Chapter 6 – Their current prowess

For a second time, Mila found herself standing on a nondescript hillock. The pain she had grown accustomed to through the day was gone. She moved her limbs in wonder.

After checking her condition, Mila tried to talk to the presence she thought she felt. Despite her tries, she found no success.

Without anything else to do, Mila started to jog. She rounded the hillock before restarting the exercises she had learnt the previous time she had been here.

There was a faint sense of improvement. Mila continued to practice endlessly. She still had trouble moving how she wished, but she was getting there. Slowly but surely.

—

Knocking on the doors roused Mila from her sleep. She tried to move but got stopped by her spasming muscles. “I am awake!” She stopped the incessant racket at the door.

Mila slowly moved her limbs, getting the feel of her body condition. What she found was curious. The worst aching corresponded to the places she had moved the most during her dream.

For a moment, she considered what it could mean. Mila felt a faint sense of hope, which she squashed immediately. It was premature to assume anything. The place she was now dreaming of was definitely different.

In the past, when Mila dreamt, she only gained the experiences the person she inhibited had. It would be a welcome change to get something more.

Still, for now, she had a bigger problem to deal with. Mila used all of her willpower to get out of bed. She eyed the drab linen outfit Kefo had brought her before wearing it.

It was surprisingly comfortable. With that out of the way, Mila left her room. She held on to the walls to stay afoot. The worst part about this building complex was the outdoor toilets. She increased her pace while suffering through each step she took.

After taking care of her needs and freshening up, she headed for the kitchen. It took her far too long to get to it. When Mila gracefully stumbled into it, she found Andrew and Isabel already at the table.

“Good morning!” Andrew cheerfully greeted her.

“Mornin’,” Isabel was less chipper. She was chasing a meatball around her plate with a fork.

Mila returned the greeting and sat at the table, where her portion was already ready. “Where are kids and Silinth?”

“I still think it’s strange how you call them kids while looking like that.” Andrew ignored Mila’s frown. “Anyway, they should be getting ready for the morning exercise.”

“Are you going to join us?” Isabel asked. “I noticed Mr. Ampry did not include you when talking about training.”

“Probably not,” Mila began to eat. “Not unless it’s something very light on the body.”

“Well, at least you’ll have to suffer through the lessons together with us.” Andrew finished his dish and started to clean.

Isabel caught the elusive meatball, finished it, and passed her empty plate to Andrew. “Well, we have to go. See you later?” She sounded unsure of when it would be.

The two of them kept bickering and left Mila alone with her thoughts. Surprisingly, she managed to finish her breakfast. Another change she felt was for the better.

Soon, Mila found herself outside. The weather was mild and a little overcast. A light wind rustled her hair. Somewhere behind the buildings, she heard Silinth’s shouting. It was peaceful, but the lack of people made this place feel eerie.

With some hesitation, Mila began exploring the surroundings. She entered the buildings one after another. The dusty interiors kept her mood sombre. She found classrooms, storage rooms, an empty library and many more. Some of the places were half-finished, and some appeared to have housed inhabitants at some point.

And now Mila stood in an armoury. Racks of armour and stands with weapons surrounded her. She inspected her find. Most of the equipment was new and unused. Her fingers ran over the swords and poked at the leather armour.

These were weapons of war. Mila tried to lift a halberd that reminded her of one of her dreams. In it, she had been a mighty warrior. She had swung her halberd around like it weighed nothing, cleaving her enemies in half and piercing the thickest armour.

Of course, now she barely could budge it. Mila gave up and walked deeper into the armoury. This was another reminder of how this world worked. Being weak was a sin, and you got punished for it.

Perhaps she was too fatalistic in her views. Mila picked up a dagger and hefted it. The balance was a little bit off, so she put it back and then continued searching. She had only heard Silinth’s point of view of how the world was. There was still much to learn. Perhaps it would not be so bad.

Mila found another dagger. The simple design was to her liking. It felt good in her hands and was light. She made a couple of slashing motions to get a better handle on it. This would do, she decided.

After grabbing the sheath, Mila strapped the dagger under her clothes, making sure it remained hidden. She longingly looked at the more impressive weapons and sighed. It would be cool to be able to use a two-hander or a mace. That was not for the current her. It was already hard to handle a single dagger without fumbling.

Maybe in the future, when her body gained some semblance of strength. For now, Mila would have to rely on surprising her would-be opponents.

Now armed, Mila felt more confident. She returned to the courtyard and found the rest of the group stretching. Next to them was a pile of wooden weapons.

Silinth clapped his hands when he saw her arrive. “Well, now we are all here. Miss Mila, you still look shaky, but if you want, you can look for a weapon that suits you among these.” He pointed at the pile. “We are going to practice sparing.”

