That was a team of hunters.
It seemed that they were hired by a secret branch to carry out a special mission with the students.
Rode suddenly remembered that he still had a hunter's license, which he bought in order to leave the academy. After completing the journey through the sewer, he had always left it in a corner, almost forgotten.
The Hunter's Guild was a freelance organization established by the royal city to accommodate specific groups of people. It was used for flexible deployment and to relieve administrative pressure by supplementing the formal army.
Rode suddenly realized that this was the place tailor-made for him.
The tasks of the Hunter's Guild were mostly issued by the Military Affairs Department, various defense zones, or settlements. Occasionally, there were also individual requests, but regardless of the employer, there would definitely be clear goals and intelligence.
In this way, wouldn't I know where there are suitable monsters for me to hunt?
Take on the tasks, find a few companions, and at the right time, use "Spiritual Quintet" or "Soul Strike". Isn't that enough?
And there's a reward to be had.
The most important thing is that the targets are clear and relatively free.
I can choose the monsters that suit me, decide which tasks I want to undertake and which ones I don't. This efficiency is much higher, isn't it?
Without further ado, Rode immediately decided to set off.
Members of the secret branch could take leave.
If they couldn't bear the rigorous training, they could also quit. But once they quit, they couldn't join again.
This place was quite helpful to him, so Rode naturally wouldn't quit. He only hoped to take a leave of absence for a period of time due to exhaustion and mental strain.
The specific training of members with the "Strong" designation was handled by Soren. He was a clean and tall man who always wore a knight's armor wherever he went.
"Rode, do you think I have some bias against you?" Soren focused his gaze on Rode's face after hearing his request.
"I have studied your past actions. Your performance in the Sword Pass was very good, and you have also independently cleared the sewer and assisted in completing multiple tasks. Your actual combat power is relatively strong. However, do you know where your shortcomings lie?" Rode asked tentatively, "Is it because my physical combat ability is too weak?"
Soren shook his head and said in a deep voice, "You still haven't understood the key point. Your abilities are very strong, but your flaws are also very significant. If your methods fail, neither the Spirit Gun nor the Thunderstone can cause any damage. If the Spiritual Cannon has been used or no one is covering you, you have no offensive capabilities."
Of course, Rode knew this, but he still had the means to summon creatures.
Isn't it normal to call for help when you can't win?
As the saying goes, what's the use of being able to fight? Nowadays, it's all about numbers.
Of course, he didn't say this out loud. They only knew from his combat records that Rode had purchased four wooden puppets, which played a significant role.
But of course, this was not counted as his own ability.
Soren continued, "You may think that I am pushing you too hard to train in physical combat, but you need to understand that every member with the 'Strong' designation is the core of the team. Do you know what it means to be the core?"
Rode casually replied, "It means being the thigh."
"The thigh?" Soren looked at him strangely.
"Is this a new term among you young people? It's quite vivid. Just imagine, as a thigh, you must bear the heavy burden of the team, while other members are there to assist and support you. If you can't perform your role in critical moments, what kind of thigh are you?"
He paused for a moment and continued, "Even worse, your ability to protect yourself is very weak. In many dangerous environments, you cannot be fully protected. A single attack from a ferocious-level Blood Beast can kill you. Many monsters are born with the ability to ambush and launch surprise attacks. It's difficult to completely defend against their extremely fast speed and fierce attacks, not to mention the even more sinister monsters with more mysterious abilities. You can't defend against them."
"If the thigh is instantly killed, the team will basically collapse. Can such a thigh still be called a thigh? Let's call it a ham."
"By the way, the ham in Smoked Town is delicious. You can try it when you have the chance."
Rode almost burst out laughing and quickly replied, "I understand, thank you, Instructor."
The reasoning was correct. If he had the time, Rode would be willing to develop comprehensively. He was well aware of his flaws.
But now things have changed, and he must quickly develop towards a stronger direction.
Moreover, he also had some life-saving means that were inconvenient to reveal.
"I just want to rest for a few days, is that okay?"
Soren calmly said, "Rode, special training is not delaying your growth, but helping you digest what you have gained in the Sword Pass. Your experiences in the Sword Pass are very rich, and digesting them can give you far more than you can imagine."
"I think this is also why you have the 'Strong' designation. Generally speaking, a Spiritual Intensity of 2.1 thousand carvings is far from enough to become one of us."
Rode scratched his head and said, "Instructor, I understand, but I'm really tired and want to rest for a few days, is that okay?"
"Rode, your recovery ability is very strong. No matter how tired the training is, you will be full of energy the next morning. I was originally planning to give you extra classes. After you have mastered the basic use of spiritual energy, I planned to teach you the special power techniques used by the Knight Order. With the use of specific weapons, the power of a single strike can reach one-tenth of your Spiritual Cannon."
Rode had to admit that he was moved.
