Chapter 3: Basic Training

It's been two weeks since Meta officially became a member of the GranEssex. As promised, Kurabe was hard at work training him, though all it has been sword training.

"Before we go all the way with your training, Meta, you need to learn how to fight properly." She told him.

Now she had deemed him ready for "the real training" as she described it. What that entailed, though, Meta wasn't sure. He was honestly nervous. While the sword training went well, he was extremely worried about disappointing his mentor. What if he couldn't live up to her expectations? That thought alone kept him up at night.

"Meta, what's wrong? You've barely touched your breakfast. Should I postpone training?" Kurabe asked, snapping the child out of his thoughts.

"No, I'm alright sensei. I just have a lot on my mind..."

"Nervous about training?"

Meta looked at her in surprise. "How did you-?"

His mentor gave a smile. "Us Star Warriors have the ability to sense the emotions of others."

He continued to blink in shock upon hearing that. He never heard of that before!

"We do? Wait... is that how I can tell when you're happy?"

"Not just happy, but sad or angry as well."

Meta just blinked, not sure how to respond to this.

Kurabe chuckled. "Considering your upbringing, it's not surprising that you never noticed. In fact, I didn't learn about it until I met my mentor."

"How do you do it?" The puff questioned.

"Well, that's the thing. It's not something we can switch on and off, it's always active. Whether we want it to be on or not. However, we can somewhat control it. By focusing on a single target, you can read every emotion they have. Try it on me. Close your eyes and concentrate."

The child nodded in understanding and closed his eyes, forcing himself to concentrate solely on his mentor.

"What do you feel Meta?"

"Are... you happy?"

"That I am."

He tilted his head. "Why?"

"Because today's when your training truly begins. I've been looking forward to this day. Now tell me Meta, why are you so nervous about it?"

The child hesitated to answer.

"Um... well... I'm just worried about what will happen... I don't know..." He spoke as if he was unsure of the answer himself.

Kurabe then placed her hand on Meta's head. "You're worried that you'll disappoint me, aren't you?"

The puff nodded shyly.

"Don't be. All I ask of you is that you do your best. Understand?"

"...I understand, sensei."

"Good. Now please finish your breakfast. Training on an empty stomach is not recommended."

He nodded in comprehension and was about to inhale the rest of it, but stopped the moment he realized what he was doing and remembered his table manners.

After breakfast was finished the duo, joined by Mercury, headed towards the training room. Once there, Kurabe had Meta do some warmup stretches while she prepared the first step of the training process.

"Alright, Meta, we're going to start off simple."

Kurabe pressed on a remote, turning on twenty combat droids, all set to rank A.

"Your goal is to defeat them in under five minutes."

Mercury stood up in concern. "Kurabe, with all due respect, do you really think that's a good idea?"

"I've directly fought him, Mercury. I have a vague idea of what he's capable of." She replied somewhat coldly.

"I'm ready, sensei." Meta said while giving Mercury a look that said, "It's fine.".

The woman quietly nodded in response as she sat back down. Kurabe turned to her student.

"Begin!"

The child immediately dashed at the group of machines and took out five in a single slash. Two of them attempted to attack him from behind, but he performed a back flip and struck the machines down upon landing. Next, he barely dodged a missile being fired at him, but was kicked down to the ground by another machine and his sword was kicked away from him.

"Now what will you do, Meta?" Kurabe thought to herself.

Meta got back up and kicked the head off the Droid that kicked him. Then a second missile was fired, but Meta managed to catch it and throw it back at the droid, destroying it. Six of the droids then surrounded him in a circle and shot electricity at him. The child quickly inhaled it all, gaining a crown made of yellow electricity. With a single motion, Meta blew the six droids up and turned his focus on the remaining droids and used all his energy to strike them down with electricity, causing a huge explosion. Once the smoke cleared, he noticed that every Droid was defeated. Wiping a bead of sweat off his face, Meta got rid of his electric crown. Suddenly, he heard clapping, turning to see that it was coming from his mentor.

"Well done, Meta. A minute and forty seconds. You passed the first part."

The child looked back at her, his eyes extremely sharp and focused. "Bring on the next ones."

