After our meeting, Vince seems to catch onto my worries as well and instead of dismissing us to our own devices, he tells us to be ready to head out soon.
“I got permission to use a spare training yard outside the city. Everyone is busy preparing for the off-schedule wave, so we should be able to make use of some of the excess resources left over. Before the wave begins, I’m requiring Squad Five to run mandatory drills in preparation for the upcoming fight. So far, our teamwork is lacking, especially with the new addition of Sebastian. We need to adjust our strategy around his abilities as well as the new ones everyone developed during their time in training.”
After his spiel, everyone is busy getting ready, so I wait on my bunk with Pawl. Vince’s use of the word ‘requiring’ kind of rubs me the wrong way, but I don’t bother saying anything about it as the rest of the group agrees immediately. The idea isn’t a bad one at all either, as I have been dying to see how everyone else fights, so rather than get miffed about being ordered around, I take the command in stride while I dote on my fuzzy BFF.
I feel kind of bad, as I haven’t been able to spend much time with my best buddy since the training began. I am happy to find that he doesn’t seem to hold my absence against me, and watching his mouth open in a lazy yawn in my arms makes my heart squeeze with delight.
On a whim, I put my finger in his mouth while he completes the yawn, and his eyes shoot open for a moment when his jaws close on my finger. After identifying the obstruction as the tip of my pointer finger, his emerald eyes blink slowly before removing himself from the appendage. He licks my fingertip gently with his rough tongue, and I smile while scratching underneath his chin. Leaning forward, I cuddle his fuzzy belly with the side of my face and bask in the soft sensation against my skin.
My mind wanders to the moving bodies around me, and I passively wonder how the best feline in the world will fit into all of this. I would be worried about Pawl in the upcoming wave, but I also remember how Floor One went down.
If the cat could survive a floor wide forest fire, an over leveled minotaur, and hundreds of goblins, then I have faith in his ability to live through the monster wave.
Sometimes I find myself wondering about how he managed to do all of that while still finding me at the end of the floor. An overpowered skill? A crazy Augment? To be honest, I don’t know and don’t really care. The only thing I care about is him staying alongside me. I will protect him whenever possible, and trust in his ability to find me when we get separated. That’s the least I can do after all. Trusting your BFF is the bare minimum.
“Seby let’s get going, man. You ready?”
Rising from the bed, I heft Pawl in my arms before following Wade out to the training field with everyone else.
…
The trip isn’t long, and our small group makes our way outside the confines of the city without issue. As we roll up to the location, I find that the training field is less of an official spot as much as it is just a glorified turf field. The area reminds me somewhat of a football field, except there are no lines depicting the surface of play. Checking out our surroundings, I find no other people around just as Vince said. Some benches line the area for rest between exercises, but other than that, there isn’t any of the fancy arrays or other arrangements that I had been expecting.
“I know if doesn’t look like much, but its all we really need for the purposes I have in mind. I hear the training yards in the second ring are layered with underground arrays, but this one is basically just an open area we have free reign over.” Vince explains.
As we familiarize ourselves with the new training spot, the retired soldier corrals everyone into a huddle.
“Alright, this is where we are going to spend the majority of our time over the next few days. We can still send out some scouts to check out the castle and its possible entrances for later on, but other than that, we have the general information we need. Our main objective right now is to practice as many combat scenarios and skill development exercises as possible. I’m going to separate us into pairings for some spars. We will only run one at a time, as I want the rest of the group to watch and see if they can learn anything from the fights. Furthermore, I want each and every one of you to note down any feedback you can for the people sparring. If we do this right, I think the entire squad can learn from each other while building familiarity with everyone’s skill set.” Vince is about to begin choosing the first sparring partners, but I intervene.
“What about levels? I realize I’m probably the only one here without a class yet, but can’t we go do some real-life practice with actual monsters too? It would boost our combat experience with the type of opponents we will face, we would have the danger of the high leveled monsters pushing our skills further and faster, and we would get free levels from doing so.”
The larger man looks at me with a hard expression.
