Training

"I will accompany you guys on your remaining journey," Henry said with a smile.

"What!" Dren exclaimed.

"Of course, your mission isn't over. You still have a quest to complete."

Garou remained silent with an expressionless face. "We can't go on like this. We need to rest," he said, sitting on the ground.

Issaiah also sat on the ground, trying to regain his energy.

"Alright, thirty minutes," Henry said as he leapt up, landing on a tree. He sat on the large branch leaning on the bark.

~~~~

"Right behind you, Dren!" A voice rang out in the forest. "I got it," he replied, swinging his daggers. They struck a beast that was running behind them. The beast crashed to the ground, and with a spin, he stabbed its head, killing it.

"That's the last of them," Will said above a tree. He jumped down, removing the beast crystal.

[ Horned wolf: Advanced tier(low stage) ]

They had finally completed the mission, Will kept the beast in his spatial ring and then moved forward.

"That was a good hunt," Henry said, stretching his body. "C'mon, let's head out, I'm so... hungry," he said without a stretch once again.

"Hey, Will, why didn't you join the hunt," Dren said walking up to him.

"I was completely exhausted," he said. "Moreover I played a part in the hunt... I was the one who tracked down the beasts."

Although Will had said this, that was far from true. "Hitting a milestone in the system, there might be a chance of an evolution. Which I don't want to happen in the presence of them." He thought walking forward.

The journey back was smooth since Henry had released some of his aura. The beasts were smart enough to avoid the terrifying aura surrounding them.

Navigating their way through the forest, they finally came out into the open space and, within five minutes, were out of the yellow zone.

The group of five were about expressing their gratitude to their captain but were shocked. Where Henry once stood was empty as if he had never accompanied them.

With a sigh, they all walked forward, their battered and bloody clothes a testament to what they had faced in the yellow zone.

"It's truly a dangerous place," Will thought with a sigh. They were lucky they hadn't encountered the critters while in the forest.

Walking into the forge, Will accessed his spatial space, dropping the hunted beast and their crystals right before Pete, who sat on a chair with a cup of hot tea.

Will had kept those that weren't required already thinking of crafting some new items with it.

"Great!" Pete exclaimed, rising from his seat, and inspecting the beast. "This one is a bit damaged," he said with a frown. "But I guess I'll make do with what's here."

"OK, boys, you've all performed well. Go and take some rest. I'll prepare the rest."

With a yelp, Dren headed out of the forge, finding his way towards the dorm. Garou had separated from them, and just the four of them were walking towards the dorm.

Looking at Issaiah closely, Will noticed his cloth was way cleaner than theirs with only a cut across his chest. He soon noticed they had attracted the crowd with their bloodied clothes.

"C'mon, let's change out of this wear," Dren said as they finally got to the dorm building. They went their separate ways leaving Will and Issaiah. Their rooms were one floor from Will's room. Will pushed the door open and quickly headed to the bathroom.

After a nice shower, he quickly entered the little kitchenette, which was stuck to the brim with food. Serving some food, he quickly devoured them before finally settling down.

There's still time to head to the training room and practice, he said to himself contemplating what to do.

He finally decided to train a little. Although he was exhausted, he decided to go to deepen his understanding of his ability.

The training floor was a good place for one to cultivate. The floors are filled with mana, which helps the students to easily cultivate.

Will entered the hall, deciding to book a space for two hours. Paying the fee of forty intermediate beast crystals, he was immediately granted a room filled with the elemental energy he requested.

He had decided to cultivate his fire ability. Hence, the room was filled with fire energy. The energies that can be installed in a room were limited to the elemental abilities.

Taking a lotus position with rhythmic breathing, he delved into his consciousness. Strands of energy could be seen in the air moving towards his body. He remained in that position, taking in the energy within the air.

[ You've gained comprehension on your fire ability]

After two hours, he received a notification from his system. He gave a satisfied nod before lifting himself off the floor. He walked out of the room, heading to the first floor.

"I would like to book a normal room," he said to the brown-haired lady.

"That would be twenty intermediate crystals," the lady said, looking up from the large book she was reading.

A normal room costs twenty intermediate crystals while a room supplied with the world energy is usually twice the amount. He then returned to the second floor, walking to his allocated room. He had been given a number to find the room.

After settling down, he brought out the heaven-defying manual. "I've mastered the first formation, and using it in battle is quite powerful." He thought as he flipped to the next page.

'Second formation: Raging force technique.'

He spent the first twenty minutes reading the instructions in the manual.

"OK, this is it," he said as he stood up. He slowly drew out his blade and then started channelling his energy with controlled breathing.

~~~~

"How did he perform in the hunt?" A green-haired guy asked Henry, staring at the dark sky.

"He has a good head on his shoulders, I believe with dedicated training he would be able to join the ranks," Henry said to the imposing figure standing amidst a vast expanse of purple flowers.

"Are you sure about that?" The figure asked. Doubt lingered in the man's eyes as he stared back at Henry, his gaze emanating an eerie, ethereal radiance that seemed to penetrate deep into Henry's soul.

"Indeed, but his stamina requires improvement," Henry added with a sigh.

They both stood staring far at the dark sky, a dark hole which was gradually increasing in size could be seen above.

~~~~

Weeks went by with Will spending five hours of his time in the forge along with the rest before training. After that last mission, they had never entered the yellow zone. Rather, whatever Pete needed, he would send Dren and Belle to the beast ground in the Green Zone to hunt. Will had been unable to level up since then, he was already close to reaching level 10 and was quite eager to see what he would receive.

Slowly a month was gone and the the time for evaluation of the task given to them was drawing near.

[ Name: Will Sonoma ]

[ Race: Human ]

[ Level 9 ]

[ 15,906/16,000 exp ]

[ Energy: 1100/1100 ]

[ Hp: 150/150 ]

[ strength: 16 ]

[ Agility: 17 ]

[ Endurance: 17 ]

[ Realm: Middle realm (middle stage) ]

[ You have six free stat points to distribute ]

[ Quest received: Reach level 10 ]

[ Rewards: ??? ]

He just needed little exp points to complete the quest. Heading to the forge he had decided he would tell Pete he wanted to accompany Dren and Belle on their hunting today.

Entering the forge, he saw Dren and Belle already prepared to go.

"Uhm, Pete, can I accompany both of them today," he asked.

"Trying to escape your work, huh? You accompanying them is a waste of manpower. I need you, here. So... I got to say no, boy."

A frown slowly crept on Will's face as he walked towards the anvil. There Issaiah stood hitting a weapon into shape.

Garou was beside the forge channelling his flames to the huge contraction which contained beast crystals.

He walked past the anvil and headed to the workbench which was filled with weapons. His work was to add the finishing touch to the weapons.

"Argghh!"

He let out a groan as he started the tedious work. "It's decided then, I would have to sneak into the beast ground tonight," he thought as he picked up a sword.

"I have to be careful though, I'm not still sure of the system reward"

After they had finished their work they all went to their dorm room. Will was out a few minutes later, heading towards the training room.

"Hey! Wait up," Belle said as she ran towards him. "Are you heading to the training room?" She asked as she walked beside him.

"Yeah," he said. He looked up, his head clouded by his plan for tonight.

"Can you spar with me," she asked him as they neared the training building.

Thinking about it for a moment, he decided to spar with her. He could also sharpen the skills he had been training.

"Alright, let's go."