The Good Teacher

Jean had experienced the effect of Teacher Larks' special |Soul Imprint| before, many times at that. And each time, she would be more and more impressed by its realism, efficacy, and breadth of coverage. Although Jean did not have another experience to act as a basis of comparison, she was confident that no other Mage could match her Teacher Larks' |Soul Imprint|.

From what she heard from Uncle Jeeves and her father, a |Soul Imprint| seldom offers such vivid visions and extrasensory manifestations. It is, as its name suggests, an imprint of whatever information is being conveyed directly into the minds of the recipient. There was little room for exploration, discussion and evaluation. This was not how Teacher Larks' ability worked. Although it didn't have the same efficiency of data assimilation as the conventional |Soul Imprint|, it offered something else that was infinitely more conducive to learning, in Jean's opinion. Teacher Larks' technique forces the recipient to question what they're observing and derive conclusions through logical reasoning, given some guidance from the Teacher of course.

This method circumvents possible damages that could be incurred through the assimilation of conflicting or higher-dimensional insights. For instance, with the conventional |Soul Imprint|, if the imprinter conveys data that requires a paradigm shift from the recipient to understand it, there is a high possibility of the recipient undergoing a cultivation deviation.

It's like forcing a pig to comprehend the nature of flight. There are physical and mental limitations in a pig that make it impossible to fathom that concept. If one day someone were to imprint the method of flight directly into a pig's mind, the pig would undergo an identity crisis that would ultimately result in it falling to its demise from a steep cliff.

On the other hand, if the pig was made to methodically evaluate the concept of flight by observing different entities with that ability, breaking down the specifics into comprehensible chunks, and building upon its knowledge base incrementally, it could one day even lift itself off the ground and hover. After all, if gargantuan beings such as dragons, manticores and gryphons could soar through the skies, what was stopping pigs from doing the same?

Hence, the moment Jean felt an ethereal suction pulling her consciousness from reality, she figured that she was about to experience Teacher Larks' |Soul Imprint|. The circumstances of entry were rather abrupt, completely unlike what occurred during her previous trips, but Jean didn't dwell on it. Instead, she prepared herself for whatever visions she was about to be delivered by calming her mind and expanding its perceptivity to inputs. But then suddenly, everything started to veer off course in an unprecedented direction.

Jean felt as if all of her instincts and sensibilities were dialled up to eleven. She didn't even feel as if she was inside her own body. For one, she completely lost the link to her mana senses. She couldn't feel any mana at all! Not inside her, not around her... nowhere. The feeling was unsettling, it was like if someone were to remove a part of the body that is used regularly and involuntarily.

At that moment, Jean's remaining sensory organs started to gain clarity. Her sight, her sense of smell and hearing, the tactile receptors, they all initialised simultaneously and placed Jean in a room that looked nothing like anything she'd seen before. The room was being lit by an interesting contraption hanging off of the ceiling. The orb of bright white light was enclosed in a looping glass tube. The surrounding area looked less like a solid structure and more like a tent - a temporary fixture similar to the one Uncle Jeeves resided in every time he visited the Orphanage.

'What kind of magic is this?' Jean wanted to speak out loud, however, her mouth did not follow her wishes. While frowning, albeit internally, Jean lowered her gaze and was welcomed by a morbid sight!

A woman lay on a table in front of her, with a bulging stomach ready to burst. She was pale and in a nearly unconscious state. Her mouth moved rhythmically, emanating a light whisper of gibberish she could not understand.

'Is she speaking another language?' That was a logical conclusion. Not only did the woman have a darker facial tone, unlike the usually olive-skinned folk within the Radiant Empire, she was also wearing a colourful cotton cloth draped over herself in a loop.

"Prep the patient." A voice escaped her mouth, one that sounded male.

'Am I a man?' Jean looked at her hands and noticed that they were completely white and leathery. Right as shock threatened to take over, she realised that it was simply a layer of rubber. She also observed that she was wearing a green overall that covered the remainder of her body, similar to the others near her. Everyone was also wearing a facial cover, fluffy headgear covering their hair, and a transparent eye shield.

