"How so? I would assume she's taking the time to do extra training. She has a lot she's striving for."

"If she wanted extra training she'd stick around and hit the dummies! Or ask someone to spar! Instead she vanishes into Liscor somewhere. And you know, I heard something funny... I heard they were having issues with the foundations and tunnels in the old quarter of the city. Did you know she has rock powers? Not as great as my waterbending of course, but she does! Suspicious."

"Interesting, but I'm not sure I'd go so far as to accuse her. She seems decent, if a bit driven. I can relate."

"I- I agree." Lucille says. "I don't think it's right to accuse her just because she goes somewhere else? I mean, if we saw her talking to criminals or something maybe, but with just what you said..."

"Fine, fine. I guess I was too hasty. I'll just get back to rowing along then."

"That would be appreciated, yes." She looks around at the surrounding water. "What are we hunting here anyway?"

"Rockbadger. We're heading to the hills over there." He points to a forested slope. "They disguise themselves as rocks and eat fruit and stuff."

She nods. "I see! I'll take a turn at rowing if you want."

"Oh, good. I wasn't getting tired but it gets boring!"

"What do you think it will be like when we're done training?" Lucille asks. "I've never been in a real fight before."

"I have. It's terrifying and awesome. They're usually over fast one way or another."

Liath takes the oars and starts pulling. "I hope never to be in a fight that isn't slanted my way. But if it comes down to it..."

"If it comes down to it, make sure you're the one walking away," Varrin says, nodding.

She nods back, and keeps rowing. "I agree completely."

Varrin changes the subject and keeps up light chatter about things that amaze him about Liscor until they reach the hills. He hauls the boat high onto the grass so it won't drift away.

"Okay! You two want to learn the tracking skill?"

"Definitely!"

He teaches them tracking. They hunt rockbadgers, and catch two, then he sees the tracks of an Eater Goat and hurries them back to the boat. They do not want to fight Eater Goats.

The training regimen continues. They bring out the mining town defense exercise again and slowly refine it. By now they have a plan for building defensive works and scouting the surrounding area, so the bandits can't easily sneak up on the town.

Liath plods away at her studies. She's engaged, but... the theoretical stuff is a little dry.

"We could set something on fire in the middle of the road as part of the defensive works, so they can't get in close with horses...?"

"Setting it on fire will last only a few minutes, and the fire could spread. We have to be really careful about fire, I know it's your thing, but it's so easy to do more harm than good," Varrin replies.

"What you want against horses is just a ring of stakes pointed outward," W comments. "They can break them down with time but they still slow people down."

"Fair enough." 

The training continues. They spar against other Fall Divers, sometimes with each other, sometimes in teams. She learns a lot of ways of producing fire, as well as distracting flares, more varieties of shields and armor, and a trick her Bright fuckbuddy shows her to induce quite a lot of urgent lust. It becomes increasingly clear that W is up to some sort of criminal activity, but if she doesn't say anything, W doesn't bring it up. They all become very deadly, very quickly, and learn to work as part of a team, and even lead one.

They bring her to an actual dungeon. It's treated very seriously and carefully. Casting there is a little weird. The monsters are legitimately trying to kill them, and she has to fight for her life.

She graduates training. She starts going on missions. She makes a lot of money.

It's dangerous, but not unpleasant. And she's getting ever so much experience. 

She could stop now, if it wasn't for the chosen hero thing. Get a little apartment, get together with a few carefully-chosen people. Live her life. 

Instead she's saddled with this fucking heroic duty, and she resents it. 

But she knows when her life is on the line. So she trains. Pours her money back into education. She gets herself some nice things too, but most of her money goes to continuing training.