The sun was already leaning toward the west, turning the canopy of the Jangberg forest into a sea of orange and purple shadows. But for Mira, time had lost its meaning. Time was no longer measured in hours or minutes, but in how many times her back hit the hard ground covered with pine needles.

  “Stand up.”

  That command again.

  Mira spat. The liquid was pink. She dragged her body up, her knees shaking violently in protest at this torture. In front of her, Kars stood in an annoyingly relaxed pose, twirling a two-meter-long Ironwood stick in his hands. The tip of the stick was charred, evidence of the dozens of Mira's light “bullets” that the man had easily deflected.

  “You have attacks,” said Kars, beginning to circle Mira like a wolf circling a wounded sheep. “You have a knife. But your defense is pathetic. You fight as if your body is made of steel. When in fact...”

  Without warning, the stick swept horizontally, aiming for Mira's left ribs.

  Mira saw it. Her eyes caught Kars's shoulder movement. Her brain screamed: Dodge! But her exhausted body was a split second too late.

  “Ugh!” Air was forced out of Mira's lungs. Pain exploded on the side of her body, sharp and hot. She staggered to the side, nearly falling again.

  “...you're made of dry branches and soft flesh,” Kars finished his sentence, pulling his staff back. "Dodging is good, Mira. But there are times when you have no room to run. There will be times when you're cornered against a cliff wall. What will you do then? Ask your enemy to pause for a moment?"

  Mira clutched her ribs, grimacing. “So... teach me... how to make a wall.”

  “Not a wall,” Kars corrected sharply. “Walls are rigid. If you create a rigid wall of light–Hard Light, one blow from a giant hammer will shatter it, and the shockwave will crush your arm bones behind it. You don't need a wall. You need a buffer.”

  Kars raised his left hand. Instantly, blue light particles appeared, but this time they did not condense into a sharp, knife-like shape. They spun.

  It looked like a mini galaxy the size of a dinner plate floating in front of his forearm. The particles were not still; they flowed in a spiral pattern, layered like thick, electrically charged fog.

  “This is the Nebula Shield,” he explained. “The principle is the opposite of a dagger. A dagger is absolute compaction. This shield is controlled dispersion. You create a rotating layer of energy to absorb the momentum of the enemy's attack, breaking its kinetic force in all directions, rather than blocking it outright.”

  Kars deactivated his shield. “Try it.”

  Mira took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She extended her left hand, her dominant hand for holding the bow, which meant it had to be her defensive hand in close combat.

  Don't compress, she thought. Spin. Flow.

  She summoned her Intian. The energy burst forth from the pores of her skin. Instead of compressing it into a single point, Mira tried to guide it to spread out into a disc.

  The result was chaotic. The light burst out like wild smoke, shapeless, then scattered in the wind.

  “You released it too freely!” Kars snapped. He didn't wait. His wooden stick flew again, this time aiming for her right shoulder.

  Mira panicked. She reflexively raised her left hand and pumped as much energy as possible.

  A disc of light appeared that was too thick, too bright, too rigid.

  Kars' staff struck the amateurish shield. The shield did not absorb the blow; it shattered like window glass. The remaining momentum of the staff broke through the defense, striking Mira's lower arm hard.

  “ARGH!” Mira jumped back, clutching her arm, which felt numb to the bone.

  “Rigid!” Kars shouted. “You made glass! You tried to stop the waves with a wooden board. Stupid! Be the water! Let your energy catch my attack, then twist it!”

  Kars gave him no respite. The next attack came—a straight stab to the heart.

  Mira gritted her teeth, ignoring the pain in her arm. She spun like a whirlpool.

  She visualized the water flowing in the river where they had taken a drink. She imagined the energy in her arm spinning counterclockwise.

  The blue light reappeared on her left arm. This time, its surface was uneven. It was wavy. Layered.

  The staff struck.

  There was no loud thud. What could be heard was a low hum, like a heavy bass sound. The tip of Kars's staff sank an inch into the layer of light, slowing drastically as if piercing thick mud, before finally coming to a complete stop ten centimeters from Mira's skin.

  The vibration was still noticeable, but her bones didn't hurt. That shield absorbed the impact.

  Mira's eyes widened. “I... did it?”

  Kars pulled out his staff. “Not bad for a second try. But that was just a wooden staff. What if it were a five-kilo steel axe? Your shield is too thin. Thicken the vortex of that shield.”

