“Yes!”

With almost a shout Peter closed his eyes to the sudden bright light. No it wasn't a bright light, the room, place he was in now was completely white. Also he wasn't standing on anything. It was a strange feeling to not stand on anything. Such a thing was similar to being in water, only without the risk of drowning.

'I do hope that this progress of creating a character is smooth'

Peter had a slight fear that something may go wrong and the only time something goes wrong is when he doesn't expect it.

— The scan on your iris and vein has determined that you are an unregistered user. Do you want to create a new account?

“Yes I would like to.”

Peter was being polite to the AI as it was integrated into him as a orphan. As an orphan, the best way to get along with other 'normal' children and their parents was to act polite. Parents naturally feel pity for him while most other children copying their parents also act this way. Because of this school was quite a leisure activity for Peter.

— Select the name of your avatar.

“...”

'Now I think about it, I've never thought of a new name for while I'm in game. What should it be....it has to be good or else I may end up deleting my character'

Again, as an orphan, Peter rarely had the chance to play video games let alone own a character in even the oldest games that have faded into history with the rise of Virtual Gaming. However it wasn't like Peter never played some sort of game before. In his childhood the Dorm Manager for the orphanage as quite kind to Peter and he played a number of games like chess, shougi and the likes. Eventually they got into role playing card games that someone kindly donated for the orphanage. Over time Peter began to see more than other children, other adults at time and he used this as an advantage. This time, he would apply this into the game.

With great hesitation, with great fear that this was a bad idea, Peter spoke.

“My name will be Sain.”

Peter felt more nervous than he did when he wet his bed the day before he and the other children were to be visited by people who may want to adopt. Naturally Peter wasn't picked over the weak looking and almost mentally disabled children whom Peter protected from bullies.

— Select your gender from male, female or neutral.

“Male”

Peter didn't even blink an eye at this question. They have all agreed that choosing the same gender as they were was the best bet. One, it would be a lot less confusing and two, there may be some issues...

— Royal Road has forty-nine races. You may select your race from the primary twenty-nine.

'Should I choose another race besides human? No, if I want to lead everyone it's best to be average and not have any advantages and most importantly no disadvantages'

“Human”

— You may alter your appearance

“May I view myself first?”

With those words, an exact image of himself was created in front of him. As a male, a human being, he was also quite dissatisfied on his appearance. Hina did also say that we may alter our appearance a bit, just not enough that we are unrecognisable.

Peter considered himself to be very average. As a 17 year old, he was at the end of his growth in height at a good 180 cm. There were a number of people taller than him and a number of people shorter than him. Why would he change that? As for his body, he wasn't really fit and the game did not feature any kind of major advantage to having thick muscles only for it to disappear by being lazy.

'Height and Body are fine. What about my face and hair?'

He looked at himself carefully observing every fault he had. After a good minute he simply gave up on altering his face. He considered his hair fine as well. It was a short brown colour and didn't stand out.

'So in the end I was fine with my appearance? No! For a chance like this, I have to change something!'

“Change hair to colour dark blue! Instead hair length by 3 cm!” he ordered the AI with command. In an instant the body in front of him, his avatar changed and looked more like a side character in a cartoon rather than a protagonist.

Satisfied and unwilling to go through that again Peter or Sain said, “I am done.”

— Your account has been activated. Your stats and class shall be determined while you are playing Royal Road. Please Select a city and kingdom you want to start.

“Witchhelm”

Peter remembered the city Simon told them and decided it was best that was to meet up with the others instead of doing something stupid.

— Welcome to Royal Road.

With another bright light, his body was engulfed with light and his adventures began.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

When Peter, no Sain opened his eyes, he saw the majesty known as the greatest game. Everything looked so life-like and it literally felt like he was transported into a new world. He looked around to find himself in the middle of the road surrounded by people moving around, shops shouting to get customers and most importantly the fact that he would stay in this place from now on. Well at least until the entire group decides to level up by slaying monsters like in legends.

'Now I have to find that fountain....oh there it is. And there's a person there already?'

He walked to the fountain to to find that the person named Mark in real life was there already. Sain was around 20 metres away from the fountain but he could see a small Mark there. Well he wasn't going to call Mark, Mark until he tell his game name.

'Did he just skip the character creation and went in game already?'

By the time he got to the fountain which also housed a couple other players, there were another two people with Mark as well. They were to his understanding Grace and Hina. 10 metres in there was Ian mixed in with them....or was he there to begin with?

When he did reach the fountain he said, “Is everyone here yet?”

Hina answered, “Maria isn't. She's late!” with an irritated voice as if this was some kind of nuisance. A wry smile appeared on Sain's face as he watched everyone. Ian and Mark were just standing there silent while Grace was looking around wildly as if a ghost was haunting her and Hina...Hina was getting mad at the late Maria.

In appearances Ian had black hair and eyes now, Mark didn't change his appearance while Grace and Hina were elves I think. Grace's ears were a bit less pointy then Hina's and Hina had golden eyes instead of her dark born eyes as well. All of them pretty much looked the same in real life as in game.

“So are we going to introduce ourselves while we wait for Maria?” Sain asked thinking that Maria was most likely changing her avatar's appearance at her leisure.

“We might as well” sighed Hina, “Anyway I'm called Miriel now so call me that. I'm a Night Elf.”

“Raven, Human” said the person named Mark.

Grace somehow managed to speak out loud in front of us, “I'm called....Serena...a Half-Elf...”

Then it was Ian's turn and all he said was, “Shadow, also Human”

Sain smiled knowing all of their new names now and introduced himself.

“I'm Sain also a Human. Anyway we should friend each other while we can. Um...how do I do this?” Sain said with confused on what to do.

Miriel sighed and said quickly, “Send Friend Request to Sain, Serena, Raven and Shadow.”

Miriel sent you a Friend Request. Accept?

Some sort of floating message appeared in front of Sain's eyes. No matter where Sain turned his head the message still stayed there. He clicked what was the 'Yes' button in the air and another message appeared.

You have accepted the Friend Request

'To think such a thing was in this game. Well it should be similar to the other games I've played except that I was the character instead. Anyway I should friend the others as well'

“Send Friend Request to Serena, Raven and Shadow.” said Sain trying to imitate Miriel with her success in sending friend request.

After a minute of trial and error on Serena's part where the system couldn't recognise her words and Mark not speaking at all. Eventually all 5 of them friended each other with the exception of Maria who has yet to turn up. Miriel was tapping her foot in anger while the rest of the group took the time to look around the place. Sain smiled at Miriel as she was being impatient.

'It seems like she didn't want to start without Maria'

After a further minute where Miriel was considering killing Maria over and over again in game, she appeared with a smile. She looked the same except that she had slightly red hair and also pointed ears which meant she was also an Elf like the other two girls.

“I'm here~” she cheerfully said. She expecting everyone to greet her with a kind smile but reality wasn't so kind. Miriel went up to her and whacked her head with her fist.

“Ow! Wait, what's this message I'm seeing?” she cried in exclamation.

'Its most likely the game saying that you were hurt', The four that were not in a two man comedy thought to themselves.

“Your late!” shouted Miriel in rage. Maria could do nothing but weep in the force known as Miriel that the others including himself quickly noted to not piss off.

“Anyway sent a friend request to everyone of us. No, tell us your name and we'll friend you. It'll be much quicker that way.” Miriel said with dominance over Maria.

“My name is Lyndis, a normal Elf.” said Lyndis the Elf in a quiet voice acting submissive.

Knowing her name Sain sent her a friend request immediately, “Send Friend request to Lyndis.” The others also did so as well and finally all 6 of the group were here.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

“First of all you guys know how to open your inventory right? Just say open Inventory and a window saying what you have will appear which should be 10 pieces of Rye bread and a Canteen of Water. You can refill the Canteen using a Fountain like this but you have to buy Rye Bread for 3 Copper each. Try it out.” said Miriel instructing the group on how to play the game.

“Open Inventory Window.” said the 5 together.

Inventory

- 10 Pieces of Rye Bread

- I Canteen of Water

- No Money

Another window appeared in front of Sain's eyes like the one in video games. 'Well this was a game after all.'

