The next day, Cassian and Roy met again in the open field to train.
"Damn it, yesterday I lost to my clone, and now I'm having another training session," Cassian thought to himself.
"Can we start now?" Roy asked.
"Yes," Cassian replied.
"Before we start, you need to learn five important things when it comes to fighting," Roy said.
"First, you need to master control over your body, so you can adjust your fighting style depending on the kind of person you're facing.
"Second, you have to understand that you can't always rely on your powers. You need to use everything available to you.
"Third, you must be observant. Understand how your opponent fights.
"Fourth, know your limits—what you can do and what you can't.
"And lastly, you need to learn how to fight even in the most disadvantageous situations."
"You'll learn all of this if you constantly fight someone better than you," Roy added.
"So I suggest dividing our training into three parts," Roy continued.
"First, summon at least ten of your clones and have them watch us fight. Your clones seem adaptive—they're like machines. They don't have emotions; they're focused entirely on the task you give them. I've based this on your past missions and my own observations."
"The second phase of your training is to fight your clones—all ten of them—at once."
"And the last part: learn martial arts—boxing, kickboxing, karate, taekwondo, Muay Thai, whatever you prefer—and incorporate them into your fighting style."
Cassian was left flabbergasted. How could he fight ten of his clones when he was just defeated by one yesterday?
Suddenly, the system appeared in front of him:
[Training Adjusted]
First Phase – Fight Roy
Second Phase – Fight ten of your clones
"Then let's start," Roy said.
Cassian summoned ten clones to watch and learn from the upcoming fight.
[Skill Activated: Cloning]
Summons ten clones
-100 Energy
Clones Available: 40
The clones proceeded to the edge of the field, silently observing.
Roy advanced toward Cassian. With the wind enhancing his speed, he threw a punch. It was predictable, and Cassian managed to dodge it—but Roy followed up with a sudden knee strike that connected.
Immediately after, Roy landed a solid liver shot. Cassian endured it and countered with a left punch, but Roy simply smiled and dodged.
Roy then delivered a high kick, striking Cassian's head.
Cassian grinned through the pain and tried to punch again, but Roy avoided it effortlessly.
Then Roy kicked the side of Cassian's knee, causing him to fall to one knee.
While Cassian was kneeling, Roy delivered a knee strike that hit him square in the nose.
Despite the blow, Cassian stood up, ready to fight again. But Roy quickly bent down and swept Cassian's ankle with his shin, causing him to fall once more.
As Cassian hit the ground, Roy attempted to punch his head. However, Cassian saw the attack coming, rolled away to avoid it, and quickly got back on his feet.
Cassian then rushed forward and tried to kick Roy, but Roy grabbed his leg and slammed him onto the ground.
Even so, Cassian stood up again, Frustrated, Cassian launched another attack, this time aiming a kick at Roy.
Roy smoothly avoided it and countered with a punch straight to Cassian's celiac plexus.
Cassian collapsed to the ground, coughing and struggling to breathe.
"You're too reckless, Cassian," Roy said. "You keep attacking without analyzing your opponent's weaknesses."
"Why don't you step aside and let me fight one of your clones? That way, you'll understand what I mean," he added.
Cassian did as he was told and sat off to the side to rest. One of his clones stepped forward.
Both Roy and the clone faced each other on the opposite end of the field.
Roy rushed forward, wind-enhanced, and launched a right punch. The clone dodged it and countered with a kick to Roy's blind spot.
The hit landed, forcing Roy to step back. The clone didn't give him a moment's rest and followed up with a punch, which Roy blocked. Then came a liver shot from the clone, followed by a twisting strike to the back of Roy's head. The clone grabbed Roy by the nape and slammed him into the ground.
Roy reacted quickly, activating a wind technique:
---
[Skill Activated: Air Cannon]
---
A compressed burst of air struck the clone.
Though the clone blocked the attack, the force was powerful enough to send him flying. But he flipped mid-air and landed cleanly on the ground, then charged at Roy.
Roy stood still and received a powerful punch that sent him flying.
The match was over.
The clone had proven superior in combat.
---
"What… how?" Cassian muttered. "I couldn't even land a solid hit on Sir Roy, but my clone just overpowered him."
"You're wondering, right?" Roy said. "Your clones gives their 100%. They're focused and concentrated, fast learners, and highly adaptive. You might receive their memories and experiences, but you probably don't notice what they can do."
"I can't fight for long now. You may proceed to the second phase of your training," Roy said, before leaving for a task at the department.
Cassian stood at the center of the open field, now surrounded by his clones.
[Training with your clones begins now]
As soon as the system notified him, all ten clones rushed at Cassian simultaneously.
The battle quickly turned one-sided. All Cassian could do was defend himself from the onslaught. He couldn't even manage a counterattack, overwhelmed by strikes coming from all directions.
---
Meanwhile…
Somewhere in the Hunter Department, Cain was submitting his application to become a Hunter.
He handed the necessary documents to the woman handling applications.
"Okay, sir. We'll contact you once your application is approved," the woman said.
---
Meanwhile, in the office of the Hunter Department's head, a man was reading through several documents.
"So this is Cassian… and this one is Cain. Both of them seem to be capable," George muttered. He was the Head of the Hunter Department.
"Sir, I recommend we accept Cain," his secretary said. "He's only recently become a Guardian, but he already shows a lot of potential. However, I don't recommend accepting that man named Cassian. His current issue might damage the image of the Hunter Association."
"Just because of the issue?" George replied. "You know I'm well-informed about that. We saw footage of Cassian beating someone up in a convenience store, but isn't it strange that the investigation has been going on for a week and they still haven't proven him guilty, even with CCTV footage?"
"That's because the owner of the convenience store refused to hand over the full video—especially the part showing how the fight actually started," George continued. "Civilians might be protected by laws against ability users, but there's also a law stating that an ability user can use their powers if it's to save someone's life."
"There's also another reason the investigation is taking so long—there's a witness who testified that the man Cassian beat up had been sexually harassing someone, and Cassian only intervened to stop him."
"Although the majority sees Cassian as a threat, until it's proven otherwise, I won't treat him like a criminal. That's why I've decided—we'll accept him into the Hunters as well," George said firmly.