Chapter 6: Training Results and An Emergency!
6 days passed in a flash and Charlotte and Penelope could be seen drenched in sweat from head to toe with Jacob looking down on them with a branch in his hands tapping his shoulder 'today's the final day of the second stage which means the end of their training. I'm rather impressed by their improvements honestly' Jacob assessed the two in his mind thinking about each of their improvements 'Penelope was small and fragile when I rescued her. Her endurance was abysmal and she couldn't take a lick of pain but she can endure a few shots from me now which I consider stellar, her small body also allows more agility and maneuverability which is hard to have when you're swinging around a glaive so overall she could probably beat most early stage Centaurus even with no cultivation' Jacob examined Penelope "You've done well Penny, you can go relax your muscles in the tub" Jacob gave an approving nod which never happened before.
'He's much stricter than my other teachers who constantly praised me, getting just a nod from him feels better than any words' Penelope was ecstatic when she received his praise and gave him a big hug which startled them both. Penny (we're gonna start calling her Penny from now on, I'm lazy) had a small talk with her sister after the first day which made her more conscious about Jacob but she didn't distance herself, if anything she got miles closer. Jacob patted her on the head and she went to soak in the hot tub.
Jacob then turned to look at Charlotte who watched the whole scene and had a frown on her face 'I've come to the professional conclusion that this woman is a huge sis-con' although Jacob was correct it wasn't the reason Charlotte frowned 'I want head pats...' she was jealous of the praise her sister got from him! Jacob couldn't see the surprising development and just started assessing her progress.
'Charlotte's choice of weapon is a meter-and-a-half-long warhammer which requires quite a lot of strength to be able to control, she was very muscular when we first met but she still lacked control. Now she can perform feints using the warhammer which is an unprecedented development, it's a very advanced technique, especially for such a huge weapon and that's all fantastic but strength can only work if you can hit the target, luckily she's improved a bit when it comes to reflexes and speed although not extraordinary it is still an improvement' Jacob was impressed with the skills that Charlotte has gained and he didn't even need to teach her the feinting technique
"You've done a great job Charlotte," giving her a gentle smile and a head pat after helping her up to her feet Jacob walked toward his makeshift hammock and said loud enough for both of them to hear "Today was the last day of your training, in one more hour the test will be finished but I don't want my two prized pupils to slack while we're apart," he said trying to intimidate them into training hard even without him, but it didn't work with both girls with their heads down with solemn looks on their faces "I don't want to part," they both thought. They both might not have realized it but in just a week Jacob became a very dear friend to the two.
He had saved them both, even saving Penny twice from the thugs and the hosts, they trained under him and knew his strict but caring personality, they had even bathed together and had talks at night before sleeping. Jacob had integrated himself into their hearts and minds making him akin to an admirable older brother that doted on his little sisters, for now at least. They just didn't want to leave him and wanted to be with him constantly. They both sighed looking depressed as they started soaking in the hot tub together.
While Jacob was resting in the hammock and the girls were soaking in the water the speaker came on with a loud *BOOM* and *CRASH* in the background "ALL EXAMINEES MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE EXIT! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK! I REPEAT WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!" An unfamiliar voice sounded over the speaker in a panicked voice. Jacob immediately shot up and packed everything he and the girls needed and rushed to the tub where the girls were already dressed and waiting for him "let's go" Jacob said in a serious tone obviously not liking the thought of a secret facility all of a sudden being attacked 'it must be 'them' there's nothing else that could make everyone panic like this' although the entity was a hive mind with several intelligent or used to be intelligent hosts it was still a rather primitive enemy. There was no way it could reach the asteroid "Be careful! Once we exit the dome we're most definitely going to have to fight for our lives, our goal is the teleporter that we came in from. NO DETOURS! And definitely no playing hero! We are not even cultivators yet keep that in mind!" The girls nodded to his words making sure to stay close to him as he seemed to know the way.
Once all three of them made it to the exit they pulled out their weapons and started walking cautiously down the hall "keep in mind that if the exit is open to us then it's open to the hosts as well so stay on your toes" Jacob made a keen observation in this troubling situation. Both of the girls were visibly nervous with their hands slightly shaking, Jacob noticed and calmed them down "I'm here to protect you so you guys can just use this opportunity to gain some experience" he smiled gently at the girls warming their hearts and easing their troubled minds.
…
As the group of three made their way toward the teleporter there was a battle being had on the other side of the facility. "FUCK! Scarlett was right it is 'them'!" A guard shouted while fighting off multiple robed people at the same time "WE NOTICED!" Another guard yelled annoyed that they distracted them causing a large gash to appear on their arm. The fight was taking place in the middle of the narrow hallways of the research facility. The battle was grim and body parts and dead bodies littered the halls with most of them being researchers and guards. Two of the instructors had perished and the last instructor from Bladesong academy, Georgia Chevelle, was surrounded by many robed people with minor cuts and bruises around her body.
