It took Alexa a week to improve her flexibility and balance. Through training, she reduced her initial time from four hours to two. Back in the cave, she was moving with relaxed precision in the tube-armor, wearing weights on her wrists and ankles to make the task harder. Jayden watched her closely, then suddenly launched an attack with a wooden sword. Without even realizing it, Alexa dodged each strike with exactness; her agile, unpredictable movements drew the faintest hint of confidence on Jayden's face. He increased his speed to something like a bullet—and still she slipped past each fierce blow without losing her flow.
Jayden's attacks didn't let up. With every dodge, the next strike seemed even faster, each one closer to landing. Suddenly, the armor fell off her—weights and all—and her movements grew even quicker, though her eyes remained closed. After a couple of minutes, Alexa's mind "returned" to her body. She opened her eyes just in time to be blasted into a cave wall by a single hit, her body embedded in the rock. She let out a shallow sigh, relaxed her muscles to endure the pain, and pried herself free—only to see another attack incoming. Startled, she ducked her head and avoided it by mere millimeters.
Alexa — running: "What's wrong with you?!"
Jayden — chasing her: "Let's see what you can do after a week."
Alexa — springing from wall to wall to hang from stalactites: "You'll see—just let me catch my breath." Heavy sigh.
Jayden — leaping at her and smashing the stalactites: "Do something that can save you from me!"
Falling fast with several chunks of rock, Alexa scanned for anything she could use to even the odds. Looking up, she noticed the man's heavier body was closing the distance too quickly. With that in mind, she grabbed the falling stalactites and kicked them toward him to boost their force. Ineffective—but the last one gave her space to push off a rock and widen the gap by a few meters. The landing wasn't clean, so she rolled across the ground to avoid slamming into the cave floor. She sprang to her feet and spotted her opponent—unscathed. He shot her an intimidating look and said, "Let's see, girl—do you think you can last one more minute?"
Alexa, just hearing that, accepted the challenge: "I won't just last—I'll beat you in that time!"
The battle resumed with a single minute on the clock. The warrior lunged at inhuman speed; she barely slipped aside. Sprinting at full tilt and searching for any advantage, she got an idea and swiftly climbed to the place where her opponent usually watched her from. Jayden rushed after her, jumping to the cave's first level—only to find his student holding his teapot. Alexa hurled it at him, hoping his habit of checking the herbal brew would distract him…
…The plan worked. Jayden thrust at the teapot without leaving a scratch on it; his strike slid perfectly into the handle, and with subtle movements he set it safely on the ground, returning to a fighting stance—just in time to see Alexa diving at him with two branches she'd used to feed the fire. Enduring the pain from the earlier blow, she managed to land many weak but rapid hits all over his body. Using her tremendous flexibility and constant jumps, she gave him no chance to escape, hemming him in with acrobatics while she kept striking. One blow knocked the bokken from his hand, giving her the opening to finish him with a clean shot to the head.
Breathing hard, Alexa held her finishing posture over her master. When she looked up, she saw him melting, raising a thumb in approval—then collapsing into a mass of clay.
Alexa — raising an eyebrow: "A clone? Makes sense—that explains how he trains the others without them missing class. I wonder what it's made of…" poking the goo with a branch
Jayden — at the cave entrance: "Clay imbued with my Fiu."
Alexa — turning: "I knew you weren't present for every lesson."
Jayden — approaching: "Obviously. Not all of you need me there."
Alexa: "Yeah, I know…" drops the branches "What's next?"
Jayden pointed at the clay on the ground and fired a small sky-blue pellet of energy. The clay re-formed into his shape, complete with the colors of his clothes, skin, eyes, and hair. He gestured for the clone to leave. "Next, I'll give you a style…"
Alexa: "Wait, wait. I already told you—I have one: Moiraía Ptósi."
Jayden: "Let me guess—that's what your grandmother taught you?"
