4.

It didn't take long before everyone was standing in front of a large building that seemed like an ancient Roman temple with numerous large pillars in the front and a small closed hall behind them.

"This might look like a normal building, but I can assure you that it is anything but normal."

Touching the wall, Ellina spoke further.

"Your first introduction to combat will be held here. Just stay with me."

With these words, Ellina walked in front of the large pitch-black door which seemed to devour any ray of light.

Eldric narrowed his eyes, hoping to catch a glance of what might be behind the doors, but to his dismay, no matter how hard he tried, there was nothing that he could see.

And while he was looking at it, Ellina took a step forward before disappearing completely.

Soon, others followed suit and by the time it took an incense to burn, it was Eldric's turn.

Taking a deep breath, he didn't hesitate to step in.

"...…"

The moment Eldric walked inside the door, his vision went completely dark. It was only after a few moments passed that he was able to see his surroundings.

At this moment he was standing alongside others in a large grassland.

As far as the eyes could see, there was nothing but lush green grass reaching their knees.

"What the... Is it a Domain?"

This was the first thought that came to Eldric's mind.

Domains are something scattered throughout the world. They are usually spaces that are completely separate from the world.

"Isn't this just a dungeon?"

Thinking about how these things were like dungeons, Eldric could not help but shake his head.

"Now listen carefully."

While Eldric was lost in his train of thought, Ellina's voice echoed in his ears.

Looking in her direction, he saw a wooden dummy placed there.

"First, how many people have mage class?"

As soon as she asked the question, many raised their hands.

"Okay, come here." Pointing towards the nearest boy, Ellina spoke again." How many are warriors?"

After picking one from the warrior profession, she chose one priest, ranger, assassin, and brawler.

Surrounded by six students, she walked in front of the wooden dummy and paused momentarily.

"Everyone here has the base value of one in each of their attributes, right?"

As soon as she asked, everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good." With this, she pointed at the mage standing in front of her.

"Now, punch this with all your strength."

The boy hesitated for a moment. After all, he was a mage, not a warrior. Shouldn't she be asking him to use magic instead of throwing punches?

But this hesitation lasted only for a moment before he stepped forward and punched the dummy as hard as possible.

[30]

This was the value that popped above the dummy.

"Hmm..." Ellina just nodded before pointing to the priest.

Even if she didn't speak, the priest already knew what she meant. So without hesitation, he went up, clenched his fists, and punched the dummy with all his strength.

[30]

"Go on..." Ellina didn't seem to care about the value, instead, she pointed at the ranger.

[40]

"Next." Pointing towards the assassin, she quietly waited for the result.

[40]

"Ugh..." As soon as the boy punched the dummy in the chest, Ellina suddenly let out a disgruntled scoff before shaking her head in disappointment.

The boy who just punched stood there stunned. He couldn't understand why she would have such a big reaction to his result. Perhaps, she saw him as a talented person and was disappointed with the result. The more the boy thought about it, the more flustered he got. In the end, he even wanted to try once again.

But before he could even take a step forward, Ellina's voice echoed once again.

"Next."

Pointing at the warrior, she waited in silence.

As soon as she called the warrior, a petite girl walked in front of the dummy with some hesitation.

Looking around, she gritted her teeth before clenching her fists and punching the dummy with all her strength.

[120]

"What the..."

"Holy moly."

"Goodness is this real?"

Looking at the three-digit number at the top of the dummy, the entire crowd burst into exclamation.

No one present here was stupid. By now, they have already understood that those numbers perhaps represent the strength or damage that one could cause with sheer strength. Thus, the higher the number, the better the result.

"This..." The girl who just punched the wooden dummy too was stunned by this result. For a moment she couldn't even react. It wasn't until she heard the voice of Ellina that she regained her senses.

"Go on." Nodding her head towards the last girl with the profession of the Brawler, Ellina waited quietly for the result.

[300]

"...."

The crowd which was beginning to calm down suddenly burst out in an even greater exclamation than before.

The girl who just punched the wooden dummy too looked at the number with a blank expression on her face.

"Okay... You all can go back." Waving her hand towards the six of them, Ellina spoke before pointing at the boy with assassin profession and speaking again.

"You can just stay here for the moment."

Ignoring the confused boy, Ellina looked at the students who were now looking at her with a face filled with expectations, hoping to understand what just happened.

"This here..." Pointing at the wooden dummy, Ellina spoke "is going to be your second lesson."

Looking at the still-confused students in front of her, Ellina began to explain slowly.

"Just because your attributes are the same doesn't mean that your power and ability are going to be the same.

Take this dummy for example.

Think of it as a monster. And the only way you can hurt this monster is if you can inflict damage of more than [100].

Now, if a mage or a priest or even a ranger decides to use just their fists and brute strength, then they are not going to even leave a scratch on this monster.

Like I said before, even if your attributes are the same, you are not equal. Your class is the one that decides your combat style and strength."

After glancing at the crowd with a deep gaze, Ellain slowly spoke further.

"Likewise, a brawler or any other profession that grants immense power can not put out this much strength using any weapons."

