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((The Mon/Wen/Fri Double -- page 1 of 2))
He was hungry, but he decided to forego a meal for now. Zeff had warned him before about training on a full stomach, and Hector didn't doubt him. With how demanding the Lord Elroy was becoming during these sessions, Hector could easily imagine himself puking his guts out afterwards.

And today was certainly no exception.

"How is your progress with mapping?" said Zeff, as calm as if he were asking about the weather, despite the fact that he was currently trying to chop Hector's head off with a broadsword of solid ice.

Hector met the blow with his own iron sword, but the man's soul-strengthened ice still cut through it, though not without resistance. The icy blade was partially deflected and clipped the top of his iron helmet instead of decapitating him. "It's going okay, I think," Hector managed to say through labored breath.

"Show me," said Zeff, not even pausing to let Hector do so. The flurry of slashes from his sword only seemed to grow more intense.

They were wild, though. There was more power behind them, sure, but Hector could tell that Zeff was really just trying to push him back now instead of actually hitting him. And that was why Hector decided to do the opposite.

Instead of losing ground, Hector gathered his concentration and moved toward the slashes--between them. His armor made him bulky, but he didn't mind if it took some shallow cuts. The Scarf of Amordiin helped him sense the path of least resistance, and he was able to get in close and do exactly what Zeff just asked for.

The mapping technique was something that Hector had been working on for a while, ever since Zeff and Asad had told him about it when their group had first entered the Undercrust. In short, it was a method of easing the cognitive load of complex materializations by "mapping" them to physical movements in one's body, such as hand signs.

It was a slow process to refine, since it required memorization, but Hector hadn't been slacking on that front. He focused and made a fist with his right hand, but not to throw a punch with.