After an exhausting day removing radioactive waste and teaching magic to the liquidators, Zein returned to Alexander's tavern to rest for a bit.
Alexander approached and sat next to him at the table.
—How are things going with the new battalion? —Alexander asked.
—Well... let's say good —Zein replied with evident tiredness—, if we consider "good" that they made the liquidators official within the army, with Naoko as captain and me as vice-captain, while we have to train them in magic, defense, and weapon handling... all at the same time we continue with the cleanup.
—Well, at least the waste is less and less, right? The efforts over the years bore fruit and it's no longer so dangerous to clean those waters. Now anyone can do it, so your load must have decreased —Alexander commented, sliding a glass across the wood toward him.
—I don't drink alcohol —Zein said, letting himself drop heavily onto the table.
—Relax, it doesn't have any alcohol —Alexander responded—. Either way, it's thanks to your command of magic that the soldiers of the battalion have been able to learn spells and more advanced combat techniques.
—It's not that big of a deal —Zein murmured, somewhat embarrassed, playing down the matter—. And Lyra?
—She already went to sleep.
—I'm glad. If she were still awake at this hour, I would scold her quite a bit —Zein said before taking a sip from the glass.
—Zein, tomorrow you have the day off, right? —Alexander asked.
—Yes, why?
—There's a matter I've been working on and I needed help.
—Sure, count on me —Zein accepted, standing up to head to his room.
The next day, Zein met with Alexander in the middle of the courtyard. The man held two wooden swords and, without prior warning, threw one directly into his hands.
—A training session? —Zein asked, confused as he held the sword.
—When was the last time you trained with the sword for real? I don't mean a quick practice like the ones you do with Kiera, but someone actually teaching you the secrets of the weapon —Alexander asked.
—That was... I think with Lucian —Zein remembered—. But why do you say that what I do with Kiera isn't real training?
—What you do with Kiera is more to stay in shape. She leaves everything to your own imagination instead of giving you real corrections or advice —Alexander said, pointing his wooden sword at him—. That's why I am going to take charge of training you.
—And how do you plan to do that? —Zein asked, taking a couple of steps closer.
—I will continue right where you left off with Lucian.
—No offense, but I don't think you have what it takes to teach me what Lucian knew —Zein commented, trying not to sound rude.
—Don't worry. Though it might not look like it, I was the one who taught Lucian everything in the past —Alexander bragged, puffing out his chest—. I even taught Mei and gave a few classes to Kio.
—Wow... —Zein admitted, surprised—. I didn't imagine that Mei knew how to use a sword.
In that instant, a smack hit him directly on the head. It was Mei, who was just arriving and didn't let the comment slide.
—I'm also quite strong, you know? And my husband is still as powerful as in his youth —she said with pride—. That was one of the reasons I fell in love with him.
—My love... —Alexander murmured, grabbing her by the hip to pull her toward him all at once—. That beauty conquered me from the first time I saw her.
Before they got more affectionate in the middle of the courtyard, Zein let out a very intentional dry cough. Both separated a bit, somewhat embarrassed.
—Just give my husband a chance, okay? —Mei requested with a smile—. I assure you he won't let you down.
Both faced each other again in the center of the courtyard and adopted their combat stance, ready to begin.
The clashing of the wooden swords resonated with a dry impact in the courtyard. Zein advanced with a rapid sequence of thrusts, combining clean movements that sought to break his opponent's guard. However, his weapon felt heavy, hindered by the brutal rigidity of his shoulders.
Alexander deflected the first attack with a minimal tilt of the hilt, without taking a single step back.
—Your technique is good, Zein, but you look like a statue —Alexander commented in a measured tone while the swords clashed again—. You have white knuckles and your shoulders are pinned to your ears. You are fighting against your own body before fighting against me.
Zein grit his teeth. Instead of relaxing, he gripped the hilt with more force and launched himself forward, carrying all his weight into a horizontal sweep. The momentum was excessive and dragged him a step beyond what was planned, leaving his left side exposed.
Alexander took a simple step to the side, letting the attack cut through the air. With total tranquility, he gave him a light but firm tap with his wood directly on his ribs.
