Chapter 31 - The Reason For The Sudden Change Of Events
"My poor hips," Alex groaned, massaging the sore spot where Cairo had struck him with his stiff wooden sword.
"You need to work more on your control, Alex," Cairo said. "I know you got swept by the flow last night, but a real warrior keeps their clarity at all tis."
"Yes, Master," Alex replied. "I won't do it again. Next ti, I'll drink in moderation."
"Good." Cairo nodded. "You at least know how to admit your mistake. If you can do that, there's still hope for you."
Alex's glance landed on Dim Dim, who was taking a nap in the shade. While he was hot and sweaty from training, the little one was under the cool shade, relaxing.
When he had been eating breakfast in the tavern, he had co across his Master. After a quick chat, they had agreed to spar two hours later.
The town was under lockdown due to the danger of a monster outbreak, so doing missions outside was out of the question. With that restriction, the master and disciple decided to just use their ti to train.
With a shield in hand, Alex was able to block most of Cairo's attacks.
The Catkin Swordsman had his right hand behind his back, deliberately using only his left to attack Alex.
Cairo was ambidextrous, which ant he could wield his sword with both hands. However, his right hand was slightly stronger than his left, so he was handicapping himself against Alex.
He also held back with his movent technique, allowing Alex to block and deflect most of his attacks.
"Master, can you increase your speed?" Alex asked. "I want to test sothing. Can you move as fast as the Red-Eyed Zebra Jumping Spider?"
"Sure." Cairo nodded, genuinely happy that his disciple wished to improve by challenging himself. "Ready?"
"Ready!" Alex braced himself, raising his sword and shield in a defensive position.
A mont later, he saw a blur fly past his eye.
Before Alex could react, pain spread into his arm as the Catkin's sword strike finally registered in his brain.
Cairo moved so fast, reminding the young man of his battle of life and death against the Red-Eyed Zebra Jumping Spider.
A creature that ambushed its prey, leaving them unaware of what was happening until it was already too late.
Alex heightened his senses to the best of his abilities.
Although he understood that this was a re sparring match, the pressure his Master exuded was that of a wild beast out to kill him.
When Cairo stopped targeting his exposed body parts and focused on attacking Alex's shield, the young man understood that even with a shield, he couldn't completely guarantee his safety.
Cairo watched as his disciple got pushed back step by step every ti his sword struck the shield at its center.
A loud thud spread through the surroundings as Alex landed on his back and rolled a few ters away before coming to a complete stop.
"Oww..."
Alex felt as if he had been hit by a car and wondered if his left arm was still attached to his body.
It was currently paralyzed, numbed by the repeated impacts.
As he lay on the ground, he thought the sa thing would have happened if he had t the attack of the two-ter-long jumping spider head-on.
Fortunately, he still hadn't had a shield back then.
If he did, he would have been bolder, then he'd have been completely caught by surprise, unable to resist as the monster dealt the killing blow.
"Are you alright?" Cairo asked, extending his hand to his disciple.
"No, Master," Alex replied as he accepted the Catkin's help. "It hurts so much. I can no longer feel my left arm."
"You'll get used to it."
"... I don't want to get used to it."
Cairo smiled faintly before using his fist to lightly bump the young man's chest.
"When you use a shield, you have no choice but to get used to getting hit," Cairo explained. "That's why you need to learn skills that will help you tank hits. Have you already taken your first Job Change?"
"Not yet, Master," Alex answered. "But I will get it soon."
Alex glanced at his status page to see his current stats.
*****
Alex Stratos
Age: 17
Mana: (N/A)
Job Class: (N/A)
Strength - 12
Intelligence - 8
Dexterity - 1
Agility - 30
Constitution - 16
Stamina - 16
Magic - 0
Luck - 4
Available Stat Points: 0
AP: 40
Active Skills: (N/A)
Passive Skills: Improved Stone Throw, Head Shot.
[Difficulty Level: Hell Mode]
*****
Alex only needed four more stat points in Constitution before he could qualify for the Shielder Job Class, which would increase his defensive abilities.
He estimated that he only needed a few more trips to the forest and to occasionally kill so monsters to level up enough for his Job Change.
Unfortunately, they were now stuck in a lockdown, which ant they couldn't leave the city, let alone go to the Floating Forest.
As he mindlessly read the information on his Status Page again and again, the young man was struck by an epiphany. All this ti, maybe there was a reason why things progressed differently in the Town of Thaloria.
'Did the level of difficulty affect the events in the Town of Thaloria?' Alex wondered.
He never looked at the situation from this angle before. But now that it had crossed his mind, his thoughts stuck on it, and he couldn't help but wonder if the monster outbreak might really happen.
'Hell mode...' Alex bit his lip in frustration. 'Does this also an that if I go to Briarwood Village to help Charles, the difficulty level will also be increased to Hell Mode?'
Charles' story quest only had one ending.
Death.
There was no escape for the NPC, Charles Lambert, because he was dood to die in his tutorial quest.
That had only changed when Alex had managed to clear the quest, which had taken him a year.
"What's wrong?" Cairo asked. "You look pale."
"Master, do you know of a place where I can fight against Rank 1 Monsters?" Alex asked. "I need to gain experience poin—errr, battle experience as soon as possible to improve my fighting style."
"Do you wish to leave the city?" Cairo inquired. "I know of a place. But we will need to take an airship to get there. It is six hours away from the Town of Thaloria."
"Where are we going, Master?" Alex asked.
"The Clawford Tribe," Cairo answered. "My hotown."
The Catkin thought this was the perfect opportunity to let Alex et his grandfather, who also wished to see his disciple.
There were also many monster habitats around the Clawford Tribe, perfect for Alex's request and training.
With the threat of a monster outbreak hanging over Thaloria, Alex knew he couldn't put off his Job Change any longer.
The earlier he got to it, the more ti he had to learn and practice so Shield Skills exclusive to the players who played tank characters in the ga.
After making their preparations, the two headed to the airport and bought tickets for an airship, which would be making a stop at the Clawford Tribe's ancestral lands.
'I'll be back.' Alex stared at the Floating Islands of Thaloria growing smaller with each passing second until they slowly disappeared from view.
Although the monster outbreak would be a very dangerous event, it also brought opportunities.
If Alex was able to seize that opportunity, he believed that he would beco one step closer to his goal of helping the pitiful young man, who didn't know what kind of fate awaited him in the Dungeon of Beginnings.
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