The Bald Man Is a Good Coach

The Bald Man's agility was superior to Harrot's, and his technique was overwhelmingly better. Harrot only had a chance in a contest of strength. Although The Bald Man's strength was greater, Harrot had Lv4 Power Strike, which granted a 32% strength bonus when attacking offensively.

Moreover, Harrot used a two-handed weapon, which allowed him to exert far more strength than The Bald Man, who used a one-handed sword and shield!

After making up his mind, Harrot stabilized his stance and attacked The Bald Man with simple, straightforward swings, one after another. Although The Bald Man still easily dodged and blocked, at least Harrot wasn't being counter-killed with a single move anymore.

The Bald Man didn't use his left hand, fighting Harrot only with a one-handed sword in his right. This way, he could suppress Harrot, and also feel some pressure himself, preventing him from getting too bored.

However, as the fight continued, Harrot's monotonous and simple attacks became completely transparent to The Bald Man, who could easily dominate Harrot with just one hand.

Initially, Harrot tried to tank a few of The Bald Man's attacks using his '+10 armor' and System health bar, hoping to trade blows and land a hit.

But after being repeatedly beaten for nothing, Harrot finally found an opportunity. He used his body to absorb one of The Bald Man's attacks and elbowed his one-handed sword away. However, before Harrot could unleash the counterattack he envisioned, The Bald Man quickly closed the distance and directly slammed into him, sending him flying.

Yes, The Bald Man's instantaneous explosive power was peerless. He sent Harrot, who weighed over 240 pounds, flying without a running start.

Harrot lay on the ground dejectedly. That collision just now was incredibly fierce, costing him 10 points of health. This was despite Harrot's strong physique; someone like Scarface would likely have been instantly knocked out.

Being constantly beaten and unilaterally dominated was truly demoralizing. Even though Harrot understood that The Bald Man was an anomaly and that he had a lot of room for improvement, he was still very frustrated.

But just as Harrot was feeling down, he suddenly heard the System message, "Ding! You have gained 20 EXP," and instantly became excited.

In games, players could increase the experience of their subordinate soldiers through combat in the Training Ground. Wasn't he just like a soldier now, gaining experience and growing by being defeated by The Bald Man repeatedly?

Being beaten for nothing was painful, but if it earned him experience, it was a joyful pain. Harrot instantly perked up, full of vigor, and continued to attack The Bald Man.

As The Bald Man continued to dominate Harrot, he felt a bit of admiration. If it were him being constantly abused, even if he didn't give up, he'd still feel somewhat uncomfortable. Yet, Harrot remained completely unfazed. This tenacious willpower and spirit made The Bald Man think even more highly of Harrot.

Moved by Harrot's spirit, The Bald Man began to explain combat essentials to Harrot with even greater care and detail.

"Don't raise your sword so high. Your strength is great; you don't need too much wind-up. Speed is more important!"

"Stabilize your footwork. When swinging a greatsword, your lower body must be steady. If your body coordination isn't good, you'd be better off just standing still!"

"..."

The training process was quite painful. Harrot's full 51 health points were battered down to just 20. However, the System's buffs gave Harrot an incredibly semi-datafied body. Even with over half his health lost, he remained energetic and unaffected.

A normal person who lost half their health would be weak and powerless, and a more fragile one might even faint directly. Only elite soldiers with strong wills and exceptional physiques could continue fighting.

From this, one could clearly see the System's power. Even in a game like Mount & Blade, which doesn't have a high power ceiling, the System could grant terrifying strength far beyond reality. Produced by the Transmigrator Association, it was definitely a premium product!

Back to training, although Harrot was constantly being abused, his improvement in strength was evident. He, who previously only knew crude, unrefined moves, now had the level of "Cheng Yaojin's Three Axes"—at least his movements were much more refined and precise.

Moreover, during the training, the System continuously prompted him that he was gaining +20, +20 experience. Including the experience from defeating Stone during the day, he quickly leveled up to Level 2, and the experience needed for Level 3 was already over halfway filled.

Finally, after Harrot was knocked down by The Bald Man yet again, he simply had no strength left to get back up. He still had some health remaining, but his stamina was completely depleted.

The Bald Man still stood ramrod straight, showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever. He was truly a monster.

Seeing that Harrot truly couldn't get up, The Bald Man reached out and helped him to his feet.

"That's enough training for today. Your foundation is simply too poor. You should train more in the Training Ground during the day as well. If you have any questions, you can ask Hark. Although his strength is average, his insight is quite seasoned."

"I understand. Thank you, boss!" Harrot quickly thanked him. With The Bald Man's training, his strength had clearly improved.

"Heh, your greatest thanks to me would be to survive and foil that scoundrel's plan. I'll come find you again tomorrow."

Harrot walked back to his cell with The Bald Man's help. Before leaving, The Bald Man reminded him to rest well and not to miss his daytime training.

Harrot had already slept enough. Although his body was tired now, his spirit was invigorated.

He felt that he had previously underestimated the Mount & Blade System. While this System couldn't give him god-like power, its various miraculous functions left Harrot full of praise.

The near-death resurrection and health recovery had already surprised Harrot enough. Today, during training, Harrot discovered two more very important advantages.

First was the semi-datafication of his body, which allowed Harrot to remain in perfect condition even with significant health loss.

The second was his extremely high body adaptability. Harrot could skillfully use a move that Stone had only demonstrated once during the day, during his evening training. He also easily mastered the various techniques and details taught by The Bald Man.

The reason The Bald Man didn't notice this was because he thought Harrot had no prior professional training, and his foundation was actually quite good. After his guidance, Harrot could quickly understand and correct bad habits. He had no idea that Harrot was a complete layman.

Harrot believed that with the System's help, his future would be infinitely bright. Now, he just needed to figure out how to escape the Gladiatorial Arena and wouldn't have to worry about whether he could establish himself in this world and fulfill Harrot's wish: to live a happy life.

It was still early dawn, and Harrot continued to pull out the Sword Fighting Manual and read it. This book not only added skill points when finished, but also gave him much insight while reading.

Upgrading had granted him 1 attribute point and 1 skill point. Harrot didn't plan to allocate them immediately, deciding to wait until tomorrow's training. He also decided to spend his 90 weapon proficiency points. He was certain he would be using a two-handed greatsword, so there was no need to save the weapon proficiency.

Harrot read until dawn. When he put the book back into his inventory, the reading progress showed 45%. It seemed he would finish it in another day or two.

After breakfast, Harrot eagerly applied to go to the Training Ground to practice. The guards were quite accommodating and immediately took Harrot to the Training Ground.

Harrot began to train according to The Bald Man's instructions from yesterday. The other gladiators didn't disturb him either. They only chatted and joked when they were tired and resting. No one was lax about training; that would be playing with their lives.