"So... What's the point of this, again?" Rin asked, hoping she didn't sound as bitchy as she thought she did. Beside her were Lisa and Eve. In front of her were Alea, and Elisa. All of them were currently seated at the cafeteria, which was empty due to it being 6:00pm.

"Like I said," Eve replied with a wide grin, "we're just going to go over some of the lessons we've gotten recently in case any of them end up being useful in the next mission."

"Yeah, better safe than sorry. Honestly, though, I'm just shocked you decided to join us," Elisa said, turning toward the girl next to her.

"What? Is the company that far above me? Am I not welcome here?" Alea asked, crossing her arms and straightening her posture.

"Nah, just surprised you feel like hanging out with us is all," the noblewoman responded, completely unfazed by Alea's attitude.

"Well, I was under the impression we'd be studying. Was I wrong to think that?"

"Not at all," Eve responded before Elisa could open her mouth once more. "But we can kinda do both at the same time, right?"

"Indeed. If you want, we could even go get something to eat after this," Lisa added, and Rin felt like she sounded even more like a kindergarten teacher than usual.

"I'm good, thanks. Now, can we please get back to it?" Alea asked.

"Sure!" Eve obliged and she threw her notebook out onto the table. She flipped through a few of its pages before landing on something and asked, "so, what did Cara tell us to do whenever we encounter a charger?"

Before anyone else could say a word, Alea answered:

"Avoid the spines, aim for the eyes, be cautious because they're faster than they look."

"Right!" Eve replied, flipping to the next page. "Now, what did she tell us to do whenever we spot an eldersen?"

[Oh, I know this one!]

Rin opened her mouth to respond, but, before she could say anything, once again, Alea answered:

"Don't bother with Fire-based magic because their skin carries a protective coating against it, aim for the eyes, and be cautious because they're faster than they look."

"O-Okay," Eve replied, giggling awkwardly. "And, ehm, what about yarikos?"

"Weak to lightning-based magic." Alea paused as everyone glanced at her. "Oh, and aim for the eyes."

"You know your stuff," Elisa said to her with a smirk.

"Of course. With how much time I spend reading through my notes, I would hope so."

---

"Uh, that was... informative," Eve said, as everyone left the cafeteria. She and Rin were the only ones still there.

"... I think I might have been slacking a bit more than I thought," Rin admitted. Alea answered just about every question before anyone else could. From the looks of it, everyone there felt the same as Rin. Annoyed, but also quite impressed.

"So," Eve said, as she flew in front of Rin, stopping just ahead of her. "Wanna go get a drink or something?"

"Sorry," Rin quickly responded, "I can't. Gotta go do some more training with Maria."

"Oh. Well, have fun! Though, it would be nice to hang out a little bit one of these days."

"For sure," Rin replied with a smile. "It's just, you know, with this next mission and all... Maria wants to make sure I'm ready."

"You have a damn good trainer," Eve stated, giving her a thumbs-up. "Alright, see you tomorrow!"

"Goodnight."

With that, the two of them parted ways for the day. Eve flew down the stairs while Rin went straight to the Meditation Center, noting that the night had come already.

[Time's kinda flying by these days,] Rin thought as she looked out at the night sky from where she stood. [Feels like just yesterday I had come back to the Academy with Xhez. Oh well.]

On that note, Rin opened the door and walked in.

As she usually was, Maria sat at the edge of the room, by the open wall. The moonlight bathed her as she rested there with her legs crossed and her hands in her lap, in a meditative position.

[... Wow.]

She'd seen it a few times now but it was hard to get over just how mystical Maria looked in moments like these. During the day, in class, out in the halls, unless a person knew who she was they'd likely never guess that she was a Rank S adventurer. Here, however, at this moment, with the light radiating off of her like an ethereal shield, she really did look the part.

Her head turned just a little as Rin took a few light steps in.

"Did you enjoy your study session?" Maria asked lightly.

"Kinda," Rin replied as she made her way over and sat down next to her teacher. "So, what are we doing today?"

Maria kept her eyes on the landscape as she responded.

"I figured we would take a moment to go over some of what I've taught you. And... Well," Maria finally glanced over at her student and gave Rin what looked like a nervous smile. "I figured we'd just talk for a bit."

"Really?" Rin asked.

"Is that not something you're interested in doing?" Maria asked, sounding so disappointed Rin quickly raised her hands. "By all means, you can go out and have fun once we're done reviewing stuff.

"No, no, it's fine," Rin replied quickly. "I'm just surprised is all. What do you... What do you want to talk about?"

Maria visibly calmed down.

"Well, I wanted to know where you're at. Mentally, I mean. You've done a lot over these last few months. It must be taking a toll on you."

Now, it was Rin's turn to look at the landscape, avoiding Maria's curious eyes.

"It's... Strange." Rin chuckled, scratching her head before adding, "I mean, I wasn't really doing much like this before I joined the academy. I hadn't worked out in years when I first stepped onto the obstacle course down there," Rin said, pointing to it. "Now, I actually have abs! That's so sick!"

Maria laughed.

"Well, it seems on some level you're enjoying yourself."

"... I guess," Rin replied.

[That's all I could have hoped for. Well, that, and to not die by having my throat bitten off by some random monster.]

Maria nodded to herself and then asked:

"What about Xhez? Being her protector and all must be tiring."

Rin shook her head.

"Nah. That girl's a gem," she quickly said with a giggle. "Honestly, I wish you could talk to her a little more often. She's wonderful."

"Really?" Maria arched a brow. "I knew you liked her, but, I didn't know you thought quite that highly of her."

"I mean, really," Rin responded, blushing a bit, "she's great. Honestly."

"I see." As Maria said that, she stood up. Rin followed after her. "Well then, let's begin the review. First, the three stages that I had said you'd need to master. The three parts of a martial artist's career. Do you remember them?"

[... Crap.]

"The... The Stage of the Body," Rin began to answer.

"Okay, that's the first one," Maria replied with a sly smirk and narrowed eyes as she watched Rin speak. "Go on."

"The, ehm, the Stage of Magic."

"Essence," Maria corrected, "the Stage of Essence."

"Right, right. Sorry."

"It's no problem," Maria chuckled. "Do you remember the last one?"

"... Nah, I don't," Rin admitted.

Before she answered, Maria turned her eyes to the night sky once more.

"The Stage of Divinity," she replied. "Neither of us will likely ever complete it, but it's good to keep it in your mind. As they say, shoot for the stars and you might just reach the moon."