As I dodged Hong's attacks, something felt off.

  No matter how fast she moved, no matter how close her strikes got...

  She never actually hit me.

  I initially thought it was my magician's instinct—or something—that allowed me to dodge. But I was wrong. Every time her fist was about to connect, she deliberately pulled back at the st moment.

  I furrowed my brow. Was she holding back? Was she afraid of hurting me?

  Between dodging, I couldn't hold back my curiosity anymore. "Hey, Hong... why aren't you hitting me?"

  Hong tilted her head slightly, then smirked. "Do you want to be hit?"

  I gulped. The way she said that sounded dangerous.

  "If you wish," she continued, cracking her knuckles, "I can do that."

  "Uh—never mind!" I quickly waved my hands in surrender. "Forget I asked. That was a stupid question."

  Hong chuckled, clearly amused. "I can't tell you why I'm doing this—why I'm not hitting you," she said with a knowing smirk. "For now, just think of it as training for dodging."

  She stepped forward, her stance rexed yet firm. "If you can't even avoid my attacks properly, you have no business learning how to fight."

  I frowned. "But wouldn't it be better if I learned how to take a hit, too?"

  Hong's smirk faded slightly. She folded her arms and looked at me with a sharp, unreadable gaze. "You will learn how to take a hit... when the time comes."

  There was something in her tone—something serious. Like she knew something I didn't.

  "But for now," she continued, her smirk returning, "you're still too weak. And if you can't dodge, you won't st long enough in a real fight to nd a hit of your own."

  I clenched my fists. She had a point.

  "Besides," Hong added, cracking her knuckles, "once I decide to actually hit you, you'll know why I trained you like this."

  For some reason, that did not sound reassuring.

  I took a deep breath, regaining my focus. "I feel like this might take a long times. How about we change the training, then?"

  She raised an eyebrow. "Change it how?"

  "Teach me your Kung Fu."

  Hong's expression immediately turned serious. She folded her arms and shook her head. "No."

  I blinked. "What? Why not?"

  "Didn't I tell you your body was still too weak."

  I opened my mouth to argue, but she cut me off.

  "If I teach you my Kung Fu," Hong said, her eyes narrowing, "you'd just try to cheat your way through it with your ability, wouldn't you?"

  Damn, I guess she figured out how my ability worked, and she wasn't wrong, part of me did want to speed up the process.

  She let out a small sigh, crossing her arms. "Sure, maybe if you use your ability, you might get stronger—strong enough to even beat me."

  I perked up at that, but before I could say anything, she continued.

  "But it wouldn't be your strength." Her voice was calm, but there was an underlying firmness to it. "It wouldn't be something you earned. "It would just be a strength built on lies."

  I fell silent, her words sinking in.

  Hong watched me for a moment before pcing a hand on her hip. "Listen, Carl. Even if you somehow learned my Kung Fu instantly with your ability... your body isn't ready."

  She met my gaze, unwavering. "The moment you try to use my techniques, your bones would shatter before you even nd a hit."

  A chill ran down my spine.

  She wasn't joking.

  She crossed her arms. "Until I feel that your body is ready—no Kung Fu for you and also no Ability."

  I clenched my fists. "Then... what do I have to do to get strong enough?"

  Hong smirked. "Simple. Survive my training."

  ............................

  After that, I stopped compining and started training with Hong every morning.

  Two months passed, and I could feel myself getting stronger. When I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I could see the difference—my body was leaner, my movements sharper.

  I wasn't the only one training with Hong. Sakuya and Fndre joined as well.

  Fndre was able to train in the mornings because Remilia asked Patchouli to cover the sunlight around the mansion. But when she joined, she was more interested in pying than training. Hong and Sakuya would often leave to train elsewhere, leaving me alone with Fndre.

  On days when Fndre was asleep, Sakuya would approach me. She said she wanted to test me, and by "test," she meant throwing knives at me whenever we met.

  I had no idea why she was so aggressive, so I eventually asked her outright.

  Her response caught me completely off guard.

  "Every time you go to Hong's room... you do dirty things with her," Sakuya said, crossing her arms.

  I blinked. "Wait, what?" I did go to Hong's room whenever I felt exhausted, and she would give me a massage to help me recover. But what did she mean by "dirty things"?

  "You make weird noises," she continued, her face turning slightly red. "Like... like..."

  She trailed off, then suddenly threw another knife at me.

  Ducking, I finally realized what she meant.

  I quickly expined, "Hong was massaging me to help my body recover! I couldn't help but make noises because—it felt good! That's all!"

  Sakuya's face turned even redder. Her mouth opened as if to say something, but no words came out. Seeing my serious expression, she began to think that she might have misunderstood.

  She turned to Hong, who had been watching silently with an amused expression, and gave her a deep bow. "I... apologize for my misunderstanding."

  Hong chuckled. "It's alright. If you ever feel tired, you can come to me for a massage too."

  After some hesitation and curiosity, Sakuya finally nodded.

  Later, when she actually took Hong up on the offer, she ended up making the same noises I did.

  The next day, she looked ashamed, wishing she hadn't accepted the massage. She never went back for another.

  And as for me?

  Every time our eyes met, she threw even more knives at me.

  I had to thank Hong—her dodging lessons were finally paying off.

  As time passed, the seasons changed. Winter finally arrived.