"You're not fooling me you smug prick," Kopius said as he stood face to face with the Holo of Quinn. He poked a finger at the image, "The history books might have been kind to you but you're still an asshole."

"You know it can't hear you," Salem yelled from the bleachers with a laugh. She had taken her place a distance after setting the device to Attempt. Kopius had insisted on using his own sword so that he was accustomed to its weight instead of the wooden practice sticks that Salem had offered. In turn, Salem gave herself the space needed to avoid any accidents.

"I'm just getting myself in the mood," Kopius shouted back and then mouthed Fuck you buddy to get one more jab in for the sake of his ego.

With no further ado, Kopius set up his stance to be superimposed by the hologram and the lesson started. At first he went through the motions in his disjointed, rhythmless fashion. With a few instructions shouted from the witch to relax his stance and flow he was able to mimic the moves with a little more grace. Once the instructions had repeated for the fifth time, Kopius was in sync with Quinn's movements and the drill became more of a dance than sparring session.

After fifteen minutes or so of Attempts, Salem had Kopius adjust the settings and put the disc into Spar mode. The image of Quinn stood in the ready position and Kopius had to resist the urge to bludgeon the hologram until it bleed virtual blood. He took a deep breath to focus and then began the movements in a slow but methodical method. Quinn matched the speed and the two did a graceful dance of sword strikes.

This continued for a few minutes until Kopius started to pick up the pace. His movements were more fluid and came in a rapid succession as he went through each strike. HIs body felt loose, while his lungs pushed harder with each strike. Sweat reformed on his brow as he pushed harder and faster.

His body adjusted in real time and instead of becoming jarred by each block, Kopius used the momentum to transition to the next move. He stabbed, slashed and chopped with a focused aggression until the image disengaged, bowed and disappeared.

"Impressive," Salem admitted as she walked back into the arena and retrieved the Holo. "You smoothed out faster than I would have guessed."

"Slow in smooth, smooth is fast," Kopius managed to say as he caught his breath. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and rolled his shoulders back in a stretch.

"That's a fancy thing to say," Salem replied. "Come up with that on your own?"

"Nah," Kopius said with a laugh. "Something I heard from back home that stuck with me."

"Mind if I steal it?"

"Go for it," Kopius agreed and then took a drink from his water skin. "Will it get me a discount?"

"Unlikely," she smiled.

Kopius shrugged, "What now?"

"Well, now that the free lessons have ended, it's time for you to decide."

"Decide what exactly?"

"If you want these Holo's, my instructions or both."

"The Holo's aren't your instruction?"

"Those are meant to be used outside the arena; at your home, on your travels. My instructions are more tailored… personal," she said the last part with a devious smile. It wasn't playful or flirtatious. The smile was part warning, part dare.

"Tailored how?" Kopus asked with squinting hesitancy.

"We go through an assessment process and then develop our instruction from there," Salem answered. Her words were straight forward but vague enough to give Kopius pause.

"Can you give me an example?"

"So many questions," Salem responded with a deep exhale of annoyance.

"I just want to know what I am paying for?" Kopius replied defensively.

"You are paying for my time, not my words. I have other matters to handle if you are not interested. Are you looking to improve or not?"

"Yes, I need to improve," Kopius said with a small amount of annoyance. "I need to do my Fighters practices and the defensive Drills I was given."

"Practice? You don't have your Form?" Salem responded. "Actually, that explains a lot. You seem a bit old to be without a Form… Are you lazy or just pampered?"

"I could be a noble you know?" Kopius shot back.

Salem threw her head back and roared in laughter.

"I could be," Kopius repeated more to himself than to the witch.

It took a few moments for Salem to collect herself. She made an off-handed comment about needing a good laugh and why Cici had brought him to her. Once humor had subsided, she returned to a more stoic demeanor. She gave the briefest of explanations about her tutelage before demanding Kopius make up his mind. Her stern persona cleared Kopius of his wishy-washy behavior and the two began to bargain price.

