The rest of the week was a blur for Agatha. Between the fact that she was constantly exhausted and that some classes were just introductory, there wasn't anything to do. Well, there was. She was just too exhausted to do so.

  Christie had suggested going to the library, but Agatha preferred to stay in the room as her roommate already had a pile of books waiting to be read. A proactive reader she wasn't, but Agatha found herself with a lot of free time for the first time in her life. Back in Malachite, she either had to help her mother with the house or work, and when she was in the caravan, she was either studying or walking, but currently, there wasn't anything to study. She did go over her notes to assimilate some of the recent knowledge, especially that of arithmetic, but otherwise, they hadn't truly begun with classes just yet, and it showed.

  For the first time since she arrived at the academy, she and her roommate were finally separated from one another. Agatha remained in the room reading novels, whilst Christie went for jogs around the academy. It was almost counterintuitive considering their proclivities. Agatha should be the one running and not reading, but this could be viewed as a form of study. Christie had to build her stamina, whilst she was still a slow reader by virtue of not having been able to read much in her life.

  That was how they spent the third and fourth days of the week, studying their weakest subjects. Hers was the mind, her roommate's was the body. The seamstress-in-training had started with simple books, fairy tales really, but those still used somewhat advanced prose that demanded a lot of concentration from her.

  Dulled was her mind from exhaustion, boredom, and concentration, but soon arrived the last day of the school week and Agatha felt her motivation pick up again. Not because of the incoming weekend – more free time didn't sound good now – but for the class that they would have today.

  "It has been a few days, but we finally have another lesson in Agatecraft," René Dago announced to the class.

  Most students were still sweating and some panting from the recent physical education class, but what struck Agatha was the dissonance between the man's tone from a handful of minutes ago and now. During training, Teacher Dago had a military imperative to his voice, and whilst that was still the case – don't get it wrong – now he had a more scholarly undertone. A teacher instead of a drill sergeant.

  "I know this is your favorite class for a myriad of reasons, but it is also the one that goes by the fastest. Most other classes, teachers will be lecturing the whole class, but unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on how you look at it – agates are a deeply personal matter and I will need to go over each of you individually in a lot of classes. I recommend that during that time, you either train or study independently, but that depends on you. Either way, let us start with today's class."

  Agatha felt her little agate jitter with excitement, almost an electrifying touch to it. This was the only real class that interested her. This was the only class that could make her fulfill her dream of proving everyone wrong and being the world's best lithorist.

  "I know some of you will want to already go over cryptic commands, but first of all, we need to cover the basics of Agatecraft. Military Agatecraft at that," Teacher Dago rested his backside on his desk before continuing to speak. "Now, you will be asking yourselves what military Agatecraft is. Simple. All Agatecraft that is not civilian, simple as that. I have already stated that discipline is…" He twirled his hand and pointed at the class.

  ""Imperative,"" the students vociferated in a mismatched cacophony.

  "Good," he nodded. "But I expect not to wait that long for further responses. Anyhow, we call Agatecraft and its byproducts disciplines because that state of mind and life is required for agates to gather power. Military Agatecraft demands the user to be active, and civilians have no use for that kind of activity, nor the time. This garnered power is what we call Stratums."

  Without lifting his ass from the desk, René Dago materialized an agate right next to a stick of chalk and then proceeded to grab it with superb dexterity using the agate to write with it. It was both infuriating and awe-inspiring how the man had better calligraphy with his agate on the slate than she with a pen, not even a feather.

  "This will be your most important endeavor at the academy, even more so than your daily trainings. And talking about training, do try to continue exercising even during the approaching weekend, you will thank me in the long run. Going back to the Stratums, though, if you want to consider yourselves a soldier, you will need to achieve the Second Stratum with at least one of your agates. Now the question in your minds is, how do we do so?"

  The chalk glided on the slate as he lectured, his words being written down in compact and summarized bullet points.

  "A Stratum is a reflection of your mastery and acquaintance with your agate. If you wish to increase it, you will need to have the agate summoned at all times. Just like your classmate Miss Malachite."

  Even though he didn't point at her and he continued to speak, Agatha blushed as she was referred to. Some students even turned their heads to look at her, no matter if the teacher continued lecturing.

