The first thing Cyril decided to do after washing up and changing out of his dusty training uniform was visit the cafeteria.
The chefs there were already somewhat used to this student bringing his butterfly, Morpho, to eat. They had even prepared her usual sugar water, along with a small steak.
In the past, Morpho had read somewhere that meat could help a person grow stronger, so now she frequently asked for it.
Cyril wasn't sure if indulging her was a good idea. Even though she was a magical creature, she still looked like a butterfly
But Rhamn assured him that nothing bad will happen. Besides, Morpho herself enjoyed eating meat.
At least Tigris wasn't a picky eater. Whatever was placed on his plate would be his food with no issue.
So Cyril, Morpho, and Tigris each occupied a seat at an unoccupied table and ate.
"It is safe to assume that Margaret was the one who incited the student's emotion against you, right?" Rhamn suddenly said.
After all, who else could do something like that but the person most proficient in illusion magic.
Yeah. It's not a big deal, though. Maybe she just wanted to see what I'm capable of. Alvin could've told her about me.
Cyril thought as he looked over the filled cafeteria.
A lot of other students around were sending him sneaky glances from time to time. People were already gossiping about what happened.
Even though Richard, and presumably other professors, tried to mitigate the damage, a lot of students still ended up harboring a bit of a grudge against Cyril.
Cyril didn't care about this. He just didn't like the feeling of being an animal at the zoo that he was currently getting. People stared a bit too much.
Having finished his lunch, Cyril got up and swept his gaze around. Everyone quickly looked away, acting oblivious.
Then he left the building, heading straight back to his dorm.
...
Upon entering his room, Cyril casually went towards his cupboard to find the communication tool Selene gave him.
Today they had training, but he still didn't know where it was going to take place.
As soon as Cyril injected mana into the tool, a low buzzing sound began ringing in his ear.
"You-have-one-message," a somewhat stiff female voice could be heard.
"Hello?" Cyril replied, but no answer came back.
He had never used a tool like this, or anything similar, before. So this will be a matter of trial and error.
Eventually, as he was tinkering with the communication crystal, a different voice rang out—this time, a familiar one.
"My disciple, everything is ready for your training. Come to the Acacia Park, statue of the Earth Goddess, at 1300 sharp," Selene's eager voice announced.
Soon, there were no more sounds, and the previous stiff voice came back.
"End-of-message"
After which there was only silence.
Cyril had already realized by now that this was not a direct communication with someone.
Good thing no one was here to witness his attempts to talk with a tool, only a butterfly, a tiger, and Rhamn—who stood to the side with a teasing smile.
Ignoring all of them, Cyril turned to look at the clock. The time now was already 01:01 pm.
That's unfortunate.
Cyril quickly changed into his outdoor clothes and left the building.
Thankfully, Acacia Park was not too far from Ailanthus. It was only a short 10-minute ride on the monorail.
...
Cyril was currently running on a stone path overgrown with grass. The park was rather deserted at the moment.
In the past there was a series of murders committed here. The perpetrator was caught, but the reputation remained.
There were fewer and fewer people willing to come here, and eventually this place was used by many less principled members of society.
This became a popular spot for many gangs to hang out, which only further alienated the normal visitor.
Perhaps this was the reason Selene chose this place; there would be fewer unrelated eyes here.
After running around the park, Cyril finally found the statue of a robust female figure wearing a flowing robe covered in vines and grass.
Now the marble statue was overgrown with real grass, which in a way added some charm to the picture.
Even though Acacia Park was not that far, it still took some time to wait for the monorail and then to find this specific place at this park.
After all, Cyril has never been here before.
Now the time was probably approaching 2 pm already. Cyril could only hope Selene didn't get offended and leave.
But as he looked around the place, he soon realized that his worries were for nothing.
Selene patiently sat on the grass near the statue. She opened her eyes the moment he got close.
"You are finally here, good. Let's not waste any time and begin." Selene elegantly got up from the ground.
Her face didn't have even a hint of displeasure, which surprised Cyril a little.
She is much more laid-back than I thought.
Pushing out any worries from his head, Cyril nodded and pointed to his two companions, each occupying a shoulder.
"Is it alright if they train too?" He asked.
Selene nodded on the move, without thinking, "Of course. I was counting on that. How could your vassals not be able to fight?"
"There she goes again calling them like that..."
Selene led him towards a tree nearby.
She stood in front of it, took a single breath, and jabbed the tree with two fingers held together.
There was no visible impact or even any mark left on the bark. The tree stood unperturbed.
Just as Cyril was getting confused, a single leaf fell, as if cut by something.
Selene nodded and turned around. "The essence of the technique I gave you is precision and stillness. Your mana must flow as water—yielding yet free."
She walked to the side, motioning for him to approach the tree. "Practice your mana manipulation by hitting the trunk and attempt to only harm the leaves on top of the tree."
Selene raised her finger. "Do not try to force your mana all the way through. Remember to be as water."
With this nugget of wisdom shared, she switched her attention towards Tigris and Morpho.
Both of them already got down from Cyril's shoulders. Both were eager to train.
Morpho was told she would be doing the same exercise.
The butterfly excitedly flapped her wings and soon flew over to Cyril.
"What's wrong?" Cyril asked.
He could feel she wanted something right now. It was as if she was challenging him.
"She wants to compete over who will be able to bring down a leaf first," Rhamn translated.
Cyril raised his brow, a slight smile appearing on his face. "Sure. The loser will have to do a wish, anything the winner demands."
The butterfly bravely accepted these terms.
Selene tilted her head at the exchange currently happening, confusion in her eyes.
Seeing this, Cyril explained that they were now in a competition.
Selene had a rather dry reaction, her face completely calm as she nodded in understanding.
With this done, She led the tiger and a butterfly away, citing that Cyril needed to focus.
They were still close enough for Rhamn to feel their state, so he wasn't worried about them.
Cyril emptied his mind and stood in front of the tree.
He put his palm against the trunk. With a push he utilized the technique, giving it a casual try.
The tree immediately erupted with a horrible breaking noise from the inside, going all the way to the top.
Plenty of leaves fell, but not for the reason he wanted. The poor tree was decimated.
This is harder than I anticipated...
Cyril looked at his palm in thought. Not only was the result bad, but he also spent a hefty amount of mana in return.
"Do you think when Selene did it, the leaf just fell by coincidence? It is October, after all."
Who knows? You just might be right.
Cyril jokingly replied as well. He could already imagine this will take a lot of time.
...
Morpho and Tigris were led a bit further until Cyril could no longer be heard.
"You," Selene pointed to the butterfly, "do the same exercise on a tree here. I'll observe the progress."
Morpho enthusiastically flew straight into the tree, eager to win this competition.
The results were not too different from Cyril's.
Selene looked at this with a blank face for a second. "Continue until you get the hang of it."
Then she turned towards Tigris.
The mighty tiger was honestly starting to have doubts about this whole thing.
Earlier it was really cool to see Cyril effortlessly beating some annoying humans, but now that he had to do something himself...
The prospect of working hard didn't seem quite as cool.
Still, he was the one who asked for it. So Tigris nervously stared at Selene, awaiting her words.
"You haven't practiced the technique yet." She shook her head with a frown.
"No matter, I will tell you what to do. Follow my commands." Her voice was a bit more strict when talking to them.
Without even noticing, Tigris even sat straight and bobbed his head up and down.
This will become a day the mighty tiger will regret for some time to come.