Zeke once thought he knew pain. He once thought that his high Pain Resistance was proof that he can handle some things. Not a lot, clearly, but at least some of them.

Unfortunately, he was proven wrong.

He never felt so comfortable laying on the ground, the dirt covering the skin of his battered face like a coolant for his swelling. His outsides and insides were in burning tatters, and he wondered, not for the first time, if he could die like this.

Then the next words reminded him that he wasn’t finished yet.

“Zeke, get up and get into a meditative stance,” Mikella spoke up, her words curt and cold. “We got a lot of work to do.”

It was clear from her tone that she was once more disappointed in him, but that’s not very surprising. For the past several hours of the morning, Mikella and Zeke had been sparring with one another under a specific set of rules.

For one thing, no casting. No weapons either, just to be safe. And finally, and probably the most important–no healing.

He figured that with the power of Recovery, he could quickly get back up since he didn’t need to use his mana while sparring, but Mikella shot that down. It made sense since the whole point of sparring was to fight without using magic at all, and that included healing.

That, and it was a good way to level the Meditation skill.

Zeke rose up from the ground, his arms aching and his body groaning in displeasure, but he forced himself to get into a meditative stance. While they were busy, everyone else was doing their duties. Some of the soldiers took this time to spread out and discover more of the biodome’s locations, trying to get a better grasp of the place and hopefully find the fortress to complete the dungeon’s quest. Normally this would be a team effort, but it was decided that it was best to take it in turns rather than forcing everyone to go into a long expedition. Thanks to Zeke’s barrier and their easy access to their home, it made it easier to just take their time and study the biodome a little more.

This was also a great chance for the soldiers to get some training to get their skills up a few more levels, perhaps reach the maxed levels like Mikella did. So she deserved to stay behind and do exactly that–she wasn’t just helping Zeke with his training, she was also helping others under Val’s guidance. She was becoming more and more knowledgeable about training the soldiers to the point that Val often let her give advice.

As for Myra and Piker, they were still insistently training each other. Though this time other healers took up the mantle of taking care of them as Zeke himself was indisposed.

When he relayed to the lords that he planned on training to keep up with the soldiers, he expected backlash. Perhaps not from Cloud, but either from Val or especially Zacharia. He was surprised to find out that neither of them rejected, and instead were all for letting him train.

If anything, this was something that every mage had to do, even Cloud as the higher level a mage gets, the easier it would be to take the mage down if they only focused on cultivating their magic skills. Just as warriors and archers can get used to using their own magic, mages should also try to be more physical when it comes to survival.

However, nobody told Zeke that without magic, he was absolutely hopeless and it was a surprise at all that he actually survived this whole time.

Pain still wracked his body after sparring with Mikella, her hits unrelenting and feral as he had seen throughout the entire time he knew her. He just never expected to end up being the recipient of those blows for himself.

But eventually, his body soon recovered after his Meditation took over, and he soon stood up with the ghost of an ache in his torso and limbs.

He spotted Mikella doing her own exercises while he recovered. Simple stretches and swinging her fists according to her Acrobatics.

“Alright… I’m ready,” Zeke said, balling his hands into fists. He said the words, but his body was screaming for more time. He needed to quell those instincts as soon as he could.

He was in pain, a lot of it. But he couldn’t be more glad to feel it. After all, despite getting his ass sorely kicked, his attunement didn’t act up at all. And thanks to him not using his magic at all, he didn’t feel all that stuffy with the collar still covering his neck.

“Zeke,” Mikella said, her voice still as stern as earlier. “You need to focus more on reacting faster. You can’t take your time figuring out what to do.”

As usual, Mikella gave her impressions of their last spar session, her words clear cut and to the point. There was no filler, no subtlety to her words–they were direct, and exactly what he needed.

He still winced though as she glared at him.

“I know you like to think. So stop that. You need to feel the flow. Do you think a warrior would just sit back and let you think in peace? That’s stupid, and the guy fighting you would be even more stupid to let you do that.”

“I-I know that,” Zeke nodded. It felt harsh, even if it did come from someone who knew exactly what she was talking about.

“Do you? Because despite me beating your ass, you’re still doing it!”

“I-I can’t just swing like a maniac, you told me that earlier!” Zeke protested, and he instantly regretted it.

“There’s a difference between just ‘swinging’ your fists, and actually punching, Zeke,” Mikella scoffed. “Just balling your hands like that isn’t going to cut it. Also, don’t just use your hands. Use your feet too! They look like tree stumps the way they just stand there!”

Zeke grimaced again. He did have a tendency to not move his legs when he was swinging his arms. For a guy with Parallel Thought as a skill, he sure wasn’t using it right.

