Gleldus and Brolkos approached the edge of the hill region. The two giants walked out onto the open meadow of Bea Lardi. The three adventurers were with them, leading the way towards Baemonn’s hut.

 

The Warrior class master was already standing outside his hut as the morning sun rose over the horizon. He was steadily loading vegetables into a cauldron of water as it boiled over a hot flame. Baemonn lifted his eyes as he heard the quaking steps of giants approaching. 

 

“Good heavens…,” Baemonn muttered as he gazed upon the sight of the two giants walking with Zayd and the other two. He looked on as Zayd led the way, standing firm and confident in front. “Here they come.”

 

As they approached, Nol took charge and sprinted forth, ahead of everyone. 

 

“Yeah that’s right!” Nol shouted out towards Baemonn. “We survived the night! Me and Zayd both!”

 

“Is that right?” Baemonn questioned as the others arrived. “You and Zayd, huh?”

 

“That’s right!” Nol claimed. “The giants helped too but me and Zayd did quite a bit of work out there! Didn’t we, buddy?”

 

Zayd stared back at Nol as he nudged him, attempting to get Zayd to validate his lie. 

 

“Eh, he’s just a bit shaken up by the goblins still,” Nol insisted.

 

“Well, Zayd!” Gleldus interrupted. “It’s time we head back now. Our bellies are nice and full and it's about time for a nap!”

 

Zayd turned back towards the giants and thanked them for their service. “I owe you two for your help back there.”

 

“Nonsense!” Gleldus declared. “You helped us just as much as we helped you.”

 

“Yeah!” Brolkos chimed in. “We never would’ve gotten so many goblins if it weren’t for you. They usually see us coming a mile away but you were able to distract them!”

 

“Well I’m glad we were able to help each other,” Zayd said. “It was great meeting you two!”

 

Zayd waved back as the two hill giants turned and departed from their presence. Gleldus and Brolkos made their way back into the hills.

 

“So anyways as I was saying…” Nol was steadily praising himself for his made up accomplishments, detailing every bit of Zayd’s actions as his own.

 

Baemonn raised his open palm and placed it over Nol’s face. “Quiet down, boy.”

 

Nol gasped in disbelief. “Wh-what?!”

 

“You are not even worthy of calling yourself a Fighter,” Baemonn chastised him. “While I can forgive one for lacking in strength or courage even though they are vital traits for a Warrior, I can never forgive one for their dishonesty. For a Warrior is not carried by their strength and bravery alone! Nay! They are empowered by their valor and without an honest nature and pure heart, one such as you could never aspire to become a Warrior! Now begone from my presence.”

 

Nol let out an exasperated expression before storming off back towards town. “Whatever! I wanted to be a Sentinel anyways!”

 

“Jokes on him,” Baemonn remarked. “The trial for the Sentinel is way harder than this!”

 

“Is it really?” Zayd asked.

 

“No, not really,” Baemonn replied. “But it is just as difficult. He’ll have no easy time with it.”

 

“So did we pass?” Gilbaus asked.

 

“No, I’m afraid not,” Baemonn answered. “Well not you at least.”

 

“But you said all we had to do is survive the night!” Gilbaus snapped back.

 

“True, I did say that,” Baemonn said. “However, if it weren’t for Zayd here then you never would’ve made it back.”

 

“Wh-what?!” Gilbaus questioned. “B-but you weren’t even there!”

 

“What does it matter?!” Baemonn shouted. “I told you I would be watching, did I not? Did you think it was merely a ruse meant to keep you in line?”

 

“Well no…but I did make it back. I at least thought that would count for something,” Gilbaus commented.

 

“It does count for something. Because you made it back, you can try it again,” Baemonn announced. “Zayd, here on the other hand, passed with flying colors.”

 

“I did?” Zayd wondered.

