It's not the first time that we started training with the Gladiatrix Champion. If I can recall, this day was the third day. Raynevere and I are both aware that the training will be harsh since there's a large gap between our powers and ranks, but we never thought that our spirits would be crushed every single day of the training.
And also, we get our butt kicked at least five times a day.
[Battle End]
The beep of the Gladiatrix System rang for the fourth time this day. Raynevere was down on the ground, her school uniform tattered. I was also put down by a swift kick to my chin, and now I'm resting my whole body in the grasslands.
It's good that our daily training venue was the hill at the front of the Treenity Village because the atmosphere is refreshing at night.
I inhaled and exhaled heavily. Sometimes, I don't know why I'm still training here in the first place. All we get here is pain and more pain. I do think it's what Raynevere thought too.
"Come on, get up you two. We are going to do this six more times." Siferas held her hips and stood tall above us.
"M-Master Siferas, can you at least tone down the difficulty? Please." Raynevere prayed.
"There are no difficulty levels in this one. You have to get used to this training. A Gladiatrix Battle with me is the best training for you two after all!" Siferas reasoned out.
"But fighting you in full force outright without any easy alternatives will just break our spirit. Are you secretly hating us two or something? You just treat us like punching bags." I mumbled.
"What was that, Zane?" Siferas smiled but there was a sinister look in her gray eyes. Yes, we are on a nickname basis now.
"N-Nothing, Master Siferas," I answered.
"Then get your asses up and fight me again!" Siferas said.
"R-Right, Master Siferas!" Raynevere and I saluted.
Meanwhile, Kaiser Champion Nigel switched off his Kaiser Watch. He went to Siferas' side and smiled wryly.
"Why won't we take a break, for now, Auntie? Four consecutive rounds are tiring. I'm also tired of activating Command Cards." Nigel said.
"We should not spoil our students, Nigel! They need to see how powerful the Master-Grade Gladiatrix Champion is! That is why they have to learn it the hard way!"
Siferas turned away from us and whispered to Nigel, but Raynevere and I heard it anyway.
"Besides, all this training will not pay off if they fail to beat Himeno Yuusha! The deal is that we will acquire shares of stocks of Treenity Innovations if we helped Rayne and Zane win!"
"Oh, so that's the deal," I mumbled then I looked to Raynevere who just replied with a smile and a nod.
"But they won't improve if you keep beating them without taking a break, Auntie." Nigel defended us.
Siferas stayed still for some five seconds, seemingly reconsidering Nigel's reasoning. After that, she stepped backward and put her hands on her hips again.
"Fine then. Go buy some snacks and drinks for our students." Siferas shooed her Kaiser.
"O-Okay, Auntie." Nigel immediately went away.
"Zane, you accompany Nigel," Siferas commanded.
"Yes Master Siferas." I replied as I stood up, wiped my back, and followed the silver-haired Kaiser.
Nigel owns a black sedan that is quite flashy, glittery, and new. It was parked near the gate of the Treenity Village. As soon as we both rode in the car, I felt my back ache. I think I was put down by Master Siferas too hard for the last three rounds that I'm now feeling like a centennial. I hope she didn't break any of my spine disks.
"Where is the nearest convenience store here?" Nigel asked.
"It's a ten-minute ride from here. Just follow the road where you came from, Master Nigel." I answered.
Nigel scoffed. "Don't call me Master. Big bro is enough. Siferas is just feeling powerful because she gets to battle with peculiar Kaisers and Gladiatrix."
I don't know what to reply so I just smiled. Then, Nigel started the car and he drove the same way I pointed out a while ago. It was not that late when we saw the ruins of the once-residential site for the Treenity Village. Seeing those, Nigel continued our talk.
"Your Raynevere is a Cyber Elf, right? And you told me that the mystical nanomachines you used on her are the old-versioned ones that you picked up during the Cyberdemon attacks?"
"Yes, Master- I mean, big bro."
"Then Raynevere is super lucky. Not only that she is granted eternal youth like a real elf, but she managed to control the mystical nanomachines during that time. If you didn't know already, mystical nanomachines have expiration dates." Nigel said.
"Is that real?"
"Yes. Remember the trojan virus that infected your Gladiatrix System? That's the early symptom of expiration and corruption. If you activated it that time when you last fought the Masked Kaiser, she might have transformed into a Cyberdemon."