Chapter 60: Training (2)
The pair began with simple warm-up exercises. Stretching their arms and legs, rotating their shoulders, and performing basic footwork drills.
At first, they moved slowly, almost sluggishly. Then, they ramped it up. The cold mountain air made their breath visible in small puffs, but the movement gradually brought warmth to their muscles.
"Alright," Starius said after a few minutes, "before we start proper training, I need to understand your current level. What kind of practice have you been doing?"
"Well," Tara began, still slightly out of breath from the warm-up, "Like I said yesterday, I actually awakened my Warrior Class long before coming here. I’ve been training by myself for quite some time using a guidebook."
"Which one?" Starius asked with genuine curiosity.
"Ian Swordmaster’s Training Manual, Volume 1," Tara replied.
Starius’ eyes lit up with recognition. "Ah, that one! It’s actually quite solid. I’ve read through it myself." He then chuckled softly. "Though I have to admire Ian’s business strategy. Volume 1 is dirt cheap to hook people in, then the rest of the series costs a fortune. Unfortunately, a lot of the high level stuff is only found in future volumes."
"Yeah... I realized that too," Tara said, shaking her head. "And the volume ends just as he was getting to the exciting stuff!" She added with a faint pout.
Tara knew that her family could not afford to purchase the rest of the Volumes for her. She had been trying to earn money on her own by trying to accept various commissions using her Warrior Class, but her life hadn’t been easy.
She was both beautiful and weak in a world where ruthless, strong people had the final say on matters. Although many people had invited her to join their groups, she knew that the best case scenario that awaited her, should she have accepted their shady invitations, was being forced into an Underworld brothel.
"Volume 1 is fine. It only covers the fundamentals, but it is solid. First, let’s see what you’ve learned. Since this settlement is still new, we don’t have a proper training ground or wooden practice swords."