 

“Indeed you did,” Baemonn detailed. “Not only did you show bravery but you also displayed cunning strategy too. While you weren’t afraid to face off against the goblins, you were smart enough to know when to run. Retreating from battle is not necessarily a cowardly act. There’s no shame in saving yourself to fight another day. A Warrior must always pick and choose their battles wisely. However, one thing that an individual must never do when they stray this path is to allow others to fall into harm’s way when there is something that can be done. Zayd, you could have hid away in the night and survived till morning. However, you risked your own personal safety to rescue these two dimwits from their own doom.”

 

Zayd nodded his head at Baemonn. “I guess I did.”

 

“And before you think it was only doable with the help of the giants I want to tell you something,” Baemonn said. “That is completely true.”

 

“Huh?!” Zayd replied.

 

“However! It takes a great amount of strength and skill to obtain the level of respect it requires to get a hill giant to fight alongside you,” Baemonn explained. “Doing what you did back there was a great testament of your progress as a Fighter. You’ve taken the lessons you learned throughout your journey and applied them here in your trial. Because of that, you are now eligible to be trained by me.”

 

“What about me?” Gilbaus asked.

 

“Leave my presence,” Baemonn requested. “Come back tomorrow and you may try again. While Nol is no longer allowed to retake these trials, you may return. But know that unless you find courage within yourself like Zayd here has, then you will never be able to complete the trials as he has.”

 

“I understand…” Gilbaus departed from their sight, making his way back towards Novalgus.

 

“They did survive, you know,” Zayd pointed out. “You could have trained them.”

 

Baemonn closed his eyes and lowered his gaze to the ground. “Listen closely, Zayd. This world is a far more dangerous place than most realize. What I did for those two boys today is more than they could ever realize. By sending them away like I did, I taught them a valuable lesson in life. Nothing worth achieving is ever easy! If they want to accomplish these trials then they too must prove themselves worthy!”

 

Baemonn lifted his arm into the air. Energy began to form around his hand as he cried out into the morning sky. Suddenly a rumbling could be heard coming from the side of his hut. Zayd looked over to see a large ax begin to shake against the old wooden structure. 

 

“Agghh!” Baemonn shouted as the ax came sweeping across the sky. The shaft of the ax came barreling right into the palm of his hand. “A Fighter’s Shield Toss possesses a unique trait that forces the shield to return to the owner’s hand. A Warrior possesses an even greater ability that allows them to do the same with their ax. Observe and learn.”

 

Baemonn slowly walked towards a distant tree that stood amongst a few others. Around the tree were several dozen stumps where a tree had been sliced down.

 

Baemonn let out a deep breath before reaching his arm back, carrying his ax with it. He released it, sending it forward with the thrust of his arm. “Tomahawk!”

 

Zayd watched as the ax lit up with an energetic aura and went spiraling through the morning sky. The ax split the tree in half and came barreling right back towards Baemonn. The Warrior lifted his hand high and caught the ax midair.

 

“Woah!” Zayd’s eyes sparkled with interest. “That was amazing!”

 

“I know,” Baemonn replied. “There’s more. As you already know, Fighters can alter their abilities to perform an alternative version of it. This split path has led you down the direction of a Warrior. However, a Warrior also has two paths to choose from.”

 

“Wait, what?” Zayd questioned. “You mean?”

 

“That’s right,” Baemonn answered. “Your journey doesn’t end once you become a Warrior. There is still another class advancement that you can achieve after this one. But before you get there, you must choose amongst the two paths presented to a Warrior. One is the path of the Gladiator while the other is the path of the Berserker. I have shown you one of the paths by displaying the Tomahawk ability. Now allow me to present to you its alternative.”

 

“I’m ready!” Zayd cheerfully boasted.

 

Baemonn turned back towards the other trees. He glanced towards the one had just felled and raised his ax high. The Warrior lowered himself closer to the ground and began to glow with an aura.

 

“Catapult Hatchet!” Suddenly Baemonn launched himself towards the tree with his ax in hand. He came swinging down upon the broken tree that laid across the ground. When Baemonn’s ax met with it, the tree exploded and splintered into a thousand pieces. “Now look at that! Nothing left!”

