"Gravity is the whole body. Not just arms!" Elias repeated, now remembering his experience and also the letter from his so-called granddad.
His gaze lingered on the page sketches and then he moved his whole body in unison forward; a force pushed the rubble away.
As he was moving back, the rubble was pulled back to him. He didn't smile yet; he repeated, and the rubble moved back and pulled back with his body movement.
The feeling was a bit strange but familiar. With his left hand, he pushed; the rubble moved back. As he pulled the hand back, the rubble didn't pull back.
His body served as a center of gravity that could easily command push and pull at once, but his hand for now could only exhibit one action.
Elias pushed and pulled with his body about ten times, feeling how it went and the sensation he was having, grasping the intricate form.
The book was only a guide; his gaze at it now made him understand. Even the sketch showed the whole body moving and the hand too.
Elias tried that, his normal hand and stump before his chest, and he pushed forward, but his body stuck and his perception changed. That zone of ash came to be; the intricate design of the stone cave, the burrows, the smooth and uneven walls, the spikes and their hardness came to his mind.
What also came to him was the vibration of the outside world, the flow of wind that rustled the leaves, the swaying of the trees which stretched the roots beneath earth, a rushing of water at a far distance from his location, and something else.
A tree opposite the water location was still. No, it shifted and moved in a pattern; but was strained. A branch was having a straining creak and a silent breathing.
Elias broke into sweat and focused on that more. There was breathing, there was less sway of the tree even in strong wind; even leaves were moving heavily as if afraid.
'It is here. Waiting!'
His perception remained as he focused on many things around until he believed to have grasped everything he could at his level, then focused on the rubble before him.
He tried to get them to move but they were heavy. No, his perception encompassed everything, and thus the whole stone might move if he had enough energy and experience.
Elias turned off the perception. If he shook the stone, that thing would pounce on him, believing there was someone inside.
'If I can't focus the perception only on the rubbles, then I might not be able to move them.'
He sighed; hunger was eating him, but that wasn't his problem. Surviving is.
Elias pushed his perception toward the rubble, but it expanded into everything. He turned it off and tried again, but it didn't focus.
He stopped. He scooped the rubble into his left hand and used the perception on them. Sure enough, he felt them alone, and made them float.
'I see. My perception came with what I can touch. The push and pull before was a pulse of power, push and pull, a one-time skill that has definite control, only one action.'
Elias' heart just skipped a beat.
'Calm down. Stop thinking about that Calamity Beast!'
He said to himself before a smile came to him.
'Who knows if I can kill it? Besides, today is a new day. I didn't do the one-time 24-hours black hole!'
His heart skipped a beat again.
He frowned. Does he even have energy for making a black hole? He is hungry and still disorganized; making one, even controlling it, might not be possible.
'Be optimistic. That's how my mother and I survived to this day!'
The rubles were four in number. Elias could make them defy gravity, but he couldn't make one do separate actions while the other do something else.
This whole thing was second nature but it was like a child learning to hold a spoon to eat food from a plate, or like an amateur basketball player trying to bounce the ball on uneven ground.
He gently put the rubble down and took a deep breath. Then pushed the rubble with his hand and then pulled them with his hand.
His heart skipped a beat again. Deep sigh and pushed the fact the beast was outside waiting.
These minor activities were being inscribed into his mind, becoming better every moment. His SSS Rank Talent also denoted how fast he would learn things.
Black Hole is his true talent; these minor skills are mere tricks that he was now grasping easily. Elias stopped as he noticed the page of the book had loosened up.
He turned the next page. It was the same but opposite; it showed the pulling part of an object but with a slight description that made Elias understand something.
There were two types of pull, perhaps maybe due to different types of gravity.
The first shown was the Gravity Pushing Force sent but didn't affect the object intended but passed through it, then the user pulled the force back, and as the Gravity Force came back, it pulled the object toward the person.
Elias looked at the rubble and pushed out Gravity Push Force with no intention of pushing them but passing them, then he pulled.
The rubble appeared in his mind; they floated and came toward him gently.
'Yes!' Elias clenched his left hand, his lips wide in joy. This was what he had been trying to do, and also he felt the rubbles and could choose which to pick and which to leave.
Of course, he tried again; it worked, and again and again.
'Gravity Force can phase through objects at the will of the user and can also fuse inside and affect it.'
Gravity Force can be pushed from the user and pulled toward the user.
The second method does not involve sending out Gravity Push Force but of becoming akin to a magnet to the object, making it move toward you.
This was what Elias had used before to pull the rubble.
'Some might be good at one and bad at one. Or you can use both!'
The third page had the same sketches but with varying intensity and little explanation. Even D, E, and F-rank can do the first training, but what matters is scale and weight.
F to D ranks are considered mundane humans. The awakening rock may awaken them but won't be shaped by them, let alone show their rank.
F-rank is not better than a weak magnet that can stick weightless objects on his body; holding them is better than that.
E-rank mostly work as mechanics or other work that requires them to stick things, but not for long. Like sticking hammers and other utensils on their bodies to reach the repair locations and do their stuff.
A dedicated D-rank can learn this minor push and pull at will, which was useful at some jobs or for fun.
The third page showed how one can vary power in push and pull. Some ranks are too strong; they need to tune it down. Some ranks are too weak, like C-rank; they need to conserve their energy.
After some calculations and understanding, Elias came to understand he had around Low B-rank Energy right now or high C-rank.
The page denoted a technique to limit one's power to C-rank for conservation.
Elias smiled; he was having fun training these small tricks. It stimulated his talent, akin to stretching your limbs before the big event.