Kaiser imagined a cup similar to the old man's in hopes of replicating it.
He willed the mana to move outside his body, concentrating in front of him. At first, it was hard to control the amount of mana he was moving, but a few minutes later he did it.
Kaiser was concentrating deeply so the old man didn't bother him. This was the first step to using magic. It was practically the most important step.
His body started becoming tired. Moving mana didn't require any fancy words or hand gestures—though it did help to aim your magic.
He started moving the mana outside of him closer to each other, squishing them together. This is when he began thinking of using rock mana. As that happened, the mana started to manifest.
It was small at first, but it built up with the mana continuously being infused into each other.
After some time, Kaiser noticed something about his magic.
'That's not rock, nor does it look like a cup.'
He tried forming the rock into a cup form, but the rock itself wasn't compacted enough, resulting in plain dirt.
Kaiser tried for another 10 minutes before he ran out of mana, his body utterly drained.
'I didn't get anywhere. It's only dirt.'
The old man who was observing asked, "Are you wondering why you're out of mana?"
"All I did was make a little dirt, so yes."
"It's because you're pulling the mana from every part of your body and trying to use it all to make a simple cup."
"So then why did my mana only make dirt and not rock?"
The old man looked at Kaiser with a small frown, "Because you aren't good at magic yet. You can't master this after one attempt. Everyone is always trying to improve their skill. From the time they first learn to the time they cease living."
Kaiser's face turned red. It seemed he'd accidentally disrespected a lot of people.
He didn't apologize though; he asked a valid question and didn't get much of an answer.
'I'll apologize at some point in the future.'
They stopped talking and the old man sat back down, sighed, and drank his tea.
The time passed slowly and before long a guard ran over to the old man and saluted.
"Good Evening, Branch Head!"
"Soldier."
"I am to relay to you about the expedition taking off tomorrow, sir!"
The old man looked surprised.
"So it's happening already. Alright, I get it, you may leave."
"Sir!" The guard, still saluting, said before running off.
Kaiser's interest was piqued.
"Hey teacher, about that expedition."
"You'll be going along, so don't worry. It's a demon subjugation expedition."
'Demons?' Kaiser thought, unsure of what those were.
Demons, the lackeys of the devils.
Lower-ranked devils control most demons while a higher-ranking devil can control them as well.
The devil's ranks consist of low-rank, middle-rank, and high-ranking devils. However, some devils rank even higher.
They are the seven sins.
"We won't have as much time as I thought so before you leave, I'm going to give you two things. First, I'll show you an improved meditation to the one you're using now. It's the best you'll find for a long time, and you'll pick it up easier. I'll give you the second thing when you leave."
Kaiser forgot about the demon subjugation. An improved meditation would be fantastic.
After all, that would be the slowest part of his growth.
"I'm ready," he said eagerly.
They walked back towards the main estate. Walked to the third floor and entered the same dining room from when he first woke up.
'I've gotten stronger since then.' Kaiser felt he was making progress.
"I'm going to direct my mana into your body and guide it. Take note of how I do every part of the process."
"Yes, Teacher."
The old man nodded and extended his hand toward Kaiser.
The atmosphere in the room shifted as a soft, yet powerful, mana surrounded the Branch Head's hands. Kaiser could sense it. The old man's mana was slowly entering his body, co-existing with his own. It was a strange feeling.
"Close your eyes, Kaiser," the old man instructed. "Focus on the mana moving in your body."
Kaiser did as he was told, shutting his eyes and turning his attention inward. He could sense the emptiness of his remaining mana. Depleted from his earlier attempts at creating the rock cup.
The old man's mana approached his and took control of the flow in his body.
This was severely uncomfortable for Kaiser. He'd been using his meditation technique whenever he could, so he was used to that feeling. However, this was out of his control. Hopefully, the old man didn't want Kaiser dead.
It wasn't hard exploding your body inside out if you lost control of your mana.
Kaiser paid attention as best he could. His teacher kept rerunning the mana through him.
The technique still involved his eyes, but now it was much more refined. The new one was like a refined iron bar whereas the original was only iron ore.
--Two Hours Later--
"I think I got it," Kaiser said, feeling comfortable with his ability now.
Most of the time he was learning the old man used his mana, but he tried it out by himself at the end and completed it successfully.
'If only I gained mana from having the teacher do the meditation for me.'
"Good and before you leave. Here's the second gift." The old man said handing over a leather pouch.
Opening it, Kaiser saw a smooth, dark stone with faint, glowing veins of silver running through it.
"That's called a Control Crutch."
"A crutch?" Kaiser asked, not liking the sound of it.
The old man chuckled, "Yes, a crutch. It amplifies your control of mana while you hold it. It can be good for learning, but do not get used to it."
Kaiser understood. It's a crutch meant to be learned from, not relied on.
"Thank you," Kaiser said softly. Something like this had to cost a lot.
"You're my student. The stronger you are, the stronger I am. Now, get some sleep. You'll need your energy tomorrow."
Kaiser started walking to the door, "I'm off then."
The old man waved as Kaiser shut the doors behind him.
With a touch of longing in his voice the old man silently said, "Sarah, I bet you didn't think your son would use that same crutch."