"That weird dream again."
Shin woke up as early as always, the persistent habit ingrained in his very being. Though hazy, he could pick up some of its contents: the gleaming tools in the shard mirror fragments, the vast golden moon, and the echo of voices he couldn't quite recall.
What lingered most was a strange feeling of urgency, a fleeting sense of profound discussions just beyond his grasp.
As for forgetting something, it seemed he'd completely neglected to discuss the results of their combat practice with Hajime, having become entirely engrossed in crafting the specialized training regimen for the Hero Party.
Not paying much attention to the dream, Shin went about his morning routine, then headed straight to the Imperial Kitchen to make some Ration Cookies.
---
With their exemption from the daily required training secured, Shin, Hajime, and the core Hero Party—Kouki, Shizuku,Ryuutarou and Kaori—proceeded to their special regimen designed by Shin.
"First of all, Kouki," Shin stated, his tone businesslike. "
Give me ten thousand swings while balancing yourself on this pole."
"This should prevent you from making unnecessary steps that usually lead you to make big moves."
"And don't use any reinforcement magic or whatever skills that enhances your stats." The pole was surprisingly thin, barely wide enough for Kouki's foot, and extended several meters high.
Kouki looked at it gulped.
"Shizuku, for you," Shin continued, not waiting for Kouki's protest.
In a flash, Shin jumped roughly 50 meters away from Shizuku in just two seconds, planted a small red flag firmly in the ground, and returned to his original spot in the same amount of time.
"Try to reach that flag within the same time."
"If you cannot, return and repeat until you can do it." Shizuku's eyes widened, recognizing the sheer burst of speed Shin had just displayed.
"As for Kaori, hmm..." Shin paused, considering.
"Try to refer from Hajime's training, and Hajime, assist her since you already experienced the training for shortening your aria and also improving its efficiency and potency while reducing magic power consumption."
Hajime nodded, stepping forward to explain the arduous process of refining one's magic through sheer repetition and mental conditioning.
Kaori, already intimidated by the thought of replicating Hajime's unique training, looked a little pale.
"And for Ryuutarou, let's see..." Shin turned to the large, burly warrior.
"Hajime, can you transmute a 5-meter wide and 30-meter thick earth wall here?" With a casual nod, Hajime's hands glowed, and with a rumble, a colossal wall of solid earth erupted from the ground.
"Okay, that's good."
"For you, Ryuutarou, try to destroy this one within the day without using enhancements similar to Kouki." Ryuutarou's jaw dropped at the sight of the earthen behemoth. This was going to be a long day.
With these training regimens in place, the Hero Party, Hajime, and Shin proceeded to train.
Though the training wasn't overly physically taxing for Kouki, Shizuku, and Ryuutarou due to their high stats, its absurdity was mentally draining.
The challenge lay in performing these tasks without using any skills or enhancements, forcing them to rely purely on their base stats and raw talent.
Kouki was the first to protest. He'd already fallen from the pole countless times, expecting skill refinement, not this bizarre exercise.
Shin, however, merely offered him a serene smile. "You wanted My special training regimen," he told Kouki, "then you should go through it until the end."
Shin warned him sternly not to use any skills or enhancements; though he couldn't sense magic, he could feel subtle, abnormal changes in their movements.
With this, the unconventional training continued.
Some of the classmates who had previously envied the five for being exempted from the daily required training suddenly felt a profound sense of relief, seeing the Hero Party pushed to what Hajime had previously implied was "borderline torture."
Shin, on the other hand, sat calmly, meditating. He replayed his spar with Shizuku from yesterday. "Should I use a dagger or knife instead of a sword? Hmmm," he murmured, deep in thought.
He would also casually toss some ration cookies when one of his friends or now, trainees, became too frustrated.
"This sure is really effective," Shin again marveled at his creation, snacking on a cookie while meditating.
With a few days passed, Shin noted that the Hero Party had improved bit by bit. Kouki now managed to make more refined and practical sword swings, though not yet fully shedding his flashy moves.
"Still too much flair, Kouki," Shin would occasionally call out and throwing some dulled daggers to Kouki, to which Kouki would just groan in response, "I'm trying, Shin!"
Shizuku, though she couldn't yet achieve the 50-meter feat, could now at least move up to 20 meters instantly back and forth.
"Catch me if you can, Shin!" she'd sometimes tease, a confident smirk playing on her lips after a successful dash.
Kaori, with Hajime's help, could now cast healing and divine attacks with shorter arias, though not instantly yet.
