Vera's words always encouraged Charlie—the timing and wording were always right and exactly what he needed to hear.

He quickly understood that it was far from over. As Vera had put it, it might be a progressive sequence with more effective sets down the line, and he decided that he should stick with it.

Who knows? He might stand to gain something more.

Charlie immediately realized that these hand seals might be far from over. If, as Vera said, it was truly a constantly evolving technique, he