NOVPUBAnother two days went by. Training became much more interesting and painful as her steady progression continued.
By the second day, after going sword against sword with Yvonne, Vicky could consistently fight for one second.
She even came close to two seconds a few times, but that magical number continued eluding her. Only on the third day did she eventually reach it!
After reaching two seconds, everything somehow became easier. Yvonne's fighting prowess hadn't decreased, but for Vicky, she seemed slower. She could predict her moves to some degree.
Finally, after thousands of failed duels, she felt a change coming over her. A deeper, more elaborate understanding of combat.
Instead of preparing moves in her head, then trying to implement them, she stopped thinking and let her body go. Her mind became free, and somehow her fighting prowess increased.
She stopped thinking about her next moves, or how to respond when Yvonne attacked. There was always a bit of latency between thinking and action, so removing thinking increased her reaction speed.
At first it scared her, but soon she realized what Yvonne tried teaching her all this time.
This exercise was never about learning to fight or increasing her knowledge of combat.
Yvonne beat her to a pulp each day, causing Vicky to slowly grow stronger and last longer. However, her goal wasn't teaching Vicky combat, but helping her reach this mindset.
After enough beatings and advice, Vicky's body learned to react reflexively. Her mind finally became free, and she could let her body do its best.
Vicky finally realized why she fought with a sword. Even though the weapon greatly restricted her potential, she could reach this state of mind easier… This Clear Mind…
Sadly, when she turned off her mind mid-combat, it caused her to stumble. She hit the metal mat soon after, when Yvonne's blade hit her chest, breaking most of her ribs.
The tall woman stood above her with a confused expression. Vicky didn't even last one second this time around, which was unlike her. At this point, she always lasted way more than a single second.
Yvonne looked down at Vicky's groaning form, then sighed with slight disappointment.
"Let's end it for today. It seems I pushed you too far, and going further will only hinder your progress…"
Before Yvonne could've said anything else, Vicky suddenly jumped to her feet with a wide smile. She pointed her sword towards the tall woman.
"One more! Then we can end it!"
Her teacher raised an eyebrow, confusion evident on her face. She felt something was different about Vicky. The young Princess seemed much more confident. 𝚗o𝚟pub.𝚌𝚘𝚖
A small, prideful smile appeared on Yvonne's face as well, as she guessed what might've caused this change.
"Fine, show me what you got!"
Neither said anything else as both fighters burst into action. They slashed with their swords, fast and true. The weapons met with a loud clash, sending spark flying.
Yvonne's height and strength clearly overpowered Vicky's small frame. She stumbled back a few steps, which provided an opening for the tall woman.
With a sigh of sadness, Yvonne stepped forward, her sword moving towards the girl's temple.
If Vicky thought about dodging, she wouldn't have time to actually move away. However, she didn't let her brain command her body, instead she relied on the reflexes beat into all her muscles.
Impossibly fast, she brought up her sword and deflected the incoming blow. She then used Yvonne's momentary surprise to slash at her stomach.
Yvonne barely managed to evade Vicky's sword by leaning back. Her shirt still separated and a bit of blood tinged it red.
A glancing blow, barely scratching Yvonne's stomach, but it still shocked her teacher. Not once during their exercise did Vicky even came close to touching her… But after this new change…
The tall woman grinned widely, while whispering to herself, "Finally!"
The Princess didn't care for the woman's grin as she continued battering her.
A fainted slash turning into a thrust midway through, only to end it with a simple kick to Yvonne's legs.
A parried attack, which used her opponent's momentum to turn and slash at her back.
A clean stab towards Yvonne's belly, which, even after deflection, managed to cut her side.
Yvonne could only defend as the small girl continued attacking without thought and precaution. Each time she tried turning the tide, Vicky relented for a single moment, before resuming her previous almost animalistic attacks.
Vicky didn't try to block any blows like she did in previous attempts. Instead, she solely relied on her smaller frame and lighter weight to evade and control her opponent's position.
Her body deflected each blow perfectly, always giving her the better position.
