Training center.
The training center building was mainly made of stone and wood. It was a tall building with a relatively large structure. In front, there were statues of individuals who appeared to be mages and warriors, and a phrase was inscribed at the front gate of the center: "Victory is reserved for those willing to pay the price."
The center offered vitality training with constant damage to regenerate life, strength and agility training with physical exercises, intelligence and wisdom training with mana regeneration practices, controls, and similar tests through Orbs and other methods. Players could only come here once they selected a class.
I went to a receptionist who, surprisingly, was a brown-haired elf. I had to remove my mask, which was a bit of a hassle since I felt people staring, but I ignored it. The receptionist asked, looking a bit shy:
"Appearance even influences NPCs... I wonder if this means players will also have digital girlfriends..."
While thinking about random and unimportant things, I heard the receptionist’s question.
"Sir, how can I help you?"
"Hello, I'd like to increase my strength."
"Very well, here at this center, you can only increase one type of Status per training session, and up to 10 points maximum, is that okay?"
"Okay."
"Go up the stairs and stop at the door with a spear. And if... you need anything, let me know."
"Okay, thank you," I said with a charming smile, which made her blush slightly.
Heading to the room, it didn't take long to find. Inside, there were several mannequins that seemed quite durable, and a few individuals in front were hitting them with various weapons: axes, spears, swords, daggers, etc. There were also some trainer NPCs observing. However, when I was about to move, I was surprised by the presence of a specific person and approached him quickly.
"Trainer Daniel?"
He was also surprised.
"Alex, it's good to see you."
"Did you come to train strength?"
"Yes."
I smiled at him. I chose strength instead of other Stats because my physical damage, like my own strength and not my Soul Bounds', was lower, while my agility and magic-related stats were sufficient, especially due to the gladiator title that drastically increased my strength.
"Well... the normal training to increase your Status is around 15 hours, but I'll give you a challenge. If you complete more than 40 hours, I'll give you a version of the combat sword art I use. What do you think?"
A notification appeared.
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Trainer Daniel’s Challenge Mission.
Objective:
Complete at least 40 hours of physical training.
Reward: Trainer Daniel’s sword art manual, +12 strength.
Description: It's time to sweat a little and train your strength.
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[Do you accept the mission?]
"I accept."
"Good, you must attack the mannequins continuously. The longer you last and the more damage you cause, the better. There's a magical tool that records everything on the mannequin, including the damage dealt."
A combat art manual is always interesting because it contains more than one combat skill, called chapters, and it's one of the main combat means. It can also merge with other manuals found and improved in the future.
It's not necessarily tied to a class, although combat classes usually come with a basic one that can be improved through the Skill class tree or found outside. However, magical, necromancer, and support classes can't use ones found outside.
Aside from a combat manual from the Skill tree, there are other class skills, for example, an assassin, from what I’ve seen on the forum, has skills like Stealth and Vital Strike that are not related to a manual nor chapters but are other class skills.
Anyway, for me, as a tamer, a combat manual can help a lot. Tamers, unlike other classes, generally don’t have many skills besides their taming skills. Therefore, they have fewer restrictions regarding other combat modes, having more freedom to absorb physical or magical skills and use both in combat, including being able to use a combat manual.
In front of the mannequin, I started moving and causing high damage quickly, hitting vital points of the test mannequins.
.
.
Over 60 hours later, my body was lying down, and I couldn’t even think straight, let alone move. I paused a few times but tried to go as long as possible without stopping. Maybe due to the title bonuses, I could resist even more than in the real world, but it had been a while since I trained with such dedication. A shadow hovered above my head.
"Trainer..?"
"Good job, kid. Here’s your bonus and the manual. You were excellent."
He said, handing me a book while lightly touching my hand with a small light. I absorbed both and saw the messages.
[Trainer Daniel’s challenge mission completed with great success]
[+12 strength received, +3 vitality bonus received (note: all Status points are doubled due to the title: Gladiator of Gtalk)]
[Basic Swordsman Manual (unique)]
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Basic Swordsman Manual
Rank: Unique
Chapter:
-Impact: High strength is infused into the sword’s tip, and the individual applies high penetrating damage, with 30% more damage and a momentary speed increase of 15%. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
-Circle of Cuts: The sword increases speed and makes multiple cuts around the individual in a 2.5-meter circular form for 30 seconds, with damage increased by 10% and cutting speed increased by 15%. Cooldown: 2 minutes.
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“Oh… these are good manuals, thank you, trainer!!”
“Always, kid.”
I continued talking with him, and when I got up, he invited me for a juice nearby. We discussed various combat techniques and fighting styles. He also shared his experiences. I found it quite interesting how complex NPCs are, with unique stories and ways of being, just like any individual in the real world. It’s very fascinating…