Training.
A boring word to some, alluring to others.
Practicing, learning skills are always good. One can be buffer by lifting weights or even changing their appearance by doing exercises. A particular skill needs to be used regularly to perfect, polish it to the level of satisfaction. There is a saying, that 1 day of not practicing the piano equals 3 days of normal playing.
If one wants to improve themselves, they all need to train.
The girls have always been doing all they can to keep their bodies in the best shape possible. This is why they have such beautiful figures.
However, it is tiring, and very time-consuming.
Furthermore, what would one feel if they were tricked to do it rather than their own volition?
Sam had a weird feeling about training because even when it made him harder to be defeated, or gave him the chance to be in the best school in the country, it also cost him time, money, and pain.
Lots of pain.
The scars on his body are not from fighting injuries alone. Many of them are from his practices. At least, Sam has built up a good pain tolerance afterward.
Although he could look at his growth going up very slowly day after day, he lost those days when he could actually do something meaningful to himself, to the girls.
Birthdays invitations, Couple's day invitations, New Year's Eve, and many more that Lily and the twins asked him to join them were declined.
In the past, training used to be the only way Sam can hypnotize himself to believe that he could become better for someone who did not need him. And those who did not care about his weaknesses were all rejected by his hands.
He was stuck in a cruel loop of being unsatisfied with himself.
Not anymore.
He now has a better purpose.
Sam currently wants to train because he wants to maintain his happiness. There are still people coming after him, and probably they will target his girls at the same time.
The guy now wants to be able to protect. And that kind of resolve is always better than being deceived by someone else.
There is serenity and peace when he is surrounded by those who care about him. In his heart, Sam knows that he needs to defend it with all his might.
This means Sam needs to get stronger and as quick as possible.
Thanks to what the girls did to him, he has a better chance at using other elements to his advantage. So Sam will need to get used to it.
As for the girls, especially Lily, Yui, and Yuno who just lost to Nycta, that craving for strength has never been higher.
In addition, the note of Rhan has left a deep impression on them.
Selection is coming. Why that person telling them that, or why the Selection involves them, these questions are unknown.
But they do know one thing, a storm is coming for them.
Because of that, currently, they are all at the gym under the mega mall doing mock battles.
Coincidentally, Nycta also owns the place.
When asked, she simply replied: "Buttcoin."
"Yuno! Don't throw it like that! You're going to..."
*Boom*
Two tiny Fire Bombs explode in between the twins.
"...hit us both." Yui breaths out a bunch of smoke.
As this is just a mock battle, the strength that the girls are using is very low compared to an actual battle.
The purpose of the fight is to get used to new types of magic, anyway. So there is no need for them to be so destructive.
"You should have moved out of the way!" Yuno argues.
"Watch out!" Lily shouts.
*Whoosh*
Sam's punch suddenly appears from the top of Yuno's head.
"Tag! You're dead." He messes her hair up.
"Hehehe! No, wait! Yuno's dead already!?" Her smile turns into a frown quickly. Yuno walks towards the border of the arena and sits down. She mumbles something. "If Yui moved out then I would have been able to see it..."
In the arena, Sam is dodging the Laser Beams of Lily by ducking down.
A miniature Ice Lance forms inside of Yui's hands as Lily is gathering his attention.
"Take this!" She throws it towards him.
Seeing the Ice Lance coming, Sam lightly leans to one side. Coincidentally, Lily is standing right behind the guy.
Lily nearly gets hit by it. "Hey hey hey!!! Watch it!"
"Grrr!" Yui groans. "Let's see how you dodge something invisible, Sam!"
Wind Magic: Wind Blade.
She brings her arm down in a swift motion.
Seeing her hand being raised, Sam already knows what is going on. Right after, he rolls to the left.
In his hands, Sam prepares a counterattack. Fire, Earth, and Water are combined.
Earth Creation Magic: Metal Chains.
