Lena's Hellish Training

Lian and Elios were back in the training arena, this time prepared for whatever might happen, but something felt different. The once-empty space now had two separate arenas.

"My disciples have finally arrived," Lena said as she appeared behind them without a sound. The two flinched, startled that they hadn't sensed her presence. "From today onward, I want you to call me 'Master.'"

They found it odd that she cared about such a detail but nodded in agreement.

She began walking toward the two arenas. "As I mentioned yesterday, your training begins today. One of the things you both desperately need is energy control. For now, each of you step into one arena."

With the two inside their respective arenas, Lena went to the wall of the training area and opened a hidden passage. Moments later, her voice echoed through the room's sound system.

Lena, with her usual confident demeanor, observed them from the control room. Her voice came through loud and clear, cutting through the arena's silence like a blade.

"Alright, now that you're inside the arenas, let me explain today's training. Pay attention because I'll only explain this once."

Lian and Elios focused, intent on understanding what was to come. The tension in the air was palpable.

"The arenas you're standing in are designed to force you to use your energy with precision and efficiency. In each arena, there's a series of moving targets and obstacles that simulate real combat scenarios. The objective is simple: destroy the targets while avoiding projectiles and conserving your energy as much as possible."

Lena paused briefly, letting the information sink in.

"But don't think it'll be easy. These targets aren't harmless. They react to your attacks and can even counterattack, so stay alert. Every five minutes, the speed and aggression of the targets will increase. And to make things more interesting, you'll be competing against each other."

"Competing?" Elios raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"Yes," Lena continued. "At the end of each session, the system will calculate who was more efficient. This includes the number of targets destroyed, precision, and, most importantly, how much energy you have left. Whoever runs out of energy first automatically loses."

Lian gripped Oblivion tightly, feeling the weight of the challenge. "So this isn't just about brute strength..."

"Exactly," Lena replied, her tone filled with satisfaction. "This is training for both your mind and body. Now, I'm activating the arenas. Good luck, my disciples... you're going to need it."

With a mechanical hum, the arenas came to life. Targets began moving, appearing from various directions. Some flew through the air, others rolled across the ground, while barriers unpredictably rose to block attacks.

Elios was the first to act. His sword glowed brilliantly as he summoned a beam of light and shot down two airborne targets in a single, dazzling explosion.

"This is way too easy," he said with a confident grin, swiftly maneuvering between the targets and dodging obstacles with ease.

But just as he began to relax, a barrier suddenly appeared in front of him. His sword's light collided with the obstacle and ricocheted, forcing him to dodge his own energy.

"Alright, maybe not that easy..."

Elios adjusted his strategy, creating small orbs of light that floated around him. Each orb was individually controlled, firing at targets from different directions as he advanced.

In the other arena, Lian had also started. Shadows snaked across the ground, wrapping around targets and crushing them with force. Oblivion pulsed in his grip, feeding his abilities.

"Let's see how resilient you really are," Lian murmured, summoning shadowy spears that pierced moving targets with precision.

One target retaliated, firing an energy projectile at him. He dodged with a swift leap and countered with a burst of shadows, taking out three targets at once.

But he quickly noticed something. Each large-scale attack drained his energy significantly.

"I can't waste energy like this..." he thought, shifting to smaller, more precise attacks aimed at vital points on the targets.

Lena's voice echoed again, this time laced with playful provocation.

"You're both doing well, but I'll be honest... Elios is ahead. Lian, you need to work on your accuracy."

Lian frowned, irritated. He hated losing, especially to Elios, who now seemed even more motivated.

"Hey, Lian!" Elios shouted from the other arena as he destroyed two more targets with a single strike of his sword. "Are you really going to let me win that easily?"

Lian narrowed his eyes at the taunt. "Don't get too cocky, Elios. What matters is the final result."

He intensified his attacks, combining sword strikes with strategically moving shadows. His movements became more fluid, and he started eliminating targets with impressive efficiency.

"Now that's more like it," Lena said, clearly amused. "Looks like you don't want to fall behind, Lian."

Elios, sensing Lian's renewed determination, pushed himself harder. He unleashed rapid bursts of light at multiple targets but quickly noticed his energy draining faster than expected.

The final minutes were intense. Both of them gave their all, dodging, attacking, and adjusting their strategies to stay in the game.

Lian used his shadows to immobilize and destroy targets with precision, while Elios creatively manipulated his light into energy blades, slicing through multiple targets at once.

When the session finally ended, the targets stopped moving, and the arenas fell silent.

"Good work, both of you," Lena said as she emerged from the control room and entered the arena. "Now let's see the results."

A hologram appeared above the arenas, displaying the scores.

Elios: 86 targets destroyed, 78% energy remaining.

Lian: 91 targets destroyed, 72% energy remaining.

Elios's eyes widened. "What? He destroyed more targets than I did?"

Lian gave a small smile. "Looks like I'm more effective than you thought."

Lena chuckled. "Both of you performed well, but there's still a lot to improve on. What are you standing around for? Get back to the arena!" she barked, her voice authoritative. "You're not leaving until your energy hits zero."

The two immediately returned to the arena. It had been difficult so far, but after hearing Lena's demand, they realized that training under her was going to be nothing short of hell.