SSS Awakening: I Can Create Skills By Will

Chapter 258: Another Day of Growth

"Bath time."

Mel immediately backed away.

Arthur stared at her.

"...Don’t do this."

She looked genuinely betrayed.

"No escaping."

She resisted for a full minute before Arthur finally managed to convince her.

Mostly by promising another steak tomorrow.

But the bath itself took forever.

Because Mel hated water.

And because Arthur ended up drying her first before washing himself properly.

By the time he finally finished and changed into lighter clothes, his body felt like jelly.

He let out a long breath while walking lazily toward the bed.

Then stopped.

As he noticed Mel was already asleep.

Curled up comfortably and completely knocked out.

Arthur’s expression softened immediately.

"...Yeah. You really pushed yourself."

The skill helped her endure it.

But it didn’t erase the strain completely.

Not the physical exhaustion.

And definitely not the mental one.

Arthur carefully laid down beside her.

The moment he pulled her slightly closer, she instinctively snuggled against him without waking up.

Like she was already used to it.

Arthur smiled faintly.

His eyes slowly closed while thoughts drifted through his head.

Today had been good. Better than he had expected.

The squad had grown stronger.

The ally system worked as Ryn awakened a ridiculous skill.

Mel awakened one too.

And tomorrow...

Tomorrow would probably be even crazier.

Arthur let out one final breath as he let sleep finally take him.

Morning came quietly.

Light slipped through the small window of Arthur’s room and stretched across the floor.

And just like always...

Mel was the first to wake up.

Arthur only felt something soft land on his chest before small paws started pushing against him.

"...Five more minutes."

Mel huffed in response.

Arthur opened one eye and stared at the overly energetic cub above him.

"You’re way too excited this early."

Her tail wagged immediately.

Arthur sighed.

He honestly couldn’t tell anymore if she was excited for training...

Or for the steak he promised her afterward.

Maybe both.

"Fine, fine. I’m awake."

The moment he sat up, Mel jumped off the bed proudly like she had accomplished something important.

Arthur laughed tiredly before getting himself cleaned up.

Mel behaved much better during cleaning today too.

Well...

Mostly because Arthur reminded her about the steak reward.

"You’re easier to negotiate with food."

Her tail wagged again without shame.

After cleaning her fur properly, Arthur polished his armor carefully before finally gearing up.

Soon enough, they headed toward the training hall together.

The moment Arthur entered, he noticed the changes immediately.

Not huge changes.

But enough.

Commander Lyra had clearly adjusted the training after observing everyone yesterday.

Typical of her.

Nox was the first thing Arthur noticed.

The obstacle course she trained on looked tighter now.

The gaps between platforms were smaller and the turns sharper.

And around her ankles were slightly heavier weights.

Nox dashed through the course quickly, but Arthur could already see the strain on her face.

"Faster!"

Lyra’s voice echoed.

Nox gritted her teeth and pushed harder.

Arthur chuckled softly.

"...Rough."

Selene’s side wasn’t any easier.

The moving targets around her had increased in speed, and now some of them moved unpredictably.

Worse...

Different colored markings had been added to the targets.

Some points were worth hitting.

Others were not.

So now she had to aim while moving and thinking at the same time.

Arthur watched her loose an arrow cleanly through a moving red mark before immediately shifting position.

Another dummy appeared.

She fired again instantly.

But missed by a little.

Selene clicked her tongue.

"Too slow."

"You hesitated," Lyra corrected immediately from nearby.

Selene nodded seriously and adjusted herself again.

Arthur could already tell she was improving though.

Her movements flowed more naturally now.

Then there was Althea.

She sat across from several floating metal spheres while sweat rolled down her face.

Her binding threads stretched between them shakily.

Arthur noticed immediately...

She was holding more objects than before.

But barely.

One sphere slipped slightly and Althea immediately struggled to stabilize the rest.

"Focus on control before expansion," Lyra reminded her calmly.

Althea nodded while breathing heavily.

Arthur smiled faintly.

She really was working hard.

Torren’s side looked the loudest as usual.

A giant wooden dummy stood behind him while arrows, swinging logs, and heavy projectiles attacked from different directions.

And compared to yesterday...

He was handling it much better.

He intercepted cleaner now.

And his footing looked more stable too.

A heavy boulder swung toward the dummy.

Torren stepped forward instantly and blocked it head on with his shield.

The impact echoed loudly.

But he didn’t lose balance this time.

"Yes!"

Torren grinned proudly.

Then immediately got hit in the side by another training projectile.

"Ow!"

Arthur laughed.

"Still rough around the edges."

Torren pointed at him.

"Come stand here then!"

"I value my life."

The training hall already felt more alive than yesterday.

Everyone had improved a little.

And everyone knew it too.

But the biggest difference today... Was Mel.

Lyra walked over toward Arthur and the cub shortly after.

"The weights are still not ready."

Arthur nodded.

"That was expected honestly."

Lyra crossed her arms.

"I tried to rushed them even."

Then her eyes fell toward Mel.

"But since the previous training stopped being effective, I prepared something else."

Arthur immediately paid attention.

Lyra led them toward another section of the hall.

This obstacle course looked different from yesterday’s agility focused one.

Dummies stood around different corners now.

Some hanging.

Some standing.

Others partly hidden behind barriers.

Arthur quickly understood the setup.

Lyra explained while walking beside them.

"Yesterday focused on movement and adaptation."

She looked at Mel.

"Today focuses on attack instincts."

Arthur nodded slowly.

Makes sense.

Mel already had speed.

Now she needed to learn how to apply it properly.

Lyra continued,

"A wolf’s strongest weapons are usually its claws and bite."

She pointed toward the dummies.

"So she’ll learn when to use each."

Arthur looked down at Mel who stared at the course seriously already.

"She has to choose correctly while moving?"

"Exactly." Lyra nodded.