“You are finally here. It took you long enough to get here. Who takes more than two hours to learn how to use a simple spell?” A man stood in the middle of the empty room, crossing his arms with a fierce expression. His sharp eyes sent a shiver down my spine. “I am your instructor for your combat training. Call me Ray.”

‘Trying to intimidate me?’ I nodded politely at the man but chose not to comment.

‘I did not think I would receive combat training since I took the Healing element, but I guess everyone has to go through it.’

“The silent type, huh? Good. The way I teach my students is very simple. I beat the crap out of them until they learn how to block my attacks by themselves.”

“What?” It took me a moment to realise what he meant but it was too late. Ray suddenly rushed toward me and mercilessly punched toward my face. He was clearly not holding back at all; his body was leaning forward, adding his body weight to his strength.

I frowned and took a step back. Although I was taken by surprise by the sudden attack, after living for almost nine years in the tower, my battle instincts were on point. I immediately got into a stance, shifting my body to the side, raising my elbow to parry the punch.

Unfortunately, while my mind and instinct were still sharp, my body wasn’t. It was unable to respond to my command as quickly as I expected it to. Even though I raised my elbow, Ray’s punch connected with my face, sending me flying.

I grunted in pain as the world spun around me. My body landed on the cold floor as my cheekbone screamed in pain.

‘F*ck!’ I lay down on the floor, grinding my teeth to stop myself from screaming.

“Oh? You have good reflexes, but your body is not fast enough. Come on. Get up. You have the Healing element, so heal yourself.” Ray spat out.

“Was this really necessary? You did not need to hit me so hard, you know.” I complained and sat up.

Ray shrugged his shoulders. “We can change the training method if you want. I can summon a wooden dummy for you to punch and guide you but that would be it. It won’t prepare you for what is going to come next but if that is what you want, I can comply with this request. Being pummelled by me might seem unfair and harsh but honestly, compared to what you will have to endure up in the tower, this is nothing.”

I frowned but was unable to retort. What Ray said was the truth, people could easily lose their life upstairs and many perished horribly, being eaten alive or burnt to death. In comparison, taking a beating was nothing.

“Nothing else to say? Good. Start by healing yourself like I said.”

…

“Is this really the most effective method? Could we not start by warming up or something else?”

“What? You want me to make you run around the room? This is combat training, not physical training. Blame yourself for neglecting your body.”

…

After more than thirty minutes, I finally managed to block one of Ray’s attacks. He punched, aiming for my face but I caught it in time and stopped his fist.

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“At least you are improving.” Ray blurted out.

I was exhausted, breathing heavily from the constant action. I never had any time to rest. Yet, I never let my guard down and I was right. The next instant, I notice Ray’s lips curling up in a smirk and suddenly lost my footing.

“Bastard. You are using your legs!”

“Did I say I would only use my fists? Because I have only punched you so far does not mean I won’t use any kicks.” Ray chuckled and tossed a handful of Mana Stones.

I carefully caught the dark blue beads and tossed them in my mouth. They were the only reason I was letting myself take a beating. I obviously would not be learning much from this training. My battle instinct itself was still sharp; what I was missing was a fit body, but it was not something that could be obtained in a couple of hours.

Fortunately, I gained something else alongside this training: Mana Stones. Mana stones were not exactly rare and served as the currency of the tower. Naturally, Ray was not going to let me collect the Mana Stones; I had to use them to restore my mana and heal myself. But thanks to them, I had the opportunity to use the Heal spell dozens of times already.

My face should have been completely swollen and my arms covered in bruises. Yet, I looked perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened during the last thirty minutes. This was all thanks to the Heal spell. It could easily eliminate bruises and superficial injuries.

There was only one way to improve my Heal spell and to unlock a new one; to practice over and over. Under normal circumstances, I could cast Heal up to three times and would then need a whole hour to accumulate enough mana to cast the spell again. But thanks to Ray’s mana stones, I was able to cast Heal every five minutes or so. The downside was the pain and the beating I took but there was no one to witness this scene. Getting beaten up in exchange for a head start; it was worth it.

…

“We are done with your training.”

“What?” I sat down on the floor in disbelief. Just over an hour has passed and it was already over?

“But… I don’t feel like I am ready at all. All I did was take a beating. You don’t expect me to move on to the next room having only learned how to be beaten to a pulp? This is supposed to be combat training.” I say wearing a pitiful expression.

“…”

“Stop being shameless. There is nothing for me to teach you. You should not expect to come out of combat training as an expert. The purpose of this training is just to raise your awareness and your fighting skills a little bit. However, in your case, you seem to already know how to fight. You just need to put your body in good shape, and you will be good to go.”

“But this is not fair. I demand the full training course! I don’t feel ready to face the upcoming monsters.”

Ray fell silent; his gaze scrutinising me. Then, he smirked again. It was the same expression he did whenever he was about to land a low blow. “Fine. If you insist. You can leave at any time though. The door has already opened for you. However, since you want the full training, we are going to change the training method a little bit. I cannot keep beating you up since I don’t have any more mana stone to give you.”

I nodded in satisfaction. “I see that you are a reasonable man… Wait a second. Did you just say you don’t have any more mana stone?”

Ray was grinning. “Of course. Why else do you think the door will open? You chose the healing element and the combat training is tailored for the element you chose. The tower does not expect you to fight for real; it just wants you to be aware of it and to be ready to heal at any time.”

‘D*mmit’

“But I understand your concern. It is in your best interest to receive a couple more specific lessons.” Ray said with an evil smile. However, when he turned toward the spot where I was standing, he found out that I had already disappeared.

I left without further ado and entered the fourth room. The only reason I was putting up with the combat training was for the opportunity to use my Heal spell. There was no point in sticking to this training.

Ray did not seem surprised by my disappearance and simply laughed it off. Instead, he turned his attention toward Levi, the fairy who has remained silent during this entire time. “He seems like someone who already has a plan and knows what’s lying ahead. It must be hard for you.”

“Don’t mention it. I haven’t earned a single point from him. He chose his spell by himself and never asked for advice or any questions. I hope he gets stuck somewhere in the next rooms and begs me for my advice.”

Ray chuckled. “Somehow, I feel like this is a very unlikely scenario.”

Levi frowned before wordlessly floating toward the door to Room 4.