Though Kopius didn't need the first Holo as he had already learned the Drill from the real Quinn, Salem insisted he purchase it anyway. The six hockey puck devices made up a set for beginners and would be more valuable to resell as a whole rather than having one or more missing. Among the other teachings in the Holo's was the defensive Drill that Quinn had most recently given him to complete. It seemed that the set comprised of all the basic Drills that Quinn had once deemed as necessary for beginners. Kopius crossed his mental fingers in hopes that he might get ahead of the Pugil Staff Quinn and learn Drills before he was assigned them.

After a few minutes of haggling, Kopius was able to procure the boxset for the price of four Holo's. He also paid for two days of training at a slight discount because Salem had promised to help him complete the Striking challenge of his Fighter Practice as well as get him familiar with the Flow challenge. All in all, Kopius owed thirteen silver pieces.

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"Let's get to it," Salem demanded, punching a fist into her other hand with a smile that gave Kopius the impression he was going to get what he paid for.

***

Salem took Kopius back inside so that she could begin her assessment process. The witches demeanor had changed once their deal was agreed upon. Her amicable, semi-friendly behavior was replaced with a rigid, regimented posture one might expect in the military. As they walked she ran through a list of rules pertaining proper etiquette, equipment and instruction. Her words were cold and clipped like a drill sergeant preparing fresh recruits for the ringer they were about to go through. Kopius was to follow her instructions as she spoke them and without hesitation, insisting that anything that transpired under her teaching was nothing personal.

It all sounded very straight forward and structured to the extreme. Where Kopius was usually of the anti-authority mindset he didn't want to negatively affect his training by being obstinate. Just like his days on the ball field, whether he liked it or not, he knew the worst thing a player could be was un-coachable. You could have all the talent in the world but having a questioning or unwillingness to learn because you thought you knew better was a fast track off the team. Here the only thing he didn't understand was Salem's assurances that nothing she did was personal.

She escorted him over to a row of identical lockers that lined the back wall of her establishment. Ten in total, each the size and shape of an individual fitting room, Kopius got his first look at the equipment he would be using. Salem sized him up for a brief moment and then sent him to locker number three to get prepared.

Inside the small space were a variety of items ranging from spandex type clothing to wooden weapons to MMA leaning sparring gear. There were a few towels, some empty cubbies and vials with familiar colors of the ones he carried in his inventory.

"Strip down, put these on," Salem ordered, handing Kopius a piece of clothing that was basically form fitting boxer briefs.

Kopius hesitated and looked for a privacy screen or the like.

"Strip boy," Salem commanded.

Startled, Kopius slowly began to remove his sword sheath and accessories.

"Are you shy?" Salem kept scolding. "Some kind of princess? If you're worried about the size of your cock, rest assured mine is bigger. Get dressed, grab that gear," she jabbed at the sparring equipment, "and meet me in the ring!"

The witch did an about face and walked over to an empty section in the center of the space where a singular waist high column stood. She pressed the top of it a few times and then a square boxing ring magically appeared. She entered the ring between the ropes like a seasoned champion and began to put on her own set of gear that was waiting for her there.

What the fuck did I just pay for? Kopius wondered in growing terror.

He stripped off his gear and put on the skin tight boxer briefs as quickly as he could. The cool air brushed across his skin and added to the chill that Salem had just forced down his spine.

He looked over his body with a certain level of satisfaction but still felt the pangs of modesty like someone on a spa date who was forced to use his underwear because his bathing suit had somehow gone missing. Kopius was no longer the slender frame his Earthly body once was, yet that didn't stop him from wanting a little bit more coverage.

With a few deep breaths and several mental 'man up's!' Kopius collected the equipment and made his way to the ring. Salem, already fitted out, was doing her version of shadow boxing when Kopius entered the ring. She promptly kicked him out stating that he was only to enter when he was fully prepared. That meant strapping on his gear.

