Undead City -Alraud

Inside the dungeon of shadows.

A group of tiny undead watched as Arya rushed towards a rapidly approaching group of metallic arrows while holding a pair of daggers made out of her blood.

She deflected as many arrows as she could while narrowly dodging a few more but an arrow directed towards her right shoulder hit its mark.

Blood flowed from the wound but she just gritted her teeth and marched on, her gaze fixed on the undead that was firing the arrows towards her.

Ervin hurriedly pulled his bowstring again, firing three arrows in quick succession and observed her deflect the arrows aimed at her heart and right eye but failed to dodge the one aimed at her left eye in time.

It narrowly grazed her eye causing her vision to go blurry but her steps did not stop.

With each swing of her daggers, the distance between them reduced until she placed a dagger on his skill while giving him a victorious grin.

Her breath was ragged and the rapid loss of blood made her feel lightheaded causing her to stumble and fall to the ground, losing her consciousness in the process.

Ervin grabbed her waist and carried her to a nearby tree. He placed her under the tree and sat next to her while gazing at the distant moon in the dark sky.

Maya approached them and removed the arrows stuck inside her body. She then took out a medicinal grass from her robes and applied it on the open wounds causing Arya to grimace in pain.

'She is so stubborn ' Maya thought internally and chuckled while a group of tiny undead followed behind her, peeking at the resting duo with awe and respect.

An undead among the group tugged Maya's robes, attracting her attention.

"Peter! want something?" she inquired while looking at the undead named Peter.

Peter had a thin build, too thin even by undead standards, along with weak bones carrying many scars through them. He pointed towards the unconscious girl and asked,

"Why was she fighting so hard?"

Maya ruffled his skull, made him sit next to her and then explained,

"It's not fighting, it's sparring. They spar with each other to improve and grow stronger"

"Can I be like her too? " he asked while glancing at the slowly healing wounds of Arya.

"Sure, as long as it doesn't harm our family, you can do whatever you want but promise me one thing"

Peter nodded as Maya hugged him and continued,

" Don't train in front of me, If I see you guys hurt then I will lose my mind and kill that opponent" Maya slowly released him from her hug and saw him nodding at her in understanding.

He glanced at Arya and thought to himself,

' I will become her student '

Ervin, who was calmly listening to them, Picked his bow up and headed towards a cliff in search of prey, while Maya silently followed him. After hunting for a bit they both sat at the edge of a cliff, quietly watching the distant mountains.

After some time Maya broke the silence,

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"Is something bothering you?"

"No, I am just thinking about the past three days"

"Wait, you can think! From when?" Maya asked in shock but Ervin just ignored her and recalled the past.....

Three days ago

Inside the dungeon.

Ervin was walking through the grassland in search of rabbits when he spotted blood drops scattered on the ground, Curious he hid behind a tree and observed Arya using daggers made of her blood, repeatedly stabbing herself while running at high speed from one tree to another.

Confused at her weird masochistic behaviour, he approached her and asked,

"What are you doing?"

Arya was startled by the sudden voice behind her but calmed down after confirming that it was just Ervin. She glanced at him and answered,

"Practising "

"By stabbing yourself?" Ervin inquired while peeking at the mess around her.

"It's how I practice. I run from tree to tree while avoiding the blood drops on the ground to improve my stamina and stab myself to improve my regeneration skill" she explained and returned to her practice.

"Don't you feel pain?"

"I am used to it"

Erin was speechless, he wondered how she got used to handling so much pain and requested,

"Will you train with me?"

"Why?"

He chuckled at her question and replied,

"I think a moving target can help me improve my aim"

...

"Hey, don't ignore me" Maya screamed while glaring at the absent-minded Ervin, making him sigh in annoyance, he glanced at the moon and mumbled,

"I want to be a part of her team"

Maya looked at him in surprise upon hearing the statement and laughed,

"I see, a muscle head and a masochist, That is a good team, best of luck"

She patted his back and walked towards the group of undead in the distance, Ervin followed behind her and inquired,

"What about you? Will you join?"

"I will, but only after she starts caring about the undead"

Ervin nodded as they returned towards the group.

**********************

Inside the dungeon.

It took an hour for Arya to regain her consciousness. Slowly opening her eyes she observed the group of undead soundly sleeping around her, While chuckling at their carefreeness her sight was attracted towards a single undead. The undead had a thin build along with scarred bones and was looking at her with expectant eyes.

"Um, want something?" she asked awkwardly not knowing how to handle a child.

"I am Peter and I want to be your student"

It took Arya quite a few seconds to process the information,

"Wut? M-me" she stuttered in confusion while internally she was panicking

'Why is he asking me? Will I be teaching a kid just like how Sirius thought me? Will I be able to teach him? Am I good enough? '

A plethora of questions ran through her head but along with doubt and worry, there was also a sense of joy and happiness in them. Happiness that she too can teach others and that there are people who depend on her. She remained silent, fretting about her qualifications.

As the silence extended Peter grew worried and meekly asked,

"Will you not take me as your student?"

Arya snapped out of her inner monologue upon hearing his question and hurriedly shook her head in denial,

"No, it's not like that, give me some time to prepare. I am not ready to take a student just yet"

Though a bit disappointed at not being accepted as a student immediately, Peter still nodded his head,

"Please take your time, I will be waiting for your answer" After saying that he returned to the group of undead and slept while Arya observed him from a distance.

A few minutes later Maya and Ervin returned while carrying a pair of rabbit meat and half a dozen crystals.

"This is for you" Ervin informed while passing the meat to her which Arya promptly accepted and gobbled down in a few bites. She then glanced at Maya and asked,

"Why are there so many scars on Peters's bones?"

"Oh, you know his name! Well, he is an unfortunate child. He was born with a weak body but always wanted to help his family. He tried many ways to help the others, like helping to carry scrolls or equipment but in the end, his weak bones just couldn't support him. He tried very hard to grow stronger and those scars are a result of that practice"

Maya gently caressed his skull while speaking, there was a tinge of concern in her voice.

"Everyone around him is worried but doesn't want to discourage him. We just watch him struggle from a distance and shower him with as much love as we can. I hope we can do more for him"

Arya glanced at the sleeping undead while listening to her explanation and mumbled

"Will he be happy if I accept him as my student?"

Maya's body froze listening to her mumble, she stared at her and requested

"Please don't subject him to that masochistic training of yours"

"It's not masochistic" Arya argued back looking peeved but Maya just rolled her eyes, "Sure whatever you say but don't make him train like that"

Arya wanted to say that her training method was the most efficient but stopped while looking at Peter's half-open eyes.

"Tch, if you are going to pretend to be asleep then close both of your eyes not just one" Maya reprimanded as Peter sat back up while scratching his head in embarrassment.

"Teacher please just teach me how to use daggers" he requested gaining a reluctant nod from Arya. Overjoyed he jumped towards her and gave her a hug causing her to punch him in the head by reflex.