A hellish training and nightmare makes me a Masochist! Part 2

After the hard training, I'm starving and so does everyone. We all go back to Gyne and we are eating steaks and relaxing until evening, we talk a lot about our training today. Secra and Vexar joined us and we talk more about their day. Then Vivi says,

"Miss Edith, where did you go yesterday? I asked Mister Den and he said that you're in the garden. I wonder where is that garden be and what are you doing there."

She replies,

"Ohh yeah, I went to the garden for this plant here."

She showed us a weird-looking plant that we never saw before, and Vivi asked what is those plants for. She replied that the plant is for her cigarettes, it's a "special" plant and she loves it so much. Speaking of leaving, I asked them where Zee goes, and I acted like I haven't seen him since this morning. Secra answers,

"He's going to the Lovelace's Kingdom and Sterling's Kingdom."

What? Why is Zee go to the west and for what? I asked her what is he doing there and she replied that it's a secret.

It's already late at night, I'm planning to go back to the Inn, but before I leave I said to Shive that tomorrow I will come back for the training, she nodded. Vivi also wants to come and help me with the recovery spells, while she can also learn more spells from Edith. I said goodbye and left for the Inn to get some rest, while Vivi stayed because she is still not tired.

The next morning Vivi and I go to the training ground with Edith and Den.

6 hours have passed, I managed to block 3-4 times and dodged 3-5 times on each fight, with the cost of my broken bones. One last sparring for today, this time Shive using the wooden sword, not her bare fist, and says,

"This is going to be the most painful feeling you'll ever feel, get ready."

When Den gave the signal, Shive didn't move a muscle and just stared into my eyes. Suddenly my head hurts, everything goes dark, I couldn't see anything, my mind was thinking on its own, all kind of memories, nightmares, something that I feared, then my whole body was itchy, then it became painful, I could only scream and scream until I lost my voice. My body slowly hurts and I heard Vivi's voice calling my name, suddenly I could see and my whole body is bleeding. Vivi looked at me with fear written on her face. I didn't know what happened, then Shive approached me with the sword ready to swing at me. I couldn't move my body, not even a single muscle. I could only move my eyes. I couldn't even close my eyes. She is slowly walked towards me and she slashed my right arm and it bent to the other side, then she slashed my left arm and it also bent, she kicked my knees and it bent backward, I fell and as she said, this is the most painful feeling I have ever felt, my mind and body are broken. I couldn't scream anymore, I could only cry. Then Vivi ran towards me and chant a recovery spell, after she did, I immediately passed out.

I woke up, I'm still in the middle of the training field. Vivi lends her lap to rest my head. She is looking at me with worry. Her eyes are red from crying. She hugs me when she noticed that I'm awake, and asked me if I'm okay, I nodded and I'm still trembling from what happened earlier. I looked at Shive and she smirked at me and approached me, then she says,

"You scared?"

I nodded.

She asks.

"You still want to continue training with me?"

My body wants to shake my head, my mind is blank. My heart is telling me to stop that this is enough. But I nod on my own. It feels like someone is forcing me, no, it's more like someone is helping me to nod. Then she says,

"You want to feel that kind of pain again?"

This time I shake my head, I don't want to feel that feeling ever again. I prefer to die than have to feel that again. She laughs, this is the first time Vivi and I hear her laugh. She is a beautiful woman, no doubt about that. After a while, I finally can get up and thank Vivi for healing me. Same as yesterday, we went to Gyne to get lunch, I'm curious about what happened back there so I ask Shive,

"Miss Shive, what did you do earlier? What was that actually?"

She replies,

"People's fear."

I reply,

"So I concluded that I just experienced my fear?"

She nodded then I ask the most important question since the first time I met them,

"Who are you?"

She stares at me. Then I remembered. These stares of hers are what made me crying and screaming from the pain that I wish I'm dead rather than have to feel that feeling again. Even now, my head still hurts a lot. Then I said never mind, and she got back to her normal stares. Vivi became a bit quiet after that incident, I grabbed Vivi's hand and looked at her, and says,

"It's okay Vivi, I did all this not just for myself, I did this for you as well."

She is starting to cry and then Edith punches me on the head and says,

"You idiot, you are using the wrong words. Vivi, what he meant is, he did all that to be stronger and by that so you don't have to worry about him anymore since he already knows the feeling of dying and facing his own death."

I panicked and nodded, that was what I meant, and I apologized to her. She punched me in the face. It doesn't hurt but for some reason, it hurts a lot on my chest, and then she healed my face. Edith made a joke about it that I'm slowly becoming a masochist, everyone laughed at me, and I said I can't deny it, because these past 2 days, that's what I'm doing, getting hurt and asking for more. They laughed so hard even Shive laughed at my joke. I'm better to be a laughingstock than seeing Vivi sad. Then Edith says,

"Your chest hurts? Your head hurts?"

I nodded and asked how did she know? She just smiled and cast a mind stability spell on me. All my fatigue and all this pressure from that incident are all gone, I asked what was that spell, and she said it's a secret. After she gave me that spell I'm getting sleepy and I said goodbye and planning to go to bed, even though it's still early, I felt like I'm going to get a nice and long sleep. Before I left, I told Shive that tomorrow Vivi and I will do the quest so I won't be coming to the training ground, she nodded and said goodbye. Then Vivi accompanied me back to the Inn, we walk in silence, then Vivi says,

"Val, you're a strong man. I know since the first time we met, but Val, don't force yourself to take all the responsibilities, you know if you do that I'm more feels like a burden than a friend to you. So can you promise me that we will go through hard times together? Because we are a party now."

It goes straight to my chest, that hurt feelings turn out it's about that, and I say,

"Vivi, back there at Gyne, you punched me and it doesn't hurt at all, but it hurts a lot on my chest. Back there I didn't know why it hurts. Now I understand why. Vivi if I ever forcing myself again, can you punch me in the face like that so I can remember this moment and what you said. If it's not because of you, I won't be able to bear all the pain from those training and I'm going to get hurt more in the future but I can stand it if you're around. Why I'm sounded like a masochist... Maybe I am a masochist..."

She laughed so hard at my words, I smiled and we went to the Inn and said goodbye. I jumped to my bed and fell asleep immediately.