Maria grabbed a wooden sword from the rack of weapons and walked back to the group. As she did, she caressed the fake blade in her hands as though it were an old friend or a priceless item of some sort.

"Largely, how you fight depends on your body and its capabilities," She extended the blade as she spoke with a voice that Rin could only describe as entrancing. Her tone was calm and soothing. "Someone with longer arms than mine has access to motions, strategies, and opportunities that I simply will never be able to use. However," she crouched, and then with a leap, she nimbly flipped ahead, and stabbed the air with so much force that dust rose from the ground, all in one motion that left Rin stunned.

"I can disguise my attacks in ways others cannot. I can set my attacks up in creative ways. I also do not have to move as much to defend myself, as my frame is small, you." She aimed the weapon at Dylan. "Come here."

"Yes, ma'am," the boy replied with a bow, and Maria smiled at him. Dylan stood with his back straight and his crimson eyes passive, waiting.

The teacher then aimed her sword at his eyes, he did not flinch.

"One of the most basic fundamentals of combat, students, is that you are not always required to out-skill your opponent. Combat is a life or death situation, and as such, dirty tactics, mind games, cheap shots, are all simply tools to use to ensure your victory. Because of this, most of the time in a fight you will want to aim for these three areas." She tapped the boy's head lightly, his neck, and his inner thigh. "The eyes, the neck, and the groin. In any fight against another person, you will find that these areas do wonders for incapacitation. Thank you, Dylan. You may sit."

[Why didn't you go for those in your fight with Eli then?] Rin wondered as the boy went back to his chair. [You were really just that much stronger?]

John Ates raised his hand.

"Yes?"

The boy crossed his legs from where he was sitting and confidently asked:

"What about fighting creatures? Aren't these the ones we'll be encountering the most?" Rin swore that for an instant, Maria's face changed. There was a hint of something... Anger? No, it was quick, but she saw enough to tell that it wasn't that...

What was it? Rin did not figure it out.

"I was getting to that," Maria replied with a light tone. "Well, with creatures these tactics work too. For example, the eyes tend to be a weak spot for most creatures that have them. Other than that though, one element that you should always use when facing beasts is fire. Whether it is from a spellsign or from a physical object. We will dive into the intricacies of facing monsters in due time. For now, I wanted to tell you about each weapon on an individual level, starting with the sword."

Maria's form with it, as she showed off moves, was astonishing. She possessed an inherent elegance that Rin usually only saw from nobles. Her footsteps were particularly intriguing. It seemed like she was walking on air.

"See," she continued, "a sword has been the age-old go-to weapon for a reason. Stab attacks, slashes, parries, and deflections, each one is easy and simple to execute. However, sometimes, adventurers wish to use more specific, focused, weapons. One of them, for example, is the spear."

Maria put the sword away and went to grab a wooden spear.

"This is a lot of warriors' best friend." She said, twirling the spear in her hands. She did it carelessly and confidently, making no mistakes as far as RIn could tell. "It is useful when you wish to keep an enemy away, and of course provides the user with the opportunity to strike first, more often than not, thanks to its reach. Its weaknesses though are that if an enemy manages to close the gap unless you are very skilled, you are in for a bad time."

She showed off many weapons. Some that Rin had seen on warriors she'd slept with during her time at the Silver Rose, axes, clubs, and even stranger weapons that Rin hadn't heard of. Nunchuks, a halberd, a naginata, there was a very diverse assortment of items on that rack.

In the end, though, Rin didn't care about any of them. She had no money to buy them. So, she thought back to what the teacher had said about using no weapon at all.

[I think I'll take her up on that.] Rin concluded.

The hour was quicker than the other classes, as Maria was so knowledgeable and eager to share that knowledge that even when she was discussing these weapons she had no intention of buying, she was interested. She almost wanted the class to keep going.

[Rank S for a reason, huh.]

But, the hour did come to a close eventually. And with that, her first day of class was officially over.

"Good luck, let me know which weapon you would like to use. Here," The professor passed everyone a piece of paper and some pens that she had hidden away in a bag. "Write it down and hand it in."

Of course, everyone was in serious pain after the exercise they endured, so as they walked forward they all collectively moaned with discomfort, but a few tried to act tough.

Sara, Seth, and Dylan were the first. Of course, Sara had her strange sword at her waist, so Rin figured she'd be looking to use that one. Lia, John, and Lisa all came next. Elisa was stuck staring at her paper, and Eve looked like she was thinking about something else entirely. Varyn handed it in after them and Carla did as well. Finally, Eve gave hers in and Elisa stood up, walking to the teacher.

"Excuse me."

"Yes?" Maria asked.

