Once Zash reached the library, the old man enthusiastically greeted him, saying, “Wonderful job! Absolutely wonderfully done! What’s your ability?”

“Sword Sense, but the grade is bronze.”

His eyes alit, “You don’t say… Must be greater than Mythic? Of course it is… Nothing below that could perform so brilliantly in just a day of reading. And you learned those forms so quickly. You also discovered adaptation techniques quickly. Takes most years to learn that half as well…” His musings continued for a while, before he finally seemed to make up his mind on something. Suddenly he grew much more serious, “I think it’s time to introduce myself. I am Edward Dalton. My father was a genius swordsman, and he taught me everything he knew. He also authored the book you just finished. He also suspected a hidden class, long before any of those yahoos made it a joke. Now then, let us spar. I daresay you will need experience.”

Zash nodded, awestruck. He quickly agreed to the friendly duel, considering it would be a chance to practice, though he decided to go easy on him. Zash didn’t want to hurt the kindly, hunched old man. Zash readied to fight, but as he did, the old man laughed. “Did you think we would be doing it here? In front of the whole school? Follow me.” Going through the library, he descended into the basement. Then, in the closet under the stairs in the basement, he twisted a mop hanger, and the wall slid open revealing a nice stairway. It ended up in a large circular room with a designated place for training. Zash was stunned. This was nothing like the rest of the base! It looked inviting, not quite cozy, but distinct from the cold and drab feel of the other parts of the base.

Edward smiled at Zash’s reaction, then walked over to a rack holding swords and chose one for himself. He threw another to Zash, who deftly caught it with one hand. Once again Zash readied to duel, and once again, Edward laughed. “Hold on. I know you’re eager, but there is much formality and etiquette to sparring, though unfortunately, much of it has been lost. First, we bow to each other to indicate respect. Then the terms are set, ‘this will be a friendly match. No blood drawn, but to yield.’ After that we bow again, take our stances, and with a mutual nod, we begin.”

As he narrated, they proceeded through the formalities. The moment Zash nodded, the master swordsman side of Edward shone through. No longer did he hunch over and move as though he could barely walk. He stood straight and moved like a much younger man. Of course, Zash barely had time to notice this before Edward’s lightning-fast attacks started hitting him. Zash barely had the time to react and relied heavily on his ability to block the attacks. He looked for openings to attack but could see none. Within 20 seconds, he lay beaten on the ground, Edward’s sword to his throat. He realized that he had severely underestimated his opponent and vowed not to do it again. Edward held out his hand and pulled Zash to his feet.

“Good match. I was quite impressed with your reflexes. Now if you read through some of the books, and get some experience, you’ll be quite the master. But for now, let me show you some things I noticed.”

Zash stood there speechless for a moment. Then he asked, “Are you… offering to train me?”

“Of course! I’ve never seen someone worth training, and you seem to have much more potential than me.”

“Thank you! Evidently, I have much to learn.”

“My dear boy, it is my pleasure. Passing on one’s knowledge is a great gift, and for me, it was one of my responsibilities as the previous European Master. I ignored that until I was replaced though. As a matter of fact, my sole purpose for coming to this base was to find someone worthwhile to train.”

Again, Zash stood speechless. Thoughts raced through his head. He would be trained by the previous European Master, in his prime, the strongest man in Europe?

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Why me? Why not someone who had a clue what they were doing? Eventually, he stuttered out, “Why me?”

Surprised by the question, Edward exclaimed, “I had thought that was obvious. Did you notice that not one of the other trainees came to this library to learn anything. They all are making it up on their own. But you knew better. You called upon the wisdom of the past to teach and guide you. You are willing to learn. They are not. Had you even been at the basic grade of your skill, I would have taught you, solely for your curiosity and humility. But of course, you are of the transcendent grades, and your potential far outweighs mine. Now then, no more questions. Let us begin!”

For the next few weeks, Zash fell into a routine. Work out in the morning, practical classes in the afternoon, and train with Edward in the evening. Until week 5 of the course. Major Clark stood at the training grounds where they would exercise each morning. Instead of ordering out push-ups or a long run, he introduced something completely different. “Well then, recruits. Today you will begin the second half of training. Twice a week, you will be going into dungeons and clearing them fully. You know that a while after dungeons appear, the monsters inside will break out into the outside world, which is why we must clear them. There are three types of dungeons, and in order from most common to the rarest, there are nest dungeons, labyrinths and gauntlets. These nest dungeons are a habitat for one particular group of monsters. As you move from room to room, you will encounter more enemies. They are very straightforward and linear, and rarely hold relics of any value. Labyrinths are huge mazes with fewer, but generally higher-level monsters interspersed within the walls. The relics you will find in these places will surprise you, so you want to be thorough when clearing them as there are a good number, generally speaking. They are frustrating if you can’t navigate, but otherwise simple. Gauntlets are the most difficult. Generally, you will spawn in a giant room and monsters will swarm at your party from every direction. You will get no rest unless you clear out one wave before the next arrives. There is generally only a single relic in these dungeons, and it is often a high-grade item, so the risk is definitely worth the reward.

“Today, we will be going into an F-rank nest dungeon. The primary enemy will be goblins, so prepare yourselves with that in mind. Remember, a raiding party normally consists of five to ten hunters at the same grade as the dungeon level. There are still seventy-five of you lot left, so we’ll be going in three teams of twenty-five each. This isn’t meant to be a test, so don’t stress too much. Don’t take this lightly; we don’t want a casualty today. Group one, meet back here in thirty minutes, fully ready to enter.”

Once dismissed, a buzz of conversation formed among the trainees. Scanning his peers’ faces, he saw a mixture of emotions ranging from fear to excitement. Zash was one of the few that were calm. He quickly secured a sword (the good ones would be taken first) and rented a light set of armor. After noting he had three hours to spare, Zash settled down in a corner and opened up one of the library books, Sword Fighting: The Complete guide to Footwork. He was on the last chapter and wanted to finish before entering the dungeon. That was the best way for him to prepare from here.

“Remember these techniques, for they are the most efficient and effective footwork, but never underestimate the importance of adaptation. Without the ability to take these techniques and use them in new ways and situations, they are useless.” Zash closed the book. He had finished with fifteen minutes to spare! All at once, the familiar black window of the hunter display system popped up in front of him. This time, it read:

“Congratulations! You have earned the ability:

Upgraded Reading Speed and Comprehension (Basic)”

Amazed, he decided to look into this new ability. He clicked the skill to read its description.

“Upgraded Reading Speed and Comprehension (Basic)

Passive skill

Read faster while understanding and remembering more!

Basic --> +100%

Intermediate --> +150%

Advanced --> +200%

Legendary --> +300%

Mythic --> +500%”

“What, that’s insane!” thought Zash. He smiled to himself; reading those manuals would become much easier with this skill. Then he remembered the raid. He jumped to his feet and sprinted towards the meeting area.

Shortly after he arrived and before he caught his breath, Major Clark addressed Zash’s group again, “Now then, one last reminder before we enter. Hunters with Tank abilities will be entering first. Then the Physical Dealers directly behind them. Magic Dealers will follow, and the healers and supporters will make up the back of the group. You all know your jobs. Now, group three, enter!”