Their magic consumption was also relatively decreased, and her spells showed improved efficiency in their effect-to-magic-power-consumption ratio
"Is this... what you felt, Hajime-kun?" Kaori once asked, looking weary but determined. Hajime, wiping sweat from his brow after another round of transmutations, simply nodded,
"Something like that."
"Keep going, you're almost there."
Ryuutarou, on the other hand, could now chip away at least 10 meters per day from the large wall.
Each day, the earthen behemoth shrank under his relentless, unenhanced blows.
"Another chunk down!" he'd bellow, his knuckles raw but his eyes bright with triumph. But during his near completion Shin would just ask Hajime to Restore it;
Hajime also improved his control and magic power efficiency, now capable of making his transmutations denser and deadlier.
"Shin, look," he'd sometimes say, demonstrating a new, intricate earth construct that was harde and sharper than anything he'd made before. Shin would give a rare, approving nod.
Shin, on the other hand, shifted from solely using a sword to incorporating a twin-dagger fighting style.
Though his main style was still the sword, his twin daggers seemed promising in their multitude of applications, prioritizing speed and utility, even allowing him to use reserve daggers as projectiles.
"This adds a new layer," he mused to himself during a solo practice, testing a swift combination of slashes and throws.
With this, the group steadily grew, engaging in periodic combat sparring among themselves, except for Kaori, who focused on healing and using divine attack spells on dummies.
The Hero Party members could also feel the difference.
Stat-wise, their growth speed was surpassing their previous rate when training with Commander Meld and others.
During spars, Shizuku could now move with surprising freedom, Ryuutarou unleashed deadly punches that only required half of his strength, and Kouki's stance became more practical, with his reduced flashy moves making his defense remarkably decent.
Kaori also didn't run out of magic power as often, and Hajime became more akin to a precise earth mage rather than just a synergist.
Then the days passed, until the day of the dungeon exploration began.
---------
On the day of the first dungeon exploration, Commander Meld called all summoned Apostles to assemble.
"Everyone, gather! Today marks a new step in your journey!" Meld's voice boomed, full of authority.
This day, they would be given weapons from the Kingdom's Treasury. The whole class clamored in joy, hearing that they would finally be getting their weapons.
"Finally, real gear!" someone exclaimed from the crowd.
"I wonder what kind of sword I'll get!" another shouted excitedly.
The whole summoned Apostles were guided and escorted by Commander Meld and a lot of Elite soldiers into the Kingdom's Treasury.
Kouki, as the hero, received the highest grade armor along with a holy sword. He gripped the hilt, his eyes shining.
"This... this is truly the Holy Sword! I can feel the power!" he declared with a confident grin.
Ryuutarou got standard magical items and equipment for a martial artist.
He flexed his gloved hands.
"These feel solid. Ready to smash some monsters!" he grunted, punching the air.
Kaori received a Saint's Staff and cleric robes. She held her staff gently, a soft glow emanating from its crystal.
"It's beautiful... and I can feel so much warmth from it," she murmured reverently. Shizuku also got light armor and a slender sword. She gave her new blade a few quick, precise swings, testing its balance.
"Mmm. This should do the job." she noted, a rare smile gracing her lips.
Hajime, on the other hand, also got light armor and a glove that improved his transmutation speed.
He slipped the glove on, then quickly formed a small, intricate earth sculpture. "Hmm, decent. Could be better, but it'll do," he commented with his a small smile.
Shin, meanwhile, just picked some light armor and some of the most durable daggers he could find;he didn't bother if they were magical or not, since it didn't matter to him anyway.
"Just give me the sturdiest ones you have," Shin told the bewildered treasury manager, inspecting a dagger with a sharp flick of his wrist.
He also asked for katana-like weapons, but it seemed the treasury manager had no idea what a katana was, so Shin grabbed one of the most durable swords the treasury had.
"No katanas, huh? A shame," Shin sighed, hefting a straightforward, and picked a random longsword.
"This will have to suffice then."
To Shin and Hajime's disappointment, it looked like there were no storage items like magic bags or storage rings, which were usually staples of isekai.
"Seriously, no magic bags?" Hajime muttered.
Shin just shrugged. "Guess we'll have to carry everything the old-fashioned way."
When everyone had their equipment that aligned with their class, the whole company proceeded to the training field for a briefing before going into the dungeon.
Yep, a lot of things were discussed: the dangers, cautions, what to do and not to do, to be careful, and not to worry since Meld and the others would be there to help and assist if they encountered troubles.
"This is it, everyone. Remember your training, stay alert, and don't take unnecessary risks!" Commander Meld reiterated, his gaze sweeping over their faces.
"We'll be fine! We're the heroes!" Kouki declared confidently, his hand resting on his holy sword.
With that, the first day of dungeon exploration commenced.