The sun was already high when Abraham finished his morning training. The clearing behind the hut was full of marks on the ground—shallow cuts, holes where the sword had missed, bits of grass flying. He threw the old sword to the ground and sat on the large rock, panting, his shirt clinging to his back with sweat. Still level 72. No gains today.
Mahina appeared in the doorway of the hut with a mug of iced moonroot tea.
"Already tired? It doesn't even seem like you've been training for two hours."
Abraham took the mug, took a big gulp. "Tired isn't the word. My arm feels like it's going to fall off. But I'm feeling... I don't know, the Light Cut is becoming more natural."
She sat beside him, looking at the sky. The sun beat down, but the moons were still visible like pale ghosts. "Natural is good. Forced is bad. You're forcing it too much these days."
"It's just... I want to improve. For Lia. So I don't disappoint her."
Mahina gave a small smile. "She won't judge you for being low-level. She looks at you like you're the only guy in the world."
Abraham lowered his head. "Hopefully so."
Around noon, Lia arrived. She brought a cloth bag with fresh bread from the village and some slightly glistening fruit. She wore a light cotton blouse and simple pants, her hair tied in a messy bun because of the heat.
"Hey!" She waved from afar, smiling. "I brought lunch. Don't make me cook today, okay?"
Abraham laughed, getting up. "You cooking would be dangerous. Remember the last time you tried to make soup?"
She grimaced. "That was an accident! The moon root exploded in the pot!"
They both laughed. Mahina waved from the door: "I'll leave you two here. If you need anything, just shout."
They sat in the shade of the large tree. Lia opened her bag: warm bread, lunar goat cheese (salty and creamy), fruit that exploded with sweet juice in her mouth.
While they ate, a comfortable silence prevailed. Abraham glanced at her occasionally, trying not to be obvious.
Lia broke the silence: "You're quiet today. Is everything alright?"
"Yes... just thinking."
"About what?"
"About the kiss. About how nervous I was. And how much I want this to work out."
She stopped chewing, looked at him. "I was nervous too. Like... my heart was pounding. But I don't regret it. It was... good."
Abraham smiled slightly. "For me too."
She reached out and touched his arm. "So... shall we continue? Like, no rush. Just... seeing what happens."
"I want that. Very much."
After lunch, they went to the clearing. Abraham picked up his sword.
"Come on, train with me today. You said you wanted to learn."
Lia hesitated. "I'm terrible..."
"Everyone starts out terrible. Come on."
He handed her the wooden sword. She took it, held it wrong. Abraham laughed.
"Not like that. Elbow higher. That's it. Now rotate your wrist when you go down."
She tried. The blow came out crooked, almost hitting her own foot.
"Damn!" She laughed. "I'm a disaster."
Abraham stopped behind her, gently holding her arms to correct her posture. "Relax your shoulder. Breathe. Now go."
She tried again. This time the cut was straighter.
"Look!" She turned to him, eyes shining. "I did it!"
Abraham smiled. "See? You're good at this."
They trained for hours. Sun beating down, sweat dripping, laughter when they missed, concentrated silence when they succeeded. In the end, they were both exhausted, sitting on the grass, backs against each other.
Lia spoke softly: "You know... I like this. Being here with you. Even sweating, even making mistakes. It feels... right."
Abraham turned his face to her. "Me too."
She rested her head on his shoulder. "So let's do this every day?"
"Whenever you want."
Abraham's cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He looked:
Mission: "Train with someone important for 4 hours straight. Post a photo of the two of you after training. #SharedSweat"
Reward: +2 levels (74). New layer: "Shared Power Level 1" (cuts gain slightly extra precision when made near someone you trust — +5% accuracy).
He showed it to Lia.
She laughed. "Look... the phone is shipping us."
Abraham took the photo: the two of them sweaty, smiling, wooden sword on the ground. He posted it.
Lia texted him later: "Save this photo. For when you feel like you're not making progress."
Abraham put his phone away, looking at the sky. The sun was beginning to set, the moon was slowly appearing.
Maybe I am making progress... just not in the way I thought.