Olgar Bloodworth

Preparation for training

Rustle. Rustle.

Olgar heard the sound of grass rustling as he was running through the bushes. Today, it was the first training session Olgar would have with his new teacher, Smith Chantler. The place they agreed to meet was pretty hidden. After twenty minutes of running among plants, Olgar finally reached the cave.

He was panting and supporting his body by putting his hands on his knees. Smith was sitting in front of him, drinking some tea and looking at him.

"Hey, hey. Chill. What's the rush?" Smith smiled.

"It's our first training! I wouldn't want to be late," Olgar replied with a tone of excitement.

"Hahaha! Is it so? Well, have a seat. Would you like some tea?" Smith laughed and poured tea into a cup for Olgar. He was pretty amazed by how eager Olgar was for training. The challenge probably was really pressuring him.

"No! There is no time for tea! Let's start our training already!" Olgar stood up straight at once. He had been preparing for this training the whole night. He couldn't even sleep thinking he might have a chance to become stronger.

"No. Our class today is pretty short. We'll only be setting your training plan." Smith shook his head and pulled out a chair for Olgar.

"But teacher..." Olgar said while sitting down.

"Just call me Smith. It will do. Now, what do you think is most important in a battle?" asked Smith.

"A high grade weapon, of course!" Olgar answered without even thinking. To him, a good weapon was what determined the winner of the match.

"Indeed, a good weapon can increase your damage greatly. Yet, as the grade of the weapon increase, it will be harder to manage it. What's the use if you deal a great attack but miss the target?" Smith smiled.

"Ooo.. Then what is the most important?" Olgar looked at Smith innocently and asked.

"Hehe. To me, what matters most is your basics. Basics include physical fitness and weapon mastery. With great basics, one can easily defeat his opponent even holding a low grade weapon." Smith giggled at Olgar's innocence and answered.

"Ooo.. Wow that would be cool!" The light of excitement shone from Olgar's eye.

"You are still far from that now. Here, take this slip. You have one week to gather what's written on it," Smith said while handing over a slip of paper.

"Sand bag, dumbbells... But Smith, these things are pretty expensive!" Olgar read the paper, surprised. The total price of these equipment would be five months worth of Olgar's allowance. But he didn't have that much of time.

"This is the best plan I have for you. If you want your revenge, follow my instruction," Smith replied and took a sip of his tea.

Olgar sighed, looking at the slip. Although he could earn extra money by doing quests from the village, but with his ability now, he could only accomplish some easy quests which only provided low rewards. With that, at most, he could only shorten the time by one month. It was still far from what he needed.

"Don't you have a close friend? The one that always defended you?" Smith looked at Olgar, smiling.

"He had done too much for me. I can't put the burden on him anymore..." Olgar stared at the slip. Mirthal had always been helping him. He owed Mirthal too much.

"I am not asking you to take his money just like that. Borrow it from him, and return it after you gained power. By that time, you can accomplish better quest with higher pay." Smith smiled, shaking his head.

"You're right. Yet I don't want to burden him too much..." Olgar was still staring at the slip of paper.

"Figure out your own way then. You may go back now." Smith ended the class for that day.

That night, Olgar was troubled by the financial problem. He tried hard to figure out an alternative way to gain money, but ended up finding that Smith was right. Borrowing money from Mirthal seemed to be the only solution. For the following few days, Olgar cut down his expenses as much as possible just to save up some money. He also did as many quests as possible. It was all he could do to minimise the amount he would borrow from Mirthal.

On the last day of the week, he finally approached Mirthal to borrow the money. After making sure Olgar's intention, Mirthal lent six hundred gold pieces to him. With Mirthal's help, he bought every item on the list easily. But of course, he bargained well with the seller.

The second day, Olgar went to meet Smith again. "Here is what you asked me to buy," Olgar said while handing over the two bags of equipment.

"Hehe. Well done." Smith took over the bags, and checked the items inside.

"Now, as you know, there are 3 species on this land." Smith looked at Olgar and started his lesson.

"Elves, demons, and humans," Olgar listed them out even before Smith asked.

"Good! Every species has their own advantages. Elves has the best agility among the three species while demons are the strongest. For us humans, we can adapt the best," Smith said proudly.

"Adapt?" Olgar stared at Smith innocently again.

"Humans can develop different abilities. Through training, humans can achieve what they desire," Smith explained.

"Which direction is our training going then?" Olgar asked impatiently. He couldn't wait to know.

"Offence is the best defence. The faster the attack, the better. Therefore, I would like you to focus on strength and agility," Smith said while touching his beard.

" Alright then, since everything is ready, LET THE TRAINING BEGIN!" Olgar hopped high and shouted.