Candy attended training for the first and second guard unit. She occasionally demonstrated and aided the captain in helping the groups train. The sun was high overhead by the time they finished.

  “Thanks for your help Candy. The guys are a lot more motivated now that they’ve seen what you can do with the sword.”

  “It’s nothing. I had a lot of fun!”

  “Haha. We’re all going to lunch now, why don’t you join us. I bet a lot of the guys would love to pick your brain.”

  “Unfortunately, I need to meet my friend soon. Another time though, definitely.”

  “Well, you’re always welcome among the city guards!”

  After shaking hands, the captain walked away while corralling the group of energetic guards.

  ‘Alright, let’s take a break and wait for Stella.’

  Candy sat down on one of the benches and looked at the sky.

  “The sun is so warm.”

  Smiling, she closed her eyes and laid down on the bench.

  ‘I’m so glad I chose to spend my last month here.’

  After basking in the sun for a few minutes, she heard footsteps approaching. Opening her eyes, she saw Stella walking towards her.

  “Candy! How are you?”

  “I’m great! I just had a lot of fun watching the city guards train.”

  “Wow, they let you watch?”

  “Yep, I even got to demonstrate a few things.”

  “Guess I was right to choose you as my teacher.”

  “Hehe. Alright, let’s get started. Show me what you know.”

  Walking to the middle of the training grounds, Stella placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. Taking a breath, she drew the sword and swung it horizontally. The sword curved beautifully through the air, but the weight imbalance threw her off, causing her to falter when recovering from the swing.

  “This always happens. I’ve practiced so much and I’ve tried to increase my strength, but I always end up stumbling at the end.”

  “Hm. That is a problem.”

  “Yeah, it also gets stuck a lot when I strike something. I can’t pull it out, so I lose my weapon a lot.”

  “Maybe the problem is the weapon then.”

  “What?”

  “Why did you chose to use a sword?”

  “Because that’s the most common choice for adventurers.”

  “Have you tried any other weapons?”

  “I’ve been too busy taking on quests and practicing with the sword.”

  “Then let’s see if another weapon suits you better. It seems like the problem with the sword is that it’s too heavy. Despite having above average strength, your core can’t keep stable as you swing. Even if you eventually become strong enough, it doesn’t solve the problem right now. Let’s choose a lighter weapon.”

  “Okay.”

  “Before that, I want to see what talents you have. Since you’re a Lion, you must have skills that allowed you to come so far.”

  “Well, I know it isn’t magic. I’ve never had an affinity for it.”

  “Hm. I want to try something.”

  Candy picked up a training sword and walked towards Stella.

  “I want to test your reflexes and vision first. Your job is to doge my attacks.”

  “Okay, I’ll do my best.”

  Candy slashed downwards slowly towards Stella’s let shoulder. She quickly moved out of the way and the sword struck nothing but air. Candy swung horizontally and Stella ducked under the blade.

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  “Okay, things are going to speed up now.”

  Thrusting the sword forward more quickly, she aimed at Stella’s right shoulder. When Stella turned to avoid the blade, Candy raised her leg and kicked her in the calf.

  “Ow! That really hurt!”

  “I said I was gonna attack you, I didn’t say I would only use a sword.”

  “Fine, let’s keep going.”

  This time, Candy threw away the sword.

  “I’m going to fight barehanded now, see if you can dodge.”

  Candy raised her fist and punched towards Stella’s face. As Stella dodged, she aimed a punch at her stomach. Stella quickly backed away but was followed by Candy aiming a kick at her. Blocking the kick, Stella aimed to put distance between them, but Candy rushed in to deliver a right hook. As she crouched to avoid it, an uppercut nearly hit her face. She leaned back to avoid it but couldn’t keep her balance and fell.

  Stopping her movements, Candy helped Stella up.

  “Impressive, you have good eyes and good reflexes.”

  “Thanks, but man, you’re fast.”

  “8 points baby!”

  Candy did the Guts Pose.

  “Huh? Points?”

  “Never mind, haha.”

  Candy looked away as she scratched her cheek.

  “Anyways, your vision is definitely your strong point. How’s your speed?”

  Stella quickly threw a punch at Candy, who easily dodged.

  “Seems about average.”

  “Huh? I thought it was pretty good.”

  “It is, for an adventurer of your level, but it’s not enough that you could outspeed opponents reliably.”

  “Oh.”

  “Let’s see, that rules out things like daggers. Weight rules out most hammers, axes?”

  “Have you ever tried fighting with an axe?”

  “I tried it out for fun once, but it didn’t go very well. Like the sword, the weight imbalance when swinging throws me off.”

  “No axes then…what about ranged Ever used a bow?”

