Tris moved to a corner of the training ground to practice on his own, leaving Rin with the puppet.
Looking at Rin, the puppet 'Servant' opened its mouth and spoke in her own voice:
"There's a ring over there, let's use it."
Seeing her opponent look and sound exactly like herself, Rin felt a strange, indescribable unease.
Even so, she quickly nodded and followed the puppet to the ring.
The ring was about 50 square meters, surrounded by a thick wooden fence, with sand covering the ground.
Servant: "You may fight bare‑handed, or freely use any weapon—such as the knife at your waist—if you wish."
Hearing this, Rin shook her head and immediately took a fighting stance.
She wanted to fight bare‑handed this time to maximize her training.
Servant: "Begin whenever you want."
As soon as the puppet spoke, Rin dashed forward with the footwork she had learned, throwing a strong right punch at her opponent.
But just as Rin closed in, Servant used the same footwork and quickly sidestepped to her right.
Her punch missed. Rin instantly pivoted and lunged again, this time with a low left kick.
Seeing the puppet lift its leg to avoid the sweep, Rin twisted her body and followed with another right punch.
Yet again, the blow failed to land as the puppet leapt back.
Servant: "No matter how beautiful or technically correct your strikes are, they're meaningless if even the edge of your opponent's clothes isn't touched. Don't hold back as if you're afraid of damaging this puppet. Fight as if you're facing an enemy you must kill."
The puppet's words were provocative.
What followed was a chase—a special kind of tag game played out in the ring, where Rin had to give her all to land a hit. Yet no matter how hard she tried, the puppet skillfully evaded every attack.
Frustration grew. Rin could clearly see that the puppet wasn't using any special techniques beyond what she herself had been taught, nor was it moving faster than her.
'I need better footwork. Close in tighter, don't give it room to escape.'
So instead of attacking recklessly, Rin focused on shadowing the puppet, denying it space to retreat.
Using the limits of the ring, she forced it toward a corner, restricting its movement.
'Now!'Rin thought, and launched her fastest punch.
But instead of dodging, the puppet suddenly ducked forward, closing the distance at the exact moment Rin struck.
Her punch only grazed its head, while the puppet's fist landed squarely on her chest.
It was nothing more than an ordinary punch, without any special technique. Otherwise, her chest might have been crushed.
Falling painfully onto the sand, Rin heard the puppet's voice:
"Your intentions were far too obvious. That made it easy to exploit the timing and counterattack. In battle, you must not be swept along by your opponent's rhythm, nor let them easily read your intentions.
Above all, you must prioritize your own safety first. Later, you became so focused on landing a hit that you neglected your defense. In real combat, that's unacceptable. Survival comes first—only then can you kill the enemy."
Rin: "I understand. But if in reality I face an opponent far superior in experience, while I have nothing that surpasses them, how should I respond?"
Servant: "¯\(ツ)/¯ The best option, of course, is to run."
Rin: "(._.) But what if I can't run away, like now?"
Servant: "Then keep fighting while prioritizing your safety. Learn from the enemy, improve yourself, and find ways to narrow the gap in experience.
Also, look for anything you can exploit to gain an advantage. What did my notes in the book say about this?"
Rin: "Use terrain, traps, hidden weapons, poison, ambushes, numbers against few, even words to provoke, deceive, lure, or sow discord—forcing the enemy to move according to my plan."
Servant: "Exactly. Those are tactics commonly used in real combat. Only children or fools think they're unfair or dirty. Any seasoned killer knows how to exploit tactics, and also guards against their enemies doing the same."
Tris himself could recall his own experiences—like Zyron and his men.
Did any of them hesitate to gang up on a child? Of course not. And they naturally expected Tris to use ambushes or traps.
That was the harsh reality.
'Master, we're both children ourselves…' Rin thought, feeling conflicted as she listened to her Master's words through the puppet. Yet she understood clearly what he meant.
Life would never play fair. To survive, one had to adapt.
Servant: "Alright. Get up and continue."
The two began again. This time, Rin was more cautious, guarding herself while closing in. She attacked while preparing for counters.
The fight once more reached a stalemate—Rin couldn't land any threatening blows. But she stayed calm, maintaining her rhythm, using the time to study her opponent's movements, just as she had been taught.
She was waiting for the right opportunity.
Nearly two minutes passed. Then, a sudden gust of wind blew from behind Rin. At that moment, she threw a handful of sand straight at the puppet's face.
Seeing the sand hit, Rin smiled and launched the attack she had prepared.
But the puppet 'Servant' ducked low and swept her legs, sending her crashing to the ground.
Its hand extended like a blade, stopping at her throat—signaling the end of the match.
Servant: "I was worried the sand you held too long would get damp from sweat and fail to throw properly."
Rin: "You noticed that already?" she asked, disheartened.
Servant: "Once I know what you're planning, it's easy to counter. Using spiritual energy to shield the eyes is another option.
Besides, you miscalculated the puppet's nature. Sand attacks only work well on human eyes. This puppet's eyes aren't affected the same way."
"Ah!" Rin exclaimed, realizing.
Because the puppet looked so real, she had forgotten to account for the differences in how its eyes worked compared to human ones.