The training grounds of the Raw Guild had changed.
The mood shifted from indifference to incredulity and suspicion.
"…What's going on? Wasn't he supposed to be the weakest among the trainees?"
"Right? He doesn't look weak at all."
"His name was… Nasel, wasn't it?"
After watching for a while, the hunters began watching the sparring matches with some interest.
"That's not the Nasel I knew…"
"How is that idiot Nasel doing this…?"
"No way!"
His students who stand closest beside him, who know him best, were shocked.
And Nasel,
[Stamina has increased +1]
[Attack Power has increased +1]
[Combat Sense has been activated. Awakening is being accelerated.]
[Awakening in progress... 16%... 17%...]
He tore his gaze away from the messages bobbing in front of him.
Thud!
His foot drove hard into the abdomen of the trainee charging at him.
"Guhk!"
The trainee let out a strangled, pig-like squeal and collapsed to the floor, twisting in pain. Nasel had realized the kick was forceful enough, but he never thought it would cause such extreme pain for his opponent.
He lowered his body quickly.
Whoosh!
The other trainee's fist had missed his face over his shoulder, but this was a two-on-one sparring practice session.
Nasel was able to ride that momentum and let go of another flurry of punches.
Thwack! Thwack!
The opponent's head snapped back, then he sank to the mat, the whites of his eyes rolling back, his muscles twitching. Another knockout.
Step. Step.
Nasel approaches the floored trainee, telling him that the match must be finished properly, even if he is down.
"D-Don't come closer! I lose! I surrender!"
I gave up. There was a part of me, a part of Nasel, that wanted to keep going, but once you gave up in sparring it was all over.
"Good match."
As he turned away,
[Combat Sense has been activated. Awakening is being accelerated.]
[Awakening in progress... 17%... 18%...]
The message appeared again. The awakening progress had gone up.
After all, that was how this effect had been triggered, as the system message had mentioned earlier: by the activation of the special skill Combat Sense, which had been sparring.
Greed took root.
More sparring would be necessary.
Now that this faster path to awakening had been revealed, there was no reason not to head down it as much as possible.
"Ohhh! Trainee! You're pretty good!"
"Thought you were trash, but you can fight. Still can't use mana though?"
"If you fix that mana issue, you might become a decent hunter."
"You don't even look tired. How about another round?"
"Yeah! Keep going! This is fun to watch!"
The hunters had begun to ask for more matches, it seemed. Really, could anyone, even a trainee, hope to refuse Nasel's challenge?
Unlikely.
Each wanted to show themselves impressive to the hunters and it was dishonorable to refuse the spar.
After realizing this, Nasel began issuing challenges to those who had previously bullied him.
The sparring bouts followed one after the other. He fought without rest.
He did not lose even once.
Every victory was overwhelming.
[Combat Sense has been activated. Awakening is being accelerated.]
[Awakening in progress... 40%... 41%...]
Her awakening progress, had exceeded the 40% mark, the result of sparring against more than twenty trainees.
The hunter clicked his tongue and muttered, "You're still going? Wow, you're vicious."
Most of the spectators had long since lost interest, but a few hunters remained and kept a close watch on Nasel.
Could they be blamed for becoming vicious, if they were in his position?
His parents had been killed by monsters.
Everyone in the guild that he joined in search of the strength to take revenge despises him.
Given the circumstances, it is not surprising that he hardened his heart.
"Next… you. Step forward."
He pointed to another trainee.
But no one moved.
Out of a sort of fear or shame, none of us cared to look him in the face.
This was as far as it would go.
The sparring finally ended.
It must have been because the tension had gone. Now a wave of muscle pain swept through his whole body: fists, feet, shins, elbows, all the bits he'd used in the beating.
He overexerted himself.
It was more a brawl than a spar, an attempt to repay six months of torture and hasten the man's awakening.
Despite the pain, he remained upbeat.
"Requesting treatment."
Not far away from the training area was a treatment room run by a healing-type hunter.
Ssssss,
It would flow and heal, and every time he felt the power he was still amazed at it.
"The treatment's done. But if you want a full recovery, rest for at least a day."
"Understood. Thank you."
He went back to the dorm, the bag strapped across his back.
Zzzip,
The staff, the robe and the book, all of which had been my constant worry in the rough-and-tumble of the preceding matches, had survived intact.
