(20) Training

(An: Just a reminder that the training facility that was mentioned in the last chapter is the same as the simulation room that will be mentioned in this chapter.)

While Alexander was sleeping peacefully, it was the opposite in the Simulation Room. Sounds of explosions and metal clashing rang throughout the training ground.

"Not bad, the both of you have the necessary skills to become a strong warrior." Scáthach's praised.

Mash and Tamamo didn't reply, well, more like they can't as they only gasp for breath. They have been sparring for about an hour now but Scáthach didn't show any sign of being tired. They found it a bit unfair but they didn't give up as they continue to train with her.

They notice that her way of training is out of this world. It's no wonder the apprentices she teaches becomes powerful.

Her way of teaching is quite simple. For her to understand her students more, she would beat-- spar with them. There, she will observe her students in order to know what are their strengths and weaknesses. In most cases, the mentor would hold back so that the student could put some sort of resistance.

But Scáthach is different, the word "Holding back" never existed in her dictionary as she went all out from the beginning. To compensate for the weakness, Mash and Tamamo team up but it was proven futile as they still got beat up in the end.

"Is... Is this what... you called training?" Mash was having a hard speaking as the lack of air made it hard for her to speak.

"I have my own of doing things." She replied.

They continue to their small exchange. As for Tamamo, she remains silent throughout the sparring. She was regretting not changing into the battle attire that Mash offer for her to wear. She was still wearing her favorite blue shrine maiden outfit whose current state could only be described as pitiful. Holes ranging from big to small spread across her outfit making her appearance similar to that of a beggar.

Mash on the other hand has a much better appearance. Since her clothes are made for battle, her look is no different from its appearance an hour ago, added that her clothes are much dirtier.

"Unfortunately, the both of you lack the experience to use those skills effectively."

"What do you want us to do then?" Tamamo finally asked while she wiped the dirt in her clothes.

"Every warrior has their own unique battle style." Rather than answering her questions directly, she explained, "I used different combinations of spearmanship and runes in my battle style... So tell me, what is yours?"

"That is..."

"I do not need your answer at the moment. I want both of you to think about this carefully as it affects your training regiment. I do not need an indecisive student who will change their style midway through the training as it will complicate things. Just know that whatever your decision will be. I will guide you to the right path."

""Yes,""

"Good. Meet me here tomorrow at 7 am sharp, I want your answer by then. If you have no further questions, then the both of you are dismissed."

Mash and Tamamo bowed lightly as they left the Simulation room.

The time they spend together already gives the two of them enough time to witness what kind of woman Scáthach is. Her strength and charisma alone made the Mash and Tamamo see her to a high degree.

Her charisma was so high that Tamamo felt a little bit insecure about herself. That's one of the reasons why she put aside her pride and become the student of another servant of her master. The main reason is, of course, so that she could train and become strong beside her master.

As for the man himself, Alexander has just recently waked up. He felt refreshed after a good rest as he readied himself for the training. He took a quick shower before heading to the training facility.

He arrived 5 minutes after Mash and Tamamo left.

Entering, the scenery immediately changed as he was now on a plain field. There, he Scáthach sitting on the grass as she gently wiped her spear with a white cloth. In his eyes, she appeared to be a woman who comes out from a painting. She has a melancholic expression on her face which only made the scenery breathtaking.

He did not approach her as he only observed her from afar and capture the image in his mind.

But unfortunately for him, the moment he entered the simulation, Scáthach was notified of his presence. No matter how good his hiding skills are if his location were already known, it's pointless to hide from her.

"How long are you going to stare?"

Her melancholic expression turns into indifference as she looks in his direction.

"You were in deep thought. I believe that it will be quite rude for me to interrupt." he reasoned.

"It's much more offensive to stare from afar without stating your purpose." She argued.

"That may be so..."

"Alright, enough talking. If you believe that you could talk your way out of this training then you will be disappointed."

"I have no such intention."

"That's for the best."

She disregarded the cloth as she stands up.

"Then my master, I have a request."

Alexander's body tenses up, he suddenly got nervous when she said that. The reason so is that she may request something he could not do. Thankfully though, he was just overthinking things.

"No need to be nervous, I would not ask for a duel to the death or anything similar. As for I am curious to see what kind of future you will bring for me to witness. So master, if you really are serious about becoming my pupil. I want you to have a friendly spar with me." She said as she twirls the Gáe Bolg in her hand and pointed the tip in Alexander's direction.

Alexander didn't respond as he only nodded summons his own Gáe Bolg using the golden gate. Scáthach's eyes widened when she saw the spear in his hand. She could tell that the Gáe Bolg in Alexander's hand is not fake or some kind of copy. As the original user, she only needs to take a glimpse for her to know that fact.

As much as she wanted to question her master. She held her curiosity in check as this was not the right time to ask.

As the both of them entered their battle stance. They immediately take off as dust scattered on their feet as their identical spear clashed mid-air.

*Clang!*

What surprised Scáthach is that she lost the exchange. Although she was surprised to discover such a thing, she recovered instantly as she takes the initiative for an offensive attack.