Everyone looked and pointed at the window that was only visible to themselves. Sain tried taking out a Piece of Rye Bread and it appeared in Sain's hand.

'This looks....very hard to chew', everyone thought seeing the Rye Bread in Sain's hand.

“Anyway next is the Status Window which you will see all of your stats and such. Same thing as the inventory, just say Open Status Window.”

“Open Status Window” said the 5 again.

Status Window[quart=Name,Alignment]Sain,Neutral[/quart][quart=Level,Profession]1,None[/quart]RaceHumanTitleNoneHealth100Mana100[quart=Fame,Infamy]0,0[/quart][quart=Strength,Agility]10,10[/quart][quart=Intelligence,Wisdom]10,10[/quart][quart=Vitality,Stamina]10,10[/quart][quart=Leadership,Luck]0,0[/quart][quart=Offense,Defense]10,10[/quart]Magic Resistance0%Elemental Resistance[quart=Light,Dark]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Fire,Ice]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Earth,Lightning]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Wind,Nature]0%,0%[/quart]

In front of Sain's eyes was the window that would govern his life from now on. The most balanced race Humans had pretty much the same starting point with no advantages and disadvantages at all. The Elvish races were more towards the magic side and less on the physical side.

“Okay now that you know your status window, we have to talk about distributing stats. Know that it is better to be a master of one than a master of many. However don't let it stop you since its your character and we don't need to be something like the strongest. Now let's go our separate ways and find a class in these 4 weeks we have. Don't aim for the hidden classes since they may take too much time to get and don't just resolve yourself on being one of those common classes people get. I'll see you guys here in 4 weeks time.” said Miriel before running off to find whatever class she could get.

Sain looked at the others and decided it was time to do some work to pass the time.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

As Sain was walking away from the others who all seemed unsure on where to go but still walked, he thought about what Miriel said and sighed.

'She is so much better suited to be leader than me. Why did she push this role on me?'

Sain looked around to find that there were parties of players in groups enjoying themselves.

'Will we be like that? Well we have to get to our starting points first before that.'

Without knowing it Sain reached the information guild where they give you a class based on your stats. The guild will never give a player a class on their first day since they would not have developed any stats at all. But Sain still entered the place that was filled with other players and NPCs alike. In there Sain stood out like a sore thumb.

He looked around the main entrance place of the information guild. While messy it held a certain charm and people were exchanging information on various topics. Bounties, Prices, even the status of individuals were talked about freely in this place.

“Hey you there.”

“?”

Sain looked around to find the voice that called to him. It was a man with a harden face like he had seen some battle....or just a farmer who worked really hard. Sain walked to him and he started a conversation with Sain.

“I can tell from glance that you are new here. New in the sense that you are new to this world. Why are you here?” asked the man.

'Why is he asking me this?' thought Sain before he answered truthfully, “I don't really know. I was just wandering around and ended up here.”

The man looked shocked and then burst into laugher.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA. I never heard such an answer before! Usually your folk that come here want to get some class from over there”, The man pointed to the counter where the people worked, “Whether they finished the 4 week requirement or not. I have seen dozens of people go there in their first day wanting a certain class they can't have. Why they ask. Its simple, don't think you can get everything you want, especially if you just arrive!” the man roared.

Sain noticed that the whole place went quiet when the man started speaking and Sain could heard every word the man said clearly instead of having to strain his ears in hearing him. Everyone else in the room seemed to have looks of respect to the man for some reason.

“Who are you?” Sain asked without hesitation. Sain wanted to know who and what was this man who easily quieted a place with just talking.

The man looked at Sain closely.

“Who...? Hmm....you have a good look on your eye. You see more than others think and a straightforward personality. I can fix that later though....right! I'm called Gen and I will be your teacher for now on. Come with me.”

When Gen said those words Sain could've sworn that a couple of jaws fell to the ground. There was an immediately amount of gossip already circulating around the room and it increased when Gen dragged Sain out of the guild.

“Seriously who are you? For such a reaction to happen like that, you must be well known or famous around here.” said Sain struggling to keep up with Gen in his fast walking.

“We're almost there” said Gen ignoring the words that were coming out of Sain's mouth.

'Is he always like this?'

After a couple of hours of walking or running to Sain a certain message appeared in front of him that gave him mixed feelings.

Stamina is below 10%, it is recommended to rest

Hunger is below 30%

Stamina increased by 1

The stat increase made him happy since it would mean he could go 10% longer than before but on the other hand it took this much effect to increase the stat by just one. Also his body was tired and he was also hungry. Still he continued to follow the back of Gen that didn't say a word at all and just continued to keep on going ahead. Sain didn't even have time to look around because if he did, he felt that Gen might disappear.

“Are we there yet? My stamina can't take more and my Hunger is low as well.” complained Sain to Gen.

This time however Gen did respond by stopping in front of him suddenly which almost resulted in Sain tripping over trying to dodge him.

“It has been 8 hours and 34 minutes since the trial ran. I say that's a good score. Much better than the others I tested,” Gen looked at Sain with a smile and said, “Congratulation you are now my apprentice. Of course if you accept.”

Become Gen's apprentice

By clearing the hidden trial set by Gen, you can become his apprentice which will give you several options.

- You will live with him until your apprenticeship finish

- You will be fed food

- You will be given training directly from him

- Will gain the title 'Tactician Apprentice'

Sain looked at the box closely and even though the first three options were really good for a beginner what caught his eye was the title he would gain.

“Tactician? You're a tactician?” Sain asked only to but responded by an even wider smile. “Anyway I accept your offer.”

You have become the apprentice of Tactician Gen

You have gained the title 'Tactician Apprentice'

- Leadership will increase by 1

- Luck will increase by 1

- 5% more authority when commanding people

Sain smiled that his stats increased. Though Leadership and Luck do not have a visual effect, it does its work in small ways and it is said Leadership is one of the most hardest stats to increase since it requires you to command an army.

“Now that you're my apprentice officially, I can tell you that the trial was following me for as long as possible. The reason is simply to test your stubborn nature. A tactician must always looks to see other ways of altering the fate of the battle. We do not accept death nor defeat we will use any method to get what we want!” Gen said pumped up, “But on its core level its just seeing and knowing what to do. Anyway let me take you to my place and feed you first. You look like a starved wolf”, Gen laughed and led Sain to his home which was a two story building that looked perfectly normal.

The inside was not so normal. There were books everywhere and some small figurines that were shattered around the room. Maps and notes were stuck everywhere as well.

'How many years did it take him to produce all of this?'

Sain sat down on a chair as Gen brought him what looked to be dinner. However when Sain was about to take the food Gen stopped him.

“You're new in this world so you don't know about the taste of Rye Bread. Until you meet my standards you will only eat Rye Bread. I will make sure of that. You freemen have been given some supplies right? Eat up.”

Sain could only look in shock as the Dinner that looked like for at least 3 was eaten in less than a minute by Gen. Sain could not do anything as his stomach rumbled at the sight of the food that was quickly consumed by Gen.

When Gen finished he said, “I'll meet you upstairs when you finish eating.”

However Sain knew that you could starve to death in this game and he didn't want his first death to be starvation at all. Because of this he took out a Rye Bread and started chewing on it.

'This is.....really hard, dry and almost tasteless....'

Sain did not expect the Rye Bread to taste like anything better but he had his hopes still. Sain almost cried at the fact that there was really good food in front of him but he couldn't touch it. After two pieces of the Rye Bread his Hunger increased back to full and his stomach while still dissatisfied with the poor taste in food, stopped rumbling. Then Sain remembered what the Butler Simon said.

'The chefs will provide you will food if you wish and they can cook almost anything you desire and I suspect that many of you will request of this near the beginning.'

He was right, Sain did really want to log off immediately and get some good food. But he still had things to do and he believed the Gen would not appreciate that his new apprentice just disappeared out of nowhere. Sain also took out his canteen and drank some water out of it to offset the dry taste of the Rye Bread.

Sain thought to himself, 'I better make sure that I meet his standard quickly', before heading upstairs to start his first lesson.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

The room upstairs was much cleaner than the one downstairs. However it didn't change the fact that it still had lots of books, small figurines and stuff pasted on the walls.

