Ace reached out and touched the glass wall in front of him. The fish on the other side swam past in blissful ignorance of his troubles. He had grasped the basics of Essence manipulation after training for months, but when it came to his manifestation techniques, it was a different story.

He was able to produce visions of animals, like Ollie, and those he had studied closely. Felix had given his technique a name: Visions. With guidance, his Visions were much more tangible and robust. For greater sustainability, he gave each Vision a little core that acted like a battery.

In hindsight, Visions looked more like purified phantoms.

However, all Ace had was his dog, an axolotl and a sparrow, which were not enough. And now I’m here trying to fall in love with fish, he thought as he sat in front of the giant aquarium. For how long he sat there, he did not know. He was so lost in his thoughts that he did not notice that someone was standing next to him.

“Ahem, you’re in my spot.”

Ace’s dazed eyes focused, and he turned towards the voice. An unshaven man with curly hair stood with his hips thrust outwards. His eye bags looked like they could store change in them, and his glasses were on the brink of slipping off the tip of his nose. In his hands, he cradled a large jug of coffee. A half-smoked cigarette hung loosely between his lips. Ashes littered his bathrobe, but the man hardly cared.

Ace scooted to one side. The man crouched down. His knees popped loudly, and his back creaked audibly. Ace stared at the bright yellow rubber duck that was nestled in the man’s dishevelled mop. “Watching fish swim is an odd but effective way to relax, isn’t it?” the man said, taking a slurp from the jug. The noxious smell of coffee, deodorant and smoke wafted through the air. Ace wrinkled his nose.

“Uh-huh.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be training at this time?”

“Technically, this is my training.”

“You don’t sound like you enjoy it very much.”

Ace looked down at his feet. The man was right. He was not very good at sorcery. To be fair, there was not much for Felix to teach, as it was up to them to come up with their techniques.

“I don’t seem to get the hang of it,” Ace sighed. “I’m just dumb.”

The man took another sip of his coffee and smacked his lips. “Top in the cohort when you were twelve, got into the school near your house. Resided somewhere near 186 Bishan Street 13. Went on to get 90 rank points for the General Certificate of Education A-Level examinations, which is the maximum one can obtain,” he muttered. “You are evidently not that dumb.”

Ace’s eyes widened. The man looked at him with smiling eyes. “You’re…” Ace racked his brain, trying to figure out his identity.

“Shun Wei Teng. People call me Shun around here. You may have heard about me.” Shun held out his hand, which had fingers that were stained yellow. Ace shook it lightly after a beat.

“This is Missus Wizzlestructloopaliddle, Wizzie for short,” he chuckled and pointed at the yellow duck that bobbed as he moved his head. “It’s a clip-on my son gave me.”

Ace stared blankly at Shun. “Ace, isn’t it? Can’t miss that very unique hair colouration,” Shun took out a new cigarette and lit it up. The old one was stubbed out on the ground. “So, what’s troubling you, young man?”

“I feel like I’m progressing slower than the rest.” Ace shuffled his feet. “Everyone seems to know what they are doing here.”

“Ace, how do you learn?”

Chewing on the inside of his cheek, Ace pondered for a moment. “Study and practice?”

“Allow me to correct you. In the past, when you prepared for an exam, you simply practised so many questions that when it came to the actual exams, you tried to ‘apply’ what you learnt, when in reality, you’re merely regurgitating knowledge.”

“No, what-”

“It worked well for you because you knew how to make it work.”

“Isn’t that how it is?” Ace mused.

“So it worked for you, and unknowingly, you have started to lean on academic validation as a way to make you feel better about yourself.” Shun exhaled and blew out a long stream of smoke. “All of a sudden, that rug has been pulled out from under you. There are no longer definite benchmarks that guide you. Everyone has their unique abilities. No one gives a shit about yours. They can only try to teach you, but the rest is up to you.”

“And so,” Shun looked at Ace dead in the eye, “you’ve adopted a bad mindset of comparing yourself to others, perhaps a part of you wants a better teacher, one who can spoon-feed you.”

Ace clenched his fist. Shun was reading him like an open book minutes after introducing himself and that duck on his head. Part of him wanted to say that he was wrong, but he had hit every single nail in the coffin.

“Ah, don’t get me wrong, I’m simply doing a bit of abstraction. Sorry if I sound too blunt.” Shun smiled. “But I’ve seen this many times; every batch of students had variations of the same problem. An invariant of sorts.”

“No, thanks for laying it out for me.” Ace shook his head. Perhaps what he needed was brutal honesty.

“Ah, how I wish I had more tact, like Dr. Farid.” Shun intoned as he stroked his chin. “But all I’m saying is that comparison is the thief of joy. You need a new mindset here.”

“What am I missing?”

“Focus. Focus on yourself and your ability. Without focus, there can be no understanding. You need to know how your ability works. Perhaps my ability would be the answer to your questions.”

Shun set down his coffee mug, took out a wrinkled notepad and started scribbling on it. “My ability, Cybero, has four components: Abstraction, Decomposition, Pattern Recognition and Algorithm. What is the core of your ability? What is required to make it work? When does it not work? What is the procedure to conjure whatever you need?”

Shun tore out the page and handed it to him, “Answer these questions and I believe you’ll do much better.”

