Kevin stared at the instructions in a mixture of bemusement and mounting worry.

  After long consideration, he’d decided that the massive potential benefits of the Twisted Script far outweighed any extra effort he’d need to put in now. While the risk of complete failure still haunted his mind, he’d pushed it aside and made the purchase.

  Now, reading through the actual style manual, that worry had returned with a vengeance.

  The issue wasn’t the difficulty of the instructions, though they were hard to understand. The problem was that Kevin couldn’t see why Fischer’s steps would make his brushwork faster.

  If anything, these instructions would be slower than the method he’d learned in the first FORM-101 tutoring session.

  Fischer’s original instructions were to start with the large, abstract sections of the flag pattern. These shapes and lines took up more space than the smaller characters spread throughout the image while also being easier to draw.

  Finishing them first, moving from left to right in a logical pattern, would minimize the risk of ruining your spacing. If you got the spacing on the abstract sections right, you had a defined scaffold from which to include the fine detail.

  Compared to that reasoned approach, the Twisted Script sounded like madness. First, it advocated beginning with a single character within the pattern. While that risked wasting time if you ruined the spacing later, it wasn’t a problem on its own.

  It was how you selected the first character to draw and what you did after that which drove him to distraction.

  You had to search the flag pattern for the character that ‘felt’ like the key point the rest of the flag rested around. There were vague instructions on how to do this, most of which boiled down to trusting your instincts.

  Once you’d located the key point, you drew that character and filled in the surrounding details. Again, if that had been the extent of the style, it would make some sense.

  Starting from the most important and working out from it was even a solid fit with the idea of imbuing intent into the flag.

  Except, that wasn’t what you did at all. You only filled out details until the current section no longer felt like the most important one. Then you moved on, whether or not you’d finished what you were working on.

  Leaving half-finished characters and artwork behind, you located the next most important flag section. Then, you went through the process again, filling out a section until it was time to move on.

  That was the whole technique. You jumped about to random places on the flag, filling in small sections while trying to leave enough space to fit the finished product.

  It was like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle by gluing every piece to the table the moment you attached it to another. The only way he could imagine it being possible would be through perfect memorization of the pattern.

  If you could keep the entire design in mind throughout the process, then it might be possible. Except Fischer didn’t describe that in the instructions, and even if it worked, he couldn’t see any reason it would speed up the flag’s creation.

  The only reason he wasn’t already demanding a refund was his limited understanding of the Twisted Step technique. He’d studied the movement technique during his entrance exam and seen how it advocated moving in a curve to increase speed.

  Much like the Twisted Script, there was no logical reason that would help. A straight line should always be the fastest, excluding factors like terrain. And yet, he’d seen Amelia use the technique to significant effect on multiple occasions.

  A strange mystery within the technique somehow allowed it to impose new rules upon the world. Since the methods shared a naming theme, the Twisted Script might work in a similar way.

  Fischer even discussed implementing her understanding of the sect’s principles in her introduction. Given that, he could hope it was some genius technique and not just a load of nonsense she’d written to get the other elders off her back.

  The only way he’d find out was by trying the technique and seeing for himself.

  Kevin threw aside his fifth failed flag with a scream of annoyance.

  After his initial look at the Twisted Script’s instructions, he’d taken a break for dinner before returning to his dorm room. There, he’d pulled out his supplies and got to work.

  Since then, he’d tried five times, and every flag failed as he’d predicted. While he could get the first few sections down without issue, it soon became apparent that he’d mess up the spacing.

  Either he scrunched the sections together without leaving room for the remaining pattern or drew them so far apart that the design was ruined.

  He’d tried careful measuring when changing sections to ensure he left the right amount of space. Yet the final product was off every time as if something had changed partway through.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The effect was maddening, yet contained a hint of hope. During his last few attempts, Kevin had felt the tiniest Qi drain pulling on his sealed land. It seemed clear the style was trying to do something; it just wasn’t working.

  Kevin let himself sulk for a moment, wishing he’d picked the other style. He expected extra work but hadn’t anticipated it would be like this. It felt like he was trying to find his way in the dark, with Fischer’s instructions providing only a tiny flame to light his path.

  Then, he took a deep breath and pushed his frustrations aside. He was committed now; the only way out was to push through. None of his original considerations had changed simply because the style was more annoying to learn than he’d anticipated.

  With restored motivation, Kevin returned his attention to his desk and cut another flag. He had time for a few more attempts tonight.

  With Wednesday came the wonder of free time. Kevin’s schedule was packed with classes for the first two days of the week, forcing him to fit everything else between the gaps.

  From Wednesday onwards, he had only a three-hour class per day, freeing up his schedule to fit in all the practice, chores, and formation work he needed. First up was a supply run.

  His many attempts at the Twisted Script the night before had burned through all the flag-crafting supplies left over from the previous week’s projects. Cloth and ink were in the most need of resupply, though he also picked up more wooden rods for flag handles.

