Loki repeated the same set of activities for a week without fail: running around the training ground for 30 minutes, fixing his stance, running in a circle to a dummy and attacking its vitals simultaneously, and learning about the Crawlers and Dungeons. He would do the same training twice a day.
He had asked Gerald why he didn't give him an exercise to strengthen his body. He learned that it was useless. Even if he trained his muscles, he wouldn't gain strength because every physical ability he had relied on his stats, and the only way to increase his stats was to level up. Oddly enough, Blessed could still increase their stamina by training. No one knew the reasoning behind such an occurrence, and probably no one would ever know.
on the training ground.
Gerald looked at his student with sleepy eyes and spoke. "It's been a week since you started your training. I want to test how much you noobs have improved. Like last time. Pretty face, you go first."
Leo stepped forward; his weapon of choice was a shield big enough to cover his whole body and a wooden mace.
"Begin."
Leo rushed to Gerald; even with his heavy equipment, his speed didn't decrease by much. The moment he got close to the instructor, he forcefully used his shield to push Gerald.
However, Gerald stopped Leo's stampede with his right hand.
Using his mace, Leo struck Gerald's right foot. But the instructor evaded it by raising his feet and stomping Leo's weapon on the ground. Realizing he couldn't use his weapon anymore, he let go of it and used his fist to attack Gerald in the stomach.
Gerald smiled and utilized a bit of force to send Leo flying. "Good, you have improved."
Leo smiled. Although he didn't manage to hit the instructor, he wasn't sad. The fact that he received praise was good enough.
"You're next, midget. Let's see how much you improved."
Loki grinned. "I will definitely get you this time."
He dashed forward, and his speed became faster due to the efficiency of his movement. When he arrived in front of Gerald, he kicked the ground and changed course. Loki ran around the instructor, looking for an opportunity to pounce. Upon seeing Gerald's back wide open, he took the chance and launched forward.
Gerald didn't turn around. He waited calmly for Loki's attack, and when it came, he used his right foot to kick backward.
Loki caught on fast. He jumped, took advantage of Gerald's foot, and treated it as a footing to flip over the instructor. In midair, he slashed towards Gerald's nape, confident that it would land.
Unfortunately, Gerald was too experienced to fall for that trick. With an impossible movement, Gerald also spun his body forward, evading the strike and commencing his own with his left foot.
Loki's eyes widened; he couldn't believe something like that was possible. He wanted to think of a new way of attacking, but it was too late. His face got kicked by Gerald, making him rotate midair. His whole body whirled 2 times before landing on the ground.
"Better, you noobs have forced me to utilize more of my strength than in our previous match. Keep this up and you will only need a few more weeks before you become a Crawler. Now, go back to your training." Gerald turned his back and walked towards the guild.
"Wait, that's it? I didn't even sweat," Loki protested.
"Shut up. Even if we continued, there's nothing for you to learn or for me to witness. It will become a meaningless exercise." Gerald reprimanded and then resumed his way to the guild.
Could he not talk properly? Why does he always say mean things?
After watching Gerald disappear, Loki immediately stood up and returned to his training.
The repetition of the same activity began for another 2 weeks.
Loki had expanded his knowledge about Crawlers and Dungeon by a level. He wasn't the same kid as before, as he could now answer questions more easily.
However, there was one thing that stuck with him. He found out that DCG would label Dungeons—tameable and untameable—depending on 3 categories: danger level, monster, and resources.
First, if a Dungeon had a higher level than a 2-star, then the DCG would destroy its core. Second, the DCG would eliminate the dungeon if the monster inside was hard to deal with, like a horde of insects or an undead. Lastly, if the Dungeon didn't have useful resources, the DCG would destroy it, as there was no reason for it to exist.
Loki had no idea that there was an intricate decision regarding Dungeons and how meticulous the DCG was. He thought that if a Dungeon appeared, the Crawlers' job was to destroy it as fast as possible. It seemed he had to study more if he wanted to know the answer to his questions. Unfortunately, he only had permission to read common books from the guild.
Once again, Gerald gathered the two kids on the training ground.
"Listen up; we will change things today."
Loki's eyes sparked. "Wait, are we ready to take the test?"
"Are we?" Leo added.
Gerald stared at the two kids with sleepy eyes and yawned. "Hell no, you think being a Crawler is easy? Do you know how many Crawlers die every year? Well, I don't know the exact number, but it's a lot. With your skills, I will guess both of you will die a few days inside a Dungeon."
"What are we doing here, then?" Loki asked.
"Today, we will train your cooperation. All Crawlers must enter a Dungeon with a party; thus, you must learn how to fight with someone by your side. Seeing you two, there's no doubt that both of you will form a party. So, it's better if you learn about each other's hobbies, fighting styles, personalities, everything. If you are both ready, come at me."
Loki and Leo glanced at each other and nodded with understanding. After taking their weapon from the weapon rack, they stood side by side.
