I was woken up by knocking on the door. I got out of bed clumsily and walked to the door. Kishi was the one knocking.

He told me "Today we are going to check up on Ghork first. After that, we'll be heading out for some teamwork training, to train each other to get accustomed to our fighting styles. Are you going to join us?"

Since the medic camp was more or less on the way to the hideout, I replied "I will tag along to check up on Ghork, but after that I'll have to split off and complete a commission."

"Alright. Would you need any help?" Kishi asked. Although he was always a little more on the cold side, I realized he liked helping people.

"Nah. It's fine. It shouldn't be a problem"

X

We met up with Char, Juno, and Radolf in the food hall of the tavern. They were sitting next to the right wall from the entrance door. There was a window slightly off-centered from the middle of the table. It allowed the morning rays of sunlight to shine though to our seats.

As me and Kishi walked over to the table, a young woman brought a tray of food and drinks to the table. The woman was wearing a black dress and a white apron. We sat down and Char paid for the food for all of us. During the meal, I barely spoke as Radolf was talking about the difficulties he was facing when trying to master the clone arts. Kishi and Char took turns giving encouragement and tips to Radolf. Juno, just like me, barely spoke too.

After we finished, we started our walk to the medic camp. They were discussing about what to hunt as training for the first day.

"I think hunting silver wolves and large sparkling slugs might be an amazing way to train our teamwork. Just think bout it, it would basically be a team vs a team." Char said

"Sounds okay to me" Radolf said. "But, I heard that minotaurs are amazing for team training. Minotaurs are really big. By big, I mean five times taller than any of us and they also have enough power to crush three buildings in a single smash. Although Minotaurs normally live far apart from each other, which means we won't normally see more than one at a time, they can be quite challenging to fight even as a team."

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Juno added "Minotaurs can actually differ in power by quite a range. A young one would be only able to crush a building as a time, while a veteran one could easily crush half a hill. Some would also be able to jump and create an earthquake that could be felt a mile away. My village was on the edge of what people called as the "Mino zone" where minotaurs are commonly seen."

"Woah, sounds like fun!" Char said, then he turned to me. "Hey Roland, which do you think would be better for training? Minotaurs or pack monsters?"

"I would say Minotaur, but I won't be joining the training. I have a commission to complete." I said

"Oh? Do you need money or something? I could lend you some." Char said

"Nah, it's not for money."

"Here" Char gave me some money. He didn't seemed to have listened to me. "Take it. Remember, you have to return it. So no running away or dying for random reasons, okay? We need you in our team."

I tried to reject the money at first, but he kept insisting, so I had to accept it in the end. I said"Alright, thanks. I promise I won't die for stupid reasons."

X

We arrived at the medic camp. Ghork was sitting on his hay bed and finishing up a bowl of porridge. When he saw me, he instantly put down the bowl and shouted

"Human! I challenge you to a rematch! You cheated on the last one! You can't just attack someone before they finish talking"

I replied "You did say that I may start the battle whenever I want, so I just started straight away." Kishi nodded, confirming that I wasn't lying.

"Whatever! I want a rematch!"

"Hold up there, buddy." Char intruded into our conversation, but I was grateful for it as it means I could get away as soon as possible. "You are the one who didn't defended against Roland's attacks, so you were defeated. Now, you are in no shape for a rematch. You can't even fight him when you aren't hurt, so what do you think you can do now that you ARE hurt? Fighting someone who's already injured would damage someone's pride, don't you know?" I had to say, Char seriously saved me a ton of words and time.

"Humph! What about like this, human! I challenge you to a rematch a week from now! You better prepare yourself, because by then I'll be ready to defend against all your sneaky puny attacks!"

"Yea, whatever." I said

Kishi filled Ghork in about the team and the quest Alduin gave us. He agreed to join the team as long as he could fight every single member of the team. Char got everyone onto the same page by saying that having friendly battles could help us understand each other's powers more too, which would in turn help us work together better.

X

Ghork was discharged from the camp. Although he still has a few bandages covering the wounds, his energy level basically told us that he has almost fully recovered. I told everyone that I'll be waiting for them in the tavern if it's already getting dark, or I would be doing some basic hunting in the nearby forest. I wished them good luck then we left on our separated ways

I arrived at the location the trader told me. It was an old run-downed shack. There was an old man sitting on a rocking chair outside the shack. He noticed me and said "You are just in time! The next round is just about to start. Just give me a hundred credits then you may enter."

I didn't know what he meant, but I paid and went in anyways. The interior of the shack was just as run-downed as the exterior. I looked around, the noticed a flight of stairs leading downwards at the back of the shack.

I slowly made my way down, and was surprised to find a huge underground room. Actually.... An underground room is an understatement. An underground stadium was more fitting, fully equipped with magical crystals to provide light. There were also seats circling the stadium. A ton of seats.