“We don’t want to risk any injuries before the upcoming wave. This is the safer route and will build team synergy for us to maximize our survival prospects later on. We might miss out on some levels, but the overall experience and trained drills will be more valuable than just fighting in hunting grounds for some last minute levels.”
I am about to follow up with another question, but he stops me with a hand in the air.
“If you want to push for a few levels to get your class, I won’t stop you. Just know that no one else will be coming with you, so your risk of getting hurt is much higher. I understand you might be worried about wave since you don’t have any class yet, but try to think about what is best for the team at this point.” He finishes while giving me no room for argument.
Instead of waiting for my possible response, he begins separating everyone into pairs, leaving me heading over to the bench with the others who aren’t up yet. The entire interaction was fairly brisk, and annoyed me more than a little bit. I realize that me gaining my class isn’t at the forefront of everyone’s priority list right now, but I wasn’t arguing just for the sake of myself. From the looks of it, Vince wants us to train here, away from any real danger for the next five days until we need to report to the South Gate. The timeline isn’t optimal, but I don’t think slipping in a few hours a day for everyone to head down to a hunting ground is that bad of a plan.
Fighting real monsters would net everyone even more experience against the beasts we will face in the wave, while also having the added benefit of giving out levels and higher danger levels for further progression. The idea of needing to stay within the confines of the training area in order to prevent injury is not the best plan right now. It’s way too safe. Not to mention, we also have a healer on standby back in the tavern, so it’s not like any real injuries will persist by the time the wave hits.
Instead of going against the grain, I decide to keep quiet and just grumble to myself in my head. I don’t think the path of least resistance is the best plan to tackle DIC difficulty, but if that’s what Vince and the rest of the group wants to do, then I will just have to let them. Besides, it’s not like I can’t sneak out later tonight to go find myself a few levels. I will be getting my class before the wave, it’s just a matter of how soon I can make it happen.
A tap on my shoulder causes me to turn around to face the curly-headed teen next to me.
“Got bets on who will win this one?” Angus asks while gesturing to the two people standing in the middle of the training yard away from the rest of us.
Looking over, I dismiss my annoyance at the entire situation for a moment as I concentrate on the spar about to begin. Vince and Sandra are up first; I assume due to the fact that they are agreed upon as the strongest of the squad right now. Knowing Vince, I bet this is supposed to be a moral booster for the rest of the group, seeing the two best fighters duke it out in order to inspire the rest of us.
For the first round, I am matched up against Nikki. It’s not a bad pairing, and I am looking forward to seeing the effects of her skill since I think it is the closest in comparison to my . Her AGI focus and higher level makes me a little worried about my ability to react to her movements, but for the time being, I let the concerns wash down my back in order to focus on the current spar.
“If I had to bet, I would put my money on Sandra.” I say while watching the way she prepares for the upcoming fight.
Angus looks somewhat bewildered by my words, but I am fairly confident in my assessment of her abilities despite not having seen the two of them fight yet.
“Did you forget Vince was in the military? I can’t blame you for the bad guess though, you weren’t there when we fought on Floor One either so you don’t have much to go on, huh? Vince was like a walking wrecking ball back then. I remember the goblin’s weapons were barely doing any damage because of his crazy skill.” The younger boy continues to gush about Vince’s capabilities, but I still don’t think he will win.
The others aren’t listening to our conversation for the time being, but something tells me they might also have the same guess that Angus does. Vince looks pretty tough, and his skills make him even more so, but I believe his approach to things is too rigid for this type of combat. Monsters are fairly dumb and predictable, which makes a bruiser tank like him clean them up easily. His military background also probably contributes to his willingness to charge into the fray without hesitation. Unfortunately for him, I believe Sandra to be much more experienced with human fights than the technically-retired soldier.
I’ve seen the injuries that were inflicted upon some of the goblin corpses on Floor One. The ice attacks she wields are only a part of the puzzle, as it takes a calm and experienced hand to make use of their capability to kill. Sandra has no previous military background like Vince, yet the ice pieces I found planted in goblins eyes, heart, and major arteries tell me that she has experience in a fight.
