ALEXiThymiA: Chapter 88 Pack Training

Chapter 88

Pack Training

Tuesday

Time Until Integration 1 Month, 25 Days, 5 Hours…

“Ms. Thyme, I see that you are here as usual. Will you be entering the dungeon today?” Carl Dubois, the lead night security guard asked.

Alexa who was with the members of her pack, cocked her head to the side. “Not tonight Mr. Dubois, tonight I will be training people on how to pass this dungeon.” Alexa said, speaking loudly enough for everyone in her pack to hear her. Given that that every female had traces of the Lykanthropy virus within them, and were therefore affected by supernatural senses, even talking at a regular volume would be enough for the members of her pack to hear.

Of course, there were two additional members who were not affected by the Lykanthropy virus, those being both her twin brother Luke, and Gina Rojas.

“Pass the dungeon?” The guard asked.

It was clear from her nearly constant delves into the various dungeons that Alexa was considered to be an expert on dungeons. Given not only her recent rank of countess, her multiple titles she gained, but also the different classes of magic she now possessed, all of which were prominently displayed on her school sash, the guards gave her the benefit of the doubt when she spoke about dungeons.

Still despite this, Alexa also made sure to flash her title that directly related to the comments she was currently making. She used a little more personal energy to make the system message both larger, but easier to view in the dark.  As she did, a giant blue message showing her accomplishment was made visible not just for the guards on duty, but also for her pack.

Dungeon Runner (1): All Attributes increased by 1% (1%).

“When you complete a dungeon, you gain training crystals that help cement the knowledge gained from that particular dungeon, but you also gain an increasing Title.” Alexa said, making sure to highlight the numeral one after the title and how it directly corresponded to the noted one percent increase for her attributes.

“Today, I am going to teach my pack the unarmed combat skills that can be learned from completing this dungeon. Once complete, we will likely all move on to another dungeon.” Alexa said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice that offered no room for doubt. Then after a slight pause,  she looked to the officer and paused for a moment, before seeming to come to some conclusion on her own.

“You and your team are of course welcome to join us in our training, as you find the time. I am curious to see what would happen to those who complete this training, while already having a class.” Alexa said.

“Are you saying this might improve our class rarity?” Carl Dubois asked, suddenly interested in this conversation.

Alexa just shrugged in a clearly forced gesture she had learned from trying to blend in with people. The movement was too unnatural, too forced, at least from what Gina saw. Still, no one seemed to care as the focus at the moment was clearly on the dungeon and what new insights Alexa was providing for free.

“At the very least, having an increased ability to defend yourself without a weapon is always helpful.” Alexa mused.

Screech.

A car pulled in and parked quickly at one of the many empty parking spots open near the guard shack.

Then a few seconds later the third guard on duty quickly got out of his car and ran to the shack, only to have his shoulders drop in resignation as he saw that his boss was not only there, but talking to Alexa Thyme, the number one delver for the school. At least she was the number one delver since being enrolled at the school.

“I’m so sorry, there was…” Mitch Williams began, but was quickly cut off by a wave of the hand of his boss.

At first it looked like Carl was going to dismiss the man, but quickly paused as he turned from Mitch to Alexa and had an evil smile appear on his face.

“Ms. Thyme, would it at all be possible for you to demonstrate your training for Mitch here?”

Alexa hearing this, nodded. “Yes, I can train Mr. Williams, but it will likely take me longer to train him than the others.”

Hearing that Carl tilted his head and let out a questioning, “oh, is that so?”

Alexa nodded.

Knowing of the girl, Carl knew that if he wanted to have his question answered in any meaningful way, he would have to press the girl. “And just why is that?”

“Bad habits and improper instincts mainly.” Alexa answered honestly.

SNORT.

Carl started laughing heavily at that, then stated, “you hear that Mitch, she called you out. Why don’t you go show her what a true Guardian is capable of.”

Mitch looked at the tall girl and all but bristled. “I am level thirty-three. I will crush her. My physical attributes are at or near four hundred.”

At that Alexa nodded her head, then said, “don’t worry. I will go easy on you.”

“HAAHAHO, she is calling you out. Now go on take your training for being late.” Carl said, curious to see what the Super in training was capable of. He knew that Mitch was well trained and over the minimum level for being a guard at the school, but lacked proper motivation to continue to push himself further. That was why he took the moment to make sure this training took place properly.

“Fine, your funeral.” Mitch said.

“Out of curiosity, what is your highest physical attribute?” Alexa asked.

“Strength at 430, Followed by Endurance at 405, and finally Agility at 395.”

Hearing that Alexa nodded in understanding. “I will attempt to slow myself down to your level to make this somewhat even.”

At that Carl took note, as his body posture stiffened. Mitch was by no means a push over, so for Alexa to dismiss him so casually spoke volumes.

Mitch took off his blouse, and his equipment, which he placed in a neat pile next to the improvised training area. Which was just an open stretch of field that had lights from the guard shack lighting up the surrounding area and illuminating the area.