Attack after attack landed on Yvonne. She evaded or blocked most, while she entirely gave up on parrying or deflecting. Minor cuts accumulated all across her body, but she made sure nothing serious landed on her.
The tall woman continued grinning as Vicky's attacks hadn't relented. The young Princess's movements even increased in speed as the fight went on.
Previously, before discovering Clear Mind, she could manage about a hundred moves per second. Now, though, that number doubled and continued to grow.
Time moved fast for Vicky. Her body felt in perfect harmony as she continued attacking. Her thoughts became sluggish until her mind blanked out.
Nothing existed in her mind, just this single fight. Everything became dark around her until she stood in the void with Yvonne.
Vicky's refined movements bashed against the tall woman's perfect defense. Neither let the other gain a serious advantage that could lend victory.
However, as the seconds passed, the world continued to darken. The Princess felt something trickle from her nose. Somewhere far away, she heard a shout, but her body felt heavy.
Soon, a piercing pain appeared all across her body. Everyone of her muscles felt like exploding, and her brain screamed in agony… Or maybe that was coming from her mouth?
The darkness and suffering persisted for seemingly an eternity.
She felt a hand gently caressing her hair. Her head, still enduring a severe migraine, didn't feel as heavy as if she was lying on something soft.
Far away, Vicky heard humming. It reminded her of Sera's humming on those dreadful days back in Havel. Even then, the memory only brought her joy, reminding Vicky of her mother's similar caresses.
It was close to two months since the last time she met with her mother… Too long, but also not yet enough…
Sadly, Vicky couldn't visit her anytime she wanted, since that would endanger her position. Especially with the upcoming war, keeping her mother hidden was of the topmost priority.
She also recalled Bea, and the pitiful state she was in the last time they met. Vicky wrote to her multiple times during the past week, but alas, no answer.
Something was definitely wrong, but without intel, she couldn't begin any operation against Castleburg and Otto.
More and more rational thoughts began popping up in Vicky's mind. Before she realized, the headache and all the agony consuming her muscles disappeared.
Her white eyes slowly flickered open and stared upwards, at the woman smiling gently down at her.
With the bright light shining behind the woman's head, Vicky believed Sera looked down upon her… However, soon recognition struck her…
The woman's hair wasn't the bright gold of her mother's, but a metallic gray, exactly like her fierce, joyous eyes.
Yvonne's hand continued patting Vicky's head, each caress bringing her back to reality.
"You did great, Princess. Now you understand the point of this training, and you passed with flying colors!"
Vicky took a deep breath, then tried to speak, but her mouth felt too parched. She began coughing, and soon she felt a glass of water pressed to her lips.
She drank the entire glass, as if she never had any water in her whole life. Above her, Yvonne giggled, then began explaining what happened.
"The state you were in moments ago is called Zone. It takes an extremely high concentration to maintain this state of mind, and if you hold on for too long, you will experience a heavy drawback. The first is always the worst. You probably won't even lose consciousness next time!"
This didn't bring Vicky too much joy. The agony consuming her body and mind was enough to end the fight prematurely. Losing consciousness was probably a mercy, since the pain also disappeared.
"Does it ever… Will it be less painful?" Asked Vicky, while wincing from the pain in her throat. The tall woman just giggled and nodded.
"Sure, but you'll suffer through the pain repeatedly before that. Believe me, it will suck, but it's worth it! Eventually, you'll be able to maintain the Zone for as long as necessary!"
Finally, a small smile appeared on Vicky's face, and she asked the most important question… "How long did I last? Was it three seconds?"
Yvonne raised an eyebrow and stared at the Princess as if she lost her mind.
Vicky's smile waned. While fighting, she couldn't really feel time's passage, but it was definitely more than three seconds!
Her teacher's confusion persisted, then she suddenly burst into laughter. For a straight minute, she continued chuckling, until eventually she managed to get herself under control. Still, a wide grin persisted across her face as she spoke.
"You weren't kidding? 'Was it three seconds?' Princess, you lasted over a fucking minute!"
The young girl's white eyes widened, and she burst into laughter too.
She did it! She lasted well over three seconds, which meant it was time to change weapons!
