Time kept passing. Alexa tried in many different ways to reach the note, but no matter what she did she always fell. The bruises increased, turning into light wounds. Birds flew away from the area as the sound of the young woman's heavy crashes against the ground grew more and more frequent. After around fifty falls, sitting on one of the dents left by her impacts, she stared at the note while gasping for air. Her expression changed as she looked at the other end of the rope. She walked over, untied herself, and prepared to finally get the note. She bent her legs, confident that this time she would succeed. Just as she was about to leap, she stopped. She stared again at the rope, frowning, clenching her fists, and throwing a small tantrum before tying herself back up again.
An hour passed in which poor Alexa only managed to leave more marks from her falls. On this attempt, she came just a few centimeters from the note, but the result was the same. She lay down on the ground, thinking: "Where am I failing? I'm always so close and then fall again. Where's my mistake? Come on, Alex! Think! What are you doing wrong?"
After carefully reviewing her earlier flips in her mind, she realized that the only thing they had in common was that she had always tried to reach while holding the rock in her hand — and had failed every time. She glanced at her feet for a moment, shook her head, and said, "That's nonsense." It took her several minutes to consider whether to try something that, to her, seemed completely stupid. Looking at all the marks from her previous attempts, she let out a long sigh and said, "I lose nothing by trying."
Alexa placed the rock between her toes, jumped, spun a couple of times in the air, and waited for the rope's pull. The moment she felt the tension, she stretched her leg toward the branch. She touched it — and fell again. Quickly, she looked up for the note, but it was gone. A huge, radiant smile spread across her face. She searched frantically for the fallen note. Unable to find it, she put her shoes back on, only to notice the note stuck to the piece of rock. Overjoyed, she picked it up.
The note was a small map, with drawings of the river, a forest, and a cave. She saw a circle near the river — her current position — and a cross marking the cave. Trusting that was where she had to go, she set off before the day ended.
Running to continue her training as quickly as possible, Alexa climbed the tallest tree in the forest to immediately spot the cave. Jumping from branch to branch, she reached the entrance and saw Jayden practicing some kind of technique. She decided not to interrupt and remained in the tree. Her plan was ruined when the man said, "You won't learn by watching or assuming. Get down here."
The girl jumped, landing gracefully, and asked the warrior: "Tell me, was that the legendary Oscillating Style?"
The man, heading into the darkness of the cave, replied: "No. Come."
As she followed him deeper into the shadows, she asked again: "Then what was it? That thing you were doing?"
He simply answered: "I don't know."
In the pitch blackness she could see nothing, until suddenly a bonfire lit up, revealing her master. He approached and tossed her a small package. She caught it, opened it, and saw a black karategi with sky-blue stripes and a matching headband. Looking back at him, she said: "This is…"
Jayden, without giving her time to finish, spoke while setting a teapot over the fire: "Your new training uniform. From now on, wear it for lessons."
The girl smiled for a few seconds, her eyes shining brighter than the usual false cheer she wore. But quickly her expression darkened again as she asked the warrior: "What will I do now?"
Jayden showed her a kind of armor with tiny strange tubes. He handed it to her. "Put this on. And before you call me a pervert, no—you don't need to take off your current clothes. Once you put it on, go down there…" he pointed to a lower level of the cave "…bow, and the training will begin."
Alexa obeyed her master. Once at the lowest part of the cave, she bowed. Immediately her whole body stiffened, locked in place. Alarmed, she cried: "What's happening to me?!"
Jayden — pouring a cup of tea: "That suit is like a huge lock, and your body is the key. Perform the correct movements to remove it."
Alexa: "Wait! What do you mean 'to remove it'?!"
Jayden — sipping his tea: "Yes, that thing will only come off when you make the required movements. And since they change each time it's used, I can't help you even if I wanted to."
Alexa — panicking: "But I can't go home with this on!"
Jayden — taking another sip: "Not my problem. Besides, someone with two trainings should find this a piece of cake."
The girl had no choice but to set aside her worries and start moving slowly and stiffly, like a robot. Every motion was clumsy until, when moving her left arm, she heard a click. She realized she could now move it more freely. She decided to unlock each limb one by one. The problem was that after an hour she ended up back where she started, since unlocking one limb often re-locked another.
Annoyed, Jayden splashed her with a bit of boiling water. "What's your problem, you stupid bastard?!" Alexa shouted. He calmly threw a rock at her forehead and said before she could insult him again:
"If you want to take that off, treat your body as a single instrument. Every movement must involve every part. Just because one limb feels lighter doesn't mean you should focus only on it. Continue the movement without distractions."
The girl calmed her anger, closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and then moved her whole body in unison with the heavy suit. As she moved, she ignored the locking and unlocking sounds. After two hours she finally realized she had removed the suit. She clenched her fist tightly, ready to say something, but then noticed how late it was. She immediately ran from the cave, leaving Jayden behind. He simply picked up the suit, looked at it for a few seconds, and then vanished.