Andrew and Isabel began rummaging through the pile while Tiff and Kefo made their choice quickly and moved to the side.

“This is it!” Andrew picked up a couple of wooden swords that reminded Mila of scimitars. Meanwhile, Isabel chose a short sword/shield combo.

Mila moved closer and inspected the unsightly heap. She crouched down and picked a random sword. Her only criterion was for it to be light.

Meanwhile, Andrew and Isabel moved towards the centre of the courtyard. They faced each other, only this time, Silinth was giving advice on proper stances. Mila absentmindedly listened for a while.

Silinth’s teaching was the very basics. How to plant feet in the ground. How to strike without dropping your weapon from the recoil, and so on. It seemed he was taking it seriously, which reassured her. After giving them a rundown of what was expected, he made Kefo and Tiff do a demonstration.

While the kids had no talent for magic, their skills with swords turned out to be decent. Mila could appreciate how much work had gone into honing their movements. Their weapons were wooden, but their intents and reactions were the real deal. It was a proof of years of work.

After the exhibition match, Silinth made Isabel and Andrew show what they had learned. It was a very involved way of teaching. Mila would not have minded if he had made them strike a dummy first.

But that was not how Silinth taught as it turned out. For the next half an hour, Andrew and Isabel were tortured by a constant barrage of scathing remarks. Their willingness to take the punishment impressed Mila.

That did not mean they had no limits. Despite their best efforts, their movements had turned sluggish a while ago. Isabel was entirely exhausted, while Andrew seemed to have a bit more in him.

“Have a bit of rest before we continue.” Silinth allowed Isabel to bow out. “Want to give it a try, Mila?”

Mila went over her condition. She was still sore, but that would not change anytime soon. Her spirit was ignited by watching her peers working on their skills. She slowly moved in front of Andrew and raised her weapon.

It was an unfair matchup. Mila was more than a head shorter than Andrew, much weaker, and he was wielding his wooden scimitars with wild abandon. There was no reason to believe she could block even a single blow from him.

What’s more, there was quite a bit more mana inside him compared to yesterday. Mila glanced at Isabel, confirming the same could be said about her as well. It was just another thing that kept bothering her.

Still, it was not all bad. From all the poses Andrew constantly made, Mila guessed he was more concerned with the cool factor than efficiency. She did not blame him. Dual-wielding did look awesome up until you got stabbed because you messed up.

Silinth also had limited the speed they could move to something manageable for their inexperienced eyes.

Of course, Mila did not believe she could pull off anything spectacular. She waited for Silinth to give a go sign, and when Andrew charged her, she ducked while sidestepping.

Mila’s plan worked. Andrew’s weapon passed above her shoulder, leaving him wide open. She stabbed at his sides, not realising her legs had given out.

Instead of punishing Andrew’s recklessness, Mila tumbled to the ground. After eating a mouthful of dust, she started coughing, making it impossible to get up.

“Uh, are you alright?” Andrew hovered above her.

“Ugh, yeah,” Mila spat out the last of the dust. “Just my legs.” She added a vague statement.

“Should we stop?”

“No, I am fine.” Mila stood. She reprimanded herself for being too reckless. While she knew how to move, her body could not keep up. “Let’s continue.”

And they did. Mila gave her best, but five minutes later, she was breathless. Worst yet - she had managed only a few successful counterattacks. “I am done.” She bitterly conceded and left her spot to give it to Isabel.

“Good work.” Silinth praised her when Mila stopped next to him.

“It was a pathetic showing,” Mila muttered back.

“You are too harsh on yourself. It seems you already know what you lack.”

“Yeah,” Mila sighed and looked down at her body. “It’s going to take a while.”

“Still, you moved excellently. It was clear you knew what to do.” Silinth’s eyes moved to her, trying to divine her secrets.

“I guess I have a talent.” Mila gave a vague excuse.

“Right.” Silinth did not believe her but left it at that. He looked back at Andrew and Isabel.

It was clear Isabel was gaining ground. Their overall score was tied, with each landing the same amount of blows. However, Isabel’s steady approach allowed her to block or parry most of Andrew’s strikes.

Isabel was cornering her opponent up until Andrew tried to flank her and tripped over his feet, bumping into her and bringing them both to the ground.

“They are better than I expected.” Silinth studied the ball of limbs, which spouted a bunch of curses. There was something unreadable in his expression.

“They are good people.” Mila did not let his thoughts wander.

“That is yet to be seen.” Silinth disagreed. The next moment, his seriousness was gone. He clapped his hands, stopping their training. “Now, who is ready for some history lessons?”

Mila did not miss how Kefo and Tiff groaned upon the declaration.