Kurabe looked at him in amusement and drew her twin swords, Rubis and Grenat.

"Ok, pick up your sword, Meta."

The child nodded in silent understanding and picked up his sword once more. Kurabe was upon him instantly, a killing intent radiating off her body. The sheer amount of it scared the student. No... "scare" would be an understatement. He was horrified. Kurabe swung with Rubis, and Meta blocked it. However, the sheer force of her swing caused the floor beneath them to crack and small wound to open on his head. The child attempted to strike, but it was easily blocked, and his left cheek was stabbed. Meta's eyes widened even further upon noticing this wound. He was truly fearing for his life right now.

"Meta, throw it away..." Kurabe uttered cryptically, going back on the attack.

The child frantically dodged it while trying to figure out what she could possibly mean.

"Throw it away? Throw what away? My sword? Is she telling me to throw away my life!? But I don't want to die! I have to live!"

He attacked back, only to be stabbed by both of her swords. Meta struggled to get back up and went to attack, but froze in fear when Kurabe raised her blades once again.

"I can't... I just can't!" He thought.

"You have to let go." His mentor uttered coldly.

"But let go of what!? I can't give up on life! Wait, what if that's not what she means?"

Meta thought back to his previous battle and the emotions he had. Or rather... the emotion he didn't have... fear. Indeed, the child had never experienced fear before, until now.

"But my fear is what's keeping me alive, right? No, it's just prolonging it. I can't live if I don't fight back!"

Kurabe swung down Grenat, and Meta closed his eyes, but not out of fear. He raised his sword and blocked the strike. It hurt like hell, but it gave him the opening he needed. He trusted his blade forward and landed a direct blow on Kurabe. The warrior stared at the sword, then at Meta and then, gave a big smile.

"Good job, Meta."

While still in a bit of pain, the child smiled back.

"I probably don't need to explain it, but I'll go over the purpose of this lesson. Fear is a powerful emotion. At times, it steers us away from danger. Experiencing fear isn't entirely a bad thing. That said, fear can also be a hindrance. It can make you perform actions you normally wouldn't and can jeopardize a mission or even worse. It's important to fight through the fear, to let go of it and focus solely on victory. This is especially true on the battlefield. There, it's do or die. Do you understand, Meta?"

"I understand, sensei." He nodded firmly.

The warrior gave a chuckle as she patted him on the head.

"Now, first, let's get you patched up. Then we'll move onto the next step."

The child tilted his head in curiosity. "What's the next step?"

"A good warrior needs good equipment. I'll be teaching you how to make weaponry and armor, as well as how to maintain them. If you go into battle with subpar equipment, you're basically begging to get killed."

"Huh? You can do that on this ship, too?!"

The boy was surprised. He hadn't heard of that during his tour!

"That's correct. It's near the engine room."

"The engine room? Mercury, why didn't you show me that room during the tour?"

"Limets and horrible heat don't mix well..." was the simple reply.

"Ah, right. You'd melt." Kurabe uttered, as if it was an afterthought.

"You'd die!?"

"Not exactly... it'd just melt the liquid metal covering over my core..."

"Why do you have a place that's so dangerous on this ship!?" Meta questioned, alarmed at the idea.

Kurabe and Mercury simply laughed.

"We need the engine to power the ship. Without it we can't do anything." The woman explained.

"Oh..." The child's cheeks turned a dark red as he uttered that shyly.

Kurabe cleared her throat to gain his student's attention. "Now, come, Meta. Those wounds aren't fatal, but you still need to be patched up."

"Y-yes, sensei!" He uttered as he followed her out the door.

After taking care of Meta's wounds duo traveled down to a large room situated to where the engine room is. Mercury stayed behind to set up the next task.

"Alright, say hello to our smithy. This is where we create and repair all of our weaponry."

"It's so hoooot..." The child uttered with a sweat as his mentor gave him a pair of goggles and gloves.

Honestly, he was used to the occasional and stiflingly hot weather on Opasnost, but it never got this horrible.

"You'll have to get used it. Not only will you be coming often, but there's also plenty of planets with temperatures hotter than this. Think of it as training."

