As Lucian landed on the ground with a confident grin, the last grain of sand slipped through the hourglass. Amara's face was frozen in surprise, she hadn't expected Lucian to use such a tactic.
Lucian stood up, a cheeky smile on his face. "How was that?" he asked.
Amara snapped out of her thoughts, turning to see Lucian standing proudly with his hands on his hips.
"Bet you didn't think I'd pull that off." he said, clearly proud.
Amara was surprised but quickly recovered, knowing Lucian's resourcefulness. "I'll admit, you caught me off guard a bit. How did you come up with that plan?" she asked, genuinely curious.
"Well, I knew a direct attack wouldn't work, so I needed a surprise. I held back from using fire to save it for a sneak attack. I used almost all my mana to build up a huge fire wall, hoping it would hide my position and mana signature. Then, I jumped through the flames and released everything in one final strike." he explained, beaming with pride.
"So you exhausted nearly all your mana?" Amara asked, concerned.
"Yup… and I don't feel so good." Lucian admitted, before collapsing onto his back. Amara hurried over, placing her hand on him to share some of her own mana. Within moments, Lucian felt his strength returning, and he noticed a familiar sensation.
"Was that mana channeling just now?" he asked.
Amara nodded. "Seems like you know about channeling. Yes, I transferred some mana into you."
'So channeling can also work like that… interesting.' Lucian thought, growing even more curious.
"Can you teach me how to learn channeling more efficiently?"
"Have you tried channeling before?" Amara asked.
"Yeah… but it didn't go too well," Lucian admitted.
"You probably hurt yourself, didn't you?"
Lucian was surprised. "How did you know?"
"It's common for people who don't know channeling to nearly push themselves to exhaustion or injury."
"Really? Then could you teach me the proper way to channel mana?" he asked earnestly.
"Unfortunately, channeling can't be learned through theory alone. It takes hands-on training." Amara replied, her tone regretful.
"Is there anything you can tell me to make it easier?"
"Well, there were a few things Professor Hilda Herta shared with me during my training," Amara said thoughtfully.
"Like what?"
"I remember her saying that the first step to mana channeling is to move with the mana, not ahead or behind it, and never to force it." she explained.
'Move with the mana, huh… that sounds similar to what Gideon said about letting the mana guide you.' Lucian thought. Even without a full answer, he felt grateful for Amara's guidance.
"Thank you, big sister, for sparring with me and sharing this knowledge."
"And your big sister is always here to help." she replied with a warm smile. "If you ever need anything, just write to me, and I'll be there."
That afternoon, Amara met with Lucian's parents, sharing a few last words before her journey back to the academy. As she was leaving, several families gathered to bid her farewell. Amara waved goodbye to everyone.
"DON'T WORRY, EVERYONE! I'LL BE BACK SOON. AND LUCIAN, KEEP TRAINING, OKAY?" she called out.
"I WILL! ONE DAY I'LL SURPASS YOU, JUST WAIT!" Lucian shouted back with excitement.
"I'LL BE WAITING FOR THAT DAY!" Amara replied.
And with that, she was gone.