Chapter 6 - Training

Behind the guild was a training ground that expanded around 50 meters wide, surrounded by high walls made of wood. In there, all sorts of training tools could be used: straw dummies, weights, wooden weapons, and more.

Loki and Leo were waiting under the glaring sun, anticipating what kind of training Gerald would give them.

Even though this was new to Loki, he had no ounce of nervousness in his system. Instead, excitement and desire play in his heart.

Leo, who was now wearing a clean black shirt, brown shorts, and a new pair of shoes, was shaking. He was surprised when Loki informed him that he was joining him to train with Instructor Gerald. At first, he declined the offer, saying it was too much. However, due to Loki's reasoning and his desire to earn coins—being a Crawler was one of the best occupations for that—he accepted the offer. But he didn't let it become one-sided. In exchange for the huge favor, Leo offered Loki to stay at their Inn for free.

Loki also denied the offer, but he realized he was being hypocritical. Therefore, he made it more reasonable and counteroffered: he would get to live in the Inn for 5 years without paying.

"Aren't you nervous?" Leo asked.

"No, I'm excited. This is my first step to becoming the strongest Crawler!" Loki replied with a wide grin.

"Wow, you have big dreams."

"You greenhorns ready?"

Gerald interrupted their conversation.

"I-instructor Gerald!" Leo stuttered when he saw the beautiful man. "W-we are ready! Thank you for accepting me!"

"Let me say a few rules before we begin. First, you will do whatever I say without question, even if it seems unreasonable. Second, you will not complain, ever. Third, you can't use any of your skills. Lastly, once we begin, you can never give up. Do the both of you understand?"

"Why can't we use our skills?" Loki raised his right hand in confusion.

"Because what you need to learn is basics, and using your skills won't help you with that. Now, stop asking and answer me, do the both of you understand?"

"Yes!" Loki and Leo responded with eagerness.

"Let's start, then. Go pick up the weapon you prefer over there." Gerald pointed to the side, where all kinds of wooden weapons were located.

Loki swiftly ran, excitement bubbling inside him. When he reached the weaponry, he took a wooden dagger without hesitation. Upon returning, he noticed Leo was already standing there, holding a wooden sword.

"Wow, you're fast," Loki whispered.

"Hehehe." Leo giggled while scratching his head.

"Listen." Gerald clapped his hand. "I need to know your basics first. You will fight me one at a time, so I can gauge your skills. Midget, you first."

Finally!

Loki stepped forward, holding the dagger backward and readying himself to fight.

"Begin."

Loki frowned. He had been waiting to test his skill from the moment he became a true Blessed, but Gerald didn't seem to take him seriously. "Aren't you going to use a weapon?"

"What did I say? Don't question my way. And you really think I would need a weapon to fight a noob?"

He did agree to Gerald's rule, but the way he stated it annoyed him. "Fine."

With that, Loki dashed forward. In a second, he arrived at Gerald's side. He lowered himself, then slashed Gerald from below, targeting his chest.

Gerald watched Loki with calmness. When the dagger was about to hit him, he efficiently dodged it with minimum movement.

Seeing this, Loki smiled. He already anticipated that Gerald would evade his strike; thus, he already had a next move in mind. His slash halted midair, and he immediately stabbed Gerald.

"Too slow." Gerald caught Loki's hand and swiped his feet off the ground.

Loki didn't know what happened or why he was on the ground.

"Your speed is good but too reckless. You don't just attack your enemy because you can; if this were a real battle, you would have died. You must always have a plan," Gerald said while looking down at Loki. "Stand up, do it again."

Loki stood and immediately launched at Gerald, hoping to catch him off guard.

"This again?" Gerald questioned.

This time, Gerald didn't even let Loki commence his attack. He moved forward himself and landed a blow on Loki's stomach.

Air left Loki's lungs as he winced on the ground.

"You're too predictable. Lay there; your turn is over." After saying that, Gerald turned his gaze to Leo. "Your next pretty face."