“Ah! Apprentice, I was just cleaning up. Now that I think about it, I don't know your name. What is it?” he asked.

Sain frowned and thought, 'That should be the first thing you should ask!'

“Sain.”

“Ah, good! Sain, get over here. I'm going to explain what being a tactician is.”

Sain went over to where Gen was and sat down on a chair that Gen gave him.

“A tactician is someone who holds the life of those he commands even more so than the Healers. You will learn how to analyse the battle perfectly in real time. Each choice you make, every order you give will affect the life of your comrades. So, did you come to this world with others?”

Gen gave a look of concern at Sain.

'Why is he asking these types of questions?' Sain answered, “Yeah, 5 other people.”

“Then have you guys assigned roles yet?” he asked again.

Sain frowned, “You sound like Miriel.” and he sighed.

“Whose Miriel? Right, one of your companions I believe. Anyway tell me what kind of role they are taking. Then I can teach you or than the general stuff on how to lead them to victory.”

“Well...there's a healer, tank, scout, support and most likely a damage dealer.” said Sain nervously.

“Boriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing! But stable. That's good! The roles are boring but the class they may get may be more than of one role. This part will get interesting later on. What kind of class would a tank have? Naturally they have high health but that is not always the case! They could have average health but an ability to negate damage or someone else has the power and cast it onto the tank. They could also have low heath but high evasion, average health or high health regeneration or life steal as well. Do you see Sain? Just because someone has a role, it doesn't mean that others can support that person in his role. A tactician must see everything...and decide. That is all the tactician does. Decide. Directing the battle yes but are you really going to tell your comrades when to attack an enemy or when to heal? No! That's their job. Anyway there are 6 of you and I presume you are splitting up to do whatever in 4 weeks and meet again? Yes? Good! That gives me time to polish you. Anyway this is the the first of three parts of your training. Do you accept?”

Complete Theory Training with Gen

Requirement: Apprentice of Gen

Reward: Stats

“I accept” said Sain

You have accepted the Quest

Gen took out 6 figurines and placed it on a large table that is on the centre of the room. He stopped and said, “Come on then. Its nearly night and I want you to at least remember the basics before you sleep.”

Sain moved to the opposite side of the large square table and Gen took out another 3 figurines out that were painted red.

“The 6 that are not painted are you and your friends. The ones painted red are enemies you must kill. Both of us will decide what class they are and what kind of basic skills they have.”

Gen took out a piece of paper and threw it at Sain with a quill.

“Here, write down the names of the 6, preferinly you and your friends and their role and class.” he said while writing down on his own piece of paper.

Sain looked at the piece of paper which had tables on them and numbers at the top. Then on the second row there was the label names then, role, class, skills and other characteristics. The figurines had numbers on them as well, 1 to 6. Sain quickly wrote down the names of his friends and their roles onto the paper but he could decide what kind of class they would be.

“Finished yet?” Gen asked, Sain answered, “No.” Gen had a confused look on his face, “No? You're stuck in the class part aren't you. Don't worry about the skills and other characteristics part for now, put anything down for the class part. I'll give you a hint. Think of what kind of class fits your friends.”

Sain thought about it deeply.

'Serena is the healer so it makes sense she would be a cleric while Shadow who has a lack of presence would be a assassin. Mark could be a warrior while Lyndis would be same or a mage. Miriel....I have no idea, she seems to be the type to be a mage though she did say she was to be a support character.'

Sain wrote down the class that would best fit everyone except himself. He did not know what kind of class would fit him at all and left it blank. 'To be honest, what kind of class does a tactician have?'

When he put the quill down Gen snatched the piece of paper and read it to himself aloud.

“Let's see.....the healer is a cleric, scout is assassin. There are other things they could be but its fine for now. Tank as a warrior! Isn't that a bit too offensive? Well it still better than the damage dealer being both a warrior and mage at the same time! And the support as a mage as well? That's a good joke!” Gen looked at Sain with a serious look. “The most important thing you screwed up is what class you are!”

“But I don't know what kind of class a tactician will have.” answered Sain as if Gen asked him a question.

“Sigh” Gen moved his face into his palm which had its elbow supported by the table. “A tactician can literally be any class though it is better for you to be a support type class since they are usually at the back and can see the situation clearly though I know several tacticians that fight on the front lines. Honestly it goes down on not what you can do but what you want to do.” he explained.

'In that case....'

“Is there a class that can do most things required in battle?” Sain asked honestly again. With that question Gen smiled again as if Sain's question was perfect.

“The only class that can do that is the Shaman class. While they are not a master of anything they can do almost anything in general. Fighting with weapons of all kind and using Magic of all Kind as well. However as a result they are much weaker than their counterparts that specialise in one area. Have you heard of the phase, better to be a master of one than jack of all trades?”

'Yeah I have. It came out of Miriel's mouth.'

“Anyway I'll give you a class later on when we start the second half of the training. The first half however will be all about the theory and trust me the theory doesn't help that much alone. It helps when you can recall it immediately in the heat of battle and that is why I am going to pound into your head all kinds of information about classes and roles and tactics in battle that can either save your life or end it. Now look at the table closely.”

Sain looked at the table which had a drawing of a forest on it.

'That's strange....that drawing wasn't there before.'

“This table is a magic item that can project and simulate a live battle. The paper was made to give characteristics to the figurines. See those slots on the ends of the table? That where you place the figurines and you just place the paper you write on in the centre like so”, Gen took both pieces of paper and place them in the centre of the table which created some reaction from the table as the figurines was dragged into place in the holes on the side of the table.

Then some image appeared over the table. It was a forest but there were 9 figures that looked like humans inside of it though they looked like cibi versions of normal people and kinda cute. Three of them were red while six of them were blue. Both Sain and Gen were looking over the battlefield.

“As you can see the table made the figurines into creatures on the table with the battlefield. Right now the figures you see are at their basics with just a role and class each. If you add in skills and characteristics they have then they will become more unique. You control the figures using your thoughts, what's that look apprentice?”

Sain was still stunned that such a thing exist in this world. He knew that this world was realistic but for it to have something similar to a game...

“Nothing at all Master. I never knew that such a thing existed in this world.”

“Of course not! I made it with great difficulty and I'm not giving it away! Anyway you press your hand on the slate at the end to control the figures with your thoughts. Try commanding one of to move.”

Sain placed his right hand onto the slate and thought, 'Move forward.' but nothing happened.

“You have to think of the figure's name and then command them. They do have names you know.”

Sain once more tried and thought, 'Raven move forward.' then the figure in the warrior outfit moved forward stopping after a few steps. Sain then realised that each of the figures had a certain costume. The one who was made after Raven was a warrior which he wrote down while the one representing Serena was a Cleric. Shadow as an assassin, Lyndis was a swordsman and Miriel was a mage. The one representing Sain was a Shaman that had a staff and a sword.

“Okay now, first I need to pound a certain something into your head. But first let's start.”

Gen's figures were a warrior, mage and archer. Three very basic classes but they moved much quicker than Sain thought.

'Raven and Lyndis block them!'

The Raven and Lyndis figure moved in front of the charging warrior and tried to block them but one of them was blasted away into pieces by a magic bolt and the other was shot by an arrow. The warrior kept running and killed the Serena figure.

'Shadow and Sain attack the warrior!' he ordered but it was too late. Another magic bolt and arrow flew and killed the two. The projection faded away leaving the table blank again.

'What just.....happened?' Sain thought as the battle ended.

“If that was a real battle you and your friends would've been dead. Of course this is a fake battle to prepare you for the real thing, but when you see your friends die then you will definitely lose your cool and make mistakes. Anyway think of this for tomorrow, there's a room over there you can sleep in. Get some rest, I know you're not in your best state since they have been running with me for over 8 hours straight.”

Sain did what he was instructed and went into the room where he was going to sleep. The room was completely empty except there was a bed and window for air. Exhausted from the day Sain lied in the bed sleeping but not soundly. The last words Gen gave him still echoed in his head.

'If that was a real battle you and your friends would've been dead.'

