The next day, Lev and his group followed Oriana to the basement of the Defense Branch. Stepping into their rented room, Lev found Sir Alec already inside. He moved ahead to greet his mentor.
“I was not expecting to see you here, Sir.”
“It's still early in the morning, I have time to spare. Besides, my disciple is going to apply for the Hunters Guild. Even if it may not seem like it, I am still a platinum-ranked Hunter. All of your friends have some combat training, but you are mostly self-taught. About time I also teach you a thing or two about it.”
Lev’s eyes lit up at that. He was slightly worried about a poor first showing but those concerns melted away. Now, he only had to care about absorbing Sir Alec’s teachings. Looking around, he noticed that Jack had already donned the full-plated armor from the armor stands. Kayla and Amelia were trying out different weapons.
Lev turned to Sir Alec. “What type of armor do you think will suit me best?”
“Definitely Light,” Sir Alec replied instantly. “Speedsters like you need something that does not hinder your mobility. Let's try that one,” He pointed at a stand holding a few pieces of armor.
Trying it on, Lev found it only had a light breastplate with gloves and boots. The exact terms for the pieces went over his head. In addition to those, the armor was designed to be worn over leather pants and a vest, providing some protection for his arms and legs.
“This seems… minimal. Does it even do anything?” Lev voiced his suspicions, looking at his barely armored body.
“It does. Do not rely on it too much. The armor is not your main defense. Armor skills like yours will take over mundane armor rather quickly. Physical armor is a backup before you can order a custom-made enchanted armor.”
One by one, they all found their preferred armor and weapons. Once they were all ready, Lev and Amelia stepped into the ring situated in the middle of the room. According to Sir Alec, the ring dulled the edges of all weapons inside it and healed any bruises that may have formed.
Taking their positions 5 meters apart, Lev brandished his shortsword. It was the weapon he could use best with his high dexterity. Forming four small barriers, he observed his opponent. Amelia was covered in armor that looked just a step away from being as heavy as Jack’s armor. In reality, it was much lighter and more flexible overall. Taking a stance with her longsword, they both waited for Oriana to start the match.
“Remember, nothing is at stake. This is just for training. Observe, learn, and improve.” Oriana announced with a smile, knowing damn well both of them were not going to hold back.
“3.”
“2.”
“1.”
“Fight.”
Lev summoned his barrier armor and felt his perception slow down slightly as the air heated around Amelia. She made the first move and shot a fireball from the tip of her sword. Blocking it with a barrier, Lev moved sideways, not letting the explosion impede his vision. Stopping the fireball and withstanding the explosion, the barrier shattered. Before he could plan his next move, Amelia was upon him. Her skin had a reddish hue, eyes glowing slightly.
Her body enhancement has a visual effect as well.
Lev tried to match her in strength and blocked her strike with his short sword, only to stumble back a step and barely keep himself from falling. The strength difference was higher than he anticipated. Making use of his speed, he dodged as many strikes as he could and tried to slip in his own attacks. At first, Lev thought he was doing half-decent, only for Amelia to become faster and stronger. Lev tried to adjust to the increase in power before realizing that Amelia was becoming even stronger and faster.
Before long, Lev was on the back foot, dodging and deflecting to the best of his abilities with awkward movement and overextended sidesteps. Understanding that she outclassed him in swordsmanship, Lev formed another barrier and jumped back, manipulating his barriers to attack from left and right simultaneously. She sidestepped the left barrier aiming for her knee, and cleaved the right barrier in half. Seeing an opportunity, Lev dashed in to score a hit but faltered in his step when Amelia’s enhancement suddenly shone much brighter. She reversed her strike and launched a diagonal Fire slash. Barely reacting in time, Lev jumped, called his third barrier under his feet, and kicked it to dodge the diagonal slash by a hair's breadth. Before Amelia could regain her bearings, Lev’s fourth barrier slammed into her throat and threw her to the ground.
