A day passed since the new arrivals showed up. Once Cloud and Val found out what happened, they responded as expected.

The two congratulated Mikella for her decision, and Val specifically for holding back despite Basil’s comment. Once again, Zeke worried whether this kind of encouragement would push Mikella down a wrong path, but he put that aside.

Cloud seemed particularly amused, and even wished to see that with a recording crystal, something akin to a video camera that lets them see past events. Though when they revealed that Zacharia didn’t really turn that upset, that dampened his mood a little.

They talked about the merchants that arrived and the plethora of life-saving supplies that would now be distributed across the town. Thanks to everyone’s donations, they were able to purchase enough to lend the people their aid, including several foodstuffs that would last for months on end for cheap. As for the materials needed for the soldiers, that was left to Zacharia’s jurisdiction. While the two showed some concern, Val reassured them that at the very least, Zacharia held his soldiers’ progress as top priority.

Once they left the household for training that day, leaving Clara to Val who stayed at home once again, they talked about what to do. Zeke worried as to what kind of welcome Mikella would get, especially from Basil after what she did yesterday.

They traveled to the entrance, where the training would be placed at, and once they arrived at the former ramparts, now turned a watch tower for any incoming danger, he saw the massive group of soldiers waiting for them.

Thankfully, it wasn’t just Zacharia’s soldiers standing by. Myra and her team were standing by as well, waving them over to their side. Zeke was glad that they weren’t at least alone, and if anything, provided an eyewitness in case anything were to happen.

He wasn’t worried about what might happen to Mikella. More like the opposite. He needs to make sure nobody mader her out to be some sort of criminal.

“Heard what you did,” Myra commented, sporting her usual soldier’s leather armor and spear. “Nice.”

“Thanks,” Mikella flashed a fierce grin. “It felt nice.”

“It wasn’t nice for me,” Zeke grumbled, and that got a consoling pat from Philip the mage by his side. He nodded to him in thanks.

“I still think you shouldn’t have to heal up the guy,” Jackie commented by the side, crossing his arms.

Zeke took another look at him, and nodded in half-agreement. While he can’t really ignore someone getting hurt by Mikella’s sudden strike, he was glad to see Jackie doing well. After the funeral pyre, Jackie didn’t seem like his normal excited self.

But after seeing him again, there was that spark again in his eyes. It was just… controlled now, as though this time there’s nobody around to look out for him if he messed up.

Of course, that won’t happen with Zeke by their side. He also noticed on Zacharia’s side the scout from their former dungeon raid. Paul looked over, looking as nervous as before. When he noticed Zeke staring at him, he looked away, almost ashamed.

“I think Paul feels like shit for what happened to you guys,” Myra commented when she noticed Zeke’s stare. “I don’t think he should be blamed, though.”

“I don’t blame him at all,” Zeke agreed. “What can you do? You can’t exactly go against your superior’s orders.”

“Still, the audacity of that general–arresting you guys for being suspicious? That was already done and over with from the last horde attack,” Philip said, shaking his head. “And the dungeon, and the town construction? You have to be stupid to ignore all that.”

Zeke wanted to agree, desperately, but he couldn’t. After all, if both Philip and Paul knew exactly where they came from, it wasn’t surprising that they would have different opinions of them. He can’t blame them either.

Soon, Zacharia stood at the center, looking over at all of them with his usual stone-like gaze.

“Line up, it’s time for training!”

The moment his words left him, each soldier of his retinue immediately settled in line. Piker among their numbers, they formed a concrete twin array of soldiers, each saluting the general in tow. The soldiers of the Eve Glade, however, didn’t move at all, instead standing by with serious gazes.

“Today marks the first joint training session between those of Eve Glade, and the ones trained by the kingdom. Take this as a chance to evaluate yourselves, and gauge your strengths from those outside the kingdom. There are many dangers, and just as many unexpected issues that might crop out. Our duty is to be the bulwark of the kingdom, to stand against those who wish harm against our country, and to serve the king of Sham-la!”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

The soldiers responded in unison, almost united in terms of their spirit and determination. There was a fire in their eyes, something that kindled greatly for each word the general spoke.

