Chapter 43

Just a quick glance around was enough to tell.

Most of the adventurers in this guild were skilled fighters. At the very least, they were on par with Karil, and some might even rival the elite knights under Rasmor's command.

Rio and Shiraha walked straight to the reception counter.

An old man with one eye sat at the counter, a cane leaning against the side. The cane had grooves running around it, indicating it was a concealed weapon.

Even Rio, a layman, could tell it was a concealed weapon. It was likely a weapon that could be used as a cane, not a hidden weapon.

The old man glared at Rio and Shiraha with his one eye and took out two sheets of paper.

"If you're here to register, write your names down."

"Do we need to write our places of origin too?"

"Write it if you can. I thought you had some story, coming to such a remote place at your age, but I guess not."

"It's kind of like a warrior's pilgrimage."

"Haha, that's good. You won't lack for opponents. Worst case, you might die."

After writing down their names and places of origin and handing the papers over, the old man glanced at them and put them away on a shelf.

"There are a lot of thugs in this town. You two seem to be reasonably trained, so you should be fine against a few, but how much combat experience do you have? Have you ever killed anyone?"

"We have some experience from training. We've never killed anyone."

"I see. If you're attacked in the forest, don't hesitate. Kill them. Even if they claim to be adventurers, don't worry about it. Kill them properly. And be prepared to be killed yourselves."

"That's quite dangerous."

"Recently, there have been more thugs pretending to be adventurers. It's a good idea to eat dinner here so the other adventurers can recognize your faces. If you mistakenly attack someone, you can apologize if you know them."

It seemed even more violent than he had heard.

Before he knew it, the adventurers were paying attention to Rio and Shiraha, perhaps trying to remember their new faces.

Rio bowed slightly to the adventurers.

"Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, if you have any questions, just ask."

The adventurers smiled and waved, apparently satisfied with Rio's response.

The old man at the reception stood up, cane in hand.

"Follow me. I'll show you the training ground."

"There's a training ground?"

"A big one in the back. Many of the adventurers here lack combat experience, so we have slaves as sparring partners."

Following the old man, they arrived at a spacious training ground.

It seemed to be built very sturdily and could be used as an evacuation center in emergencies.

The ground was flat and exposed, and the ceiling was very high, easily spanning three floors.

The slave in question was chained to the back wall.

In a section protected by a few screens, a man who looked far cleaner than the typical image of a slave was sitting.

Two wooden swords were by his side, and a real sword was placed on a wooden rack in the back.

With a sharp, hawk-like gaze, he surveyed the adventurers in the training ground, looking like the master or instructor of the place.

When he noticed the old man with Rio and Shiraha, the slave stood up silently.

He was of average height, perhaps a bit taller than Karil. However, his well-defined, almost overworked muscles were clearly visible even through his clothes. His core was rock-solid, and his movements, with a slight playfulness, suggested a mindset of constant combat readiness.

Rio shuddered.

This was undoubtedly the best fighter he had ever seen. Even the elite knights under Rasmor's command couldn't match his level.

He couldn't understand why such a skilled fighter was a slave. Many would seek him as a knight, and even if not, he would be a top-tier adventurer.

The old man called out to the slave.

"Galdrat, I want you to look at these new arrivals."

"Ah."

The slave, Galdrat, picked up a wooden sword and took a few steps forward.

Shiraha tugged on Rio's sleeve.

"He didn't use a commanding tone."

"I noticed that too. He seems more like a master than a slave."

The old man, who was a guild employee and the owner of Galdrat, seemed to show respect.

Moreover, the adventurers in the training ground gathered around, focusing on Galdrat.

They seemed more interested in learning from Galdrat's sword than in assessing the new arrivals.

The old man turned to Rio and the others.

"I'm not asking you to beat Galdrat. Just spar a few rounds. You can both go at once if you want."

Rio and Shiraha exchanged glances.

Reading Rio's thoughts, Shiraha took a step back.

Catching a wooden sword thrown by an adventurer, he swung it a few times to test the grip, then turned to face Galdrat.

"Let's do one-on-one, please."

