The second requirement and his realization

The forest behind the village was not dangerous compared to the outside world. Gresvin did not have to worry about the beasts inside, at least the ones on the outskirts of the woods.

The animals on the outskirts were nothing serious, and they were precisely the type of game he wanted to hunt; as such, he had no need to delve too deep into the woods.

His day went on like normal, and once he had finished his training, he rested once more underneath the same pine as always.

His thoughts had started to drift towards the incoming battle. He was worried about the bandits' numbers and strength, especially if they were forest bandits. The bandits could have a rank 2 warrior leading them, and if that were to happen, Gresvin did not know if he would be able to defeat the leader.

After all, he is a ranged warrior. His skills in archery propelled him into the ranks of a rank 2 warrior, but his swordsmanship was still stuck at the level of a rank 1 warrior.

'Hold on! If the system is based on the game, then surely it would have some elements of advancement?' the thought struck him. As the thought came to mind, he remembered a certain window panel that he had thrown in the back of his head.

'I did think the experience bar would be something of importance,' he said after pulling up a window panel.

{Recruit}

{Strenght - 12}

{Agility - 10}

{Dexterity - 8}

{Intelligence - 8}

{Charisma - 9}

{Skills: - }

{Experience - 9/100}

Gresvin gazed at the panel, and without too much consideration, he clicked on the experience bar.

{Cannot Advance! Requirements not met! 0/2} 

"Yes!" he shouted loudly. The message was clear: He could advance his warriors if they met certain criteria, one of which he already knew. Well, he guessed it based on what was shown, and although he was not 100% assured in his guess, he was confident in its probability.

"If they had the full experience, they should be able to meet the requirement, but what could the other one be?" His gaze landed on the panel once more.

'Their basic stats? Could that be it or their weapon proficiency?' Those were the two ideas he had come up with based on what was shown. 

'Could it be that once their stats were upgraded, they would advance? But that can't be right. Surely not all the stats need to be upgraded? Maybe only one?' His mind raced with ideas and guesses, but he had no clue what the right one would be.

Gresvin groaned in frustration. The continued elusive matters gave him a headache, and it was not like he could just throw the thoughts into the back of his head, now could he?

'In the future, the village will surely attract more attention if it grows more and more prosperous. I will need the corresponding strength if I want to protect the village.' His thoughts were not some groundless opinions; rather, he believed that with his protection, the village would continue to grow prosperous, and at that time, he feared his current strength would not suffice.

"No point in mauling over it," he sighed softly. He stood up and gathered his things before leisurely walking through the woods towards the village.

He soon arrived at the open space between the cabins where the warriors stayed. Gresvin saw a small group of warriors, four to be precise, busy training. They were practicing their swordsmanship against one another.

Gresvin saw the men going at one another and decided not to disturb them; he stealthily moved to a cabin where a chair was laid out front. His eyes never left the sparring duel between the men, especially the match where Marcus was sparring with Manon.

Even when he had taken his seat, he sat quietly without a single sound; Gresvin was solely focused on their movements, each one of their swings and blocks. 'Let's see, maybe I can help them out a bit,' he thought, at least from what he could tell; his swordsmanship skill was still a bit better compared to the two warriors.

The sparring match kept getting more intense as the two warriors slowly got into their rhythm.

Clang!

The sound of the two swords clashing against one another narrowed Gresvin's eyes as he observed the clash. "Marcus has some decent footwork compared to Manon; I would say he is a bit better in that regard," he mumbled to himself.

"He needs to loosen that grip, though. He's getting too tense, and he won't be able to fight like that for much longer." Gresvin carefully analyzed the two warriors' body movements. Parry there. It was a good block, but it needed to be faster on the counter. Marcus needs to develop some quicker reflexes. Maybe… mm… maybe we could work him something out," he pondered while scratching his chin, lost in thought.

While Gresvin was caught in thought, the sparring match continued fiercely. Not one of them showed signs of giving up or tiring that easily; they kept on going back and forth over the open area like two well-oiled machines.

Gresvin returned his attention to the two men just in time to see Manon making a move. Manon swung wildly; his blade whistled through the air. The movement was significant and had many openings. 'But that is to be expected; after all, they are only recruits. Their skills would not be that great after all.' 

'Mm… Manon has some strong swings, with a lot of power behind them but all that flailing leaves him wide open after each attack.' Gresvin shifted in his seat while muttering to himself, 'Both of them rely too heavily on brute force. Manon in particular, Marcus has some footwork to show for it but Manon only relies on his heavy sword strikes.'