"Then I'll count down from three to one and say 'fight'. At that moment, the sparring begins. All right. Three, two, one. Fight!"

I immediately brush away his left hand, which he has held further forward, with my left hand. I use the space I have created with my movement by clenching my right hand into a fist, pretending to bury it in his side. If I didn't hold back or could use my magic, this would probably be one of the quicker and easier ways to end this fight. But as it is, he is still a man who is considerably taller than I am and has significantly more strength. Not that it will do him any good. Because while he reacts to my punch and tries to block it, I sweep his front leg away with my right leg, causing him to lose his balance. He may have more weight than I do, but with the proper technique and my speed and strength, which I have gained from training within the Organization even without magic, it's easy for me to take him by surprise. Yize is barely able to prevent himself from falling to the ground immediately. An achievement many others wouldn’t be able to accomplish. But I follow up before he can regain his composure by moving in on him and pushing him to my right side with my arms. Unable to maintain his balance, he falls to the ground, and I let myself fall on top of him so that my left hand comes to rest on his larynx. As expected, the whole thing took just two seconds, maybe even a little less. By far the most challenging part was restraining myself from seriously injuring or killing him. After all, I had never fought anyone without killing them. Showing mercy meant nothing in the Organization except your own demise.

I stand up again and look around, as it has become so quiet that even without my heightened senses, I could hear the breath of everyone present. Absolute silence, which I wish would last a little longer. So many eyes stare at me, unable to believe what they have just seen. Disbelief that my previous seemingly arrogant statements are simply the truth. 

A few more moments pass, and then Yize seems to have regained his composure. He picks himself up and brushes the dust off his clothes before turning to the boys and girls.

"Ahem, as you have seen, Tsibi is an excellent fighter, whom even I am no match for. Just as I told you. Although I would have liked to have held out a little longer so that you could admire her expertise a little longer. But perhaps it is better this way. How else could she have made the difference between us so clear? Now, does anyone have any objections to Tsibi leading the training today?"

I'm already expecting someone to shout that the training fight with Yize only turned out that way because I'm not a pure human being and therefore have better reflexes. Not that such people would notice that I am also smaller in stature than humans and therefore naturally have less physical strength without rigid training.

However, to my surprise, no one complains. It takes a few more seconds, but they all seem to accept the situation. And that even though their master, whom they probably considered the pinnacle and goal of their martial arts until just a moment ago, looked like an absolute beginner.

"Good! Then you can start training anytime, however you want, Tsibi. And I'll make sure it's not getting too hard for everyone," Yize says, stepping back.

This whole situation is just absurd. Well, be that as it may, I can't change anything and should just play my part. After all, I have enough experience in that.

"Ten laps around the square to warm up!" I call out.

The group immediately starts moving, even though I can hear a few whispered words here and there.

"Ten laps? We don't usually do more than three to five."

"Didn't you hear the master say he'd make sure the training wasn't too much for us?"

"I don't even want to imagine what kind of training Tsibi went through if the master says something like that."

"You don't want to imagine? Aren't we here to improve ourselves?"

"Exactly! If even the master can learn from her, we should be even more excited that we can learn from her!"

"Besides, she knows what she's doing. After all, she can defeat the master with ease."

Apparently, some of them seem to have a little more ambition than the others. A good trait for learning to fight, as long as it's used correctly. Even if their conclusion is a little hasty. When and where did I ever learn how to teach someone something? 

Well, they'll soon realize what kind of hell they've gotten themselves into. I watch the girls and boys doing their laps, and at least they all have a certain basic level of endurance and speed when running. Even if that wouldn't be enough to survive the race to the assembly room in the Organization, unless you were comparing them to fresh recruits. Even if they are among the elite of their age here, only two or three of them would survive the first few days in the Organization. But we're not in the Organization, and they don't have to fight for their lives in that hell. All they have to do now is survive my training. Or hope that Yize saves them from me if I go too far.

"You have five minutes to stretch from head to toe," I instruct them as soon as they have all completed the last lap. This is the calm before the storm, I shall grant them. During my time with the Organization, we rarely had the opportunity to stretch beforehand, except when we specifically trained our flexibility and mobility. But I know that moderate stretching before training is good for the body and reduces the risk of injury. Especially when the body isn't used to jumping into action right away, just like mine, and when you don't know how to incorporate small stretching exercises into fights or other strenuous activities.

"Now let's see what you're capable of. We'll start with a hundred simple push-ups. Quality push-ups, mind you."

This time, everyone follows the instructions obediently, without a whisper. It's probably not the first time they've had to do something like this. After all, a basic level of strength is fundamental to one's fighting ability. Some of them complete the push-ups quickly and explosively, while others perform them slowly and with controlled movements. As long as a repetition is clean, I let them continue. After all, everyone has their own style, and even if you should work on your weaknesses, you shouldn't neglect your strengths. Besides, I can always set a speed for a repetition later on. However, if I catch anyone cheating, such as not performing the movement correctly, they have to do ten more, which quickly leads to some of them starting to groan with exhaustion. Those who finish faster are then required to hold the deep push-up position until the others have completed their repetitions.

The next exercise is for everyone to do a hundred squats, and the same rules apply here. Keep your upper body upright and squat down low. The strength comes from the thighs and not from carrying the weight with the knees. Otherwise, everyone has to work harder and longer on this one exercise. I repeat the same thing with strength training for the abs, back, and other muscle groups in the arms and legs. Here and there, some can no longer hide that their bodies are no longer able to keep up.

"Maybe you should give them a short break?" Yize asks me.

"A short break? We've only just finished warming up. The real fun is just beginning. Only when the body is already at its limit can we challenge and strengthen our willpower. That's much more important than pure physical strength. Because you can have the most capable body, but if you don't have the mental strength, it's useless. However, if you have a weak body but enough willpower, there are many ways you can use it. After all, many fighting techniques have been developed to use strength more efficiently and compensate for the body's weaknesses."

Yize frowns, lost in thought. Meanwhile, I address my next words to the group after instructing them all to sit against the wall to further challenge the muscles in their lower bodies.