Ren alongside Lara, Hilda, and the five new companions headed out of town. They didn't take any quest and simply headed someplace. While they were walking Iselv and Kithra were talking to each other.
"Hey, what kind of training do you think he's going to make us do?" Iselv questioned the nearby Kithra.
"Does it really matter what kind of training it is? As long as it's going to make us stronger, then who cares."
"Still for some reason hearing him, say that he would train us makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. I don't know what it is, but the way he said it, was somehow ominous." Iselv then remembered that smirking face of Ren which made him feel even more uncomfortable.
"Heh, So the feared Bandit King is actually scared of some training." Kithra giggled as she said this, which made Iselv frown.
"Are you really sure you want to talk to me that way? You do know that I'm related to the royal family."
"You might be related. But even if you were, in the end, you're still Ren's subordinate." Kithra shrugged her shoulders as she answered.
The two former bosses of Grenton's underworld started to bicker after that. As they were talking, the young man who seemed to have a thing for Kithra was looking at Ren. He was extremely angered by the fact that he was shown his place in front of the woman he liked. Not only that but he was also made aware of the overwhelming difference in power between him and Ren.
He wasn't even able to move against the man. Ren didn't even attack, all he did was overwhelm him with his sheer presence. He looked at Ren and even though he wanted to he couldn't emit anymore killing intent at him. It was like his mind was rejecting the idea of opposing Ren.
Yet even with that what irritated him the most, was that his supposed rival in love, wasn't really a rival. Ren made it perfectly clear that he has absolutely no interest in Kithra.
'Damn it! Fine then, it doesn't matter if I'm weak now. I'll just get stronger, and I'll use him in making myself stronger. Whatever training it is, I'll do it!'
...
With different thoughts in mind, the group headed to an empty field. This was the usual place where Valdel would practice his swordsmanship. The group looked around and got confused. There was nothing here, except a huge open space.
"What are we suppose to do here?" Iselv asked Ren as he looked around, and noticed that there wasn't even a single monster nearby.
"Well first things first, I want to see what you people are capable of. Hilda and Lara will be on standby. All I want you guys to do, for now, is attack me."
"So you want to test us one on one is that it?"
"One on one? No, I won't test you like that since all of you are so weak. If we did a one on one, it would no longer be a test, and I won't be able to gauge your abilities. No, that's not what I want, what I want to test all of you together. Don't worry I'll give myself a handicap. I won't use any weapon aside from my fist, and I'll only use body enhancement magic. So come on, attack me!"
Iselv and Kithra who had a glimpse into Ren's strength went into their battle stances. The young man and the two girls simply stood there dumbfounded but the sudden event.
"Sarah, Nina, Hanz! Attack Ren from the distance using magic, support Iselv!" Hearing Kithra's sudden shout, the three finally got into position. Iselv with an axe at hand charged towards Ren, who simply stood in one position.
While Iselv was running, Kithra and the other three started firing basic attack spells. Fireball, Ice Spear, and earth Spear. The speed of their casting was different, as well as the speed of the spell traveling towards Ren.
Seeing as Kithra was the fastest to cast her spell, it was also the spell to first arrive. She was the one who casted fireball. Ren seeing the incoming attacks coated his hands and legs with mana. He then punched at the fireball negating it. Upon contact with more powerful mana, the mana that formed the fireball dispersed.
The other three attacks came in almost at the same time. Ren caught the two ice spears and kicked the remaining earth spear. While he was distracted by that, Iselv was already right in front of him.
Iselv used his axe to chop at Ren, who simply dodge by swaying his body to the right. Ren then caught Iselv's right hand, kicked his right foot, and pulled on the right hand he was holding onto. This made the giant man Iselv fall flat on his face.
Ren then saw that the young man had closed in as well, and was about to use a big spell. "Burst flame!"
Ren moved Iselv's body behind him and stomped on the ground. The ground Ren stomped on, was pushed upward making it into a wall. This wall of earth was able to receive the young man's Burst Flame spell.
Seeing his spell fail, the young man was about to cast another spell. Ren then kicked the wall of earth which was sent flying into the direction of the young man, who was unable to dodge in time.
"Lightning!" A bolt of lightning came down from the heavens. This was an advanced level spell and the one who casted it was none other than Kithra. Yet even with the speed of literal lightning, Ren's reflex proved to be superior. The moment he sensed the gathering mana on the clouds, Ren could already guess what was coming.
Anticipating that lightning would strike on his spot, Ren was able to dodge in advance. After dodging he dashed towards Kithra. The two beginner mages, seeing the charging Ren couldn't perform any spells so instead used their bodies to block Ren from reaching Kithra.
Ren was able to pass by the two and hit them at the back of their necks. They weren't even able to delay Ren for more than a second. Yet for someone like Kithra that moments delay was enough time for her to use another spell.
"Earth wall." As the name implied the spell created a wall of earth that surrounded Kithra, She wanted to delay Ren for a few seconds so she can cast a stronger spell. Yet before she could even gather the mana required, Ren punched through the wall of earth.
"I give up!" Seeing as there was no point in fighting anymore, Kithra surrendered.
...
After the three people who fainted woke up, Ren looked at the group who faced him and sighed.
"I wasn't expecting much, but it's much worse than I anticipated. The two beginner mages were the only ones who went beyond what I expected. Even though they were weaker than the rest of you, the two of them actually used their bodies to give Kithra more time to cast her spell. Aside from the two of them, the three of you were a disappointment."
Ren looked at Iselv, Kithra, and the young man and sighed again.
"I was expecting you Iselv and Kithra to have better skills than this, seeing as you two used to be the feared bosses of the Northern and Southern districts of Grenton. Yet you couldn't fight to your full potential, especially you Iselv you were actually holding back on me! How insulting and also laughable, a weakling such as yourself shouldn't be holding back."
Hearing what Ren said, Iselv gritted his teeth, while Kithra started to think about what Ren said. He wasn't disappointed that she was weak, because it was obvious in the eyes of Ren most people were weak, no what disappointed him was that she wasn't fighting in her full potential. That would mean the way she fought was a mistake in itself.
While the two bosses started to contemplate Ren's words, Ren was now looking at the young man kithra brought.
"I forgot I never asked your name, what is it?"
"It's Hanz."
"Hanz is it... Based on how you moved near me to cast your spells, tells me that you have no idea how to fight. I wasn't expecting much, but I at least hope you know the basics of fighting as a mage... Well then, now that I got a feel on how weak you guys are, we can start training."