Chapter 46: Fighting with rocks.
"Aand… time!" Croix pressed a button on her wrist watch, stopping the timer. I looked up, still doubled over and trying to regain my breath, sweat pouring down my forehead like heavy rain. My legs felt a bit shaky too, but that honestly didn't matter. I just needed to know my results.
"Well?" I somehow managed to say through my agitated breath.
"Impressive." Croix smiled. "You beat your previous record by two whole seconds!"
"What can I say? I'm a natural." I can't help smiling cheekily.
"That you are!" My girlfriend's smile is as wide as it can get, and her eyes are looking at me in a way that can only really be described as full of pride. "But it has also helped that you've finally agreed to practice almost every day."
"Well, I don't feel like dying after practice anymore, so I don't mind doing it daily now." I explain. Really, at first, the day after I truly felt like every muscle fiber in my body had been torn to shreds and individually set on fire, but now my body barely hurts most of the time.
"Guess another factor has been us sleeping together." She gives me a suggestive wink that somehow makes my face turn even redder than before, and this time it has nothing to do with exercise. It's the implication that she made. The suggestion that we might… that we…
And we haven't! Sure, things have gotten intense in the past month since our drunken encounter, but never… never that way. We've been sleeping together, yes, but in the most literal way possible. We've practically moved permanently to the Astronomy tower now (without the teachers knowing, of course), and it's been like a dream!
We stay up late watching movies, or studying for exams, or just talking about whatever comes to mind, and we usually end up falling asleep in each other's arms. But the best part is that we wake up to each other's face every single day, which makes my dreams seem dull in comparison. Why dream about magical worlds of sunlight-caressed landscapes when the most wonderful person in the world is waiting for me in real life? No sight could ever compare to her sleepy face.
Am I exaggerating? Totally. Do I care? Not at all! More so when that's motivation enough for me to wake up early and practice strengthening magic with my girlfriend before going to classes.
"Alright." Croix interrupts my thoughts, adopting a pensive tone of voice that almost makes my muscles groan in anticipation. Just what is she planning now? "It seems like you're finally ready."
"Ready? For what?" I ask cautiously.
"Come here." I trail behind her as she starts walking, curious about what she's planned. Hopefully nothing too extreme… though I think she most likely knows my limits.
After going a little further into the forest, we stop not too far away from our usual training spot, next to a very big piece of granite. That's right. A rock, a boulder… Whatever you want to call it. Very ordinary and unremarkable. She doesn't want me to carry it… does she?
"Okay, you may think I'm crazy, but… punch it." She instructs, but I just raise an eyebrow. Really? That's all she wants? With the aid of strengthening magic, I've been able to crush stones far larger than this one! She knows that! But… oh well, I guess she wants to test something? Maybe?
I decide to just take out my wand and say the spell.
"Vega va-"
"No." Croix cuts me off.
"Huh?" I pause, looking at her with a confused look. Did I not understand what she said?
"Without magic." She clarifies, but… I just keep staring at her, puzzled.
"B-but-"
"It won't hurt, I promise." She assures me, but… although I want to believe her, I can't help feeling like she's pulling a prank on me.
"How can it not?!" I argue. "This is solid rock." I give it a little kick to emphasize my point and, as expected, the rock feels as solid and immovable as ever.
"Trust me." She smiles mysteriously.
"If this is a trick, you'll be sleeping on the floor!" I threaten.
"And that'll be a punishment for you because you are the one who likes to cuddle at night." She answers with a self-sufficient smirk.
"I hate you." I pout, because I know she's right.
"Just do it." She rolls her eyes.
Is this a trick? Is Croix just trying to have a laugh at my naivety? She wouldn't do that, right? I mean, she always takes training so seriously, but… I don't know. It just feels absurd.
"Fine." I end up sighing. I need to trust her.
Hesitantly, I pull back my right arm and get ready to land a punch on this dumb rock. Part of me wants to hold back a little, because I don't want to break my arm or something, but… Croix would surely notice. Ugh. Trust. I need to trust her! She won't let anything happen to me.
And so, I punch as hard as I can and… as expected, the rock doesn't break, but… neither does my arm. I feel the vibration of the impact traveling through my bones, I feel the rough surface of the rock trying to break my skin, but… nothing happens, even when I punched with all my strength. Only a dull pain remains in my knuckles.
"Uhhh… what?" I stare at my arm, confused, turning it so I can make sure there's no visible injuries, but… nope. Not even a dent.
"A side effect of strengthening magic." Croix explains. "It makes your body more resistant, even when inactive. But don't get cocky; you're still not invulnerable."
"Why didn't you tell me before?" I pout.
"Because I didn't want you to unnecessarily throw yourself into even more dangerous situations." She deadpans. "Your resistance becomes stronger the more you practice strengthening magic, and only now have you achieved the sufficient level of training."
