The thought only remained for a moment though. As a martial artist, he treasured his body. Even though it became in such a state, this arm, while ugly and creepy, was still perfectly functional. It would be an insult to all those who lacked a limb to truly go through with this idea. As he discarded such thoughts, he turned back his attention towards what mattered. He looked at the giant statue and gazed at the surrounding space before he asked: "How do you plan to help me train?"

Sarina, to be honest, hadn't thought this far. To be fair, she gambled twice to reach this far and didn't have the time to truly think of a training regimen for her new student. That being said, as an expert, she was more than aware of what she could do to help him. She simply said: "We will spar and you are forbidden from using anything but that arm and the corruption"

Jin looked at her with an inquisitory gaze. She had the body of a giant stone statue. They did spar inside their soul seas but there she had her 'real' body. Fighting against a giant stone statue? He was having difficulties picturing himself doing so. That was because the opponents he would face had been around his size when he saw them back in the grand hall. If he began to learn to fight while against a giant, wouldn't it be detrimental instead?

Feeling his gaze, she chuckled and teased him: "Did you think you would fight this stone statue? Here, this is what you'll fight"

She waved her stony hand and an avatar of herself appeared between them. It was a perfect representation of her appearance but colors included this time compared to the giant stone statue. It was also life-sized. But it didn't move. He curiously looked at it, wondering how this was possible and what she did exactly. Even as he looked through his secret eye technique, he was unable to make sense of most things he saw.

She didn't mind sharing the answer though and told him: "This is just another way to use your will. You are still far from that realm so don't bother for now. It's would not be usable in battles at your level either. This needs a lot of concentration to pull off and use efficiently"

Jin didn't think he would be unable to use it but she was the expert. If she decided not to teach him, fine. He would learn what she agreed to teach him. She probably knew better than him which would be the most efficient techniques to learn in the limited time they were given. At the very least, he acknowledged and trusted in her expertise on the domain. She was stronger and smarter than he was with a lot more knowledge. He would do as she said since that was the best way he would grow stronger.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Sarina sat herself, the stone giant form, down in a meditating position. She explained that even she needed to remain focused on the second body in order to truly use it correctly. A moments later, the body began to move and stretched itself. If it had been a real body, cracking sounds of bones would have likely been hurt yet, right now, there were none. It made for a strange sight that made Jin recall the old movies that were without sounds from his past life.

Well, until she spoke: "Been a while since I used this. You better be ready"

Jin nodded but before they began, he asked her: "If you could make such a second body, why didn't you use it to leave this place?"

She sighed as she explained: "It has to be close to the main body to be used and requires a lot of power to sustain. Even if it got me out, the consumption in energy would kill me in less than an hour. Only thanks to this stone golem I am trapped in can I siphon enough energy for it"

Jin frowned and asked further: "Won't that create problems?"

The avatar shook its head sideways and opened its mouth: "No, it won't. Not to me and not to you at least and, isn't that what matters?"

Jin nodded.

Sarina didn't want to waste any more time. She told Jin to take a stance and then, she rushed forward as an avatar. From there, they fought. Again and again. With Jin never ever winning obviously. Whenever he got tired, he would be forced to rest since this was no longer inside his soul sea. But little by little, he learnt how to make use of the corruption in his arm.

And the years went by.

Until there was but one left to the hourglass countdown. Jin and Sarina kept training throughout all those years and she was rather pleased with his improvements. He might have become even stronger with corruption than the corrupted being had been back then. Was it because he had incredible talent in martial arts? Or maybe due to his rich experience? Could it be due to her incredible teaching ability? That last one was quite likely, at least to her. Regardless, she was very much pleased with his evolution.

As she was getting ready to continue the battle, he stopped her and said: "Since there's only one year left, could you teach me something else?"

Sarina pondered before she replied: "You did make a lot of improvements but you shouldn't be too greedy, you have yet to truly master these new abilities you earned"

Jin shook his head sideways and said: "Even if I keep sparring with you, I don't think I would learn that much more. I feel like I have reached a limit with this"

Sarina rebuked him: "I disagree"

Jin pleaded: "Just hear me out, ok?"

She agreed with a slightly faked aggrieved expression. After spending many years alone with one another, they didn't develop romantic feelings but certainly became closer. They were no longer treating each other as strangers and many barriers they erected against the other were long gone. They were capable of talking as equals and joke around leisurely.This was also one of the reasons why Jin dared to ask for a favor.