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Path to Prosperity - B1 Chapter 20
🕑 Added 2024-06-29 12:10:13 +0000 UTCThis man is a demon in human skin!
Percy was dead on the ground. At least, he felt like dying. His clothes were drenched in sweat, and not part of his body was left unscathed. The Instructor beat him black and blue in the few minutes dedicated to their spar. At the end of the day, the Instructor chose to spar with him for their first one-on-one session to assess his power level.
The bits of pride Percy had were crushed and ground to powder when the Instructor left him behind, heaving heavily and writhing in pain.
Why did I think I could catch up with the others in a few weeks? Who was that stupid, confident fool? Ah…that was me. Why did I say that? He didn’t even try hard to defeat me. It was child’s play.
Percy looked at the spars of the other Adventurers, trying to suppress the pain that spread through his entire body with every move, and sighed deeply.
He didn’t have to be a genius to tell everyone was stronger and more experienced. Still, Percy never thought the gap would be this large. But that was even more reason to get back to his feet. He didn’t want to lose out to the rest.
“You don’t have to compare yourself to others,” Mike said, wiping his face with a towel, “I heard you gained access to mana not too long ago. You’re still in your first growth phase and will be there for another year or two. We are different. Our growth is much slower because it has been years since we reached maturity. Maybe not Dave and some other special cases, but I’m speaking about myself and the others.”
He smiled, but Percy could see the sadness in his eyes, “I gained access to mana at the age of eight. Under normal circumstances, that’s good because your first growth phase will last longer when you gain access to mana before you turn ten. However, I didn’t understand the importance of that when I was eight. How could I? I was merely a child who was suddenly thrown into the unknown. My parents forced me to train without explaining anything, and I started resenting them for taking away my joy. They separated me from my friends—...”
Mike shook his head and grumbled something Percy didn’t understand.
“What I’m trying to say is that you’re already progressing quickly. Instructor Merle never praised anyone’s mana control other than yours. Even Dave was hardly ever praised by that guy. So, don’t take the beating to heart; take the Adventurer training lightly. You are not supposed to be here, either way,” Mike shrugged, “Just go at it at your pace.”
Is he trying to help me? To comfort me for getting beaten up?
Percy thought Mike disliked him, but that might have been a misunderstanding.
He’s nicer than expected. But he doesn’t understand me at all. Who cares that my pride has been crushed? What’s the worth of pride if you are delusional enough to think you’re strong? The truth won’t change no matter what you imagine. I’m weak. I know that. The Gnoll told me quite clearly, and Instructor Merle made sure I would remember his beating as well. He made sure I wouldn’t do anything stupid again.
Percy licked his lips, the corner of his lips curling upward as he pushed through the pain to get up.
“What are you doing?” Mike asked, watching Percy suffer.
I don’t want to be weak anymore!
Percy grinned like a fool, “I’m going at my pace.”
He was up and began following the exercises he had been instructed to complete once he was back on his feet.
Instructor Merle had been busy correcting an Adventurer’s flawed stance when he discovered Percy in the corner of his eyes. He lifted his head and observed the struggling youth. Percy failed several times with the first batch of exercises, but he never gave up. He jumped up from the ground as fast as his pained body allowed whenever he fell and tried again.
Percy would have never considered himself as tenacious as a cockroach, but he hated failing. It was weird because he never saw that side of himself until a few days ago. However, gaining access to mana changed everything. Manifesting his Ego awakened something within him. It was almost like his Ego unsealed his true self.
Instructor Merle nodded at what he saw.
Half an hour passed quickly, leaving more than half of the day’s training session, but the Adventurers weren’t fated to continue with the torturous training regime. The thunderous ringing of the watchtower’s bell resounded through the entire town.
Instructor Merle froze for a quarter of a second but reacted quickly by lifting his hand. The training Adventurers stopped in their tracks and listened to the bells. Percy’s chest heaved up and down heavily, and his lungs were desperately calling for oxygen, but his lips remained sealed to make as few sounds as possible.
Three times. What was the meaning of three loud bell strokes again?
The tension around Instructor Merle dispersed when the bell stopped ringing after three loud sounds, but that wasn’t enough to calm Percy’s nerves.
“Today’s training session ends here. We will continue…later,” Instructor Merle said before he left the training ground with lithe strides. Once out of the training grounds, he kicked the ground hard and started running.