Waving her hand, Ellaina suddenly took out a small short sword before handing it to the girl with the Brawler profession.

"Hit it again with all your strength."

Gritting her teeth, the girl clenched the short sword before swinging it at the wooden dummy.

[30]

"You see what I mean?"

Taking back the sword, Ellina looked at the crowd once again.

"This is why some professions can not use hand-to-hand combat and some professions can not use any weapons."

"Your class decides everything."

Speaking till here, she took a long pause before looking at the boy with assassin profession in front of her.

"Now try to attack this dummy from behind and if possible focus on the vital points like the spine and neck."

As soon as she spoke, the boy had a look of realization on his face before an embarrassed smile ran across his face.

[200]

Soon a new value was displayed above the wooden dummy before the boy made his way back to the crowd of students.

"Teacher... If our class decides our power and fighting style then what even is the use of attributes?"

As soon as this question was asked many nodded their head in approval. Like the one just asked, if one's profession was going to decide everything then what even was the use of attribute points?

Hearing the question, Ellina let out a sweet smile, as if expecting this question.

She didn't reply but walked in front of the wooden dummy before turning towards the crowd with the dummy behind her.

Raising her right hand, she just swung it back, hitting the wooden dummy on the chest with the back of her hand.

It looked like a simple action, something that friends usually do with each other, but the moment her hand hit the dummy, a value suddenly popped up.

[1200]

"..."

"...."

"What the fu???"

"Holy shit."

"Goodness."

Looking at the astronomical number of [1200] everyone's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"This is the use of attributes." It was only now that Ellina spoke.

"I am not a warrior or brawler, but I can still crush them. This is what it represents. By increasing your attributes, you can rival and even crush the other professions that excel in them."

Giving the crowd one last look, Ellina let out a sigh before walking away, leaving her voice behind.

"You all can get one of these dummies from the teacher outside the domain. Whether you practice here or at home, doesn't matter.

I will stay here for seven more days and based on your performance will guide you and rate you.

Those who have the highest ratings will receive the rewards and only those with extraordinary results in the trials will have a chance to join the university.

Work hard and good luck."

.

.

.

"We have made some adjustments to the dummy you all are about to receive."

Outside the building, a man in his early forties was holding a wooden dummy in his left hand while explaining to the students in front of him.

"As long as your damage can reach above ten, you will be able to hurt the monsters you will face in the trials."

"Do remember to get familiar with your skills and powers too, don't just depend on brute force."

As soon as he finished speaking, he began to distribute the dummies to the students.

.

.

Grabbing the wooden dummy that reached his chest, Eldric was silent for a long time.

He thought that after awakening they all would receive storage space, but to his disappointment, there was no such thing. He still had to carry it to his apartment.

"Sigh..." Shaking his head with a bitter smile, Eldric kept on walking while thinking about everything that he had learned that day.

After awakening, he was even thinking of not going to school anymore, but thankfully, he didn't make any rash decisions. Otherwise, he would have only found out about it after he went to the other sections of the city.

"Let's just see how things are first."

It didn't take long before Eldric found himself standing inside his room, silently looking at the dummy in front of him.

Taking a deep breath he raised his hand before giving the dummy a push. He was afraid that if he used his full force here, this thing would perhaps destroy the walls and the building.

This was the only reason that he didn't immediately try out his skill in the morning after awakening.

"Uhh..." Even though he pushed it, the dummy stayed still without any changes. The only change was the value that popped above it.

[0]

"Let's just punch with a bit of force." Eldric didn't immediately punch out with all his strength. Instead, he thought for a moment and increased his force a bit.

[0]

Looking at the still wooden dummy, he grew a bit courageous and punched it a bit hard.

[1]

Looking at the dummy, he grew increasingly courageous. Eldric kept on hitting the dummy with increasing strength. It wasn't until he was sure that nothing would happen that he stopped, relaxed his body, took a deep breath, and prepared to strike with his entire strength.

Clenching his fists, he put his right foot forward, moved his right fist back, gritted his teeth, and threw a punch with his entire strength; even putting the weight of his body in that punch.

"Dummm..."

With a muffled voice, the puppet stood still.

[14]

"Nice."

Looking at the value, Eldric finally breathed in relief. Even though it was slightly higher than [10], it was enough to hurt an evolved beast. With this, he wouldn't have to worry about not being able to hurt the evolved creatures.

"Now the skill." Thinking about his true power lies in the skill, Eldric didn't waste another moment.

Getting into the same position, he clenched his fist and muttered softly.

"Fierce Strike."

As soon as Eldric thought about using the skill, he felt the muscles of his right hand suddenly contracting as veins began to swell, appearing in sight. His entire right arm looked like it was covered with snakes.

"Ughh..." Though it was somewhat difficult, Eldric gritted his teeth and punched at the wooden dummy with all his strength.

"BOOOOM."

This time, the sound was somewhat loud, but the wooden dummy stayed still, entirely unharmed.

At the top of the dummy, a value popped up, bringing a smile to the face of Eldric who was almost panting.

[28]