Bryn took Daniel to his parkour training ground near the camp. Before anything else, Bryn wanted to comprehend the impact of the difference in status. How was one supposed to train a person he had no idea about the potential? Looking back, he should have done that before everything else, but no time like the present to improve.

“Mr. Daniel, could you give an estimate of your status and do a few demonstrations please?”

“It will come out of your time asking for pointers… Is that something you want?”

“Yes, otherwise you won’t be able to benefit as much from my training style.”

“Fine, give me your hand, please.”

“What is this?”

Name

Daniel

Age

36

Lvl

46

Race

Human

Titles

???

Status

Strength

113 (+??)

Intelligence

58 (+??)

Dexterity

102 (+??)

Agility

88 (+??)

Vitality

95 (+??)

Luck

4 (+??)

Looking at the table that appeared in front of his eyes, Bryn started to do some calculations and talk to himself.

“Ok, absolutely need harder training to have a chance of improving the way I do... Maybe we incorporate running before we start, then we can go after new skills… For that, I gotta…”

He looks at the humbling faun walking in circles with one hand on his chin and the other holding his other arm at the elbow.

“Are you ok kid?”

“What? Yes, yes. I’m considering a training regime for you! Tell me, do you have the climbing and acrobatics?”

“Climbing I do, Acrobatics I do not. But those are useless skills.”

Upon hearing those words, Bryn completely stopped. He realized for the first time the difference of mentality that would bring him another edge over most in this world.

“Could you explain why they are useless?”

“Well, they won’t help me defeat a person or a creature faster… Climbing could be good if I decided to become an assassin, but otherwise, why should I train it? Acrobatics is the same thing. What good is a skill used in the circus to me? I’m a warrior, we do not run.”

There it was, the simpleton mentality of a world without the need for extreme technological advancements.

“Mr. Daniel, I decided on your training regime. You are going to focus on evolving climbing and unlocking acrobatics.”

“I told you I would follow your training for today kid. What should I do?”

Bryn explained the best ways he found to upgrade climbing and how he unlocked acrobatics with him.

The next few hours they focused on mobility skills. Alternating with calisthenics to tap out the improvements in physical abilities.

Looking at Daniel’s training, it was clear he was seasoned by experience. He adapted everything Bryn suggested with what he already knew. Soon his training went up a notch, then another. Bryn could barely follow some of the things he was doing. He could tell that the moves were crude, like a diamond in the rough.

It took Daniel two hours, but he leveled up climbing to level 2 and learning acrobatics. The description of the skills didn’t call for so much attention. Still, his lips curled upwards without realizing it.

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When the sun hit its highest, Daniel made them return to camp. On the way back, Bryn couldn’t hold back his curiosity.

“Mr. Daniel, on the way back, it is time for us to evaluate the training session. Appraise yourself as we did in the morning… Is there anything different?”

“Well, I did improve a little in PII, but I would say the biggest changes were to climbing and unlocking acrobatics...” said Daniel looking at his status table.

“From my calculations, PII probably improved very little. The gap in our status is great. If you wish, tomorrow we can have a second round and I’ll try to adapt.”

“Kid, you are not my army superior…”

Not knowing how to answer the man, Bryn just laughed sideways so Daniel wouldn’t notice.

As usual, arriving at the camp Bryn asked to be excused and went straight to the cooks, wondering if he could help butchering or cooking something. After a whole month together, everyone was familiar with the young man’s tenacity.

While the faun good immersed in the cooking process, Daniel kept walking to the main tent. Upon entering, he looks at his companion.

Thrain, enjoying a pint of ale and a big chicken leg at the center table, suddenly let the thigh drop to the floor. After a few seconds, the dwarf jumped from his seat, trying to catch his axe in the same movement.

“What happened to you, Daniel? Is everything alright? Did we get attacked by nobles or something?” The dwarf

“What are you talking about, Thrain? You are the one acting strange.”

The dwarf took a deep breath before picking up the piece of meat he dropped.

“Daniel, the last time I saw you smiling was when we had to end a noble family… What happened today?”

“What? I smile…”

“You most certainly do not.” Added Kaelar.

“Whatever… The thing is, I decided to check out the reason why the faun kid is always so active. The kid is a training wizard! I couldn’t tell him that, of course. But only this morning he helped me increase PII, I leveled up climbing and unlocked a new passive!! I was with the kid for only 7 hours…”

“That is impossible.” Said the dwarf.

“Are you sure you were not hit in the head by an attacker?” complimented the nagamen.

“Think whatever you like. After lunch is my time to teach the kid, I’ll show him who is the best.”

The two looked at each other thinking their friend had gone crazy, but curiosity won over the dwarf.

“If he is so amazing, I’ll accompany you two in the afternoon. I wanna see this faun at work…”

“You two go enjoy your plaything… I’m fine”

After lunch, Daniel and Thrain went to find Bryn. When they arrived, the kid was sitting in a weird position. His feet crossed inside his legs, with the plant upwards, one of his hands had the thumb in the middle of the other and his eyes were closed. His breathing was intense and had a tempo.

