After he was done moving in; Xavier walked up to the river, and saw Gasper sitting close by on a raised rock, shirtless, and with his legs crisscrossed.

  "What happened to your shirt old man?" Xavier asks, and as he gets up closer, notices markings on Gasper's face. "Whoa, what's up with that old man?" Xavier asks with utmost curiosity.

  "This, young Xavier; is nature enlightenment, and it's what I'll be teaching you for a long while," said Gasper.

  "You don't have much mana, that's true, but this; is quite the unique ability, and I know you're going to love it, because you have no other options!" Gasper added.

  "A bit of backstory before we start though, the ability I'm about to share with you now was passed down from Scien clan ancients. A branch within the Scien's capable of fighting for days on end without running out of mana, even against Euthenians."

  "Most would like to think that it was due to their high mana potency as a result of the lack of reserves, but that wasn't the case."

  "The branch Knew a special technique that utilized nature energy, using mana to draw it in directly from the environment. Nature energy is all around us, and an abundant resource for that matter."

  "Using what little mana they had, they incorporated it into their spells, and that's what made the Scien clan a significant threat to the Euthenians at the time."

  "Now don't get too excited, as I can't verify whether or not you branched from us; as said ancients carried with them a special ability, that they used in order to figure that out. A special ability, that very few had."

  "Ability?" Xavier said, as he got completely lost in Gasper's explanation.

  "Let's start you off easy. Abilities enhance your physical body; making you jump higher, run faster, see further and all that. Infusing mana is the most common use of an ability; as it naturally enhances your physical attributes, even if, one isn't skilled enough to properly spark an aura, but you're different; you don't even have the mana to try."

  " So, what I'm going to teach you now; is how to do something like that, just without the mana aspect being the main topic of concern. Are we on the same page?" Gasper said.

  "Is said page going to involve an excruciating amount of training I'm probably already used to?"

  "Not exactly, but that will be a huge factor now that you mention it, just not at the moment. What I want you to do now; is reach for that little drop of mana that you most likely have, and use it, in order to draw in nature energy. Such a small detail is going to have a huge impact on you, trust me," Gasper explained.

  "How do I even start?" Xavier asked.

  Gasper paused, "Come here, remove your shirt, and sit down as I did," he said. Xavier did as per request.

  "Feel the trees, the grass, the air; the gentle growl of the earth's core below you, concentrate. Activating your mana network, reach out, and grab it," Gasper explained, as he circled Xavier, who had his eyes closed, and sat like Gasper trying to do so.

  "Mm, nope. I don't know what to tell you gramps, I guess I'm just not feeling it," Xavier said.

  "Come on kid, try focusing on your breathing this time; empty your mind, and concentrate, be mindful. All that energy is just waiting around, just relaxing all around you, begging for you to take it. So, do just that; envision it, and just, take it!" Gasper exclaimed.

  Xavier tried again, but this time, focusing more on his breathing. "Now, after you've found yourself, after you've figured out who you are; reach out. Look outwards, and find that energy," Gasper said.

  After some time, Xavier spoke, "The earth. It, lives?"

  "See that, the energy that nature gives us; It comes from nature itself! From the core of the earth, to that giant burning ball of gas!" Gasper said, anticipation building within him.

  Xavier opened one of his eyes in curiosity and cut Gasper's excitement short. "Wait, is this why that one Dave guy moves around shirtless?" Xavier asks.

  "Oh, him? No, he's just a loose cannon; I never told him about nature energy. Hephaestuns have their own thing going, but that's a story for another day," Gasper replied, and Xavier went back to breathing.

  The nature energy entering Xavier began to fuse into his blood stream, accelerating the rate at which all his bodily functions were performed. The by-product that occurred as a result of incorporating nature energy into the body's natural processes, was an increase to Xavier's overall strength, speed, flexibility, and agility.

  Feeling stronger, Xavier opened his eyes wide in excitement, evident by the dilation of his pupils.

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  "So, am I going to be able to Wipe the floor with people that use mana now?" Xavier asked, as he stood up quickly in order to test how enhanced he had become.

  "Are you going to be stronger? Yes, are you going to best someone using mana? Depends. Nature energy is strong, but not as strong as mana is; mana is a gift from the heavens, and that's why it's so widely used to cast spells."

  "The only spells you'd be able to cast with nature energy, under the influence of a little mana; would be nature-based spells." Gasper explained, as Xavier began throwing massive rocks around, but stopped at the sound of that explanation.

  Xavier gently set a massive rock down, "So you're telling me, that someone with mana could do that better?" Xavier said, with audible cracks in his tone, giving away an air of concern.

  Gasper fell silent as he tried to think of a way to bring Xavier down gently, but Xavier caught on, and sat down on the rock that he placed, "So I'm only going to be able to use fire, water, trees and what not." Xavier asked, waving his hands around.

