The training hall became quiet after Commander Lyra left.

Arthur and the rest of the squad watched her disappearing figure as she hurried after the explorers ahead of her. Even from behind, they could tell she was moving seriously now.

The situation outside was bad.

Very bad.

And the weight of that truth settled heavily in the hall after the doors closed again.

Nobody spoke for a while.

The usual jokes were gone.

Even Nox stayed quiet for once.

They all understood one thing now.

Whatever was coming… was close.

Still, none of them wasted time sitting around.

If battle was truly coming, then every second mattered.

Soon, everyone quietly returned to training.

Ryn sat cross legged near one side of the hall, calmly circulating mana through his body while occasionally practicing his skill movements. His expression stayed focused as he repeated the same actions over and over.

Not flashy.

Just smooth.

He wanted everything to feel natural before battle came.

Nearby, Selene continued practicing her threaded arrows.

Her focus had sharpened greatly already.

The thin mana thread connected to her arrows much easier now as she bent shots around pillars and obstacles without the rope this time.

An arrow curved sharply through the air before slamming directly into the eye of a dummy.

Selene smirked proudly.

"Okay… that one was clean."

"Just that one?" Nox teased from afar.

Selene scoffed.

"Focus on your own training before I thread an arrow through your forehead."

"Can you even hit me now?"

"I literally just did."

Their small exchange lightened the mood slightly.

Meanwhile Althea returned to her corner, spreading her binding web carefully around several targets. Her control looked much steadier now as certain dummies got restrained while others remained untouched.

The threads no longer moved wildly like before.

Now they obeyed her properly.

Even she looked surprised sometimes.

Torren and Nox trained together nearby.

Or more accurately…

Nox attacked him nonstop while Torren defended.

The repeated clashes echoed lightly through the hall.

"Again!" Nox shouted as she dashed forward.

Torren planted his feet immediately.

Mana condensed around his shield before her kick slammed into it.

Bang!

The impact spread outward but Torren barely moved now.

His grin widened instantly.

"Oh, that felt good."

"You're getting cocky already," Nox replied while stepping back quickly.

"And you're still too slow."

Nox immediately vanished forward again.

Torren nearly missed her this time.

"Oi!"

The two kept pushing each other naturally.

And honestly, it helped.

Torren learned how to react better under pressure while Nox got more used to attacking unpredictable targets.

The atmosphere slowly changed because of it.

Everyone trained harder.

The fear of the unknown ahead pushed them all forward.

Their intent to grow stronger had never been clearer.

Meanwhile Arthur stayed with Mel.

His attention barely left the cub now.

Truthfully… he was worried.

And through their bond, he could tell Mel felt it too.

That was why the cub trained even harder than before.

The new weights strapped around her body were still heavy enough to reduce her speed slightly, yet she adapted frighteningly fast.

Her little body moved smoothly through the obstacle course while her Weight Adaptation skill kept adjusting naturally.

She leapt over barriers.

Slid beneath poles.

Dodged swinging targets.

And then attacked.

Arthur watched carefully as she clawed across a dummy before biting toward its neck.

"Too slow on the second movement," Arthur said calmly.

Mel huffed lightly.

"Again."

The cub immediately moved once more.

This time her claws struck first before she shifted backward quickly just like Arthur instructed through the bond.

Then suddenly…

She lunged again.

Her jaws locked onto the dummy's neck and held tighter than before.

Crack.

The dummy's head tore off completely.

Arthur blinked once before smiling.

"That's it."

Mel immediately looked proud of herself.

Her tail wagged rapidly while Arthur crouched beside her and rubbed her fur.

"Good job."

The praise clearly excited her more.

And honestly, Arthur needed to see this.

Agility alone wouldn't be enough on a battlefield.

He didn't know what kind of monsters were approaching the stronghold.

Or how many.

He would protect Mel no matter what.

But deep down, he still wanted her capable of defending herself too.

That thought alone made him take her training even more seriously.

Soon, Arthur started teaching her about mana.

At least… in the simplest way he could.

He explained slowly while guiding her through the bond.

"Feel the movement inside your body," he told her softly.

"Not your muscles. The other flow."

Mel tilted her head slightly.

Confused.

Arthur chuckled.

"Yeah, I know. Hard to explain."

He stood up before lightly coating his hand with mana.

A faint layer wrapped around his fist before he punched a nearby dummy.

Boom.

The impact sounded much heavier than normal.

Mel's eyes widened immediately.

Arthur pointed toward his arm.

"That."

The cub stared carefully.

Then looked at her own paw.

Arthur smiled slightly.

"Exactly."

Mel returned to training afterward, trying to imitate what she felt from him.

At first nothing happened.

But Arthur didn't rush her.

He simply corrected her movements gently while she continued attacking, moving, clawing, biting, and circulating her energy naturally.

And little by little…

He could feel it.

Something was starting to connect.

Mel was slowly beginning to understand mana.

Sometimes he let the cub rest for a bit while watching him train instead.

Other times, he let her feel his mana directly.

He would coat his fist lightly before throwing a punch at her, not enough to hurt, just enough for her to dodge and feel the pressure brushing past her fur.

"Move."

Mel reacted instantly, leaping aside as Arthur's fist passed.

Boom.

The dummy behind exploded apart.

Wood splinters scattered across the floor.

Mel froze slightly.

Her eyes immediately locked onto the broken dummy.

Arthur smiled faintly.

"That's mana."

The cub tilted her head.

Confused.

Interested.

Arthur chuckled softly before crouching beside her.

"You don't need to understand it like humans do," he said while rubbing her head. "Just feel it your own way."