Glenn followed Mary as she led him to the Training Hall, a vast, open space with practice arenas, obstacle courses, and climbing walls. Weapon racks filled with wooden swords, spears, or whatever weapon you wanted were scattered throughout, alongside training dummies.

They entered one of the empty practice arenas, Glenn standing there, uncertain of what he should do. Mary pointed to the weapon racks.

"Pick a weapon and come at me. No magic, just the sweat and sinew of combat. I'm here to teach you the art of melee fighting, got it?"

Glenn swallowed hard, his nerves pulsating like a drumbeat. He selected a wooden sword, the weight of it heavier than he'd anticipated. It felt like a slab of lead. Not that it bothered him, it was still quite light for his abnormal body. He positioned himself before Mary, his grip on the hilt tightening. Mary, unarmed but oozing confidence, didn't flinch. Glenn knew he was in for a bruising. Memories of his previous humiliation at the hands of the Cleaner gnawed at him, yet he was determined to try.

With a burst of adrenaline, he lunged at her, the sword cleaving the air with a resounding whoosh. Mary sidestepped effortlessly, a taunting smirk gracing her lips. She beckoned him to try again, her eyes gleaming with challenge. Glenn, his temper simmering, attempted a flurry of slashes – vertical, diagonal, horizontal. He then aimed a thrust at her, only to have it deftly dodged as she cocked her head with a mocking expression, as if to say, "Was that an attack? My apologies, I must've missed it."

Even though he was trying his best not to get riled up, Glenn still got a little annoyed at his opponent's toying with him. He was tempted to use magic, but it would probably be useless. Plus, the goal was to learn melee combat, wasn't it? He dashed in her direction, cutting with his sword in a wide, crescent movement, but she ducked under the blade effortlessly. Without losing a second, Glenn continued his assault and feinted a kick, only to punch her with all he had. Mary smirked and swiftly used Glenn's momentum to throw him on the ground before dusting her hands off.

Mary loomed over him, a grin dancing on her lips."Oh, nice try using your fist, perhaps that would have worked against the weakest of thugs. Too bad I ain't one, right?"

Glenn scrambled to his feet, gritting his teeth as he scanned the arena for his lost sword. His frustration mounted as he clenched his jaw. Mary nonchalantly tossed the wooden sword to him, and he snatched it in mid-air. Just as he grasped the hilt, a shoe filled his vision, and a fierce kick landed on his face, propelling him backward to the ground. The hit stung, but it was Glenn's pride that suffered the most.

"Shit, do I really suck that much in a fight...?" He muttered through his teeth dejectedly. Was he really that bad of a fighter?

He glanced upward with a groan, only to find Mary preparing another kick, this time targeting his most vulnerable spot. He rolled away just in time, springing to his feet with agility. He held the sword before him, unwavering, ready to block the next assault. Yet, to his astonishment, Mary had vanished.

"Where is she...?" Glenn mumbled before his legs were swept from under him, and he thudded onto the ground with a thundering crash. Glenn coughed and forced himself up, locking eyes with Mary, who regarded him with disappointment.

"I thought you'd be more of...something, considering the old man sent you my way. But you're not what I expected," she sighed, stretching her limbs casually.

Glenn seized the apparent opportunity, launching himself at Mary, and hurling the wooden sword toward her before aiming for a tackle. If he could just get a hold of her, he'd strike as many times as it took. "Hitting a woman isn't gentleman-like? Who cares!" he thought, determined to get at least one hit in.

Success seemed imminent as his arms closed around Mary's waist, but before he knew it, his body soared over her head. Glenn slammed into the ground, a cloud of dust billowing around him. He coughed, the breath pulled out of his lungs. He stumbled on his feet when a heavy object suddenly collided with his head, sending him sprawling once more.

Struggling to open his eyes, Glenn realized the world was shaking before him. He could even discern a star or two through the blurry haze!

"Well, at least you've got stamina," a voice remarked, though Glenn only caught half the words through the ringing in his ears. His head throbbed, and his ears felt stuffed with cotton. Diamanes remained conspicuously silent, leaving Glenn to fend for himself. After all, getting beaten up was part of the learning process. And the entity strangely enjoyed seeing his host suffering.

