Chapter 137: The Training Begins

Chapter 137: Chapter 137: The Training Begins

The sun rose.

It was a slow, gentle sunrise. The sky turned from black to purple to pink to orange. The stars faded. The moon disappeared. The world woke up.

Daniel was the first to wake.

He opened his eyes slowly. His body was sore from the fight. His muscles were aching from the running. But he was alive. He was breathing. He was here.

He sat up. He looked around.

The camp was quiet. The fire had died down to embers. The others were still asleep.

Paul was leaning against a tree. His head was tilted back. His mouth was open. He was snoring softly.

Cheeky was curled up near the fire. Her cloak was wrapped around her. Her hood was pulled low. She was shivering slightly.

Brick Head was sprawled on the ground. His arms were spread wide. His legs were tangled. He was snoring loudly.

Fluffy was curled up beside Daniel. Her head was resting on his leg. Her ears were twitching. Her tail was wrapped around her body.

Mittens was curled up beside Fluffy. Her head was resting on Fluffy’s shoulder. Her cat ears were flat. Her tail was still.

Lyra was sitting against a tree. Her eyes were open. She was watching him.

Daniel smiled. "Morning."

Lyra nodded. "Morning."

"How long have you been awake?"

"A while."

"You didn’t sleep?"

"I slept a little."

Daniel looked at her. At her tired eyes. At her exhausted face. At her determined expression.

"You okay?" he asked.

Lyra nodded. "I’m okay."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

Daniel didn’t believe her. But he didn’t push. He just stood up. He stretched his arms above his head. His joints popped. His muscles relaxed.

"Time to wake the others," he said.

Lyra nodded. She stood up. She stretched her arms. She looked at the others.

"We should wake them," she said.

"Yeah."

---

They woke the others.

Paul groaned. He rubbed his eyes. He looked around. He was confused.

"What time is it?" he mumbled.

"Morning," Daniel said.

"Already?"

"Yes."

Paul groaned again. He stood up. He stretched. He winced.

"My body hurts," he said.

"I know."

"Everything hurts."

"I know."

"I hate my life."

"I know."

Cheeky woke up quietly. She sat up. She pulled her hood lower. She looked around. She was nervous.

Brick Head woke up loudly. He jumped to his feet. He stretched his arms. He yawned.

"Good morning!" he shouted.

The others winced.

"Quiet," Paul hissed. "We’re hiding."

Brick Head blinked. "We are?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Right."

He lowered his voice. It was still loud.

"Good morning," he whispered.

Fluffy woke up slowly. She rubbed her eyes. She looked at Daniel. She smiled.

"Master," she said.

Daniel smiled. "Morning, Fluffy."

"Fluffy is hungry."

"I know."

"Fluffy wants meat."

"I know."

"Can Fluffy have meat?"

"Later."

Fluffy’s ears drooped. "Okay."

Mittens woke up last. She was scared. She was confused. She looked around. She saw the others. She relaxed.

"Good morning," she whispered.

Daniel nodded at her. "Morning."

---

They sat in a circle.

Daniel looked at them. At his team. At his family. At his friends.

"Today," he said, "we start training."

They nodded. They were ready.

"First," Daniel said, "we need to assess our strengths and weaknesses. We need to know what we’re good at and what we need to improve."

Paul nodded. "That makes sense."

"Paul," Daniel said. "You’re our wind talent user. You’re fast. You’re agile. You’re good at ranged attacks. But you’re weak in close combat. You need to improve your hand-to-hand skills."

Paul nodded. "Got it."

"Cheeky," Daniel said. "You’re our metal talent user. You’re strong. You’re durable. You’re good at defense. But you’re slow. You need to improve your speed."

Cheeky nodded. "Got it."

"Lyra," Daniel said. "You’re our gunslinger. You’re accurate. You’re precise. You’re good at ranged attacks. But you’re weak in close combat. You need to improve your hand-to-hand skills."

Lyra nodded. "Got it."

"Fluffy," Daniel said. "You’re our shadow scout. You’re fast. You’re stealthy. You’re good at surprise attacks. But you’re fragile. You need to improve your durability."

Fluffy nodded. "Fluffy will improve."

"Mittens," Daniel said.

Mittens flinched. She was scared. She was trembling.

"You’re new," Daniel said. "You don’t have training. You don’t have experience. But you have potential. We’ll train you. We’ll help you. We’ll make you strong."

Mittens looked at him. Her eyes were wet.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Brick Head," Daniel said.

Brick Head puffed out his chest. "Yes?"

"You’re... you’re Brick Head."

Brick Head nodded. "Yes."

"Just... just try not to die."

Brick Head grinned. "I’ll do my best!"

---

They started training.

Daniel paired them up. Paul and Cheeky. Lyra and Fluffy. Brick Head and Mittens.

"Paul and Cheeky," Daniel said. "You’ll spar. Paul, you’ll practice your close combat. Cheeky, you’ll practice your speed."

They nodded. They moved to an open area. They started sparring.

Paul threw a punch. Cheeky dodged. She was slow. She stumbled. Paul hit her. She stumbled back.

"Faster," Daniel said. "You need to be faster."

Cheeky nodded. She tried again. She was still slow. But she was trying.

"Lyra and Fluffy," Daniel said. "You’ll spar. Lyra, you’ll practice your close combat. Fluffy, you’ll practice your durability."

They nodded. They moved to an open area. They started sparring.

Lyra threw a punch. Fluffy dodged. She was fast. She was quick. She was a shadow.

"Good," Daniel said. "Now let Lyra hit you."

Fluffy blinked. "What?"

"Let her hit you. You need to practice taking hits."

Fluffy hesitated. She nodded. She stood still. Lyra punched her. She stumbled back. She winced.

"Again," Daniel said.

Lyra punched her again. She stumbled again. She winced again.

"Again."

Lyra punched her again. She stumbled again. But this time, she didn’t wince.

"Good," Daniel said. "Again."

---

"Brick Head and Mittens," Daniel said.

Brick Head grinned. Mittens trembled.

"You’ll spar," Daniel said. "Brick Head, you’ll practice your control. Mittens, you’ll practice your defense."

Brick Head nodded. "Got it!"

Mittens nodded nervously. "Okay."

They moved to an open area. They started sparring.

Brick Head threw a punch. Mittens dodged. Barely. She stumbled back. She fell.

"Get up," Daniel said.

Mittens got up. She was scared. She was trembling.

Brick Head threw another punch. Mittens dodged. Better this time. She didn’t fall.

"Good," Daniel said. "Again."

Brick Head threw another punch. Mittens dodged. She was getting better. She was learning.

---

Daniel watched them.

They were training. They were improving. They were getting stronger.

He smiled. A warm, satisfied smile.

"Good," he said. "Very good."

He looked at the sky. At the sun. At the clouds.

"We have a long way to go," he said. "But we’re on the right path."

He looked at his team. At his family. At his friends.

"We’ll get stronger," he said. "We’ll reach stage four. We’ll reach stage five. We’ll reach the aura realm."

He paused.

"And then we’ll stop Lord Ashworth."

They nodded. They were determined. They were ready.

Daniel smiled.

"Let’s continue," he said.