The following days seemed to fly by as Aranea and Ryder began the training program.
Those who wished to participate were kept at the now empty fort, while everyone else was allowed to return to the village, either to help any solos that arrived or simply go about their days how they wished.
Many volunteered to scout for more dungeons and villages, only a handful were sent though, as to try and not overextend their resources.
Most everyone Ryder knew stayed at the fort, hoping to further increase their skills, as well as hone their own tactics.
Ryder stood on a platform overlooking the courtyard, taking a momentary break as he watched everyone train.
Oto and Feros were in charge of basic combat, teaching better techniques with most weapons, so that hopefully those that stayed could better defend themselves and each other.
Radogan was in charge of tactics and group combat, his lessons were much slower but far more effective, even getting some of the more reckless members to slow down and think.
By far he was truly the scariest member here, brains and brawn neatly packed into one amazing strategist who's been reading everyone like an open book.
Then there was Lily, who was teaching everyone the more advanced movement options she'd been using.
Though how she was able to freely backflip around, parkour, and hang from walls was beyond most people... her tips did let people move faster and more fluidly though.
Lastly there was Demea and Laurence, teaching everyone to properly combat magic and showing that it wasn't just a ranged option.
It was far more versatile than one would think, able to even catch Radogan off guard at points.
"What are you doing up here on your own?" Aranea's voice called out to him as she reached the top of the stairs, a softer and more relaxed smile on her face. "Skipping out on training today?"
"No, not really, just clearing my head before I inevitably get beaten by everyone again." Ryder lets out a slightly awkward laugh at his own joke. "So how's it going for you? Noticing any improvements in your skills or the group?"
"So far? I've noticed small improvements here and there for myself... i'm actually able to somewhat keep up with Radogan now, our match history is still heavily one sided.'' She quietly walks over and stands next to him. "How about you?"
Ryder sighs a little and shrugs. "While I have gotten slightly better with magic I'm still not the best at fighting anyone normally." he focuses on Lily, who's cheering on a crowd of people attempting a rather dangerous looking obstacle course. "Still can't even last ten seconds against a pro like Lily."
"Well you're not the best in a fair fight, but from what i've heard you're pretty good in an actual fight." she looks down at Lily as well now, following the movements she's making. "Besides, no one here is really better than anyone else, all we're doing is covering one another's weaknesses."
"Yeah, that's true, I just want to be able to contribute more than some out of the box tricks here and there-" Ryder is cut off as suddenly a fragment of a wooden blade flies past his head, only barely missing them.
Following the direction it came from the two of them see Radogan and Oto standing there waving at them.
"Are you two lovebirds done chatting yet?!" Radogan calls out, not caring who's listening. "Or are you going to burn more daylight just being lazy?!"
Ryder pauses for a moment before looking at Aranea. "Is he always like this?"
The paladin has to stifle back a laugh as she rolls her eyes. "Oh you don't know the half of it, let's get going before that big oaf gets any more impatient." She quickly moves down the stairs, making her way to the duo awaiting them.
"Welp, guess it's time to get acquainted with the ground again..." Ryder slowly follows behind Aranea, eventually making his way to both Radogan and Oto who seem to already be lost in another conversation.
"-yeah right, like that'd happen." Oto bluntly remarks while looking at the duo approaching. "Isn't that right?"
"What?" Ryder replies, very confused and unsure what they were talking about.
"This shrimp here" Radogan says while motioning to Oto "doesn't think that more guardians exist or that they'd willingly make pacts with someone."
"You're the only one who's actually met and made a pact with one, so we figured you'd have the best opinion on it." Oto retorts with a slight annoyed look in his eyes, likely from the shrimp comment.
"Ah, well that's kinda complicated cause I don't know if more exist." Ryder thinks for a moment. "And I don't think they'd all willingly make pacts... I think the only reason Omen, the guardian of darkness, agreed was because I saw them just as darkness, not an embodiment of evil." he pauses and tilts his head a bit. "So if there are, they'd probably be other element types, and would probably have different personalities as well."
"So that means it's a fifty-fifty chance either one of you is wrong." Aranea smiles at the two of them who just groan in response.
"Oh well... guess there's not much we can do until more evidence pops up." Oto shrugs. "So, are you two ready for a little sparring?"
"I guess so, not much else to do right now, the recon groups are still exploring the last village and scouting out the two remaining dungeons." Aranea stretches a bit, preparing for the battle. "Then after that it's onto the story dungeon, The Port Town."
"Oh yeah, what's with that place? I've heard people loosely talk about it but I still don't know a lot." Ryder asks while following her example.
"The Port Town is where the lord of this island resides, making sure no one gets in or out." she replies with a bit of annoyance in her tone. "He's the only reason we can't just skip right to the main island, and if he's anything like his beta counterpart... well it's going to be an annoying fight."
"A pirate with level draining magic, a hand cannon and an incredibly strong greatsword, it could cleave buildings apart with one swing." Radogan shakes his head as he remembers the battles against it. "Seriously, that boss was a pain in the ass..."
"Got it, so we'll have to really be careful then, especially with that level draining part..." Ryder replies, significantly more worried now. "So we'll definitely need to focus on leveling up and upgrading our equipment."
"Don't forget about training." Oto says while twirling his wooden dagger. "I'm not going to let you get away without a little bit of training."
"Right, right... don't worry I wasn't going to run away." Ryder grabs a wooden sword leaning against a nearby wall and walks back to the group, taking up his own fighting stance. "Are you only going to fight me with one dagger this time?"
"Oh yeah, I only need the one, in fact these things have been holding me back the entire time." he casually states while flipping it around now, surprising both Ryder and Aranea.
"SERIOUSLY?!" Ryder shouts in surprise, recounting all the times he got beat by the small assassin.
"He's not joking, you know." Radogan chimes in, crossing his arms. "He's actually better fighting hand to hand than with any weapons, but we haven't found anything like a cestus yet."
"And unfortunately you can't craft a weapon type without having seen it first." Oto shrugs before catching the dagger in a reverse grip. "So this time I'll be fighting you with one handicap instead of two."
