3 - Training to be a thief

Training to be a thief

Gabriel couldn't sleep. Even though he strolled and tried to tire himself, he lay all night with his eyes open. He tried again to force himself to remain calm all the time and accept everything calmly.

If I show weakness, they may not accept me when awakened - it was his thought.

At dawn, João guided him to the "training center", apparently some awakened aspirants stayed there until some group invited them to enter. Of course you could also start alone and form a group over time, but that was extremely difficult. According to João, most groups are awakened from different classes who, after waiting a long time, got together and formed a group. Some are made up of friends who luckily woke up at the same time, 1 in 100. And almost none are made up of one person, after a time two, then three. They always start with at least four.

Damn it, I have to do something remarkable or I'll be in the queue forever.

Upon being informed of all this, Gabriel took a good look around the building he was in. He was different from the others, he looked new. No vegetation and no sign of cracks. A large space with several attendants.

Another thing that João told him was about the classes. Thief, hunter, warrior, wizard and tank.

So now we have magic, huh? - even with something surprising like monsters, he was impressed that there was magic.

Thief is a kind of murderer, agile but fragile. Hunter is a mixed, they usually use bow and arrow, but they are also very good with knives. Warrior uses light or medium armor and a medium-range sword. The tank uses heavy armor, and a sword as heavy. And the magician is just a cube, it's like his staff, he uses the cube to make his spells.

So, the best for me, maybe it's really ...

The two were with an attendant, some people were staring at Gabriel. Even though time has passed since the first human woke up, it wasn't every day that one woke up. Even more to want to be awaked up right away.

— I recommend a thief if you want to join a group quickly, but if you have no problem to enter, choose any other class— the attendant suggested

— Why is the thief class the fastest?

— You know, thieves have high stealth. Usually their skills end up not being used to fight monsters, but to steal from people. Soon, thieves are seen with prejudice and nobody ends up choosing to be one, they are murderers of people. If you gain confidence, you're in, this is the only and greatest difficulty of all.— João murmured

Skills? Has this become a game?

— You don't have to choose now, you know? It's your first day here practically, isn't it? How about looking a little more at the city and thinking about it before deciding something like that?

— I want to be a thief! — He chose, ignoring the attendant.

That was so badass. What am I, a hero?

No, calm down. People are still staring at me. Oh, man, they'll find me an arrogant asshole.

But maybe, it's really in my blood, thief, huh? Who knew that one day I would want to look like him in something.

— Okay, then, go to that corridor and enter the door at the end— the attendant pointed to the right.

— This is where we parted, boy.

— What? And where am I going to sleep? How am I going to join a group and get money?

— I'm not your nanny, I'm sorry but you'll have to make the most of it alone. But as long as I know some of these things you will easily have.

— As soon as you join a group, you will share a dormitory with them, in an old school. Until then, you will also get housing with the thieves, once your training is over you will no longer be able to live with them, but you will receive a small amount of money — the attendant spoke

— See?

Old school, that girl from yesterday ...

No, it shouldn't be.

— I see.

The moment after saying that, the two quickly said goodbye, and Gabriel headed towards the room at the end of the corridor on the right.

It wasn't a big room, it looks like a training site, or rather, it is a training site. Upon entering, a man was sitting playing cards with a woman. From what could be seen, he had a few metal bracelets, probably used for combat only. The lower part of his body could not be seen due to the table, but he would hardly have any kind of armor there, since he does not have it on top.

If I only have to wear bracelets like that, I will die easy. Would a warrior have been a better choice?

The moment the man saw Gabriel, he said goodbye to the girl and asked him to sit where she was:

— Hey, kid

— Uh, hi.

— Man , I took this job because it was free money, since nobody wants to be a thief. And now there is a person wanting to be, people wanting to learn new skills. What a bad luck — he complained, while he kept the letters.

— It's not like I chose to wake up now, you know— Gabriel replied, expressionless.

That was how he was trying to maintain himself now, expressionless. With his mind all the time thinking about staying calm, he was hardly able to express anything on his face. He thought that was his option, but even if he wanted to, he couldn't make any expression if not out of fear.

I'm just being calm, normal.

— So, are you really going to be a thief, boy? There's no turning back.

