Rushing toward Kaiden, Hollow brandished his shield whilst he executed no skills and simply used a technique—a slightly unrefined Second Drive. However, unlike his usual movements of brandishing Angurvadal, Kaiden clenched his hand and punched; the resounding noise was thunderous.
*BANNNGGG*
As if someone beat on a war drum, Kaiden's fist reinforced by his ridiculous Strength bombarded against the shield. This in turn caused the bones in Hollow's arms to vibrate as his face paled. However, the intensity of this blow also served as a sharpening blow as Hollow instinctively loosened and contracted various muscles of his body.
Furthermore with an appalled expression, Hollow meticulously judged his body as these processes took place. He sought to understand the underlying tenses that happened when his body instinctively performed these defensive actions. In doing so, the process for this became slightly less vague.
The others remained shocked, this was barehanded damage yet it seemed to be so much stronger than the damage they dealt with their weapons. Not to mention, it was a simple punch; no fancy techniques or assisting movements added. His body was simply not normal, it was shocking! At least, not when compared with these bunch.
"My god! What are you, a truck?" exclaimed Hollow as he dropped his shield, shaking his hands. He felt as if he just guarded against the blow from a missile using a sheet of metal. It was to be known that out of battle conditions, the battle version of stats was nullified.
Meaning rather than being game characters fighting monsters, they were reduced to normal people fighting each other. In this scenario, the number of attributes mattered that much more. The weight of your attacks, state of your physique—these became the prominent aspects.
"Heh, perhaps you can call me truck-kun now." chuckled Kaiden as he shrugged.
"However, I understand what you're facing. You're attempting to perfect your Second Drive. And that technique you used afterward, that's Force Dispersion, isn't it? Ah, but it also felt as if you tried to incorporate something else." speculated Kaiden.
"Yes, but...I can't seem to execute that Rebound Press technique you explained to me before using my own attacks." grumbled Hollow as he became slightly upset.
"Ah, so you are trying to pinpoint the moment wherein the force is stagnant but are failing to do so. Well, that's granted. You're a defensive player; you focus more on stability. With that being said, to take the lead in those situations, I think you must first launch your own attack. Try welcoming an attack with an attack before attempting to Rebound Press." added Kaiden.
"Hmmm..
"AH!" a moment of clarity dawned on him. He realized what Kaiden was getting at. He was a defensive player, so to understand the offensive route it was best he mastered the defensive route. The best offense is a good defense. Without that, you're prone to failure in World's Destiny.
"So what you're saying is, rather than focusing on increasing my attack for the moment; focus on applying my force to someone else's force? As a result, increasing my familiarity with my force?" inquired Hollow.
"Precisely. However, you won't be able to do either if you're unable to withstand the force being directed at you. You'll end up bearing the brunt of the attack." instructed Kaiden.
Nodding, Hollow understood this. The one thing a tank couldn't do was lose hold of his shield or his footing. Without a sturdy stance, the tank was obsolete.
"Let's practice. The faster you familiarize yourself with this, the less pressure you will feel during a battle." said Kaiden as he proceeded toward the training arena.
Standing above the arena, Hollow had a slightly excited expression. Last training session, he was unable to directly learn from Kaiden as he was teaching the offensive players. However, there was no chance Kaiden would leave his best buddy out of the bunch.
Gripping his shield, Hollow's forearms tensed as he lowered his stance. Pouring his strength his legs, Hollow charged at Kaiden who was lightly brandishing Angurvadal. Shoving his shield forward, Hollow executed a Shield Bash as Kaiden reacted with a simple chopping motion.
However, the timing was missed and Hollow Stance was forced to his knee by the weight of the attack.
"Hone your body to withstand attacks. Moreover, Strength also contributes to Defense and Health so you can focus more heavily on that if need be." instructed Kaiden.
However, Hollow Stance's Strength stat was by no means weak. With slightly over 500 Strength, he rivaled an offensive class of the top general public. Of course, this was thanks to the Special Title everyone who started with Liberation Mode received. It increased their stats by 15%. However, unlike Kaiden's title, it wasn't capable of growth.
Nodding his head, Hollow Stance emptied two-thirds of the remaining 123 attribute points he had into Strength which in turn created a feeling of reinvigoration. With Strength well over 600 now, Hollow could take a slightly more brutal beating.
As such for awhile a series of metallic clashes and hollow booming sounds could be heard as Kaiden pommeled the instincts into Hollow. However, there remained an excited look upon his face—he was learning. He was more of a kinetic and visual learner than a verbal one. Therefore, the actions of Kaiden was an immense help.
"I think I understand now, thanks Key. I think we should call this action the Collision Force." said Kaiden.
"Indeed. That is a suitable name." said Kaiden as he stowed his weapon, cracking his neck.
