[Ding!]

“WHAT THE HELL! EZME!!” Amara screamed as she stumbled back onto her feet and faced her opponent. 

“Ooh, that was close! Be careful!” Ezme laughed from high up above her. 

“Stop laughing and help me!” Amara shouted as her voice broke in a panic. 

“No can do! Have you forgotten that this is your training?!” Ezme shouted with laughter in her voice.

I let my guard down. I’d forgotten how sadistic she is.

Amara breathed rapidly as the adrenaline was coursing through her, her eyes fixed on the spider in front of her. In shape, it resembled a tarantula from Earth.

Except it was large enough for its eyes to be leveled with hers, its long, hairy legs as thick as her thighs.

[Ding!]

Amara used a Realm Gate to get her halberd from her armory. By the time Amara pulled the weapon out, the spider had already closed half the distance, even though it was injured.

Without time to bring the halberd back for a swing, she pointed the tip and thrust towards the eyes as her body heated up, strengthened with divine power.

The spider swiped the halberd away and lunged at Amara, fangs bared.

Shit!

Divine Body Strengthening!

Amara instinctively knew the spider was too fast to get away from, and dropped her halberd as she lunged forward to attack.

Divine Punch!

But the spider was faster and had greater range, as its fangs pierced Amara’s shoulder and chest before Amara's fist could make contact. 

[Ding!]

Amara was shocked by the pain and the realization that she had been stabbed. But at the same time it was like being dipped in ice cold water, clarifying her senses.

FIGHT DAMMIT!!

[Ding!]

[Ding!]

Amara pulled herself out of her daze, threw her hands up to grab the fangs and bent forward while pulling the fangs out of her body. Amara felt the curved fangs rip against the muscles and organs they had pierced on their way out.

The spider twitched in agony and staggered backwards as Amara broke the fangs off.

[Ding!]

[Ding!]

Amara panted as she dropped the fangs and felt lightheaded, her body growing numb. Amara felt the blood flowing out of her wounds, wetting her clothes.

Divine Regeneration!

[Ding!]

[Ding!]

Amara bent down to pick up the halberd, but her body wasn’t responding properly, making her fumble with her fingers as she gripped the handle.

Focusing her eyes on the spider that was still writhing in pain, Amara stepped forward. On her first step her knee almost gave way, and she stumbled forward as she raised the halberd high over her head.

Divine Body Strengthening!

Blade Extension!

Amara brought the halberd down on the spider, burying it deep into its face as the spider fell onto the floor. Amara fell on her knees as she was holding onto the halberd and watched the spider, as one of the legs twitched before it settled and the spider became completely still.

[Ding!]

Dammit. I’m poisoned.

Amara let go of the halberd and lifted a shaking hand to her shoulder. Merely moving her arm felt painful, her muscles and joints aching. She looked down as she pulled on her clothes to see her wounds had healed.

[Ding!]

I need to get rid of the poison. 

Divine Regeneration.

Amara felt the pain fade temporarily, but it quickly came back. It was getting harder to move her body - even breathing was becoming a difficult labour.

[Ding!]

Amara clenched her shaking teeth. Calm down.

Amara imagined the poison droplets in her veins being filtered out of her body as she released her divine power.

[Ding!]

Amara felt that she regained full control of her limbs and didn’t struggle breathing anymore as she gasped for air.

Yes.

Amara sighed as her body was fully returned to its regular state, her galloping heart slowing down. Her gaze passed over the spider’s corpse, and shuddered in remembrance, fear and disgust.

Amara hadn’t been afraid of spiders on Earth, as the only kind she had come across were the harmless ones that had showed up in her home. She did feel a bit disgusted with them however, but she wouldn’t kill the useful insect hunters when she came across them, and instead throw them out the window.

But seeing one that was far larger, with black eyes that could clearly be seen, and the long hairy legs, she felt afraid. Especially since it had come as a surprise.

Amara crawled away from the hairy spider as tears blur her vision. She couldn’t hold them back when her emotions began spinning in turmoil in the silent aftermath of the fight.

For a moment Amara had thought she was going to die. Amara knew that Ezme would intervene before she actually died, but Amara hadn’t suffered a fatal injury before. Other than the time she died that is, but her memories of her death were fuzzy at best.

“Well done!” Ezme’s bright voice came from next to her.

Amara sat down and looked up at the angel who had landed with a wide smile. 

“Did you have fun?” Amara accused Ezme, her upset voice breaking up.

“Aaw, don’t be like that!” Ezme smiled as she kneeled next Amara and wrapped her warm wings around her.  

Amara drew a shuddered breath. “That was awful.”

“Yes, your performance was certainly subpar.” Ezme replied with a wry smile. 

Amara gave the angel an upset look. “You think this is funny?”

“Yes!” Ezme chirped brightly and raised a hand, wiping the tears away from Amara’s face. “One day, you will look back and think it was funny too.”