“For today, as per requested, we shall have bouts to study another’s fighting form. I have noticed that you all wished to see if these warriors are capable of standing by your side. For that, we have a capable healer to fix whatever problems might arise, so weapons are allowed.”

Zeke’s brows raced to the top of his head. They usually stuck with wooden weapons, but if actual weapons are involved, just how far is Zacharia going to treat this training?

As though already knowing exactly what’s going to happen, Zacharia turned to the only one glaring daggers at Mikella this whole time. “As per your request, you shall be the first to fight, Basil.”

“Sir!” Basil responded, a nearly maniacal gleam in his eyes. “Thank you, sir!”

“As for all of you…”

Zacharia turned to the Eve Glade soldiers, but he was staring particularly at Mikella who was also dressed in her armor. With her weapon on hand, her steel sword enchanted to handle her attacks, he nodded.

“Which one of you wishes to face Basil and test your might?”

“We don’t need any more fanfare,” Mikella spoke up, stepping forward. “I’ll beat him up for you.”

After receiving another nasty glare from Basil, either from being insulted again or perhaps disrespecting the general in front of him, Mikella turned back to Zeke. She had that look in her eyes again, the same one that he hated to see so often.

The one where she was saying to not use his barriers for her no matter how dangerous things get. Without getting any prompts like before, Zeke nodded.

“Just… don't make it hard for me to heal, okay?” He simply said, and thankfully she smiled and nodded back before stepping over to the open field where Basil stood, his own sword on hand.

Surprisingly, that’s when Zacharia came over to him, and stood by a few feet away. He didn’t seem to want to stand by their side, but more like to speak to Zeke at some point. It made sense, with him being a supporter.

That’s when Zacharia asked him a question that really made him still.

“How high is your healing skill?”

“Uhh…” Zeke stuttered, the sudden question making him stagger. “I-It recently got to Level 8.”

“Good, then…” Zacharia suddenly shouted. “The fight will continue on and will only stop short of death! Fighters, at the ready!”

Zeke groaned inwardly as the two readied themselves for a fight to the literal near-death. Myra consoled him with a pat on his back, revealing a fierce smile on her own.

“Hey, don’t worry! Mikky can handle this,” She smiled at him. “But I think she’ll become more powerful if you cheer her on.”

Zeke flushed a little at that, but then, he would feel motivated too if he was out there and Mikella cheered him on. Sure, he might mess up, but he knew Mikella wouldn't.

So, assuring himself, he sent all good vibes to Mikella with his mind as the two faced each other down. He knew she would win–he just hoped it wouldn't turn into a bloodbath.

…..

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

With the crowd watching with glee at the incoming bout, Mikella forced herself to reset her mind. She came in fully aware that she would be fighting Basil, but she needed to realize something important.

With actual weapons, she can’t screw around. And now, Zeke won’t support her. There was no better motivator to try harder than that.

She watched placidly at the man who prepared himself with light foot steps to get his gears moving. After that, he twisted his neck and shoulders, rotating his muscles before adjusting his stance with his sword. She realized though that it looked different compared to other swords, more bisected in strange intervals along the blade.

Mikella did the same. She put herself into her own stance, made specifically for her favorite sword. She felt the comforting weight in her hands, barely heavy thanks to the enchantment. Her high Strength stat made it easier, sure, but it only increased its incredible damage output.

She noticed something strange however with Basil’s movements. While miniscule, his form for sword fighting was off. He only wielded the sword one handed, and he positioned it at an angle to the side rather than facing it towards her. For someone with a high Sword Mastery level as hers, Mikella found it odd.

It was like it was for an entirely different weapon.

Before she could study that form further, Basil’s voice reached her.

“You sure you don’t wanna back down?” Basil taunted, a grin rising on his face. “Without your man backing you up with magic, you’re just a little girl in my eyes.”

“This little girl kicked your ass yesterday without magic, didn’t she?” Mikella quipped back with ease. “What does that make you?”

“Unprepared,” Basil responded. To her surprise, he didn’t sound the least bit miffed. “And it was unexpected. But I can learn. That’s how I win.”

