Training (2)

The others weren't much better off. They too had problems handling their spears in the right way. The only exception was Celine who not surprisingly was more than capable of using her spear to pave the way and repel the rats coming from her side.

Still, they managed to make it through the room and entered the corridor. There they once again changed their formation into one row pointing forward and the other pointing backward.

Unlike before, when the rats didn't enter the corridor, with Vlada trying to pull them in, they now showed no hesitation and readily stormed after them into the corridor. At the same time, another group came from the front, which was lured there by the squeaks of the others.

"Brace for impact.", Irena called out just before the groups crashed into them one after another.

The group from behind them which was also the bigger one reached them first. Because of their new formation, when it crashed into their shields they couldn't absorb the force as well as before and were pushed back. Which was exactly the moment, the other group crushed into them as well, making them feel like they were being crushed between two mountains.

Their backs collided into each other hard and they barely managed to hold the shield wall up.

But after dispersing the initial force it didn't get better. Because they were now pressed closely together, they were unable to wield their spears without getting in each other ways. Their already clumsy way of using them, got even worse, although this would have seemed impossible before.

"Damn.", even the always silent Serge couldn't help but curse out loud.

With the rats constantly pressuring them in their attempt to get at them the pressure didn't let up and they were unable to push them back to create some more space to fight more effectively. The only thing they could do was endure.

Luckily, while the rats were unable to get to them, they were able to use their spears to attack them, slowly dealing damage to them and sometimes even killing one of them in one or at least a few strokes.

Ivan used his shield, which had already been damaged quite a bit but was still fully functional to block the rats in front of him while using his spear to try to inflict wounds on them. Slowly his mind started to fill with fog, as exhaustion crept upon him. His thoughts got slower and only one thought was left in his mind, "Resist. Stand strong. Don't lower the shield. Use the spear to kill them." These sentences repeated on an infinite loop in his mind, while any other thought slowly vanished in the fog.

He forgot about the others, he even forgot where he was, he only continued on to hold his shield and pierce towards the enemy in front of him.

If he had still been able to form conscious thoughts and observe his own movements, then he would have seen that his moves had gotten more fluent, more efficient, and more effective. The number of attacks he needed to kill one rat had decreased by more than half and the energy used to hold up the shield had also decreased as he now distributed the force better.

Celine who was the only one not overwhelmed by exhaustion saw his and the others changes and smiled in satisfaction. "They really are some good seedlings. Although those two aren't as suited.", she then commented. The last sentence was directed towards Greg and Serge, who struggled much more than the others. Although she spoke out loud, nobody was able to listen to her, since they had all fallen into a stupor because of their exhaustion.

Weirdly the rats just kept coming. The group had already killed more than there had been in the complete dungeon last time, but they were unable to realize and question this. Instead, as if they were on autopilot they continued to fight.

And with each passing minute, their movements got more natural, more practiced and more effective, until they finally reached their limit. The first one to fall was Serge, whose strength and endurance had been stretched way beyond his limit. He just wasn't able to keep up his shield anymore.

Instantly the rats were on top of him and with their sharp claws and teeth, they ripped him into shreds. Then with the wall broken Irena's back was now exposed and she too was unable to hold up.

Confronted by enemies from two sides, Greg, Ivan, and Pia weren't able to hold on much longer as well and were killed as well, leaving only Celine behind who, when Serge had fallen, had jumped into the air and was now standing above them on a thin string of ice.

She looked down on the corpses of the group, which were now consumed by the rats. "Sorry, but this is also necessary.", she murmured, before she put away a small statue she had been holding the whole time. As soon as she did so, the rats stopped coming and instead started to disperse.

She then moved through the air, always stepping on a thin string of ice, that formed just in time before her until she reached the boss room.

Although she could have left the floor in the same way as the others, by getting killed, she wasn't really willing to do so. So the only way was for her to kill the boss, which with her stats as well as combat experience and skills was an extremely easy task. Even Ivan was able to easily slay the boss, so it wasn't that surprising that she would be able to kill it with just a swing of her sword.

When she appeared in the entrance hall of the dungeon, the others had already been resurrected there. Pia and Greg were hugging each other while shivering, while Serge sat alone, holding his knees. Irena too had crawled into Ivan's arms, while shivering. The only one who looked calm and composed was Ivan. He, unlike the others, already had a lot of experience with dying, so he wasn't that affected. Of course, dying would always have an effect, so he too wasn't feeling completely ok.

But unlike the others, he was able to think clearly, now that some of his exhaustion was gone and he had broken out of the weird state he had been in during the fight. He understood that this was something that Celine had planned. He was wondering how she had been able to get the additional rats to appear and attack them. After all, it wasn't hard to see that there had been much more than should have been possible.

*Was the goal to get us to fight until the end or to experience death? Or both?*, he thought while stroking Irena's back in an attempt to comfort her. He couldn't help but think back to his first death and compare his reaction to those of the others. In comparison, his reaction back then seemed very lackluster. *Hm, was my reaction back then so different?*, he asked himself before pushing the thought away. After all, he wasn't like the others. He always had had the feeling that even after the hard reset some things had been left over, such as his calmness in some situations.

While he was thinking about this and at the same time comforted Irena, with a flash Celine appeared in the middle of the room. After she appeared, she immediately came over and apologized, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Did you do it to get them to learn about death or to get us to fight until we couldn't go on anymore?"

On hearing his response the worried look on her face disappeared and instead her lips curved up into a smile. "I'm glad you understand.", she said while looking at him happily. It seemed she had been very worried about his reaction to what she had done. "It was for both. Experiencing death can help them to cherish their life more, while also enabling them to go to their limits and take risks if necessary. And fighting until the end has the best effect on combat experience.", she then answered his question.

It was just like he had guessed. She had in fact used the opportunity to do both. "So how did you do it? Where did all those rats come from?", he asked the question that had plagued him ever since he had realized what she had done.

Seeing his curious expression she couldn't help but smile at him slyly. "Did you think you know everything about me?", she asked him coquettishly.

Ivan gulped down his salvia and shook his head, "No.", he said in a hoarse voice. Her question had reminded him of the time they had sex and where he had seen her naked. And the images that appeared in his mind made his lust burn up. Together with her expression, if not for Irena in his arms, he would have grabbed her and pushed her down.