The Immortal Player

Other than the members of the ARES Guild, Faunia, Ragas, and Clara had their own set of armor and weapon. However, Ragas and Faunia declined to use the armor because it would be just a hindrance to their combat ability. Besides… They have a way stronger armor than what Blacksmith Prodel and Pedro's slaves have crafted.

As for Clara, she simply hid the sword that Pedro made to the inventory bag that is on the right side of her waist—similar to everyone else. Of course, Clara used <Estan> as her main sword and was the one attached to the left side of her waist.

As for everyone else, it took them an hour to adjust themselves to the changes brought by the heavy armor. Well… All of them, including Clara, kept the helm to their inventory bag since they were not on a battle nor were they on a simple spar.

During their adjustment period, Ragas and Clara used that time to teach Aldo and Loren the things they needed to do in their 'daily routine'. Unfortunately, Pedro intensified the 'daily routine' training before they could even start their first try.

Now, all of them needed to complete three different sets daily. The first set is called 'the warm-up set', where all of them would do their 'current daily routine' of thousand punch of different ways into the sturdy wall of the cave while they were made to swing their swords a thousand times in different ways to strike against the wall—without their armor and using only a newbie sword. After that repetitive task, they would have a spar against Clara, Ragas, Sabrina, the baby spiders, or Lony on his Werewolf form.

Then, they would have an hour or two of rest in the game, before proceeding to their second set—which is 'the armored set'. This time, they would repeat their 'current daily routine' but with their official armors and their official weapons made of Black Mountain Rock Metal Ore. This set would be concluded with another spar against the same enemies.

And lastly, the final set is called 'the unrestricted set', where they can use or wield any weapon of their own choice but with their official armor still equipped. This set no longer requires the 'current daily routine' to be accomplished and is completely dependent on the type of training that each of them was pursuing. And this set was more on a spar that removes the restriction that prohibits them from using other means of combat in the first two sets of their training—but the transformation skills were prohibited.

Each set has its own specific goal and purpose with equal weight and importance to the development of their combat ability. The first set was important because it trains them and their combat ability to the case where they only have the bare minimum weapon and equipment to fight and survive.

The first set is based on scenarios where if their armor and weapons get destroyed, or when they have no equipped armors or weapons to equip in the first place. Such cases were to occur, thus, it was important to train their skills in consideration of such cases where they had nothing in hand.

The second set was equally important since it trains them to fight with good and typical armor and weapons were at hand. It aims to increase their familiarity with the changes they needed to bear as they wore protective gear. It also increases the natural strength of their bodies—which would allow them to wield the armors and weapons easily even in battles.

While the third set allows them to freely use whatever they have in hand—including attacks that had variation compared to what Clara and Ragas had initially taught. This is where they could also freely use their special abilities to familiarize themselves with which part can they integrate their basic combat abilities and their individual special abilities.

The transformation skill is prohibited here because the transformation skills provide a wider range of variation in attacks and are part of next-level training under Ragas in the future. That said, Lony was exempted from this rule because his transformation form would be their trump card in the upcoming competition and he needed to familiarize himself with fighting in his transformation form as much as possible.

As for Pedro, he and Sabrina had a fourth set, which was a spar with Ragas, then Clara, and lastly Faunia—with no 'holding back'. Well, it often ends quickly with Pedro and Sabrina getting beat up. So, it was almost unnoticeable at that.

Of course, their daily training does not stop there. They were required to attend a Taekwondo training in real life, not only to exercise their body but to also learn a few things that they can apply inside the game. Well, it was very effective, so there was no reason for them not to attend such training.

Besides… Their training in the game only lasts half a day in the game or 6 hours in real life. So, they have a lot of time to spend in real life, especially that they can also play the game whilst their real-life body is asleep. But since they don't have anything much to do in real life, they would often go back to the game and do their training once again.

The next day, good news wakes them up. Pedro was given clearance by his doctor to be able to join them on their trip to China. Since his father and mother were obviously joining the trip, it was only evident that Pedro was officially allowed to join the trip. As for his grandmother, she would be left to their relatives whilst they were on a trip.

Other than that, their 'guild outfit' or 'uniforms' were brought to them—which was a black dry-fit T-shirt with white designs to establish a cool but simple black and white theme. The guild logo is printed largely in the back with white color. And above it, their 'Professional In-Game Names' were printed, also in white color.

On the sleeves were the logos of affiliated companies of the Sponsor Company, Armaz Energy International. While the logo of Armaz Energy International and Armaz Electronics Inc. was printed on the front side of the shoulders.

Moving forward, their shirts are paired with comfy jogger pants and a black overcoat that has their guild logo printed on the back. They have three sets with them and another five kept by Pedro's mom and aunt as extras in case needed.

Their uniforms made them all excited as everyone tried it immediately after receiving it from Pedro. And as if it was planned, they were brought into a photoshoot afterward—which everyone even happily participated especially Talia.

"It's nice to relax and have fun like these after an exhausting training, right elder sisters?" Talia asked Sabrina and Loren, who were also being prepared for their photoshoot.

"Yeah!" Loren said happily in agreement. Then, she chuckled, saying, "Classmate Pedro is really good at pampering his girlfriend…"

"Hehehe…" Talia also chuckled in response as she teasingly glanced towards Sabrina.

In response, Sabrina retained her poker face and said, "How I wish it was the case…"

"Aish… The elder sister is being humble. Lol." Talia chuckled in response.

"That's just how she is…" Loren added with a smirk.

Sabrina simply shrugged them off—allowing Talia to change to another topic. Eventually, the girls went into their lively conversation, talking about their 'uniform' for the event, to the results of their training—specifically how Talia was able to defeat Lony, Roval, and Aldo in a spar.

In another room, Lony and Roval were asking for tips from Mathew on which pose should they go for in the photoshoot since he was a professional player from another game before. Of course, Mathew did not give them a straightforward answer that made their room quite a bit noisy.

"Should I go for the cold look or the 'good-looking guy' pose?" Lony asked as if he was a new celebrity.

"I'll go for the cold gaze like the old man, Ragas!" Roval said as he stared with a cold gaze at everyone else that made them laugh in response.

"Cold gaze? More like you are 'feeling cold' gaze! Hahahaha!" Lony said in response.

"Tch…" Roval could only flick his tongue in response as Mathew interjected.

"Just be yourself… The more you try to look good the more it would look awkward in the actual photo. So, being yourselves would do." Mathew explained.

At this moment, Pedro interjected with a laugh, saying, "Lony, why don't you try having a shot with how you look when you're in raged form in your werewolf form? Hahahaha! Won't it be a good pair if the media would be able to capture a perfect photo of you during the competition in your werewolf form?"

"Oh!" Lony's eyes shined bright—thinking that Pedro suggested a good idea. But after a few seconds of deep thought, he frowned and glanced towards Pedro while saying, "Captain… You're not pulling a prank on me, right?"

Pedro simply laughed in response and said, "Why would I even do that to you?"

Lony could only scratch the back of his head in response as Arvedar smiled and gave Lony a thumbs up. Then, Arvedar said, "That's a good idea! Hahahaha!"

"Aish… I knew it! There is really something fishy about it!" Lony grumbled that made everyone burst into laughter in response.