She knew right then that she had to take this fight seriously. Basil wasn’t one of the general’s soldiers for nothing. He had the same air as Piker despite his shitty attitude… though apparently that might be well-connected considering Piker’s attitude from before.

The two stared each other down, the crisp cold air hitting their exposed skin on their faces, the leaves of the trees surrounding them beginning to fall. Zacharia then raised his hand.

“Begin!”

She never saw it coming. A sharp blade headed straight to her head, ready to pierce right through her skull. She only had a bit of time before she dodged and rolled to the side. She angled her sword and tried to swing at the man, but found that he was farther than she expected.

Basil pounced at her then, thrusting with his sword. She deflected the blade, meeting him face to face before spinning and swinging her sword back at him.

Basil sidestepped in time and thrust back at her. Strangely, he was too far to make that move effective, but she found herself once again nearly stabbed as the blade managed to graze through her right waist.

It barely hit her, yet she could feel the slight sting of the attack as she backed off. Her mind whirled. How did that sword attack her from such a distance?

She found herself once again at the receiving end of the blade, only barely twisting her head to avoid it. It was then that she saw it–but she couldn’t believe it.

Basil was still far away from her, but his sword still managed to reach her. The sword was literally stringing along gray-like cords, separated into sharp triangular shapes in multiple pieces. What she saw was just the tip of the sword extended so far away from the actual hilt that it shouldn’t have been possible.

Just as quickly as it came for her, the sword retracted itself back to its original position in less than a second. Basil smirked as he didn’t let up, rushing at her again.

Now that she saw the trick, she reacted better. She can’t separate from him for long even for a second, the unexpected range attack capable of hitting her. So she closed in and stabbed with the blade. Once Basil dodged, she pivoted, moving along with her Sword Mastery’s guidance.

She stopped mid-thrust, used the hilt to disrupt Basil’s movements by pushing against his raised knee, then stabbed back at him. Basil managed to dodge with ease as the two danced across the barren field, their blades striking with finesse and finality behind each blow.

For a moment, Mikella had the upper hand. From the exchange, she could tell that she had an advantage thanks to her Acrobatics skill. However, she noticed that while he didn’t seem to be using any support skills, he made up for it with his strange whip sword’s movements.

Like a whip, it didn’t just stick with extending forward. It bended and swerved like a snake as he tried to strike at her at odd angles, particularly where she can’t turn around without facing Basil upfront. If she was honest, without Acrobatics, she probably would’ve been pierced a few times by now.

There was also another issue. Her stamina. It waned after each second in combat trying to avoid each strange strike Basil sent out. It was frustrating her as she can’t make up for what she can’t expect so easily. She could use Draconic Fury, but she wanted to save it as it really tired her out once the buff was over.

So far, she was managing to avoid most strange attacks with the combination of Dragon Descent and Aerial Advantage, improving her Dexterity some more. Though she hadn’t once used Heavenly Strike, as the skill is too eye-catching to not be avoided.

Her favorite skill, Hawk Eyes, was working for improving her damage, but since every human being has the same weaknesses, it didn’t do much else. Basil was just making it hard for her to attack those.

He truly was different from yesterday, but that didn’t stop her as she planned. If conserving her Stamina wasn’t an option, then all she had to do was put herself on the offensive.

She kept making strike after strike, uncaring for the sword strikes trying to go after her. Some nicked at her skin, nearly tearing her cheek off as blood trickled from the blow, but that tiny strike at her cheek caused Basil to wince as she managed to swing her blade and cut through the side of his left thigh.

Another strike came at her from the side, but she only spun slightly, letting the small blade cut through her hip as she slammed her foot against his own, causing him to grunt in pain.

Finally, she put him on the defensive as she kept making strike after strike, not caring at least about his small blows. While it nicked and bled her, if that was the power behind those strikes, she can handle it.

Even as her Stamina waned, her Endurance spoke highly of her defensive nature. Even without Zeke’s barriers, she can still hold her own in a fight. Plus, Pain Resistance was really pulling the weight behind her seemingly reckless actions.

She saw concern in Basils’ eyes, and that’s when she saw her chance. She swung her sword, and before he could react, she stabbed right at his chest.