"Here's the plan: you will take the front, and I will flank him," Loki whispered. "Do whatever you can to distract him, and I will do everything I can to land a hit."
"I understand."
With their preparations finished, Leo led the charge while Loki hid behind him.
Loki agilely jumped to the side the moment Leo used his shield to push Gerald. He took advantage of the situation and placed himself behind the instructor. He had one goal: to land a single blow. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but that was what made the objective exhilarating.
Even with Leo pushing him, Gerald still had a bored face, as if everything that was happening wasn't related to him.
When Leo noticed Loki was about to commence an attack, he gave it his all and pushed harder. He even screamed, hoping to muster more power.
Hearing Leo, Loki knew it was time. With a kick of his foot, his body launched towards Gerald. His last attempt failed because his speed wasn't enough. Thereby, he made sure that the attack that he was about to make was the fastest attack he could throw. As his knife got closer, his heart rate increased along with it.
However, when the moment of impact was about to come, Gerald jumped to his left.
The sudden disappearance of force that pushed against Leo made him step forward. Due to this, Loki and Leo, who were pincer attacking Gerald, clashed with one another.
Leo, with his strength.
Loki, with his fast movement.
Their collision was so strong that it produced a loud bang that reverberated through their surroundings.
Fortunately for Leo, he had a shield in front of him, absorbing most of the force.
Unfortunately for Loki, his whole body received the full brunt of the impact. As a result, his green hair became tainted with his blood.
Leo recovered quickly and ran to Loki's side. "Are you okay?"
"W-what?" Loki was dizzy; before him were two Leos talking to him simultaneously.
"I-instructor, Loki is injured!" Leo stuttered in fear.
Gerald, who had caused the incident, walked to the two kids casually. "Stop screaming, It's just a scratch."
"What do you mean, just a scratch? Look at him; he's covered with his own blood!" Leo rebutted.
Even though Loki had a concussion, he was surprised when he saw Leo talking back to Gerald, as he knew how much he respected the instructor. Unfortunately, the words were hard to understand.
"Will you shut up? That kind of wound is normal in the Dungeon. Instead of screaming and crying, you should have searched for something that could help him. You already failed on that. If you're in a Dungeon, the midget would probably die having a party member like you." Gerald shook his head; the disappointment was clear in his face. "Go into the guild and ask the receptionist for a first aid kit."
"That's right!"
Leo quickly rushed to the guild.
Gerald watched Leo while shaking his head and then crouched beside Loki. He clapped right in front of Loki's face several times before speaking. "I guess that will teach you a lesson. You probably can't understand me."
After a few minutes, Leo finally returned, bringing with him a brown bag.
"Here." Leo extended the bag to Gerald as he panted.
The instructor didn't take the bag. He just stared at Leo like he was stupid.
"Instructor?"
"Why are you giving that to me? This is part of your training, and this is the perfect time to practice your medical skills."
Leo's eyes widened. "What if I make a mistake?"
"Then don't make a mistake."
"But…"
"Indecisiveness, I thought you had fixed that. Are you just going to stand there? Midget is still bleeding, just so you know."
With no other choice, Leo took out a cloth inside the bag and began cleaning Loki's wound. When he located the source of the blood, he covered it with the cloth. After that, he withdrew a bandage from the bag and enveloped Loki's head with it.
A few seconds later, Leo stopped.
"What a mess," Gerald commented.
Almost half of Loki's face was covered in bandages, making him look like a mummy.
Gerald clapped his hands. "That's enough. Both of you stand up."
"Can you let him rest for a bit?" Leo asked.
Even though Loki was still dizzy, he recovered enough to understand what was going on around him. Against all the pain he suffered, he pushed himself and stood with shaking legs.
"Don't push yourself." Leo supported Loki when he saw him standing.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Loki refused Leo's help and insisted on doing it on his own.
"It seems there's still hope in you." Gerald smiled, appearing satisfied with Loki's action. "Now, stop being dramatic and listen. Both of you suck at cooperating. Not only you didn't consider the consequences of your actions, you made a mistake that led to one of you being injured. I applaud you for attempting to cooperate, but what you did isn't cooperation, but a gamble. Your plan was full of holes and uncertainties, but you still decided to do it anyway, and the result?
If you're not sure about something, you should always choose a careful approach and observe. Both of you just repeated what you did in our previous matches. It's too predictable. You failed to use each other's strengths to your advantage. I guess not everything is your fault, as experience plays a big role in that. Therefore, what you need to do is gain as much experience as possible. And the best way to do that is to fight. Every day, the two of you will fight me for a whole day. I need your body to memorize each other's moves. But not today. You two rest for now, and be sure that you're ready tomorrow because you will need it."
After saying all he wanted to say, Gerald left the two alone and went on his merry way.
Loki immediately fell when the instructor disappeared.
"Loki!" Leo swiftly grabbed Loki before he slumped on the ground.
Loki wearily smiled. "I guess I do need help."