Gabriel thought for a while before answering. He was really divided between the two classes, as the attendant had also explained that there was no way to change after choosing. Did he really want to be a thief? Gabriel, honestly, didn't know. Deep down, he only chose that because of some factors that happened before in his life. But would it be right to let your past make you someone you don't want to be? Or does he want to be a thief willingly? Perhaps he thinks of it only as an excuse.

Warrior or thief? Warrior or thief?

Damn, that old man doesn't let me have a normal life even in those hours.

— Yes, I want to be a thief.

— Okay, I will not ask your motivations or anything like that, I believe you have some, they hardly choose a thief because it seems to be cool. Just say, what's your name?

That's good, it avoids many problems.

— Gabriel, and yours?

— Jake.

— Jake?

— Jake.

Gabriel was thoughtful for a moment, and then:

— Were any of your parents foreigners?

— Do you want to learn to be stealthy or learn about my past? Come on, I have many things to teach you.

Then, they went to a room on the right, separated only by a door. It was bigger there and looked like an arena. it is empty, but the floor is painted in the shape of a square in the middle. Which left Gabriel in doubt, since the previous room seemed to be the training room.

— Isn't the training room the other one? — He asked, putting one hand on his chin.

— Yes, Yes. This is the arena of thieves, from time to time there are battles here. There is no better training than practice, right?

— Uh, I don't know.

— Yeah, because you never trained. Let's start.

— Wait, I have ripped jeans and a short—sleeved shirt about to tear, can't I have anything better to train?

— Ohh, I realized now, my bad, boy— Jake was really surprised, which upset Gabriel a little.

— Let's get you some clothes in the bathroom in the other room, you wear them there and then we come back— he continued— Oh, and don't worry, you can stay. You may not know it, but clothes are cheap here— he slapped Gabriel on the back as he said that.

Jake took Gabriel into the bathroom, which was the room on the opposite side to the one they were on, on the left side of the thieves training room. It has exactly four showers for bathing, and four toilets. There were a few hangers on the wall, three of them with several identical clothes. Light sleeveless shirts. Flexible shorts. Normal underpants. There is a sign on top of each clothes hanger with that written on it.

What the hell is a light shirt, aren't they all light?

Gabriel changed and went quickly to training, in the arena where there was a mat.

In the arena, Gabriel learned the basics of fighting nimbly, he spent the whole day learning how to fight and be stealthy, and was trying to learn a skill. Light steps. Although the name has steps, it is not restricted to that. It is a type of quick magic, which does not need spoken invocation or a cube, the person using it does not make any noise when moving. But it takes until you dominate to the point of never being noticed, it is something that few achieve. At least that's what Jake said.

At the end of the day, with training at its end, Jake lifted Gabriel, who was on the ground after losing his last round of fighting and said:

— Hey boy, I hope you know you'll have to work— reaching out for Gabriel to get up

Gabriel looked at him and said — Work? I'm going to hunt the monsters, am i not? — taking his hand right after.

— Of course not, they didn't tell you? It is extremely difficult to find a group right away, and creating one out of nothing is even worse. The thieves will only support you for a week, which is the time of your basic training. Soon you will earn ten silver coins and be on your own until you are truly awakened with a group.

— Silver coin? Have currency divisions changed? Or rather, and what else would I work on? I'm seventeen, I didn't even finish high school, man.

— Uh, seventeen is hard, you really have no experience. But age and college don't matter anymore, so just fix something. The only problem is the lack of experience. And yes, the currencies have changed. We no longer have a mint to do. We just found the old coins and used them. The 10 cents were bronze, the 50 silver and the 1 real gold. As time went by we couldn't distinguish anything but their color from the existing coins, so we took them and used them with the three divisions. Bronze, silver and gold. 1 silver is 100 bronzes, as well as 1 gold is 100 silver.

It looks complicated. I'm not going to get a job at all.

I have to hunt soon, even if I am alone.

— Hmm, okay then. Where can i sleep?

— I hope you understand, a week from now you're out. But until then, enter the door behind the counter in the training room.

Just as he was opening the door to enter the dorm, Jake called him:

— Boy, don't worry too much about the changes, in a few weeks you will get used to it. There are people who even prefer how things are today. Just keep calm.

Everyone tells me to stay calm, not to worry.

But none of them really care, and they make that quite clear. I don't really care anymore.

I don't care about anything they say anymore. - And with that thought, Gabriel went to sleep.