....
"So, you found a beast at...."
Nyx said, her voice calm.
To Raven's surprise, Reo was already there. Somehow, despite having taken the stairs, he had still arrived before Raven.
"The outskirts." Reo reported evenly, though his eyes did glance sideways to see Raven coming in.
"Raven engaged it and ended up in a far worse condition, though he did manage to take down the beast he was critically injured as a result."
"So you healed him before you got here? Isn't that nice of you."
Reo didn't answer. He had his own reasons for healing Raven instead of bringing his charred body over to the PRU immediately.
Her gaze flicked towards Reo, then to Raven, then back to Reo.
"If that's all, you may go."
Reo inclined his head and left without another word.
"You too."
Raven opened his mouth, then he closed it again.
He turned and slipped out, shutting the door behind him.
Unsurprisingly, Leo wasn't there. The boy may or not have had an even worse impression of him when he began suggesting names such as Reonardo, Reoyk, Reojin and whatever else came into his mind when Leo remained silent.
'So, I guess I should wait until seven.'
That was when Nyx would come down to the training hall.
Raven would have gone to find something-anything to do so he could pass the time, but when he had almost just died to a beast because a single attack missed, he didn't think there was anything else he should be doing with his time now than training.
Also, every little thing counted, and if he spent this time doing something productive there was a chance he would not get as brutal as a pummeling he got last time when he trained with Nyx.
As soon as the elevator door open, Raven summoned the dummy.
"Not what I need."
He shook his head in disappointment.
Neither could he use the dummy to try to repeat the scenario with the monster, but the dummy couldn't move as well.
He couldn't even use it to replicate the chaos of fighting anything, but it also couldn't dodge.
This was the very same reason he didn't just go punching at the dummy, he wanted an opponent that could fight back.
Only an opponent that could fight back would give him the real experience of a fight, not just pummeling something to the ground.
"Maybe I can ask Nyx if there's a way to increase the dummy's difficulty."
But until then, he would have to wait.
So, Raven sat down cross-legged and thought back to his fight with Nyx, as well as his fight with that beast.
'What did I do wrong?'
'And how do I do better?'
....
"Start."
Nyx's voice carried no urgency, but her stance radiated an unspoken authority.
Raven didn't need any further prompting.
'Lightning Strike.'
He charged at her, the sparks already forming at his knuckles.
Crack—!
A blinding arc exploded on impact.
His hand which he had formed to imitate a blade bounced off the wall of the training hall.
"....Fuck." It felt like his fingers had almost broken off.
Nyx had easily side-stepped his attack, the attack was just an inch away from coming in contact with her.
"Again."
The calmness in her voice was irritating.
Raven spun around, throwing a wild hook.
Nyx didn't block the blow with effort—she raised a finger, stopping the blow.
He quickly followed with a continuous barrage of blows, he struck from every angle he could.
But she didn't flinch once, she didn't even take a step back.
"I thought I said you should use your— "
'Lightning Strike.'
In that instant, his fist lit up in a violent arc, the air snapped and crackled.
Her eyebrows arched.
Boom—!
Sparks detonated in every direction.
In the center of everything, Nyx stood, just a finger raised to stop Raven's fist.
Her stance hadn't shifted in the slightest.
She wrapped her hand around his fist, and slowly dropped it down.
"Impressive."
She commented.
Then, her legs snapped up.
Her kick buried itself into Raven's chest folding him in half and sending him flying.
The impact was thunderous despite the fact she hadn't used any essence.
Raven was sent flying away like a ragdoll, skidding against the floor before he eventually came to a stop.
"You did good."
Nyx said, walking over to him.
"Or at least, better than yesterday."
Raven spat blood to the side and wiped his mouth. Despite the pain in his ribs, he still managed to smile.
It wasn't at her words, though.
'I didn't fry my hand!'
He had managed to use Lightning Strike while moving, however, he couldn't really move a lot or it would backfire.
The remaining contents of the Burn Salve were gone because of his earlier attempts.
Coughing, Raven dragged himself up.
"We're done for today. "
She spoke.
'I wouldn't be able to fight anyway since I ran out of essence.'
He didn't say that out loud.
"Nyx?"
He asked, his voice was hoarse as he was in the middle of catching his breath.
"Yes?"
"Does the training dummy have a difficulty setting?"
Nyx paused, her unreadable eyes staring at him. At that moment, Raven wondered if he had asked something stupid.
"Yes, it's up to level 3."
She answered.
Raven blinked.
"How do you adjust it?"
"The same way you call the dummy."
Raven just stood there.
'Surely the system must be flawed if it can't even inform me of that.'
There was no consideration for first time users, in the slightest.
"Be quick or I'll leave you behind."
Nyx said, but her voice echoed in the empty surroundings.
Raven looked up, only to realize that she was already at the elevator, holding the plates he had eaten out from earlier.
He hurried to meet her.
"How much mastery of your skill do you have?"
Nyx asked suddenly as the elevator came to a stop, the door opening slowly.
"....Only 5%."
From his understanding of the world, five percent wasn't impressive.
"That's good, it shows that you're growing."
Raven doubted her words.
But, he appreciated the thought behind them.