Aske and Peggy stayed in the hotel for four days like that.
At night they returned to their rooms to sleep, and during the day they stayed in the underground training ground to practice. During this time, new mercenaries continuously came to challenge them, only to be mercilessly knocked down. There was no helping it, with Aske's professional skills, dealing with these level 1 or lower mercenary NPCs was a piece of cake.
During this period, Peggy's digestion of the Extraordinary Trait Flesh I significantly sped up. Although she still did not understand why Aske accepted the challenges of these mercenaries—did Aske also have an undigested Extraordinary Trait within him that needed to be transformed into Physical Power through actual combat?
But since Aske did not speak of it, she did not ask, choosing instead to quietly reflect on the combat insights she had learned these past few days.
That day, Aske went to the blacksmith's shop early in the morning and brought back the custom-made Chain Armor. Peggy put on the all-steel chain armor and looked at herself in the mirror from different angles, feeling it looked somewhat unflattering.
"If you find it ugly, you can wear a dyed Cotton Armor over it," Aske suggested. "Like the one I'm wearing."
"Just wearing the black robe is fine," Peggy said, indicating there was no need to spend more money.
"Let's go," Aske said.
When they arrived at the underground training ground, many mercenaries were indeed waiting there early in the morning. Consequently, the training ground was filled with screams and groans as challengers were sent flying or knocked to the ground. It wasn't long before there were no more standing challengers left, just a crowd of onlookers exchanging glances at the edge of the ring.
Aske walked up to a female warrior. Not only was she the first person to voluntarily propose sparring, but she was also the mercenary who had been challenging him most diligently lately; she was now again knocked down hard, clutching her abdomen and groaning heavily, clearly unable to stand up.
"I'm very curious," Aske said leisurely, "my hand has been quite heavy these last few days. For example, the mercenaries who joined the fight yesterday were all injured, so they didn't appear today. But you seem just fine, standing up to challenge me every day. Are your injuries not serious?"
"It's nothing," the female warrior shook her head. "I have a friend who is a Healer; she treats my wounds every day."
"Let me guess," Aske said. "A professional Healer? A common doctor wouldn't have the ability to speed up wound healing."
"A Military Nun," the female warrior replied candidly.
"Good," Aske squatted beside her. "I plan to form a team, but right now it's only her and me. We are currently short of a close-combat tank, a mage, and a Healer. From what I've observed over the past few days, you have great potential for growth, suitable to become a tank."
"Tank?" the female warrior was a bit perplexed. "Do you mean a Defender?"
"A good Defender not only knows how to keep themselves alive, but also how to protect their companions behind them," Aske explained. "Therefore, a Defender must have a sufficiently tenacious will, a good strategic view or learning capacity, as well as a calm and not impulsive personality. I think you have the potential in this area."
"So you want to recruit me into your team?" the female warrior realized.
"Not just you," Aske replied. "Also your friend. A good Healer is also indispensable to the team, as it's unavoidable to get injured in battle. I don't need those emergency doctors who can only perform well in the operation room of a hospital with complete medical equipment. What I need is a Healer who can still perform emergency treatment with limited tools on the bloody battlefield, in the remote barbaric mountains, or within the dark and deep underground relics—such a role can only be found among mercenaries."
"There's no problem if you just recruit me," the female warrior shrugged. "As for my friend, she's not really interested in the fighting and killing of mercenaries, but..."
She coughed and continued, "You could talk more with her about things like 'remote barbaric mountains' or 'dark and deep underground relics'; she's really fascinated by these."
"Alright," Aske understood the hint from the female warrior. That friend of hers... must be someone eager for adventure.
"Your name?" Aske extended his hand.
"Eleanor Weiss," the female warrior took his wrist and stood up. "The surname comes from my father, who is a Lord of the Holy Solomon Empire, but the name was given by a passing Sirius Orthodox Monk."
"Your father must admire the culture of Ancient Sirius greatly," Aske said, "otherwise, he wouldn't have given his daughter a Sirius name."
"No," the female warrior shook her head. "It's just that when he went to pay homage to the Emperor, he happened to see Queen Theophano and was immediately struck by her beauty. You know, before Queen Theophano married Emperor Otto, she was the Princess of the East Solomon Empire. Hence, he instantly began to madly adore everything about East Solomon culture, to the point that even the greeting from the maids in the castle every morning had to be Καλημέρα (Sirius language: Good morning)."
"Let's hope he won't take an interest in my Sirius name," Aske joked as he shook her hand, "My name is Aske Lepeios Achilles; you can call me Aske. This lady is Miss Peggy."
"Hello, Aske," Eleanor greeted politely. "Hello, Peggy."
The three headed toward the exit of the training ground. The crowd had been too far away to hear their dialogue, and now seeing the female warrior and the master swordsman walk off together, it didn't take much to guess that the master's real intent in sparring with everyone was to recruit (whether teammates or apprentices remained unclear), leaving the training ground in a gloom. Especially the mercenaries who had been injured a few days ago and hence hadn't competed today, they were so full of regret that they practically wanted to smash their swords.
