Morning still lingered faintly in the air at eleven, but the day was already shifting. North of Draycrest, within the military base, shadows drew back and the light grew sharper. By noon, the compound would blaze with white glare and iron heat.
On the training field, recruits moved in a harsh rhythm, their ragged breaths rising between commands that cracked across the yard like whips striking stone.
The yard itself was a brutal expanse of packed earth and fractured stone, enclosed by towering metal walls etched with ancient runes. The air carried the sting of ozone and the weight of sweat, haunted by the elemental traces of battles fought before.
A young woman in her twenties stood in one corner of the training yard, facing three other soldiers. Her long crimson hair was pulled into a tight ponytail that swayed slightly as she rolled her shoulders. She wore a gray shirt with baggy camouflage army pants and heavy black boots that reached her knees. Her pale skin glistened faintly under the harsh sunlight, her sharp jade eyes scanning the three soldiers circling her.
She was in a mock battle with three other soldiers. At the same time, she was also somewhere else, remembering the memories of her past. Maybe she was not trying to remember, but the memory itself was unique; she couldn't force herself to forget it, nor did she want to let go of it. And then suddenly, a fog lifted around her, taking her back to the past.
**(Flashback)**
"Why do you like her more than me?" The question came from a fifteen-year-old Elysia, her voice faint, eyes glistening with unshed tears. It wasn't just a question; it was a quiet cry for something she didn't know how to name. She was standing at the entrance of a room, eyes filled with tears, but she managed to keep them from falling. And then, the fog of memory lifted.
"You sure about this, Captain?" A young man of 20 was standing right in front of her, bringing his hands closer to his face as he said it with doubt, taking a combat stance. "Three against one's hardly fair." His name was Jaxon.
To his left, another girl took her stance, lowering herself down as if about to sprint, positioning her body on all fours like a tiger waiting for its prey. "We won't go easy just 'cause you're pretty," she said. Her name was Liora.
On Jaxon's right, the other male, with dark black eyes, stood ready. His name was Varick. He stood with his right hand near his hip and his left hand stretched straight towards the girl standing alone. There was a hint of boredom on his face.
"Again, why are we doing this? Can we please just get it over with, finish it quickly, and get some rest?" Swift blue lightning arced between his fingers, small sparks of electricity.
As soon as the girl standing alone tried to speak, the fog returned, curling softly around the memory. She was back at the entrance of the door, this time right in front of her mother, who was carrying a two-year-old child, trying to get him to sleep. She stood at a distance from her mother, who was gently stroking little baby Kyle in her arms as she tried to lull him to sleep.
Gently stroking the little boy, she stopped at her daughter's question. She paused for a moment and then continued patting Kyle's back, a hint of confusion on her face. Then she replied, trying to answer the question she was not expecting to hear from her eldest daughter.
"Who told you I don't like you, sweetie?" Her voice was warm, calm, like a lullaby meant for more than just Kyle. When baby Kyle fell asleep, she sat down on the bed.
After laying the boy down, Eris opened her arms and beckoned her child closer. She wrapped her daughter in a soft embrace, pulling her close, and kissed her on the forehead.
Just like that, with the press of that kiss, the fog faded. And the girl returned to the present. She was Elysia.
Elysia exhaled, rolling her neck. "Don't get ahead of yourselves; they didn't promote me to captain for my storage abilities only." She took her own combat stance, bringing her arms up to guard her face.
As she settled into her stance, she answered Varick's question.
Looking straight at him, she said, "We are doing basic free-style close-quarter mock battles to improve our overall performance. Remember, everything demands a really good base for its development.
And soon we will have to go out on our own missions. This kind of training will help save your life."
With bored eyes, Varick looked at the man standing outside the ring, then back at Elysia. He was confused because they had all passed various training tests to get to where they are now. So why was their captain wasting their time with mock battles without using their aspects of affinity?
