--
Bang!
"Sss!"
The sound of a gunshot echoed within the shooting range. Held in TJ's hand was Hotshot, with its muzzle still smoking from the recent shot. He kept her in the inventory and inhaled sharply as he caressed his aching shoulder joint. Hotshot's kick was really strong; even with TJ's increasing mastery over shooting, it's still hard for him to use her.
But TJ wasn't too worried. He's not in a rush. The day will come when he'll be able to use his newly acquired blunderbuss comfortably; he just needs to be patient.
TJ called it a day for shooting. He'd rest for a while, allowing his shoulders to recover a bit, and then he would do some light drills before the class ends.
After leaving the shooting range, he made his way towards his and Sieg's usual sparring spot. The area had a great shade from the harsh glare of the sun, so it was a good spot to rest and wind down.
On the way there, he passed through his fellow young warriors who were hard at work. Well, as hard as they're willing to go.
Don't be mistaken, they are sparring. It's just that for the most part, it was fruitless. Like everybody's just going through the motions, making it really hard for them to see any real progress. They're doing it just so that they won't be scolded by Mr. Eden, which is dumb and stupid. Mr. Eden doesn't care about what they think; he looks at results.
Besides, keeping up appearances won't work on him because their trainer was always watching and taking note; they're just not aware of it.
Shaking his head, TJ searched for traces of his friend, and he saw him getting teamed up on by two people.
Now, any other friend might rush over to help him right away. But given the unique situation of this class, there was no need to do that.
Tang!
"Ugh! I'm out! I can't continue!"
"Aw, man. I haven't had enough yet."
Because even as he was faced with two sparring partners at the same time, Sieg could handle them just fine.
You see, it's really hard to see Sieg as a peer. He looked as if he's near the age of Mr. Eden; his large physique certainly wasn't helping either.
And Sieg wasn't just huge; he was also strong. He had all the benefits of having an adult bodybuilder's body at 16 years old. It's unfair. That's why other people tend to team up against him just so that they can stand a chance.
Even so, Sieg could handle them just fine. He's getting better at that war axe of his, and he's becoming scarier in the eyes of their classmates. Even William avoids him. Yeah, that brat doesn't hold back in his words, but all he could do against Sieg was just that, bark. William won't truly challenge Sieg because he knows that he'd just be embarrassed right away.
The only person who could go toe-to-toe with Sieg was him, of course, TJ.
TJ was agile, flexible, and cunning. His skills are way better compared to Sieg's. The big oaf might be strong, but all that force is useless if it can't hit the enemy.
Their fights were a spectacle because they don't shy away from injuries; bruises, cuts, wounds...so long as it's far from any internal organs and wouldn't kill, it's fair game.
This isn't because they hate each other or something; they just understand that if they truly want to aim high for their future, they can't waste time playing around.
It's for this reason why Mr. Eden never had any real complaints with the two of them.
TJ continued on his way to their usual spot. Sieg has already seen him and was following him.
Along the way, TJ casually asked, "Is your brother back from the Natural Dungeon?"
"He is." Sieg nodded. "He said that he's still feeling strange. He's still adjusting to becoming aware that there's a blank gap in his memories."
"Ah, so it's really true then? You won't remember anything you and your teammates did after you exit?"
"Yeah. I'm shocked too. I still don't understand why there is a need for that."
In this world, there were two general types of dungeons: man-made and natural.
Man-made dungeons are common. There are tons of variety available and many options to choose from. Exploring man-made dungeons usually has rank requirements and fees. The upkeep of a dungeon was expensive, and its creators needed to keep supplying them somehow.
Of course, man-made dungeons provide rewards and benefits too. The rewards increased the higher the difficulty was. But for the most part, people used them as pastimes or training areas since there wasn't much to earn from them anyway.
The real treasures could be found in the [Natural Dungeons]. There were only a few around; getting to them was already a challenge, even more so clearing them. Many people have entered but never came back.
Furthermore, those who came back had their memories wiped. Meaning that they couldn't remember what they experienced inside those places.
Many have tried to get some kind of protection against this, but none have ever succeeded.
Or maybe someone did but decided to keep quiet; TJ can't really tell. Though it seems that Julius, the name of Sieg's older brother, wasn't an exception to this rule.
"Was he okay, though?"
"Yeah, just a little wounded and tired from what I saw. However, I did see that all of his armor was ruined. It looked like it was scratched by a really large predator; it's scary."
"Well, that's the Natural Dungeon after all. It's supposed to be difficult."
"True."
"What's Julius' rank again?" TJ couldn't help but ask.
"3★ Master Rank, why?"
"Already? Damn, that's fast. Didn't he just reach the Master Rank last month? How is he so quick?" TJ was confused.
Novice, Apprentice, Adept, Expert, Master, Grandmaster, and Champion. This was the publicly known professional ladder.
Each rank is divided further into star ranks 1★ to 5★, with the former being the lowest and the latter the highest.
Of course, just like with any climb, the higher you go, the more difficult it becomes.
A pro's demand for EXP can become too overwhelming since they will need it to increase not only their star rank and actual professional rank but also the level of their skills, simply because practice grinding was no longer available to them.
And while there are tons of sources for exp. The place that gives it the most was obviously dungeons. Meaning that if a professional wants to increase their strength and professional rank, they must grind dungeons night and day to make some progress.
Even lifestyle professionals can't escape this. The hybrid professionals are even more miserable.
Being a Master Ranked pro, it shouldn't have been possible for Julius to cross two-star ranks within a month, unless he saved up quite a hefty sum of geos and hired people to carry him.
Knowing Sieg's family and Julius's personality, it's quite impossible for him to cheat. In fact, nobody should even think of it. But if he didn't cheat, then how did he increase his rank that quickly?
"He got a medal." Sieg solved TJ's puzzlement casually. "He participated in some kind of defense; I don't remember what exactly. But yeah, he got honors, which he converted into two-star rankings in one go; that's how."
"Oh, that makes sense."
While dungeons might be the largest source of the exp for pros, they're not the only one. The government can also bestow EXP rewards. However, events like that are rare, so it's not that reliable.
Ding!
"What? That's early!" Sieg frowned, and so did TJ.
That sound was the school bell, indicating that class has ended for today.
Both TJ and Sieg checked the time and saw that the dismissal was indeed early, and it wasn't just them who were surprised and confused; their classmates were too.
"Go home. The school has an emergency meeting where most of the staff are needed."
Mr. Eden clarified their confusion. Because of this, those who had been itching for the class to end hurriedly packed up their things and left quickly.
'You two, stick around. I've got something to tell you.'
Then, Mr. Eden's voice sounded within TJ and Sieg's heads. They looked at each other and asked,
"Did you—"
"You heard—oh!"
This pretty much confirmed that the 'two' Mr. Eden was referring to were both of them.
And so, they stuck around just like what their instructor said. They stayed in their usual spot until the rest of their classmates were gone and Mr. Eden called for them again.
"Come and follow me."
Mr. Eden vocally ordered them this time. The two didn't waste time and followed the instructor's pace right away.
Be led them into the school, which remained mostly empty since the rest of the students were on a vacation. As they continued, TJ discovered that Mr. Eden was taking them into an area that's usually restricted to students like them.
Due to this, TJ's curiosity was increasing. Just where is he taking them?