Ash followed the muffled sound of trees falling, which led him into the distant forest behind their cottage. He began to see trees bent and slashed, and some of their trunks had slash marks.

Pah! Pah!

The sound of something blunt clashing against one another in rapid succession reached him as he saw two figures shifting through the ruined landscape when he came out of the undergrowth.

Martha moved flawlessly as she brandished her wooden sword with a single hand, which Lucy tried to defend against desperately using both of her hands.

Martha kept on pressing on, using different slashes and steady footwork. She looked like she was playing with Lucy, but she was testing Lucy’s reactions and counterattacks.

But suddenly, Martha released a strike so fast that even with Ash's senses, he could barely follow. Martha’s sword blurred toward Lucy!

Boom!

The tree behind Lucy was hit, releasing a sound comparable to a low earthquake and leaving a slashed mark on the tree. As she squatted below, her eyes reflected the wooden sword Martha had just used.

In the distance, with the undergrowth behind him, he was too shocked to speak. Are those even real woods? They’re made of the same material, aren’t they? Wait, I need to stop them! Lucy, get out of there!

Arf! Arf!

Lucy dodged on time by squatting and rolling away. She abruptly stood up to reorient herself as she slowly made another sword stance. She squinted her eyes as she observed Martha slowly turning around towards her.

What are you guys doing!? Martha, you're going to kill Lucy! Stoooop!

Ruff!? Arf! Awoooo!

Martha seemed to notice Ash on the edge of her vision as her eyes shifted slightly to the side. This split-second distraction is what Lucy desperately needed!

Lucy disappeared for a split second before reappearing above the unbroken tree with a grin on her face.

Martha was able to follow her movements, but then, with a pounce, Lucy disappeared.

Martha’s pupils dilated as she darted her eyes around looking for Lucy, but her search was interrupted by a scream when she gazed upwards.

"Eat my Faalliiiing-Heaven-Strike!"

Lucy reappeared mid-air with the sun on her back, leaving Martha momentarily blinded. She brandished her beat-up wooden sword with a dazzling smile. Her short black hair was caught by the wind and was flowing crazily behind her.

BOOM!

Martha! LUCY!

Clouds of dust began to spread as Ash dodged some chunks of soil while struggling to find Lucy. Before the dust even settled, he heard a cough.

"Cough! Cough! Cough!"

“Lucy, what did I tell you about screaming during combat?” With a commanding tone, Martha's voice came from the side as the dust settled. She's covering her nose, but she still looks as beautiful as ever. The dust seemed to be respecting her domain, which then slowly bowed around her as it fell to the ground.

Lucy stood up in the middle of the mini-crater with dust all over her. Her beat-up wooden sword broke in two after the stunt she pulled. She was still smiling and coughing when she saw Ash.

"Cough! Oh, hi-cough! Ash! Thanks for the assist! I almost had her! Isn't that right, teacher?"

That was dangerous! Wipe that smile from your face! What is that Chuni name for your move!?

Arf! Arf! Awoo!?

Martha ignored them both and stoically stated, "Unrefined, predictable, and full of excessive movements. You need to work better on how you think your enemy perceives and reacts to your attacks.

Lucy kept on panting as she ogled the clear blue morning sky before shifting her pupils at Martha. "But teacher, I did better than last time, right? I was able to last longer too."

With both arms, she lifted herself from the ground.

Martha was silent for a moment as she scrutinized Lucy’s figure. "Better, yes. But you can do even more. When the fight dragged on, your movements became sloppy. You no longer executed feints, which focused all your energy on using more stamina-consuming attacks that ultimately made your swordsmanship predictable and easily blocked. Becoming passive in true combat is very deadly. Lucy, never forget this.”

Lucy's breathing then began to stabilize as she propped her body up, and with a small curl on the corner of her lips, she replied, "But I'm stronger now."

"You didn't let me finish," Martha responded.

"You're still sloppy, unrefined, and would need a lot of practice with various defensive stances and counterattacks, but, you did improve. Except for the final moment, you were cautious about your weapon's durability. It was my mistake that I didn't get you a new training sword. I better ask that woman for another soon. The point is, you did not only use the terrain to your advantage, you even used the environment."

