Upper-Tier Profession [Warrior]

"Darko!"

His voice arrived before he did.

Roland looked toward the sound and saw Baron Foslin, usually so composed, hurrying over with rapid steps. In the blink of an eye, he had reached Darko's side.

The moment he saw his son covered in blood, his lips trembled violently. After a long while, he managed to force out a hoarse voice.

"My child. What happened to you...?"

"Father, we encountered goblins in the forest—"

Darko, supported by a servant, was about to explain when the baron raised a hand to stop him.

"Don't speak. Don't say anything yet."

Baron Foslin's voice carried an unprecedented panic.

"What you need most right now is rest. Someone! Help the young master back to his room! And—"

He paused, then suddenly changed his mind.

"No, I'll fetch the physician myself!"

Before his words had even faded, the nobleman, who had always remained calm in the face of any crisis, staggered away.

As the family's only heir, Darko's severe injuries had completely thrown the father into disarray. His usual composure had vanished without a trace.

"Father! Father!"

Darko called out several times, but Baron Foslin hurried away without looking back.

He sighed helplessly, then beckoned Roland over. Some color had already returned to his face.

After returning to the manor, the young noble was clearly in much better spirits.

"Roland, were you hurt? Do you want the physician to take a look at you too?"

"No need."

Roland waved his hand.

Though quite a bit of blood stained his body, most of it belonged to goblins.

Those feeble monsters were not enough to injure him.

"All right. I'll come find you again tomorrow morning."

After bidding Darko farewell, Roland turned to Captain John beside him and asked in a low voice.

"What exactly happened over in Black Fir Forest...?"

"Black Fir Forest."

John was briefly dazed, clearly not yet recovered from Darko's friendly attitude toward Roland.

He collected himself, his brows gradually drawing together.

"The battle isn't going well. Lord Beckham sent someone back to request reinforcements."

"Are the monsters there too much even for knights to handle?"

Roland frowned slightly.

"I don't know the specifics either. Anyway—"

John spotted a guard in the distance signaling to him and hurriedly said, "You should go back and rest first. Don't worry, the reinforcement team is already preparing to depart. Nothing will happen."

With that, he patted Roland on the shoulder and turned to leave at a brisk pace.

Watching John's receding figure, Roland's brows unconsciously furrowed.

Rest?

How could he possibly be in the mood to rest right now?

The strange encounter in the forest still lingered in his mind.

He turned on his heel and once again arrived before that secluded little cabin.

At the moment, perhaps only Mister Bronson could answer his questions about that Blood Goblin.

As for telling anyone else...

Roland had no desire to be mocked as a fool.

If what Mister Bronson had said was true, then magic had already vanished from this continent centuries ago.

Goblins? Fireballs?

No one would believe such nonsense.

Knock, knock, knock!

The crisp knocking echoed especially loudly through the silent manor, yet the tightly shut wooden door did not move in the slightest.

"Mister Bronson?"

Roland called out a few more times, but there was still no response from inside the house.

"Strange."

Just as he was secretly wondering about it, he happened to spot a servant passing by in the distance.

Roland hurried over and stopped him.

"Excuse me."

He pointed at the dilapidated wooden house.

"Do you know where Mister Bronson went?"

"Bronson?"

The servant frowned and thought for a moment before suddenly realizing.

"Oh, you mean that tall, skinny oddball? He went out early this morning and still hasn't come back."

"Huh?"

The answer left Roland stunned.

Though he had not known Bronson for long, he understood the man's habits well enough.

That reclusive scholar rarely went out. Other than handling the few miscellaneous tasks assigned by Baron Foslin, he spent nearly every day shut away in his wooden house.

Why would someone like that suddenly leave?

And remain gone for so long?

But an ordinary servant clearly could not answer those questions.

Roland could only give a slight bow in thanks before returning to his residence, his mind full of doubts.

Sitting on the creaking wooden bed, the events of the past several days flashed through his mind like a lantern carousel.

Crystals formed from solidified Magical Essence.

The urgent battle situation in Black Fir Forest.

The well-trained warriors of the Blazing Sun Church.

The enormous biological remains.

And the Blood Goblin that had waved a white staff and summoned fireballs out of thin air.

"It seems Mister Bronson's guess was right."