Georgia had killed dozens of robed people with her sword "You guys must be from Unity" she scoffed disgusted thinking about the groups of terrorists that worshipped the Entity "I guess I'll have to kill all of you today. I should put this moment in my autobiography" Georgia said jokingly to herself making a mockery of the terrorists. Without wasting a breath Georgia disappeared and reappeared in front of one of the many terrorists and immediately decapitated him and continued to kill the terrorists with a beautiful sword dance
'these guys are only 2nd stage Draco and Procyon cultivators, this feels more like a distraction than an assault' Georgia's mind worked overtime trying to figure out their objective when something clicked in her mind 'The examinees!' She immediately became worried as she rushed toward the testing site and then the teleporter after cutting down the last robed person.
…
As Georgia was rushing to save the surviving examinees Jacob and the girls made it to the teleporter after fighting off some strange-robed people and a few hosts that the girls handled themselves. The trio stopped on a corner and Jacob peeked around to see at least a dozen robed people guarding the area and a familiar face among them 'Isn't that the blazing demon instructor? Is he conspiring with Unity?' Jacob's hate for Unity ran deep as they were the organization that stole everything from him. Jacob's face turned dark and his aura sharp as he looked at the girls telling them the situation.
The girls looked scared while looking at Jacob's dead eyes and his tyrannical pressure "I didn't think someone so playful could be this cold" both the girls thought. The girls didn't know of Jacob's past and his identity so they didn't understand why he became so cold "There are about a dozen or maybe two guarding the teleporter, it's going to be very dangerous and you might see some terrifying things…" Jacob paused to see their determined eyes and continued "I want you two to stay behind and watch my back, these are cultivators and although they're all very low level at only early stage Centaurus they can still be dangerous as they know martial arts techniques as well as Ethereal spells." The girls nodded ready to face the organization that was obviously sent to kill them "Let's go girls" Jacob smirked at them giving them some motivation.
Jacob then rushed around the corner heading towards the group at an inhuman speed and killing 3 robed figures before the rest noticed him and the girls behind him "Sir Charles the targets have appeared!" One of the figures shouted toward the former instructor who just smiled and said "kill them all" in a smug tone believing that they can't last against real cultivators.
The fight started with 5 figures rushing toward Jacob trying to encircle him only to drop to their knees dead half a second later. The girls stared at him in astonishment noticing the throwing knives in the throats of the 5 figures while Jacob's face stayed neutral and cold as he pulled his hand toward his chest and the knives retracted back into his sleeve with what seemed to be a string 'He did say he was proficient in almost all martial arts, I guess that assassination arts count as well' Charlotte thought with amazement evident in her eyes while Penny just smiled and giggled with sparkles in her eyes 'how can they look so happy when I just butchered 5 people?' Jacob was shocked by their attitude but just shook his head.
Jacob and the girls continued their assault on the Unity members killing them with ease surprising Charles and even the two girls were shocked at how relaxed they felt fighting them. The members were low-level and rather inexperienced so they looked like fodder in the eyes of the girls who had to spar with Jacob seriously for 6 days 'is Jacob that skilled?' the girls looked at Jacob with curiosity wondering where he could've learned everything from since he was only a kid from the slums.
Once all of the Unity members were dead and laying in their puddles of blood Charles walked calmly over "You're rather skilled for an inexperienced slum rat" Charles stated smugly "but no one on your level could defeat a 4th stage Capella body cultivator" Jacob knew he stood no chance and that there was a high possibility that he will die here but he would be going down alone if that was the case "Go, run to the teleporter and get back to the colony and let your family know what happened here, they'll be able to protect you" Jacob said not letting his eyes leave Charles for a second.
The girls knew what Jacob was trying to achieve, he wanted to sacrifice himself for their safety and that gave them a feeling of warmth in their hearts but it soon turned into a cold melancholy as they realized that if they left then Jacob will probably die and they would never be able to see him again "No! There is no way in hell that I'm gonna leave you to die in an insignificant place like this!" Penny let her emotions dictate her actions and immediately yelled at Jacob thinking it was selfish for him to leave her alone, she had finally found a true friend and she wasn't letting him go
"JACOB LUNALIS!!!!" A roar could be heard from Charlotte's mouth as she was surprisingly more emotional than Penny "you will not be dying right here! Especially not to sacrifice yourself for us! That is nothing but selfish, do you know how much you mean to both of us? Have you not been catching on?! You mean more to us than you realize you big fucking dumbass!!" Charlotte started calling Jacob a bunch of names as tears lept from her chin "You're stuck with us from now on you jack ass" Charlotte's foul mouth gave Jacob a bit of warmth thinking about how much these girls care for him "Well if I'm stuck with you I guess it can't be helped but do not interfere" Jacob stated in a commanding tone "I don't know how long I can hold him off but it'll become a chore to fight and protect at the same time, hopefully, the other instructors are on their way."
Jacob's words stung a bit as the girls realized that they were indeed still too weak and even if they could kill some 1st stage cultivators they still posed no threat to Jacob and definitely not a 4th stage cultivator "We'll go and look for an instructor then" the girls looked a little pained as this could be the last time they see Jacob alive "Don't die…" the girls grabbed his shirt and he turned to look at them with a bright smile "anything for you girls."
The girls were satisfied with that answer and sprinted down the hallway they came from in search of an instructor while Jacob turned back to see Charles smiling "How heartwarming" he said wiping a fake tear "You're right, we'll have more moments like that after I deal with you." Jacob's dazzling hazel eyes turned golden and released a pressure impossible for a regular human to produce "let's see how long I can last" his smile turned crazed in anticipation.
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