Chương 85: Chapter : 85

The loud, heavy knocking echoed down the quiet hallway of the crumbling estate. It was exactly five o'clock in the morning. Inside his dusty bedroom, Ken Eliot groaned loudly. He pulled his thin blanket all the way up over his head and grabbed his pillow, wrapping it tightly around his ears to block out the noise.

"Ken! Open this door right now!" Naomi's voice shouted from the other side of the wood. She sounded incredibly awake, energetic, and dangerously motivated.

"I made you a promise yesterday, and I am keeping it! Your lazy days are over! Get up!"

"Go away!" Ken mumbled, his voice muffled by the mattress.

"The sun is still sleeping! Why are we awake? This is completely unnatural! Come back at noon!"

"I am giving you three seconds before I kick this door off its hinges!" Naomi warned him.

"One! Two!" Ken knew she was absolutely not joking. Naomi loved kicking things. He let out a dramatic, miserable wail, threw the blanket off his legs, and rolled out of bed. He hit the floor with a loud thud, not even bothering to catch himself. He crawled over to the door and turned the handle just as Naomi reached the number three. The door swung open. Naomi stood there looking like a perfect, flawless soldier. She was already wearing her dark combat training gear. Her red hair was tied back tightly.

She did not look like someone who had almost died yesterday. She looked like a drill sergeant. Ken, on the other hand, looked like a complete disaster. He was wearing his usual messy blue servant uniform, but it was worse than normal. His shirt was completely untucked, his tie was hanging loosely around his neck like a scarf, and his black hair was sticking up in wild, confused spikes. He was barely keeping his sleepy eyes open.

"Good morning, farm boy," Naomi said, giving him a strict, confident smile. She reached out, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, and literally started dragging him down the hallway.

"Hey! I can walk! Mostly!" Ken complained loudly, his scuffed shoes sliding across the wooden floorboards.

"This is a severe violation of my human rights! I need at least ten hours of sleep, or my brain stops working! I am going to report you to the Imperial labor department!"

"You can write your complaint while you run laps," Naomi fired back, dragging him all the way down the stairs and pushing the heavy wooden doors open to the courtyard. The morning air was chilly. The courtyard was empty, except for one other person. Laxmi, the hot-headed fire user, was already out there. She was doing fast, high-energy jumping jacks, completely wide awake. She grinned when she saw Naomi dragging Ken outside like a heavy sack of potatoes.

"Look who finally decided to join the party!" Laxmi laughed, clapping her hands together.

"I thought you were going to cry your way out of this one, Ken." This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"I am crying!" Ken yelled, pointing at his own face.

"Look closely! You just can't see the tears because it is still pitch black outside! Why are you so happy, Laxmi? It is five in the morning! Only birds and crazy people are awake right now!" Laxmi cracked her knuckles, a tiny spark of bright orange fire popping between her fingers. She loved mornings, and she loved fighting even more.

"Naomi told me you needed some serious combat training. I couldn't miss this. Teaching a lazy guy how to dodge fireballs sounds like the best morning game ever." Naomi let go of Ken's collar. Ken immediately slouched forward, letting his arms dangle lazily by his sides. He looked at the two elite warrior girls and let out a heavy sigh.

"Look, I really appreciate the whole 'making me a hero' thing," Ken said, holding his hands up in surrender.

"But I really don't need training. I am a professional at running away. If a bad guy looks at me, I just hide behind the nearest rock. It is a flawless strategy. We don't need to fix something that isn't broken."

"That strategy almost got you killed yesterday," Naomi said, crossing her arms. She looked at him with that same intense, respectful look she had given him in his bedroom. It was the look that absolutely terrified Ken.

"You threw yourself in front of a Curse spear for me. You have a brave heart, Ken. But your body is completely useless. I am going to make sure you never get stabbed again. Now, stand up straight!" Ken slowly, very painfully, pushed his shoulders back and stood up. He immediately ruined it by letting his head droop to the side.

"We are going to start with basic evasion," Naomi instructed, pacing back and forth in front of him.

"If you are going to survive the Succession War, you need to know how to move your feet. Laxmi is going to throw some light attacks at you. Your job is to dodge them. Do not trip over your shoelaces this time." Ken looked at Laxmi. The fire user was grinning wildly. She rubbed her hands together, creating a small, roaring ball of flame right in her palms. It looked very hot, and she looked way too excited to throw it at him.

"Uh, question," Ken said, raising his hand nervously.

"What happens if I don't dodge it? Do I get a free pass to the hospital? Because I will take a hospital bed over this courtyard any day of the week."

"If you don't dodge, you get roasted," Laxmi laughed loudly.

"Don't worry, farm boy! I will keep the fire small! Mostly!"

"Mostly?!" Ken shrieked. Before Ken could even complain again, Laxmi pulled her arm back and threw the fireball. It wasn't a massive, deadly blast like the ones she used on the thugs yesterday, but it was still a fast, bright chunk of real fire flying right at his face. Ken's eyes went completely wide. He threw his hands on top of his head and let out a high-pitched, totally panicked scream.

"Ahhhhh! Hot! Hot! Hot!" Ken yelled at the top of his lungs. He didn't try to use a cool combat stance. He didn't try to sidestep smoothly like Naomi had shown him. Instead, Ken completely abandoned all logic and just started running in a massive, wide circle around the edge of the courtyard. He ran like a terrified cartoon character, waving his arms wildly in the air, his untucked shirt flapping behind him. The fireball hit the stone wall right behind where Ken had been standing, leaving a black scorch mark.

"Don't just run away screaming!" Naomi yelled, putting her hands on her hips in total frustration.

"Watch her shoulders! Look at where she is aiming and step to the side! You look like a frightened chicken!"

"I am a frightened chicken!" Ken shouted back, not stopping his frantic run.

"Chickens are very smart! They run away from fire! That is just basic science!" Laxmi was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes.

"Oh, this is too good! Keep moving, Ken! Here comes another one!"