“A-Alright, alright,” Zeke nodded fast. “I got it.”

Just as he said those words, a fist came flying at him. He squealed (a very manly one though) as he ducked behind Mikella’s fist trying to bruise his face again. He ducked away immediately as Mikella came into his striking zone without warning again.

Zeke immediately went into his fighting stance, raising his arms to block any attacks and bending his knees to get a good stable foundation.

Yet despite all that, the next few seconds were a blur. Mikella’s punches headed for his torso, his forearms, his shoulders, his abdomen, then finally at his head–all of which he failed to block and took straight on.

Pain raddled his brain, but as he was instructed, he kept pushing himself by swinging his fists–by ‘feeling’ his strikes without thought.

That only got him to get jabbed at his forearm by a quick uppercut and a roundhouse kick to his temple.

Before he could do anything else, he face planted onto the ground, his head covered in dirt and bruises. His temple was aching fiercely, wanting attention and healing. But nothing hurt worse than the next words.

“Get into a meditative stance. We’re going to keep doing this until you get it right.”

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So once again, he failed to ‘feel’ the blows. He was starting to consider that maybe being magical based only might not be so bad.

…..

The next few hours were brutal and painful, but eventually Mikella gave him permission to be relieved of training. Actually, she got him to keep doing push ups and sit ups to get a core foundation of his body, then intense stretches to get his body limber and smooth.

All that time, he never once used Recovery. He could’ve sworn that after all that training and potential healing would have jumped up his skill level, but he ignored that.

Despite the pain, the anguish, the embarrassment of getting his ass handed to him by a girl younger than him, he kept going.

Somehow, despite all this torture, he can’t help but keep going. What else is he supposed to do? Go back to studying?

That wouldn’t work. He didn’t know how, but he swore that nothing would change even if he quit this and went back to studying runes. Instead, he kept doing as Mikella said. Because in the end, she only intended to help him.

He trusted her with all of his heart and soul. If she says it’s good for him, he’ll listen. As he kept doing minor exercises, only watching Mikella train the other soldiers who took the chance to learn from her after she was done handing Zeke a new ass, he wondered what was the point of all of this.

The next hour, however, changed his mind quickly.

> You have gained +2 VIT from your actions.

>

> You have gained +1 STR from your actions.

>

> You have gained +3 END from your actions.

These notifications came bustling in when his body felt almost right again, his injuries healing naturally thanks to his Meditation skill.

He knew the reason why healing wasn’t good for him. It would’ve taken the chance for him to get natural Vitality, but that wasn’t all.

This was the first time he gained stats outside of his leveling and skills. Not since before attaining his Class as a Runist all the way back then.

It was considerably tougher to raise mental stats than physical stats, as Intelligence required reading and learning a plethora of knowledge, and Spirit was just hard as a whole, considering that one needed to channel mana constantly, and everyone was always constantly using mana to some degree.

On the other hand physical stats are hard to raise, but it’s easy to try to gain some if you put in the effort. He realized that his Dexterity stat was left out, but it was obvious as his Dexterity was already pretty high, up in the hundreds.

Seeing his attributes rise up after that constant training gave him new life. It was tough, brutal, and he sometimes wondered whether Mikella was actually a former military woman rather than a gymnast.

But this was proof that his hard work was rewarded by the system. Invigorated by these simple point increases, he returned back to Mikella after she finished her recent bouts.

“Mikky! Spar with me again, please!”

She looked back in surprise, reading his face to see if he was just joking. After seeing his ecstatic smile after seeing his upgrades, she smiled back.

“Ready to get your ass handed again?” She remarked teasingly. Zeke grimaced when those aren’t just simple words.

Still, he shook himself off those doubts. What was pain, if not a chance to grow?

“Maybe I might surprise you this time,” Zeke said back, knowing full well that that wouldn’t happen.

That still got Mikella to grin as the two prepared themselves for another bout.

…..

It’s been almost two weeks since Sissy and Bobo left for some adventure again. All the while Clara was stuck here studying with Vivian again. She didn’t mind learning new things, but it’s so frustrating to be staying here while all the adults were having fun somewhere else.

The idea of them being in trouble didn’t even enter her mind ever since the attack on the town. Sissy has grown super strong since then, and Bobo became someone important in town, calling him a lord. A sense of pride filled Clara’s chest even when it was only Bobo that got the title. She was happy that Bobo was treated so well, even though now he was so busy he barely had time to play with her.

But that was fine. Clara is an adult too, just not yet. She can understand that he is busy helping and saving people. Even Sissy helped build so many new homes in town. When she saw the buildings Sissy built herself, another sense of pride entered her chest, once again knowing that it wasn’t really her own work that did this.

