Six weeks had passed since the four young students began their training under the warrior.
It was a radiant Monday morning. The alarm woke Tyron, who felt surprisingly calm. Ever since training began, he'd noticed that he no longer groaned or cursed at having to leave the comfort of his bed. It still bothered him, of course—but he didn't complain out loud anymore. He got up, heading to wash his face. When he opened his bedroom door, he saw his little brother sticking out his tongue and darting into the bathroom ahead of him. Tyron sighed, turned back to his room, and began looking for clothes before heading to Forte.
Meanwhile, Emily sat on the bus, reading the messages Leslie had sent her while she was asleep. She chuckled softly, a little embarrassed by some of the redhead's comments—when she noticed a man standing behind a young woman, groping her.
Emily froze for a second. Maybe they were a couple? Maybe it was some weird fetish?
But the woman's face told her everything—she was deeply uncomfortable.
Without hesitating, Emily quickly devised a plan. She took a discreet photo of what was happening, then rolled a coin across the floor until it stopped at the woman's feet. Walking over, she forced the man to step back.
Emily — bending down to pick up the coin: "Here, you dropped this."
Woman — startled and frightened: "Eh? Oh… thank you."
Emily: "You look tired, miss. Please, take my seat—if that's alright."
Woman — relieved, sitting down: "Thank you so much!"
Emily stood beside her. The man, irritated, stepped forward again—clearly intending to harass them both this time. Emily knew that striking him with one of the techniques her master had taught her would look bad in public, so she chose another option.
Drawing on five weeks of enduring her teacher's terrifying glare, she mimicked his expression perfectly and looked the man straight in the eyes.
He froze—paralyzed. And even though the next stop wasn't his, he bolted off the bus, fleeing her gaze.
At Forte Academy, Alexa stood at the gate, smiling warmly while waiting with her friends. They were still carrying their heavy backpacks.
Tamara: "Leslie, I like Emily, really—but please, let me drop off my bag first! These books weigh a ton!"
Leslie: "Oh come on, she'll be here any second. You complain too much, Tam—it's not that heavy."
Tamara — with a twitching vein: "That's easy for you to say! You already left yours in the classroom!"
Alexa — smiling gently: "Tam, give it to me. I'll hold it while we wait."
Tamara: "Are you sure? That's a lot of weight—even more with yours."
Alexa — smiling brighter: "Of course I can. Besides, it's to help you."
Five minutes later, Emily stepped off the bus—showing something on her phone to the driver, as a woman nearby thanked her repeatedly.
Tamara and Leslie ran to greet her, while Alexa stood still, smiling faintly yet feeling an odd urge to keep her distance from the light-brown-haired girl. She observed Emily closely, lost in thought, until her friends waved for her to come over. They probably thought she'd stayed behind because of the bags.
As she approached, she noticed a dark-skinned boy sprinting past her—Tyron, hurrying to greet a red-haired boy with glasses before walking together toward their classroom. Alexa glanced at him sideways, then handed Tamara her bag and joined her friends, thinking:
"It's not that I dislike you, Emily… or that boy. But I'd rather not interfere with your goals. That way, you won't get in the way of mine."
Her smile stayed bright—but her eyes darkened for a brief second.
Cut to a basketball court near Celeritas Academy, where Gregorio was playing a match against the blue-eyed blonde Francesca, who looked extremely irritated.
Francesca — annoyed: "Gregorio, stop already! Let's go! I don't want to show up to the academy drenched in sweat!"
Gregorio — serious: "Oh, come on. Since when do you care? Besides, this is my revenge for yesterday."
Francesca: "Seriously? You're still mad that I beat you in tennis? You're older than me—you're supposed to be more mature."
Gregorio — grinning: "Says the one who kept playing after I told her I was tired—three straight sets, six to zero! And now what, you want to quit because I'm beating you 30 to 10, huh?"
Francesca — blushing: "Of course not! I just… don't want to smell like sweat."
Gregorio — scoring: "Sure, sure. First to forty wins. Or are you afraid of losing?"
Those words echoed in Francesca's head like a spark to a fuse. Determined to win, she went all out—but in the end, Gregorio took the victory.
The morning passed uneventfully for all of them, filled with ordinary routines.
By the afternoon, Tyron ran home as fast as he could, changing into athletic clothes. He wrapped his arms with bandages and tied his yellow headband tightly across his forehead. On the bus toward the forest, he was buzzing with excitement—the warrior had told him last time that his training would become harder.
As always, he noticed something odd on the way: two familiar-looking girls. He couldn't recall where from—one had light brown hair and hazel eyes, the other dark hair and green eyes. Both wore headbands like his, but in different colors, and outfits similar to his training uniform. He figured they must come from the same place he did—and thought little more of it.
When he got off the bus near the forest, he started walking toward the warrior's cabin, enjoying the peaceful sounds of nature. As he approached, he saw the man waiting in front of the cabin.
Jayden: "Today, we train in the backyard."
And then—he melted, dissolving into a puddle of muddy clay. Tyron's jaw dropped in shock—just as a loud, pained scream echoed in the distance. Thinking it was some dying animal, he followed the narrow trail behind the cabin.
There, behind the cabin, Alexa was standing while the warrior sat under the porch roof, sipping tea.
Alexa: "Hey, I think that was Emily screaming. Guess your clay clones scared her again, haha."
Jayden — sipping: "Who?"
Alexa — annoyed: "Seriously? You don't even know who I mean?"
Jayden: "If someone screamed, it must've been a coward. Tell me, will you let them know who you are?"
Alexa: "Of course not. They don't need to know. Besides, I don't even know why you suddenly decided to train us all together…"
Alexa's radiant smile returned, her emerald eyes shining brightly.
Moments later, the four young students stood face to face for the first time.
The three newcomers froze in shock.
Alexa, Emily, and Tyron (simultaneously): "I've seen you before!"
Alexa thought to herself, smirking slightly: "That reaction was easy to predict… the blonde one…"