Amara frowned and sighed as she tried to get her emotions under control. Amara felt Ezme’s wrap her arms around her neck.

“You did well in not using magic at least!” Ezme told Amara with a voice that said she had a large smile on her face.

I panicked and forgot about magic.

They had begun training with Amara following her usual training routine, by kidnapping weak monsters from Ramay and killing them with magic or with a rifle.

Ezme had asked why she never practised close combat, which eventually led to Amara retelling the events of her first kill. 

Eventually Ezme either grew concerned because Amara was only choosing to fight when there was no risk involved, or bored by the lack of action.

Which led to Ezme suggesting that she would be choosing opponents for Amara, and put limits on her. This time, she had limited Amara to only fighting in melee. 

To make sure Amara didn’t use the firearms from Earth, she had gone and taken all the weapons Amara wasn’t allowed to use and hid them.

“You didn’t notice it at all, did you?” Ezme asked. 

Amara shook her head.

Once the preparations were complete, Amara had stood in the middle of the training room when Ezme asked if she was ready. 

When Amara had confirmed that she was, the angel had merely tilted her head with a wry smile. {“Oh really? Look behind you.”}

Amara shuddered as she remembered turning around. The enormous spider had been right there, only a few meters behind her. 

Amara had recoiled at the sight of it, and at the same moment the spider came flying at her. Stumbling back, Amara had fallen on her back as the spider landed above her, and Amara had instinctively kicked the spider back.

Amara muttered dejectedly. “Why did you do that?”

Although Amara felt she somehow knew the answer, her state of mind was a mess and she felt upset with Ezme.

“Because you need to learn to adapt quickly in a fight. You need to learn presence detection. You need to learn how to fight when you’re at a disadvantage, because you most likely will be.” Ezme explained gently as she hugged Amara.

“And, you need to learn to overcome your fears. Not to shy away from them, but to embrace them.” Ezme said with a smile.

Amara snorted and wrapped her arms around the angel’s small waist and rested her forehead against the angel’s shoulder. Ezme’s scent was pleasant and calming.

“Now then, how about you change your clothes and take a bath?” Ezme asked. 

Amara sighed as she was reminded of the blood that was drying on her clothes. She lifted her head from Ezme’s shoulder and looked at the angel. “If I take a bath, will you join me?”

Seeing the angel blush while her pink lips twisted made a smile spread on Amara’s face.

Ezme pulled away from Amara as she replied with an agitated voice. “Insufferable. Seems like my concern was unneeded. Now get going!” 

Amara sighed as the angel stood up and pulled the halberd out of the spider before making the corpse disappear. 

Amara got herself up from the floor and walked to the bathroom. After soaking in the warm water for a while to calm herself, she got a fresh set of clothes, which were sweatpants and a hoodie for comfort. 

Once Amara was done she went to the bedroom and saw that Ezme was sitting on one of the sofas, with a steaming cup of tea in her hands. Another cup as well as the tea pot was on the table.

Amara smiled as she poured the tea in the other cup and went to sit next to Ezme. However, Ezme stopped her with a raised hand.

“We’re going to review what you learned. Go sit over there.” Ezme pointed to the sofa that was on the opposite side of the table.

Amara sighed and did as she was told, as she was too tired to argue. Amara sank down on the sofa and sipped on the tea. 

Ezme smiled brightly. “Now then. What was the most important lesson from that fight?”

Amara frowned. “To learn how to fight in close combat?”

“Hmm. Good, but not what I was looking for.” Ezme replied with a smile. “After all, mortals have magicians and archers who mainly, or only, fight at range. They fight in teams where they have others do the melee fighting and keep the enemy at a distance.”

“Then what was the most important lesson?” Amara asked as she sipped on her tea.

Ezme smiled wryly as she looked at Amara. “If you want to fight at a distance, then you will need to rely on keeping that distance. Which means you need to learn how to discover an ambush before you walk into them, to find your opponents before they find you. If they are smart enough, they’ll know you rely on ranged fighting, and sneak up on you to close the distance.”

Amara sighed and smelled the tea. “I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I am.” Ezme smiled as she tilted her head. “So, in short, you need to be aware of what's around you at all times. Because you will likely do a lot of fighting on your own.”

Amara smiled. “Any suggestions?”

Ezme made a sadistic smile. “Of course. You simply need to learn not to relax.”

Amara frowned. “Everybody needs to relax from time to time.”

“And that is when your opponent will attack.” Ezme’s sadistic smile grew as she put a finger on her cheek. “Look behind you.”

Amara felt a chill run down her spine as she turned her head, and instantly recoiled as eight black eyes stared back at her.

“WHAT THE HELL!” Amara howled as she flew up out of the sofa and leaped backwards over the table, her leg hooking on the edge and falling headlong on her back on the table. “EZME!!”

All Amara heard in response was bright giggling as she saw the long, hairy legs extend as the monster climbed over the backrest of the sofa Amara had been sitting on moments before.

[Ding!]