Sparring

Morning, Kane Manor

After waking up and climbing out of bed, Li Si stretched hard, his bones and joints cracking several times.

He and Mora had downed a few more drinks last night. The pleasant buzz had been nice, and when he got back, he had gone straight to sleep without meditating.

The fatigue from several consecutive days of intense training seemed to have vanished, leaving him feeling much more refreshed.

Today's breakfast was vegetable-and-cheese pancakes with Blueberry Oatmeal. Joyce must have known he had eaten quite a lot last night and specifically instructed the kitchen to prepare something light and simple.

"Young Master Li Si, these are today's letters. One is an official letter from the Fiss Royal Magic Academy. It may be important."

As usual, Joyce stood beside Li Si and handed him the letters.

"A letter from the academy? What could it be about?" Li Si looked at the letter in confusion. He could not remember what the academy might need to write to him about.

The Fiss Royal Magic Academy he attended bore the kingdom's name, which proved that it was the finest magic academy in the kingdom.

He had enrolled at the age of ten. The Fiss Royal Magic Academy had no fixed teaching system and followed the philosophy of free development. Students who enrolled in the same year were considered peers, somewhat like the elective course system from his previous life. They could sit in on any classes that interested them, with the only restriction being that they had to reach Intermediate Mage before graduating.

Thus, it was not uncommon to see ten-year-old boys attending the same class as middle-aged men in their thirties or forties.

But he had not been to the academy in months. What could they possibly want now?

Li Si opened the letter and found its handwriting neat and crisp. It was obviously an official letter from the academy. It did not mention anything specific, merely inviting Li Si to visit the Fifth Magic Workshop.

He knew about the Fifth Magic Workshop. The academy had many Magic Workshops, but only the top ten were truly coveted, with the finest resources and support. The Fifth Magic Workshop ranked exceptionally high, considering that the workshops ahead of it belonged exclusively to the Dean and Vice-Dean.

But why were they inviting him to visit out of the blue? He had never applied.

Forget it. He would take a look when the time came. He was rather curious about what advanced experimental equipment and novel research projects they might have there.

Li Si stuffed the last pancake into his mouth in two bites. Suddenly, he missed the jianbing guozi from his previous life. Once he dealt with his lingering concerns, he could study how to make it properly.

The morning training passed quickly. What puzzled Li Si was the change in his accompanying guards.

Di Sen was no different, as respectful and patient as ever.

His guard captain, Welf, was somewhat different. He had previously carried himself with a hint of reserve and pride, but now his attitude was exactly like Di Sen's. Li Si even felt that there was something faintly visible in Welf's eyes.

Fear?

Li Si had no idea how much damage his butler had inflicted upon Welf's young heart last night. He merely assumed that Welf had suddenly recognized the brilliance and handsomeness of his viscount.

Just kidding. Li Si was genuinely curious, but Welf refused to say anything, especially with Bill standing nearby, his left eye blackened as he claimed he had fallen out of bed while sleeping.

Still, that was fine. Li Si took the opportunity to ask Welf about several martial training methods that interested him, such as Taunt, Block, and other warrior techniques, as well as highly practical enhancement techniques like Minor All Stats Boost and Danger Prediction.

Incidentally, during his training over the past few days, Li Si discovered that his Game System could still inspect enemy information just as it had in the game from his previous life. Unfortunately, Welf's level was too high, so Li Si could only see a few details.

[Based on your level, you have obtained the following information.]

Name: Welf

Race: Human

Level: 102

Health Points: ???

Mana Value: ???

Main Class: Shield Warrior

Secondary Class: Treasure Hunter

Talent: Bedrock (Gold-level Talent: When using a shield, Block effectiveness increases by 30%, and Strength increases by 30%)

Attributes: ???

Danger Level: Extremely Fatal!

Evaluation: He is a three-seven match for you. He throws three punches; you get your seventh-day funeral rite!

It seemed Welf had not been a Gold Warrior for very long either, but he could still handle Li Si with ease.

Although he had gained quite a bit of experience through meditation recently, even if he spent it all on leveling up, he would only rise about three levels. That would not make much of a difference at all.

Sure enough, the fastest way to level up was still grinding monsters and completing quests?

Li Si somewhat missed those days of frenzied grinding in his previous life.

Although his current life as a noble was comfortable and peaceful, and he even had a sweet little maid, he still preferred the adventurous life filled with surprises and unexpected events!

Forget being a shut-in for now!

Once he mastered the Proficiency in All Weapons specialty, he could begin the next phase of his plan.

Though he had sparred with the guards these past few days, it had mostly been to learn martial techniques and improve his proficiency. He had not yet fought a proper battle.

With that thought, Li Si rested for a moment, then said to Di Sen, who stood nearby, "Di Sen, come on. Let's spar and see how strong I am."

Di Sen hesitated for a moment before agreeing. The honest man did not think he would lose; he was merely considering how much strength would be appropriate to use.

Should I deliberately leave an opening later and let Young Master win?

Li Si could tell what Di Sen was thinking from his conflicted expression.

"I can use magic, you know. It would not look good if an Intermediate Warrior like you lost."

At that, Di Sen's expression became more serious. He raised his sword into a defensive stance and waited for Li Si to make the first move.

He had never fought a mage before. Among all extraordinary professions, mages had the highest barrier to entry.

At the Bronze and Silver levels, mages were far rarer than warriors. At most, he had only faced the bombardment of magical beasts' innate magic while hunting them. He had no experience fighting an actual mage.

[Ding~]

[Limited Challenge Quest triggered]

[Objective: Defeat Silver Warrior Di Sen]

[Reward: Determined by quest completion]

Oh? A limited quest had been triggered. Then he had to win even more!

Seeing that Di Sen was ready, Li Si gripped the longsword he had only recently begun to get used to and began chanting.

Although he was not using a wand and lacked its power bonus and casting assistance, Li Si still cast the spells smoothly.

"Minor Deflection Field."

"Spirit Armor."

"Magic Aura."

"Buff: Precise Strike."

"Bear's Fortitude, Cat's Grace, Ox's Strength, Fox's Cunning, Owl's Wisdom."

Whether they were useful or not, Li Si cast every Buff Spell he could on himself. For a moment, multicolored magical light flashed around his body.

Di Sen did not move. He quietly waited for Li Si to finish casting, but what Li Si did afterward changed his expression.

Li Si raised his sword and muttered to himself as a white glow representing martial techniques flashed across his body.

"Martial Technique: Minor All Stats Boost."

"Martial Technique: Resistance Enhancement."

"Martial Technique: Danger Prediction."

Warriors had relatively few defensive and enhancement martial techniques. However, after using that entire set of magic and martial techniques, Li Si felt hollow inside. His earlier practice had already consumed quite a bit of Mana Value, and this round had drained a considerable portion of what remained.

After all, he did not have much Mana Value yet, nor was he wearing any corresponding Magical Items or equipment.

Looking at Young Master Li Si, whose defenses had been raised almost to the limit, Di Sen felt his scalp tingle.

He had not expected Young Master Li Si to learn and use the martial techniques he had demonstrated in just a few days. It was truly terrifying.

Di Sen knew that some special advanced classes could use the abilities of two basic classes. For example, a Magic Swordsman could use both magic and martial techniques. But only exceptionally gifted people could do that. Once most people chose a main class, it was basically impossible for them to learn the skills of another profession.

Could Young Master Li Si possess that kind of top-tier talent?

Di Sen did not dare be careless. He abandoned his original intention of not using martial techniques and cast enhancement effects on himself as well.

"Here I come!"

Li Si's figure flashed as he charged toward Di Sen.