It had been two days since they had left the city, and Maria was still just as motivated.
Lucius and she had started training, and the first thing he taught her was patience.
She had spent the past two days meditating, and since she was highly motivated, patience wasn’t something she lacked.
When evening came, they stopped to make camp.
Emilya and Melvis went to gather a few plants to add some flavor to their meal, as well as some branches for the fire.
Once they had left, Lucius took the opportunity to begin some hand-to-hand combat training.
— Come on, tell me, what can you do?
Lucius asked.
Can you at least throw a punch?
he added sarcastically.
To prove that she wasn’t completely helpless, she lunged at him and threw a punch, which he stopped effortlessly.
— Ooh, not bad.
You’re lacking in strength, but not speed.
Obviously, as a woman, you’ll have less strength compared to a man, but since you’re small and slender, you’ll be faster and more agile.
So, we’ll start by improving your speed and endurance.
We’re going for a run, and you’ll have to keep up with me.
The two of them then started running.
Lucius sped up at certain moments and slowed down at others.
He turned and jumped, ran straight ahead, then zigzagged.
He wanted to test her ability to follow orders first.
For the first thirty minutes, she kept up well.
Emilya and Melvis, who were returning from gathering plants, looked at them as if something was seriously wrong with them.
Then, after an hour, Melvis signaled Maria to come eat, but Lucius forbade her from stopping, leaving her with no choice but to resign herself to waiting a while longer before eating.
After two hours, Lucius saw that she was completely out of breath and suggested they stop there.
The two of them went over to the campfire and ate their meal.
— I’m impressed you lasted two hours.
You’re in better shape than you look, Lucius told Maria.
— When I was alone in my room most of the time, I used to exercise, so I think that’s where it comes from.
She already has discipline.
She’s on the right track, Lucius thought.
— But don’t you think that was a little harsh for a first time?
Well, I’m saying that, but you didn’t hesitate to throw an apple straight at my face barely a day after we met, Emilya said.
— I didn’t mean to do that at the time, and besides, you surprised me by stopping it with your hand, Lucius said defensively.
With her hand?
But aren’t mages supposed to be physically weak?
Maria thought.
— How did you manage to stop his apple?
she innocently asked.
— Yeah, I’d like to know that too.
You never told me back then.
Emilya hesitated for a moment.
— I train with Melvis.
She teaches me hand-to-hand combat techniques to compensate for when I can’t use my magic.
Since mages are too proud to learn self-defense techniques, my master taught me to give myself every possible advantage.
So, whenever I train with Melvis, we also practice hand-to-hand combat.
— That explains why your punches hurt so much, Lucius said, remembering their fight near the village of Kuda.
— Wow, I’m impressed!
Maria said.
— And getting back to what you were saying about Maria, I haven’t even started the real training yet.
When she joins a warrior academy, what I’m making her do now will seem like a joke compared to what awaits her.
I want to train her mentally and physically so that she doesn’t give up during the first week.
The three of them fell silent.
— Is becoming a warrior really that difficult?
Maria asked, slightly frightened.
— What?
No, it’s not difficult.
Any human can do it with enough motivation, effort… he began.
Maria sighed in relief at this information.
— …The hardest part is… surviving it, he said, his eyes blank.
I’ve never been more grateful that my talent awakened and allowed me to complete the training so quickly.
They all stared at him.
Maria shivered.
— Do you… want to talk about it?
Emilya asked.
— It’s too painful, Lucius said, tears in his eyes as he gazed regretfully at the sky.
Maria tried to reassure herself by telling herself that he was exaggerating.
But judging by his attitude, she was becoming more and more curious.
After finishing their meal, they all went to sleep.
Shortly before they went to bed, Lucius took Emilya aside and, while she wasn’t expecting it, blew some Moon Flower powder on her, causing her to collapse immediately.
He caught her, carried her back, and returned her to the campsite.
When Melvis saw them coming back, she asked him what he had done this time.
He told her that he had given Emilya Moon Flower powder.
She took Emilya, and the two of them went to sleep with Maria.
The three girls slept in a tent reserved for them, while Lucius slept outside under the stars.
This allowed him to stay more alert to potential danger and train without disturbing them.
In the middle of the night, Lucius woke up, panting.
— That same dream again… He turned his head and looked around.
It was still dark.
He got up and went for a walk.
After walking for quite some time, he eventually came across a lake.
Thinking it might help take his mind off things, he decided to go for a swim.
