Theo looked at the knight and smiled, a hint of confusion on his face.
"I am interested in all of them. And whenever an extra hand will be needed, I will be there," Theo said, stepping toward the instructor so he could also take a look at the list.
The knight huffed arrogantly and made his way forward. As he got closer, Theo noticed that he was only a few centiters taller than him; if Theo stood at 6 feet, this knight was around 6 feet 3 inches.
"I would like to join the other two teams as well," the man spoke, making Theo look at him in surprise.
"Are you sure? That’s not a task a knight should be handling," Theo muttered, making sure the man wasn’t doing it with so kind of pressure.
"No, I simply realized learning it will help as well," the man replied. His gaze then shifted to Theo’s sword. "And you are quite the knight yourself, young master Theo," he added with a faint smile.
It was the first ti Theo had seen him smile.
"Not quite yet, but soon," Theo said, writing his na down.
The healer and the scout remained silent, as were Lucien and the young man.
Theo noticed the two of them talking off to the side, and he couldn’t help but feel glad that his brother had started making connections.
Theo preferred to see things in a positive light, unless they clearly proved otherwise, no matter what angle he looked at them with.
"Alright, I will now demonstrate to the plant extraction team the technique first," the instructor said, stepping closer to one of the potted plants and putting on a pair of gloves.
"These gloves are specially made for handling delicate plants. They reduce the damage you might cause during removal and handling of the plants, so always make sure you’re wearing them."
Soon, workers ca forward and handed gloves to everyone. Only then did Theo realize what the instructor ant.
There was a premium cushioning to the fingertips of the gloves, and as Theo pressed his fingers, he couldn’t help but feel the soft texture.
"Watch closely and with focus," the instructor said and started humming as he gently tugged at the plant at first.
"If the plant feels delicate to the touch, be extra careful. If it’s as hardy as this one, you can use a bit more strength." He spoke as he tugged on the plant, loosening it from the soil without problem.
But he stopped midway.
"Sotis, the most valuable parts of a plant co from their roots, so you must make sure to retrieve all of them. Like this."
He said as the roots began to erge. The man then applied light, practiced tugs; his knowledge and experience from years evident from his actions.
The roots slid free of the soil in a way Theo found strangely satisfying.
"Now it’s your turn. After that, we will move on to the more delicate ones," the instructor said, calling out Clara, who confidently stepped forward.
With the gloves on, she tugged at the plant once, certain that she had done it right, only to realize that the plant ca out abruptly with a pop, drawing surprised glances from everyone.
"Too much force!" the instructor clicked his tongue. Stepping closer, he took the plant from her and held it up for others to see.
"She didn’t judge properly how much force should be applied. Look at how many roots she lost," he said, pointing at the damaged roots.
Everyone could see one large root still intact, plunging straight down, while the others looked heavily damaged.
"And I am telling you this in advance. This is a test! You have to pluck it out with a satisfying result at least 10 tis before I pass you for a single plant," he said, his deanor unlike anything they had seen from him before.
Clara returned with the sa poker face, but when she was close to Theo and Elias, her poker face faltered, giving way to a sad expression.
"You will get it next ti. Don’t worry," Theo said, watching Cassian step forward next.
With his tongue poking out from the corner of his lips, Cassian tugged at the plant with next to no force.
And as one might guess.
Nothing happened.
He tugged again, this ti with more force, and felt sothing happen.
A minute later, the plant ca free in his hands, its roots still intact.
"Look at this." The instructor crouched down and dug through the soil, exposing several large roots that were still in the soil.
"I would have called it one successful pull, but you had to use that much strength in the end. Disappointing." He clicked his tongue again, and Cassian stepped away with a dejected look.
Then Theo saw Lucien pat Cassian’s shoulder, a small gesture that made him realize he wasn’t stone cold all the ti.
But rek’s face during his attempt was sothing to look at.
Theo could have sworn he had never seen a more disgusted face in his life.
Elias went next and tried too, managing to get a passable result.
Theo offered him an elbow tap, making the attendant-master relation look more like that of teammates. Without even realizing it, Theo was changing how others saw him in real ti.
When it was his turn, Theo stepped forward and glanced at the instructor, who was watching him with curiosity.
"Instructor, can I loosen the soil first instead of pulling it out directly?" Theo asked, prompting everyone to look at the instructor.
Oric smiled and nodded. "You can do that. That’s actually the thod used for more delicate plants," he explained, making everyone look at Theo in an even newer light.
Theo, on the other hand, was only helping his curiosity.
"But I recomnd you use this technique for the hardier plants. It takes less ti to master, and you can handle tougher plants a lot faster that way."
"Now, go on," Oric said.
Theo nodded and got to work.
All the mbers, and even the instructors, were watching Theo with varying emotions. He had beco the spectacle for their entire gate party, especially since the emperor himself had vouched for him.
That ant he couldn’t afford to make more errors than the other mbers.
And Theo knew it.
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