Chương 102: 101 - Weapon Master

Alexandra was climbing the final tunnel of the Troll Cave. She wasn't sure if she'd killed all the trolls in the instance, but it had to be close. It took her close to an hour to find her way to the gate. She found it open and the base camp deserted. She'd stayed a full twenty-four hours inside the dungeon, focused on improving her combat skills. It was night. She stored the Axe and the Spear she'd borrowed from another team inside the camp, keeping only a dagger for herself.

She filled her gourd at the reservoir the regular dungeon divers kept near the entrance and sat near the surviving embers of a camp fire. Whoever had lit it was likely in the Troll Cave now. These days, she didn't need to eat much thanks to Photosynthesis and Solar Core. She still visited the dining hall now and then to eat with Willow and sometimes Haste. The food there was always delicious. Water, however, was still mandatory.

She wasn't sure if she'd die from dehydration, but the feeling of a dry throat was something she preferred not to experience. Alexandra put her gourd down and opened her journal. Daily quests summary: Eight Quests Completed -> +80 exp, +2 STR, +3 DEX, +1 CON, +2 PER Daily Quest Streak: 51 -> 59 Today's quest had been quite simple, if time-consuming. She was able to do it inside the cave. All she needed was to flip a coin and have it land on tails ten times in a row. It took her two hours.

It was her second dungeon outing since reaching Bronze, and it was well worth the time invested. Training Quests were a fantastic tool to hasten her skill leveling. The upper levels of the uncommon rank started asking for Silver rank opponents, but that was only applicable to Inflict Weakness and Dark Bolt. As for Aggressive Assimilation and Drain Life, they focused on diversifying her sources of lifeforce. As a result, despite using the skills in every fight, the Troll Cave wasn't the best place to train them.

Inflict Weakness 11 -> 13 Dark Bolt 10 -> 13 Alexandra was already thinking about hunting a Silver rank monster. Upgrading her Defiance achievement was a somewhat low-hanging fruit. Though Silvers weren't so easy to defeat. But, at least, it felt possible. She knew that upgrading her other achievements would be a challenge. Killing a Gold and a Platinum had been the result of extremely favorable circumstances that she couldn't, and didn't want to, replicate.

And that was without mentioning a Ruby rank, which she would need to upgrade Rebellion. As for her combat skills, even Dagger Mastery that she'd unlocked two days ago was already maxed out. Sword Mastery 6 -> 10 Spear Mastery 6 -> 10 Axe Mastery 5 -> 10 Mace Mastery 5 -> 10 Dagger Mastery 1 -> 10 A few more of her skills had progressed without her focusing on them. Reading 7 -> 8 A Face Among Many 6 -> 7 Running 7 -> 8 Alexandra closed her journal.

Before standing up, she gathered her mana threads and restrained them within her core. She had decided to prioritize her training before starting the skill quest for Mana Concentration. Both Drain Life and Aggressive Assimilation needed her to extend her threads to use them. Between delaying a skill quest for a few days and giving up on the regeneration that made her abusing the dungeon possible, the choice had been easy.

Not keen on getting lost in the forest at night again, she tied the threads into a tight knot, hoping it would hold in her sleep, and lay down under a tent. * She was woken up close to sunrise, when a group of Bronzes exited the dungeon. Her threads had held, but she adjusted them anyway. They came through the gate still arguing about something and stopped when they saw her. She was lacing her boots.

One of them, stocky, a mace across his back, looked at the empty camp, then at her, then at the dungeon entrance behind him. She watched him.

"That's her," the woman beside him said quietly. Not quietly enough. Stolen story; please report. Alexandra pulled the last knot tight and stood. They were four Bronzes, worn, one of them limping on his left side.

"You cleared it?" the stocky one asked.

"Most of it." She wasn't interested in discussing it. She picked up her pack and her gourd.

"Are you heading back toward the library?" They were. She walked with them. The Iron Library came into view before the walls of Kator. Alexandra and the group climbed the stairs to the hilltop and parted ways. She walked through courtyards, corridors, and past the tower into the Keeper side of the complex. She didn't cross anyone's path until she reached the courtyard where she trained with Kashin. There were noises coming from within. She smiled. The green-robed Keeper was there.

