Natasha's POV:
- It's not enough!
A bush of roses lunges at me with the speed of a whip. Somehow I manage to raise a shield with the surrounding flowers, but when I thought I could avoid the danger, I detect another huge bush approaching from behind with the help of an evil eye on the top of a tree. I manage to avoid the direct hit, but it scratches part of my arm. Although I want to complain about the pain, I know that if I stay sitting there, it will only get worse. With no other options, I start running to escape the bush.
- Not bad girl, but you still have a long way to go.
At her words, a root catches my foot and knocks me to the ground. The blow was so sudden that I lose all the air in my lungs. Although I try to move, the root remains firmly trapped in my heel. Desperate, I try to make a dome with stems to prevent the brambles from scratching me, but I couldn't do it quite right and one of the brambles enters through the incomplete dome and grabs me by the neck. After a few moments, I become unable to breathe and when I'm about to faint, the bramble loosens its grip.
- You still need to improve your intuition. Surprise attacks like that are the order of the day on a battlefield.
- Ah... ah... I-I... understood... Miss Mia.
A girl who looked exactly like me looks at me fearlessly from the top of a tree. With the reflexes of a monkey, she quickly climbs down the tree until she stands in front of me.
- But even so, I would swear that that pincer attack would catch you off guard, how could you detect that bramble in time?
- I-it's… a secret…
- It seems you still have a few tricks up your sleeve… Ha! I like that you always keep your tricks to yourself. You get an extra point for that.
- ….
Unable to answer, I collapse on the ground totally exhausted. The effort it takes to be fully aware of your surroundings while running around is quite exhausting. If that wasn't enough, I also have to keep expanding the roots of my plants to get me out of a tight spot or to attack depending on the moment. It's been a few months since this training with Miss Mia began. Thanks to all these simulated battles we've had, I can now better understand Miss Mia's powers as well as my own. It seems that as long as I don't clearly show Miss Mia how my power works, she can't imitate it.
Thanks to me realizing this before I show it to her, I can still take advantage of her blind spots or cover myself with some objects to avoid her pursuit. Just thinking what Miss Mia would do if she could also obtain the sight of the evil eyes makes a shiver run up my spine.
- Hey… brat, are you listening to me?
Running away from reality so as not to return to training, I remember that fateful day when all this started.
........
A few days after meeting Miss Mia, I had gone out through my usual door to continue practicing the expansion and growth of my plants when at the door I met a tall, muscular woman.
- Miss Mia!
- Brat! I was waiting for you.
- … Huh?... Me?
- Of course! You know? I've been asking for permission to train all these days.
- …Train?
- Yes, after coming to an understanding with your teachers for a while, I finally managed to get them to give me part of their rights to be your teacher.
- …. Huh? Wait, did you "get along" with my teachers? What do you mean? Was that why my teacher had a bunch of bruises? Also, are you my teacher now? ..... Huh?
An unavoidable state of confusion attacked me before I could digest what Miss Mia had just told me. There were so many strange things about it that I could barely stop my voice from screaming in search of an explanation. A deep feeling of panic had taken hold of me. Suddenly, a large hand was placed on my shoulder and all signs of panic had disappeared from me. A deep feeling of terror replaced the panic as Miss Mia formed those words.
- It will be my pleasure, Brat.
I involuntarily let out a screech of terror that was nothing like a monster. Even monsters know perfectly well when something we cannot face is placed in front of us.
- Y-yeah, Miss Mia….
...
From that day on, I train real combat with Miss Mia by skipping 1 day. The remaining days are divided between my excursions with Carla to discover new types of plants and their uses and the relaxing days I spend with my teacher reading and learning about how the world works.
- Attention!
At that full-throated shout, my body automatically stiffens as I take a defensive stance. After talking it over with Miss Mia (which she unilaterally decided.) It had been decided that the word "Attention" was the starting word for a mock combat.
