July returned home. Her mother waiting for her. A hug later, her mother gave her a long look while her father inspected them closely from behind. Stepping between her father and mother, she kept silent and her head down. Saying nothing. The message was clear.

Silence stretched between the three of them; no one said anything until her father returned to the room. July took a deep breath; it was worse than before. The tension. Her mother ushered her to sit down. Smiling and telling her about all the silly things she had seen, she wanted her to know, especially when she empathized she should wear more color; it suited her she was excited.

July agreed to everything, keepting to herself that blood was easier to conceal on black clothing, so she was certain that was something that she probably wouldn't keep. Three hugs later, she walked up to her room, got out of her clothing, took a shower, and settled on her bed in her PJs. A deep breath later, she curled together, closed her eyes, and tried to fall asleep. 

This time, she fell asleep, and it was comfortable until her mind projected darkness. With a gasp, she shot upwards. Moonlight shone inside the room through the window. She looked outside. It was almost complete. She blinked; her surroundings were shades of blue, grey, white, and no darkness. She fell back into her bed and kept on staring at the ceiling.

This was the first time she had actually slept, and what happened was that she woke up in a nightmare. Standing up, she decided to change. Dressing under the moonlight, she was standing in her room, not knowing what to do. Calling up the World Wanderer. She needed to calm her mind.

Do you wish to use World Wanderer to enter the City of Chir?

Yes/No

Yes

She stepped through the blue gate and suddenly found herself inside Chir. Here, too, it was night. The sky was filled with thousands of stars, and the moon was even brighter. it was like one could touch it. She smiled and then jumped upwards, catapulting herself on top of the rooftops, jumping further until she reached the city walls. On top of them, she sat down and stared into the desert beneath the silver light.

Maybe it was that which Gin enjoyed so much, the endless expanses of the desert. It was peaceful. Calm.

She enjoyed the sight until she decided to go back home. She called up another gate.

Do you wish to use 'World Wanderer' to go to the bathroom on River Street?

Yes/No

Yes

She took a deep breath and stepped through the gate back into her room. Settling back on her chair, she continued to look through the window outside towards the moon. It wasn't as close here, but it was comfortable nevertheless.

Morning came faster than expected. She went through her morning routine alongside her mother, who patted her head before kissing her cheek and wishing her a good day as she opened another gate into the city. Walking through the Arena Area, she walked up the stairs and greeted Gin, who was already sitting there and drinking alcohol. 

First thing in the morning?

Gin stood up and opened his arm, walking towards her; his clothes today were a light purple. His feet were not in sandals but sturdy boots. "Let us not waste time; come, my beautiful treasure." She stepped aside, letting him run into the air, chuckling behind her mask. "I have to find out how much you already are capable of and we have to practice controlling your strength. So your beautiful hands don't accidentally murder someone you desire to engage with." 

He completely ignored how she avoided him and silently followed as he marched downstairs until they were outside the city walls. "Alright, punch the sand." He said, and she raised both eyebrows, what use was that to be. "Punch the sand." He told her once again.

She raised her fist and focused before punching the sand with all her power. The sand thundered up, and there was a giant hole in the sand. "Well ... that is more than I expected," he said and whistled in admiration. "From that dune to the other, as fast as you could please, my sweet darling."

"Not your darling." She pointed out and then dug her toes into the sand and did as he said. Jumping towards the first dune. She landed on top of it and ran, speeding up faster and faster towards the other. Almost immediately, she found herself on the other side. Digging her boot into the sand, she stopped herself. Throwing back her hair, she looked turned and looked at Gin. His eyes were wide. In shock, she could see it behind even behind the covering of his face.

"Well?" 

"I am not worthy to be your teacher." He muttered, and then he took a deep breath."I have never seen anyone move with such speed before; you must have been toying with me during our fight."

"My problem is...I cannot really control it." She stated and jumped toward Gin, landing in the sand and causing a small crater to form around her landing spot. Stepping outside it. "Nor do I really know how to fight."

"I see," he said "That will be interesting. The style that probably suits you is nothing like mine. Not from what I have seen until today." and then looked up and down at her. "Your first lesson will be to finish your battle quickly. Only a fast fight is a good one. Try this."

He handed her his spear and she took it. Twirling it she weighted it. "It feels weird."

"A good weird or a bad weird? Your instincts should tell you more then I ever could."

"A bad one." She answered. "It feels wrong."

"Then scratch the spear, if you think of a weapon, does anything come to your mind that you'd imagine yoursefl comfortable with?"

She spend a moment thinking about the weapons she knew. "Right now only my fists." She told him.

"Alrigth then we stick to that until we get a chance to try them out." Gin concluded. Changing his stance leaning against his spear. "How are your elemental resistances?"

She blinked at him. "I don't have any as far as I remember."

"Has anything ever hit you, any elemental power?" He asked her, and she shrugged her shoulders.

"Not that I know of," she answered him.

"That makes more sense than I expected." He stated and then nodded. "Try doing the same with half as much strength." He ordered her and pointed to the dunes. July repeated the process from before, slower and weaker this time.

"Half as much strength, that is not half." He said louder, shouting at her over the sand. "Not if that before was full strenght. Try again." She gave him a long look before she did again.

"Half, I said half." He shouted again, shaking his head. "The strength you have comes from the skills you possess. From within you, not your muscle mass, but the magic!" He pointed at the spear and then demonstrated. Swinging it down. A long line formed in the Sand cutting apart the dune. "Full." He said. Doing the same movement again this time the dune was only half cut. "Half. Same principle. Feel it."

"And how am I to feel that?" She looked at the dune. Feel it was not a precice description, nor a helpful one.

"The same way you activate your skills, the same feeling, and then you try to simply tone it down." He said, and she guessed that made sense, somehow. With a sigh, she tried again, landing in front of Gin. "I'd say we try it somewhere else but in sand." She said, breathing harshly. At this point, she was exhausted.

"No, we go again. In the Sand. It takes more energy and I want to see how long you'll last. Until you can use half your strength correctly." he empathized. She groaned and narrowed her eyes at him. "But we are getting something to eat."

"Once you manage to be half as strong, after that, we go eat, and then you show me where we can find that dragon. We will have to see what our battlefield will be." He told her, and he cussed before going back to what she had been doing. Running along dunes and punching sand being told she did it the wrong way.