"If so, then why is Rylan not included in this fight?" He pointed a finger at the man standing outside the fighting area. He was also in his twenties, and his build was a solid mass of muscle. His facial features were sharp, and he had a very strong presence.
"He has already completed his training. You three are the only ones who are late, so I have to do this twice just for you guys. So stop complaining and come at me."
They all paused for a second in embarrassment; they were, in fact, late. Trying to hide their faces, they felt an urge to participate in this training with more vigor.
"Again, Captain, don't blame us for taking you on three-on-one," Jaxon said with a bold face.
"Come on then, what are you waiting for?" she said, her face calm.
Jaxon was the first to leap forward, his right fist moving with frightening speed towards her face. At the same time, Liora jumped into the air and brought her right foot down, aiming a kick at her stomach. Varick moved with the speed of lightning, striking at her legs to disturb her balance.
She was surrounded from all sides, with nowhere to go. From the perspective of Rylan, watching from the sidelines, she was in trouble, but his face remained calm, knowing full well his captain's abilities.
Elysia, seeing all of them moving towards her, smiled slightly. With a quick step, she back-flipped, her foot connecting with Jaxon's incoming fist. The impact broke his momentum, and Jaxon stumbled for a moment.
Elysia landed a little further back after her back-flip, having stopped Jaxon's attack. Liora was already coming in with a kick to her stomach. But before the kick could connect, Elysia jumped higher, tucking her body into a roll in the air as Liora's kick passed harmlessly beneath her. Elysia landed on her feet, knowing another attack was coming. She wasted no time. Bringing her arms down, she propelled herself into another back-flip, this time spinning her body midair to dodge Varick's low strike, and rolled into the space they had just vacated. Now all three of them were standing where Elysia had been a moment before.
They all felt a sense of awe after watching her move so quickly and dodge all of their attacks without breaking a sweat. But at the same time, they knew she was a captain, so they didn't lose their composure. This time, Liora took the lead with a jab, followed by Jaxon with a left uppercut, and Varick with a kick. Elysia easily blocked Liora's jab with her right arm, dodged Jaxon's uppercut by stepping back, and then blocked Varick's kick with one of her own.
Varick was quick on his feet. Seeing his kick was blocked, he tried to punch her. Now she was in the middle of all three of them, with Jaxon and Liora behind her; if they all attacked at once, she couldn't block them all.
But Elysia was just as quick. She blocked the punch with her right arm and, using Varick's own arm as a pivot, flipped in the air and landed behind him. She moved with grace and total control. As she fought against the three soldiers, more and more spectators started to gather around the compound, gossiping about her.
**Opinions were divided, some positive and some negative.** But despite all of that, the mock battle continued. Each of the three soldiers tried their best to land a hit on their captain, but every time, she surprised them, dodging, blocking, and countering their attacks with such ease it seemed as natural as breathing, all without breaking a sweat.
Elysia moved like a Battle Master, versed in all forms of combat; every time one of them tried to hit her, she easily deflected their attacks using minimal force. It was her hard work and determination that had made her this strong and steady. For the next 10 minutes, all three of them tried their best to land a single hit on her, but no one succeeded. They began to feel the first wave of tiredness. Physically, they could keep going for over an hour. The real problem was their inability to touch her. They needed a new plan.
Varick was the first to realize this, and he signaled the other two to pause for a moment. The hint of boredom had already vanished from his eyes.
"We can't keep going like this. It will take us forever to land a hit. We need a new strategy." He looked towards them, then pointed at Elysia. "This time I will take the lead. Liora will cover my back, and Jaxon will be responsible for landing the hit. Liora and I will make a path for you."
Elysia, watching Varick, smiled slightly and said with a calm and collected tone,
"After ten minutes, now you try teamwork? I'm afraid you wasted your time attacking. It is my turn now." She leapt forward with the speed of thunder, not allowing them a moment to catch their breath.
