Lucas was sitting outside in a snowstorm trying to meditate. Elam had given him the next almost impossible task. At first, he needed to create something that could only be done by learning a technique that wasn't available to him, and now he needed to become an expert in that technique.
Magicule manipulation, something mostly used to create spells and specific runes, was usually learned after Advanced Magic, but Lucas wasn't so lucky. There were a lot of things he was missing if he wanted to use Advanced Magic, but he didn't have the time and resources to research it.
Now, all his focus was placed between his hands, there was a small flame flickering in the cold wind. The storm that was raging around him was troublesome to deal with, especially when it came to keeping his flame lit. In theory, it was quite simple to keep the flame lit, you simply needed to know how much energy it required to withstand the storm and add a bit more.
But gauging how much energy was necessary wasn't so easy since a storm isn't so structured, harsh winds might appear for a moment or a long time. Chaos was the only structured thing in a storm. His flame had to be stable and defended against the tempest around him. He had been sitting there for quite some time and only then did he get a tiny flame going.
Keeping it active took too much energy, yet he needed more experiments in order to succeed in his next task.
'To create a flame that can just withstand the storm, that dude has to be a sadist.'
'You do realize that you're the same if not worse?'
'No, that's not true, I simply enjoy others' despair, that's all.'
'And what do you think the exact definition is of a sadist?'
'You better keep your attention on that baby flame or it's going to be snuffed out.'
'Won't you help me with this mess?'
'We have the same knowledge, how could I do better than you?'
'Cause you think differently.'
'Nah, this isn't my area of expertise, this just sucks.'
The storm kept raging around him, Lucas was strong, stronger than a normal beginner Rank 1 mage even. But that didn't mean that his body was strong enough to handle the cold for so long. The only good thing was that his mana pool was constantly being refilled, at first he was surprised to find out that the storm contained magic. But he simply attributed it to some magical phenomenon that could happen. That or it was manmade, but he didn't have enough information to come to a conclusion.
Elam was still in his cabin, tucked into his little warm blanket. The cabin itself was already pretty warm, but that didn't stop him from lying on his couch, trying to sleep.
"Hmm? Did the boy bring a friend?", he had his eyes closed, but opened them for a single second to check on the tail that his student brought. "Huh? He seems like...no that wouldn't be the case, those don't get to move on their own.", he said before closing his eyes again.
It had been quite some time since he sent Lucas outside to work on his next task. "It shouldn't be that hard, what's taking him so long? Urgh.", he got off his couch and moved outside. The cold almost touched his skin before a bubble of warmth spread around him. The storm couldn't harm or cool him down in the slightest. He left behind a pool of warm water with every step.
At first, he couldn't see Lucas anywhere, and while the storm could be the cause, it wasn't. Elam didn't have any problems looking through the snowstorm, his eyes were even closed. Instead, the only reason he couldn't see him visually was because of something quite simple.
Around the place where he last saw Lucas was a little mountain of snow, 'He couldn't keep himself warm?'
SNAP
A single finger snap later, Lucas was revealed under the pile of snow. It all dissolved in moments before steaming away. Lucas was like an unmoving statue, stuck in his meditative pose. At first, Elam thought he was frozen to death, but looking between his hands he could see an extremely tiny flame.
"Ha! Hahaha, great!", Elam was ecstatic. Lucas had only been working on it for a few hours, but he had already achieved a flame that could just withstand the cold around him. The snowstorm was a strong chaotic force, but the almost indiscernible flame was standing strong. It had just enough energy to survive, but not enough to actually produce any warmth.
"A cold flame, hahaha to think he would already be this far. Looks like I'll have to start training him seriously now... God dammit.", after realizing that his almost non-existing workload was about to increase again, he started to weep.
The next day Lucas came down from the mountain to meet up with Eleven.
'Last time we were lucky that everything went so well, this time I want us to be completely prepared.'
'There's no way to do that, Eleven is someone we don't know anything about, we could only guess and were fortunate enough to be correct.'
Lucas reflected back on when they met in the hallways of the school, he had gone back to Gilbert to ask for something. Yet, when he was leaving he found Eleven looking like a lost kind in the building. He couldn't blame him in the slightest, after all, Lucas was lost most of the time in there, but he was starting to figure it out. Hence why he found the exit so quickly after only taking a few wrong turns, not that Eleven could tell.
While he was walking towards the meeting spot he went over his finances. When he arrived he barely had any money, but after an unfortunate dispute with a local baron, his pockets were filled. Though it was stealing, Lucas felt that it was justified considering the baron made his money from selling and exploiting slaves. Still, the money he had was only useful in the mortal world, not one of the mages. He needed to start looking for a source of income but hadn't found one yet.
Pondering further didn't result in any practical ideas, but he did have a few things in mind. He was about to reach the meeting spot but halted. The meeting spot was in an alley somewhere in the slums, Lucas didn't like being in a vulnerable position, so he changed things up. He jumped on the roof of a neighboring house before waiting until the appointed time.
Only minutes later, way before the appointed time, Eleven arrived on the roof across from him. Since Lucas had to wait, he created a chair out of magic and took a book to read. Looking up from his pages, he could see Eleven hesitate for a moment.
'What the hell is he doing? He looks like a little kid who's terrified of talking to a stranger.'
'What an oddly specific description, but you're right. I guess we should go talk to him.'
But before he could put his book away Eleven had leaped over the alley and respectfully bowed, although lightly. Lucas didn't know what was happening, but took it as good companionship, smiling back at him.