Leo held the sword in front of him, but other than that, he stayed still.

"Are you just going to stand there, pretty face?" Gerald mocked.

Leo still hesitated.

"Move!" The instructor screamed.

Leo panicked; he lifted the sword and charged at Gerald while screaming.

Gerald remained standing. When Leo was before him and brought down the sword, he used the momentum of Leo's charge and flipped him over with one hand.

"Indecisiveness is a trait that doesn't belong to this job. Stay down and think about what you did wrong. Midget, come at me again."

The intense activity continued for a few hours until the two kids couldn't get up anymore.

"Both of you have the stamina of a baby. Midget, you're fast and have good fighting instinct, but you rely on it too much. You don't know where to attack or when to attack. What you need to do is train your foundation. I will prepare a set of training for you.

"And you, pretty face, it's clear that you have already trained before; all you need to do is strengthen it. Also, why are you using a sword? If I'm correct, your Class isn't a damage dealer but a tank. Exchange your weapon with a short sword and shield; pick the heaviest shield you can handle. I will make a different set of training for you.

"Eat first and then return here after you're done."

Upon finishing his lecture, Gerald left the two alone.

Leo and Loki grumbled on the ground. Their whole bodies ached from all the damage they had taken.

"Do you think we can go back to the Inn with our current states?" Leo weakly asked.

"Well, we better do; if we don't, we're going to repeat all of this with an empty stomach," Loki complained.

After a while, Leo pushed himself off the ground and stood up. "Come on, Loki."

"What, you can already move? Tank type Class is really something, huh?"

"My body is the only thing good to me, but you, on the other hand, are quick and deadly. Being a Rogue is good too."

Loki abruptly sat up when he heard Leo. "Wait, how do you know I have a Rogue Class? I've never told that to anyone, even to Instructor Gerald."

"It's obvious, you know. Rogue is a common Class; of course, almost anyone could see that you're one by just watching you fight."

"Wait, isn't it a bit disadvantageous for me? If everyone knows I'm a Rogue, then they will know how to deal with me."

Leo lingered, contemplating Loki's words. "Yes, it's a bit disadvantageous for you. But even if they know your Class, they won't know your fighting style and how your brain works. At least, that's what my dad always told me. Also, knowing your Class has an advantage too, you know. For example, your party members will trust you more and will know how to cooperate with you. After all, they know what you're capable of."

"I guess that's reasonable," Loki hesitantly agreed.

Father Laryatt continuously reminded him not to divulge his Class to anyone. Luckily, he had the skill to assimilate other Classes. He would be able to hide it better.

Seeing Loki's undetermined face, Leo smiled and spoke. "My Class is called Guardian."

Loki looked at Leo in disbelief. "Why are you telling me that? Is it okay for you to just tell anyone your Class?"

"Don't worry, I'm not planning to announce my Class to everyone. I told you because I trust you."

Loki felt a bit guilty, but Father Laryatt strongly insisted that he should keep his Class a secret, and he had promised that he would follow it.

"I see, thank you."

"Let's go; we don't have much time."

The kids went to the Inn and ate their lunch; after that, they immediately ran back to the guild's training ground.

Gerald was already there, waiting for them.

"Both of you are late; go run in a circle. You will only stop when I tell you to."

Loki and Leo were still panting due to their previous run, and now they had to do it again. But even then, they didn't complain and followed Gerald's instructions.

After running for 30 minutes, the two inspiring Crawlers became dead men, panting and full of sweat.

"Okay, that's enough!" Gerald ordered.

The instructor's voice was like music to Loki and Leo's ears. They immediately fell to the ground.

"Water…" Loki weakly reached out to Gerald.

Gerald sauntered to the almost-dead kids and said, "No, do you think you can have everything inside the Dungeon? Get used to being starved and dry; you will experience it a lot."

"Ahh, I'm dying, I vomited all the food I had eaten," Leo uttered.

"While you're resting, we're going to test how much knowledge you have about Crawlers and Dungeons."

"What? Can we rest for a minute?" Loki complained.

