Evangelina did not waste any time showing Verity around the town. As soon as they had entered, they had traversed the paved streets at quite the pace, and she had dragged him all the way to her lodging without a single word, or a single stop.

‘Why are we in such a hurry!?’ Verity wondered as he could do nothing but be swept along.

Of course, along the way, heads had turned, and gasps could be heard among passersby. After all, Evangelina’s impressive set of armor was far from subtle, and she was carrying a rather imposing weapon. Still, she wouldn’t have garnered so much attention if it was only that. She was well-known around these parts, and it wasn’t that uncommon to see her walking the streets of Plamodel.

No, what drew attention the most, was that Evangelina wasn’t alone. To many’s surprise, she walked with someone else, whose wrist she was holding, no less. Ever since that day, the Spear of Hell had been known as a loner who hadn’t even returned to the main estate of the Dreadmoore house in decades. Few had seen her interact with anyone else beyond absolute necessity, and many did not even know the sound of her voice.

This was exciting news for Plamodel, a relatively quiet town with little opportunity for gossip.

“Who do you think that is!?” A woman asked her husband.

The man stroked his chin. “I don’t know… but he seems young…” His eyes widened. “A bastard son, perhaps!?”

An older gentleman with a pint of ale attached to his hand spit on the ground. “Ah! You young ones don’t know anything!” He swallowed a large gulp, and slammed his beer on the counter. “Look at how passionately she holds him! That’s her boy toy!”

Thankfully, Evangelina herself had not heard him….probably, but the women, and even some of the men grimaced. No matter how long it had been since she had unofficially retired from her duties, Duchess Dreadmoore was still a highly respected figure. One of the women shot him a glare.“...Why don’t you keep drowning yourself with that ale, old man.”

It had been meant as an insult, but Gunter took it as a challenge. He smiled, and brought the cup to his lips. “Watch me!”

–

“Is… everything alright…?” Verity wondered as Evangelina slammed the door behind them.

She had led him to a remote part of town, and they had needed to cross a few dark alleys to even reach it. In one of the alleys, a wooden door had been embedded into the brick wall. Evangelina approached it, and after speaking a few words, the door opened by itself, allowing both of them to go in.

Evangelina clicked her tongue as she fixed her hair. “Ugh, I can hear them gossiping from here…I should have worn the cloak before entering town…!”

Verity raised an eyebrow. His previous question had been ignored. “Can I know where we are, at least?” he asked.

“This is where I live.” Evangelina turned away, now looking toward the ceiling. “Lights please.” And a set of lamps immediately illuminated their surroundings.

Verity took a good look at the place. There seemed to be two, perhaps three rooms, and the one they were currently in was most likely the living room. A worn-out couch occupied most of the space in this one, and Verity could see a lone wooden chair resting next to a table of the same material in the next room.

‘Is she minimalistic…?’ He wondered.

Even if she was, this seemed rather extreme. Confused, he scratched his head. “I thought you were a noble?” He asked.

Evangelina shrugged. “What? You don’t like it here?”

Verity stumbled over his own words. “N-no… I thought it’d be more…I don’t know, grand?” He said with a tilt of his head.

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Evangelina rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s not. Follow me.”

Not even giving him time to respond, she led Verity to the other room, with the table and the chair, and then walked toward one of the walls. Softly, she placed her right hand on it, and her lips parted. “Open.”

Upon her command, the wall split in two, and a long staircase was revealed. ‘Yeah, that makes more sense.’ Verity thought.

They both walked down the long flight of stairs, for at least a dozen minutes, and when they finally reached the end, it seemed another dead end blocked their path. Again, Evangelina placed her hand on the wall. “Open.” She said softly.

As soon as the wall parted, Verity was blinded with light. He covered his eyes to ward some of it off, but not without letting a groan escape his mouth.

“Come in, kid.” She ordered.

