The next day, Silver found Scarlet and Lucia already training in the courtyard.
Lucia lunged forward, unleashing a flurry of strikes.
Scarlet dodged them with ease.
"Faster."
"I'm already going faster!"
"Then pick up the pace even more."
Silver watched quietly from the side until he finally drew the staff from his back.
He stepped into the open space, joining their practice.
Scarlet's gaze eventually caught the motion.
"Oh? A staff?"
Silver stopped mid-move.
Scarlet smirked.
"You're copying Cornelius."
"He taught me."
"Exactly. You copied him."
Silver let out a sigh and glanced her way.
"What's your weapon of choice, Master Scarlet?"
"A tessen."
Scarlet reached to her waist and drew a crimson war fan.
Snap.
She unfolded it with graceful precision in her hand.
Silver raised an eyebrow.
"A fan?"
"Perfect for me."
She held it up to her face, crimson eyes sparkling with amusement.
"After all…"
With a playful flick, she grinned.
"…I use it to fan the flames."
Scarlet chuckled at her own joke.
Silver stared.
Lucia stared.
Scarlet's grin slowly faded.
"…Neither of you has a sense of humor."
She lifted her free hand.
Small crimson flames appeared at the tips of her fingers.
"My fire mana naturally gathers at my fingertips."
Scarlet slowly swept the tessen forward.
The flames followed.
Silver's eyes widened as several streams of fire curved through the air, guided by the movement of the fan before converging on a training dummy.
WHOOSH!
Flames swallowed it in an instant.
Scarlet snapped the fan shut.
"The tessen lets me gather, channel, and steer my fire mana right where I want it."
She aimed the folded fan at Silver.
Instead of just throwing fire around, I make sure it lands exactly where I want it.
Silver glanced from the smoldering dummy to the crimson fan.
"So the weapon works hand in hand with your mana control."
"Exactly." Scarlet grinned with pride. "Elegant, precise, deadly…"
She flicked open her fan again. "…and I get to fan the flames."
Silver groaned.
"You really like that joke." Scarlet chuckled. "I do."
Her golden eyes shifted to his staff. "Now…" She leveled her tessen at him. "Let's see if Cornelius actually taught you how to use that thing." Silver's grip tightened, and Scarlet's smile grew.
"Come at me."
Scarlet eyed the staff in Silver's hands for a moment.
"Hmm…"
She circled him, assessing his stance.
"I think the staff suits you."
Silver blinked. That was easier than expected.
"But—"
There it was.
Scarlet tapped the staff with her folded tessen.
"You should have a weapon of choice—something that feels right in your hands. But never rely on it completely."
"Why?"
"Weapons break. Enemies disarm you. Battles don't always happen in convenient places."
She gestured to the courtyard.
"Sometimes you'll have your staff. Sometimes nothing. And sometimes, the only weapon you'll get is whatever your enemy dropped."
Scarlet smiled.
"So, master your staff…"
Her golden eyes narrowed.
"…but understand everything else."
The rest of Silver's day became hell.
Scarlet started with a spear.
"Distance."
Silver quickly realized the similarities to his staff. Reach, spacing, and controlling the area around him mattered far more than flashy moves.
Then came a sword.
"Edge alignment."
Scarlet kept correcting his strikes.
"A staff can hit from almost any angle. A blade is less forgiving. Commit to your swing."
Then an axe.
"Momentum."
Silver tried forcing it through the same motions he used with his staff.
Scarlet promptly smacked him with her tessen.
"Stop fighting the weapon."
Silver rubbed his head.
"You hit me every time I mess up."
"And you're making fewer mistakes. You're welcome."
Next was a shield.
"Defense isn't just hiding behind something."
Scarlet kicked at his exposed leg.
Silver stumbled.
"It's positioning."
Then knives.
No reach.
No comfortable distance.
Everything happened uncomfortably close.
"Speed. Reflexes. Don't panic when someone gets inside your range."
Sword, spear, axe, mace, shield, and knife.
Over and over, Scarlet switched the weapon in Silver's hands.
She wasn't teaching him countless different styles.
She was teaching him what all weapons had in common.
Distance, precision, momentum, positioning, speed, and adaptation.
Eventually Silver reached for the next weapon.
Scarlet pulled them all away.
Silver frowned.
"What now?" Scarlet glanced around, then grabbed a broom and tossed it to him. Silver caught it, staring in silence—first at the broom, then at Scarlet, then back at the broom. "…Seriously?" Scarlet snapped open her crimson tessen. "Defend yourself."
"Master Scarlet, this is a—" She lunged.
CLANG!
Silver instinctively lifted the broom, his hands reacting before his mind caught up. Shift the grip. Keep the distance. Redirect. Step out of her line. Use its length. Let its momentum flow. His eyes widened—the broom wasn't balanced like his staff, not built for fighting, not even that sturdy. But—he got it.