"Could I make this work?" Elisa handed her paper over with a confident grin. "I believe that's what I would like to do."

"... Oh~ you are a flashy one, I see." Maria nodded, with a chuckle. "Something like this... You'd need to do quite a bit of limit-breaking to have the strength to make this work."

"I'm ready to do that," Elisa said with a determined expression.

"Then, in that case, I will aid you in this venture," Maria told her.

"Awesome, thank you." Elisa bowed and walked past Rin to the exit, but not before she waved at her with a little smile.

Rin could feel herself blush at that.

"And you?" Maria asked her.

Rin swallowed her nervousness, standing up and facing her.

"I would like to ask you about what you said before."

Maria's eyes widened.

"W-What?" Maria asked with a stutter.

"Uh, about the whole 'no weapons' fighting stuff that you said. You did say that right?" Rin asked, hoping that she hadn't misheard her.

And, when Maria heard this, her eyes gleamed and a grin stretched on her face as she lunged forwards.

"SPLENDID!" She practically yelled, grabbing Rin, and pulling her into a hug.

Rin blushed.

"Uh, M-Miss Camille!?" Rin asked.

"Hahaha! Oh, forgive me." Maria separated herself, as she chuckled. "It has been too long since someone has asked me to teach them! The last person who asked me ended up canceling our lessons after their knuckles got swollen on our first session! I was afraid I wouldn't get the opportunity to do so again. But... I ask, why do you wish to learn hand-to-hand combat? Was it the novels? Oh, I'm sure you saw a master and fell in love with the art form like I did, right? Oh, goodness, I remember when I was once walking through the market side of the city and I saw someone practicing out in the open, and I knew, I KNEW, that I had to pursue this, that was it, right!?"

Rin swallowed her pride.

"I... I couldn't afford to buy a weapon."

...

Maria's disappointment was so instant that Rin nearly laughed.

"Oh," Maria said, then her face turned more straightforward. "I..." She cleared her throat, re-taking her normal posture. "I do have to let you know then. Martial arts are not to be taken lightly. What is your name, again?"

"Rin."

"Ah, Rin. Listen, hand-to-hand combat is... Glorious, but it does come with prices. For one, although later on, you will be able to render steel useless against you once you become truly great at the craft, there are other materials out there that even I cannot break through. Materials that even I cannot block, and can only hope to dodge or run away from. At the end of the day, this is a rather perilous journey. And, I will not lie to you, the training is difficult and painful, and you will have a tougher time early on than the rest of the students. Do you understand?"

"You... Uh," Rin chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head. "You're really hammering this home."

"I have to, Rin," Maria told her. "You need to understand what you're getting yourself into. In the beginning, enemies that the other students defeat with ease will give you trouble. Enemies they deem dangerous will be nightmares to you. This is not something to be taken lightly. Still, do you wish to pursue this?"

[I'm broke, so I don't really have much of a choice,] Rin thought.

So, she looked at Maria and nodded.

The warmest smile Rin had seen yet blossomed on Maria's face.

"Well then. I will teach you the way, and, I promise you, Rin, I will do my very best to ensure your success."

When Rin heard that, she breathed a sigh of relief and it felt like her body got several pounds lighter.

"Tomorrow, though," Maria continued, "for now, get yourself some rest. Resting is equally as important as training. That might sound strange to you at first, but you'll see."

"Alright. Thank you, ma'am."

Maria chuckled and that was Rin's first day of school at this academy.

By the time Rin was walking back to her room, her muscles were healing. Still, she was exhausted.

Elisa was already at her bed when Rin opened the door. She had changed into some robes and was listening to a radio Rin could only assume she brought here on her own since it wasn't there before.

[Gooood evening Libera!] A charismatic man said. [It's Second Era Radio here to give you the latest updates from all over Aerum! First of all, exciting news! A recent adventurer expedition into a ruin northeast of Libera has been approved! It is speculated that there are lost technological marvels just waiting to be discovered! Aside from that, the Chancellor of Cradle has approved a bill that will create multiple farming jobs just outside of that beautiful grey city! Following the short famine Cradle experienced at the hands of some rampaging wyverns, this is excellent news! Good for them!]

Rin slumped over to her bed, kicked off her shoes, and laid down. Elisa barely noticed her.

Rin looked over at the sunlight-haired woman. Elisa looked like she did not have a care in the world.

An idea came to Rin's mind.

[Um... Let's be real, this is probably the best chance I'll get to start a conversation. Should I?] However, as Elisa looked up at her and their eyes met, Rin figured she should say something otherwise this would turn awkward very quickly.

"Uh, h-hey," Rin said, raising a hand.

[Someone just cut my head off, how do I suck this badly at this!?]