  "Now, hold your stoneshells," he raised his palm. "Having all of your agates summoned will do nothing. In any case, it will be harmful to your growth. If you want to increase your Stratum, the best strategy is to focus on a single agate at a time. Though other lithorists like to say that it is actually a percentage of your agates, a ten percent rounded upwards. I do not like this claim because it makes no sense to me, but if you were to have twenty agates, then according to these people, you could focus on two at the same time. But none of you have twenty, so summon a single one."

  His warning wasn't without reason as a handful of students had summoned all their agates on top of the desk, but as soon as he said that, they recalled all except one. Some of those classmates blushed at being called out. The class became littered with students who wielded a single agate. All except one. Her roommate. Christie looked mildly uncomfortable at the sight of the whole class having her agates but herself. The redhead didn't make a fuss out of it, though, so Agatha decided not to comment on it either. Not that she could in the middle of the class.

  "I have mentioned this before, but you need to nurture your agate. Develop it not unlike a pet, or better yet, a potted plant. Your acknowledgment and the materialization of the agate are already a good step forward. But let us go over into more detail."

  The chalk slid across the slate with ease as René Dago spoke. To make his explanations even easier to digest, he summoned his highest quality agate. Even though it was as small as Agatha's, she was aware that the quality and potency were way higher.

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  "When I talk about discipline, I refer to the act of using the agate with composure and mindfulness. It is not enough to use the Light command to illuminate your way when you are walking in the darkness of your room, but focusing the light on a single point so it only illuminates forward instead of blinding you."

  A handful of students – Agatha included – gasped at those words. What he was saying sounded… impossible. It was trivial to perform complex transformations with the Control and Shape commands, but with any other ones… it was outright impossible to think about doing so. Those two were the only mercurial commands, or at least that was how she had thought of them all this time.

  "Judging from your reactions, it seems I will need to emphasize some commands and precognitions. But that will be for later. At the time being, you need to have in mind that it is the mindfulness of discipline that makes an agate grow. In this sense, the analogy gets closer to a pet than a potted plant. This mindfulness is not dissimilar to teaching a pet a trick. It requires conscious effort and time, two things people do not tend to dedicate to their agates as they take them for granted. And granted – in a way – it is as they need nothing more."

  Agatha's mind still lingered on that previous comment. She hadn't had her little sapphire for long, so it was hard for her to control its raw power. The clearest example of this was with the same Light command that Teacher Dago had mentioned. Some people were able to dim it, but her lone agate always blasted light at its maximum potency. Which was basically a second sun. Knowing how to control that potency would be a ginormous step forward.

  "Materialization and mindfulness, these two simple concepts are what you all need to increase the Stratum of an agate. But mind you, it is a slow process affected by several other variables like the quality of the agate, amongst others," the black-uniformed soldier raised his chin and looked at the back of the class. "What is it, Master Trastar?" Apparently, a boy had raised his hand.

  "Is that all there is to Stratums?" The boy in question had a deep yet childish voice.

  "I understand your suspicion, but Stratums are more a subject of dedication than secrecy. But if you want extra information," the teacher scratched the back of his head, "there are theories that state that contact is also important. I will reiterate. These are just theories, but contact either in the emotional or physical spectrum is said to help increase the Stratum of an agate. I will not tell you to engage in skinship with your agates, but these theories have some merit. Anyways, having your agate summoned is more than enough, you do not need to have it glued to your skin."

  The class on Stratums continued for a bit, but it was only to go over things Teacher Dago had already said, like Stratums being what allowed agates to hold multiple commands at once, and that it also allowed interesting combinations and synergies, but he refused to show this stuff in such an introductory class. What stood out was how he ended the class.

  "Your first homework in the academy will be to raise an agate to the Second Stratum. As I have said before, it is a long process. You will need to work on it every moment and day of the year, and maybe you will not even be able to achieve a Second Stratum agate during this first school year, but this will be the deadline for the assignment. Those who do not manage to meet the deadline will not be penalized, but those who do will be rewarded so much that you will feel like you are penalized if you do fail. Have that in mind. Class dismissed."

