Three hours later, deep in the forest, Theo was exhausted and sore from the fight he had with a group of six fat mice and barely managed to finish them off.

During this training, he felt his soul was in a constant state of back and forth. His arms could barely follow his brain's commands. At the same time, his hands had calluses where there shouldn't be any, but through it, all Theo persisted and kept fighting the fat mice.

At first, he was scared because the fat mice jumped on him, making him make a small jump to the left. Still, because he is not used to dodging, the fat mice took advantage of that moment to use their tails and hit the shins of his legs over and over again, which caused him to fall to his knees because of the intense pain.

Seeing this, the fat mice jumped on him to bite him, so Marco had no choice but to knock out the fat mice that attacked him with the wooden sword, and once he recovered, he fought the fat mice again.

* Not bad, if we compare your performance now with the one you had at the beginning, the difference is very obvious. However, you are still missing a fat mouse. When you have caught it, we will go to the academy.

* Theo: *aff* okay *aff* by the way, coach *aff* when I finish this, will I get any passive abilities?

Theo asks me with his eyes bright and expectant if he will get any passive skills for this. Too bad I'm the one who has to break those hopes.

* Do you really think passive skills are easy to obtain? If so, I would have hundreds of them.

* Theo: So how do I get them?

* I have no idea. Maybe they are obtained by meeting certain requirements, achieving something very difficult to do, or maybe with hard training and persistence.

* Theo: Is it that hard?

* I think so. Think of it this way, before you learn to swim, you must practice several things, like controlling your breathing, the movement and coordination of your arms - legs - head, etc. It must be the same with skills. Some are learned that way.

* Theo: I see, so when I finish this, I'll just get the achievement and the stat boost.

* That's right, but the most important thing is that you already have some sword fighting experience. By the way, do you already know what skills you want to learn?

* Theo: Something like that, I've been reading several books, but I still need to find a sword to help me prove my hypothesis.

* Then let's get it over with to go to the merchants' guild.

* Theo: Yes!

With the anime state increasing, Theo comes back to life and starts looking for the last fat mouse, which doesn't take long, as one jumps out at him, only now it's different from his first time.

Theo ducks quickly, causing the fat mouse to miss and fly past him, but that's not all. Once ducked, he points the blade of his sword to the sky and stabs it upwards towards the fat mouse's jaw, which easily pierces the skin and kills it with a single blow.

* Excellent, now that you've caught 50 fat mice, we can go.

* Theo: Yes, but Coach, why did I only get a +10 increase in my Stamina?

* Why fat mice are weak compared to other monsters? The stronger the monsters, the better they raise. Tomorrow we will hunt another 50, so be prepared.

* Theo: ...I'm afraid to ask, but... what are we hunting tomorrow?

* Mmm, I'll let you choose. What do you want to hunt? Blue-scaled lizards? Fierce vultures? Mud golems? You decide.

Hearing that, Theo begins to feel the blood in his body drain out from fear. Do I really have to choose between those three?

Thinking about it, Theo quickly told Marco to change those hunting targets to easier and less dangerous ones.

* Theo: Coach Marco, we'd better go get the crazy goats!

* Crazy goats? And where are they?

* Theo: Southwest of here.

* Okay, I might as well take the opportunity to hunt them down and get another achievement.

Upon observing that Coach Marco agreed, Theo let out a sigh of relief. He felt that a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders, but upon hearing that he would also be hunting them for an achievement, he was taken aback.

Are you telling me that he has not gone to the southwest area and has been hunting in these places all along? How is that possible? Everyone knows this area is an area for experienced D+ adventurers, as the monsters here are fiercer and smarter.

The weakest is the fat mouse because even though they are weak, they know how to attack by surprise; at first, Theo thought that trainer Marco brought him to train in this area to train his reflexes and peripheral vision. Still, he only brought him to this area because he was familiar with the environment.

Thinking about it, Theo had a premonition that the next few days would be hell and that this was just the beginning.

While Theo was thinking about all that, Marco was thinking about the many accomplishments he would get when hunting in the southwest of the forest.

Stolen story; please report.

Once they arrived in the city, they went straight to the merchants guild for two things: the first was to sell the bodies of the fat mice, and the second was to inquire about the sword Theo needed.

After walking for 10 minutes, they arrived at the doors of the merchants' guild. Still, before they could line up at the third column, Alvar appeared and greeted Marco cheerfully.

* Alvar: Marco! How are you doing? I thought you were coming on Saturday or Sunday. What brings you here.

* Hi Alvar, some things happened, and I need your wisdom.

* Alvar: Hahaha, I feel flattered. By the way, who is this guy?

* His name is Theo, and he is one of the reasons I came today. Theo, this is Alvar. You could say he is both a good trader and a good friend.

* Theo: Nice to meet you, Mr Alvar.

* Alvar: Wow, what a polite guy, let me guess... Do you want to buy equipment for him?

* Almost but not quite, it's so much about buying and selling.

* Alvar: I understand. Let's go to room 23 to talk.

With that said, Alvar leads Marco and Theo into room 23. Once the door closes, Alvar changes from his cheerful typeface to a more serious one and looks directly at Marco.

* Alvar: Marco... why are you so angry?

Upon hearing this, both Marco and Theo were surprised by the comment. Theo thought that the angry rage of the trainer had vanished. Still, upon hearing what Mr Alvar said, he was astonished because he did not notice anything. Even up to now, he did not notice any sign of anger from the trainer.