"Shut up; if you don't know the answer, then just be quiet and listen. Do you know why people who pass 15 years old without getting a Class will never become a true Blessed?"

"I don't know; I don't want to think," Loki wheezed.

"Shut up. I said don't talk if you don't know. How about you, pretty face?"

Leo didn't hesitate and answered. "Because when a Blessed passes 15 years of age, they will not gain any stats even if they work 10 times harder; thus, they will never meet the requirements to obtain a Class."

"Not bad," Gerald praised.

Leo grinned in satisfaction.

Seeing this, Loki became a bit envious and said, "Please ask about Dungeons."

"Fine. What are the levels of monsters inside a 1-star Dungeon?"

Loki pretended to think, but in reality, he had no clue, so he became desperate and uttered a random number. "5!"

"Wrong, stupid." Gerald looked at Loki with unamused eyes.

"Me, me, me!" Leo sat up and eagerly raised his hand.

"Go on."

"1-10"

"That's close but still wrong. The correct answer is 1-20."

"What? How am I supposed to know that?" Loki said in bemusement

"How can you not know that? You want to become a Crawler, but your knowledge about Crawler and Dungeon is pathetic. Do you know what is most important about being a Crawler?"

"Strength?"

"Me, me, me!"

"Shut up, that's a rhetorical question. The most important is preparedness. As a Crawler, your number one priority is survival, and being prepared means being alive. How can you anticipate and deal with a worst-case scenario if you don't know your basics? Everything inside the Dungeon can kill you, but it can also save you if you know what you're doing. With the right knowledge, you will be able to use the Dungeon's environment to your advantage."

"But if I'm strong enough, I don't need to worry about that," Loki muttered.

Gerald gazed at Loki with disappointed eyes. "How will you grow if you're dead? Stupid."

The instructor's words hurt Loki's feelings, but that didn't make them wrong. He decided that from then on, he wouldn't question Gerald's words anymore.

"Next question: What will happen if we don't kill the monsters in the Dungeon for a week?"

Loki quickly sat up and raised his right hand. "Oh, this one I know. If Crawlers fail to clean the Dungeon for a week, then a phenomenon called Dungeon Break will occur. Because the monsters inside the Dungeon become too many, it will spew all the monsters into the outside world. The monsters will go on a rampage and will kill all living things that their eyes set upon."

"I guess there's still some brain left in that tiny head of yours." Gerald nodded. "And that will lead me to my next question. If Dungeon is that dangerous, why do you think the DCG isn't destroying them all? Why are they letting a Dungeon exist near a place where a lot of people live?"

Loki and Leo stared into each other's eyes. It was obvious they both had no idea why.

But Loki, being himself, responded with an answer that he thought most logical. "Because it was too hard for the Crawlers?"

"Wrong, even I alone can finish a 1-star Dungeon on my own. It's because if DCG destroys all the weak Dungeons, then new Crawlers will lose the place that they can level up. And if that continues, humanity will gradually lose all the strong Crawlers without a replacement. We learned that lesson a few hundred years ago when the church's sole purpose was to destroy as many Dungeons as they could.

Humanity almost became extinct, and people gradually began questioning the ways of the powerful church. But the church didn't like being questioned; that's why they branded the group of people as heretics and sentenced them to death. A lot of Blessed became enraged with that decision and defended the people. But the church was too powerful for them; thereby, they created an association, a group of like-minded Blessed."

"Wait, so the church is bad?" Loki asked while frowning.

Realizing that he had spoken too much, Gerald immediately changed the topic. "We're going off course. Here, take this." Gerald handed Loki and Leo a paper each.

Loki wanted to know more about the history, but when he saw what was written on the paper, he became excited and inquired. "Is this my training routine?"

"Yes, from now on, the both of you will do that training every day. So, stop resting and start your training."

"What? Can we rest for a few more minutes?" Loki complained.

Gerald didn't answer and only stared at Loki.

But Loki didn't need words to understand the gaze.

"Fine."