Ped was escorted back inside the gate as he was still in the state of shock. He still analyzing the events that happened. First was the earthquake, then a foreign town, and lastly, the forest and monsters. This was the stuff in games that he plays on the computer. He was wondering if he was dead and this was his after imagination. But everything seems to real so he deduced that this was reality, but a different one.

A foreign world unknown to him. He sat down on the bench near the fountain of the Goddess Silv. He pondered for about an hour on deciding on what to do next and how should he approach others. He recalled everything Mayor Jerry said and stood up. He went to see the guy that trains others to protect themselves.

The trainer guy named Tom. He has a body of a weightlifter on Earth. He had a reddish long hair that freely ran up to his neck. He has a very short black beard that runs up to his sideburns and a mustache that covers his lips. He has the aura of security and sturdy around him but his attitude was very approachable.

“G-Good day to you, Sir Tom.” Ped greeted.

“Good day to you too, son. How may I be of service?” Tom answered with a smile.

“I would like to learn how to protect myself when I go out” he boldly said.

“Out? Why would you ever go out?” the trainer said with keen eyes.

“*Gulp* I want to experience adventure and travel to new places. As well as to get stronger and protect the ones important to me. Most importantly, to answer all the questions inside my head and of my purpose of being here.” he said nervously. He thought to himself, ‘ Well I didn’t lie, I just didn’t told him the whole truth’.

“You will face life-threatening danger and situations that could break your will and determination. You could still withdraw if you’d like and live here happily for as long as you live.” he tried convincing Ped.

“My will is firm and my determination is unquenchable. My decision is final, Sir!” he held his head high.

“Well young man, you have proved to me that you are worthy to become a vagrant. Go to the training hall at once and teach you the ropes of protecting one’s self.” Tom said happily.

Ped walked towards the grounds which they call training hall. The grounds was very big that you can fit 3 basketball courts in it. It was divided on four sections which are levels that should be accomplished before heading out.

He saw few people doing physical exercises and sparring. There are also scarecrows which are used as punching bags and sword fodder. While I was still observing, Tom approached me and pushed me towards the ground.

“Are you ready, boy?” he challenged Ped.

“Ready as I will ever be, Sir. But first, what is this place?” he asked.

“This is the training hall where you learn everything.” he said proudly.

“So how is it divided or what are the things needed to be achieved to be qualified to go outside?” he eagerly asked.

“Woooh! Hold your horses young man. You need to finish each section in order. The first section was like a gym where you can do various physical training. It includes the oval around the four sections. The second section was the scarecrow section. It was a place where you learn to hit the target precisely. The third section was like an obstacle course. It teaches the trainees on how to adapt to the environment and how to dodge or block attacks from monsters. The last section was like a ring where sparring occurs. This is the area where you adapt all the skills you have learned . After that, I will give you a crest that makes you legible to go and venture outside as you please.” he explained.

“Okay sir, I understand. So how do I begin?” he said.

“Firstly, you need to move the gate that separates the first and second section to go to the next level. You need sturdy legs and strong muscles to achieve it. Why don’t you give it a try?” He smirked after saying.

“Gladly” he was nervous because the gate was 1 meter thick, 3 meters wide and 10 meters tall. He thought that no ordinary man can move it so he needs to build strength on his body from scratch.

He slowly approached the black gate. It’s appearance was like the gate of the Forbidden City in China but its black and the knob like designs were brown. He tried to give it a push with a single hand but the gate didn’t budge. He tried two hands and push it but still the gate didn’t budge.

“Looks like you need more muscle, hehe” Tom heartily laugh

Ped breathed in and out before recalling the times when he was in the construction site. He anchored his feet to the ground and set up his legs, thighs and hips to have a more force as he put his two hands on the gate. He leveraged himself as he parted his feet forward as he pushed it with all his might.

He began to hear a creaking sound as the gate slowly moved. Tom was shocked as it was the first time he saw someone passed the first section on the first day, let alone on the first try. The gate fully opened leaving the observers with their mouth agape.

‘I didn’t think i could really do it, but I did. If this was the real world it would be impossible. But in this mystical world, my strength seems to be higher. What a surprise, I wonder what else could I do’ he thought to himself happily.

