I already knew once again about this feature of the VR game through the teachings of my parents.
There is a training space separate from the rest of the VR world built specifically for each class option available to the citizens of our planet. Each teacher at every academy has their own copy of the space that corresponds with the class they teach.
The elementalist space ended up being much larger than I thought it would be. From what I could see at the moment, it looked to be at least as big as a city.
"What do you know about Elementalist?" Professor Reemar asked me.
"I know that we have to manipulate mana externally, and through body movements.
But I haven't had any practice doing so, because as you said earlier we don't have much mana on our planet." I responded.
Professor Reemar nodded his head and said, "Okay, so just basic knowledge".
I frowned a bit at this, but decided not to judge his response because he is the teacher and I am the student, so maybe I was in fact more ignorant about it than I thought.
Reemar took a stick from out of thin air and started using it to draw symbols in the dirt between him and me.
He first drew a large box before splitting it into four equal boxes.
"Let's first discuss the four main elements.
Wizards and Sorcerers usually have a wide array of spells and elements at their disposal.
This is another area where we Elementalists differ from them. The weakest elementalists only have an element or two available for them to use, decent elementalists can use almost all four, while the great elementalist can not only use all four main elements but one of the sub elements as well.
The four main elements are fire, water, earth, and air. Fire's sub elements are lightning and magma, water's sub element is blood, earth's sub element is metal, and air does not have a sub element as far as we know."
As he said each element he drew a symbol in one of the boxes.
He then drew symbols for the sub elements around their parent elements to finish the demonstration.
"Which element would you like to start with? We can test you for all of them and see which one you can use."
"Can we start with earth?" I asked.
"Sure, follow me."
Reemar turned around and started walking towards one of the mountains that surrounded what I now knew for sure was a volcano.
I assumed it was for fire related things.
"By the way, we elementalist refer to our actions as bending.
It doesn't feel right to say we are using magic, because we have understood that we can't create elements, we just bend the existing ones to our will. I am known as a quadrabender because I can bend all four elements to my will." Reemar said as they walked.
"Hmm." I made a sound to indicate I was listening and understood.
It took a few minutes to reach the bottom of the mountain, but I got to see something amazing once we did.
Professor Reemar, without a word of warning, brought his right foot up and quickly slammed it back down on the ground. A rectangular section of the rock beneath him pushed forward with tremendous speed and launched him high into the air. He didn't come back down until he was on top of the 300 foot tall (91 m) mountain.
"Holy shit…" I mumbled.
It all happened very fast, and I was honestly lucky to even see what he did to achieve this feat.
"If you're that impressed already your socks are going to be knocked off and flown around the world by the end of this lesson." Reemar called down.
His voice didn't sound necessarily loud, but I could hear him clearly.
Reemar then stomped on the ground again, but this time a large boulder popped up from the ground. It was almost a foot taller than the professor and rested right beside him.
Reemar then yelled down the mountain at me again, "I'm going to push this down. Crouch down slightly and push at it with your hands when it is about to hit you."
"Huh?"
It took a few seconds to fully process what he just said.
"Are you insane?!" I yelled back.
"Little bit, but about this, no. Just trust me."
I thought about it for a few seconds before responding, "Okay."
I assumed if I died in this area it wouldn't affect me because this space was built specifically for training. Not to mention I was still a level 1 with 0 experience points, so I didn't really have much to lose at the moment.
I moved to stand in what I assumed would be the path of the boulder and did as Professor Reemar told me to do.
I bent my knees slightly and brought my hands up in anticipation.
"Good! Try to visualize yourself as a boulder. You must become a boulder to stop the boulder, do you understand?"
"Not really, but I'll still try!"
"Haha! That's some good spirit kid!
Alright, here I go!"
Reemar stomped on the ground once again and pushed with his hands towards the boulder. He didn't actually touch the large rock, but his hands still seemed to help move it towards me.
The boulder instantly started rolling down the mountain at a very fast speed.
I had to admit that it was very scary, even knowing I would probably just revive after death if I could not complete the task successfully.
'Be the boulder. Be the boulder. Be the boulder. Be the boulder.' I chanted inside my head.
I even visualized myself turning into a rock as the real rock made its way to the spot I was standing in.
Once it got close enough, I pushed out my arms quickly.
As I made contact with the large rock, I closed my eyes in anticipation.
I kept them closed for a few seconds, but the pain I expected never came.
I opened my eyes slowly to see the boulder sitting in front of my outstretched arms, and just touching my palms.
"Damn." I said in surprise.
Reemar launched himself back down the mountain and used a gust of air to slow descent.
"Good job kid.
Try to remember that sensation every time you bend the earth to your will." He said.
"I'm not sure if I felt anything to be honest." I responded.
I couldn't really remember feeling anything special within myself, I just remember the thoughts of being the boulder before it hit me.
"That's okay. Not everyone can actually feel the elements they're bending as they are doing it. Some people use thoughts and emotions to reinforce and control their bending."
"Okay." I responded.
Reemar then moved his palm from his waist to his head and made a grabbing motion. Three small rocks floated up from the ground and into his palm.
He then extended his hand.
"Take these.
The boulder test makes it seem like the elementalist is ready to do crazy tasks from the start, but it's actually extremely easy to stop the boulder for a basic earth bender. You'll need these rocks to use for practice from now on." He said.
I took the rocks from his hand and examined them. They were not only very hard, but perfectly circular.
"What test would you like to do next?" Reemar asked.
I put the three earth balls into my pocket.
"Ummmm, how about air?"
"Alright.
The air and fire tests are actually the same thing, so we will do one after the other."
Professor Reemar snapped his fingers once again, and this time a candle appeared in his hand.
"Sit." He said.
I did as I was told and sat with my legs crossed.
He handed me the candle before waving his hand to make it alight.
I was once again amazed by his bending skills. With just a wave or a stomp he could do something so cool. Luckily, I kept the surprise off of my face this time, so there was no comment from Reemar, but I have a feeling he knew about my amazement anyway.
"Try to make the candle go out without blowing on it or moving.
If you need to visualize something, try to visualize air flowing peacefully through the atmosphere.
Air is the element of serenity and peace."
I did as he said.
I focused all my brain power on the fire of the candle and tried my best to will the air to snuff out.
After 5 whole minutes, and no luck, I decided to ask Professor Reemar about it.
"I thought we have to do actions with our hands and things like that to control the elements. So, how am I supposed to snuff the fire out without moving?" I asked.
"The physical movement thing doesn't always apply. In cases like these, with the element tests, they are supposed to be so easy that a beginner could do it without even having to move.
The only reason I told you to use your hands with the boulder is because it's easier for people to visualize themselves stopping the boulder with their hands than with their minds."
"Ah, okay." I nodded my head.
"Then I don't think I can use the air element. I've tried everything."
I wasn't one to be stubborn and keep trying when I knew it was useless.
"Alright, let's do the fire test then." Professor Reemar said.
///
For anyone who has noticed the "plot hole" about the VR devices needing mana to strengthen the user, but their being no mana on Vendar, don't worry it's not a plot hole. I have plans to explain that soon, but I realized some might think it is a plot hole until they see the explanation.
Thanks for all the support on both my novels as usual.
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