Chapter 7

"Your stance! Right front and left behind! You are holding a shield! Not a dual sword! You need a firm stance to take the damage from the enemy!"

Currently, Joshua is training with a veteran Blessed One in a Shield and Sword fighting style. His trainer is a B-rank Blessed One that has used a sword and shield since the beginning of her career.

Her name is Laudia, a B-rank Blessed One with a power called the Power of the Wild. This power led her to take the attention of all the Infernal Beast twenty meters around her for ten minutes. Not only that, but this power also reduces the amount of damage taken by half. Combining this with her physical power, she becomes a formidable vanguard.

"Remember! You hold a shield! That thing will protect you from any incoming attack! Remember to place them in front of your vital organs. That includes your heart!"

Laudia thrust her sword forward and tried to hit Joshua's heart. However, before she could hit his chest, Joshua had already parried her sword away from him.

Laudia raises her eyebrow before saying.

"Your instinct is fantastic, but your stance is full of openings. I guess I can see the reason why you decided to ask me for training. While your instinct and reaction time are perfect, you still need to cover all your holes. Let's start from the beginning. You need your shield to protect your head or at least ready to protect your head, but you can't keep it too high. You also need to protect your chest area. One good thrust, and you are dead if you decide not to protect that area."

Joshua nods his head and starts adjusting his stance. This time, he placed his shield between his chest and his head.

"A little bit higher… there we go. Maintain this position while I attack you. Try to cover all of your body with only your shield. Do not try to use your sword in this training."

"Yes!"

"Heh. At least you did not challenge me on this like my previous 'pupil.'"

After saying that, Laudia charges at Joshua with her sword and swings down her sword. Joshua raised his shield to block the incoming attack and lowered them back when Laudia thrust her sword at his heart.

After her attack gets blocked once again, Laudia swings her sword upwards and tries to attack Joshua from his blind point. However, before her sword could hit him, Joshua took a step to the right, pushed his shield at Laudia's sword, and changed the sword's direction.

Laudia takes away her sword and nods her head.

"Good! I never said that you could only defend yourself. Use your shield to attack me while also defending all of my attacks. I also want you to continue to hold your sword with your other hand. Here I come!"

The sound of sword and shield meeting each other can be heard through the training chamber. Laudia continues to train for three hours straight before she stops. Joshua's training season has ended as he only paid for training for three hours every Friday and Monday.

"That is for today's training season. We will meet again on Monday."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I must say that you are the most pleasant student I had. All of my students usually only complain that I'm too hard and too intense for their liking. They did not know that training was not a walk in the park. Anyway, you can go back home now. Remember to eat the food I wrote earlier to increase your power. While you can increase your strength by killing the Infernal Beast, natural growth is important. It lets you get used to the strength you get."

"Understood."

Joshua knows about that. He intends to keep training his body even when there is a quick way to do it by hunting the Infernal Beast and absorbing the energy they release after he kills them. There is nothing wrong with becoming stronger by the good old method, training.

"Anyway, keep practicing that stance in your free time until it sticks inside your brain. The next training will be using both shield and sword at the same time. I will test you when we meet once again."

"Of course. Thank you for teaching me, ma'am."

"Heh. Call me Laudia, kid. I'm still thirty-three years old. Calling me ma'am makes me feel old."

"Thank you, Laudia."

"Heh. Just get out of here and take some rest."

Joshua waves his hand and gets out of the training chamber, leaving Laudia alone. While she is prepared to leave, a young woman gets inside the training chamber and says.

"Heh, I never thought Grumpy Laudia would enjoy becoming a mentor."

Laudia looks at her back and smirks a little when she sees her teammate walk toward her. This young woman is called Rachel, and she is a healer of her team. She is officially a C-rank Blessed One, but her overall power and experience can place her in B-rank. The only reason why she stayed in C-rank is that she waited for another year before taking a B-rank test just to make sure she passed the test.

Her power is called Summon: Fairy. This power lets her summon a Fairy that helps her heal her allies and boost their physical defense. Combining this with her knowledge of over thirty support spells makes her valuable support.

"That young man is different. He has potential and is not a dick about it. He is a beginner C-rank, by the way."

"And he did not decide to be a dick about it? Huh. that is something you do not see every day."

"Heh, try every hundred years. Every beginner that gets a high rank always thinks they are the most powerful people in the world and will never accept a suggestion even when it is coming from a veteran that has been exploring the tower for ten years."

"Heh. That's just how young people are. You are just like that before. Remember how you ignore our first captain and charge forward like an angry bull."

"Ceh. Please don't remind me of my dark past. I've grown since then."

"Yeah. We are all."

Rachel and Laudia look at each other with sad expressions as they remember just how much they lose so they can grow. They still remember the friend they lost in the tower. After a few seconds of silence, Rachel decides to break the ice.

"So, Laudia. Are you going to recruit him? What is his power? Defensive power? We need another tank in our team."

"Weirdly? No. He has Cryokinesis. He can control ice by summoning five orbs that are floating behind him. His ID does not show the details."

"Really? And he chooses to use Sword and Shield rather than going into a full magician?"

"That is another thing. His body is unusually tough and makes him even weirder. Usually, a power like him will get a magician package, low-level physical attack but massive magic reserve, but he has the opposite."

"Hmmm. That is unusual but not too rare. Many people have the same condition. Anyway, you still did not answer my question."

"I don't know. Maybe. After looking at his record and seeing his character, I want to recruit him, but I will decide if I want to recruit him after the next training season. I want to see if what I saw is his real character."

"Fair enough."