 

“Wow…” Zayd shook his head in amazement. “I can’t believe it…”

 

“Your basic ability gets an upgrade too,” Baemonn began to illustrate. “Instead of using Cut, you’ll now be utilizing the two abilities: Sever and Hack. Sever works like most damaging abilities do, however, this one will apply a bleed effect on your target. With a bleed status present, your target will slowly suffer from their injuries until the effect wears off.”

 

“And what of Hack?” Zayd wondered.

 

“Hack is just a more powerful version of Cut with no extra effects,” Baemonn answered. “Just think of it as a direct upgrade whereas Sever adds a bit of utility.”

 

“Got ya!” Zayd nodded.

 

“Now as a Warrior we start to rely less on our shields and focus more on an all out offense,” Baemonn detailed. “Leave the shield abilities to the Sentinels, they’re designed for such things.”

 

“I take it we get something in return for losing an important skill…” Zayd glared back at him.

 

“Of course.” Baemonn widened the gap between his legs and lowered himself closer to the earth to get more balance. He stared intensely at Zayd before releasing an intense aura towards him. “Berate!”

 

Zayd was suddenly struck with a feeling of dread and despair. “What is this?”

 

“Before we had the ability to Taunt our enemies,” Baemonn began to illustrate. “As we begin to rely less on our shields, such skills are unnecessary for us. Instead we rely on destroying our targets as quickly as we can! Your enemy can’t attack you if it’s already dead!”

 

Zayd fell to the ground, feeling his body become weak.

 

“Berate lowers your target’s defense by a substantial amount,” Baemonn noted. “Alternatively you can use Chastise instead to cause your target to take double damage from the next attack you deal to it.”

 

“So it only works for my attacks, huh?” Zayd wondered.

 

“That’s right, Zayd,” Baemonn answered. “Keep that in mind. It’s only worth using if you can follow up with another attack.”

 

“So what else is there for me to learn?” Zayd asked.

 

“Before you were able to utilize your battle stance to choose between a defensive or aggressive stance. By utilizing the Aggressor’s Stance you were able to boost your attack power,” Baemonn commented. “However, as a Warrior you’ll be able to increase the power of this ability even further with the use of two skills. The first being Gladiator’s Bearing which will increase your attack power more than what your previous skill did. Not only that but it also boosts your attack speed.”

 

“Simply amazing,” Zayd responded. “What about the other?”

 

“The other ability is called Berserker's Posture,” Baemonn detailed. “While it won’t boost your attack speed like the other ability will, this one will increase your attack power by far more!”

 

“So it’s a decision between raw power or speed,” Zayd replied.

 

“That’s right,” Baemonn remarked. “Now before I make your class advancement official, there is one more thing I must share with you.”

 

“What is it, master?” Zayd asked.

 

“Your final abilities cannot be taught to you by me,” Baemonn explained. “Just like with your Warrior’s Spirit you will once again be presented with two options: Gladiator’s Purpose and Berserker’s Ambition. These two abilities can only be activated one at a time. However, unlocking their potential will not be easy. Discovering such a thing will come from within oneself as these abilities contain the truest essence of the Warrior.”

 

Zayd nodded back at his class master. “Thank you Baemonn for the many lessons you have given me today.”

 

“I hope that they may serve you well upon your journeys ahead.” Baemonn walked forward and approached Zayd, lifting his ax. “Now bow before me.”

 

Zayd lowered himself to one knee and turned his gaze towards the ground. 

 

“I, Baemonn the Warrior, registered class master for the Adventurer’s Guild, hereby declare that Zayd is worthy of becoming a Warrior!” Baemonn declared. “Arise, adventurer! No longer are you Zayd the Fighter! Now you shall henceforth be known as Zayd the Warrior!”

 

Zayd rose to feet, turning his sights towards the morning sky, smiling proud at his achievement. He set out to obtain the Warrior class and he did. Though his venture did not take him far from the city, it was still a perilous one. While his journey here had finally come to an end, his companions had only begun to embark upon theirs.