Kei managed to arrive in the garden that Yuna was waiting in just before the 10 minutes were up.
"I'm here!"
He screamed breathlessly, sweating and panting profusely after running for the past 10 minutes.
Everything but a small distance was covered during this time. In fact, he ran more than 15 km in this short time span.
"Just in the nick of time. That's a promising start."
Yuna spoke with a pleased tone, seemingly content that Kei managed to run this distance successfully in the short time she gave him.
"Thank you, master."
He bowed deeply to pay her respect.
"Now that you're officially my apprentice and have started your training, you have permission to move into the central building. I highly recommend you to do so."
"You're right. I'll do just that."
The tone she used to speak was so authoritative that Kei didn't believe he had a choice anyway. Hence, he simply agreed with her immediately.
"Good."
Yuna was sitting in a lotus position on the neatly cut, jade green grass before Kei arrived and waited for him impatiently.
Now that he was present, she stood up from the ground and beckoned him to come closer.
As he approached her with fast and eager strides, he became aware of the luxury of not having to wear bandages all over his body anymore. Them, accompanied by his many injuries, previously restricted his mobility greatly. But now, he was free to move however he pleased again.
It was a great feeling. Despite this great feeling of freedom, he still felt the pain of his injuries, making each stride a hassle.
Once he was close to Yuna, he gazed up at the eyes on her mask, anticipating her next words.
Instead of hearing words, he was met with a punch to the groin.
"We're sparring, Kei. We aren't here for some tea and some nice small talk. Why would you expect me to act out of any reason other than to make you lose the sparing match? I wouldn't tell you anything important during training. It's nonsensical."
Kei fell onto the ground in agony after receiving the punch. Yuna had controlled the punch enough so that he wouldn't feel the pain for long or would receive a lasting injury. However, he was in agonizing pain nonetheless.
He clutched his groin tightly and curled himself up into a ball as he let out a pained scream so loud that it startled everyone in a 100-metre radius.
"You'll be thanking me for this later. Others may try to deceive you in all sorts of ways to gain the advantage and kill you. I'm just preparing you."
Despite everything, she started feeling slightly bad for what she just did and sat down next to the poor boy, her voice a bit softer.
"Don't worry. The pain won't last long. I won't force you to train until it wears off."
"Thank you, I guess."
Kei responded with a tight and strained voice due to his pain, trying hard to get his composure back so that he could spar with Yuna.
She sat there quietly, gazing off into the distance as he writhed in pain.
Aside from his labored breathing and pained sounds, everything was silent.
Merely three minutes later, he pressed himself up from the ground with shaking arms, his legs shaking subtly as he stood.
"I'm ready to spar now."
"Great."
Yuna jumped up from the ground and stood in a completely relaxed manner, ready to spar with him.
"Offense will be taken if you hold back, Kei. You couldn't harm me no matter what. Fight with all your strength."
Without responding, Kei materialized a metal dagger and dashed at his master, aiming for her throat.
His attack was evaded with practiced ease.
"Seems like there's still a lot of work to be done."
Her voice turned disappointed and she heaved a sigh.
His martial arts were completely unpolished. He performed his attack with unnecessary and uncertain movements while also leaving himself open and not creating the force he could have.
At least he was good at using his primary element already.
It was time for Yuna to go on the offensive now and attack him. She needed to see if his defense was any better than his offense.
She dashed towards him with such incredible speed that he could almost not register it in time. She had already attempted to slow down a significant amount, but even this seemed overwhelming to an Enlightened rank 1 such as him.
Kei's eyes widened, and he gasped as he noticed her incoming strike. Instinctively, he manifested a metal shield, big enough to cover and protect his entire body, on his right forearm.
He yanked his forearm in front of his body in the nick of time, successfully protecting himself from the incoming blow.
The shield received a large dent and absorbed most of the force generated by Yuna's strike.
Kei was launched a few metres backwards and into the air regardless, struggling not to fall over and land on his feet.
Yuna was positively surprised by his decent defense. She expected him to be hit fully and for his defense to be far weaker. Seeing him defend her blow with such instinct and talent allowed a feeling of pride to surface inside of her.
"Seems like you have a decent talent after all, don't you?"
"You think?"
Kei smiled contently, a faint and flustered blush appearing on his lips. His voice sounded excited and happy to receive praise.
Without warning, Yuna rushed forth and kicked the back of his knees, forcing him onto the ground. She placed her foot on his chest and stepped down harshly before Kei could even react.
He let out a pained groan as he was lying beneath her.
"What did I say about letting yourself be deceived? The compliment wasn't a lie, but it wasn't permission to relax and let your guard down either."
She spoke in a reprimanding tone before finally stepping off of him.
"I'm sorry. I won't be deceived next time."
He spoke as he rose up from the ground, ready to continue the training.
"You better not."
"Your defense is flawless, but your offense is lackluster. If you ask me, this is far better than the other way around. You will have an easier time surviving and that's all that matters to me."
"Let's continue training now, Kei. You don't deserve rest unless your legs give out, got it?"
Before he could answer, she attacked him, forcing him to block her onslaught of attacks.
Their training went on for hours without a single break. Kei's bones almost broke multiple times and he suffered many minor injuries. Despite that, Yuna's training was effective. Her training felt like a real battle, which is precisely what he needed to gain proper fighting experience rapidly.