Two Years

The morning sun had just risen.

Golden sunlight broke through the sea mist as countless seabirds beat their wings, racing after the snow-white waves.

The boy stood bare-chested in the surf, wearing only a pair of shorts. His skin held a faint bronze tint, his arms broad and powerful, his muscles smooth and beautifully defined. Though his face still retained a trace of youthful immaturity, his fit physique was no less impressive than that of any well-trained elite warrior in the City Guard.

Evan held a training iron sword aloft in Both Hands, his eyes level with its tip. He breathed softly through his nose and mouth, following a peculiar rhythm. Each inhale and exhale seemed to resonate with the tendons, bones, and Muscles throughout his body.

Though he stood completely still, as the waves continuously crashed against Evan, his entire body seemed to be engaged in intense exercise.

And it was not the ordinary sort of exercise, like running, long jumping, or weightlifting, which could only train one aspect at a time. Every inch of skin, every strand of muscle, every cell was participating in a complete workout from the inside out.

Before long, his blood flow accelerated throughout his body. Then his skin grew hot and flushed red, and even in the cool seawater, wisps of white steam rose from him.

As time passed, the white steam nearly formed a dense cloud that refused to disperse. Only then did Evan slowly exhale, lower the iron sword in his hands, and return to the beach to gradually loosen his body.

Once his body had fully recovered,

Evan took out a somewhat strange Dark Green potion from the backpack he carried and drank it in one gulp without changing expression. Then, on the beach, he began his unchanging Basic Swordsmanship training, one move at a time—thrusting, chopping, intercepting, lifting...

The moves were all ordinary sword techniques, yet in Evan's hands, they carried a unique air of simplicity that came only after countless repetitions.

Two years had passed since he awakened his memories.

Evan had also grown into a handsome fifteen-year-old youth. He was tall and well-built, and his skin had darkened slightly from long hours beneath the sun. He was exactly the kind of masculine young man the girls living by the sea liked best.

What gave him a slight headache was that the girls who had once liked teasing him had not calmed down as he had expected. Instead, over the past two years, their antics had only grown worse, forcing him to come to this secluded beach where no one ever visited whenever he trained.

Alas! Being too popular is a kind of trouble too!

But this happy sort of trouble was not what concerned Evan right now, because...

"Display body data."

Name: Evan Garratt

Attributes: Constitution 0.9 (1)

Strength 0.86 (1)

Agility 0.93 (1)

Intelligence 0.9 (1)

Skills: White Sail Swordsmanship (Mastery, includes supporting breathing technique, swordsmanship, and magic potion), Archery (Mastery), Grammar (Mastery), Navigation Knowledge (Beginner), Apothecary Arts (Beginner)

After two years of systematic, grueling training, fifteen-year-old Evan had reached the peak of an Apprentice Knight. Although none of his attributes had reached the theoretical limit of 1 point,

that was only a theoretical limit, after all. Evan's Physical fitness was now no weaker than that of the vast majority of peak Apprentice Knights.

As long as he could obtain another Black Sea Magic Potion to aid his breakthrough and complete the Extraordinary Transformation of Savage Body Transformation, he could become a Formal Knight and completely step into the ranks of Extraordinary people.

Other than his Physical fitness reaching the peak of the apprentice stage, the greatest change over the past two years had been his signature White Sail Swordsmanship.

In just two short years, he had transformed from beginner to mastery level, crossing a road that others might not be able to finish even in an entire lifetime.

The difference in combat strength between the two was like the difference between a well-trained warrior and an ordinary farmer. The greatest sign was reaching the threshold for using a swordsmanship "ultimate technique," gaining the beginnings of an Extraordinary Characteristic.

However, it was not because Evan, after awakening his memories, had suddenly achieved enlightenment and seen his talent explode.

Rather, through the real-time monitoring of Data Vision, the effect of every exertion of force and every move could be fed back instantly, allowing Evan to adjust at any time and remain on the correct path.

It turned simple, repetitive practice into twice the result with half the effort.

This state of training, which knights could only dream of, was even more effective than having a master-level Swordsmanship Teacher guiding him at all times.

It could be said that Data Vision deserved the greatest credit for allowing Evan, who was effectively raised wild and lacked both resources and guidance, to achieve his current results at this age!

The only thing that dissatisfied Evan somewhat was that the Black Sea Potion he had gone to great lengths to acquire back then was gradually losing its effect on him.

"Now I can only drink it as a sports drink."

