Shin awoke the next morning to the sound of pages turning. He found his master, sitting cross-legged on the floor of his shack, engrossed in a tome. Her eyes were a vivid shade of red, reflecting the soft glow of the candle that flickered next to her. Her black hair in contrast to her elegant suit.

"Fabled Cosmos,what a bag of shit," she grunted, slamming the book shut with a thud that echoed through the small space. She looked up, noticing shin "Oh! finally awake my child."

Shin sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The encounter with Yuki and Kale left him restless through the night. "Master," he began, his voice tentative. "Yesterday, you didn't answer my call during the fight. Why?"

Master looked at him, her expression unreadable. "My connection your wave is a fickle thing," she said, her eyes flickering with an unspoken intensity. "With only 1.5%, it's a miracle we can communicate for so many hours each day."

Shin felt a pang of frustration, but he knew better than to argue with her. "But, then why did you choose me?"

Master sighed, a rare sign of weariness. "You have something that I need" she said, her eyes searching his face. " For now, knowing more will only hinder your focus."

Shin felt a spark of curiosity, but quickly extinguished it. He knew that his master had her reasons, and that he was in no position to question her.

Master's expression grew serious as she studied him. "I know what transpired last night," she said, her crimson eyes piercing through the dim light of the shack. "How did you find yourself in combat against one of your own kind for the first time?"

Shin recalled the fight, the way his heart had raced as he faced off against Kale. He had felt the power of the Fable and all the styles absorbed from the undead knighs, the way his sword had responded to his will. "I was able to compete with someone who has trained his whole life"

Master nodded, her gaze unwavering. "But you did not win," she said, her voice as sharp as a knife. "You was scared to kill him right?"

Shin swallowed hard, unable to meet her eyes. He knew she could see right through him. "I couldn't risk using mirror and killing him, his family is powerful and they would make things difficult for me once I entered the academy"

Master's expression grew stern. "Weak," she spat. "The strong do not fear the retribution of the weak." She stood, pacing the small room. "You must understand, Shin, that fear is the currency of the weak. The strong do not seek to avoid humiliation; they seek to eliminate it."

"What makes you think they'll leave you alone now that you've beaten the shit out of them?

Shin felt the weight of her words press down on him, a heavy burden that seemed to suck the air from the room.

"Master, I understand," he murmured, his eyes cast down. "It won't happen again."

Master's gaze softened, just a fraction, and she leaned in close. "I know," she said, her voice a gentle murmur.

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Even though the words had not been spoken, she knew the turmoil that churned within him. "But you must learn to use mercy only when you can benefit from it," she whispered, her breath warm against his ear."

Shin looked up, his eyes meeting hers. "What do you mean?"

Master's gaze was sharp, cutting through the shadows like a sword. "What do you think of that girl?" she clarified. "The one who uses his wave to create a thunder"

Shin thought back to the fiery battle, the way her hair had fluttered in the wind, the power crackling in the air around her. "She's strong," he said, his voice filled with a newfound respect. "Her thunder strike is like nothing I've ever seen before."

Master nodded, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "Indeed.... You must become her friend, Shin."

Shin's eyes widened in surprise. "Why would she ever be my friend?"

Master leaned back, a knowing smile playing across her lips. "we'll see, now we have a more important task at hand my child, There are three weeks left until the test, I want you to reach perfect mastery of trace and mirror before that."

Shin nodded, the reality of the situation sinking in. "How many undead knights must I defeat to master these abilities?"

Master chuckled, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "One million," she said, her voice a playful rumble.

Shin stared at her, his mouth agape. "That's impossible!" he exclaimed.

Master's smile grew wider, a twinkle in her crimson eyes. "Oh, but it isn't," she said, her voice a purr. "I have a way to accelerate the process."

The same day, Shin and his master ventured into the forest that lay over the outskirts of the city. It was a place of whispers and shadows, where the trees grew tall and twisted, as if they bore the weight of the world's grief.

Master's eyes shimmered as she began the training. "Use trace" she instructed, her voice a gentle whisper that seemed to resonate through the very air.

Shin focused his energy, feeling the power of Devota waves and styles, he had absorbed from the undead knight’s flood into his veins.

Master watched him intently, her eyes glowing with an inner light that seemed to pierce through the shadows. "Remember, child," she said, her voice like a melody in the stillness of the night, "The more of the same kind you vanquish, the less effective trace will be. You must become kill a lot to combinate and create a perfect style from a species, human included."

Shin took a deep breath. He nodded, understanding that his path to master his master second fable would not be an easy one. "I will do my best," he murmured, his voice filled with determination.

Master's smile grew more intense. "Good," she said, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "Now, I will summon more knights. I want you to alternate between using trace and mirror, so get seriously hurt and use the two fables synergistically to kill knights far more easily.

Shin's heart raced as he felt the first wave of the undead knights approaching. He could hear the clank of their armor, the rustling of the leaves beneath their heavy footsteps. He knew he had to be swift and precise; a single misstep could mean his end. He took a deep breath, focusing on the instructions his master had given him. He watched as the first knight emerged from the shadows, sword raised, eyes gleaming with a malevolent light.

With a fierce cry, Shin leaped into the fray. His blade flashed, a silver arc slicing through the darkness. He felt the surge of power as he switched between mirror and trace, the waves of his fables pulsing through his body. Each blow he landed reflected back at his foes, the knights staggering as their own strength was turned against them. He danced among them, his movements fluid and deadly, limbs flew and regenerated at a rapid pace.

But with each victory, he grew weaker. The relentless barrage of the undead knights took its toll. His breath grew ragged, his strokes less precise. The world spun around him, a blur of steel and shadow. He felt his legs buckle, his arms heavy with fatigue. He had never pushed his body to such limits before, and the pain was almost unbearable.

Master's voice echoed in his mind, a beacon of cold, hard reality. "Merge the fables," she had told him. "Use mirror to deflect, and trace to strike." He focused, gathering the last dregs of his energy.

The first wave of knights lay in a twisted heap before him, their armor tarnished and lifeless. His body ached, his breaths shallow and uneven.

Master's crimson eyes bore into him, her voice unyielding. "You cannot leave this forest until you have slain one million undead," she said, her words a declaration of war against his very soul. "I have created a barrier around the forest, so no one will be able to leave or enter until the last of the knights has fallen.

With a wave of her hand, the forest grew denser, the shadows deeper. A second wave of knights emerged, these ones an exact copy of the first he had fought. Their numbers seemed endless; their swords hungry for his blood.

Shin felt a cold dread wash over him as the reality of the situation sunk in. He couldn't leave this place, not until he had killed one million of these monsters. The forest had become his prison, a cage of steel and shadow. His eyes searched the horizon, seeking any glimpse of escape, but all he saw was the unending tide of his foes.

"So did you mean this by "speed up the process huh?"