Arthur raised a brow slightly.
"Private?"
The man grumbled as he began walking.
"Every commander has one. Separate from the common training areas. Restricted access. Very few people are allowed inside."
His explanation sounded forced, like each word cost him effort.
Arthur understood the reason.
Commander Lyra was admired by many. To most of the n and even so of the won in the stronghold, she was nothing short of a goddess. Soone admired from afar, unreachable and perfect.
And now a new explorer had been summoned personally by her.
Of course there would be resentnt.
Arthur ignored the tension and followed silently, though his anxiety only grew.
Why bring him sowhere so exclusive?
What exactly awaited him?
They walked deeper into the training complex until they reached a massive reinforced door at the end of a quiet corridor.
The man stopped.
"Inside," he said shortly before turning away.
Arthur stood before the entrance alone.
He took a slow breath and pushed the door open.
The difference struck him instantly.
This place was nothing like the bronze training hall he had used before.
The bronze hall had been noisy, crowded, and rough. The air there was filled with sweat and shouting, the floors worn from endless practice, the equipnt basic and poorly managed. It was a place for beginners struggling to improve.
This hall was different.
Quiet.
Vast.
The space was wide and open, with polished floors that reflected the overhead lights. Training weapons were arranged neatly along the walls, each one of higher quality than anything he had seen before. The air itself felt heavier, charged with lingering power.
It was not just a training hall.
It was a domain.
A place shaped by strength.
Arthur felt it pressing against him, an invisible weight that made his steps slow. The atmosphere seed to reject him, as if the space itself questioned his right to stand there.
His instincts scread one thing.
You do not belong here.
He swallowed and stepped forward carefully.
Then a voice echoed across the hall.
"Do you plan to keep waiting longer?"
Commander Lyra stood at the center of the room.
Arthur straightened imdiately and bowed slightly in respect.
The mont he returned from his slight bow his usual confident posture returned. His shoulders relaxed, his breathing steadied, and the hesitation from earlier slowly faded. If she had called him here, then running from it would only make things worse.
Better to face it head on.
He t her gaze.
"Commander... may I ask why I was summoned?"
His voice was calm, respectful, but not timid.
Lyra did not answer imdiately.
She simply looked at him.
Not a casual look. Not even a commander examining a subordinate. It was the gaze of soone asuring, weighing, and dissecting everything about him. From his stance, to his breathing, to the faint tension hidden beneath his composure.
Arthur felt it clearly.
She was studying him.
Then she spoke.
"The hobgoblin parts. The abnormal amount of loot. Clearing so much while moving alone in a mutating dungeon."
Her voice was steady.
"Explain."
Arthur did not panic.
He already expected this. News spread fast in the stronghold. Especially news that involved sothing unusual. He had drawn too much attention at the exchange center to believe otherwise.
So he answered exactly how he planned.
With calm confidence.
"I was lucky," he said simply. "I ca across them while moving through the dungeon. I encountered so goblins along the way and gathered what I could."
A shallow answer.
A safe answer.
The sa one he had given before.
Lyra stared at him in silence.
Her eyes did not waver.
She knew.
She knew he was lying. Not just lying, but hiding sothing deeper. Yet she did not call him out imdiately. She simply watched him for several long seconds, as if testing whether his composure would crack under pressure.
Arthur held her gaze calmly.
Inside, however, he remained alert. Every word, every reaction, every movent mattered here.
Finally she spoke.
"I expected that reply from you."
Her tone was neutral.
Then her posture shifted.
"If you say you are capable," she continued, "then show ."
She rolled her shoulders slightly, cracked her knuckles, and stretched her arms. The mont she moved, the atmosphere in the hall changed.
Her aura spread outward.
Pressure filled the space like a heavy tide crashing down on Arthur’s body.
"Fight ."
Arthur swallowed.
So this was the reason for the private training hall.
The gulp in his throat was not just from fear. Nor was it from the danger of exposing his secrets.
There was sothing about her presence in battle.
Her calm confidence. The sharp focus in her eyes. The way power gathered around her so naturally. She looked even more overwhelming like this. Strong, dangerous, and strangely captivating.
He almost stared.
Almost.
"Arthur."
Her voice snapped him back.
"Stop staring and fight."
A faint challenge hid in her tone.
"Or I will co at you myself."
Arthur exhaled slowly and cleared his thoughts.
Focus.
He stepped forward and moved first.
His intent surged.
A wave of Manifest Intent gathered around him as he launched an attack, directing the force toward her. He did not use his full strength. Not even close. He simply tested the waters.
The attack struck.
Or rather, it reached her.
Because she did not move.
She stood there like an unmoving mountain, the energy dispersing around her as if it had never existed.
Arthur’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Not even a reaction.
He remained cautious. He held back most of his abilities, using only Manifest Intent while carefully observing her response. This was not a battle to win. This was a test.
And she was testing him far more than he was testing her.
Her pressure increased.
The air around him grew heavier.
She began to move slowly, circling him with relaxed steps, watching him like a hunter playing with prey.
"This is not the strength that kills a hobgoblin," she said.
A small, thrilled smile appeared on her lips.
"Co at ."
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