[p=center]xXx[/p]

“Okay now, I'll tell you a trick in using this thing. Don't send precise thoughts into it. If you do at most you will only control one perfectly, two if you try hard. However you have to move all six at the same time. Another thing, I made sure each of the figures can have one skill each for starters. We will increase the number as we go along. Also a changed a couple of classes as well”

Gen gave Sain a piece of paper which was the character sheet things for the table game.

Charcter Name: Sain, Raven, Shadow, Lyndis, Serena, Miriel

Role: Tactician, Tank, Scout, Damage, Healer, Support

Class:Shaman, Shield-Man, Assassin, Swordsman, Cleric, Mage

Skills: Mana Bolt, Shield Bash, Back-Stab, Strike Heal, Magic Bolt

When Sain and Gen started the next simulation the figures appeared again thought a bit different. Raven's figure had a shield now instead of a big sword and everyone's figure looked a bit different in small ways though Sain couldn't tell why. It was as if the figures had a life on their own.

On the opposite side of the table Gen had his three figures that were now three warriors instead.

“I changed them so it makes it easier for you. Also it means I can't one shot you immediately.” he smiled and said, “Start!” moving all three warrior figures forward.

'Move Raven and Lyndis in, Miriel and Sain attack from behind, Shadow run around the side'

Both the Raven and Lyndis figure moved in but the warriors pushed back and the attacks from Sain and Miriel hit the two killing them. The third warrior move again for Serena.

'Shadow, Back-Stab!'

The Shadow figure moved in and back stabbed the warrior figure that was going to attack the Serena figure and killed it. However the other two warrior figures moved in and chopped the Shadow figure into pieces before finishing the rest off in no time.

When the table reset itself Gen started scowling Sain.

“You are still thinking too much! Do you think that your friends and allies will move exactly like you want?! Each of them are individuals who will fight and defend by themselves. Its your job here to imagine properly how they react. However your use of the Shadow figure wasn't so bad. It moved more naturally than the other two so I presume you sent it a single command.”

Sain nodded and Gen smiled knowing that his apprentice was doing much better than the others he picked up.

“Let's try again. We're not going to stop today until you manage to beat me.” Gen reassured Sain.

Once more the table lit up the image and the battle started exactly the same again. Once again Gen moved all of his warrior figures using two in front and one behind.

'Sain and Miriel attack, Raven and Lyndis on the side and Shadow protect Serena, Serena heal when needed'

Both the Sain and Miriel figures fired their magic bolts into the warriors and damaged them but it not destroy them. The two damaged warrior figures fell back and let the one undamaged warrior figure charge forward into the centre of Sain's formation.

'Raven block!'

The Raven figure moved in front of the warrior figure and blocked the attack. However the two warrior figure from behind the attacking warrior figure move around its comrade and struck the Raven figure on the sides killing it in one go.

'Attack!'

The Lyndis figure moved in to attack but it was quickly killed off when the three warrior figures ganged up on it. The Sain and Lyndis figure fired and one of the injured warrior figures took the blow dying while the other two moved in to attack the Sain and Lyndis figures.

'Shadow Back-Stab!'

The Shadow figured moved in again and stabbed the injured warrior figure. Part of the figure cracked but it was still alive and it killed the Shadow figure before dying. The last remaining warrior figure quickly killed the Sain and Lyndis figure in a moment and killed Serena last again.

“Slightly better. Why aren't you using your healer? It's there for a reason you know. Also your figure has a sword as well you know. You can use it to defend Miriel if the others get through your line of defence. Also your assassin isn't moving much until the critical point. And let's try again.”

Once again for the second time today, the simulation started again. Before Gen indicated the battle to start, Sain moved the Raven figure in front at the centre with the Shadow and Lyndis figure behind it on the side. The Serena figure was set on the very back next to the Miriel figure and finally the Sain figure at the centre.

“Hmm? It looks like you finally decided to make a proper formation. Any let's start!”

Once again Gen deployed the same strategy of using force to break through the figures Sain controlled and kill everyone as quickly as possible.

'If defending doesn't work. Attack!'

With that thought the Raven and Lyndis moved forward to intercept the warrior figures that charging straight ahead. The Shadow figure moved to the right in a oval path to the warriors as well while the Miriel figure moved right as well and the Serena and Sain figures moved to the left at the back line.

The three warrior figures moved to the left hand side away from the main attacking force Sain sent. However one of the warrior figures still attacked the Raven figure and were locked in a stand still battle.

'Raven Shield-Bash! Miriel, Sain attack the other two!'

With his command, both the Miriel and Sain figures fired their magic bolts to the Warriors and one of them was hit but still alive. While as the Raven figure was having a slight advantage over the warrior figure it was fighting now. The Lyndis figure which was forced to fight two warrior figures was in deep trouble and could at most take one on even though one was injured.

'Shadow Back-Stab the injured on! Lyndis Strike the other!'

The Shadow figure moved quickly and attacked the injured warrior figure killing it in one shot as it was facing the Lyndis figure. Whereas the Lyndis figure was being suppressed by the warrior figure.

'Serena Heal! Sain and Miriel help Raven!'

With a small light the Lyndis figure was healed by the Serena figure while the Sain and Miriel figure blast holes into the warrior figure that was locked with the Raven figure. Finally both the Lyndis and Shadow figure managed to kill the final Warrior figure. With that ended the first victory of the day for Sain.

Gen clapped his hands for Sain who had tremendous potential in this kind of field and learning how to direct a battle in three simulations. Such a thing did not occur very often or rather it never happened before since it usual takes tens if not hundreds of battles to control the figures properly.

'I can train him to be something special though it will depend on how much his friends trust him.' though Gen was also thinking on what to do next.

“In that case, Sain we will battle until you get more used to the simulations. Also I'm going to increase the number of enemies by one every time you beat me. After you reach 2 more victories then we will start on certain skills” said Gen confidently that it will take at least another 3 days until Sain would get to that point.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

“Master I have defeated you twice now. When will we start the next part of the training.” asked Sain concerned that he was not progressing fast enough. Gen on the other hand was concern about something else more important. His pride. In the very same day he had instructed Sain to defeat him twice in the simulation battles, upping the difficulty by a level each time, Sain did just that in a total of 14 battles 5 hours after Gen had confidently estimated that Sain would take another 3 days to do so.

'This boy has too much talent. He may become a monster like that trio in the future. Anyway I should stop for today. Progress too fast or slow is dangerous to the apprentice’s confident and attitude. I must keep him challenged without stalling his progress until he sees 'that'. Maybe I should use the same strategy as last night to make him think about the skills I will tell him about. Yes, that will do for now'

On the other hand Sain was thinking the opposite to his master.

'Do I really lack that much talent that Master will intentionally stall his lessons to make sure I don't fall behind? I need to get better fast!'

“Sain, now that you have completed this step, it is time for you to learn about skills. After that will be certain characteristics you may find on your side or the enemy side and then it is the study of tactics. Are you ready for this?”

“Yes Master!” Sain replied hoping to learn more and more quickly.

“First of all you must learn that Magic is one of the most powerful force will have and will encounter. If not for the fact that Magic takes time to cast often too long, and the fact that there are many brute idiots in this world, I fear that magic may be the only occupation there is. Therefore I will teach you first on how to deal with spell casters and the like. As you know there are many different elements and many different types of spells. However thankfully most Magicians and Sorcerers chose one element or area to specialise in.”

The words 'Better to be a master in one than a master in many' once more echoed in Sain's mind. It was the words both Miriel and his Master had said.

“However there are always exceptions. There are some that are strong enough to use multiple elements and types of magicks. These people are usually called Arch-Mages but they are very very few in numbers even in history. Also there are some magicks that are used more commonly than others. The use of Ice magic is more wide spread then say water magic as the element Water isn't suited for battle.”

Sain nodded. He thought that at most water magic would bring some rain or splash some water here and there.

“However if proficient enough again, it is still a very dangerous magic. I've known a man....or was a woman? Hmm...I better check on that later, that used Water Magic I never seen before completely wipe out creatures without struggle at all. The enemies who were aqua life of the sort were swept away without a trace.”

