As Kyle approached the academy, he realized Maya was alone.
Adam was nowhere in sight.
He had already taken out his phone and was about to call him when Maya suddenly said, "He’ll be here in ten minutes. I just got a call from him."
Was he really that easy to read?
"Don’t misunderstand," Kyle quickly said. "It’s just that he seemed a little too excited about all this to be late."
He didn’t want to come across as rude.
The truth, however, was that he wasn’t particularly eager to face Maya alone for some reason.
"It’s not his fault," Maya replied. "I changed the venue at the last minute."
A graceful smile tugged at the corner of her lips. Even the way she spoke felt unusually refined, each word delivered with effortless elegance. Listening to her was almost like listening to a carefully recorded message. A gentle one.
"Is that so? But why change the venue?" Kyle asked as they began walking toward the academy.
"The place Adam chose is always crowded," Maya said. "So I decided on somewhere else."
Kyle raised an eyebrow.
"But isn’t this place way more..."
His voice trailed off the moment he stepped inside.
The entire dojo was empty.
Not a single student.
Not a single instructor.
The vast training hall stood completely deserted.
This was one of the most renowned dojos not only in Guhang but in several neighboring countries as well. Kyle himself had visited a few times, and even then it had always been packed.
Yet now...
"Did you book the entire place?" he asked.
The question sounded ridiculous even to his own ears.
However, Maya simply answered, "Yes. Is there a problem?"
She tilted her head slightly, as though there was absolutely nothing unusual about reserving an entire academy for an afternoon.
Kyle stood there in silence, his gaze shifting between Maya and the enormous empty hall before him.
A faint laugh escaped her lips.
"Why don’t we go inside and look around a little?" she suggested. "You seem fascinated."
"Calling me anything less than shocked would be blindness," Kyle replied with a bitter smile.
Still, he decided not to dwell on it any further.
The two of them walked deeper into the dojo, and moments later, the main doors closed behind them. Someone from the security staff was clearly handling things from a distance.
Naturally, even if the academy had been reserved, a few staff members still had to be around. Otherwise, a place this large simply couldn’t function.
A vast training hall stretched before him, its polished wooden floors gleaming beneath rows of warm overhead lights.
The scent of treated wood and old leather lingered faintly in the air. Practice targets lined one side of the hall, while weapon racks stood neatly arranged along the walls, every bow and training weapon resting perfectly in place.
Multiple shooting lanes extended toward distant targets, each separated by sturdy partitions. Elevated viewing platforms overlooked the training grounds, allowing instructors to observe students from above.
Glass walls on one side revealed several smaller practice rooms used for private lessons and advanced training sessions. Beyond them, Kyle could make out an indoor conditioning area filled with specialized equipment designed to strengthen an archer’s body and improve stability.
"Seriously, this place is way too big for just a handful of people to train in," Kyle muttered as he looked around the sprawling facility.
"You think so?" Maya tilted her head thoughtfully. "Personally, I feel training in isolation helps people connect with their inner selves. From my experience, the best person to recognize and correct your mistakes is yourself."
A faint smile appeared on Kyle’s face. "Is that your way of telling me to leave?"
She let out a soft laugh. "Not at all. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t even be here in the first place."
A subtle gleam flickered in her eyes as she spoke, but Kyle failed to notice it entirely.
"Hmm. So tell me, Maya, how long have you been practicing archery?" he asked, stopping in the middle of a shooting lane before turning toward her.
"About four years, I think?" she replied, sounding slightly uncertain herself.
Kyle didn’t think much of it. Most people struggled to remember exactly when they first discovered their talent.
"Alright then. What category of bow do you usually shoot with?" he asked, starting with the basics.
She looked up at him, her naturally bright eyes reflecting the warm lights overhead.
"The same as you. Barebow."
Kyle’s eyebrows rose slightly.
She knew what category he usually preferred?
Then again, Adam had probably shared some information about him.
’Though I had to use a compound bow in major competitions...’
Pushing the thought aside, he continued, "How about we test your aim first? Let’s start at thirty meters."
Maya nodded and picked up a bow from the nearby rack, taking an arrow along with it.
The two walked to the thirty-meter mark. Once there, she nocked the arrow, drew the string, and settled into her aim.
Kyle observed her closely, and within seconds, several flaws caught his attention.
First, she was bringing her head toward the string instead of bringing the string to a consistent anchor point. It was a habit that might not affect the shot too much if she remained perfectly consistent, but it was still an unnecessary source of error.
Next, he noticed her stance.
Her footing was a little too rigid, her core overly tense, and she had completely stopped breathing while aiming.
Not a method he personally preferred, though he knew many instructors taught it that way.
Then his eyes shifted to her fingers.
The placement on the string immediately made him frown. In fact, it bothered him enough that he nearly stepped forward to stop her before she released.
And if that wasn’t enough...
Shuank!
The arrow flew.
The moment it left the string, Maya pulled the bow away from her face to check where it had landed.
Kyle closed his eyes.
No follow-through whatsoever.
A small mistake on the surface, but one that could still influence the shot.
Meanwhile, Maya lowered the bow and smiled.
"I hit the bullseye."
Yet when she turned toward Kyle, her smile faltered.
He was standing there with his face buried in one palm, slowly shaking his head from side to side as though he had just witnessed something deeply disappointing.
Maya hesitantly lowered her bow.
"Is everything alright?"
"No."
The answer came so quickly that she nearly flinched.
Kyle lifted his head and rubbed his forehead before looking at her.
"Look, Maya, I’m warning you right now. If you stop me here, I’ll keep things polite and only give you a few pointers. But if you let me continue, I’m going to be brutally honest and change more than a few things about the way you shoot."
He pointed toward the target.
"Because what was that?"
Maya blinked in surprise.
"I don’t understand... could you explain?"
Kyle let out a long sigh.
"Fine. But promise me you won’t get offended. I don’t want Adam chewing my ear off later."
The moment he finished speaking, Maya shook her head.
"I don’t mind anything if it’s coming from you." A small smile appeared on her lips. "You’re my inspiration, Kyle."
Something in her voice made him pause.
Kyle simply stood there, staring at her.
For a brief moment, an odd feeling surfaced in his chest.
It felt as though he had met her somewhere before.
Not today.
Not at the hospital.
Somewhere else.
The feeling lingered for only a second before he pushed it aside.
It was probably just his imagination.
"Alright then," he said, straightening his posture. "Let’s get started."