"I see." I mean… I kinda did. But I still wished she'd told me sooner.
"The level of resistance, however, still increases when you activate the spell. Since you're so advanced now, your bones should turn to steel and your skin should become diamonds. I mean… not literally, but you get the point." I nod. Makes sense, since when I use the strengthening spell, I can easily break through walls without suffering any injury. "That's why I think we should… do a little combat simulation."
"W-what?"
"You should be ready now." She smiles maliciously. "Today you're gonna fight against a rock golem."
"B-but-"
"What's the matter? You fought against a rock monster and a giant spider without any training, didn't you? This should be easy."
"I mean… I guess…" The reason I'm hesitating isn't because I doubt my strength, but because I don't really know much about fighting, except for the few self-defense techniques my aunt insisted I had to learn. Sure, I can throw punches and kicks, but… I don't have an actual technique.
"Good! Then let's start." She takes out her wand and immediately points it towards the rock I punched just a few minutes ago. "Ansolew strida!" She says the spell and… the rocks all around us start flying towards the big one that I just punched, gradually forming thick, solid limbs until the golem is able to get up from the ground, with the big rock as it's body and no head. As I see it towering over me, it's height almost reaching that of the trees around us, I can only gulp.
"Come on, cast the spell." Croix says. "You have no chance against it without strengthening magic."
"I-I… promise me you won't be too hard on me." Croix only raises an eyebrow at my plea.
"This is training, Chariot. It has to be hard."
"Yeah, but-"
"Watch out!" I look up upon Croix's warning and see one of the golem's arm rapidly descending towards me, but my instincts kick in and I quickly roll to the side before pulling out my wand and facing the rocky creation.
"Croix!" I protest, now keeping my eyes fully on the monstrosity as it slowly turns to face me. Well… at least it's not exactly fast, but only one blow from that thing could surely kill me.
"Less talking, more fighting." She answers, completely unapologetic, and I can only clench my teeth. Guess I have no choice, huh? If Croix is intent on killing me, I have to do my best to survive.
"Vega varulus!" I activate strengthening magic just in time to avoid another hit thanks to my enhanced speed, then I start to look around for any weak points but… nope. This thing is solid rock. Maybe I can target its joints? I don't know if it'll work, but I guess it's worth a shot.
I duck under a blow of its monstrous arm and quickly run to land a kick on its 'knee'. As expected, the thing doubles over from the hit, but the rocks quickly reposition themselves and the monster is soon enough searching for me once again. Ugh. Such a bother! But I guess that was to be expected, huh?
Suddenly, the golem starts charging in my direction and, although it's not very fast, my heart skips a beat in fear upon feeling the ground trembling at every step it takes. Still, I'm able to somehow order my legs to jump at the last second, avoiding the attack and landing a kick on its torso. I feel a satisfying crack under my feet before I jump again and land on the ground a few feet away.
Huh. Maybe that's what I can do! Break its torso. It's what connects all the limbs, so without it the golem wouldn't be able to regroup, right?
The golem comes charging back at me, but this time I'm prepared and with a plan, so I wait until the last moment to jump and try to land yet another kick on the same spot, hoping to weaken the rock enough for it to break, but… before I can even process what's happening, I feel something big land a rather powerful hit on my side, sending me down to the ground with such force that all air is knocked out of my lungs and I hear a very clear cracking sound on my back.
But I don't get even a moment of rest as a second hit arrives, even stronger than the first, and forcing my body into the rocky ground under me. I clench my teeth, trying to withstand the pain, and finally gasp for air once the rock-hard arm is lifted off of me.
At this point I can barely think. It's like I'm about to faint because I can't seem to suck air into my lungs, but… through my blurry vision I do see the monster readying to punch me again and, more out of instinct than anything else, I lift up my arms and intercept the hit, stopping it before it can touch me.
The monster tries to free itself from my grip, but I hold on, aware that this thing will destroy me if I let it go. Then I concentrate on forcing oxygen into my lungs, gasping for air time and time again, still not letting go of the rocky arm.
Finally, the golem grows desperate and sharply pulls away… except I still hold on and with a loud snap I'm left with a part of its arm still in my grasp; a rather big rock that quickly turns to dust under the pressure exerted by my fingers.
The monster of course doesn't appear happy by these developments (if a bunch of rocks can appear happy at all, that is) and it's soon approaching me once again with murderous intentions. So, despite the extraneous pain rapidly spreading through my whole body, I force myself to get up and get ready.
Oof! It's like I've been incrusted to the ground by its powerful hits, and now I have to break out in order to get up. Oh well, it's easy enough with my increased strength! At least I manage to do it before the monster reaches me once again and I'm able to dodge a hit just in time.