'Is that even possible?' thought Sain in slight disbelief. He had never heard even in the rumours when some people talked about Royal Road about a skilled Water Mage before.

“Even creatures that live in the water cannot go against water magic of that scale. Do you understand apprentice, that it is not the Magicks that make a being dangerous, it is the power behind the being that allow the magic to take place.” Gen had a very serious tone right now as if he wanted Sain to remember this for the rest of his life due to a past mistake.

'Did something in the past cause him to hate himself?' with a mixture of concern and curiously Sain asked very carefully, “Master what happened for you to want to make sure I don't repeat the same mistake?”

Gen took a shock on how his apprentice could see into his heart. It was rare for such a person to process such insight on just a mere day or two on knowing a person. 'At least its better than seeing into the hearts of people he just met' Gen thought both complimenting his apprentice for having such abilities beyond his age and contemning him for using it on him.

“It is simple. I tried to hit on a person and that person didn't like it. 'She' used various types of magicks I've never seen before and eventually just beat the shit out of me after her companion healed me. Then I forced to do various ridiculous things with my comrades for her. The incident I used was just the tip on the iceberg on how she demonstrated her skill or rather power in magic. Because of this I became quite good as a tactician.”

'I see, so he was whipped into shape by that person'

“Mind you, that many other people faced fates worse than me. She was quite fond on the use of torture.” Gen said with some regret. The atmosphere between Master and Apprentice soon turned into a session on how to treat women.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

The following day Sain and Gen met up again to discuss what they 'forgot' about yesterday. Gen made the excuse, “This is also a very important skill as well.” However Sain had to say, “What kind of skill is that?” and so Gen pounded in the attitude that Sain had to be respectful and submissive to all women which is unpounded soon after when he realised he made a grave mistake. To sum it up, there was no progress at the end of the day.

“Cough”

Gen looked at Sain to see if there was some sort of respect left in him after what happened the previous day. Thankfully Sain wasn't the type to judge people on one event.

“Anyway from where we left off yesterday. There are three things you must remember with the relation to skills. First is to be always wary of magic, second is to be wary of surprises and the third is to be wary of what your allies do.” explained Gen in a serious tone compared to yesterday.

Sain on the other hand was confused on the third point.

“Master, why must you be wary on what your allies do?” he asked.

Gen scratched his chin and said, “Sometimes your allies aren't your closest friend. Unless you know every kind of magic they can cast, you must be wary since they could do something you cannot expect and that can and will disrupt your view of the battle. Also if you don't know what kind of magic they can cast, for all you know they are attacking you instead of the enemy.”

'In other words know your allies as much as your enemies'

“Now to explain the types of magic you may face and see. First of all some magicks are split into different elements while others do not have an element to speak. We categories this was elemental magic and root magic. Elemental magic is what it sounds like and its just using the elements in different ways and effects. They are the most classic and most used ways on using magic because of its high destructive power and often low cost. The person I was talking about yesterday specialise in this kind of magic. Usually people will go for one main element and one sub element since like I said yesterday, better to be a master of one then many. However there are still those who can use multiple at once. As for Root magic....it is difficult to say. They can range from being more basic than elemental magic and much more advanced than elemental magic at the same time. Root magic affects reality, such as summoning magic where you summon a creature from somewhere and create a creature to summon. Another one are curses that dark mages use and buffs that certain mages and priests use. While they usually don't have an element, some root magic can also be elemental magic as well. Anyway Root magic is much more difficult to handle and use per say. The only true way on dealing with Root magic is to be flexible in dealing with it. That's it for the lecture for magic skills. Do you have any questions before we move onto weapons?”

“Are you going to give me details on what kind of magic I may face?” asked Sain.

“Yes and No. I will explain the ones you should know but most of the stuff you will be learning is from the books.” Gen answered, “Anything else?”

Sain shook his head.

“Okay then. There are many many different types of weapons. To name them all is too much of a hassle but in a general note they are the sword, axe, spear and bow. The sword category is the largest with short swords, long swords, bastard sword and so on. The length and size of the weapon decides the speed and power of the weapon. The shorter the sword, the lighter it is and the faster it is as well. The longer and larger the sword the more power it has. However there is also the aspect of range as well. A long sword can be either thin or thick. The thin version is much faster but weaker in strength while the thick version is slow but powerful. Both have good range but not many people use them due to the difficulty. Similarly the Axe is the same as the sword except that its power will be much higher than the sword's but its range and speed will be low. However there are Axes with great lengths which require lots of power to use. The Spear is the opposite with the greatest range but lacks the power. Its speed can vary on its length as well but never oppose a spear with a short weapon unless you want to die. Finally there is the bow with is much different from the other weapons as the only long range one. There are three sizes a bow can be which are small, medium and large. The small size has the fastest firing speed and the least damage while the large bow has the most power but slowest firing speed.”

Gen took a few breathers before talking again.

“Now weapons have many skills along with them. Most of them increase the power or speed of their attack while some give certain effects on the target like stun or paralyse. Then there are attacks that involve adding a element in them like making your sword burn with fire energy to deal fire damage alone with your normal damage. Then there are skills that affect the body itself. Back-Stab is an example of this. It moves your body to behind the back of the target to stab them. Its a basic skill but certainly effective if used correctly. Ok now I'm going to add skills on both sides for the simulation battles!”

Gen started writing down a number of different skills for the simulation for both himself and Sain.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

You have completed the Theory Training

You have gained:

+ 5 Intelligence

+ 5 Wisdom

4 days later and 1 week since Sain started the game, Sain had completed the theory aspect of the training. However Gen had not started on the more practical aspect yet. There was something more important than that for Sain.

“Sain you have 3 more weeks to complete the training. However you have met my standard of the level you students should have. And because of that, you will be eating the same meal as me from now on!”

Gen brought out what seemed to be a feast for Sain. To be honest it was plain meat that was either undercooked in some way and burnt at the edges. But it was still much better than the Rye bread. Sain cut a large portion for himself and started eating. He chewed the meat for a moment and then stopped.

'This is.....really bad.' he thought but he kept on chewing after that, 'Still better than the Rye bread. I hope someone gets the cooking skill.' Sain thought of Serena, Raven or Shadow being able to cook. For some reason he could not imagine either Miriel or Lyndis cooking.

After the short meal that has improved his view of Gen if it wasn't already full of respect, Gen took Sain outside. The light hurt his eyes and he had to wait for it to adjust painfully.

'Now I think about it, its been a week since I've been outside.'

Eventually Sain was taken to what seemed to be a barracks with other people there training. An old man wearing a knight outfit came up to Gen and said cheerfully, “Oh, Gen I heard you have a new apprentice. So how long will this one last?” Gen smiled and said, “This one may just finish. He's up to the practical part after finishing the theory part yesterday. It's been a week since he started.”

With those words the old knight combed his beard as he looked at Sain with interest. Sain on the other hand was nervous that he was in a place with people staring at him like something interesting.

“Anyway Park, did you find one as well?” asked Gen. The old Knight named Park smiled at this question. “The one I found also came up a week ago. He handles hits well. A bit of a pretty boy but can get quite...angry at times.”

'A pretty boy that's going to be a tank....it can't be.'

“That person is called Raven right?” Sain asked cautiously.

Park looked surprised and said, “You know him? He's not of a talker but he does his work. He's the one with the large wood shield on his arm facing three attacks at once.”

Sain looked over to see a lone figure taking hits from the other trainees. While most of the hits goes to the shield thanks to its large size the three trainees sometimes manage to hit Raven on the side when he blocks another attack.

“He said he wanted to be a tank so I'm giving him the best training for one. We have a Healer on standby just in case which I believe is another one of your friends. See the short one with the wooden staff on the side? She comes along for a couple of hours each day since 4 days ago to help with Raven's training. She heals him when his health goes down too much. Apparently its for her training as well and it helps Raven's training as well.” explained Park.

Sain looked at the side where he found Serena and another person. A woman that looked young with her talking quickly and Serena nodding her head.

“Anyway I have to go now. If you want to meet your friends then wait 3 more hours. They just started.” Park walked away back to the other trainees. As Sain watched his friend get hit and not hitting back Sain asked, “Master why are we here?”