Martha then looked up and eyed the sun setting over the horizon for a moment before shifting them down into Lucy's blue eyes. "You used the light to your advantage and temporarily blinded the enemy."

She paused for a second before continuing, “And I'm proud of your growth."

Lucy was still processing what Martha said when her eyes shined for a second as she blinked them a couple more times. "Teacher, did you just compliment me!?" She then turned around and asked Ash, "Ash! Did I hear that right? She just complimented me, right?"

She did. Ash gave her a slight nod.

Arf.

"Yes! Teacher complimented me! Teacher complimented me! She said I'm the best! She said I'm the B-E-S-T!"

While Lucy was executing her own victory dance, Ash observed a small crack in Martha's countenance and thought, Despite being strict and hard to approach, Martha seriously cares for Lucy, huh? But it still doesn’t excuse this kind of destruction.

Tsk.

Ash clicked his tongue as he gazed at the aftermath.

Trees were tumbling down as some ripped-off bark and leaves scattered all around them. Some trunks that are lucky to be left intact have some caved in from something blunt. Patches of soil were plowed, leaving the forest floor devoid of grass.

As Ash extended his observation, he could see the same remnants from previous instances possibly worth years of training.

Martha shook her head as she told her, "What I said was you moved a step forward in some but took a step back in most. But you still earned a pass."

Lucy froze in the middle of her dance as a word kept reverberating inside her head, Passed…Passed… Passed… She turned her head around, her face full of anticipation as her sapphire-blue eyes sparkled with the morning light. "Teacher, does that mean?"

Martha was silent for a moment before nodding slightly.

"Yes, I'm going to give you your sword at the end of the month, as promised when you passed my training."

“It's about time you have yours since you just survived the bear attack yesterday. Even if I increase your degree of caution, you will still go straight to trouble. I concluded it’s time for you to have the proper tool ready whenever such needs arise.”

"Finally! Yes! I'm going to have a sword! A real sword!" She then jumped for joy as she hastily picked Ash up to jump together with his rocking up and down.

That's all you got from her assessment!? Ash tilted his head.

"I'm going to have a sword~! I'm going to have a sword~!"

Please put me down. I'm going to hurl—bleurgh!

After a couple more playful chants and skips, Lucy then went back in a full circle and found Martha no longer smiling and was just staring at her with a pressing gaze.

Lucy hurriedly put the dizzy dog down and composed herself. With her arms on her sides, she bent her head down and exclaimed, "Thank you teacher. I won't let you down!"

Thud!

“Forgive me for my tardiness!”

Gasp! Gasp!

“Did I miss a good bit?”

Ash turned his head along with Lucy and found Bert standing a few meters away from them. He was panting heavily as he leaned over a very large, cylindrical object.

Bert! Where were you!? Martha almost killed Lucy!

Arf! Arf!? Arf!

“Uncle Bert, you’re late! You should’ve heard teacher. She said I’m awesome!” Lucy dropped her broken sword as she dashed over to the wheezing Bert.

“Teacher was going to do her mega slash, and zoom! Then it sliced right through me. But! I wasn't there anymore. I was already down below! To prevent any follow-up attacks, I rolled away, looking for a place where I could execute my ultimate move. But teacher had already destroyed all the bigger rocks nearby, so I only settled for the next best thing. A tree! There! There! Look!” Lucy enthusiastically pointed where she made her jump.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"I was so fast that caela wasn't able to drag me down fast enough, then I pounced and I soared through the air! It’s like I was flying for a split second! And then I executed my super duper ultra mega sonic move! The Falling-Heaven-Strike! And—BAM!”

Gasp!

Lucy spoke so quickly with excitement that she was out of breath for a second before continuing, “I missed.”

She shrugged as she continued, “Well, Teacher dodged. But that’s not the point. The point is, the teacher said I’m awesome!” Lucy clenched both of her fists while grinning from ear to ear as she waited for Bert’s praise.

Where the hell in that story did Martha say that? Ash aggressively asked.

Arf!

Unknowingly, his bark seemed like it was a confirmation to Bert.