But now they were away again, and who knew how long they would take. She blubbered her lips in boredom as Vivian was done teaching them. Today they learned about the studded star, the giant sun in the sky that’s not really the sun. Even Ana kept asking her what the sun was. She kept explaining that it was the thing that lights the day, but Ana kept arguing that it was the studded star, not the sun.

Then she had the gall to call her silly. How dare she?

She was currently in Vivian’s house, where she was staying at the moment along with Ana since it was still dangerous to leave them alone in their own home. Ana ran over to Clara, her footsteps mild since she was in someone else’s house this time.

“Clara, let’s play!” Ana shouted, widening her arms. “The other kids are also playing. Let’s join them!”

“But I don’t wanna…” Clara groaned. “I wanna be with Sissy and Bobo…”

“But they’re not here,” Ana groaned. “Even Mommy and Daddy are gone. So no complaining! Now come on!”

Ana ushered out of the house. Vivian went out to get some supplies from the merchants that arrived earlier, so now the kids can do whatever they want. Clara didn’t want to go, but then Bobo’s words entered her head.

He wanted her to make as many friends as possible, even if it might be scary. Thanks to that, she was able to be friends with Ana, even though she’s the silly one, not her.

Groaning again, Clara stood up and walked towards the entrance of Vivian’s home. Just as she was about to leave the room, she noticed the mirror that showcased her entirety and saw a spark there.

She stopped. She only noticed the spark when her special friend wanted to talk to her. She called out to Ana.

“Ana! Sorry, I wanna talk to my special friend. I’ll be there later.”

“That friend again?” Ana turned back, a frown visible on her round face. “You say that, but where is she? I don’t see her!”

“Duh, only I can see her,” Clara exclaimed. “And you have to promise not to tell the others about her, okay?”

“Okay, okay, I get it. Just hurry up!”

Ana shook her head bewilderedly as she left the house in a hurry. They must be playing a really fun game if Ana looked that hurried.

Clara turned back to the mirror, and once the spark glowed up entirely, her friend appeared once again.

Zoan, her special friend. She looked just like Clara, all the way to the hair color to the dress she wore. The only difference was her eye color. While Clara was just brown, Zoan’s eyes were glittering bright blue, like seeing stars in the night sky.

Even though Zoan can be mean sometimes, her eyes were always so pretty to look at.

“Hello!” Clara shouted to her friend with a smile and a wave. But just as usual, Zoan didn’t bother to smile, only waved as Clara did. She only stared back at her, her face like a statue with no emotion.

“Clara, when is Bobo and Sissy coming back?” Zoan asked. Her voice was smooth and clear, like a pond near the forest before coming to the town. Clara raised a brow.

“I don’t know, but I wish I could see them sooner,” Clara groaned. Looked like Zoan also wanted to be with Sissy and Bobo as well. Who wouldn’t? They were so fun to be around with. “They’re still at that bi-bio…”

“Biodome,” Zoan answered.

“Right!” Clara nodded.

“I see,” Zoan nodded, though it was only at the same time as Clara. Only her mouth moved on its own, but the rest of the body was controlled by Clara. She once tried to play with her, to make Zoan look silly, but she didn’t even get mad at her or try to look silly at all. It got boring afterwards.

“I need to speak with them soon,” Zoan answered, the silence taking over before then. “It is time for me to speak with them.”

“Time for what?” Clara tilted her head out of habit, which also caused Zoan to tilt her head.

“My power is restoring little by little. Thanks to Bobo and Sissy, I was able to gather what I needed to give a message. They need to know the message before I run out of power again. I need to tell them soon.”

“Oh, you need to talk to them?” Clara asked, but tilted her head again, grimacing as she forgot once again that Zoan copied her. “But how can you talk to them? Oh, you want me to send them your message?”

“No, you only need to go to them. I’ll handle the rest,” Zoan said. “I know you’ll only forget it when you get to them.”

“Hey! I’m not stupid!” Clara shouted, her brows furrowing.

“No, it’s too complicated for you.”

“That’s the same thing! Zoan, you’re so mean!”

“...Such a child,” Zoan shook her head, and for some reason, Clara did the same.

She figured it was how she was doing it over that weird mirror world she was at. That should be fine. She grumbled about being treated like an idiot even by her special friend. She already had that from Ana, so she didn’t need another. But then she realized something else.

“But… how do I give them the message? It sounds like they might take a while…”

“Then there is no other choice,” Zoan responded. Her eyes glowed a little as she proclaimed. “We’ll just go straight to them.”