After the first slash landed, the second followed, sharper and far more powerful. The air inside the training room seemed to split apart, forming an invisible blade aura.
Then came the third slash, the fourth, the fifth.
Zayne's swings grew faster and faster, each strike stronger than the last.
By the time he reached the ninety ninth slash, the entire training room seemed to tremble. Violent energy rippled through the air.
In that instant, the earth seemed to shatter.
Starfall Skytrace erupted with an unprecedented radiance, illuminating the entire room.
An invisible blade aura burst forth from the edge of the blade and tore straight toward the training dummy ahead, leaving a shallow cut across its neck.
If anyone else had been present, their jaw would have dropped.
This was a dummy designed to withstand the full power of adventurers below level forty.
And yet Zayne, a mere level sixteen adventurer, had actually left a mark on it.
But it did not end there.
The hundredth slash. The one hundred first. The one hundred second.
Zayne continued to strike, slash after slash. With Sacrificial Blade Technique stacked to ninety nine layers, every swing was terrifying beyond measure. In this moment, Zayne was like a god of war.
After several hundred consecutive slashes, a loud crack rang out.
The head of the dummy, which was said to withstand full power attacks from adventurers under level forty, was cleaved clean off and rolled across the floor.
"What a blade."
Zayne wiped the sweat from his brow, his gaze toward Starfall Skytrace filled with even greater fondness.
Next, he tested just how terrifying his Forbidden Spells became when fully empowered by the Imperial Dragon Ring, Heavenly Thunder Ring, Life and Death Bind Bracelets, and Blazing Moon Necklace.
With a single Forbidden Spell that sacrificed his internal organs, the dummy he had split in half instantly shattered into fragments scattered across the ground.
Even Zayne himself sucked in a sharp breath at the sight.
It seemed he had underestimated his own strength.
If he truly went all out without worrying about exposing his immortality, he could probably contend with adventurers around level thirty five.
After that, Zayne cycled through his other Forbidden Spells, testing them one by one on the remaining dummies.
Once he had a clear grasp of his current strength, he left the training room in satisfaction.
"You're done already?" the receptionist asked with a warm smile. "Even if you stay less than an hour, it's still charged as a full hour."
"I know. By the way, if I broke anything inside the training room, I don't need to pay extra, right?" Zayne asked.
The receptionist laughed.
"Sir, you're joking. This training room is designed for adventurers under level forty. If a level sixteen adventurer could damage anything inside, that would be a quality issue on our end. Of course we wouldn't charge you."
"That's good to hear. I'll be going then."
Zayne let out a breath of relief and quickly dragged Francis away.
After Zayne left, the receptionist entered the training room to inspect it. Seeing that almost everything appeared intact, she smiled.
"I told you. How could a level sixteen adventurer damage a training room rated for under level forty?"
She turned to close the door, but as she glanced at the empty space inside, something felt off.
"Wait."
"Hold on. Where are the dummies? Why are all the training dummies gone?"
While Zayne was testing his strength, an unexpected change was unfolding at the Ward family estate.
"Damn, it's freezing tonight. Want a smoke?" one guard said.
At the gate of the Ward family residence, two adventurers, one fat and one thin, were shivering as they smoked.
They were adventurers, but only around level ten or so. Neither had the courage to venture outside the city to face savage monsters. Guard duty at the Ward family estate was the perfect job for them.
Safe, well paid, and easy. Apart from freezing during night shifts in winter, it was a pretty sweet deal.
"Shit, no good. Every time I smoke, I need to take a dump," the fat adventurer grumbled, standing up. "You watch the gate. I'll be back."
"Idiot. There's a public restroom right there, and you still want to go outside?" the thin adventurer said with a look of disgust.
"You don't get it. Doing it under the open sky helps you commune with the energy of heaven and earth," the fat adventurer scoffed as he headed toward the bushes.
But the moment he squatted down, his face turned deathly pale.
Everyone knew that no matter how strong a man was, he was vulnerable at moments like this.
The instant he squatted, he realized in horror that the dense shrubs were already filled with people.
He tried to warn his companion, but a large hand clamped over his mouth, silencing him. A blade then slid into his lower back.
He could clearly feel his life force draining away.
When the thin adventurer saw the cigarette ember in the bushes suddenly go out, he sensed something was wrong.
"Fatty? What's going on? You taking a dump or disappearing?"
Inside the bushes, the black clad figures were just as stunned.
They had planned a sudden ambush, but who could have expected this fat man to run into the bushes to take a dump, completely ruining their plan.
"Damn it, why did this bastard have to take a dump now?" one of them cursed silently.
With no other choice, they charged straight toward the main gate.
"Enemy attack!"
The thin adventurer turned pale and immediately triggered the alarm. He could not understand who would dare attack the Ward family. Who in Old Shipyard Port had such guts?
After sounding the alarm, he turned and ran without hesitation. He was not about to risk his life for a twenty thousand dollar monthly salary.
That was enough.
The Ward family estate, previously shrouded in darkness, lit up instantly. In that moment, everyone inside was jolted awake.