Chương 142: Chapter 137. Hey again

Rayne jumped out of the way just as the axe came crashing toward his shoulder. The heavy weapon cut through the air with enough force that he could almost feel the pressure from it even after dodging. If that strike had landed properly, it probably would have sent him rolling across the training ground even with the dulled edge. But Jason didn't allow the axe to bury itself into the dirt.

Instead, the burly soldier twisted his body sharply and used the momentum of the missed strike to immediately swing again from the side. Rayne reacted at once, and pushed his own axe forward to block the attack head-on. The two weapons slammed together with a loud clang that echoed across the training field. The impact sent vibrations running painfully through Rayne's arms and into his palms. Jason immediately pushed harder after the clash.

The larger man clearly wanted to force Rayne backwards and create an opening through pure strength alone. Muscles bulged under his arms as he leaned into the axe with aggressive pressure. But Rayne didn't move. Instead, he planted his boots deeper into the dirt and held his ground. At the same time, he subtly slipped his right leg slightly sideways. It was only a small movement, but it was enough. Jason's own forward force suddenly worked against him.

The man stumbled half a step forward as his balance shifted awkwardly. Rayne immediately pulled his axe free and swung downward toward Jason before the soldier could recover fully. Yet Jason reacted in time. The burly man jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding the strike before gritting his teeth and charging directly toward Rayne again. This time, Rayne immediately noticed something different. Jason's movements became far more aggressive and explosive than before, almost unnaturally so.

The man covered the distance between them quickly before swinging his axe down again. Rayne instantly shifted into defense. He raised his own weapon and blocked the strike. Then another came, and another. Jason attacked relentlessly, swinging the heavy axe repeatedly with enough force to make Rayne's arms ache more and more with every block. Sparks occasionally flew from the clashing weapons while dull thuds echoed around the training area. It quickly became obvious what Jason was trying to do.

The man deliberately kept striking directly against Rayne's axe instead of aiming for exposed areas. He wanted to force the weapon out of his hands. Against most soldiers, it probably would have worked already. A two-handed axe was heavy enough that repeated impacts like this could numb a person's arms quickly. But despite the stinging pain spreading through his palms, Rayne refused to let go. His stats carried most of the burden.

Even if he still wasn't used to using a two-handed axe properly, the weapon itself didn't feel unbearably heavy to him. Still, the constant impacts hurt. Rayne could feel the skin on his palms slowly tearing more with every blocked strike, but he held on. Jason also noticed his strategy wasn't working no matter how much pressure he applied. Slowly, frustration started appearing on the man's face. And Rayne wanted exactly that. So instead of rushing recklessly, he simply endured the assault while waiting patiently.

Eventually, Jason's attacks started losing their momentum. The moment Rayne noticed it, he immediately countered. Jason swung again toward his shoulder, probably expecting another defensive block. But this time, Rayne pushed back hard instead. The sudden resistance caught Jason off guard completely. The larger man stumbled backwards by a step as his balance shifted, and Rayne didn't waste the opportunity. He immediately swung his axe straight toward Jason's chest.

The dulled edge slammed into the man heavily before he could properly recover. Jason hit the ground hard with a grunt. For a brief second, pain flashed clearly across his face before the expression disappeared almost instantly. The man rolled once and immediately got back onto his feet with his axe raised again, ready to continue fighting. But Rayne simply let his own weapon fall from his hands. The axe hit the dirt beside him with a dull thud.

Jason blinked once before lowering his guard with a scoff, knowing the duel was over. Giving the man a nod, Rayne looked down toward his palms. The skin across them had split in several places, and small blisters had already burst open from gripping the axe too tightly through the impacts. Blood mixed with sweat along his fingers. He frowned slightly at the sight, hoping [Lesser Regeneration] would heal it by the end of the day.

"You're gripping the axe too tightly." Jason spoke while resting the weapon on his shoulder.

"You need to relax your hands more and trust yourself to use the weight to your advantage." Rayne glanced toward him silently.

