Mary couldn't help but facepalm, the heel of her hand making a resounding thud against her forehead before a long, exasperated sigh escaped her lips. Glenn, his Mana twirling lazily in his right hand, looked at her with an expression of genuine puzzlement.
"What?"
A cold smile curled at the corner of her lips as she met Glenn's inquisitive gaze.
"Glenn, have you ever wondered why some people dedicate their entire lives to mastering just one weapon? Becoming sword masters, spear masters, and the like?"
Glenn, ever the casual student, simply shrugged, absently scratching his chin.
"Maybe they like that one weapon, you know?"
Mary's frustration boiled over, her patience running thin as she smacked the back of his head, sending him jerking forward.
"No, Glenn, it's because mastering a weapon takes a lifetime!" she snapped, her voice tinged with irritation. She reached for her knife, a gleaming blade that danced effortlessly between her nimble fingers. Her movements, though swift, were controlled, betraying no fear of accidentally cutting herself.
"Has it ever occurred to that stubborn mind of yours that becoming proficient with those weapons you summon through magic might take just as long?"
Glenn took a cautious step backward, her sudden fervor pushing him away.
"And what are you going to do once you are out of Mana? Use your fist? Too bad the other guy will have a blade in his hands!"
The young man conceded, trying to calm the angry teacher, his hands raised in front of him in surrender.
"Alright, alright!"
Mary moved closer, pointing an accusing finger at his chest, her eyes flashing with intensity.
"So, until I say otherwise, you're going to train with a real weapon and keep your magical whimsy out of the training arena. Understood?"
With a final poke at Glenn's chest, she pushed him back, throwing him to plop down onto the ground. He chuckled, bewildered but willing to comply. Mary shook her head dejectedly before making her way to the weapons rack. There, she selected the largest, heaviest, and longest sword she could find, alongside a simple shortsword.
"Since you have no affinities," she began, "I'll train both your body and your technique. A spear would be simpler to learn, but a sword is more versatile...so a sword it'll be."
Glenn quirked an eyebrow, genuinely curious. He understood the necessity of honing his technique, but his strength felt unparalleled already. His curiosity was soon quenched when Mary explained her reasoning.
"Since your body is already so unnaturally strong, it's going to be hard to train it using common methods. Using this stupidly huge piece of garbage is going to strain your muscles, and use some that you never even knew existed before."
With an effortless flick of her wrist, she tossed the greatsword toward him. Glenn barely managed to catch it, nearly dropping it due to its colossal weight. It must have weighed around fifteen kilograms and stood at an impressive two and a half meters. Crafted from oak wood, it bore holes in the 'blade,' revealing its leaden core—the source of its considerable weight.
"In addition," Mary continued, "if you can learn to handle this monstrosity, you'll become proficient with any lighter weapons as a bonus."
She clasped her hands behind her neck, resting her head upon them.
"You won't be a master, but you'll know how to defend yourself with them. Being a jack of all trades can outperform a true master, in the right conditions."
Glenn inspected the unwieldy greatsword in his hands, and on the hilt, he noticed an engraving that read, "The Fool's Trainer."
Huh.
He gave the weapon a few experimental swings, struggling to control the stupidly unwieldy behemoth. Though fifteen kilograms didn't seem heavy for him, gravity's relentless pull made it feel five times as cumbersome.
Glenn glanced at Mary and then back at The Fool's Trainer.
"Wait, am I supposed to spar with you using this?" he inquired, a bead of sweat forming on his brow.
The woman sneered before shaking her head.
"No, I'll teach you some moves, and you'll practice them until I say otherwise."
Glenn's gaze shifted to the wooden shortsword nearby.
"And what about this?" he asked, gesturing toward the smaller weapon with his chin. "Why did you bring that out?"
Mary's smile grew predatory once more.
"Oh, that's for sparring with me, of course! Did you think I was done with you?"
Glenn's face drained of color as he sighed, mentally preparing himself for the ordeal ahead. It was all for his good, he reminded himself. Yes, all for his good.
Damn it.
----------------------------------------
As Glenn stared up at the sky, his thoughts drifted back to his past on Earth, recalling simpler times when his only concerns revolved around grades and career aspirations. He was able to fool around, mess with his friends, and have time with girls. Now...Well, now he simply felt like dying might be quicker than what he was doing.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Because he had an inkling that he was only one step away from the afterlife after this torture of a training session.
Here in the Nexus, he lay sprawled on the grass, his body aching in every conceivable place, every breath a reminder of his pain. His hands were blistered, and his left eye, swollen from a brutal hit delivered by Mary, barely allowed him to see. Even his bouts with Sahro hadn't left him in such a pitiful state.
But that wasn't the worst of it, oh no. The worst part was that it wasn't a one-time thing. Mary wasn't done with him. They had to meet every afternoon, every day, starting from today. For some reason, the woman was hell-bent on training him, summoning an old debt or whatever every time he was asking why she was doing this. The memory of The Fool's Trainer's weight in his hands lingered, its relentless swings ingrained in his muscle memory. He must have swung that monstrous thing a thousand times, and with each failure, he endured a punishing blow from Mary. Judging by the current state of his body, one could guess he'd failed quite often.
Nevertheless, Glenn felt a measure of satisfaction. With each passing day, he sensed his strength growing, his understanding of Mana deepening. He was inching closer to the Third Mana Circle. It wouldn't be long before he became a True Initiate. In addition, perhaps in a few weeks, he would be able to defend himself in melee, becoming the epitome of a magic swordsman, or whatever his strange build should be called.
