Chapter 9: Training
Buukkk…
The kick seemed to hit the target. It did land, but not like the attacker had expected. Andre, the attacker, was confident that his kick would hit Janu's chest. So, he didn't exert his full strength in his kick because he knew that his opponent could suffer heavy damage.
Janu moved both his hands in front of his chest so that they crossed each other to defend against the kick. It was effective and he didn't even move a step backward from the impact. It made the attacker flabbergasted.
'Isn't he a newly awakened and doesn't have a class yet? He's like an A-Rank tank.'
Janu's stats were almost double the normal awakened's and his growth was much better. At level 70, which was equal to mid B-Rank, his stats were on par with those of an average A-Rank. He also wore Heroic gears, which were set to invisible. For Janu the result was to be expected, but for Andre this was unexpected.
Andre didn't lose focus and after landing on his feet, he feinted a left hook. When Janu focused on that attack and was still thinking whether to block or avoid, Andre swung his right leg to sweep Janu's left leg.
Plekk..
Janu lost his balance when the sweep succeeded. Andre followed up with a grappling to the head. Having caught the head with both of his hands, he launched a knee attack using his left leg at the opponent's belly.
Buukkk…
And again, using the right one.
Buukkk…
Two consecutive knee attacks landed perfectly. A regular raider, even if he was an A-Rank, would suffer from that attack. Anyone watching this spar would agree that Andre got the upperhand. However, to his surprise, Janu wasn't really hurt from that.
'What is his body made of? It's so d*mn hard,' Andre found that it was weird for Janu to have such constitution.
'He's good. Without the gears I would have collapsed from that.'
Janu exerted his strength on his arms and tried to break free from the lock. He put his hands on Andre's shoulders and using his elbows he pushed his arms out from the inside.
'What a strength!?'
It wasn't impossible to match Andre's strength by activating all the perks from the gears. And so he broke free from Andre's clutch.
He then took two steps behind to keep his distance and tried to find an opening. He tried to recall a combo from a video he had watched when he was still at school.
'Jab, jab, double roundhouse.. or crescent kick, double elbow, backward kick..?'
Janu executed the first combo...poorly. He had never practiced properly and only in situations like this was he forced to try anything.
The jabs were avoided and when he was about to do the double roundhouse, Andre moved his right foot to do a front kick. The kick hit the abdomen and Janu was pushed backward. He then steadied himself and moved closer to the opponent slowly. He bent slightly and charged to catch his opponent. He grappled Andre's body from the front and pushed him back. The grappling wasn't perfect and Andre could break free from that.
Janu punched on the abdomen using his right hand when he saw the chance. But, Andre wasn't an easy opponent. He pulled his body to the left and Janu's hand only met the air. After he avoided the punch, Andre folded his right arm and chopped on Janu's neck.
Plaakkk…
Janu staggered from it and almost fell down. He tried to stand back and got ready for another bout.
"Okay, that's enough," Santi interfered with the spar and stopped it.
"So what do you think?" Santi asked Andre's evaluation about Janu.
"He's strong. Any raiders below A-Rank would have collapsed. But..." Andre stopped at that and looked at Janu.
"You're already a rider, aren't you?" Andre asked Janu.
"I'm not sure. A raider is an awakened who has skills related to the class, right? In that sense, I'm not a raider. I don't have a class yet, but I have a skill."
"What nonsense is that?" Andre couldn't believe that.
"Can you tell us about your skill?" Santi was curious about it.
"It's related to production. The President knows about it. We're not sure yet, so there's nothing we can say about it."
"Okay. So, Andre?" Santi continued.
"I was surprised with your tenacity. Your strength is equal to an A-Rank. It's even possible to be equal to a mid A-Rank. If you are geared up, you may even be on par with a peak A-Rank."
"Really!?" Santi was shocked.
"However, your movement is crude. You're inexperienced in real combat. You may win against monsters, even when against B-Rank or low A-Rank. But against raiders, or intelligent monsters you'll definitely lose."
"That's undeniably correct. I've never fought against someone, even before the awakening. I just don't know how to fight."
Actually Janu wasn't sure about that. The monsters he had fought were not even level 80. They were below A-Rank, but they were definitely stronger than the average.
"Your instinct is good, but you think too much."
