In his initial month at the academy, Luke demonstrated remarkable progress in all areas of his education, except for one specific field- The mounted combat practice.
His chosen mount, the Griffin 'Brown Pudding', showed absolutely no signs of accepting Luke as it's master, as despite his month long efforts to get into the good graces of the mount, the only progress he seemed to have made was that Brown Pudding now ate the food Luke brought for it directly from his hands.
Luke firmly believed that patience and persistence were key to building a bond with the creature, yet despite his dedication, success remained elusive.
He spent at least an hour each day beside Brown Pudding, talking to it in soothing tones, trying to establish a connection.
He read books on griffin behavior, hoping to find some insight that would help him bridge the gap between them.
Luke even sought advice from the academy's seasoned mounted combat instructors, Jerome and some other students applying every tip and technique they shared, from the way to approach Brown Pudding to specific foods that might appease the griffin's discerning palate, but progress in winning over its trust remained slim.
Finally, a month later, Luke decided to give up on trying to win over the beast as he stopped treating it like a beast to tame and started to treat it like a friend he trusted.
Being an elder brother and the strong male character in the family, Luke hardly ever had anyone he confided his true feelings to as he always maintained this facade of strength and resilience, however, there was something about Brown Pudding and it's nature, that made Luke feel like he could confide in the beast.
Maybe it was the fact that Brown Pudding could not speak, maybe it was the fact that it was a virtual character or maybe it was the fact that Luke just had too much going on in his mind, as Luke started to talk to the beast daily, as if the two were the closest of pals.
Everyday, Luke would sit beside Brown Pudding, feeding it snacks as he talked about Earth, how he missed his mother, how worried he was about Leo and how life was going in general.
He told the mount things that he had never told anyone before, such that how he often got dark thoughts that their mother might be dead, buried under rubble, or how there might not be an Earth by the time the brothers managed to save her.
He also talked about how he trusted Cervantez but did not trust him fully and how he worried about the direction in which his life was going.
At times, Luke could see the beasts usually ferocious eyes becoming softer as he narrated his sad stories to it, however, those moments were generally short lived as it became indifferent soon after.
Every once in a while, Luke attempted to mount Brown Pudding, hoping that their shared talk had strengthened their bond, however, whenever Luke made a mounting attempt Brown Pudding bucked wildly, refusing to let Luke anywhere near its back.
Disheartened, Luke would sit at a safe distance, watching as Brown Pudding calmed down, as he felt a mix of frustration and sadness, feeling as if despite his best efforts, the gulf between them remained.
The realization that he might never earn Brown Pudding's trust was a bitter pill to swallow. He understood that building a relationship with such a proud and powerful creature was a monumental task, one that couldn't be rushed or forced, but the lack of progress sometimes made him feel like he was banging his head on a brick wall.
"Choose a different mount-"
"That one is born odd-"
"You're wasting your time and will fail your subject at this rate-"
These were the advice that people gave Luke daily as with the semester progressing fast, Luke needed to start training with Brown Pudding to not fail his subject.
*********
( Meanwhile Leo )
Just as Ben expected, Leo learnt how to blend with the shadows within three days to an acceptable degree.
He understood the principles of minimizing light reflection and creating the perception of blending into the darkness.
The idea was not to literally blend in the darkness, but to be perceived as such when looked at from a certain angle.
If at the same time, someone else also gazed upon Leo from some other angle, they might be able to see him as clear as day, however, that was not the purpose behind the technique.
To achieve real camouflage in the dark, was the second step of the move which was to use mana to distort vision and it was at this step that Leo needed to learn the basics of mana manipulation and mana utilization.
Being a complete novice, Leo had never tried to manipulate mana before and had no idea on how to do it either as unlike physical exercises and movement that he was doing since birth, manipulating mana was a whole new concept for a human from Earth.
According to Ben, mana was the invisible, vital force that sustained and interconnected all elements of the universe.
It was akin to the air around one—ever-present, yet unseen, a source of energy that could be harnessed and directed by those attuned to its presence.
To comprehend and manipulate mana, one had to first acknowledge its omnipresence and learn to sense its subtle flow through all living and inanimate things.
Usually, young ones were taught to meditate and sense mana from a young age but as Ben realized that Leo was not given the same education, he gave him a mana ball that had many tangled threads within.
Ben told Leo that he needed to untangle the threads using mana manipulation and left him with the ball to practice.
Although it was a bit crude, Ben was assured that by the time Leo untangled the ball, he would learn a lot about the mana and mana control.