'Is this to maintain sterility of the environment?' Jean hypothesised that these special gears may be an optimised attempt to isolate the work area from possible contaminants that may reside in the persons' bodies.

At that moment, someone near her - 'him' in this case - draped a similar green fabric over the woman on the table, revealing a cut-out window over her stomach. The fabric was then affixed in place.

"Administering anaesthetic." Another individual in the room, stationed near the woman's head, commented as they operated another arcane equipment. This device had a transparent tube extending out of it, opening up to a mouthpiece that covered the woman's mouth and nose.

"Scalpel," Jean instructed, receiving a thin cutting device in her open hand. And with that, the operation began.

Throughout the process, Jean was simply an observer. Her senses were restricted by the body she was residing in, however, she was open to everything the body experienced.

At first, Jean was unsure of what she was observing. She felt like a fish out of water brought into a place completely unfamiliar to her own. Everything looked sleek and otherworldly and functioned in a way contrary to her sensibilities.

Take the box-like device with a myriad of numeric and graphical data flashing across it, that emitted a rhythmic beeping sound. What was its purpose? Why was there someone reading out the data written on it and calling it out loud? What is Blood O2 level?

Many such questions lingered in Jean's mind, however, she was quickly enamoured by the operation her body was performing. Every action was measured and mechanic - there was a proper structure to it. The person operating knew exactly what they were doing, and they had definitely performed it multiple times before. Not just that, even those accompanying the person operated with a rhythmic harmony. Every tool was prepared and clean and was handed aptly when asked for - sometimes even before it was called out. Frequently, they would count the tools, possibly to ensure that none were misplaced during the procedure.

'The level of documentation and regulation...' Jean was thoroughly impressed.

While she was lost in the beginning, Jean quickly recognised certain steps as they were described in her mother's journals. The existence of multiple membranous layers. The location of the incision. Everything lined up perfectly!

After recognising these similarities, Jean's mind quickly started to walk back and cross-referenced the steps she'd seen before with her own knowledge, taking note of specific details that her mother's journals missed. At this point, Jean realised that whatever she was observing was years ahead of anything her mother had documented. This was the pinnacle of what her mother sought so ardently.

How did Teacher Larks know about this? What was this vision she was experiencing? Many questions like these started to boil over in her head. Suddenly, a realisation struck her.

'Is this the True World Teacher Larks was talking about?' The enigmatic concept that Teacher Larks observed through his inheritance that spoke of a world without mana - the True World. This was it!

'Once free of mana - the liar - the world that remains is the True World,' Jean repeated. It all made sense now. The reason why her mother hadn't achieved breakthroughs in a lot of her theories was that she had become mired in the falsehoods introduced by mana.

Many incomplete and false theories circling in Jean's mind started to warp imperceptibly. Certain sections were truncated, others were expounded, some were erased, others were rewritten. Needless to say, Jean was experiencing a profound phenomenon that was pushing her beyond the limits of the Mana Condensation realm.

Finally, the virtual experience reached the point where the child was extracted from the mother's womb through the incision. The baby's umbilical cord was cut, and the surgeon proceeded to stitch the womb together. Jean placed her complete focus on the process, taking care to not miss a single point.

Once the last knot was tied, Jean felt herself getting pulled out to the real world. Her virtual senses were clipped, and she could once again feel the mana circulating inside and around her. Upon realising that it was time for her departure, Jean was overcome with regret. She was barely able to absorb a fraction of what was presented to her. Although it did help close most of the holes in her understanding, she felt unfulfilled after knowing that there was still more to the topic than she had realised. Furthermore, Jean didn't know what happened to the woman; did she survive after the ordeal? Before she was extracted out of the experience, Jean could still hear the faint beeping noise in the background. Hopefully, the woman survived. But she could already see that the woman had lost a lot of blood...

Nonetheless, although it felt like a lot of time had passed in the virtual experience, in actuality it had taken barely five minutes.

Jean's eye gained a focused clarity as all the insights she gained settled in place. It was at this point that she realised the existence of a turbulent mana whirlpool settling around her.

"Congratulations, Young Miss," Josie exclaimed with a beaming smile. "Congratulations on achieving perfected resonance."

"There's no time for celebration," Jean snapped back. "We need to begin immediately!"