Core physical training: Extreme Conditioning and Endurance, Strength Training, Speed and Agility.
Specialized combat training: Weapon Mastery, Sensory Training, Tactical and Mental Training.
This was the training regimen for the Sage candidates, to be undertaken by the curated Sages, whilst the rest went out into Vastoria to resume their Sage activities.
[+0.25 Agi…]
[+0.25 Str…]
Felix had later come to learn that the Sage, Jessica, had been a Lv3 C-Rank with an agility-focused class system like he'd suspected.
She had also been amongst the Sages who had been let off to resume their Sage activities, which made Felix think she must have decided against training the candidates because of him after what had happened between them.
Because in his opinion, the Sage was fast and specialized enough to take them on the Speed and Agility training, as he wouldn't even have come close to defeating her without cheating his way to Lv1 with the [Overdeath] skill.
But what troubled Felix about the entire situation was the bonus attribute he received every now and then since Jessica had departed.
[+0.25 Dex…]
Were there simply that many monsters in Vastoria that Jessica had been slaying nonstop? Unlike Earth, which had unprecedented, sudden outbursts when portals suddenly rifted open and monsters crossed over from the underworld to hunt.
Or had Jessica simply been grinding endlessly by actively hunting down these dark creatures wherever she might be? Felix didn't know. And wouldn't know for sure.
The only thing he could do for himself right now was to put in more effort into training, aside from the general training. And he really hoped Jessica wouldn't die, because not only did he not want to lose his sweet source of free attributes, he also genuinely didn't want her to get torn apart and devoured by some dark creatures, never to be seen again.
Felix's grip tightened on the heavy log he had on his now sore shoulders as he jogged up a mountainous hill with several other candidates before and behind him. He was being careful not to stand out too much, as he already had enough trouble on his plate as it was.
[+0.5 Con…]
Felix was lost in his thoughts when a sharp pain suddenly shot across his free shoulder and he tripped, dropping his log from the culprit ramming theirs into his shoulder from behind.
He winced at grazing his knees and palm on the rocky terrain and looked up with a frown to see who it was: a tall, athletic girl with a bob-cut who didn't bother apologizing or even looking his way and just jogged forward like it was nothing.
Felix recognized her from the temple to be one of the other two candidates to obtain an SSRank class system just like his. His heart involuntarily skipped a beat.
"Felix Thomasville! You dropped your log, back to the starting line." A Sage's voice reached his ears from above, where the man soared above the candidates aboard his floating bastard sword.
The Sage had clearly seen what had transpired; that he hadn't dropped his log out of exhaustion. But he guessed, 'the enemy wouldn't care if he was sabotaged by an ally,' Felix mused sarcastically in Jessica's tone.
He didn't bother arguing and calmly picked his log, jogging downhill to the starting line to start over again, whilst his mind ran a thousand scenarios on what this might entail for him being targeted by another SSRank.
Just like he thought his abilities were overpowered and broken, she too must have her own set of overpowered and broken skill sets.
Felix wasn't happy about this.
On arriving at the starting line, Felix couldn't deny the fact that he was more expectant than surprised to spot a familiar face there about to start over as well.
Did he see this coming?
Kelly smiled weakly when she spotted him, "Did you trip as well?" She asked.
Felix felt his stomach churn at that question, but forced a smile and nodded. Without another word, they both secured their logs and began climbing uphill.
It was now Felix truly understood the weight of his predicament, but was he afraid? Heck no. If laying low wasn't going to solve the problem, then maybe annihilating the entire training might do.
He could bet his stats were probably the best out of the entire candidates, no doubt, and if he wanted, he could outrun everyone even now. But if his memories served him correctly, Kelly was an A-Rank and would have to be left behind.
It wasn't that she was weak and couldn't carry her own weight, but other A-Ranks and S-Ranks would be problematic for her. There was no guarantee that they wouldn't try to send her back to the respawn point again.
So for today, he was going to stick with her. But from tomorrow, he was going to be taming the training so hard that the instructors would have no other choice than to scale up its difficulty, making everyone's life a living hell.
"You don't have to worry about me, y'know," Kelly suddenly spoke.
"Ah?"
"I don't know what you think I meant by 'tripping', but I actually just tripped—bad footing. Besides, even if I were to be targeted, it's all part of the training, isn't it? I don't think I need to be babysitted."
"Ah, I—I'm sorry for inconveniencing you, then," Felix quickly apologized.
"No—no, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just saying you can stop worrying about me and focus on the training—in a good way. Like—like, I'm not pushing you away or anything," Kelly quickly explained, feeling bad that she might've hurt his feelings with her wrong choice of words.
"It's okay," Felix assured her, "See you around then." He said as he took off, sprinting uphills with his load like it was nothing.
Kelly smiled as she watched him disappear into the woods, then her smile slowly receded and the worn-out expression she wore disappeared.
A glint that hinted at an intelligence far beyond what a teenage girl should possess, flashed through her intense green eyes.
She was the only soul left for as far as one's eyes could look from her position.
Repositioning her load for better exposure, Kelly swiftly took off and disappeared into the woods.