The clearing still echoed with the endless roar of the waterfall; silver water crashed down from the cliffside and exploded into white foam upon the lake below. Green leaves drifted lazily through that air, occasionally carried by the gentle wind before settling upon the soil around them...

In the center of the clearing, three miserable figures stood before the silver-haired Assassin...

Veyrath looked like a man who has just survived multiple assassination attempts...

Caelestra appeared visually exhausted...

And Sylveris was still glancing nervously over her shoulder every few seconds like a man suffering from paranoia...

The reason for their states was simple; for the better part of half an hour, Aureleah had been appearing out of nowhere and pressing a Dagger against one of their throats.

Despite knowing about the failed Assassin’s Essence Runes, none of them had figured out a way to counter it simply because those moves were just to insidious...

In fact, it was a miracle that none of them had developed heart problems from a training that gave them so much anxiety.

Now, however, the silver-haired Assassin has finally decided to move on from teaching them about anticipation.

The trio stood attentively as Aureleah faced them. Her silver eyes swept across their faces before she began speaking in her usual calm voice.

"Actually, you guys performed woefully in the previous segment, but I won’t judge you critically became I’m sure that this is likely your first time receiving any form of training at all."

The trio looked downcast at her words but the failed Assassin didn’t care as she continued speaking.

"Since I can’t spend all day just teaching you how to anticipate attacks, I would have to move on to the next segment. Hopefully, with enough practice, you would get it... Now, in a fight, simply anticipating an enemy’s attacks alone would not save your lives..."

Hearing this, the three immediately straightened themselves as they paid attention to her words.

"If all you learn is how to predict your opponent’s next actions, then you have only solved half the problem..."

Aureleah slowly paced before them as she explained further.

"You see, you may know that an attack is coming, you may know where it is aimed, and if you are good enough, you may even know exactly how it will unfold. But if you don’t know how to respond, then the battle is lost."

At that, the trio exchanged slight glances amongst themselves...

Aureleah stopped her pacing and faced them before speaking further.

"In a fight, there are two things you must learn; anticipation and response. Now, you may be wondering why I spent so much time teaching you about anticipation before teaching you how to fight... Actually, the answer is quite simple."

Then she pointed at herself.

"In combat, the first responsibility is yourself. Before defeating an enemy, you must first survive them; defense comes before offense, survival comes before victory, and most importantly, survival begins with understanding what your enemy intends to do."

There was a brief silence, which was filled with the rushing waterfall. Then, Aureleah continued.

"Knowing your enemy’s next move is the first rule of combat..."

She then raised a finger. "The second rule is knowing the correct response to that move."

Like a military instructor, the silver-haired Assassin placed both hands behind her back before speaking once more.

"There are three fundamental instincts that emerge during battle..." She pointed that raised finger toward the trio. "The first instinct is called the Flight Response..."

Caelestra immediately rolled her eyes. "Why does that sounds so much like Veyrath’s specialty?"

That question immediately broke the failed Alchemist’s attention as he glared at the failed Merchant.

"And what do you mean by that?" He asked with narrowed eyes. Then, he placed a hand on his chest and remarked. "I would have you know that I am a human, not a bird. So how can even fly?"

Caelestra looked at he failed Alchemist oddly and pondered. Just what hit the failed Alchemist on his head when he was a baby that he ended up like this?

Meanwhile, Aureleah ignored their banter as she continued.

"Listen. Now, most people associate retreat with cowardice; they see it as a disgrace or shame upon their prestige, but they are wrong."

Her voice took a firmer tone as she continued. "In battle, there is no honor in dying pointlessly. As an assassin, I was taught that if victory is impossible, then retreat becomes wisdom. For instance, when we fought those five monstrosities yesterday, would retreat have been disgraceful if we couldn’t defeat them?"

Hearing her question, the trio thought hard before shaking their heads.

Aureleah nodded.

"You are right. You see, we fought against those creatures as Awakeners. The enemies were Rank One Animas which makes them overwhelmingly stronger than us. If we couldn’t bring them down, then survival would have been the correct priority."

Veyrath then raised a hand and asked. "What about those Wights? I mean, they weren’t individually powerful but there were hundreds of them. Against such overwhelming numbers, would retreat still be acceptable?"

Aureleah nodded immediately.

"Yes, it is. You see, numbers are a form of strength. For instance, a single wolf is manage, but a hundred wolves? Now that becomes a disaster. In other words, even weak opponents become deadly when they can overwhelm you... However, there comes a point when numbers stop mattering in combat."

The trio leaned forward slightly as Veyrath blinked.

"What do you mean?"

Aureleah’s reply was calm and measured.

"Imagine ten Final Stage Rank One Etheryeans fighting against a single Initial Stage Rank Three Etheryean, who do you think would win?"

Caelestra answered immediately. "Of course, the Rank Three Etheryean would win. I mean, isn’t that common sense."