Marco felt surprised because he thought that once his anger was contained, no one would notice it. He did this because he did not want outsiders to be frightened. After all, he knows that his anger should be directed toward those who provoked it and not towards third parties. He never thought Alvar could notice it so easily.

* *sigh* I thought I had contained it well. Still, you're right, I'm extremely angry about a situation, but for various reasons, I contain it... how did you know?

* Alvar: Over the years, I've seen many people hide their emotions, so much so that I even got a passive ability for it. If it were someone else, I would probably never know.

* It sounds like it's useful to know your wife's mood swings, a passive ability that allows you to see people's emotions.

* Alvar: You're right about that! You have no idea how often he saved me from getting hit with a frying pan.

* HAHAHAHAHA, I can imagine, but let's get to the point. Theo, tell him what you need.

* Theo: Yes, Mr Alvar, by any chance, is there a sword that can absorb or withstand the power of the elements inside it and use it in combat.

* Alvar: A sword that withstands or absorbs the elements? I'm afraid we don't have that, but there is a metal that has great synergy with the elements, it's called Chinthu, but it's a bit expensive since it's used for prisoner chains.

* Theo: When does it cost?

* Alvar: It ranges from 100-200 gold per ingot.

When Theo hears the price, he falls into the armchair. To make a sword, you need a minimum of 4 ingots, and a single ingot costs 100 gold. With that, he could live quietly for several years, so if he wanted a sword of Chinthu, he would pay 400 gold in the best case. Still, he would have to pay twice as much if the price was high.

* Don't be discouraged. At least it was confirmed that this metal exists, you just need to be patient and save enough money to buy the ingots, and that's it. You can get the money by hunting monsters and doing quests.

* Theo: ...I understand

* Okay, now let's move on to another point. I want to sell 50 fat mice and buy the armourer's bracelet.

* Alvar: So buy the bracelet and sell me the mice while you're at it, smart guy.

* You know me, how much would you give me for the fat mice?

* Alvar: I'll give you 50 gold for the 50 mice, deal?

* Deal! But give that money to Theo.

* Theo: Huh? Me?

* Of course, you were the one who hunted them. It is only fair that you receive that money. By the way, Alvar, the armourer's bracelet, what colours do you have?

* Alvar: I only have blue, white, red and black.

* Give me a black one. Here's the down payment, the rest I'll give you when the bracelet arrives.

* Alvar: No problem, the bracelet will arrive on Saturday, and boy, have your 50 gold.

That said, Alvar gives 50 gold coins to Theo, who accepts them without thinking much. Marco and Alvar talk for a few more minutes and then leave for the academy, but before going there, they go to eat at a restaurant to eat something.

When they finally finish, they walk back to the academy. On the way, Theo asks Marco several questions, and Marco patiently answers each one of them.

Once they arrived at the academy, instead of separating from Theo and returning to her rented house, she followed him to the new room to avoid any problems with her "roommates".

We move to the residential area, which is divided into several buildings. The right place is for women, and the left side is for men, so we go to the left area to look for Theo's apartment. At that, we meet Siri, who was waiting outside the building for who knows how long.

* Sorry, I didn't think it would take longer.

* Siri: It's okay. I won't wait long. Besides, it was my mistake not to set a meeting time, so it's okay. Let's go to your new dorm Theo.

The truth is that Siri waited for 30 minutes for fear that Marco might run into one of the students from class 2B. In fact, she was expecting only Theo to show up, but when she saw Marco accompanying him, she was glad she had waited so long. This way, she can prevent Marco from coming in contact with Theo's classmates.

* Theo: Sorry for the inconvenience Miss Siri.

* Siri: No problem, follow me.

With that said, Siri leads the way to the new bedroom while Marco and Theo walk behind her, Theo's room is on the top floor, so it took them several minutes to reach it.

* Siri: This is your room. All your clothes and personal items are inside. Remember that if you lose the key, you must report it immediately.

* Theo: Understood. Thank you, Miss Siri and Coach Marco.

* Siri: No problem, if that's all, then we'll leave.

* See you tomorrow, Theo. Get some rest.

With that done, Theo closes the room while Marco and Siri go downstairs to leave the boys' dormitory.

As they walk along, Siri begins to converse with Marco.

* Siri: Marco... do you want to go to lunch?

* Sure, let's go get some burgers, my treat.

* Siri: Huh? Ah! Sure.

Siri was a little surprised. She thought Marco would reject her and leave quickly. Still, he did nothing of the sort and even took the initiative to pay for the food, which left her confused, but after a few seconds, she knew why he said it.

* You're afraid that it will hurt others, aren't you? While I am still upset and am just waiting for the right moment to release this pent-up anger, I can assure you that I will not involve third parties, so you can relax.

* Siri: ... are you serious?

* I always keep my promises, don't worry about anything.

* Siri: It's hard not to when it's you.

* Better not think about that. Better think about the burgers. Are there any that interest you?

* Siri: ... I'd like a spicy BBQ style one.

* Excellent, I want one like that too. Do you also sell coke?

* Siri: Coke? Ah, you mean John Pemberton's drink? Hardly anyone calls it that. It's now known as Pember-Coke.

* As long as it tastes the same, I don't care what it's called. Come on.

With that said, Marco and Siri go out for burgers together.