It didn’t take Vlad long to reach his private residence. He smiled as he detected the presence of six people inside, all of them engaged in specific tasks. The first ones he noticed were the brother and sister metallic duo, and his eyes narrowed as he saw their state.
Mirena, the Level 2 Mage with the Magnetic Master gift, sat in a meditative position. She was motionless, but sweat ran down her forehead as if under immense stress. To an ordinary person, she was just sitting, but Vlad could see dozens of thin, small needles moving around her, some vertically and others horizontally, all at a shocking speed.
The young woman followed Vlad’s training advice to the letter in her training. These needles wouldn’t be useful in battle as they could never overcome the defenses of a demon, but they taught her how to manipulate multiple objects simultaneously. If those threads were replaced with daggers, the woman’s capabilities would be shocking.
Cazan, on the other hand, was in an empty area, currently in his Colossus form, swinging a massive club.
"Earth Shaker!" "Guardian Spin!" "Reverberating Slam!" "Counterway Parry!" Skyward Flin!" "Bulwark Stance!"
The massive man repeated six movements over and over again. They were not overly complicated or simple, yet if mastered, they would allow the Level 2 Warrior with the Metallic Embodiment Gift to face weak demon Champions alone.
The duo was so focused on their training that they didn’t even notice Vlad’s arrival and the young man did not interrupt them. His focus soon turned to the shooting range at the end of the barracks as he heard the sound of small explosions.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"
There was a constant blasting sound echoing from the area, and a huge log covered in metal plates was full of bullet holes. One might guess that projectiles constantly shot at it caused those holes, but not in the usual ways since gunpowder and the like no longer worked.
Vlad turned to the thin soldier shooting the bullets, and a wide smile appeared as he saw that his advice had worked.
Frank was using a military slingshot; his eyes sharply focused as he fired bullets toward the massive log. The young man was following Vlad’s advice with his Gift, Ember Shoot. Unlike regular spells or other abilities, Gifts are much more malleable as they are born from your soul.
The soldier no longer tried to use the Ember Shoot to generate a fireball from nothing but instead channeled that energy into a metallic object, reducing the energy consumption.
And that was just the start. Frank then fired the projectile using a military slingshot, further reducing the energy required to launch the fiery projectile. That was why he could now fire a projectile every second, consuming 1/5 of the energy of a Magic Missile and with the same power.
Frank was using bullets because he needed projectiles to practice, and right now, bullets are useless, so there was no problem.
Not far from Frank, there was another shooting place, and this one belonged to Roman Zerpent, the man with the Gift named Wind Rider, who had chosen the wrong Path. Following the guidance Vlad left before leaving the military base, the man had shattered his Mage Path and embarked on the Warrior Path.
Since Roman had to start from scratch, his energy pool was much lower than the others, and it seemed he had managed to become a Level 1 Warrior just recently. However, none of that mattered to Vlad as he saw how the man fired arrow after arrow at the metal plates over one hundred meters away.
It was easy for Vlad to see that Roman’s archery skills were subpar due to his shaky posture, yet all of his arrows hit bullseyes, and despite being normal arrows, they were able to pierce the metal plates covering the logs!
Roman’s Gift was the reason for such majestic accuracy and striking power. Thanks to Wind Rider, his Force would guide the sharpness of wind, and the air itself guided the arrows toward his target.
If Roman’s talent was developed well, he could become a monstrous sniper capable of killing people thousands of meters away, shooting arrows that could course through forests and still find the target.
The last two warriors in Vlad’s inner circle were using their time effectively. Clasius, the massive soldier who could double the weight of anything he touched, was currently in combat with Amara, the gorgeous woman specializing in short swords and daggers and the only one in the group without a Gift.
Amara’s entire body was covered in a thin fog, making it very hard for the opponent to focus on her. That was the rune Jormugnadr deployed when he entered Good Side Town, and it was now the woman’s as she was taking the warrior assassin path. Every sword strike she sent was aimed at a vital point. Of course, her weapons were in their sheaths to avoid an incident.
Clasius’ eyes were extremely focused as he used a sword and shield, his body in constant motion. He was unable to land a single strike, but the goal of this training was for him to develop his focus. He needed to be able to increase the weight of his sword and shield at will while constantly keeping an eye on his surroundings.
Amara would lose once she received a single blow, while Claius would lose once he lost focus on his opponent. Pairing the duo for training was a great choice as it helped them train their weaknesses and improve constantly.
Vlad could see how much they had advanced in such a short time, and it was clear that they had grown even more powerful, using the pressure of the high demonic horde to excavate their talent.
Initially, Vlad had prepared to give them advice and encourage them, but seeing how they were improving, he found no need for that and just turned around and went to his room.