Ackster sat down with a grunt a while after he passed through the city gates. He regretted it at once.

He had made sure that he was alone, at least for the moment, before sitting down. But as he prioritized that, he failed to take into consideration that if he sat down, he would have to stand up again.

And with how heavy the clothes Tommelier had made him were, Ackster wasn’t looking forward to it.

Tommelier had said that he had added some Forger’s Iron to the clothes and that it would make them heavier but sturdier and to help mask the fact that he was wearing armor made from a poor choice of materials. However, Tommelier neglected to mention how it would feel like he was wearing the entirety of the rock lizard’s weight, not just the weight of its outer layer – the weight of its skin and stone scale armor, but the weight of that and the skeleton and the flesh.

It was exhausting just to move, and it had been doubly so to keep up an appearance when he walked among the other citizens and through the city gate.

But despite the heaviness of the armor and the fact that he could barely walk with it on, Ackster wasn’t dissatisfied. It was exactly what he had requested.

Training equipment that exhausted him as soon as he walked more than five steps. If Ackster wore it at all times, regardless of what he was doing, his body would sooner or later get accustomed to carrying such a load. He would adapt and grow stronger with each passing moment.

And then, once he could move with it like he was carrying a sack of feathers, removing it would set Ackster free like a motorcycle with a jet engine strapped to it. Of course, it would only be temporary since he would have to get new training equipment that would fit his increased strength, and he would turn into a snail again.

After resting for a little, Ackster stood up with a series of grunts and near falls. The training equipment would lose its purpose if he rested every twenty strides. He wore it to push his body to its limits and condition it to become stronger. For that, he would have to break down his muscles and body by forcing it to move, despite the toll doing so took. Then, his muscles, and hopefully the rest of his body, would regrow stronger and be ready to endure another series of training.

However, simply moving wouldn’t be enough to defeat The Hero and stop the destruction of the world. He would have to train all of his muscles by moving his body in all possible ways that could be necessary or useful in a fight. And the best way to do that would be to engage in battles. The more, the better.

It would also give him an opportunity to test out the gauntlets that weren’t really gauntlets but not gloves, either.

In theory, gauntlets wouldn’t change how he fought since they were just another layer on his fists. But, in the first place, Ackster didn’t really know how to fight with his fists. He knew to keep his thumb on the outside so that he didn’t break it and that he should use his entire body weight behind each strike, which should hit at his opponent’s weak spots.

The thumb thing was simple. But, to Ackster, using his entire body weight wasn’t as easy as it sounded, especially when he didn’t know how much he weighed. Ackster had a feeling that Strong Body was already helping him greatly with that part, but he couldn’t be sure about the degree of success.

It was another reason to find help or someone to train him since they would be able to see where his movements were godawful and only worked out because of his strength, agility, reflexes, and Strong Body. And where his movements and technical skills were salvageable.

Unfortunately, like with most things, Ackster wasn’t really in a position to seek outside help immediately, at least not the kind he wanted and needed to fulfill his mission.

Ackster would need someone who could bring out his true potential and push him to the apex of the world since that is what need he needs to achieve his goal. An ordinary guard or knight that knows how to swing a sword in a straight vertical line won’t be enough.

Ackster could go looking for someone to get him started, but it wouldn’t be good enough. He would need a good training regiment from the very beginning. Getting one person to teach him a few things before moving on to another person who could teach him other things wouldn’t lead to a solid foundation of strength.

Well, it would probably be better than what he was doing now since he was just training his body and getting skills, but at the same time, he would be a blank slate when he found someone or something to help him learn how to fight. He would still have some habits and kinks in his movements, but it would be better than learning a fighting style that opposed what he needed and would hinder his further development.

Ackster decided to stop thinking about it for the moment.

He already had his immediate goals lined up. Finding a teacher would come after he made contact with Karandiel, trained his body, acquired a bunch of skills, and got his hands on the Sea God Manual.

He was beginning to think it would take a while until he arrived at the Sea God’s Temple, but the more he trained and the stronger he got, the faster he would be able to move across the continent. He would also need a greater amount of strength to cross the southern countries and when diving into the sea to reach the Temple.

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D-rank strength wouldn’t be enough. He was in a comparatively peaceful part of the continent and wouldn’t die as long as he was careful. But the dangers rose the further away he got from the center of Tenger, which meant his strength had to do so as well.

Maybe spending some time around Ilto and focusing on growing stronger and arming himself wasn’t such a bad idea.

After leaving Ilto and walking for a couple of hours, Ackster wasn’t as far from the city as he’d hoped. But he was far enough to start encountering monsters, especially if he left the road and entered the forest. So, when he did just that and ran into a small group of goblins, Ackster wasn’t surprised.

