"Are you finished, Lawrence?" Kalistra asked.

I saw that my master had a scowl on her face; her arms were folded across her chest and her left foot tapped on the ground impatiently. "Sorry, master," I winced sheepishly. Honestly, could she really blame me for celebrating just a little bit after going through that speed dating style of sparring?

I looked around the courtyard and saw plenty of smiling faces. But then again, there were plenty of hostile faces as well. Well, I couldn't help it if they lost money because they were foolish enough to bet against me.

"I want you to practice this technique until you can launch it successfully three times in a row," my instructor ordered. She pointed at the pupil standing closest to her. "You will start the sparring session with Lawrence," she ordered.

The young lad took his spot across from me.

Kalistra stood between us. She hopped back and yelled, "Begin!"

My opponent rushed to make the first attack but I was even faster. However, I misjudged his height and the tip of my practice blade MISSED his shoulder. Whack. "Yield," I huffed with annoyance. I took my position and waited for my next opponent to take his stance.

Kalistra said, "You missed because your eyes left your target for a moment. You need to focus and concentrate solely on your target. Nothing else matters in a fight except your opponent," she said.

"Yes, master!" I barked.

The cat girl nodded at me. She hopped out of the way and yelled, "Begin!"

This time, I made sure that my eyes remained on my target. My renewed concentration paid off when my opponent yelled, "Yield!"

With more outcries of "Yield" by my next two opponents, I was able to accomplish Kalistra's assignment. I received a pop-up notification which read, "First Strike ADVANCED to Level 2. +100 XP." This time I declined to celebrate. I didn't want to annoy my instructor again.

The heir turned to my sparring partners. "Thank you for sparring with Lawrence. Now take a fifteen minutes break and then come back to me for your next assignment," she ordered.

"Yes, master!" the young apprentices replied and then dispersed.

Another group of students who were loitering nearby immediately replaced the students who left the courtyard.

I groaned inwardly at this new gathering. These students were a bit older. They were physically bigger and stronger. It will definitely be more difficult to fight these students. I waited patiently for the ax to drop and Kalistra did not disappoint.

"For your next lesson, you will learn the Slide Step. Once you master that, I will teach you one more sword technique and we'll be finished with your intensive training," my instructor said. She took a moment to check my status screen. I only had three sword skills at the moment, and I was able to learn one more at level five.

Seeing that my master was preoccupied with her thoughts, my mind drifted off to the "slide step." I imagined myself doing the electric slide: extend one leg to the left beyond my hip and then drag the rest of my body toward left. And then repeat with my right leg. Was the slide step a variation of the electric slide? Suddenly, I felt a sharp jab in my right shoulder. "-2 Health."

"Pay attention when I'm talking, Lawrence," Kalistra said. "I want you to attack me."

"Huh?" I stared at her blankly.

The cat girl stomped on my foot.

"-2 Health." I dismissed the pop-up and glowered at Kalistra. I aimed the First Strike skill at her chest. My arms were extended and my aim was true. However, the cat girl was simply too quick for me to catch off guard.

Kalistra suddenly disappeared from my view and I felt a hard whack at my backside. "-5 Health." I whirled around to protest. "Hey!" However, the evil minx pulled the disappearing act and the whacked me again. "-5 Health." I whirled around again. But instead a one-eighty degrees turn, I did a three-sixty. Purely acting on instinct, I also kicked out my right foot . . . and it connected!

"Omph," Kalistra blurted out as she was caught in the chest by my surprise kick.

"-5 Damage." My successful hit barely registered in my mind because my instructor returned the favor with hefty interest. "Critical hit! -40 Health. Condition: Dying." When I raised my character level to five and dumped five attribute points into my Constitution, my total health was bumped to 53 points. However, I was down to 37 Health before the critical hit, which knocked me down to -3 health. I was indeed dying, as the pop-up so helpfully pointed out. My body dropped to the ground like a rock but I could not feel the pain. I tried to breathe but my lungs were frozen lumps inside my chest. My body was shutting down and a deep freeze was spreading from the wound in my chest to the rest of my body. So this was what dying felt like . . .