Miss Mia's training was basically divided into survival games. One where the two of us have to reach some objective by any means possible. During the course of that exploration, Miss Mia will say the word and then I will have to run away or defeat her (I always run away) and whoever reaches that specific point first or defeats their opponent will win.
"I've never been able to really defeat her"
Before I could continue thinking, 4 rose brambles rushed towards my position from the four cardinal points. Faced with this sudden movement, I had no choice but to rise with the help of my flowers and run in the opposite direction to where Miss Mia was. At some point, she had already taken a position in the treetops from where she watched me with the gaze of a predator. Although it shouldn't be that difficult for someone to lose sight of you in such a lush forest, she moves at an incredible speed between the treetops. However, if she was merely fast, I could somehow deal with it, but that's not limited to her speed. Her hunting skills are so incredible that she can unconsciously lead you into a dead end path and catch you before you even realize you're trapped. I've always run away from her at every opportunity, but this time I want to try something different.
"If I can make her think I'll just be running away today as well, I can gain the advantage of surprise."
Thinking about it, I quickly camouflaged myself in the undergrowth as I tried to lose her, but both Miss Mia and her brambles were already hot on my heels. If I wanted to do this, I had to do it at the perfect time. As I continued to run down the path at the best speed my legs could give me. Despite that, the brambles were too close. I already had some scratches on my ankles and wrists after almost getting caught by the brambles, but I managed to run away somehow.
"Just a little more."
The location of the trap was already visible. The whole time I was running away I had been growing the stems of a specific area to form a wall that I could use as a screen. With the help of an evil eye positioned in front of the wall, I could quickly move towards Miss Mia while she thinks I was still running away and that way at least land a blow.
"Now"
The moment after I cross where I had let the stems grow, a wall suddenly rises up blocking Miss Mia's view, with no time to waste, she advances against the wall quickly trying to get past it to continue the chase. The moment she crosses the wall, I launch myself towards her with a root club in my hands pointing at her head. She suddenly stops dead and turns to look at me.
Seconds later, there is blood falling on the ground, it starts with a small drop, but soon it turns into a small stream that falls. A slight moan of pain comes out of my mouth as the brambles firmly catch my four limbs. Even though they're not holding me that tight, a lot of blood is coming out of the wounds that the thorns produced due to the speed at which I had launched myself towards her. The improvised club is a few millimeters from Miss Mia's forehead, without even having touched her.
- H-how did you notice?
She looks at me for a few moments and then smiles at me while raising her hand to point at something that was above us, there I see an evil eye that is not the one I was using. Devastated by the harsh reality, I collapse and remain hanging from the brambles while my blood slowly spreads from them. Suddenly I feel a light touch on my head.
- Excellent work brat, your strategy was not bad at all!
A few compliments enter through my ears while my consciousness begins to fade into nothingness.
….
Mia's POV:
I carefully carry my dear student in my arms while I slowly leave the forest. After these months, the development she has had has been magnificent.
- I really hit the jackpot! To think that this little girl is so promising makes me very happy.
As I headed for the door, a voice suddenly assaulted my head.
"They are heading towards your house"
- Wow, but if it isn't Ena? What brings you here old friend?
"I just wanted to warn you that the heroes are planning to raid your territory"
- Let them do it, I'm very busy training my disciple.
"I don't recommend ignoring them, if they don't find you at home, they might start going after the other witches, you don't want that, right?"
- ….
"Also, if they destroy your reality anchor, you will never be able to enter the witches' dimension again"
After a few moments of silence, the only thing I can do is let out a long sigh. After that I turn around to see the strange flower that is behind me.
- Fine, I'll go as you wish. But first I'll leave this little one in the care of one of her other 2 teachers.
"Wise decision."
After saying that, the strange flower sinks into the ground and disappears completely.
- I guess sooner or later I'd have to deal with them. Those demonic swords.
After a few moments, I strengthen my resolve and cross the door into the witches' dimension with my sleeping apprentice still in my arms. Before they reached the heart of my territory I had to make some preparations for battle. I quickly left my apprentice in Judith's care and went back out the door to my territory.