For the first time since the mock battle began, she switched from defense to offense. Her first target was Varick. She dashed towards him, jumped into the air, and spun for a kick. Varick, seeing this, braced for a roundhouse to his head, but that kick was a feint. Elysia landed on her left foot and delivered a sharp kick to his chest with her right.
He felt no physical pain as it was a mock battle, but the point was scored. In the last 15 minutes, none of them had managed to score a single point against her, but as soon as she started fighting back, she earned 3 points. Landing a hit on different parts of the body yielded different scores.
For example, a hit to the head was 5 points; the chest, 3 points; the stomach, 2 points; the legs, 1 point.
The first to reach 15 points would win the match. Elysia had just scored 3 points with the clean hit on Varick's chest. Seeing how easily she scored, they knew the match was unfairly balanced.
After landing the kick, she dropped into a spin, sweeping her right hand up as if for an uppercut to Varick's stomach. He tried to block it, but the uppercut was another feint; instead, he took a knee to his stomach. Liora and Jaxon tried to stop her from scoring again, but she was too fast. She back-flipped again and landed a few feet away, facing all three of them with a smile on her face.
"What's the matter? We are just getting started. Are you not hitting me because I am pretty, or is it still unfair for you guys?"
All three of them looked at her with a hint of admiration and renewed resolve. They now knew their newly appointed captain was not a rookie, and despite the rumors about her power affinity, she was a force to be reckoned with. They hadn't been taking her seriously before, but after facing her and discovering her skill in close-quarter combat, they knew they had to act as a team, as Varick had suggested; otherwise, she would defeat them without letting them score a single point.
"How about it? Should I give you some time to rethink your strategy?" Elysia said idly while stretching her arms, signaling that she was just warming up.
Varick, after being hit, knew their current level of combat wasn't enough to defeat her, not even one-on-one. If they could synchronize their attacks, they might have a chance. He signaled for a ten-second break and huddled with Jaxon and Liora.
After twenty seconds, the three of them took their combat stances again. This time, Varick was in the center, Liora on the right, and Jaxon on the left.
"Jeez, Captain, we really didn't know you were this scary in close-quarters. And we thought we had perfected our martial arts." He paused for a moment, then said with a grin, "I guess we were like frogs in a well. But you should brace yourself now, because this time we will not hold anything back."
Liora and Jaxon had determined looks on their faces with mad smiles, as if they were starting to enjoy the session.
Seeing their faces, Elysia smiled again, knowing her team was finally beginning to understand what it meant to fight as a unit.
"Oh, I see. Then let me check how far you've climbed out of that well." She took her stance, ready to attack again.
She dashed toward them with a long series of flips, each landing so softly it left no mark on the sand, as if she were walking on air. Instead of retreating, Varick sprinted to meet her, signaling Liora and Jaxon to take their positions. Liora moved in behind Varick as Elysia approached. Jaxon held his position, waiting for a signal. Elysia knew they were planning something, but it didn't concern her.
After three more flips, she reached Varick. She jumped, landed on her feet, and spun, striking at his chest.
Varick blocked the attacks by putting both elbows in front of him. Elysia struck him with three more kicks, but all were blocked. She pushed off the ground with both hands and stood again.
Liora was finally closing the distance.
Elysia, after landing, tried to deliver a kick to the left side of Varick's head. He blocked it easily, but immediately saw another kick coming toward his ribs from the left side.
*How can she move this quickly?* he thought, desperately trying to find a way to evade the blow. He was still searching for an answer when another kick intercepted the one aimed at him. A loud thud echoed as the two kicks collided.
It was Liora who had finally joined the fray.
The number of spectators watching the mock battle grew steadily. Suddenly, a man in his 30s stood at the far edge of the yard, observing with an air of boredom. He was separate from the other spectators, wearing a military uniform adorned with two stars on his shoulders and a cap. He watched the match with the gaze of a hunter, his curiosity piqued not by the fight itself, but for a reason entirely his own. The dark shadow of a beam obscured his face, making it difficult to identify him from the training ground. No one seemed to pay him any attention, as it was wise not to mess with him. But despite his presence, the mock battle continued.
