***The World***

***Ascathon***

The beach, the sun, and a bunch of beautiful females in swimsuits to watch. There isn’t anything better in the world to forget about the mortals and their squabbles.

I allow myself to take a peek at Ashley and Willow who are playing volleyball against each other, bouncing happily around the playing field without a care in the world. The elemental chose a green two-piece, while the succubus decided to attend as she was born, showing not the slightest hint of embarrassment at her nakedness. Admittedly, there isn’t a piece of her body that’s not worthy to be shown off. When Willow made a comment about her attire, she just pointed out that all the people present had already seen her naked innumerable times.

“Hey, eyes here!” Karin complains. “I thought that you were going to teach me something new! Instead, you are ogling the market.”

“Oh? So you would like me to ogle you instead?” With a smirk, I return my attention to the beautiful woman who was once nothing more than a girl. Her fusion with the draconic core and the enchantment on her eye meshed well. With time, she managed to master the abilities I bestowed on her.

She blushes. “You know exactly what I meant!”

Her red hair is hanging down into the sand as she does her best to balance on her left hand while keeping a complex spell matrix ready for casting in the other, angled ninety degrees away from her body. Thankfully, her slim and athletic figure doesn't cause any problems with gravity upon performing such a unique exercise. At the same time, I ordered her to levitate three fist-sized stones around her, one clockwise, the others counter-clockwise.

As if to thwart Ashley, Karin chose not to follow in her succubus teacher’s nude debauchery and went for a simple, blue one-piece which allows for perfect freedom of movement, while providing the most prim and proper attire for a beach-scene, seeming not too prude at the same time.

I can't stop being amazed that even after all this time she refuses to adapt to Ashley’s moral teachings. It doesn't mean that she didn't learn everything the succubus matriarch had to offer in terms of magical knowledge, but she still stuck proudly to her own morals.

“It seems to me like you are doing fine,” I reply with a grin, watching her practising the exercise which I suggested for her further development, a mixture of martial arts and magical training which requires both physical control and mental fitness.

“Yes, it took me a few hours, but I am doing fine now,” Karin comments, balancing steady on one hand which is complicated by the sandy and therefore unsteady ground.

I smile, well aware that her eyes are glued to the stones which she is smoothly circulating around, with her body as the centre. While she made decent progress, she still has to reassure herself visually on the positioning of the objects, something she has to correct before we can proceed to the next training step.

Reaching up, I flick a finger at one of the stones, sending out a pulse of force magic.

Surprisingly enough, Karin manages to keep her concentration and the stone wobbles only a little bit out of its intended path. “Hey!” she complains, but I have none of it, sending another pulse to poke her lightly in the belly, right where her navel is.

“Gyargh!” Her spell matrix collapses as her musculature stiffens and she instinctively tries to jerk away from the contact. Then she topples over like a felled tree, her whole body slamming into the sand. Thanks to her draconic upgrades, her increased weight causes the sand around her to shake, just as if a ton of mass thudded heavily onto the beach.

No longer controlled, the stones fall to the ground, following the laws of physics. Snorting, huffing, and puffing, she gets back to her feet. “That was unfair! I am ticklish there,” she complains, rubbing her belly.

I shrug and gesture for her to get back to practice, knowing very well that what I did couldn't possibly have hurt her. “It just shows that you aren’t ready yet. Get back to training. You have to be proficient enough at this to avoid getting interrupted by such little interferences. I will keep testing you when you least expect it and we won't continue to the next step until you manage to endure.”

Grumbling, she tries to shake the sand out of her hair, but gives up quickly. There is no way to get rid of it all without a thorough shower.

Going for a fancy somersault backwards, she lands on her right hand this time, using the left to form the spell matrix. Resuming her previous position in reverse, she channels energy through the spell matrix and picks up the three stones with force magic. “I don’t get the point of this. It requires practically no energy, and thanks to my draconic perks my muscles don’t tire at all.”

“He just wants to watch your lithe figure in lewd positions~” Ashley calls over from her part of the beach, which Willow promptly uses to her advantage, slamming down the volleyball in Ashley’s side of the playing field.

“~Aw!” The succubus pumps one hand in indignation at the loss.

Karin narrows her eyes and looks down at herself – or up in this case, given her position – making sure that I don’t get to see something I shouldn’t.

“Don’t listen to her, she just wants to mess with you.” I sigh. “Seriously, I have enough female companionship as it is. There is no reason to lust after someone who is more like an adopted daughter than anything else.”

“Then why the strange exercise?” she asks, her suspicions rising thanks to Ashley's comment.