"But…" Janu wanted to say that he didn't know any fancy moves for fighting. He was also nervous about fighting an A-Rank.
"I know. You need to have a good foundation. You need tons of training and real fights so that your body can react instinctively without too much thinking."
"Do you have any suggestions?"
"Plenty. I will train you in the evening. Santi will train you in the morning."
"Me, too?" Santi didn't expect that. The President only looked for Andre that time, so she thought that it had to be Andre.
"Yes, sure. He will also face magic-type monsters. He needs experience."
"Start with basic training. Run 10 kilos, sit up 100 times, squat 100 times, and push up 100 times. Do those exercises in the morning before you train with Santi."
"What kind of exercise is that!?" Even for Santi that was ridiculous.
"I call it 'My Raider Way to Become SSS-Rank' Hahahahaaa…"
"Stop joking around, will you?" Santi scolded him.
"I'm not joking. His body needs exercise. If he wants to exert his full potential, his body must be able to endure it. His body cannot follow his commands as of right now," Andre gave Santi and Janu the justification to his method.
"And if he misses the training? Will he get a punishment?"
"No, of course not. He's the one who needs it, not me. It's up to him. Nothing will happen if he doesn't do it." Andre pretended to be ignorant, but he actually really wanted to train this interesting fellow. "So, will you do it?"
"I will do it."
"Good. See? Train him with the footwork. Make him dance."
"Kukukukuu… I will give my best," Santi was happy hearing that, opposite to her protest previously. Andre could see she had a mischievous thought.
'Women.'
"Do good in the exercise. If you show good progress, the President will personally train you," Santi tried to give encouragement to Janu.
"I will. Thank you very much," he thanked Santi and Andre.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Mr. Ellyas wishes to see you. Meet him at his office on floor 28," Santi informed Janu to meet Ellyas, his other uncle.
"I will."
Janu left the Arena and took the elevator to floor 28, which was only two floors below Bimo's 'office'. When he entered the elevator there was a man inside. He was quite well built and rather handsome. His height was above average but was still a little shorter than Andre. He gave off a distant feeling and it made anyone, who wasn't accustomed to him, unwilling to start a conversation. His eyes were deep and he looked serious. Janu would normally greet him but after a second thought he gave up the idea.
'Floor 28?'
Janu saw the lit button which indicates the floor the man was going to. 'What a coincidence.'
"Going to Floor 28, too?" The man started the conversation after seeing Janu didn't press any button.
"Yes, Sir."
The man was unpredictably friendly.
"Who are you seeing?"
"It's Mr. Ellyas. I was informed that his office was there."
"That's right. What a coincidence. I also happen to go there."
They arrived and entered the office together. There was a man sitting behind a work desk and he stood as soon as he saw who was coming.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Dirga," the man greeted. "I would have come to your office if you needed me."
"Don't mind it, Mr. Ellyas. I need to go outside once in a while. I'm not really into office work."
'Dirga? He's the Vice President!?' Janu didn't expect that the man was the second in command in the UR.
"So how's the cadet training?" Dirga wanted to know.
'The training just started. What did he really want to know?' Ellyas didn't expect that question.
"It's going well. The cadets look promising. It will be tough to choose only ten,"
"What if we change the training a little? Train them as usual for three weeks and select them through actual combat."
"Pardon? To have them battle each other…" Ellyas didn't know the reason behind it and it had never been done before.
"That's alright. The President will approve it," Dirga pressed the matter. No decisions in the UR were made without thorough consideration, so Dirga, as the Vice President, had to have a good reason.
"Very well, Sir. I will arrange it."
"Now, excuse me. Oh, this guy wants to see you."
Dirga left after finished with his business.
"Good afternoon, Uncle Ellyas. I'm Janu."
Ellyas stood and approached him. He held his shoulders with a sense of pride.
"It seems they don't exaggerate. You're just like your father."
"I'm flattered. I'm just no one."
"No..no.. You're perfectly fit to be your father's son. You'll be much greater than him. Don't worry, we'll give you our full support," Ellyas was happy to see him and promised him support. He continued,"I wish you were part of the cadet training. But, that's fine. You're also trained by the couple."
"The couple? Mr. Andre and Ms. Santi?"
"Hahahaha.. not really. But they're like one. They're one of our best instructors so you'll learn much from them."
