Hellish Training Begins!

Days blended into weeks. Celina was getting serious about her training. Clyde was being tough on her, wanting to push her harder. He wanted to see how much she could take. Their spar each day got stronger and fiercer, making Celina even stronger and also increasing her stats.

Even if she is strong enough to protect herself from getting hit, she never wins at the end of the spar. So, after having a session with Clyde, she chose to work on herself physically. She did little exercises, sit-ups and another little workout that could strengthen her physically.

As each day progressed, she showed different changes. Her style, stance, speed, her hits strengthened, and also got heavy. Clyde was always watching, keeping an eye on her. At first, he got jealous of her being able to use aura, but with time, he decided to let go of that kind of feeling. He just concluded that Celina was a little monster that's just lucky.

Finally, the last day of training came. Clyde planned a final duel. This would show if Celina was fully ready after her two weeks of training with a sword.

She learnt quickly, leaving everyone impressed. No one expected that a human child would be able to learn how to use the sword quicker than an elf. People gathered and even Eria was one of them. She has been hearing about Celina's progress but has decided to come see for herself.

She saw the firm look on Celina's once cheerful face. She had even cut her beautiful white hair since it was disturbing her training. It was short and she still had to tie it into a rough bun.

"Oh, Celina" Eria called with worry in her voice.

Clyde and Celina faced each other. Their swords met as they stood there, ready to fight. There was a lot of tension in the air. Clyde felt sure of himself and even smiled a bit at Celina. But she didn't back down or look scared at all.

"Since it's your last day, I'll let you have the first move. Show me what you got, Celina" he said.

Celina held her wooden sword tightly. She took her stance with the tip of her sword facing backwards. She had strengthened herself with her aura and even her wooden sword.

"Thank you, teacher. I'm truly honoured" She smirked.

Then without warning, Celina charged at him. Their swords clashed, and sparks flew. The fight started, with both of them trading blows.

They both looked like they were on par. Eria gasped as she covered her mouth. She was shocked.

'Is that Celina?'

Everyone could see how Celina started to pull ahead. Her movements became sharper. She moved quicker on her feet, and Clyde was taken aback. He pressed his teeth against each other as he let out a groan.

"Heuk!"

"I should end everything with this move, teacher. Thank you for your training"

Celina directed all the aura in her body into her wooden sword and within the blink of an eye, she vanished from Clyde's side. Clyde's eyes widened in shock as he looked around for Celina.

Even the others couldn't find her. They started to murmur.

In a sudden moment, it was done. Celina's sword found its mark. It struck Clyde's shoulder with a loud thud. He stumbled back, and his sword slipped from his hands before he could even protect himself. He didn't see her sword coming, so there was no way he could defend himself.

Celina exhaled deeply and started panting hard.

"I beat you," she said.

A grin appeared on Clyde's face. He looked at her with respect.

"Well done, Celina," he said, nodding his head. "You're ready for a real sword."

Celina's eyes sparked with excitement.

"Really? Can I get it now?" She squealed excitedly.

"No way! Not now. You're still a child. You can move on to your archery and spear training" Clyde bent his body to grab his sword from the ground.

He looked closer at it and saw how beaten up and bent it had become, thanks to his repeated training with Celina.

"James and Freddie will meet you tomorrow. So, don't be late" he touched her hair and walked away, holding onto his shoulder.

He walked towards the healer, and she let out a weak laugh.

"Celina had been the one coming here for over two weeks, today it's your turn"

"That kid is a little monster" he laughed and took off his shirt.

The healer laughed and walked closer to Clyde. She stretched her hand over Clyde's shoulder, exposing her green light over his bruised hand.

"Heal!"

The bruise slowly healed and his skin went back to normal.

"There you go. It's good as new" she said.

Clyde rolled his shoulder and winced in pain.

"Thanks," he said to her, ignoring the pain he felt. He thought it would heal over time. He swiftly left to get his sword fixed.

He headed to the dwarf village and visited the blacksmith house. He took his sword to the one who made it and when he saw the sword, he frowned.

"Did you hit your sword on a rock? What the hell made it bent this way?" He was furious to see one of his creations ruined.

"Uh... I had a spar with Celina. Well, several spars" Clyde scratched his head and diverted his gaze from the dwarf.

"That human child? I heard she's able to draw out aura. What kind of human is she?"

"Probably a little monster, with bigger strength. Her aura was what made this sword this way. I hope you'll be able to fix it"

"Sorry boy, this is beyond fixing. I'll forge you a new one. Come back in three days"

"Uh...sure" he scratched the back of his head again and walked out of the blacksmith shop. He headed back to the elf treehouse to have some rest and also, to inform James and Freddie about training Celina.

.

Eria, on the other hand, didn't let go of Celina after her fight. She just tight hugged her ever since she left the training ground.

