Diether arrived at the Hunter's Association building.

"Diether… How was your trip to the town?" ​​

The beautiful receptionist of the association asked the young man after she noticed him entering…

"Ahh… Miss Han. I enjoyed it a lot… Look…"

He then showed the Novice Wooden Sword strapped on his back. It doesn't have a sheath so anyone could just look at the beauty of the sword.

"That looks impressive… Is that made of pure steel? Isn't it too heavy for you?"

"Hehe… No, it's not… It's just made of a rare type of wood…"

Diether chatted with the lady for a while as the other Hunters were looking at him with envy. He also asked her to suggest a low-rank mission that he can accept so he can practice with his sword…

"Hmm… How about this?"

Miss Han looked at the list of missions before giving a suggestion. Diether had a quick look at it and read the request.

"Sparring Partner?"

"Yes… 5 silver coin per hour… Isn't that great?"

"Five?! Just what kind of sparring partner does he want?"

Although Diether has a lot of money at this time, it doesn't mean that his knowledge of the value of the currency had changed.

Five silver coins should be too generous unless your life would actually be in danger in this mission.

"Is it too dangerous?"

Diether asked again before Miss Han could answer… The latter only smiled before she explained the full detail.

"Don't worry, this is only a low-rank mission. The requestor was just a new One-Star Hunter and he wanted to train his skills. However, he wanted someone who practices sword or barehanded combat…"

"I see…"

"As you know, there's not a lot of sword practitioners here, much less for a decent brawler…"

Diether nodded as he remembered that sword users were indeed few in this village. There's a lot more hunter who uses dagger, throwing knives, axe, and spears…

There were also some who uses bows and arrows but they were not popular here in the village. Even the bowmen that Diether met during the beast attack were already getting old. He hadn't seen any young bowmen at all…

"Right… I can count as a sword practitioner…"

"Hehe… Of course… That's why I recommended this to you…"

Miss Han smiled widely as if she had something more in her mind. Diether didn't notice it as he happily accepted the mission.

After sorting everything with the receptionist, Diether went to the house closest to the Wailing Forest…

This is where his sparring partner lives…

The houses in the village had similar designs and they were mostly constructed using the narra wood that uniquely grows in the Wailing Forest.

Knock! Knock!

Diether knocked on the door as he waited for the requestor… He heard the footsteps coming closer and as soon as the door opened, he noticed a familiar young but tall man who he previously met before he went to Rosen Town.

'What was his name again?' Diether tried to remember while smiling at him.

"Did you forget about me already?"

"Ahh… No…"

"It's fine… I'm Art Deus… I'm already a One-Star Hunter after passing the examination although my license card wasn't delivered yet…"

"Oh, right… I'm Diether Luxford. It also took some time before I received my license… Are you the one requesting for a partner?"

This time, it was Art who smiled widely.

"Correct! It seems that you accepted the mission… This is great!"

He was genuinely happy that it was Diether who accepted the mission.

"As per request, I would pay you five silver coins per hour but we're only doing this for about 3 hours a day… Depending on our compatibility, this mission can end today or would last for a week…"

Art then explained the details of this mission. Diether was already aware of this so he quickly accepted.

"Mhmm… That's alright…"

"Good! Oh, please enter my house… I just have to prepare before we start…"

"Sure…"

Diether then entered the simple house and waited for Art. He was served with a cold drink which made him really thankful. Although it wasn't too hot yet, having a cube of ice in his drink was refreshing.

Having ice is considered a luxury in this village. After all, Art had probably used expensive magic equipment to have one.

Now that he thinks about it, Art should be a new villager here but he already owns a house and even has this equipment…

'He must be a rich nobleman adventuring here…'

He couldn't help but lament at this. Anyway, it gave him the idea of buying his own house here in the village…

'Ah, I can't… Master hinted that we might be going in a journey…'

His thoughts were interrupted as Art took his attention.

"I'm all ready… I will also use a sword for our practice… And we have to make sure that no one would get heavily injured so I have some wooden swords here I bought recently... Take a look."

Art wore different clothes. He even wore leather armor and armguard in preparation for their match.

Diether glanced at the wooden sword before holding one… He used it to slash a few times before nodding in content.

"Alright… We can use this."

Their practice area wasn't that far from the Wailing Forest so it didn't take long before they started the first hour of the mission.

Art took his stance.

He held the sword with his two hands and lifted it… The grip was now at the level of his head while the tip of the sword was pointing at Diether.

This style wasn't as stable as other stances but it was very good at counter-attacking.

'It's the hanging guard stance mentioned by master… Its main threat would be a straight thrust…'

Diether didn't take his time to think as he showed his favorite stance!

Jodan no Kamae!

As soon as the sword was held up high, his Spiritual Energy burst forth!

Art was sure that he felt a cold breeze after looking at that stance. It was a beautiful yet terrifying stance!

Just remaining calm in front of this 10-year-old kid was already an achievement.

Gulp!

Art couldn't help but swallow his saliva after sensing his oppressive aura… It doesn't feel like he was in front of a kid at all. However, it didn't break his spirit.

'This is it!'

Instead of getting intimidated, Art showed a fervent smile as if he has been looking forward to this since the beginning.

On the other hand, while the One-Star Hunters were having a face-off, two men were watching them silently. These men look even more excited than Art who was about to clash with Diether.