It wouldn’t be the first time that Ackster fought against almost ten goblins in one go. He had long since grown strong enough to overpower ordinary, brainless goblins. Their movements were so simple, and the goblins were so weak that he could avoid most of their attacks, and those he couldn’t dodge didn’t do any damage.

Most of Ackster’s proficiency in fighting goblins came from Strong Body, which helped him quickly recognize their movement patterns and react in time. Strong Body also helped him endure the blows he failed to avoid.

However, despite Strong Body’s almost unfair capabilities, it only enhanced Ackster’s physicality. It didn’t add or actively change him or his knowledge. So, it was up to him to devise a strategy when it came to fighting.

Strong Body wouldn’t guide him through combat, at least not directly. The superhuman senses and the beastly instincts the skill provided him did help Ackster develop almost something like intuition when it came to fighting. He could tell before he followed through with a move whether it would land or if he would get clobbered.

Of course, against goblins, most strikes that he had even a chance of placing in the intended spot hit their mark. However, since he was fighting against several opponents, he would have to be willing to sacrifice a little to gain a lot. So, oftentimes, he ended up taking one or two blows in exchange for taking out one or two goblins. With his regeneration and sturdiness, it was more than worth it against low-level monsters like goblins.

Well, as long as it wasn’t a group of poison goblins like the first one he had met, it was worth it. Although he had ranked up his Poison Resistance, that didn’t mean he was immune, and if he got filled with poison, he could still die if he wasn’t careful.

But since he was only up against clearly normal goblins, Ackster didn’t worry about that.

He had other things to worry about.

Usually, he could deal with a small group of goblins with ease. But now he was carrying several times his body weight in clothes that covered most of his body. The only things not covered were his feet and head.

‘I should get weighted shoes instead of these flimsy things.’

Ackster had bought shoes in order not to stand out. He didn’t need shoes anymore since his feet were already durable enough to handle walking without shoes to protect them. But doing so in the middle of a city was weird.

However, if he could get shoes that weighed him and, more specifically, his feet down, he would have a reason to wear shoes that interested him.

Ackster shook his head to clear it of stray thoughts that didn’t fit the situation. He was surrounded by goblins and covered in a suit of armor that weighed him down till he could barely raise his arm. Now was no time to think about what to put on his feet.

The goblins seemed to sense the remnant power of the rock lizard in Ackster’s suit, or maybe they could instinctively tell that Ackster was stronger than them, strong enough to suppress them.

However, goblins, in general, weren’t smart enough to follow their instincts, especially not when their murderous desire was screaming at them to kill humans drowned out anything else going on inside their minds. So, once they hesitated long enough to encircle Ackster, they lunged forward.

Due to the weight of his training equipment, Ackster was forced to take a passive and defensive position in this battle, as opposed to his usual reckless method of charging right into the thick of any fight. But he didn’t mind.

He couldn’t always go on the offensive.

And with the training equipment decreasing his agility and strength, he could simulate the experience of fighting against a group of foes stronger and quicker than him.

It wasn’t perfect for two reasons. Ackster’s senses and mind weren’t affected by the training equipment, and he could see and predict what the goblins would do and react in time. But even if he couldn’t, the other reason protected him.

Ackster’s training equipment was made from rock lizard materials and combined with Forger’s Iron, both of which were materials that surpassed the strength of low-ranking goblins. So, even if Ackster couldn’t move out of the way and let himself get hit, the goblins’ wooden clubs and sticks did not do any damage to him. It felt like he could stand still and wait until the goblins tired themselves out before finishing them.

But that wouldn’t be much of a fight, so he obviously couldn’t do that. Instead, he decided to pretend.

Since the goblins were too stupid to fall for it, it was for his and his training’s sake.

Ackster pretended that the goblins hit hard enough to injure him and impair his movements. So, he intentionally moved even slower or stopped using an arm. He let it hang loosely by his side as he leaned his body from side to side to avoid the goblins’ wild swings and launch a heavy gauntleted hand into their jaws whenever he found an opportunity.

Maintaining his balance and standing on his feet while performing such erratic maneuvers placed immense pressure on his core. But Ackster gritted his teeth and forced his body to command and endure. If he fell now, he would barely be able to get up. And the idea he thought of as nothing more than a joke would become reality.

Ackster’s only solace in a fight where he could barely move, and each attack he made drained his energy beyond the point where he was running on fumes, was the fact that his gauntlets weren’t reinforced for nothing. The outer layer of the gauntlets was as hard as it was heavy. With the momentum they carried as he swung them, the goblins’ skulls stood no chance.

If it weren’t for his slowness, Ackster would have only as many punches as there were goblins to clear them all.

Eventually, he collapsed with a satisfied grin after killing all of the goblins. It had been one hell of a trial, but Ackster could feel himself growing in real time.