  Along the way, Kevin handled all the other minor tasks that daily life required, including a trip to the Outer Sect’s post office. There, he found a letter from Travis waiting, holding the response to his question from the week before.

  The letter confirmed that his tuition payments to the sect were guaranteed for up to a year. This was a massive relief, allowing him to focus entirely on the critical cutoff point in six months.

  By the time he needed to take over payments, he’d have had a full year of classes under his belt. With that much experience, he shouldn’t have any issue working through the sect’s backlog of formation maintenance jobs to pay his way.

  With luck, he’d even be able to pay off the debt in short order, leaving him with additional resources to push his advancement further.

  Travis also confirmed that he’d passed Kevin’s thanks on to Dr. Grange and asked for any interesting stories Kevin had from the sect. Kevin had little time left, so he settled into a writing desk to pen a response.

  Sharing a few stories with the stuffy agent was the least he could do after all the help Travis had been. Given how professional the man had tried to keep things at the beginning, this sign of friendship was enough to bring a smile to Kevin’s face.

  Fischer’s crazy teaching style made for a good story to share, as did the insane tale of the previous FORM-101 teacher vanishing in a mystic realm. Beyond that, he shared a few details about the friends he’d made before signing the letter and sending it off.

  He considered adding a request to meet with Dr. Grange again but decided against it. A week ago, when he had cultivation issues, talking to the original source of his cultivation style seemed necessary.

  Since then, he’d acquired a set of pills that removed most of the issues. While he might get stuck again in the future, he could always ask once it became essential.

  Writing the letter took up more of his morning than Kevin had planned, and he barely had time to finish everything before the FORM-102 practical.

  His Formation Maintenance class continued the series of formations they’d been analyzing as a group. They worked together to apply the new principles from the lecture, which were still fresh in their minds from the day before.

  In a way, FORM-102 was the class that required the least work, as Lucas Thresher, the instructor, had set up the two classes on adjoining days. Every other class Kevin had was further apart, requiring more out-of-class revision to keep up.

  As always, the challenge of identifying formation after formation was fascinating, and Kevin was looking forward to the class after next when they would move from group to individual challenges.

  While group work was a nice social activity, he needed individual challenges to keep pushing his formation skills. You had to understand a formation to identify it, so FORM-102 tied in well with his other classes.

  It was also the class that provided no homework or practice to complete, leaving Kevin with the entire afternoon free.

  He used part of the time to practice his flag lobbing and the Sinking Sands footwork before returning to his room to keep bashing his head against the Twisted Script style.

  Despite his determination, Kevin made little progress on the Twisted script that afternoon or evening. Nor did his attempts early on Thursday morning bear any fruit.

  The more he tried to nail down the process and carefully line up his work, the more the results drifted from what he expected. While the Qi drain continued growing as he worked, it seemed more adept at fighting his attempts than aiding them.

  His Qi Shielding class, TEQ-109, was a welcome distraction. It was Kevin’s only class that actively used Qi to produce a supernatural effect, which came with a wonder all of its own.

  There was nothing quite like projecting your own energy into the world and seeing the changes it made. It was also one of the classes Kevin had the most confidence in, having successfully created the initial Qi Barrier technique in their first practical class the week before.

  This week, the class continued to hone that initial success. Instructor Li was intent on increasing the speed and power of their barriers, pushing them toward the point where it would be viable in combat.

  Like the week before, most of the class was spent on blocking practice in pairs. Taking turns, one person attacked, while the other generated a Qi Barrier on the edge of their forearm as they blocked.

  Besides the continued practice, Li cleared almost the entire class to practice outside of class. Only a single student showed adverse effects channeling Qi outside their regular energy network, and, for once, Kevin wasn’t the one with an issue.

  That meant his planned cultivation session with Amelia could go ahead that Saturday. Beyond just looking forward to spending time with her, assistance from one of the brightest new disciples would be invaluable.

  Amelia had mastered the technique beyond any of the disciples taking the class long before she’d ever joined the sect. While part of that was no doubt due to her incredible learning ability, any tips she could pass on would still be immensely helpful.

  The end of the class, however, also signaled the end of Kevin’s success that day. He struggled further with the Twisted Script all afternoon, only taking brief breaks to practice his other skills.

  His concerns about the technique had only increased as the days passed. At some point, he would need to put it aside to do the actual formation crafting or risk missing his deadline.

  Yet, doing so felt wrong when a speed boost might be just around the corner. The tantalizing idea of saving time kept pushing him forward, even when his practice saw no results.

  Torn between the two viewpoints, Kevin eventually gave himself until the end of the day. If he could at least get the technique to work by then, he could use it in his formation work.

  If not, he’d have to admit he was stuck, put the technique aside for this week, and use his old method to finish all his projects.