Thump.
Ren swung his axe with all his force on the dummy's chest, creating a loud, dull impact.
"Huff… huff…" It had been around twenty minutes since he had started training by himself, and now Evan and the rest also poured into the training hall one after another when he wasn't paying attention.
Stopping to take a short rest, he felt that this much warm-up was more than enough.
'Should I spar with them now?' His eyes glanced over to where Ronan and Caleb were present, sparring with each other.
Caleb used a machete, which was easy to slash, but fell short in other aspects such as thrusting and blocking.
Ronan wielded a metal sword that was around one meter in length.
Its blade length was around eight-tenths while the pommel/handle was two-tenths long.
'Should I just abandon them and run towards the direction of the temple by myself?' The idea came to his mind just for a moment, but his body suddenly shivered in the second next.
'No, I don't want to experience that soul-wrenching pain again. I guess I will have to stick with them for the time being.'
Finally setting his sights on Evan who was using a spear to teach Lina how to wield a sword and shield simultaneously while fighting, Ren advanced towards him.
Thinking that the best matchup for a short-reach user like him should be someone who could use a spear, he decided to take on Evan as his opponent for the spar.
Evan, noticing his advance, stopped Lina from continuing further.
"I will spar with Ren for a little bit. You can rest in the meantime." His face bore a smile, which was rarely visible unless he was interested in something or talking to Lina.
'Lovebirds in the apocalypse. Is there anything more left for me to see?' But Ren didn't say anything directly and kept his thoughts to himself.
Nodding his head, both Ren and Evan went to the center of the training ground, where a circular area was made with wooden barricades, reaching up to their waist.
Stepping into the sparring area, both stood opposite each other.
Ren took a deep breath as he saw the spear in the hands of his opponent. He clearly knew that an axe user was at a direct disadvantage against a spear wielder due to the reach a spear provided.
But that was the very reason why he had chosen Evan as his opponent, because every vermin he fought until now was only attacked like mindless zombies.
Except for the level 10 Vermin which had ambushed him with its claws.
He could still remember how he was completely powerless facing the Vermin with its long claws while being empty-handed. (If not counting the piece of wood Ren used for a surprise attack.)
"Ready?" Evan bent his body forward, slightly raising his hands and tightly gripping the spear, and just as Ren nodded his head, he attacked.
Taking a single step ahead, he thrust his spear forward.
Ren ducked sideways while swinging his axe to intercept the spear.
But Evan was slightly faster.
He pulled back his spear the moment the axe was going to collide with it.
Then, he once again tried to thrust forward but was met with Ren's charge.
'I have shorter reach, so I need to get closer.' He leapt forward, axe swinging in a wide arc towards Evan.
'Step back.' Evan quickly stepped backwards while using his spear's long shaft to block the attack.
Clang.
A metallic sound rang in the air. The vibration seeped into Ren's arms, giving him a numbing sensation.
Just as he was about to pull his axe and reposition himself, a kick landed squarely on his chest.
The force threw him out of the sparring zone.
"Why did you—" before Ren could finish his words, Evan interrupted.
"We are going to fight for survival, not honor. Either you live or die. So anything that helps you survive is a weapon."
This was Evan's ideal when it came to a fight, which he was trying instill in Ren.
That was what Evan spoke, but while being the truth, his attention was on something else.
It was Ren's condition.
'Even considering the time he was warming up, this short fight has gotten him out of breath. But his strength…' Looking down at his arm, he could still feel the numbness in it.
'Don't tell me he allocated most of his stat points to strength.' His lips parted to ask, but he didn't.
Thinking that it was not his place to comment on how others distributed their stats, he decided to keep silent. And why not? Because Ren was currently at level six, his stamina stat was at seventeen points.
Evan's stamina was 20 when he was at level six.
'Maybe his initial stats were low.' He stood there, once again in stance as Ren tightened his grip on the axe.
But just as Evan was about to thrust his spear once again, he was shocked by the scene before him.
"Wha—?"
Ren had thrown his axe directly at Evan and was now running straight at him.
Nonetheless, Evan parried the strike with a sweep of his spear.
Sidestepping at the last moment, Ren stopped and attempted a left elbow strike directly at his face.
At the same instance, Evan's eyes locked on Ren's movement.
In an instant, Evan reared his head back, avoiding the elbow strike just by an inch.
Ren's eyes widened seeing his attack missed once again, but before he could rebalance himself—Evan kicked at his left leg from behind.
Before the strike could land, Ren's right leg tightened, and on sheer instinct—he jumped from the ground and avoided the blow.
Evan's heartbeat stopped for a second, for he, too, was now imbalanced.
'Shit.' Just as the thought struck him, a kick landed directly on Evan's nose.
Ren fell to the ground, but Evan, too, had fallen with him this time.
Standing up, Ren just stared at Evan half-focused. His mind filled with the numerous attack patterns he could see in Evan's move.
'Did I just predict his move's trajectory in such a short time?'
It was then that Ren started to realize his ability to adapt might be in a whole other league.
"Did I see that right…?" Caleb muttered with a super shocked gaze.
"Yeah, he tackled Evan's back kick just by witnessing it once," Lina muttered, her face half-astonished and half-shocked.
But Ronan, his eyes brightened up seeing the scene.
'Maybe, maybe we can reach Highcrest with his help.'
Ren didn't even know that this short spar had completely changed how others viewed him.