Pick Me Up!

The training continued the next day.

After three days of training, the schedule was somewhat established.

In the morning, we did basic exercises like running or push-ups. Jenna followed along with the exercises I did. I didn’t stop her.

Once the basic exercises were done, weapon training began.

Well, calling it weapon training might be an overstatement. For me, it was just swinging a wooden sword, and for Jenna, it was shooting arrows at a scarecrow. But we didn’t slack off.

While swinging, I could feel the distribution of strength and the correct posture gradually being grasped. I could tell just by looking at the skills that appeared in the status window, like beginner swordsmanship and shield techniques.

But even if I tried, I would still fall far behind a knight who had learned proper swordsmanship.

It would be different if there was an expert to guide us. Even sparring would give us some sense of it. However, I was alone. Jenna had her main equipment reinforced with the bow, so I couldn’t ask her to spar.

The other three didn’t come to the training ground.

Sometimes I could see them muttering about finding an exit or escaping in a corner of the plaza.

Of course, there was no way out.

And so, two more days passed.

Today was different, Jenna and I faced each other in the training ground.

“Are you really okay?”

“I’m fine.”

I tapped my shield with the wooden sword.

Jenna had a bow in her hand.

I realized that both Jenna and I needed more practical training.

Fighting with a sword was tough for her, but there was another way.

“You might get hurt, you know?”

“As long as I don’t die, it’s fine.”

There were a few times when I swung the sword too forcefully and hurt my wrist.

But the injured wrist quickly recovered. It seemed like this waiting room had a healing effect. As long as I didn’t die from a single blow like Malmont, it would naturally heal.

It was one of the training methods I invented last night.

“Shoot!”

“Don’t hate me for it!”

Jenna shot an arrow.

Right shoulder. I moved my left arm.

Thud!

The arrow stuck into the shield with a dull sound. I pulled out the arrow and threw it back to Jenna. It came out easily, probably because it was a practice arrow.

“Again.”

The shooting practice continued.

For Jenna, it was shooting practice against a live opponent.

For me, it was shield technique training to block incoming arrows.

I added one more condition here. Blocking arrows with the shield while attacking the adjacent scarecrow. It was training to attack and defend at the same time.

I also changed the target of the attack.

First, the head. Then the chest. And finally, the legs.

What I’m doing now is similar to drawing a circle with my right hand and a square with my left hand. I had to divide my concentration into two.

Puff!

“…!”

I sank to my knees from a sharp pain in my calf.

The arrow didn’t pierce me, but it grazed a chunk of flesh.

“Are you… are you okay?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

As I knelt for a moment, fresh flesh grew over the wounded area. I stood up and flicked my right foot. It was nothing. I could move.

“You should think of another way too. The enemies won’t just stand still, they’ll attack you. Do you want to just stand there and shoot?”

Jenna followed my training tips.

Shoot while moving.

It was mobile shooting.

As my concentration waned, I started getting hit by arrows more frequently. Some were fatal, but I managed to survive. The wounds healed, but the pain remained.

“Do I really have to go this far?”

Negative thoughts began to creep up.

But I didn’t stop. It’s okay if it hurts. It’s proof that I’m alive.

What I’ve achieved right now is still not enough. I have to climb the tower. That’s the only way to survive.

And…

[‘Han(★)’s ‘Beginner Swordsmanship’ has leveled up to Lv.2!]

[‘Han(★)’s ‘Beginner Shield Techniques’ has leveled up to Lv.2!]

[‘Han(★)’ has acquired the skill ‘Pain Resistance’!]

“As expected.”

I obtained Pain Resistance, known as the essential passive skill for warrior classes.

If I level up Pain Resistance to level 10, I can evolve it into a top-tier skill called Battle Endurance. It’s an A-rank skill that maintains a hero’s combat power until the very moment of death.

What’s left is…

‘Composure.’

It’s a sub-skill of Combat Logic.

If I raise Composure to level 10, I can obtain Combat Logic. And if I raise Combat Logic to level 10, I can acquire the ultimate skill, the Enlightened Mind. With the Enlightened Mind, I can even prevent any mental abnormalities in the spiritual realm.

On the contrary, it would be nice to have skills like Frenzy, Battle Madness, or Berserk. However, my strength lies in my extensive knowledge of Pick Me Up. Going into a state of madness that leads to losing reason was dangerous to me.

I shouldn’t get excited in any situation.

I must observe the situation calmly.

During the tutorial and the first battle, I couldn’t do that. In the future, if end up in such a state, I will eventually learn a skill like Frenzy, and that won’t be beneficial. Composure and Frenzy were incompatible skills.

“Keep that in mind.”

Among the thousands of skills in Pick Me Up, there are a few that synergize.

And I know every combination to create synergy.

…

And so, a few more days passed.

Anytng didn’t log in for a while. He seemed busy. I didn’t consider the possibility of him quitting. Even if he didn’t log in, there were other things that we could do.

I swung the wooden sword at the scarecrow.

I blocked the arrows with the shield.

Cutting and blocking. They shouldn’t be considered two separate actions. They had to be combined into one.

Arrows flew at me.

After doing this for a few days now, I did no longer need to carefully watch the arrows until the end. I raised my shield to where the arrows would come and stabbed the scarecrow’s neck with the sword.

Yes, the sword and shield are one.

I regarded the sword and shield as a ‘single weapon’.

[Dding!]

[Skill awakening!]

[A new skill is born from ‘Han(★)’s ‘Beginner Swordsmanship’ and ‘Beginner Shield Techniques’.]

[‘Han(★)’ has acquired the skill ‘Intermediate Sword and Shield Techniques (Lv.3)’!]

A refreshing sensation surged through my entire body.

It felt as if the sword and shield had become a part of me, a strange sense of unity.

“That’s it for today.”

I lowered my shield.

The wooden shield was covered in dozens of arrows, resembling a hedgehog.

It wasn’t just my skills that improved. Jenna also gradually added conditions to her archery practice. Shooting while walking, shooting while running, double shots, and so on. Jenna’s beginner archery skill had reached level 4.

As Jenna put her bow back into the quiver, she asked, “It seems like the Master isn’t coming. What if we don’t return like this? Do we have to stay trapped here?”

Anxiety flickered in Jenna’s expression.

I chuckled.

“If he doesn’t come in a month…”

“What if the Master doesn’t come in a month?”

“I don’t know. We will have to wait and see.”

I returned the sword and shield to their original positions.

[Welcome to Pick Me Up!]

The tiger really does come when called.

[Loading complete.]

[T O U C H! (Select)]

“He came.”

I said.

“I’m glad. I was getting restless just training.”

“You seem to adapt better than me, don’t you?”

“Well, I’m a bit audacious.”

According to what she told me when we were having breaks, Jenna had been living alone in a remote forest.

She said that her father, who used to come home once a month, died in a fight with a monster a year ago.

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