A grey chain shoots out from his hands, wrapping the legs of Yui. He tugs the chain, making Yui falls backward.
"Kyah!!" She screams in surprise.
Sam lunges forward. He wants to 'finish' Yui off.
*Whoosh*
A punch comes from his left side.
"Ugh!" He is struck directly on the face by the fist of Nycta.
"Don't forget about me, Sam!" She smiles, her body glows a yellow light.
Light magic: Physical Enhancement.
He is slightly staggered after the attack, giving Nycta the chance to control him.
"How about you have a taste of your own medicine?" She says.
Earth Creation magic: Metal chains.
...
After about four hours of constant fighting, they are completely exhausted. Sitting down in a small circle, each of them is trying to catch a breath.
At first, they decided to use a system of the game of tag to remove participants. And it worked nicely. Sam facing his girls was mostly losing even though he managed to eliminate a few.
Nevertheless, those eliminated got bored and started joining in the mock battle. Even though they were eliminated, they still wanted to fight, making it extremely chaotic.
"Here, Sam. Drink this." Lily gives him a cold bottle of water.
"Thanks, Lily."
"No problem." She smiles at him, then turns to the other girls. "So what have we learned from today's practice?"
"That we all need to work out more. Especially when it comes to Sam's magic spells." Nycta says.
"True." Lily agrees. "Yui? Yuno?"
The little girls start to think for a while.
"Yui is not yet familiar with Sam's Fire Bomb. The size of the explosion, how to throw it, and the aftershock of it, are very new to Yui. And Metal Chains need to have precise timing, too. If Yui missed it just by a fraction of a second, then the target would have moved already." Yui is the first to realize what needs to change.
"Yuno thinks that timing and having awareness of the whole arena is most important." Yuno nods to herself then turns to the guy. "How does Sam manage to dodge the attacks and counter instantly while being surrounded?"
"Hmmm..." Sam stays silent for a few seconds. "This is something that I have learned throughout the years of being beaten to a pulp.
While magic essentially is just visualization and mana consumption, on the battlefield, there is much more than that."
The girls start listening carefully to his words.
"Let's say Yui is throwing an Ice Lance at you, Yuno, when would you start dodging?"
Inside his hands form a small snowball.
"When Yuno sees the projectile?" She is unsure what he is asking.
*Whoosh*
He whips his arm, pretending to throw the snowball.
"Eeek!" Yuno tries to dodge.
*Poof*
But the snowball still hits her face. "Bleh! Sam is bullying Yuno!"
"Sorry, sorry!" He wipes her face with his towel. "You see, Yuno, what you are doing is waiting for the attack to come."
"Hmmm?"
"The attack is no more than just a tool to hit us. You should not be focusing on the attack. Yuno should be focusing on the attacker."
Yuno's eyes start to shine.
"Just like with that snowball I threw at you. If you paid attention to me, you would have seen that the first time, it was a fake move. You don't have to know all the surroundings, honestly. I don't know if anyone could ever do that...I usually pay attention to the enemies." Sam stops to drink from the bottle until it is empty.
"Here, another one!" Lily hands him a second one.
"Thanks! Eyes, body language, are the things I focus on. They show what our opponents are thinking even before the projectile or the attacks have formed. I think Yuno is too occupied by so many things around you."
"Yes!!! Yes!!!! Thank Sam thank you thank you thank you!!!!" Yuno hugs him tightly. "This is exactly what Yuno has been thinking!"
"Sammy! What about Yui?" Yui cheerfully asks.
"You pay too much attention to Yuno."
"Gwah!!" Yui gasp.
"Trust Yuno more, Yui. I could see that you worried too much. When we were fighting, Yui tended to think more than to act. That was a very crucial thing for you. I believe Yui would be much better if you were to put your trust into Yuno and your instinct."
"Sam, you also have a major weakness." Nycta raises her hand.
Sam nods. "My left side. I need to protect it better. Okay! The break is over! Let's dance, girls."
"Yesss!!!"