Master Jean

The old man led Yuri to an open field. The field was currently filled with youth being instructed by the adults around them. Each of these youths were younger than she was by several years, but she could feel that were all close to obtaining the epic stage. She could not help but shudder as she saw this. If the Yufai had been an enemy. than perhaps the light would have fallen a long time ago.

The man nodded as he observed Yuri's reactions. It was normal to feel fear when faced with the undeniable truth of how weak you were. However, he only sensed a momentary waver which was quickly replaced by a grim determination.

Yuri turned to the man again. This time she spoke with absolute sincerity, if not a little reverence.

"Please guide me Elder. I may be of a different race, but I have absolute respect for the Yufai."

The man laughed. "It is without a doubt that you did a great service for our clan, but to become a disciple of the Yufai... Your achievements are not enough. First let me test you, and if I determine you have the talent, perhaps I will allow you to earn your chance."

Yuri could not hide the dejected feeling from the master before her. Despite this, she gathered up her courage and drew her pistol.

"Then let us begin."

The man shook his head.

"I cannot guide you with a firearm. The Yufai do not believe in the usage of such weaponry. Even if we did, I can sense that you have already learned from a great master in this regard. Draw your blade. The large one on your back, not the shorts word ability. Large weapons such as these are these are my specialty."

Yuri nodded as she drew her greatsword. Without the injection of her summoned short sword the weapon was little more than a shell, but as this was not a match to the death it would more than suffice.

The man smiled and shook his head

as he looked at Yuri's drawn weapon.

"A sword of arcane brilliance. A perfect weapon for your skill set. It's a shame that you have not recieved any formalized training with this weapon. Your stance leaves you full of openings, and even your grip on the blade is wrong. At this rate, even the youngest of the trainees would beat you within seconds. "

"Why you have chosen to focus so much on the pistol is beyond me. Your talents, your true talents that are bound to your soul are much more suited for this type of weapon."

The man sighed as he look at Yuri. "I cannot allow any person who has recieved guidance from me to be this bad. It would be a disgrace to not only me, but the entire Yufai race."

The man seemed to stare off into space for a moment before looking at Valentine beside me. "Valentine arrange for lodging for our guest. She will need to go through thorough training."

The old man looked at at Yuri.

"If you have any immediate plans cancel them. For the next two years you will stay here. You will need to contribute to the clan, and if you have any more of those mushrooms hand them over. We will be able to plant them to create a new food source for the sacred tortoise."

Yuri looked at the man for a moment before nodding. It was true that she needed to find her friends, but it had already been five years, waiting for another two would be fine. She had no clue as to where they were, and more importantly, she had no direction for her own growth.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that the path she had been on was not for her. She had attempted to be a mage, only to find that it had all been influenced by an evil entity. Ahe had been guided towards archery, or rather firearms by the influence of her mother and her past life. But this seemed like something that was thrust on her. A forcefull development.

Before she had become an elite she had focused heavily on agility. Being fast had advantages that could not be given up. She had focused least on strength, as it had little to no effect on her development. Intelligence was important as she had been a spell caster, and it continued to be important as it was the main source of damage for two of her abilities.

After she had become an elite, she realized how important it was to have a good foundation. Her foundation had been weak. Even if her stats had been much higher than her peers previously, when they had been reset in the tower she had realized how far behind she actually was. Because of that she had decided to focus on a balanced build up from that point on.

Each of her core stats were rated at a C, with her intelligence being the only exception at a B-. If there were no hiccups along the way, then she would continue to develop at this average pace. This would slow down her growth, but lead to a very strong foundation. She would not be specialized, which suited her at the time as she pursued multiple paths.

Yuri shook her head. None of this mattered. From tomorrow on she would be a student of the old man before her. This master would guide her in the direction of growth that most suited her. The man's sharp observations had shown that he knew what he was doing, and his actions showed that he wanted her to develop in the right direction.

Yuri looked at the old man and bowed. She did not due the warriors solute like last time, but did a formal bow, as a student would do to their teacher.

"And How should I address you Master?"

The old man let out a gentle laugh as he stroked his beard.

"Master eh? I haven't been called that in a long time. My name is Jean Franciso The 3rd. You call me whatever you wish."

Yuri looked at the man in front of her, before doing a mixture of the warrior's solute and the bow. "I am ready for your instruction master."