Verity’s eyes still hadn’t adjusted to the light, so he simply walked forward while keeping them closed, and once he could feel the ground’s texture change, he stopped. He heard the wall close behind him, and he soon regained his sight.

His jaw dropped as he looked around. “Woah…”

This room was much bigger than Evangelina's small living quarters. If he had to compare it to something on Earth, it was almost the size of an Olympian gymnasium. Verity’s feet stood on a tatami floor, and on the walls were a plethora of spears of varying lengths, thicknesses, and designs. Some bidents and tridents had even been thrown into the mix.

‘Is this where she’s going to train me?’

His master walked forward, and approached a strange object lying on the floor in the center of the room. Once she stood above it, she leaned down, and pressed her finger against it. “Stand.” She whispered, and Instantly, life seemed to seep into the object as it raised from the ground.

Now that it was put in motion, Verity could see it for what it was, a wooden doll. It stood on two feet, its arms hanging at its side, and its head turned toward Evangelina, awaiting its next command.

Seeing Verity’s face show a mix of confusion and apprehension, Evangelina smirked. “You’ve been cheeky until now, calling me master however you pleased, but did you forget the condition we had agreed on?

Of course, he hadn’t. Verity nodded. “The test, right?”

“That’s right.” Evangelina patted the doll’s head. “This is Doll, and it will be the one to test you.”

Verity pointed to the wooden doll. “...So I guess I have to defeat it to officially become your disciple?”

Evangelina stifled a laugh. “Ha! You? Defeat Doll? Not in a million years!” At a speed Verity could not follow, Evangelina moved and grabbed a spear from one of the walls to then return and drop it in Doll’s hands.

“Doll is as strong as me when I was around your age, and they called me the Spear Demon back then.” She said.

She brushed her hair aside, a smirk still curling her lips. “Your test is much simpler than that. All you need to do is force Doll to take a single step.”

Any normal person would have said something like ‘That’s it?’ , but Verity wasn’t stupid. He’d seen this trope way too many times. This thing…Doll…. had to be monstrously powerful, and as it stood, he still didn’t know how to even use a spear. Plus, Evangelina had said that Doll was as powerful as her when she was Verity’s age.

He frowned. “...You’re not going to teach me anything first?”

Evangelina shook her head. “Of course not. This isn’t an academy. I have no obligation to prepare you for a test.”

“B-”

She pointed to a door on their left. “Still…I’m not a monster. That room is filled with health and mana potions. There should also be enough rations to last you a month, maybe a month and a half if you’re careful.”

She stepped away from Doll, and approached Verity. “Doll will never leave the circle in the center of this room. You have as many attempts as you’d like, and you can use any method that comes to mind.” An ominous smile covered her lips. “The only condition is that you cannot leave this place until you surrender, or until you defeat Doll.”

She patted Verity’s shoulder and headed toward the exit. “Wait!” Verity exclaimed.

Evangelina stopped. ‘Has he realized there’s no hope?’ She thought.

Evangelina believed that It would be better if he gave up now. As soon as she’d seen him, she had already assessed Verity as someone with slightly below-average talent when it came to wielding the spear. From the beginning, the test’s purpose was just for him to understand that.

But that wasn’t the case. Verity wasn’t going to let this chance go, no matter how likely it was that Doll was an impossible opponent. Rather, he seemed embarrassed as he tried to find the right words. “How do I… relieve myself.?” He finally asked.

Evangelina took a second to reply and eventually pointed to the wall opposite the exit. “There’s… a waste disposal unit over there…”

Then, she took a few more steps, and the walls closed behind her, leaving Verity alone in the room with Doll. His test had officially begun. Covering her mouth, Evangelina leaned against the cold stone of her underground training room, and a stifled chuckle escaped her mouth.

‘Seriously? ‘How do I relieve myself?’ Pff…. I thought he’d give up… or ask for pointers at least…’

She threw her head back, and let out a long sigh. “If only I had just a bit longer… I could have taken the time to train him…” She whispered to herself.