Chapter 102: Volume 2 - Prologue - Morning Already Became My Enemies

"Huufftt..."

"Huuuffffttt..." My breath was panting in the early morning.

The sky was still dark, as usual. The intensive training continued without Master Reina or Master Amagi present. It was as if the previous agreement had been nothing but empty talk to trick me.

I wasn’t too upset about it, as Duchess Adelheid Von Blutfeld and Marchioness Shinano Vii Lichtberg paid me in real gold coins. In two days, I earned over fifty gold coins when attend this intensive training. It was quite a sum for a commoner and a maid apprentice like me.

The problem is... sometimes the training I go through feels very inhumane.

I miss the social organization that protects small children like me in this novel world.

Without preparation, without washing my face with cold water, and without changing into a proper maid uniform, I underwent intensive training with Duchess Adelheid Von Blutfeld and Marchioness Shinano Vii Lichtberg in the nightgown I’d worn the night before.

Unaware of the theme of the intensive training I underwent that morning, I was trapped in a shadowy world and led by the Head Maid to the back of the Main Mansion. A place where the open ground, mixed with mud and dirt when it rained, was rarely visited by people, and the contours of the land magically transformed into high earthen walls used for tactical cover.

High above the sky, still radiating the light of the large moon and the second moon hiding behind it, a dots of fiery light ball scattered haphazardly. They floated in the air, fully controlled by Marchioness Shinano Vii Lichtberg command spell.

My goal at this point was to retrieve the red flag in the middle of a vast, unprotected field. It was just an empty expanse of land with a red flag stuck in the ground.

With one footstep on the empty expanse of ground, dozens of hot fireballs hovering above would swiftly fall. This was no longer physical training; it was a test of wits: finding a way to get the red flag without relying solely on physical ability.

"This is really hard," I muttered as I caught my breath after running in circles looking for an opening, but I couldn’t find any.

"Is it just me, or is the difficulty of this intensive training increasing rapidly?" I continued to mutter under my breath, glancing at Marchioness Shinano Vii Lichtberg, who was busy reading my latest version of my handwritten magic book.

While she was busy reading my embarrassing handwritten magic book, I was busy with this inhumanly intensive training. Logically, the concept was quite simple. I just needed to move quickly to the empty expanse of land and grab the red flag.

Sounds simple, right?

But believe me, it’s not as simple as you think.

To make sure the position of the magic trap was set, I took a small stone to throw at the empty expanse of land.

Pluuukkk...

Pluuukkk...

My throw wasn’t far enough to ensure the trap’s response that actived the trigger, and seeing their radius attack.

Swwaaarrr!!

Swwaaarrr!!

Just a few steps away from my small stone throw, a fireball descended like a beacon chasing its target.

Ctttaasshh!!

Blaaarrrr!!

The innocent small stone shattered into pieces after being hit by the fireball.

"I didn’t see things wrong, did I?"

"Even a small stone shattered into pieces!"

"What about my body that made of flammable skin!" I shouted in the middle of this intense training, and trying to calm my tired little mind that was looking for another way to complete this intense training challenge.

The more I thought about using my feet to run, the more the fear of the rain of fireballs coming my way faded away.

"There’s no other way but to use that, huh?" I muttered under my breath as I glanced at Duchess Adelheid Von Blutfeld, who had been following me with a wooden sword in her hand.

"Are you starting to give up on Shinano’s magic challenge, Liliana?" she asked, expecting me to give in to this terrifying challenge.

"Honestly, I want to give up on this training and this unreasonable challenge, my Honorable Duchess Adelheid Von Blutfeld."

"Don’t give up so easily. I don’t remember having a maid who gave up so easily. Today’s intensive training was indeed harder than it should have been, since Reina and Amagi still haven’t finished their fun morning route."

"Then why am I doing intensive training that is much harder than it should be?!" I asked politely, without sounding like a complaint to the Duchess’s ears.

"To test your abilities?? I guess? I don’t know..." the Duchess replied quickly, sounding doubtful by her answer.

"..." I just smiled at that answer.

I completely don’t understand the Duchess’s way of thinking, she thinking that I am an all-round maid and capable of overcoming every obstacle in front of me.

"There’s another reason, but it sounds ridiculous. You probably don’t think Shinano and I were betting on how long you’d take to keep the red flag, right?"

"My bet is before sunrise, and it will happen soon..."

"Therefore, I will increase my chances of winning the bet."