—Too much momentum —Alexander marked, regaining his stance—. You give yourself up completely in every attack. If you miss, you're sold.
Sweat was already pouring in torrents down Zein's forehead. Only a few minutes had passed, but his arms burned from the unmeasured force he was applying. His breathing was heavy, as if he had been running for hours with armor on.
A few meters away, Mei remained seated on the grass. She held a small ceramic cup and let it drop onto the tea tray. The dull snap tore through the air.
Zein's gaze instinctively veered toward her for a millisecond.
That single blink was enough. Alexander's sword advanced like lightning and stopped millimeters from his throat. Zein took a frantic leap backward, tripping over his own feet and raising the weapon with both hands in a desperate block, with his eyes wide open.
Alexander didn't pursue the attack. He lowered the tip of his sword and observed him in silence for a second.
—You get distracted by the flight of a fly —Alexander pointed out, taking a slow step forward while Zein backed up another out of pure instinct—. And the worst thing is that you are terrified of the wood. Look at how you cringe. As soon as I suggest an offensive, you break formation, forget the terrain, and retreat ten meters disoriented.
—I'm not in a panic —Zein panted, trying to regulate his air, although his exaggerated posture gave away every single one of his nerves.
—Your feet say otherwise —the mage replied—. You retreat because you fear taking a hit. And the more you retreat, the more space you gift me to corner you.
Mei moved again, dragging a stone until making it collide with another. Zein clenched his jaw, fighting to keep his eyes fixed on Alexander, but his ears searched for the noise, tense to the limit.
Alexander advanced suddenly. He didn't execute a fast attack, but a simple feint. Zein reacted in an unmeasured way: he tightened his entire torso, closed his eyes for an instant, and launched a desperate slash upward to protect himself from an impact that never arrived.
Alexander used the very force of Zein's deflection to disarm him. With a subtle twist of the wrist, he hooked the young man's sword and sent it flying toward the weeds of the courtyard.
Zein fell to his knees upon the earth, resting his hands on the ground while his chest rose and fell violently. His arms trembled from accumulated fatigue.
—You're exhausted and we just started —Alexander said with a firm voice, resting his wooden sword over his shoulder while observing him—. Your head is full of noise, your muscles are stiff waiting for the pain, and you give your energy away to the air. Pick up your sword, Zein. Until you learn to let go of the tension and lose the fear of impact, you aren't going to last even two minutes in a real fight.
—You seem like another man every time you fight —Mei commented, approaching Alexander.
—I just take training sessions too seriously —he responded, relaxing his tone.
—You shouldn't press him so much. Now leave it to me, okay? —Mei said, pushing Alexander back and extending her hand to Zein, who had let himself drop onto his back on the ground.
—Can you get up?
—Yes, thank you —Zein responded, slowly regaining his breath—. You are much stronger than Lucian, Alexander. I really didn't expect it.
—See? I told you —Alexander bragged, puffing out his chest with pride upon hearing those words.
—You are an open book, my love —Mei teased between giggles—. Come on, Zein, now it's my turn.
—Are we going to fight too? —Zein asked with doubt—. Forgive me, Mei, but fighting against older ladies isn't really my style...
He didn't manage to finish the sentence. In the blink of an eye, Mei took him down with a clean movement, tripping him to slam him face first against the earth and pinning his arm to his back with a perfect lock.
—Lady? Older? —Mei said with a dangerously sweet voice—. For your information, I am still quite young and agile.
—Sorry, sorry! I expressed myself badly! —Zein pleaded in a huge hurry, flattened against the ground and struggling to breathe.
—You better be —Mei said, finally letting him go.
A few meters from there, Alexander remained seated on the grass, observing Zein with a mocking smile from ear to ear. Zein, while trying to rub his arm, responded to him annoyed purely through gestures.
—Set the sword aside —Mei ordered—. We are going to fight bare-knuckle.
—Bare-knuckle? —Zein asked, surprised, throwing the wood to one side.
—I am sure that, by concentrating so much on swordsmanship and magic, your hand-to-hand combat fell way behind. You completely neglected that area —Mei explained, tying her hair back.