Aureleah nodded slightly.

"You are right. The gap between their cultivation realms is too large. Rank One focuses on body refinement, while Rank Three begins storing and projecting Aether beyond the body. At this stage, the difference in realms cannot be breached with numbers alone... However, Soul Essence tiers can complicate matters but that is a discussion for another day."

The trio nodded...

"So after the Flight Response, what is the second one, sister?" Sylveris asked.

Aureleah raised a second finger and replied. "The second instinct is the Fight Response. This occurs only when victory seems possible. You know, when your opponent is within your level of strength and when retreat is unnecessary."

Then her silver eyes sharpened as she spoke further.

"This is where courage becomes valuable, where skill matters, and where real killers are born."

The wind stirred the hem of her Cloak slightly as she continued.

"For example, if an Initial Stage Rank One Etheryean encounters another Initial Stage Rank One, fleeing would be unnecessary. At this point, victory depends upon preparation, skill, experience, and determination."

Veyrath scratched the back of his neck. "So basically, in a nutshell, we are to fight when we can win or when we’re sure that victory is possible, right?"

Aureleah nodded, then raised a third finger. "The final instinct is called the Fright Response."

Instantly, the trio became confused.

"Sister, do you mean fear?" The young girl looked genuinely lost as she asked. "But how is fear useful in battle?"

A corner of Aureleah’s lips almost quirk as she replied solemnly. "Do not underestimate that feeling."

Then her expression became distant as she continued. "Most people view fear as a weakness, but I do not..."

Caelestra tilted her head and asked curiously. "And why is that?"

The silver-haired Assassin was silent for several moments. Then suddenly, she asked.

"Tell me, what do you think humans fear the most?"

Caelestra was taken aback. She was expecting that question but she still tried to answer.

"In my opinion, I would say disappointment."

Veyrath immediately raised his hand and replied. "I would say a failed concoction. Most alchemist fear that..."

Sylveris thought hard before replying. "Is it the dark? I mean, most children fear darkness."

Aureleah’s gaze remained steady as she shook her head.

"Disappointment, failure, darkness; those are some of the things humans fear. But what most, if not all humans actually fear... Is death."

There was silence for a few seconds before she continued.

"The fear of death is woven into our existence. It governs countless decisions, it shapes behavior, it creates hesitation, and in few cases, it inspires courage. When I trained as an assassin, fear followed me everywhere..."

She paused briefly before continuing with melancholy.

"I feared failure, I feared mistakes, I feared stronger opponents, but most of all, I feared death... But eventually, I learned something critical..."

Her voice remained calm as she spoke further.

"I learned that fear wasn’t my enemy, instead it was my fuel... If I failed, I died; if I lost, I died; if I hesitated, I died. So instead of fearing failure and death, I allowed that fear to push me forward."

Her silver eyes glinted coldly as she continued.

"Fear becomes weakness only when it controls you. However, fear becomes strength the moment you control it."

Those words settled heavily upon the three as they were lost in contemplation.

Then Aureleah said quietly. "Listen carefully, if fear drives you to improve, if it pushes you to survive, if it motivates you... Then fear is not fear anymore because at that point, it becomes determination."

She paused briefly, letting her words hang in the air...

"However, the moment fear convinces you that defeat is inevitable, the moment you allow it to chain your spirit, the moment it destroys your will to struggle... Then it is ceases to be caution. Instead, it becomes surrender and in a way, that is even more dangerous."

The roar of the waterfall continued endlessly as Aureleah paused to wet her lips slightly...

"Fortunately, you don’t need lessons about fear." She concluded, pointing around...

The trio immediately understood what she meant. The Nether Lands alone had already provided enough lessons on fear for them...

"All these things I told you about is what brings us to today’s lesson which is the art of killing..."

Instantly, the atmosphere became more serious as even the waterfall seemed quieter somehow.

"Regaleon already explained the difference between fighting and killing. You should know that fighting is a competition, while killing is survival itself..."

Her voice took a steely edge as she continued. "To survive in the Nether Lands, there is only one possibility; you kill, or be killed..."

Then, after saying that, she began pacing once more.

"Killing is called an art because there are countless ways to express it. Some kill with precision, others do it with brutality; some does it with patience, others do it through overwhelming force..."

She then pointed at herself...

"As an assassin, we were trained to use daggers because we rely on ambush, stealth, and sabotage to bring down an opponent. Meanwhile, a knight uses sword, or spear, or mace to tackle their opponents directly. In other words, the kind of weapon you use during combat determines how you kill..."

She licked her lips slightly before continuing. "And that is why Regaleon said that you can’t learn how to kill if you don’t even know how to properly wield a weapon."

Veyrath immediately pointed at himself. "Aureleah, but i don’t even have a weapon as a Soul Essence. So how do you expect me to wield one?"

Aureleah smiled faintly...

"That is what I will teach you next..."