Basic Swordsmanship

Kraun opened his eyes, the phantom of a golden hourglass flickering and vanishing within his pupils.

In his spiritual perception, the time had already reached one-forty-five.

He was very satisfied with the effects of the Visualization Method; the fatigue in his body had completely recovered.

He wondered what use this medicinal decoction had, but he would drink it and feel for himself for now.

Picking up the medicine bowl, he downed it in one heroic gulp.

Licorice, astragalus, atractylodes, angelica, and codonopsis—they were all herbs for replenishing blood and qi, just as he had expected. Kraun nodded slightly, then left the room and strode toward the training ground, moving like the wind.

The drizzle had ceased, but the weather remained overcast.

The priest had not yet arrived, so he took a thick-backed, narrow-bladed sword from the weapon rack nearby; it was unsharpened.

It was a one-handed sword, feeling quite heavy in his hand, weighing a full eight or nine pounds.

As he was swinging it about in boredom, Nick walked out from the church.

"I thought you might oversleep. Very good, your self-discipline is precious."

"Many people possess great talent but lack the self-discipline to match, wasting their prime years," the priest said with a smile, feeling increasingly satisfied with this acolyte.

Actually, my stamina has fully recovered, and my condition has been adjusted to its peak. Kraun wore a shy smile on his face: "Thank you, I still have not done well enough."

In Nick's perception of him, yet another virtue was added: humility.

"Alright, since your condition has recovered so well, let us begin now."

He took a one-handed sword of the same make from the weapon rack and flicked his wrist to produce a sword flourish.

"A knight's primary weapons are the one-handed sword and the two-handed sword. Today, we will learn the basic moves of the one-handed sword. Depending on your progress, the next step will be learning Cross Sword techniques. Once you have mastered the one-handed sword technique well enough, we will move on to the two-handed sword."

Kraun nodded, thinking to himself: I wonder what knowledge and skills an Exorcist Priest needs to learn. The priest's erudition exceeds my imagination.

He had originally thought that holy men like Exorcist Priests were merely mages who utilized divine arts, but he had not expected them to be a hybrid of mage and swordsman.

"Watch closely," Nick said, walking to the center of the training ground with his sword. He demonstrated the basic patterns of swordsmanship while providing detailed explanations.

"The basic moves of the sword are only thrusting, hacking, pointing, and collapsing, among a few others, but you must coordinate your footwork and arms to maximize the weapon's power. Only then will your swordsmanship possess sufficient destructive force to be considered an entry-level mastery."

The priest demonstrated three times in a row, then it was Kraun's turn to practice.

"Your form is distorted; press your arm downward."

"Your step is too large; the power from your arm cannot transfer to the tip of the sword."

Nick corrected the improper movements tirelessly, while Kraun listened carefully, pondering how he should exert force to perform better.

When the sun set, Nick looked at the young man practicing diligently bathed in the afterglow, his radiant smile impossible to hide.

The afternoon's training volume was in no way inferior to the morning's, as it often required sudden bursts of physical power.

Kraun had rested a few times, but his constitution seemed quite special; after resting for a few minutes, his condition would return, though he was prone to hunger, leading him to eat twice more during the session.

"It seems his food allowance needs to be increased a bit," Nick muttered to himself, then called out: "Let's stop here for today. Go back and rest well tonight. Once you adapt to this training intensity, we will need to learn some knowledge about Demonic Beasts in the evenings so that you can better handle them if you encounter them in the future."

A smile also hung on Kraun's face; he steadied his breathing and returned the sharp sword to the rack.

Basic Swordsmanship: 66/1000; First Order (You have mastered the basic techniques of exerting force)

In the span of a single afternoon, his Basic Swordsmanship had actually gained 66 points of proficiency, though half of that time had been spent unable to gain proficiency because he had not yet reached entry-level.

"You are very good," the priest said, taking out a sheet of paper covered in small writing and handing it over: "This is the prescription. Both what to drink and what to use are written on it. You are a high-level herbalist, so you will need to prepare these yourself."

Kraun took the paper with both hands and thanked the priest: "Thank you. Without your dedicated guidance, my progress would not have been this fast."

Hearing his reply, Nick felt even more gratified: "Go back now. You must ensure sufficient nutritional intake tonight and guarantee your rest time. If your Gold Shield is insufficient, borrow from me."

"I will not charge you interest this time. Work hard; that is how you can grasp the future," the priest added.

"Many thanks. If I have need, I will not stand on ceremony with you, Father."

Kraun hurried home from the church with his training sword. When passing Gorse Street, he discovered several donkey carts parked in front of the Patrol Squad headquarters, surrounded by a crowd.

Judging by their attire, they appeared to be workers from the Quarry.

Driven by curiosity, he stepped forward and grabbed a dark-skinned, sturdy, short man, asking: "Brother, what has happened here?"

The man turned his face, his expression sorrowful as he said: "A terrible thing happened at the Quarry. Some workers were cruelly murdered and their bodies discarded in the wilderness."

An elderly worker with gray hair nearby added: "Their internal organs were all dug out. We suspect it was done by some kind of Demonic Beast."

Could it be a Werewolf?

Kraun's heart stirred, but he immediately abandoned the thought.

Werewolves were well-known monsters; they would gnaw the meat off their prey entirely, even crushing the bones to suck out the marrow.

Simply having the internal organs dug out was clearly not the work of a Werewolf, which was known for not wasting food.

Kraun stopped watching the spectacle and headed straight home without slowing his pace.

Born in this dark era, without strength, one would be picked clean by all sorts of monsters.

He remembered the words the priest had spoken: the world's spirituality was becoming increasingly active, and supernatural incidents would only become more frequent.

He was still weak and small, so he had to redouble his efforts!

There was still a Werewolf hiding in the shadows, waiting to deliver a fatal blow.

At the hour of the rabbit, the sky was thick with clouds, and there was no moon.

Kraun attempted to perform the Visualization Method for the Moonlight Seal, but there was no bonus to his proficiency growth.

He gave up on the visualization; the Golden Light Incantation required a long period of accumulation to advance, and he urgently needed to improve his own combat power now.

He did not intend to use the prescription the priest had given him. The ointment could be replaced by his stock of Tiger Bone Ointment, and that decoction for nourishing qi and blood was completely unnecessary. As long as he ate enough good food and had sufficient time for the Golden Light Incantation visualization, he would absolutely not suffer from a deficiency of qi and blood.

Right now, what he needed most was to practice his swordsmanship!

Arriving at the backyard, he twisted and turned in the darkness, thrusting, hacking, and pointing.

As he practiced earnestly, wisps of insight welled up in his heart.

Though his body was exhausted, he found it as sweet as nectar.

Every bit of effort yielded visible progress, leaving him unafraid of any hardship or bitterness.

When he grew hungry or tired, he would sit down to eat a hearty meal and use the Golden Light Incantation Visualization Method to restore his strength. Once his energy and stamina had recovered somewhat, he would tirelessly continue practicing with his One-handed Sword.

It was only when the night wind turned biting cold and frost began to form on the ground that Kraun realized it was already midnight.

[Basic Swordsmanship: 211/1000; Tier 1]

In just over a week, his swordsmanship would reach Tier 2!