Chapter 20: Training

Another day came around, and I wasn’t disturbed like the first. 

All was normal, except for the fact that I was completely wrong about the schedule regarding our hunting trips. 

The fourth years had things a bit different, and what I had heard about only applied to those in the earlier years. 

Turns out, the hunting trips would be one month on and one month off. That meant that, at the end of the month, I would leave for an entire month on this trip. 

And I wasn’t simply going to a forest inhabited by monsters. 

No, I would be joining a special military unit that specialized in small scale Scourge hunts. 

This was all to say that I was being thrown straight into the deep end, and much earlier than I anticipated. 

All this information came to me when I arrived back home from classes, seeing that a delivery had been delivered by Maxwell. 

A letter detailed the aforementioned information and also came with an interesting surprise. 

The primary focus of his letter, and the package that came with it, was regarding the White Crystal. 

The Church pioneered the first and best way to purify Black Crystals infected with the Scourge’s poison, creating White Crystals. These crystals could be used in magical devices or used for cultivating Authorities. 

But the Magisterium, or the Kingdom, didn’t use the White Crystals of the Church. In order to combat the Church’s monopoly on the crystals, they developed their own method, an inferior one. 

It purified most, but not all, of the Scourge’s poison. This created purity grades for the crystals and introduced problems that came with cultivating with them. 

It was no different from cultivating with poison. The energy given to you was impure, and methods had also been created to purify the energy inside of you after the cultivation was donor. 

Basically, the Kingdom created a problem and its solution all in an attempt to economically fight the Church. While it was a natural course of action for two massive organizations, it was still a shitty situation for those who were forced to use the tainted crystals. 

All those at the Magisterium and the Kingdom’s military were those victims. 

Of course, many went and got their hands on the Church’s White Crystals anyway, and thankfully, Maxwell was making himself out to be one of my avenues. 

Inside the package I received was a White Crystal a grade above the previous one I used. Maxwell said that, due to the nature of my Call, I couldn’t cultivate with the impure crystals at all. My Call would reject any form of impurity, so I was forced to use White Crystals. 

Not that I had an issue with this. And with the White Crystal was another set of advancement formations that he told me to use instead of the standard ones. They were even more complex, and he didn’t explain why, but since I was already going along with his guidance, I couldn’t stop here.

Thanking him inwardly for the help, I threw the crystal into my spatial bracelet. I simultaneously stashed the other crystal away. I wouldn’t need it anymore, not that I could begin cultivating immediately. 

Beyond that, there was only one other piece of information that I paid attention to. 

Everyone at the Magisterium was placed into combat classes. These classes taught Knights martial arts, taught Warlocks how to use their spells in various situations, and taught Summoners how to effectively utilize their summons. 

But I wasn’t placed into any combat classes, or at least, not on paper. 

Apparently Maxwell had arranged something else for me. 

It was something like a Club. The place was basically a training ground. Due to the unique nature of my summons, I couldn’t go fighting anybody for fear of outright killing them. Guns were kind of an all or nothing weapon. 

So he put me into this club that I would report to when classes were over. 

So the next day, after going through all my classes, I went around to a certain building number located in an obscure corner of the campus. 

Only, it wasn’t a building that I came to. 

It was a gate with the number across its signboard. I walked through, seeing a small building to the side. 

I went and knocked on the door, waiting several seconds before it opened. 

“Hm? Who are you?”

The man who greeted me was a rough one. He was old, his eyes sharp and scrutinizing, and the wrinkles on his face scrunching in a perpetual frown. 

But he was dressed in rather luxurious clothing. I recognized its quality, even though it wasn’t an extravagant robe like what Maxwell wore. In the black market where nice things were everywhere and also exorbitantly expensive, I had developed a good eye for something’s quality. 

I greeted back casually. 

“Hi. I’m John. I was told to report here after classes.”

“Oh, you’re Maxwell’s apprentice. Come in then. I’ll explain everything.”