—Well... the truth is I haven't fought without weapons or magic for a long time —he admitted, scratching the back of his neck.
—Zein —Alexander spoke to him from the grass in a heavy tone—. If you put even a single scratch on my dear wife, I swear I will kill you.
Alexander's face was sparking with pure protective fury, until a look from Mei calmed him down instantly.
—Leave it, love, it's just a training session. Nothing is going to happen to me —she said, offering a smile to her husband—. Get ready, Zein.
—Yes —he responded, taking his stance.
Zein flexed his knees and shot forward with explosive speed. He launched a right hook straight to Mei's chin, without worrying about guard or posture, trusting solely in the agility of his legs.
Mei didn't even blink. With a graceful movement, she tilted her torso just enough to let the fist pass right by, brushing the air millimeters from her skin.
Without losing momentum, Zein pivoted on his heels and unleashed a low kick aimed at his opponent's ankles to bring her down by pure speed.
Mei's response was flawless. She took a minimal leap backward and let the boy's leg cut through nothingness. As soon as Zein's balance was thrown off, she took a fluid step to the front, closing the distance.
Zein reacted by resting a hand on the earth to pull himself back up with a bound. Immediately he unleashed a flurry of fast punches, seeking to overwhelm her with pure force. Although his strikes lacked the technique of an experienced fighter, the speed with which they cut through the wind was dangerous.
Mei remained unfazed.
She deflected the first fist with a soft touch on Zein's forearm, steering his charge away. When the second strike was on its way, instead of blocking, she caught the boy's wrist in midair and accompanied the momentum with a wide rotation of her hip.
Zein felt how his own weight played against him as he was dragged by inertia.
He tried to brake by digging in his heels, but Mei was faster. She pivoted on her foot, crossed his captured arm behind his back, and exerted precise pressure on the shoulder and wrist.
The boy's body collapsed against the earth with a dull thud that echoed throughout the courtyard.
Before Zein could scramble or use his legs to break free, Mei placed her free hand on the nape of his neck, pressing the side of his face firmly against the hard ground while maintaining his arm secured behind his back with a perfect lever.
Zein clenched his jaw, feeling the cold earth on his cheek and the absolute immobility of his body. Any attempt at a yank strained the joint to its limit. Mei's posture was clean, elegant, and unmovable.
Then, Mei released him.
—I win —she said with a serene smile—. You are too impulsive, Zein. You need to learn to let yourself be carried by the rhythm of combat.
—What do you mean? —Zein asked, rubbing his shoulder.
—Imagine it like the current of a river: if you kick and struggle wildly, the force of the water is simply going to drag you away. But if you understand how it flows, you can move with it to react in time.
Alexander stood up from where he was sitting.
—The perfect training session for you just occurred to me —he said, smiling with mystery—. Come to the tavern tonight. Try to rest as much as you can before that.
Having said this, Mei and Alexander walked away from the courtyard, leaving him to rest on the grass.
That same night, Zein entered the tavern feeling quite a bit more recovered. No sooner had he crossed the door than he found Alexander waiting for him.
—Come, let's get you changed —he said, putting an arm over his neck to guide him to the dressing rooms.
—Changed? And what for? —he wondered, confused.
Shortly after, Zein came out dressed in shorts and wraps on his hands, just as if he were about to enter a boxing match. Without giving him time to protest, Alexander pushed him up onto the ring.
Up there, Naoko was already waiting for him, dressed in a similar outfit and ready to fight.
—Are you going to make us fight? —Zein asked, opening his eyes wide.
—Not exactly. Your problem, Zein, is that you are terribly afraid of getting hit, and that's why I designed this exercise —Alexander explained—. Naoko will be in charge of throwing punches at you without holding back. The only thing you are going to do is dodge them, but with your hands tied behind your back and with no right to block anything. In short: you are going to learn not to blink and get used to taking hits.
—WHAT?! —Zein and Naoko shouted at the same time, completely terrified.
Meanwhile, Alexander crossed his arms with a smile of pure pride, enjoying the genius of his twisted idea.