13 A New Mine

It had been two weeks since Leon and Dean started training. Their routine was basically almost the same thing, after morning exercises, they would soak in the herbal bath to meditate, then later on, they would practice their techniques before sparring. They also went out to the arena to watch more battles after Leon suggested it. 

Contrary to the first time they started sparring, their combat knowledge had increased, but there was no way they would be able to know just how far. The one who showed the most growth was unexpectedly Dean. And the reason was quite simple, unlike Leon, he had zero fighting experience, so he was learning from scratch. 

His improvement was more visible compared to Leon's. Now, he usually gets most of the timing of his strikes right. Only, he still gets beaten by Leon after exchanging a few blows. It couldn't be helped, Leon was a monster when it came to fighting. 

Even though Dean was improving rapidly, Leon was also improving just as fast. But still, they both knew the only way to test themselves is against real opponents. 

As someone from the modern age, Dean found his current daily routine somewhat boring, but he couldn't stop himself from doing it. The thrill of learning new techniques and being able to shake an entire tree with a single punch was getting the better of him. 

As they started spending most of their time together, their relationship improved, although slightly, it was still better than before. Leon wasn't as cold to him as he previously was, and would sometimes even engage in conversations with him.

....

At the training ground. 

Swoosh! 

Bam! 

The sound of something speedily moving through the air before connecting with another object sounded out. 

"Wow! You're getting better at using that!" Dean went to check the spot Leon's arrow hit on the tree. 

And the arrow missed the marked spot by only a few centimeters. 

After acquiring the bow, Leon had started practicing with it for almost two weeks now, and he had made some major improvements. He was not the only one who had started training with a weapon, Dean had also started training with a weapon, and he expectedly picked a sword as his weapon. 

When Leon asked him the reason he picked a sword as his weapon of choice, his response was 'Everyone knows the weapon of choice for the MC is almost always a sword!'.

Being too lazy to ask him to explain, he just decided to end the topic there. 

Leon was currently standing a hundred meters away from the tree. He slowly walked towards the tree and removed the arrow from the spot. 

"Yeah, I didn't think I'd be able to get this good this quickly." Leon said while keeping both his quiver and his bow in his storage ring. 

"How about you, how's your sword training going?" He raised his head to look at Dean who had climbed the tree, sitting on the branch while swinging his legs. 

"It's great! Among all the warriors, only those late one-star warriors can keep up with me now." Dean laughed excitedly as he spoke of his performance. 

Warriors in each family were ranked with stars, and each star represents a stage. 

When he started training with the sword, it took him three days to learn the basics. After that, it all felt natural, and he started improving at a terrifying speed. The late one-star warriors in his family were all at least Seventh layered Body Tempering stage Warriors. 

One has to remember that he was still a Fourth layered Body Tempering stage cultivator. After each breakthrough, the strength, speed, defense, and senses of a Warrior will increase. That is to say, a Seventh layered Body Tempering stage Warrior is faster than those in the Sixth layer. Yet, Dean who was in the Fourth layer could keep up with their speed in swordplay! It was an incredible feat! 

If not for them being able to completely overpower him in terms of strength, he would have been able to even defeat them. 

"That's good." Leon nodded, a little impressed before going quiet. He had seen Dean's swordplay as well, so he knew he wasn't lying. 

The training ground soon fell into silence. 

"I think I'll be able to break through soon." Dean said, breaking the silence. 

"Huh? You too?" A look of incredulity appeared on Leon's face. 

'What's going on? How come we're able to advance this quickly in not just our cultivation, but also when learning new techniques? Even the speed at which we're improving when it comes to fighting and using weapons is faster than usual.' Multiple questions bombarded Leon's mind. 

It was one thing if it was only him, but now, Dean was also experiencing the same thing. Because Dean was new to all this, there was a chance he might not be able to understand what was going on. He might know if there was an increase in his cultivation speed since Leon had told him about his predecessor's cultivation speed, but he may not know anything about the learning speed. 

Leon, on the other hand, had been in this world since he was born, hence he knew what was happening to them was strange. This wasn't his first time training, so he knew how hard it was to learn new techniques. But since the incident, the speed at which he learns new techniques has improved tremendously. 

On hearing Leon's response, Dean was able to ascertain he would also break through soon. He looked at Leon's face and noticed his brows were knitted. 

"Is anything wrong?" He couldn't resist asking. 

"I can't really say it's wrong. When meditating in the herbal bath, how much of its essence do you absorb?" Asked Leon. 

"About fifty percent." Dean replied after thinking for a while. 

"That's…" Leon gasped in shock. 

He hadn't bothered to ask Dean about his cultivation previously, and even though Dean broke through, he assumed it was because maybe he was on the verge of breaking through before the incident.

Now, he knew things weren't how they seemed. He massaged his temples as he thought of what the reason could be, but even after thinking of every possible thing, he still couldn't come up with a reason. 

....

While Leon and Dean were in the training ground. 

In Mason's study. 

"The Gnurx Tribe discovered a new mine. The tribe leader had sent a message to request assistance." A man said after reading the content of the letter in his hands. 

"Hmm, a new mine?" Mason dropped the book he was reading. 

The man nodded at his words. 

"Where's the mine located?" Mason asked. 

The man gave him a description of the location stated in the letter. 

Mason thought about it for a while before saying, "Call the boys over." 

"Yes, Lord." The man bowed before leaving the room. 

'Since they've started taking training seriously, it's time for them to go out.' thought Mason. 

He planned on sending the boys along with some warriors to the tribe to help them in securing the place. From the location, it was a place filled with magical beasts of low level, a perfect place for the youngsters to train. Of course, he would ensure to send someone to protect them if things were to get dangerous.