I walked in with his beckon, closing the door behind me. 

I found that this small room was completely dark except for the dozen screens that covered the front wall. Each one displayed a different video feed, some of them displaying two. 

In each feed was a person. I saw some knights, several warlocks, and only a few summoners. 

They were all fighting, and their opponents weren’t each other, but what looked like robots. 

Of course, they couldn’t be mechanical robots. I saw all these magical designs on their bodies, ones that glowed whenever their mosntrous bodies moved just like beasts.

“This is the Magisterium’s finest training ground. Not everybody comes to know about this place’s existence, and even fewer actually get to use it. Only the Elites can come here freely, but you’ve been made something of an exception. You can thank Maxwell for that, but there is a condition.”

The man eyed me. 

“You can use this place for the next month until you go on your next excursion, but if you don’t produce satisfactory results while on that trip, then you won’t be allowed back. Now, allow me to explain what you do here.”

He pointed to the screens. 

“Every day, I set up a different scenario using the battle puppets. These scenarios are designed to mimic Scourge battles. From Hive raids to frontal mass battles, I can reproduce any kind of scenario imaginable. And you will be faced with those scenarios. The difficulty level varies, and sometimes I set up scenarios where you work in teams. Regardless, this is the place to train you in true practical combat, second only to fighting actual battles with the Scourge. With your lack of experience, this is a holy place for you, so cherish this next month wisely. And since the scenario has only started recently, you can still join in. Here.”

The old man handed me a necklace. It was flat and made of thick black metal. 

When I put it on, it sat snugly against my skin, using magic to adhere to my body without moving or disturbing me. 

“Thats a safety band. It’ll keep you alive, but be warned, you can still be injured, and heavily at that if you’re stupid. Not only will you learn to kill here, but you’ll learn how to eastimate an enemy’s power level and how to respond. Now, the scenario today is a basic one, some jungle hunting. There are monsters and humanoid puppets all throughout that forest landscape. Your sightlines are limited, so your ears will be your best ally. How you approach battles is up to you. Either way, your goal is to fight on the leaderboard against the others. Tap the jewel on your band.”

Following his directions, my finger found the protruding jewel on the necklace, tapping it once and seeing a screen appear in front of me. 

It was a leaderboard containing a dozen or so names. Every participant was on there, and it showed a point score beside their name. 

It was no different from a game, making me smile a bit. 

“Wave away the screen and it’ll go down. And when you’re ready, you can step through the portal outside. It’ll drop you in a random spot in the forest at least 100 meters away from an enemy. And if you decide that you’re done with training, tap the jewel on your band and say ‘I quit’. That’ll bring you back out here. Now go on. I look forward to what Maxwell’s apprentice has up his sleeve.”

He waved me away, and I took one more glance at the screens before leaving. 

There was a portal on the side of the building. So after summoning a lever action rifle, I headed through it. 

……

I really was thrown right in the middle of a jungle. 

My reappearance came with a small wave of disorientation. I quickly focused though and took a look around me. 

The jungle was still bright, but the ground was covered in mud, bushes, vines, and tree roots. 

It was complex terrain, and fighting here could obviously be dangerous. 

So I decided that I needed to keep my enemies at a distance, and if they found me, then I would try and take them in a head on manner. My shotguns should take care of anything that got too close for comfort. 

My coat also gave me a source of comfort. It undoubtedly had extraordinary defensive abilities, and Rayla had told me that it came with some other special abilities. Unfortunately I wasn’t told how to activate it, so I would either have to ask later or figure it out myself. 

With my reassurances, I started slowly walking through the jungle. 

I kept my head on a swivel, constantly surveying my surroundings and waiting. 

Until I heard a faint brush of some leaves in the distance, making my head instinctively snap over. 

My hearing and instincts had become refined after many weeks in the Trenches. I could pick up on even faint footsteps, as I had been subject to no small amount of ambushes. 

