"Monster ..." Morty, one of Lucian’s students, was the first to arrive back at the base. He dropped to his knees, lifting his head as he struggled to catch his breath.
His gasps ragged and desperate, as if he might collapse at any mont. "That man ... that man is a monster!"
deia tilted her head, looking down at the exhausted man before her. "What happened to you? Were you being chased by a monster?"
Morty suddenly clutched her legs, his voice trembling with frustration. "The only monster here is your Vice Leader! He took us to so faraway land and told us to run back on foot! Is he a psycho or what?!"
Morty couldn’t stop cursing Lucian, spitting out a string of harsh words with such passion that deia felt a pang of envy.
She missed the days when she could freely say such things without a second thought—sothing she hadn’t done since the mont she arrived in this world.
What a sha.
"My legs! I can’t even feel my legs anymore!" protest Morty.
He was one of the hunters from Willow Village, but since his ability was not particularly impressive, Harry rarely took him along for hunting in the forest. As a result, his stamina was weaker compared to the high-grade hunters.
Still, he was better than the people behind him, they all passed out as soon as they stepped into the base.
deia had assud Lucian would be a gentle and understanding teacher, but she couldn’t have been more wrong.
"What happened here, deia?" Sister Jeanne asked, startled to see so many people collapsed in front of the gate.
deia sighed and pushed Morty away so he would let go of her legs. "Don’t mind them. They’re just exhausted from a simple workout," she replied.
"Simple workout, you say?!" Morty yelled at the top of his lungs, like a bomb that had just gone off. "He made us walk so far I can’t even feel my legs anymore! He’s a freaking monster!"
"That’s just basic training," Lucian said as he approached after parking his car. There wasn’t a trace of remorse on his face, as if he did nothing wrong. "You can’t fight effectively if you have poor stamina. That’s why running is one of the fundantal forms of training."
"Please ..." another young man crawled toward deia. His voice sounded desperate. "Leader, please fire him. Don’t let him teach us anymore."
"I’m sorry, but I can’t do that." dea smiled. She enjoyed their suffering so much that she didn’t want to end it. "He’s the strongest hunter here, so I’d be a fool not to make the most of him."
She continued with a shrug, "Maybe your legs will be fine after a month or two of practice."
Their faces turned pale at her words, the thought of enduring months of this torture making them want to run away and let the monsters take them.
"And if any of you are thinking of asking to be moved to another teacher," deia continued with a smirk, "the answer is no. You’re stuck with him. You can’t change your teacher."
So of them were hitting the ground over and over again because of the frustration.
"Sister Jeanne." Lucian smiled at the nun, then asked her a favor with a gentle tone. "I hope you can heal their pain away."
"Of course, of course. Don’t worry about it." Sister Jeanne walked closer, then motioned for the other n to help her carry the half-dead students to the dical bay. "Oh, these poor young n."
As they left, deia turned her head toward Lucian. "Lucian, those people will hate you if you keep up with this kind of training."
"Are you against it too?" Lucian asked, looking a bit worried since it was deia who was protesting.
"Nope," deia smiled widely and patted his shoulder. "I’m proud of you, honey. Please, make them suffer more."
The system forbade her from torturing humans, so Lucian had beco the answer to her longing for seeing agony and pain.
• • •
In just three days, the base had transford into a living nightmare. The weaponry class was tough, but the combat class was a whole new level of torture.
Especially when the instructors were no different from demons straight out of hell.
deia pushed her students harder than they thought possible, with no sign of rcy.
Their hands bled because of holding the weapons for so long and sotis they cried out loud.
Lucian wasn’t any better. He was even more ruthless than her. His combat drills left the students breathless, and would pass out as soon as the training was over.
As a result, the elders and children, except for Nico, were not allowed in their class.
"Why am I even here?" Nico wiped the tears from his eyes, his voice trembling with frustration. "I don’t want to be taught by you anymore!"
He threw his bow to the ground in defiance and looked up, expecting deia to explode with anger. Instead, she simply folded her arms and remained silent.
"Aren’t kids supposed to be taught by soone ... less cruel?" Nico muttered, trying to mask his fear. "Even Tian has never shouted at his students!"
"Are you done?" deia asked calmly. "Pick up your weapon."
There was sothing about her calmness that unsettled Nico. His tantrum wavered, and he found himself bending down to retrieve the bow without another word.
"You’re a kid, yes," deia began, watching him closely. "But why do you think you were placed under my wing? It’s because your ability is more special than the other kids."
He had a Grade-SSS mutant ability, sothing that no other kids, or even adults in the base, had, except for deia and Lucian.
"Soone like you will be the backbone of this base," deia said, "It’s not fair, I know. But fairness doesn’t exist in a world like ours. You don’t get to choose an easy life when you’re born with such potential."
Nico stared at her, unsure whether to feel honored or burdened by her words. His grip on the bow tightened as his heart filled with so much emotion.
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