'So, when are you planning to take action?' Diamanes mused, his boredom evident in his tone. 'You know, do something genuinely useful?'
Glenn groaned in response, his swollen mouth making it difficult to articulate words. His face was marked with bruises, and his left eye was nearly swollen shut.
'I'll do exactly that when the damned Baron come in the Northern Town. Right now, I'll use this time to build my strength. Isn't that exactly what you wanted?' Glenn answered tiredly, a little annoyed at the lack of sympathy that Diamanes showed to him.
'I want you to get to the Third Mana Circle, not just watch as you get beat up. Even if it's quite entertaining, don't get me wrong, but you know, it does get tiring at some point,' countered his left hand.
'Well, all in due time, Diamanes. Right now, my priority is on trying to survive Mary's training and improve my magic.' Glenn closed the subject, straining himself to stand up.
"Argh...Fuck..."
After a few, painful seconds, he managed to leave the Nexus, heading for the Dining Hall. He mindlessly paid a silver coin to the canteen worker, picking up his tray. The meal consisted of a slice of roasted meat, maybe boar, dipping in mushroom sauce on a platter of roasted root vegetables. A round bread was disposed in the corner of his plate, freshly baked. He sat at the closest table, eating his meal slowly, each bite reminding him of the earlier painful lesson. He noticed that Cleaner's Workshop bread was slightly worse compared to the Hearth's bakery bread. Maybe Laurence, the baker, had a secret recipe or something.
He concentrated solely on his meal, oblivious to the fact that someone in front of him was giving him a peculiar gaze. After giving up on a slightly too big piece of meat, Glenn leaned back in his chair, raising his eyes from his meal. He jumped in surprise when he noticed the mint-smelling woman sitting in front of him.
"Wow–"
"What are you doing here?" She asked with a dry tone.
"Eating?" Glenn answered by reflex, before shaking his head, "No, what are you doing here? Can you stop stalking me?"
The woman leaned back, a disgusted expression on her face.
"What? Me stalking you? You're the one following me everywhere!"
Glenn scoffed, taking out his bottle of cider from his dimensional pouch. He had drunk half of it, and he had to admit, it was a really good cider. He'll have to buy another bottle next time he visits the Hearth's Bakery. He served himself a cup, ignoring the glares of the woman in front of him.
"I don't even know who you are. Who cares about a whacko who likes to perfume herself with mint, anyway?"
The young lady's face turned red, but she quickly managed to regain her composure. "Well, I'm sure even mint is better than the mix of blood, sweat, and tears that's coming off you."
Diamanes sighed in his host's mind, mentally face-palming.
'Why do you have to mess with everyone you meet, you dumb–'
"Sorry if the smell of effort displeases you, looking at you I can guess you must not have smelled it a lot," Glenn countered, cutting Diamanes alongside his piece of meat, making it small enough to fit his swollen mouth.
The lady froze and grabbed her belly in shock, before countering, "Oh, didn't it come to your little, pitiful mind that maybe I can exercise effort without looking like I just got rolled over by a car?" She leaned on the table oppressively, her face as red as a tomato.
"Yeah, I guess you never took physical classes–" Glenn paused, his tired brain suddenly disrupted by something.
"Wait." He slowly placed his fork and knife back beside his plate, before wiping his mouth. No, he probably heard it wrong.
Still.
"You...what did you say?" He asked gravely, his earlier glee gone, replaced by dark seriousness.
The lady blinked, before sighing in frustration. She sat back in her chair and waved her hand dismissively.
"What, did I offend you? Oh, I am sooo~ sorry." She mocked, about to leave Glenn's table.
"Car." He blurted out. The lady froze momentarily, before turning back slowly toward him.
"What?"
"You said 'rolled over by a car', right?"
The lady made a confused expression.
"Uh, yes, 'rolled over by a cart', yes? Are you deaf additionally to being stupid?"
Glenn stood silent, not answering the provocation. The lady shrugged, before leaving. Diamanes hesitantly chimed in.
'Uh, what was that?'
The young man shook his head, breathing out in disappointment.
'I thought she was from the same world as me. Getting rolled over by a car is something that happens relatively often there, sadly.'
Diamanes smacked his lips, uninterested.
'So what if she is? That wouldn't have changed anything.'
Glenn rubbed his face thoughtfully.
'Maybe, but that would have felt good to meet another person like me. I don't know if I'll ever encounter Exan, and this guy probably already got used to this world.'
The young man slowly finished his plate, disheartened, before heading back to the Dormitories. The night was about to fall. The training session with Mary had taken most of his time and energy. He arrived in front of his room and found Sahro waiting beside his door. The Black Heir restrained a chuckle for a second, before bursting into laughter, holding his stomach and pointing a finger at Glenn's face.
"HAHAHA, look at you!" Sahro proceeded to mock him for at least a dozen minutes, which Glenn endured patiently before they finally headed into his room.
Glenn sighed, before explaining his discoveries.
"Vampires exist, and they're probably...what did you call them again?"
"Eubayd!" Sahro spat, the word disgusting him.
Glenn waved his hand.
"Well, don't worry, there are good chances our Baron Howard is a black mage and not a eubayd. He showed himself multiple times under the sun, after all."
Sahro froze, wincing.
"About that, there's something you should know."
Glenn looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"What?"
The Black Heir sighed.
"From what I've heard, one common thing about him is that he is always strolling around while hiding under an umbrella. Same for the Black Heir that accompanies him."
Glenn's mouth opened as no sound escaped from it.
Damn it. The Black Heir too? Didn't that mean...
Shit.
This was the worst-case scenario.
Things just became a lot harder now.