“I still wish I could add some muscle. I’m a walking skeleton right now. I will never know what it feels like to run. I mean, I get winded getting off the couch to use the toilet.”

  Jordan Journal Entry, age 15

  ######

  “That was a good start,” Eld encouraged after my failed attempt.

  “Why was that so much harder than when I so easily formed a sword?” I began questioning the differences and hoped Eld could save me some guesswork.

  “Did you intend to increase the density or power of the Arc you were using?” Eld questioned, “The sword you formed was Base-level Arc. What you formed just now was magnitudes greater in potential, density, and power. With what you just showed, there will be challenges for your creations unless you learn to harness will and control your intent.

  “Your creation and flow were fine, but your lack of imputed will and purpose will keep you from harnessing that level of powerful Arc,” Eld’s armored form held his chin in one palm in thought. “Can you decrease the power? Try again and create with less power and density. That should result in lower-level Arcana this time,” Eld instructed as I reset and tried again.

  This time, I focused on weakening the Arc. I now only have access to condensed Arc from a greater Source depth, resulting in a much more powerful Arc. Maybe I could dilute it or cast it in a thinner layer and still get the benefits without the bulk, and hopefully, I would not have to use as much. That would also allow for a greater amount of control. My thoughts were distracting from the work. I started wondering about mixing Zan but stopped my train of thought before Eld grew impatient.

  I began to leak my dense Arc around me, but rather than let it pool, I attempted to impose my will on what was already around to have it cover my body but not pull anymore. I wanted it to stretch and spread thinner. At first, it wasn’t working, but like a seldom used muscle, it was a struggle to exert willpower.

  I kept my focus and sharpened my desire and mental image. It started to form. Although I had a clear picture, the result was not what I’d imagined.

  I got a lattice or spiderweb of Arc connected across my body. I couldn’t fully form it in a thin layer but could at least stretch it in angled strands to partially cover me in a web.

  “You at least can manipulate what Arc you have. Your Arc is still too much for what I think you can control. Why don’t you try consolidating what you have formed into a smaller surface area? Try pooling it into one solid shell over your chest. You might have enough to create a vest over your torso.

  My web of stringy Arc began to pull together as it crept towards my torso. First, falling from my head and congealing on my chest, then I focused, pulling from my feet up. I eventually had enough from my webbing, now forming a chest piece clinging without support to the front of my chest. So, despite gravity, it adhered effortlessly to me. The piece of Arc was smooth but lacked any texture or detail. It was a pool of fluid shaped like a square but contoured to my chest, centered over my heart, and only about a foot to each side.

  “Before you create any more or solidify what you have already, try liquifying what you have to sink through your clothes and cling to your skin.

  I did as instructed and felt the fluid as I focused on moving beneath the fabric of my clothes.

  “Good. Use your will to shift the liquid Arc to a solid one. Like a form-fitting chest piece, an extension of your body. It shouldn’t hinder your movement at that size, and no one will see it under your clothes. If you add more, ensure there are gaps, or see if you can make flexible joints as needed. You will need to work on this and test if you will need to maintain focus or if you can imbue enough will to keep it in place despite your focus or even consciousness.”

  The liquid solidified as I focused. I opened my eyes and lifted my shirt collar. Seeing the plate of solid Arc, less than a quarter inch of material sticking out from my skin.

  I began to move around and noticed my movement was slightly hindered. I could still crunch forward as the plate stopped where my ribs did, but I had lost the ability to twist fully, and some other motions felt restrained.

  “Don’t be discouraged; that is a good start. That plate should stop most blunt or piercing damage from other people or creatures at your level. If you can learn to cover yourself in an entire suit of that density, you should be able to defend and fight well above your current combat ability. Or at least survive hits beyond what your current power level would suggest.”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “Thank you,” I sincerely spoke, “I have so much to learn, and this seems like something I should focus on.”

  “You are welcome,” Eld didn’t smile, but his stoic face softened. “Take some time to focus on maintaining what you’ve created. You need it to last to be effective. Eventually, you need to form it in an instant. I’ll give you some space and mediate nearby. Only get me when you are ready for the next step in training. But at most, I’ll give you 2 hours.”

  Eld turned, walked a little ways off, and lowered himself into a meditative pose. I closed my eyes and did the same. I began to explore the chest plate I’d made in my Spirit Space. I pushed my will and senses into every inch of it, slowly mapping it into my mind. I chose to start adding texture on the exterior side. To help me remember the creation, I drew lines from the front surface. I formed it into four equal squares, then divided those into four each. Now I had sixteen. I felt stupid, but I numbered each one. One through sixteen. Maybe that would help me in some way.

