We broke into our assigned groups. Naomi walked beside me toward station three, her arms wrapped around herself despite the warming morning.
"How are you feeling?" I asked quietly.
"Good," she said. "Really good. Whatever that... essence thing did, I feel stronger today. Like my muscles respond faster."
"Gold-tier buff," I said. "Lasts about twenty-four hours."
We reached the targets—a series of hay bales set up at increasing distances, from ten meters to fifty.
Naomi took position at the starting line. "So how exactly does your ability help me?"
"You'll fire until you start feeling the burn. When your muscles scream, I touch you and take away the pain signals. You keep firing."
"So I can push past my normal limits," she said, the idea clicking into place for her. "That's... actually really smart training."
"I have my moments."
