Ball of Nothing

Zero pulled the needle out gently and held his breath. As the needle slipped out of the balloon, he waited. If the water escaped, he would have failed. If it remained as it was, he would pass. It was coming to the end of two weeks and even Hua Tuo was nervous for the boy. This would determine if Zero could learn acupuncture and surgery.

When Hua Tuo demonstrated it, Zero was surprised to know that after the initial sting, it didn't hurt. Hua Tuo then went to explain how surgery worked and Zero tested the effects of numbing grass. He was amazed by the effects and was finally convinced about learning from Hua Tuo his special skills.

However, they soon discovered that Zero was far from ready when it came to the more advanced medical science. It was easy to forget that Zero was only a child physically. His strength and stamina were lacking. He didn't have good control over his muscles either and that was dangerous. Any tiny slip by a millimetre during a surgery could pose a serious threat to the patient's life. Although Zero would learn healing magic at a later date, the physician didn't want to take any risks. Healing magic speeds up the cell regeneration process in a body but it doesn't resolve the root of the problem. Proper medical knowledge was still required.

Zero had no difficulty in pinpointing acupoints but he wasn't able to successfully pierce through skin and reach the blood vessel without hurting the patient. Hua Tuo allowed Zero to try for the first few days, suffering bleeding and bruises when Zero failed without showing signs of progress. At one point, Zero stuck the needle too deep that it hit bone. The old physician couldn't take the silent torture any longer and bought plenty of balloons for Zero's special training.

The water balloons were specially prepared for Zero's training. One balloon was pushed into another balloon and filled with water. The other balloon on the outside was filled with a little air so that there was a gap of about three centimetres before it reached the other balloon filled with water. As Zero progressed, the distance reduced and Zero struggled to maintain that level of proficiency in his control. Hua Tuo began to worry when the boy showed no signs of improvement after the distance was less than one centimetre.

Zero didn't give up. He read everything he could about improving control and tried every exercise he could. While Hua Tuo slept, the boy stayed up to practice. However, he couldn't master it completely. There was always a fifty percent chance of failure and Zero was worried. Still, Hua Tuo continued to harbour hopes. With Zero's level of determination, surely he would be able to manage a miracle somehow.

A miracle, Zero did manage. The water balloon deflated but no water came out of it and Hua Tuo smiled. Now, they were ready. Although he couldn't impart all his knowledge to Zero just yet, he knew that Zero could be taught within the year. A good month had passed and all that's left now was for Zero to perfect the skills he learnt and bring it to a greater height. Unlike Hua Tuo, Zero was gifted in magic although more physically demanding things could prove to be a challenge as demonstrated with the water balloon casualties.

"Congratulations! I suppose you can learn acupuncture and surgery but not any time soon. Today, we will be going to La Boutique."

Zero blinked. After all that hard work, they were going to take a day off? He was looking forward to learning new things too!

"Why the long face? We need to get you stocked up on energy so that we can start your healing magic training!"

At the word training, Zero perked up once more. Hua Tuo found it incredibly weird to see such behaviour from a young child. Ordinary children would rejoice at the thought of having fun but Zero seemed to rejoice at the opportunity to acquire new knowledge. Boredom was the boy's worst enemy and Hua Tuo learnt that the hard way. His waterwheel had been taken apart once by Zero who was curious about how it worked.

Hua Tuo activated the magic stone Merlin sent and they stepped through the portal created. Hua Tuo hadn't been to La Boutique many times but he was slowly getting used to the crowd. Zero had already listed his favourite restaurant and was also familiar with many chefs who competed against each other in order to gain brownie points in Zero's good books.

***

"I see that you've reached the nascent stage of immortality," Merlin commented casually as he entered the library.

It wasn't surprising actually. Truen wasted no time and made full use of every second that he had. Although his progress has slowed, Truen diligently worked at acquiring more Parallel Minds. As of now, he had twenty-three to speak of and it got easier to manage them with higher intellect. Immortality was a side effect of learning magic. Many couldn't achieve it because they lacked the understanding of the true nature of magic. While Truen was technically immortal, immortality was more than the inability to die.

Truen bowed. With the increased speed of reading and the ability to analyse information faster, Truen was able to finish reading half the library. Although it wasn't everything, he was now able to keep up in a conversation with Merlin.

"Sir, I have a request."

Merlin was mildly surprised. Truen was such a quiet and independent person so he didn't think the wood elf would approach him with a favour in mind.

"Speak."

"I would like to commence the practical training in the space-time dimension with you as soon as possible using a Parallel Mind. Although I am still lacking in many areas, I should be able to keep up with the basic training."

Merlin was pleased. That was exactly the reason he had come for today.

"I see that great minds think alike. I too shall use a Parallel Mind for our lessons in the space-time dimension. However, do note that all Parallel Minds are linked. Are you able to keep up with the information flow over different time zones?"

Truen had his concerns initially but he was determined to make it work regardless. Merlin took a good look in those determined eyes and smirked. The wood elf was so similar to how he was when he was still a wizard apprentice.

"I see. Remember to rest well, you'll need it." With that, the Sage God left and Truen blinked. Merlin hardly offered advice so hearing one from him was like a warning.

Quickly finishing up the book in his hand, Truen put everything away as best as he could and let his Minds work while he took a long and well-deserved nap.

***

"Are you ready?"

Truen nodded. He didn't expect their first lesson to happen while he was physically resting. Merlin launched straight into teaching mode and dropped a pop quiz to test Truen's understanding about the basics they were going to cover.

"Not bad," Merlin mused. "You got everything right, theoretically speaking."

Truen was confused. Was there a difference between being correct and being theoretically correct?

"Ready yourself, we are going to spar. You are only allowed to use the basic forms of magic. No funny business like arcane, blood and summoning. Purely elemental, understood?"

Truen nodded and they took their respective battle stances.

"Fireball!" Truen conjured a huge sphere of orange flames and hurled it at Merlin who merely cancelled it by using a shield of water.

Merlin would rate that a seven out of ten for power but a one out of ten for creativity.

"Always assume that your opponent can get away after your first strike!"

Without warning, Merlin summoned a cyclone that shot out bolts of lightning sporadically. Truen barely dodged that calamity-level spell and gaped. When Merlin mentioned elemental magic, he did not mention fusion magic.

The shark-like grin on the Sage God's face made Truen pale. "Do your best to survive. You can't die in this dimension so don't disappoint me too quickly."

With that, Merlin cast another disaster level spell and Truen had to start running. How was this elemental magic?

"That's why you're not a magician yet! Mages are cowards who only have their minds as weapons. Once you close in on them, it's over! Think about how to counter this, it's basic elemental magic!"

Truen wanted to cry. How was this basic at all? Cyclones and lightning weren't elemental at all. They were nature magic so why was Merlin breaking the rules he made?

Then it hit Truen. Maybe nature magic was elemental magic. As he continued to dodge, Truen's mind started working at full speed. He knew that elemental magic was found in everything that possessed life in the most basic form. Fire, water, earth, air, light and darkness were the basics. From these basic elements, fusion magic can be created resulting in more complicated spells such as mud, wood, electricity, ice and more. However, Truen hasn't read anything about catastrophe-level spells that were considered elemental magic. How many tiers of casting was that spell? How could Merlin do it so quickly?

As yet another powerful spell came his way, this time bigger than the first few, Truen knew his days were over. Nobody could dodge that wall of magma packaged in a lightning bolt express.