The sun sat in the cloudless sky, watching over the earth like a king looking down on the kingdom from his castle above.
The green grass gently swayed with the breeze as flying beast glided through the air above. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful environment.
After spending days in a dungeon and travelling through forests, this all felt like a breath of fresh air for Jay. A nice rest and cooked meal was also much appreciated.
Jay stood in the grass wearing a brown pants and green tunic, along with a very comfy brown shoe. These were clothes provided by the old man who stood just a few feet away from him. The man wore black pants, with a white shirt.
He was obviously wealthy which was evident due to owning a mansion. Of course he chose clothing to get dirty in rather than a fancy outfit.
The reason these two stood out here was not to observe the scenery but to begin training. The old man's specialty was training adventurers and even soldiers after-all.
Jay had already given him a rundown about what skills he had, and which he would want to level up first.
"Don't worry young one, I will not be going all out. First off, lets see how much your enhanced senses can improve your reaction time. Vision and hearing are definitely two major factors in a fight." the old man stated before summoning his staff.
"First off, hearing. Close your eyes and dodge my attacks."
Jay closed his eyes before activating his skill. "Enhanced Senses."
The sounds of the wind and the bugs nearby became slightly louder. A sound of something flying towards his location could now be heard.
Bang.
A painful, electric feeling appeared in his midsection, dropping Jay to one knee.
With no warning, the training had already begun.
The same sound appeared twice more from the same direction. To the left, then to the right, he dodged the two attacks which surprised not only the old man but himself.
"From my left." he whispered as two attacks shot through the air from his left. Quickly stepping forward, he dodged the first followed by a back step to dodge the second.
Bang.
A much quieter attacked made contact. Jay felt a similar electric but much less painful attack than the first strike. "The old man seemed to have thrown in a quieter attack."
"Pretty good" the old man yelled from his position without moving. "I now know how fast your reaction speed can be. I also seemed to have used an attack which was silent enough to slip past your skill."
"We will have to continue that training tomorrow, but for now let's see how much your hardening skill can improve your strength." he added as he stabbed his staff into the ground.
He was aware that the skill could only be used for thirty seconds and only once a day for now.
As the staff glowed once more, a large boulder raised from the earth beneath. It was larger than Jay and the old man himself.
"I want you to use all of your power to strike this boulder. First, you will throw a regular punch with all your might and then a punch with your harden skill activated. This will show us the difference your skill adds."
With 19 strength points, he had surpassed the average human's strength but there were many who were still much stronger than that."
Taking his stance, Jay prepared his punch. His focus was now completely on the boulder in front of him.
With the swing of his hip, his right arm shot forward onto the boulder before him. Upon contact, a sudden pain shot through his arm as he yelled in pain.
"Heal." said the old man before letting out a chuckle. A green aura engulfed Jay's arm taking away the pain. "Now use your hardening skill."
Angry at the man for laughing, he took his stance one more. "Harden" he yelled before swinging his arm towards the huge boulder.
Bang.
His now metallic fist came into contact with the large boulder. Cracks began to form but the boulder did not shatter nor did any pieces fall off.
Jay also noticed that the pain was not as great as before which meant that damage taken would be less when harden was activated.
"Once more" the old man commanded with a smile.
Jay proceeded to take his stance. With the rotation of his hip, his arm shot towards the boulder.
Bang.
The cracks grew slightly but was definitely an accomplishment on it's own. He let out a small smile indicating his satisfaction with himself. A thought ran through his mind.
"System, how much does the use of harden currently increase my strength?"
"At level one, hardening increases host strength by three points." The System replied.
"Therefore, my strength is at 22 while using this skill. That is twice as much as the average human but not as much as most of the beast I've seen."
While deep into thought, Jay was approached by the old man with the maid from earlier close behind him.
The beautiful maid had long black hair and shining brown eyes. In her hands, she carried a silver tray with two cups and a glass mug of cold lemonade.
"Good job" the old man said as he took a sip of the refreshing drink.
"Yeah, thanks." Jay replied as he gulped down his much needed drink.
After their little rest, the two continued the training. Jay had kept his skill activated as he would not be able to use it again that day after deactivation.
His goal for now, was to break the large rock into small pieces. After minutes of repeated punches, the cracks within the boulder grew enough to break into smaller pieces.
Feeling satisfied, the two called it a day.
A shower, followed by a delicious meal awaited the two. At dinner, they discussed multiple training and meal plans for the next few days.
Day in and day out, Jay would train his skills with the old man and even by himself. Exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, and squats were added to help his body.
Dodging attacks with and without enhanced senses, using hardening to strike objects, and even using illusion or clone in his free time, Jay trained diligently.
After a week, his skills had gone through a few levels. His body felt much stronger, and his mind was now clear. He had finally decided to trust the old man and would let his guard down around the mansion.
Plunder was already unlocked.
"System show and explain my upgraded skills' stats."
[Harden - Level Three, Enhanced Senses - Level Three, Illusion - Level Two, Clone- Level Two]
[Harden now covers the host's arms, midsection, and head. Strength increase is now +5. Enhanced senses can now last for an entire minute and has increased changes to hearing and vision. Clone now allows the creation of two non moving clones. Illusion can now last one minute.]
Jay felt happy after reading the information on the screen. He was getting stronger, and soon revenge would be his for the taken. His current skills all depended on his strength and energy.
To use more advanced skills, he would need to level up and gain MP. MP or Mana points allows the user to use magic attacks from their learned spells. In Jay's case, he will gain magic attacks through the system as he levels up and clear quest.
An unfamiliar sound quickly snapped him from his thoughts.
A loud scream could be heard from within the mansion. He dashed towards the door.