Woman and Swordsmanship

While the Blood Elf version of transparent Magic Rune Ink was simple to produce and inexpensive, obtaining the Magical Beasts' blood was a bit troublesome, and few people sold it.

It could be pre-ordered, of course, but doing so too often would inevitably attract attention. As Blood Magic Notes was undeniably a book of Black Magic, Gagnor had some reservations about it.

So he said, "I can't guarantee the quantity of this ink."

Marcus expressed his understanding.

The two then chatted for a while, and their relationship became much closer.

"Gagnor, you must have just arrived in South Sea Town, right?" Marcus suddenly said mysteriously, "Do you know a place called 'Joy Street'?"

"Joy Street?"

Marcus's smile, already mysterious, gained a touch of lewdness. "Go west past the Town Hall, and you'll find it quickly. Come on, I'll take you to have some fun!"

The slums, Joy Street, and Marcus's expression—Gagnor had a pretty good idea of what kind of place it was.

Having been to the slums once, he had a very bad impression of it, and he wasn't interested in that kind of entertainment to begin with, so he immediately declined.

Marcus couldn't persuade him, so he went alone.

Gagnor, on the other hand, went to ask the quartermaster about using ink to offset pharmaceutical tasks and received a satisfactory answer.

He could indeed use the production of Magic Rune Ink to offset pharmaceutical tasks, and the limit for this offset was quite high. As long as there were no emergencies, he could even make producing Magic Rune Ink his main job. The supply of materials originally intended for pharmaceutical tasks could be correspondingly switched to ink materials.

This meant that if he could get enough Magical Beasts' blood, he might be able to enjoy the benefits of a three-hour workday and become one of the laziest people in the Gray Hawk Mercenary Group.

While contemplating his future plans, Gagnor unknowingly walked near the training grounds.

"...The key to using swords and most melee weapons lies in 'reducing the waste of Strength.' The exertion of the front and back movements should promote each other as much as possible, rather than hindering each other."

This statement touched Gagnor. He had tried practicing Swordsmanship, but he hadn't gotten the hang of it yet. Now, however, he suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.

He couldn't help but look over.

A Warrior over two meters tall, clad in armor, wielding a greatsword, with fiery red hair fluttering in the wind.

It was the sword dancer Gagnor had noticed from afar the first time he came to Gray Eagle Camp.

But one detail completely overturned his imagination.

This was a woman.

A female Warrior over two meters tall!

Gagnor was greatly shocked and couldn't help but stare for a long time.

Although this female Warrior was outrageously tall, she still possessed feminine beauty and could naturally attract men. The gazes of the soldiers on the training grounds were mostly a mixture of awe and admiration.

After a brief explanation, the female Warrior began to demonstrate her movements with the greatsword.

Gagnor also snapped out of his shock, and his attention shifted to her movements.

He picked up his short sword and imitated the female Warrior's movements.

When he was in Driftwood Town, Gagnor had looked for a returning veteran to learn Swordsmanship, but the veteran had seemingly deliberately led him down a winding path—to extort more tuition fees. In the end, after practicing for a while, he had gained almost nothing.

In comparison, the skill and teaching attitude of this female Warrior were clearly far superior.

After just a few imitative movements, Gagnor began to feel a growing sense of understanding, and his hand movements became smoother.

Gradually, he stopped imitating the female Warrior's movements and instead imagined some enemies in his mind, then drew his sword according to his own understanding.

He practiced with single-minded focus. Perhaps five minutes passed, perhaps twenty. A string of information suddenly flooded his senses as if it were a natural progression.

[Learned Lv1 Swordsmanship]

[Strength +1]

[Experience +10]

He had finally mastered Swordsmanship!

Gagnor felt a surge of excitement.

In the years since gaining his panel abilities, his greatest realization had been that "everything is difficult at the beginning." Once one got the hang of it, subsequent learning was just a matter of time.

This was also related to the characteristics of the panel.

For skills he had already learned, Gagnor could clearly feel whether his proficiency was increasing when he practiced. If he concentrated, he could even see the proficiency change to several decimal places.

This allowed him to always avoid any intentional or unintentional wasted effort and find the most efficient way to practice.

As a result, his speed in practicing any skill far surpassed that of ordinary people.

However, for skills he hadn't mastered, Gagnor's performance wasn't much better than an ordinary person's. He was still fumbling in the dark, heavily reliant on the skill and attitude of his guide.

Thinking of this, he looked at the female Warrior not far away with a hint of gratitude.

Unexpectedly, she was also looking at him, and had apparently been observing him silently for several minutes.

Their eyes met.

The female Warrior gave a smile of approval. Her vibrant, fiery red hair fluttered in the breeze, magnificent and beautiful, like a Valkyrie depicted in myths and epics.

Later, when he returned to his lodging, Gagnor felt his reaction was embarrassing—because he couldn't remember what his reaction had been at all!

He lay on the bed, propping his head on his arm, and for a long time, he did nothing but blink and breathe.

It wasn't until he took out the Blood Magic Notes and flipped through them that the ancient and hidden knowledge within gradually calmed his thoughts.

A few days later.

As Gagnor was once again observing swordsmanship training as an "auditor," a group of mercenaries entered the camp in a hurry, heading straight for the Gray Hawk's Nest—the building where the mercenary group's decision-makers resided.

Ryan was conspicuously among them, which naturally drew Gagnor's attention.

When Ryan emerged from the Gray Hawk's Nest and walked alone towards the barracks, Gagnor immediately called out to him on the way.

"Ryan, did something happen?"

"We found a Tidal Lands about to open in the Stoneclaw Mountains," Ryan said.

"When will it open?"

Ryan shook his head, "That's hard to say. The opening of Tidal Lands is almost entirely unpredictable. If everything goes smoothly, it could open in a few days, but it could also be two years from now, or it might not open at all."

He added, "If you want to check out the Stoneclaw Mountains, this upcoming period would be a good time. To get the latest information on the Tidal Lands' status, many people, including us, will choose to camp nearby. The dense population will temporarily clear out nearby Magical Beasts or Forest Trolls."

Gagnor nodded, and after a brief moment of thought, he changed the subject. "Ryan, are you familiar with Cassandra?"

"You mean Vice-Captain Cassandra?"

"Yes."

"Not very familiar. Although she often trains soldiers, she mainly trains Warriors," Ryan's expression turned a bit strange. "Why do you suddenly ask?"