Breathing heavily, Lev closed his eyes and focused on controlling his heartbeat. Opening his eyes when he heard something, he found Kayla clapping while Jack looked ready to jump into the ring. Oriana and Sir Alec were discussing something off the side while looking toward him.
“I’m starting to realize just how absurd your class will be. Already, you can attack from many different angles at once.” Amelia said as she stood up.
Lev snorted. “You say that and use fire spells while being a better swordswoman. Not only can you use both short and long-range fire spells, but you can also manipulate heat in your surroundings and be a better scout than me. Have I mentioned that you will always be physically stronger than me?”
“Alright, alright. Damn, it really doesn’t seem that way when you put it like that.” Amelia hummed thoughtfully.
Walking back to his friends, he and Amelia sat down on metal chairs with their friends.
“When did you learn to fight like that?” Kayla asked him as soon as he sat down.
“I practiced by the river every day.”
“Against whom?”
Without realizing it, Lev replied. “Shadowboxing.”
All three of them blinked and echoed in unison. “What?”
“I mean, I imagined opponents and imitated fighting against them as if they were real.” Lev hastily clarified, not letting his friends dwell on the foreign word. He didn’t notice Amelia looking at him oddly. “So who’s going next?” Lev changed the subject. Jack looked over to Oriana and Sir Alec, who motioned for him to take the ring.
Jack and Kayla stood 5 meters apart and took their stances. With his full-plate armor and massive hammer, Jack looked the complete opposite of Kayla. Her armor was similar to Amelia’s, covering most of her body without impeding movement too much. Her wooden staff was nearly as tall as her, giving her more reach than Jack.
To an outsider, the match couldn’t have looked more one-sided. That changed when The System was introduced into the fray, making even the smallest humans more dangerous than most.
Jack made the first move, closing the gap before swinging his hammer in a wide arc. Kayla dodged it with ease, taking advantage of her opponent being wide open. A piece of wood with a sharp point formed mid-air and shot towards Jack’s arm, aimed at the armor joint. It bounced off without leaving a scratch.
Wood, huh? Looks very mana-intensive to form.
Jack retaliated with more wide swings, forcing Kayla into a corner. To avoid being trapped, she used her defensive spell. A wall of vines rose from the ground and blocked Jack’s strike, bending inwards without breaking. Kayla fixed the damage by spending more mana but conceded the match shortly after. The vines and piece of wood dissolved into mana at her command.
“What happened?” Lev asked once they sat down next to him and Amelia.
“After my attack spell failed to do any damage and my vines were damaged from a single strike, I realized that there was no way to win. I needed mana to keep Jack at bay. Without being able to damage him, my mana was going to run out far faster than he ran out of stamina. Naturally, I conceded after realizing that.” Kayla explained with a pout. “His armor is as thick as his head.”
That made all of them laugh. Oriana and Sir Alec moved to their group in the meantime.
“That went better than I thought. Well done,” Oriana praised, and Sir Alec nodded by her side.
“Most newbies would try to overpower their opponents regardless of how unlikely it may be to succeed. Good thinking on your part, disengaging and not wasting any resources.” Sir Alec complimented Kayla, who looked down and muttered a quiet thanks.
“I was almost certain Amelia would win. Good job, Lev.” Oriana nodded toward him, making a smile blossom on his face. “Now that you have seen each other’s skills, how long do you guys think you need to practice before undertaking the examination?”
The group fell into silence, thinking about what they needed to accomplish. Lev answered first. “We need more than a week, that's for sure.”
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Jack expressed his agreement. “After we get used to each others’ style, we also need to learn to work together as a team. That will surely take even more time.” He concluded. Everyone, including Oriana and Sir Alec, nodded at that.
“Very well. I will inform the guild to conduct the exam two weeks from now since it needs to be prepared in advance,” Oriana said. “Already, they have delayed it once at my request. Do not make them wait any longer.”
