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Book 2: Chapter 34: Training and Coming Clean

Lone nodded to himself as he finished setting up his and Soph\'s tent. Breena was the first to be done, being even quicker than the experienced adventurer Hamish, Lone noticed.

Likely due to the fact that Daisuke made her and her fellow former slaves do all of the chores like that when they went exploring or travelling to spread the man\'s \'glorious name\'.

Initially Lone had thought to use his fort. He\'d made it all the way back on Goblin Island, gave it away to the elf victims then remade it on the road between Ros and Ranton. Just recently had used it to house himself, Soph, and Breena, when they crossed the Estoplian Wasteland to reach Krieg Moor.

He decided against it, however. He had no way to fix it right now with his mana organs sealed and every time he withdrew the structure from his Dimensional Storage its foundations weakened a little bit more.

That wasn\'t a huge issue since it would take dozens, maybe hundreds of withdrawals from Dimensional Storage to threaten the building\'s integrity.

Although, he also didn\'t want it to get damaged by a surprise monster attack in the middle of the night. It was his emergency refuge - a home away from home. It would pain him greatly to see it get ruined any further.

Besides, he kind of liked camping. As rarely as he had done it in his childhood, he still recalled fond memories of playing with Hazel when she was a toddler while their parents watched on in joy.

\'Simpler times,\' he thought, shaking his head.

Camping it was. He stretched his back then approached Hamish, lifting the restrictions on how far the dwarf could be to him at the same time. "Ready to train?"

The dwarf shrugged. "Sure, but \'ow? Ah\'m nae teach\'r."

"And you needn\'t be one. I will allow you to hurt me but not kill me. No crippling either. While I could heal from it, I\'d rather this remain as training so I\'m in my best form should we get attacked by monsters. No applying your stats either, not for now at least, please. I can\'t enforce that last one so please don\'t let me know that I\'ve misplaced my trust," Lone replied.

"Sounds easy \'nuff," Hamish said. "Fists or daggers?"

"You use daggers? Those please, if you wouldn\'t mind," Lone answered as he withdrew a steel swordspear from his Dimensional Storage.

Hamish raised an eyebrow. He reached into the adventurer\'s pouch at his waist. The next moment he had a blade in either hand, both of which were curved, about 10-inches long, and they glowed with a dim red hue.

"Odd weapon ya\'ve get there, Fox," Hamish noted.

"It\'s best suited for me. Trust me, I tried everything under the sun before realising this was the one for me," Lone replied. \'Daggers aren\'t his perfectly fitted weapon according to Growth Accelerator but I bet he knows damn-well how to use them.\'

"Fair \'nuff. Fae transparency\'s sake, these babies inflict mild burnin\' curses on contact. One ah the reasons ah didnae use \'em when ah dragg\'d ye tae the guild. Ah didnae want tae torture ya, after all, just kill ya," Hamish said which earned a concerned frown from the watching Breena. "Ye kinda turned the latter intae the form\'r though since ye refused tae kick the bucket."

\'That\'s cute. He thinks that was torture?\' Lone smiled. "I appreciate the honesty. Feel free to cut me with them. I could use a Curse Resistance skill."

"\'At \'ow ye\'r so strong fae yer rank? Resistance trainin\'?" Hamish asked in earnest as he approached Lone.

Nodding, he replied, "Kind of. It\'s certainly a contributing factor. Do you mind just, I don\'t know, stabbing me a few times to get the curse going or whatever else it needs then we can move on to fighting?"

"Ah mean, aye, sure, ah can dae \'at but are ya oof yer rock\'r or some\'in? Got an \'igh Mental Pain Resistance, \'ave ya?" Hamish asked as he casually poked the sharp edge of one of his daggers into Lone\'s gut.

Lone winced a bit and he heard Breena gasping in shock. "So curses are linked to the mind, not to the body? And yes, I do. It\'s expert rank."

"Really? Feckin\' colour me impressed. Ye\'r one tortured soul, eh?" Hamish commented.

"You have no idea," Lone said with a grim smirk.

Hamish shrugged. "These curses are pure enchantments, by the by. Willnae \'elp level Mental Pain Resistance if ye\'ve got it at expert rank, but fae personal experience, Curse Resistance can go up tae Intermediate-Level-2 fae \'em."

"Personal experience?" Lone asked as he saw a blue screen appear before his eyes.

The host has developed the passive skill: Curse Resistance.

Passive Skill: Curse Resistance

A skill that allows the host to resist weak curses.

Weakcurses applied to the host shall have their effects reduced by 5%.

