Marla didn't try to correct her second apprentice's approach to the ranking journey and laid out her plan in front of her two apprentices:

"Alright. Now I will teach both of you some basic weaponless martial arts using punches as the focal point. Eren, you need to pay attention to these pointers too. The katar arts that you will be using have these punching techniques as their basic foundation.

Of course, the execution-style would change depending upon whether you have katars equipped or not. But you'd learn to accommodate the weapons into your combat with enough practice.

Are you guys ready?"

Marla asked Eren and Ken who gave her a nod from their end. She started explaining the basics of weaponless martial arts to them while performing some demonstrations.

The butcher had come to terms that he was going to have to bear the protagonist's presence from now on. He couldn't touch him. Nor could he avoid him.

The cynic man inside him wanted to choke this white knight with his hands. But Eren held onto his emotions.

'If I can't ignore him, I might as well use him to my advantage.'

The vile evil Ken talked about was now busy planning the former's downfall in his head.

*******************

"Renita, let's stop here. I don't want to sound too rude but you've hardly improved from our last practise match. Stop burning Extols you have on Merps just so that you could keep on fighting with me.

This is not healthy. And frankly, I don't see how I can help you improve as a ranger when my path stands at the opposite side of the spectrum from your path."

New day, same old battle practises. It was another day of grinding for students in LA.

Eren was battling it out with Renita while the others in his team had their own duels. But the butcher's fight was over as soon as it started.

Eren had admonished Renita without mincing his words. Contrary to popular belief, he was saying that for her own good. The girl kept on challenging him with Merps only to lose them all with each practise match. She had also betted and lost a significant chunk of Merps she had received by participating in the interclass war.

Eren wasn't sure what his team's ranger was up to. But he knew she wasn't treading in the right direction. She had become obsessed with training with him. She would often follow him. And keep an eye on him from time to time.

At first, the butcher thought she had found a rival in him. A target she needed to beat before moving forward. She had also used a precious potion with the help of her family that shot her BTP value to 17. Just a step away from entering the liquid stage.

Renita had done this right after she came to know that Eren had broken through into the liquid stage. His breakthrough and performance in the ranking wars were one of the hot topics among LA's first-year students. But it was soon replaced with some other trending battles and breakthroughs.

Students using potions to help them increase their BTP during ranking wars was a common practice. And a good portion of them would be lucky enough to achieve breakthroughs within the stage. So Eren's sudden progress in his ranking journey didn't come as a shock for LA's crowd.

But Renita took that as something she shouldn't ignore. She felt that she should always stay close to Eren in his ranking journey, lest she gets left behind.

The young girl hadn't realized that she had developed feelings for Eren. She thought of them as her drive to one day beat up this wretched guy who always acted like Mr. know-it-all in front of her and her team.

But the butcher's confidence and unwavering attitude had left a deep impression in Renita's psyche. She had subconsciously started admiring him for the feats he had achieved so far.

So naturally, her subconsciousness told her to always be with Eren. Whether it was battling or banters, she would make efforts to engage with him using those as her tools.

Even Eren's criticism sounded to Renita that he was caring about her. She was not wrong to assume that. But the reason the butcher had to care about his ranger was different than what the young lady was assuming it to be.

"Listen, Renita. I want you to be a strong and capable ranger. And a ranger's job is not limited to battles alone. You need to also work on your tracking and observational spells. A ranger has a special advantage in executing those spells.

You may think that those spells and skills aren't necessary for ranking wars. And you may be right. But this is where most rangers, especially those who belong to LA, go wrong in their path.

They prioritize their battle prowess over their ranger skills because of the ranking wars. And as a result, start as half-assed rangers in their ranking journey. It is never a good sign when you waver at the start of your path.

And you don't know how true this is until it is too late to realize. I have heard about a ranger from LA who didn't know sh*t about tracking skills and led his team to their doom.

I don't want my team to face the same fate. Therefore, I want you to focus on your non-battle skills as much as you prioritize your battle prowess. Can you do that?"

Eren asked with solemnity on his face. He was reminded of a certain un-ranger-like ranger when he was lecturing Renita. That ass*ole was the reason behind the butcher's complications in leaving the Osan Woods soundly. But soon he was stopped from taking the trip behind the memory lane by Renita's weird reply:

"For you, Eren. Err I mean for our team, I'll do what you tell me to do."

Renita's cheeks flushed as she looked down and said that. Only now she had realized that her heart had reserved another heartbeat for this wretched guy.

AN: Roody Orton is mentioned briefly in chapter 73.

Quick question. Who are you reminded of the most when the term un-ranger-like ranger is used? ;)