Chương 62: Arrogant Fool

Kyle looked around the training ground. This was the space reserved for copper-grade adventurers and above. It was a vast rectangular space, over a hundred meters long and fifty meters wide. Kyle tapped the ground with his feet, noticing that it wasn't made of regular stone. It was smooth yet harder than granite; it didn't seem like something that could be easily created in this world.

"The ground was shaped by a rank 2 earth mage." A voice called out from the side. Kyle turned his gaze to the source of the voice. It was a dark-haired, tall young man wearing the guild's clerk uniform. Noticing the inquisitive expression on Kyle's face, the young man smiled and introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Rodric. I manage the training grounds. First time here?" The young man extended his hand with a practiced smile, something that came with greeting newcomers frequently.

"I'm Kyle. This is indeed my first time." Kyle shook his hand.

"I see. Well, first of all, congratulations on becoming a copper-grade adventurer, especially at such a young age." Rodric said with a big smile on his face.

"Em, thank you." Kyle nodded with a slightly embarrassed smile, a bit overwhelmed by Rodric's enthusiasm.

"Let me introduce you to the functions of the training grounds." Rodric just gave him a faint, formulaic smile before pointing at the open ground.

"This is the open training grounds. The floor is made of condensed stone created by the 4th-circle spell [Earth Shaper]. It's hard enough to withstand conventional strikes from most rank 1 professionals."

"Just be careful not to fall, or you'll hurt yourself," Rodric jokingly said.

"Ha-ha," Kyle awkwardly laughed. Rodric pointed at the three-story building to the side of the training grounds.

"Those are the free private training rooms." He gestured toward the row of doors at its base.

"They're currently full, so you'll have to wait, but they're absolutely worth using." Rodric gestured for Kyle to look at the small red rectangle in the middle of the doors.

"These training rooms are not only sturdier but also have a magic steel puppet made by a rank 2 artificer. The puppet is durable, self-repairing, and equipped with a rank 1 rating mechanism scaled from 1 to 10 stars." Rodric introduced.

"A 10-star rating mechanism? What's its principle?" Kyle curiously asked. Rodric grinned and pointed at the copper tag hanging on Kyle's neck.

"You simply place your tag in the allotted slot and attack the puppet. A one-star rating means your attack power is at the absolute bottom of your rank, and a 10-star rating is the opposite. Of course, you're unlikely to get 10 stars unless you have an extremely powerful special class. Most common professionals peak at 8 stars." Rodric shook his head.

"I see, I'll have to try it later." Kyle nodded. He was curious where his current power stood.

"Until a training room vacates, you can use the open training grounds. There's a weapon rack if you need one, and there are also weights if you want to train your physique." Rodric pointed at the two racks on the other side of the training grounds. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"I see, thank you for the introduction. I'll go train now." Kyle nodded gratefully and walked away.

"It's my job. Good luck with your training! And please try not to make a commotion." Rodric waved with a big smile; boredom flashed in the depths of his eyes. Kyle waved back and walked to an unoccupied corner.

'It's been a while since I had the time to do a proper physical training.' He unsheathed his sword, took a deep breath, and started with his swordsmanship routine to get the blood flowing.

"Swoosh!" After the last sword swing, a silver afterimage trailing behind, Kyle stood still and closed his eyes. He wanted to try something he thought of during his journey to Velkaris. Mana slowly flowed through his limbs, starting from his heart, then his torso, waist, and down to his calves. His eyes snapped open, then he disappeared from his place, leaving a faint afterimage behind.

He reappeared 20 meters away, mana quickly shifting from his legs to his arms, then utilizing the momentum of the sharp movement, he swung his sword. Kyle swung his sword; however, due to a mistiming between the mana switch and the sword swing, he stumbled.

"Clang!" His sword flew out of his hand, dropping onto the ground with a clang. Kyle quickly slapped the ground with his arm to avoid planting his face in the ground.

"Tch!" He clicked his tongue. He ignored the looks from nearby adventurers and stood up.

'It won't work that easily, huh?' Kyle was annoyed. He had just tried combining [Phantom Step] and [Superspeed Slash] into one move, using the momentum of the superfast movements of [Phantom Step] to massively increase the power of [Superspeed Slash]. However, the mana manipulation required to use each of these skills was different; changing it required at least a second, and forcibly trying to accelerate the change wasn't easy. It might even cause him internal injuries.

'It seems like my only option is to use my talent to forcibly combine them.' Kyle decided. He picked up his sword, took a deep breath, and decided to try again. This time, he set the goal of combining them into a single skill. Now all he had to do was train and leave the rest to his talent. …… On the fourth floor of the adventurers' guild, a blond middle-aged man was wiping his sweat with a towel. He had just finished today's training session.

"Here you go, Vice President Neil." A beautiful secretary walked in, holding a tray with a wine bottle and a glass cup. Neil poured himself a glass of wine and then walked to the window, sipping his wine while watching the training grounds below. His secretary stood a few steps behind him, respectfully holding a paper stack. He casually glanced at the adventurers below, his gaze settling on a dark-haired young man. Watching the young man display sharp swordsmanship, Neil raised his eyebrow.

"Oh? Solid fundamentals," he praised. His expression turned strange, however, when the young man suddenly bolted from one corner to the other, then stumbled while trying to swing his sword. Occasionally falling, then immediately standing up and trying again.

"Outstanding speed, but is there something wrong with the head of that young man?" Neil muttered with a puzzled expression. His eyes glowed a faint red as he studied the young man's movements. It was only after seeing through the mana dissonance that was causing the young man to fall that he realized what he was trying to do. Neil was speechless; disdain settled over his expression. The young man was trying to combine two combat skills, but that was impossible.

That wasn't something a young man with a shallow level of mana control could achieve. Creating combat skills was something only rank 3 masters could attempt.

"Arrogant fool." Neil shook his head, losing interest in watching anymore. While the young man was somewhat talented, he wasn't interested in self-important fools.

"What's the matter, Vesper?" Neil turned to look at his secretary.

"Vice President Neil. An adventurer has reported that an underground gang in Mirevale is connected to the Old Imperial Cult." Vesper respectfully handed him a sheet of paper. Neil took the piece of paper and skimmed through its contents before throwing it away.

"The guild's been attracting nothing but morons lately." Neil shook his head and walked to the sofa in the corner.

"Vesper, don't bring me such a ridiculous report again. A gang in Mirevale is connected to the cult? Heh!" He sneered, sitting down on the sofa and taking a sip from his wine glass.

"Not to mention the ridiculousness of such a proposition. The adventurer didn't even provide proof to back up his claims. Besides, Mirevale isn't under our jurisdiction."

"We should really raise our intellectual standard while recruiting." Neil shook his head, a trace of exasperation on his face.

"Understood, sir. Should we send a message to President Richard about this?" Vesper lowered her head and cautiously asked.

"By the gods! Not you too, Vesper! Go! Go! Don't make me lose my temper!" Neil waved his hand and roared. Vesper didn't say anything else. She just bowed and left.

"Tch! I'm surrounded by idiots." Neil sighed and took another sip from his glass.