Cost:N/A Mastery:Beginner Level 1

The burning sensation really wasn\'t all that bad. It was new though. He hadn\'t been burned alive during his extended stay in Ranton\'s castle dungeons. \'Maybe I should\'ve asked that cocksucker to pour oil on me and light it up. I could have used Fire Resistance or the equivalent skill for steamforging, haha.\'

"Aye. Ya always run the risk ah yer enemy usin\' yer weapon against ya. Figured it was wise tae get the resistance. Took ah good few weeks tae earn it then over ah year tae cap it out. Ah shoulda bought ah strong\'r enchantment, tae be honest," Hamish said in a regretful tone.

Lone then saw the dwarf smile a little before he added, "It always made Ewan uncomfortable when \'e caught me stabbin\' the tip ah ma fing\'r in the middle ah the night."

"Ewan?" Lone asked, unsure of who the referenced person was.

Hamish shook his head. "One ah the dead lads we\'re off tae avenge. Anyhoo, curse\'s applied. What noo? Wannae fight ah bit or just focus on the sensation ah burning alive?"

"I can ignore this much," Lone said. \'This is nothing compared to what Sir Ardus put me through, sadly. I pray to whatever gods are listening that he survived what befell Milindo. If only so I can kill him myself.\'

"Okay. So, ah attack ye an\' ye try tae block?" Hamish suggested, trying to be actually helpful.

\'This guy\'s a dick but at least he\'s not attempting to make this a miserable experience,\' Lone thought. "I was thinking trying to dodge and deflect your blows. I have Evasion Mastery at expert-level-one. Think you can push it beyond that as a B-ranker? If so, I see no reason not to multitask."

"Aye, prob\'ly. Noo withoot applyin\' at least ma Agility, but there\'s only one way tae find oot, noo isnae there?" Hamish responded with a devious grin.

Congratulations! the host\'s passive skill [Curse Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 2.

"Right you are, Dwarf, right you are," Lone answered with his own smirk.

Congratulations! the host\'s passive skill [Curse Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 3.

Congratulations! the host\'s passive skill [Curse Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 4.

Congratulations! the host\'s passive skill [Curse Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 5.

Lone paused looking over his notifications log from his two-hour-long training session with Hamish for a moment. He was currently sitting at the campfire watching the dwarf train Breena with one eye while the other read the logs.

After Lone called for a short break, Breena had somehow worked up the courage to request training from Hamish. Apparently, she wanted to learn how to use her needles like how he used his daggers.

Honestly, Lone was incredibly proud. The girl had stepped out of her comfort zone and spoke to a man out of her own initiative. She rarely did that even with him or Mister Fits\'war.

Hamish had only been permitted to train with her, not to do any harm to her whatsoever. Lone trusted his True Contract Magic but he felt it was wise to pay attention to them while they sparred.

Well, less sparred and more Breena getting schooled to last Wednesday and back. If Hamish was one thing, it was a dick. if he was a second thing, it was talented. That\'s how Lone felt at least.

Not only was he easily dancing around Breena as if it were as simple as breathing, but was also giving decent pointers at every flaw of hers that he noticed. \'Guy says he isn\'t a teacher but Breena\'s definitely learning a lot.\'

Regardless, he had stopped looking at his notification to check Curse Resistance\'s skill information a bit more closely.

Passive Skill: Curse Resistance

A skill that allows the host to resist weak curses.

Weak curses applied to the host shall have their effects reduced by 5%.

Cost:N/A Mastery:Beginner Level 5

\'Only weak curses... I wonder if the enchantments on the dwarf\'s daggers are weak or not? If they\'re stronger, it can\'t be by much since it will only push the skill barely into the intermediate rank,\' he concluded.

Congratulations! the host\'s passive skill [Swordspear Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Advanced Level 10.

\'Surprising really that simple practice with someone vastly stronger than myself can give me a level when all I used my swordspear for was to trigger Weapon Block,\' Lone thought.

Congratulations! the host\'s active skill [Weapon Block] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 5.

Congratulations! the host\'s active skill [Weapon Block] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 6.

\'This\'ll be a vital skill when we eventually reach Urd Grun,\'

Congratulations! the host\'s passive skill [Evasion Mastery] has levelled up! It is now Expert Level 2.

\'Speaking of vital skills... I should level up Light-footed while we\'re waiting on Soph\'s return. She\'s taking her damn sweet time though if there\'s an issue I\'m sure she\'ll let me know via telepathy,\' Lone thought before nodding to himself.