Alexa got into a low crouch, her muscles coiled as if ready to strike. By contrast Mitch looked like he wasn’t even going to give the match much consideration. His form and surface thoughts all conveyed minor annoyance at having to be here. While Gina often tried not to read the surface thoughts of people, she found that there were times when people all but broadcasted their thoughts. In particular, people who were in heightened emotional states tended to broadcast their emotions loudly. This was what both Carl and Mitch were doing. Carl was overly curious to see what Alexa, an unclassed student was truly capable of, while Mitch was clearly annoyed from having to beat up a girl.

“Go.” Carl said.

With that, there was a pause, as Alexa just stayed still. Mitch, let out an annoyed breath, then charged forward. Mitch was fast, almost too fast for Gina to keep up with, his supernaturally enhanced body and attributes made it so he was a blur on the field. At least to Gina’s underdeveloped Perception attribute. The idea with attributes were that you could only perceive someone who was twice as fast as your Perception attributes. So someone like Mitch meant that even Gina’s impressively high Perception Attribute was unable to do more than interpret the movements of Mitch as a blur of force and power.

But if Mitch was a blur, then what Alexa was by comparison was something on another level. She swam, moving gracefully. There was contact, at least what Gina thought of as contact, as Mitch went flying. Meanwhile Alexa paused, holding her form with two fingers from her left hand up.

Alexa of course used this time to give her training notes to the rest of the pack.

“Misdirecting force, use what your opponent gives you and direct it how you wish.” Alexa said, then gave a subtle twisting motion of her hand as if trying to demonstrate in slow motion the actions she made to redirect Mitch so violently.

“Grr.” This time Mitch took the contest seriously as he turn and spun around. Alexa for her part easily flowed around the strikes and made a quick jabbing motion with her hands.

Once the exchange was done, Alexa flowed so she was behind Mitch. Mitch of course just now had the chance for the strikes to catch up to his mind. Instantly he crumpled to the side in pain, as the strikes had caught him off guard. Turning around it was clear that he was now favoring his left side, the side where Alexa struck at least twice.

“Pressure points, this entire dungeon is about finding the openings your opponent gives you and striking them.” Alexa said, still in her lecture mode.

By now even Carl was focused on the events of the match. No longer was he seeing this as a slight sparring match between a student and a guard who easily out leveled the girl. But now he saw this for the true contest of skill that it was.

Mitch ran forward arms spread wide in an attempt to grapple Alexa. Alexa faked left, then spun right, visibly striking at the leg and chest of the guard.

The strikes were odd, as they were clearly visible. Carl seeing the strikes had to call attention to that fact.

“Are you slowing down your strikes?” Carl asked.

Alexa took a step away from the combat to give Mitch a second to recover again. This time Mitch also favored his right leg and his right arm also drooped low.

“I am. In order to show the others what I am doing; I need to slow down.”

“So, you are purposefully going slower so your pack can see?” Carl asked.

At this Alexa nodded, “of course, why else would we have this training session if we cannot demonstrate proper form and actions.”

Looking at it, Gina realized a few things. First Alexa was far faster than Mitch, like they weren’t even on the same stratosphere of speed. Second, Alexa only seemed to use her enhanced speed and grace to get out of the way of an attack and then strike out at a much slower pace.

Mitch for his part turned around as a grimace of pain crossed his face.

He looked like he wanted to continue, but finally stopped moving. Instead, he just stood there panting as pain filled breaths filled his lungs. Even now, he still favored his left side, as it was clear he could not stand up to his full height.

“Thank you Mr. Williams, I think that is a good enough demonstration as to what we can expect from the ogre at the end of the dungeon.” Alexa said, then raised her hand and cast Healing magic on Mitch, before he could complain about being compared to an ogre.

Within seconds, the magic took effect and Mitch began breathing larger pain free breaths. “Oh, thank the gods.” He said, as he felt his sides for phantom pains that still lingered.

There was a moment of intense focus, as Alexa watched Mitch, to make sure he was completely healed from the brief spar. During this time Mitch used the moment to ask a question that had been plaguing him.

"Just how high are your Attributes?" Mitch asked.

At that Alexa nodded, "With my titles and everything I am at 581 as a base for all of my Attributes."

"Five hundred and eighty-one?" Carl asked, stepping in to make sure he heard the statement correctly.

Alexa just nodded, and turned her attention to the pack, as she was clearly ready to move on to the next phase of her training.

“The first thing we will all focus on is form. Having a solid and balanced base is key, but what does that mean? For each of us, a solid base means different things, we have different sizes, different masses, different balances. Are your right-handed or left-handed? While ultimately we will get to the point where which hand is our dominant hand won’t matter, it will matter at first. This will show me what bad habits you have already gained and which areas we need to focus on.” With that Alexa paused.

