Reincarnated with an SSS-rank Tamer System: My Harem of Villainesses-Chapter 41 – Extreme Training

Adam and Piers walked along the outskirts of the city, leaving the academy walls behind as they headed toward the nearby forest that stretched beyond the urban limits.

The headmistress had announced that there would be no classes that day so the students could prepare however they wished before the start of the tournament, so Adam had decided to take advantage of that freedom in the best way possible.

"Why are we here?" Piers asked as he looked around with a hint of unease at how the trees were growing denser around them.

"To train harder." Adam replied without stopping.

Piers visibly tensed at that answer. "Adam, we’re already training at full intensity. I don’t know if my body can handle more."

"It will." He stated in a tone that left no room for argument.

Without another word, they continued walking in silence for several minutes until they reached a deeper part of the forest where the trees were taller and the sunlight barely filtered through the leaves.

Adam finally stopped and looked around, nodding in satisfaction. "This is perfect."

Piers looked at him with an expression caught between curiosity and nervousness. "Perfect for what exactly?"

Adam turned to him with a serious expression. "We’re going to look for a low-rank beast. E or D, probably."

Piers’ eyes widened. "A beast? Are you crazy?"

"Don’t be such a coward." Adam replied as he started walking again. "It’ll be a weak beast. If things get out of control, I’ll step in, but you need to fight something that attacks purely on instinct."

"And why do I need to do that?" Piers asked, following him.

"Because in the tournament you won’t be fighting practice dummies or me, constantly correcting your technique." Adam explained without turning around. "You’ll be fighting someone who wants to beat you without mercy. You need real experience against an opponent who doesn’t hold back."

Piers didn’t respond, but Adam could hear him swallow nervously behind him.

They walked in silence for a while longer until they heard the unmistakable sound of running water.

They followed it and soon arrived at a small lake where several harmless animals were calmly drinking.

And the only one that caught Adam and Piers’ attention was:

A creature roughly the size of a large dog that was drinking from the other side of the lake.

It had a wolf-like body, but with dark scales covering parts of its back and tail, longer-than-normal claws, and yellow eyes that gleamed even beneath the shade of the trees.

A Scaled Wolf, probably E+ or D- rank.

"That one," Adam said, discreetly pointing toward the creature.

Piers stared at it for several seconds before asking in a trembling voice, "And why?"Adam gave him a slight push forward while staying behind to watch. "Use mana reinforcement on your body like we’ve been training these past few days. Good luck."

"What? Adam!"

But Adam simply crossed his arms, waiting.

The beast immediately noticed the movement and turned toward Piers, its eyes locking onto him. A low growl escaped its throat as it began to approach slowly, its posture that of a predator evaluating its prey.

Piers drew his sword with trembling hands while instinctively stepping back.

"Don’t retreat," Adam ordered from behind him. "Hold your ground."

The beast lunged forward with surprising speed, its claws extended straight toward Piers’ torso, and he barely managed to raise his sword in time to block the attack.

The impact forced him back several steps, but he managed to keep his balance as the beast landed in front of him, preparing to attack again.

"Reinforce your legs!" Adam shouted from his position.

Piers obeyed, concentrating briefly as he felt his mana flow into his lower limbs, giving him more stability. When the beast attacked again, he didn’t step back as much this time, using that extra support to counterattack with a horizontal slash that grazed the creature’s side.

The Scaled Wolf shrieked in pain as it quickly retreated, now more cautious.

The next few minutes were a chaotic exchange of attacks and dodges. Piers received several superficial scratches, but he also managed to land more blows as he gained confidence; his movements became more decisive and less rigid.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity—though it was probably only five minutes—Piers managed to drive his sword into the beast’s neck in a swift motion that took advantage of an opening when it tried to bite him.

The Scaled Wolf fell to the ground without moving.

Piers stood there, breathing heavily as he stared at the creature’s body with an expression of pure disbelief.

"I... I killed it." He murmured, barely able to believe it.

Adam finally approached, nodding. "As expected. You’re strong, Piers. You just needed to prove it to yourself."

Piers looked at him with a mixture of exhaustion and pride before giving a faint smile.

***

Half an hour later, both of them were shirtless; their bare torsos glistened with sweat under the sunlight filtering through the tree leaves as they repeatedly struck the trunk of a thick tree with their bare fists.

No mana reinforcement. Just brute strength and pure endurance.

"Why... are we... doing this... exactly?" Piers panted between strikes.

"To toughen your knuckles." Adam explained as he delivered another punch that made the tree tremble slightly. "In a real fight, you won’t always have your weapon. You need to be able to strike without hurting yourself."

Piers grunted, but continued punching.

Adam had added other exercises for himself: after each set of twenty punches to the tree, he ran to another tree about fifty meters away, climbed as high as he could reach, and then jumped down, using mana in his legs to cushion the fall.

Repetition after repetition until his muscles burned and his breathing turned uneven.

’I need to be at my peak for tomorrow,’ he thought as he climbed the tree again, ignoring how his arms protested from the effort. ’Against Kael, I can’t afford to be at eighty percent.’

When he finally decided it was enough, both of them were completely physically wrecked. Piers practically collapsed against the tree, breathing as if he had run a marathon.

"I think... I’m... going to die..."

"You’re not going to die." Adam replied as he put his shirt back on despite being soaked in sweat. "Come on. It’s time to head back."

The walk back to the academy was silent, mainly because Piers didn’t have the energy to even speak.

When they finally arrived, it was already mid-afternoon and the sun was beginning to descend slowly.

Both of them sat on one of the benches farthest from the main courtyard, completely exhausted and sweaty as they tried to catch their breath.

Adam was about to say something when he felt a weight throw itself onto him from behind; arms wrapped around his neck, catching him off guard. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Adam!" Alice exclaimed cheerfully as she rested her chin on his shoulder. Then she wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, you smell like shit."

"What did you expect? I was training." Adam replied dryly.

Alice laughed as she hugged him tighter. "I don’t mind at all. Actually, that kind of turns me o—"

"That’s enough." Adam interrupted before she could finish the sentence.

Piers let out a nervous laugh from the other side of the bench as he watched the scene, not entirely sure where to look.

There was a brief silence before Piers stood up with slightly clumsy movements. "Well... I’ll head out first. See you later, Adam."

"Yeah." He replied simply.

Piers quickly walked away, leaving them alone.

Alice finally pulled away from Adam’s neck and sat beside him on the bench with her characteristic smile.

Neither of them said anything.

They simply remained there, sitting in silence as the sun continued to slowly descend on the horizon.