Finn knew he woke up relatively early because he had to prepare breakfast, but he did not expect everyone to already be awake.
First of all, the mercenaries were along the barrier, fighting against the monsters that found their way next to the inn. It was no wonder he slept so nicely and didn’t hear any deduction to the shield despite—looking at the fights—a dozen or so monsters had been around.
Finn watched them slash and stab, quite skillfully, and he could tell they were all good fighters even at such a young age. In contrast, twenty-one-year-olds on Earth would still be at university, hanging out with friends, and just thinking of what the future could bring.
That said, he was neither of those. He was already cooking in the high-stress kitchen at the time. Anyway, for a while, he watched the three fight.
They also went outside the barrier every so often. They did not completely stay within it, which was understandable because they were close-range fighters, and this included Aaron, who used the spear.
Aaron relied more on explosive force, and his attacks were impactful and heavy. Ren’s was more swift and accurate, and quite strategic, using the least amount of energy for each shot.
There were times he’d attack a spot several times so quickly that Finn could only follow half of it.
The Blade Proficiency skill worked when he held on to a blade. In terms of theory and in terms of analyzing other people’s fighting skills, he still had a long way to go.
Finally, there was Zachary...who fought with his fists! His ’weapon’ was a metallic glove of sorts with reinforcement and spikes at the knuckle area. In Finn’s eyes, he was the bravest.
The kid would often go out of the barrier, punch a spot repeatedly, and just jump back in whenever he felt danger or something.
He was also the one who was having fun , and his eyes were bright as he pummeled the monsters over and over.
"THIS IS SO AMAZING! I’ve never fought this well before!" Zachary yelled, eyes bright, when he stared at the monster he just relentlessly punched, but couldn’t get close to him. With a smile, he raised his arm again. The air around him changed, and Finn could tell he was using a skill.
BANG!
He watched as the monster’s bleeding face was pummeled, its skull cracked.
Zachary was not one to waste any of his momentum, though. That punch went straight to the ground, and spikes of earth actually appeared and stabbed several monsters in front of him.
ROAAAR!
The spikes weren’t big, but they wounded the monsters’ legs, which were enough for him to jump up and continue with his pummeling session.
He remembered Zach had an earth affinity, so he was not surprised to see it at work now.
Speaking of affinity, the other two also showered their enemies with their skills. He watched as Aaron’s spear was suddenly surrounded by blazing fire, and his attacks became sharper and much more critical.
There was also Ren, whose blades were accurate and fast up close, but also created some wind blades to slow down those coming from a distance, weakening them even before they could approach him.
They were rather careless, though, so he could tell they had already seen the effects of the rooms. Like him, they’d probably just head inside if they wanted to recover. They paid for a day anyway.
They fought and battled and the moment they felt a bit tired or needed some defense, they’d just step or jump back behind the barrier. It was invisible, but they seemed to have made a mark of sorts indicating its delineation.
Aaron was pushed back by a claw, but he defended himself with his spear. He did not falter and twisted his body, and started stabbing the monsters from behind the defensive curtain.
"This feels like cheating, and I like it," he said, taking down another monster. "How long does it usually take us to deal with them when we’re outside? Five an hour?"
Ren gave a stoic side eye. "I can get seven an hour."
This made Aaron’s attack pause, and he whipped his head to glare at him. "I can do eight!"
No, he could not.
Ren didn’t grace him with an answer (as if he wasn’t the one who started it). He simply focused on his own fights, taking down a monster of his rank after a couple of minutes.
Aaron wanted to scratch his head. Why did he always feel like he was losing!?
That said, six to eight monsters of the same level every hour was actually very impressive, and it was indicative of these kids’ talents. Most fighters averaged two to three an hour (outside a barrier), after all.
At the same time, their occasional wounds (human or monster) and the overall chaos here attracted more and more monsters, which didn’t seem to bother the three.
He wondered if all locals were like this or were these kids exceptions? If not, then it was no wonder Pang looked down on him so much.
What Finn didn’t know was that these three were considered some of the best in their generation. It was just that their backgrounds and situation buried their reputations a bit.
Zachary came from a poor, commoner family. He received his skill either by working to death or as a reward for some competition. Aaron was a noble, but his standing was low, while Ren’s background was a bit of a mystery.
Anyway, they were also young and energetic. Finding something like his barrier was heaven-sent to them, and considering they couldn’t stay for long, they opted to maximize it.
The three continued to battle bravely, even when they started bleeding already.
Although Ren was an assassin type, the weapon he was using now was a longer sword (he did have daggers in his waist), so he didn’t have that much trouble reaching the enemies, especially since he was quick and he didn’t have to worry about monsters catching his arm.
Somehow, the two ended up competing, and they even dragged the carcasses and piled them up right behind them, competing to see who’d make the taller mountain.
Finn smiled. How nice to be young~