"Hey, Allen. How come your skin recovers so quickly and that you can even do the blood-metal thing in the first place?"

Alright, folks, lesson of the day: when the lady who literally told you you couldn't use your signature skill because she was worried about your health, then asks how you can even use it, always go for a believable lie.

"I don't know. Fffff-reakin, guess some military freak injected something in me. Nothing big." Sorry Brain Drain, the bus is breaking you tonight.

"Where did you come from?"

"Middle of the forest. Did you hit your head too?"

"No. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because the joke just went over your head."

"What do- ooooooh. That was mean."

"Maybe. Maybe you did hit your head and forgot."

"No. You're just mean."

That was when I was struck by the muses. Over the head. With one of Ares's plans. In a translated format.

Since it was Ares's plan, it'll probably piss a LOT of people off though.

"Wait, you said you wanted to be a Huntress, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Since you will probably end up facing criminals, I have elected to teach you how to fight against the criminal scum who will attempt to fight you in a weakened state. By the time I am finished with you, a drug lord would lose to you in 24 seconds flat with 2 limbs inoperable."

"WOAH! That sounds awesome!"

"The training regiment will take a couple days to complete, it will cover plenty of different ways you could be blindsided by thugs, we will be camping in the woods for the duration, and I will need to get permission first."

"Eh, it'll be fine! I know how to get them to say yes!"

"...Hwat-"

[Perspective shift: Summer]

"Hey mom, dad! I wanna go on a training trip with Allen!"

"R-really? Are you sure?"

"Yeah! He said it would only be a couple of days!"

"...Fine, just make sure you and him stay healthy!"

"Okay, mom!"

Heh, I doubt they even know about my Hero's Plead!

[Perspective shift: None]

It is a good thing that Summer only plans to use her puppy dog eyes on minor things. For, despite the benevolent name, it could easily become a vicious tool.

[Perspective shift: Allen]

"Alright, so, grab whatever you need to sustain yourself and get gone. Plan to get to the training ground as soon as possible."

"So, what are we gonna be doing?"

"Well, first on the list is emulating fighting while crippled."

"Wait, what-"

"If you want to survive the scum of the earth you need to have at the very least a bare-bones way to live even when your arms aren't working. You need contingencies for failed back-ups."

"...This sounds like paranoia-"

"Ever heard of a paranoid person being murdered by someone they didn't overlook?"

"...Fair point-"

Eventually, with plenty of banter, and a bit of snark, we reached the area….. Which was just another part of the forest with a layer of metal in the perimeter.

"And here we are."

"So, what are we going to do?"

"MY goal is to knock you down within 15 minutes."

"That…. Sounds way too easy."

"With one of your arms behind your back."

The look on her face was priceless.

"WHAT?!"

"Be glad I decided to start you off easy."

"What do you mean "easy"?!"

"Could have made you do it blind or without a leg. Which we will eventually cover."

She began to mumble stuff about me being a bully as I made some metal wire to wrap her arm behind her.

"Nope, just paranoid. Now, allow me to introduce you to session one of "Allen's Preparatory Academy for Surviving Criminal Scum! Or, APASCS! Lesson one: fighting while without limbs!"

At that, I decided to do something I was cooking up in the 'ol crock pot. I clasped my hands together so that my arms created a rough circle. After that, I used Sleá Bréagach to replicate circular saw blades. Now, of course, this being a course on how to fight properly against a criminal, i was emulating a criminal myself. As such, o had to perform a pre-emptive strike.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!"

"You're a hero, as such, the villains will be trampling each other to see who gets to take your head. You'll need to be able to fight under any condition. Including off guard."

"Meanie…."

Despite her protestation, she adapted pretty easily. She was using an arrow as a dagger, even landing a couple of nicks on me. Granted, I got a bit more than a couple more on her, but I never broke her aura. In fact, on round 7, she almost got me in the neck.

Overall, I'd give her a….. 81.

"Alright, class is over. Find yourself a place to sleep, or try and put together this tent. Your call. I'm gonna go chill in the Inverse.

"...The what?"

"Oh yeah! I can step into anything with a reflection and enter a mirror world. I call it the Inverse."

"...Can I sleep in it? Sounds cool."

"No. for one, I don't know if I can bring others with me, two, that would nullify your outdoors "make do with what you have" survival lesson."

"Please?"

As soon as I heard that tone, I covered my eyes with metal. No doubt she was using puppy eyes.

"No. I won't always be there to help you out. Gotta learn to do stuff yourself."

"Fine! I'm gonna make the best tent!"

And off I went, vanishing into a mirror I carried with me. Good luck, Summer~

[Perspective shift: Summer]

…..My rival is too strong. His strength is supposed to be equal to mine.

Anyways, since he told me this is a "make do with what I have" lesson….

….I'm gonna use the mirror!

Heading over to the mirror, I gently pressed my hand to the surface, making sure not to break it…. And my hand went through it! HAH! Take that, Allen!

I put my head through it to look around and….. Yeah, I don't wanna sleep in here anymore. Especially with this feeling that someone's watching me….

….I'm gonna have nightmares tonight, probably.