When Altea saw that John was ready, she nodded and grabbed a one-handed sword. When John noticed how Altea drew her sword and prepared to spar, his perception told him that she was very proficient. John did not lower his guard even though Altea was just a young girl.
John thought to himself, "Just being in this training area means she's quite capable. I can even feel a bit of danger from her. And her calm demeanor… it makes my heart tingle."
When he saw that Altea was ready, John did not hesitate to attack right away without holding anything back. He swung his sword diagonally, but Altea casually deflected it without emotion. John wasn't easily surprised, but this made him realize that she was a true genius. So he focused more, putting everything into his barrage of attacks.
After a while, John panted. "What the heck is this kid? We're the same age, but it seems like her sword skills are better than mine. Without the System's help, I'd probably be dead on the floor already."
Soon, John also noticed that Altea hadn't even moved from her spot. She stood in the exact same place since they started. It was John who kept attacking while she only defended. Growing frustrated, he tried again and again, but Altea wouldn't even shift her feet.
Hours passed with the same outcome. John was exhausted and dripping with sweat. His goal was no longer to defeat Altea, but simply to make her move one step.
With his perception, John finally spotted what looked like a once-in-a-lifetime opening—Altea made a mistake. Seizing the chance, John lunged forward with an attack. But to his horror, it wasn't a mistake at all—it was a feint. He then heard a soft chuckle.
Suddenly, a dark shadow closed in on him. John instinctively shut his eyes.
He cursed in his mind, "Damn, I'm dead!"
The next moment, he felt a crushing blow to his chest, as though struck by a heavy hammer. All the onlookers saw John fly across the room, crashing into racks and shattering them.
When they saw him pass out, they couldn't help but laugh. One fierce mercenary looked at him and said, "Another one bites the dust, eh?" The others were already familiar with Altea. Despite her appearance as a young girl, many had tried to intimidate her, but all of them ended up in even worse shape than John.
…
When John woke up, he found himself in the infirmary. It was already past the afternoon, and his chest still burned with pain. Remembering what happened, he couldn't help but feel depressed about the outcome. The most humiliating part was recalling that feminine chuckle before he blacked out.
He shook his head. "A little kid beat me up."
"No… that wasn't a kid. That person is a monster!"
John then looked at his interface: Swordsmanship 6/100. He was surprised by the progress. Even though he was defeated, he still gained decent experience.
"Hmmm, I still have 1 skill point. Should I just add it to Swordsmanship?"
After thinking for a while, John shook his head. "No, no, not yet. It's not needed. Besides, sparring already gives me good experience."
…
Archery Range
When John arrived at the archery range, he joined his new group. Seeing him come, many of the others gave approving looks. They had seen him as a kid still wet behind the ears, but after the beating, most thought he would just quit—like many who had dared to challenge Altea.
As John walked to grab a bow, he spotted Altea again, shooting arrows. Sensing his gaze, she turned her head and saw him. Their eyes met. John's heart pounded wildly, and his hands trembled slightly. Altea smiled faintly before turning back to her practice.
John ignored her and picked up a short bow. He didn't want to compete, but both his body and spirit seemed to ignite. Blocking out everything else, he focused wholeheartedly on his archery.
An hour passed, and suddenly new knowledge about archery seemed to flow into his mind. His stance improved drastically, his drawing speed quickened, and his accuracy sharpened.
When others saw John hitting targets at 100 yards with ease, they could hardly believe it. Even Captain Elias, who was observing, was genuinely amazed once more. His thoughts were in turmoil—this was only John's second day! Looking at John, then at Altea, he felt the sting of old age.
John wasn't arrogant about hitting the targets so easily. He remembered the beating from Altea and knew her skills were probably as good as, if not better than, his own. So he kept practicing, grinding for more experience.
In the distance, on Altea's side…
With a stoic face, Altea loosed her arrows. But her shots flew wide, nowhere near the target. When others saw her archery, they sighed in relief. Her swordsmanship was monstrous, but her archery was terrible.
After loosing a few more arrows, she gave up and thought, "Yep. I hate archery."
…
Another night passed. John didn't get the chance to hunt rats, so he started experimenting with the seeds he had taken from dinner. He discovered that the best way to avoid being seen was to use his Temporal Acceleration underground, with his hand pressed into the earth.
Before long, he got the results he wanted. Digging into the soil, he unearthed fully matured potatoes. After several more attempts, John realized that extending the temporal field beyond 120 days caused the potatoes to rot and die.
He paused, shaking his head, feeling it was a waste to use his own life force just to grow a simple potato. Then an idea struck him. "I remember hearing from the chef that they used plants that take ten years to mature to nourish the veteran soldiers."
John's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Then, I guess it is time for me to find these special seeds!"