Roland murmured, unconsciously rubbing his fingertips against the edge of the bed.

"Magical Essence truly is slowly reviving across this continent."

"If that Blood Goblin wasn't an isolated case, then even if this manor's defenses are airtight, it probably won't be able to withstand their attack."

The thought made his throat tighten.

Roland drew a deep breath, trying to calm the anxiety churning in his chest.

The cold air filled his lungs, gradually clearing his thoughts.

"I have to increase my strength as soon as possible."

With that thought, he silently opened the Profession Panel.

"Even with the Battle Readiness trait bonus, improving combat-related skills still takes time. It would be better to..."

At that, Roland turned his gaze to the bundle of medicinal ingredients on the wooden table.

The remaining ingredients there were enough for one more round of the Mithril Body Tempering Method.

Sorting the ingredients, grinding them into powder, adding Silver Dust, and applying it over his body.

With the experience of the previous two times, he completed the entire process smoothly and expertly.

As agonizing pain struck, lines of golden text continually flashed before his eyes.

[You have successfully practiced the Mithril Body Tempering Method once and gained 1 experience point.]

[You have successfully practiced the Mithril Body Tempering Method once.]

[You have successfully practiced.]

After an unknown amount of time had passed, the golden words in his vision suddenly changed.

[Mithril Body Tempering Method has reached maximum level.]

[Detected: When any body-tempering/physical-forging method reaches maximum level, you may take the Upper-Tier Profession: Warrior.]

[Requirements: Strength 9, Agility 6, five max-level combat-related skills 1/5, kills: 0/100 hostile creatures.]

[The host does not meet the requirements to take the profession.]

"Warrior? Another Upper-Tier Profession!"

Seeing the profession advancement prompt, Roland wiped away the remaining Secret Potion fragments from his body and examined it carefully.

"Nine points in Strength. Six points in Agility... Tsk."

Roland glanced at the 7.5 and 4.6 listed beside Strength and Agility on the Profession Panel and couldn't help smacking his lips.

"The Mithril Body Tempering Method has already reached max level. That means it'll be difficult to raise my attributes any further in the short term. If I want to meet the requirements for becoming a warrior, I can only slowly build them up through the most basic daily training."

"Compared to that..."

Roland looked at Basic Swordsmanship, which maxed out at level two, then slowly rubbed his chin.

"If all basic combat skills max out at level two, then the requirement of five max-level combat-related skills won't be difficult."

"Given my current relationship with Darko, it shouldn't be a problem to have him find an old soldier to teach me how to use a few other weapons. As for..."

His gaze shifted downward.

"One hundred hostile creatures—going by the literal meaning, animals that only defended themselves, like the rabbits and roe deer I killed while hunting before, probably don't count as hostile creatures."

"It has to be monsters like Goblins or Kobolds, creatures that actively attack humans. But where am I supposed to find them?"

Although he had fought Kobolds and Goblins before, John had complained to him more than once about just how cunning those monsters were.

Not only did they evade scouts every time, hiding away in dense forests or mountain ranges, they also appeared out of nowhere in the strangest places.

Without enough people to search for them, it was simply impossible to track down those monsters.

"I can't just wander into the mountains or forests and search blindly like a headless fly. It'd be fine if I ran into ordinary Goblins and Kobolds, but if I encountered mutated Kobolds or Blood Goblins instead..."

Thinking of that, Roland shook his head, then couldn't help feeling a little regretful.

It would have been nice if this class advancement had triggered back when he was in the forest.

Even if he hadn't deliberately hunted them down, he would probably have completed more than half the kill count just by fighting his way out of the forest.

"Right!"

As he thought, Roland suddenly recalled the Adventurer's Guild Darko had mentioned before.

There had been no such organization in the village where he used to live, but based on the experience he had accumulated in his previous life, he figured it should have all kinds of bounty missions for monsters.

The bounty notices would most likely indicate the general areas where those monsters had been sighted.

"I need to ask Darko about it tomorrow. And the combat technique he promised to teach me—I need to remind him not to forget."

"And Mister Bronson's matter..."

A full day of fierce fighting had long since drained Roland's strength.

He collapsed heavily onto the bed, letting his thoughts churn through his mind.

Before long, he drifted into sleep.