Special Effects

"This time, I win again." As Kraun's words fell, he lowered the sharp sword in his hand.

Savas looked mortified. He angrily tossed his sword onto the weapon rack and turned to leave.

Marshall stood there in a daze. A few times, he tried to say something, but he had no idea how to begin.

The outcome had caught him by surprise. He had expected his teammate to win now that he was no longer holding back. Even if he couldn't secure victory within the time limit, he shouldn't have lost.

Seeing the dejected figure walking away, the lean warrior tossed him a jade-colored coin. "Here, rookie. Take it and see what that power feels like for yourself."

Marshall dashed after his teammate.

Kraun reached out and caught the flying coin between his fingers.

It felt cool to the touch. He brought it closer to his eyes. It was a round jade object, with a black speck inside that kept twisting and turning.

He narrowed his eyes to get a better look.

The black speck looked like an image of a werewolf—or, more precisely, part of one.

Its upper body was intact, but it had no legs, as if it had been cut in half at the waist.

With his spiritual perception, he sensed a venomous malice emanating from the werewolf image.

This should be a Spirit Coin. But what was it for, and how did he use it?

Kraun closed his fingers around it, deciding he needed to quickly make up for his lack of basic knowledge about the supernatural. Otherwise, he might end up in the embarrassing position of getting a treasure without even recognizing it.

Setting that aside, Kraun summoned the Gold Wall.

[Basic Swordsmanship: Limit] (Special Effect: Heart of the Sword. Grasp the mysteries of swordsmanship. Damage dealt with swords increases, and you learn other sword techniques faster.)

[Cross Sword: 23/5000; Third Tier]

Nice! Another blue skill had appeared, and it even came with a passive effect!

The effect was plain but highly practical. It increased the damage dealt with swords, though he wasn't sure exactly how that would manifest. This wasn't a game, so the increased damage would be hard to notice. But the boost to his swordsmanship learning speed was incredible and would save him a lot of time.

The higher the skill tier, the harder it became to improve. With the Heart of the Sword, he could learn advanced sword techniques twice as fast.

The only disappointment was that Basic Swordsmanship had reached its limit and couldn't be improved any further. He'd wanted to see what color an even higher-level skill would be.

His swordsmanship had advanced faster than he'd expected. Kraun figured that when he faced the Witcher again that evening, he'd be able to force his opponent to show more of his strength.

During the fight, he'd already sensed the Flow of Life. He picked up the sheepskin scroll from the ground and began practicing on his own, following the diagrams.

At first, he practiced each movement in the order shown, sticking closely to the instructions.

Later, as he felt the Flow of Life coursing through his body, he followed its rhythm and began combining the movements however he pleased.

His body temperature rose, long past the safe threshold, yet he didn't feel the slightest discomfort. Instead, he felt invigorated.

In the sunlight, steam rose from Kraun's sweat. From a distance, if you didn't look closely, you might have thought the area was shrouded in mist.

Half an hour later, he stopped. He'd used up too much energy and was starving.

He hurried to the dining hall. When Lawford, who was in charge of the food, saw him, he quickly brought out a large serving of toasted white bread, a plate of roasted meat, and a jug of milk.

Father Nick had given the kitchen strict instructions. Kraun now needed to replenish a lot of calories, so they always kept this food on hand.

Kraun didn't care about appearances. He grabbed the bread and roasted meat in both hands and wolfed them down. When he choked, he gulped some milk to wash it down, then kept eating.

Between bites, he remembered to check the Gold Wall.

While practicing the Breathing Technique, he'd already felt a skill take shape.

[Flame Breath: 3/3000; First Tier] (The effect is already just as noticeable: your metabolism is faster.)

The white lettering showed that this skill was just a tiny bit above the basic level, but not by much.

Was I just destined to be a brawler? Why do I pick up these skills so ridiculously fast?

Kraun had a bad feeling. Deep down, he'd much rather be a mage in the back, providing ranged fire support, than a combatant charging into the fray.

Even though landing a punch felt satisfying, close-quarters combat always seemed a little unsafe.

Maybe I should keep grinding Marksmanship.

After taking a few more fierce bites of roasted meat, Kraun decided he'd make time to build up the proficiency of skills he hadn't used in ages.

Once Basic Swordsmanship reached its limit, it had given him a passive effect. That had opened up a new line of thought for him.

Firearms in this era weren't powerful enough, mainly because the gunpowder was poor. As production improved, stronger gunpowder would surely be developed. When that happened, firearms would still command half the battlefield.

No matter the era, ordinary people made up the vast majority of the population.

The world was hurtling toward danger. To survive, countless ordinary people would also pour their passion into creating better weapons to protect themselves. More destructive firearms and ammunition were an excellent choice.

That afternoon, at the church Training Ground.

Kraun flicked his arm, then swept it upward in a curve. The sharp sword in Marshall's hand was knocked cleanly out of his grasp. That was the fifth time he'd been disarmed.

"I'm done! You're a freak. Now I know how Savas felt this morning." The lean warrior looked both pleased and disappointed.

He was pleased that the rookie was strong enough to stand on his own without much training. But he was disappointed that his authority as an instructor had been thoroughly crushed after just a few days.

It had taken only a single day for Kraun to master the Flame Assault Breathing Technique and successfully get started. Marshall had only read about talent like that in the church's ancient texts.

Thinking of that made Marshall feel even more depressed.

"People really do die of envy, and you really do toss bad goods aside." The lean warrior gave a self-deprecating shake of his head, then said to Kraun, "There's nothing left for us to teach you. The Flame Cross Sword Technique is just the Cross Sword performed after activating the Flame Breath Breathing Technique. Try it a few more times, and you'll gradually grasp the essence."

"Practice on your own. I'm going to find Savas. He's the only one who'll understand how complicated I'm feeling right now." With that, Marshall slowly walked away.

Without an opponent, Kraun felt a real sense of regret. His swordsmanship skills would gain proficiency more and more slowly.

The road may be long, but if you keep going, you'll reach the end. The task may be hard, but if you keep grinding, you'll get it done.

He let go of his greed and happily began practicing on his own, trying to figure out how to perform the Flame Cross more easily.

He spent most of the afternoon practicing and experimenting by himself.

At sunset, Kraun left the church and walked home.

Looking at the breathtaking clouds spread across the sky, he thought about how things had been when he'd first transmigrated compared to now. He couldn't help swaying his head and singing a nonsense tune: "Today, my mood is completely different, completely different!"