Chapter 81: Preparations for Advancement

Julius was sitting on the bench next to Aubrey, both of them out of breath from their sparring. Aubrey had improved her clone technique very fast, it took Julius much more mental focus to decide which one was real and which one wasn't now. Aubrey was still frustrated about how much mana and aura it cost to use it, but Julius could already see how she was becoming more efficient.However, he believed that no matter how much practice she had, the technique would always be a big mana eater. The technique was based on using large amounts of mana and aura to simulate an actual person's presence.

Julius on the other hand, had gotten much better at using with his constructs. At the moment he was still using flat and simple layers for most of his spikes or other constructs, but if he took the time, he could create a construct with his scaled layers. Those constructs were much stronger and even Aubrey had to concentrate on deflecting them, instead of taking them directly.

Julius still hadn't broken through her defenses yet, but he felt like it was possible now. If he used his kinetically enhanced fire technique he thought he would be able to do some damage. He was tempted to ask Aubrey to be his testing dummy, but he wanted to get better control over it first. He still wasn't comfortable using it under regular conditions, but he was getting there.

Another thing was his skill, . It was quickly becoming one of the most useful and powerful skills in his arsenal. The downside was that just like , it was difficult for his mind and soul to take the load of the skill. It was a rare+ skill for a good reason, but he suspected that the skill would become much easier to control once he advanced.

He was able to empower his constructs to a certain degree with , it wasn't that much yet, but he could feel its potential just waiting to be unlocked.

Julius felt Aubrey poke him from the side.

"Hey, when are you planning to advance to Tier 2?" She asked him before taking a sip of water.

Julius thought about that. He had been planning to advance, but he kept on getting sidetracked. There was so much on his plate right now, that he was getting overwhelmed. He was already thinking about not going to certain classes. It wasn't like there was a requirement to go to any of the classes. The only thing that was really stopping him was that there were assessments every once in a while, and if the material tested was only stuff discussed in class then he would need to still go.

"I don't know. I was thinking soon, but with everything going on, I just haven't had the chance," Julius truthfully told her.

"Do you feel like you are prepared? Like do you believe you could do it right now?" Aubrey asked.

Julius shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I could probably do it this very second, but I don't know how long it would take or what I need to really prepare for."

Julius watched as Aubrey placed her hand underneath her chin, deep in thought. Then she spoke, "How about this? Tonight, after your aura class you meet me here. There are several chambers specifically meant for advancement, I will be able to set you up and give you any advice you need. Not that you have much to worry about, Tier 2 is relatively simple, just a little messy."

"How long does advancing usually take?" Julius was curious.

Aubrey had to think about that one. "Eh… there's not a specific or average time. Some can take a few minutes, while others can take hours. It just depends on the person. For you, I think you will be relatively quick. You have a solid foundation, so there will be fewer changes needed to be done."

Julius was happy to hear that. "Okay, so I should meet you, right after my aura class? You're okay with it being that late?" Julius made sure it was fine with her.

"Yeah, I don't need as much sleep as a Tier 3, so I will be fine," Aubrey assured him.

Julius smiled at her. "Thank you, I appreciate it," he was grateful that she was helping him.

"No worries. You have no idea how much you have helped me out with my and skills. I have made so many improvements in just a couple of days. This is the least I can do. Trust me, we are not even yet, not even close," Aubrey said seriously.

"What's not even close?" Edgar had walked up to them, wiping the sweat from his face with his shirt.

"Nothing, I just promised Julius that I would help him advance tonight," Aubrey told Edgar.

"Oh! You're going to advance?" Edgar turned to Julius with excitement.

Julius nodded his head. "Yeah, I might as well, I don't think there is any reason to not at this point," he said.

"Do you mind if I come as well?" Edgar asked a little timidly, something that wasn't like the big man at all.

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Julius laughed. "Of course, you are more than welcome."

Edgar smiled widely and clapped Julius on the shoulder. "What time are you planning to do it?"

"After my aura class so probably around 8," Julius said.

"Okay, I'll meet you guys there. I shouldn't have anything planned then," Edgar said.

"What's happening? Are you guys leaving me out of something?" Lily had overheard Edgar and came walking over to them.

Aubrey answered her. "Yeah, Julius is advancing to Tier 2, so Edgar and I are going to meet here to help him tonight."

"Yay! That's amazing Julius, congratulations! Do you mind if I come along as well?" Lily asked with an excited grin.

Julius smiled and shook his head with exasperation. He might as well just invite Derek and Kyle along at this rate or they will feel like they were getting left out.