  ***

  An hour passed. The sun had completely set now, replaced by the pale moonlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves. The forest was dark, but their training area was illuminated by flashes of stroboscopic blue light.

  Mira was drenched in cold sweat. Her left arm felt heavy, as if it were weighed down with lead, a side effect of continuously pumping and holding the Nebula Shield structure.

  “Hold on,” Kars' voice came from the darkness, outside the circle of light from the campfire that was beginning to dim. “Now for the real test. Integration.”

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  Mira straightened her aching back. “Integration?”

  “You think the enemy will give you a heads up? ‘Hey, now I'm going to hit you, please prepare your shield’, then ‘Okay, now it's your turn to shoot’?” Kars snorted, his voice shifting places. He moved quickly between the trees. “The fight is fluid, Mira. You have to switch modes as fast as you blink.”

  A rock shot out of the darkness on the left.

  Mira reacted. Her left hand shot up. Nebula Shield! A spinning disc of light appeared, deflecting the rock.

  “Good,” Kars' voice came from the right. “But now, return the attack!”

  Mira spun around, her right hand raised to form a finger gun. Light Bullet! Light shot toward Kars' voice. It missed. She only hit a tree trunk.

  “Slow!” Kars shouted. “Your brain is frozen! It takes you a full second to turn off defense mode and turn on attack mode. In that second, your throat would be slit.”

  Kars stepped out of the shadows. He no longer held a staff. He held two blunt wooden daggers. His gaze was serious. A thin—yet real—aura of death emanated from him.

  “Listen carefully,” he said softly. “I'm going to attack you for real. I'm going to target your vital points. If you don't react correctly, you'll break bones. Maybe even get a concussion.”

  Mira's heart raced faster. This was no longer a practice session, hitting a stationary target.

  “The sequence is: Range - Shield - Counter.” Kars took a low stance. “Shoot me to disrupt my movement. Hold off my attack when I get close. Then kill me with your light blade before I draw my weapon again.”

  “Wait, I'm not ready—”

  Kars rushed forward.

  He moved as fast as a ghost. Ten meters were covered in two leaps.

  Mira's brain panicked, but the muscle memory she had built up over the day took over. Range! Mira's right hand rose. She didn't have time to aim. She just released a Flash-Shot—a rough beam of light toward Kars' face.

  Kars didn't slow down. He just tilted his head slightly, letting the light bullet pass him by. He was already within striking distance.

  The wooden dagger in Kars' right hand swung down, aiming for Mira's collarbone.

  Shield! Mira screamed silently, forcing the energy in her left hand to swirl. The Nebula Shield formed a split second before impact.

  The blow was much harder than the stick earlier. Mira was pushed back, her heels scraping the ground. Her shield flickered wildly, nearly extinguished, but managed to hold the wood.

  “Don't just stand there! Counter!” Kars yelled right in front of her face.

  Mira snapped out of it. Her right hand was empty. She had to change her mindset from “shooting” (long-range) to “attacking” (close-range). It was a painful and challenging transition—like forcing flowing water to suddenly freeze.

  Hard Light Dagger! Mira pumped the last of her strength into her right hand. The light structure formed, rough, jagged, but sharp. She stabbed forward, aiming for Kars' stomach.

  Kars twisted his body elegantly, avoiding the stab by an inch. Then, with a casual movement, he swept Mira's legs.

  Mira fell hard. Her light dagger went out. Her shield was gone. The forest canopy spun before her eyes.

  “Die,” Kars said flatly, standing over her with the tip of his wooden dagger pressed against Mira's neck. “You hesitated during the transition to the knife. You thought, ‘How do I do this?’ You shouldn't have thought. It should have been a reflex.”

  Mira gasped for breath, staring at the wooden stake in her neck. “Again,” she croaked.

  “You're half dead, Mira.”

  “AGAIN!” Mira snapped, knocking the wooden stake aside and standing up. Her legs were shaky, but her eyes burned with the same fire as the Intian in her body. "I'm starting to understand the rhythm. One more time."

  Mira had to be strong; she had to be strong. How could she reclaim her homeland if she was stuck here? She had to be strong, stronger than anyone else. Unbeatable, and no one would ever be able to conquer her again.

  Kars stared at her for a moment. There was a flash of respect hidden behind his cold mask. He took ten steps back.

  “Alright. Don't regret it if you can't walk tomorrow.”

