Chương 47: A New Way - 3

"Train?" LANCE asked.

"How so?"

"I am not sure. It was through your advice, though, that I became aware of my gifted Boon, [All Seeing]. You are also to thank for opening my eyes to its potential — because of you I will keep my designations after all and am able to continue my service to our Patron. I could ask a priest for advice or an academy trainer, that is what they are here for, aren't they? And yet, I am drawn to you. Silly schoolgirl crush? Perhaps, but perhaps not. So, what do you say?" Penn Vic's eyes bore into him demanding an answer.

"I, uh, well..." he thought about it for a moment. On a whim, he said, "Fine. So as long as you understand my training might not be what you're expecting, I will try my best to help you along in your Skill advancement."

"Excellent!" her eyes lit up with a furious glow.

"Shall we begin right away?"

"Oh, I supposed. Um, so... are you going to use your Boon Points or save them up?"

"I am going to save them, I think. There is a Boon in the Holy Shope I have heard about which I would like to purchase. Meanwhile, I want to earn XP."

"Great! So, earning XP as a support role. That would mean using your [All Seeing] as well as... what Skill did your Technician role come with?"

"Technician came with a Skill called [Build]. It is self-explanatory — allows me to build a basic item from memory so as long as I have the mana to do so. The Holy Shop Boon I have my sights on is something that would allow me to send items long-distance, like, to my party should I be away from them, which I intend to be if I am a supporting role." Penn's self-imagined role was more complex than he gave her credit for, it seemed. Impressive.

"Solid. Well, I think this Technician sub-occupation should be our first priority, yeah? How about we make a series of everyday objects, each one more complex than the last?" It was an idea he just came up with, but it sounded great.

"Let's go outside." The walk outside gave him time to consider the objects he would have Penn Vic create. He decided to keep things simple. On the quad, he asked her to create, "A feather for use in writing, a piece of parchment, and a hairpin." Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"Quite the objects, but let's see," Penn said, turning her mind and her hand to the ground. Lance saw when she channeled mana into her hand, he heard her struggle as the object's basic shape took rough form. The feather was made whole but vanished in an eye's blink.

"Gah! It's so hard!"

"No problem! It is your first time trying this, so keep cool. This isn't a class or a test. Just two friends hanging out. Calm yourself and try again. Maybe try closing your eyes?" He had no idea if closing her eyes would help her visualize, but it had to be better than keeping them open in the land of the academy, place of infinite distractions.

"Okay. Here I go," and again, Penn focused mana into her hand, this time her eyes shut tight as if she had seen a horrid monster under her bed. In fits, he saw the feather form, far quicker this time than the first time. Penn opened her eyes and they widened at seeing the feather, perfectly formed, and looking like any other feather one might find on the ground.

"Whoa! That was some solid advice, Lance. Look at this!"

"I see! That's incredible. It has some of that weird sheen leftover from the creation process, but it looks so real! How do you feel?"

"A little tired but good. Let me try the parchment. That should be easy to make:" and so, Penn formed the parchment in her mind's eye which appeared before them in as clear a shape as any parchment available at the university store. Penn saw what she made and smiled.

"Goodness! Let's go, hairpin!" The final item was harder for her to master. It took her several tries before a hairpin shape materialized. Even then, it was rougher to the touch, than the paper. Penn hypothesized that the difficulty of the hairpin was due to its relatively complex shape.

"We can continue another time. I need a small break before we continue."

"No problem. You know, I think a good way to train your [All Seeing] Skill would be if I hid something on campus then had you find it using your Skill. Maybe something like a scavenger hunt, but a hunt you need to use your Skill for?" As with his first training exercise, he had no idea if it would help her, but it was the best he could come up with on the fly. Penn loved his scavenger hunt idea. She said, "Oh, I just noticed, I got a level up!" she smiled and said, "I love hunts! I am happy I found you, Lance."

He returned her smile with affection, and they returned to their pleasant afternoon of Skill training. Between practice forming items and the basic scavenger hunting she did, which consisted of objects he hid in storage closets and behind water tanks, Penn Vic earned several more level ups. The sun was setting and it was fast approaching when they should get their evening meal. They split up for the day with Penn saying she intended on continuing item generation practice late into the night.

That day began for he and she the first in a series of practices which took up the week. Over the next few days, Penn Vic earned a number of level ups and soon approached when she could purchase the Holy Shope Boon she wanted. It was the penultimate day of the week, hardly half-a-day and a night's sleep between them when his father would pick him up for another training excursion, when a Traveling Attraction came to campus.