Lyra stepped back a little.

"Take your defensive stance."

Torren obeyed immediately.

Shield forward.

Feet grounded.

Body lowered slightly.

Lyra walked closer until she stood directly before him.

"Earlier, you condensed mana into your body."

She raised a finger toward his shield.

"Now you're going to learn how to receive impact properly."

Torren's expression became serious.

Even Arthur paid more attention now while still rubbing Mel's fur absentmindedly.

Lyra lifted her hand slowly.

"This," she said calmly, "is the difference between blocking an attack… and stopping it."

The words alone made Torren lock in completely.

As he tightened his grip around the shield and settled into his stance again.

His feet planted firmly into the ground while the mana around his arm and shoulder slowly condensed tighter.

This time it came easier.

Not perfect yet, but smoother than before.

Commander Lyra nodded lightly.

"Good. Brace yourself."

Torren inhaled deeply.

The mana around his shield thickened slightly while his muscles tensed.

Then Lyra moved.

Her fist shot forward again, coated in mana just like before.

BOOM.

The shield shook heavily.

Torren slid back a short distance, but unlike earlier, he didn't nearly lose balance.

His arm still felt numb from the impact, yet the sharp pain from before was mostly gone.

That alone shocked him.

He lowered the shield slightly and stared at it.

The commander had obviously held back a lot.

He knew that much.

But even then, the difference felt huge.

Earlier, his mana shattered instantly on impact.

Now it actually absorbed part of the force.

The dull shock still traveled through his arm, but it no longer felt like his bones were getting rattled apart.

Torren immediately understood the point of the training better now.

The tighter the mana condensed…

The more stable the defense became.

Lyra watched his expression and nodded.

"You felt the difference."

Torren slowly nodded back.

"…Yeah."

His voice carried genuine surprise.

He finally understood why Lyra focused so much on technique.

Same mana.

Different usage.

Different results entirely.

Lyra folded her arms.

"But keeping it condensed constantly isn't enough."

Torren looked up again.

"You need rhythm," she explained. "Mana should pulse at the moment of impact."

Torren frowned slightly.

"Pulse?"

She nodded.

"Not randomly. Not continuously. At the exact timing the force lands."

Nox, who had paused nearby to listen, muttered under her breath.

"That sounds annoying."

Lyra ignored her.

"If your mana reacts properly at the point of contact, the impact disperses better instead of crashing through your body."

Torren listened carefully.

Honestly…

It sounded almost impossible.

Timing mana perfectly at the exact moment an attack landed?

And doing it naturally?

He couldn't even imagine mastering that quickly.

But he brushed the thought away almost immediately.

The situation outside wasn't going to wait for him to catch up slowly.

He needed to improve.

And he trusted the commander's training completely at this point.

So instead of doubting himself, he tightened his grip again.

"Again," he said seriously.

Lyra smiled faintly at the resolve in his eyes.

That was the attitude she wanted.

Torren lowered himself into his stance once more while mana condensed tighter around his arm and shield.

His breathing steadied.

His focus sharpened.

Lyra stepped closer.

"Remember," she said calmly, "pulse at the point of impact."

Then she punched.

BOOM.

Torren reacted…

Too late.

The mana pulsed after the impact already landed.

His shield shook violently again.

Still, this time he noticed something.

The delayed pulse actually softened part of the remaining force.

His eyes widened slightly.

He saw the effect immediately.

And that tiny success lit something inside him.

"I felt it," he muttered.

Lyra nodded.

"Again."

Torren didn't hesitate.

He reset his stance immediately.

Mana condensed.

Shield raised.

Breathing steady.

Lyra punched again.

BOOM.

This time he pulsed too early.

The mana flared before the strike landed and weakened by the time the impact came.

Torren stumbled backward.

"Tch."

"Too impatient," Lyra corrected calmly.

Torren steadied himself again.

No complaints.

No frustration.

Just focus.

Again.

And again.

And again.

The cycle repeated over and over.

Each strike carried a lesson.

Sometimes he pulsed too late.

Sometimes too early.

Sometimes the mana scattered completely.

But slowly…

Very slowly…

He started improving.

Arthur glanced toward them briefly while Mel circled another obstacle nearby.

Even from afar, he could see Torren locking in harder with every attempt.

The guy looked exhausted already, but he refused to stop.

That alone honestly suited him well.

Torren had always been stubborn.

Now that stubbornness was finally useful.

"Brace better," Lyra instructed after another impact.

Torren adjusted immediately.

"Keep your feet grounded."

BOOM.

"Don't tense your shoulder too much."

BOOM.

"Feel the impact first. Let the mana respond naturally."

BOOM.

The training hall echoed repeatedly with the sound of shield against fist.

Sweat dripped down Torren's face.

His breathing grew heavier.

His arm trembled slightly from repeated impacts.

Yet his eyes kept sharpening instead of dulling.

Because every near success pushed him further.

At one point, Lyra's punch landed…

And Torren's mana pulsed almost perfectly.

The impact dispersed noticeably.

The sound itself changed.

Instead of a violent crash, the force spread more smoothly across the shield.

Torren barely moved.

Even Lyra's eyes widened slightly.

"There."

Torren blinked.

"You felt that?"

"I did," she replied immediately.

For the first time since the training began, genuine excitement flashed across her face.

"That was close."

Torren's confidence shot upward instantly.

Nox whistled as she ran through the course nearby.

"Okay, that actually looked cool."

Torren smirked tiredly.

"Obviously."

"Don't get cocky," Lyra cut in immediately.

Torren coughed awkwardly.

"Yes, commander."

But the smile still stayed on his face.

Because now he knew it was possible.

That single near success erased most of his earlier doubt.

The training continued after that.

And strangely enough…

Condensing mana itself slowly became the easiest part.

His body already started adapting to it naturally.

Now his biggest challenge was timing.

Predicting the exact moment Lyra's fist would land.

Feeling the incoming force.

Reacting properly.

And the process became almost instinctive after enough repetition.

A/N:

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