Emerald Heart

Fran pushed open the door to the Emerald Heart Tavern, a sword hanging at her waist.

She had bought the sword from a street stall earlier. After examining it carefully, Fran had found that it looked remarkably like the one her future self had used in the future she saw through Star Gazing Art.

A closer look at the vendor revealed that he was the down-and-out noble who had sold her the Breathing Technique. He was so poor that he had resorted to selling his sword.

She had just received quite a bit of money herself, and with all three factors coming together, she bought the sword for three silver coins.

The reason she had suddenly decided to buy it was that the Emerald Heart Tavern was quite famous among Apprentices, with countless rumors surrounding it.

It was said that the tavern had existed for over a century, having been around since the Apprentice Market was first established.

No one had ever seen the tavern's owner, but its servers and guards were constantly replaced. They were all Apprentices who had either failed their assessments or graduated from the academies.

The tavern also sold certain precious goods on the side, including Spells and Combat Techniques. But without the right connections, asking directly would get you nowhere.

Conflicts also frequently broke out inside. It was said that Apprentices had died there several times, yet the tavern remained open. That alone showed how powerful its backing must have been.

Fran wore a long robe that was not very convenient for fighting, wondering whether her Apprentice status might spare her from some attacks.

But unfortunately, she had miscalculated. No one had paid attention to her when she opened the door—until a drunkard roared at her.

"From Cuilan Academy?"

She turned to look at him. From the drunkard's clothing, she could tell he was an Apprentice from the neighboring Velos Academy.

Looking around, she finally understood why no one cared even when Apprentices died here. Half the people present wore Apprentice robes, and there were probably very few among the rest who were not Apprentices.

Naturally, conflicts between Apprentices had nothing to do with the tavern.

Even if the academies investigated, they would find that the tavern had nothing to do with it. It was simply a dispute between Apprentices, so why would they move against the tavern?

Before she could explain, the drunkard began shouting, making it clear that there would be no understanding without a fight.

"What I hate most are people from Cuilan Academy! That guy called Richter killed my little brother..."

Fran was certain it had to be that Richter. Damn it, I'm his enemy too. Why are you picking a fight with me?

The people around them stopped talking and drinking, seemingly eager to watch a good show.

Judging by the drunkard's state, she knew there was no reasoning with him. Fortunately, the tavern had clearly stated at its entrance that Spells were prohibited. With her Breathing Technique, she was confident she could take him down easily.

The drunkard directly hurled his wooden cup at her. Faced with such an attack, she simply dodged aside.

The cup smashed against the floor with a loud clatter, drawing cheers from the onlookers, as though they were shouting, "Fight! Fight!"

Seeing that he had missed, the drunkard charged at her, relying on his larger build. Fran decided it was time to end this farce.

She activated her Breathing Technique and sidestepped with lightning speed, planting one foot against the charging man's side. The powerful blow sent the drunkard flying into a pillar, leaving a shallow dent in it.

She slowly deactivated her Breathing Technique. The reason she used it like a basic attack was that her Breathing Technique had already reached a new stage.

[Swift Wind Breathing Technique (Mastery) (Proficiency: 12/1000): You are already highly familiar with this Breathing Technique and can use it skillfully.]

Her Physique had also risen to 1.4 due to the increase in her Breathing Technique's level, directly increasing by 0.4 and matching her initial Spiritual Power value.

[You used the Swift Wind Breathing Technique with ease during battle. Proficiency +10.]

After reaching Mastery, she discovered that she could freely control whether to activate the Breathing Technique in combat. She no longer had to complete an entire breathing cycle like before, only to end up holding her breath until she felt miserable.

Through her experiments, she estimated that she could now maintain its enhancement effect for around five minutes in battle.

That was only because her Breathing Technique was incomplete. If it were complete, she guessed it could last ten minutes, and its strength would increase as well.

After knocking the drunkard down, she immediately drew her sword and pointed it at his throat.

The scene instantly fell silent, and no one made a sound.

After holding the sword there for a moment, Fran used it to lift the drunkard's chin, only to discover that he had already been knocked unconscious by the collision. She awkwardly withdrew her sword, leaving a streak of blood across his face.

Fran sheathed her sword and looked into the crowd, searching for her target.

Seeing Fran put away her sword, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, and the sounds of drinking and conversation resumed.

The Emerald Heart Tavern was large, divided into several areas. After some effort, Fran spotted a hat adorned with feathers in one corner.

It belonged to a well-dressed man. His clothes were spotless, his hair and cuffs impeccably neat. He sat alone, with only a cup of some unknown liquid before him.

"Hello. Are you Elan?"

"Yes. Please sit first. Whatever it is, we can discuss it slowly..."

Fran sat down casually and got straight to the point.

"I heard you sell Spells here. I came to buy one."

"Is that so? Would you like a cup of fruit wine? The kind that won't get you drunk."

"No."

Fran was naturally wary and would not casually drink something offered by a stranger. Even in her previous life, she had never liked drinking much, so she refused outright.

Elan took out a sheet of paper from beneath the table and handed it to Fran.

"What a pity. I had intended to treat you to that fruit wine, but you didn't want it..."

Fran ignored him and carefully examined the Spells listed on it. After looking through them, she found that there were indeed quite a few Spells here, and many of them were ones she wanted.

The only problem was that they were a little expensive. If she bought one, she would not even have enough money left to purchase alchemy materials.

"Wind Blade Art, Mage Shield, Telekinetic Hand, Mud Swamp Art..."

Fran thought for a moment and decided on Wind Blade Art. First, it was an offensive Spell. Second, one of her traits was wind element affinity, and she wanted to see whether the two could produce some kind of reaction.

Fran turned the paper and pointed directly at Wind Blade Art.

"Fifty silver coins." Elan raised a brow. "Why would someone with potential in the Sword Chant School want a Spell like that? Shouldn't you be looking for Mage Shield or Breath Cessation Art instead...?"

Fran left Elan speechless with a single sentence. "What is the Sword Chant School?"

She genuinely had no idea what this Sword Chant School was. From the name, did they use swords as wands?

She then handed the money to Elan. Elan passed it to a server, and several minutes later, the server returned carrying a book.

Elan opened the book and pointed to a certain page. "The Spell is on this page."

Fran took the book and was about to leave when Elan called out to her.

"Hey, friend, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Are you interested in discussing a business deal?"