Sig was already waiting for me in our usual meeting spot, but strangely he was not alone. A young woman around my age stood with him, standing with a relaxed posture. They must know each other, though I had no idea who she was.

As I came within earshot, both turned to me, and Sig shouted, "You're late!"

I knew I was at least five minutes early, but with a stranger here, shooting back with a protest might seem disrespectful. Instead, I bowed my head and replied, "My apologies, sir. It will not happen again."

There was a swat to the back of my head, and I shot back, rubbing the forming bruise and shouting, "Hey! Why did you-I mean, that was quite rude, sir. Please do not do that again," catching myself at the last second.

"We both know you're early, so stop pretending you didn't notice for the benefit of our guest. You might move like a half-blind child with a bad leg, but you're not stupid."

I sighed, shaking my head before turning to the third person, who observed the two of us with a smirk.

"Apologies for this embarrassing scene. My name is Vayne. A pleasure to meet you." I said, bowing about as formally as possible.

Her smirk blossomed into a full smile, one that looked equal parts amused and friendly. She was tall, having at least three inches on me, and the way she stood reminded me of Sig. There was a balance there, a sort of grace that suggested she had training as a warrior, more so than me.

Strangely, she looked almost familiar, with dark brown hair and amber eyes. I tried not to stare, trying to place it, and decided I must have seen her around the school.

She caught me off-guard, holding out a hand and saying, "Amelia Ruteh. Nice to meet you, as well."

I hesitated for a moment before taking her offer, hiding a wince as she squeezed hard. Her hands were warm, and I felt calluses along her palm and fingers, right where a hilt would rub the skin during training.

"So, this was your plan, I assume? For sparring, I mean," I asked, turning to Sig with a smile.

"Exactly. Amelia here was my first student, and she's closer to your skill level, which should help you develop your abilities. Now, though I love standing around and talking as much as anyone, we have a job to do. Start warming up, and we can get started on the real fun."

We both nodded and began stretching and going through basic exercises. I tried to ignore Amelia's obvious superiority, moving with grace and flexibility I was far from matching. If there were a word that combined envy, worry, and a tiny amount of excitement, it would perfectly describe the mixture of feelings coursing through me.

When we finished, Sig tossed us staves without warning. Amelia grabbed her weapon with a deft movement, spinning it in a flourish with practiced expertise. I was less graceful, feeling it smack into my palm a little painfully before falling to the ground, right onto my foot.

Two sets of laughter came as I scrambled to retrieve my weapon, my cheeks burning. I might have thought I was beyond embarrassment after being knocked to the ground a few hundred times since moving into the Academy, but life was full of fun surprises.

"As I said, we are going to do some sparring. First clean strike wins the round, and once you land that, disengage. Vayne, Amelia is much better than you, so I don't expect you to win any rounds that she does not let you win, but hey, maybe you'll surprise me."

"Your confidence in me is staggering," I muttered, earning a brief grin from the older man.

"You're welcome, kid. Alright, stand across from each other and get into a guard position. Begin!"

Before I could consider what to do, Amelia took a lightning-fast step forward, lunging and thrusting the end of her weapon into my stomach. I felt the wind leave my lungs and fell to one knee, clutching at my chest and trying to catch my breath. It was not the first time it had happened during training, but it remained deeply unpleasant.

After a half-minute or so, I could breathe again, and I shook my head, replaying the strike in my mind. I should have stepped to the side and dodged it. There was a quiet cough from above me, and I looked up to find Amelia holding out one hand to me.

"Textbook thurst, Amelia, though you committed a bit too much weight onto your front foot. Vayne, what should you have done differently?" Sig said after I stood, arms folded over his chest.

"I should have avoided getting hit by either dodging or blocking," I responded, frowning at how easy it should have been to do.

"Pretty much. Dodging was the better option, but you could've used the end of your weapon to deflect hers to one side. Alright, back to guard. Again!"

This time, I took the initiative, copying her move to try and catch her off-guard. My lunge was not as fast or fluid, but hundreds of repetitions over the last week had paid off, and it was at least recognizable as an attack.

However, I stumbled just a bit in my haste, my balance too far forward as I pushed off the ground. As I tried to regain my footing, Amelia did what I should have done the first round and stepped to one side. Her staff dipped low, hitting my legs and knocking them clear out from under me.

Again, I hit the ground hard, and again, she helped me up as Sig commented, offering corrections.

"I like the aggression and the unexpectedness, Vayne, but you got entirely too eager. You overcommitted, and you lost your footwork completely. Got the worst of both innovators and fundamentalists on that one. Never leave yourself so open to counterattack, or you're asking to end up dead."

Sig turned to Amelia, continuing, "Nice sweep, but you could've just struck his front leg rather than aim for both. You would've gotten the same result since he had so much weight on that foot. Alright, again!"

Neither of us made an immediate strike this time, my eyes meeting hers cooly. Each of us had our weapons leveled at the other's face, the 'speartip' a barrier to ward off attacks. I took in steadying breaths, trying to decide what was the best option. Attack and risk a counter or wait and hope I can repel her assault?

