—Our vast continent is called Mana. There are many dungeons in it. The dungeon I entered was the main dungeon of the country Sinfrienld. —Mr. Smith.
Nim knew that his village was in the country Sinfrienld and that Sinfrienld was in the continent of Mana, but there wasn't much more information beyond that.
In the village school they only taught reading and writing, and even though there were books with more information, not every kid was like Leo, who liked to read.
Sunflower Village was just one of many in the country.
Nim got excited when he heard new information and listened closely so he wouldn't miss a single word.
In Mr. Smith's explanation, there was a great power called the Adventurers' Guild.
There was a major branch of the Adventurers' Guild in the capital city of the country. There were also other small guilds in the rest of the cities, but they were just extensions of the capital.
If you registered at the Guild and passed the test, you'd get an ID card. With it, you could see your level and your class.
Also, you could see how much experience you had and how much more you needed to level up.
Levels were something that appeared along with the dungeon. By killing monsters inside or outside the dungeon, you could level up, and if you met certain requirements, you could acquire a class.
Mr. Smith himself had the Swordsman class.
The level system and class system were different. The class system was based on reaching a certain level and fulfilling another requirement that varied depending on the class.
Theoretically, one could acquire a class at level 10 and upgrade their class at level 20, but not everyone met the level 20 requirements, and their class wouldn't evolve. Some people with less talent didn't even acquire a class at level 10.
Also, every 10 levels a person's strength would increase exponentially, even if they didn't acquire or upgrade a class.
But even so, reaching that new level placed great pressure on a person's body.
And on top of that, upgrading a class placed huge pressure on the mind.
When you got a class or upgraded it, you'd instantly gain the abilities of that class. By receiving too much information all at once, many people collapsed mentally.
In some cases, they were left with aftereffects and were never the same again.
In fact, leveling up already put some pressure on the body, and the higher you went, the greater it became. Even more so when you reached that divisive mark every 10 levels.
That's why many people, when they noticed they were about to level up, would try to find a safe place.
Many, when they felt too much pressure from leveling, stopped trying to level up at all. Otherwise, they could even die from continuing to level up.
There were cases of people who had reached their level limit but wanted to go a step further and ended up dying.
Only the most talented people ignored that pressure and could reach a higher level.
Mr. Smith wasn't sure if he could reach level 20 safely. He had already felt it was difficult to reach level 19 years ago.
So, he had considered the option of stopping.
Many people, when they decided to stop, went to the Guild.
The Guild had a way to make it so you couldn't gain more experience from killing monsters.
Mr. Smith wasn't sure about that decision.
—With your strange constitution, you could be a great Warrior —Smith knew that the Warrior class was one of the most common. But with Nim's constitution, it was the one that suited him best.
—We can talk about that later. Today I'll teach you some basic combat moves —Mr. Smith continued —But before that, let's see what you can do.
Mr. Smith and Nim stood up. The latter grabbed a wooden sword.
—Now come and try to hit me.
Mr. Smith looked calmly at Nim.
Nim gripped the sword tightly and ran forward. Using all his strength, he tried to land a blow.
When he saw the incoming attack, Mr. Smith stepped back and dodged it without much effort.
Nim attacked again, but Mr. Smith also managed to avoid it.
After a brief round of attacks without landing any hits, Nim stepped back.
—Your speed is good —said Mr. Smith while picking up another wooden sword —Now I'll test your strength.
—Come!
Nim ran toward Mr. Smith again and struck the other sword.
Upon impact, Mr. Smith felt his arm tremble, which made his eyes widen in surprise.
That kind of strength wasn't something a kid his age should have. In the middle of his thoughts, Nim attacked again.
Thump thump!!
After four more blows, his arm started going numb.
Seeing that, Mr. Smith was about to stop the spar when he saw Nim smiling—his smile showed he was enjoying it.
Mr. Smith found it strange. Suddenly, Nim's next strike came with more power. The hit almost knocked the sword out of his hand.
(What?) In the middle of the surprise, Mr. Smith stepped back a little.
Nim, taking advantage of this, went after him. This time, his attack came from a different angle.
(He's faster...) Mr. Smith noticed with surprise yet another change.
Seeing this, Mr. Smith also attacked and intercepted the incoming strike.
When Nim's sword clashed with his, he was pushed back a few steps, stumbling.
Seeing that, Mr. Smith ran toward Nim and swung his sword downward.
Caught off guard, Nim could only raise his sword to defend himself.
Thump!
The blow landed, and the force made both of his arms tremble.
—Good reflexes.
Smith stepped back and looked at his sword and Nim's. Even though the battle had been short, the swords couldn't withstand it.
—We'll stop for now —said Mr. Smith.
Nim nodded and started to calm his breathing. Even though the fight didn't tire him out, he would follow Mr. Smith's orders.
After that fight, Smith sent Nim to fetch another pair of practice swords. Nim ran to the village storage and brought them back.
They didn't have any more practice battles during the day. Mr. Smith just taught him a few basic sword moves to help him get used to it.
Even though Nim was physically very strong, he had no technique when swinging a sword.
That's why Smith had decided to start there.
After several hours, the sun began to set, and eventually evening arrived.
—Nim, did you feel anything unusual during our battle? —Mr. Smith still remembered Nim's sudden surge of strength.
Nim, who had already stopped practicing, replied: —I didn't feel anything unusual. Why do you ask, Mr. Smith?
Nim didn't understand what Mr. Smith meant.
—Any feeling then? —Smith continued.
—Feeling... at that moment I felt really excited, even... happy —Nim answered honestly, remembering the feeling.
—Happy... —Mr. Smith heard the response with a bit of concern.
If Nim truly felt happiness or enjoyment while fighting...
He feared the boy might turn into someone very belligerent or even bloodthirsty.
Also, the sudden increase in strength probably came from that feeling.
At that moment, Mr. Smith realized he might be training a little monster someone who, over time, could become a great adventurer... or the ruin of many people.