Furthermore, the casual stance she had back when I first arrived at the barracks is telling of her natural violent tendencies. She can manage to look completely relaxed while her entire body is tensed and ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. Someone like that isn’t just a natural fighter or anything. Instead, it means that they have fought so many times that the very act of attacking another person when threatened is almost second-nature.
Finally, the noise of Angus in my ear dies down as the two finally get in their places. With a command from Vince, both of the combatants slip into action and charge each other.
Almost instantaneously, I see Vince’s entire body bulk up and his speed increases rapidly. I’m unsure of his level, but his movements likely boosted by are almost too quick to track completely. Having only started around ten meters from each other, I find the predicament to be at Sandra’s disadvantage due to Vince’s clear edge in close combat. The silver haired woman doesn’t seem to mind though, and I watch as she matches his charge while forming an icy sword out of thin air.
Her ability to create a weapon from her skill so easily surprises me greatly, as I don’t think I could even manage to create such a thing with my current level of . The speed at which it formed is also impressive, and as I watch the two about to collide, I pay close attention to how the weapon holds up.
Vince opens with a haymaker that utilizes the large momentum he accrued, and his hardened fist whistles through the air, prepared to turn Sandra’s head into mush. For a guy that said he was hoping to prevent injuries, the attack was anything but safe, and the woman’s quick reflexes are the only thing that prevents a murder from occurring right in front of me.
With his opening attack foiled, the man twists at his core to center his weight while preventing Sandra from getting him off balance. Clearly expecting a counter, he tucks his arms close to his head like a boxer, only for the woman to sweep at his legs with her sword. The icy sword connects, but instead of a shower of blood, the thick leg of the soldier bulks up at the last second and blocks her attack while causing the weapon to crack in his opponent’s hands.
From my spot on the bench, I can see that Vince’s defensive skill prevented his skin from being cut in the slightest. Another burst of speed erupts from the man, and several jabs track Sandra as the lithe woman barely weaves around each strike.
To the passive onlooker, the fight looks pretty one sided, as Vince presses the attack with his superior physical skills that provide excellent defense along with a powerful boost to his offensive capabilities. Sandra seems to do nothing but dodge around as she continues to use the reach of her sword to land glancing blows all across Vince’s figure.
Despite the weapon’s fragile looking state, the frost creation doesn’t shatter in the onslaught, and I wonder if Sandra is constantly fixing the damage herself to keep the sword in shape. Unfortunately, the hits cause no damage in reality, but it is clear the woman isn’t giving up just yet, so we all continue to observe the ongoing scuffle while waiting to see how it will end.
A few minutes pass with Vince still unable to land a hit on Sandra, and it is clear that the length of the spar is weighing on the bulky man, as his bursts of inhumane speed become fewer in number and longer between each use.
Almost poetically, as everyone seems to realize his energy is bottoming out, Sandra seems to stumble for a split second in her endless dance around Vince’s punches.
Not one to let such an obvious opening slip by, Vince uses another burst of speed, but this one is unexpectedly prolonged as if the man had been keeping some fuel in the tank for an opportunity like this. Fists-turned-gauntlets rush to put the elusive woman out of commission once and for all, but suddenly Sandra’s feet turn icy, and her entire body slips to the side as if she was on skates.
Her sword changes as well, and I watch with interest as the edge of the blade takes on a much sharper tone before swinging directly for Vince’s leg. Since the larger man is already off balance due to her sudden movement, I can see his eyes widen while his leg nearest Sandra becomes even more stiff, reflecting his heavy focus of on the area.
Right as I expect the two to collide and either shatter the icy sword or crack Vince’s heavy defenses, the frost creation is dropped to the ground and Vince’s pupils track the dangerous item all the way to the turf while Sandra’s entire body twists to deliver a brutal roundhouse kick right into the man’s unprotected face.
And just like that, the spar is over with Sandra as the victor.