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When Marie returned to the orphanage, she was immediately attacked by Grace and pulled into an emotional embrace. Through her sobs and muffled whimpers, Marie realised the extent of the damage her haphazard actions had caused to those around her.

"I am putting my foot down! No more of this, Marie!" Grace demanded.

"That's not going to stop her, Grace," Guy interjected as he carefully pulled Grace off of Marie.

"So you're just going to let her go through with this?" Grace exclaimed. "She was out for two days! TWO. DAYS." She added while forcefully jutting out two fingers in front of Guy's face.

"But she's back now, look!" Guy gently turned Grace around and spoke in a low voice into her ears. "Let me handle it. If we force her to cease, it will only make her want to do it more. You know how teenagers are?"

"We have to be strategic in our approach. Although we cannot stop her, I will ensure that she maintains caution in her actions. Alright?"

Grace grunted in reluctant acquiescence. Before leaving, she sternly warned Guy, "You better fix this!"

As Guy watched Grace retreating into the orphanage in a huff, he revealed a bitter smile.

"And you, young lady," Guy started. "I am extremely disappointed by the way you handled the experiment. This is something I would have expected from Markus, not you. You should have ceased when things exceeded the extent of your capacity. What was the point in hurting yourself by prematurely attempting something like that? We could have taken things gradually, with multiple sessions, to build up your tolerance."

"I got impatient," Marie said apologetically.

"I get that you are anxious to advance in your cultivation, but nothing good can come from being reckless and careless. If you're planning to approach a problem with the scientific method, you MUST adhere to the process in its entirety," Guy instructed. "Trial and error without conducting the proper due diligence isn't science."

"I-I'll be better," Marie responded. "I'm sorry."

"Although your actions only hurt you physically, they have affected everyone around you emotionally. I'm not the only one who is in need of an apology."

Marie hummed submissively and trudged into the orphanage with a dejected hunch.

____

"Wow, Big Sis! You're already at the Middle stage of Mana Condensation realm?" Markus exclaimed in surprise.

"We're now at the same level," Jean added with a blank nod.

Marie nodded vehemently with a smug grin.

The pleasant atmosphere was suddenly interrupted by a defeated sigh, coming from Markus.

"What's got you down? You look as though you've eaten a handful of shit there," Marie commented while clicking her tongue.

"Sorry," Markus waved his hands immediately in response. "I just can't help feeling jealous of you guys. It took me so long, and so much effort to just step into the Middle stage of Mana Condensation. All it took you, Big Sis, was maybe a month."

"That's obviously because I have a legitimate cultivation method and you don't," Marie consoled. "If you had one of your own, you too would have risen as fast as I."

"I get that. But what about Jean, then?" Markus whined and exhaled loudly.

"I'm sorry," Markus ceded. "I'm projecting. It's just that I'm feeling really stuck right now. No matter what I do, I'm getting nowhere. My cultivation has stagnated, and all my attempts in replicating Gaige's attack have failed spectacularly."

The two girls sympathised with Markus' plight.

"You need a fresher perspective," Marie chimed in.

"I know-" Markus started, by Marie quickly interjected by raising her hand.

"Hear me out! I know that you've considered the problem from all directions to the best of your knowledge. But I think that the issue is that you're too close to it. Maybe if you take a few steps back and observe the problem in a wider context, it will make more sense. It worked for me, maybe it will work for you too?" Marie suggested.

"Wider context, huh?" Markus muttered. His gaze turned vacant and he casually stood up from his spot. While intermittently repeating that phrase, Markus slowly exited the room with a measured pace.

"What happened to him?" Marie blurted out.

"Senior Brother does that often when he enters an inspired state," Jean explained with subtle affection in her tone. "He's a troubled genius. He's achieved so many amazing things, yet he is perpetually dissatisfied with himself. I wish there was something I could do to help him..."

Marie chuckled lightly when she noticed a pout forming on Jean's usually paralysed face.

____

"Matron Reva, please look at me," Marie pleaded with a defeated smile.

