— Mira will find the ghoul. What happens next depends on her! — Kay said, walking down the hallway.

— She took less time than you did! — Slayer said.

— Mira is talented, but she thinks too much and doesn't act. Maybe meditation alone won't work for you. But if you want to try, I'll help! — Kay replied.

— What do you need to do when you find the ghoul? — Sky asked.

— Kill it, subdue it, or make a deal. Killing it for real won't work, since it regenerates, but it will give it a reason not to underestimate you. A deal will only be possible if you impose superiority over the ghoul. Maybe fighting and subduing it is the best option! — Kay said thoughtfully.

"Why do I have to listen to this guy? It irritates me!" — Fiona thought.

— I can feel your hostility. I'm just going to give you some training; you don't have to do it if you don't want to, but this is for your evolution, not for me. Your combat style is brutal, all you need is more speed and strength. If you get through this, I guarantee you'll get both! — Kay said.

Fiona turned her face away.

— You said meditation might not work. What other methods do you know? — Slayer asked.

— Slayer, Sky, Sarah, Viviane, Thais and San, your style already demands a lot of concentration. You should do well in meditation. The rest might need a more... direct approach. — Kay took the knife and made a gesture as if she was piercing something, and the recruits understood what that meant.

— It's either that or you'll have to increase your compatibility with training and combat. It takes more time, but it's still effective. There's also the option of wearing the suit and personally going to threaten the ghouls. I don't know if it will work, but it's a possibility! — Kay said.

— Never! — the girls replied.

— As a last resort. If you don't want that, then try hard to pass the other methods! — Kay said.

They reached the training room.

“Finally!” Lena said.

“Taking away my coffee will only make me more discouraged, so don’t use that threat against me!” Kay said.

“But it worked, you’re here!” Joana joked.

“I’ll be quick and to the point. You’ll spend the day meditating until you find the ghoul. If not, there’ll be another training session tomorrow!” Kay said.

“Meditate?” Ryuji exclaimed.

“That’s why I was meditating that time,” Yan said.

“Don’t think about anything. If you feel something different during meditation, focus on that. Let your instincts guide you, not your thoughts. It’s simple, but it takes time!” Kay advised.

“Do you want us to sit here all day?” Lena asked, discouraged.

“I can smell the difference in the way your clothes smell. If I notice any change, I’ll meditate with you to guide you.” If you want to do this alone, you can leave the room! — Kay said.

“No need to be rude!” — Lena replied, sitting on the floor to meditate.

“Maybe because of the smell of all the suits... can you see everyone's stats at the same time?” — Kay asked.

“Not from this room, but Fernanda's people can, from her room!” — Ryuji replied.

“Then keep an eye on it, Fernanda!” — Kay said. “I don't want to stay here for long, so get started!” — Kay said, going to the corner of the room.

“Do you believe this?” — Ryuji asked, sitting next to Lena.

“I don't know, but he wouldn't want to keep watching us for nothing!” — Lena said.

“And leave space between you, both on the sides and in front!” — Kay said.

“Will this really work?” — the veterans thought, sitting on the floor.

“Whether you want to believe me or not is up to you!” Ask Fernanda to evaluate Sarah's outfit, and you'll see what a difference it makes! — Kay said, crossing the room towards Sarah.

She had already started meditating with the other recruits.

“What's wrong?” Raven asked, watching in confusion.

The recruits looked on curiously.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“What impressive concentration!” Kay said, sitting in front of Sarah.

He held her hands and closed his eyes, concentrating.

“How interesting... it's really bright here!” Kay said.

“Kay? Why are you in my mind?” Sarah exclaimed.

“We were connected through the ghoul. You're going in the wrong direction; he's over there!” Kay said, pointing in another direction.

Sarah walked to where Kay pointed.

“Thank you!” Sarah said.

“You got into that state really fast, amazing!” Kay said.

“It's just that we pray and meditate every day,” Sarah said.

“So being a devotee helped!” Kay commented.

— I'm not a nun, I'm a devotee, but not a nun! — Sarah corrected.

— I see. Just go straight through here. Good luck! — Kay said, before disappearing.

Outside, Kay took Sarah's hands again and gently placed them on her legs.

"Maybe I'll reach enlightenment today, from all the times I'll meditate!" — Kay thought, standing up.

— That's how it works — Kay said, returning to the wall.

Fernanda came running, visibly agitated. Soon after, Mira appeared.

“What’s wrong?” Kay asked, surprised.

“Look at this,” Fernanda said, showing the tablet.

“These are the stats of the suit since she started using it. There was a fluctuation and then it went up 10%. That’s good, so why are you nervous?” Kay asked.

“That’s a 10% increase in a single day! This training is revolutionary for soldiers; we need to share it! It can drastically reduce deaths against ghouls!” Fernanda said, excited.

“I have one condition: by tomorrow, I want my weapons and my suit as I requested!” Kay said.

“It will be done!” Fernanda replied promptly.

“Welcome back!” Kay said, turning to Mira.

