Gideon had been a member of the Adventurers' Guild for two weeks. Every day, he tried to improve himself by doing Class E quests on certain days and then attending a training session with Xilgran the next. He spent his days managing his time and coins by spending as little as possible in order to do both activities without being kicked out of the inn room he was renting.
Xilgran always greeted him enthusiastically whenever he arrived. Every training session was filled with shouting and Gideon falling to the ground like a frail carriage wheel. Regardless of how many times he fell to the ground, Gideon was always standing up, his face filled with eagerness to learn and grow, and he responded to every ear-piercing scream with such vigor.
The orange sun was slowly setting as another day came to an end. The sound of a person brutally rolling to the ground while groaning in pain drew the attention of the adventurers and trainers packing their belongings to leave the quadrangle. This scene was no longer unfamiliar to them; it had been happening for days and they had grown accustomed to it. As a result, none of the adventurers or trainers said anything and simply shook their heads while gazing at the scenery. Gideon's and Xilgran's sparring session.
What drew their attention was Xilgran's fighting style against Gideon; he was no longer fighting him as if he were a trainee; instead, Xilgran was fighting Gideon in the manner of a trainer fighting a typical adventurer, which would normally be done against adventurers of Class D rank.
Gideon shook his head, groaning and coughing. He forced himself to stand up and take a battle stance, pointing his wooden sword upward, which he gripped tightly with both hands. His gaze was fixed on the person approaching him, and as Xilgran got closer, Gideon exhaled and stepped forward with his right foot.
Before Xilgran could reach Gideon, he came to a halt and placed the wooden sword in his hand on his shoulder, displaying his muscular right arm. His sharp black eyes were fixed on Gideon; he had no expression on his face, but his aura alone exuded great manliness. "Trainee!" he screamed, his voice baritone and strict.
Gideon lowered his sword and stood tall, his gaze fixed on Xilgran. "Yes, Sir Xilgran!"
Xilgran advanced, brushing his curly, black mustache with his thumb and index finger. He stood directly in front of Gideon, staring at him from head to toe with a puzzled expression on his face. "How is that possible?" he wondered after not getting the answer he desired by staring at Gideon.
"What is it, Sir Xilgran?" Gideon asked, keeping his back straight.
Xilgran did not respond, instead rubbing his thick beards and shaking his head slowly. "I don't get it."
Gideon leaned forward, tilting his head. "What exactly do you not understand—"
"Trainee!"
"Yes, Sir Xilgran!" Gideon straightened his back once more.
Xilgran remained silent for a few seconds, shifting his gaze between Gideon's face and sword. He narrowed his eyes and focused on Gideon's eyes, which only awkwardly smiled when he saw how Xilgran looked at him.
"I don't understand why your physical abilities aren't improving; all you can do is do some cool stances but you can't perform a decent attack to save your pathetic life," he said, pressing his hand against his beard. "It's as if your body is rejecting growth... that's odd... and ridiculous... and stupid."
Gideon creased his brows. "Ha? And here I thought I was getting stronger because you kept changing your fighting style—"
"Trainee!"
"Yes, Sir Xilgran!"
Xilgran lowered his hand and looked down at Gideon, who was staring up at him. "That's why I'm baffled; if you're a battle genius, you should have learned everything by now, and if you're an idiot, you shouldn't have learned anything at all. However, you are both."
"Is that a compliment?"
"To be honest, you've been as bad with your sword since day one! It almost made me think that I had misjudged you and that you were just a lucky idiot, but you can easily learn patterns to keep up with everything I throw at you to the point where I am running out of ideas for what to do next. Your swordsmanship—no, your entire fighting ability—is still almost trash—only trash is much better. Even a class E mage girl would beat you in a fist fight... and they have no idea how to throw a punch!"
"Oh, wow, thanks; I guess that's the end of my self-esteem."
"For some reason, you can get a very high grade because of your ability to quickly adapt to someone's fighting style, to the point where if I don't change my fighting style in a few rounds, you can easily dodge them like a master the next few rounds. Except for your dodging abilities, however, your combat abilities remained utterly dreadful! You know how to fight and win battles, but your body doesn't, as if you're just a head attached to a body that isn't even yours, struggling to control it because your host body can't keep up with your brain."
"Is that... is that a good thing?" Gideon asked, leaning forward.
"No, it isn't!" screamed Xilgran. "This is my first encounter with someone like you. What kind of strangeness are you? Humans are supposed to show even a smidgeon of improvement after taking the training that you did, and you still can't properly swing your sword! While your sword swings you around, you still look like an idiotic paper with a face. Are you certain you're human?"
Gideon chuckled awkwardly. "Of course I am," he said, crossing his arms. "Perhaps I'm just a slow learner."
"Even a child could learn to properly swing a sword on the first day of training; that's the most fundamental of swordsmanship, but you failed even after training to do it since day one; how is that possible?" Xilgran responded.
Gideon smiled as he slowly nodded and raised his index finger. "Extremely slow learner."
"I would agree with that if you hadn't just easily adapted to all of my fighting styles like nothing these past few days," Xilgran said as he turned his back on Gideon. "To be honest, you are not a slow learner. But, for some reason, no matter what I do, I can't make you learn certain things. I can't believe I just met someone who can't even learn to swing a sword properly after days of practice. I'm beginning to suspect that there's something wrong with how you learn things, as if your body has its own set of rules."
Because Xilgran abruptly stopped while deep in thought, the two of them fell silent. After a while, Xilgran returned his gaze to Gideon, who was standing straight and holding his wooden sword.
"I get it now," Xilgran said as a realization dawned on him. "But, as usual, you did an excellent job today; your physical abilities are not improving, unfortunately, but I am beginning to see your true potential. I believe that even if we continue this training, you will no longer learn anything from me. These training sessions serve no purpose... At least for you."
"Sir... Xilgran?"
"Though you are pitifully weak and incapable of doing anything on your own, imagine your ability when you have people to carry out your strategies for you," Xilgran said as he raised his gaze to the setting sun. "It'll be sunny for a few days, it's a good time for adventuring, you should go... that's the only way for you to grow," he said as he walked away from Gideon. "You have potential; develop it, unless you are satisfied with squeezing milk from cows and smashing dull rocks, in which case it would be very disappointing."
Gideon, on the other hand, simply watched Xilgran walk away with admiration in his enlarged eyes. He stood up properly after a brief moment and screamed as loudly as he could.
"I understand, Sir Xilgran!"