But what she saw during that small chance of him getting knocked back from the attack wasn’t a look of horror–but a look of a predator finding his chance.

She felt her skin tingle as she noticed something was wrong. The air–it seemed to… whine somehow. Her ears perked up as she finally noticed something was off. She turned her head, uncaring about where her blade was landing as Basil’s flying blade headed straight for her–and it began to glow a bright hot red.

A loud explosion burst apart near them, covering them in dust and dark smoke. She was blown away as her entire left side from the waist up was burned from the explosion. Pain overrode her Pain Resistance as she screamed out.

Landing far away, she saw Basil running straight at her, showing a manic gleam as he shouted.

“What’s wrong, girly?” He roared. “Can’t handle a little fire?!”

He swung his sword like a crazed torturer as the blade separated into small pieces, coiling around him as the tip of the blade glowed a bright hot red.

It was there that she sensed Mana–not enough like Zeke, but enough to notice the whining coming from it. As Basil’s sword whipped at her, she dodged, but the missing blade caused an explosion near her, causing her to stumble her landing.

She kept dodging as now she can’t really ignore the blade. Each time it struck, it blew up the surrounding area. The explosion was akin to a small firework, but the impact left a lasting impression on her body as she felt her skin writhing in agony from the heat of the explosion.

Her breathing was ragged as her Stamina was reaching low. Her fingers were hurting from constantly trying to swing her sword wide to avoid being hit with an explosion directly from each clash of their weapons. Her mind worked overdrive, riddled with pain and panic.

There was one way, but she was afraid of losing herself. If she made a mistake here, she won’t get away with a simple injury–she may even end up hurting themselves both. But then she remembered.

Zeke was waiting to heal her at the end. No matter what happens, even if she goes crazy with her attunement, Zeke would be there to protect her, and more importantly, everyone around her if she loses control.

So she left all the troublesome parts to Zeke in her mind as she called for the lightning within her spirit. Just as the hot bladed tip reached for her, which at the very end showed a smirking Basil, she wanted nothing more than to smack at him. Her eyes sharpened.

And she rushed.

Electricity coiled around her skin and hot fire fueled her veins. Her mind became clearer, her eyes turned brighter as thunder clapped in her soul. She didn’t just use lightning–she was lightning herself.

She dashed forward, avoiding the whip fluidly like coiling snakes as she made her way straight towards the surprised Basil. But she didn’t strike with her sword.

Her hands charged with power, she grabbed at the cord in between the blades, her strengthened reactions allowing her this much control before she poured all of her Mana into her attunement. All of it.

Pain riddled her as she felt the energy within her soul trying to devour her from the inside out. But it was a welcoming pain. While it hurt, she had been practicing how to use it and the best way she could use it to her fullest control is to let the pain guide her to control it.

The electricity sometimes acted so out of reach to her, but when she goes all out like this, that’s when she could control it to a certain extent. It was the before and during the process of strengthening her magic was where she was worried the most.

But she didn’t worry at all now that the electricity reached the cord and traveled along the entirety of it, obviously because the cord was made with some metal material. And since metal was conductive, the electricity followed with ease straight back to the owner–back at Basil.

The poor man screamed in agony, his eyes turning nearly white as electricity charged his body to the core, leaving him in charred cinders. With the loss of his body’s movements, the sword, along with the whip and cord, just lost all tension, leaving it tousled up and forgotten on the ground with the blades still cluttered separately.

Basil stood for just a moment, his mouth gaping wide as nothing but white was shown in his eyes. His skin was charred, burnt like embers from a passed campfire. Falling to his knees, Basil fell face first to the ground, unconscious.

The energy cooled, though she winced as her mind finally recognized the pain. It was too much for her to recover even by putting Meditation on full blast, but just as she was about to turn to get help, Zeke was already there, his eyes widened.

He looked like he was at the cusp of losing himself in his nervousness. His eyes were wide and his skin pale from just watching the fight. But Mikella could barely think of anything else as she smiled at him.

He trusted her enough that even though she was in this much pain, he hasn’t once set off a barrier for her. That alone got her to smile at him.

“I won…” She said before she let herself close her eyes and relax as Zeke’s Recovery took over.