  The second round began.

  This time, Mira didn't wait. She fired first. Not one, but three quick shots. Accuracy wasn't important; the goal was suppression. Kars was forced to zigzag to avoid them, slowing his momentum.

  As Kars approached, Mira was ready. She didn't wait for the attack to come. She stepped towards Kars.

  Kars, slightly surprised by the sudden aggression, still delivered a quick thrust to the chest.

  Nebula Shield. Mira summoned the shield on her left arm, but this time she tilted it. She didn't block the impact head-on (90 degrees), she let Kars' attack slide off the slippery surface of her shield (deflect).

  Wood met spinning light. Kars' attack slid sideways. The man's defense was wide open.

  This was the moment. Mira's brain screamed in pain as she shut down the ‘shoot’ circuit and turned on the ‘solidify’ circuit.

  Build the structure. Sharp. Solid.

  The Hard Light dagger flared in Mira's right hand. Its color was a deep blue, more stable than before.

  With a stifled roar, Mira stabbed. It wasn't a wild stab, but a precise attack aimed at the kidneys, a move she had learned from her father years ago when she accompanied him on hunts.

  The tip of the light dagger stopped one centimeter from Kars' cloak.

  Time seemed to freeze.

  Mira stood there, panting, her right hand holding the buzzing light blade at Kars's side, her left hand still holding the fading remnants of her shield.

  Kars didn't move. He glanced down at the light blade that was almost touching him, then looked back into Mira's eyes.

  Slowly, the light blade in Mira's hand flickered. Then it shattered into stardust that vanished into the night air, its power completely depleted.

  Mira's legs gave way, and she collapsed forward.

  But she didn't hit the ground.

  Kars caught her, not with a warm embrace, but with a strong grip on her shoulder that kept her from falling face-first onto the ground.

  “Good rhythm,” whispered Kars. His voice no longer sounded like a military instructor, but like a proud mentor. “You fooled me with that shield angle.”

  Mira wanted to answer, wanted to brag, but her tongue felt numb. The world grew dark at the edges of her vision.

  Kars slowly sat her down near the campfire. He draped a thick woolen cloak over Mira's shoulders, which were shaking violently from exhaustion due to overuse of the Intian.

  “Sleep,” Kars commanded, his tone gentle this time. He threw more firewood into the fire, making the orange flames dance against the darkness of the forest. “Tomorrow we will train your legs. Your hands are already dangerous enough for a rabbit... or perhaps a careless wolf.”

  Mira smiled weakly, her eyes half closed. “Just... rabbits?”

  “Don't get cocky, Princess,” Kars sat across the fire, picking up the silver knife and fruit again. “The world outside this forest is full of monsters that eat rabbits for snacks. You just learned how not to become dessert.”

  Mira didn't hear the last sentence. Her consciousness had drifted away, pulled into a dreamless sleep. In the darkness of her mind, the patterns still danced: shoot, shield, stab. Shoot, shield, stab. A deadly dance that was now permanently etched into her bone marrow.

  “She learns quickly.” Meir’Dea emerged from the darkness of the forest. It seemed she had been watching their training all along.

  “Stealix must learn quickly,” Kars explained. Star mages cannot move freely. Out there, there are countless threats that will surely target them. From the Golden Angels Order, Eaver, to unforeseen problems, not to mention the two entities residing within Mira’s body.

  “I'm quite surprised that there are still star magic users left,” said Meir'Dea as she sat on the other side of the campfire.

  “Maybe it's just the two of us left.”

  “What's your plan?” Meir'Dea sat up straight, staring intently at Kars as if trying to extract everything she could from him.

  “You don't need to know,” said Kars, chewing on the last berry. “How can you not be cold with your body exposed like that?” Kars changed the subject, uncomfortable with anyone wanting to get to know him better.

  “We adapt well, so we're used to the nature here.” Meir'Dea looked at the gently swaying campfire, its reflection perfectly mirrored in her eyes. “We blend in with the forest.”

  “Why did you come here?” Kars' eyes gazed at the elf woman's body, reflecting the light of the campfire as if it were a blurry mirror.

  “Because you haven’t returned to the hut yet.”

  “We’ll be there shortly.” Kars glanced at where Mira was sleeping, her face looking very peaceful.

  “And…”

  “And?” Kars raised his eyebrows.

  “Do you still have energy?”

  “For what?”

  “Because this is going to be a long night for you.”