Chapter 15: Entry to the Training Grounds

There were various types of swords: short swords, daggers, long swords, heavy swords, and many more. For now, Ersa wanted to get a sword of normal size—somewhere between medium and long. As his eyes scanned the swords, he spotted one adorned with a red hue. It was the right size, with a blood-red hilt that gleamed, and the base of the handle was decorated in black.

He gripped the sword's hilt to feel its weight. It didn't feel too heavy, and its sharpness seemed decent enough. He showed the sword to the middle-aged man behind the counter. "How much is this?"

The man smiled as he looked at the sword. "It's a fine sword. The price is 100 brown coins."

Ersa wasn't familiar with the market, but he didn't think swords of this quality would be that expensive. To test the seller, he offered a lower price. "I have other things I need to buy. I can give you fifty coins."

"This sword is better in terms of durability and sharpness than most others. I can't let it go for less than eighty."

Hearing the man, Ersa laughed inwardly. Didn't you just say it was 100?

He firmly tried to lower the price. "Let's settle on fifty coins."

The man glanced at Ersa, looking slightly troubled. 

"Absolutely not."

"What's your final offer then?"

After thinking for a moment, the man responded, "We can settle at seventy coins. I can't lower it any more than that."

Even though Ersa thought the man could lower the price further, he decided not to push it. "Alright, I'll take it."

He pulled out seventy coins and handed them over. The man gave Ersa the sword. 

"You've bought a good sword. You'll notice when you use it."

"I hope so."

After finishing with the sword, Ersa started browsing the stalls again. He thought that getting some poison could be useful. It would be a big help when hunting monsters, and he knew that poison worked best in archery. He considered that focusing a bit on archery might not be a bad idea.

While the sword hung at his waist, Ersa arrived at a stall selling pills, herbs, and other similar items. He was familiar with everything on the table and had a general idea of their value. He had spent years learning about these things. After a brief thought, he asked for what he wanted. "Four fire-throat herbs, two wild apricots, one hundred grams of delia powder, and a box of deep lera liquid."

The girl at the stall was surprised by Ersa's request. She wondered what he planned to do with all those items. She hurried to gather the requested items from the stall. After a quick calculation, she told Ersa the price. "It comes to thirty coins."

Ersa calmly observed the girl. "Thirty coins is a bit much. According to market values, twenty coins should be ideal, don't you think?"

The girl was a bit shocked. She always set her prices a little higher, but she hadn't expected a child around ten years old to accurately assess the total value.

"Alright, twenty coins it is."

Ersa gave her the twenty coins and took the items. He realized that as the number of things he carried increased, he would need a bag. After a short search, he bought a green bag for five coins.

He had now spent ninety-five coins and had eighty-five left. Since he still had money, he decided to buy a bow and arrows now. He began examining the bows at a stall with a good selection. Most of them were wooden in color. One bow, in particular, caught his eye. It was brown-toned, and although it was shorter than Ersa's height, it was a longbow. Ersa picked up the bow, and as he did, the old man at the stall turned to him. 

"Young one, I don't think you can use that bow."

Ersa was surprised by the old man's comment.

"Why not?"

The old man smiled as he responded. 

"That bow requires arm strength between 60 to 70 kilograms."

Ersa liked how the bow felt in his hand. He took an arrow from the stall and attached it to the bow, then drew the string. After pulling it back with ease, he returned it to its original position.

"No problem, I'll take this bow."

The old man looked at Ersa with wide eyes. He hadn't expected Ersa's arm strength to be that great.

"Very impressive, kid. I'll sell you the bow with a hundred arrows for 100 coins."

"I only have 85 coins left. Can you lower the price?"

The old man smiled. "The arrows and the bow are yours."

Ersa thanked the old man, paid the money, and took the bow and arrows. He left the market and headed toward the training grounds. The academy had captured monsters from outside and gathered them in a special area. The goal was for students to gain experience. Depending on your level, you could enter different parts of the training area.

After a ten-minute run, Ersa arrived at a large entrance. Next to the entrance was a middle-aged woman sitting at a desk. Students had to register their names if they wanted to enter the training grounds.

Ersa approached the woman. 

"I'd like to enter the training grounds."

Just as the woman was about to respond, three young boys cut in front of Ersa, ignoring him.

"The three of us want to enter the training grounds."

The three boys seemed to be around Ersa's age. All of them had butterfly-shaped badges pinned on the left side of their chests. The boy who spoke appeared to be the leader of the group.

Seeing the boy's behavior, Ersa frowned. "Do you not see that there's a line?"

The boy turned to Ersa with an angry face. 

"A line? Where's the line, kid?"

Ersa remained unfazed. 

"I'm in line."

The boy formed a condescending smirk. 

"And who are you?"

"I'm a student of the academy. Are you going to keep acting like this, or should I call the staff to intervene?"

The boy's smirk turned into a mocking laugh. 

"You're truly a dumb and clueless brat, aren't you?"

While continuing to mock Ersa, the boy warned him. 

"Do you see the badge on my chest? With this badge, no one dares to do anything. And you, you're just a little frog in a well, unaware of Armedia."

Ersa glanced at the badge on the boy's chest and let a mocking smile spread across his face. 

"Sweet little butterfly-badged boy. Wait your turn, and you'll get your chance."

Hearing Ersa's words, the boy turned bright red with anger. This was the first time someone had spoken back to him like this—especially someone so much weaker than him.

If fighting without permission wasn't forbidden in the academy, the boy would have already grabbed Ersa by the throat. "Listen carefully, kid. I'm Nel from the Butterfly Warriors Group. You'll pay for not knowing how to speak properly."

Seeing that Nel had added Ersa to his blacklist, the two boys next to him gave malicious grins. But Ersa wasn't interested in dealing with them. He murmured to himself.

"So this is what my father was talking about. Looks like my days at the academy won't be peaceful."

Ersa preferred a quiet life. He called out to the woman at the desk and handed her his student card.

"My name is Ersa. I'd like to enter the training grounds."

Nel and his friends glared at Ersa as if they were ready to tear him apart. The woman briefly hesitated before scanning Ersa's card. As soon as she did, she turned back to him with an irritated expression.

"Student, your level isn't listed on this card. Where should I send you?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's a building at the academy where you need to verify your level. You didn't know that?"

Ersa had never heard of the building the woman mentioned. He took his card and left. As he was walking away, Nel shouted after him. When Nel heard that Ersa hadn't verified his level, a sneer appeared on his face.

"You'll pay for this, kid."

Ersa found the building the woman had referred to by asking other students. It was a large three-story building with a sign that read, "Martial Arts Level Assessment Unit."