So my hands moved instinctively, my body lowering and my eyes taking aim across the sights of my gun. 

At the end of my barrel, I could see a monster. 

It wasn’t an animal, but one of the puppets that was shaped like one. It was an agile creature, looking closer to a tiger than anything else. 

It didn’t seem to have seen me yet, so I kneeled down and steadied my barrel. 

This would serve as good aim training as well. I was already glad Maxwell had got me into this place. 

With those thoughts, I centered my sights. And I didn’t hesitate in pulling the trigger. 

*BANG*

The sound shook the jungle, and in the distance, I could see the monster drop to the floor, dead. 

In my vision, I could see the number 100 pop up, the points I earned for the kill. 

Smiling, I got up and started running. 

Letting off shots attracted everything’s attention toward me. It was the fatal flaw of my guns. I couldn’t be quiet with them. 

But I could mitigate the downsides by changing positions. Even if I ran into enemies while relocating, it was better than being swarmed from all sides. 

And as expected, it wasn’t long before I encountered another puppet. 

Except this beast was bigger, like a bear. It found me and charged. 

I stopped and raised my gun, slowing my breath and firing. 

*BANG*

Another shot, and I cleanly hit the bear’s skull. But it didn’t go down. The beast was dazed for several moments, not dead, but obviously hurt. 

I took the opportunity to infuse some power into my gun. It glowed with a faintly holy light, as if being blessed. 

And my next shot was all the bear could take. Its head exploded with the empowered bullet, dropping to the floor. 

“Dropped like a drunk stripper. Alright, let’s get out of here.”

I found another direction and took off after smiling at the 400 points I got. 

After not encountering anything for a while though, I decided to drop down and hide. 

Fighting enemies was easy but tiring. If I wanted to spend some time in this training ground, then I would need to space my battles. This is why I found a large bush and settled inside of it. I didn’t really care about getting dirty either, since my coat was always comfortable and could clean itself later. 

From there I watched a few monsters go by at a distance. 

And when I decided that enough time had passed, I targeted one and took my shot from the bush. 

Although I didn’t have a scope, my aim was still decent enough to hit some shots at around 100 meters. Besides, it wasn’t like these puppets were small. 

*BANG*

Smoke rose up within the bush as the monster dropped dead. After that, I reloaded some bullets and waited. 

Naturally, monsters made their way to my general position. And from the bush, I took several out. 

I had to empower several of my shots. That was the proper term for using my Psyka to make my spirits, or my guns, stronger. 

And with every kill, my points grew. It was only when I had killed 6 that I finally rushed out of my bush, a large group converging on my location.

I fought off several monsters while running, killing four more and eventually managing to calm the agitation my gunshots had caused. 

Like that, I repeated a cycle of hiding, killing, running, and hiding again. The forest was big, and there were varying densities of monsters. But I noticed that the further in any direction I went, the stronger the monsters got. 

But that just meant more points. Besides, not all monsters had tough bodies. Many were of the warlock type, casting their own specialty spells. But those were the easy ones. 

My killing speed was good. And my routine went well until I encountered another person, not a puppet. 

Hiding within a foxhole underneath some tree roots and bushes, I spotted a person in my sights not that far away. 

They seemed to be looking for something, probably me, as I had been causing tons of noise. 

But I just watched for a while. I tracked them with my sights, my finger brushing the trigger while imagining if I could hit my shots while they were moving. 

It was a woman, and an agile one at that as she could scale and hop between trees. 

She had short brown hair and wielded a sword, obviously a knight. It made me a bit more wary. Knights were my bane. 

But as I imagined taking my shot, something interesting happened. 

It was right as I had the thought of pulling the trigger that the girl suddenly jolted and dashed out of the way with inhuman agility. Of course, I wasn’t actually planning on taking the shot, but it seemed that she had sensed my intentions. 