"Oh!" Kalistra shrieked as she immediately knelt down next to me. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she kept muttering in panic as the cat girl pulled out an Elixir of Healing, pulled off the stopper, and poured the golden colored liquid into my mouth.

As soon as the fluid entered my mouth, a warmth radiated from my mouth and slowly repelled the numbing cold in my body. When the warm and fuzzy feeling dissipated, I received a notification which read, "+56 Health. Condition: Healed." I slowly pulled my back off the ground and sat cross-legged. My wits were slowly returning to me, but my taste buds registered the taste of the potion as similar to liquid cold medicine because of the aftertaste of menthol in my mouth.

"What happened?" a stern voice demanded.

The harsh tone of the question brought me back to the present. I looked up and saw Kalistro standing over us. When I returned to my feet, I saw the Grandmaster talking to Kalistra.

He was talking in a low voice but whatever he said made the cat girl's ears dip lower. The father turned toward me and said, "Kalistra, you have something to say to Lord Mulligan." It wasn't a request.

She looked at me with sorrowful eyes and did something she had never done before. She bowed to me from the waist!

The students gasped at the sight but kept silent.

The grandmaster also bowed, but only slightly from his neck. "On behalf of the dojo, I apologize for my daughter's behavior. When you caught her with a surprise kick to her chest, she should have known it wasn't intentional. For her to hit you in anger with her practice sword was a dishonorable act." He elbowed her in the arm. "We will not charge you for the Elixir of Healing," he added quickly.

The students started muttering amongst themselves when they heard what potion was used to revive me. Many of them dared to glance at the transgressor with disapproval.

"I'm sorry, Lord Mulligan," Kalistra apologized publicly with downcast eyes.

"If you decide to withdraw from the dojo and the tournament, we will understand," the grandmaster offered. While it would hurt the school, honor demanded that Lord Mulligan be released of his obligations to the school if he chose. Moreover, the father could not believe how badly his daughter blundered due to a fit of anger! Was there no way for her to control her emotions?

I held up my hands. "It's quite okay. I'm completely healed and therefore, I consider the matter closed," I pointed out. "I was really surprised that I managed to land a lucky blow on your daughter, though. If I made a bet, I would have won big," I laughed. Seeing the uncertainty on the faces of both father and daughter, I answered their question directly. "I have no intention of withdrawing from the dojo or the tournament. I agree that Kalistra hit me out of anger. We all know she has a temper, right?" I winked at the cat girl.

The cat man sighed deeply. "Unfortunately, she has not learned to keep her temper under control at all times. If you have suggestions to help my daughter manage her temper, I would be eternally grateful to you." This time, the grandmaster bowed deeply from the waist.

I looked at Kalistra for a moment and then turned my attention back to her father. "With all due respect, grandmaster, I think the anger within your daughter is due to the burdens that you have foisted upon her from an early age."

"How so?" Kalistro asked with a guarded expression.

"Did your daughter really have a childhood when she was growing up? Or was she taught swordsmanship as soon as she could hold a practice sword?" I asked. "Yes, your daughter is clearly a prodigy with the sword. But she was also forced to give up her childhood. And a part of her inner self clearly resents this."

The cat man looked pained at my explanation. "With Kalistra being an only child, I had no choice. She is the heir of the dojo, and I must prepare her to accept her rightful place."

I decided to try another tactic. It was a gamble on my part, but if I succeed then I will have a bodyguard to travel with me after the tournament. "Do you agree that she is ready to take over the dojo?" I asked innocently.

"She has the skill and training to take over the school, yes," Kalistro agreed. "However, it's her temperament that's holding her back."

"May I ask for a favor? When the tournament is over, may Kalistra accompany me for another week? I may not return to Tregome right away," I explained.

"The drows are after his life," Kalistra also pointed out.