Glenn clutched his head painfully as he gradually regained his senses. The fog in front of his eyes dissipated, replaced by another shoe hurtling toward his face. He rolled aside just in time to avoid it, springing to his feet as quickly as his battered body allowed. Though not exhausted, as his enhanced body afforded him formidable stamina; he still felt helplessly outmatched. He stared at Mary, who watched him patiently, a sly smile playing on her lips. He raised his hands in surrender, mentally exhausted by the beating.

"I...I give up!" He heaved, a trickle of blood running down his chin.

The woman's sly smile suddenly turned devilish for a second, before disappearing, making Glenn doubt his eyes. She closed on him and grabbed Glenn by the shoulder.

"You're sure?"

Glenn nodded, 'My pride suffered enough like that. Even my supposedly abnormal body feels like it has been reduced to a pulp.'

Mary grinned wickedly and her fingers pierced through Glenn's shoulder, "But I don't want to stop, though?"

Huh?

Thump!

Glenn bent in two, holding his belly. His breath had been brusquely cut, and air refused to come inside his lungs. He felt like he was about to puke his insides out, his abdomen hurting like hell.

"Shit! Cough, bleurgh!!"

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Glenn threw up a bit of his precedent meal, falling to his knees. How was it possible for a hit to hurt so much?!? It was almost as terrible as the spear that impaled him back when he woke up!

Wait? Almost as terrible...? No way, it didn't even come close.

His eyes suddenly regained their focus, as he suddenly understood one thing. What was happening wasn't the worst thing that hurt him. This...This was great compared to the pain of ingesting Beast's blood every day for two months or getting eaten alive. A walk in the park! Just a rough massage! He forced himself back up, a grin decorating his face. He took one deep breath after another as he wiped off the vomit left on his chin.

Glenn retrieved the wooden sword at his feet, struggling to keep it raised before him. With resignation not an option, he lunged at Mary, a roar of rage escaping him. He swung thrust and threw his entire body into each attack. Blood rushed through his veins, heart pounding with adrenaline. Every blow he suffered was absorbed with grim determination, no longer sending him sprawling. His strikes, though futile, were relentless.

"ARGH! DAMN IT!" he bellowed.

He continued to press on, his body battered but unwavering, even as none of his strikes found their mark. Mary's eyes gleamed, her grin replaced by a knowing smile as she observed Glenn's unyielding spirit.

But then, Glenn's body suddenly went limp.

Huh?

"No... I...I can still fight!" he thought desperately.

A voice sighed in his mind, Diamanes unable to not answer his helpless host.

'She hit one of your vital points. Enjoy the sweet nap. See you in a few!'

Glenn crumpled to the ground, his body battered and bruised. Mary looked down at him with a weary expression, shaking her head. She fetched a bucket of water nearby, before coming back near the unconscious young man.

"Sigh, I've got my work cut out for me," she muttered.

She emptied the bucket on Glenn's head, jolting him back up, looking around in confusion, before seeing Mary's face. He made a resigned expression as he pushed himself up, standing on two wobbly legs, keeping up an equally wobbly guard. His wooden sword was lying a few meters away, but Glenn gave up picking it up. It's not like the weapon helped him at all, so why take it anyway?

Mary overturned the bucket, before using it as a seat. She stared at the wary Glenn with a smile, almost behaving as if she didn't just beat the shit out of him. Glenn stepped forward hesitantly, opening his mouth carefully.

"Is...Is it over?"

The woman held her chin with her hand, her right leg over her left.

"Me humiliating you? Yes, for now."

Glenn breathed out in relief, plopping back down on the ground. His whole body ached like hell, but he felt like he could still kind of fight. Having a supernatural body allowed him to have enhanced strength and stamina but didn't block the pain.

The woman clasped her hands together, an innocent expression on her face.

"...So, from my observations, I can guess a few things. You have a really, stupidly strong body, but you never fought once in your life with it, did you?" She asked, nodding when she saw the surprised look in Glenn's eyes, "...You probably never held a weapon ever, and now you mainly rely on magic to fight even though you have such a perfect constitution."

Glenn chuckled painfully. There was nothing he could deny in this statement and only listened while staring up at the sky. He could understand why Redan sent this person to train him, but why? Why did it have to be so brutally painful?

