Chapter 7: Training the Expedition Team
"Tactician?" Patten Eagle went into deep thought. If it was anybody else, he would've flatly refused. However, after seeing the efficiency in which this young man killed the Whitemoon Goblin, he couldn't ignore his request. Cultivation level aside, this young man possessed great talent in combat. Maybe his words of request were not superfluous but instead backed with real skill.
"Alright. Today's test is over. Interested applicants come by tomorrow! You, young man, what is your name? Come with me now." Patten announced to the crowd and spoke to Kael.
"My name is Kael. Sure thing." Murmurs could be heard in the crowd as they were still discussing about Kael's battle and request to be the second in command. However, they soon dispersed. Nobody wanted to be on the wrong side of the City Lord's right hand man. Kael then followed Patten Eagle and his men to a different place.
Inside a private suite in a tavern.
"Pardon me when I can't take you to the City Lord's residence. You must be a foreigner, if not someone with skills like yours won't go unnoticed. Therefore, we can only discuss here. You said that you want to be a tactician. I want proof of your tactical skills." Patten Eagle broached the topic directly. He was eager to know what Kael was thinking.
"It's simple. Tactics can be categorized into an individual level and on a team level. On an individual level, it's like what you have seen. I can train up your men and the expedition members on ways to deal specifically with the goblins. Each person from different profession would naturally learn some basic spirit arts from me to deal with the goblins."
"That sounds logical. I've seen your skills. Naturally it will be a boost to my men and Fledgling City as a whole if they can learn your combat skills. What about on a team level?"
"On a team level, each team composes of 5 people. That means you will have 10 teams. I see that most of your men belong to the Beastmaster profession. Since you guys are trained in physical power and strength, each of them should be separated into each team, acting as the core and tank. As for the rest, it will depend on the kind of cultivators that you manage to recruit. Each team then has a specific tactical strategy to follow which I will tailor for the team in the days to come."
"Fair enough. What are your terms?"
"The remuneration I want is not 20 gold, but 50 gold. Is that acceptable? I also need an item bag to store consumable goods which I can use during the expedition."
An item bag was an object with spatial properties, able to contain many items in an inter-dimensional space. Rare Rank item bags were able to transmit the items' properties to the user, allowing them to display abilities through possession of the bags alone. However, it was so scarce that it wouldn't appear in a place like the Myriad Domain.
"That's a deal then. We shall start the training tomorrow?"
"Agreed." Kael was given a few silver coins by Patten Eagle after the latter realized that he was penniless. This could allow him to stay in the tavern for a few days.
When it was night, Kael sat in the room, going through the contents of his training that was going to happen tomorrow. For someone who had participated in the Defense of the Ancients in the secret realm, tactics was a common thing. Without tactics, no matter how good a cultivator was, he was doomed to failure in that secret realm. Therefore, Kael honed himself in tactical training and was extremely proficient in it. What was applicable at the Ancient Rank level was also applicable at the Commoner Rank level.
In the City Lord residence.
"Milord, this was what happened during the testing at the city square earlier today. A young man by the name of Kael… I have already agreed to his terms and he will begin training tomorrow."
"Mm. Good job. We need to retain talent like him. This expedition will serve as a good chance to observe him and see if we can recruit him." Richard Duran replied Patten Eagle.
"Yes milord!" Patten Eagle saluted the City Lord.
The next day, the crowd filled the city square once again. According to Kael's request, those who were at the Commoner Rank Lower Phase were all recruited into the expedition team. Thus, they barely hit the target of 52 members. Kael and Patten Eagle as the leaders were not part of any individual teams.
Each of the Beastmasters in Patten's elite members was split to become the team leader of each team. The other cultivators were all even distributed into each team.
Kael stood in front of all the awaiting cultivators in the middle. No one dared to slight him because of his astounding performance yesterday. They were all anticipating what he was going to say.
"Everybody listen up. This is the incantation to learn the Spirit Art: Spirit Steps! Follow my instructions. First gather up magic power in your aurasea. Then, direct it into your legs according to this circulation method…" Kael began teaching the expedition members about the individual tactics when they would be facing the Whitemoon Goblins. Naturally, he had to impart his knowledge of certain spirit arts to the cultivators. The most essential was the Spirit Steps. It allowed cultivators to evade low ranked creatures with ease and also to confuse their sense of direction.
There was another spirit art that he imparted, which was Sunlight Throw. It was a simple spirit art to enhance the power of the projectile shot. It was similar to Mirana's spirit art, and was also the one which Kael used yesterday when shooting the stone to trip the goblin.
Spirit arts like these might seem normal to Kael, but actually they were rarities in the eyes of the cultivators. Since they didn't belong to the Fledgling Myriad Institute nor the City Lord, it was hard for them to pick up more than 1 spirit art. Today was extremely beneficial to them; they were able to learn two in one day!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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