She Used Me for a Dare… Now I Own Her Mother

Chapter 272: Combat Training Package

”One hundred times faster?”

Alex’s mind seized on the number.

”Precisely. What would take a normal person a year to learn, you’d absorb in less than four days. What Pavel could teach you in six months of daily sparring, you’d master in under two weeks.”

Lilith’s voice turned persuasive.

”It’s expensive... ten thousand CP... but considering its usefulness, it’s an investment that pays for itself almost immediately.”

Lilith’s voice turned persuasive.

”Think about it. Any combat skill you buy from the system can be mastered and leveled up a hundred times faster through training. No need to spend additional CP on upgrades... just practice and watch them advance naturally.”

She paused.

”This package doesn’t just teach you to fight. It makes every future skill acquisition vastly more efficient.”

Alex checked his CP balance... still nearly eighteen thousand remaining even after this purchase. Without hesitation, he instructed,

”Buy it.”

”Decisive. I like that.”

A moment later, the system processed the transaction.

[18,000 CP → 8,000 CP]

[COMBAT TRAINING ENHANCEMENT PACKAGE ACQUIRED]

[EFFECT: Training speed and comprehension increased by 100x]

The moment the purchase completed, something shifted.

Not painful. Not overwhelming. Just... different.

Like a door opening in his mind, revealing rooms he hadn’t known existed.

And then, before he could process that sensation, another notification appeared.

[NEW METRIC UNLOCKED: BATTLE SENSE]

[CURRENT LEVEL: 0%]

Alex stared at the indicator floating at the edge of his vision.

”Battle Sense?” he asked aloud. ”What is this current level means?”

Lilith’s explanation came immediately, crisp and thorough.

”As you already know, Battle Sense is your combat intuition... your ability to read opponents, predict movements, recognize patterns, exploit openings. Everything Viktor and I have been telling you that you lack.”

Alex stared at the indicator floating at the edge of his vision.

Zero percent.

”I’m still at zero?” he asked aloud, frowning.

Lilith’s voice carried patient amusement.

”As you train... as you spar with Pavel and the others, as you absorb techniques and internalize principles... this percentage will increase. Zero percent means you’re a complete novice. One hundred percent means you’ve achieved mastery.”

Alex processed that. ”And this is... normal? Part of the system?”

”No.” Lilith’s voice carried a note of something that might have been pride. ”This is exclusive to you. A feature I’ve implemented specifically because of your unique situation.”

”Most cultivators develop battle sense naturally over years of combat. They don’t quantify it, don’t track it... they simply know when they’ve improved. But you’re different. You’re accelerating through realms at an unprecedented pace, and I won’t have you reaching Peak Enhanced or beyond while still fighting like an amateur.”

A pause.

”So yes. This is my solution. A clear, measurable indicator of your combat competence. And until you reach one hundred percent...”

Her voice turned firm.

”You cannot advance to the next major realm.”

Alex went very still.

”What?”

”You heard me. Once you reach Peak Enhanced... the absolute pinnacle of the Enhanced Realm... you’ll need to hit one hundred percent Battle Sense before the system allows you to break through to Apex Realm.”

Lilith’s tone softened slightly.

”Consider it a safeguard. I’m ensuring you don’t become a glass cannon... overwhelming power with no skill to use it properly. You’ll thank me later.”

Alex absorbed that, his strategic mind already working through implications.

A hard cap. A requirement he couldn’t bypass with CP or shortcuts.

He’d have to earn this.

”Understood,” he said quietly.

”Good.” Satisfaction filled her voice. ”Now hurry up. Viktor’s waiting, and that zero percent isn’t going to improve itself.”

***

The basement training facility was exactly as Alex remembered... reinforced walls, padded flooring, the faint smell of sweat and determination hanging in the air.

Pavel stood in the center of the sparring ring, already warmed up, his expression calm and focused.

Viktor watched from the edge, arms folded, his pale eyes sharp with assessment.

”Mr. Hale.” Viktor inclined his head. ”Ready?”

Alex stepped into the ring, rolling his shoulders loose.

”Ready.”

”Same rules as before,” Viktor said. ”Minimal force. No cultivation enhancement beyond basic reinforcement. Focus on technique, not power.”

He looked at Pavel.

”Begin.”

Pavel moved.

The opening was familiar... a testing jab, a low kick, simple combinations designed to gauge Alex’s responses.

Alex slipped the jab, stepped back from the kick, his body responding with the same enhanced reflexes as before.

But something felt... different.

Sharper.

Like his vision had clarified, bringing details into focus he’d missed before.

Pavel’s shoulder shifted fractionally before the next punch came. Alex saw it, read the intent, moved accordingly.

Another combination. Another read.

He was keeping up. Matching pace.

Then Pavel shifted... that same transition Alex had experienced before, where the attacks stopped being honest and became deceptive.

A feint disguised as a jab.

But this time, Alex caught it.

Not perfectly. Not with complete certainty. But enough to adjust mid-movement, enough to avoid the follow-up elbow that would have tagged him last time.

Pavel’s eyes flickered with something that might have been surprise.

The exchanges continued... faster now, more complex.

Alex took hits. Made mistakes. Got caught by combinations he couldn’t quite predict.

But he was learning.

Every exchange built on the previous one, information layering into understanding, understanding crystallizing into instinct.

After three solid hours, Viktor called a halt.

”Rest.”

Both fighters separated, breathing hard.

Alex moved to the edge of the ring, grabbing a towel, and immediately checked the indicator.

[BATTLE SENSE: 0%]

Still zero.

Not even a fraction of a percent.

His jaw tightened with frustration.

’Three hours of training and nothing?’

”Don’t look so disappointed,” Lilith’s voice murmured in his mind, carrying dry amusement. ”You’ve trained for three hours, Alex. Three hours. Battle Sense represents the accumulated combat wisdom of years. Did you really expect measurable progress in a single afternoon?”

”I have the hundred-times multiplier,” Alex muttered under his breath.

Even as he said it, he realized how impatient he was being. Unreasonable, even.

Three hours of training... equivalent to twelve days’ worth of normal progress... and he expected to see measurable advancement on a metric that quantified years of combat experience.

Still, the desire to see that number move... even by a fraction of a percent... burned unexpectedly fierce.

”Be patient,” Lilith said gently. ”Keep training. The percentage will move when you’ve genuinely internalized the principles.”

Alex exhaled slowly, forcing the frustration down.

Patience.

Right.

Viktor approached, offering water. ”You’re improving. I can see it in your reactions.”

”Doesn’t feel like it,” Alex admitted.

”Progress isn’t always obvious to the person making it.” Viktor’s expression was thoughtful. ”You’re reading attacks earlier. Adjusting faster. Your body is learning even if your mind hasn’t caught up yet.”

He turned to Pavel.

”Again. But this time, introduce more variation. Force him to adapt mid-combination.”

Pavel nodded, his expression sharpening with focus.

They moved back to the center.

”Ready?” Pavel asked.

Alex settled into stance, pushing away the frustration, focusing only on the moment.

”Ready.”

Pavel attacked.

And this time, something was different.

Alex could feel it... the way his mind processed information faster, recognized patterns more quickly, predicted intent with increasing accuracy.

Pavel threw a combination that should have overwhelmed him.

But Alex read the setup. Saw the feint. Recognized the true attack buried inside the deception.

He didn’t block perfectly. Didn’t counter cleanly.

But he saw it.

And that made all the difference.

The exchanges flows... faster, sharper, more intense than before.

Pavel pushed harder, introducing variations mid-attack, testing Alex’s ability to adapt on the fly.

And Alex adapted.

Not perfectly. Not without mistakes.

But he was learning.

Each repetition carved pathways into his mind. Each mistake became a lesson. Each success reinforced understanding.

Pavel’s next combination came fast... a high-low feint designed to pull Alex’s guard out of position.

But Alex read it.

He stayed centered, let the feint pass, and caught Pavel’s real attack... a body hook aimed at his ribs... on his forearm.

Then, for the first time, he countered.

A straight punch that slipped past Pavel’s guard and tapped him lightly on the chest.

Not hard. Not damaging.

But clean.

Pavel stopped immediately, eyes widening fractionally.

”Good,” he said quietly, genuine approval in his voice. ”That was good.”

Viktor’s voice came from the edge of the ring, carrying unmistakable satisfaction.

”Better. Much better.”

Alex stood there, chest heaving, sweat dripping down his jaw.

And for the first time since the fight with Adrian, he felt like he was becoming something more than just raw power wrapped in ignorance.

He was becoming a fighter.