We met Carin in the same courtyard as last time. The place was already good as new, and there was no sign of the damage we had caused the last time. That is not surprising, considering how many mages are here.
"I'll be starting with you first, Rune."
"What about me?"
"Do whatever you want for now. I'll get to you after." Luna seemed a little irritated at her response but walked off without putting up much of a fight. She appeared more mellowed out today, so that's good.
Carin started by asking me what I came up with when thinking about the times I used body activation. I told her It felt like heat rising inside me, growing pressure, and then a feeling of calmness.
"That's a good way to describe it. The best method to help with training this technique is visualization. Picture your body as a vessel and imagine that power building inside it." I closed my eyes to focus and did as she told me while trying to get a clear image in my head.
"Can you feel it, the pressure building up?"
"I think so."
"Good. If the pressure doesn't stop and you feel any discomfort, you need to stop and wait a few moments before trying again to avoid injuring yourself. I'll be here to give you pointers, but it's something you will ultimately have to achieve on your own."
Carin left my said and went over to help Luna. It seems like I will be on my own for most of this training. After numerous attempts, I was beginning to understand how difficult this was. It's not that hard to get the technique started. The challenge comes in trying to get it to plateau and achieve that state of calmness.
"Maybe I'm missing something." It felt like the pressure kept building and building until the so-called 'vessel' started to crack. I tried adding another step by visualizing the power being compressed and contained. It was tough at first, but eventually, I began to see results. I was reaching the plateau but was still failing to contain the heat.
I decided to take a short break for a few moments and observe how things were going with the other two. Carin seemed to be teaching Luna Various stances and techniques and then sparring with her once she had the basics down. I'm sure once she polishes up her skills Luna will become a force to be reckoned with. She is like an unrefined gem.
I didn't want to fall behind and went back to my training. I continued with the same strategy, and after some more attempts, it worked. I finally achieved that state of calmness. This was the first time I had ever consciously done it, and I could feel the strength surging in my body. It felt violent yet controlled, like a bottled-up storm.
"I see you are making good progress. I think it's time for a change in scenery." Carin said, walking over to my side. She took out her holo-plate and teleported to another location with her. We had already registered each other, so the process was simple.
When we reached our destination, the three of us were in a large white room with a terminal in the center.
"This is a special room in the main branch of the adventurers guild that high-ranking members use for training. It's equipped with various sigils, including those with special magic. Quite handy for practicing dangerous techniques. Normally you wouldn't be able to use this place until your graduate, but lucky for you, you have good connections."
Carin then walked to the terminal and explained how the room worked. By placing your holo-plate onto the terminal to register yourself as the user and offering a bit of mana, you can select the parameters you would like for your training session. This includes terrain, room size, obstacles, and even the weather.
At Carin's instruction, we went with a grassy plains terrain under a clear blue sky. Luna and I marveled in admiration at the room changing around us. It was the time either of us had ever seen something like this.
The size of the room Carin had me make was massive and stretched far enough that there was a clear horizon line. Once everything was set up, we began the next step.
"Alright, the next step in the process is to take what you have learned and focus it on a single part of the body. This could be your arms, hands, or even your legs. For now, let's start with your legs. Using the same visualization method as before, I want you to try and isolate it in the desired area."
Isolate it in one spot. Okay, sounds easy enough. I did as she said, and it only took me a few attempts to get the hang of it. After spending most of our session on the basics doing this much was a lot easier. Something feels off, though. Did I mess it up?
"Uh, Rune? While that's very nice, and I'm tempted to find out what that beast is capable of, I believe I said to focus on your legs." Confused by her comment, I opened my eyes to try and find out what she was talking about.
"oh"
Yeah, I see what she's talking about now. I looked down and saw that my meat had grown to epic proportions. It was truly monstrous, enough so that it could no longer be contained, and had burst up from the waist of my pants. I quickly undid the technique and apologized.
"Err, sorry about that."
"It's fine. Just try it again. . ."
"I have to say, though, that's enough to make even centaur women drool over the sight. . . " she murmured.
"What was that?"
*cough*
"It was nothing. Stop losing focus."
I did as she said, and this time I was successful. My legs bulked up a bit, and I felt the flow of power focused in them. Carin then had me run around for a bit to get used to moving in this state before she upped the ante.
"I want you to add your arms into the mix now. It can be a single arm or both; it doesn't matter. You just need to maintain control for the next exercise."
I did as she said and found this part much more difficult. Not only did I have to picture separate vessels encompassing different parts of my body, but I also had to regulate them evenly. If I failed to control the pressure in either one, it would also mess up my control of the other. It took some time, but eventually, I got the hang of it.
"Ok. I'm altering the settings now so that the room places stone obstacles in your way as you move. I want you to alternate between moving around them and destroying them with a punch. Continue with that for the remainder. Luna and I will move away to train while you do so. As always, stop immediately if you feel yourself slipping."