Alexa: "I've told you—she wasn't just my grandmother. She was also my master…"
Jayden: "I don't care. You're an empty teapot, and I want to brew tea in you. Which means…" he taps her forehead with his index finger, dropping her to her knees; his gaze turns lethal "…you will let me fill you with my knowledge. You'll take what I give you. And when someone wishes to taste the brew, I'll let you mix both flavors into something unique. Understood?"
Terrified, eyes wide, Alexa bowed. "Yes, Master!" The deathly pressure that had forced her to the floor vanished, followed by his words: "Good. Then let's go outside—this place reeks of bats." She allowed a little fear to ebb, stood up, and followed him.
Walking through the forest…
Jayden: "Relax. I'm not going to kill you."
Alexa: "I'm relaxed."
Jayden: "Sure—relaxed. If you want to ask something, ask."
Wanting to avoid provoking his lethal aura again, Alexa chose her words carefully. The image of the warrior's other two students crossed her mind. "Tell me—how are the others doing?"
Jayden — looking up at the leaves: "The idiot is training so he doesn't get killed by even bigger idiots; the coward is learning to block; and the indecisive one is mastering the basic stance."
Alexa — surprised: "There's someone else?"
Jayden: "Four in total, counting you."
The idea of three rivals shocked her—but it also lit a small spark inside: the urge to compete with others her age. They stopped in a wide clearing. Jayden tossed her a wooden sword and said, "Given your abilities, I'll teach you Chakama—fast, acrobatic, built around evasion and multiple counters."
Alexa nodded; she'd heard of it. Jayden showed the basic stance: one leg extended to the side, body weight on the other; the arm on the weighted leg raised, the opposite arm lowered and extended toward the other leg. After demonstrating, he said, "As you probably know, this is one of the few styles that doesn't force you to hold the sword with both hands—but I'll leave that to your choice."
Alexa mirrored the stance and followed Jayden through the primary movements—lots of jumps, spins, and short steps. Since this style avoids direct trading with the opponent, it's highly dynamic. Even so, she struggled to keep her balance.
The day ended. Alexa returned home late again, opened the door with her usual smile, and called, "Hi, Mom—I'm back." A few seconds of silence passed before her mother answered that she was in the living room with someone "special." Entering, Alexa found her mother seated beside a tall man in a white suit with a black tie, black hair, and green eyes like hers. He stood and walked slowly to her, wrapping her in his arms. "Hello, daughter. I'm back. I hope you're not causing trouble?"
The week became very strange for Alexa. Her father being home four days in a row felt like the world economy had turned to air. It wasn't that his presence bothered her—on the contrary, it made her happy—but one thing weighed on her: like her grandmother and her sister, he knew about people with abilities, like her master. She dreaded him discovering what she was doing. So she eased off training a bit to avoid suspicion. On Friday of that week, as she approached the training ground, she noticed adult footprints—something most would ignore. She found her master sitting on a tree branch.
"Good, you finally made it. Catch," he said, tossing her an egg, which she caught without breaking. She took the basic stance—this time with the egg balanced on her head—forcing her to improve the balance required for the techniques.
Barely fifteen minutes passed before the egg fell. "What's wrong with me? Before I could do this—why am I faltering now?" she asked. Jayden thought for a moment, then said, "You probably think you're abandoning what your former master gave you for what I'm giving you now. But understand: what I'm giving you are tools to perfect what she left you." She understood—but when she tried again, the next egg fell just like the first.
Alexa: "Now what? I accepted what you said—what's happening?"
Jayden — flicking a stone at her forehead: "Simple: to master balance you must control your feeling. Gather all your emotions and make that your point of support."
Rubbing the spot, Alexa closed her eyes before moving. She relived the trauma of her grandmother's death—this time, an image of fury completely filled her being. Remembering Jayden's words, she exhaled and summoned a deep calm. The fury thinned to a single white thread—and with it, she finally opened her eyes and executed the movements correctly, without wavering for even a second.