****
For the upcoming days, Lev and his friends sparred as much as they could. Learning the ins and outs of their abilities and testing the limits of their skills, they learned a lot of helpful things. Sir Alec stuck around for the first thirty minutes every day, pointing out where they could improve and telling them to use their skills in new ways.
Kayla’s wood skills were similar to Lev’s barriers. She could form the attack in any form, even a shield. While it may not be very useful in combat, she could form wooden tools anywhere. Her vines, on the other hand, could be wrapped around the limbs of their enemies, constricting and immobilizing them. The impairment improved the usefulness of the spell by many notches.
Amelia’s heat perception was hampered by the amount of material between her and the source she tried to track, completely bypassing thin surfaces. They could potentially hide themselves out of sight while tracking their enemies through the emitted heat. She could also constantly cool their surroundings for half an hour before running out of mana, providing relief if they found themselves in a hot region. Jack also pointed out how she could light up wood created by Kayla and produce a decent light source anywhere.
Jack’s class was pretty rigid. They did not find anything special about it. Lev’s class was also similar. While barriers were incredibly versatile overall, he was stuck with sharp and durable arcane barriers till he could imbue them with different types of mana or enchant them outright.
After three days of sparring, they decided to fight in groups. Surprisingly, whenever Kayla and Lev teamed up, they dominated. With Kayla’s ability to root Jack in place for a few seconds while buffing Lev’s intelligence attribute by 25%, Lev was able to deal with Amelia alone. The more they fought, the more they got used to each other’s moves. Kayla’s buff made all the difference in their fight, empowering all of his abilities. His barriers were faster, more durable, and sharper, not that he used sharp barriers during sparring. He could also just barely control a fifth barrier with the increased attribute and heightened perception during combat. The healer’s vines were also slightly resistant to fire.
At the start of the second week, they moved to a new rented room in the Attack Branch. The refugee ship had brought with it simulation technology that was almost completely destroyed during the disastrous landing. It had been used to create new technology from scratch, reliably imitating creatures up to level 100. Evolved monsters were still too much.
****
The group stood in a large empty field, waiting for a small goblin horde to be generated. Jack and Amelia stood in front of the formation, with Lev taking position behind them. Kayla stood between them, allowing her spells to reach all three of them with ease.
By the time the 12 Level 20 goblins finished materializing, they had taken their stances and prepared their spells. Lev formed four round barriers, sharpening their edges and spinning them as fast as possible. Eight of the goblins focused on the frontline, while the rest targeted the mages. As the goblins were about to engage the frontline, two barriers went through the necks of two unlucky goblins while three of them were ensnared by vines slithering out of the ground. Focusing back on the goblins running towards Kayla and him, he killed one with his barrier and blocked the other from reaching them. The third goblin went down when a sharp wooden piece embedded itself in its skull. Stepping up with his short sword to block the last goblin, he dodged its wild swing and lured it away from Kayla. Before it could attack a third time, one of the barriers that Lev had sent to assist the frontline had moved back and cleaved through its neck.
Gazing at the frontline, they were finishing the last remaining monsters. Silence returned to the field, a stark contrast to the war cries and screeches.
“That went well,” Kayla commented. Lev nodded and looked around, noticing how he could have killed all the monsters without much trouble alone. Some of his skills had even leveled up for the first time.
[
Whirling Rim leveled up to 2.
Arcane Barrier Manipulation leveled up to 2
Opportunity leveled up to 2
]
Reading their descriptions, Lev noted that his barrier durability, barrier spinning power, and perception increased by 2.5%. Penetration power of his barriers meanwhile increased by only 0.5%
Skills with bonuses up to 10% increase by 0.5% per level, and skills with bonuses above 50% increase by 2.5%. So the increase for bonuses between 10% and 50% might be different. Need to test this, but it seems pretty straightforward.
“I don't think they are going to make us face anything level 30 or above. We should still try and fight against something of that level,” Jack asked for their opinion, satisfied with his progress. When all of them agreed, they moved into formation to fight monsters level 25 and above for the last time before the exam. Looking through the options, they settled for a pack of level 25 forest wolves with a single alpha. Since they were fighting simulated monsters, any attacks that landed on Lev or his group would be harmless.
