Mireille leaned against a pillar near the house, her silhouette dark against the shadows. Her arms were crossed, and even in the low morning light, Zaeryn could feel the pressure of her icy blue gaze analyzing him.

"Impressive show," she said casually in the quiet morning air. She pushed herself from the pillar and walked onto the decking, her movements silent and fluid. "You're up early."

Zaeryn lowered his hands, letting the hum of Vitae fade beneath his skin. "Got up early. Figured I'd get a head start."

Mireille stopped a few feet away, looking from him to the shattered remains of the boulder in the garden. "You're using new powers. An energy blast, and that little mental trick you used on the bird..." She looked back at him, her expression unreadable but calculating. "Those aren't basic techniques. Those are specific signatures."

She wasn't surprised, though. This just confirmed what he himself had told her, that he could mimic abilities. It was impressive, sure, but also terrifyingly efficient.

Zaeryn let out a breath, rubbing the back of his neck. He hadn't heard her approach at all. "My awareness must be so bad if you were able to walk behind me without me noticing," he said, a little self-deprecating.

"It is horrible." She didn't sugarcoat it. Her tone was flat, stating a fact rather than an insult.

"How long have you been watching me?" he asked.

"Long enough," she replied. "I was able to witness your psychic attack on that poor bird. I also saw how you combined your speed and unleashed an energy beam."

"Oh, that was Sensory Jolt and Concussive Blast, my new abilities. It's useful honestly. I just got it," he said, flexing his fingers as if the energy was still coiled there.

Mireille simply nodded, her eyes tracking the movement. "And you already can use them?"

"I told you," Zaeryn said, managing a tired grin. "I'm a fast learner."

"I wouldn't call that learning at all. That's more like downloading," she corrected flatly. "But... It's effective."

Zaeryn chuckled. She wasn't wrong. The System basically injected the knowledge into his brain and body; he just had to hit the 'execute' button. It was a cheat, but in a world like this, he'd take every cheat he could get.

"So, are you going to train me today?" he asked, eager to put the new toys to a real test.

"Sure," Mireille said, uncrossing her arms and shifting into a ready stance. "We can train for an hour or so, until you have to leave for your academy."

Mireille didn't waste time with a warm-up. She stepped back, widening her stance, her body relaxing into that deceptive stillness that Zaeryn had learned meant she was about to move faster than the eye could track.

"You have an hour," she said, her voice cool and professional. "Don't hold back. If you try to be gentle, you'll end up on your ass."

Zaeryn grinned, the obsidian stone on his wrist humming as the Vitae Harmonizer synced with his rising pulse. "Wouldn't dream of it."

He didn't wait for a signal. Drawing on the new pathways burned into his mind by the System, he raised his hand. Concussive Blast.

The air crackled. A beam of heavy, distorted force erupted from his palm, aimed directly at her chest. It was faster and cleaner than his attempts on the boulder, fueled by the adrenaline of a real opponent.

Mireille didn't even blink. She simply slid to the left, a movement so effortless it looked like she was gliding on ice. The blast roared past her, dissipating harmlessly into the garden air.

Without a single word, or any kind of warning, she was on him before he could fire a second shot. Her hand flashed out, a palm strike aimed at his ribs.

Zaeryn's Combat Instincts, the passive skill he'd unlocked during their last session, flared. He didn't think, instead letting his imsticts take over, as he reacted in an instant. Instead of dodging, he planted his feet and triggered Kinetic Repulsion.

BOOM.

A bubble of pure force exploded outward from his skin. It slammed into Mireille just as she was making contact with him. The impact killed her momentum instantly, knocking her backward a few feet. Her boots skidded on the decking as she regained her balance, eyes widening slightly. She didn't expect him to have such an ability.

"Better," she muttered, shaking out her hand. "A defensive shield that hits back. Useful."

"I've got a few more tricks," Zaeryn didn't let her reset. Tapping into his speed, he blurred forward. The world stretched and slowed around him. He closed the gap in a heartbeat, aiming a sweep at her legs.