“It was scary to be face to face with a ghoul that size... There was no conversation, he just knelt down and I ended up coming back. That means he’s going to help me, right? That’s what I understood!” — said Mira, still a little scared.

— Yes! Good job! — said Kay, smiling and petting her.

— But I feel a little tired... — commented Mira.

— It's normal. You'll recover soon — said Kay.

— If this is how you feel every day, it's a bad feeling! — commented Mira.

Kay held her tightly.

— You can rest, I'll stay here with you — said Kay.

— Sorry... — murmured Mira, before falling asleep.

Kay gently laid her down on the mat.

— Even if the ghoul surrendered, that doesn't guarantee it's true. Keep an eye on the soldiers while they're sleeping in their suits! — said Kay to Fernanda.

— Okay! I'll call my team and the mechanics to help! — replied Fernanda, leaving the room.

— After Mira, it was Sarah. The training went on for hours, and with each attempt, Kay maintained his focus to guide the recruits to confront their inner ghouls. As time passed, the exhaustion became evident — the mental and physical effort began to weigh on him.

Fernanda watched with a mixture of concern and admiration as Kay continued with the training, tireless. Many hours had already passed, and the fatigue was evident on his face, but he insisted on continuing.

"You look a little pale! Don't you want to rest?" Fernanda suggested, trying to convince him to take a break.

"Just a little longer," he replied, with a tired smile. "Enlightenment is coming!"

Without hesitation, Kay picked up the knife once more and went to a veteran who was entering a deep state of concentration. With a careful movement, he made a small hole in his suit and then sat down in front of him, holding the soldier's hands. He closed his eyes and concentrated, once again immersing himself in meditation, determined to help each recruit until the end. Fernanda, worried, could only watch as Kay sacrificed her own rest for everyone's progress.

"We have a problem!" said one of the scientists.

"What?" exclaimed Fernanda.

The scientist handed her a cell phone.

“Is it live?” Fernanda exclaimed, with a worried tone.

“Yes, it’s the security camera!” the scientist replied.

“Damn it! Why now? Tell them that the soldiers are on a mission. Tell them to return home, since we’re not going to open the base without the captain’s orders!” Fernanda said urgently.

“Right!” the scientist confirmed quickly.

“Are they here because of the news about the medal?” Fernanda thought, turning her face to the soldiers.

Kay was lying down.

“Take him carefully so as not to disturb the others!” Fernanda ordered.

The mechanics picked Kay up and placed him near the sleeping soldiers.

“I told you not to push too hard!” Fernanda said, visibly worried.

The scene changed.

“I’ve reached enlightenment! I can already see an angel!” Kay said, her vision still blurry.

— Stop being silly! Are you okay now? You worry too much when it comes to training! — Mira exclaimed.

— If it weren't for that ghoul smell on your suit, I'd sleep right here on your lap! — Kay said, snuggling in.

— Stop being ungrateful! I rested your head on my lap so you wouldn't be on the floor and this is how you thank me? — Mira exclaimed, with a mix of exasperation and affection.

— Sorry, thank you, Mira! — Kay said, still snuggled in.

— Okay, but you can get up now, right? — Mira insisted.

— My vision is still blurry. Give me some time to get back to normal! — Kay replied, closing her eyes again.

— You're lying, right? — Mira exclaimed, suspicious.

— It's true, it really is blurry! — Kay said, trying to justify herself.

— That's why... — Mira began, but was interrupted.

— You have a visitor! — Joana announced.

— Get out of here! — Kay replied, irritated.

— What's up? — Mira exclaimed, surprised.

— I'll leave you two alone! — Joana said, leaving.

— Well, I came here... — the prince began.

— It doesn't matter, get out of here! — Kay said, visibly irritated.

— What did you say? — the prince exclaimed, forcing a friendly smile.

— Bon voyage, sayonara, bye-bye, get lost, alligator, shoo... — Kay said, walking away.

— That's enough, Kay! — Mira said, irritated.

She stood up abruptly, causing Kay to hit her head on the floor.

— What was that? — Kay exclaimed, confused.

— What's gotten into you? — Mira exclaimed. — Let's talk somewhere else!

— Okay! — the prince replied, agreeing.

They left, leaving Kay there.

"And what happened to me?" Kay thought, frustrated. "My vision is still blurry, that wasn't a lie, but it's not like I can't move around this base."

A few seconds later.

"Why are you here alone?" Emilia exclaimed.

"Just hanging out and resting! You came earlier than I thought!" Kay said.

"I wanted to finish listening to your stories!" Emilia said, approaching him.

"Is this your first time at this base?" Kay asked.

"Can you tell? I don't have many opportunities to leave the house, and I came straight to visit a military base... it's liberating!" Emilia replied, with a radiant smile.

"Your joy is almost contagious. It's obvious that you look like that tourist visiting places he's never been!" Kay said, laughing.

"Don't make fun of me!" Emilia said, with an expression of discontent.

"I'm not here! Do you want to train?" — Kay asked, interested.

“I want it!” Emília replied, excited.

Kay handed him the little plastic knife she had.