He nodded in response. "So, you said we're going to make me armor and a weapon?"

"That's right. We'll start with something simple to get you used to how it works. Pay attention to everything I do."

Kurabe walked over to container in the room and pulled out some iron and a hammer. She then dipped the iron into a furnace.

"First step, get whatever material you are using extremely hot. This makes it easier to shape."

After having the iron in the furnace for a few minutes, she removed it, revealing a red-hot piece of iron.

"Once that's done, we go over to the anvil." She placed the iron down and began to strike it with her hammer.

"Now is the important part. We use the hammer to shape the iron. Now it's important to find a good balance. Hammer it too quickly and you'll break it. Hammer it too slowly and it can harden before you want it to. My tip is to hum while doing this step. Find a rhythm, keep that rhythm as you work. Follow that tip and you'll be fine."

Her student nodded in understanding. As she began to hammer the iron, the child thought of another question as he listened to his mentor work. It was specifically the fact that she seemed to sometimes quietly sing as she hammered.

"Sensei, do you like to sing?"

"I do, though I don't sing that often. I usually sing when I'm alone. When I was younger, singing would help me calm down."

"You sound like you're good at it..."

"Thank you, Meta. Now then..."

Kurabe finished hammering and walked over to a container filled with water. She put the sword into the container, waited a few seconds and pulled it out. Then she grabbed a tool that looked like a saw blade.

"Now that it's cooled down, we'll use this to smooth out any edges."

The child nodded in understanding.

"Um... sensei, did you make your swords as well?" He questioned, remembering how beautiful they looked.

"Rubis and Grenat? Yes, I did. It's a bit of a long story, but I suppose I can tell you. It starts with me being sent on a mission to a planet known for rare materials and more importantly, mystics. After completing my mission, I decided to look around the planet where I heard a story of two of the strongest materials known in galaxy was being guarded in a temple. Intrigued, I decided to search for it. I thought that I could perhaps use those materials for something..."

"Are your swords really that strong?"

"That they are. Though it was a struggle to obtain the materials. They were guarded by a powerful spirit. It was the spirit of a warrior from thousands of years ago. I had to prove my strength in order to obtain them. It was easily the second hardest battle I ever had."

"What was the hardest battle you've had?" Her student asked in curiosity.

"That's an easy question. The battle I had against my mentor, who is also the current leader of The Organization. In other words, he's the man who I, and now you, work for. That fight lasted for what felt like forever. I had to use every technique that I had and even had to create brand new techniques just to gain a small advantage. We were both in the ER for two months afterwards." She said while laughing.

The child stared at her in amazement. "The leader? He must be super powerful then! Will I ever get to meet him?"

"You will one day. I wouldn't be surprised if he came for a surprise visit sometime soon. He seemed interested in you." She replied, giving a chuckle as she took a moment to examine the piece of metal before returning to work.

"Really?! Wait, who won the fight? Was it a draw?"

"I won."

"Wooow! That's so cool! But... why were you fighting each other?"

"It was for my final test. My mentor wanted to ensure that his student who will live past him and carry on his teachings. He is a Star Warrior like you and me, so he has lived for a long time. So, we battled, and I came out victorious, but barely."

"Then if you won, why aren't you the leader of The Organization? Shouldn't the strongest one be the one at the top?"

"Well... let's just say it's quite stressful to be the general..."

"But shouldn't life or death missions be more stressful?" Meta asked, clearly not understanding what could be so bad about such a position.

"You'd think that, but it's more complicated than you think. As the leader of the entire organization, he has certain responsibilities. This includes overseeing everything that goes on in The Organization as well as the entire universe. Not only that, but also peace talks, negotiations, deciding who to help and who to go after. Eventually, I will have to take over his position, but until then, I'd rather go on life-or-death missions than deal with politics."

The child was silent, as if to process what he heard, and then nodded before going back to watching her work.

After a few minutes, Kurabe was finally done.

"Ok, Meta, do you think you can handle this on your own?"

He seemed to become a bit nervous upon hearing that.

"Um... I think I could..."

His mentor nodded as she handed him a hammer and metal tongs.

