Chapter 71. Training centre (1)
Early in the morning, Ian logged in to Ark.
As it was Sunday, he didn't have school and he was taking a break from Forest cafe.
He was free the whole day and he had planned to play Ark from morning to night but his goal was not to hunt a boss monster or go to a dungeon.
He was already level 50 and he would lose the qualifications of participating in the Arena if his level increased even a bit.
His goal today was the Training center which was in the center of Arth.
Like its name, the Training center was a place for people to train their skills and most of the players would go there to test their newly acquired skills.
Still, the Training center would often be deserted and empty.
It was because practicing their skills on monsters was better and it even gave them experience.
Going to the Training center was not necessary.
The second reason people would visit the Training center is to increase their reputation with the instructors there.
The instructors in the Training center are all high level NPCs and befriending them would give one rare skills and quest.
But only a few people would be able to do that.
It was because it was really hard to increase their reputation among the instructors.
Most of the instructors are expressionless and scary.
Not many people would want to associate themselves with the instructors after seeing them.
The third reason a player would visit the Training center was to gain some fighting expertise.
Even after going through the Training dungeon, players would often struggle when fighting the monsters in the fields.
It was not easy to get accustomed to hunting the scary looking monsters.
That's why, players would come to the Training center to fight against the magic dolls and get experience.
"It's big."
Ian entered the Training center and exclaimed seeing its interior.
It was bigger than he had thought and the Training center was not even looking that big from outside.
He wondered if there was any space magic involved.
"You look to be new here."
One of the instructors approached Ian when he noticed him marvelling at the interior.
"Ah… Yes, I'm new here."
Ian was surprised for a moment. It was not because of the instructor's rigid and scary face.
He had seen his fair share of scary faces till now.
The reason for Ian to become surprised was because of the scar that ran down on the instructor's face.
Ian wanted to ask how he got the scar but he refrained from it because he was sure that he would be thrown out of the Training center if he asked that.
He decided to ignore it.
"It's your first time visiting the Training center but it seems like you are more than a beginner."
"Yes."
Ian was again surprised hearing those words.
As he was just going to the Training center, he had changed into beginner clothing.
He didn't expect the instructor to see through him.
"If you are here, then that must mean that you are here to train your body, mind and soul. It can be tedious but in the end, it would just benefit you."
"You are right."
Ian said wishing that the instructor would stop his dialogue.
"To start the training, you first have to pick a weapon. I would recommend choosing a sword but it's your choice in the end."
Sword as a weapon was the most popular choice.
80% of the players would choose a sword as their weapon.
It was also the reason that there were more high grade swords than any other weapons.
In a way, it was discrimination against other weapons but Pegasus corporation was just going with what was popular.
'There's no need to think about it'
Ian thought as he looked at the wide varieties of weapons in front of him.
Starting from swords, spear and saber - the so-called holy trinity of weapons. There were also whips, rapiers and halberds.
For record, they were all training weapons.
Ian doesn't have to think much about his weapon and he instantly decided on the spear as his weapon.
He can choose the sword too but one can also raise his proficiency while attacking the magic dolls.
Ian was aiming to increase his spear mastery proficiency.
The instructor overlooking Ian was somewhat disappointed with him but he didn't say anything.
It was Ian's choice and the instruction can't do anything in it.
With the spear in his hand, Ian walked in front of the magic doll.
The magic doll was just like a human shaped wooden doll in appearance but it was made with a special metal.
Moreover, it was also enchanted with magic. The name magic doll was because of that.
The Training centers in Ark was the perfect example of magic technology. The magic dolls were the best products of magic technology.
There were not simply still dolls that one can attack continuously.
They are inscribed with magic and one can select which level one wants to fight the doll on.
There are 10 levels and the difficulty would go up with each level.
Level 1 was the easiest and the magic doll won't attack or block in this and level 10 was the hardest.
The magic doll would attack with tremendous skill and strength in this level. Attacks can even leave a fatal wound.
There were even videos of rankers struggling with the magic dolls and not one even person was able to survive in level 10 for more than half an hour.
It was because high grade weapons or equipment don't work against magic dolls.
It's all about skills.
"Which level should I start from?"
Ian was not even thinking about challenging level 10 but he felt that level 1 was too easy for him.
In the end, he decided on level 4.
"Level 4."
Ian placed his hand in front of the magic circle inscribed on the chests of the magic doll and muttered.