She learned another thing from their exchange is that Alexander has the same problem as the other two, they all lack experience in combat which causes them to not utilize their full potential.

Knowing this crucial information, she added more pressure on Alexander by using runes mid-battle...

"Ehwaz."

This rune is a versatile rune used for hardening. Scáthach is currently using this rune to make her skin dense as metal. Usually, this spell could only be used to harden a small surface of an object. But since Scáthach is using Primordial runes, her proficiency is extensively better than your average runes. She enhances her whole body with this rune.

(An: There are three types of runes in Nasuverse; Primordial runes, Old runes, and Modern runes. The older the runes, the stronger it is. If you want more info, read the wiki.)

After finishing her enhancements, she lowers her body puts a lot of power in her legs as she launches herself to Alexander once again, the force causes the ground beneath her to crack. And just like last time, their spear clashed in the air creating sparks. This time, however, there was a big difference. It was Alexander who lost the exchange.

Alexander was not surprised by the outcome, as he guesses that it has something to do with what she did earlier.

He took a few steps back to prepare himself for another clash.

Scáthach, however, didn't allow him to as she immediately thrust her spear aiming towards a vital part of the body, his heart.

Sensing the danger, Alexander parried her attack with difficulty as he jumps away to safety.

"...You heavily relied too much on your instincts. Not only that, but your attack is lacking in power and speed which made your attack easy to predict and counter-attack." Her abundance of knowledge and experience immediately shines at this moment as she easily pointed Alexander's weaknesses.

"I... I am aware."

As much as he hates to admit it, her words are accurate. He was aware of these weaknesses after his battle with Berserker, but the lack of options as to what to do made him neglect this problem which causes the situation he is in right now.

"There is nothing shameful about admitting one's mistakes. That is the greatest strength of humans. They learn and adapted from the mistakes that made them who they are today."

As Alexander was quietly listening to her lecture, he couldn't help but notice that she was speaking as if she was not human herself. She seems so distant and aloof that he doesn't know what to feel about it.

"We spend too much time talking. Let's continue."

Scáthach diverges the topic to which Alexander nodded. This time, he was planning on taking the first move. Firstly though, he summons the golden gate to appear on his left. In the portal, a spear similar to that of Gáe Bolg emerged. It was covered by a purple cloth.

Grabbing the handle, he pulled the spear from the gate. He quickly removed the cloth, showing its full appearance for the world to see.

Scáthach's eyes squinted when she felt the mana in the air start avoiding the spear like the plague.

'Gáe Dearg, the twin spear of Gáe Buidhe.'

It was a spear that renders magical enhancements and projections useless by severing all ties with magical energy. Alexander believed it was the perfect counter for Scáthach's runes. Especially runes that enhance her physical capabilities. With this weapon in his hand, Alexander believes that he has the advantage in this spar. However, Scáthach thinks differently.

"Using two spears at the same time? That is a foolish thing to do, my master." She sighs with a hint of disappointment as she shakes her head.

"And why is that?" Alexander curiously asked.

He was truly curious as to why Scáthach's reactions were like that.

"If using one spear is not enough to do defeat me, do you believe that using two spears at the same time will do so? Master, if that is what you are thinking then that is the most foolish thought you could have." Her voice and tone display absolute certainty in her claimed.

Alexander was, of course, baffled as to why his action was foolish. Seeing that he was not convinced, Scáthach further explains, "Master, tell me, who would you think will win in a duel between two warriors, a swordmaster who train all his life mastering his craft or a warrior who wielded two swords for the first time?"

It takes a few seconds for Alexander to understand what Scáthach was trying to convey. Of course, the answer was obviously that the former would win in the duel. No matter how talented the latter was at using two swords, no talent could bridge the abyss that is years of experience.

Her analogy applied to their situation right now. Scáthach being the former, and Alexander is the latter.

In other words, Scáthach was taunting him. Alexander clenches his fist in annoyance but he accepted the offense nonetheless.

But just as he thought that she was finished, she further added, "Letting your opponent get to your head, another big mistake, master." Her words further added salt to the injury.

Not wanting to be embarrassed any longer, he forces himself to calm his nerve by taking multiple deep breaths. After calming down, his expression turns cold and his eyes become fierce.

Scáthach was surprised to witness the sudden change in her master's behavior. She started to feel an even bigger pressure when Alexander activated his new skill, [Will of the King].

Scáthach was within the 40 meters radius of his skill, she became affected as her body started slow and sluggish.

This finally made Scáthach faced Alexander seriously. She raised her left hand in the air as she summons another Gáe Bolg in her hands. From this point forward, she was not fighting her student, but a person who she considered equal...

As the both of them faced one another, they launched themselves at the time and clashed once more.

Their fight was intense as the sound of their spears clashing echoed throughout the facility. What is shocking is that even though Scáthach was slower than usual, she was surprisingly able to fight Alexander in a stalemate.

Scáthach was not happy about this development, she jumps away from a safe distance as she started to write in the air using her finger. Her movements were extremely quick as they come as a blur from an outsider's POV. In just a matter of a second, she was able to create more than 10 runes.

