The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'
Chapter 108 - Bully With Brine, Simulate With Sand

Chapter 108: Chapter 108 - Bully With Brine, Simulate With Sand

After a tense stair climb down the cliffside - with Nohre practically pressing Fusand protectively to the rock face as they made their way - a dark sand beach stretched before the three cultivators. Waves crashed against the craggy shore in the low tide. The waters would rise again to cover the illusive beach when night fell.

Elua hopped atop a large, relatively flat stone while her two disciples explored the pools left by the receded sea height. The shallow depressions were teeming with life that made each a temporary, miniature ecosystem of vibrant colors and subtle movements.

From her perch she watched them react to tiny crabs scuttling between underwater crevices. Small fish darted about with scales flashing as silver in the sun as anything up on the plateau. Clusters of barnacles lined the rocky edges and patches of folded seaweed swayed gently in the larger pools.

’The poor plant’s temporary vertical troubles, until the water comes back, provides shelter for a variety of minuscule sea creatures also stuck in place.’

The two orphans’ eyes were constantly wide as they took everything in. They chattered at each other like the excited children they were, seeing a hidden world within their own. The ancient cultivator didn’t begrudge their sense of awe, feeling happy instead at knowing it seemed to be the first time they’d encountered such a natural marvel.

When they positioned themselves near the sea’s edge to look out into the vast blue, her lecturing voice finally carried over the sound of the waves. She spoke while launching off her perch, landing with poise and joining the pair.

"Today, we’ll be pushing what you define as the boundaries of your abilities by showing you an achievable, if hard, step in between. Nohre, are you ready?"

The girl’s braids bounced with her nod. Her face set with determination. She wasn’t confident in succeeding... but she was confident in trying!

"You’ve been working with fresh water, but the sea... well, it offers a new challenge. Try to manipulate the water before you."

The dark haired girl extended her hands towards the waves. Her brow pinched in concentration as she tried to lift even a small portion of the moving liquid. A spot on the water quivered but practically refused to obey. It’s essence felt almost like mud... stubborn and viscous.

"It... it’s not working."

Nohre admitted with frustration. It wasn’t the first task ever given that she struggled with. In fact, it seemed like her master always picked something she knew would fail! She watched her teacher give her a shrug, definitely wholly unsurprised by the outcome.

"The addition of salt and other substances changes things, doesn’t it? Their particular tint of essence resists your will, taking more energy and effort to control the part of it you should be able to. This is a hurdle you can overcome."

She stepped closer, her voice lowering conspiratorially as her hand raised and caught the next burst of spray from a crashing wave. Dozens of globules of water spun in place, trapped by fast rotating containers of pressurized gas.

"Think of it this way: you don’t actually want to move anything but the Water. Just like right now I’m really moving nothing but the Air. While in my example, I am using great control to trap the water inside with my Element alone..."

The young miss chuckled to herself at her attempt to recontextualize the problem for the girl.

"In a large stretch of a manner of speaking, you could say they are currently bound or mixed together. But if I only pull away the Air..."

The water quickly splattered onto the rocks in front of them. The small cultivator released her hold on the essence of the nearby gasses allowing everything to return to a more natural state.

"Do you understand? The goal is not to control the sea. If you only pull on the Water and not all the essence mixed together with it-"

"Then I will get purer water that is easier to control."

Nohre excitedly resumed her efforts, as Elua turned to Fusand. She didn’t mind being interrupted when the person finished her thought. In fact she liked when her disciples could think effectively for themselves!

’It’s simple to tell someone an answer. It’s harder to guide them on how to find their own.’

"While she practices with that, I have a task for you. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Use your Projection to recreate what you see around us. This is a rich environment of new sights for your spirit to grow and meditate on later."

She guided him away from distracting the girl and over towards one of the tide pools.

"Pay close attention to the details. The way the seaweed drifts. Even how the sand shifts beneath our feet..."

Her mint eyes caught on his with a brief ancient gleam in them. He immediately felt pressure and excitement!

’She always says something that doesn’t make sense until later! It’s like a free puzzle!’

"In fact, I think picking up some of the dried sand and watching it fall might be helpful to you someday."

The boy nodded vigorously. His hands reached down and tossed sand about as he kept his eyes roving the scenery. He eventually began to form the spiritual simulacrums of their surroundings. The brunette watched the sandy haired teenager closely, noting how his Astralism’s results wavered from the lightest tap of her spirit.

’Well. It might not fool anyone like I can, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be quite useful. After all, he already managed my concept of projected blueprints... and I’m sure that will spark ideas in him I’ve never thought of, with being so trapped by the singular manipulation of visual sense.’

Elua was pretty certain the little fox was smarter than her by a long shot. It was something she considered before, when coming across a copious amount of geniuses with ’lesser’ quality Aspects. Her high quality Illusion just took up too much of her spirit’s capacity to think!

She nodded reassuringly to herself, for the hundred thousandth time, about this exact matter.