Montrael, Action Street, Martial Redemption Dojo.

"…You failed him?"

Aoi said in surprise.

She and Kiernan were sitting inside while looking at the yard, where their students were training.

After returning from the mountain, Lumian, Cleo, and Jock went back to training, and there was a different kind of vibe in the dojo now.

With the yellow headband, Lumian and Cleo were now the senior students of the dojo, and thus they were higher rank than any other.

With Jock's failure of a test, there seemed to be an invisible bridge now between him and the two others.

The relationship seemed to have cracked slightly.

Shiro had started training some of the Iron Style techniques, and he was already eager to receive yellow rank himself.

"Jock is still lacking in several things. His martial soul agrees. He is still in the Low Stage Martial Recruit. I expected him to advance quickly."

Kiernan said.

"Do you think he has encountered a bottleneck already? I haven't heard of anyone encountering bottlenecks in the first martial arts ranks."

Aoi said.

"…I don't think it is a bottleneck, but something is stopping him from advancing, and I personally think it is fear."

"Fear?"

Aoi asked in confusion.

"I think he is afraid of Iron Style. I've seen him practice the techniques, but he is afraid to hurt himself, so he is holding back during training."

Kiernan said.

They looked at Jock, who was punching a sand-filled cauldron, as he was trying to improve his body conditioning to match the power of Iron Style.

Jock didn't show a grimace. It didn't matter that his hands were bleeding. He kept punching the sand.

Something had changed within him.

"He feels different."

Aoi said.

"…Jock, even if he disagrees, is an extremely competitive kid, and seeing Lumian and Cleo go ahead of him must've stirred something inside him.

"He doesn't want to be left behind."

Kiernan said.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Jock's left fist landed at sand. He reeled it back and threw his right at the sand. The skin on his knuckles split open, but he didn't notice.

The martial soul deep inside him was shaking as if it was about to hatch like an egg.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

In that moment, someone knocked on the door, and Titan, one of the youngest students, went to open the gate.

A large group of children were right outside, and they were wearing worn-out clothes as if they had been homeless for years.

Titan looked at them in a surprise, and quickly retreated back into the yard.

"…Who?"

Lumian straightened his posture and looked at them with a frown on his face.

Through the gate, Alpha and a couple other children stepped inside and looked around the dojo with a mix of curiosity and awe.

Every student moved out of their way and wondered who the hell they were.

"You've come."

Kiernan said.

'Master knows them?'

Cleo thought in surprise.

"Yes… master."

Alpha bowed.

When other students heard him say "master," they were really surprised and looked at Kiernan for answers.

Kiernan stood up and said.

"They will be your fellow students from this day onwards. I want you to help them to adjust if need be, but remember, they are here to learn just like you."

"Yes, master…"

Everyone said, but seeing about forty children, they couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.

"…Kiernan, I don't think we have enough space for all of them to train here."

Aoi said with a wry smile.

She expected new students to arrive shortly, but she had no idea that there were going to be so many of them!

"There will be enough space."

Kiernan said.

After all, he had the Lower Halls that he could use to train them, and it had more than enough space.

It was his alternative for the lack of space currently, but he was planning to expand the dojo soon enough.

He had to somehow make money first.

"Here, put these on."

Kiernan tossed a box full of white headbands from his inventory, and the children eagerly grabbed them.

"Follow me."

Kiernan walked inside the dojo, opened the door to the Lower Halls, and stepped through the doorway, which took him to another realm altogether.

Even though the children were scared at first, they followed behind him and looked around the spacious hall.

"Do five rows!"

Kiernan ordered.

The children clumsily went into five rows, looking like an army of toy soldiers.

"…From now on, you will address me as master. I am sure that Alpha already showed your apartment, correct?"

The children nodded.

They were satisfied with the apartment, as they were finally able to sleep under a proper roof without worrying about getting cold.

"…There is a catch, though. I cannot afford to teach for free, so you'll have to work. We're still working on details, but there will be jobs to choose from soon enough.

"A portion of your pay will go to me to pay for your lessons, and the rest you can use as you wish."

The children looked at each other and then nodded.

They were completely fine at doing some jobs, as it was much better than just scavenging for food.

"…This will be your chance at a proper life. I will not teach those who don't take it seriously, and I don't mind kicking you out if you don't take this seriously.

"Is that understood?"

Kiernan asked.

"Yes, master!"

The children shouted.

"Good…"

Kiernan then took Iron Style's defensive stance, and the children looked at him in confusion, but then Alpha also attempted to take that stance.

Following Alpha's lead, they attempted the stance, and they looked very awkward doing so, but it was a start.

With his arms behind his back, Kiernan walked around the students, helping them to fix their stances, and slowly, they started to look like a proper group of martial arts students.

He finally felt like a proper dojo master.

It reminded him of his time at the martial arts temple back on Earth.

"Breathe, feel the form, and become one with it. This stance should become more natural than standing still.

"If you cannot learn this stance, you do not deserve to learn my style!"

Kiernan shouted.

With serious looks on their faces, the children gritted their teeth and started to become one with Iron Style's stance.

The High Kids were a famous extinct race known for their overpowered ability of adaptability, and slowly, they were adapting to learn this stance.

They were starting to learn at a much higher speed than any other student Kiernan had so far, and with each passing second, their stance was becoming more natural.

"…"

Kiernan saw it happen with his own eyes and wryly smiled.

'High Kids' ability to adapt is ridiculous.'

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