The Unsurpassed Maiden

"I have a question, teacher." Mi Young suddenly says after a moment of silence enveloped both of her and Lady Ning Gwang. The white haired woman glances at her and gives her a look that signals her to continue with her question. "Why haven't you taught me Materialization yet? We have been having lessons for days but you still haven't taught me the real lesson that you told me you will give me."

Seeing the pout and the small whine in her student's expression, Lady Ning Gwang can't stop the chuckle coming out from her mouth. She places her teacup back to the small coffee table in front of them before she turns her body towards her student, giving the other girl her full attention. "We can learn it now."

"Now as in now?" Mi Young says, eyes widening in shock. Her teacher nodded her head. "Wait, are you really serious?"

"Do you want to learn or not?" Lady Ning Gwang asks while rolling her eyes at her.

"Of course I do!" Mi Young suddenly says. Her tea was completely forgotten as she gave her teacher her full attention as well. "It's just so sudden that's why I'm shocked but I am more than willing to follow you!"

"Since you are already ready, why don't we give it a try?" Lady Ning Gwang says. She sizes up Mi Young before she touches the girl's forehead. "Close your eyes."

Mi Young followed what her teacher instructed and closed her eyes. She waits for a couple of seconds and tries to feel her surroundings. However, nothing happened. She only opened her eyes when she heard her teacher laughing.

"What?"

"I was just kidding." Lady Ning Gwang says while wiping a tear from her eyes.

"What? How can you be so cruel, teacher?" Mi Young says with a glare. Then she crosses her arms to pout at her teacher. "I was really looking forward to finally learning Materialization."

"Oh shush, don't fret, child. You have already mastered Materialization since our lessons started." The librarian says with a smile.

Mi Young looked at her with confusion. "Uhh…no I don't. You never taught me Materialization. All we managed to do was learn facts about our history as well as meditating and meditating…and lot's of meditating. I have learned Meditation, teacher. Not Materialization."

"Yes, and that's the only thing you have to do in order to master Materialization!" Lady Ning Gwang says with a gleeful expression.

"What do you mean?"

"Why don't you try clearing your mind, just like we always do when we are meditating." The teacher instructed. Mi Young threw her a suspicious glance which earned a chuckle from her teacher. "I'm serious right now! I promised I'm not kidding anymore!"

"Fine." Mi Young grumpily says while closing her eyes. She then followed the steps they always do when they are trying to meditate. Ever since Lady Ning Gwang taught her meditation, from its most basic step to mastering it, Mi Young was finally able to reach the State of Mind, which is the peak and the last step of meditation.

The State of Mind is the part where your mind is completely blank and void of any thoughts. There are thousands of Mages who were unable to fully grasp this step of meditation. That's why people who have managed to reach this step of meditation are well respected by the other Mages.

For them, the one who reaches the State of Mind are those who are pure and are void of any ill intentions.

Lady Ning Gwang was the one who helped Mi Young achieve the State of Mind, which the girl didn't take as something so important before. But now that she has learned how significant meditation is in replenishing one's mana and energy, she took her teacher's lessons by heart.

However, what the black haired girl didn't expect was the fact that the State of Mind is her key into finally learning how Materialization works.

"The State of Mind is the first step into learning Materialization. That is why Materialization is a very hard Mage magic to learn because not all Mages are able to reach the State of Mind." Mi Young can hear Lady Ning Gwang say in front of her. Although she can't see the teacher, Mi Young knows that the librarian has her keen eyes on her. "Now, if you have reached that state and can feel the tranquility and peace in your heart, body, and your soul, picture out a material you wanted to obtain right now."

Mi Young hears her teacher's next word. Although she has already mastered the State of Mind, her teacher's instructions were quite hard to deal with, especially that the next step their teacher was asking her to do is contradictory to the rules of the State of Mind.

The black haired girl clears all her thoughts as she tries to insert a material she wanted to materialize right there but without breaking her State of Mind as well.

The young girl tried to picture out the notebook that Soo Young gave her when they parted ways. She imagined it in her hands, solid and real. When the image finally registered in her mind, a burning sensation suddenly coursed all throughout the black haired girl's body which instantly made her open her eyes.

Mi Young can see Lady Ning Gwang smiling at  her. But all she can think of is the burning sensation in her body that is starting to lessen as each second passes by. She also noticed that she was sweating profusely and that her body feels somehow tired even without her doing anything physical at all.

"Materialization can take up lots of your mana because you are using your mental state. Aside from that, it is also kind of the same as teleportation. However, instead of transferring your body to another place, you are transferring a material. Teleportation can eat much more mana than Materialization." Lady Ning Gwang says.

Mi Young was out of breath when she asked Lady Ning Gwang, "Can you materialize another person's body?"

"That's possible. But only those who have opened their second origin can make that happen." Lady Ning Gwang explains. "That's also because it will take up loads and loads of your mana."

"Just like what you did back then when you materialized me near Chang Bin?"

"Uhn. It took a lot of my mana but thanks to my second origin I wasn't that affected."

"How do I open my second origin?" Mi Young suddenly asks.

"Eager aren't we? You just learned the first step of Materialization and now you already want to open your second origin?" Lady Ning Gwang questions. She moves her face closer towards the black haired girl who has a serious expression on her face, "Tell me my dear Mi Young, why are you in a hurry?"

Mi Young frowns at her teacher before slowly moving her head away from her face by pushing her forehead slowly using her index finger. "I'm not in a hurry! I'm just curious to know how. I know it could help me once I take on an adventure myself."

"Oh? Is our Mi Young going somewhere?" Lady Ning Gwang teases with a wink.

"Once I graduate school, I want to go out of the Walls." Mi Young says with much seriousness.

Upon hearing the black haired girl's sentence, Lady Ning Gwang couldn't help but turn towards her student, trying to see if she was kidding. "You're serious?"

"Uhn. I've made up my mind and decided to investigate more about savage beasts." Mi Young says. She has this glint in her eyes that tells her teacher that she was being serious with her dream.

Then, after assessing her student, Lady Ning Gwang chuckles before sipping her tea once more. "Well, if that makes you happy. Anyway, congratulations on materializing your first ever item,."

"Huh?" Mi Young asks, cocking her head to the side. "What are you talking about, teacher?"

"I was talking about this." Lady Ning Gwang says while pointing at something in front of Mi Young.

The black haired girl followed her teacher's hands and saw that the journal which was given to her by the blue haired girl from the past, was now in front of Mi Young; solid and definitely real. She remembered she had completely tucked this journal inside her drawer near her bed. Seeing that it's in front of her now, Mi Young realized that she has finally managed to know Materialization.

"Wow. T-This is…real."

"Definitely real." Lady Ning Gwang says with a proud look. "Continue to practice it until you no longer need to concentrate for about thirty breaths just to materialize a thing you want to get. If you did manage to materialize an object and meditate in a span of twenty five breaths, do tell me so we can proceed to the next steps."

Mi Young nodded at her teacher. "Uhn."

She then stood up from her sitting position and continued to bow in front of her teacher in gratitude. "Thank you so much for your lessons, teacher Ning Gwang!"

"Hwang. Call me teacher Hwang." Lady Ning Gwang says while smiling at her student with pride. "But only if it's just the two of us, okay?"

"I promise, teacher Hwang!" Mi Young says which earned a laugh from her teacher.

"Now, let's greet Brother Zhong, shall we?"