It's been snowing since morning. Although it was snowing yesterday as well, it's heavier today. Nearly eighty centimeters of snow has already fallen as of this morning, and it's likely that it's going to continue to accumulate.
Since we have a magic item installed on the shop's door that uses a Wind and Fire Spirit Stone to periodically clear the snow from the area around the entrance, we'll have no problems opening the shop. However, it's unlikely that we'll get many important customers.
Unless they have important business to take care of, most people will just stay in their homes today. Since they need to clear the snow off their roofs, and most of the roads are buried in snow, the situation can't be helped.
As for the Foreman and the other craftsmen, I wanted them to take the day off because of the heavy snow, so I contacted them via the ear cuffs that I gave them before.
Having done that, I decided to keep the number of sales clerks to a minimum today, and had all the members that don't have work to do gather in one place.
After all, it's the perfect day to train them without reservation for the first time in a while. Also, the snow is just the right thing for this.
This training is so that they can move around perfectly in various environments, such as sprawling plains, meadows that are overgrown with grass, deserts with burning sandstorms, and humid wetlands, among other areas. For that reason, these natural conditions are perfect for us to train in.
With my abilities, I could emulate the environments to some extent, but I can't do it to this scale with my present self. My abilities simply aren't enough. I don't have anything from the temperature reduction system yet, which includes freezing abilities.
I may be able to do it with magic, but honestly, even if it's possible, I don't want to do so since there'd be too much waste. Anyway, after we finished our stretching in the mansion, we adjusted our equipment and left for the training grounds.
All of the members put on a heavy outfit designed to keep out the cold, as well as a thick overcoat that's highly water repellent, which was made from my thread and raw monster materials so that their body temperature won't drop because of the cold wind and snow. They're also wearing leather armor under their overcoats, a backpack on their backs containing weights, and they had their favorite weapons hanging on their waist or shoulders.
With this, the circumstances for our basic march were completed. Of course, the training grounds were dyed white by the snow that's fallen, which is why we prepared ourselves in this way.
When marching in these conditions, it's typical for those marching to advance while using magic items and tamed pets to clear the snow. However, when that's not enough, they'll use manpower to dig and push their way through it. I did think about whether we should do this method first, though.
That said, I'm still uncertain about the stamina of many of the members of ≪Solitude≫, so I decided to pass on that thought this time.
The snow levels had increased too much, so I carefully used [Pyrokinesis] to melt the snow in the training grounds. Melting the snow in a wide area caused the level of cold water to rise too much, so I also used [Hydro Hand] to remove the water.
As a result, the ground absorbed a lot of water and became muddy, but I left that alone. While I might be able to more or less remove this water, I think the burden caused by the muddy ground is perfect.
Even if I had removed said water, the snow would eventually pile up again. Since this snow would melt when people step on it, the area would still end up in a similar state, so there was no point in me doing so.
After fixing the place up, I took lead of the members that had assembled in rows and columns. Since we were still warming up, I had them continue to run for approximately thirty minutes, with the minimum objective of keeping their formation intact.
At first, their lungs were numbed every time they breathed in the cold air as they ran. However, the exercise was generating internal heat for them.
Although they were cold at first, it wasn't a problem because of the heat of the steam rising from their bodies as they ran. Even though they weren't running very fast, the young members of ≪Solitude≫ were out of breath. However, they were still able to stick it out and continue running until the end somehow.
Having said that, it seems that this exercise was still fairly harsh for the young group to do. There were some members who vomited or simply fell down as soon as they finished running. However, because they desperately ran to the end, this is acceptable for the time being.
As one would expect, their group showed no signs of moving, so I had them rest for a moment. As for the remaining members that still had energy to spare, I first had them form parties of two, and then had them start the actual combat training that was already the standard in Parabellum.
Of course, since they're training with real weapons, the chance of someone being injured is high. Actually, I'm almost 100% certain that there will be injuries. Although their thick armor will protect them if they're grazed by the tip of a sword, the attack's impact will still affect their body.
If they're hit, it'll break their bones every time, and in the worst case they may be left near death. Thankfully, this has yet to lead to situations where limbs were lost, but there have been several instances of injuries that came close.
That said, since Seiji-kun and I healed them each time this happened, not one of them has had to deal with the after-effects of receiving a fatal injury.
I understand that it's a very dangerous training method to use, but I'm certain that real combat is the best way to quickly increase their overall abilities. Actually, the members' tolerance for pain has improved since we started using this training method. As a result, their combat abilities have risen dramatically, and their skill level when it comes to close combat is high.
Each member gets a growth modifying effect because of me, but as I thought, much of their growth is due to this type of training. I don't intend for it to start happening, but even if someone dies from this training in the future, I probably won't stop using this method.
Anyway, this continued for a while, and then the members of ≪Solitude≫ recovered and started training at the same time for a few more hours. Without eating lunch, they carefully moved their bodies at various speeds. Through this, we were able to get an idea of how their bodies react in cold climates.
After that, I tried some training by fighting on my own against all of the members present, which numbered at least 100. I gave them a handicap by only using my bare hands and restricting my ability usage. It started with me being surrounded by everyone, with Kanami-chan leading them.
As they came to attack me, their eyes appeared to say that they wanted to clear away their everyday grudges. It was quite impressive. Well, as a result, we finished around an hour later and there was a mountain of bodies in the training grounds.
Other than me, only Kanami-chan was left standing. The rest of the members were lying on the ground, including Redhead, Auro, and Argento. As for the degree of the injuries that they suffered, even the great fighters were heavily wounded.
Well, the members of ≪Solitude≫ are still young and inexperienced, so I easily blew them away with the wind pressure caused by my fists. As a result, they only suffered light injuries like scratches and bruises. Before they could receive anymore attacks, they had become unable to stand.
As for one of the members that confronted me who was proud of their high fighting strength, one of their arms was broken sloppily. Their body was dripping blood due to the countless large and small lacerations that they suffered, and they were in quite a miserable state.
However, even though they took a certain number of attacks, they weren't defeated instantly. Instead, they were able to endure them. Thinking about it now, maybe I went too far. Well, since they would be dead if this was real combat, going this far should be fine.
Anyway, since I got to vent some of my accumulated stress, I was satisfied. The members have improved more than I expected, and I had more injuries on my limbs than before as a result.
While some of these injuries reached the bone, even without using my abilities, they could already only be seen as thin red lines due to my body's high capacity for regeneration. Though I can't say that the satisfaction is at a record high, I'm sure that it's very high.
Man, today was a good day. Since I was in a good mood, I gave everyone a Life Potion that had my blood mixed in in order to cure their wounds. I then used Wyvern meat and other high-quality meats to make a late-night meal.
The Wyvern thigh meat steak is really yummy! The thinly sliced marbled meat of the Jandal Cow is really yummy! The roasted Benjal Bird is really yummy!
They were all delicious, but this is probably because all the creatures have a high price. However, the Wyvern meat was the best of them all. The juices of the meat that bursts out on your tongue, as well as the melting texture when I put the meat in my mouth, they're irresistible.
Just a little, because I desire other dragon meat that isn't from a Jadar Wyvern, I want to go hunting for some if the opportunity presents itself.
Rather, maybe I should challenge the [Age of the Gods Dungeon] on my own... When I get some free time, I intend to do so.