Amelia winked at me, and I blinked, the unexpected action catching me entirely unprepared. A second later, the end of her weapon stabbed towards my face, and I was sluggish to respond, my staff coming up and around in a slow, clumsy block that hit only air. As I missed, I heard a low whistle, and there was a burst of pain from my side as her second strike hit home.

"Excellent feint, Amelia. I'd suggest aiming lower on the side and striking the liver. That's much more painful and debilitating. Vayne, remember to keep your focus and never fall for tricks. Taunts, intimidation, and so on all seem different but have the same goal,"

"And what goal is that?" I asked, feeling a bit of heat creep into my voice.

"Getting your mind off the fight and onto something else. If you aren't thinking about the battle, you aren't going to win. And out there, losing is the same thing as death." he answered, his voice turning hard as he stared at me.

I nodded, not sure what else to say as we took up our positions again.

Dozens of rounds passed as we fought, and by the end of the hour, I had bruises from head to toe, along my torso, arms, legs, and even one to the side of my face. Amelia was, by contrast, untouched except for one noteworthy exception. During a particularly embarrassing attempt, I had slipped on the grass, and my flailing staff had struck her hip. Sometimes, luck was better than skill.

"Well, that was fun to watch. And a little painful, but practice makes perfect, so we can pick this up again tomorrow night, same time as today. Any questions from either of you?" Sig said, pointedly looking at me as I sat on the ground, taking gasps of air as sweat covered my entire body.

I waved a hand, responding, "No, thank you." and leaving it at that. Better to save my breath, I decided. Sparring was not as physically demanding on its face as our regular training, but fighting on and off for nearly an hour quickly wore me out. If not for frequent breaks to discuss corrections, I would have been done in a third the time.

Amelia asked him a few questions about her techniques, and I listened, trying and failing, to follow along. Compared to my glaring flaws and basic understanding, she spoke with evident expertise, remarking on minor adjustments to hand positioning, footwork, range, and so on.

Once they finished, Sig said, "Well, get some rest for tomorrow. Oh, and make sure to get something to eat. You especially, kid. Still a growing boy, after all."

With that, he walked away, leaving us in silence. I had caught my breath but still sat on the ground, not willing to stand quite yet.

"He's not wrong, you know. You are pretty terrible at this." Amelia remarked with a teasing smile.

A month ago, I might have responded with a scowl or angry retort, eager to protect my bruised ego. Now, after hours of embarrassing training and failures, I knew there was not much point in reacting in anger. No, it was better to save that energy and improve, so there was nothing to get defensive about later.

I rubbed my side, feeling my sore ribs, and responded, "I knew I had a long way to go, but I did not think I was that bad. It is humbling, if also a bit frustrating."

She chuckled and said, "Trust me, when I first started, I was worse. Much worse. You're not bad for a few days of practice. The important thing is you're trying."

Amelia helped me to my feet again, stepping backward as I shook my head with another sigh.

"I get the feeling you took it easy on me," I said, glancing at her.

She winced, responding, "Maybe a little."

I was not much a fan of pity, but there was no point saying as much. Instead, I said, "Well, if it is all the same to you, I think I will head back to my room and clean off the shame. Today was less than a rousing success."

"I think I'll do the same. Want to walk back together?"

It might draw a few eyes if I was seen with another apprentice, at least one that was not my lords...but I did not much care. If this training continued, it might be prudent to become friendly with her. Besides that, she could help provide tips for my skillset or offer her own thoughts on combat separate from Sig. Wisdom came from many sources.

A half-hour later, I sat in my bathtub, book in one hand as ice-cold pain seeped into my bones. The herbal mixture was as miserable as ever but had the unforeseen side-effect of numbing my bruises. My supplies would not make it to the end of the week, making earning more gold a priority.

Master Laila's book had a few dozen exercises, which typically involved creating and manipulating mana constructs to improve control. If done often enough, this would improve nearly all of my magic, from how efficient my spells were to how quickly I could draw in more mana to increase my reserves. But there was one skill I wanted down as soon as possible.

Putting down the book and extending one hand, I created a single orb with only a brief moment of concentration. A second later, I pushed, a second sphere appearing as my head split, the fading pain returning in full force. Both creations sputtered like a candle in the wind, and I grit my teeth, feeling my mana recoil worse than it had in weeks.

It was a balancing act, trying to control both simultaneously, and within less than two breaths, they vanished, breaking apart into the air. I let out a single, pained sigh before reaching again, knowing I had a long night ahead of me still.

Classes ran for six days out of seven, which meant I had five days to go until I could go on another hunt. On my next free day, I would pick the safest, least risky bounty around and hopefully finish it without issue and refill my supplies. If there was nothing available, I might need to fall back on the safer ways of earning gold.

Until then, all I had to do was survive classes and maintain a low profile while also improving my control enough to conjure two Mana Bolts at once. And, preferably, learn to cast a defensive spell so that whatever nasty creature I went after did not gore me. Oh, and manage not to inadvertently insult any of the prickly, prideful nobles who would likely be looking for a reason to take issue with me.

I wanted to believe that all of that would not be too much of a challenge, but it was impossible. It might be becoming second nature to lie to everyone else, but I had not quite managed to fool myself yet.