  "Uh, yep. There we go, the tree part. Remember my long, mind-numbing, detailed explanation? Yeah, that, but you can still use the rest though," Gasper said.

  With his hands now clasped together, Xavier's excitement died down. "Look, kid. Being a good sorcerer isn't about how powerful the spells are, or, how bright the colour of your aura is. It's about how well you can use what you know to your advantage, and do you know what you know best?"

  "Pain and suffering?"

  "A good mix of hand-to-hand combat and spells!"

  "Pain and suffering it is."

  "Come on kid, you saw the way Dave and that other sorcerer were fighting today, didn't you?" Gasper said.

  Xavier thought about it, "I guess you do have a point, though the fight only began to escalate when the two decided to use magic."

  "Yes, yes, but the scale of the fight was pretty decent considering the fact it was just mana infused, close combat. Only difference with you is that you're going to be using nature energy instead," Gasper said.

  "So, you are still going to need a lot of physical training if you ever wish to be on par with some of the sorcerers that are using mana for their abilities, and maybe if you work hard enough, you might even surpass some."

  Xavier thought about what Gasper said, and remembered the times when he would visit the statue of the sorcerer supreme in town.

  Xavier then thought back to how his physical abilities already surpassed some of the more inexperienced locals, who would use their mana in order to chase after him in town.

  Finally getting the opportunity he had long sought for: Xavier began to envision a future, one in which everyone who had ever ignored him, and shunned him; called out his name, praising him as he stood exalted amongst the many, triumphant in all his endeavors, and hailed, as the new, sorcerer supreme.

  Yes, this was it: Xavier's morale had finally returned, and with the use of nature energy; he would show all, who had ever doubted him, why doing so was wrong, and this was only the beginning.

  For the past few months, Xavier had been focusing on his training; he soon would be allowed back into school, after assurance from Gasper that he had no mana disease, but it never stopped the rumors.

  While at school: Xavier would focus more on perfecting the amount of nature energy he could absorb, as the nature energy present in the classroom, was much harder to draw in compared to that of the woods in which he and Gasper lived in; which made for the perfect form of training, as, whenever Xavier did find himself out in the field, nature energy would be in abundance, and easier to absorb.

  At times, Xavier would do nothing else but absorb nature energy in class whenever they had a free period; the rest of the sorcerers didn't understand it, and so they poked fun at him.

  "What's wrong Xavier? Visualizing your next suicide bombing?" Gabriel commented.

  Eventually, his classmates caught on to the rumors and began to socially isolate Xavier from the rest of the class.

  "What's this diseased peasant still doing in my class?" Gabriel would often say every time he entered class, and everyone else would join in, poke fun and laugh.

  Abigail often tried her level best to calm the class down, and clear the air around Xavier, but all her attempts would prove futile.

  No one ever bothered to ask Xavier about it, or even skepticize whether or not said rumours were true; they all just took it as a sign to stay as far away from Xavier as humanely possible.

  Xavier eventually became alienated from his entire class, but that mattered little to him; being alone was a feeling he got used to way before he even started at the school, and this experience was no different.

  Having no friends just meant that Xavier had enough time to concentrate on his training.

  "I don't know what to do Jena, things are getting out of hand. He just sits there like a damn tree and takes on all the punishment that his classmates could possibly throw at him. I mean, they don't even look at him anymore unless they're about to make some outlandish comments about him. He's bullied all the time, he has no friends and he's, always alone ninety percent of the time! Living like that can't possibly be good for, anyone's mental health," said Abigail.

  With her fingertips gently placed together, Jena slowly turned her seat away. "Well, you live the life that you choose. I've already explored, all my options. Gasper's a sick bastard, and he doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon."

  "You know we're about to have those practical assessments anytime soon, what happens then?" Abigail asks, carrying an air of concern.

  Jena sighed, "We, Sit back and watch." Xavier was leaning with his back against the door and arms folded the entire time Jena and Abigail had this conversation, eavesdropping on the entire thing.

  Xavier's ability to draw in nature energy also granted him the ability to sense, and feel, the negative emotions of people around him.

  After he was done, Xavier made his way in the late afternoons after school, to a sorcery field where undergraduate sorcerers would play mystery orb ball.

  The field was empty, and quiet; perfect for effective meditations. It was then, with arms out laid out and back against the seat behind him; when a girl who was seated a few steps higher on the stands to his right, disturbed his concentration.

  "You know, you are going to have to fend for yourself sooner or later. That is, if you really want to make it out of here alive," The girl said.

  Xavier slowly opened his eyes, and with a calm look on his face said, "At the end of the day, I won't be surviving, but thriving. I appreciate your concern but, you're better off watching your own back," Xavier gave the girl side eye, and a strong gust of wind vigorously blew from her side that nearly took away the book she was sketching on.

  After securing the book; the girl took a keen look around, seeing as Xavier was nowhere to be found.