Hard Work

3 years later

The daily routine of conditioning my body to its best form, was finally bearing fruit when I looked at the mirror in my dorm. 'Any day I should be able to unlock the system, though I have no idea when my birthday in this world is.' This world had an identical calendar to Earth, I assumed that the astral that made this game world was from my home world. If I had the same birthday as my previous life I should be hearing the system tomorrow, February 17th.

My daily routine was to eat breakfast and socialize with the other guard apprentices before heading out and meeting with James, my senior officer and trainer. He has taught me a lot over these past few years including magic, reinforcements, and combat training. Though I had no skills as of now due to the age system lock, I did have an understanding of magic and reinforcement techniques.

There were 3 people other than myself that were around my current age Tate, Mark, and Eva. Tate was my best friend throughout these few years and I couldn't have asked for a better one. Mark and Eva were dating so I teased those two a lot when no senior officers were around. As an apprentice I had a very good and stable life with good people around me. George, Tate's trainer and my dorm mate, raised his rank from D rank guard to A rank Guard in 3 years, while not changing his personality one bit along the way. I was impressed.

My favorite part of this world was it's power system and seeing how everyone used it. Everyone had a different display screen telling them their stats and skills. George showed me his one day when I begged him, it read

——

[George Black] Guard lvl 26

(ATTRIBUTES)

STR-57 END-27 AGI-27 PER-27 DEX-27 INT-27 LUK-27

(SKILL PERKS)

Weapon bash, unarmed, vice grip, melee master(special), fast delivery, body reinforcement

(WEAPON)

Steel spear

(ARMOR/JEWELRY)

HEAD- steel helmet

CHEST- iron chest plate

ARMS- leather arm guards

LEGS- iron leg plates

BOOTS- leather boots

NECK- Theo Blacks necklace(+1 all stats)

WRIST(2)- EMPTY

RING(10)-EMPTY

——

He explained to me that he had one special skill which was melee master. This caught my interest due to its versatility and usefulness compared to some other skills. He told me it was a 100% increase to all melee based attacks, with him being able to use any melee weapon including his fist to get the 100% increase. He had a body reinforcement technique, this body technique was the most common reinforcement technique and the only one I have ever seen. I'm told Lydia has a weapon reinforcement technique but that's just a rumor Tate had told me.

After talking to Tate like I normally do when I get finished with breakfast, I headed to the training ground to freshen up my combat style. Unlike magic and reinforcement techniques, combat didn't need a skill for someone to utilize it. I found that I was most effective with a one hand sword keeping my left hand free. I was hoping I could use magic in that hand one day but even if not I would stick to the one handed sword due to its versatility and freeness in combat. I was told I was a natural by James and that I should be a reinforcement technician in the future based on my combat abilities. I was hoping he was wrong.

After my training I headed to eat dinner and see what the love birds were up to. I soon spotted them at a 2 seat table near the back of the cafeteria. Strolling up behind Eva I said "Mark I know Lydia is quite the fine specimen but you don't have to look at her like she's a piece of steak waiting to be devoured." "Oh shut up Art you loveless pawn!" He replied. "Fragile ego you have there Mark. Have you seen Tate anywhere by the way?" "Last I saw he was headed out to town for some reason. he had a 'don't follow me' look on his face so it stuck with me quite a bit." He remarked. 'I wonder why he didn't tell me where he was off to' I thought to myself. Having nobody else to eat with other than straight faced James, I decided to get my food and pull up a chair to Mark and Eva's table, thinking I would rather suffer through their cute lover act than eat in silence next to the grim reaper himself.

After seeing my talent a while ago Lydia had decided to pair me up with James to tap my full potential, James being a guard captain rank S. The only place to go up from guard captain rank S was guard leader, Lydia's spot. I would love to see that fight, the the two strongest fighters in the guard corps, The beauty Vs The Grim Reaper. James was a good teacher though all in all, always matching his skill to mine. I respect James a lot and wouldn't take another trainer if they asked, but you wouldn't catch me voluntarily hanging out with the cold man.

After heading to the baths to take a shower, I readied myself up for bed wondering what Tate was doing and if he was back by now. Seeing my worry George asked "something up youngen?" "Just wondering what Tate has been up to today, didn't really get to talk to him much." "Oh he was out pretty late today, I saw him come in to grab dinner just before the cafeteria closed for the night." Thankfully George gave me peace of mind knowing he was in the barracks. I finally went to sleep after another day of my guard life.