Chapter 46: Project "Camp -> Settlement" (1)

~Ahh, so I don't need to close my eyes for this,~ he commented as the crux emerged from his body.

He then put his palm on the creature, this time closing his eyes as needed the utmost concentration to pull this off.

If he could break down the spell into different stages, the first stage would be to use the crux's pulse to feel out his body. But this time he used the pulse to feel out the creature's body instead.

However, that was easier said than done as he had never done anything of the sort before.

After struggling for a few minutes, he finally got the hang of sending pulses into foreign bodies. It was much like photosynthesis, where he let the creature in contact with him share his energy.

After doing that, he could feel that there was indeed something clogged inside the creature's body. It was hard to explain, but he could sense a sort of dark, filthy energy within it.

Now came the second step. Using the crux's light to disintegrate the malicious energy.

This was a relatively easy step, as it was somewhat automated. All he had to do was whisper the spell and it would happen just like breathing.

"Solar Cleanse," he whispered, and he could feel his body being drained. After a few pulses, the malicious energy in the creature's body had been completely purged, and a rancid smell attacked Lucius's senses.

"What is that?" one of the leaflings asked, unable to breathe properly.

"Everyone get out, this stuff might be dangerous," he said, before looking at Alpha to get them all out.

"Weron," the creature croaked groggily after a moment.

"It worked," Lucius whispered to himself. "I know magic!" As if only coming to the realization right now. And in an instant, a whole new world had been opened up to him. He thought about the possibilities, what else could he do with the crux?

But right now, there was a creature staring at him in gratitude, trying to get close to him while its body was covered in a filthy black goop.

"Calm down there. I'm happy I could help, but you need to clean yourself up first," he said, taking a few steps back before collapsing.

"Lord's, this spell takes a lot out of me," he whispered, as a wave of fatigue washed over him.

"How did you do that? Can I do that?" Pagan asked, trying to help Lucius up. However, it seemed that his hands didn't function quite as he expected, and instead of helping Lucius up, he hit him on the back.

"Yeah, I know the feeling. A new limb takes a bit of practice," Lucius said, calming the confused Pagan down.

"I'll help you get the hang of using your arms later, for now, I need to get the creature to the river since it doesn't seem like it can help itself," he continued, realizing that though the creature was now awake, its wings were still heavily damaged.

~I wonder why it didn't heal the wings,~ he thought to himself for a moment before getting up.

"Follow me, and please keep your distance," he said to the creature, gesturing for it to follow him. The creature obliged and the two made a quick trip to the river before Lucius washed it off.

Once they returned, Lucius took another quick nap to reset himself before properly starting for the day.

*

"Pagan, Hannibal, follow me. The rest of you can hook yourselves up to the sleds and collect as many twigs as you possible," Lucius ordered once all the leaflings had gathered around him.

"What about me?" Ghost asked, realizing that the three of them were probably going to have some form of special training.

"I'll train you in the night with Alpha and his squad. Right now, I only need Pagan and Hannibal," he replied.

"Come on, we'll get our fill in the night. For now, let's get to work," Alpha added on, nodding to Lucius before leading the leaflings to the sleds.

"Okay, for today we're going to get you accustomed to your arms. So you'll be picking blades of grass till nightfall," Lucius said once Alpha and the other leaflings had gone.

"Just that? Lighted O-"

"It isn't as easy as it seems. With your strength, you probably won't be able to pick out more than a few dozen before getting exhausted," he interrupted.

"I'll leave it to you to figure out how to do it," he continued, before walking with Hannibal towards the supplies area. "Oh, and if you want to join today's photosynthesis session, you have to have picked out at least 50 blades of grass. Good luck," he added on before leaving Pagan to his task.

"50?" Pagan sighed, trying to pick out a nearby blade of grass, but finding that he reached out too far. His depth coordination was probably going to be one of his biggest issues.

*

Meanwhile, Lucius picked out a twig from the supplies are, before sitting next to the pile of pebbles.

"What do you think of this?" he asked, placing the twig on the pebble so that it balanced perfectly.

"It isn't falling over," Hannibal replied, looking at the balancing twig with interest.

"Are you familiar with this?" Lucius asked after, to which Hannibal nodded his leaf.

"It's how we are able to stand right? We do it all the time," Hannibal said after a moment, standing up on one leg as if to show that he thoroughly understood.

"Good, then this saves me some time. Now, what about this," Lucius said, before putting his hand down on one side so that the other went up. "What do you think of this?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure, to be honest," Hannibal said after some thought.

"This is your first lesson, 'Force equivalence'. What do you think I would have to do to make this balance again?" he asked.

Hannibal took a moment to think about it, before answering almost in a soft whisper, "Put your other hand on the other side?"

"Be more confident in your answer. And you're somewhat right, I'd have to put my other hand on the other side," Lucius replied, putting his hand on the other side of his makeshift see-saw, however it still didn't balance.

"What's wrong? Why didn't it balance?" he asked after.

"I... Maybe..." Hannibal stuttered, standing up to get a better look.

"You aren't pushing as hard on one side," he answered finally, realizing that Lucius seemed to be straining more on one side than on the other.

"Exactly. Hence the name of the lesson, 'Force equivalence.' For now, I won't bother with definitions. I'll let you make your own definitions for the concepts I teach you. But here's your task. By the end of the day, I want you to tell me three uses of such a concept. Why do you think I would bother teaching this to you?" Lucius said to him with a smile, before leaving him to his pondering.