"To learn Zen, you need to do two things," Sarah said. "First is to take Meditation to the next level by completely clearing your mind, and the second is to don't move a single inch."
Billy frowned when he heard that… It seemed too simple. Besides, the first step basically was the only thing necessary. If one's head is empty, then one won't have the reason to move.
While Billy had just arrived, he still had work to do. That being said, he sat on the ground and entered the lotus position. He also closed his eyes and began to clear his mind. He had to learn that as soon as possible to make the most out of the situation.
"You keep your head clear and don't move for ten seconds, you should be able to feel the effects of Zen," Sarah said. "Imagine yourself looking at the sky, the blue sky of an afternoon. Look at the clouds quickly crossing the sky without thinking of anything."
Billy thought that he had to clear his mind completely, but it seemed that he could have an image in his head. As long as that doesn't make him think of anything else… Despite that tip, Billy had a hard time keeping his mind clear. It was probably because he could feel too many magic presences around him.
"No good, huh… it seems you will need some practice," Sarah said.
Billy closed his eyes again and proceeded to take some deep breaths. His body began to relax, and he could feel the presence slowly dimming out and disappearing in the distance. Since he didn't want to focus on the people around him, his mana began to obey him. It stopped searching for the surroundings for everything. Without feeling anything around him, Billy's mind began to calm down. He did that pretty fast, but it was probably because of his high magic…
Nevertheless, Billy probably reached the second level of Meditation. Still, since he didn't receive any confirmation… then, it was complete yet. He had stopped moving as well. In the end, that only took fifteen minutes… he just had to relax all his muscles, completely to the point where he almost fell asleep at first. The theory behind it was a lot simpler than learning elemental manipulation despite its usefulness.
Congratulations! You have learned the skill Zen.
"You already did it… as expected, you are not normal," Sarah said.
"That doesn't sound like praise…" Billy said. "Anyway, I will talk with you guys at night. Once our job is over."
Sarah nodded and then left the area without making much of a fuss. It wasn't like they could train right now. After all, they had work to do. Regardless, Billy decided to see what he could do with that skill, and aside from the bonus in magic, he already could control his magic a bit more than before. As if they had been waiting for Sarah to leave, Billy's friends showed up.
"Did something happen, Billy?" Alexander asked. "I never saw Sarah talking with someone for that long… aside from the people of her tribe."
"She wanted to confirm something and asked for help," Billy said.
Billy explained to his friends what he had just learned and about the agreement he made with Sarah. If he manages to teach Zen to others, they probably will have an easier time learning magic. After all, that increased their overall mana pool. In any case, Alexander and Lily nodded after hearing that. It seemed that the Elementalist was raised while hearing stories that their people were limited by their talent instead of their hard work. They could only comply with that since they couldn't understand and explain the magic powers they obtained over the years. Even if they could, they only used abstract concepts, which only made things more complicated.
As for Natalie, she didn't hide her displeasure. While she wasn't close to anyone in her village, it seemed that Sarah had killed a few of the light seekers, and she couldn't forget that… there was also the fact that her father died by their hands… it was truly something complicated to deal with. Despite that, she didn't say anything… Billy was starting to think that his lack of consideration toward his friends' feelings was putting a crack in their friendship.
"Sorry, Natalie… if we want to avoid problems with them in the future, this kind of cooperation is necessary," Billy said.
"I don't care," Natalie said, then turned around and left.
She was still a child… Despite that, Billy couldn't shrug or sigh because he probably would act the same way if he had lost a parent or a close friend against the elementalists over the years. He even considered completely ignoring them when his father was recovering from the injuries that almost crippled him, after all. He couldn't blame her and yet, he couldn't ignore the possibilities that tribe could give him.
Regardless, after working through the day, Billy went to the elementalists to teach them what he knew. While some of them looked really displeased about the fact that someone who wasn't from their tribe was teaching them something they were supposed to be good at, Billy ignored that. Let prideful fools be prideful fools by ignoring them.
"Although he is the youngest of us, Billy sure is mature… to be able to forget the bad blood that exists between us and the elementalists, even most of the adults can't do that," Lily said. "Still, I am a bit worried since he moves too fast... even considering that it is something that is bound to happen."
"I don't think his father is going to retire any time soon, but I suppose he has the martial skills and the communication skills to become the next leader of our tribe," Alexander said.
"Whatever, let's spar, Alexander," Natalie said and then unsheathed her swords.
Alexander didn't want to since Natalie was in a bad mood, and she would kick his ass, and that indeed ended up happening.