Elysia, now facing Varick and Liora simultaneously, launched herself between them. She threw a punch at Liora, who blocked it, while simultaneously using her foot to block an elbow strike from Varick.
"Getting better, are we? Let's see how you dodge this," Elysia said. She spun her legs in a wide, circular motion, dragging her feet low to the ground in a sweep meant to take both Liora and Varick off their feet.
"Jump!" Varick shouted, the first to recognize the technique.
But Liora was a second too slow to react and instantly fell.
Varick dodged easily, leaping into the air, but his face was bitter, knowing they had already lost another point.
At the same time, Liora kipped up effortlessly, landing squarely on her feet.
"So this is the newly appointed captain we've been hearing about," one of the female spectators said, looking at Elysia with inspiration. She paused for a moment, clasping her hands together as she looked at Elysia with an impressed expression. "Isn't she rather young to be a captain?"
"Tell me about it. She is just about our age, while we are still lieutenants," the other female spectator said with the same admiring look. To them, Elysia was a role model. She was the first to receive the rank of captain at such a young age, while for others it took at least five to ten years of service; most other captains were thirty or older.
"Okay Liora, time for us to counter-attack," Varick signaled, wiping sweat from his forehead. The look of boredom in his eyes was now replaced by renewed vigor.
Liora, getting the signal, shifted her style from defensive to offensive.
Varick attacked first with a series of quick jabs aimed at Elysia's side. But Elysia easily deflected, dodged, and blocked his jabs while simultaneously parrying the incoming kicks from Liora.
The two of them attacked in unison, not giving her a second to think.
But Elysia dodged all of their attacks with ease, her face a mask of calm.
"Come on now, is this the best you've got? I'm starting to get bored over here. Show me something new," Elysia said, taunting them to break their focus.
"You got it, Captain!" Liora was the first to launch a spinning flying kick toward her.
She jumped into the air, spinning her leg, but instead of following through, she copied Elysia's earlier move. The first kick was a feint.
Liora landed on her left foot and tried to deliver the real kick with her right. But to her surprise, Elysia dodged it easily. Liora was a little disappointed, as she had perfectly copied the move after seeing it only once. But she was also happy because the whole kick was just a diversion. Varick was moving at the same time, trying to score a point by hitting Elysia in the abdomen with a kick from behind.
As his kick reached her, it was blocked by her raised knee.
"You have to do more than this to score against me," she smirked, looking at Varick, who was smiling for some reason.
"Yes, you are absolutely right, Captain, which is why you should brace yourself!" A strong punch shot toward Elysia's face.
It was Jaxon, who had been waiting for that precise moment. As soon as he saw his teammates had fully captured her attention, he sprang into motion, trying to score five points.
A moment of surprise flashed across her face, but she instantly regained her composure. She was already blocking two attacks, making it difficult to avoid this one. But she was a martial artist of a very high rank.
She instantly brought her other knee up while her right knee was still blocking Varick's kick. She brought both knees together as she jumped into the air. The fist aimed at her head met the pair of knees covered by long black boots. The impact produced a loud noise and sent Elysia flying backward, but she managed to land on her feet after executing a backflip.
After landing, she stood with a smile, knowing her teammates had finally started to sync.
"Damn it, she is still too fast for a clean hit," Jaxon murmured with frustration, but they had finally managed to score one point. It was an improvement.
"I guess we won't be eating lunch this afternoon," Varick said with his usual bored look, but one could see clear shock in his eyes. Even after all their tricks, they had only managed a single point. *What kind of monster is she?*
"I take back my words, Captain. You are not pretty anymore," Liora said while wiping sand from her mouth. She was both impressed and determined after facing such a talented individual. She had heard the rumors that her captain was just a lucky girl who got everything at a young age despite having a weak aspect. But those rumors were proven false after witnessing her battle prowess; she instantly knew that Elysia had worked hard to get where she was now.