Two days later, I found myself in the woods again. Not for training this time.
Someone had been tailing me from the shadows, and I was done pretending not to notice.
The wind barely moved. Every branch, every leaf, felt like it was waiting for something to happen.
"Show yourself—"
clang!
My dagger met another mid-swing, sparks bursting like fireflies in the dark.
'Not on my watch,'
I swung again, muscles coiling like steel wires.
Crack!
My attack hit, but the first sound wasn't metal — it was the sharp snap of my own tendons contracting and expanding at outrageous speed.
The impact sent the intruder skidding back twenty steps before getting a footing.
When my eyes adjusted, I recognized her as the teleporting woman from the hotel.
"H… How?" Her pupils shrank from confusion.
"Oh?" I chuckled, lowering my blade slightly. "Surprised I could detect you?"
She straightened her back, and kept her guards up.