He immersed himself in the water to clear his mind.
He was finally beginning to calm down after the dream.
He raised his head above the water again, then sensed a presence.
There’s something strangely familiar about this, but with our roles reversed.
Who’s spying on me?
Emilya is impossible.
She just took the potion and won’t wake up for a long time.
Melvis wouldn’t have any reason to hide.
She would have told me it was her, and besides, she never leaves Emilya’s side, so it can’t be her either.
Maria, perhaps?
She wouldn’t have any reason to either.
She would have simply told me it was her and warned me.
So, in conclusion, it’s an enemy, he thought.
He submerged himself in the water again and came out on the other side.
He put on just his pants and quickly slipped behind the individual.
The person who had seen him disappear underwater began to panic slightly and, just as they were about to move forward to help him, he appeared behind them.
— Am I bothering you?
Lucius asked.
But… I know you.
At that very moment, he heard Maria’s scream.
It came from the campsite.
He didn’t even have time to grab his things before rushing over there.
— Wait… the individual said.
They picked up Lucius’s belongings and followed him.
They had a little trouble keeping up because Lucius was really fast.
When they arrived, they saw the girls fighting against dark cats.
The special thing about these creatures was that they were immune to physical attacks.
They were therefore the nemeses of warriors and fighters.
Melvis was trying to protect Emilya, who was asleep, as well as Maria.
Lucius joined them at the last moment, but he wasn’t much help.
Whenever he destroyed one of the monsters, it immediately reformed.
On top of that, after the tournament, he hadn’t been able to restock his weapons.
He therefore had to pick up a piece of wood and try to do whatever he could with it.
Melvis wasn’t having much more luck either.
The creatures kept coming back, and their numbers continued to increase.
— We’re in a bit of a bad situation here, aren’t we?
Lucius said.
She looked at Lucius.
— Why are you half-naked?
she asked, disgusted.
— I was taking a bath when I heard Maria scream.
I rushed over here, so I didn’t have time to get properly dressed.
Hearing this, Melvis had little choice.
She lowered her weapons and began chanting a spell.
Feeling heat behind him, Lucius turned around and saw her using magic.
He stared at her in shock.
— Since when can you use magic?
he asked, stunned by what he was seeing.
— Just like I teach hand-to-hand combat to Miss Emilya, she taught me a few spells.
Since, as a fighter, I have the aptitude for it… Fire Arrows!
With those words, she launched her attack in multiple directions.
She eliminated most of them, but quite a few remained.
She asked Lucius to buy her some time so she could cast another spell, because since she wasn’t a mage and didn’t have a staff to channel her magic, she had to channel it through her body, which consumed much more energy.
Lucius understood and tried to hold back and group the monsters together so that she would only have to aim at one spot.
Seeing the two of them fighting so fiercely, Maria wondered what she could do.
Since she wasn’t far from Emilya, she grabbed the dagger at her hip and looked around to see if an enemy was approaching.
She remained alert to the slightest suspicious movement.
Her meditation training had helped her slightly sharpen her senses.
As Melvis was eliminating the last of the monsters, she and Lucius finally finished them off.
Melvis was completely out of breath.
She nearly fell, but Lucius quickly caught her.
— Are you okay?
he asked.
— Let me go, she murmured.
— Well, I guess that means you’re fine then.
He barely glanced toward Maria to make sure she was okay too, then saw a dark cat suddenly emerge.
It had probably been hiding in the forest and taken advantage of the moment when everyone had lowered their guard.
— MARIA!
The young girl caught sight of the creature out of the corner of her eye as it leaped at her.
She raised Emilya’s dagger and stabbed it, but since physical attacks had no effect on it, the creature continued moving on top of her.
Poor Maria was overwhelmed and closed her eyes, praying that someone would come to save her.
— Don’t close your eyes!
You must never take your eyes off your opponent!
Lucius shouted.
Maria opened her eyes again when she saw the terrifying creature.
She wanted to cry, but she didn’t.
She remained courageous.
Lucius was running toward her, while Melvis was completely exhausted and could barely move a muscle.
Maria summoned all her courage and tried to push the monster away.
Just as it opened its mouth to bite her, a fire spell came out of nowhere and eliminated it.
She barely had time to recover before Lucius was already beside her.
The two of them looked toward the place where the attack had come from.
They saw an individual wearing a cloak that covered them from head to toe.
They approached them and held out Lucius’s clothes.
Lucius looked at the person.
— Hey, it’s you!