Within a few minutes, five gray wolves materialized in front of them. Four of them looked exactly the same, with the fifth being a larger wolf covered in darker fur. The alpha was level 30, while the rest were level 25. As soon as they noticed the humans, the alpha howled. The smaller wolves immediately started charging them, leaving the alpha behind that circled the battlefield. Feeling the attribute buff from Kayla, Lev formed five half-a-meter-wide circular barriers. Making them sharp and heavy, he launched two of them at the wolf leading the charge. Separating them, the first one kept moving in a straight line while the second moved higher up in the air. When the wolf jumped over the first barrier, the second barrier moved in to cleave through its head. With agility befitting its level, the wolf dodged to the right as soon as its feet touched the ground, leaving it with a long, bloody gash along its side instead of dead.
Jack and Amelia tensed, moving forward to intercept the charging wolves. Jack slammed his hammer into one’s side while shoulder-tackling the other and throwing it to the ground. Amelia ducked the injured lunging wolf, carving through its entire underside with her sharp and burning hot long sword. With one taken out of the fight, she moved in to support Jack while the last wolf made its way towards the backline.
Trusting Lev to have the situation under control, Kayla cast her vine skill to snare one of the wolves fighting the frontline. No longer able to pay attention to the others, Lev focused on the wolf running towards him, keeping track of the alpha that had started moving as soon as Kayla had cast her spell.
“It’s coming!” That was all he could yell before the wolf was upon him. Dodging left at the last moment to avoid being tackled to the ground, he slammed a barrier on the side of its face before it could fully turn toward him. Taking advantage of its disorientation, he severed one of its legs. Robbed of its mobility, the wolf was dead within moments.
Facing the alpha, it was about to lunge and tackle Amelia to the ground. Moving one of the two barriers he had kept above his friends for this moment, he rammed its flat side directly on top of its head. The alpha lost its footing and fell, sliding forward due to its momentum. Before it could get up, Jack’s hammer hit it in the ribs with full force. Howling in pain, it was about to charge Jack before Lev’s second barrier hit one of its rear legs at the joint as a wood projectile sank into its front leg. Stuck in the bone, the barrier dissolved. The alpha, suddenly unable to use two of its legs, stumbled with a yelp. As it was about to unleash a roar of defiance, a barrier cut directly into its skull, and a red sword beheaded it.
The group immediately sagged in relief, heaving deep breaths. The battle had barely lasted a minute. To the group, it had felt far longer.
“Yeah, we are as ready as we can be. Anything with a higher level will be too much for us,” Kayla spoke up first, mirroring their thoughts. Lev mulled over that, replaying the fight in his mind. He had the attribute buff from Kayla, five full-powered barriers, and time to prepare. Even then, his barriers were barely enough to kill the level 25 wolf in time. His perception and intelligence let him stop the alpha’s charge at the last second and cut just deep enough to disable its leg. Amelia easily took out the first wolf because it was injured and made a hasty lunge. She and Jack held off the rest because Kayla supported them instead of him. They faced the alpha in time because it was so far away, allowing Lev to track it. To top it all off, they only succeeded because they could prepare everything they had. Amelia’s class allowed her to overcharge the body enhancement in exchange for taking damage from the extra heat funneled into it. Out of everyone, she was the only one slightly hurt because of her skill.
“I agree, we should head home and rest. Tomorrow is a big day. We need to be as fresh as possible.”
[
Needle Precision leveled up to 2.
]
1% increase to manipulation bonus and 0.5% to intelligence. My theory was correct. 0.5% for 1-10%, 1% for 11-49%, and 2.5% for 50-99%. The last one still needs to be confirmed. My only skill with a 100% bonus is a barely used movement skill.
Stumbling back to the orphanage, they called it an early night despite the still-setting suns.