[Scanning... User identified: Shop Manager. Combat Strength Training Room: Activated.]

  The words flashed across the surface of the crystal ball.

  Kael peered into the transparent sphere and saw a massive arena. Below the stage stood four individuals with utterly unremarkable faces—the kind that would disappear instantly in a crowd—standing with cold, indifferent expressions.

  [Tier 1 Arena: Open. Select your opponent: Swordmaster, Spearman, Archmage, or Protection Knight.]

  The text continued to scroll across the crystal's surface.

  Kael studied the four figures. They all shared the same plain, NPC-like features.

  "I'll go with the Swordmaster," Kael muttered, rubbing his chin. He chose the opponent he had the most experience with—after all, he had "died" countless times at the hands of a peerless swordsman back in the Trial Space. He felt he at least knew the rhythm of the blade.

  As soon as he made his selection, Kael gasped. A figure appeared on the stage within the crystal ball—and it looked exactly like him.

  More surprisingly, his consciousness began to drift, transferring into the avatar on the stage. It was a bizarre sensation; he was observing himself from a "God’s Eye" perspective, yet he could simultaneously control the character and feel everything happening inside the arena.

  It was exactly like switching between first-person and third-person perspectives in a video game, but far more visceral and real.

  "So this is what the Training Room does. Now this is interesting!" Kael’s excitement surged as his mind fully synchronized with the avatar.

  In a heartbeat, Kael’s vision shifted. He was standing on the stage. Across from him stood the Swordmaster, gripping a slender rapier.

  [Think of your desired weapon. The Arena will provide the armaments you require.]

  [Once combat begins, all external functions will be locked until a victor is decided.]

  A cold, mechanical synthesized voice echoed in Kael’s mind. The Swordmaster opposite him remained motionless, his sharp, predatory eyes locked onto Kael.

  Kael now understood the purpose of this facility: it was a specialized building designed to hone actual combat skills through high-stakes simulation. Given its "Internet Cafe" layout, he suspected the System intended to turn this into a major revenue stream.

  "Let’s see just how tough these opponents really are." With a single thought, a longsword materialized in Kael's hand.

  [Battle Start!]

  The electronic voice boomed across the arena.

  The Swordmaster’s eyes flashed. His silhouette blurred, vanishing instantly before reappearing directly in Kael’s face.

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  "Too fast!" Kael barely managed to bring his blade up to parry the initial strike.

  The moment their steel clashed, the Swordmaster’s blade flicked with terrifying fluidity, sliding down Kael’s sword toward his throat.

  Clang! Clang!

  After two rapid-fire exchanges, Kael used the momentum to leap backward. He stared at the Swordmaster in horror. For Kael to describe someone as "fast," their speed had to be nothing short of monstrous.

  Against anyone below Class-rank, this Swordmaster was a walking executioner.

  "The System is trying to kill me..."

  Before he could finish the thought, the Swordmaster charged again. The rapier lashed out like a fallen leaf caught in a gale—erratic, swift, and deadly.

  Having learned his lesson, Kael met the attack with a diagonal slash, and the two became a blur of motion. The ringing of steel was constant, a staccato melody of violence that filled the arena. Both fighters moved like butterflies darting through flowers, their exchanges so rapid they were dizzying to behold.

  Squelch!

  A flash of sword-light cut through the rhythm.

  Kael was sent flying, blood spraying as he tumbled off the stage.

  [Battle Ended. You Lose!]

  The synthesized voice announced his defeat. On the stage, the Swordmaster sheathed his blade, gave a respectful fist-palm salute, and hopped down to return to his original position.

  "That’s insane. Aggressive offense is a completely different beast compared to passive defense," Kael muttered, rubbing his chest. The wound had already been magically mended.

  The Swordmaster here was technically weaker than the one in his original Trial Space. However, that master had stood still until Kael passed the test; this one was a relentless hunter who actively pursued his prey.

  "Let's try someone else. I'll take the Archmage."

  Undaunted, Kael stepped back onto the stage. A figure draped in ornate mage robes was waiting for him.

  The Archmage was a specific promotion path within the Class-rank. Unlike Elemental Mages, Archmages were blessed by the forces of the world to use all types of magic, though their spells didn't receive the specialized elemental power-ups that focused mages did.

  "Alright, let's see how mages fight."

  Kael took a deep breath. A [Heaven-Piercing Halberd] materialized in his hands. Opposite him, the Archmage raised his staff, mana beginning to condense around the tip.

  [Battle Start!]

  "Take this!" Kael roared, swinging the halberd as he charged like a dragon. He was a lightning bolt, an unstoppable force.

  Three minutes later...

  Kael: "I'm sorry. I'll see myself out."

  He climbed off the floor, calmly brushing off non-existent dust, and pointed at the Protection Knight standing below—the one holding a sword and a massive shield.

  "I refuse to believe a defensive class can do anything to me."

  Full of renewed confidence, Kael chose the Knight and summoned a massive greataxe to ensure he could smash through that shield.

  The Protection Knight was a gentleman. When the battle started, he simply raised his shield and waited for Kael to make the first move.

  "If you want to just stand there and die, don't mind if I do!" Kael bellowed. He raised the axe high, bringing it down with a force meant to split a mountain.

  The Protection Knight lowered his stance and met the blow head-on. The axe slammed into the shield.

  In that instant, Kael felt a staggering recoil ripple through the handle. The counter-force was so immense it nearly sent the axe flying from his numbed hands. In that split second of paralysis, a shortsword flashed toward his throat.

  Squelch!

  Blood sprayed.

  [Battle Ended. You Lose!]

  The emotionless voice announced his crushing defeat. It had been an absolute one-shot kill.

  "Dammit! Why is every single one of them so strong? What's the point of this training room if it's just a slaughterhouse?" Kael’s consciousness snapped back to his physical body. He sat in the booth, frustratedly ruffling his hair.

  [System: ...]

  The System, quite clearly, had reached its limit for tolerating its "idiot host."

  "Why does a Shop Manager even need to get stronger? Isn't a life of lazy comfort better?" Kael grumbled.

  But even as he complained, he dove right back into the crystal ball to start the next round of challenges.