Gen grinned mockingly and said, “You don't know? To increase your physical abilities. Since you've ace the theory training in record time, you'll have 2 weeks to finish the physical training. After that is actually teaching you skills. First of all join that group of new trainees and run with them. See you in a couple of hours.”

Complete the Physical Training for Gen

Requirement: Apprentice of Gen and complete Theory Training

Reward: Weapon of choice

No knowing what to do about this, Sain walked to the group of trainees and asked to join them which they readily agreed seeing that Gen as his Master. Sain made a mental note to find out who exactly was Gen since every question he threw about him wasn't answered. The other trainees numbered 10 exactly and Sain was number 11 in the group.

“RUN!”

With the sound of a shout from one of the instructors the group ran together at a steady pace. However this pace was not fast enough for the instructor at all.

“FASTER!”

And so the group ran faster than before but not sprinting. 5 minutes in Sain knew why his Master told him to do this kind of training. In the simulation his figure could move quickly but in real life in the game, he could not. This training was so he could do the same thing as in the simulation. Sain was running out of breath quickly but he wasn't the only one. A couple of other the trainees were slowing down without knowing and the overall speed of the group was lowered.

“WHY ARE YOU SLOWING?! FASTER!” shouted the instructor seeing this decrease in pace.

Everyone groaned with the exception of Sain who knew that the instructor was making sure everyone was running at the same speed as before. It wasn't that the instructor was increasing the pace but restoring it. Another hour passed as everyone ran and 2 people dropped out and was quickly beaten up by the instructor. Sain was also considering giving up but a certain notification kept him going.

Agility has increased by 1

In the next 2 hours a further 6 people dropped out exhausted to the point that they didn't even react to the instructor beating them up. In the end there was only Sain and two other trainees running with him. Both of them looked really athletic compared to Sain and Sain knew he was the odd one out that was most likely to drop out next. However on the sidelines Gen, Park and the other woman who was most likely Serena's Master had a hunch that Sain was going to be the last one standing.

And they were right, after another 3 hours it was only Sain running alone around the barracks. The other two long retired to the beatings of the instructor while Sain pressed on alone.

Stamina is at 15%. It is recommended to rest now

Another 10 minutes passed as Sain ran at the same pace

Stamina is at 5%. You must rest!

His body became really heavy when that message popped up and Sain collapsed on the ground. In the end Sain ran for 6 hours straight and gained a total of 2 Agility and 1 Stamina from this run.

'Damn I ran for that much and it only increased by that much' was the last thoughts Sain had before he blacked out.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

“Now Serena, there are three things we can heal. The first is the easiest of the three which is physical damage or health. The second is a bit more difficult which is healing stamina. However the hardest and nearly impossible is mental damage. You do not have the skills yet to heal even health yet but you can help the body in its process of naturally doing this. This kind of skill is called Regeneration. Use Stamina Regeneration on this friend of yours.” said a female voice that at times sounded hazy for some reason.

'What is this voice? Why do I feel so....tired?'

“Yes Master. Minor Stamina Regeneration!”

'Is that voice Serena? I don't remember being so....not timid'

For some reason it felt like Sain's body was becoming less heavier faster than before.

“Good! Now remember that such skills have a cool down but they can be stacked. It takes 10 seconds no matter how skilled you are to cast this spell again. Skills are require no cool down are rare but often weak. But as the strength of the user increase, the strength of the spell does as well. Now keep on 'healing' him until he wakes up.”

“Yes Master.”

Several minutes or hours later Sain opened his eyes. He was in a room he did not know. It was most likely one of the barrack room but the thought of waking up somewhere unknown was still a slight fear he had. He looked around to find, “Serena?”. There was a short girl that was most likely Serena since she looked exactly the same as her. No she was her and Sain was a bit confused since she seemed different from before.

'Perhaps she changed a lot in this past week.'

“Oh, Sain your awake.” said Serena in surprise. She wasn't shocked by all the things that happened without her knowing anymore. Perhaps the training with that woman helped her in the aspect.

“Yeah, what happened after I collapsed?” asked Sain.

“Both our Masters took you here and let you sleep. After that my Master used you to help me with my training” she replied looking straight into my eyes.

'She really changed. In the short amount of time I knew her she would be the shy and timid one and now...'

Sain tried to get up from the bed but he couldn't. He could move his arms and legs properly but getting off the bed was something he could not do. It did not help that Serena was also pushing Sain down on the bed as he tried to get up.

“Don't move!” she shouted pointing her staff at me most likely trying to threaten Sain. Not believing that Serena would hurt him Sain tried to push her aside.

BANG

You took 30 damage

Sain was whacked back by some sort of blast coming from the staff. He hit the back of his had on the wall thanks to this. Serena took this opportunity to try and restrain him with ropes and started to tie him to the bed.

“What was that loud noise? Sain are you okay....”

Gen and Serena's Master were both at the door which was opened. Everyone stopped at that moment in shock. Sain and Serena were shocked that their masters were here and the masters were shocked at what their apprentices were doing. What was worse was that Miriel and another woman similar in age to his own master was there was well.

However Gen smiled first and said, “Do you two need some space?” Turning red Serena slapped Sain on the face and got off him saying in a fragmented sentence, “It...it...it's not...wha..what..it...look...likes.” before running off out of the room. Serena's Master chased after her leaving Gen and Sain in the room. Miriel and her master followed as well but not before Miriel gave Sain a certain look of disgust.

Before Gen could even comment on what just happened Sain said, “Master”, Gen looked at his apprentice who was just slapped, “Can I get some of those lessons on how to treat women?” Gen smiled that his apprentice was 'growing up'.

[p=center]xXx[/p]

“So what happened was out of your control right?” asked Miriel once more who just happened to be there visiting with her Master. It seemed like their Masters knew each other for some reason and all of them were respected to a certain extent.

“Yes. I tried to get off the bed and Serena tried to prevent me which....led to 'that'.” Sain replied as many times as Miriel asked. Serena by this time already went back with her Master to continue with her training.

“Anyway how are you going for your training?” asked Miriel wanting to know what happened to him in the past week.

“Finished the Theory Part in a Week, up to the Physical Part.” answered Sain immediately.

“Hmm....I heard from my Master that your Master Gen is really tough on his apprentices. Apparently most of them drop out after spending several months on the Theory Part. What was the theory part about anyway?” she asked again more curious than before.

“It was mostly him talking and the Simulation battle things.” Miriel was deep in thought thinking on what this simulation battle thing was until a voice interrupted her thoughts.

“For someone to complete that in a week. Impressive.”

It was the Master that was training Miriel. She was similar in age as Gen but still had her young looks with her. She was dressed in a dark blue mage outfit. She walked in the room where Sain was still on the bed and Miriel sitting next to him and gave a small grin to Miriel as if she knew something was up. Miriel stared at her Master for a moment but let it go and started the conversation.

“What exactly is this simulation thing Master?” asked Miriel.

Her Master replied, “The simulation thing is a sort of a game where you control small figures that move against enemies though your thoughts. I know this is difficult since I made the damn thing. Only Gen was able to perfectly use it until now. I suppose you were able to go 6 on 6 against him and win to get to this part of your training right? Gen was complimenting you all the way when we went drinking the other day. Even Park found you impressive because of yesterday.”

Sain was becoming red behind the ears. He was not used to such straightforward compliments. However Miriel's mood seemed to get worse for some reason as a result of this. Noticing this Miriel's Master said quickly, “I believe Park and Gen are looking for you now.”

With that, Sain left Miriel and her Master behind in the room where there was a loud scream not long after he left.

'I see that Miriel didn't change' Sain thought to himself as he made his way to the open area where training was held.

There Sain found that Gen and Park were talking about something while Raven was put through what Sain could only describe as 'Hell'. Trying to not notice the strange sounds that was coming out of the machine Raven was on, Sain made his way to Gen and Park.

“Oh Sain, you finally recovered. Do you prefer a sword or spear?” asked Gen almost not concern at all about his well being in the slightest.

