"Alright. Now it's time we focus on combat." Am stands in the middle of a field directly in front of the massive glass dome, her hands resting on a longsword that is stabbed into the ground. Trees surround us on all sides. I yawn and stretch my legs, my sword resting on the back of my neck with my arms dangling on it. I glance at the dome. Triangles of glass connected by metal make the building, the morning light giving it an orange glow. It's a couple hundred feet tall and maybe a mile wide.

"We only have one day to focus on this, so let's make it meaningful. I saw your little bout last night at the Regal restaurant. I must say I'm impressed, even if Everet is at the bottom of the barrel in terms of skill and quality. And even then, he managed to hurt your arm." Damn, that's harsh. He must not be very popular.

She plucks her sword out of the ground and points it at me, "Your unarmed combat is impressive, but you can't fight a shell like that. It'll rip you to shreds. You are also starting at a weaker base than the people of End City. If you are lucky, you won't peak at Everet's strength. If you are unlucky, this is as far as you can go."

Am grabs the hilt with both hands and brings her sword eye level next to her face, the point still directed at me, "I will assess your current ability. We'll go from there."

"Hmm." I bring my sword to my side, sheath tapping the ground. She doesn't have any glaring weaknesses. That's probably because she's much stronger than me. Even so, she has a few chinks. Her hand is choking her grip too high. That will limit her wrist movement. Her left leg is her dominant leg, but she's right-handed? Yeah, I can work with this.

I dash forward, making sure my sword stays below my waist. As I approach, she tenses, and I bring my sword upwards. She moves her sword to block, and as mine hits hers, I transfer into a jab, moving my sword to my left hand. Sliding my blade against hers, I step with my left foot forward. She moves ever so slightly to her left, and I use my open fist to hook her in the jaw. It should have been perfect. As soon as it connects, I will move my blade back up and slice her arm off.

But my fist never connects. Instead, she catches it with her left hand. I freeze. That shouldn't be possible. I move to retract my weapon, but she locks her sword's hilt against mine. Shit. I try to shove off, but she's like a vice grip. I strain against her as her knee slams directly into my stomach.

Bile rises in my throat as the air is forcefully pushed out of my lungs. I cough and then wheeze in an attempt to regain air. She lets me go, and I drop, saliva dripping out of my mouth as pain shoots up my abdomen, completely immobilizing me.

"Not bad. Your movements had purpose, and if I was a regular person, that would have worked. However, you made one fatal error." She leans down and looks me in the face as I continue to suck in air, trying to lessen the pain. "I. am. Stronger. And it's not even close. You believed you were fighting a human, but I am far closer to a shell in strength. This is why you need to learn not to fight shells but to avoid them." She taps my sword, "Especially since that sword of yours is being stubborn."

With a final exhale, I manage to stand shakily. I haven't taken a blow like that in years. I take a deep breath and pick the blade up. "You know something about this?" I hold out the sword.

She grabs it and inspects it, "Indeed. You have something called a control core in your weapon. Or those from Titan might call it a blood core."

Control core? I haven't heard that before, "How'd you know?"

She chuckles and hands it to me, "Control cores aren't that rare, but the stronger ones are known to almost have a mind of their own. A weapon with that kind of core in it can control anything associated with the item it inhibits. Thus the reason why your sheath has wrapped those living metal strips around the hilt."

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She points at the metal that crisscrosses down the sheath. I had also noticed that the metal had clasped around the hilt, preventing anyone from drawing it. "Do you know what is needed to get the core to stop being a pain in the ass?"

She shrugs, "That's the problem with control cores. They tend to be finicky. It's clear you've already bonded with, thus bonding you with the sword. The only question is what exactly the sword wants from you."

I stare at the sword. Of course, I need to jump through another hoop to even use the damn thing. I sigh and attach the sheath to my back, "So what's next?"

Am smiles. I don't like the look of that smile. "Now we do live training. Let's hope you don't get killed in the first hour."

***********

*Huff* *Huff* I peek around the tree, cursing Am. What the hell was she thinking putting me in this place? I glance up at the glass dome that now sits above my head. Not too far away, a shell roars in frustration.

"Silen, you do realize this isn't real? It's just a hologram." Am chides in the speaker in my ear.

"Even if it is, why do I take actual damage when it hits me?" Am goes silent. Ugh, what the fuck. I hear steps not too far off and start running through the forest. I grimace as my left arm bleeds. When Am told me this dome was used to train divers with shells, I thought it would be real. Instead, they're just holograms that act like shells. It's taken me all day to survive this long. I better not waste this attempt.

I press my back against a tree, panting. This one is the wyvern. I know that much. But I didn't get to read the file on it last night. The body is lizard-like with scaly green wings on its back. In terms of looks, it's nothing special. But damn, it's fast. That tongue is as hard as iron and sharp as a sword. If I hadn't ducked that first swipe, my head would have flown.

"Listen, Silen. The holograms can't do mortal danger. So no dismemberment or kill shots. Your only goal is to injure the beast. I'm not even asking you to kill it. If you must know, all this realistic pressure, heat, and sound are electronically made. None of it is real."

I take a deep breath. Right, none of this is real. She won't let me out until I at least make the thing bleed. But can I really do it with this? I look at the sword I'm holding. It's not mine but a practice sword they use in these sims. It's unbalanced, brittle as hell, and rusty. Am said the weapons were in this condition to give the testers unfavorable conditions. I shake my head. Guess I have no choice.

I peek around the tree just in time to see a pink fleshy tongue headed in my direction. With a yelp, I drop to the ground, the tree behind me following suit as it's cut clean in half. The wyvern itself isn't very fast, but that tongue moves faster than I can react. I peek around the tree trunk. The monster is completely still. I grab a rock and toss it on the shell's other side. It thonks off a tree and is promptly sliced in half.

It moves by sound. Or at least this version does. I grab a handful of small rocks and chuck them as far as I can. The wyvern turns its head with a snap, and I can hear the swishing of its tongue. time to move. I grab a large rock and run out of my cover. The head snaps in my direction, and I throw the large rock behind it, freezing. A loud thump is heard, and it starts to turn. It's now or never.

I reverse my grip on the sword and bring it to eye level, just above my shoulder, the point directed at the thing's chest. I step forward with all the power I can muster and throw the sword at the shell. It turns its head at the sound but is too late to react as the blade sinks deep into its shoulder. With a roar loud enough to pop my ears, its tongue whips around wildly, felling trees everywhere. I hear a swish move past my neck, and the monster disintegrates.

"Well done, Silen. You managed to injure it. Of course, you would have still died, but you were able to hold your own for a bit." Am walks out from behind one of the trees, a satisfied smile on her face, "Even if this is your fifth attempt." I flop onto the ground with a sigh. I'm so tired. I've been doing this all day. I didn't even manage to last a few seconds in the first two attempts. At least I beat it before night hit.

"Well, that wraps up today's lesson. Your final lesson will be ruins exploration and artifact recovery. It won't be as combat-focused, but I would still advise you to get a good night's rest." I nod. I'm too tired to do anything else anyway. I yawn and stand.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Am." I trudge off. A hot shower and some food sounds like a good idea right now. Hopefully, I'm not roped back into a fight. My arm is still sore from yesterday. I grab my sword on the way out. I need to figure out what it wants. I feel like I'll need it soon.