"Yes, Lily you can come too. We will be meeting here at 8," Julius told her.

"Awesome! This is so exciting!" Lily exclaimed.

"What's exciting?" Julius heard Derek ask from behind.

"Oh, Julius is going to advance to Tier 2 tonight!" Lily told him excitedly.

Derek turned to Julius with a smile. "Congratulations Julius, can I-"

"Yes, you can come as well," Julius cut him off with a smile.

"-come too?" Derek finished quietly and paused. "Wait, what did I miss?" He asked the others with a confused face.

Aubrey whispered to him, "You are the third person within the last minute to ask if you can come."

"Everyone is welcome, we will be meeting here at 8 after my last class," Julius told the five of them while chuckling to himself.

After they ate dinner together, Julius headed off to his aura class with Professor Youma. He had been practicing his aura control, specifically suppressing his aura all day whenever he could. He was making slow, but very consistent progress. The hardest part was concentrating on suppressing his aura while also being able to function normally.

Things like walking, talking, and even standing were much more difficult when his entire focus was on his aura. But it was good practice, training his aura through his day-to-day routine.

When Julius had walked into class, Professor Youma hadn't looked at Julius. However, Julius did feel the professor reach out with his aura and give Julius a metaphorical tap on his shoulder. Julius responded by slapping the finger away and tried to do the same thing to Professor Youma.

Sadly, Julius's aura couldn't even reach within arm's length to the professor before it dissipated like mist in an inferno.

Throughout the entire class, Julius practiced the same thing he had been doing all day. He was able to concentrate very deeply and keep his aura mostly suppressed much to his pride. Of course, a little slipped out every now and then, but compared to yesterday it was a major improvement.

About halfway through the class when everyone was focused on their own aura exercises, Julius felt something. He felt an aura intrude into his own and began picking it apart.

It was very sneaky and very subtle, so Julius didn't know who it came from, but he was pretty certain it was Professor Youma if the grin on his face was any indicator. Every time Julius grabbed ahold of his aura, the professor was there to pull a single thread and everything went crashing to the ground.

It was like Julius was playing Jenga and each time he was about to add another piece, Professor Youma was there to take away the single wooden log holding it together. It was very annoying but also impressive, especially considering the professor was still walking around helping students who needed advice.

Professor Youma was able to find the weakest link in Julius's aura within a second and use that little piece of leverage to rip away Julius's control. It was something he realized he could learn a lot from.

Julius noticed that the professor wouldn't just rip the link away as fast as he could, but he would allow Julius to sense what he was pulling, and give him a chance to respond.

The one thing that Julius noticed was the piece was almost always the one part of his aura that he was paying the least amount of attention to. Once Professor Youma felt like he had given enough time to Julius to prepare, he ripped the aura away and scattered it into many pieces.

He would do it again and again, testing Julius's control. And Julius realized what he needed to do. He couldn't leave any of his aura unattended. If he did, then Professor Youma had an easy target.

Therefore, even though he was much slower in gathering his aura together, he made sure that he didn't leave any openings for the old professor. It was very challenging and meticulous. It felt like trying to search through a wooly carpet after you had just dropped a box of tiny screws and had to find each one.

However, he had a brilliant idea. What if he had a vacuum? What if he didn't need to be on his hands and knees picking through the carpet to find each individual one? What if he used his aura like a suction device?

Now that was an idea. It was very similar to how he had created his core and felt like it could very well work.

Julius released all his aura back to its normal position. He noticed that Professor Youma had stopped walking around and had turned to face Julius. He must have felt Julius's aura completely drop and was curious about what he was doing.

Julius took a couple of deep breaths and activated close to as high as he felt comfortable going. The whole world seemed to narrow into a very thin tunnel, there was only him and his goal at the end.

Once he felt prepared, he began gathering his aura again. However, this time he wasn't trying to hold it anymore, he was sucking it in and imagining the centripetal force pulling the aura close to him. The only thing he concentrated on was creating a vortex of aura.

Julius would like to say that he got it down on the first try, but he didn't. He didn't get it on his second or third try either. Truthfully, he wasn't even close. The aura was just splashing out everywhere. He was just creating a big mess, and he saw several students around him look up and try to figure out what the disturbance was about.

Julius was going to stop and give up on the idea, but he caught a hint of a proud smile on Professor Youma's face. So while he did stop for the moment, he promised himself he was going to try it again once he wasn't around many other students. He felt like he was on to something.