SSS Awakening: I Can Create Skills By Will

Chapter 259: The Uneasy Calm

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

Lyra 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.

"Claw when mobility matters. Bite when commitment is needed."

Arthur liked the idea immediately.

This wasn’t teaching a skill. It was teaching combat sense.

Foundation.

And that mattered a lot.

Lyra looked at Arthur next.

"You’ll guide her."

Arthur blinked.

"Me?"

"You know her best."

Arthur glanced at Mel proudly.

"That’s true."

Lyra ignored him smoothly and continued explaining.

"Direct her toward important strike points."

She tapped several spots on a dummy.

"Eyes."

"Throat."

"Inner thigh."

"Joints."

Arthur nodded carefully while memorizing it.

"Also teach restraint," Lyra added.

"A bite that holds too long becomes dangerous in real combat."

Arthur understood that too.

If she committed too hard, she could get punished.

"Alright," he said while crouching beside Mel.

"You heard the commander."

Mel stared at him seriously.

Arthur pointed ahead dramatically.

"Today..."

He grinned.

"You become a hunter."

Her tail immediately started wagging.

Lyra sighed quietly.

"...You really treat her like a child."

"She is a child."

Mel barked proudly in agreement.

And just like that... Training started.

Mel dashed into the obstacle course immediately.

Even with the weights still attached, her movement looked far cleaner than yesterday.

Arthur could already see the effect of her skill naturally blending into her movements.

"Left dummy!"

Mel reacted instantly.

She swerved sharply around an obstacle before slashing her claws across the marked area of the dummy’s neck.

"Good!"

Arthur pointed again.

"Bite next!"

Another dummy swung toward her.

Mel leaped and bit directly toward the marked throat area before immediately letting go and landing smoothly.

Lyra nodded once.

"Again."

The course reset.

And Mel ran again.

This time faster.

Arthur stayed fully focused beside the course while guiding her constantly.

"Lower!"

"Claw!"

"Don’t overcommit!"

"Move first!"

At some point even Torren and the other squad members stopped briefly to watch.

"She’s learning way too fast."

Selene nodded while drawing another arrow.

"She really understands him."

Honestly... It barely even felt like commands anymore.

Arthur and Mel moved together naturally.

When Arthur pointed, Mel already understood halfway.

When he raised his voice slightly, she adjusted immediately.

At one point a dummy appeared suddenly from her blind side.

Arthur reacted instantly.

"Behind!"

Mel twisted mid-run, used the obstacle wall to push herself sideways, then clawed across the dummy while passing it.

Arthur’s eyes widened.

"...That was clean."

Even Lyra looked impressed.

Her footing had improved again too.

The weights still affected her slightly, but instead of slowing her completely now...

They sharpened her movement.

Every leap looked more controlled. Every landing cleaner.

And slowly...

Mel started making choices herself.

Arthur noticed it first.

A lower dummy appeared.

Instead of biting, she clawed and kept moving.

Then a stationary dummy appeared right after.

She immediately committed with a bite.

Arthur grinned proudly.

"She’s getting it."

Lyra nodded.

"She’s thinking for herself now."

That was the important part.

Not random attacks, but decision making.

Hours passed surprisingly fast inside the hall as everyone kept pushing themselves harder.

Nox became faster.

Selene sharper.

Althea steadier.

Torren tougher.

And Mel...

Mel looked completely absorbed in training.

Every successful hit excited her even more.

Especially when Arthur praised her afterward.

"Nice!"

"Good girl!"

"That one was perfect!"

Her tail wagged almost every single time.

Eventually even Lyra stopped correcting Arthur’s overly proud reactions.

Because honestly... The encouragement worked.

The training hall stayed loud for most of the day.

Metal clashed.

Targets broke apart.

Footsteps echoed across the floor.

And somewhere in all that chaos...

Mel kept attacking every dummy like it personally offended her.

Arthur laughed as she rushed through the obstacle course once again, clawing one target before biting another cleanly around the marked neck area.

"Good!"

Her tail wagged proudly.

Commander Lyra watched quietly from the side with her arms crossed.

"She’s keeps adapting faster than I expect."

Arthur smirked immediately.

"She’s talented."

"She’s spoiled."

Arthur looked offended.

"She earned it."

Lyra sighed.

Not too far from them, Torren blocked another heavy projectile with his shield before stumbling backward.

"Ow..."

Nox burst into laughter from her obstacle course.

"You almost fell again!"

"I didn’t fall," Torren defended instantly.

"You were halfway to the floor."

Selene released another arrow while speaking calmly.

"That counts."

Torren pointed at all of them dramatically.

"One day I’ll become strong enough to ignore all of you."

Ryn snorted from his corner while continuing his training.

"That day isn’t today."

Torren looked betrayed.

Arthur laughed quietly while Mel circled another obstacle.

Honestly...

The atmosphere had gotten much lighter compared to the first day.

The pain was still there. The exhaustion too.

But everyone had started settling into the rhythm of training.

Even Lyra’s brutal methods slowly made sense now.

Everyone was improving.

Little by little.

And because of that, the long hours inside the hall didn’t feel unbearable anymore.

After awhile, Mel rushed through the obstacle course again before sliding to a stop proudly in front of Arthur.

Tongue out.

Tail wagging.

Waiting.

Arthur crossed his arms seriously.

"Hmmm."

Mel stared at him.

Then he finally smiled.

"You did amazing."

Instant happiness.

Lyra shook her head quietly from the side.

"...Hopeless."

But despite her words...

Even she looked satisfied watching the cub improve this quickly.

Lyra started preparing to wrap up the training session for the day.

But then...

Hurried footsteps echoed outside the hall.

Fast and urgent.

The entire squad turned instinctively toward the entrance.

The doors pushed open shortly after.

Two explorers entered quickly, both carrying tense expressions.

Arthur immediately noticed something was wrong.

Not just because they rushed in...

But because they went straight to Commander Lyra.

One of them lowered his voice the moment he reached her.

They began speaking in hushed tones.

Arthur couldn’t hear the words.

None of them could.

But that somehow made it worse.

Because Lyra’s expression slowly changed while listening.

The calm look she normally carried disappeared slightly.