Chapter Six: Training to Fight

Two days had passed since Mina's imprisonment. He was held in a room inside a tree trunk, guarded by six soldiers who took turns watching the cell. Mina tried to speak with them to find out why he had been arrested or what this city was, but no one answered him, no matter how many times he asked. It was like talking to a wall.

He began to think it was a bad idea to let them capture him. He tried to explore the

sturdiness of the cell wall, but no matter how much force he used, it didn't leave any mark, not even a scratch. They had also blocked his vision from the gate to the cell, so he didn't know his location or the path they had taken to get to the cell.

Lost in his thoughts, Mina didn't notice that the cell door had opened and a person wearing a green robe entered. This person had green eyes, white skin, and long, pointed ears. Noticing that Mina was unaware of his presence, the person coughed. Mina snapped out of his thoughts and looked towards the source of the sound.

"Who are you? And why am I imprisoned here? And what is this place?"

"Firstly, I should be asking you, and depending on your answer, perhaps I will get you out of here. First, how did you enter the forest?"

Mina began to consider whether he should tell the truth or lie. The person noticed Mina's hesitation and said, "Don't lie, because I can sense if you are lying or not."

"Sigh... I don't know. I woke up and found myself in the forest."

"How did you get here?"

"While searching for a way out of the forest, I found a river, so I followed it and arrived here."

"When did you wake up in the forest?"

"On the same day I was imprisoned."

"Where are you from? Your clothes are strange, and I have never seen them before."

"Can I not answer that question?"

"Alright."

"So, can I get out of here?"

"I am not the one who will decide your release, but don't worry. Since you answered truthfully, nothing will happen to you. However, you must stay here for your protection, because the people outside greatly dislike humans. Oh right, what is your name?"

"Mina."

The person left through the door, and Mina began to think that this person was not human and resembled the elves in stories, and that from this person's words, the elves hated humans. Therefore, he realized that staying without doing anything was not good, because he didn't know if he would be released or killed.

"I want to enter the training room."

[Hello, sir, how can I help you?]

"Hector, I want to train in combat. I want to fight a giant zombie at the same level of strength as me."

[Alright, for how long would you like to train?]

"For as long as possible."

[Ding! One year in the training room equals one day outside.]

Mina was transported to a grassy field, and a giant zombie appeared before him. Mina prepared to fight, removing his Eternal Transformation because he didn't want to rely on weapons.

The giant zombie ran towards Mina, clenched its hands, raised them above its head, and then swung them downwards. Mina dodged by jumping backward. The zombie struck the ground, and dust spread into the air, surrounding Mina and the zombie, obscuring Mina's vision. Mina tried to see through the dust, but he felt a strong fist strike his stomach, sending him flying.

"Ugh," Mina groaned as he stood up with difficulty, blood dripping from the side of his mouth. The sky darkened. Mina looked up and saw a zombie falling with great force, trying to crush him with its foot. Mina barely dodged by jumping to the side, for if he had been a second late, he would have been crushed. When the zombie landed, it produced a shockwave that sent Mina flying away. The giant zombie emerged from the dust cloud, looking at Mina with cold, emotionless eyes, and began to run towards him.

"Hector, stop the fight!"

The giant zombie and the combat damage disappeared. Mina sat up with difficulty, taking quick breaths and feeling pain in his stomach and other parts of his body.

"Hector, do you want to kill me?"

[No.]

"Then why is this giant zombie so strong?"

[It's not because it's very strong, but because it's intelligent. Since you want to fight a zombie at your level of strength, the higher the level, the greater the intelligence. Also, all the enemies you have faced were weak, so they are not intelligent, or rather, they are stupid. Furthermore, you have gained great power without going through many life-and-death battles, so you are not skilled in combat.]

Mina absorbed what Hector was telling him and realized that Hector was right. "So, what do you suggest?"

[It depends on whether you want to train in combat quickly or train gradually.]

"What's the difference?"

[If you want to train in combat quickly, you must fight enemies at your level. If you want to

train gradually, fight weak enemies and gradually increase their level after defeating them.]

Mina remembered the fight he had just had and how he had been utterly defeated, so he wanted to choose gradual training. However, he remembered the words of the person who had interrogated him. Thus, he chose to train quickly, gritting his teeth, because he would be treated like a punching bag.

"Hector, I want to train in combat quickly."

[Alright, and don't worry, you can stop the fight, and you have plenty of time to train.]