"Hmph…"
Meredith harrumphed when thirty minutes had already passed, yet nothing still happened, even the smallest thing, on the rubber ball that she held for the longest time.
As she continued looking at it, the red rubber ball, she squinted her eyes as she grew to hate the color because of how frustrated she was of not having progress.
"Damn it!"
Giving up for the meantime, she the rubber ball on the ground, the item bouncing back in the box successfully as if to tease her: "You can't break me~! Come back later and try to break us by then, bleh!"
"I really couldn't get the grasp of it for now," she mumbled to herself, only Austin hearing what she said.
He didn't bother ruining her focus and just wanted her to find out what to do next on her own. As he looked at the time on his phone, he noticed that it was already 12 noon, already the time to eat their lunch.
Austin looked at her and thought that it would be best to take a breather before continuing to train after they ate their meals.
With her having non-stop training since earlier morning, it would be best for her to rest the turbulence of her magic so she can have better focus and control later on.
"Meredith," he called out to her, the woman now looking at him with creased brows as her focus was disrupted. "Let's stop for now. Let's eat."
"But—"
"I insist," he interrupted, not giving her a chance to speak. "What did I tell you a moment ago? There is no rush," he added, walking past her as he urged his instructions. "Let's eat and rest… and you continue with training after so you can have better focus. Now."
The way he placed emphasis on the last word made her sigh in exasperation. As she followed him in tow, she had her arms crossed in front of her chest, the two of them already making way to the dining room.
"For sure Atlas and Marcus had asked my people to prepare something hearty and refreshing for us. You need that most especially, Meredith. Magic that has been used non-stop for a first-time user such as you will be very disturbed and will be very difficult to control. It needs to calm down for better use."
She didn't say anything when he said that. However, it did make a lot of sense when she heard it.
Just as she was using her powers a moment ago from the leaves, to the rocks, and now to the rubber balls, she noticed that the magic within her stirred, especially when she pressured and forced herself to break the rubber ball.
It was not like that when she tried tearing the leaves in half and when she tried breaking the rocks into powder. Her energy was calmer and when it was stirred, it was only but for a moment until she could calm it down and use it again.
However for the rubber ball, her magical energy was stirred all the time and she couldn't even calm it down as she furthered her attempts into making the rubber ball pop.
Maybe this time, she has to really listen to her teacher. After eating her lunch and resting for a bit, then maybe her magical energy is going to be way much calmer, making future attempts to pop a rubber ball easier.
The moment they arrived in the dining room, it was the only time that she realized that she was hungry. She only had a light breakfast a while ago and because of the training, her energy has been mostly depleted.
She saw that on the table was chicken pomodoro and a bowl of assorted fruits that were already peeled and sliced. With a refreshing drink served on the table as well, cucumber lemonade, she sat beside Atlas, already eager as one of the chamberlains put her plate on the table.
"Goodness… this is indeed mouthwatering," she commented, Atlas arching a brow at her as he reminded her of what happened earlier.
"That's why I told you… you should eat a lot for breakfast, especially if you're concerned about getting weight. Eating more at the latest times of the day would—"
She gave her a death glare. The moment his eyes met it, he didn't dare finish his sentence of his fate would be sealed like the rocks she destroyed a moment ago.
"Sorry," he apologized, putting chicken and pasta on her plate. As he put a fair amount of tomato sauce as well, the four of them helped themselves to some delicious food.
"How's it going?" Marcus asked, attempting small talk as he poured himself a drink a taking a sip of it before handing over the pitcher to Austin.
"Well… making the rubber balls pop was way more difficult than I thought… if only it'd be like balloons… it could've been easy," she answered, Austin taking a slice of his chicken in his mouth.
"Nothing's easy at first, Meredith," he said, the woman scrunching her nose at the remark as she mixed her pasta. "But with your progress, you are already doing well for a beginner. I was even expecting that we really wait for the next full moon, not gonna lie."
Remembering that the next full moon would be next month, she shook her head at the thought of doing it at that time.
"I don't want to waste time," she replied, looking at him with eager eyes as they ate. "Can't you give me other training for me to hone my focus and control, before I go back to popping rubber balls?"
"That actually isn't a bad idea," Austin answered, nodding at her statement. "Maybe with taking a little detour in teaching you other spells, you would be able to get a better grasp in making rubber balls pop."
"Okay." Meredith twirled her fork in her pasta. "So tomorrow, I'll be ready to break the chains. Right?"
"Of course. And once you are successful, take a day off to completely rest your magic in preparation for the ritual this coming few days."
With that, they continued eating their lunch, Meredith eager to continue her training after they eat lunch.