Training

*Zap*

*Zap*

*Zap*

“This is boring.” You said.

“Yea, but it really is important!” Said Lexi, floating nearby.

After your long day with Celia, you discovered a training area behind your house. Not having anything better to do, since Celia made sure no one would bother you today, you decided to level your skills under Lexi’s guidance. So now you found yourself repeatedly using lightning bolt on a dummy.

“Hitting this thing barely gives me EXP though.”

“Honestly, you're lucky you get any at all. The previous owners really spent a lot on this, most dummies don’t give EXP. Besides, EXP isn’t the point. You need to make using Lightning Bolt a basic instinct so you can use it without a thought.”

“Sounds great until someone accidentally frightens me and I electrocute them.”

“Just… don’t do that! Also, remember to aim at the dummies’ vital points. Aiming is important too!”

Sighing, you continue shocking the dummy.

Other than the dummies, the room contained a special device that could simulate battles. It worked like a full dive VR device, allowing you to practice without actually dying. The device allowed you to battle monsters or even powerful opponents designed to test you. The machine even connected with something like the internet, allowing you to challenge others across the world. Apparently nobility like to use it to compete. Unfortunately, it lacked a power source, and Lexi claimed they were pretty expensive. You opened the Guardians coin purse earlier and gained a few thousand gold coins, so maybe you would search for one later. For now you needed to work on basics anyway.

After a couple hours of repeatedly shooting the dummy, you heard the door open behind you.

You quickly turned around around, as a man your age stepped in. He instantly saw you.

He was a tall elvish man with long black hair and dark skin, reminding you of a dark elf. He was fiddling with the collar of his green tunic, his hand a little too close to the enormous bow he wore strapped to his back.

“Who are you and how did you get in here?” The man questioned.

“Uh, I’m Jason, and I live here?” You said a bit nervous.

He took one look at the simple unwashed clothes you wore and laughed, “Yea, me too!” He clearly thought you were joking. He relaxed a bit and walked further into the room, allowing three others inside.

“What’s going on?” A short man holding a staff asked.

“Looks like someone else broke into the training area.” Responded the elf.

“I haven’t seen anyone else here before. I thought we were the only ones that found the hole in the wall.” Said a blonde man carrying a small sword.

“Oh well. There’s plenty of room in here. Mind if we join you? We’ve been using this place to train for a while.” said a large man carrying a giant axe.

“Uh, sure.”

The four of them introduced themselves as a team of adventurers, apparently they liked to break in to the unused training area to level their skills. The house had really powerful security measures, but the training areas was more relaxed.

You watched as the four of them took spots in the training room and attacked dummies. You watched as Vulas, the dark elf, shoot his giant bow. Each arrow he shot turned into a black blur as they flew towards the dummy. On impact, black tendrils would spread out along the dummy before burying themselves inside.

Noticing you watch, Vulas explained.

“I have a curse rune that synergizes with my dark racial trait. Each arrow is soundless and extremely hard to spot, especially at night. Add on the curses and you can see how my opponents would be in trouble. After my curses are applied, it’s easy for Galen with his giant axe, or Victor with his sword, to get close.”

“Telling him all our secret strategies, eh?” Said Victor, who was attacking a dummy with his sword.

“It’s hardly a secret strategy to apply debuffs before attacking. Besides, I didn’t even mention Remus’s abilities.”

“What’s a racial trait?”

“You don’t know? You must come from a small village. Some races are born with special traits that function exactly like runes. My race, the dark elves, have a darkness trait.” he explained before shooting his dummy again.

Looking over, you watched as Remus shot quick, bright light attacks into the dummy. He used a beautiful golden staff that looks way too expensive for the otherwise messy group.

Glancing towards you, he stopped a moment and explained.

“These guys saved up and bought me this staff, as well as this light rune. Usually, I keep these hidden since they are very expensive, so please don’t bring it up outside of this room.”

“If word gets around about his staff and rune, we’ll know who spoke.” Said Victor.

“No worries, I won’t say a word.” You said as everyone watched you with hard stares.

“Remus is a bit special. He’s extremely talented, so as his friends we want to see him succeed.” spoke Galen. “So what about you? What’s your rune?”

“Oh, I just got a lightning rune yesterday.” You said as you shot a few bolts into a dummy.

“Yesterday and you can already use lightning bolt without chanting, that’s pretty good!” Galen praised.

“So why did you come here instead of joining a party for monster hunting?” asked Remus.

“Its… complicated.”

