Training with guild members

"Guys, I've asked you all to gather today to inform you that the guild competition is about to begin next week," Rishi said to the assembled guild members in the training hall. "Because we don't have much time left, we'll try to crack the top ten spot this time."

"Our main goal is to recruit talented students to join our guild. Once we've gained popularity, we'll try to improve our ranking gradually and compete for the best newbie guild title."

"Ajit and I have devised a strategy to help you all improve. He'll explain it to you all now," Rishi said, joining the guild members.

"The first thing we want to ensure is that we should know everything about you," Ajit said. "Remember, we're all in this together, so don't try to hide anything. Only Rishab and I know your specifics, and we will only share your basic fighting style with others."

"You must email all details by midnight tonight," Ajit said.

"Your levels are the second thing we want to concentrate on. We've booked two dungeons, first for members who have not yet reached the advanced stage and another for advanced members."

"We expect all members below Advanced Stage to advance to Advanced Stage, while those who are already at Advanced Stage should strive to advance by at least three levels," he added.

"The third thing is that you let us know what you require. What are your problems? We will try our best to assist you," Ajit assured them.

"Recently, Jay and I talked, and he mentioned that his contract beast is of rare grade, but he wants to evolve it to increase its power and potential. I've contacted a beast cultivator, and we'll be evolving his contract beast in three days. Come and join us if some of you want to see the outcome," Rishi remarked.

"The fourth thing we will concentrate on is teamwork. Fighting as a team and fighting as an individual are two completely different things; when fighting as a team, you will need to collaborate to cover all of your weaknesses and maximize your strengths," explained Ajit. The first-year members looked perplexed, as if they did not understand Ajit clearly.

"Let's look at an example. I am a mage class Beast Tamer with one tank class Beast Tamer on my team; now, when we are fighting, my teammate will prevent the enemy team from approaching me while I charge my spell. After I cast my big spell, defeating them will be very easy, even if they outnumber us," Rishi explained.

"The fifth thing we'll focus on is your synergy with your contract beasts, and the sixth will be our strategy," Ajit explained.

"Let's get started on our training right away. We'll start by battling with the contracted beasts. First, the new students will fight among themselves. Which of you is coming first?" Rishi inquired.

Manu moved to the front and waited for his opponent, but no one appeared. Rishi decided to step in and asked Jay to confront Manu.

They entered the fighting ring and looked at each other to gauge their opponent's strength before summoning their respective beasts. The Acino Panther was Manu's beast. It had a gleaming black fur coat on its long body and tail. It had a small head, strong jaws, rounded ears, and strong legs. Its hind legs were more extensive and more robust than its front legs.

It roared at Jay in an attempt to intimidate him. On the other hand, Jay was fearless; he took out his 'Book of Contracts' and summoned his contract beast. Jay summoned his contract beast, and immediately, everyone heard a neighing sound. It lifted its front legs and stomped them on the ground.

It then looked at its opponent and neighed again without any fear. Rishi saw a six-foot-long magic beast appearing in front of Jay. It only had a soft coat all over the body with dense hair only on its tail and mane. It had a long neck and an elongated head. It was a 'Wind Calabus,' a well-known magical beast primarily used as a mount.

Manu and Jay climbed onto their magic beast's backs and prepared for the duel.

"Begin," Rishi said, and they both started fighting.

Manu attempted to close the gap with Jay while Jay maintained some distance between them, and they both exchanged some moves.

Jay used the same attack he used against Rishi after two minutes of fighting. Rishi intervened when Manu was caught off guard and was about to get hit.

"You both did well, and I hope this experience has helped you understand your flaws. Manu, do you know why you lost?" Rishi inquired.

"I think I was defeated because I decided to get both agility and strength while Jay focused on making his contract beast as mobile as possible," Manu responded.

"That is also a reason, but since you are not an archer like him, you need to approach your opponent. Investing in strength is critical for you. The main reason you lost is that you never learned any skill to attack an enemy from a distance," Rishi explained.

"If you had learned how to use long weapons like a javelin, Jay would not have been able to defeat you that easily, and second, your dodging abilities are below average. You rely too heavily on your contract beast's mobility and ability to dodge attacks." He went on to say.

"As for you, Jay, your strategy gives you an advantage over the melee class, but have you considered what would happen if a mage directly attacked your contract beast and his attack connected?" asked Rishi. Jay was speechless as he had never thought about any such situation.

"You'll be defeated instantly, and your attacks are also feeble. Any skilled mage could easily defend himself with a barrier spell."

"You must learn some powerful attack techniques. Assassin class is a nightmare for you, so learn some detection skills, too," he added.

"Now Lalit and Rishab will fight," Ajit declared.

Both Rishi and Lalit entered the ring.

Lalit summoned his contract beast, a giant beast. It had a giant horn on its nose and skin as thick as armor. It was a classic tank magic beast, 'Single horned Rhino.'

Lalit had also donned his armor, mounting his magic beast, raising his large shield and sword, and waiting for Rishi to summon his contract beast. "My level is very high; fighting with you with my contract beast would be unfair so I will fight alone," said Rishi.

Ajit declared, "Begin," Rishi moved towards Lalit to attack him as soon as he heard Ajit. Lalit asked its contract beast to charge at Rishi. At the last moment, Rishi veered away from his original path just as he and Lalit's contract beast were about to collide. Lalit's contract beast couldn't stop its charge, so it went around Rishi. Rishi then used his 'Shadow Steps' skill to catch up to it, climbed on the magic beast's back, and placed his sword around Lalit's neck. When he saw a sword so close to his neck, Lalit got goosebumps all over his body. "I surrender," he said quickly.

The other guild members' expressions were all different. Some felt sorry for Lalit, while others laughed at his predicament, but they all agreed on one thing: Rishi is incredibly talented.

"You're so focused on forward defense that you haven't thought about what you'll do if an opponent attacks you from behind."

"While your contract beast does not need to be fast, train it to change direction and turn back at high speed. Teach it some tail techniques as well," Rishi added.

Following that, they all began training, and Rishi even gave them a note outlining what they needed to learn or improve on.