The Adventurers turned to each other and started moving without exchanging a single word. They rushed behind the Instructor with hurried strides.
I cannot run anymore. Well, I would be too slow either w–...SHIT!!
Percy was ready to give up the idea of running behind the Adventurers when a massive hand reached out to him and hurled him into the air. Looking around in panic, Percy found the culprit right away. It was Dave.
The hulking giant decided that Percy had to come with them. Dave picked Percy from the ground and charged behind the Adventurers while carrying the youth.
It took a few seconds before Percy regained his composure. He suppressed a scream and instead chose to look at the town from his elevated position. Instructor Merle and the Adventurers reached the eastern town gates in no time, but Percy was among the first to see what was happening.
He squinted his eyes and tried to see better, stimulating his mana. It coursed through his head and eyes, augmenting his sight slightly.
Was that how I looked two days ago? No…they’re worse off.
Percy didn’t see many corpses yet, but the old man, Greg, was one of them. Still, the half-dead men entering Raewood’s walls with the guards’ help didn’t look much better than the old man at that time. One of the two half-dead men missed an arm and part of his shoulder while the other man’s guts spilled out of a gaping wound. The men’s eyes were bloodshot, their faces were deadly pale, and their steps were sluggish.
At last, the man whose guts were spilling out of the massive abdominal wound couldn’t move anymore. He winced weakly, and a tear trickled down his cheek upon realizing that he wouldn’t make it. The man writhed in pain one last time before the strength in his body left him.
His legs caved in, and his head slumped down. The guard holding the man was surprised and didn’t manage to carry the man’s weight on top of his weight – on top of the heavy armor both wore. A groan escaped the guard’s lips as the dead body slipped out of his fingers. The corpse landed on the ground with a loud thud.
Silence was all that remained.
Dozens of eyes drilled into the motionless body, the confusion and disbelief of the bystanders apparent.
“Wasn’t that Hugo?” One of the Adventurers asked quietly into the silence.
“And over there is Pascal,” Mike looked at the man missing one arm, “But where is the rest of their team?”
They knew the answer, but nobody dared to say it aloud.
That…was not how I expected my first day of Adventurer training to end…
Percy swallowed hard. He knew little about Hugo or Pascal but heard the mumbling Adventurers. Their team consisted of several Bronze rank Adventurers and three Silver rank Adventurers. However, even the Bronze Rank Adventurers were said to move up to the Silver Rank after the next assessment.
What in the seven hells is going on here?
Nobody knew an answer except Pascal, who collapsed after his eyes fell upon a young woman. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she charged through the masses of Adventurers. She wore a white tunic and wielded a wooden staff engraved with silver lines. Percy watched the staff for a moment when a charge of mana burst through the grayish wood. The silver lines glowed dimly and released glowing mist.
Percy wanted to stay and observe what was happening – even more so when a metallic glimmering Card with bronze tint manifested in the woman’s hand – but Dave retreated. The Adventurers were told to make space for the healers and others.
The Card in the crying woman’s hands dispersed into mots of light, which transformed into a…sheep. It bleaked and rubbed its head on Pascal’s severed arm stump, which slowed the healing considerably. Pristine light filled the area around Pascal, whose expression eased up.
That’s a real healer with a proper Healing-type Monster Card! Raewood had something like that? That…
Pascal regained his consciousness for a moment. His eyes shot open, and he grasped the crying healer’s shoulder with an iron grip. She winced in pain, but Pascal didn’t seem to notice.
“The others…danger…” He could barely utter in a whisper before he collapsed again.
**
The rest of the day and the following day passed in chaos, for the lack of a better word.
Percy was unsure what happened because he and the Adventurers were told to leave Pascal’s well-being to the healer and the medics. The Adventurers were reluctant to leave the scene but accepted that going rather than obstructing the healer was better.
Percy learned from Mike that the healer was Pascal’s wife. Apparently, they married before moving to Raewood. Nobody asked why they had moved to a small town in the middle of nowhere. Many Adventurers had a reason to move to Raewood. Some were only here for vacation and to make some money, while others were born in one of the surrounding villages, hoping to make it big in Raewood before moving onward.