For a moment I thought that something like that should be impossible. How could she possibly read my mind from a distance, or at all for that matter? Especially since she was totally unaware of me. 

But after dodging a nonexistent shot, she suddenly turned toward my general direction. She didn’t immediately spot me, but it wasn’t long after that I saw her eyes lock onto me through the bushes. 

I smiled as she crouched aggressively. Then, I rose. 

I slipped out of the bushes, waving with a smile. 

“Hey there. What’s your name?”

“…I should be asking you that. I don’t recognize you.”

She narrowed her eyes and straightened her body, feeling less threatened now that I lowered my gun. 

I shrugged. 

“I’m new here. This is my first day at these training grounds. I’m kind of having fun too.”

“You’re the one making all that noise?”

“Guilty as charged.”

“…A cold summoner.”

She had a peculiar look while observing my gun. 

Even I could sense the type of Magus a person was. It was a sixth sense, so she could obviously do the same, especially since she was probably of a higher Authority. 

Then, she looked at my face. 

“…You’re the new fourth year.”

“You’ve heard of me?”

“Not anybody can just walk straight into our class. Besides, Ravon made a big deal about you. It seems he lost since you’re still here.”

“Ravon?”

“The Severing Blade, yes. My, you really are new here. You don’t even know the names of the Elites”

She smirked a bit, and I couldn’t help a chuckle. 

“Well, I’m not the best with names. But I’d still like to hear yours.”

I smiled and approached, putting out my hand. 

The girl smiled and shook it. 

“Tana.”

“Nice to meet you, Tana. I’m John.”

“Hello John. You’re a noisy one, but since you’re here, you must be powerful despite being new.”

“Yes, and I apologize for startling you earlier.”

I chuckled while remembering how frantically Tana had dodged my imaginary bullet. 

My words made her tilt her head as we separated hands.

“Yes, I was actually confused as to why you were so open with your Intent.”

“Considering the fact that I have no idea what that is, you can probably imagine that I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Wow. You’re really new.”

She was quite baffled by my ignorance. I couldn’t help but sigh at that. 

“Yes, I’m still learning a lot.”

“You didn’t learn anything in your combat class?”

“I don’t have a combat class. The lethality of my weapons prohibits fighting others.”

“I see.”

She eyed the rifle in my hands and glanced in the distance at a few puppets I had killed. 

I hadn’t attacked more than a few times, and every target had died. If that wasn’t lethal, then what was?

I smiled. 

“Care to teach me about this so called Intent?”

“Huhu, I’m not exactly here to teach. But I’ll make a bet.”

“Shoot.”

I nodded, and she brought up the leaderboard. 

“Beat me on the Leaderboard, and I’ll teach you.”

“I seem to have a long ways to go then.”

“You sure do. So let’s see if your lethality can earn the tutelage of an Elite. Of course, I won’t just sit idly either.”

She spun around and crouched, launching her body into the air and onto a tree branch about 40 meters away. 

She then looked behind her at me, waving with a snicker. 

“I’m not interested in being a tutor, so you better get going!”

“Heh, playing hard to get, I see.”

I chuckled as she dashed into the distance. I couldn’t fathom the kind of strength or agility her body had to be able to bound dozens of meters with each step. 

Once she promptly disappeared, I pulled up the leaderboard. 

My name was sitting nicely at the bottom. And from there, I searched for Tana. 

I quickly found her name. Out of the 14 people currently in this jungle, she was sitting high and mighty at third place. 

I had a grand total of 5300 points, but she had a whopping 64000. 

“Bullshit. As if I even had a chance. Well, I guess I should at least try. Let’s get out of last place first.”

With that, I sent my gun back to the dimension and started jogging. 

The deeper I went, the more powerful the monsters, and the more points I got. If I wanted any kind of chance, then I would need to test my wit with those beasts. 

And I didn’t stop for anything, not even the few beasts that ended up in my path. 

Soon enough, I arrived where I wanted to be. 

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