"Right now," Jason continued, "you fight like someone who picked up an axe again after years." Honestly, he wasn't completely wrong. After all, his skill gave him basic comprehension, but without any experience, his control of the axe was shoddy, just the way he described it. Before Rayne could answer though, another voice spoke from nearby.

"Yet you still lost to him." Both men turned immediately and saw Nate standing near the edge of the training field with a grin on his face. For how long he had been watching, they had no idea. Jason frowned instantly.

"I didn't lose," he argued.

"This was practice for Rayne." Nate's grin only widened.

"But you still ended up on the ground." Jason pointed his axe toward him immediately.

"Why don't you come fight me then? Show me what you've got, and we will see who tastes dirt." Nate simply shrugged lazily at the challenge.

"I don't have a weapon mastery skill to practice," he replied calmly.

"So I'm good." Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Jason shook his head before spitting onto the side of the training field.

"Coward." Nate looked completely unbothered by the insult.

"Better a coward," he said with a smile, "than ending up in the healer's room." Rayne couldn't argue with that, and either way, such a one on one training wouldn't help Nate. The man was simply a different kind of soldier compared to him or Jason. Even during normal combat, he relied far more on agility and movement than raw force. He could use a shield well enough when needed, but Rayne honestly couldn't imagine him properly wielding a heavy axe for extended periods of time. The weapon just didn't suit him.

Still, that didn't mean Rayne planned on letting him ignore it completely. In fact, he had already decided that everyone in the squad would at least learn the basics of multiple weapons in their time in the capital. Not mastery, but enough familiarity that they wouldn't look completely helpless when faced against different types of weapons. The same applied to formation training. Now that they were finally inside Valers without an immediate quest hanging over their heads, there was actually time to properly train.

During the campaign, most of their time had been spent marching, fighting, recovering, and repeating the cycle again. Here, things were different. Rayne had already spent part of the morning thinking about how to organize future training sessions for the squad. The only reason he hadn't already dragged everyone onto the training field was because he wanted to give them a few days to settle into the capital first. After all, most of the warband was still busy exploring Valers.

That was the reason why the training ground behind the longhouse was so empty right now. As Rayne thought about all that, the banter between Jason and Nate ended, and the large man turned toward him again, adjusting the axe resting against his shoulder.

"So," the larger man said, "want another round?" Rayne stilled briefly, then he shook his head.

"No, I think that's enough training for today. I want to look around the city." Jason nodded immediately in understanding.

"Fair enough," he said.

"You trained with Casper this morning too, right?" Rayne nodded once while thinking back toward the earlier hours of the day. Surprisingly, Casper's training hadn't been physically exhausting today. Instead of defending against her spells, she had made him focus entirely on mana manipulation. Most of the session had involved Rayne trying to create more mana threads while shaping them into increasingly difficult forms. It sounded simple in theory. In practice, it had been incredibly frustrating.

More than once, the mana threads had collapsed halfway through forming a shape, and controlling multiple at once still felt awkward to him. Still, both he and Casper had noticed improvement, and she mentioned that he should get the [Mana Manipulation] skill within a week if he stayed consistent.

"I don't think I'll train anymore today," Rayne said after a few seconds. At that, Nate turned to him.

"If you're just exploring the city," he said casually, "we could go together. I already won enough card games against the cooks in one day." Jason immediately let out a snort.

"You just want to drag him into more gambling dens." Nate clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"What's wrong with that?" he argued.

"Even if he doesn't play, he can still watch and learn." Jason shook his head with amusement.

"You truly are an addict."

"It's called making money." Before the two could properly start arguing again, Rayne stretched his sore arms slightly before speaking.

"It's a good offer," he admitted, cutting the banter.

"But I want to go alone." Nate looked like he wanted to ask why. But before he could, Rayne moved across the training ground. He picked up his axe from the dirt before heading toward the back entrance of the longhouse. After stepping inside, he stored the axe in the armoury before making his way toward his room upstairs while the distant voices of the few soldiers that still remained here came out from the common area. Now that the trial was finally over, Rayne was technically free again.

