The Knight's Path

On Skunk Street, inside Kraun's home, the table was already laden with dishes.

Crystal pork knuckles, wild mushroom stewed chicken, stir-fried spicy intestines, braised beef, braised pork belly, and wood ear mushrooms with scrambled eggs.

The chef brought out the final dish: beef in sour soup.

Alan sat upright at the table, swallowing hard as he stared at the spread of delicacies.

"Dig in, dig in!"

No sooner had Kraun spoken than Alan's hands flew out, knife and fork dancing in tandem.

The meal lasted an hour or two, and both host and guest were thoroughly satisfied.

"I never imagined you had such culinary skills. No wonder a werewolf came in to steal a meal! I was wondering at the time when werewolves had developed a habit of eating cooked food."

Geralt picked up his ale and downed it in one gulp, while Kraun eagerly moved to refill his glass.

"Speak up, what is it?"

The white-haired Witcher chuckled softly and set down his cup.

Am I being that obvious?

Having his thoughts laid bare, Kraun still felt a twinge of embarrassment given his current level of thick-skinnedness.

"Heh heh," he scratched his head to mask his awkwardness and asked his question: "How should one deal with a werewolf?"

He didn't want to run away for the time being; the larger the city, the more chaotic the mix of people. His current strength was too meager, and he would only suffer if he left.

The Witcher toyed with the cup in his hand, whispering with an inscrutable expression: "Werewolves, vampires, and other dark creatures fear mithril. As long as you can wound them with a weapon made of mithril, their strength will be greatly diminished. As for the rest, you can kill or butcher them as you please."

"That simple? What is mithril?"

"Simple?" Alan laughed from the side. "Big brother, mithril is an alloy created by alchemists. As for the price, it's about one Gold Shield per gram. A single-handed sword made of mithril weighs about three to five kilograms. If you're rich, then yes, it's simple."

Isn't this just teasing me? Looking at the Witcher and his apprentice, they didn't look like rich people who could afford mithril weapons.

"No more jokes," Geralt's voice turned serious. "Weapons made of silver will suffice, or you could commission a large-caliber pistol; that is the most convenient way to deal with a werewolf. If you have neither, then you must have a strong body—stronger than the werewolf—and then you won't need to fear them."

"A normal person can deal with an ordinary werewolf if they train their body to the limit. You are a Spirit Controller, but it's a pity the symbiotic spirit within you doesn't enhance your physical constitution. Otherwise, dealing with a werewolf would be a breeze."

This meal wasn't a waste; he had gained something.

Kraun nodded, firming up his plan of action.

The next day, the morning sun leaped over the horizon, casting ten thousand golden rays across the earth.

Kraun formed the Great Sun Seal with his hands, visualizing a red sun hidden within his body, radiating light.

In a trance, he felt the red sun within him competing with the sun in the sky.

When his body began to feel a scorching heat, he stopped the visualization and slowly withdrew his energy.

Golden Light Incantation: 1594/50000; First Tier

He let out a long sigh, lamenting how long it would take to reach the next level at this rate.

The time window for rapidly increasing proficiency was too short, and as his proficiency grew, the points gained from later visualizations became fewer and fewer.

Kraun ate a hasty meal and headed out toward the church.

Nick weighed the small bag in his hand, unable to hide the astonishment in his eyes.

One hundred Gold Shields. Only a month had passed, and this young man had already scraped it together.

The speed at which he made money exceeded his imagination.

"Can you tell me how you did it?"

Kraun said nonchalantly: "I can refine Blood-Boiling Potions now."

It's actually the Blood-Boiling Potion! The priest wasn't an herbalist, but he remembered the name of this potion.

It was a highly sought-after concoction, required by the knights of the church after their first sublimation of life essence.

"Father, can I accept your training and become a Crusader Order warrior now?"

"Do you remember what I said before?"

"I remember: I must bear the costs of training myself, and I must unconditionally accept your summons if evil creatures threaten the parish believers."

Nick nodded: "I need to submit an application to the church for you to become an official member. You can only be a candidate warrior for now. Are you still willing?"

If he hadn't learned that the young man was already a highly skilled alchemist, he wouldn't have bothered explaining this.

Kraun hadn't actually decided to commit to the Church of the Lord of Flame, but hearing this, he was pleased rather than worried.

He suppressed his inner joy, remained silent for a few seconds, and replied with a feigned gravity: "I am willing."

"Rest assured, I will do everything in my power to apply for your qualification as an official member of the church. Now, I will give you your first lesson!"

The sky was somewhat gloomy, with a light drizzle falling.

In the church's backyard, there was a wide open space where Nick, now wearing half-plate armor, was instructing Kraun.

"Crusader Order warriors are also selected from ordinary parishioners. At the beginning of their training, it is nothing more than exercises in strength and technique, combined with special herbal formulas to enhance their physical constitution."

"As long as nutritional intake is guaranteed during this stage, coupled with rigorous training, one can reach the physical limits of an ordinary human. Practitioners at this stage are called Acolytes."

"Once a certain standard is reached, and with the aid of potions and breathing techniques, the essence of one's life is sublimated, and a Seed of Life condenses within the body. Only then does one officially become a Crusader Order warrior and ascend to the extraordinary."

"The training is extremely grueling and bitter. Without sufficient nutrition, not only will the training fail to produce results, but it will actually break the body down. And nutrition requires a large amount of meat, which in turn requires a large amount of Gold Shields for support."

"After ascending to the extraordinary, you will find that everything has only just begun. At this point, ordinary training methods can no longer improve your physical constitution; you must rely solely on breathing techniques."

"Practicing breathing techniques requires sufficient potion support to progress faster, and the improvement of breathing techniques, in turn, drives the improvement of physical constitution. If you want to be more combat-effective, you need to purchase more powerful weapons and armor, which requires even more Gold Shields or even Spirit Coins."

Kraun raised his hand and asked, "Father, what are Spirit Coins?"

"They are the hard currency of the extraordinary world. You will naturally come into contact with them once you enter this circle. For now, what you need to do is undergo arduous physical training. Remember to pay the two Gold Shield daily meal fee. I will give you the herbal formula to accompany your training later. There are no rare medicinal ingredients in it; you are an herbalist, so you can prepare it yourself and save some money."

"Now, you are an Acolyte of the Crusader Order, and obeying orders is your duty. Put on this Sand Vest and run one hundred laps around the field."

"Yes," Kraun replied in a short, resonant voice.

He immediately ran to the area where the equipment was kept, donned the sandbag vest, strapped the sandbag leggings onto his legs, wrapped the sandbag wrist guards around his arms, and began to run with high spirits.