Sora ignored the pique and stepped forward, revealing his blackened arm beneath his shirt. "I need your help. My arm's in bad shape, and I can't afford to waste time with natural healing."

Ideor raised an eyebrow at the damage. "Hmm... You've been playing with fire, literally, it seems. I may have something for you, but I'm warning you right now, don't expect your arm to be as good as new in a few moments." He turned away and began rummaging among his shelves.

A few moments later, he returned with a small vial filled with a brilliant red liquid. "This is a minor regeneration potion. It should be enough to heal superficial burns and relieve pain. But with just one dose, it won't be able to repair your more deeply damaged tissues."

Sora held out a hesitant hand. "How much will it take for me to heal completely?"

Ideor replaced his glasses and thought for a few moments. "I couldn't really tell you... It all depends on how your body reacts. With a bit of luck, only 3 will be enough... But under normal circumstances, I'd say 5 or 6 vials will be enough."

Sora remained motionless for a few moments. "Well, in that case, give me 3, then I'll see if I need more or not."

Ideor shrugged, clearly indifferent to Sora's decision. He grabbed two more similar vials and placed them in front of him on the counter. "Three vials will bring you 30 ecus. I'll give you a discount for the commission you gave me on your artifact exchange, but next time I'll charge you full price."

Surprised by this gesture of sympathy, Sora took the vials in front of him with a big smile on his lips and placed the 30 écus on the counter. "Here. I'll try not to use them unnecessarily."

Ideor, a smile on his face, grabbed the coins and slid them into a drawer. "A wise decision. Now listen to me carefully. Drink one right away to relieve the worst pain and start healing the burned area. As for the other two, use one every day and you'll see if it's enough or not. But, as I told you, I won't give you a discount if you come back to buy more."

Sora nodded and opened one of the vials. The liquid had a sweet, almost metallic smell. He hesitated for a second before taking a sip. A gentle warmth spread through his arm, immediately soothing some of the pain.

"Not bad," he murmured, impressed by the rapid effect. "Thank you, Ideor. I'll follow your advice."

The alchemist, already back at his cauldron, didn't even bother to reply. He simply raised a hand in greeting, absorbed in his concoction.

Sora left the store and went out into the street, where the wind had picked up. The clouds were gathering, promising imminent rain. He hurried back to the Order, his thoughts turning to the next day's training. "If I'm not at my best, Jarek's going to beat me to a pulp."

Back at the Order, the mood hadn't changed. Lively conversations and the clanking of shields still echoed in the main hall. Sora went straight up to his room, ignoring the curious stares that continued to be directed his way.

He locked the door behind him and sat down on the bed, taking time to examine his arm. The potion had clearly begun to take effect: the pain was now bearable, and the blackened skin seemed slightly less taut. "Hopefully, that'll be enough for tomorrow."

Tired, he lay down on the bed. The sound of the rain, which had just begun to fall, lulled him gently to sleep. Despite his tormented thoughts, he eventually fell asleep.

...

The sun had barely risen when Sora opened his eyes. His muscles were still stiff, but his arm was feeling better. Following Ideor's advice, he took the second vial from his trouser pocket and drank it in one gulp. The pain disappeared a little further, while his skin took on an increasingly clearer color. "Thanks Ideor, at least I can move without too much trouble now." He stood up, put on his shirt and equipment, and went down to the main room.

The few mercenaries already inside slowly turned in Sora's direction as he passed them. None of them dared speak at the time, but as he moved off towards the training area outside, he heard a few murmurs about him. Obviously, they weren't going to stop talking about this event any time soon: Jarek was finally interested in a member of the Order. Sora knew that he was likely to be the talk of the town for some time to come. But on the other hand, he also knew that he was likely to be the target of some ill-intentioned or envious people.

Once outside, he spotted Jarek, his back against the outer wall of the Order, who must have been waiting for him for a few minutes already, as he heard him let out a sigh when their eyes met.

With the same casual look and mocking smile, Jarek looked Sora up and down and spoke in an almost insolent manner. "Still wearing the same clothes? Don't you want to change your outfit sometimes? And look at your face. You look like you haven't eaten in 2 weeks. Are you on a hunger strike?"

Sora rolled his eyes, exasperated by Jarek's incessant remarks. He crossed his arms and replied in a half-amused, half-aggrieved tone: "A little touch of humor to start the day? It's rather pleasant, but I thought we were supposed to be practicing."

Jarek burst out laughing, clearly pleased with his provocation. "Lighten up, kid. You might as well relax a good bit before you start drooling." He straightened up, stretching nonchalantly, then beckoned her to follow him. "Come on, then. I've reserved the training ground for you, so we can work undisturbed."

Sora followed Jarek in silence to the training area behind the Order. It was a small clearing surrounded by wooden fences, equipped with training dummies and targets for shooting. The area was empty, except for a pile of weapons near the entrance. Sora reflexively picked up a wooden sword in his right hand and noticed with surprise that the pain was less than he had imagined.

Jarek looked at him satisfied. "Well, I see you've already made a good habit of not taking a real weapon. You'd have ruined it for nothing otherwise."