Mary put on a curious expression, a finger on her chin.

"I think they call it the Heavenly Body in the Eastern Countries. It's pretty rare, but it's often given to genius. Too bad you're far from being one."

Glenn shrugged on the ground, impervious to the provocation. He moaned in pain as he sat himself up, locking eyes with Mary.

"So what now?"

The woman stood up from her makeshift seat, heading toward the weapon rack. She picked up a spear, before throwing it next to him. Mary then pointed at it.

"Try attacking me with that." Upon seeing the despaired expression of her student, she let out a short laugh, "Don't worry, I'm not fighting back this time. It's simply to try and check your affinity with weapons."

Glenn sighed in relief, picking up the spear and using it to help himself on his feet. He held it a little awkwardly, taking a bit of time before figuring out where to put his hands, before finally getting comfortable. Once again, the spear was wholly made out of wood, even the tip, but strangely, it still weighed a ton. He took a breath before lunging forward, trying to skewer the Cleaner, only to be mocked by her effortless dodges.

In frustration, he hurled the spear at her, throwing it as if it was a javelin. She simply stared at the projectile landing meters away from her, a judging expression in her eyes. Glenn shook his head, before heading to the weapon rack himself. He chose a one-handed mace, hoping he would be able to crush the woman's head, even if he knew there was no way it would happen.

Still, it was good to dream. He hesitated to pick a shield as a secondary weapon but decided against, it since Mary was fast enough to get behind him any time. A shield would only slow him down.

Instead, he randomly picked a machete. Perhaps with two weapons, he'd be able to change the results.

----------------------------------------

Glenn held his face in frustration. He had tried everything. Short swords, longswords, spears, halberds, knives, scythes, war hammers, morningstars, literally every weapon possible, but nothing stood out. He still helplessly swung his weapons out, not making a scratch on Mary's fair skin. He sat on the ground, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"Well, see the positive at the very least! You're equally shit everywhere, which means you can only improve everywhere!" Mary tried to cheer him up, only succeeding at the opposite effect, her mocking words hurting the down-stricken Glenn.

He leaned his head backward, resting it against a nearby wall. He looked at his hands, then at the numerous weapons abandoned on the training ground. He didn't have any affinity for any weapons, sadly. Perhaps he was destined to fight using spells and ranged attacks. He shook his head, refusing to accept such a result. It would be way more practical if he could use both, be it melee fighting or magic.

His eyes suddenly froze in thought.

Wait.

Using both? Magic and melee fighting, but combined?

He rested his chin in his left hand while staring at his right. Diamanes was still silent as ever, probably enjoying a nice rest. It seemed like the entity was bored of watching his training.

Glenn started imagining something. Since he was terrible at every weapon, why would it matter which one he should use? Perhaps, he should try and use them depending on the situation. Something that usually would be impossible, just because moving around with a thousand weapons wasn't really practical. Switching weapons using dimensional storage was out of the question since it would leave him open for attacks for at least a few seconds.

But what if he could conjure weapons with magic? Simply shaping Mana to take a physical form appropriate for each situation. Glenn shaped a weapon in his mind, a simple dagger, and started channeling Mana in his right hand, hoping for a dagger to appear. Soon enough, a translucid, blue dagger formed itself in his hand.

He could feel its weight, but could also feel like he could control that setting. If he wanted to make it heavier or lighter, he could. If he wanted to make it sharper, or tougher he could, similarly to how he made different shields with the Magic Wall or the Portable Shield.

This...If he used it correctly, it could become the strongest of weapons, which would even grow stronger alongside him, since it was based on his Mana. He then made a strange expression, imagining a much more complex weapon. Soon enough, he was forced to hold his new weapon with two hands, a heavy chainsaw sword appearing.

The chain alongside the blade suddenly started, making Glenn's hand vibrate, exactly as he willed it. He stared at a reinforced steel dummy nearby, before slashing at it. His chain sword simply cleaved through it in a matter of seconds. The young man stopped the Mana flow, staring at the remains of the steel dummy.

He turned toward Mary, who was looking at the whole process with a lost look. Glenn made a wide grin, summoning Mana in his right hand.

"I think I found my weapon!"