The equipment consisted of a set of fingerless gloves, two forearm bracers, shin guards and a mouth piece. The padding on the equipment was minimal, enough to keep things from breaking; at least that is what Kopius was hoping.

When he placed the gear on each piece magically adjusted to a snug fit with no need to tie stringing or use velcro. He was going to ask about the sanitary nature of the mouth piece but decided to keep that to himself. It too molded to his mouth and felt as if it wasn't even there once fully adjusted. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, punched his fist together and entered the ring.

Kopius stood in the corner opposite Salem. She stood with her back to him while gripping the ropes to each side. Her head was down as though she might be praying or giving herself a few words of encouragement. Kopius used the moment to do a little shadow boxing and hop around to get warmed up. He threw some jabs, some uppercuts and any other punches he could recall from the movies he had seen over the years. Although he had been in his fair share of fights his technique was rooted more in survival than skill.

Salem turned and faced Kopius, her eyes locked on him as if he had just bullied her little brother. She punched fists together before slapping herself with both hands; her feet sliding side to side. Kopius took a few quick stretches, clapping his hands together indicating he was ready to spar. A bell ding-dinged and Salem rushed across the ring like a demon scorned.

Wide-eyed at the sudden aggression, Kopius rolled out of his corner just before being struck by a flying knee strike. Salem hit the corner pad with an ear ringing SMACK, something Kopius had often heard when a catcher caught a fastball going ninety-plus miles per hour. She bounced off the cushion right into a spinning back kick that Kopius only managed to duck by pure instinct. Once that foot touched the ground she used her momentum and struck Kopius right in the chest with a powerful front kick.

Kopius was sent flying to the opposite corner with half of his air capacity knocked out of his lungs. He struck the padded corner, somehow remaining upright. In the brief moment it took to regain his focus Salem was all over him. She came in with body shots and hooks, slapping him from side to side while all he could manage was protect his face.

He ducked a particularly vicious blow and freed himself from the confines of the corner. Creating some distance and catching his breath, Kopius shook away the pain as best he could. This fucking bitch is crazy, was all he could think and the women was on him again.

The two squared off in the center of the ring and Kopius ducked and weaved like an amateur while Salem swung at him with precision. The blows he managed to dodge only seemed to set him up for two he couldn't. Just as he was on the receiving end of some endless combo, the bell ding-dinged, stopping the assault. Salem turned her back and went to her corner while Kopius looked around like a drunk wondering where he should go.

Once safe on the other side of the ring a tray magically appeared with a bottle of water and a spit bucket. Kopius rinsed his mouth out, drank a few sips and caught what he could of his breath. He calmed his nerves and wiped his face, thankful to not find any blood on noticeable swelling. He looked over at Salem to find her relaxing against the ropes as if she had just finished a morning walk. The sight brought a fit of anger within Kopius who felt the familiar pangs of retribution.

Ding-ding echoed in the space and round two began.

Instead of cowering away, Kopius met Salem in the center of the ring and started to take swings of his own. He jabbed with his left and swung with his right, missing with each. Salem returned with a volley of her own but Kopius slid wide of the barrage, managing to land a left cross to her temple and a right strike to her sternum.

The witch retreated from additional strikes with a widening smile and nod of what looked like respect. Kopius didn't press his advantage, opting to bounce on his toes instead. Salem looked to say a few words but nothing audible. She winked at Kopius, gave both of her gloved hands a quick kiss and then lashed out at Kopus with a lightning fast combo.

She led with a right jab that Kopius deflected, then a left jab that brushed across his cheek. Her right elbow came up to clip his chin, immediately followed by her left elbow from the side. Kopius began to retreat as another right/left jab tapped each of his cheeks. The blows came in a blur and the air elemental did everything he could to remain standing. Finally, Salem came with a hard left hook that dazed him, leaving him vulnerable to the spinning, three-sixty right elbow that turned his whole world black.

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