“Maybe he’s not an idiot like the rest of the adventurers,” said Vulas. “Running out to fight monsters the moment you get a rune is a stupid idea.”

“Maybe…” said Remus.

The five of you refocused on training. Knowing you were new, Remus and Vulas took the place of Lexi, who had left from boredom before they arrived, and decided to instruct you.

Remus seemed particularly knowledgeable, explaining many methods for using his lightning bolt. It turned out you could use the skill in many ways. If you used both your arms and channeled it for a moment before firing, you could make a much larger and more powerful lightning bolt. Another important method was to use each of your fingers instead of just a single finger like you had been doing. Remus told him practicing on each finger was very important, because what if you lost your index finger? Or what if you wanted to shoot multiple bolts? Which was apparently possible.

You all trained for hours, occasionally finding chairs to rest in while you restored mana. Late in the evening you found yourself resting in one of those chairs, thoroughly exhausted. As you rested, you watched Galen practice with his giant axe. The man would hold the axe above his head and charge a skill before slamming against the dummy, ripping it into two, and shaking the entire hall. You got used to the shaking long ago, but you were amazed by the brute strength behind the attack. You hadn’t been able to do much more than burn a small hole in the dummy, yet Galen could absolutely destroy it. Luckily, the dummies he destroyed regenerated quickly.

Soon enough everyone joined you in nearby chairs, exhausted.

“So, will we be seeing you here again?” Galen asked.

“Yea, I’ll be out here almost every day practicing.” You responded.

“Be careful coming out here in the mornings. Sometimes a guard will walk around the property.” Warned Remus. “Where do you live anyway?”

“Like I told Vulas, I live here on the estate, this is my house.”

“Yea, the Montcroix family just decided to give up their prized estate to a random guy who just got his first rune.” Remus smiled. “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to. If you ever want to find us though, we live in the slums. You can find them hidden in the south west portion of the city, away from the main roads.”

“Let’s just exchange contact information,” Victor suggested.

After swapping information, the four of them stood up, prepared to leave.

“Well, hopefully, we’ll see you again soon.” Vulas said, when suddenly there was a loud knock on the training hall door.

The four immediately went on guard.

The door opened, and a pair of familiar green eyes met yours. However, the girl’s hair was black and her skin was much tanner than Celia’s. She also stood a bit taller.

“I hope I’m not interrupting, Mr. Grant. I’m Olivia Montcroix. I heard my sister has already… introduced herself. Sorry about that, she’s easily excited.” She said as she walked over to you, ignoring the other four.

Handing you a paper, she smiled.

“Congratulations, you are now officially nobility. You are granted the title of Lord, though you are not directly controlled by any specific vassal. Instead, you serve all within the city.” She said.

“Also, we brought you some finer clothing, some maids are moving it into your room.”

Your face turned red as you remembered the state of your bedroom.

“Thank you very much… Lady… Olivia?.”

She smiled. “It would be Lady Olivia, but I only have a courtesy title anyway. You don’t really need to use it. Just call me Olivia.”

Nodding, you thanked her again.

“Well, you seem to have company, and bringing your title is all I was here to do, especially since Celia already visited.” She said with the hint of a blush. “Have a good night Lord Jason.” She said before leaving.

“Holy shit. You actually own this place?” Asked Victor, stunned.

“I told you I did.”

“What the hell did you do? Save the Duke’s entire family? No, you’re too weak for that…” said Vulas.

“It’s… complicated. I have a special ability that the Duke’s want and the Montcroix family cut me a deal.”

“Must be some ability,” Galen said. “Lady Olivia herself came to meet you. She’s the daughter of the Duke’s oldest son. It’s very possible she will end up as the Duchess one day.”

“So does this mean we actually have permission to come here?” asked Remus.

“Of course, you can use it whenever. I am the only person living in the entire estate. If you want you can even come in the house.”

“Can we really?” Victor asked excitedly.

“I’ve always wondered what it was like in there,” Galen said.

“I don’t mind, but uh, if you could stick to the first two floors, that would be nice.” You added, worried they might discover you performing your ability.

“Of course. Thanks for the invitation, but we should probably head out, it’s getting late.” Spoke Remus. “We’ll be back sometime tomorrow though.”

The others agreed, and they quickly said their goodbyes before leaving. You followed them out the door and watched as they disappeared through a hedge at the end of the property closest to the inner wall. Then you headed back to your mansion, ready for a bath and the promise of fresh clothes.