Chương 63: Three Stars

On the training grounds of the adventurers' guild, Kyle flopped on the ground once more. He slowly stood up, his face and arms covered with dust, his clothes torn. Picking up his sword, he tried again. It wasn't until the familiar heat flowed from his head to his torso and limbs that he stopped.

"Hoo!" Kyle heaved a long sigh and sheathed his sword. His knees were scratched, and his arms were shaking a bit due to the strain, but it wasn't anything unusual for him. He only needed a short rest, and he would be fine.

"Finished training?" A voice asked from the side. Kyle turned his head, only to see Luke standing not far away, holding a half-empty glass of juice in his hand.

"Yeah," Kyle nodded, dusting his clothes and trying to straighten his torn pants. Luke didn't ask what he'd been doing. His eyes drifted to the other adventurers sweating on the grounds, and something nostalgic crossed his expression.

"It has been quite a while since I trained here. Captain Doyle and I frequently trained here in the past." Luke said with a faint smile on his face. Turning to look at Kyle, he pointed at the private training rooms and asked.

"Rodric told you about these rooms, right? Have you tried the puppet there?"

"No, not yet." Kyle shook his head and glanced at the training rooms. He noticed that the rectangle on a few doors had turned green.

"Then how about trying it now? I've finished my business at the guild, and we don't have much else to do." Luke said with a look of interest.

"Sure, I'm also curious about where my current attack power stands." Kyle nodded and walked towards one of the doors. Luke closely followed. Glancing at Luke beside him, Kyle couldn't help but ask.

"How many stars did you score?" Luke stroked his chin and recalled.

"Last time I tried, it was 4 stars; attack capacity isn't my forte after all." He paused, seemingly recalling something.

"Captain Doyle scored 5 stars." Kyle was a bit surprised. It was lower than he expected. They soon reached the training rooms and entered one of the non-occupied ones. The training room had a wooden floor and stone walls, more than a hundred square meters. Deep scratches and scorch marks covered the walls. Even the floor had several deep footprints imprinted into it, cracks extending for several meters. On the other side of the room stood the magic steel puppet.

It was a featureless humanoid figure, roughly the size of an adult man, its surface a dull metallic grey. Contrary to the floor and walls that were in rough shape, the steel puppet was spotless. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Luke noticed Kyle looking at the scratches and cracks and said.

"The guild maintains these rooms daily. They start spotless at the start of the day, but as you see, they end up in a rough shape by the end of the day." Luke shook his head. With the destructive potential of rank 1 adventurers, this was to be expected. Kyle didn't say anything. He didn't really care about the state of the room. His gaze was fixed on the puppet at the other end of the room. He unsheathed his sword and took a stance.

In the next second, he appeared next to the magic puppet, his sword turning into a dazzling silver flash, leaving a clean scar across its surface.

"Ding!" A yellow light flashed on the surface of the puppet, followed by the appearance of three stars.

"What?" Kyle looked at the three stars on the surface of the puppet, feeling like he had been slapped in the face.

"Is my attack really that weak?"

"Three stars isn't bad for a level 2 professional. I would even say that it is above average." Luke suppressed a smile.

"Besides, you're level 2. We were level 4. And frankly, your attack combat skill is just the standard swordsman's superspeed slash. Three stars as an attack-oriented swordsman at level 2 is solid. Nothing to be ashamed of." Luke pondered for a moment before adding.

"If you can acquire an outstanding attack combat skill and train it to a rather high level, then your attack capability might reach 7 stars by the time you're level 5." Kyle looked at the slowly disappearing scar on the surface of the puppet, deep in his thoughts.

"7 stars, huh? What about the higher scores?"

"That's the realm of beings with powerful bloodlines and special class holders. Just so you know, a 3rd-circle offense specialized spell like [Lightning Chain] can barely score 7 stars. Even mages have to use special casting techniques to get a higher score." Luke smirked.

"I see." Kyle nodded and sheathed his sword. He didn't look as frustrated as Luke expected.

'7 stars, huh? You're underestimating me, Luke.' Kyle had never thought for even a second that he would get stuck at that level.

'Still, I have to combine [Superspeed Slash] and [Phantom Step] as soon as possible. I can't drop the basic training as well.' Kyle concluded. The two walked out of the room and headed out of the guild.

"By the way, how was the guild's reaction to the information about the Bloody Hand's connection to the cult?" Kyle asked.

"Lackluster. They just took my statements before asking me to leave. They didn't even use a magic item to test the truthfulness of my statement." Luke facepalmed. He was truly speechless at the carelessness of the guild branch of Velkaris.

"At least they should have sent a message to President Richard. He's a wise and cautious man. The days of the Bloody Hand are numbered," Luke stated confidently.

"That's good." Kyle's shoulders relaxed slightly. Mirevale was his starting point, after all; he didn't want anything happening to it.

'I guess that concludes everything that needed to be done in Velkaris.' Kyle was a bit lost. He had completed the escort quest, transported Doyle back to his house, and now the guild had been informed about the gang's connection to the cult. He had nothing else that needed to be done now.

'Should I stay in Velkaris or return to Mirevale?' Kyle pondered. Kyle thought of Garrick, who might be waiting for him to return, and decided that it might be best to stay in Velkaris for the moment. He would return once the Bloody Hand had been taken care of.

'Which means I need money. Fast. Velkaris isn't cheap, and I'm almost broke.' Kyle pondered for a moment before glancing back at the adventurers' guild. The only suitable way to make money that he knew of was accepting quests from the guild.

"Hey, Luke, how are the quests here, and where do you usually complete them?" Kyle curiously asked.

'Maybe the ocean?' Kyle's gaze drifted to the endless stretch of blue water in the distance.

"Hmm, there are three major zones that are rife with monsters and magic materials near Velkaris, and you passed by one just two days ago, you know." Luke raised three fingers.

"The ocean, the Greymantle mountain range, and the dungeons." Kyle raised his eyebrow. Greymantle had slipped out of his mind with everything that had occurred over the past two days. Only now did he remember that it was an excellent quest destination.

"If you're itching for an adventure, I recommend trying our dungeons. The ocean is too dangerous, and Greymantle is too far." Luke added.

'A dungeon, huh? Am I finally about to experience an otherworld dungeon?' Kyle was a bit excited.