I'll have you know I'm quite the catch

"And Valeria? She's a rank X," Elira said, her tone almost dismissive, like she was commenting on the weather rather than casually dropping a bombshell.

My jaw dropped so hard it almost hit the mat. "What?!" I sputtered, flames sparking to life around me. "She's a rank X? Like, the highest of the high? The kind of power you only read about in legends?"

Elira's smirk was so smug it could've powered an entire kingdom. "Yep."

I threw my hands in the air, my flames flickering wildly with my frustration. "And you're dating her? You? How the heck is someone like you dating someone like that?"

Elira raised an eyebrow, looking faintly insulted. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean, Valeria's a literal goddess of destruction! And you're...well, you!" I gestured at her, still sprawled on the mat in a sweaty, bruised heap. "How did you manage to woo someone so...perfect?"

She crossed her arms, glaring at me. "I'll have you know I'm quite the catch. Besides, I saved her life once. She couldn't resist my charm after that."

"Your charm?" I repeated, incredulous. "Elira, the only charm you have is in how charmingly brutal you are during training!"

Elira rolled her eyes, but there was a flicker of pride in her expression. "You don't need to understand it. Just know that she's out of your league."

"Obviously," I muttered, flopping back onto the mat. My thoughts whirled as I processed this new information.

A rank X mage. That was the stuff of myths and nightmares. "Wait...what even is a rank X mage's power? Like, what can she actually do?"

Elira tilted her head, considering the question. "Well, let's put it this way: she could take on the two demon queens, their armies, and the entire human kingdom all at once and she'd still be home in time for dinner."

I stared at her, my mouth hanging open. "You're joking."

"Not even a little," she said, her tone deadly serious.

Suddenly, so many things about my training clicked into place. The grueling hours, the impossible drills, the sheer ferocity with which Elira pushed me it wasn't just to make me strong. It was to make me survive.

"Oh, no wonder I've been progressing so fast," I mumbled, pressing my palms against my temples. "You had train me to keep up with her."

Elira grinned, leaning down to meet my wide-eyed stare. "Exactly."

"And I thought my training was already brutal," I muttered, half to myself.

Elira clapped her hands together, the sound echoing through the room. "Speaking of which, break's over! Time to get back to it!"

I groaned, dragging myself to my feet. "You're going to kill me one day, you know that, right?"

She shrugged, her golden eyes glinting with amusement. "Not if I do my job right."

The next round of training was even worse than before. Elira was relentless, her strikes faster and her corrections sharper.

Every time I thought I had a moment to breathe, she'd sweep in with another attack, her movements precise and unforgiving.

"Keep your guard up!" she barked, her sword clashing against my flaming blade. "You think Valeria's going to take it easy on you if you slack off?"

"She's not even here!" I shot back, deflecting her strike and stumbling as the force of her blow nearly knocked me over.

"That's not the point!" Elira countered, sweeping my legs out from under me. I hit the mat with a grunt, my flames sputtering. "The point is to make you better. Now get up!"

I pushed myself up, my limbs aching and my pride in tatters. "This is cruel and unusual punishment," I muttered, summoning my flames again.

"You agreed to it," she said with a smirk, lunging at me again.

Our sparring session continued in a flurry of strikes, dodges, and increasingly sarcastic commentary.

Elira was merciless, but I couldn't deny that her methods were effective. Each time she knocked me down, I got up a little faster. Each time she corrected me, my movements became a little sharper.

Between strikes, I found myself rambling about my day. "So, there's this vampire girl, Nyla," I said, ducking under a swing and countering with a flaming punch. "She's actually really nice. A little weird, but nice."

Elira blocked my attack with ease, her smirk widening. "Weird how?"

"She talks a lot about her life. Like, a lot. She basically gave me her life story during lunch," I said, sidestepping her next strike. "Her family runs this ancient bloodline business or something. It's kind of fascinating, actually."

"Fascinating enough to distract you in a fight?" Elira asked, feinting left before sweeping in from the right.

I barely managed to block her strike, the force of it sending a jolt up my arms. "No! I mean, maybe. But that's not the point!"

Elira laughed, the sound low and almost musical. "Focus, Ren. If you can't keep up here, you're never going to survive out there."

Her words hit harder than any of her strikes, and I gritted my teeth, determination flaring in my chest. She was right, as always. If I wanted to prove myself not just to her, but to everyone I needed to push through.

With a burst of energy, I launched myself at her, my flaming blade clashing against her sword. Our movements blurred together in a whirlwind of fire and steel, the room echoing with the sounds of our sparring.

By the time we finally stopped, my entire body felt like it was made of lead. I collapsed onto the mat, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. Elira stood over me, looking as composed as ever.

"Not bad," she said, offering me a hand.

I took it, letting her pull me to my feet. "Not bad? That's all I get?"

She grinned, her golden eyes gleaming. "You'll get better. One day, you might even be able to keep up with me."

I rolled my eyes, too tired to argue. As much as I hated to admit it, I couldn't have asked for a better mentor—even if she did have a sadistic streak a mile wide.

"One more thing," Elira said, her tone serious. "Never underestimate your opponents. Especially not someone like Xyra."

I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift in her tone. "Xyra? Why would I underestimate her?"

Elira's expression softened, just a little. "Because arrogance can be dangerous. And she's got a lot of it. Just remember what I taught you, and you'll be fine."

I nodded, her words settling deep in my chest. She was right, as always. And if I wanted to stand on equal footing with people like Xyra ( well I'm,stronger but I'm so in love with her I should be careful) or Valeria I had a lot of work to do.

"Now, go get some rest," Elira said, ruffling my hair. "You've earned it. Barely."

I groaned, swatting her hand away, but I couldn't help the small smile that tugged at my lips. As brutal as she was, I knew she had my back and for now, that was enough.