Chapter 96: I want to become stronger!

Chapter 96: I want to become stronger! Eva ate her meal with a distracted expression, which was rare when she was eating meat of all things. The need to build her strength hit her hard—after seeing the chaos and the upcoming surface expedition, it dawned on her how weak she was. She wasn’t back in the zombie apocalypse, where she could command brainless zombies to fight or die for her while she lounged with her novels. This was different. The monsters were deadly, and the people weren’t mindless or powerless. "Haa!" Eva dropped her fork, tugging at her hair with a frustrated sigh. ’Why couldn’t she just transmigrate into a normal world like her predecessors with cool cheats? But no, she has to earn hers through near-death situations. Even the book she read was useless, no help at all.’ The more she thought about it, the more frustrated she became, banging her head on the table and screaming silently into the air. Julian, who sat across from her, choked at her sudden outburst. They were just eating normally a second ago—what happened? "Cough..." Julian reached for the cup of water beside him to soothe his throat, only for her shout to make him choke again. The water went up his nose, reddening his eyes as he coughed harshly. "Train me! I want to become stronger!" Eva raised her clenched fist high, trying to summon the courage to face the muscle pain ahead. "Eva, please no screaming or weird behavior while we eat." Julian pleaded, not ready to suffer through that again. As he refilled his cup, he glanced at her parted lips and quickly raised a hand to stop her, downing the water in peace. Eva noticed his reddened eyes and held back her words. But the moment he set his cup down, she picked up where she’d left off. "I want both of you to train me... e-even if I say I’m tired, ignore it and keep going." She stammered, her face tightening as if she instantly regretted it—yet a flicker of Julian chuckled. "Are you sure...? Not when training—" "I’m sure," Eva cut in before she could waver, stabbing her fork into her meat to vent her irritation as he laughed. "All right, I’ll train you." A smile bloomed on Eva’s face at Julian’s words—until his next ones. "Your training starts now. First, put all the greens back on your plate—you’ll need them." Julian’s tone was firm, his expression shifting instantly into that of a strict instructor. ’’But—" Eva started, only to meet Julian’s raised brows. She swallowed her complaint with a grimace. (⁠。⁠•́⁠〈⁠•̀⁠。⁠) "And training starts by 6 a.m....," he added with a drawn-out grin, clearly enjoying himself. Eva gripped her spoon, barely restraining the urge to throw it at his annoying face. She looked at her food and sighed again at the mountain of greens now mocking her. She regretted speaking up before dinner ended. Julian ate with gusto, in a good mood, but already mapping out her training in his mind. .... The next day, Eva trembled and sweated while holding a plank position. Ethan finally returned. He dismounted from his wolf with an exhausted yawn. He had cleared the street assigned to him, but it was just a drop in the ocean if they planned to clean up the entire city. They had only managed to reduce a small portion—just enough to buy Madam Grace time to come up with a feasible solution. "You’re back," Julian said lazily from his seat. Ethan hummed in reply, eyes scanning for Eva. "She’s in the training room," Julian said, catching the way Ethan’s eyes searched the area. Ethan’s brows lifted in surprise, and a trace of fatigue faded from his eyes. "What happened?" Ethan asked, surprise evident in his voice as he picked up the unopened water bottle from the table in front of Julian. "She asked me to train her. You done with the cleanup?" Julian asked as he stood—it was almost time to relieve her from that position. Ethan drained the water in one go before replying. "Yes. Once I’ve rested, we’re heading back to Madam Grace for that nobles’ information," Ethan said, his final words laced with coldness. "I’ve waited long enough," Julian muttered, relieved the wait was finally over. He strode toward the training ground. "Eva, time’s up!" he called. To Eva, his words felt like rain after a long drought. Her arms gave out, and she collapsed face-down, gasping for breath. Sweat dripped down her body, wet strands of hair clinging to her nape as she fought to catch her breath. "You did well—you held for one minute," Julian praised as he dismissed the hazy black clock floating before him. Eva didn’t move or respond to his words. Instead, she focused on Madam Grace’s teachings, trying to activate the crystal within her to ease the ache in her body. A minute passed, and a soft green glow enveloped her. A quiet sigh slipped from her lips. She slowly sat up, surprised to see Ethan standing at the door. "You’re back," she said with a smile, rising to her feet. "Mm." Ethan walked to her and, taking a handkerchief from his ring, gently wiped her face. "Julian said you asked for this. He didn’t force you, did he?" Ethan’s distrust made Julian roll his eyes. "No. I want to get stronger. We don’t know what the surface holds. It might be worse than the dungeon... even the egg tests hinted at that." She paused, catching their surprised expressions. "What?" "Wow... you actually insightful and deep," Julian remarked, making her eyes widen. Without a word, she pulled a stone from her space and hurled it at him. "F*ck! What do you mean by insightful? I’m not dumb just because I love meat and ask questions. And you—" Her eyes narrowed as she turned to Ethan. He didn’t need to deny it, he thought the same as Julian. "Julian, apologize. That was harsh," Ethan said firmly. Julian winced—he hadn’t meant to say it out loud. "Eva, dear, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it like that." Julian didn’t need to be told twice—his apology was immediate and sincere. Eva watched them silently, her expression growing unnervingly calm—as if her outburst had never happened. "Let’s get back to training," she said evenly, and that calm tone unsettled them more than any yelling could. Ethan shot Julian a reproachful glare, and Julian lowered his head in guilt. "I—" he began, but Eva silenced him with a single glance. He moved on to their second training exercise. A padded dummy was dragged to the center, and Julian guided her on how to channel her core strength to drive her strikes. "Bang!’’ "Bang!’’ Eva punched, each blow making the dummy sway under the force, but Julian buzzed around her like a persistent fly, almost breaking her focus. "Dear, do you want to take a quick break?" "I brought you some water." "You’re doing great." "I’m sorry—it was a slip of the tongue." He tried every method to coax her, but she ignored him, punching with mechanical focus. "Time’s up," he finally said. "We’re done for today. This will be your daily morning routine to strengthen your core. Main training starts at noon," Julian added, leaning in, hoping for a reaction. But Eva only nodded and walked out of the room. Now they knew—she was officially pissed.