Under the broad daylight of the afternoon sun, inside the Figliad training ground located behind the guild hall. Tens of adventurers could be seen going through their routine training. Some were practicing their magic and bows, while others were honing their physical skills by sparring with their fellow adventurers and trainers.
Dirian Casmael, one of the guild's most prominent trainers, sat on one of the massive quadrangle's wooden benches. Normally, Dirian had his hands full training adventurers, but at the moment, he had none due to him intentionally rejecting trainees who asked him to train them, which had been going on for days. His usual confident and smiling face had changed, his eyes had grown significantly larger, and there were shivers in his hands every time he moved.
Dirian had already suffered defeats at the hands of the adventurers, and he was well aware that he was not the strongest person in the guild, but his spirit had never been broken apart like this before. The mark that his defeat had left on his mind was the source of his anxiety, not the defeat itself. The image of the person who defeated him was etched in his mind, and he could see it every time he closed his eyes. His body had recovered, but his mind still felt the impact from a few days ago, as if he was cursed to remember it until the end of his life.
Physical wounds would heal in time, but mental trauma would take time, especially for those unfamiliar with it, such as Dirian.
"Sir Dirian!"
Dirian gasped and leaped to his feet, attempting to flee the person who was approaching him. His body swung from left to right, unsure where to go. But it was too late because the person who had called him had already reached him.
"Oh, Sir Dirian, I've been looking for you," Gideon said, smiling broadly.
Dirian swallowed and cleared his throat. "Oh, Gideon, I haven't seen you in days, do you need anything? Don't tell me you want another round of beating?" He forced a chuckle.
"About that," Gideon agreed, scratching the back of his head. "I received more than enough reward to cover the cost of a training session yesterday, so I decided to use this time to train, and you were the first person who came to mind. After all, you are the trainer assigned to me, and I believe you are one of the best trainers around."
However, the praise he received did not make Dirian smile; instead, it made his eyes shiver as he remembered their recent battle. Especially after hearing the guild rumors that Gideon possessed a skill that caused Dirian to mysteriously behave as he had during their battle.
Without his knowledge, the adventurers of Figliad assumed that Gideon possessed a mental skill that allowed him to play with people's minds.
Assuming that he was the one who had first experienced the said skill, and believing that the rumor was true based on his experience, great reluctance crept into Dirian's brain.
"Ah..." Dirian laughed. "I'm glad you think that way about me, and I would love— I would definitely love to train you myself today, but I'm afraid my hand is full today... I don't have the time."
Gideon narrowed his eyes and tilted his head sideways. "I heard you don't have anyone to train with today."
"I don't?" Dirian looked down, his enlarged eyes fixed on the ground. "Oh, right," he said, raising his index finger and smiling. "I have to go train one of the children of one of the nobles in this town," he said as he walked past Gideon. "Perhaps next time, Gideon, or maybe not."
Gideon remained behind, watching Dirian walk away from him.
Dirian, on the other hand, looked back for the last time after reaching a certain distance from Gideon and discovered Gideon still watching his steps. Dirian hugged himself as he shivered from the chill down his spine. "Uhh, just looking at his emotionless eyes makes me want to run; I can't believe the guild decided to hire such a suspicious person like that," he continued to walk away, escaping his responsibility as a guild trainer. "I should keep as much distance from him as possible or I'll go insane."
Following that, Gideon was forced to ask other trainers to train him, but, like Dirian, most of them were reluctant to be his trainer, and despite Gideon's repeated requests, none of them agreed, to the point where Seilyn had to personally assign someone to train Gideon who was unaware of the rumors circulating among the trainers.
Gideon's new assigned regular trainer was Xilgran Whislar. A muscular man with beards all over his face and long black curly hair tied in a bun. A 34-year-old man with a height of 201 centimeters. He, like Dirian, had been a guild trainer for many years. Xilgran, on the other hand, had a broader range of specialties than Dirian, including expertise in hand-to-hand combat and defensive techniques. He was dressed in a white tank top that revealed his massive hairy chest and muscular arms, as well as black pants that gave him a manly aura all around him.
