The girls soon woke up, stretching their bodies even as their minds began to think of the nightmares they would have to face as they were forced to go through the torture that was disguised as training.
Thankfully, at the start of the morning, only two people suffered, namely the two mages of the group. Though, Ian seemed to be getting better, at least compared to Fiona, in terms of physical strength.
However, it was after the morning exercise that things became dreadful for the three girls. The training, no, torture, pushed them to the limit, forcing them to do their hardest so they would not end up on the ground as a groaning, bruised mess.
And the worst part is, no matter how badly they got beaten up, Ian could always heal them before their trainers made them train once more.
The only time that they could get any respite is when Fiona suffers severe mental fatigue from casting spells constantly, while the two, are too tired to even lift their arms.
While Heal could heal the bruises and injuries easily, it could not do the same thing to mental and physical fatigue. Unfortunately, only when they reached their limits did their trainer stop the training.
Currently, it is the third day and they are having a lunch break, sitting away from their trainers.
"They really need to be mindful of what they did to us girls," Ana complained, taking a sip out of the glass with a frown on her face.
"True, they should try to reduce the intensity of the training," Lisa agreed with the red-head. Fiona would like to say the same as well, but she was not the one who had to be trained with Kell, so she did not think she had the right to join in.
"But then he will say it would make our progress slow down! And the worst part is he is right! We get stronger following his training regime but it still be nice if he didn't go beat us up like a bunch of training dummies!" Ana exclaimed, before stabbing her food.
"What about you Fiona, how hard is it training under Ian?" Lisa asked the blonde. After all, there is time they watched Fiona carried by the spectacled brunette to the tavern or cafe.
"It depends, he is a slave driver but most of the time, he only makes me train my spells and has me create several variations of them," she had already able to create Glimmer, a spell that creates a low intense Light, allowing them to see in dark places using too many mana and Flash, a burst of bright Light that will blind anyone that has the misfortune of seeing it.
She also learned how to create Arcane Burst, the attack that vaporized half the body of the hobgoblin, and Arcane Bomb, a weaker version of Arcane Burst but more viable due to it not consuming a lot of mana compared to the former.
Not to mention, Ian also taught her how to use mana more efficiently, reducing the mana used in casting spells. After all, no matter how little difference it makes, in the long term, it would help a lot.
There is also the fact her boyfriend slash trainer taught her how to cast spells quickly. Though it is only effective for Arcane Shot. At least she is not too vulnerable after casting offensive spells.
"Yeah, both of them are scary, but at least they are on our side, and for Fiona, also on her inside," the blonde spluttered as the redhead laughed cackle at her.
Lisa slapped her forehead, muttering something about being the only mature one in the group.
-x-
While she looked forward to the morning training, as it helped her improve her spells and casting abilities, the same could not be said about the evening practice, which is more practical. Namely, she had to fight Ian.
So far, in the spar, she has not once managed to get a shot at Ian, all her attacks are blocked or dodged by the brunette. However, she hoped it would change today. At least, she could hit him once.
She reached the clearing near the forest for their training, as Ian did not wish to do it at the training ground, on the account that their practice is possibly destructive and the fact they were banned from sparring there when they created multiple craters previously.
So, they have to use the area around the town instead for sparring.
"So, are you ready?" Ian asked, Fiona, nodded, though she seemed to not be as enthusiastic as she had been before.
Ian noticed it but he did not have a way to make her try her best. Actually, he might know how to make her more motivated.
"How about a bet?" Ian asked, Fiona looking at him in surprise.
"A bet?" she parroted.
"Yes," Ian nodded. "The bet is simple. If you hit me once during the spar, you will win. If you manage to hold on during my turn, you will win. For me to win, I need to knock you out during my turn.
Of course, to make things fairer, I will not be using Shield, only dodging your attacks by running and ducking. As for the turn, you will cast 20 spells before your turn is over, while I will have 10 spells for my turn like before. So, do you agree?"
"That depends, what will I get if I win?" Fiona asked, clearly suspicious of the bet.
"I will follow your order for the rest of the week," Fiona seemed to brighten up at the reward, "However, if I win, well, I can order you for the rest of the week as well, except, I knew what I am going to make you do," he strode towards her before whispering into her ear.
Fiona's face turned from calm, into shock, into a serious blush as she spluttered, "There is no way I am going to do that!" she told Ian, who chuckled.
"Then, you don't have to accept the bet and we will have our regular training," Ian replied.
Fiona bit the bottom of her lips, unable to decide whether to agree or not. However, at the prospect of ordering Ian, she decided to take the gamble.
"I agree to the bet,"
-x-
The two quickly take the opposite spot to one another. The spar will start when the one that attacked first attacked. This is because Ian wanted to put it in her head that in a real fight, there is no such thing as countdown.