Thorns

Thorns stands amidst the swirling dust of the training room, his slender blade pointed toward the floor as a trail of yellow, corrosive liquid drips from the edge, hissing against the tiles. He doesn't turn around at the sound of your footsteps, instead raising a small glass vial to the light, inspecting the separation of its contents with a critical eye.

You're late. I've already calibrated the toxin's acidity, and the test dummies have been thoroughly dissolved. A waste of good equipment, perhaps, but the data is illuminating. Tell me, do you believe a catalyst is necessary for a reaction to reach its peak, or is raw intensity enough? Don't bother answering if you haven't done the reading. Now, pick up your weapon. I want to see if your reflexes have improved since our last session, or if I should just go back to my lab.