"Yes, Uncle."
"If you need anything just tell me. If I can't fulfill it, let's just ask the President. Hahahaha…"
They continued talking and Janu left after some time.
The next three weeks was a hard time for Janu and the cadets. They were training hard like there was no tomorrow. The training they underwent brought about huge changes to their growth. Even though they didn't gain levels, and thus didn't rise in ranks, they gained experience and improved in combat techniques. A huge difference could be seen, especially for Janu. He could execute many moves from different disciplines: karate, taekwondo, jujitsu, boxing, silat and many others. He also learned how to use different types of weapons. Now he could avoid Diana's spells, although she didn't go all out, and could even Andre, of course with his cheat, i.e. his invisible gears. At the same level, he was confident that he could win against him without those gears.
In the UR hall.
"All of you have undergone hardship and you have improved by leaps and bounds. You are now elites of your respective levels and your future as a raider is limitless. However, there will only be ten raiders who represent the United Raiders in the joint training. To select those ten, we will administer a different method for this year. In the next week, you will fight against each other."
"What!? Fighting?"
"We have different ranks. That's not fair."
"Yeaahhh… That's much better."
"What about us, the White Mage?"
The atmosphere changed and the raiders had different reactions after hearing the announcement.
"You don't have to worry. You'll be given a special device that limits your level. As you know, we test your potential so you'll have an equal chance. For you White Mages, the battles will be group battles. You'll be judged by your performance. All of you will be assigned to a different group each day. The schedule and the group will be sent to your UR account. Any questions?"
"Yes, I have a question."
….
….
Many raiders raised their hands at the same time. The change caused a huge uproar among them.
It was already eight o'clock in the evening and Janu was in the arena. Previously Bimo contacted him after he received a report from Andre and Santi.
Steps of two persons could be heard. Bimo and a young woman entered. The young woman was about 25 years old. She's not slender nor feminime. She wasn't that tomboyish, either. Her hair wasn't long nor short and it fell on her shoulder. Her body was proportional and men would find it attractive. She would fit into a female superhero cast. Even women would be jealous of her charisma.
"You're here. This is Garuda Mystic's Vice Leader, Jacklyn. She's beautiful, isn't she?" Bimo introduced the young woman.
'What's that supposed to mean? Well, she is beautiful. More beautiful than Diana, I think. But, that's not the point. Why is Garuda Mystic' rep here?'
"Ehemmm."
Before Janu could answer, Jacklyn gave a signal to Bimo. She wasn't the type to receive orders. Her coming to the UR was already a no for her if not for the auction. To add, the President of the UR asked her to help him train someone she didn't know.
"Yeah, right. She's the Head Instructor of the joint training. The joint training will start one week after the UR selection finishes. I also informed her about our deal with Mr. Parvesh. So, she will help me train you. How does that sound?"
…
…
"That's great." It took a moment before Janu could respond.
"Why don't we see the results of your training with Andre and Santi? Jacklyn."
As if she knew his intention, Jacklyn went to the arena.
'An S-Rank Magic Knight, huh? It will be much tougher than Andre and Santi.'
"Come, what are you waiting for?" Jacklyn was like being provocative. However, that was due to her nature. As a knight, she was often in a defensive stance to cover her teammates and rarely dealt damage, as it was the dealer's role lik, assassins and blackmage.
Janu could only rely on his stats and techniques, but he wasn't unconfident. He took a stance and carefully approached his opponent. He dashed and launched a punch with his right hand to her face. It was quick and any average raider below S-Rank would think that it would definitely hit the target. However, just as his fist about to hit, it stopped. Jacklyn caught his fist using her left hand.
'Huh!?'
Janu didn't expect that. She was a knight type and he thought she wouldn't have high agility. But, contrary to what he had expected, Jacklyn was fast. To be able to catch a fast punch was a rare feat, not even Andre would be able to do that.
Jacklyn released her clutch and gave him another chance to attack. Janu launched another attack with his fist but he stopped halfway and switched to attacking with his leg.
Bukkk….
His leg stopped after hitting Jacklyn's leg. Even though he didn't use his full strength it was still surprising that his opponent didn't even budge. His attack was similar to what Andre did when they were sparring for the first time. The only difference was that Janu's attack didn't make the opponent falter.
