Chapter 87: Chapter 83: Training
"Are you sure, brother?"
"Yes, that’s right. Hit me right here!"
Lin Mo pointed to his chest. "Go ahead, don’t hold back. I’ll be fine."
"Then, I’m really going to do it?"
Pain looked hesitantly at the young man before him. Last night, his old friend Alton had suddenly shown up, saying he had an easy job and asking if he wanted to take it.
His team was on vacation, so he had been idle lately and agreed to it.
Who would have thought the job was... beating someone up?
Shaking his head, since the client himself had said so, and Alton had also mentioned the guy had the strength of a Professional, Pain no longer hesitated. He threw a testing punch at Lin Mo’s chest.
[Tenacity] Skill Level +1.5
"Not enough power, old man. Did you skip breakfast this morning? How about I treat you to a meal first?"
Lin Mo said, his brow slightly furrowed.
Pain’s mouth twitched. "You damn... brat. If you’re going to talk like that, I really won’t hold back anymore, you know?"
"I told you from the start. No need to hold back."
"Alright, here it comes!"
"BAM—!"
A dull thud sounded. Lin Mo felt a jolt in his chest as a powerful force struck him, sending him staggering back two steps. A roiling sensation churned in his chest, and only after a long moment was he able to let out a turbid breath.
"Are you okay?"
Pain asked hurriedly.
He hadn’t held back at all with that last punch, using his full strength.
Lin Mo shook his head. "I’m fine..."
’Just as Alton said, this Pain guy is really strong. His Strength is clearly a notch above Alton’s, probably around 14 to 15 points!’
"Let’s continue. Grab your weapon this time."
As he spoke, Lin Mo picked up the Wolf Bone Sword from the side.
Pain gave him a surprised look. ’He took a full-force punch from me head-on and seems mostly fine. This kid’s physical constitution doesn’t seem like a Warrior’s at all, more like a Knight Professional’s.’
"Then I’m coming."
The moment he finished speaking, he raised his sword and charged again.
Lin Mo also drew his sword, meeting the attack head-on.
"CLANG—!"
After the collision, Lin Mo hadn’t moved an inch, but Pain’s expression changed, his sword-wielding hand trembling slightly.
In terms of pure Strength, they were evenly matched, but he didn’t have Lin Mo’s powerful Constitution, so he was somewhat affected by the recoil.
’What an impressive young man. Alton wasn’t exaggerating!’
Pain looked at the pensive Lin Mo. Although he still didn’t understand what he was trying to do, his mindset had undergone a subtle change compared to before.
’Perhaps this is some kind of special training method?’
So, he didn’t disturb Lin Mo, instead shaking out his hand and taking the opportunity to rest for a moment.
[Tenacity] Skill Level +1.5
"Skill [Tenacity] Lv2 (20/20) has leveled up!"
"Current Skill: [Tenacity] Lv3 (1/40)"
Gained Attribute Points: Constitution +2!
It leveled up.
Lin Mo’s Constitution attribute increased by another 2 points, bringing his base value to 9 points, 1 point higher than his Agility. With the bonus from his Warrior Profession, his final Constitution reached a high of 11 points, fully meeting the standard for a Knight Professional.
After the initial joy, Lin Mo made a simple summary.
’In the experiment just now, one time I just took the hit, and the other time we both clashed. There’s no difference between the two; the Skill Level gain is the same.’
’But I can’t take too many of the former, and he can’t take too many of the latter...’
He shook his head. ’Looks like I can’t rush this. I’ll have to take it slow. Alternating between the two methods should be a bit better.’
...
Before he knew it, the entire morning had passed.
Pain was already complaining endlessly, unable to even lift his sword anymore. He took the 1 Gold Coin Lin Mo gave him and refused to come back, no matter what.
Lin Mo looked at his [Tenacity] Skill Level, which had reached 37/40, and smiled with satisfaction.
As he smiled, he rubbed his chest and winced in pain.
After all, the attacks of a Professional weren’t so easy to withstand. Even with [Tenacity], and even with long rests after every couple of hits, it was still unbearable after too many repetitions.
He wouldn’t be able to keep this up if things continued this way.
Lin Mo took out the red Life Potion, feeling a bit hesitant.
’Should I use the potion?’
’If I don’t use it, I can’t continue training. But if I do, adding that to the money I’m paying people, the cost is a bit too high.’
’Right, there’s also the church...’
Lin Mo suddenly remembered that the Holy Light Church had Priests who could provide healing. Although they also charged a fee, it was much cheaper than a Life Potion.
So, without even stopping to eat, he hurried to the church. Roland Town’s church had a total of 10 Priests, most of whom were young women who had not yet reached the Professional Level.
Therefore, the effects of their Healing Technique were very limited. Fortunately, the fees were also relatively cheap, so it was acceptable.
In the end, Lin Mo spent 30 Silver Coins and received the Healing Technique three times before he was more or less recovered.
This expense was completely within an acceptable range.
However, Pain was unwilling to come back. He needed to find a new training partner.
’I wonder if Uncle Alton knows any other Professionals...’
Meanwhile, in a certain tavern.
Pain shakily lifted his wine cup, looking at Alton with a face full of resentment. "You tell me, what part of that job was easy? I almost..."
"Ahem—"
Alton suddenly coughed, interrupting him. He then looked toward the door. "You’re here, Marlow. I heard you’re not planning to take on any missions lately. I have an easy job here, you want it?"
The man named Marlow looked at him suspiciously. "You’re not trying to trick me, are you? If there was such a good opportunity, why would you think of me?"
"Of course not! If you don’t believe me, ask Pain."
Without even needing a signal from Alton, Pain, who had been listless just a moment ago, suddenly had no more backache, no more leg pain, and the hand holding his cup was no longer shaking. He looked completely refreshed. "He’s telling the truth! It’s super easy. No pressure or risk at all. You can earn 1 Gold Coin in half a day. If we weren’t brothers, I wouldn’t even tell you about such a good deal..."
In the afternoon, looking at Marlow who had come to his door, Lin Mo gave Alton a mental thumbs-up.
’This team captain is really reliable.’
Little did he know that after learning about Pain’s experience, Alton had completely turned this into a way to prank his old buddies. Right now, those two were drinking and laughing, waiting for Marlow to come crying to them in the evening...
Three days flew by, and the number of victims tricked by Alton reached a grand total of six. After watching another training partner go off to settle the score with Alton with a "delighted" look on his face, Lin Mo glanced at his own panel.
[Tenacity] Lv5 (92/180): Strengthens your own defense, reducing physical damage taken from the next two attacks by 14%.
At this rate, the remaining two days should be enough to get this skill to Level 6.
Lin Mo guessed that Level 6 should be the Full Level for an Excellent Level skill. At that time, not only would he gain a large amount of Constitution, but he could also use this to advance to the Knight Profession.
He would even get his first Blue Excellent Level skill!
He looked at the sky. There was still some time before dark. ’Well then, it’s time to pay a visit to Edgar’s shop...’