The grandmaster looked at me and then his daughter with a stern expression. "I'm glad you finally informed me of this development." He sighed softly and nodded. "Permission granted." He then turned toward Kalistra. "I want you to reflect on what you did and meditate by the pool," he ordered.

"Yes, grandmaster," the heir bowed deeply and started walking toward the pool.

Kalistro returned his attention to me. "I will continue your training. What was my daughter teaching you?" he asked.

"I just learned the First Strike skill. Kalistra was going to teach me the Slide Step skill next. She also said that once I learn this skill, she will teach me one more technique and that will finish up my training," I recalled.

Kalistro nodded in approval. It was an efficient program, considering how little time I had to train at the dojo today. "The purpose of the Slide Step is to utilize your speed to step aside and avoid a strike. If you are successful in your sidestep, you may have an opportunity to attack your opponent's back," he explained.

"Ah! So the Slide Step is really a counterattack," I observed.

"If you are proficient in using this skill, yes," the cat man agreed. The grandmaster turned toward the students that his daughter had gathered to be my sparring partners. "Okay, I want you to use Charge on Lord Mulligan. He will practice the Slide Step."

"Yes, grandmaster," the pupils barked in unison. They formed a line and began to charge at me one at a time.

I tried to slide left to dodge the incoming hit. But I misjudged my timing and failed to initiate my move in time. Whack! "-2 Health."

The procession continued and I couldn't dodge a single attack. But I managed to accumulate another loss of twelve health points altogether. Each loss of health was a testimony to my failure to learn the technique, and it was testing my own patience.

Kalistro recognized that I was in a foul mood and raised his paw to pause the training session. He looked at my sparring partners. "Please put your practice swords aside. I want you to charge at Lord Mulligan. If he doesn't sidestep you in time, push him on the chest to show that you could hit him," he requested. The cat man did NOT want to spend another healing potion during this practice session. Once my sparring partners tossed their practice swords aside, the grandmaster then turned toward me. "I think I know why you're unable to execute the slide step. Now, here's what I want you to do. When I tell you to step aside, you move immediately," he ordered.

"Yes, grandmaster," I replied.

Kalistro clapped his hands and looked at my eight sparring partners. "I want you to run at Lord Mulligan. If he fails to avoid you in time, then try your best to move away from him. Begin!"

The first student in line ran right at me.

My heart started beating faster. I became anxious as my partner was only a few seconds away from crashing into me. Suddenly, I remembered doing the same thing earlier today, when I was chasing after Kalistra and ended up crashing into several commoners on the street. What goes around comes around indeed. I braced myself for impact when Kalistro barked. "Dodge!" I was lost in thought and almost missed his command. I started to move but alas, I was too late. Wham!

My sparring partner crashed into me and knocked me to the ground. "-2 Health." "Sorry," the young man mumbled as he offered his hand and pulled me back to my feet.

"What happened, young pup?" the grandmaster asked. While his voice was calm, his eyes glowed in anger.

I quickly bowed toward my instructor. "I was fighting my instinct to move before you gave the command to dodge. And when you finally gave the order, my mind and body had crossed signals and I just couldn't move in time." I hoped that was a plausible explanation because I didn't want to admit that my mind was elsewhere. If I DID make this admission, there was a possibility that Kalistro would end the training session short and have me meditate next to his daughter instead. While I did have three sword skills under my belt, I knew that I needed more than that in order to advance in the tournament.

The cat man stared at me for a moment, as if he knew that I was offering a little white lie. But he made no mention of it and simply accepted my excuse at face value. "Prepare yourself. Begin!"

The next student in line run at me.

This time I cleared my mind and focused only on dodging him. I bent my knees slightly and stood ready to move in an instant. Soon, I heard the command, "Dodge!" I moved immediately. When my partner ran past me, I turned toward him and slapped him gently on his back. For my success, I was rewarded with a pop-up message which read, "Professional skill LEARNED: Slide Step. +250 XP. +100 Reputation. +200 XP." To celebrate, I gave a slight fist pump.