“Spear.” Sain said immediately. He knew that swords were much more common but ever since a long time ago, he had been brought up on stories of Heroes using Spears to defeat their enemies. The most famous on being a certain Chinese hero that recruited talent no matter their status.

Park looked like he lost a bet to Gen. No, he did lose a bet to Gen since he handed him some coins which were most likely gold coins. Park then handed what looked to be a wooden spear with the tip that wasn't sharpened at all.

“Since you will often won't be on the front-line unlike Raven over there whose getting a beating right now”, Raven was being forced in the same machine again for another run with several other people. All of them but Raven were screaming to have mercy, “You don't have to be skilled at fighting, only enough to protect yourself and possibly the Healer girl.”

Park pointed Sain to what seemed to be a scarecrow used in the Beginner Training Centres he had been hearing about so often as a way to increase your basic physical stats. Sain started poking the scarecrow at different points and sometimes swung to whack it. At times Park would come over and give him some tips before going back to torture...train Raven. And so 2 Weeks passed by...

[p=center]xXx[/p]

You have completed the Physical Training

Stats generated during this time:

- Fighting Spirit

- Endurance

Total Stats Gained during this time:

- Strength +11

- Agility +13

- Stamina +15

- Vitality +14

- Fighting Spirit +15

- Endurance +5

Collect reward from Gen

When this message appeared Sain immediately checked his stats to see what it was compared to the beginning of his training.

Status Window[quart=Name,Alignment]Sain,Neutral[/quart][quart=Level,Profession]1,None[/quart]RaceHumanTitleTactician ApprenticeHealth380Mana125[quart=Fame,Infamy]0,0[/quart][quart=Strength,Agility]21,23[/quart][quart=Intelligence,Wisdom]15,15[/quart][quart=Vitality,Stamina]24,26[/quart][quart=Fighting Spirit,Endurance]25,15[/quart][quart=Leadership,Luck]1,1[/quart][quart=Offense,Defense]10,13[/quart]Magic Resistance0%Elemental Resistance[quart=Light,Dark]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Fire,Ice]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Earth,Lightning]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Wind,Nature]0%,0%[/quart]Bonus5% more authority when commanding people

With that message Sain went to Gen who was relaxing in the shade and said, “Master I finished the training.” When Sain said said those words Gen immediately got up and handed him a spear. It was light but was made of iron. It was ¾ of his height and Sain could swing it around fine.

“Okay now to finish the last part of you training, I'll need you to accept this class. Don't worry its a common one and if things goes right than you'll get a better on later.” he said.

You have been offered the class 'Shaman'. Do you accept?

The Shaman class is not the most powerful but it allows the user to use all kinds of combat and magic skills. While it does not have the bonus of double experience for skills at all, there is no penalty in any skills. Shamans are seen mostly as those who have contracts with creatures and summoning them into combat but can also use countless other types of magic.

“Yes.” replied Sain.

Class has been changed to 'Shaman'

Strength, Agility, Intelligence and Wisdom +10

Sain checked his new stats again.

Status Window[quart=Name,Alignment]Sain,Neutral[/quart][quart=Level,Profession]1,Shaman[/quart]RaceHumanTitleTactician ApprenticeHealth380Mana175[quart=Fame,Infamy]0,0[/quart][quart=Strength,Agility]21 +10,23 +10[/quart][quart=Intelligence,Wisdom]15 +10,15 +10[/quart][quart=Vitality,Stamina]24,26[/quart][quart=Fighting Spirit,Endurance]25,15[/quart][quart=Leadership,Luck]1,1[/quart][quart=Offense,Defense]10,13[/quart]Magic Resistance0%Elemental Resistance[quart=Light,Dark]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Fire,Ice]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Earth,Lightning]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Wind,Nature]0%,0%[/quart]Bonus- 5% more authority when commanding people

- Strength, Agility, Intelligence and Wisdom +10

Sain got a moderate increase in his stats. However Sain did not have time to be impressed by his new stats or be depressed by it.

Complete the Skills Training with Gen

Requirements: Apprentice of Gen

Reward: Unknown

With that Sain got another quest and the finally part of his training.

“Okay then, come with me Sain.” said Gen and Sain followed him to a place that was not that far away from the Barracks where Raven and Park were. Like the Barracks it was a open place with targets around. However unlike the unmoving scarecrows, these ones did move though through some mechanics. Over there he thought he saw two familiar figures. One was dressed completely black and jumping over obstacles and the other was a red haired elf that was swinging her sword smashing the flying objects that were sent to her. They were Shadow and Lyndis whom Sain had not seen yet in the past 3 weeks.

With them were what Sain presume were their Masters. One of a petite looking girl dressed in purple and black while the other was a young man that looked like a nice person if not for his intense gaze that keep people away.

“You already met Park. The Master of the Healer girl is called Mel while the Master of the other girl is called Jenny. The short one is called Anna while the other guy is called Ron.” Gen explained. When the two entered the place suddenly something was thrown at them.

WHACK

Gen immediately used the spear that was in the hands of Sain a moment ago to whack the objects away and continued walking to the other Masters.

“It has been a while you two. Again Anna, you don't have to attack me every time I enter this place.” Gen sighed as Ron smiled and Anna was annoyed at the fact Gen didn't even flinch at her attempt to kill him.

“So this is the new apprentice that you're so proud of. Anyway the elf girl whose breaking those targets is my apprentice while the other one is the new apprentice of Anna whose do those jumps and such” Ron pointed at the two who seemed to be ignoring him and continuing their training.

'Might as well talk to them for a bit first' thought Sain ignoring Ron.

“Hey you two!” shouted Sain. Both Shadow and Lyndis both stopped what they were doing and went to Sain smiling that they saw their friend again.

“It has been a while.” said Shadow who was still fading away in the background.

“Yo! How's it been!” Lyndis hugged Sain and patted his back after letting him go.

Sain blushed when Lyndis hugged him and Shadow merely smiled at the sight. Ron frown at the attitude Sain was getting instead of him while Anna smiled knowing that she would get along with Sain.

“It's been a good 3 weeks. Although it seems like I'm the last one to make even some progress in skills.” said Sain mockingly.

Gen whacked Sain in the head and said, “I told you that learning skills was the last part of your training. Anyway let me give you some skills first before you start your reunion with another girl” Gen winked at Sain.

You have obtained the Skill Identify

You have obtained the Skill Mana Bolt

You have obtained the Skill Party Scan

Leaving Sain with 3 skills Gen went to Anna and Ron to wait for their apprentices to finish their talk.

“Anyway what have you two been doing for the last three weeks?” Sain asked. The first one to answer was Lyndis. “Long story short I met Ron, became his apprentices like everyone else did with their Master and started my training as a Magic-Swordsman. Basically you combine both into one and my class is that. I'm training to bring both strength and intelligence up.”

Then it was Shadow's turn to talk, “Like Lyndis, I met my Master and started my training after she saw that I had potential for it. She more or less made me into a rouge which is the middle ground between a thief and assassin. I'm currently training to improve my agility and such.”

And finally it was Sain's turn to talk.

“Well the first week I have been learning all about tactics and the other things I need to know. Then the following two weeks I drilled in the same place as Raven to improve my physical abilities and now I'm going to learn all about how to use my skills.” Sain said quickly.

“Sain! You finished yet?! I only have a week to teach you all you need to know now, so get here!” shouted Gen. Although a bit reluctant, Sain made his way to Gen who was setting up some target leaving Shadow and Lyndis back to his training.

xXx

As Gen was setting up the machine that would serve as Sain's training, he was explaining the use of the skills he gave him.

“First of all the Identify skill is used to identify items that have not been identified before. Identify the spear I gave you. Just say Identify while holding the spear.”

Sain took his new spear and said, “Identify!”

Iron Spear Durability: 50/50 Damage: 6-7

A spear made from low-quality iron. While it processes low attack, it has a long range that's useful in pushing enemies away

Options:

- Strength +5

In front of his eyes, a status window for the Iron spear he got.

“You done yet? Good! Okay now, the lesson for the use of Mana Bolt will be set up soon. Open your skill window to find the details of all the skills you have.” said Gen trying to put one part into another which did not make sense for Sain.

