After leaving the Adventurer's Guild, I headed to the training ground nearby. It seemed that a beginner's training session for the guild would be held in three days, so until then, I planned to practice my magic.
On the opposite side of the training ground were smithies, tool shops, and taverns, as well as other shops that catered to the needs of adventurers. There was even a public bathhouse I had been longing for. It was my first bath since coming to this world. In the past, there were mixed-gender baths in Japan, so I was somewhat hopeful, but unfortunately, they were separated by gender. Still, it was a long-awaited facility for a bath enthusiast like me.
Including the training ground, everything seemed to be under the jurisdiction of the Adventurer's Guild. A system was in place where the money earned from the guild could be directly collected.
According to the guard Chris, there were shops slightly north that were not under guild jurisdiction, and he also told me that if I wanted a wider range of products, I should choose shops outside the guild's control.
Shops under the Adventurer's Guild seemed to lack the element of play or adventure, possibly because they were government-operated. It was ironic that even though it was the Adventurer's Guild, there was no adventure involved.
I paid the entrance fee and entered the training ground. The fee was only a thousand gold, quite reasonable. It was like a public sports facility, and it seemed to be operated with a portion of the guild's revenue.
The training ground was a huge facility, not as large as the Tokyo Dome, divided into several sections.
Apart from the simple sections with leveled ground, there were areas filled with fallen trees and rocks, as well as sections mimicking the field with mud and obstacles. It appeared to simulate various field conditions.
Except for salespeople and administrators, there were no guild staff present. The guild only provided the location; the training was done individually.
I moved to a simple section without obstacles. The area was about the size of a half-court in soccer, with ten people training.
In the central area, people with close combat weapons trained with each other, while archers and magic users aimed their arrows and spells at targets placed against the walls.
Upon entering, I looked around, but nobody seemed to mind. I gave a slight nod, moved to an available space, and began practicing my magic.
My current Black Magic skill was at level 12. I could control mana almost as I wanted, but it didn't necessarily mean I could hit where I aimed the magic.
I was like a novice baseball player with high physical abilities and dexterity. But in order for me to accurately hit the target, I needed to repeatedly practice the throws and teach my body how much power to put into each part.
I cast magic towards a sandbag about ten meters away. To ensure repetitive practice, I didn't infuse much mana. Only about 30% of my shots hit the intended spot.
Even with my current accuracy, if I could cast flames in a spread, I could easily wipe out goblins. However, it consumed a lot of mana. I continued my training, focusing on precision and casting speed.
...Damn, this is incredibly fun. During my elementary school days, I used to mimic the characters in the weekly shounen magazine, shouting their special moves. For me, this training wasn't tiring at all.
Each time I cast magic, my mana diminished, but my energy was restored. My concentration remained steadfast. Gradually, I began to grasp the rhythm, and both accuracy and casting speed increased little by little.
Similar to how a baseball player doesn't consciously think about lifting their leg or opening their shoulder when throwing a ball, I started performing certain steps of the spell unconsciously.
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I continued training silently until my mana was depleted. When I realized, the sun had set completely.
I had heard that the training ground was also a place for adventurers to interact, but no one approached me. It was probably because I was grinning the whole time.
I glanced around and it seemed that everyone had finished and left without me noticing. There was no one around. As I withdrew my attention from the target, I suddenly felt my exhaustion and I could feel my body becoming heavy.
However, the sense of accomplishment was greater than the fatigue. The results of my training were remarkable. I could now form an ice blade in just 5 seconds, compared to the 30 seconds it took last night.
I had also acquired a few spells that suited my combat style. With my current skills, I might be able to effortlessly annihilate goblins with lower-powered magic. A dangerous desire to unleash a full-power strike, fully charged with mana, against a monster surfaced in my mind.
The chilly night breeze cooled my excited, flushed face and I began pondering about my future goals.
Ultimately, I wanted to be able to cast lower-powered spells reflexively, almost instantly.
For now, my immediate goal was to break the one-second barrier. Today, I managed to reduce my casting time to about one-sixth of before, but I couldn't expect the same progress tomorrow. Today's improvement was the result of fixing inefficient aspects that even an amateur like me could notice. Breaking the one-second barrier would likely take a while.
However, the journey towards that goal seemed incredibly enjoyable to me. Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one around, I left the training ground humming a tune.