He got up, dusted his backside and approached Breena and Hamish. "Dwarf, can you multitask? I want to practise the skill Light-footed on you while you continue helping Breena. Could be useful for sneaking up on the hordes lying in wait for us at our destination."

Hamish shrugged as he easily slapped away an incoming needle with the blade of one of his daggers, causing Breena who was holding it to stumble and fall flat on her face. "Aye, gae fae it. Ah\'m ah scout first an\' foremost though, so ya may be piss poor oot ah luck when tryin\' tae level \'at skill. If ah concentrate enuff ah can even hear dust movin\' about."

"I\'ll just have to try my best," Lone replied as he helped Breena back up onto her feet. "You okay?"

She gave him a firm nod and answered, "Y-Yes. I... I\'m learning. This much is nothing."

"Okay. Let me know if he starts bullying you. He\'s far, far stronger than even me, let alone you. Also let me know if you earn a skill okay?" Lone said in a fatherly tone.

He was incredibly hopeful for this new drive of hers to grow to get stronger but he was also fearful at the same time. The last thing he wanted was for some bumbling dwarf to ruin the months of progress that he and Soph had barely managed to eke out of the girl.

"Mmm, I will," Breena said meekly.

"Ye ah little faith," Hamish said dramatically. "Piss oof tae ah corner an\' try tae be quiet then, Fox. We\'re trainin\' \'ere."

Lone didn\'t humour him with a response but he did do as suggested. He walked a decent distance down the gaping tunnel. He was deep enough into the tunnel\'s darkness that it would be a struggle to see him but the opposite wasn\'t true.

The light of the campfire along with the few remaining lighting enchantments on the Farwinds roads made it easy for him to keep an eye on Hamish in case he tried anything funny.

He started creeping around without any real purpose beyond trying to level the skill, Light-footed. Almost immediately he heard a yell coming for the campsite.

"Ah can \'ear ya clear as day, Fox!" Hamish screamed down the tunnel. "Focus less on being quiet an\' more on noo disturbin\' yer surroundin\'s. Ya keep steppin\' on pebbles."

\'He\'s actually helping me with advice?\' Lone thought in surprise. \'He didn\'t bother with our training spar. Maybe because this relates to his profession? Whatever the reason, I\'ll take it. Just like Gramps taught me, you can be better at a skill than its rank details imply. Avoid the rocks, right?\'

An hour and a half passed before Breena had to call it quits with her own training, her Stamina Points being near-depleted in their entirety. Hamish didn\'t seem to care, choosing to dig into some of his prepared rations for dinner.

Lone stopped his fumbling about in the dark and rejoined camp, not too pleased with his own gains in that time but it hadn\'t been an entirely fruitless endeavour if nothing else.

Congratulations! the host\'s passive skill [Light-footed] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 5.

Congratulations! the host\'s passive skill [Light-footed] has levelled up! It is now Beginner Level 6.

\'I\'m convinced I got these levels from Breena, not the dwarf. If it was from him, I\'d have gotten over a dozen at once I bet,\' Lone thought to himself.

He approached Hamish and reached into his Dimensional Storage, pulling out a piping hot meal. "Here. As thanks for helping us both improve our abilities."

Hamish looked at the meal sceptically before shrugging. He put away his already opened rations, mumbling about saving them for tomorrow\'s breakfast before taking the offered plate.

"Cheers, Fox. Was just keepin\' ma end ah the bargain," Hamish answered. "So it\'s space magic, fae sure. Time tae. Can ya let me ken what it is, exactly? Ah dinnae ken o\' anythin\' \'at can keep ah meal hot like this fae long. Ah bet such spells exists but nae comin\' fae ah manaless foxkin in the D-ranks."

\'It also has infinite capacity and no weight or size limits, I\'m just not allowed to store living things.\' Lone took a seat next to Hamish and took out a meal for Breena and one for himself. "I can do that, sure. You\'ve shown your willingness to follow the terms of the contract. It\'s a unique skill."

"Unique? As in... an \'ero?" Breena immediately tensed up. Her hand freezing, stopping the forkful of food from reaching her mouth.

At that very moment, Soph appeared, clad in her armour though it was stained with blood. "Both ends seem fine. Sophie, uh, thought it would be smart to check deeper than you suggested... We trained with some monsters and uh, um, did something happen?"

Lone smiled wryly. "I was just explaining to Breena and our dwarven guest here that you and I aren\'t from Altros."

"Oh." Soph looked confused before she gasped. "OH!"

"Yes, \'oh\'," Lone chuckled.