He wasn't underestimating Galdrat. On the contrary, he wanted to learn from such a superior opponent. This way, he could also observe Shiraha's sparring from the side, making it a win-win situation.

Galdrat responded with a low stance, his sword aimed at Rio's thighs, likely to control the distance and anticipate Rio's unorthodox sword technique.

When Rio took a step forward, Galdrat immediately shifted into a stance to thrust at his thighs. Rio quickly retreated, but the speed of Galdrat's judgment made him break out in a cold sweat.

However, he also gained something.

Galdrat's sword technique was knightly swordsmanship. The transition from a low stance to a thrust at the thighs and his overall posture suggested the Shiroz style.

It was one of the knightly sword techniques Karil had shown him. A style that emphasized defense and required anatomical knowledge, it was an intellectual's sword technique.

It focused on inflicting deep wounds and drawing opponents into close range to cut them down, with a counter-attacking nature.

Rio took a deep breath and pointed the tip of his wooden sword at Galdrat's sternum.

Kicking off the ground, he lunged into range. Galdrat, moving diagonally, raised his wooden sword to slash at Rio's right knee, a typical Shiroz response to an incoming opponent.

Anticipating this, Rio kicked off the ground with his right foot, lifting his leg. Galdrat's sword narrowly missed his right foot.

Immediately, Rio struck his right knee with his right elbow, which he had temporarily enhanced, and fell to the ground. Shifting his weight to his right leg, he swung his wooden sword horizontally at Galdrat's shoulder.

Galdrat lightly jumped back, out of range, but Rio wasn't about to let him go.

Stepping forward with his left foot, he brought Galdrat back into range.

Galdrat, with his wooden sword at waist level, stepped back with his left foot. Seeing this stance, Rio interrupted his attack and retreated.

"I wanted to finish it there..."

If he had continued his attack, he would have been countered.

Galdrat repositioned his wooden sword in an upper stance, inviting Rio to use his feet more.

Rio smiled, understanding that Galdrat was gauging his skills.

If he lunged recklessly, he would be countered, but if he could use his feet effectively, there were many ways to approach the fight.

Rio lunged at Galdrat head-on, dodging the descending wooden sword with his footwork and swinging his own at Galdrat's shoulder.

Galdrat easily dodged by pulling back his shoulder and reversed his grip to swing his wooden sword in a diagonal upward motion, but Rio kicked Galdrat's wrist, disrupting the trajectory.

Just as Galdrat's eyes narrowed in amusement, a powerful impact struck Rio's abdomen.

Realizing he had been kicked, Rio planted his wooden sword in the ground and leaned on it, using it as a pivot.

Drawing on the unorthodox counter technique from the Enro style that Karil had used in his match with Rakdoi, Rio adopted a low stance, gradually lifting his heels while pressing his wooden sword into the ground.

Using the sudden activation of his body enhancement, he generated explosive momentum and leaped at Galdrat, swinging his wooden sword horizontally.

It was unexpected for an opponent to close the distance so quickly after being knocked back, and a first-time observer would have been too slow to react.

However, Galdrat calmly held his wooden sword in a low stance and blocked Rio's attack.

Despite the momentum, Galdrat's wooden sword didn't budge, and Rio was taken aback, as if he had struck a massive tree.

Galdrat released one hand from his wooden sword.

Intuitively sensing an incoming combination, Rio quickly retreated to a defensive position with his wooden sword.

As soon as Rio was out of range, the watching adventurers whistled and applauded.

"Newcomer, you move well."

"Self-taught? You've got a good style."

"Isn't that the Enro style?"

Galdrat relaxed his stance and spoke.

"You pass."

With a short statement, Rio also lowered his wooden sword. There was no point in continuing; the skill gap was too large.

Rio called out to Galdrat.

"You use the Shiroz style, right? Were you a knight?"

Despite some deviations, Galdrat's technique was a clean Shiroz style, which required high education to master, typically used by knights.

However, it was hard to understand why a knight would be a slave in such a place.

Galdrat glanced at Rio.

"I was never a knight, then or now."

Clearly denying it, Galdrat turned his back on Rio.