“To train your concentration and your ability to multi-task,” I explain. “The higher order spells require less power and more ability. Add to that the fact that, as a god, you won’t lack so much in power, but more in ability.”

“But I am not a god. I am not even immortal?” She cutely furrows her forehead, searching for the meaning behind my words.

“Ah, about that immortal-bit I wouldn’t be so sure. You managed to survive for quite some time, despite going on dangerous missions to influence the war. Your aura has grown strong over the years.” I look back at the holographic image of the sea, considering if I should switch the scenery for something more exotic than a Caribbean island. Then again, doing something like that would require switching out the real items too, or the whole setting wouldn't fit anymore.

“R-really? Are you sure?” Karin asks, sounding more eager than before.

“Do you want to test it?”

“No!”

“Are you sure? With me around, you can avoid a large part of the memory loss. I just have to catch your soul's anchor before it starts degrading.”

“I am certain,” she replies quickly, knowing very well that testing her immortality would require her death.

I huff, sad that there won't be verification today. I would have even killed her in a manner which wouldn't have hurt too badly. “Then you have to trust in yourself. In any case, you have reached a point at which an increase in raw power is hard to accomplish, and it’s best for you to learn to use what you have in the most efficient way.”

Using force magic, I pick up another stone from the shore and toss it to Karin who struggles to add it to the exercise.

“You have learned pretty much everything I can teach a mortal and you already managed to come up with some noteworthy spells of your own. The best way to proceed is to work on your control and to develop your own style of magic. I can help you with the former, but the latter is entirely in your hands. Then we can only hope that you will be ready, should you ever be forced into a situation in which you happen to ascend.”

“How exactly does this ascension-thing work? And aren’t we trying to avoid that from happening?”

I give her a brief nod. “In Willow’s case, yes. But ascension is hardly a conscious process. You don't reach a certain point and simply choose to do it. Willow is at the pinnacle of what’s possible for immortals. Be assured, you aren’t in immediate danger of turning into a god. As for the ascension itself, it usually happens in a situation of mortal danger and high stress. Your mind has to transcend the limits of your body as you use your power to its utmost.”

Karin remains stubborn. “Then I don’t understand why I have to focus on control and concentration, instead of using my power to its utmost. Wouldn't mastering that be a better preparation for the inevitable?”

“Because, once any of you ascends, it will very likely mean that all of us will have to fight for our lives. The Council won’t turn a blind eye to a new god, and they will most certainly take notice when it happens,” I explain. “The more control you can exert over your godly powers right at the beginning, the better for us. Being a god means that you have access to almost unlimited power reserves. Newly ascended deities, even the weak ones, don't struggle with a lack of power, but with actually being able to use everything they have.”

I snort. “Many of the gods aren't weak because they lack power, but because they are unable to use what they have effectively. In a fight with another god, what use is the ability to set off an explosion strong enough to shatter an entire world, if you are unable to focus all that energy enough to actually break through your enemy's aura?

“That's the main difference between some of the mid-level deities and the Council members. Those who don't have control over their powers may blow up the world while the other party is cooly standing inside the blast as if it's nothing more than a light breeze. In return, their enemy takes all that power and shoves it into a space as large as my thumb, slicing cleanly through the target's aura.”

Karin’s expression finally turns serious. “So this training exercise aims at splitting my attention so that I can cast many different spells at once. The more I can do at the same time, the more of my power I can use?”

I tilt my head from side to side. “In a way, though there are spells which are so complicated to form that you need to assemble them from several different spell matrices. That's where I want you to get.”

“Then what’s the goal of your exercise?” She points a perfectly shaped leg at me, twisting her body to keep balance. “Using force magic to create a little sandstorm around yourself seems hardly taxing.”

Furrowing my forehead and wondering what she means, I look down at the ring of sand which is circling me at hip-height while I am sitting cross-legged on the beach.

“Hahaha,” Willow laughs upon hearing Karin’s question. “Little butterfly, didn’t you realize that he is doing the same exercise as you? He is controlling each and every grain of sand individually.”

“What!? That’s impossible! How many are there?”

“Do the math yourself. I am playing with about a fourth of a cubic metre of sand.” I shake my head. “I thought you realized what I was doing, but now it seems that we have to take a step back and repeat the whole perception-training.”

“P- please no! I will even take some more stones! Here!” Reaching out, Karin picks up a few more stones from the shore, turning her exercise less into a work of beauty, and more into a case of struggle. “See?”