After examining the scene in front of him, the dwarf asked while whispering, “Is he sleeping?”

Shaking his head, Daniel answered. “How should I know?”

Thrain then pocked Bryns head twice.

Scared by the sudden break in concentration, Bryn didn’t need to answer.

“Good, you are awake. Come on, time for your pointers… Did you think about what you would like to learn?”

“Yes I did. I wish to learn how to fight. To be more specific, I would like to learn any passive skills related to combat.”

The dwarf tried to hold his laughter, but couldn’t. In between giggles, he said, “You were right Daniel, this kid is amusing to say the least. A Faun wishing to battle! Hahah.”

“Just ignore him, Bryn. Thrain had too much ale with his lunch… So, is there any particular skill you would like to start with?”

“I don’t know. I have zero skills in this area and have no knowledge about it!”

Facepalming, Daniel thought [“What am I doing, the kid is eight. Did I expect a training plan for everything?”]

“I’ll start by telling you the most well-known skills, then. The classical weapon skills are the class of the weapon, followed by the word mastery. Similar to PIB, you have weapon mastery beginner, intermediary, and so on. It is said that after the advanced, you can achieve the Weapon Sage Skill. But I have never met anyone with the advanced version of any weapon mastery. Much less a Sage-level mastery. Do you like any weapon type?”

Considering his options, Bryn looked at his status again. His build was currently focused on agility and dexterity. The only thing that came to mind was a rogue or a ranger. But what he liked the most was the idea of a samurai.

“You don’t have to limit your options; it is just that we have to start somewhere…”

With that, Bryn’s decision was made.

“I wish to learn anything related to short swords.”

“Perfect. We are going to help you unlock One-Handed Sword Mastery. Thrain, go pick up a short sword for our Bryn over here. Meanwhile, I’ll explain a few things to you.”

The dwarf complained with a humpf but went nonetheless.

“Bryn, weapons are an extension of ourselves. Up until now, there is no other way to unlock a weapon mastery other than training with one for at least 10 days in a row and taking a liking to it. When you meet both criteria, you will unlock the skill for the weapon you trained with.” said Daniel.

“So that is why I never unlocked anything…”

“What have you tried to unlock weapon skills?”

“Well, I chose a good-looking tree branch and did sword movements for days. When that did not work, I decided to dedicate myself to try and learn a throwing skill, to no success either.”

“Hahah, don’t beat yourself over it. You are currently a blind man looking for berries when it comes to skills. You found some, yes, but you can’t see the path to the other trees…”

“And how do I train the skill I acquire, Mr. Daniel?”

“For training, you can do both. There is no need to kill anything. But from my experience, it helps a lot. I leveled up a lot of my weapons mastery from the battles I faced.”

“Makes sense... I wonder if the logic for training is the same as the other skills, I already have...” Bryn’s plan was already forming in his mind. [“The fact this world has a leveling system, and you can track the progress, I can try all anime-style training regimes. It would be useful to see if, on top of earth’s knowledge, I can get something useful from the hours I dedicated towards it…”]

The dwarf interrupted Bryn’s line of thinking, throwing him a small, curved sword still in its sheet.

“Hey faun. You better take care of my weapons, you, see? That one is one of my prized creations.” As Bryn started to examine the weapon, Thrain looked at Daniel, laughing silently.

Bryn: [“Appraisal”]

Item Appraisal

Iron Short Sword (common)

The Creator of this piece did it in a rush and with poor materials. Durability is halved. Sharpness is halved.

Attack power: 1

Bryn couldn’t care less about the dwarf’s joke. He held the weapon close to his heart and bowed to him with tears in his eyes. Before saying anything, Bryn held the sheath with all strength he could muster and thought [“One step closer on my way to Mother and Father.”]. “Thank you, Mr. Thrain, I’ll take care of her to the best of my abilities.”

Looking at the reaction he received, Thrain threw an awkward smile at Daniel not knowing what to do.

“Daniel, I think my joke broke your kid… Hey Bryn, it is ok, the sword is not that good…”

Daniel knew what the faun was feeling. He felt it similarly when he was young. The feeling you get once you comprehend the path for vengeance. The inner fire he felt when meeting the faun for the first time lit up again. The anger, the sorrow. Without paying attention to his surroundings, Daniel’s killing intent leaked outside his body. It was not directed at anyone, or people at the camp would faint.

“Thrain, leave us.” He spoke. “Bryn, we are going to train outside the camp now.”

Thrain could read between the lines. Daniel’s eyes sparkled; his veins grew with each breath. Looking back and forth at the two, the dwarf knew that Daniel was serious about training the kid. The man’s past was no secret to the party members, so Thrain could comprehend where his partner was coming from. He said nothing as he slowly backed up from the two. All this time, the faun was still holding that piece of garbage of a weapon as if it was the most important thing in the world to him. The care and passion emanating from the kid was something no true blacksmith could miss. So, inspired by the image being engraved in his mind, the dwarf had an idea for a weapon he wanted to forge.

“Yes Sir!”