  The following Language class fell almost on deaf ears as everyone's mind still lingered on that Agatecraft class. So much so that it only felt like a blink when Agatha found herself in the mess hall by noon.

  "That was an… interesting class," Christie talked over the food with a crestfallen tone.

  "Quite," Agatha found herself toying with her hanging agate as she reminisced about the class.

  "Is that why you wield it in a collar?"

  "What?" The blonde snapped out of her remembrance and stopped playing with her little sapphire. "What do you mean by that?"

  "Stratums," her roommate emphasized. "Have you been carrying your agate in a pendant all this time to increase its Stratum?"

  "Oh, not at all," the villager chuckled in dismissal. "This is just a gift I got from…" she recalled who she got it from, "…an acquaintance." Mister Krugger was a soldier, so maybe he did it on purpose? Well, an engineer, but that's still a soldier. But… it does make sense. He made my wands for the statal examination, so maybe he also wanted to give me a head start. "It was just a gift, as my agate is very pretty, so he wanted me to boast about it." Or maybe something else. Something more.

  "Well, he was right about the pretty part," the redhead blushed out of nowhere. "The agate, I mean."

  "Yeah?" Agatha squinted in confusion but otherwise didn't linger on it. "But if sentimental attachment helps with gaining Stratums… then I would say I have a severe advantage."

  "Are you attached to your agate?"

  Agatha blushed for a moment as she thought about her next words. "…As much as you are attached to Fran?ois."

  Instead of sneering at her, her roommate whistled in admiration. "That is quite the attachment," she added with a giggle. "But how does one get that attached to their agates?"

  "Uhm…" The dirty-blond girl slightly moved her butt forward on the bench to close on her roommate who was at the other side of the table and started whispering. "I think you have already figured this out by now, but I only have a single agate." Christie didn't mock her or comment on it; she simply nodded. "Because I have only one agate, I have been… ridiculed. But at the same time, I cannot hate it for it. In any case, I love it more for it."

  "Fewer things to love means more love for those that are there, right?" Her roommate smiled softly.

  "Yeah…" Agatha found herself returning the smile.

  The next moment, both girls were giggling.

  "Not to boast, but I expect to be the first student to get to the Second Stratum," Agatha said once the laughter died down. "But – sorry if I am being pushy – I am a bit worried about you."

  "I… comprehend your worry. I am too," The girl with the bicolored eyes giggled again, but this time it was a somber laughter. "It is like the nurse said on the first day. I need control over my agates, and I do need those Stratums, but all the same, I do not know how to achieve them. It is… hard for me to summon a single agate; and having it summoned all the time… even more so."

  "That sounds…" Words failed Agatha. She was unable to find the correct epithet to use in this situation. A lot of them fit, but not many seemed appropriate.

  Fortune, though, was on her side as an interruption presented before the pair.

  "How perfect to find you both here." The new speaker was none other than René Dago. The sudden appearance halted Agatha's mental activity as her mind couldn't process seeing the teacher in the mess hall. Then she realized that even teachers had to eat. "Are you girls free this weekend?"

  Christie instantly responded with a "Yes" while Agatha looked at their teacher with the dirtiest and most disgusted gaze a woman could produce.

  "Sorry, that came out wrong," the grey-eyed soldier extended his open palm forward and apologized. "What I meant to say is that if you have plans for the weekend, it would be better if you postponed them as you are summoned."

  "By whom?" The blue-eyed girl responded with suspicion.

  "In your case, Miss Malachite, by the same person who summoned you to the Skyscraper Academy." With that single response, all color drained from Agatha's visage. "As for Miss Valasela, the one summoning her is yours truly."

  "What is the cause of the summon?" Christie asked politely as she didn't even detect anything wrong with the man's introduction.

  "A consultation, or private tutoring, if you will. As for the other, I have not been told." Then René Dago bowed. "Now, if you excuse me, even teachers need to eat."

  Their teacher departed, but Agatha remained petrified behind. Dread and expectation gathered in both her heart and agate as she recalled his words. The same person who summoned you to the Skyscraper Academy. She knew nothing of that individual, and that was what made her dread worse. They were her savior, the one who allowed her to taste the comforts and knowledge of the prestigious Skyscraper Academy, but at the same time, they were also the one who could make her out.

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