He quickly took his position after that. The eyes of the magic doll glowed with red light and it raised its sword to position itself.
The magic doll didn't attack but just stood there.
Ian understood that he had to attack first. He twisted his spear in his hands and striked at the magic doll's chest.
One, two, three...
Like that, Ian kept attacking the doll and his attacks kept getting blocked even before they could hit.
The magic doll's hand movements were swift and it was raising his sword even before Ian could attack.
It was like the magic doll already knew where Ian was going to attack.
But Ian didn't give up.
He kept attacking the magic doll and after two hours, Ian noticed that there was a set pattern of the movements of the magic doll.
He started studying those patterns and moved his spear to evade the sword of the magic doll.
Smack!
A sound rang out as Ian finally managed to hit the arm of the magic doll.
It was his first hit in two hours.
Ian didn't get disappointed with this. Instead of that, he felt enthralled as he knew that he would be able to hit the magic doll more now.
One hit, two hit, three hit, four hit…
Ian soon started attacking the magic doll and each of his attacks hit the various parts of the magic doll.
The head, chest, arm, leg, neck, ankle etc.
Ian didn't even notice the surprised expression of the instructor and got lost in his own world.
There was only him and the magic doll and his only job was to keep hitting the magic doll.
There was nothing else.
* * *
A new player strodded towards the Training center in a hurry.
His clothes were shabby looking beginner clothes. There was dust all over it because he was fighting a Black wolf before.
He was completely overpowered and in the end, he ran away.
It was not his fault as the Black wolf was just that scary. Even with a weapon in his hand, he was not able to attack the wolf.
He was scared.
After running away from the Black wolf, he fell into thoughts.
He contemplated whether he should give up on Ark because the monsters were just too scary for him.
Too much realism can also be fatal.
At that time, one of his friends from high school had told him about the Training center and how he could practice fighting against the magic dolls there.
He had immediately decided to give it a visit.
But when he reached the Training center, he noticed that there was a group of players hoarding together.
Their eyes were fixed on a lone player who was continuously attacking with the magic doll.
The new player was surprised seeing that. Unable to hold his curiosity, he walked up to a brown skinned ranger and asked.
"Why are all the people looking at him?"
"Ah, that player is striking the magic doll for five hours now and he's still going on with it like he would not stop until he smash it to pieces."
"Oh…"
The new player's answer was lukewarm as didn't feel like this was something that would interest players.
It was not like he thought that this was easy.
He felt that the player hitting the magic doll has great perseverance and determination.
But he was just hitting the magic doll. It should not arouse this much attention. That confused him.
"It looks like you don't understand."
The brown skinned ranger said as he noticed his confusion.
"Yeah. Is there something else? The player is just hitting the magic doll, right?"
"You are wrong if you are thinking that he is just hitting the magic doll."
"What's special in it?"
The new player tilted his head and asked and the ranger began to explain.
"He is hitting the magic doll in level 4 and despite the magic doll trying to block his attack, all of his attacks are striking the magic doll."
The new player widened his eyes and looked at the player hitting the magic doll again.
And indeed, the magic doll was moving its sword to block his attack but every time, the player would swiftly strike the doll.
The skill can easily be seen.
"There's a saying that if you can hit the magic doll once in level 7, then you are qualified to be a ranker."
"Ahh…"
The brown skinned player began to explain when he noticed that he was talking to a newbie.
"If you can hit the magic doll once in level 5, then you are better than an average player. If you can hit it once in level 3, then your skill is at least average."
"That means?"
"Yeah, that poster is continuously hitting the doll in level 4. It's not an easy feat as hitting the doll once. I'm sure that he can even hit the doll in level 7 and maybe even beyond that."
"Is he a ranker?"
The brown skinned ranger shook his head.
"I don't know but he doesn't look like one. Rankers are like celebrities and they are easy to recognize but I have never seen him."
After hearing all that, the new player started observing more.
He looked at the movements of the player hitting the magic doll and noticed that his attacks had a sort of tranquility in them despite them being so fierce.
It was not easy without practicing for years.
"He's surely an expert."
The new player muttered as he wondered if he would be able to execute those sorts of movements.
At that moment, the player hitting the magic doll suddenly stopped.
"What's going on?"
"Why did he stop? Is he tired?"
"It doesn't look like that."
The players watching him started to murmur.
In front of Ian, there were those messages.