"Hi," Elisa replied with an easygoing smile.

"So... How was the first day on your end?" Rin asked, dragging her sore legs over to her own bed.

"It was cool. A few of the teachers seem like complete hardasses," she said with an easygoing tone, "but other than that, I'm looking forward to what we'll be doing."

"Um... Same, yeah," Rin nodded firmly.

And then, a silence settled between them as Rin's mind went wild.

[Shit, what do I say?] She asked herself as Elisa continued to look in her direction. [Oh, talk about the workouts. Ah, no, then she'll think I'm a wimp cause I couldn't do much... Maybe talk about the fights? No, same thing there. Shit, come on, think of something!]

"Hey..." Elisa suddenly said, taking Rin out of her thoughts. "You seem familiar. Do I know you somehow?"

Rin's heart froze.

She opened her mouth, no sound came out for a few seconds.

"Um... No." She shook her head. "I can't remember ever meeting you."

"Hm... I dunno. I'm pretty good with faces and I feel like I've seen yours before," Elisa sat up on her bed and leaned a little closer to her. Her robe dipped and it took every ounce of willpower in Rin's body for her not to look down at what was now visible. "I thought maybe it could have been when I visited Cradle."

"Uh, no, I'm never been to Cradle so..."

"Oh, Really? I'm jealous," Elisa chuckled.

"Really? Why?" Rin asked.

"No one up north really understands how to live life. It's so fucking boring, you couldn't imagine."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, you can't really do anything," Elisa explained with a wave of her hand.

When she heard that, Rin's response came rolling out of her mouth before she could stop it.

"Can't be more restrictive than Libera is," Rin and immediately, she knew she fucked up when she saw Elisa's curious expression. She'd clearly flipped some sort of a switch in the woman's mind as she leaned even closer.

"Really?"

"I-I mean, I, no, I... I was just..." Rin said but she never finished her sentence. Instead, Elisa cut back in.

"Hm... Actually, are you from Libera?" Elisa asked.

"N-No, no, uh... I'm from one of the minor towns."

"Oh? Which one? Name it and I've probably been there," Elisa replied with a genuinely interested expression and a slowly growing smile.

"Uh..." Rin looked away. Fuck.

"Wait, let me guess. Alcalira, right?" Elisa asked with some excitement.

"Y-Yep! Mhm. Definitely," Rin latched onto that option as soon as it presented itself.

"Nice! I loved that place. The music was so good!"

"Yeah... Lots of... Instruments."

"Mhm." Elisa nodded. Then, she looked over at Rin with some strangely kind eyes and said, "I'm glad to meet an outsider though."

"Really?" Rin asked.

"Mhm... Libera and Cradle are just... Not my style, I think. It's part of why I'm applying for this job," she said as she laid back, looking up at the ceiling and putting her hands behind her head. "I wanna see more before..." But, now it was her turn not to finish her sentence.

Still, Rin figured she understood the sentiment, if not the details behind it.

"... Yeah, I get that," Rin nodded. It was the same feeling that had made her come halfway across the land to this place, after all.

Neither of them said anything for a bit. Rin was okay with that though, as Elisa looked like she didn't mind it and Rin was bad at coming up with things to say anyway.

"I can't wait for us to get started, there's so much to see!" Eliza said, laying down again on her bed.

She had one knee up, the other leg outstretched, and Rin wondered what they would feel like if she were to run her hands down the woman's thighs.

"Yeah... I'm sort of excited too..." Rin replied. [I mean, putting aside the fact that we'll be fighting for our lives out there, and all.]

"Who knows," Elisa smirked at her, "maybe they'll pair us up on a mission at some point."

Rin scoffed.

"Hope not."

"Why?"

"I mean, I don't wanna hold you back or whatever," Rin muttered. "I'd probably just get in your way out there."

"I dunno, I think seeing you in some hot-looking armor would be worth it," Elisa stated, casually, with a shrug.

"W-What?" Rin asked with a laugh.

"Yeah, I'd gladly fight off a few kobolds to see that," Elisa said and Rin tried to hide the way her face reddened. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Haha, don't take me so seriously. Not you too."

[That tongue of hers is kinda loose, huh?] Rin thought as she took a deep breath.

"Well, I'm gonna go to sleep. Long day tomorrow. Goodnight, roomie," Elisa said as she closed her eyes and pulled her sheet up.

"Y-Yeah... Same. Goodnight."

Then, a few moments later those peaceful snores filled the air as Rin breathed in and out. And slowly, she internalized what had just happened. [Holy shit! We talked! We actually talked!] Part of her wanted to sprint back to Dren to brag to Felix. She went to sleep fighting a smile that wouldn't get off her face.