“Thank you…”

“It seems your friends and teacher are coming to meet you,” Shun said, stubbing out the cigarette on the floor. “The last thing I want to say is that you need a new aim here. For what, for whom, et cetera. Aim at nothing and you’ll hit nothing.”

Shun stood to leave, but Felix signalled for him. “Wanna grab something to drink later? Meet you at the cafeteria,” Felix said.

Shun nodded and waved goodbye to Ace.

“You’ve been here all this time?” Leonhart asked. Sweat streaked down the sides of her face, and her cheeks were flushed. “I thought you were training!”

“This is my training!” Ace retorted.

“I mean, gaining new Visions is training,” Jude said.

“A less intense training as compared to sparring with her.” Leonhart punched Jude in the arm lightly.

“That’s how you improve,” Jude smirked. “I need a capable training partner for myself.”

Ace sighed and got up. He had to show that he had something. He thrust his right hand out and inhaled sharply.

“Vision Manifestation: Ollie!”

The Pomeranian materialised and awaited his instructions. Ace drew a slender metal rod from his side and gave it a casual flick through the air. The dog clamped down on it, its tiny jaw snapping the stick in two.

“Whoa!” Leonhart exclaimed and reached out to pet Ollie. “It feels so real!”

“It will be able to exorcise phantoms, alright,” Jude remarked. “But just one dog? I get that it's cute and all...”

“That’s why I’m trying to know the fish better.” Ace smiled sheepishly.

“You use your right hand a lot as well,” Leonhart commented.

Ace hated to admit that Leonhart was right. For some reason, he was not able to use his left hand, no matter how hard he tried. “I guess I'll have to keep on trying!” he said with a determined expression.

“That’s the spirit,” Felix said, busy on his phone. He tapped on something, and the three of their phones buzzed at the same time.

“What do you have for us?

“Your first mission.”

Leonhart cheered and shook Jude by the shoulders. “This isn’t a field trip, Leonhart,” Jude sighed.

“The information has been sent to your phones. Do remember to read it in detail,” Felix said. “There have been sightings of a low-level phantom, something you can kill with an Imbued dart. I’m sure you can handle it with my supervision.”

“Sweet! When do we start?” Leonhart asked eagerly.

“Tonight! Don’t overeat before the mission, alright?” Felix grinned widely. “See y’all later!”

Ace had made it partway down the hallway with his friends when he turned around to check if he had left anything behind.

He had not, but he did see a scowl carved deep into Felix’s face.

***

When Felix arrived at the cafeteria, Shun was already there. He had taken the time to wash up and change into a fresh set of clothes. Felix sat down opposite him. “Not getting a drink?” Shun asked.

The place was empty, save for the two of them and a cashier wearing headphones, oblivious to everything else. An Ancil’s words posed no threat to him anyway. “What did you say to Ace?” Felix asked, not bothering to lower his voice.

“He seemed to have a bit of trouble mastering his ability, so I gave him some directions. That’s all,” Shun replied with a shrug.

“It’d better be the case.”

“I have no incentive to lie.”

“I can sanction you if you do,” Felix threatened.

“Jonathan Wang Yi Wang,” Shun said out of nowhere.

Felix narrowed his eyes. “What are you playing at?”

“I visited the boy’s father. He seems very unaware that his son is here,” Shun said noncommittally. “He has a Golden Retriever named Deuce. Recently adopted, too. He seems very devoted to the new dog shelter he’s running.”

The chair clattered onto the floor as Felix stood up abruptly. Shun barely flinched and continued to light up another smoke. The rubber duck on his head bobbed as he bent his head down to point the cigarette at the lighter. Felix wanted to bash his head into the table if not for the presence of other people.

“Don’t worry, we are only acquaintances.” Shun exhaled. “Undocumented use of the Meng’s abilities is also a sanctionable offence.”

Felix’s eyes watered, and he could not help but cough. “Don’t worry, I remembered to authorise it.” The threat in his voice waned as he coughed again. This motherfucker!

“Oops. Couldn’t catch you with your pants down.” Shun raised his hands in defeat. “Venerated Elder Lee, I do suggest that you sit down. There are eyes and bugs in the places you’d least expect.”

Felix glared at him. The heat behind his eyes simmered and threatened to explode at any moment. Shun, on the other hand, kept his cool.

“Must you go out of your way to go against me every chance you get?” Felix hissed. “What are you unhappy about?”

“Nothing. I have a family and get paid to do the things I like. I’m simply reminding you that there are consequences to every action, Flame Purist.”

“Do not talk to any of my students behind my back,” Felix snarled.

Without waiting for Shun’s response, Felix slammed a bill on the table. His palm stung, quelling the temptation to grab that bitch by his collar. “For your damn coffee,” he said through gritted teeth. “Keep the change.”

“Why, thank you. Good to know that you understand what makes me tick.”

Felix threw one final look at Shun and then at his cigarette. The scientist’s smile faded as his smouldering cigarette burst into flames in his mouth.

“Consider this your first strike,” said Felix as he glowered at Shun.

“Inhuman fiend,” spat Shun, relatively unharmed. “Have you no heart?”

“You,” mused Felix as he turned slightly, “should’ve seen it taken from me.”