She hadn't been sure, but she tried anyway. Now that her skills were maxed, she couldn't wait to get to the next step. She pushed the door of the courtyard open and took in the scene. A tall, black-haired, Bronze rank boy was fighting against her teacher. Well, fighting wasn't quite the right term for what was happening here. He was trying, and she knew the feeling all too well. The Emerald Rank Keeper was a true master. It was not surprising she or other students couldn't faze him.

Kashin swept his foot behind the boy, sending him rolling to the ground. Alexandra raised her eyebrows as she saw his face. Zamar. She was half-tempted to turn back. I'm a fucking adult. I shouldn't be scared of a kid. So she stayed. Zamar's eyes fell on her, and he scrambled to get up.

"Miss Alexandra," Kashin greeted her.

"I believe our lesson is scheduled in three days." She tore her gaze from Zamar.

"I know. But I got all my skills to level ten."

"I see." Kashin nodded slowly.

"That was fast. As expected of you. There is no reason to delay." A brief pause.

"You are ready for a skill merge." She saw Zamar look at her from the corner of her eye.

"You have been building toward this since before Bronze," Kashin continued.

"With six combat skills and Combat Sense, the foundation is in place. I'll guide you through the process."

"Thank you."

"Alexandra." She turned. Zamar stood still behind her. He wasn't quite looking at her and wasn't quite looking away.

"What I said to you," he started.

"When you were Iron. After the Enchantment class." His jaw tightened.

"It wasn't right. I'm sorry." She studied him for a moment. Admitting it took something out of him, but it seemed sincere.

"Why did you say that?"

"I was trying to show off to my friends." He looked down.

"They saw right through me. I'm sorry." Kashin coughed.

"I don't know what this is about, but if I may." Alexandra nodded.

"Zamar isn't a bad kid. He's talented. Sometimes it gets to his head." Zamar was red as a beet.

"I figured," Alexandra said.

"Apologies accepted. Congratulations on your evolution to Bronze."

"You too," Zamar said. Kashin's expression didn't change.

"Zamar is working on a skill merge, too. I would ask you to let him watch so he can familiarize himself with the process. I don't think he'll be able to level his skills nearly as fast as you."

"Teacher," Zamar said, throwing a glance at Alexandra before focusing on the green-robed man.

"With all due respect, I'm progressing faster than my peers." Kashin nodded.

"That is true. But Miss Alexandra is an exception. She isn't your peer, so there's no reason to make it a competition."

"But…"

"Zamar."

"Sorry," the boy said.

"Miss Alexandra started learning from me a month after you. She's maxed out five weapon skills in a month. Don't compare yourself to her." Alexandra looked between her teacher and Zamar, unsure of what to do.

"Erm, for what it's worth, my class perks are tailored for fast growth. I'm sure you'll reach this point soon." Kashin turned to her.

"Soon, yes. In a year or two. Now, let's talk about your skill merge." She didn't insist.

"The idea behind this merge will be to use Combat Sense as the base and your six weapon mastery skills as ingredients. Most of my students don't study the sickle, so integrating it is a gamble. It might pay off and create a better skill. Else, we can fall back to the original version of the merged skill: the Five-Fold Style. What do you prefer?"

"I'd like to keep the sickle," Alexandra said. She hadn't used one since leaving Esmera, but she was attached to her first weapon and the memory of those who'd set her on this path. Kashin walked to the weapon rack and picked one of each type. A sword, a spear, an axe, a mace, a dagger, and a sickle. He placed them in a circle around Alexandra. Alexandra didn't say anything.

"Activate your class art," Kashin said. She took out her journal and opened it to the first page.

"Keep an eye on it, the system will tell you when the merge is successful." She nodded.

"How do we proceed?"

"That's the difficult part," Kashin said.

"You need to activate all your skills to their limit at the same time."

"I can't hold six weapons at once." Kashin grabbed a sword and an axe for himself, one in each hand.

"Weapon mastery isn't defined by what you can do with a weapon. You also use it to understand what your opponent is capable of." Alexandra frowned. She understood the words. She didn't know how to actually do it.

"When you're holding the sword, I'm supposed to feel my Sword Mastery activate through watching you?"

"No. Through knowing what I could do with it." She bent down and grabbed the sickle and the mace.

"That's two each," she said.

"Four in total. Unless you have another pair of arms you haven't shown me."

"I do, Miss Alexandra." Kashin looked at the roof.

"I do." She looked in the same direction and felt her chest tighten. Sera was standing on the roof, looking at her.