Bert eyed Ash, “Really? The Commander did?” Bert, who had already ceased breathing heavily, released his grip on the large drum that had intricately woven designs he was leaning on.

He eyed Lucy for a moment and then at Martha, who was picking something in the distance, and then said, “I thought I was late and started without me. When I heard the explosions, wow! You got me scared there for a minute."

When Bert noticed Martha stopping her stone collection in the distance, he instantly pursed his lips.

“Bert, that's enough,” Martha finally spoke. She gazed at the three of them before turning around.

“Let's get started.”

She said, ‘Let’s get started,’ but she left. Is she trying to get something? And what is it with Bert and that huge drum anyway? While Martha was away, Ash was left with Bert and Lucy. Ash’s eyes were drawn towards the wooden bass drum. He concluded it was a bass drum based on the size. It was too neat for a tribal drum he had seen in his previous life.

Ash walked past Lucy toward the huge drum that reached up to Lucy’s neck and examined it. Even after using “Identify,” it only has the description of an ancient drum created by a tribe with a weird name before the warring eras.

How can this be used in training? Ash asked himself internally as he eyed Bert, who was nonchalant about everything that had happened. It’s like the destruction around him was normal.

He followed Bert’s gaze and was surprised that Lucy was no longer with them. She was now standing far away in the distance as Martha stood on the opposite side. With the destruction around them and the cold morning breeze, a tense atmosphere began to permeate.

“Teacher, I’m ready!” Lucy declared as she angled her sword forward with her feet in a strong stance.

Martha wasted no time and threw a pebble straight at Lucy, interrupting Ash’s thoughts. The pebble looked like it went straight toward Lucy, but it only grazed past her head. Nimbly dodging one after another, Lucy was heading straight for Martha!

Sh*t, what kind of training is this!?

Lucy dodged by sidestepping to her left and starting to run towards Martha. Martha picked up two pebbles this time and threw them with her right hand first, then instantly with her left. With split-second intervals, Martha continued.

Lucy reacted by dodging the first pebble by tilting her head a little and then deflecting the other with her sword. She continued running towards Martha with her sword positioned, ready to strike.

That was insane, Martha! You could've hurt Lucy and given her a concussion! Are you trying to kill her?

Arf! Arf! Arf!

“Shush! You’re disturbing their concentration!” Bert spoke from behind Ash, which irritated him. Ash turned around and started berating Bert.

Arf! Arf! Arf!

But all fell on deaf ears as Ash only spoke in barks. “Shut it, Ash, or Lucy will lose her focus and get hit!” Bert increased the tone of his voice as he reprimanded the chihuahua, as his eyes were still focused on watching the fight.

What, I’m the one disturbing? I’m trying not to send anyone to Dr. Kolver for crying out loud! Ash then turned around and observed. He saw Lucy dodge incoming projectiles while she would block and deflect every pebble coming her way, and he realized something.

The only thing I did was try to sabotage Lucy’s training. Fudge, I didn’t see it earlier and was too concerned for Lucy’s wellbeing. This is how she dodged and fought the bear to almost a draw. Lucy and Martha were still going at it when a pebble went past Lucy’s shoulder, tearing through her shirt, which made Ash wince for a second. Lucy was already close to Martha, with only less than ten meters left.

This is why Lucy is so strong despite her young age. Pushing through the limits of her endurance until she collapses, hunting her food, sleeping when she can, and now training with her teacher, Martha, is she doing this every day?

Ash then went silent, which made Bert happy. So the duo both went silent as the fight continued. Lucy jumped back as a pebble was about to hit her head, leading her to grunt because her dash was interrupted.

“Teacher! No fair!

"Lucy, in a battle, the enemy won’t show you mercy-” Martha was trying to teach Lucy mid-fight, but she wasn’t able to complete her sentence.

A beaten wooden sword was thrown at her, which she immediately intercepted with another one of her throws. The beaten-wooden sword bounced off and changed trajectory, spinning mid-air!

Thud!

Instantly, she saw Lucy was about to crash into her, but strangely, Lucy's hands were already in the position that she was holding on to something, she was surprised as her pupils followed the spinning, beaten-wooden sword away from her crash path.

