Basilisk [2]

Days and weeks passed, with me unable to do much except for training and hanging out with Misa, as well as occasionally Sophie.

Me and Misa had gotten our own room at the establishment right after she had called out Sophie for her inappropriate behavior. The amazon also seemed to have a bit more respect for me after I teased her about her innocence. At least she made sure to not tease me for my height.

With my girlfriend being part of the process I had also gotten a lot more freedom during my days, as they didn't think I would betray her expectations. As such, I had finally gotten a hold of a mana recording orb.

Standing in the middle of a pretty modern training room I was going to check out my progress. With me unable to practice my art and skills I had mostly relied on physical training, mana manipulation, and meditation in order to progress.

The familiar warmth spread throughout my body as I placed my hand on the orb.

===Status===

Name: Miren Porter

Rank: II

Strength: I

Speed: VII

Stamina: III

Intelligence: III

Mana grade: II [Higher]

Charm:?

--> Inherent Disposition : [Boundless]

--> Battle Arts: [Overclock]

-Martial Skills: [Lightning Step], [Discharge]

--> Elemental affinities: [Lightning]

==========

'Seems like I'm finally about to break through into an overall Rank III... It still hurt to look at my strength though, I thought I had managed to train enough for it to finally improve...'

As stated before, with me unable to practice my art, I had given it my all to improve both my mana as well as my physique. Running, lifting, as well as doing calisthenics every day without a single day of rest should have done something at least. To be fair, I did manage to get a bit stronger and if this was my previous world I would have been way above average in relation to the population.

With a sigh, I walked away from the orb and made my way to a dummy. Taking out my daggers from my watch I got ready for another session of "Kill Sir. Standstill".

This wasn't a technologically advanced dummy like Mike had, this was just a traditional masochist dummy who liked getting his ass beat. Although this wasn't quite as efficient as training against Sir. Blockalot, it got the job done as long as I focused on optimizing my attacks.

Still, after months of training, with today being May the 2nd, it didn't quite feel as if I made any progress fighting against it anymore.

I dashed with all my speed toward the dummy with Khanda already performing a slice against its neck, stopping in the middle of the motion as I pretended the inanimate dummy reacted to my attack, as to then plunge Nandaka right in its chest where the heart would be.

It all happened in a matter of seconds. My ability to flow attacks together had gotten to the next level at this point, where it was all a part of a fluid motion.

I continued my barrage. Slicing and stabbing until my body started to shut down. As always I got in some sort of trance when I was fighting, with my head shutting down unnecessary traits and only focusing on the essentials.

Falling down on my butt I tried to collect my breath.

'This is not good enough anymore...'

Training like this wouldn't cut it for me anymore. Even if I could improve my stamina and endurance, it wouldn't help with me getting better at fighting, or in my case, killing.

"Oh, that poor dummy..."

I had been unable to notice that I had already gotten company, probably because I had been focused on killing what cannot be killed.

Sophie had entered the training room wearing a pair of training pants and a tight tank top, accentuating her amazing curves. She had also put up her medium-length, blonde hair in a ponytail, making it obvious she had also come to train.

She walked up to me and sat down beside me, giving me a bottle of water to refresh myself. After taking a swig of it I answered her with a joke,

"He started it..."

"Hahaha, sure he did!"

"So you are also training today?"

I gave her the bottle back and she took it and immediately also took a mouthful. We had gotten quite close during this time, having no problems with some banter and light jokes.

"Yep, got to keep my body in shape for when I can officially become an adventurer!"

The bargaining process was going quite well, already unofficially accepted and in the stages of clearing out the fine details. It would be too much to ask for things like being able to attend academies for heroes this early, but they didn't want to settle for too little either.

At this point, it looked like I would be able to go back to the academy almost in sync with the summer break. Each term of the semester was accompanied by a break of one month, this one being the month of May, meaning my classmates were already off from school.

Thinking about my classmates attending the academy, inner stress started to emerge from within me. While I was here unable to even practice my dagger skills, not to mention my art or techniques, they were probably well on their way to getting stronger. I couldn't help but clench my fists in frustration at my situation.

"What's wrong?"

The gentle giant at my side noticed my change of mood and looked down at me with a worried gaze.

Looking up at Sophie I didn't feel a need to hide my feelings. It was a bit weird but the feeling of familiarity was still present when we interacted as if something untold were binding us together.

"I need to get stronger... Before I have to go back to the academy, I need to be a lot stronger..."

Her brows wrinkled a bit as she didn't quite understand my concerns,

"But you are training every day? Even Misa who is so proud of you for working hard has started to complain that you are always training. What more can you do?"

"In this situation, not a lot... I can't even practice my dagger skills properly because of the dummy..."

And then it clicked. Didn't I have the best dummy I could find right at my side? Someone who had already reached Rank V, specializing in physical combat. I quickly stood up, now standing pretty much face to face with the sitting Sophie.

"Sophie, spar with me!"

"What?! Are you crazy?! Aren't you still only a Rank II? You will die in one hit!"

She tried desperately to convince me that it was a bad idea, and if we did a traditional spar, it most certainly would be.

"No, you just have to defend. If you use your body strengthening then I won't be able to scratch you anyway. You just have to try to block and parry my attacks!"

She also took a stand, towering over me and making me take a step back so we could see each other's faces without her chest in the way.

"So, you mean that I should act like one of those training dummies who only defend?"

The amazon was still skeptical about the proposal, and there was one big reason for it,

"What do I get out of this?"

It was a valid question. We weren't friends at the moment, right now we were still hostage and capturer in the middle of a pretty complicated political process. Why would she do something without getting anything from it?

'I didn't think about that...'

She wouldn't really get that much out of this training, I was too weak to be a challenge for her. Thinking about it, I resigned and just asked her,

"What do you want? If there is something I can do, I will try my best to make it happen. Even if I'm not from an esteemed house, I am still a student at Kirkegaard and I have a pretty good relationship with the principal. I would even call myself his pupil at this point.

Rubbing her chin a bit, she thought about the possibilities.

"I can't think of anything that I need right now... Let's do it like this, I will accept the deal but in the future, you will owe me a favor. At some point in time, I might ask for your help, and then I will count on you to do so."

"Really? Are you sure about this?"

"Yep, I'm sure. The favor of the Nr 1 student should be priceless in the future right?" she said with a wink.

Thinking about it, it did seem like a pretty good deal for her. I would probably be able to make some things happen in the future if my progress continued and my relationship with the principal held fast. Not wanting to waste any time I wanted to conclude our discussion,

"Okay then, let's sign a mana contract, and then we will get started!"

She shook her and put out her big hand towards me.

"No need for a mana contract. Let's just shake hands. A man's honor should be worth enough for you to keep your word."

Although I thought it to be quite naïve I couldn't refrain from thinking it was quite nice having someone trust me. And with that, I let her big paw engulf mine.