Sora took a deep breath, got into position and repeated it over and over in his mind. "Don't think about failure, concentrate on the moves Emma taught you."

As he looked in Jarek's direction, Sora noticed many curious glances from the Order. On the doorstep, just under a dozen people were watching them with beady eyes full of interest and curiosity.

Jarek noticed immediately and couldn't help but remark to Sora. "Kid, if you stay focused on these people watching us, you're not going to make any progress."

Aware of this, Sora immediately got back into position and faced Jarek. "I know that, I was just wondering why they were all staring at us like that."

Jarek shrugged with a smirk. "They've got nothing better to do. Let them watch us. After all, it's not every day a mercenary like me decides to waste his time with a new kid on the block."

Sora gritted his teeth but chose not to react. He knew that responding would only feed Jarek's spikes even more. He concentrated on his breathing, released the tension in his shoulders and fixed his attention on the training.

Jarek nodded, satisfied. "Well, at least you've got enough sense to ignore distractions. Now show me what you've learned with Emma."

Sora concentrated, got into position and began a series of training moves. His strokes were precise, his transitions fluid, but he knew it wouldn't be enough to satisfy him.

Jarek watched him for a moment, arms crossed. Then, abruptly, he drew a dagger from his belt and launched a swift attack at Sora. He only caught sight of it at the last moment and could only try to dodge it. As the dagger passed by his head, a light spray of blood trickled down his cheek.

"Hmm... Not bad, you could have died if you hadn't dodged it. But you always react too slowly," said Jarek with a sneer. "In the Tower, your enemies won't give you time to think. Come on, again!"

This time, Sora prepared himself. Jarek launched another attack, faster and more unpredictable, but Sora could only dodge it at the last moment, narrowly avoiding another wound on his face. The look on his face grew more serious by the moment. Sora knew that if he hadn't avoided it, he'd be dead right now. Jarek had told him the training would be harder, but he hadn't expected to risk his life in the first 30 seconds.

"That's it! That's a bit better, but still far from satisfactory," said Jarek with a smile.

As he moved back into position, Sora noticed that in one swift movement, Jarek was already holding a wooden sword in his hands and attacked him without warning. The blade struck Sora's with controlled force, but enough to send him reeling back several steps. Taken by surprise, Sora could only roll backwards to get back on his feet.

"Nice roll, Galin, but this isn't a circus. Move your feet faster if you don't want to be knocked off balance" commented Jarek with a mocking smile on his lips as he came to a halt. "I'm sure Emma didn't teach you to be a pike in combat."

Sora gritted his teeth, sword still in hand, and immediately resumed his posture. His mind was racing, but he suppressed his frustration. He knew that Jarek was testing more than just his physical skills. The man was trying to gauge his tenacity, his ability to stay focused under pressure.

Jarek twirled the wooden sword between his fingers with exasperating ease. "Come on, kid. Show me you've got potential. If you keep acting like a flowerpot, you might as well go back to Ideor and become part of its décor."

Sora didn't bother to respond to this provocation and didn't wait another second. He leapt forward, launching a series of swift attacks. His blows were precise, but Jarek parried every move with disconcerting ease. The clang of wooden swords echoed through the clearing, attracting even more glances from the Order.

"Not bad," commented Jarek after blocking a particularly well-executed attack. "But you're revealing yourself too quickly. The position of your feet indicates perfectly where you're going to send your next blow. Right now, I'm reading you like an open book. I could dodge them all without even using my sword."

Furious but determined, Sora tightened his grip on the hilt of his weapon. He stepped back slightly, adjusting his stance as Emma had taught him. Then, instead of charging headlong, he attempted a feint, changing his trajectory at the last moment. Jarek smiled, appreciating the initiative, but blocked it effortlessly.

"Ah! Finally, some creativity!" Jarek burst out laughing as he launched a dazzling counter-attack. It crashed into Sora's torso, knocking him backwards as his sword swung away from them. Jarek pointed his blade at Sora's throat with a big smile. "You'd be dead if we'd been in a real fight, kid."

The pain in his torso seemed to reverberate throughout his body, but especially in his right arm, which was still not fully healed. The throbbing sensation of radiation prevented him from moving his arm properly.

Sora remained motionless, staring at the wooden blade pointed at his throat. He clenched his teeth to keep from grunting in pain. The weight of training, combined with his still recent injuries, was beginning to weigh heavily on his stamina.

Jarek, still with his mocking smile, slowly withdrew the sword, reaching out a hand to help Sora to his feet. "You see? That's the difference between you and me. I dominate you, not because I'm stronger, but because I know you better than you know yourself."

Sora ignored the outstretched hand and straightened up on his own, grunting slightly as he leaned on his sword. "It's easy to talk when you have years of experience."

"Exactly," replied Jarek without breaking stride. "And that's precisely why you should listen to what I'm telling you." He took a few steps back, crossing his arms. "You've got potential, kid, but if you keep going headlong like an idiot, you won't last long on this floor, so I'm not even talking about the rest of the Tower."

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