Martha just took one step to the side, easily dodging the incoming human projectile.

Crash!

With the tip of her wooden sword hanging over Lucy's neck, Martha turned around to help Lucy up.

Lucy received Martha’s hand and stood up as she rubbed the dust off of her face and clothes and glowered at Martha. “Teacher! That wasn’t how you deflected my sword the last time. It was supposed to be thrown in my direction, and I would’ve caught it and executed an awesome move! No Fair!” Lucy complained.

“As I said, in a true fight, an enemy won’t show you any mercy. If I were paid to kill you, you would've already died, Lucy. Always remember that it’s better to execute what you know and master. I’ll let it slide for now since this is training, but don’t do that in a real battle. It could cost you your life just to rely on luck. Although luck is a factor in a fight, it’s too unstable to rely on. For now, just stick to what you know, only use the moves like you did earlier if there’s no other way.”

Lucy scratched her head with her finger for a second, then pointed her finger at Martha. “But you’re my teacher! You won’t kill me! I know that. That’s why I executed that move! Well, I understand what the teacher meant about luck and the others, but! But!”

“Come on, Lucy. You know Martha’s only thinking about what’s best for you. Just listen to what she says for now. I promise you, you will always remember it later on. But hey, you can still do your little tricks on your own. Right Martha?” Bert interrupted the tense situation.

Martha just ignored Bert and continued teaching, "Lucy, your move is exceptional only if it is successfully executed. But the way you positioned your hands could have easily given it out. It was too early, and I caught on. If you had just jumped and maybe looked like you were about to punch me, maybe things would go differently."

Lucy just pouted and looked like she was angry. She closed her eyes while doing a thinking pose and said, “Fine! So we agree that the move was awesome!”

“Hahaha!” Bert just laughed his ass off while holding his stomach. “That’s what she got from all you said, Martha! Bwahahaha!”

Martha just sighed and decided to leave it for later. She looked at Lucy again and said, “Prepare.”

“Hmph!” Lucy just stood there in annoyance as Martha went to Lucy’s initial position before they started training.

“Oh, we’re starting?” Bert stopped laughing and took out two wooden sticks with spherical blunted ends.

Are those drumsticks? How does it help with the training? Ash was left pondering.

Martha and Lucy were staring at each other, standing about twenty-five meters away from each other. Bert was getting ready with his drumsticks, while Ash still looked confused. Ash was about to bark and ask when Martha began her training.

“Sight is always the first thing used by any fighter. Lucy, you can start now.” She started bracing herself for Lucy’s throws. Lucy just looked angry and picked up a bunch of pebbles in her left hand while her right was picking them up from her left, one after the other, throwing a bunch at Martha.

Martha just dodged each of them in a swift but smooth motion. It’s like she was dancing through the morning rain, untouchable.

What was that!? Did she move so fast that I failed to observe how she dodged!?

“We use it to assess our enemies aside from ourselves. Distance, equipment worn by the opponent, their numbers, and the look in their eyes. What if your sight is taken away from you? Martha then closed her eyes. It made Lucy halt in her barrage, with a look of hesitation evident in her eyes.

Which only made Martha speak again. “Continue.”

Lucy was uneasy about throwing, but she was still too angry from earlier and threw a pebble. It was a throw comparable to what she did against the the grizzly bear. Martha avoided it effortlessly by halting her steps for a split second.

It was clear that this was different from what Lucy was used to in their training. Her clear agitation and fear that she would accidentally fatally hit her teacher are obvious by the look in her eyes.

“Without sight, most warriors and the toughest of fighters will question themselves if they can continue going on their road to greatness if they obtain a disadvantage,” Martha continued.

Lucy still kept throwing and was getting angrier and angrier, and not even one hit Martha. Is she bad at throwing, or is Martha too good?

Dum-du-dum,du-dudum~!

Out of nowhere, Bert started hitting the drum.

But Martha continued, “What about hearing?” She screamed towards Lucy to get her voice across. But Lucy was still throwing rocks at her, but this time much slower but much more precise. Martha was now dodging executing larger movements as Lucy squinted her eyes as her throws were getting more and more deadly.

