SSS Awakening: I Can Create Skills By Will

Chapter 156: Where Motion Bows

The conversation slowly came to an end after that.

Arthur stood up from the chair.

"Thank you... Commander."

Lyra waved her hand lightly.

"No need to be formal all the time."

Arthur laughed.

"Habit."

He walked toward the door and paused for a moment.

"See you tomorrow."

Lyra nodded.

"Don’t be late."

Arthur opened the door and stepped out into the corridor.

The door closed behind him softly. As he took a deep breath.

It was still morning.

Yet it felt like an entire day had already passed.

First the confrontation with Commander Rask.

Then the meeting with Lyra.

And now...

He was part of a special squad investigating the abyss worshippers.

Arthur ran a hand through his hair.

"Quite a morning."

But he couldn’t hide the smile on his face.

Working directly with Commander Lyra.

Training with a small group of carefully chosen explorers.

And facing enemies connected to the abyss.

It sounded like exactly the kind of challenge he wanted.

Arthur began walking down the corridor.

Tomorrow would be interesting.

Arthur stepped out of Commander Lyra’s quarters shortly, and then into the corridor, still wearing that small smile he couldn’t quite hide.

A lot had happened already and all of it before noon.

Arthur stretched his shoulders as he walked.

"Not bad for a morning."

But the day wasn’t over.

Not even close.

He didn’t have any mission assigned today. Most explorers would take that as a chance to rest or waste the day in the tavern.

Arthur wasn’t built that way.

His mind was already turning.

Whenever a new skill appeared, something inside him woke up. A quiet excitement that pushed him to test it, stretch it, understand it.

And the skill he gained in the boss fight...

That one had been sitting in his mind since yesterday.

Vector Sovereignty.

He still hadn’t truly seen what it could do.

Arthur’s grin widened slightly.

"I should fix that."

With that decision made, he changed direction and began heading toward the training halls.

The stronghold had several of them depending on rank. Bronze explorers trained in one section, silver and above in others.

Arthur didn’t need anything fancy.

Not yet.

The bronze training hall would do just fine.

The place was already busy when he arrived. The sound of metal striking metal and boots scraping the floor echoed through the wide chamber.

Explorers moved around practicing their forms, sparring, or testing equipment.

Arthur walked straight toward the reception desk.

The attendant sitting there barely looked up at first.

"Badge."

Arthur handed it over.

The man glanced down at it and paused.

His eyes lingered on the name a second longer than necessary.

"...Arthur, huh."

Arthur didn’t notice the tone.

Or maybe he noticed and simply didn’t care.

He took his badge back with a small nod and walked deeper into the hall.

Behind him the attendant scratched his head.

"Wasn’t that the guy they were talking about?"

But Arthur had already moved on.

As he walked into the training area, the reaction started almost immediately.

A few bronze explorers noticed him first.

Then more.

Whispers began spreading quietly.

"That’s him."

"Really?"

"The one from the ogre dungeon?"

Some explorers slowed their training just to look.

Others pointed openly.

A few frowned.

He didn’t look like the kind of person they imagined.

Just a young man walking calmly across the training floor.

Arthur ignored them the same way he ignored whispers in the guild hall.

None of that mattered.

Right now his focus was somewhere else.

He moved toward the specialized training section at the back.

This area contained several enclosed rooms designed for reaction and defense training.

Arthur had seen them before but never used them himself.

They were machines powered by monster cores.

The mechanism could launch projectiles from multiple angles at different speeds. The difficulty could be adjusted depending on how the explorer wanted to train.

Agility types used them.

Defense types loved them.

Arthur stepped closer.

"Perfect."

The randomness was exactly what he needed.

At the far end of the row of rooms, a door slid open.

An older explorer stepped out holding a battered shield.

His armor was scratched and worn in the way that showed years of real fighting.

He noticed Arthur approaching.

"You here for the machine?"

Arthur nodded.

"Yes."

The older man wiped sweat from his neck and looked him up and down.

"You new?"

Arthur shrugged lightly.

"Something like that."

The man chuckled.

"Just a word of advice."

He tapped the machine behind him with the edge of his shield.

"Don’t set it too high."

Arthur tilted his head.

"Oh?"

"Seen a lot of young explorers try to prove themselves in here."

The man leaned against the wall.

"They crank the level up thinking they’re heroes."

He snorted.

"Then five seconds later they’re flat on the floor."

Arthur smiled faintly.

"I’ll keep that in mind."

The older man stepped aside.

"Good. Last thing we need is another accident report."

Arthur nodded once and stepped inside the training room.

The door slid shut behind him.

Inside the chamber, several launch ports lined the walls.

Each one capable of firing different sized projectiles.

Arthur walked to the control panel and glanced over the settings.

Low.

Medium.

High.

Maximum.

His finger hovered for a moment.

Then he pressed the last option.

The machine hummed as it powered up.

Outside the room, the older explorer noticed the indicator light change.

His eyes widened slightly.

"...Max?"

He leaned closer to the viewing window.

"Kid didn’t listen at all."

He shook his head slowly.

"Another cocky one."

Still, he didn’t leave.

Based on experience, accidents happened quickly in situations like this.

Inside the chamber, Arthur stood calmly in the center.

He rolled his neck once.

Then took a slow breath.

His eyes closed.

The machine activated.

A sharp mechanical sound echoed as the first launch port opened.

A stone projectile shot forward at frightening speed.

Then another.

And another.

They came from different directions.

Different angles.

All aimed straight at him.

The older explorer watching through the window felt his heart jump.

"That’s too fast!"