Cassidy sighs, "I think it's best if the news comes from the one who experienced it, not from someone who barely knows everything about it. I was just there to listen to her thoughts, but as secretive as she is, I don't know everything for you to fully understand her. I also don't really want to tell something that she might not want for anyone to know rather the ones who she trusted the most. Besides, we got a training to do, don't we?"
"Right," Patricia takes a deep breath, "Sorry for the sideline, Miss Cassidy." The professor giggles, "It's fine, Patricia. A small talk before training wouldn't hurt, we've got the whole afternoon in our hands if you don't have anything to do."
"Not much, I could accomplish them maybe in an hour or two." Cassidy smiles, "Great to hear that you are a diligent student. Anyway, let us start our training, our very first one in fact." Patricia nods as they walked to the very center of the classroom.
"The very principle of conjugating and manipulating elements is for you to have a deep connection with your inner self and a control of your emotion." Cassidy opens up her palm which summoned leaves atop it, swirling around in a circle. "If your inner self is chaotic and your emotions are uncontrolled, your elemental power will reflect it." The leaves started to swirl around rapidly as if it was blasted by a powerful wind. Cassidy closes her hands that made them disintegrate into nothingness.
"You need to connect with your inner self as well to command elements. Your core is what conjures the elements, you are the commander, and your body is the tool in bringing this elemental prowess into reality. In my class, I will teach you how to summon and conjure elements, but I think an advanced study wouldn't hurt for you."
Patricia nods as she watches her professor conjure leaves once more but around her body. "When do you summon your crystals? What situations you were most in when you conjure them into reality?"
"When… I am scared or angry… The first time I summoned crystals was a defense mechanism against my classmates back on Earth. They were bullying me for my hand, I just pushed them and suddenly, crystals appeared." Cassidy nods, "I believe this is also an effect of the sudden release of magic on Earth. If it weren't for it, I believe you couldn't conjure them in any way. I don't blame you for not having a connection with your magic core, I believe that you don't know it, do you?"
Patricia nods, "It was kept secret by my father and grandmother, I just knew it when… I almost killed my father." She feels her eyes swelling in tears and her hand caressing her back." "Do you need a moment, Patricia?" The young lady looks at her and wipes the tears that were on her eyes. "No, we could continue. I am sorry for suddenly crying."
"It's fine, Patricia. You could go on if that frees your heart from the pain. I am here to listen for you." Patricia insisted, "Let's continue, Miss Cassidy. I believe this is just a waste of time that is supposed to be allowed for my training. I am fine." Her professor nods, "Very well. Based on my observations, most of your encounters that are seemingly on Earth are because of your disconnection with your magic core. Even you have a natural connection, it only resonates with your emotions but not your conscience. For example, in your encounter with Vivian, you are passionate about saving someone which triggered your core's fighting sense."
"So, it means, those crystals were meant to hurt someone?" Cassidy shakes her head, "Whether an element that is conjured an attack, defense, or just anything, in particular, it's up to the holder of said elements how they will use it. I could summon soft-edge leaves and make it my offense, your input makes the difference."
"So it's really my fault that I have done those things." Cassidy holds her shoulder, "You have not yet fully connected with your magic core, both of you two have vague communications with each other. The magic core just did its thing, and you did what you thought was right, it's just things didn't come out that well. Today, we will fix that. I will show you a technique that's used to achieve tranquility, Pyrinas Zen."
"What is that? Some sort of meditation?" Cassidy nods, "Exactly. This meditation has been used to connect with your inner self and even used to regenerate mana quickly without any substances to aid in doing so."
The professor suddenly floats in the air with one of the legs folded and the other one is hanging from the ankle of the previous one. Patricia suddenly floats as well which signals her to copy her professor's stance. "Take a deep breath and think everything that makes you calm. Don't let your mind crowd your thoughts." Cassidy closes her eyes and moves her hand on her chest. Three fingers were upon each hand, with the index finger and thumb forming a circle. The other hand was inverted and the other was upright, merging the circles. Patricia follows suit and closes her eyes as well.
Her vision was darkened but slowly light appears in front of her. She was in a place filled with blue gradients and seemingly stars surrounding the skies. In the middle of it was a big ball of the wisp, swirling around in itself. She approaches it out of curiosity. In the middle of it was a diamond-shaped line that swirls towards the center. In it was yet another symbol that resembles half of a flower, with the petals surrounding it resembling much more of a crystal rather than the latter.
Patricia looks at the big ball of wisp once again, confused about what this place is. "Is this the core that Miss Cassidy is talking about?" She looks around, amazed at how beautiful the place was even with the constant blue theme. She looks back at the symbol, as she stares at it more, the urge to touch grows even more. Minutes later, she finally gave up on the urge and touches the symbol on which she suddenly woke up in reality.
Cassidy opens her eyes as well, she seems happy that Patricia was calmer than she was earlier. "I believe your meeting with your magic core went pleasantly, wasn't it?" Patricia was still confused, "How… Why…" She muttered to herself. Cassidy giggles, "This meditation is the gateway to connecting with your inner self and composing one's thoughts. It's the time where mind and the core is at its most potential, where they could communicate better than any time."
They slowly descended on their feet, "If you needed to do that again, just relax and go in the position we were just in." "But I don't know how to float…" Cassidy chuckles, "Such magic will be basic once you get used to it. Just communicate with your core, and it will do what you said. But just a warning for you, if you ever find yourself in a situation where your core seems severely out of control, don't do that immediately. Calm down first before you even attempt to. I knew a lot of people who had been ill because of that mistake, even my students do it as well, you're no exception."
"Understood, Miss Cassidy." Her professor, "Very well. Now, conjure a crystal. Even just a small one on your palm." Patricia nods and closes her eyes. She raises her hand and opens her palm. She opens her eyes and was disappointed that nothing came out. "It's fine, try again. Just command your core and prepare your palm. Maybe think how you have conjured one before, try having more passion on doing it."
Patricia nods and tries it one more time, but this time she was more passionate to conjure even just one. As she opens her eyes, she was surrounded by a lot of beautiful crystals. It was something, it was rather more than what her professor asked for her. "I am sorry, but I won't count this. You need to control how much you conjure. Remember, all of these costs mana. Summoning beyond what you need is just a waste of your energy and mana itself. Try again."
Patricia nods and closes her eyes again. She calms herself a little but still preserves the passion she had before. She takes a deep breath and opens her palm. She slowly opens her eyes and was excited to see a singular thin crystal in her hand. She jumps in the joy that causes a lot of crystals to conjure again around her. Her celebration stopped as she accidentally summoned more.
Cassidy giggles, "I will count the one you did before. The last one was your input, but I need to say, you're still not in full control. Your core is still heavily affected by your strong emotions. It's not that bad, but it should not be always the case. Besides that, you seem learned something today."
Patricia looks at the mark she has on her arm, some mana was consumed, but not too much like before. "That's pretty much everything for today. I thought we will be in here for hours on end, but you have exceeded my expectations today, Miss Patricia. You are now dismissed."
Patricia went home after a successful class with Miss Cassidy. She spent her whole afternoon playing with what she have learned today. Night came and her roommate came home as well. Patricia looks at her and didn't hesitate to approach her, "Hey, could we talk for a moment?"