  “Nope.”

  “Alright, let’s try that next.”

  Candy walked into one of the archways around the training grounds and disappeared from view. In a moment, she came back with a shortbow and a quiver of arrows.

  “I borrowed these from the training equipment. Since you probably don’t know how to shoot, I’ll demonstrate.”

  Candy nocked an arrow and took aim at one of the training dummies.

  [Detecting Current Weapon…

  Current Weapon: Shortbow

  Skill: weapon Mastery (intermediate) activated]

  As she slightly narrowed her eyes, she took a breath and exhaled before releasing the arrow. It shot a clean line through the air and landed in the center of the dummy’s chest.

  “Wow. Swords, bows, even hand to hand. What weapon can’t you use?”

  “Hehe. It’s a great skill isn’t it?”

  “Amazing.”

  “Okay, now it’s your turn.”

  “Um, okay.”

  Stella took the bow. She carefully nocked an arrow and aimed towards the dummy. Drawing the string back, she took a breath and released the arrow. It shot off towards the left side of the dummy.

  “I missed.”

  “That’s alright, hardly anyone gets a hit on their first attempt. This time, I’ll help you.”

  Stella nocked another arrow and lifted her arm.

  “Widen your stance a little bit, this way you have a more stable base. Make sure you stand straight and tall. Stabilize with your core to prevent any shaking.”

  Stella drew the bow, making sure to keep upright and still.

  “Next, stare down the length of the arrow and make sure you can see where you want to hit. Relax your shoulders, if you move while releasing the arrow, it’ll change it’s course. That’s it. Okay, now breathe in, exhale slowly and then shoot.”

  Stella dropped her shoulders and breathed in. She exhaled and released the arrow. It shot straight at the dummy and hit its upper left torso.

  “Wow! That was amazing. You’ve definitely got talent for shooting and your aiming instincts were spot on.”

  “Really? Yay! I’ve never had a weapon that feels comfortable to hold. Although the bow is still unfamiliar, I don’t think it’ll take too long for me to get used to it.”

  “We have all day to practice, so go ahead and try again. This time, I’ll just watch.”

  Candy and Stella spent the entire afternoon practicing with a bow. By the time they were done, Stella’s hands were scratched from how much she used them.

  “Aw, I thought I’d built up enough callouses this wouldn’t happen.”

  “Shooting a bow is different from holding a sword. It’ll get better.”

  “Yeah, thanks Candy. It’s getting late, want to get dinner? My treat!”

  “I would love too!”

  …

  The two made their way to a tavern near the commercial district.

  “I always come here after a quest. The food is great and the atmosphere is warm and lively.”

  “Sounds perfect.”

  As they sat down and ordered their food, Candy looked around. The tables were filled with people laughing, talking and drinking merrily. The white wood gave off a slight glow that turned warm in the candlelight. She smiled.

  ‘What a difference from my sterile room.’

  Thinking about having to go back to that white, empty room, even if only for a short while made her bitter.

  ‘Well, at least I can revisit this scenery whenever I want.’

  As she was thinking, two people approached their table.

  One was a gruff looking man, and the other was a pretty woman with a slight smile on her face. On their shoulders were badges displaying gryphons, the symbol of advanced adventurers. The man spoke.

  “Well well, look who it is! The newbie who made an impressive introduction at the Adventurer’s Guild the other day!”

  Stella leaned over and whispered to Candy.

  “You know these people?”

  “Sort of.”

  The man laughed loudly and continued speaking.

  “You gave us one hell of a show teaching that troublemaker what fear is. To be honest, no one around here likes that guy. He’s always picking fights.”

  The woman smirked.

  “If you hadn’t done anything, I was thinking of embedding one of my knives in his skull.”

  “Hey, Clarissa enough with that. We’re here to introduce ourselves, remember.”

  “Yes yes, I know.”

  She turned to Candy and held out her hand.

  “I’m Clarissa, nice to meet you.”

  Candy shook her hand

  “I’m Candy, nice to meet you too!”

  “And I’m Gustaf, it’s a pleasure. If you’re ever looking for a team to go on a quest, you can count us in! You may be a Boar, but with your strength, you’ll have no problem climbing the ranks.”

  “I look forward to working with you, Mr. Gustaf and Ms. Clarissa.”

  Just then, their waiter arrived with the food.

  “Well, we won’t keep you from eating. We’ll see you around, Candy.”

  “Goodbye Miss Candy.”

  As they walked away, Stella pulled Candy’s shoulder.

  “Hey, those were advanced adventurers, Gryphons! Can you believe it? You’re amazing.”

  “Hehe, it was really nothing, but I’m glad they offered to lend a hand. Now, let’s eat!”