A/N: Start of Volume 3

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Markus exhaled loudly and stretched his body outwards while letting the cool morning breeze brush up against his face. He gazed into the clear blue sky, and let the first rays of sunlight invigorate his skin. Although not much had changed in the outside world within the past two weeks, everything seemed different to him, given his overhauled and boosted senses.

The vibrant tapestry of colours around him looked a tad brighter and livelier. The muted bumble of birds and small fauna, as well as the soothing sizzle of leaves as pleasant winds pranced through them, sounded more attenuated - louder but not overpowering. The mild smell of morning dew was further augmented by the lush fragrances of flowers planted around the orphanage. The taste of the usually bland breakfast gruel felt a bit more flavourful as his taste buds honed in on minor tastes underscoring it.

On top of all of that, Markus' gaze drew in an interesting new addition - an overlay of a fine, dynamic meshgrid extending in all directions encompassing everything, swerving around some, converging at others. It was needless to say that Markus' worldview had evolved and broadened since his advancement. This augmentation not only brought with it a unique perspective on reality, but also a battery of new powers and capacities that others could only dream of.

But that was a point for a later time. Markus' current goal was rather embarrassing - it was to apologise to his Junior Sister for his inappropriate display earlier. Markus forgot to anticipate the ancillary consequences of advancing into Foundation Establishment, even after witnessing it first-hand with his Master. If Markus had taken a second to inspect himself after advancing, instead of getting swept up in his emotions and flexing his newfound powers, he would have noticed that he was as nude as the day he was born and could have avoided the embarrassment of exhibiting his bare buttocks to his Junior Sister. Through this oversight, he had completely squandered every iota of respect he had cultivated with Jean in one fell swoop!

After receiving a serving of reprimand from Matron Reva, he further realised that he had quite possibly offended his Junior Sister as well! He had forced Jean into an uncomfortable position without her consent. Being her superior and someone she relies on, he shouldn't have exploited her that way, knowingly or otherwise. Markus remembered that Master Larks had also apologised profusely to all parties present after the same debacle and explained his reasoning along the same lines.

So, as a responsible person who was at fault, Markus resolved to apologise to everyone starting with Jean. He'd heard from Matron Reva that Jean was camping out with Teacher Jeeves.

'She probably feels deeply offended and is trying to avoid me,' Markus concluded with a dejected frown. With drooping shoulder, he trudged towards the tent near the orphanage which was Teacher Jeeves' abode during his stay at the orphanage.

Upon arriving outside the tent, Markus pulled up his courage and knocked twice on the wooden door.

"Come in," Teacher Jeeves' voice resounded from within. Markus swallowed with a loud gulp before cautiously pushing the door open.

"Teacher Jeeves," Markus immediately greeted the elder mage with a respectful bow. The man was seated on a floor cushion around the low table in the living room area. He was wearing casual attire, which was in the form of a long cotton robe with a hood. Sitting opposite him was the shrunken figure of Jean.

"Junior Sister Jean," Markus greeted with a bitter expression. In response, the girl hummed lightly and sunk her head further into her body. At a quick glance, Markus noticed the girl's face turning a deep crimson shade.

'I knew it,' Markus sighed internally. 'She's infuriated with me.'

Without pause, Markus immediately collapsed to his knees and bowed.

"I apologise for my earlier thoughtless display, Junior Sister Jean. Through my negligence, I subjected you to that offensive spectacle. It was not my intention to do so. I can only hope for your forgiveness, but I realise that it cannot be easily earned. As your Senior Brother, I have disrespected you and failed you," Markus rattled out with a heartfelt bellow.

"I do not ask for your forgiveness, but I am willing to do everything in my power to earn it," he then declared.

An awkward silence prevailed after Markus finished his piece. The boy didn't lift his head from the low bow, as though he were waiting for permission.

Al alternated a confused gaze between the nearly prostrated boy and Jean, who had completely retreated her head into her body like a turtle.

"Could someone explain what's going on?" Al asked out loud after failing to make heads or tails of the scenario.

"In my haste after advancing into the Foundation Establishment realm, I forgot that I had unknowingly disintegrated my clothes. I experienced a predicament due to poor maintenance of my physical body during my closed-door cultivation and called for Junior Sister to help me out. As a result, I... exposed myself to her without her consent," Markus explained out loud.

"You did what?!" Al exclaimed in shock.

"I'm so, so sorry," Markus exclaimed hurriedly. "I... I had no hidden intention."

"Junior Sister, please don't contain your anger. Unleash it upon me," the boy implored as he noticed the crimson hue deepen on Jean's face. He crawled forward whole on his knees, grabbed the girl's free hand and proceeded to slap himself with it. Contrary to his expectations, the girl's paralysed face cracked slightly as the corners of her lips twitched, and the bright red tomato shade started to creep down her face and tinted her neck.

On the other side, Al rubbed his forehead in exhaustion after finally piecing together the whole story.

'Teen drama,' Al sighed. 'Misunderstandings and hormones are a scary mixture.'

Al cleared his throat loudly to stop the farce from continuing.

"Boy," Al said sternly. "You can let go of Jean's hand. She understands that whatever you did was purely accidental, don't you, Jean?"

Jean nodded her head vehemently.

"Furthermore, she's planning to become a healer. Healers have to witness even more embarrassing displays in their line of work. I don't think a teenage boy's nude buttocks should affect her that much."

To that, Jean did not have a response. Al took her silence as affirmation and continued, "Besides, enough with the dejected ambience! It is time to celebrate! Jean has achieved perfected resonance after breaking into the Late stage of Mana Condensation realm, and you have finally advanced into Foundation Establishment realm."

"You've achieved perfected resonance as well?" Markus exclaimed in shock. "That's amazing! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I-I was about to, Senior Brother. But then..." Jean's voice tapered off, but Markus could fill in the blanks. "Congratulations to you too, Senior Brother! Then again, it should be expected from a genius such as yourself."

"You praise me too highly," Markus waved his hand.

"That isn't true," Al quickly interjected. "The girl makes a valid point. You shouldn't downplay your achievements. You managed to break through into Foundation Establishment all through your effort WITHOUT a known cultivation method. And with such quick progression! Who would believe that you took your first steps into the path of magehood only three years ago?"

"But I don't think I qualify as a genius. It... was a long and difficult journey," Markus commented with a wry smile.

"But what matters is that you've succeeded. You started from literally nothing - just remember that! There are people born with a lot more who've achieved barely a fraction of what you have at your age. You should be proud of that," Al highlighted.

"It was all thanks to Master Larks," Markus responded humbly.

"That is also true," Al agreed. "If it hadn't been for him, Jean here would never have the opportunity to pursue her dream."

"Seeing as how you've advanced, there is hope for Jean yet," Al added. "Now that I've sensed it closely, the two of you seem to have vastly different cultivation methods."

"What do you mean, Uncle Jeeves?" Jean inquired.

"Well, although I haven't performed an |Extrospect| to gauge your cultivation in detail, I can still sense it at the surface level. It's possible for me especially since the gulf between our cultivations is so vast," Al started. "That said when I compare what I sense when observing your cultivation with what I experienced within Markus, it is evident that they are not related in any way."historical

"How is that possible?" Jean exclaimed.

"We both learned under Master Larks. We should have similarities in our cultivation," Markus affirmed with a measured nod.

"I don't see it," Al shook his head. "I hoped that if you succeeded, you could help Jean in her cultivation as well. But it appears as though things have taken an unfortunate turn."

Markus scratched his chin in contemplation before proposing, "Teacher Jeeves, can you please expand on what that is? How do our cultivations feel different?"