“W-wow! Great job on finishing the first task easily. That was a bit of a surprise.” he said while looking baffled.

“B-beginner’s Luck?” he cautiously said.

“Hahaha, well, you’ve done it though. Do you like to start the second phase? It’s still 2 hours passed noon.” he asked.

“Sure, I want to discove- I mean I want to learn more.” he eagerly said. He was hyped at the thought that the game that he played before is now happening to him as a reality.

“You are a hardworking young man. I appreciate that. Well, let’s get started. First, you pick a wooden sword and find your comfortable position on holding it. Then, you try hitting on the scarecrow and adjust your grip to maximize the power of your swing. To finish this section, you need to destroy the scarecrow without breaking the wooden sword. This requires technique and accuracy to achieve this task. Your strength really transcends those before you but that may be your downfall if you can’t control it.” he lectured Ped like a father.

“Yes sir, I would keep that in my mind always.” after saying that he grabbed a wooden sword and started adjusting his hands unto it.

He remembered the days where he was tasked to cut down small plants and weeds with a bolo or a sickle and the time where he was tasked to trim the plants in his town. He then tried to swing his sword and feel the rhythm of his hand and the sword.

He then swung towards a scarecrow with a little force but the sword recoiled as he hit the scarecrow which causes him to drop it. He picks it up again and hit the scarecrow at full force. He was shocked when the sword broke into splinters. Tom laughed haughtily when he saw the sword broke.

“Hey Ped, remember what I said earlier.” he said in a happy manner

‘This is the first time he said my name. Does that mean my intimacy towards him rose as I progress in the training hall? Hmmm. Technique and Accuracy, that’s what he said. Wait, if it is technique then it means a weak point, like cutting those grasses on their softest part so it will be easy. As for accuracy, it is like pinpointing it’s hitting it with precision just like trimming the correct part of a plant. I got it! Thank you, Sir Tom.’ he thought deeply.

He picked up another sword and held it as before. He looked at the scarecrow and observed its weakest spot. He saw weakly reinforced wire on the lower chest of the scarecrow and some loose and sloppy straws with it. He also saw the metal tube holding the scarecrow. He them breathes deeply and raised his concentration towards the loose straws on the scarecrow.

‘I need to avoid that metal tube but I can’t destroy the scarecrow with one shot. I guess I should hit it multiple times with light attacks so that the sword could last until the scarecrow is destroyed’ he murmured to himself.

He then visualize his attack pattern and thought of a game which has a cycle attack pattern that can continuously hit the target without breaking the rhythm. A downward diagonal hack from right to left. Then, a sweep slash attack transition from left to right. Afterwards, an upward slash to prepare for the strongest attack. Lastly, the downward chop that focuses all the strength towards the target and reverting back to the initial position for the first attack to form a cycle.

He approached the scarecrow to distance where the sword can hit it but not the metal tube while he perform his attack pattern. The trainer were curious of what he was trying to do so he observed keenly. Ped performed his first attack and it was a direct hit but not enough for the scarecrow to be destroyed. He then initialize the second and third attack which loosen the already loose wires and straws.

Then, he hit the scarecrow with the strongest attack on the attack cycle he visualized resulting into the destruction of the gut part of the scarecrow.

“EXCELLENT! Very fascinating. You just might finish this whole course in a day. If we are open anyways, but it’s almost time for dinner now so we need to go home. Wait, do you have a home to stay?”asked Tom.

“F-f-frankly, I am just new to this place. So I don’t know anyone nor do I have any home to stay.” answered Ped shyly.

‘It’s better if I just go with the flow with this situation I am in and finding out what the hell is going on later.

The reason why I am here, that should be my first goal. My second goal is to find a way back to my world. For now, I need to blend in on the situation

“That’s not a problem, son. You can stay at my home. It’s a comfy and spacious place and we got spare rooms. You can stay there for tonight so that you can have a place to sleep.” he smiled widely while saying this to Ped.

“T-t-thank you so much, Sir Tom. I will never forget this.” Ped also smiled.

‘The people around here are not as much different from the people back home. I better rest so that I could exert my everything tomorrow and discover if there are other strange things that has transpired in my body’ he thought with a smile.