"I have no time for ungrateful brats," Grace snapped. "Get out!"

Marie ignored Grace's warning and forcefully hugged Grace from behind. "Where can I go? You're all I have, you know."

Grace clicked her tongue and reprimanded lightly, "Your sweet words won't save you this time!"

"I know, it's all my fault. Teacher Larks admonished me about it already."

"Ha! Don't think you're free just because of his gentle wrist slap," Grace scoffed. "I ought to give you a piece of my mind."

"Yes, yes," Marie acquiesced while nuzzling lovingly into Grace's shoulder.

Grace opened her mouth and tried to speak, but the words failed her. Finally, she sighed in resignation and asked with a faint hint of hope in her voice, "Can you stop cultivating, Marie? For me?"

"Why?" Marie asked back with an innocent inflexion.

"It's just... Mages are so detached and difficult. They don't care about anything else but themselves. They'll do anything to get ahead... ANYTHING," Grace's voice grew increasingly heated as it reached a charged crescendo. "I just don't want you to become like them."

Marie frowned and responded, "Markus isn't like that. Neither is Teacher Larks."

"They... Fine, I'll give you that," Grace answered with a bitter smile. "But they're an exception. Every other mage I've met-"

Grace caught herself before any more dour words rolled out of her mouth.

"You shouldn't have to worry about that, Matron Reva," Marie pointed out gently. "You raised me, after all. Trust in yourself, and trust in me."

Grace pulled the edges of her lips into her cheeks and smiled wryly.

"Don't worry, Matron. It'll all turn out for the better! I promise," Marie added.

"Right... I trust you," Grace responded with a trace of apprehension in her voice, which was missed by Marie.

____

"Marie, stop dallying outside like that and just come in," Guy commented with an exasperated tone.

Marie entered Guy's room with a sly smile.

"Why don't you just come during classes like normal people, Marie?" Markus scoffed. "You're eating into Master's personal time by doing this."

"What are you even doing here? Don't you have anything better to do?" Marie shot back.

"Kids, please," Guy interjected while palming his forehead. "Marie, sit. What can I do for you?"

Marie stuck her tongue out towards Markus as a taunt and collapsed into a cross-legged seating posture next to Guy.

"So, what's brings you here?" Guy inquired.

"Well, here's the deal. I can now observe the waves of fate using my mana sense," Marie started. She then proceeded to explain the mechanisms of how she could capture and decipher the waves of fate in detail.

"The issue lies there. You see, the waves I receive are extremely noisy. There is a multitude of visions and revelations within it that crackle in my mind. I experience everything related to my question all at once," Marie concluded.

"Your Master must have provided a solution to this," Markus pointed out.

"Yes. Basically, he uses a collection of trinkets and tools that are used to divine the most probably outcome," Marie expounded. "By channelling the waves through these divining tools, all the outcomes with a lower probability of occurrence are essentially overpowered. BUT, the result from these tools isn't descriptive. They only provide a kind of spread or pattern that can be deciphered empirically. It is not definitive in any way."

"But the method IS defined, and your Master was willing to teach it to you?" Markus clarified.

"Yes, but-"

"Marie!" Markus interrupted. "Why are you here? I get that since the last time your Master was unwilling to teach you, you had to seek assistance with Master Larks. But that is a nonissue in this case. Mage Nara specifically offered you the tools AND the expertise."

"It's not accurate enough," Marie responded while shaking her head blankly. "What if two different spreads happen to coincide with each other when in fact there are minute differences?"

"That's just selfish, Big Sis, and disrespectful. You're technically two-timing on your Master with mine," Markus declared. "Can't you go through all of this with your own Master?"

"I tried, but he is extremely close-minded and incapable of entertaining contradicting thoughts and ideas," Marie declared. "I'm only asking for an open platform for discussion and debate."

"I think your idea of an open discussion and debate might be a bit too... charged for your Master's taste," Markus muttered with a chuckle. Marie threw him an offensive glare before turning to Guy with a hopeful expression.

"So, Teacher Larks. Do you have any suggestions on how to approach this?"