"Urgh! Argh! *huff* *huff*"
Groans of pain accompanied by rapid huffing can be heard across the back of the von Graad Manor, more especially in a particular and unvisited forested area that stand on the very edge of the area of the Manor.
The sudden sounds make the atmosphere in a certain overlooked portion of the backyard sound very haunted when coupled with the fact that is currently late at night and that particular area has scarce illumination when compared to the rest of the backyard due to the small forest that is present in the area.
If you were to trace back the sounds, you would come to face with what it looks like an old and abandoned warehouse. It's exterior showing clear signs of deterioration with various cracks and dirt along with having vines and other plant materials covering the whole structure.
But if observed from the inside, it would become apparent that the outside's apparence was left inconspicuous on purpose. Since the inside, contrary to the outside, is very clean and organized. The old warehouse had good lighting and heating, inside it you could see the separation into two distinct areas: One, which was a laboratory with an assortment of various technological apparatus, vials with liquid, research notes and many varied materials that were stored in a neat and organized manner,partly utilizing the warehouse for it's intended purpose. Two, the second area occupied a smaller section of the warehouse and it was filled with various necessary amenities including a bed, a refrigerator, a desk and even a place to wash clothes. All of that makes obvious that the warehouse was repourpused to act as a workshop and allow someone to live in there.
The sounds where coming from the living section, where Alabaster was seen sitting cross-legged on the bed while being shirtless and filled with needles which made him look like a porcupine, seeing his expression, it's obvious that the groans of pain and incessant panting was coming from him, as his face was contorted into a frown and you could see the air leaving his mouth.
"Master, are you okay? Do you still wish to continue the procedure?" And on his back there can be found Beatrice who is holding one needle while looking very concerned but contrary to what her expression might imply her hand is completely steady and showing no signs of hesitation or fear as she knows that such interferences would compromise the success of this very delicate operation. "If you think that its too much I could st-"
"No!, keep *pant* going!" He interrupts her while showing that despite all the pain he is in, his resolve hasn't wavered even a little and in a closer observation you can see the tiny spasms that are coming from his body, that reveals that he has been not only enduring the pain but also forcefully keeping his body still in order to facilitate Beatrice's job.
Now, without any hesitation or second guessing her master's orders, she lines up the last needle and swiftly stabs it directly on the back of his head exactly on the point between his spinal cord and lower cortex, this out of the dozens she has already applied is by far the most dangerous one since a small mistake could cause permanent damages to his brain.
After receiving the last needle, Alabaster experienced a pain that far overshadowed the previous ones he felt, but he was already expecting it so he just gritted his teeth and reminded himself that this was an opportunity and he had to seize it.
He gathered all of his focus and made his void energy circulate through his circuit while giving special attention to all the areas wich had a needle struck to it, very quickly a special medicine that the needles were coated with started spreading to nearby areas, giving nourishment to both his internal organs and his circuit. But all of this was just a preparation for the real procedure.
The needles that are embedded into his body are meant to target his circuit and cause it to be blocked, separating his circuit into various smaller segments. And in this state he started to use the energy that is present in those segments and make it move, but since the energy was trapped, it couldn't, so it started to apply pressure into the pathways walls and forcing it to expand. The medicine is meant for this stage, in order to support this expansion and prevent damages the medicines swiftly acts to strengthen and reinvigorate the pathway that way decreasing the risks of the procedure.
That leaves the immediate areas where the needles had struck that since they couldn't receive energy they hadn't enlarged, but it was not a big problem since those areas would enlarge over time to reach the rest. He would just be unable to use his powers on the meanwhile in order to not strain the rapidly growing sections.
His body then visibly relaxes as the procedures come to an end. Beatrice already starts to remove the needles without even having to be given the order. As the pain recedes little by little, he heaves a huge sigh in order to completely release all tension and he starts stretching his now sore body.
The procedure they have performed was invented by Beatrice after she learned to do acupuncture, wich proved to be killing three birds with one stone since learning acupuncture would: increase her number of abilities she could use to help her master, it can be incorporated into her fighting style since they are easy to conceal and good for surprise attacks and they provided for a way to introduce a medicine or poison to a very specific part of the body. It was not her first time performing the procedure, due to Alabaster's circuit being prone to suffer permanent damage, the treatment was first tested on her with Alabaster using his copying ability to be capable to apply the needles on her and only after they were sure that the inner wounds he would suffer could be recovered from that they moved on to using the procedure on him.
The theory behind it, is to purposely block his circuits in order for the trapped energy to apply pressure on the pathways while the medicine in the needles would lessen the strain on the pathways and aid in its enlargement. She thought on doing that because when the circuit is in its natural state, the pressure that the energy within generates is too small and if you try to saturate too much energy in order to increase it there is a chance of you experiencing backlash, so she decided to divide it into smaller segments in order to make it easier to solve the problem. This method is the product of years of her hard work, experimentation and research that allowed her to merge potioneering with ancient medicine. It is a ingenious method whose only downside is being temporarily unable to use your powers and sporting a few minor inner wounds, if it was shared with the rest of the galaxy it would be sure to be considered a major breakthrough.
Beatrice meanwhile, carefully wiped and cleaned his now sweat and grime ridden body. Showing how much she has grown and matured from when she started as his attendant all those years ago. At the start she would stutter and be nervous, 4 years in, she would perform adequately the task but be flustered, 8 years in she would try to remain stoic but would show flaws but now her maturity is shown by not even betting an eyelid to her master's undressed state and performing her job with stoicism and professionalism.