“Mr. Williams is right hand dominant, which is why his first movement was with his right arm. That was why my first defense was to disable his left side as quickly as possible. The reason for this is simple, as he is right hand dominant, making it so he experiences a bout of pain while moving to the left or his left side in general will force him to play to his strengths. As an attacker, you need this, particularly against stronger and faster opponents.” Alexa said, then gestured for Mitch to come bac up.

Reluctantly Mitch let out a long breath and then stood next to Alexa. “Take a fighting stance.”

Reluctantly Mitch nodded and did as requested.

“Even now he still favors his right side as the wounds I inflicted on his left were particularly painful. This dungeon in particular wants you to focus on these pain spots and exploit them in order to disable your opponent and move on to the next stage of the test.” Alexa said.

“Now come at me slowly.” Alexa said.

With that Mitch moved forward, but then Alexa held out a hand. “Stop. Now you can see that with each motion new areas become available as possible focal points.”

With that Alexa made her way around Mitch, pointing out each new area that was exposed if the was able to get there, and how she would strike at each area.

“Now move forward again.” Alexa said, this time Mitch took another step forward, where Alexa had him stop again.

“Now if you look, the same exact, but opposite spots are now vulnerable on this step. Once again the same strikes would be used to hinder, disable, or maim each newly exposed area. Your goal is to start seeing these opening. Find them, then predict where in their stride your attacker will be based on where they are, and how quickly they are moving. You can force them to move to your direction as well. By taking a half step back with either leg, you can all but force your opponent to extend with the opposite arm. As we will demonstrate.”

With that, Alexa began going through each motion and action that Mitch had done and how she had countered each. How by making subtle shifts of her body either going forward or back, she forced Mitch to meet her where she wanted.

“Now everyone I want you to take up a fighting stance.” Alexa said, her eyes scanning over everyone. All of the wolf pack instantly did as instructed. Gina found herself staring out, watching everyone.

“I did say everyone.” Alexa said, as she got close, her cold blue eyes sending chills down Gina’s spine.

“Right, but I…” Gina was about to begin, to say that her heart couldn’t take it, but that was no longer an excuse. No longer was she the sickly kid who had to sit out while everyone else got to run and play. Now she could move, now she could do this. While the thought of dungeons still scared her, she did find it better knowing that she had a means to relate to Alexa. Realizing her mistake, she nodded to herself and then took up a stance. “Right.”

Seeing her form, Alexa went over and immediately placed her hands on Gina, trying to move her body into the correct form and position. Just feeling her touch sent shivers down her spine causing more of her muscles to tighten up.

“Relax. This will become as routine as breathing.” Alexa said, her words sending shivers down Gina.

Gina for her part was still trying to wrap her head around everything that had happened. Today was the first day that the full weight of what had happened to her parents hit her. While it was a shock, she couldn’t say she was too emotionally invested. It had been years since she last saw her parents after all, both mentally blocking her off since her most recent failed heart transplant. Then there was the fact that both weren’t that well liked in her country. Gina often wondered if a sympathetic magician with Healing magic would have attended her earlier had her parents not been such monsters.

In fact, she had heard people thinking that her condition was divine providence for the many sins conducted by her parents. Of course, why Gina had to be caught up as collateral damage for her parents’ indiscretions was beyond her, but she knew she harbored some resentment towards her parents for that. That and the fact that she was all but shipped off to die in a foreign country was not lost on her either. Then the only time when her parents made plans to visit was not after she was healed, but when they saw that the person who healed her was a powerful magician. That was the final straw, and one she was thankful that Alexa was able to overlook. Still, the fact that they had this bond, whatever it might be was amazing and constantly filled Gina with a sense of awe and wonder. Sometimes she wondered how she was so lucky. Yeah she was dealt a crap hand, but she held onto it long enough for it to be the winning hand.

“Relax.” Alexa’s words were so close that she could feel her breath tickle her ear. Then Gina felt the way Alexa’s long elegant fingers danced on her body, pulling her arm out more, pushing her down on her spine so she had to squat at the knees. Then pushing her feet out more with her own.

Within seconds Alexa had moved Gina’s body to a spot where it both felt natural and uncomfortable at the same time.

Almost as if Alexa was the mind reader of the group, she responded. “Don’t worry. It will begin to feel more natural as time goes on. For now, just hold that position as long as possible. This will be your base.”

Gina nodded at that, then almost felt a loss when Alexa moved on to perform the same action with the other members of the pack.

“Very good. We will continue this, until you feel comfortable going into the dungeon on Green or easy mode. Once there, you will just go through the forms against an easy opponent. If you lose or get struck you can leave at any time and I will heal you. Then you will go back until you can complete the green difficulty dungeon easily. From there you will try the yellow and eventually test yourself against the red tier difficulty, where you will be presented with the skill crystal that will unlock your first class options. Take a class offered, we will work on modifying the class from there.” Alexa said.

And just like that, Alexa’s after school dojo was open for business.