A Hundred Times: Ascending With The Strongest System
Chapter 88 - 87: Storm on the Horizon

Chapter 88: Chapter 87: Storm on the Horizon

BOOM!!! BAM!!!

The sounds of shockwaves ringing out spread all across the Advanced Training Facility, the air filled with the fiery tension of battle.

"Gah! It hurts..." Zoey spoke through gritted teeth, barely managing to block an attack from Mira as she felt pain coarse all over her body, as if fire was dancing all over her skin, the pain becoming nearly unbearable.

"Focus Zoey!" Mira spoke, delivering another powerful, and frighteningly fast jab to Zoey’s chest, one that blew her away as she coughed from the impact, her figure crashing onto the ground.

The Healers quickly ran to her side to assist her, coming together as they activated their healing spells, enveloping Zoey in a comforting green glow as she felt her bruises and sore body starting to heal and recover from her immaculate loss of fatigue.

’If I were given the opportunity to use my Skills, I could be doing so much better now.’ Zoey thought, rising from the ground as she looked at Mira. Her body was radiating a frightening aura, one of sheer dominance and will , while her expression remained as impassive as ever, colder than ice.

"I noticed that you are too reliant on your [Heightened Senses] Talent in battle, and that is an extremely bad thing. Becoming too reliant on one’s Talent can dull your other aspects of combat, strategy, and observation." Mira instructed, not waiting for Zoey to recover as she dashed towards her once again.

The Healers quickly leaped away, returning to their original position as they didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.

Zoey quickly blocked another incoming attack, being pushed back by the sheer strength of the attack as she became disoriented, but Mira wasn’t going to go easy on her as she immediately followed up with a series of punches and kicks, which proved to be incredibly difficult, as Zoey struggled to block them all.

The battle raged on with Mira mainly on the offensive, she could see all the gaps in Zoey’s fighting style. Her stance was bad, her form was off, and her attacks were way to predictable, it disappointed Mira a bit, but she had only been a Hunter for a little while now, so she couldn’t really blame her.

’I have an opportunity!’ She thought, dodging an attack from Mira as she sidestepped the blow, and counter attacked with her own punch, putting all her strength into the blow.

’Too predictable.’ Mira thought, easily dodging the attack as she leaned low to the ground, and with a swift sweep to Zoey’s legs, she was thrown onto the ground once again.

"You’re going to have to try much harder than that," Mira said, looking down on Zoey with her golden eyes for a moment, before walking back a bit, retaking her stance.

’That was my best attempt, and I still couldn’t hit her once.’ Zoey frowned, feeling the comforting glow of the Healers enveloping her once more.

She rose from the ground once again after a few seconds, her crimson eyes locked on Mira, but her mind deep in contemplation. She needed to study Mira, only then would she be able to get an idea on how to counter attack her.

’I can’t see any opening, her stance is too good, everything about her screams unbreakable.’ Zoey thought, narrowing her gaze as she observed Mira.

She looked at her hands and how she was standing, then, she looked at Mira once more. Zoey took a deep breath, calming herself. She needed to observe her stance, and get an idea on what made it so formidable, and maybe, just maybe, even copy it to the best of her abilities.

Zoey slid her foot back, relaxed her shoulders, and opened her palms slightly. Just from being in the stance, Zoey could already feel a difference in everything. She had more room to move, she was feeling relaxed and calm, and she had an immediate surge in confidence.

’Oh? Is she trying to imitate my stance? Not bad. But let’s see how well she’ll be able to perform now.’ Mira thought, about to dash toward Zoey, but was surprised as she saw Zoey dashing towards her at incredible speeds.

’!!!’ Mira quickly blocked Zoey’s attack with her forearm, but Zoey wasn’t done as she delivered a kick towards Mira’s stomach, one that she also managed to block but was slightly pushed back.