His attack methods were too limited, and this could be a supplement.
And he had "Frosty Blue" and the rocking chair in the cottage. Especially the latter, it had a particularly good effect on restoring his spirit. No matter how tired and exhausted he was, as long as he slept on it for one night, he would be full of energy the next day.
"I have relied on it to get through this period of time."
But he had to quickly gain absolute strength.
Training could be carried out during his breaks in combat."Instructor, my recovery ability is limited..."
Soren glanced at him.
"Alright, I'll allow you to rest for three days, but whether it's theoretical knowledge or my training, you have to make up for it. Can you do that?"
Rode hurriedly replied, "Yes."
Soren said no more and turned to train the others.
In the training field, countless figures were darting back and forth, their movements too swift for Rode to discern.
Physical combat seemed to be a piece of cake for these top-notch students.
Most of them had experienced far more battles than Rode and had far more impressive records. The Battle of Sword Pass was brutal, but it was nothing compared to the overall human defense line. If Rode hadn't arrived, they would have simply given up Sword Pass earlier and defended the rear.
Moreover, the reason why the Battle of Sword Pass became so violent was due to the manipulation of the Doomsday Cultist, Greygrove.
His growth period was too short.
Rode thought to himself.
He had only been in the academy for a few months and had become one of the top members of these battle-hardened special forces.
His classmates, on the other hand, were still attending regular classes, guarding the academy's main gate every day where there were no enemies.
Unconsciously, he had fallen far behind Kassan and the others.
Rode sighed slightly.
Perhaps this was fate.
After explaining his leave situation to Professor Bince, Rode finally stepped out of the secret branch's base.
As it was evening, the academy's staff had dimmed the lights, giving the academy a hint of a night-time atmosphere.
A large number of students were laughing and chatting as they headed towards the Black Adler training field next to the secret base, ready to start their combat classes.
Rode, who had just emerged from the secret base, attracted many curious glances, but he ignored them and quickly left the academy.
Rode first went to the market in the inner city for a big shopping spree, replenishing urgently needed supplies, then made some minor disguises and headed to the nearest hunter branch.
The Hunter Headquarters was a functional organization, with tasks such as monster hunting, threat clearing, team escorting, material transportation, and combat assistance all being carried out in the hunter branches.
Unlike regular armies, hunters did not receive salaries or supplies, everything had to be self-sufficient. Those who chose to become hunters were mostly people who could not adapt to the collective combat of the army. Therefore, they mostly operated in small teams and had comprehensive abilities.
In this regard, Soren's view was very correct.
But Rode didn't have that much time. He had to compress his training and make time to acquire souls.
The Hunter Branch was located in the seventh district of the outer city, Rand Square, and it looked like a pub.
In fact, it was a pub.
However, it only served hunter customers.
As Rode pushed open the gate made of twisted copper bars, a voice called out, "Sir, please show your hunter's license."
Rode took out a silver badge engraved with the words "Blade of Dawn", which was the code name of this hunter.
Due to some complicated reasons, hunters could use code names instead of their real names. The hunter's license was the only document that could prove their identity and regulate their behavior.
"Light it up, sir."
Rode did as he was told and infused his spiritual energy into it, and the words "Blade of Dawn" emitted a faint glow.
"Mr. Blade of Dawn, since you have not carried out any tasks for several months, your star rating has been reduced from two stars to one star. If you do not fulfill the minimum hunter obligations in the next month, we will revoke your license."
Rode didn't care, this hunter's license didn't cost him a penny, it was given to him by a merchant with a hole in his brain.
Hunters didn't get paid, so the star rating was meaningless.
He glanced around, the layout of the pub was quite ordinary. There was a U-shaped counter directly in front, dozens of tables of various sizes were placed in the brightly lit hall, there was a burning fireplace, but it was just ordinary fire.
On the side was a staircase, the Hunter Branch had three floors, the upper two floors might be offices.
There weren't many people in the pub, probably only about a dozen or so, most of them were wearing hunter cloaks.
Some were whispering, some were silent, no one was interested in him.
Behind the counter was a young woman with fiery red hair and a round face, she looked very cute.
It was her who had just reminded Rode.
To avoid trouble, Rode deliberately made himself look older.
He walked up to the counter and asked in a deliberately lowered voice, "Hello, do you have any suitable tasks for me?"
The red-haired girl recited in a formulaic voice, "Mr. Blade of Dawn, we have thirty-four sewer cleaning tasks, respectively issued by the Defense Department of the First District Cross Street, Firestone Street, and Hammer Street in the Second District..."
Rode's face darkened, why did he have to clean sewers as a hunter? If he wanted to go to the sewers, he could just go directly, right?
This novel is available on "pawread dot com".
"No, I don't want to clean sewers, do you have anything else?"
--- Author's Note ---
The pace has been too slow recently, I will try to speed it up.