Alright. So now… back to my original plan. With a little tweak, that is.
I approach the golem once more, but a little more cautiously this time, watching its movements carefully as I plan my attack.
The monster takes a swing at me with its remaining arm, but I quickly move to the side and roll under it, grabbing its leg. I waste no time and squeeze, instantly turning it to dust in my grip. The golem then falls over on one side, unbalanced by having only one leg to support its massive body, but I waste no time celebrating my small victory, and instead proceed to immediately kick its torso with as much force as I can. A few visible cracks appear, but they're still not enough, so I proceed to punch the damaged spot repeatedly until it finally crumbles under my fists and… yes! It's done. The golem stops moving and the battle is over.
Satisfied, I turn around to see Croix smiling at me a few feet away, and she starts clapping slowly once our eyes meet.
"Impressive."
"Thanks." I answer sheepishly before cancelling the strengthening spell… and as usual, I end up collapsing face first to the ground.
"Chariot!" I hear Croix's hurried footsteps as she runs towards me, concern invading her voice as usual. Heh. It's funny; no matter how many times I collapse after training, she always comes in running with worry. It's kinda sweet, actually. "Chariot, are you alright?" I feel her hand gently touching my shoulder and I force myself to roll over and face her. I muster a little reassuring smile.
"H-hey." I groan out.
"Does anything hurt?" Her eyebrows are furrowed with concern as she stares at me, looking frantically for injuries.
"Well… my back hurts. And my belly and… my left foot and… my knuckles." I list. "But other than that, I'm okay."
Croix shakes her head in disbelief and then swiftly takes out her wand.
"Hold still, you dummy." She says affectionately before closing her eyes and concentrating into casting the spell. "Meiro soruaro."
The instant relief I feel as soon as the magic takes effect is only comparable to finding a bottle of fresh water in the middle of the harshest desert. I can only sigh in content as the pain diminishes and the tiredness recedes, allowing me to sit up slowly, making sure not to upset my injured body too much; magic doesn't make miracles, after all, and I don't know how severe my injuries could be.
"Do you still feel any significant?" Croix asks, eyeing me intently.
"No, I-I… I'm okay." My side is a little sore, making it difficult to breathe, but nothing I can't handle.
"I knew you could do it." She smiles proudly. "I'll admit I got worried when the golem hit you, but you handled it well enough and your body is strong enough to resist this and more."
"Yeah… seems like it." I say sheepishly. "But please tell me this won't be a daily occurrence." At my words, Croix chuckles.
"No, probably not." She eases my concerns. "But the training will be a little harder than before." She seems to notice my pout because she then quickly adds. "Look, I know you can do it. You've already achieved a level of mastery that hasn't been seen in centuries."
"Wait, really?" Honestly, I'm not even that surprised. I did work hard for months, training on an almost daily basis, but… I just feel like this isn't so difficult that no other witch has attempted it in centuries.
"Yes, really." She nods. "Partially because most witches look down on strengthening magic. And partially because, at this stage of the training, your progress doesn't only depend on your physical abilities, but on your magical power as well. Your peak resistance is dependent on your latent magical power, and we haven't hit your limit yet." Ah, I see. That explains a lot. "Being a descendant of one of the Nine certainly doesn't hurt your progress." She chuckles.
"I guess." I shrug. I always feel self-conscious about being reminded of that part of myself. Especially by Croix, since she isn't from a magical linage. "But you know… I wouldn't have made it this far without my awesome supportive girlfriend." As I speak, I get a little closer to her, smiling mischievously. To my delight, she smiles as well.
"Oh? Are you about to thank me for waking up your lazy ass every morning and making you train until your limbs fall off?" She raises an eyebrow.
"No." I chuckle. "I'm about to thank you for always being there to ease my pain and pull me back together at the end of every training session."
Without thinking too much about it, I lean in and gently press my lips against hers, feeling delighted when she grabs my waist and pulls me closer, deepening the kiss enthusiastically. I'm really enjoying myself here, but… Croix pulls away a moment too soon.
"What?" I pout.
"Sorry Cherry, but you taste of sweat and dirt." She chuckles.
"Oh." I blush.
"Come on, let's take a shower." She gets up on one swift movement and then extends her hand to help me get up as well. I do so with a little bit of difficulty and keep holding her hand in case my wobbly legs give in. "Who knows, maybe I'll let you join me." She winks, making all blood rush to my face at the implication.
"Croix!"
"Sorry, sorry, couldn't resist." She laughs. "You're adorable when you get flustered."
"I hate you." I cover my face with my hands.
"I love you too."
A/N: So... yeah, this is another bonus chapter of sorts, this time focusing on Chariot's training. Next chapter will be more plot focusedm however, and Akko will appear once again. Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it and give it a review/favorite/follow if you did. See you in two weeks!
Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.