The Royal Military Academy's Impostor Owns a Dungeon [BL] novel Chapter 362

Chapter 362: "Training"

Duchess Amelia thought he was the textbook personification of precision as she continued to learn his movements.

Every parry, dodge, and soft block was so clean, so lethal—but also so singular. She absorbed his rhythm, catalogued his tendencies, and recognized the subtle priorities of an assassin forced into a duelist’s arena.

"Too clean," she noted aloud, catching his wrist mid-punch with a spiritual clamp that materialized into being.

He countered instantly, his free hand layering spiritual energy into a burst along her inner elbow, forcing her grip to slacken. He spun backward, breaking free.

The audience held their breath as the Duchess clapped lightly, pleased.

"Your precision’s beautiful. But precision alone doesn’t win wars."

Because he’s too clean, anyone experienced enough would likely be able to tell what he will prioritize next.

Let’s see.

She stepped in, her speed abruptly doubling as she pressed her advantage. Xavier’s spiritual perception sharpened, the world slowing in his sight—but her layered, chaotic approach kept him scrambling.

First came a low and deceptive kick. It was weaker than it should be and was blocked easily, but it was a smokescreen to set him up for her next strike, an overhead chop that got him raising his forearm as a shield.

That was blocked only for him to be subjected to her sudden mid-motion redirection, where the duchess dropped a spinning backfist powered by spiritual acceleration.

It collided against his ribs before he could re-adjust.

He grunted, absorbing the blow, his internal defenses reinforcing under the impact. His endurance held. But momentum belonged to her now.

"Your defenses are good. But predictable," she said softly, almost kindly.

A knee blurred toward his core. He layered spiritual armor over his stomach. But she used the bounce to vault upward, flipping over him, heel crackling with spiritual force as it arced toward her target.

Xavier spun aside, the attack grazing his shoulder, sending a wave of pain down his arm.

"Still standing? Good," she approved, landing lightly behind him.

He pivoted, lashing an elbow that she intercepted. He followed up with a flurry of reinforced jabs, which she blocked effortlessly, micro-barriers shimmering as they dissolved his strikes one by one.

"I’ve likely fought your teachers," she murmured, weaving inside his range. "They taught you well."

She palmed his chest with a layered spiritual push, sending him skidding backward.

"But I’m going to have to teach you to fight someone like me."

And then she was upon him.

To the onlookers, it looked like a sudden, weaving blitz. And it felt like that to Xavier, too. Different strikes, different weights, and all accelerated by spiritual energy that offset his defenses until it was forced to crumble.

Xavier dropped low in response, but she was already airborne. Her shadow fell over him as a descending palm cracked down, and her spiritual energy exploded outward like a gong.

The floor dented beneath him.

Dust settled.

Xavier lay on his back, chest heaving, vision swimming—but conscious.

Duchess Amelia stood above him, offering a hand.

"You’ll need a few more techniques if you want to be able to go up against the best of them. They’re not ancients for nothing," she said quietly.

Xavier took her hand and was hauled up effortlessly.

"Come back after you heal properly. Recuperation is part of training, especially for someone with your responsibilities." Her smile sharpened, eyes gleaming like a predator’s. "Don’t let me hear you’re rushing back out before you’re ready."

He nodded faintly, and for the first time in a long while, the Imperial Crown Prince found himself in a medical tank.

Meanwhile, the watching guards thought about how lucky they were to only be competing against each other.

Word spread fast, but suddenly, word about fainting Lords followed, and the people were thrown into disarray.

Especially one prince who woke up to the news that Luca had fainted after seeing him.

Xavier was partly worried because seeing a medical tank might have triggered something in him, but he was surprised to learn about the actual reason from his wife’s entourage.

Now, the medical tank wasn’t exactly a far-off guess, but D-29 said that its host’s last thought was about taking deadly blows for another person.

"What?" reacted the Captain, who looked at Jax like he had the answers to the problem. But the heavens know he hasn’t even figured out why Ollie fainted in the first place!