Minerva, being Minerva, was unnervingly efficient. Within an hour, she had repurposed the largest combat simulation room for Lin Ming's exclusive use. It was a massive, warehouse-sized space with adaptable floor panels and holographic walls.
"Simulation G-01: 'Rocky Plateau' is now active," her synthesized voice echoed from the speakers. The smooth metal floor rippled and reformed into a rugged landscape of stone, boulders, and packed earth. "Geological composition is set to granite and sandstone. Please try not to break the floor's core emitters, Team Leader."
For the next several days, Lin Ming dedicated every waking moment to this room. He became a hermit, shunning food, sleep, and all other contact, much to Quynh Nhu's vocal annoyance ("He's going to turn into a rock-hugging weirdo!").
He didn't just practice; he meditated, holding the abstract 'knowledge' from the Book of Earth in his mind. He wasn't memorizing incantations or hand seals. He was trying to become the concept. He sat for hours, trying to feel the unshakeable stability of the ground beneath him, to understand the patient, grinding strength of stone.
His first attempt at a skill was the [Earth Shield]. He stood in the middle of the room, held out his hand, and focused, channeling his Fairy Qi into the floor panels. He tried to 'request' the earth to rise and protect him.
A pathetic handful of dirt and pebbles wobbled into the air and promptly fell back to the ground.
[Skill Failure: Insufficient elemental affinity.]
[System Suggestion: Maybe try asking nicely? You've bonded with a turtle and a tiger. Rocks can't be that much harder to persuade.]
"Useless system," Lin Ming muttered. He realized his mistake. He was trying to command the earth like he commanded his Qi. The Book wasn't about command; it was about understanding and harmony. He wasn't forcing the earth; he was supposed to be borrowing its strength.
He tried again. This time, he sent his Qi into the ground not as a command, but as a friendly greeting. He focused on the concept of 'defense,' of 'impenetrable,' of 'standing firm.' He aligned his own will with the innate properties of the stone.
The ground before him rumbled. A thick, solid slab of granite, a meter wide, erupted from the floor, hovering in front of him. It was rough and crude, but it was real.
[Skill Success: Earth Shield (Basic) created!]
[Geomancy Skill Tree: +5% proficiency.]
A grin split his face. He dismissed the shield and tried again. And again. For hours, he summoned and dismissed shields, making them larger, denser, smoother. He learned to summon them not just in front of him, but to his sides, above him, even below his feet to launch himself into the air.
Meanwhile, the rest of Task Force Chimera was not idle. Following Lin Ming's directive, they began their own synergistic training. Quynh Nhu and Pham Tuan spent hours in their own simulation rooms, learning to coordinate.
Pham Tuan would charge into a horde of combat drones, his body like a granite battering ram, drawing all the fire. Quynh Nhu, from her virtual perch, would then pick off the drones with terrifying precision, her shots timed to hit them the moment they were distracted by Pham Tuan. She learned to use his movements to line up her shots. He learned to trust her cover fire implicitly. 'Juggernaut' and 'Hawkeye' were slowly becoming a devastating one-two punch of defense and offense.
Minerva, from her digital throne, acted as their coach.
Minerva (comms): Juggernaut, your footing was unbalanced on that last charge. It reduced your impact force by 12%.
Minerva (comms): Hawkeye, your follow-up shot was 0.3 seconds late. The target had already begun to reorient. I have uploaded a predictive targeting algorithm to your simulation rifle. Please calibrate it.
Her critiques were blunt and data-driven, but they were incredibly effective. She was forging them into a more efficient fighting machine.
One evening, Quynh Nhu, laden with a tray of hot food and milk tea, breached the sanctity of Lin Ming's rock-filled simulation room. "Alright, Caveman, you're eating. You look like you haven't seen the sun in a week."
Lin Ming was sitting cross-legged on a pillar of stone he had raised, meditating. He opened his eyes, a deep, earthy calm within them. "I'm fine, Nhu."
"No, you're not. You're becoming one with the dirt," she retorted, setting the food down. "What have you even been doing in here?"
"Learning," he said simply. He raised his hand. "Watch."
He snapped his fingers. All around Quynh Nhu, dozens of sharp, wicked-looking stone spikes, each a meter long, erupted from the ground. They stopped just inches from her, surrounding her in a deadly cage. She froze, her hand instinctively reaching for the sidearm she wasn't wearing. The spikes were silent, perfectly formed, and radiated a palpable killing intent.
Then, just as quickly as they appeared, they silently retracted back into the ground, leaving the floor perfectly smooth.
Quynh Nhu stared at the spot where the spikes had been, her mouth slightly agape. That wasn't just moving rocks. That was a lethal, high-speed area-denial attack. "Okay... so not just hugging rocks," she conceded, her voice a little shaky. "You're a rock-bending assassin."
"It's a work in progress," Lin Ming said, jumping down from his pillar. He ravenously devoured the food she brought. The elemental practice consumed a lot of energy.
As he ate, a thought struck him. The [Long Tien Cau] was a fusion of Fairy and Dragon energy. The Book of Earth was a primordial power. What if...?
After Quynh Nhu left, he tried a new experiment. He summoned the spinning sphere of crimson and gold into his palm. It was stable now, under his full control. Then, using his newfound affinity, he drew a wisp of pure earthen energy from the ground and fed it into the sphere.
The sphere shuddered. The smooth, rotating energy began to change. Dust and tiny pebbles were pulled from the air, sticking to the surface of the sphere. The crimson and gold light was now contained within a shell of rapidly spinning, razor-sharp rock.
It was no longer just a bomb of pure energy. It was a grinding, shredding sphere of death. A planet-grinder.
He focused his intent, aiming at a massive, five-meter-thick block of reinforced concrete Minerva had simulated for him.
He pushed the new, gravel-encrusted sphere forward. It shot through the air, and instead of exploding on impact, it drilled into the concrete. The sound was like a thousand jackhammers grinding simultaneously. In seconds, the massive block was completely pulverized into fine dust from the inside out.
[New Skill Variant Created: Geo-Rasengan... I mean... Thach Long Cau (Stone Dragon Sphere)!]
[A devastating fusion of primordial elemental and ancestral power.]
[System is now running out of superlatives. Good job, Host.]
Lin Ming stared at the cloud of dust, his mind reeling from the destructive power. This was the kind of strength he needed. The kind of strength that could maybe, just maybe, stand up to a Peak Nascent Soul commander.
His confidence was growing. His team was getting stronger. He was mastering a whole new school of combat.
But as he looked at the floating list of Geomancy skills in his mind, he knew this was just the first step. To truly challenge Lord Maka-Jed, he would need to master not just Earth, but Water, Fire, and Metal as well. He needed to find the other three books. The Hall of Four Books was his path forward, and he knew, with a sinking certainty, that the Madakaros would be looking for it too. The race was on.