"Gandr!" Her emotionless tone changed the runes from symbols to a terrifying ball of flames that launch themselves to Alexander.

Alexander's eyes squinted when he saw the large number of flames coming in his direction with the intention of burning him to a crisp.

'Is she trying to kill me?!' He couldn't help but curse when he felt the burning sensation in his skin as flames approach him.

He deactivated his skill, [Will of the King], before summoning multiple gates in front of him. He was hesitant to use the Gate Of Babylon from the beginning since he wanted to use this opportunity of sparring with Scáthach to test his skills in close combat. But this idea was quickly thrown outside the window when he saw the danger that is in front of him.

He summons more than thirty golden gates in front of him. Naturally, he fired thirty weapons of different kinds as projectiles.

As the two attacks collide, the outcome was a massive explosion that not only shaken the facility but the whole of Chaldea. Tamamo, who was peacefully drinking tea, was alarmed by this. The same could be said to Mash, Ritsuka, Romani, Da Vinci, and the multiple staff that lives within the walls of Chaldea.

Everyone was in a bit of chaos as to what has caused the tremor, the natural conclusion that appears on everyone's mind was there was an attack in Chaldea as an earthquake was not possible since Chaldea is built to be resistant to such natural disasters. This conclusion made everyone panicked, this includes Romani.

He was peacefully eating snacks and watching some anime on his tv when he felt the tremor.

"What the?! An earthquake? No, wait, that's not possible, but other than an earthquake, such things could only be caused by..."

"Explosion! is Chaldea under attack?!"

The thought of Chaldea being attacked made Romani's face went pale. He immediately dashed for the command room to which he meets Da Vinci on the way, the nod at one another as they enter the room. What greeted them was confuse face of the staff which is unexpected since they expected it to be full of fear and panicky.

"What's the situation," Romani asked.

"Ah, Doctor, Da Vinci-chan, the both of you are finally here. We're about to report to you that there were no attacks but..." One of the staff reported.

"But?"

"The one who causes the tremor was inside of Chaldea, the Simulation room to be exact."

"The simulation room?" Both of them glanced at one another before they sigh in relief. "I see, don't worry, we would handle the rest. You guys could rest for the day."

The staff gratefully nodded as they left the room one by one. Their current appearance suggests that they abandoned what they were doing and rushed into this room to investigate. Although they were curious as to whom who have caused all the trouble, they did not further question Romani's orders.

After the staff left, Romani and Da Vinci immediately get to work. They checked for any issues that the explosion may have caused but found nothing that needed immediate action. A few minutes have passed, the door into the room opened. Mash, Ritsuka, and Tamamo all quickly entered the room.

"Doctor, Da Vinci, did anything happen?"

"Oh, Ritsuka, you guys are finally here." Romani greeted them with his usual behavior which brings relief to the three.

"As you may have guessed already, no, there were no attacks on Chaldea."

"I see, that's good to know." Ritsuka tense body finally loosened up as his lips warped into a smile.

"Then, what causes the brief tremor?"

"Well, see it for yourself."

Da Vinci type something on the keyboard which caused the big screen to brighten up. The TV show the imagery of a broken battlefield from above. Big and small holes are covered scattered throughout the simulation room which facilitates that a great battle has happened.

The camera then zooms in from the center of the simulation room which has a big crater that spans about 40 meters in diameter and is 5 meters deep. And in the center of that crater, the sight of two humans was fighting. Wounds, bruises, and dirt covered their body but this did not stop them from clashing their spear. This scenery, of course, shocked everyone in the room.

"Wait a minute, aren't they supposed to be training?" Romani asked in surprise.

The two humans were naturally Scáthach and Alexander (Duh.)

Mash and Tamamo were surprised for a different reason. Their confrontation with Scáthach earlier gives the both of them how strong she was as a warrior. The fact that Alexander put her in a bad state shocked them deeply.

Tamamo in particular was happy after learning this fact. She was delighted that her master beat that woman who made that wrecked her favorite outfit.

They continue to watch their battle until finally, Alexander's body collapses on the ground.

He stared into the sky above as he breathes heavily because of the exhaustion. He was fighting for hours by now but he was still disappointed that he lost in the end. He closed his eyes for a moment as he stabilizes his breathing.

Maybe because of exhaustion or hallucination, the moment he opens his eyes, the view of Scáthach's beautiful face was the first thing he saw. It was also at this moment that he realizes that his head was laying on a soft but familiar sensation but he was too tired to investigate as to what it was. The only thing he does is to enjoy the comfort it brings.

"You did great, my student. It has been a while since I experience the joy of battle. So, thank you, Master."

Perhaps it really was an illusion as the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was a smile bloomed in her beautiful but emotionless face.

[An: Okay, Before you roast me, I made this chapter longer than it should be as an apology. I'm not going to write an essay as to why this was late. it's already so late when im writing these. All you have to know is that I will never drop this novel. I have to either be dead or have been kidnapped for that to happen, alright? So anyway, that's it for me, Peace!]