Hell Training
Devil.
It was the first thing that came into the knight's mind as soon as they arrived at the training grounds. Helena was sitting like a demon lord in her chair, the air around her obviously telling them that she was not in a good mood.
"Hmmm." Helena mumbles.
They took a step back.
The knights couldn't explain why they felt fear, so they unconsciously stiffened at the teen in front of them. She looks so innocent yet the aura surrounding her was intimidating enough that they started to question their own judgements.
"What are you all waiting for?" Helena says impatiently but when she noticed that the first knight was nowhere to be found, she raised an eyebrow.
"Where the hell is William?"
Before anyone could speak, William shows before them, he was carrying a huge load of pieces of equipment. As soon as he reached their spot, he lets go of it and all the knights gasped in horror.
It was bodybuilding equipment.
"I've gathered these as ordered by Lady Helena, seeing this I'm sure you're all aware what training we'll be doing today?"
"But Sir William, i thought you gave us a day-"
William immediately shuts him off by covering his mouth with his hand, giving him the eyes to not continue his words any further. The knight slowly nodded as his eyes shifted from William to Helena.
"What are you doing?" Helena stands.
"Nothing, i just saw some bread crumbs on the side of his mouth, that's all." William smiles, pulling his hand out and placing his hand around the man's shoulder beside him.
"Bread crumbs?" Helena's eyebrow raised, crossing her arms in supicion.
"Bread crumbs," William repeated. "Oh! We haven't done formalities right Lady Helena? Most of the knights doesn't know you personally, so let's not skip it."
'Hah, he's trying to change the subject.' Helana scoffs silently.
Seeing that she had no reason to humiliate William in front of his Squad for now, she dismissed the subject. She then focused her gaze at the men in front of her. There was no doubt that they've trained harder than anyone just by seeing their current physical condition, Helena thought that William must've gave his knights their day off due to the hellish training they must've overcame.
So she dismissed all of her thoughts of doubts, she smiled. "Looks like you do train your knights well Sir William."
"Of course, I wouldn't disappoint Lady Helena in the upcoming Winter hunt!" William said in enthusiasm.
"Yes, their physical strength improved a lot just by looking at them, but there is one thing they lack right now." She smiled, all of the men gasping in shock.
'Lack? I lacked training my men when I tried my best?!' William thought. 'No, I taught them every little detail to how I was also taught, there's no way they lack something, so is it that Galahad had his own flaws too?'
William smirks evilly just by how he thought that even Sir Galahad could make a mistake.
"Lady Helena? I just followed Sir Galahad's training routine, maybe that overbearing guy intentionally made me lack something, since I'm the strongest here in the household-"
"Of course not, Sir Galahad trained you perfectly- but still you also lack something Sir William." She smiles.
Too shocked to even comprehend Helena's words, William turned into stone.
This time, all of the guys turned their heads towards William. To think that Sir William, whom their superior was lacking something even after being perfectly taught by Sir Galahad, they shut their mouths off to not cause any more harm to their leader.
Willai, couldn't think of anything that could make him imperfect.
'I'm too perfect, so what do I lack?' He thought endlessly.
"You must be thinking, what do I lack?" Helena circles around Sir William. "It's simple really, that's why I gathered you all here so that everything would be perfect in the event."
Everyone anticipated her next words, each of them taking a step forward as they watcher her mouth move. Even William started to move again in enthusiasm, waiting for the next words that'll come out from the Lady's mouth.
Pointing her index finger up, Helena said. "It's experience!"
"What?" William's eyebrow furrowed.
"You see, knowledge and physical training is a must- but you must'nt forget that all of these are just things you need to have in preparation. The real training starts with gaining experience from the knowledge and body you've just obtained!"
"But Lady Helena, I've been on several missions with Sir Galahad, experience? i have that too." He said, pointing at himself in self-defense.
"Missions? Like escorting and hunting small beasts right?"
William pouts in dismay. "But there really isn't any danger in our land, it's not like I pick my own missions."
She puts his hand on his shoulder. "I know, that Is why i told you that it is something you lacked."
William wanted to complain about Galahad the knight, but he just thought it would be a useless whim since Galahad had his own big achievements in the last war against the Willow Empire.
He sighs. "So.. how do we gain this experience my lady?"
"Where else? The Mist Valley."
*****
After they shortly arrived in the Mist valley, they were welcomed with several groups at the entrance, each of them looking in disbelief at the group of knights and a single girl.
It was absurd, they thought. A noble and a group of knights coming inside of Mist valley was just plain suicide. Since the Mist valley are often only visited by magicians or hunters that have knowledge about the place.
At that time, they perceived Helena as a spoiled noble girl who wanted to hunt for fun.
One of the guy approaches their group.
"Little girl, this is not the place for you to be playing around. Even if you have those knights, they won't be able to kill a beast with their training that only involves cutting their own species down." He hisses, shifting his gaze at the scowling knights behind the girl.
Helena smirks. "Oh? Then should I believe that you can cut a beast down?"
"Of course, my group and i hunted in this place for 10 years already."
"!0 years and you haven't reached the end?"
The guy's forehead knitted. "You.. what did you just say? Did you just insult me?"
"Insult you? No, i'm merely curious."
The guy wanted to rant more, but as soon as he say one of the Abuneian empire's symbol in William's shoulder, he quickly dismissed any thought. He scowled one last time before stomping away from their place.
William leans on Helena's shoulder. "Should i kill him?"
"No, killing humans is not something i would order you William. We're here to train, so don't ever ask me that question again." Helena said in a sharp tone.
When she wore a disguise, she didn't need to enter through the entrance since she could teleport inside the Valley anyay, but since she was with others she had no choice but to enter through the front gates. She would often hear about it in her past life, at the entrance of mist valley, hunters would group themselves according to each abilities, and each of them possessed a certain book.
"What are they all reading?" William said in puzzlement, the groups all focused in talking while holding a book.
"A hunter's Diary."
A hunter's diary is a compiled document that talks about all of the detail concerning the discovered beasts in the Mist Valley. If you want to survive, you would need that book to know the beast's weakness and preferences. She even had that kind of book before in her previous life.
But since she knew every Beast's ability already, she didn't care anymore about the useless book, for she cleared the Mist Valley all by herself in the past.
"What's that?"
"It's something useless to us, with me around you don't need anything like that." Helena smirks. "Let's go."
Passing by the groups that stayed behind, they headed inside even with the pitiful gaze that the hunters were making at them. Since Helena didn't care about it, William and the men glared at them in her place.
The first thing that the knights felt as they stepped inside was ominous. The air around the entrance was so different from the inside of it. There were black clouds forming around them and the path was too sloppy to even follow.
William gulped. "Are you sure we're gonna train? or you're just leading us here to kill us silently?"
"Stop talking, focus on your senses, a beast might appear anytime-" Helena was cut off when a Bull-headed bat sprung towards her face, she caught it without breaking a sweat and stared at it. "See, i told you."
Their jaw drops.