Leaving the underground training grounds, it was already noon outside, and the sunlight above was somewhat scorching. Eleanor removed her helmet and face mask, holding it at her waist, which made her breathing much easier. Her true face was that of a mature beauty of Jiamani descent: her bright, curly golden hair cascaded down in big waves, a prominent nose bridge, deep-set eyes with sapphire blue pupils, lips that were neither thick nor thin, curving into an enchanting smile.
Overseas forums had a nickname for this style of beautiful NPC called "Blonde Sweetheart Persian Cat." Players in their homeland were more straightforward, simply calling them "foreign hotties."
However, why did this NPC's appearance seem so familiar? It was as if Aske had seen her before in a past life's game. Aske only glanced at her briefly before lowering his head and falling into thoughtful recollection.
Eleanor saw that the other party wasn't moved by her outstanding looks and was quietly relieved. She was determined to inherit her father's castle and title, so she had only started traveling the continent after reaching adulthood to hone her martial skills. What frustrated her most was being regarded as a beauty instead of a warrior because of her gender. Even many of the larger mercenary groups were unwilling to take her in. If this sword master minded that as well, she would be close to tears.
Of course, to Aske, who thought like a player, it didn't matter whether the NPC was male or female. Even if it were a dog, as long as it could fight, that was fine!
"Let's talk about my plan for the team." Along the way, Aske started chatting with the two girls, "You know I'm building a team. My team's concept is to be small but elite, members must be elites among elites, of course, you are not up to that standard now, but you can strive for it."
"We will definitely try our best," was all Eleanor and Peggy could respond with, nodding and eagerly assuring him.
"A small but elite team; a classic model is the 'Tank, Healer, Damage Dealer' triangle," Aske continued, "One to take the damage, one to deal the damage, and one to repair the damage."
"But the 'Iron Triangle' is outdated now. What's popular is the 'Golden Pentagon,' which means a tank to withstand damage, a mage for control, a damage dealer with burst power, a priest to handle healing, and a commander to set the tactics. Tank, control, damage, healer, commander – five people can hold up the whole team, enough to cope with most battle situations."
"Eleanor, you will be the team's tank, responsible for bearing damage; I'll handle commanding and emergency situations; Peggy will be in charge of leading our offensive," Aske concluded, "We still need a mage with control abilities to draw enemies toward the tank, and I already have a strong candidate in mind for that; as for the healer role, what's the situation with your friend?"
"She's a university student, Squad Leader," Eleanor answered, "Studying at the Solomon St. Maria Theological College, majoring in Military Nun, graduating in the second half of this year, and it seems she's preparing her graduation thesis now."
"Oh, a university student should be relatively easy to deal with," Aske mused, "After all, at that age, one's social exposure is limited."
Following Eleanor, the group arrived at the core CBD district of Constantinople, where commercial high-rises, large shopping malls, and subway stations towered everywhere. Arriving in front of a luxurious hotel's entrance, aside from Eleanor, the other two immediately looked uncomfortable.
Holy crap, was this guy really so rich? The highest-grade Saint Oli Hotel in Constantinople, with its daily ten-pound VIP suites, the place designated for official receptions of foreign kings and nobility by the Empire, could the person living here be an ordinary university student?
"Aske," Peggy asked with an embarrassed tone, "are you sure this person will be easy to deal with?"
"No worries," Aske steadied himself, "I'm still someone with a thousand pounds to my name, it's not like I'm going to be intimidated in this aspect."
Although I do have a thousand pounds, I still can't afford to stay in this kind of hotel... Aske grumbled internally.
"She's really easygoing," Eleanor, seeing the other two seemed a bit tense, quickly added, "Don't worry."
The group strode into the hotel, where the doormen immediately came to greet them, their polite expressions tinted with subtly implied caution until they recognized Eleanor, then they relaxed:
"Good day, Miss Eleanor, are you here to see Miss Nora?"
"Yes," Eleanor nodded, "Is she in her room?"
"I will notify her personal butler for you," the doorman said with a nod.
He briskly walked to the counter, picked up the phone, dialed a number, conversed briefly, hung up, and then came back, saying:
"Miss Nora has finished breakfast, you can meet her in her sitting room, please follow me."
"Who exactly is this Nora?" Peggy couldn't help but ask, "A great noble?"
"Her family seems to be in business," Eleanor said, "As to whether she's a noble, I'm not sure."
"So how much salary are you going to offer her, Aske?" Peggy sneered, "Hiring a merchant's daughter as a mercenary? Her pocket money alone could hire an entire mercenary group."
"Looks like I'll have to move her with my sincerity," Aske said half-jokingly, "Don't forget, I'm also a noble in the Empire, albeit a down-on-his-luck one."