The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'
Chapter 155 - Does She Actually Teach Better, Or Do You Just ’Adhere’ To Her Lessons More?

Chapter 155: Chapter 155 - Does She Actually Teach Better, Or Do You Just ’Adhere’ To Her Lessons More?

Qatrand sat cross-legged on the floor of her room. In the teenager’s hands was a ball of dough wedged between her palms that she worked idly. The cook had suggested practicing the motions even when she couldn’t bake, so she had purchased a barrel of flour and carried it back to the Yecine estate.

The doorman had given the heir a strange look as she approached with the container held up on her strong shoulder, but said nothing. It wasn’t his place to tell anyone that the elders would disapprove.

As she wasted so much potential food on developing the right ’muscle memory’ for the kneading sensations, her attention was quite fixed on the illusion of her wife. The illusory training tool still had more to teach, even with as many hours it had talked ’to’ her.

The recording of the girl pacing before her was nostalgic. Elua’s brown hair still fell past her shoulders in waves, because it had not yet been cut. She wore the simpler dress Qat remembered the girl often wearing... and not the silver one that had become a daily mystery.

’It’s nice to have a way to still see her like this.’

The familiar sight made her heart ache in an oddly pleasant way. Qatrand eventually guided it with a few responses closer to where she left off last time she used it.

/ Now, I’m going to tell you some things that not everyone knows. There are energy techniques that every kind of Aspect has access to, but actually learning how to perform them practically requires you to first know that they are even possible. /

The swordwoman’s fingers stilled on the ball of dough as she was momentarily captivated by her El’s tone. There was a way she had of introducing ancient knowledge as if it were merely uncommon and not actually all that special. The young cultivator sometimes wondered if it was meant to ease her student into the idea of ’groundbreaking’ information.

/ At least, that’s what I’ve determined by the lack of knowledge suffusing the continent here. These techniques are quite like the Limited Reforge still known in this region, that physical cultivators can do at mid-Enchanter. /

...Or if someone who had lived for millennia honestly just found what she was saying a little droll.

/ Honestly, I would normally avoid even mentioning these until you were ready to learn - but the first two I plan to discuss are actually really relevant to your later Gravity training... so I’m making an exception. /

The visual image flickered and a bit of scenery was added near the miniature form of the Goltbred.

/ When your field is at the density of Primalist, you can perform what is known as Adhesion. It is a way of binding your field to the essence of inanimate objects. Practically, it allows you to do a few neat things, including sticking to surfaces that can support your weight. /

A visual of the illusionary lecturer doing just those things began right after and ended with her feet planted on the bottom side of a thick branch, arms crossed and long brown hair dangling downwards. Qatrand genuinely liked her wife’s new hairstyle, to a degree that still baffled her...

’She kept her hair long like this for so many years. Did I really make her change it just because of this... reaction I have?’

/ Walking up trees and walls is rather fun the first number of times! /

The soft amusement and encouraging tone from the illusionist suddenly made the one listening wonder exactly how many times El had done this before, in her past life. How many students had she guided through these same principles?

/ It can be a little disorienting before you get used to it. Though it does get a little less exciting the more you try it, even if it remains *potentially* useful. Mostly for scouting or other preparatory work as it takes too much concentration for battle. Usually. I have another idea for you. /

The Yecine sharpened her attention further and stopped thinking about things in her wife’s past she was curious about. Most of the girl’s ideas and explanations for a type of power she didn’t even own had been very useful. Moreover, she had eventually recognized that Elua built her up when she taught... though a little slowly and more freeform than she was used to.

Her sword instructors always started with a demonstration of their perfect form first before making Qat repeat it. And repeat it. Until it was growing closer to their ’perfection’. There was some limited explanation for why doing something was wrong, but it had mostly been up to her to excel or fail.

Meanwhile, the explanations of Gravity as a cosmic property that the tool gave allowed her to more comfortably experiment with what her Element was supposed to be able to do. Then, she was shown those memories and sensations of the force at work on a larger scale during their stargazing to broaden her expectations ever further.

It was still up to her to succeed, but there hadn’t been a specific ’height’ she was expected to reach ever given to her. She was left to set her own goals and expectations. The swordswoman shook her head, realizing it had been quiet and she had been in thought too long - the illusory El had apparently been waiting for a response this time.

Some of her lines did it unexpectedly, like it was trying to make sure she was paying attention still. Even though she knew it didn’t have feelings, she almost wanted to apologize to it for letting herself get distracted.

"What was your idea?"

/ I’m glad you asked. Performing Adhesion quickly enough to ever be useful in active combat is very unlikely for most Lower Realm practitioners... but with the aid of your particular Element it might be a bit more feasible. /

One hand of the illusion was held to her chest as a soft example glow covered her entire body.

/ After all, you can effectively lower your own body weight - which you’ll practice with Gravitic Leap. If you’d like me to explain that technique again, let me know. /

The tall girl chuckled and paused to make a new ball of dough before turning back to the ’patient’ illusion.

"No, thank you. Continue with your idea, please."

/ Being lighter means the quantity of non-Element aligned essence you would need to marshal against the surface to remain stuck to it is much reduced - and manipulating your own Aspect is always quicker and more efficient than any type of raw energy. /

Qat nodded along with her explanation. She could only compare it to trying to activate a ritual with her essence, which she hadn’t had many chances to do. But it certainly felt a bit more sluggish from her recollection than it did when trying to use her Element directly.

/ I caution that this will be difficult. Learning to control both natural essence and that tinged with your Element at the *same* time means that you will also want to keep up with your spiritual cultivation. A mere Primalist in essence is never as good at very fine control as one that has broken through and practiced in both fields. /

The corners of Qatrand’s lips twitched. She wondered if her fiancee realized that she had recorded the statement ’mere Primalist’ so arrogantly - or if this part was actually one of those lines altered by the tool somehow... *remembering* the admission she gave it that time.

Of knowing about the girl’s past life.

Either way it was kind of amusing - and she was thinking she might jokingly call the girl that exact phrase the next time they were talking about her physical or essence cultivation. She had always had a certain desire to tease some reactions out of the girl by speaking unexpected words.

But it did seem to her that the feeling might have grown, lately. As if she were marking down more and more things that might get her El to be momentarily confused, flustered, surprised, or... worse. She was especially concerned about the last part.

Through their fragments, she could feel a strong echo of how her teasing affected Elua. Those moments of deeper insight into the girl were becoming rather dangerously addictive. That impression of urges that the heiress would get had also started to *bother* her less than it first had.

’I don’t know if that’s because I really trust and respect her or if it’s something else. It’s not like I experience... anything quite like that feeling.’

She sometimes wondered if she *would* experience something similar. That is, if she hadn’t spent years training her body to ignore such hormonal responses. The fact that her wife’s fragile sense of stability in that regard even existed was growing to be as interesting to her as anything else about the reincarnator.

And the fact that she remotely considered testing what it might be like to *revert* some of those careful physical changes in herself - to also experience what her El was going through - exposed how their relationship had changed over the years.

She hadn’t forgotten the shy, uncertain ’heir’ who feared overstepping boundaries with anyone. The version of herself that met very few times with the strong-willed brunette. That very young Qat was still a large part of herself in a lot of ways.

She was still learning how and when to push things with people intentionally. When to do things as she wanted instead of as directed. And likewise, her El was still very much confident and supportive when it counted.

/ Oh, if you keep practicing like I know you will, there is another variation of this Adhesion technique you could use with such good spiritual control. Would you like to know? /