Scarlet's tessen halted just beside his neck. Silver glanced at the broom in his hands. The tool was different, but the principles were the same. Scarlet smiled. "Now you understand."
She closed her fan.
Master one weapon, and you'll gain insight into them all.
Silver glanced down at the broom. His staff could still be his weapon—the one he'd trained with the most, the one that felt right in his hands. But losing it didn't have to mean losing the fight. By day's end, Silver was stretched out across the courtyard.
Sword, spear, axe, knife, mace, shield, and staff.
And, humiliatingly, broom.
He'd trained with them all.
"I can't feel my arms…"
Julie crouched nearby.
"Are you alive?"
Silver managed a weak thumbs-up.
June gave a nod.
"He's alive."
"Unfortunately," Silver muttered.
Something sailed toward him.
His hand shot up, catching it midair—his staff.
He stared at it, and a slow smile formed beneath his mask.
Finally, something familiar.
Across the courtyard, Scarlet stood watching.
Snap.
Her crimson tessen opened.
Silver's smile faltered as Scarlet lifted her other hand, flames dancing at her fingertips.
"Good."
Silver pushed himself up slowly. "Good?"
"Now that you've learned how to use them…"
The fire curled around her fingers, flowing seamlessly to her tessen. With a smooth sweep of her fan, the flames followed the arc perfectly.
Scarlet's smile widened. "…tomorrow you'll learn how to fight against them."
Silver's expression fell.
Julie leaned toward June. "He's dead."
June gave a small nod. "Probably."
Evening came, and Silver was utterly exhausted.
After an entire day of being forced to switch between staffs, spears, swords, axes, maces, shields—and even a damn broom—every muscle in his body protested.
He barely made it back to his room before collapsing onto the bed.
A short while later—
Knock. Knock.
"Silva?"
The door opened, revealing June and Julie.
Silver didn't move.
Julie walked over and gave him a poke.
"Come on."
"…No."
"We're going to the baths."
Silver cracked one weary eye open.
"Baths?"
June nodded.
"The hot springs."
That earned a faint spark of interest.
Julie stretched, arms reaching high.
"The water here's naturally full of mana. It relaxes muscles and eases fatigue. Everyone heads there after tough training."
Silver glanced down at his sore arms.
"Why didn't anyone tell me about this sooner?"
"You never asked."
"I've been suffering for hours."
June gave him a small smile.
"Then you should come."
Silver tried to sit up, but his arms trembled and he flopped back onto the mattress.
"…Give me a minute."
Julie sighed, then grabbed his wrist.
"Wait." She pulled.
"Julie—"
June took his other arm, and Silver's eyes went wide.
"Hold on, I can walk!"
The twins began dragging him out of the room.
A short while later, they reached the fox compound's hot springs.
Steam drifted lazily through the open-air bath, illuminated by the eternal moon hanging above the Sien Domain. Smooth dark stones surrounded several natural pools while faint traces of mana shimmered through the water.
Silver stared.
"…You have this inside the compound?"
Julie grinned, clearly proud.
"Of course."
June stepped closer to the steaming water.
"Master Scarlet says recovery is part of training too."
Silver hesitated.
"Scarlet said that?"
Julie nodded.
"She also said if you're too worn out to train tomorrow, it means she didn't train you right today."
Silver's face fell.
"…Yeah, that sounds more like her."
He glanced at the steaming spring again.
Right now, he couldn't care less.
After what Scarlet had put him through, that water looked like paradise.
Silver sank deeper into the hot spring with a long sigh.
The warmth seeped into his aching muscles, and for the first time all day, his body finally began to relax.
"…This is heaven."
Nearby, Julie giggled.
"Enjoy it."
Silver opened one eye.
"Why did that sound threatening?"
June rested against the edge of the spring.
"Because tomorrow Master Scarlet will do it again."
Silver's eye twitched.
Julie nodded enthusiastically.
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!" That's Master Scarlet's favorite phrase. If, after training, you can still complain, you haven't trained hard enough.
June quietly added, "Master Scarlet will push you to your limit every day."
Julie raised a finger.
"Then she'll push you even further."
Silver sank slowly until only his head was above the water.
Julie went on cheerfully.
"She'll break you in training again and again until your body learns, adapts, and grows stronger."
Silver gave them a flat look.
"You're enjoying this."
The twins grinned.
"Maybe a little."
Silver groaned and shut his eyes.
June and Julie traded mischievous glances.
Julie leaned in.
"Oh, one more tip."
Silver reluctantly opened his eyes.
"What?"
Julie's tone turned serious.
"If you ever see a bright light during training…"
June finished solemnly:
"…don't follow it."
Silence.
Silver stared at them, then slowly sank deeper into the water.
"…I'm going to die here."
The twins' laughter echoed through the hot springs.