Xilgran nodded slowly, his hand on his chin. "Because of some personal issues, your supposed assigned trainer, Dirian, could no longer train you; therefore, you will train with me from now on and until you decide to continue your travel."
Gideon gave a nod. "I understand, Sir Xilgran."
Xilgran walked in front of Gideon, back and forth. "But first, I'd like to point out a few ground rules for our training sessions that you must follow or you will no longer be able to train with me. First and foremost, I despise crybabies; when I say do it, you do it without hesitation. It was supposed to be just one rule, but I added one just for you. Second, Trainee, you are not allowed to use your skill to me, your trainer, especially when your skill has nothing to do with the things I am teaching you," he said, looking Gideon in the eyes. "You understand what I mean; keep in mind that I am the only one willing to train you after what happened to Dirian; no one wants to end up experiencing what he has been going through; he appears to be recovering slowly from what you did... You should exercise caution with that skill; it is far too dangerous to be used haphazardly."
Gideon's pupils constricted. "Uh?"
"Wait here, I'll get our training materials," Xilgran said as he walked away from him.
Gideon's already narrowed eyes narrowed further as he watched Xilgran walk away. He cocked his head to the side. "What skill?"
After some time, Xilgran returned and they began their training. This was Gideon's first experience with proper sword training. Xilgran spent four hours teaching him the fundamentals of proper stances, how to wave and swing his sword, and how to hold his sword.
Xilgran trained Gideon in the same strict and harsh manner that he trained the other adventurers. With much screams and Gideon rolling on the ground groaning in pain. They sparred several times, and unlike Dirian, who was not trying to learn from the people he was training, Xilgran was closely examining Gideon's abilities. A trainer who was feared by some for his harsh personality, but respected by many for his demonstrated ability to see one's potential.
"Wrong!" Xilgran screamed, slapping the wooden sword in Gideon's hand. "Don't hold it like that unless you want your sword to fly every time you wave it, and most importantly, if you're not confident in your grip, hold the sword with both hands!"
Gideon stood up straight. "I understand, Sir Xilgran!" His body was covered in dirt from rolling to the ground several times.
Xilgran placed a hand on his chin. "Now I understand. You know how to win a fight, and it amazes me how quickly you can adapt to my patterns. However, for some reason, your body is unable to execute the strategy that you have planned; in order to properly perform a decent attack, you must perform numerous movements to compensate for your lack of sufficient strength. It's not bad, but in a real battle where every movement counts, it would be a problem," he said, shifting his narrowed gaze to Gideon. "Most importantly, you've been swinging your sword as if the sword controlled you rather than the other way around, making you look like a paper with a face while fighting, waving your sword around like an idiot. I couldn't stop watching, but not because it was entertaining."
Gideon swallowed and cleared his throat. "I understand, Sir Xilgran."
"To summarize, your physical abilities are atrocious to say the least, as if you don't have any muscle at all, and you don't have any force in your body even if you force it out. You're one of the worst people I've ever met; you're so frail that I'm afraid I'll break your bones if I hit you harder. I had to look deeper to see if it had any potential. But that doesn't mean we can't work it out; with proper training, especially heavy training, anything can grow."
Gideon lowered his gaze. "I see, Sir Xilgran."
"Your observation abilities, on the other hand. That's something we can easily work with; you could easily learn my attack patterns in a few rounds, and you did it so quickly that it frightens me slightly. That could be why, after being defeated ten times, you were able to avoid Dirian's attacks." Xilgran exhaled. "And after realizing you couldn't defeat him by dodging his attacks and relying on your poor combat skills, you decided to mess with his mind instead by using your skill, I understand now."
Gideon extended his hand. "Uhm... about that—"
"Trainee!"
Gideon stood up straight. "Yes, Sir Xilgran!"
"In a real battle, however, you can only lose once before losing your life, so every movement is critical because your opponent will not wait that long. And, if you want to be a great adventurer, you should practice combat skills to supplement your observation skills. Keep in mind that I chose to train you because I saw great potential in you, and you haven't done anything to make me think I was wrong, which is a good thing! That's what we're going to work on! Do you get it, Trainee?"
"Yes, Sir Xilgran!"
"Let's go through another round of sparring!"
"Yes, Sir Xilgran!"