Not many Silver Rank Adventurers would remain in Raewood for long, yet Pascal, his group, and his Healer-Wife were exceptions. They’ve been in Raewood for a while now. Other than the Guildmaster and some unique exceptions, Pascal and his comrades-in-arms were the most knowledgeable about the dangers of the surrounding regions…or had been.
The situation was unclear, and so was the danger level outside Raewood. Nobody had a clear picture of what happened to Pascal and his comrades. Still, it was inevitable that whatever, or whoever killed Pascal’s comrades, was strong enough to deal with several Silver rank Adventurers with years of experience and seamless teamwork.
Something had to happen.
Instructor Merle and a group of seasoned Adventurers left Raewood to search for Pascal’s group. It was likely that they were all dead, but they had to be sure. Also, the Guild had to find out how severe the danger Pascal had mentioned was. They had to find out what endangered their livelihood to start with countermeasures.
Unable to do anything to help, Percy focused on his training. He didn’t stop the daily exercises until he finished the batches of tasks Instructor Merle gave to him. But his training didn’t stop there. Tom and other staff members chose to supervise the Adventurer training after the Instructor’s departure. Contrary to the Instructor’s center point, their focus was theoretical knowledge.
The Adventurer training was for practical experience and improvements and consisted of theoretical knowledge.
It was harder to train the stubborn Adventurers without the Instructor’s iron first. However, Percy absorbed knowledge like a sponge, like his body absorbed mana and nutrients to improve his physique.
“It might be common knowledge to most, but I often hear Adventurers misunderstanding this point,” Olivia’s voice traveled across the training ground. The Adventurers barely listened, yet Olivia didn’t care. She smiled warmly at Percy, who listened intently, “Your Tier doesn’t determine how strong you are. It determines how much mana the body – your vessel – can hold at a time. Mana is known for strengthening the body and mind subconsciously, but that doesn’t mean the effectiveness with which it strengthens your body and mind is the same. The quality of your mana and the precision with which you control mana are two of many determining factors.”
She cleared her throat, glanced across the tables of soon-to-be Silver rank Adventurers, and sighed. It was obvious that the Adventurers’ minds were with Pascal and the dangers outside Raewood. Still, if they listened intently, Olivia wouldn’t have wasted so much time repeating the same lectures. They should already know everything she taught.
The Adventurers would be acknowledged as Silver ranks and be allowed to leave the town in groups to research their comrades’ deaths. Unfortunately, the Adventurers didn’t seem to think that far. But maybe that was for the best. Olivia shuddered and returned to focus on the last bit of today’s lecture.
“If you manage to increase the quality of your mana and train your mana control, you can use your mana to augment body parts and transform your body into a living weapon. That way, if necessary, you can survive without Artifacts, Monster Cards, and the like. At the same time, your control of Artifacts and Monster Cards will improve with higher mana control, which can be a deciding factor between life and death.”
It was well-known that high mana control was needed for Gifted Ones to unleash their full potential. The Adventurers had been taught that long ago and decided it wasn’t worth listening to the special lecture anymore. Olivia disagreed wholeheartedly, but she couldn’t force anyone to keep listening. The lecture ended earlier than scheduled, and the Adventurers dispersed.
Only Percy stayed behind.
“I like your lessons,” He smiled at Olivia, who could only sigh.
“Thank you, but the others aren’t wrong. I’m trying to teach the Adventurers things they’ve already learned when they were young. They’ve been refining their mana control for a decade or longer already. Most of them are already at their limit. They might make it as Silver rank Adventurers, which unlocks a few new doors, but it’s too late already. I don’t think they will reach the Gold Rank in their lifetime… Well, no. Maybe two will make it.”
Olivia studied Percy and smiled, “Your mana is pure, and your control is already fairly high. You seem to have more alignments than most Adventurers, as well. That’s why Tom was adamant about putting you into the Adventurer training. He’s been betting on your advancement and some other things.”
“But the times are changing. I don’t know what’s going to happen. The dangers outside the wilderness are unknown. Pascal didn’t make it, and since Merle and his group haven’t retur—....” Olivia shut her mouth the instant she realized she’d messed up.
Percy pressed his lips together and studied the receptionist, “The Instructor didn’t report back?”
Olivia paled but nodded reluctantly after realizing the situation couldn’t be salvaged anymore.
“Merle and his people were supposed to report back a few hours ago, but they didn’t.
That didn't sound good.
It sounded terrible.
