"Alright, here is your badge." The female receptionist handed Raine an oval-shaped white badge, with a hole at the top and a gray string attached.
The badge seemed to have undergone some special processing. Raine felt it in his hand, and its texture was similar to smooth and hard porcelain, yet not entirely the same.
The back was engraved with the name Raine Farrell and a series of numbers.
From the craftsmanship, it seemed to be completed using some kind of mystical side processing technique, otherwise, the female receptionist couldn't possibly have finished such detailed work in a short time.
"Please keep the badge safe, as you'll need it for tasks, identification, and so on."
"Okay, thank you."
"If you are a new adventurer, I'd recommend you only take basic tasks. It's best to find companions to complete tasks together, as it will be much safer."
"Alright."
"I wish you all the best."
"Thanks!"
Raine headed towards the backyard.
He had just scanned the area, distinguishing the outfits of most adventurers.
If the person is a caster, they are unlikely to carry shields, two-handed greatswords, or wear heavy armor like thick hide or chain armor. Yet, those carrying such items made up over 60% of the total adventurers.
Similarly, they are also less likely to carry a strong bow, eliminating another 20%.
With this elimination, there weren't many adventurers meeting the criteria, and after subtracting those carrying dual darts or having mismatched auras, there were very few suspected casters present.
The few who met the criteria were at the center of small teams, and when the others talked, they were the focus.
"It seems that the status of casters in adventurer teams is even higher than I imagined."
"For regular warriors, employment... seems a bit tough!"
No need to ask deliberately; at this point, Raine already roughly had his answers.
Perhaps soon, he could quickly join a team by being a caster.
Regardless, staying in Mill Town for a while and understanding some adventurer knowledge is essential.
Additionally, if he could take this time to undergo some combat skills and weapon training, it would undoubtedly be very beneficial for the upcoming adventures.
Although Raine was satisfied with the power and unique freezing ability of the Freezing Ray, the problem was that he currently had only two casting opportunities, which was far too few to give him sufficient security.
Walking through the corridor, Raine arrived at a backyard.
Calling it a backyard might be more aptly termed a courtyard.
Buildings surrounded all sides, with the center facing the bright blue sky. On both sides of the ground stood many straw figures, wooden dummies, and standing triangular wooden targets.
Additionally, in the left corner of the backyard, there was a conspicuous warhammer.
The hammerhead was unusual, with flat-bottomed square ends, looking like thickened bricks, only the gray metallic sheen indicated it was made of some kind of metal.
The hammer handle was about half a meter long. Judging by the grip, it seemed to be a one-handed hammer.
"Such a large piece of metal, it must be incredibly heavy..."
Raine glanced at it and then looked away.
At the moment, many young men and women about Raine's age were practicing with spears, swords, bows, and shields under the guidance of an unusually burly short middle-aged man.
"Wait, that's... a dwarf." Raine's eyes slightly widened.
He was startled to realize that the only combat trainer in Mill Town, Humbert, turned out to be a rare dwarf warrior.
At least in Mill Town, dwarves were still rare.
Even if there were, they wouldn't be among the lowest ranks of adventurers, maybe on the second floor?
Humbert Burnbeard was half a head shorter than Raine's shoulder, but his body was muscular, and his arms were even thicker than Raine's thighs.
What caught Raine's eye the most was the thick red curls on the dwarf's face, with three beard braids tied like hair at his chin.
Due to dwarves' life expectancy far exceeding humans, averaging over two hundred years, Raine couldn't determine the dwarf's age.
Maybe forty, fifty, or even older.
But having an experienced dwarf warrior as a teacher was naturally not a bad thing.
Only...
"Raise your shield higher!"
"Weak! Is that a shield block? You hold the shield like a woman holding a pumpkin in a pumpkin patch!"
Humbert was holding an ordinary wooden stick, casually tapping on a young man's raised shield, reprimanding him.
Watching the sturdy young man blush from the scolding, Raine realized that Tutor Humbert probably didn't have a great temper.
"And you! Your spear couldn't even pierce a goblin!"
"Put in more effort!!"
...
At this time, a young girl approached and said, "Hello, are you here to learn basic warrior combat skills from Tutor Humbert as well?"
"Uh... yes."
"Hello, my name is Liya, I'm sort of an assistant to Tutor Humbert," the blonde ponytailed girl said with a smile.
"Hello, I'm Raine."
"Mr. Raine, what do you want to learn?"
"Tutor Humbert is experienced and skilled in most warrior weapon techniques, such as spears, one-handed swords, one-handed hammers, shields, two-handed hammers, two-handed swords, and so on."
"Miss Liya, as a novice adventurer, do you have any recommendations?"
"The sword and shield combination might be a good choice, but if you want something safer, the spear and shield combination would be better."
"Spear and shield combination?"
"Yes, the shield can block ranged attacks, and the attack range of the spear is longer than that of a one-handed sword. However, mastering combat skills with a spear is indeed a bit difficult."
"But in the early stages, undeniably, it's one of the best choices for novice adventurers."
"What about bows or crossbows? Don't these have a longer attack distance?" Raine asked again.
"Indeed, they are longer, but the problem is that practicing archery takes a long time. Forming combat ability in actual battle within a year is nearly genius level."
"As for crossbow arrows, they are decent for close-range shooting, but whether it's one or two bolts, there's rarely a chance to reload during a whole battle."
"Understood." Raine nodded after some thought.
It seems the best combination to quickly enhance combat ability is the spear and shield.
When adventures become more routine and time is more ample, the bow or crossbow can be learned.
Raine glanced at the situation of those practicing in the courtyard.
Indeed, a majority of them were practicing spear stabbing and sword and shield.
"What is Tutor Humbert's specialty?"
Raine looked at Humbert's waist, which was as wide as his shoulders, and couldn't help but ask, because there hung a notably large warhammer.
"Tutor Humbert is most proficient in warhammers and shields."
Hmm?
Then why were most people practicing spear stabbing, shield blocking, and one-handed sword slashing?
And a few were practicing with two-handed swords, but none with one-handed hammers.
"Huh? Why is nobody learning the one-handed hammer?" Raine couldn't help but be puzzled.
"For the one-handed hammer, Tutor Humbert has particularly high expectations. Most novice adventurers probably rarely reach the level of approval from Tutor Humbert," Liya said tactfully.
Raine naturally understood what she meant.
To put it bluntly, Tutor Humbert didn't think much of the adventurers here, feeling that practicing warhammers was less practical than spears or swords.
"Understood, is it a lack of power?"
"Uh... according to Tutor Humbert, it's not just power but also the feeling for the hammer," Liya seemed puzzled as to why the novice adventurer in front of her had so many questions.
Nonetheless, she patiently answered Raine's question.
Alright, hearing this answer, Raine wasn't sure how to continue the conversation.
"I'd like to learn the spear and shield." After pondering for a moment, Raine said.
Learning the spear was because within a month, training in archery to a certain level of combat proficiency was nearly impossible.
The spear, however, mainly involved stabbing motions, which could yield results in a short time.
Moreover, he had experience using a fork, which should help him achieve results more quickly to some extent.