“Open Skill Window.”

Skill Window

- Spear Mastery Beginner Level 2

- Identify Beginner level 1(1/100)

- Party Scan Beginner level 1 (0/100)

- Mana Bolt Beginner level 1 (0/100)

Sain had 4 skills right now of the maximum 10 number, but he has a class now so that restriction is lifted to an unknown number. Sain navigated the skill window that had been ungraded several times after the many years since Royal Road was released.

Spear Mastery Beginner Level 2 (34/100)

Allows more power and speed when using a Spear.

Spear Weapon Damage Increase: 6%

Spear Weapon Speed Increase:20%

Identify Beginner Level 1 (1/100)

Allows user to identify basic items

Party Scan Beginner Level 1 (0/100)

A Passive skill to see the Health of Allies and other information of the party as well.

Mana Bolt Beginner level 1 (0/100)

Gathers Mana into a Bolt and fires it

Mana Cost: 5

Cool Down: 5 seconds

Sain looked at his skills carefully. Two of his skills were passive skills that would take effect without him doing anything. While he could be see the effects of the Party Scan currently, Sain suspected that the skill would be much useful later when he fights with the others.

“Ah! Finish at last!” exclaimed Gen. Sain looked to see what Gen had set up for him. It was one of those targets that Sain had seen Lyndis attack but it was set up on this mechanism to move them about. “Okay now use a Mana Bolt to hit one of these things. Don't worry, they're magic resistant so they won't break so easily. Now move back there and fire.”

As Gen instructed, Sain moved back a couple of paces to be 5 metres away from the target that was not moving.

“Mana Bolt.” said Sain. Sain felt that his mana was being drained by the skill and a small ball that glowed a bit was formed in his hand and fired out where he was pointing it. Unfortunately his aim was off by a bit and it almost hit Gen instead. Gen flashed an angry look at Sain and said, “Again!”

Sain waited the 5 seconds and said, “Mana Bolt” again. This time the Mana Bolt managed to hit the target making a nice 'bang' sound when it hit. Sain tried another 3 times after that but only 1 of them actually hit the target. When Gen complained that Sain's aim was off, he realised the problem. Gen soon gave Sain a wooden staff which he could keep.

Magic Wooden Staff Durability: 25/25 Damage: 3-5

A wooden staff made to be used for beginners in magic

Option:

- Wisdom +1

Sain equipped the staff and started his training again.

“Mana Bolt.”

Instead from his hand, a Mana Bolt was fired from his staff which hit the target perfectly. Seeing the improved performance from Sain, Gen increased the difficulty of the training by a level and made the target move while he was setting up a second target for later. Sain continued his training with diligence but he was faced with another problem. He ran out of mana.

“Master I cannot continue the training as I run out of mana.”

Gen looked confused. “Out of mana? Don't you have the Mediation skill?” Sain shook his head and Gen sighed saying, “Let's me give it to you then.”

You have obtained the Skill Mediation

Sain went back to where he was training and said, “Open Skill Window.”

Skill Window

- Spear Mastery Beginner Level 2

- Identify Beginner level 1 (2/100)

- Party Scan Beginner level 1 (0/100)

- Mana Bolt Beginner level 1 (15/100)

- Mediation Beginner level 1 (0/100)

Sain navigated the window again and selected the details of Mediation.

Mediation Beginner Level 1 (0/100)

Rest and concentrate to recover Mana

Mana recovered per minute: 50

Cool Down: 1 Minute

While this skill was useful in the fact that it regenerated mana but the large cool down made it so that the user would recover a large amount of mana instead of bit by bit. Sain sat down and said, “Mediation.” which made him close his eyes to sit there waiting for the skill to fully recover his mana. When he opened his eyes again, he had the full amount of mana back.

Sain continued the same training for the rest of the day.

xXx

Mana Bolt Beginner level 1 has been converted into Mana Bolt Beginner level 2 (0/300)

Gathers Mana to fire 3 Mana Bolts at once

Mana Cost: 10

Cool Down: 5 Seconds

When the Mana Bolt skill reached the maximum amount of use for its Beginner level 1, namely 100 times, it was converted into its beginner level 2 state which increased the number of Mana Bolts that could be fired out at the same time. By this time Gen had long finished making the third target for Sain to use.

“Mana Bolt.”

Sain gathered his Mana into his staff and three Mana Bolts came out one by one in quick succession. Sain managed to hit two of three targets but missed the final one.

'Usually you would target one enemy when you use such a skill. Well Master probably wants me to be able to target multiple enemies at once.'

Noticing that his apprentice just fired three Mana Bolts are the same time, Gen went up to Sain and said, “Now that you somewhat mastered the Mana Bolt, I'll give you 3 free spells that you can use immediately from me. Do note that other spells you may want from me after the first three will cost a bit.” Gen made a money sign with his fingers.

'So I can get three free skills eh. Which ones should I choose. I rather not have too many offensive skills....maybe get a summoning spell. The second would be something that can defend myself and the others or something that makes the enemies weaker and the final skill would be a healing skill then.'

With his choice Sain said, “Can I get a summoning spell, a healing spell and a debuff spell?” to Gen who immediately waved his hand and the skills popped up in front of him.

You have obtained Skill Summon Familiar

You have obtained the Skill Minor Heal

You have obtained the Skill Weaken

“Open Skill Window.”

Skill Window

- Spear Mastery Beginner Level 2

- Identify Beginner level 1 (2/100)

- Party Scan Beginner level 1 (0/100)

- Mana Bolt Beginner level 2 (1/300)

- Mediation Beginner level 1 (5/100)

- Summon Familiar Beginner level 1 (0/100)

- Minor Heal Beginner level 1 (0/100)

- Weaken Beginner level 1 (0/100)

Sain checked the skills he just got.

Summon Familiar Beginner level 1 (0/100)

Summons a created Familiar at Random based on user's level and skill.

Mana Cost: 50

Cool Down: 5 Minutes

Minor Heal Beginner level 1 (0/100)

Heals a Target for 50 Health.

Mana Cost: 15

Cool Down: 10 Seconds

Weaken Beginner level 1 (0/100)

Weakens the Target by 20% in Strength.

Mana Cost: 15

Cool Down: 20 Seconds

“Okay now. Sain you will spend the rest of the week using these spells and increase your proficiency in them. I'll give you a reward later.”

xXx

And so the rest of the week passed by and Sain was getting used to training and was meeting up with the others to see their progress on his own. When the week passed and he could leave the city now, Gen went to him and finished his apprenticeship.

You have finished the Skills training from Gen

- All Skills effect +1%

“Sain you have finished all three training course from me and thus graduated from being my apprentice.”

You have Graduated from being the Apprentice of Gen the Tactician

Fame +10

You have levelled up

You have levelled up

You have lost the title 'Tactician Apprentice'.

All Bonuses from the title will be removed

You have gained the title 'Tactician'

- All Stats increase by 1

- 10% more authority when commanding people

“Open Status Window.”

Sain evenly distributed his 10 stats into Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Wisdom and Vitality.

Status Window[quart=Name,Alignment]Sain,Neutral[/quart][quart=Level,Profession]3,Shaman[/quart]RaceHumanTitleTacticianHealth440Mana200[quart=Fame,Infamy]10,0[/quart][quart=Strength,Agility]23 +11,25 +11[/quart][quart=Intelligence,Wisdom]17 +11,17 +11[/quart][quart=Vitality,Stamina]26 +1,26 +1[/quart][quart=Fighting Spirit,Endurance]25 +1,15 +1[/quart][quart=Leadership,Luck]1 +1,1 +1[/quart][quart=Offense,Defense]10,13[/quart]Magic Resistance0%Elemental Resistance[quart=Light,Dark]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Fire,Ice]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Earth,Lightning]0%,0%[/quart][quart=Wind,Nature]0%,0%[/quart]Bonus- 10% more authority when commanding people

- Strength, Agility, Intelligence and Wisdom +10

- All Skills effect +1%

- All Stats +1

Sain left waving to his Master to the where the others were to start his first fight.

Unknown to him, Gen had planted something into him as an experiment.

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