"Argh! Argh! Argh!"

Jock groaned, moaned, and grunted in pain. His hands were bleeding. The blood trickled down the rope.

He was trying to climb the Endless Climb Rope, and while it didn't look too long and he thought he could reach the ceiling with ease, he actually hadn't moved even a little bit up the rope.

He had been climbing for close to ten minutes, and yet, no progress was in sight.

"What kind of cursed object is this?!"

He cried out, and then he let go of the rope and landed safely back on the dojo floor.

There were ugly-looking cuts in his palms, caused by the rope.

"Did I tell you to stop climbing?"

Kiernan asked while sitting outside, enjoying some tea, and reading some morning newspaper about world affairs.

"My hands are bleeding, and I cannot reach the ceiling. This rope is weird as hell!"

Jock shouted.

"Did I tell you that you have to reach the ceiling for the training to be completed? No, I told you to keep climbing.

"Your hands are hurt, but so what?"

Kiernan said, turned a page in the newspaper, and told him to keep going against Jock's wishes.

"Shit…"

Jock took out his backpack, took out some gauze, and wrapped up his bloody hands tightly.

He then gritted his teeth, wrapped his hands around the bloody rope, and started climbing.

It was easy for him to climb one meter from the ground, but at that moment, his progress halted as if he had crashed into a brick wall.

At that moment, the iron gate opened up, and Aoi walked in with a small smile on her face. She looked nice, very pretty with the sundress fluttering in the breeze.

"How's the training been?"

She asked and sat beside her fiancee.

"He is struggling, but we are getting there; there is still a little bit of time before that competition of his."

Kiernan said, then glanced at her briefly, and asked.

"How did your visit over in People's Registry go?"

"Good. We are officially registered as temporary Montrael citizens."

Aoi said with a smile.

"Good."

Kiernan nodded.

"I'll go rest for a while. It had been a long day."

Aoi said, then gave a long smooch on his cheek. She then went inside the dojo, greeted Jock, and headed to the second floor.

With the hours flying by, the sun slowly hid behind the horizon, and the street lamps started lighting up across the city.

"We are done for today."

Kiernan said and turned to Jock, who wasn't climbing anymore but instead hanging from the rope.

The blood was staining the wrapped gauze around his hands, and his face was contorted in pain.

"Ah… ah…"

Jock hopped down the rope, looking at his hands, and felt like they were burning a thousand degrees hot.

"It hurts…"

"Come here."

Kiernan walked over to Jock, took off his gauze-wrapped hands, and saw how his hands were bloody, raw, and peeling.

"Oh my god. I think I am about to pass out."

Jock said, almost retching, as he wasn't really that good with such ugly sights, and while he was in a lot of pain, the sight of his hands was the worst part.

"It will be alright."

Kiernan pulled out the Elixir of the Swift Recovery from behind his back and spilled it reservedly across his hands.

It made Jock's hand sting for a moment, but then he felt a cooling sensation spread across his skin.

Kiernan forced Jock's hands into tight round fists. He then pulled his fingers back to reveal his palms, and they were covered in a new layer of flesh.

The bloody wounds were nowhere to be seen.

"Whoah. What kind of mystical healing potion is that?"

Jock asked in shock and awe.

"Go home, Jock. We will see each other again tomorrow. I want you to think about what you did wrong during the short sparring match we had.

"I am going to test you again tomorrow."

Kiernan said.

"Alright, master!"

Jock said energetically, and as he picked up his backpack and headed to the gate, he suddenly stopped and turned around.

"By the way, master. You haven't told me just how much your lessons cost yet. I do have an allowance, and I am going to spend that money to pay, but if the cost is a little bit too high for me, I will pay later, if that is possible."

He said.

"You don't have to pay. This is your trial period. If you decide to come back after that competition of yours, then we can discuss that further."

Kiernan said.

"R-Really?"

Jock looked surprised and then let out a deep sigh.

He was feeling bad now since he had already made up his mind to just try the martial arts thing for the week and quit afterwards.

All he wanted to avoid was embarrassment during the competition.

"I… I don't think I will continue martial arts after this week. If you want to remove my trial period and just have me pay, I am completely fine with that."

Jock said.

"…No, I will not go back on my words. If you so decide that martial arts is not for you, I respect that decision. See you tomorrow, my student."

Kiernan said with his arms behind his back.

"Alright… master."

Jock bowed deeply and then rushed out of the gate, closing it with a loud metallic click behind him.

Kiernan took out a bucket, filled it with water with the help of the yard's pump, and filled it with fresh water.

He then picked up a fresh rag from the cleaning closet, walked to the Endless Climb Rope, and washed off the blood.

'Teaching sure is tough. It is not just about transferring knowledge but also about instilling discipline and building character.

'I need to somehow make Jock believe that he has a future in martial arts. He is still young with a childish mentality, but he puts all of his effort into his goals.

'He doesn't want to let down his classmate, and thus, he is going through this hard training. That is a strong-minded kid.

'I just can tell that he doesn't like martial arts. The pain of it, the long training sessions, and the commitment to it.'

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