Next, he explained how to use weapons such as guns and swords. Although he couldn't show her those since he didn't know much about them himself. Instead, he showed her basic knowledge of hunting techniques. Finally, he instructed her to begin practicing until he deemed her ready to fight against real opponents.
To start with, she learned knife throwing. Later on, she would also learn how to wield spears, axes, and other melee weaponry.
While teaching her to hunt, he made sure to emphasize the importance of staying hidden. Hunting should be done quietly so that none of the animals become alarmed and flee. This meant hiding behind bushes, trees, rocks, and whatever else he could find nearby. That way, hunters wouldn't attract unwanted attention by scaring their prey away.
Of course, he mentioned that there were exceptions. For instance, bears and wolves were often attracted to meat smells. Hunters were advised to cook any fresh kills immediately or leave them outside overnight to dry out. Otherwise, the scent might draw more predators.
Oliver spent most of the night instructing Elisa. By morning, both were exhausted.
But the hard work paid off. Soon afterward, Elisa began showing signs of improvement. Before long, she grew stronger. She gained stamina and endurance; she became faster than ever before. And finally, she started making progress with her weapon training.
By the end of three days, Elisa proved herself worthy of being called his pet. Now she understood the basics of surviving in a post-apocalypse, including how to handle knives. She had also mastered stealth techniques for sneaking around undetected, tracking wild game, and setting traps, and ambushes.
Why did he know all this, you might ask. His father was a survivalist and as said before had thought Oliver martial arts and survival techniques. So Oliver had grown up knowing all this stuff.
In addition, Oliver had lived alone for a while. Because of that, he had plenty of time to study the ways of nature through books, videos, documentaries, and even old movies. All this gave him a broad range of experience with regard to the wilderness. The result was that he was able to impart this information to Elisa.
With that in mind, Oliver continued to train Elisa throughout the following week. Each day, he tried different approaches. Sometimes he focused on defense, sometimes offense, and at other times he mixed things together. There were many variables to consider. Such as terrain, weather conditions, the distance between two parties, enemy strength, and so forth.
He hoped to create a killer survivor who was smart, fast, and deadly.
This was just the beginning of his plan. Next, he intended to turn Elisa into an efficient killing machine. Then, he planned on taking her somewhere safe where he could experiment with her powers further. Only then would he unleash her full potential.
That was the goal anyway...
***
It wasn't easy preparing meals every single day. And almost all food has gone rotten, leaving little choice except canned goods. It seemed like each meal was getting worse.
Still, it was better than starving to death.
One thing he noticed was that Elisa ate a bit less than usual lately. He guessed it was because she was growing strong and losing weight. In fact, she looked healthier and happier now compared to a week ago.
"Elisa, food is ready," Oliver said as he emptied a can of food into a dog bowl and put it on the ground.
She crawled forward eagerly, sniffing at the contents of the dish.
"Eat!" Oliver commanded, pushing the bowl toward her.
Without hesitation, she dove into the meal.
"Good girl!" He praised her, patting her on the head.
Soon, Elisa finished devouring her lunch.
Once she was satisfied, she lay down on the floor panting happily.
After cleaning up after her, he took another look around. Everything seemed quiet for the moment. But that didn't mean it would remain so forever. Eventually, something bad was bound to happen.
Oliver sighed deeply and shook his head. He stood up and stretched his limbs.
Suddenly, Elisa jumped onto his leg and whined pitifully.
"What's wrong?" He asked as she leaned her forehead against his thigh.
"Bark…" She whimpered sadly.
"You are allowed can speak normally," Oliver reassured. "Tell me what you want."
"I a-am tired." She replied while stuttering since she hadn't spoken normally for a full week.
"Oh, sorry." He apologized as he scratched her under the chin. "Didn't realize you weren't feeling too well today. You don't feel sick do you?"
"No," She said in a sad tone of voice. "Just tired."
"Alright then let's go to bed," Oliver suggested as he went to bed
Elisa followed suit shortly thereafter. Both slept peacefully for hours.
When the sun rose, Elisa woke up first. She rolled over to see Oliver sleeping next to her. Cuddling closer, she pressed her head into his chest.
Instantly, he stirred awake. "Mmm, hey, doggy..." He mumbled groggily.
At some point, he must have fallen asleep without realizing it. Not surprising given the circumstances.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. Upon seeing Elisa cuddled up against him, he smiled widely.
"Hey, you're looking really healthy these days," He told her.
"Thank you," Elisa responded, pressing her nose into his armpit.
Oliver smiled warmly at his beloved pet. After all, Elisa had been trained to love and serve him unconditionally, which meant that he loved her too.
Oliver has used lesser mind control on her once a day during the whole week to train her into a submissive slave pet. However, she had proven to be surprisingly resilient thus far. While she may not be fully obedient yet, she had shown a remarkable aptitude for obedience.
The idea of using his new abilities to manipulate others excited him greatly. What would happen if he forced someone to obey his orders? Would they become mindless automatons obeying his every command? Or would he simply crush their will to resist and render them useless as human beings? Perhaps he could learn how to make them do exactly what he wants them to do, but he wondered whether that would be worth the risk.
As always, the answer was simple: It depended upon the person. Some people would surely rebel regardless of the method employed. Others might accept the change willingly.
Elisa, for example, has always deep down wanted to be owned so she subconsciously accepted the changes made to her mind.
So maybe it depends on their personality...?
Yet, Oliver knew that it was best never to underestimate the ability of humans to adapt. Just because they were capable of accepting certain types of behavior does not mean that they were willing to act accordingly. Humans were creatures of instinct, pride, emotion, and passion. Emotions were powerful forces that shaped reality according to our own perception of events.