  Once I knew every part of the 16 squares, I tried to infuse them with my will. Impressing the idea of permanence and protection. After ten minutes of focus and mental effort, I relaxed and opened my eyes.

  I knew I needed to test my attempt at permanence. I transitioned into a pushup position and did several, then I jumped up and did a few squats and then a few burpees. I tried to remove my focus from my creation and hummed a song. In the middle of my third set of burpees, I put too much thought into remembering some lyrics and stopped after I popped up to my feet. I realized I had lost my focus on the chest plate.

  It took me that long because it’s hard not to think about something you tell yourself not to think about.

  I couldn’t help but crack a smile. The plate remained precisely where I’d left it. Now the question remained: could I add to it, or was I better off just allowing my Spirit to maintain what I already have? Who am I kidding? I dropped to the ground and reentered my focused meditation. I was going to add to this. I wanted my full suit of armor.

  At the two-hour mark, Eld walked over and found me so focused that I hadn’t noticed his arrival.

  I came out of focus after adding short boots and matching bracers over the top of my forearms. I had tried for gloves, but keeping them flexible proved too much for me now. And when I tried using small pieces, I lost my focus, and they evaporated. But the good news was that my former creation of the chest plate remained as I’d left it.

  That’s when I focused on the boots. They were much easier to form and keep in place while I sat. But I wouldn’t be happy till I could create it all fast enough to be helpful in battle and have it survive the fight.

  What’s that quote? A plan never survives enemy contact. I was hoping my armor wouldn’t collapse at the first punch I took.

  Seeing my focus return to the physical world, Eld cleared his throat. “Well done. We will see how it holds up. But that is great progress in such a short time. I want you to attempt to maintain what you have during the next stage of training. When we get to a mindless exercise, I’d like you to attempt adding more armor. Meditation and focus on Spirit don’t need to be exclusive to when your eyes are closed.”

  “Now follow my example as I take you through the standard stretches and warmup. This will help as everyone in your upcoming training already knows them and has completed them multiple times daily for years. So use whatever System assistance you have to ingrain these into muscle memory. The sooner you do, the better because this is only the precursor to your training.”

  The next several hours were a crash course on stretching. It involved running and body movement to warm up my muscles and body. Followed by a long series of stretches that reminded me of martial arts and gymnastics.

  I was surprised that my improved body and mind were up for the challenges. I was filled with energy. I never got tired, my breathing was calm, and my flexibility and strength regularly surprised me. I was graceful enough that even in shock at remembering that I used to be weak and helpless, I never fell or stumbled.

  My focus and mental clarity were just as surprising, and my cognitive improvements drastically helped me ingrain the movements into my body.

  Skit had been cranking up my mental capacity to ingrain everything. But I’d asked him not to maintain my armor as I wouldn’t have any system help after this week.

  Yet three hours later, there were regular lapses in my focus on the armor, and it remained intact.

  “Alright,” Eld stopped the last dynamic motions, “that is the third rotation of the first forms. I want to see you complete them twice more at the same smooth speed. But I want you to add more pieces to your armor while you do that. I can see you still have the boots after all of that. But they look a little different.”

  “Oh, yeah,” I remembered deciding my first iteration of boots had too many sharp angles. It felt like a ski boot and restricted my ankles. I was able to add the first joints filled with flexible portions to connect the solid ones. I don’t know how protective they are, so I kept them small and overlapped some of the joints with solid pieces.”

  “Impressive,” Eld nodded as he encouraged my rapid progress. “If you need a moment, take a breather, but I expect you to begin in ten minutes.”

  I wasn’t winded, but I still took the ten minutes to keep my eyes open but build a gauntlet over my right hand. Finding success in the joints of the boot made it easier, but after ten minutes, I realized I had a ways to go. There were so many more joints, and the range of motion with my fingers was too important to have, restricting my grip or movement.

  Without waiting on Eld, I started the first of the forms. Once I smoothly moved through the different motions and transitions, I began splitting my focus and working on the gauntlet.

  After completing the first form rotation, I decided I wanted flexibility more than absolute protection. I kept the Arc very flexible and only made limited portions solid. I contemplated adding claws, and I wondered about plans to create three claws a foot long like a comic book hero I admired. But for now, I continued towards a complete battle suit of armor.

  By completing the second and hopefully final round, I had both gauntlets and the top of my torso covered. It wasn’t as good as I wanted it, but I did find that I could impute my will for permanence now with a simple mental command, and if I wanted to make changes, that was just as simple as reverting the solid to liquid form and restarting on that section.