"Eria, I can't breathe"

"Oh my, I'm so sorry, dear. I'm sorry I haven't been there to watch you. I've been so busy dealing with human stuff"

"Humans stuff?" She asked, trying to catch her breath.

"It's something you'll learn later once Aetherius permits you to use the door and you become part of us. I'm unable to tell you" She said.

Celina lowered her head. She thought Eria didn't trust her enough to tell her about the humans.

"Sweetheart, don't be sad. I promise I'll tell you about it once you get to the door. Even the little ones don't know the secret. Let me show you," she said, and Celina raised her head, wanting to see that. Eria held her hand, staring into her eyes.

"Listen to me, what I'm about to tell you is a top secret about the Lost City, the..."

Celina immediately grabbed her hands to cover her ear. She shrieked in pain and fell on the floor.

"Celina! I'm sorry. This is why I can't tell you. You're not just ready yet" she said. Celina took her hands off her ear and finally agreed to listen to Eria.

"I just have to train hard and get the lord's approval" She clenched her fist, wearing a determined look on her face.

"That's the spirit, sweetheart" Eria patted her head gently.

{Number of unlucky points: Max (+150)}

Celina looked at the floating blue box and smirked. She had received extra points just because she tried to listen to information she was not supposed to. A sly grin appeared on her face.

"Eria, can you tell me that information one more time?" She asked.

"Huh? But you would get hurt," Eria was worried.

"Don't worry, I can deal with that" Celina smirked.

"Okay, the...."

"Ahhh!" She screamed.

{Number of unlucky points: Max (+150)}

"Celina! Are you okay?"

"Hehe! I'm fine, Eria. Tell me one more time"

"But..."

"Don't worry, I can handle it"

"Okay, the...."

"Ahhh!" She screamed again.

{Number of unlucky points: Max (+150)}

"....."

"....."

.

.

A week passed and they had a meeting again. Eria had to give her a report about the task she had done when she was away for over two weeks.

"....and that's everything that happened" she concluded and had her seat. Everyone fell silent.

"To think it had to happen now. Those pesky humans will soon get their hands on it. If they do, they'll find their way to our world. That's why we need to get that human girl prepared" Aetherius spoke calmly, while the others were worried. "How's her training going? I heard she's able to draw out aura on her first day of training," he asked.

"I wasn't present to witness it, I cannot say, my lord" Eria spoke.

"Well, I witnessed everything from her first day till her last day. She's good. She's a monster. I must say, she's the perfect weapon to use for our revenge," Lyra replied, with a huge grin on her face.

"I see. That's a piece of great news. She might be able to finish her training quicker than expected"

"Can we give her a little break? If this goes on, she might not be able to handle it" Eria pleaded with worry in her voice.

"It's too late, Eria" Lyra sprung up and walked towards the window. "Goodbye," She said and flew out of the window. No one knew where she was headed.

.

Celina, on the other hand, was having her final training with James and Freddie. She was already perfect with the bow and arrow and finally, the spear.

The spear was tricky to use, but she was able to get her way around it.

"Now, shoot four arrows at once, hitting those four targets," Freddie said to her.

Celina went down on one knee and grabbed four arrows from behind. She managed to pull it with her tiny fingers and then released the arrows from the bow.

"Bull's-eye! Great work, Celina" Freddie patted her head gently. Celina smiled. She had fun learning how to use the spear from both James and Freddie. They weren't as strict as Clyde. On their first day, they arrived when the sun was fully up and were shocked to see Celina standing on the training ground. They told her she didn't need to come out before sunrise.

They treated her as a kid, but Clyde didn't treat her like one.

"Where is Clyde anyway? I haven't seen him for a long time" Freddie leaned his hand on his waist.

"We'll visit him very soon. Besides, who is training you next, Celina?"

"Uh..." Celina stuttered because she didn't even know where else she was going. She was planning on resting a bit and increasing her stats before heading over to anywhere else.

They weren't going to treat her as calmly as Clyde and the others did.

"Oh! You're finally ready"

She heard a voice behind her. James and Freddie shook in fear when they saw Lyra flying towards them.

"Haha! I see, Lyra is your next trainer. Have fun, Celina" James wore a fake smile.

"Make sure you run away if you ever feel tired", Freddie whispered, and they immediately walked away.

Celina looked at Lyra. They both exchanged glances with each other.

"You're the demoness"

"Demoness? What a funny name. I'm the queen of all demons, darling and I'm officially welcoming you to my hell"

"Hell?" Celina raised enough eyebrow. Lyra snapped her finger and Celina began to float.

"Your training is going to be hellish that the elves will hear your scream but won't be able to save you. Don't worry, I won't kill you... Not yet" Lyra breathed out with a wicked grin on her face.

'Ah! The demon queen is going to train me herself. I wonder how much this is going to raise my stats'

.

.

A few minutes later...

After a single hit from Lyra, Celina heard a machine voice in her head.

{Number of unlucky points: Max (-1000)}