The training room was more compact than the blueprint suggested, but it served its purpose.

It featured a padded floor, equipment hooks along the west wall, and enough open space in the center for two people to move freely without colliding.

Sera had inspected it yesterday, giving a nod of approval, and this morning she was the first to arrive. She warmed up with focused energy, eager to use a space she had been waiting for and wouldn’t let go to waste. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Shin arrived ten minutes after her. She lingered in the doorway, watching the room briefly before observing Sera executing a series of quick, precise combinations against the wall pad.

It was clear she was experienced, having performed them countless times. Shin then entered, closed the door, and began her warmup in the corner, while Sera cast a brief glance at her before returning to her own routine.

They occupied the same space silently for about twenty minutes.

Then Sera paused and carefully observed Shin. "Show me your stance," she requested.

Shin looked at her. "My stance?"

"How you position yourself when anticipating contact," Sera said.

Shin repositioned her feet and raised her hands, while Sera glanced at her, observing her stance from her feet to her hands.

"Weight’s too far back," she said. "You’re about to retreat. You need to be prepared to move in either direction."

She moved closer and shifted Shin’s back foot two inches forward, causing him to notice the immediate change in balance from defensive to neutral. "Much better," Sera said, stepping back. "Try again."

Shin reset and returned to the stance, which was noticeably better. She could clearly feel the improvement, indicating she would remember it.

"Is this kickboxing?" Shin asked.

"Yes, it is. I’ve been learning for six years," Sera replied.

"Can you teach me?" Shin requested.

Sera glanced at her. "I’m already teaching you," she said before returning to the wall pad.

Shin observed her adjusted stance in the mirror panel on the east wall, then returned to her work, noting the two-inch difference in her back foot and the improved balance it provided.

She thought that Sera’s teaching method was likely the most effective one available.

---

Michael arrived at the training room mid-morning, stood in the doorway, and watched for a while before entering.

Sera now had Maya in the room as well, guiding both of them through a task that appeared simple from the outside but was clearly complex judging by their expressions.

The focus was on basic movement patterns, weight transfer, and creating angles without revealing them.

Maya absorbed the instructions with her spatial intelligence, while Shin approached it with quiet determination.

Sera moved fluidly between them, making subtle adjustments and speaking very little.

Yuna showed up next to Michael in the doorway.

She looked around the room, at the three of them, and then at Michael. "She’s good," she whispered.

"Very," he said.

"Competitive circuit," Yuna said. "You can tell by the way she moves. That’s not gym training."

He glanced at her sideways. "You know how to fight."

"I know what good looks like," she said. "I practiced taekwondo for eight years but stopped two years ago." She observed Sera adjusting Maya’s elbow with a precise touch. "I’m a bit rusty now."

"There’s room in there," he said.

She looked at him. "You’re not going in."

"Later," he said.

She glanced back at the room and then at him, her eyes holding their usual directness. "You should go in now," she said. "You’re the one who always acts first"

"I have the axe," he said.

"The axe is useful only as long as someone has it," she said plainly. "Or until something slips into your grasp and leaves you with nothing." He glanced at her. She met his gaze steadily, unblinking.

"Alright you win," Michael sighed as he went inside.

---

Sera looked at him as he entered, a fleeting expression crossing her face that disappeared before it fully appeared. "Finally," she said.

Finally, Maya called out from across the room, her tone reflecting someone who had been waiting for this moment.

Michael said, "I’m okay with using an axe."

"You’re skilled with an axe," Sera said. "Stand here."

He stood at her indicated position, while she observed him the same way she had looked at Shin’s stance, from head to toe. Then, she corrected his feet, hands, and shoulder angle before stepping back.

She remarked, "You fight as if you are always surprised when it actually works."

"That’s accurate," he said.

Maya made a sound from the corner that was definitely a laugh that she was pretending was a cough.

"It’s worked so far." Micheal said.

"So far," Sera said, keeping her typical tone that suggested "so far" wasn’t a tactic. She moved to the center of the room and looked at him. "Come at me."

He looked at her.

"Not actually," she said. "Move closer to me. I want to observe how you approach."

He approached her, she observed, and after about three steps, she stopped him.

"You tend to telegraph," she said. "Your right shoulder drops before you commit to any action. Anyone observing you for thirty seconds can tell exactly when and where you’re going to move." She paused and looked at him. "That’s the first thing we’ll address."

"How long does that take?" he asked.

"It depends on how quickly you learn," she replied.

"How quickly do people typically learn?" he inquired.

"Slower than they think," she said, and Maya made the cough sound again. Shin was looking at the wall with her shoulders slightly shaking, while Michael stood in the middle of the training room, thinking that learning from people better than you was a unique kind of humbling that no amount of foundational training could prepare you for.

"Again," Sera said.

He went again.

[Bond Event — She’s Teaching You: Sera. +1 Bond Point. Current BP: 8 — Sera.]

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