The morning mist drifted lazily across the valley.
Kieran stood barefoot upon the smooth stone platform, a wooden sword resting across his shoulders.
Drops of sweat rolled down his forehead.
"Again."
Crystal's calm voice echoed behind him.
Without complaint, Kieran lowered himself into another horse stance.
His legs trembled.
His arms burned.
Even breathing had become difficult.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Twenty.
His muscles screamed for him to stop.
Yet he remained motionless.
Finally...
"Enough."
The instant the words left Crystal's lips, Kieran collapsed onto the grass.
"Haa..."
"Haa..."
His entire body felt numb.
Crystal walked over carrying a small wooden cup.
"Drink."
Kieran accepted it gratefully.
The liquid was bitter beyond belief.
His face immediately twisted.
"Mama..."
"This tastes terrible."
"It should."
She answered without sympathy.
"If medicine tasted sweet, children would drink it for fun."
Kieran pouted.
"I still think you made it extra bitter."
A faint smile appeared on Crystal's lips.
"Perhaps."
---
After allowing him to recover, Crystal led him to the riverbank.
She picked up two stones.
One was perfectly smooth.
The other was cracked.
She handed both to Kieran.
"Which one is stronger?"
He inspected them carefully.
"The smooth one."
Crystal shook her head.
She struck both stones together.
The smooth stone shattered.
The cracked stone remained intact.
Kieran blinked.
"I was wrong..."
"No."
"You judged with your eyes."
She handed him the remaining stone.
"Strength is often hidden."
"The same applies to practitioners."
She looked toward the mountains.
"Many people chase higher realms."
"They absorb Magna recklessly."
"They force breakthroughs."
"They celebrate becoming stronger."
She crouched before Kieran.
"But when true battle arrives..."
"They crumble."
"Why?"
"Because their foundation was never complete."
---
She drew several circles in the dirt.
"The first realm..."
"...is only the beginning."
"Each realm has nine stages."
"Each stage contains three levels."
"Beginner."
"Mid."
"Peak."
Kieran listened intently.
"Many become obsessed with reaching the Ninth Stage."
"They forget something."
Crystal tapped the first circle.
"Even the First Stage..."
"...can be perfected."
She erased the drawing with one sweep of her hand.
"If your foundation is unstable..."
"Every realm afterward inherits that weakness."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"Never cultivate merely to advance."
"Cultivate until advancing becomes inevitable."
Kieran silently engraved those words into his heart.
---
That afternoon...
Crystal finally allowed him to begin sensing Magna once more.
She did not teach him a cultivation technique.
Instead...
She gave him a strange instruction.
"Today..."
"You will do nothing."
Kieran blinked.
"...Nothing?"
"Exactly."
She pointed toward the ancient oak overlooking the valley.
"Sit beneath it."
"Listen."
"Observe."
"And return before sunset."
"That's all?"
"That's all."
Although confused, Kieran obeyed.
---
The great oak tree stood proudly near the northern cliffs.
Its enormous branches had watched over the valley for centuries.
Kieran sat beneath it.
At first...
Nothing happened.
He watched insects crawling across the roots.
Birds building nests.
Leaves dancing with the wind.
Hours passed.
The silence no longer felt empty.
Instead...
It felt alive.
Without realizing it...
His breathing slowed.
His heartbeat calmed.
The surrounding Magna gently drifted around him.
Not entering his body.
Simply...
Existing.
He smiled.
"...It's peaceful."
---
Several meters away...
Hidden behind another tree...
Kael watched quietly.
"So..."
"That's how she's teaching him."
Beside him stood Elder Rowan.
The old stag nodded approvingly.
"She isn't teaching him how to cultivate."
"She's teaching him how not to rush."
Kael snorted.
"Few practitioners possess that patience."
"They all want quick power."
Rowan smiled.
"And most never reach the summit because of it."
---
As sunset painted the valley in shades of gold...
Kieran finally returned.
Crystal was waiting outside the cave.
"What did you learn?"
Kieran thought carefully.
"I didn't learn a technique."
"No."
"I didn't absorb Magna."
"No."
"I just..."
He searched for the right words.
"...felt like I belonged there."
Crystal smiled.
"For today's lesson..."
"That is enough."
---
That night...
After Kieran had fallen asleep...
Crystal remained outside.
Her eyes rested upon the stars.
"...His foundation is progressing faster than I expected."
Yet...
She refused to let excitement cloud her judgment.
The greater a genius...
The easier it was to ruin them through impatience.
"I will not make that mistake again."
Her emerald eyes slowly closed.
For the first time in years...
The poison inside her body had remained completely dormant throughout the day.
Not because it had weakened.
But because...
Her own state of mind had become calmer.
Crystal opened her eyes in surprise.
She looked toward the sleeping Kieran.
Then she laughed softly to herself.
"So..."
"I'm learning too."
The quiet valley settled beneath the light of Gaia's three moons, while teacher and student unknowingly continued walking the first steps of Paths that would one day shake the countless Realms beyond Melika.
End of Chapter 13