With approval from the Captain, 2nd lt. Franklin informed Claire of her situation. "The second stage of your training will be done by next week. After that, Captain Wright will be the one to test you for the final stage of your training."
Claire was dumbfounded by this news, but it's something that favors her plans. "T-Thank you!!" She gladly appreciates the rewards of her hard work and efforts.
The other trainees were happy for her, but a few were shotting envious glances especially Kai. Behind that smiling mask was a loser who couldn't accept the fact that a woman was better than him.
After hours of strict training, they were finally done for the day. Each of them were left to do whatever they want in their free time. As for Claire, she secretly headed at the area she frequently visits. It was a training ground that was rarely used at a certain time of day.
At that place, she continues to train and push herself to break her limits. It was thanks to this that she was able to accelerate from her training and become a part of the troop soon.
Then from a distance was a man following her from behind. He sneakily stalks her until they made it to the training grounds that Claire headed to. The man chuckles menacingly, viewing Claire as a prey unaware of his presence.
While he waited for the perfect timing to reveal himself, Claire spoke out loud. "I know you're there, show yourself." He flinched, he never expected Claire to notice.
"If you don't show up by the count of 5, I'm going to kill you. 1... 2..." when she began counting down, he panicked and finally showed up. "Wait, wait!! Don't talk like that, it isn't like you!"
"Oh, so it was just you. What are you stalking me for, Ross?"
"How did you notice me!? I was perfectly hiding my presence you know!" Ross complained.
Claire snickered. "Well, I've already noticed that there was someone stalking me from the start. I just didn't know it was you. If you dared not to show yourself, I could've killed you, you know?"
"Eh!?! Are you really serious?! How can you say you'll kill me so easily!? That doesn't suit your character at all, you're usually calm and cool."
"It doesn't? Well, that's not for you to decide. Mosg people got that kind of side to them. Anyways, why were you stalking me!?" Claire squints her eyes at Ross.
He sweated profusely, Ross felt a bit shy with his reason for following Claire. "If you've got nothing to say then I'll have to ask you to leave."
"Wait! Jeez... I just wanted to ask how are you so good at training and stuff... I totally feel like I can't beat you even though I'm trying my best."
"...how old even are you?" Claire suddenly asked.
"Mm? 19, why?"
"Woah, you look too old for a 19 year old kid. You sure you're 19?"
Ross pouted. "Huhh, I do not look that old! I'm really 19 I swear!"
His past behavior finally made sense for Claire. "Right, I kind of believe you."
"That implies you're still doubting me though!?"
"Haha, if you're still 19, you still got a long way to go. It's already impressive that you made it this far, so don't rush things."
"Can't you atleast tell me how I can be like you?!" Ross begged.
"Now that's something you shouldn't ask your rival." Afterwards, Ross finally left Claire alone to train. But there was still another person that she had to take care of. "Shifter Shotgun!" Her shifter transformed her leg into a shotgun and aimed it at the stack of boxes on the training grounds.
She fired it at an instant and Kai managed to dodge her attack. "Hah! So you've noticed!"
"I knew there were atleast two morons stalking me."
Kai fell speechless after seeing Claire's shifter firsthand, it was so unusual for a shifter to be located on the legs. "Are you going to keep quiet and stare at me?" Claire asked.
"...you're so weird." Kai snapped. "You've beat me multiple times, you've got limitless stamina as if you're not human, and now your shifter's installed in the wrong place? What is up with you?!"
"I think you should start minding your own problems." Claire hissed.
"I'm dealing with it right now!" Kai suddenly had his right arm shifter transformed into an assault rifle and directed it at Claire. "Once I get rid of you, no one else will be able to compete with me!" He then began to rain bullets on Claire.
"That damn fucker!" She ran as his bullets chases her, when Claire was about to close the distance between them, Kai jumped back and tried to catch his breath for a sec. "Heh, did that put a strain on you?!" Claire became furious by his attack, her veins began standing out from the tension.
"Shut up!" He transformed his shifter into a cannon and fired consecutively. Though no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't land a hit. He suddenly felt a sharp pain all over his body, stopping him from moving.
"It's not such a wise move to use artillery type on shifter for a rookie. It can easily drain your stamina and put you into a state of exhaustion. So, can you still move?" Claire smirked.
Kai started panicking. He forced to atleast transform his shifter into a shield, but he stops and winced from the pain. "Damn it! T-This can't be!..."
"What's the matter!? We're just getting started aren't we!?"
In a blink of an eye, Claire was able to shorten the distance between them as she used her shifter to accelerate her speed. And within a few seconds, Kai couldn't move an inch. The attack he made definitely took a huge toll on his body, this is a common occurrence for newbies that suddenly used the shifter weapon excessively.
"F-Fuck!..." from that moment, he knew he's doomed.
Time slowed down while Kai watch Claire getting closer, his past flashed before his eyes.
Kai despised women. He was quite a popular young man from his hometown. Many admired him for his sweet charm and kindness, but he was unfortunate to encounter a woman that got crazily obsessed with him. And that very woman brought damage to him both mentally and physically.
From a young age he was manipulated and abused, the woman made him feel inferior to her in every way. When he grew tired of it all, he managed to escape her grasp and finally live his life. Though he never really healed from the wounds of the past, with that, every woman he meets reminds him of that woman.
Thus, he became a scum similar to his abuser. He began to have a mindset that women inferior to men, he will make any woman feel the way he did to make himself feel better. But as of now, he became too frustrated on Claire. She beated him too many times. She was too amazing, too arrogant... he wanted to destroy her.
Though his inferiority complex and great envy only led him to his tragedy. When Claire was close enough, she pulled out a dagger from her pockets and successfully stabbed Kai on the left shoulder. "Aa!—" he couldn't even let out a scream to express the pain as Claire forcefully covered his mouth.
"Now don't go screaming on me like a bitch, this is just the beginning of the shit you started!!" In Kai's eyes, the image of Claire turned similar to the woman that scarred him. Right there, he realized he entered hell.