Swooossnngg...

The Duchess threw the wooden sword in her hand to me.

"Magic can be slap with another magic. You’ve mastered something related to that, haven’t you?" the Duchess said with a suspicious smile.

Right beside her, the Head Maid held a crystal ball and seemed to be getting ready to record what was going to happen next.

Actually, I’m fed up with noble families who like to force others to do whatever they want, but my mother and I are indebted to those who have helped us in difficult situations.

"Huufffttt..." I took a deep breath and let the hot air that came out become white smoke from my mouth.

The cold air that accompanies me this morning and a wooden sword; I think that is enough to overcome the obstacles before my eyes.

Without thinking anything else, I walked onto the empty expanse of land that served as the open stage. The Duchess’s instructions were enough to help me and help her win the bet before sunrise.

Tap...

Tap...

"Well, magic can be cut with magic, right??"

"A hint that is too dangerous to carry out or proven..."

"C-Can I really do that?"

I had some doubts about this. The only magic I could wield while wielding a sword was Gravitia Break. It was a special magic that manipulated the weight and mass of an object through touch. Using Gravitia Break to slash a falling fireball would be incredibly difficult.

"I hope this is a nightmare in the morning and I wake up soon..." I muttered while feeling the sensation of thin dew in the cold air.

My footsteps continued to approach the empty expanse of land, my eyes fixed on the red flag. It was quite a distance away. Running and dodging the falling fireballs wasn’t enough. I need a melee weapon that minimizes the damage from the fireball’s heat. And coincidentally, my esteemed Duchess gave me a wooden sword to increase her chances of winning the bet.

Whether it’s called cheating or cunning tactics to win a bet, I don’t know anymore.

It was all just a game of bored upper-class nobles in the morning.

Getting into a running stance, I relaxed my muscles first. My entire body protested my lack of eight hours of sleep. I ignored it and prepared to run at full speed.

"Now or never..." with a firm determination to run and the result was in vain, I stepped my foot into the trigger point of the magic trap in the air.

Splaasshh!!

Splaasshh!!

"Huh?!" I was silent for a moment when the ground I stepped on felt like mud.

"I-Isn’t this..." With footsteps continuing to run through the mud, I felt a strong pull from every stomp of my feet.

"There’s no mistaking it; this is magic that delays movement. Marchioness Shinano Vii Lichtberg uses sneaky methods like this?!"

"In this intensive training? T-That is supposed to be family-friendly??"

To suppress my confusion, my running pace slowed as I approached the red flag in the center. My running speed slowed to the point where I was walking on sticky ground.

Cttiinngg!!

Cttiinngg!!

My danger detection ability activated. The shadows of the hot fireballs floating in the air began to fall.

"Oh, shit..." With that gruff grunt, I cast Gravitia Break.

"Gravitia Break!!" My magic chant worked quickly in this critical situation. The mud beneath my feet lit up brightly with the shadow of the falling fireball. There wasn’t a moment for me to daydream.

The wooden sword blade in my hand was imbued with Gravitia Break magic, enveloping it completely from hilt to tip. My immense mana capacity and the remaining mana within it were enough to cut down several of the falling fireballs.

Sllaasshhh!!

Sllaasshhh!!

My body movements were unaffected by the mud beneath my feet. I was still able to move freely and slash at the fireballs falling above me. My slashes weren’t as neat as cutting a potato peel with a sharp knife, but they were enough to avoid the devastating effects of the hot fireballs.

My footsteps continued to approach the red flag in the middle of the empty field. My survival instincts and danger detection abilities continued to activate, warning me of my imminent demise.

If I think about the worst-case scenario, and looking a reason of Liliana, who is not in this alternate story... Maybe, she already dead from intensive training like this.

Hey! Wait a minute!!

Why am I waving my own death flag?!!

I don’t want to die quickly in the novel world that I created with my own two hands!

Slaassshhh!!

Sllaasshhh!!

My slashes became faster and faster, until I unconsciously moved my hand like it was dancing with a wooden sword. Each falling fireball hissed softly, like a flame being extinguished by a strong gust of wind. There was no explosion like with the Fireball chant, which meant... I’d be fine as long as I didn’t miss a single one.

Sttoonngg!!

The wooden sword in my hand hit the last fireball that happened to hit the red flag pole, and broke the wooden sword in my hand.

The red flag that fell to the muddy ground signified the start of my intensive training and tough life as a maid, with a new Chapter in my life.