"You are to stay in this room until you successfully make one sword. It doesn't need to be perfect, just usable. I'll check in on you in one hour. Good luck, Meta."

With that, she left, leaving a nervous, but determined Meta by himself. She then met up with her second in command once again.

"So, Mercury, is it all set up?"

Her subordinate gave a nod.

"The circle is ready, just have to wait for the kid." The woman then gave a concerned expression.

"Are you sure it'll be fine leaving him alone in that room? What if he overheats?"

Kurabe shook her head.

"This is his training, Mercury. He's learning how to create weapons and is also building a resistance to the heat. If he overheats, I'll use ice magic on him." She replied nonchalantly.

"Well, if you're that positive, Kurabe..." Mercury uttered, still clearly having reservations about it.

"I am. Besides, it's a good prelude for when I decide to start the superspicy curry-only diet."

"Ugh... you're seriously going to make him do that?"

"Not today, no."

An hour passed, and Meta was feeling very lightheaded. Ironically despite being such a horrible planet to live on, his old home never got hot. At least nowhere near as hot as this room was.

"Finally... I think I'm done..." Meta uttered, breathing heavily.

After several attempts, he finally made a sword that didn't look fragile.

"Now... just to wait for sensei to come back..."

He laid on the floor in an attempt to cool off, but it wasn't working.

"Word of advice, Meta, don't lay down on a hot floor. That usually gives you the opposite of what you want."

The child looked towards the door to see Kurabe.

"Sensei! ...why are there three of you?"

She only chuckled and gave him a bottle of water.

"Focus on rehydrating for now. Let me take a look at your results." She said as she examined the sword he had created.

"Hmm. Let's see..."

Using her magic, she created a block of ice and struck at it. The blade went through it effortlessly.

"Bit on the heavier side, but I consider this a success. Congratulations, Meta."

"Th-thank you, sensei..." Her student replied, still exhausted.

His mentor removed the gloves and goggles for the child.

"Come on, let's get you out of here. You'll have a thirty-minute break to regain your energy."

"What are we going to do next, sensei?"

It seemed that he knew there was more to today's training session.

"We're going to awaken your mana. All living beings have mana, which is used to cast magic, enhance physical capabilities and more. Though mana is not something that can be instantly triggered. It needs to be awakened first."

"How do you do that?"

"There's various methods, but I find the most effective is being out under intense stress."

"Is... that from personal experience? And why haven't I awoken it before?" He seemed to pout at that.

"Because you haven't been actively trying to awaken it. Since you had no knowledge of mana, it makes sense that you wouldn't have."

As much as Meta was concerned about what this process would entail, he decided to focus on resting instead.

After the short period of rest was finished, Meta was ready for whatever came next.

"Alright, Meta, follow me. This will be the last exercise of the day." Kurabe told her student.

"Let's do it then." He uttered in determination.

They walked back to the training room where he saw Mercury standing next to a circle made of magic.

"Get in, kid." The woman said.

The child immediately obeyed. "So, when do we start?"

"Now."

Mercury snapped her fingers and a barrier surrounded Meta. That wasn't the main concern, though. He then felt himself being zapped by electricity. It took all his willpower to not scream in pain.

"A-are they... trying to... kill me!?"

That was the first thought that went through his mind.

"Meta, relax and focus. Close your eyes and search deep within yourself to find the mana inside you." Kurabe explained in an unusually calm tone.

"How will I know when I find it!?"

"Trust me, you will. Oh, and every 30 seconds, the electricity will increase in voltage." Kurabe said, in an almost nonchalant tone.

"DO YOU WANT TO SEE ME DIE THAT BADLY?!"

"Of course not." His mentor replied in the same tone as before. "Remember our first lesson, Meta. Throw it away."

That was easy for her to say! He had just learned about that today! Did she really expect him to be able to do that so easily!?

"And before you ask, this was the exact same way I awakened my mana. I was just as inexperienced as you are right now." Kurabe said.

"Did she just read my mind!?"

"Yes, I did read your mind. Remember, us Star Warriors can feel each other's emotions."

The child only responded with a glare of cold silence.

A full minute passed, and Meta was struggling to stand.

"Please, awaken already...!" He uttered.

