In the days that followed, Tris and Rin continued their practice in the training grounds.
Tris kept researching his magic.
As for Rin, her sparring sessions intensified as she learned to handle and face different types of weapons.
Of course, mastering even a single weapon could take years. That's why the training here was only about familiarization and the most basic maneuvers.
What she truly needed to learn was how to confront opponents wielding weapons.
The first exercise was to face an opponent swinging a weapon directly at her, while staying calm enough to move.
This sounded simple, but in reality, many failed at this stage.
Unlike the image of a fist rushing forward, the sight of a blade swinging toward oneself carried a far greater psychological threat.
Even though spiritual energy made a punch potentially just as dangerous, the instinctive fear of sharp weapons was stronger.
A fist is familiar in daily life, but a weapon is a tool designed for killing. When confronted with something meant to end one's life, people easily succumb to fear and make foolish, clumsy reactions.
Fortunately, Rin's resilience and strong spirit allowed her to quickly overcome this first exercise and move on to real combat drills.
On the training ground, weapons sliced through the air, producing sharp, whistling echoes.
The sandy floor was dotted with red stains from fresh blood.
These were the results of Rin's slow reactions, as the Servant puppet's blade cut into her body.
Because the puppet restrained its strength, the wounds were shallow and non-lethal.
Still, the accumulation of injuries left Rin drenched in her own blood.
Her appearance was ragged, with torn clothes and blood everywhere. Yet despite the pain, she gripped her weapon firmly.
Rin had chosen a shield in one hand and a warpick in the other, inspired by an adventurer she had once seen on the road to Aldor.
It was a good choice: the warpick was far easier to learn than swords or spears.
The small one-handed warpick Rin wielded required little technique. Simply picking it up and striking the target was enough to inflict significant damage, regardless of whether the opponent wore armor.
Of course, because of the existence of spiritual energy, facing truly powerful opponents still required knowing how to use it to enhance strength.
Naturally, Rin had already learned the basic techniques of reinforcing both her body and her equipment thanks to Tris's earlier teaching and training.
What she needed now was to combine those skills and apply them fluently in real combat, before moving on to more advanced techniques later.
Suddenly, a knock at the door interrupted the training. The Servant puppet stopped, reminded Rin to practice the taught techniques, then went to open the door.
Outside stood a guild staff member speaking with three adventurers. Judging by their attire, all three were adventurers.
Seeing someone emerge, the staff member bowed apologetically:
"Sorry for the disturbance. Another adventurer group wishes to use the training ground. They're willing to split today's rental fee. What do you think?"
Servant: "We do not wish to share the training ground with others."
The puppet shook its head and turned back.
But one adventurer spoke up:
"Letting a kid waste the training ground? What kind of joke is this? Isn't priority supposed to be for guild members only?"
Tris didn't bother arguing. He simply controlled the puppet to return inside and shut the door, ignoring the noisy outsiders.
The claim about guild members having priority was true, which was why Tris had used his adventurer status to rent the ground.
Since all procedures were proper, he had no obligation to explain to strangers—that was the guild's job.
Back inside, Rin sat cross-legged, focusing on healing herself.
She was learning to use spiritual energy to stop bleeding and mend cuts.
Tris had already taught Rin the theory behind using 'Fast Heal'. Because of that, Rin could take advantage of her own injuries during training to practice this technique.
Unlike the three other combat techniques Tris had shown earlier, 'Fast Heal' was one Rin could directly learn.
But that didn't mean it was easier.
In fact, 'Fast Heal' itself could be broken down into many smaller techniques. The difficulty and complexity varied depending on the type and severity of the injury.
What Rin was practicing at that moment could only be described as the most basic form of external wound healing.
Even so, it was far from easy. Despite her concentration, many wounds continued to bleed.
Only when she could instantly heal shallow cuts during battle would she be considered proficient in the basics of 'Fast Heal'. She was still far from that level.
Yet the fact that she could sit there and heal herself at all was already impressive. Tris certainly wouldn't demand more, given how little time she'd had to learn.
When Rin finally finished healing, she collapsed, exhausted like a stranded fish on the sand. The cause was her heavy use of spiritual energy and blood loss.
Seeing this, Tris handed her a recovery potion and said:
"Today's training ends here."
After drinking, Rin quickly regained some strength and stood up.
Looking at the empty potion bottle and her ruined clothes, she sighed regretfully:
"Does training to grow stronger always cost this much money, Master?"
Tris: "If you want faster and better results, investment is unavoidable."
Seeing Rin still staring at her torn outfit, Tris added:
"If you're thinking of not wearing clothes next time, forget it. Real combat training isn't like when you're learning new techniques in a room—it must replicate reality as closely as possible.
Even the feeling of being hindered by clothes and armor is necessary. On a real battlefield, people die for countless reasons—like a moment's distraction, or vision blocked by a helmet."
Hearing this, Rin realized there was no room for negotiation and nodded.
Luckily, the clothes she wore weren't the stylish ones Master had bought when they first met, but combat gear.
Though the price wasn't much different, losing a less pretty outfit made her feel less regret.