The concept behind Collision Force was to respond to an attack with an attack before it landed. The result was the collision of forces serving to mitigate a fraction of the incoming damage. Moreover, this served a gateway for one to incorporate Rebound Press into their next movement.
…..
Walking into the Merchant Association, WarCry approached the desk. There was a look of insufferable pride in his eyes—his means had accomplished his goals.
After threatening his members, he finally received the minimum amount of money needed to buy a Guild Residence. Although the limit of Guild Experience acquisition was limited to 2.5% per day. These were limited to normal means such as quest, tasks, and such meaning there were ways to remedy that.
For example, completing a dungeon above the Hard Difficulty with a party of 1 guild rewarded Guild Experience and Reputation as a reward albeit insignificant compared to an announcement reward. Moreover, one could find special items such as a Guild Promotion Order. However, those didn't rain from the sky like cabbages.
As such, WarCry and BlatantSage took advantage and cleared Hard Difficult dungeons like madmen. The end result was finally achieving enough experience to reach Lv.2. Equally important, the pair came across a Guild Promotion Order. Notwithstanding BlatantSage's selfishness, he withheld from commandeering the item lest WarCry reported him to the higher-ups.
BlatantSage didn't have a guild of his own as he was more of a lone warrior; as a result, he had no right to take items pertaining to a guild—especially the ones which resided under the Titan's Grasp. Which loosely translated to the group of guilds which submitted to the Eight Insurmountable Titans.
"I would like to see your selection for Residential properties."
Waving their hand, the receptionist summoned a document which landed before WarCry. Looking over the plots, he slightly frowned. In just 1 day the prices had risen 12%. There was a cold sweat forming down his back as this game's economy was ruthless. It was self-regulated based upon the estimated gold within the server's possession at this time.
"I'll take this Red Star Mansion." said WarCry.
Unlike Kaiden who acquired his Guild Residence for under 20,000 Gold, WarCry paid over 46,000 Gold for his property. He had no discount and every passing day resulting in a slight increase in value. This was the benefit of getting your property early.
As WarCry paid, his heart bled. Moreover, rather than personally focusing on Kaiden and Ethereal Conviction, he took a moment to stabilize his property. Following which he sent an order throughout the guild.
"Pale Wind, instruct all the Captains to take their teams and monitor the movements of that guild 'Ethereal Conviction.' Whatever they aim to do...make conflicts of interest. Also, how goes the information gathering on that fellow Holy Smite?" said WarCry through gritted teeth.
Because of Kaiden, he had to waste time and effort mindlessly running dungeons. What's more, he barely received any loot for doing so! Furthermore, thinking about this only served to accentuate his foul mood.
"Noted Guild Leader, I will notify the proper personnel and sorry to say, but we have gathered 0 bits of information on him. It's as if he disappeared into thin air."
Grunt in discontent, WarCry ended the call. Someone would have to pay for his irritable mood and if the cause of his foul mood wasn't found then...the object of his orders would just have to pay—dearly.
….
Looking at the back of his hand, Kaiden eyed the Realm Key that rested there. He had no intention of entering the Realm anytime soon. It would take some time before he was ready to step back in there. Instead, he focused on more pressing matters at hand.
"It would be best to continuously train, however, there are more pressing matters."
Exiting the Lunar Essence Mansion, Kaiden headed toward the Town Hall or more specifically—Mayor's office. This was a place he hadn't been in a while—but he was certain there was something he needed to receive from the Mayor.
Within a few passing moments, Kaiden stood before the regal Mayor's Office. Like 2 weeks prior, there existed a line outside of the Hall gates. The only difference being this one existed in a much greater magnitude.
Skipping the line, Kaiden approached the gates of the Mayor's Building. Of course, this resulted in displeased remarks to thrown at him by the otherwise irritated people.
"HOW THE HELL CAN YOU JUST SKIP THE LINE!? ARE WE AIR!? FUUUCCK!" screamed a bystander.
"YEAH! THERE'S A LINE! WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR HOURS." remarked another.
Sparing them a perfunctory glance, Kaiden disregarded them as he entered the office. While they were here for basic quests; he wasn't—he was here for information.
….
"Mayor Lowe." voiced Kaiden.
Turning his head, the seemingly weary Mayor nodded his head.
"Oh, it is you Unsheathed. What can I do for you? Thanks to your timely help, the economy of Crescent Wake Town has experienced a stable increase. I can't thank you enough."
"You're welcome, it is only right I offer my help to this town.
[System: Relationship with Mayor Lowe Esteam has increased again. The state of your affinity has risen from Friendly to Respected.]
'Indeed, reinforcing his feelings with flowery words offers benefits. We adventurers only complete these quests for benefits.' inwardly remarked Kaiden.
"I came to ask you a couple of questions, do you have time to spare?"
"I do, fire away. What is it you want to ask?"