Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Four days before the inter-class ranking war!

Eren could be seen trying very hard to beat Marla!

He was in the courtyard of a medium-sized house. Located at the edges of the Lionhearts Beasts Sanctuary. Just a few minutes away from the check-post that allowed entrance to the forest.

This was where Marla lived when she was on LA grounds.

The butcher was using every trick in his sleeves to land one good blow even when he knew he wouldn't be able to scratch her. And unsurprisingly, all his attempts had been in vain so far.

He had expected this to happen. But that didn't change the fact that he was also feeling miserable because of the power gap between them.

That's right. The butcher's combat training with Marla had begun just four days before the upcoming team match.

Even Eren's Sedated Perception of working on hyperdrive didn't give him the edge he fantasized. The gap in their BTP value was too huge after all. With that much difference in the power, not even a transcendent spell could do much.

Marla was at the peak of the D-Rank. She had been so for a while now. So handling a brat in the F-Rank wasn't a big deal for her.

Still, the lady was impressed by her apprentice's battle talent. She would have never thought that an ordinary and plain looking guy like Eren would keep on surprising her till today.

Eren was dwelling at his wit's and body's physical limits. Marla would only attack him passively while regulating her strength to her student's level. But one light blow from her was enough to send him meters away from his initial position.

The battle continued to rage. Eren then drew his katars. The Diceros Left and Right made their eventual appearance. But Marla only chuckled a little in response. She raised her hands and asked the out-of-breath teen to "come and get it" with her index finger.

Eren imbued his dual-wielded weapons with his lightning mana before diving right in for a head-on frontal assault. Marla didn't even try to defend and….

Long story short, the butcher lost. The weapons wouldn't help him. They hindered his movements and attacks as he wasn't used to their handling yet.

"I think this should be enough for the day, don't you think? Hehehe! Or you want us to continue?"

Marla giggled and passed a remark. She knew the boy was spent. But his fierceness at the F-Rank had shocked her a little. She knew she couldn't do much better than him if she was the same age and rank. And this even though all the amazoness was blessed with an exceptional talent for a close combat type.

"Why don't you go ahead and of my head straight away instead of killing me in instalments?"

Eren lowered his voice while he talked. Almost whispering. But he knew Marla would be able to hear him. He wanted that to happen anyway.

"Hahaha! I was just testing your limits, silly boy. I need to know what you are capable of right now before gilding you in your path further.

I must say, I'm impressed. When it comes to spell execution and timing, you are beyond any normal F-Ranker. Even a talented kid who has been groomed from their birth would find it to beat you in one or two moves.

Plus, there's no hesitation in your moves. You see an opponent and you stop seeing anything more about them. I can tell that man or woman, young or old, all those things cease to matter to you when you identify someone as your enemy.

That's a good approach to have. No hesitation to take care of your problem that's in front of you. A close combatant's mindset needs to be at least this firm for them to succeed later on.

Those are all your plus points. Now comes the criticism.

Your control over your body's movements is also good, but it needs some refinement. To be honest, it feels like your body is used to fighting like a berserker.

You are a close combat warrior, so act like one and get at an arm's length from your opponent. And only then unleash your attack spells for a maximum impact. What's the use of maintaining a mid-range distance? Are you thinking about creating a safe distance to retreat in case your moves fail you?

It's like you subconsciously want to execute a mid-range spell before following it with another attack. This is opposite to a close combatant's instincts.

Then there's your habit of wanting to go behind the enemy's back to catch them off guard. That is again a berserker move after they use speed enhancement potion. They do that because they can't breach their enemy's defence with finesse and grace like us. So they strive to avoid their defence entirely.

It is not a bad strategy per se. But that's not how close combatants fight. We are frontline warriors who target the enemy's vital spots while looking them right in the eye.

We don't normally try to avoid the enemy's defence. We clash with it upfront and poke holes in it. In short, you haven't developed a close combatant's instincts yet.

I can teach you the moves. I can guide you when it comes to your weapon handling. But the instinct part is something you need to develop on your own.

I'm not even sure if you've selected the right class for yourself now. Will you not be better off as a berserker?"

Marla looked at Eren seriously and concluded. She knew the boy had a talent for being a close combat expert. It was just that his talent as a berserker was even more apparent. She'd like to have him as her apprentice. But she wouldn't guide him on the wrong path because of that.

Therefore she spoke what she spoke truthfully. Now it was the butcher's turn to decide. What she didn't know was that Eren already knew his shortcomings. He had lived a long life in his past timeline being a shitty berserker. Of course, his habits weren't going to be that easy to get rid of.

What Marla had considered a talent in berserking was merely his experience from the past timeline.

AN: Hi. The traits Marla talks about in this chapter have made their presence known in Eren's previous battles till now. ;)