Chapter 496 - Volume 50 (1/2)

V50C7P2 Advanced Training HallON FEBRUARY 13, 2018 BY MIMOSAB[Note from Mimosab] Thanks to Eternal for the proofreading

– The Hermes Guild really lives up to its reputation as the strongest guild.

– They’ve certainly proved their raw strength with this video; that much is for sure.

– Bard Ray, the Godly Warrior. He is the most powerful user on the continent, period. Other users might boast all they want, but they could never ever beat him in one-on-one combat.

– But what if Weed shows up?

– Weed cannot even get his foot into an advanced training hall.

– That’s because of the Hermes Guild, though. Haven’t you seen Weed’s great performance in the Tower of Heroes?

– Still, what matters in the end is that Bard Ray has cleared the advanced training hall, and Weed hasn’t. Weed’s sculptural skills give him advantages in a large scale fight, but Bard Ray’s the strongest user when it comes to one-on-one. Bard Ray even killed Weed once.

– Agreed. For now, Bard Ray is at the top. Weed’s power is rather exaggerated because of the quests he did and his various other skills.

– Desert warrior? That’s not his current strength. Those days are all passed and gone now.

Weed did not feel hurt by those meaningless comments. Bard Ray’s videos attracted a lot of fans who were impressed by his great power, and since the Hermes Guild was monitoring the comments it was natural that there were a lot of praises for him. Still, Weed had to admit that he was quite intrigued by the video.

‘An advanced training hall, huh? I wish I could go there, too. It doesn’t look as difficult as people say, though.’

Weed had never grown stronger by slaughtering weaker monsters ever since he started playing Royal Road. He had always challenged powerful enemies, and hunted until he was knocked out exhausted. Did he rest then? No. Once he was knocked out like that, he would start working on his sculptures, even while lying down. He was used to hunting nonstop like this until his whole body was aching, and after some time his stamina and patience grew so strong that he didn’t have to worry about exhaustion anymore when he hunted.

‘I think it’s going to be fun. I probably won’t be able to use my sculpting skills in the Path of Struggle, but that shouldn’t matter too much.’

Although his Necromancer skills would be blocked as well, this huge disadvantage could not make him hesitate to take up the challenge of the advanced training hall.

***

Weed and Python, together with his other companions, arrived at the Church of Batalli in the city of Taho. The ground surrounding the church looked almost like a battlefield, with broken weapons and arrows scattered about everywhere.

“Wow… the atmosphere of this place sure is terrifying.”

“It’s the Church of Batalli. This is the first time I’ve been here in person.”

From the moment they stepped into the entrance, Surka and Maylon were startled by the scenery that greeted them. The male and female priests serving the order of the God of Fighting had many scars on their bodies. Another characteristic of the church was the various types of weapons hung on the walls, which meant that the followers there trained to fight with any weapon. It truly was a religious order for warriors.

One barbarian warrior who had been standing at the entrance spoke to Python in a rough voice.

“You. You look like a fighter who wields a greatsword.”

With his piercing gaze, he looked extremely intimidating, as if he was about to challenge Python to a duel any minute.

This was the reason why ordinary people were reluctant to visit the Church of Batalli.

Python mustered up his courage, held his greatsword at ready and said in a loud voice: “This is my weapon. I have come here to walk upon the Path of Struggle.”

He was a man who had no reason to feel small anywhere he went; Python replied in an equally rough manner, holding in his stomach tight, like a man.

‘This is my way of do things.’

The pride of a strong one.

The barbarian warrior nodded.

“I can see you’re an experienced fighter just by those scars. The one in your neck; was that left by a Mantelder[1] ?”

“Yes.”

“If you survived the encounter with a Mantelder… I say you are sufficiently qualified to face the trial of the Path of Struggle.”

It was now Weed’s turn.

‘How is he going to get past him?’

The companions looked at him expectantly. Flattery and friendliness constituted Weed’s default stance, always ready to bow down his knees and back. Even Mapan had admitted that he could learn from Weed’s attitude when he was rubbing his hands together and bartering with people. And the persuasion skills he demonstrated when he entertained Emperor Geihar with food and drinks surpassed even those of an experienced salesman.

Weed lifted his chin haughtily as he addressed the barbarian warrior.

“Open the path right now.”

“Have you come here to face the challenge of the Path of Struggle as well? But this path only opens to those who deserve to step into it.”

“Shut up and open it. Before I kill you all and make my way in.”

“Do you truly mean that?”

The eyes of the barbarian warriors guarding the entrance glinted menacingly. Weed recalled a line from the cartoon he had once read and had been deeply moved by, and went on:

“Get out of my way. The only thing that can halt my footsteps is my own will.”

“…!”

With those few words, he had declared upon the barbarians that he was willing to kill everyone if they refused to step aside.

Weed had a vast amount of knowledge related to Royal Road. Those numerous pieces of information he had gathered until now included not only the data about dungeons and monsters, but also about the residents and history of the Versailles Continent. His detailed knowledge extended to even things like the preferences of the cleaner or the florist lady of the Serabourg Castle in the Rosenheim Kingdom.

‘The warriors of the Order of Batalli are straightforward to deal with. They think one’s power proves everything.’

They seemed similar to Geomchi and other Geomchi brothers, but not exactly the same.

‘During this time period, they would be particularly weaker towards strong people.’

A dark spot in the history of the Order of Batalli, which was also known as a group of combatants! It followed an incident during which most of the order’s truest warriors were massacred as they hunted down the demonic creature Khdertal, before the foundation of the Arpen Empire. The warriors who were currently remaining in the Church of Batalli were nothing but hollow shells. The Order of Batalli took roots again through countless sacrifices of its warriors during the Warring Age. There was no strength in those barbarian guards, only the false pretensions which were the remnants of their long-past glory days.

As per the normal procedure, in order to enter the Path of Struggle one would have get their qualifications acknowledged and pay a considerable amount of money as an offering, which was absolutely unacceptable to Weed.

“We, we are…”

The barbarian warrior drew himself up and tried to withstand Weed’s glare, but Weed continued staring at him as if he was facing a conman who had been caught while trying to bilk him.

His Fighting Spirit stat of over 600, which he had accumulated through the hunting and occasional slaughter of countless powerful monsters, came into effect.

“Kuuuu….”

The barbarian warrior’s whole body trembled, and before long he gave in and stood aside.

“The Path of Struggle… is in the basement of the church.”

*Ding!*

A successful bullying!

Even when they were inside the church, Weed kept radiating his Fighting Spirit as he walked.