I was meditating.
My first goal was clear — I had to unlock my inner aura. My legs were healed, but Steven said they still needed more rest. Starting combat training now would be too early.
So I decided to give my legs one more week of rest.
More than three weeks had already passed. Every day, I meditated for hours without stopping.
Then one day… I felt something inside me.
An aura.
When I opened my eyes and looked at Steven, I could see his aura too.
He looked at me and said, "Your inner aura has been unlocked."
Hearing that made my heart feel lighter.
He continued, "The more you use it, the stronger it will become. But if you overuse it, you may become weak in the middle of a battle."
I understood what he meant.
After that, I practiced more to make my aura stronger.
Whenever I trained, Steven took care of my little sister.
One more week passed like this.
Then Steven came to me and said, "You are ready for combat training now."
I quickly wore my clothes and went outside.
As I bent down slightly to greet him as my master—
He suddenly kicked me hard.
My whole body shook.
Before I could say anything, he cut me off.
"When you stand in front of an opponent, they won't give you time to think. And here you are greeting me."
When I heard that, I replied calmly, "Alright. From now on, you are my opponent."
I released my inner aura through my whole body to increase my defense and reduce the pain.
Without wasting time, I attacked him.
But I quickly realized how much stronger he was than me.
Still, I didn't give up.
He punched me hard and sent me flying.
This time, I focused my aura more into my hands and legs.
My speed increased slightly.
Steven thought I had only focused on my legs.
But I had split my aura into both my hands and legs.
I moved forward quickly, dodged his right kick, and landed a strong punch on him.
For one second, he looked surprised.
Then he started laughing.
"You really are a blessed child," he said. "At five years old, you already learned how to split your aura."
For a moment, I felt confused seeing him laugh.
But before I could think much, he stopped the fight.
"That's enough for today."
Right after that, I fell to the ground.
I had used too much aura.
Steven carried me on his back.
On the way, he said, "You don't understand how big this is. Learning to split aura at your age is rare."
Hearing that made me happy.
But that happiness didn't last long.
Because I knew… I still had a long way to go.
After washing my hands and legs, I went to see my little sister.
She was sleeping peacefully.
She looked so small… so innocent.
She woke up and touched my cheeks with her tiny hands.
She is only one year old.
I started playing with her for a while.
Later, Steven called us for dinner.
While we were eating, he suddenly asked, "What is your sister's name? I never asked."
I looked at her and said, "Her name is Rim."
Steven nodded.
"For the next three months, you will train in combat with me. After that, I will teach you more about your aura."
Hearing that made me more determined.
I am getting closer to my goal.