After another hour, he had finally gave in to his fatigue and lay down on the bed.
Sleep would come easy, he thought.
Even if the thought of all the trainees he had beaten made it easier.
One day was spent entirely on sparring and sleep, and the other two were spent entirely on practicing mana control which he had neglected for a long time.
All for today.
"I heard you showed impressive sparring skills at the training grounds."
The teacher looked at Nasel, and in his eyes she saw nothing but irritation.
"But being a hunter requires more than fighting ability. You must be able to control mana."
Tapping his finger, the instructor pulled out mana.
Fwoosh!
A blue mist collected at his fingertip.
"Nasel. Aside from you, every trainee has succeeded in mana discharge."
It was a familiar expression, but true, too.
"If you fail again today, I will formally recommend your expulsion. I'll state that Trainee Nasel is trash unfit for the Raw Guild."
Cold words. The surrounding trainees laughed.
"That idiot will fail again."
"Obviously. He's got no talent as a hunter."
They looked at him the same way they always had when they had refused to tangle with him in practice.
Now was not the time for words. It was time to act.
Booooom,
The mana that resided in his heart thrashed about, though it was becoming increasingly organized with each step to awakening.
The energy forced its way through his torso, down his arm and into his fingertips.
Fwoosh!
A blue haze appeared.
"Another failure, huh?"
The instructor's eyes widened.
"What…? Did he actually succeed?"
"No way! Nasel discharged mana!"
"That talentless guy… how…?!"
The trainees looked on in awe.
Nasel calmly asked them, "Is that a success?"
The instructor nodded in a dazed manner. "Y-Yes... it's a success."
He had finally passed the basic test of the hunter training program, easy material for his fellow students but a constant source of misery for himself.
But this was only the beginning.
"Then may he participate in the advanced program starting today?"
"…Yes. He may."
Advanced hunter training (class obtained only after passing the hunter test): lessons on monster types and strategies, teaching how to survive in dungeons, advanced mana manipulation.
Everything would be mastered beforehand.
He wanted to kill every monster, and he needed these lessons to achieve this.
"Do you think Nasel can keep up?"
"With six months just to pass the basics? No chance."
"He'll quit and run away in a few months."
"The advanced course is nothing like the basic test. He'll never make it."
Even during the advanced program, the trainees continued to mock him.
The instructor added to him: "Nasel, this will be difficult for you to follow."
Let them underestimate him. The results would prove otherwise.
Though he barely passed the basic test, he thought that the advanced course would bring out sides of him that were different.
And indeed,
His turnaround occurred faster than any of the other trainees.
[Awakening in progress… 99%… 100%]
[Awakening complete.]
Five days after entering the advanced program,
He finally awakened.
"Hey! Nasel! You can't just leave class like that! Get back here!"
Nasel ran, ignoring the instructor's shout behind him.
Thud!
He got to his dorm and locked the door, panting.
He stared vacantly at the message.
[Awakening in progress... 99%... 100%]
[Awakening complete.]
Then another message appeared below.
[Trait 'Nasus's Dark Magic (SSS)' has been awakened!]
A wave of change arrived.
[Stamina has increased +1]
[Mana has increased +1]
[Mana has increased +1]
[Attack Power has increased +1]
[Mana has increased +1]
[Defense has increased +1]
[Stamina has increased +1]
[Evasion has increased +1]
[Magic Resistance has increased +1]
[Evasion has increased +1]
[Attack Power increased by +1]
...
His stats went up at a mad pace. Stamina, mana, attack power, defense, evasion, magic resistance all went up. His field of vision was filled with messages.
Shock overwhelmed him.
Awakening was not meant to increase the stats.
Normally the attributes could only be increased by five to ten, with the increase being less for lower-grade attributes.
Now they had increased to more than twenty.
"Unbelievable…"
After a long time, the stat increases would come to an end.
However, before he could do so, other messages appeared.
[The first seal on 'Nasus's Staff' has been released.]
[Partial information about 'Nasus's Staff' is now available.]
[The first seal on 'Nasus's Robe' has been released.]
[Partial information about 'Nasus's Robe' is now available.]
[The first seal of 'Nasus's Dark Grimoire' has been released.]
[Partial information about 'Nasus's Dark Grimoire' is now available.]