’I’m not going to give her a chance to fight back!!’ Zoey declared inwardly, her eyes rapidly working to examine and observe everything about Mira as she continued her rapid assault of attacks.

Mira continued to block the attacks, feeling the raw strength starting to affect her a bit as she could feel her body starting to ache a bit, a small grin breaking out on her lips.

A strong palm was delivered to Zoey’s stomach, knocking some of the air out of her lungs.

But she wasn’t going to go down, not without giving her all.

With her strength and stamina reduced, Zoey grabbed a hold of Mira’s arm, surprising her as she wasn’t expecting Zoey to do that.

Zoey pulled Mira in, and with a swift spin, she delivered a shockingly strong roundhouse kick to Mira, blowing her away as she flew back a few meters.

"Ha...ha..." Zoey caught her breath, her body starting to sweat more visibly, her stamina exhausted and her strength fading. She clutched her stomach, the pain from Mira’s earlier attack still lingering, and unsettling feeling crawling all over her.

’She actually managed to hit me.’ Mira thought, examining her chest as she felt Zoey’s kick still lingering, a burning sensatiin that sat there like a fiery flame. She grinned, Zoey was already starting to show immense progress.

"Good! You’re doing well so far." Mira said, a bright glow emaminating from her hands as she opened her [Inventory], taking out two wooden practice swords.

She tossed one to Zoey, who managed to catch it, her expression full of surprise as she held the wooden sword. As expected, the sword wasn’t made from normal wood, as it would’ve broken after one swing, it was probably made from the wood found inside a Dungeon.

"We’re going to be tackling swordsmanship next," Mira said, getting into another professional swordsmanship stance, her eyes gleaming with a small shred of excitement.

"Damn, I still haven’t recovered yet-" Before she could finish her sentence, Mira bolted towards her again, her sword raised high as she crashed it down onto her with immense force that created a shockwave around them.

"GAH!" Zoey blocked the attack, holding her sword in her palms as she raised it above her head, feeling her arms starting to tremble from the weight of Mira’s attack.

"We’re only getting started, we are far from over with today’s training." Mira said, her voice turning cold and icy in an instant, sending chills down Zoey’s spine.

’Why is the training so damn....tough here...’ Zoey thought, slightly regretting her choice for coming to the Raging Phoenix Guild.

The door to her room creaked open, as Zoey stepped into the room, looking mire exhausted and mentally drained than she had ever been in her entire life. They had spent hours training, the lessons brutal and painful, but even after she had been healed, the pain still lingered fresh in her mind.

’I can finally...have a real break...’ Zoey thought, walking towards her bed like a zombie as her muscles felt numb, her mind barely able to process her thoughts as she flopped onto the matress.

The sheets felt like a world of softness that immediately took away the pain and agony from the harsh training, it brought a serene peach of mind that she found incredibly valuable in this moment.

She lazily closed her eyes, her vision going black as she fell asleep. Mira was a strict and punishing instructor, but her lessons were undeniably valuable for Zoey as she was someone who had little combat experience outside of fighting monsters.

Even if the lessons were hard to deal with, inside, she felt grateful, even if she never showed it.

.....

The sounds of the waves crashing flooded her ears, a fresh breeze blew on her face. The sounds of screams of battle and explosions ringing out madly caught Zoey’s attention, her eyes lazily opening.

The ground wobbled beneath her, one of her eyes were covered by something, and now she couldn’t see with it blocking her eye’s vision.

"What is this..." Zoey muttered to herself, barely able to push herself over the wooden, wobbly floor as she grunted under her breath. Her chest was throbbing with pain, almost as if she bad been punched hard in the gut by a powerful force, on her waist, a large curved blade lied, one that had been through countless battles and took the lives of those daring to sail the seven sees.

"Captain! Are you alright!? We’re under attack!" A panicked shout of a man caught her attention, as she immediately realized that she had arrived in yet another world, and only after taking a closer look, she found herself to be on a pirate ship, fiercely battling against another.