The Black Sea Potion Evan took was an inferior version of the Black Sea Magic Potion, a simplified version made entirely by replacing its ingredients with ordinary materials. As Evan's Physical fitness rapidly improved, it had almost completely lost its effect on him.

Even though Evan continued taking it, he only wanted to squeeze out the last bit of value from it. Otherwise, he would truly be letting down the near-death struggle he had gone through two years ago.

This miser had subconsciously ignored the fact that what had nearly gotten him killed two years ago was the immensely valuable Black Pearl, not the potion ingredients...

As for where the Black Pearls had gone?

Evan rubbed his stomach and indicated that they tasted alright.

As a pragmatist, Evan had no intention of keeping them as family heirlooms. To be cautious, he had already sold them to a jewelry shop in three separate batches.

Most of the Gold Lion he received from selling the Black Pearls had already gone into Evan's stomach.

Because during the apprentice stage of knight training, aside from swordsmanship practice and assistance from breathing techniques and potions, the prerequisite for a knight to grow quickly was eating!

Only sufficient nutrition could support a powerful physique. The saying that scholars grew poor while warriors grew rich remained true even in another world.

After completing his daily knight training without fail, Evan got dressed and returned to the White Stone Apothecary.

Other than its slightly weathered doors and windows, the little shop had not changed much compared to two years ago. Clearly, as the owner, Evan had not put much thought into this storefront. Everything would be fine as long as it remained as it was.

On the other hand, Mister Sangi, Evan's only employee, seemed to have realized something. He had studied the Apothecary Arts knowledge Evan had suddenly begun teaching him two years ago with exceptional seriousness, and by now he was more or less capable of standing on his own.

After all, in this era, knowledge of any kind was precious. Even simple arithmetic and literacy required spending a great deal of money to learn, let alone advanced knowledge like Apothecary Arts. It was equivalent to giving Sangi a broad road toward changing his fate.

Evan still remembered how Sangi had been so moved that he wept bitterly and had nearly wanted to sell himself to Evan. It had been truly exaggerated.

"Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling..."

The doorbell Sounded.

"Good morning, Mister Evan! Grem just delivered two wild boar legs. Don't forget to take them when you leave. I've already paid him. It came to eighty Copper Ful."

Although Evan had refused his request to sell himself with both amusement and exasperation, Sangi's attitude toward him had only become more respectful.

"Mm, alright, I understand." Over the past two years, Evan had continuously ordered fresh beast meat from Grem and his hunter friends. Grem came by every few days to deliver it, and Sangi, who usually watched the shop, would receive it. It had become routine.

"By the way, Sangi, did you find anything out from the sailors about nearby naval recruitment offices?"

"Uh..."

Sangi twisted the hem of his clothes beneath the counter, hesitating to speak. Only after seeing Evan's determined gaze did he finally say timidly, "Mister Evan, are you really preparing to enlist? My father has a friend who retired from the navy. Although the navy is badly understaffed right now, life adrift at sea really isn't as grand and magnificent as we imagine."

Evan said nothing.

Sangi did not dare meet Evan's eyes. He simply forced himself to make one final effort, hoping to dispel Evan's dangerous idea. "Endless pirates, disease, terrible weather, and even terrifying sea monsters from the depths of the ocean... The navy's casualty rate..."

As he continued, Sangi's voice grew softer and softer, and he nearly ducked beneath the counter. After waiting for a while and seeing no reaction from Evan, he confirmed that he truly had no ability to change Evan's mind.

Only then did he place a note covered in writing on the table. "Mister Evan, please don't tell my Mother I told you. Otherwise, she'll kill me."

At the sight of the note, Evan finally smiled.

"Haha, thank you, Sangi. But you should change your personality a little. If you keep being so timid and awkward, girls won't like you."

With a smile, Evan took the note from Sangi's hand and placed another note he had prepared long ago into Sangi's hand.

"What is this?"

Evan winked at him. "The treasure of the White Stone Apothecary. Make sure you keep it safe, Sangi!"

Looking at the recipe for the Live Fish Potion in his hand, a warm current rose in Sangi's heart. Being trusted and entrusted with responsibility felt truly wonderful.

So he called out to Evan, who had already reached the door, "Don't worry, Mister Evan! Yesterday, I got engaged to Miss Sharon, the tailor's daughter!"

Evan stumbled and nearly fell. The heart of a lifelong single man across two lives seemed to suffer ten thousand points of critical damage.