“Just drop them before you give yourself a headache.” I sigh. “You can increase the numbers one by one once you have complete control over the current four. I also don’t think that going down that route all the way as I did is the right thing for you to do. For your purposes, having sufficient control over twenty independent objects should suffice. It's enough for the spell-set I intend to teach you.”

“Then, why are you training with so many?”

“Preparation for the battle to come. I am afraid that this thing with Myrm won’t end without us butting heads. And his martial arts are the perfect counter to my spell-casting. The only way I can win is by overwhelming him. I have to be one step ahead of him at every point. For that reason, I need as much control as possible. Myrm went down a path of complete control over his body and there is no way for me to match that in my current state, nor do I want to. So if he has control over himself, then I need control over the battlefield, it's as easy as that.”

Taking conscious notice of the little cyclone around me, I direct the sand to form a cloud around me, then guide them to surround myself with ever more complex glyphs and spell-circles. Adding to the complexity, I have them spread out along different paths.

I frown in displeasure when I notice that I am reaching the limits of my control, as some of the carefully crafted symbols start fraying at the edges. It took me an eternity to train myself in entering a mental state in which I would be able to perform this trick without having to put my complete attention to the task, much like an expert juggler has to stop consciously thinking about his actions at some point. Or like most people aren't even aware of the beating of their own hearts, while others who perform extreme sports managed to enter a state of mind which somewhat allows them to control their own heartbeat.

With my trance-like concentration broken, I become aware of the myriads of grains of sand and quickly lose my wits as I inadvertently try to consciously control them. Giving up, I sigh in frustration and cut off my magic, allowing the sand to fall back onto the beach. “So much for my own control. Seems like that's my limit when it comes to showing off.”

Returning my attention to Karin, I realize that she turned away from me and sat down on the beach with her knees pulled up to her chest, doodling nonsensical symbols in the sand. “How many millennia will it take me to get even close that? I can't even imagine how someone would be able to do fifty at once...”

“I think you broke her.” Ashley comes over and pats Karin on the head. “There, there, young one. Didn't he say that you don't necessarily have to follow in his chosen path?”

“I don't understand. How can anyone do something so...” Karin searches for the right word. “Insane! Yes, that's it. Unbelievable! I don't believe it! He must have used some cheat! Maybe a mental augmentation device from a technological dimension?”

“Hey!” I raise my voice at the accusation. As if I would ever do that! Haven't I already taught her that using such things interferes with someone's ability to wield magic? Which isn't to say that some deities decide to use such short-cuts, crippling themselves in the process.

“Don't worry, dear,” Willow comes up to join Ashley. “Once, I asked Seria about it and not even she can achieve such a feat. She thinks it's because he messed with his soul that he is able to do something like that, split personality and identity crisis and all that...”

“Heey!” Quit insulting me. “I don't have identity problems!”

“Then what's with that second body in your workshop?” Ashley asks.

“Or with the fact that you are still using it from time to time?” Willow adds.

I purse my lips, hard pressed to find a proper answer. “I... have to use it... from time to time... or I would grow unaccustomed to the different... proportions.” Wait, no. That's not the correct reply.

All three women look at me with smug expressions, knowing very well that I only dug my own grave a few feet deeper with that retort.

“Why are you ganging up on me!?” I snap.

“Because you are a man,” Ashley replies with a tone that someone would use on a little child. “It's the natural thing to do for those of the female gender to hold together. And Karin deserves some extra attention, especially with an insensitive teacher like you.”

“Yeah,” Willow joins the man-bashing. “Who would have a student train for hours on end, giving them hope at progress, just to shatter it all by pulling off such a show?”

I raise a finger. “Can we stop, please? I have a feeling that this conversation is derailing quickly. I messed up and apologize.” That counts for something, right? Just get back to what you were doing before. It was so peaceful just a few moments ago.

Karin's eyes widen. “Who cares whether you can control ten thousand independent objects reliably or a million? Both numbers are insane for a normal human mind!”

Gah! “Well! That's what I am teaching. Either take it, or leave it. It's not my problem if the student is too intimidated by the task ahead of her. If someone with your life-experience isn't able to handle the fact that there is more in the multiverse than any single person can ever learn, then maybe you should search for another teacher. You are an experienced adult, so stop messing around.”

The three women study me for a few moments before they give me their verdict.

“Socially inept.”

“Unable to adjust.”

“But his skills in bed make up for a lot of his failings...” Ashley swoons.

The other two women look at the succubus as if she just betrayed all of womankind.

She just shrugs upon realizing that she is suddenly the focus of attention. “What do you want from me? I just have different priorities compared to you two. It's my nature.”