Mireille was fast, but he was faster now. She barely managed to hop over the sweep, but Zaeryn was already transitioning. He looked her dead in the eyes and unleashed Sensory Jolt.

It wasn't a physical hit. It was a psychic spike, a sudden, violent flash of disorientation projected straight into her mind.

Mireille flinched violently, her eyes losing focus for a split second. She stumbled, her perfect balance shattered by the phantom vertigo.

Zaeryn seized the opening. He pulled back his fist, charging it with a low-level Concussive Blast for a point-blank strike.

But instincts born of years on the frontlines didn't need conscious thought. Even disoriented, Mireille's body still reacted faster than him. She dropped into a crouch, spinning under his guard and sweeping his standing leg with brutal efficiency.

Zaeryn hit the deck hard, the air rushing out of his lungs. Before he could scramble up, Mireille was there, her forearm pressing him down, her other hand hovering over his throat, glowing with a faint, blue Vitae edge.

Her eyes cleared as she shook off the mental static. She stared down at him, a mix of irritation and genuine impressiveness on her face.

"That," she hissed, rubbing her temple, "was a dirty trick."

"Everythings fair." Zaeryn grinned up at her from the floor. "Effective though, right?"

Mireille held her glare for a second longer, then the tension bled out of her shoulders. She offered him a hand, pulling him up.

"Extremely," she admitted. "Disorienting the senses while moving at high speed... if I were a Vorthak, you might have actually landed a proper blow."

She stepped away from him, giving him the opportunity to get back to his feet. "Alright, you can throw everything you have at me." She instructed. "Except for that mind trick okay?" She added.

Zaeryn nodded. After that they continued training. Mireille being experienced and better was obviously winning, however since she had given him the freedom to not hold back, Zaeryn used everything in his arsenal except for sensory jolt. And while he was losing and it wasn't even close, he could feel himself getting better and better as he fought Mireille, that was because he was pushing himself even past his own limit.

In an attempt to land just one decisive hit, Zaeryn decided to chain everything he had.

He activated Kinetic Acceleration, blurring to her left flank. As he moved, he brought up a beam from both his hands combining them into one big beam of energy,

He pivoted, his boots squeaking against the deck, and thrust his hand forward.

"Take this!"

The blast fired like a cannon shot, a streak of concentrated power screaming through the air.

Mireille didn't block. She moved away like it was nothing in a split-second slide.

The beam continued. CRASH.

The blast slammed directly into the row of the expensive patio lounge chairs behind her. There was a violent crunch of metal and fabric as all the chairs on the poolside turning into nothing, their remnants flying in the air.

Silence fell over the patio.

Mireille brushed a speck of dust from her shoulder. She looked at the destroyed chair, then back at Zaeryn, her eyebrow raised. "Well," she deadpanned. "Those chairs are definitely neutralized."

Zaeryn's eyes widened as he looked at what he had just done. The fact that his Class F Concussive Blast was able to destroy those very durable chairs turning them into nothing was impressive.

However right now, that didn't matter as much as the fact that he had just messed up. He destroyed those chairs and therefore he would get in trouble with Ysmeine. "Fuck, how do I explain this?" he muttered.

"Okay, new plan," Zaeryn said, his voice low as he glanced around furtively. "We get out of here, and you know nothing about this. You didn't see anything. It was a freak accident. Maybe a gust of wind."

Mireille snorted, a sharp, dismissive sound. "A gust of wind that vaporized metal alloy? Good luck selling that." She crossed her arms, her expression unsympathetic. "Besides, if you think hiding this will work, you're mistaken. Someone is going to rat you out regardless."

Zaeryn frowned. "Rat me out? Who? It's just us out here." He looked at her with a slightly irritated look, "Are you going to rat me out?"

"Not just us," Mireille corrected calmly. "We've had a spectator the entire time. She saw everything, and I guarantee she won't hesitate to tell Ysmeine exactly how her furniture met its end."

"A spectator?" Zaeryn scanned the garden, but it was empty. "Who?"

Mireille nodded toward the house. "Look up. Second floor, the window to your right."

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