'She's a fucking monster!'
Lukas slammed into the ground once again, his entire body bruised after an hour of 'training.'
Looking around, he saw that most of the goblins didn't fare much better. Except for a group of 8 goblins—which he noticed included Pokey—they all shared the same disgruntled expression of Lukas.
However, they continued the grueling training nonetheless. Lukas knew he had to get stronger, much stronger. Quitting wasn't an option, failing wasn't an option.
Everytime he stood up despite being bruised and weathered, the other goblins followed suit. If their god was going to receive such punishment in the pursuit of strength, what kind of followers would they be if they just quit?
Alara watched as all of the weaklings rose once again, quietly admiring their constitution. Although she knew better than to outwardly praise them, she still held their valiance in high regard.
Holding her club outward, she simply said, "Again."
Lukas and the goblins gulped but readied their own weapons.
Sweat poured down Lukas's face as he gripped his sword's hilt. By now, he felt like he definitely should've at least got a hit in.
"Come at me!" She yelled before assuming her battle stance, spreading her legs just wide enough to create ultimate balance.
Raising her free arm as a sort of shield, Alara kept the club raised behind her. Even though he wasn't a fighter, Lukas knew that the stance was perfect in both terms of offense and defense, at least against them.
Not only did it allow her to easily maneuver between strikes and parry anything she couldn't simply evade, but her swings came down with full force. With her legs spread the way they were, every strike from her club utilized the entire body.
Because of this, even a horde of goblins plus Lukas didn't stand much of a chance.
They charged, most of the goblins screaming some kind of war cry. Alara quickly silenced them, delivering swift and precise blows with her club.
In just a few minutes, they were all knocked to the ground for the 10th time in a row. The only ones left standing were Lukas and the group of 8 goblins, who were sparring by themselves.
Although he never fought before, Lukas was smart.
He knew how to read people and study their movements. More than that, he could tell when a tactic like rushing forward blindly wasn't working. Getting hit by a club over and over wouldn't make him some kind of hero, nor would it make him stronger.
It would simply make him stupid. Brave, but stupid.
So instead he had watched her every movement, taking in how she created fluid movements and effortlessly flowed through an army of dozens of goblins.
Shuffle.
Alara's eyes widened for just a second as she watched him assume the exact stance she was using. Although her surprise was shut away just as fast, Lukas's smile showed that he saw it.
Offering a small laugh, she said, "Good. Maybe someone here isn't entirely useless."
Then she disappeared from his sight.
'What the–' Lukas could barely begin a thought before he felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck.
Falling face first into the ground, Lukas's mouth became filled with the taste of sand. His eyes watering, he tried to spit it out. But the pain had traveled down from his neck and into his stomach, making just breathing a pain.
The sand collected in his mouth and slowly hardened from the saliva. It's taste was far worse than bitter, but there was nothing he could do to make it better.
Black spots decorated his vision as he lay in a fetal position, clutching his neck with his left hand. The goblins surrounded him, screaming things he couldn't quite make out.
'What the fuck was that...' Lukas thought.
Then he realized that the pain was going away just as fast as it came.
Quickly spitting out the sand, he turned to Alara and spat, "What the hell was that?!"
Her face was bright red, kneeling right next to him and holding out her hands. Green light spilled from her hands and traveled toward him. Every time the light touched him, he felt a little better, like she was healing him.
"S-sorry. I got a little carried away." She muttered.
After a few seconds, Lukas found he could do nothing but laugh now. For the last hour, this girl had been some kind of Terminator. Now, she looked like some kind of princess with all the healing and blushing.
"H-hey! Don't laugh at me!" She yelled, pausing her healing momentarily.
The pain quickly shut Lukas up, though there was still a grin he couldn't get off of his face.
For how tough she had seemed, there was apparently this soft and pleasant side too. One that apologized for hurting him and tried to make it better.
A side that was currently leaning in, right next to his face, whispering, "Don't tell the goblins this."
'W-what!!'
'Is she going to kiss me or something!'
Alara paused for just a moment, a moment that was killing Lukas. She was far too hot for this!
Sighing, she slightly rubbed her scarf before continuing, "I've never trained anyone before."