"No. Training is finding out what you don't know."
Walter walked around him.
"You keep trying to finish the exercise before understanding it."
Dylan looked down.
Walter continued.
"You're impatient because you want to feel competent."
Dylan said nothing.
"That desire isn't unusual. But if you allow it to control your decisions, you stop learning."
Dylan looked toward the door.
Then he nodded.
"Again?"
Walter smiled.
"Again."
Meanwhile, Krane Combat Academy was undergoing changes.
Some students welcomed the new policies.
Others resisted them.
One of Dylan's assistant instructors, Aaron Mills, was particularly unhappy.
Aaron had trained with Dylan for six years.
He believed the academy was becoming too cautious.
He argued that beginners needed to experience pressure if they wanted to improve.
During a staff meeting, he challenged the changes.
"People don't join a combat academy to spend months walking around slowly."
Dylan listened.
Aaron continued.
"They want to learn to fight."
"They also want to stay healthy."
"Of course. But there's a difference between being careful and being afraid."
Dylan looked at him.
"Nobody is asking anyone to be afraid."
"Then why are we stopping exercises every time someone complains?"
"Because we need to understand why they're uncomfortable."
Aaron shook his head.
"This is because of that old man, isn't it?"
The room became quiet.
Dylan did not answer immediately.
Then he said, "No. This is because of me."
Aaron looked surprised.
Dylan continued.
"I built the academy. I set the standards. I allowed an environment where students sometimes felt they had to prove themselves instead of communicating honestly."
Aaron crossed his arms.
"So now we're changing everything?"
"Yes."
"That's ridiculous."
Dylan looked at him.
"If you don't agree with the policy, you don't have to teach here."
Aaron stared.
"Are you serious?"
"Completely."
Aaron left the meeting.
He did not resign immediately.
But his attitude changed.
He became less cooperative.
He began making sarcastic comments during classes.
He questioned Dylan in front of students.
And he continued to encourage people to train through discomfort.
Dylan noticed.
At first, he hoped the disagreement would disappear.
It did not.
The problem became impossible to ignore during a Saturday session.
A young student named Lucas had been practicing a basic transition.
Aaron was supervising.
Lucas struggled.
Aaron told him to repeat the movement.
Lucas tried again.
His position was wrong.
Aaron corrected him.
Lucas tried a third time.
Then he stopped.
"My knee hurts."
Aaron frowned.
"You're just tired."
Lucas shook his head.
"It hurts."
"Then fix your position."
Lucas looked toward Dylan.
Dylan was working with another group.
He noticed the boy's expression and approached.
"What's happening?"
Lucas pointed to his knee.
"It hurts."
Dylan crouched.
"How long?"
"Since yesterday."
"Did you tell Aaron?"
Lucas nodded.
Aaron folded his arms.
"He said it was soreness."
Dylan looked at him.
"Did you ask whether he'd been injured?"
"He said it was a little sore."
Dylan turned back to Lucas.
"Can you stand comfortably?"
Lucas nodded.
"Then we're going to stop the exercise. We'll have your parent take a look at it."
Aaron sighed.
"He's fine."
Dylan stood.
"That's enough."
Aaron looked around.
Several students were watching.
Dylan continued.
"We don't dismiss an injury because it's inconvenient."
Aaron shook his head.
"This is becoming ridiculous."
Dylan's expression hardened.
"Take a break. We'll talk afterward."
Aaron walked away.
Lucas looked frightened.
"Am I in trouble?"
Dylan shook his head.
"No. You did exactly what you were supposed to do."
The boy relaxed.
Dylan remained beside him until his parent arrived.
The following Monday, Dylan dismissed Aaron from the coaching staff.
The decision was difficult.
Aaron had been with him for years.
They had competed together.
They had helped build the academy.
But Dylan knew that keeping an instructor who ignored safety rules would make every written policy meaningless.
Aaron left angrily.
He told several students that the academy had become weak.
A few followed him.
Dylan did not chase them.
He was disappointed.
But he understood that changing a culture meant accepting that some people would refuse to change with it.
When he told Marcus what had happened, Marcus listened.
"Do you regret it?"
Dylan shook his head.
"No."
"Good."
"I regret allowing it to continue as long as it did."
Marcus nodded.
"That's different."
Dylan looked toward the empty training room.
"I used to think leadership meant keeping everyone behind me."
"And now?"
"Making sure people can tell me when I'm wrong."
Marcus smiled.
"That's a better definition."
Walter learned about the incident from Rebecca.
She visited the maintenance office late one afternoon.
"There's been a problem at Dylan's academy."
Walter looked up.
"What happened?"
"An instructor ignored a student's injury report. Dylan removed him from the coaching staff."
Walter nodded.
"Good."
"Some students left."
"That happens."
Rebecca leaned against the desk.
"Do you think Dylan is changing?"
Walter considered the question.
"I think he's making different decisions."
"Is that enough?"
"For now."
Rebecca smiled.
"You're not an easy person to impress."
Walter returned to his paperwork.
"That's probably useful."
She laughed.
Then she became serious.