At least as free as he could be with the threat of death hanging on his head, even if he didn't see it. Still, there were several things he wanted to do before the kingdom eventually shoved him toward the godless ruins, and one of those things had been pending for a very long time now. After reaching his room, Rayne immediately started removing his armor piece by piece before placing it beside the rest of his belongings. The relief on his body after removing the heavy equipment was immediate.

Once done, he changed into a simple dark shirt and plain pants. Honestly, the previous owner of this body barely had any extra clothes at all. Back during the campaign, that had never really mattered much. Most soldiers wore armour everyday anyway. But now that he was in the capital, Rayne found himself staring briefly at his reflection in the window and wondering if he should buy better clothing. Though, that wasn't his goal today.

After pushing a hand through his hair to make sure it wasn't sticking out wildly, Rayne grabbed a small pouch resting near his bed and reached inside it. His fingers brushed past the gold coins before finally finding the item he wanted. The metal bracelet. The same one he had discovered in the first dungeon he had entered. Rayne slowly pulled it out and studied it for a moment. The strange inscriptions carved across its surface looked just as unfamiliar and unreadable as they had the day he found it.

No matter how many times he looked at them, he still couldn't understand what they meant. Hopefully, that would change today. After confirming the bracelet was safely inside the pouch, Rayne grabbed a simple robe and wore it over his clothes before leaving the room. Finding his way out of varlan street no longer took much effort. Soon enough, he crossed through several narrower roads before eventually reaching the massive bridge dividing the city again. Valers looked even busier today.

Crowds moved constantly through the streets while merchants shouted from stalls and carriages rolled slowly between intersections. Rayne guessed the weather was simply better today. Earlier in the morning, he had asked Casper more about the city and where different places could be found. Since she had spent years studying inside Astra Academy, she knew Valers well and had given him a rough explanation of the districts.

That conversation was how Rayne learned that the best place to appraise strange artifacts was the main market street, a place he had actually crossed yesterday. According to Casper, if something existed inside Valers, then someone in that street probably sold it. And honestly, after reaching the place properly this time, Rayne could believe it. The market street stretched endlessly ahead of him, packed tightly with shops, stalls, and crowds.

Bright cloth canopies hung above merchant stands while signs carved with elegant lettering swayed gently outside larger stores. Some stalls sold jewelry and rings glittering under sunlight while others displayed rows of weapons hanging neatly against walls. The smell of cooked food filled the air constantly. Fresh bread, roasted meat, sweet pastries, and unfamiliar spices mixed together into one overwhelming scent. Vendors loudly advertised their goods while customers bargained aggressively over prices.

Rayne even spotted one stall openly selling monster parts. Rows of claws, scales, fangs, and preserved eyes rested inside glass containers while an old merchant argued with a customer about the quality of a hogoblin fang. Still, despite the sheer variety around him, Rayne didn't waste time stopping at food or weapon shops. Instead, he kept moving forward while weaving through the crowds carefully.

Eventually, he stopped beside a porter carrying several large sheets of metal stacked in his arms who was taking a break on the side.

"Do you know where I can find a place for artifact appraisal?" Rayne asked. The young man paused to look at him, then immediately nodded toward a larger road ahead.

"Taklu's House of Arcane Goods," he answered, and jerked his head down the street.

"Big building. Hard to miss." Rayne thanked him and handed over a single copper coin before continuing onward. Soon enough, he spotted the shop, and honestly, it was much larger than he expected. The building stretched three stories high with dark polished wood and the name of the shop written in a gold carving on top of the first floor. Without wasting time, Rayne stepped through the entrance.

The inside was filled with shelves carrying all sorts of strange items while weapons rested along the opposite wall behind protective glass. He gave them a quick glance and turned towards the reception counter, and froze. Because standing there was someone he immediately recognized. Mona, the girl he had met back in Bricksall.

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