"Since I obtained the notification, then that means I'm heading in the right direction," Valyr muttered to himself, continuing to strike against the dummy with the spear, feeling that both of his arms were on the verge of falling off. However, he still persevered and gritted through the pain, thinking that this pain was just a small price to obtain a skill he would rely on in the long run.
Indeed, a skill. The reason why he was using both arms to strike the dummy with his spear was to obtain a skill.
In Greater Beyond, there were three main methods as to how one would obtain new skills. The first and most obvious method would be to obtain it through the use of skill books. These skill books would either be available in certain shops, such as the contribution point shop of the village guards, or they could be obtained through happenstance. Of course, there were those who weren't bounded by morality, obtaining their skill books through the murder of players and NPCs alike.
The second method would be to ascend to a higher class and evolve one's species. Although skill books were the most obvious method to obtain new skills, ascending to a higher class was considered the most common method of obtaining increasingly stronger skills. As for evolving one's species, the chances of obtaining a skill from it was lower. However, when it did give a skill, it would definitely bring a great increase to the person's combat power.
With that, the third and final method of obtaining skills was to obtain them through quests as rewards. Depending on the type and difficulty of the quest one took, the quality of the skill would differ. Though, unlike skills obtained through ascension, wherein the strength of the skill would be limited by the person's level, obtaining skills through quests allowed for a person to wield a skill far beyond their level at a lower level. In fact, that was what most players did at the beginning to gain an edge over other players.
Of course, Valyr was also going to do that once he had gotten stronger.
However, unlike the first three methods, there was one more method of obtaining a skill that went under the radar for a very long time. It was only when a certain player had revealed that their strongest skills were obtained through this method was it finally made known to the masses. As to what method it was, it was considered the most tedious among the four.
Repetitive movement.
Ding!
[You have gained a sense of how to wield the spear better.]
Obtaining another notification from the system, Valyr decided to stop for now as the feeling of his arms screaming out of pain could not be ignored anymore. Dropping the wooden spear in front of the training dummy, he went ahead and moved towards one section of the field to grab some water to quench his thirst. While doing so, he took a look outside, noticing that about a couple of hours had already passed since he started the grind for the skill.
A few minutes later, Valyr returned to the front of the training dummy, picking up the wooden spear once more as the pain in his arms had somewhat subsided. With that, he allowed his muscle memory to take over once more as he struck against the dummy with a bit more force than before.
With the passage of time, the feeling of striking out with his spear gradually became more and more familiar to him. With each strike, he would notice the slight errors in his movement, prompting him to correct it on the next strike, where it would be able to hit the dummy with a bit more force than before. This feeling spurred Valyr on, telling him that his hard work would eventually pay off as long as he stuck to it.
Eventually, wanting to ignore the pain radiating from his once more, he decided to watch the odd man while his body continued to strike against the dummy in front of him. 'I definitely have to admire his tenacity to still be at the training field even though many hours had passed.'
Looking at the entire training field, Valyr quickly noticed that a great portion of the people that were here when he came had already left. In fact, the only person that was still here from when he came was the odd man with the spear. 'I wonder how long he's been at it? Wait… wasn't he already here even before I occupied a training dummy? Has he even eaten yet?'
Although Valyr slightly worried about the man, he returned his attention to the training dummy before him, deciding that he would ask the man if he ever saw him again. 'Well, everyone's responsible for their own choices.'
With that, he continued to strike against the training dummy, eventually having to support his striking arm with the free arm whenever he struck with the spear. Even though every fiber of muscle on his arms were screaming out in agony at this point, Valyr ignored it and gritted his teeth, getting the feeling that what he wanted was near.
And near, it indeed was.
After taking a one minute break to let the pain radiating from his arms gradually subside, Valyr took in a deep breath as he looked at the training dummy in front of him, now covered in multiple strike marks from the incessant number of strikes he had made. As he gripped on the spear with his dominant hand, he felt like his next strike seemed more correct all of a sudden, getting into a battle-ready stance as he thrust the spear out once more.
Whoosh!
As the spear moved through the air, Valyr instantly felt like everything had finally clicked, causing the spear to move with greater speed, giving off the feeling that it was like a serpent aiming to deal the final blow.
Thud!
With far more force than any of the strikes he had landed before, the spear collided with the training dummy as a dull thud faintly resounded throughout the field. Soon after, a sound Valyr was waiting to hear for quite some time had finally resounded in his mind.
Ding!
[You have gained a basic grasp of wielding the spear.]
[You have gained the passive skill 'Basic Spear Mastery'.]
Seeing the notifications he had been waiting to see for quite some time, Valyr dropped the spear he was holding before clenching his fists in excitement, raising them both up in the air. Instantly feeling a shooting pain coming from both arms, he quickly put both arms down as he silently celebrated the first step he took towards his goals.
Taking in a few deep breaths to calm down from the excitement, Valyr went ahead and picked up the spear before affixing it to his back once more. Looking at the training dummy he had been hitting for the past few hours for one last time, he then left the training field, his steps having a slight spring to them.
While walking along the corridors, he took a look outside, noticing that there were still a couple hours before the sun had set. With that in mind, he stood in place as he pondered over something for a bit. Then, with a slight shake of his arms, he continued to walk.
However, instead of heading to the barrack's dormitory to take a rest, which was what he was going to do at first, he instead made his way to the barrack's entrance as an enticing thought echoed out in his mind.
"Since there's still time before the night patrol…"
"How about I gain some actual experience?"
"…"
"Man, my arms are definitely going to be sore after all this."