She has already become 18 years old and has become a fully fledged woman, her height has peaked at a respectable 1,72 m, her facial features becoming more sharp and mature, her posture and aura exuding proper etiquette, scholarly wisdom and both the respect and pride that an attendant should have in order to not bring shame to his master's name. Her expression being the usual stoic one, this time with a tinge of coldness and aloofness that seemed to bring no one else to her eyes. Though obviously, this image is one she only shows in the presence of younger servants and strangers, otherwise she is humble and respectful to her masters and seniors.
She is no longer a attendant in training, two years ago she was deemed ready and officially became his first and only attendant. That made her very excited, not only due to her finally being able to boldly proclaim being a fully fledged attendant working for the house that had saved her but also because she can dedicate more time towards her master and her own experiments now that she has no more classes at day. So she requested to be moved from the servants quarters to a room that is closer to Alabaster's which was approved but she rarely sleeps in her room since after having a bed put in the workshop it became a much more used sleeping spot for her.
The workshop has gone through a radical transformation, ever since the day that they started their cooperation Beatrice has made a point to keep the place clean and tiny since according to her: 'its an attendant's greatest shame to trouble it's master with a messy room, cleaning the room wich you will enter is not a whim but a duty.' And over time the workshop was renovated with not only equipment for potioneering but also Living appliances. All funded by Alabaster's savings, which he rarely ever spends with anything.
Alabaster meanwhile, has grown to reach 170 cm with a bit more to grow, his face showing a image of heroic youth, his long black hair being kept in a low ponytail and his black eyes showing an eagerness for adventure. His overall body shape being toned after being sculpted since his youth, showing no lack or excess in any place. But the greatest change is in his aura, that on top of being of mysterious and deep wich is due to his proficiency in hiding his true feelings and scholarly due to his many studies there is also a sharpness akin to a sword that is ready to be drawn out of its sheath and all imposing ambition that has been completely incorporated into his being after he accepted it fully over time.
"Fuuh! I have reached the peak of the 3rd tier this time, maybe I will be able to make a a new condensation before going off to the Academy" Alabaster makes an observation after seeing the width of his pathways that had just now reached the maximum it could stretch and in order to improve further a refinement is necessary. But it will have to wait, his circuit has some light wounds due to the procedure and they are still uneven and a little time for it to sort itself is necessary.
What Alabaster meant by 'peak of 3rd tier' is his current stage as a conductor. Conductors classify themselves into tiers raging from 0 onwards and they represent:
-Tier 0: Those who are unawakened or newly awakened and their circuits are still incomplete and need between a week to a year to have its circuit be fully functional. Their circuits are referred to as atrophied tier. Alabaster completed this tier while getting used to moving energy before emerging from the pool.
-Tier 1: The foundation tier, you have a fully operational circuit but its very small and you won't be able to do much with your power until your energy is purified in order to express it's full potential.
-Tier 2: The acolyte tier, you can finally use your ability to its full extent and have the capability to use it for longer, additionally conductors gain the ability to make a energy shield with pure void energy, which both Alabaster and Beatrice mastered already. Beatrice is currently in this tier and Alabaster also revealed to others be in this tier.
-Tier 3: The apprentice tier, you are considered a fully fledged conductor and despite it's name, this is the tier that many leave the tutelage of their master to explore the galaxy on their own. Conductors on this tier have a 'void vision' that greatly enhances their visual acuity. This is the true tier Alabaster has always been since his awakening and he has also mastered this ability.
And it keeps on going, there is no maximum tier since the only limitation is how long your body can can handle your growing circuit until it explodes so strong conductors have to strengthen their bodies out of necessity.
Every tier is further divided into 5 stages being: basic, small, medium, large and peak in relation to the size it currently is with basic being small and nearly condensed and peak is already it's full size and is ready for the next refinement.
"Must be nice being able to reach where you are without having to make any effort if anyone else knew of this they would cry tears of blood." Beatrice has gained a new habit as she grew up and since then, every now and then she would let out a few sarcastic remarks like this one.
But she is not wrong on that, Alabaster not only had the advantage of a head start of starting with tier a 3 circuit right at the start but has been keeping a decent pace of growth. For example: due to her master's help and funding, Beatrice, that has average talent was capable of going from the mid stage tier 1 all the way to peak stage tier 2 while Alabaster went from basic to peak of the 3rd tier in 4 years, that may seem slower than Beatrice's progress, but when you take into consideration that advancing a tier is harder than doing the same to all of the previous tiers together you can understand what she meant.
But what makes this feat truly incredible is how little time he dedicated towards advancing and how little risks he took. He in this 4 years has dedicated a lot of time towards learning and training many skills, leaving him to sometimes dedicate less then 5 hours per week to solely meditate, choosing to do so whenever he has the rare free time. In comparison, Beatrice which also has many responsibilities that reduce the time that she can dedicate towards growing her power spends a least a dozen hours per week, while normal conductors spend a least a dozen hours per day.
What has allowed him to keep his advantage and not be overtaken by others, who have dedicated many more hours towards advancing tiers and took much more risks is a combination between various factors such as: his absurd affinity that allows him to attract much more energy towards himself, his pathways wich are the elastic type which grant him higher absorption at the cost of being very fragile and having Beatrice provide him with various potions and medicines to aid him.
But his growth as a conductor is just the tip of the iceberg as he has made much bigger achievements in this time frame.
