{Rin}

The party Kate's group wanted Rin to attend was scheduled for the weekend, after tomorrow's mission. That meant that Rin, couldn't afford to keep her mind on it. She'd need to put all of her focus on training before she went and attempted to gather tangible evidence of their connection to the psychopaths who she'd encountered.

Because of that, Rin was up early on Sunday, training with Maria before most students had even gotten out of their beds.

"Again," Maria said, her hands behind her back as she watched her student. Rin stood at the center of the Meditation Center, rehearsing some of the bread-and-butter techniques Maria had taught her earlier on in the semester. "Remember, you need to pour your Essence into your fists and then move them in a specific way to make the technique happen. Don't think of it as 'punching', think of it as drawing a spellsign with a closed fist. Precision is the priority here. Speed will come with time."

"Right," Rin responded as she prepared to go over them again.

First, was the [Empowered Straight Punch]. A single blow that used Essence to strike much harder than a regular fist ever could. Rin pushed her Essence through her body, bringing what little she naturally had to her arms. Then, the rookie pulled her fist back, lowered it slightly, and brought it forward, aiming at the door up ahead.

Blue Essence burst forward from her fist, dissipating into the air quickly.

Next up, was the [Dancer's Fury]. A series of complex kicks that culminated into a final strike that Maria promised could defeat foes who were much more powerful than she was, so long as she was able to get each kick off. It was a high-risk, high-reward type of move in that sense.

Again, Rin pushed her Essence through her body, bringing it to her legs this time. She then quickly stepped forward and performed a crescent kick, a hint of blue mist following her foot as it moved through the air. With the same foot, Rin spun and transitioned into a side-kick. Then, came the more difficult portion, but the most powerful. She leaped up into the air and performed two rapid-fire spinning kicks, and the flame-like air of blue Essence that followed Rin's feet had intensified dramatically before she landed.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, Rin turned toward her teacher.

"Good," Maria told her. "Your movements were clean."

Hearing that, Rin grinned to herself as she wiped some sweat off of her forehead. Even though there was a layer of moisture over her skin, she felt cold as the morning air poured in from the open side of the room.

Rin opened her mouth to ask a question, but before she could say anything, Maria held out a bottle of water in front of her.

"Thanks," she replied, taking it. "So, how long till I clear the Stage of the Body?"

Maria's response began with a curt laugh.

"You're not even close," she declared and Rin exhaled deeply. "Remember, you need to get each of your individual physical traits to their peak in order to do that," Maria replied as she walked up. She stepped close to Rin and with just two fingers on her chest, pushed her back. "Your strength," she said before she then completely disappeared.

[What!?]

Rin felt a tap behind her neck and flinched.

"Your speed," Maria said, before she then punched four times around Rin's head, without hitting her once. "Your precision. Only once you've done this will you clear the Stage of the Body. So," Maria spun around Rin and ended up in front of the shocked student, "how about we go get some breakfast? We've been at this for a little while, after all."

Rin blinked and then let out a quick laugh.

"Sure."

---

The two of them headed downtown to a sandwich shop that Maria liked. By now, Rin had grown accustomed to the looks Maria attracted from the city's inhabitants to the point where it was easy to ignore them.

The small restaurant itself was cozy, a trait that Rin identified as one of Maria's preferred characteristics when it came to the places she ate. She'd never taken Rin to any of the fancier places in town, even though the adventurer most likely had the money to do so. She seemed to have a taste for the more quaint places like these.

They sat down near the window once they'd received their food, a simple ham and cheese sandwich on Rin's end and some eggs with bacon on Maria's.

"Once you get started," Maria said, "don't feel pressured to have to do everything on your own. Feel free to ask me anything you're curious about."

"I will," Rin replied. "Still feels so weird that we're actually starting to do missions so soon."

"If it was up to me, I would have given you all a few more months to continue preparing," Maria shrugged as she took a small bite out of her breakfast, "but, alas, I am not the grandmaster."

"I wonder why she decided to let us take these missions so soon. I-I mean, I get that the, ehm, adventurer population is on the decline and all, but... Is it that bad?"

"I suppose to some it is," Maria shrugged. "Matter of perspective. Though, remember, you will not be forced to take on missions. You will simply have the freedom to. If you ask me, I think you're more than ready for Rank D tasks. But, if you feel differently, you can just keep studying at the academy. It's alright."

"... I think I'll take a few," Rin replied, somewhat quietly. "Just to feel it out. I... I don't know what to expect, but, I hope I can start off my career on the right foot."

"Have you not already done that by training with me?" Maria asked with a smirk. "Don't worry, you'll do fine. For now, just focus on tomorrow's mission. I suspect it'll be a fairly good metric for how ready you are."