Dum-du-dum,du-dudum~!

Martha slowly closed her eyelids. “When warriors lose their hearing and their sight, they’ll panic and eventually fall into despair. I will no longer be able to fight. I’m a liability. I should quit. These thoughts are normal, but when you have enough experience,

Suddenly, with her eyes still closed, Martha caught the pebbles that Lucy was throwing at supersonic speeds, which she instantly let fall back down to the ground.

This didn't faze Martha in the slightest as she continued her demonstration.

“But then they still have hands. It’s not the end yet. I can still swing a sword and fight.” Martha was about to reach less than five meters away from Lucy as the beat of the drum continued.

“AAHH!”

With anger evident on her face, Lucy no longer thought of anything and just screamed. She used her hands like a Gatling gun and picked up anything that was near her. Pebbles, rocks, twigs, and even clumps of soil, but still, not a single one landed on Martha’s blurry figure.

Dum-du-dum,du-dudum~!

Martha just dodged all of them graciously in a dance. She walks, stops, then turns and glides. It was astonishing. Martha wasn’t hit by a single projectile throughout her stroll. She did all of these with her eyes closed to the distracting beat!

“In conclusion, the most important trait for a warrior is the power of their wills and faith in their training.”

Lucy was left panting, looking mad and tired, as she realized she had nothing left to throw. She just glared at her teacher defiantly. After a few seconds, the beat of the drum stopped as Lucy stabilized her breathing.

“Training is important. A real weapon is important, but sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing, and the different parts of your body are all yours, and they can be trained to improve.” Martha then opened her beautiful auburn eyes, and without a speck of dust in her face or her clothes, she gazed reluctantly at Lucy’s beautiful sapphire eyes that reflected her figure.

She was silent for a moment before she continued, “Luck is a part of fighting, but you,” Martha gestured at Lucy’s figure, “You are who you are. Trust in yourself before relying on other methods. These are the basics of becoming an unbeatable fighter.

“But I don’t want to become a fighter! I want to become like the Laughing Knight! The laughing knight wasn't training with tiny rocks! He's training with hunting bad guys!” Lucy clenched her fists and gritted her teeth.

Bert in the distance, was rotating his shoulder in pain as the small white dog near him had its jaws still open.

What the?

Lucy! Your teacher’s amazing!

Arf! Arf!

With a heavy chest, Martha released a deep sigh. In a gentle tone, she said, “Lucy, I don't want to argue with you anymore. Just think about what I said for the rest of the day. You can bring Ash with you to school today if you want.” Martha then turned around and picked up the wooden training sword she had borrowed from Lucy earlier.

“Ash, let’s go!” Lucy then reluctantly moved closer to Ash but stopped halfway, turned to the retreating back of Martha, and asked. “But teacher, you’ll teach me how you did that earlier, right? Tomorrow!?” She increased the sound of her voice at the end, hoping it would reach Martha.

Martha just raised a hand while still walking away.

Ash will realize how Bert already knew Martha so much that he wasn't scared for their safety but for his being late. Lucy was being unreasonable, so Martha made their training much earlier than usual.

So Bert already knew that with Martha around, no danger would befall Lucy. I guess she lived up to the title of being a commander. A lot of soldiers must have looked up to her. Ash leisurely used his info-gathering hidden skill.

Identify!

Arf!

~Chime~

_____________________

Martha Chasen

Level ?? ???

Health: ????/????

_____________________

Still more question marks…

Suddenly, the translucent screen began to widen, startling Ash which prompted him to step a few paws back.

_____________________

Name: Martha Chasen

Level: ?? Exp ???

Health: ????

Mana: ???

Strength: ??

Dexterity: ??

Agility: ??

Intelligence: ???

Endurance: ??

Perception: ???

Charisma: ???

Unassigned Stat points: 432

Life Form: ??? Order ??? [Human]

Skills: [????], [?????], [????], [?????] …. [????]

Remarks: ????, you are on the cusp of the next evolution.

_____________________

What the?

I can... see the rest of her interface!