Suddenly, a purplish glow began to surround him.

The warrior just smiled.

Meta blinked in surprise. "What's happening to me!?"

"It's your mana. Now focus and let it all out!"

Focus, huh? The sooner he could escape and punch this old hag in the face. With as slight grin, he began to concentrate, his breathing beginning to slow down.

"Focus... focus..."

Inside his mind, he envisioned the source of his mana. It took the form of a storm cloud. He reached out and grabbed it. His eyes shot open and with a mighty shout, he sent out a shockwave of mana, destroying the barrier and causing Mercury to stagger away from the circle before slamming into the nearby wall. Meta then dashed at Kurabe, only for her to punch him, sending him to the floor.

"I understand your anger, but your body just experenced a large amount of pain. If it weren't for the adrenaline boost, you wouldn't be able to move. Also..."

Her eyes hardened and, from the child's perspective, it became hard to breathe.

"Never call me an old hag, Meta. Do I make myself clear?"

There was an overwhelming feeling of danger in her tone as her red eyes glared visibly at him through her eye visor. The puff only weakly nodded. Kurabe's expression changed completely.

"Good. Now, wait here. I'll be back with dinner. Mercury, would you mind healing him?"

"Right away, captain." The woman nodded as she stood up quickly.

"Thank you, and Meta. Close your eyes and focus on your mana. Try having it flow throughout your body. The sooner you get accustomed to how it feels, the sooner we can train you in how to use it." She said in a gentle tone that was a harsh contrast to the way she spoke earlier.

"O-ok..."

It was honestly strange to Meta how this lady could be harsh and cold one minute then kind and sweet the next. Seemingly understanding the confused look on his face, Mercury simply replied with a look that said, "You'll get used to it" as she started to work on healing him.

After several minutes, Meta's injuries were healed. He as continuing to focus on sending the mana through his body. He took a brief look at Mercury, who was also waiting for his mentor to return.

"Does sensei always push her students this hard?" He suddenly asked.

"Yes." Her response was blunt.

He only stared at her in silence.

"I'll be honest with you, Meta. The galaxy...no, the entire universe is filled with danger. The reason why she's pushing you so hard is because she wants you to survive out there."

"But I've survived on that horrible planet for as long as I remember..."

"Has that planet ever been attacked by a creature that could destroy it in the blink of an eye?"

The child fell silent. The woman then put a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, kid, Kurabe cares about you a lot. If she didn't, she wouldn't be making you that chicken parmesan that you liked right now."

His eyes seemed to light up for a moment. "Really?! Is that what she's making?!"

"Don't tell her I said that, though. She wanted it to be a surprise, so you better act surprised."

"I... I see..." The child uttered.

However, Meta then began to feel guilty about his earlier behavior. Why would she go out of her way to make something like that even after how he was acting!?

"Like I said, she cares about you a lot."

The child blinked at her in surprise. "C-can you read emotions, too?"

"No, but I can read your expression. You lashed out in anger, that much is true. Do you know who also tended to do that in their youth?"

"You mean... sensei did, too?" He asked.

"Bingo. She said it herself, your anger was understandable. She knew you would react that way. So don't beat yourself up over it. You'll be living here for a long time, so you have plenty of time to make it up to her."

The child nodded upon hearing that.

"Mercury?"

This called her attention.

"Is... that what love is?" He uttered, slightly blushing.

"Perhaps. That's something you'll need to figure out for yourself, though. I'm sure you'll find the answer even if it takes years for it to come."

The child pouted in response.

"Then, how should I start making it up to her?"

"Start by apologizing. Though she'll probably just say "there's nothing to be sorry about"." She replied, transforming into Kurabe while saying the last part.

"Mercury, you seem to know a lot about sensei. How long have you known her for?"

"We first met when I first became a member of The Organization. That was... geez, like... seventy years ago? Something like that. I don't really keep track of that stuff."

"HUH?! YOU'RE MORE THAN SEVENTY!?"

"Limets live for a long time. Our lifespan is even similar to that of Star Warriors." She replied without reacting to the child's own reaction.

After recovering from the shock, the child spoke up yet again.

"So... um..."