"Don't hold back." Jacklyn was still standing still there and gave another taunt.
Janu bent his knees a little and jumped forward to do a reverse kick mid-air. He didn't have the intention to knock out his target with that attack. He knew it wasn't that easy. He only wanted to move his opponent from her spot and create another chance to do a combo.
Janu was now ready with any possibilities. His opponent was an S-Rank and she was undoubtedly an experienced fighter. However, what happened next was beyond his expectation. Jacklyn grabbed his leg with the right hand. Her left hand followed suit and grabbed the same leg. She then bent her right knee a little while turning around to help her move the weight of her opponent. Janu was thrown easily and rolled to the ground.
"Ugghh…"
"When attacking, make sure to be ready to defend," Jacklyn gave him advice.
'What was that!? It was weird.' It was as if he was being pulled with an invisible force.
He got up and tried another attack.
'Punch or kick? Don't think too much.' He was confident before. But after his attack failed he became nervous and forgot his lesson from Andre.
Now, he used his instinct in attacking. He needed to surprise his opponent. He punched with full strength but got ready for a counter. As he expected, Jacklyn caught his arm and pulled using the same force. Janu didn't try to resist the pull. Instead, he followed the force and rolled. While rolling, he copied her. While his right hand wasn't free, his left hand was. So he used that to grab on her arm and pulled her to his direction.
'Huhh?'
Janu was surprised. He thought that Jacklyn would be pulled, but she didn't move an inch.
"Not bad. You're a fast learner. But, it's not a technique you can master on the first try. You need to train properly," She said that while they were still in an awkward position. "Now, if you please."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Janu let go of her hand and stood.
"You're not an average raider. It seems that you're quite experienced."
"I was trained by Mr. Andre and Ms. Santi."
"That's not what I meant. It's more than that. Have you ever been to a dungeon and fought monsters, Mr. Janu?"
"Please call me Janu, Ms. Jacklyn. And yes, sort of."
"Call me Jacklyn."
'What sort of?' Bimo wondered about that. 'Has he ever fought monsters before?'
"What is the name of your technique?"
"It's Aikido. The point is that you use your opponent's strength against him."
"Sounds interesting."
"You're like an A-Rank. Hone your technique. You will be able to master this technique, too."
"Sure. I'll be in your care, then."
"You're not tired, are you?"
"Yes, Uncle?"
"Now, it's my turn. Get ready."
"What?"
So they had a spar and the result was obvious. Unlike Jacklyn, Bimo was more aggressive. It took one hit and Janu was utterly defeated.
The next morning Janu went to see the cadet's selection at the training center. He was told to come and learn something from the battles, especially about team composition and strategy. When he arrived, some executives were present there, including Ellyas and Dirga. Normally, raiders who had nothing to do with the selection weren't granted permission to spectate it. However, it was different for Janu. The guards were informed about him, without him knowing, so they allowed him to enter.
He took a seat in the spectator area and many eyes were looking at him. They were curious about him and his background, which made him able to enter. The raiders who came together with him from Bandung were no different.
At the stage two teams, Team A and Team B, were ready at the opposite side. Nohan was in Team A and he took the vanguard position. He was a Knight and he was responsible to keep his teammates from taking damage. Other than him, his team was composed of a Warrior, an Assassin, a Black Mage, and a White Mage. A full set of classes. The opponent team was of similar composition.
All of them were wearing a special device in the form of a belt. It had a crystal at the head and it was meant to suppress the level to 41, which was equal to raiders who were just promoted to C-Rank. They were also wearing special gear to protect their bodies and a training weapon, which had no skills, based on their class. The cadets, however, were allowed to use their class skills.
Awakened people had stats higher than normal people and they became a raider when they got a skill. Thus, they got a class according to the skill they obtained. The skills could be active or passive skills. Gears and weapons also had skills. Although raiders could wear any gears and weapons, they could only activate the skills from those of their class. An Assassin could wear a shield, but he couldn't use the skills of that shield. It would be different for a Knight; he could use the skills because a shield was an item exclusive to a Knight.
"Get ready. On your position."
"Three… Two… One… Fight…"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Monkey_D_Fluffy
Monkey_D_Fluffy Here's another update. The MC still have a long way to be strong. If you enjoy it please kindly leave a comment and let me know.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone