Eternal Winter's Reign - Book 2 - Chapter 41 - Training (Patreon)

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Don't mind this. It's so that free readers can't see half the chapter.

This is Wednesday's chapter btw. I ended up writing it early.

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Alexander North

After testing out my new ability for a little bit, finding that it is actually quite powerful in the process, I head over towards the base on top of Snow’s back. And when we arrive, the soldiers at the gate immediately let us in. Then I have Snow lead us to where Alexia is.

Which turns out to be the training facility. A rather convenient coincidence since I was also wanting to give some more tips to the soldiers here.

So Snow and I head straight there before finding Alexia training with the soldiers in a large obstacle course. And I have to say, seeing a twelve-year-old girl keeping up with a bunch of Symbiont Host grown men is a bizarre sight.

Very bizarre.

I walk around the edges of the room holding the obstacle course – one with a bunch of water around most of the room’s floor with dozens of different obstacles of different types scattered over the water – as I watch them all maneuver the course. Paying a bit more attention to Alexia than the others.

Out of all the soldiers, a few of them in particular stand out to me. One of which is the officer who led the charge against me in our first training bout.

Sergeant Frank Rogers.

He’s doing quite well, although I can tell he’s a bit better at commanding than he is at action. But he’s still keeping up rather well, and is actually ahead of some of the others.

As for the idiots before who ignored his orders in our first training bout? They’ve grown a lot since.

And I’m sure my beatings, err, training sessions had nothing to do with that.

I slowly pace around the outskirts of the course, ignoring the looks some of the soldiers are sending me. Other than narrowing my eyes slightly when one of the idiots gets distracted by the sight of me and falls.

This particular course was made with multiple things in mind.

It’s not just a ‘run through the course and make it to the end’ obstacle course. Instead, the people running through it have to work together.

There are various points on the obstacle course that require multiple people to be there for other points to open up and allow access. And it’s like a game of going through the course while making sure they open up all of the paths so that they can get to the end.

At the same time, there are also several paintball guns with soldiers stationed on them and turrets that fire upon the obstacle course. So when someone is marked three or more times, they’re out. Or if they’re marked in a critical location, they’re out.

And if all that wasn’t enough, there’s also a return fire portion. Where the soldiers running through the course need to fire back sometimes in order to open some gates.

Overall, it’s a rather difficult course. So I’m kinda surprised Alexia is already running through it.

Then again, I’ve been gone most of the time fighting against the nests.

A faint smile stretches across my face as I watch Alexia run through the course. One that only occasionally twitches when I see one of the other soldiers making a mistake.

But Alexia doesn’t make a single mistake. Whether that’s because of her pure talent, or because she’s a frost infused like me, I’m not sure.

Either way, I can’t help but feel a strange feeling. A strange sort of warmth as I fail to stop myself from smiling.

|This unit believes the feeling the user is feeling is called ‘a father’s pride’.|

My smile vanishes as I blink forwards, wondering if I just heard the terminal right.

I’m… not sure which I should comment on first. The fact that the terminal is talking about emotions, or the fact that it said I’m feeling pride as a father for Alexia.

Honestly… don’t know what to take either of those. Although the latter does sorta sound right. I think.

The former, on the other hand, makes me wonder just how many differences are in the terminal now from how it was before.

I frown for a few more seconds, only to smile when I see Alexia briefly waving at me after getting to a safe spot. Then she proceeds to wait a few seconds while holding a gun in her hands. Waiting for the order from Sergeant Rogers.

And when he gives the order, she rushes out from behind cover, shoots paintballs at several targets, which opens two gates in the process before more soldiers flood through those openings and open more gates including the one she’s stuck at.

A rather successful operation, I have to admit.

Also likely a plan of Rogers’. If I had to guess.

I glance at Snow to find her just sitting down next to me, watching them with her eyes. Then I glance at the entrance to the training room, where I find Cynthia walking into the room while nodding her head at me.

I nod back at my cousin before focusing on Alexia again.

“She’s grown a lot in just a short time, hasn’t she?” Cynthia asks, sounding a little proud herself.

I nod again before muttering, “Yeah, that she has.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Cynthia smiling at me. But I don’t turn to face her.

Instead I focus on the soldiers and Alexia in the obstacle course. As they all clear the last obstacles, only occasionally losing a soldier.

And when they finally make it to the end, I count half of them missing.

“Not good enough,” I call out, my voice echoing through the training facility obstacle course room. Making all of the soldiers turn a little glum. “Nowhere near good enough.”

Before they can get depressed or upset, though, I add, “But.”

They all pause and turn to stare at me. Especially Alexia.

“But it’s a major improvement from where you started,” I tell them, the corner of my lips quirking upwards a little.

They all look rather happy at that, so I leave it there.

I smile at Alexia, making her smile back before she heads off with the others to change out of her gear, mouthing ‘later’ to me as she does so.

In which case, I turn to face Cynthia.

Best tell her about what happened on the mission in case she isn’t aware yet.