"Trust me, as you get older, you'll learn to not care about being old. Unless you end up like Kurabe." She said playfully.

"No... uh... how did you meet?"

"Oh, that? We met each other on a battlefield. This was before she was a member of the Big Four. Anyway, the squad we were part of was completely wiped out...except for us. Together, we fought against an army of five hundred soldiers. After that, we became friends."

The child stared in amazement. "You both fought against five hundred soldiers!? That's sooo cool!"

"And if you keep up your training, you'll be able to do the same."

"I really want to!"

"Sounds like someone's eager." The one who said that was Kurabe, who had just returned.

"Um... sensei? I-I'm sorry... for being mean to you earlier..." Meta uttered suddenly.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Meta." Kurabe said with a smile as Mercury mentally laughed at them.

"Anyway, here's your dinner. Make sure to eat all of it." She said, handing him a plate of chicken parmesan.

Even though he knew it was coming, he couldn't help but be excited, his eyes sparkling at the sight of it.

"Thank you, sensei!"

"You're welcome, Meta. Now, remember your manners."

"Ok!" As the child began to eat, he thought of another question. "Um... sensei? What will we be doing tomorrow?"

"Well, now that you have unlocked your mana, we'll start training you to use it in combat as well as trying out Copy Abilities. All Star Warriors have the ability to copy, but as we get older and more skilled, we can use Copy Abilities without needing to copy. We'll find out what Copy Abilities you prefer, though it's fair to assume Sword is the one you want to focus on."

"Uh-huh!" He nodded enthusiastically.

Then he thought of something else.

"What abilities did you master, sensei?"

She gave a slight chuckle. "I think you know at least two."

"Sword and Ice, but what else?"

Suddenly, Meta and his plate started floating in midair.

"What's happening!?"

"ESP."

After gently lowering him to the ground, she created a tiny stone golem.

"Stone."

"Whoa. Do you really think I can become as skilled as you, sensei? I'm not really sure if I can..."

His mentor gave a smile as she pulsed a bit of lighting into the golem.

"It depends on how much effort you put into it yourself. However, I have confidence that if you continue to train and practice, you absolutely could."

Meta smiled, but Kurabe could tell he was still unsure.

"You know, Meta, I was like you when I started. I was inexperienced, confused about the universe around me, and I was unsure of my abilities. I started training as a nervous wreck and there were plenty of obstacles I needed to overcome. Thankfully, I had my mentor to help me, and you have me to help you. You are capable of great things, Meta. You just need to believe in yourself."

"Believe in... myself...?"

The child repeated those words in his head. While he still had his doubts, he felt determined to keep going.

"I'll do my best, sensei."

"I know you will." Kurabe smiled as she patted him on the head.

After a few minutes, Meta had finished eating.

"All done, sensei..." He said while yawning, the exhaustion of the day catching up to him.

"Well, I guess it's time for you to sleep. Do you need help returning to your room?"

"No... I think I can handle-" Meta uttered before falling asleep mid-sentence.

Kurabe gave a chuckle as she picked him up in her arms.

"I'll take that as a "yes"."

She then placed her hand on the child's head, using a little bit of magic on him.

"What are you doing?" Mercury asked as she noticed this.

"A little spell to give him sweet dreams while he sleeps. I've... occasionally heard him screaming in the middle of the night..."

"I see... I can stay up to watch over him if you wish."

"There's no need for that, Mercury." She replied with a smile.

The woman nodded before taking a closer look at the sleeping young puff, who twitched a bit involuntarily.

"Do you know what he's dreaming about?"

"That, I don't. I can only give him a dream, but I have no control over it. No... that's up to him. If anything, I hope that it's a happy one." The warrior said as they entered the child's room.

She placed him into bed and pulled the blanket over him.

"Good night, my little knight. Sleep well and... I'm sorry if I pushed you too hard." Kurabe whispered with another pat on his head.

She then turned towards the door and began to leave.

"Nothing... to be sorry about..." The child mumbled in his sleep.

Hearing that, Kurabe looked back towards him and gave a small smile before closing the door.

The GranEssex is one of the main flagships of The Organization. Because of this, it can have things like a smithy.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!