Growth (Please Follow)

Bang!

After the gunshot, Kraun slowly lowered the revolver.

Rubbing his aching arms, he sat down in a nearby chair to rest.

The Golden Wall appeared before his eyes.

[Marksmanship: 786/1000; Tier 1] (Fixed targets at close range were no longer a challenge for you.)

Without genuinely putting in the effort, there was no way to improve proficiency. The Golden Wall gave him no room whatsoever to slack off.

Over the course of the afternoon, Kraun diligently fired off two hundred bullets.

Practicing on targets ten meters away was relatively easy, since there was no need to account for bullet trajectory.

He only needed to understand the basic principle of aligning three points.

That was, keeping his eye, the front sight, and the bullseye in a straight line.

Kraun had originally thought handgun shooting would be fairly easy, but its difficulty far exceeded his expectations.

A handgun's recoil was borne entirely by both arms, unlike a rifle, whose recoil was largely absorbed by the body.

He could not keep practicing. If he did, he would not be able to raise his arms tomorrow.

Kraun bared his teeth as he packed up his revolver and walked out of the Patrol Squad's underground Training Ground.

It was getting late. He still needed to buy herbs from other herb gatherers and make some Potions himself.

As for Herbalism, he was currently nothing more than a theorist.

"Heading back?"

At the entrance to the Training Ground, Yalu greeted him with an overly friendly expression.

Judging by how warmly he acted, anyone unaware of the truth might have thought the two shared a relationship beyond friendship.

Kraun gave a polite smile. "Training's over for today. I'll come again tomorrow afternoon."

"Great, I'll be waiting for you tomorrow!"

Yalu nodded with a grin. The man had bought quite a few Bullets that afternoon, earning him several more Silver Coins.

As he watched Kraun's figure disappear into the distance, Yalu's expression turned mocking. He shook his head disdainfully. "Learning Marksmanship takes more than brute-force practice. This brat's a real piece of work. We've already turned his house inside out, yet he still has money to throw away."

But what did that have to do with him? He wished Kraun would come every day.

Kraun had no idea what the patrolman was thinking. Even if he had known, he would only have smiled calmly.

The joys of having cheats were beyond the imagination of ordinary people!

On the eastern outskirts of Zack Town stood a crude wooden house, surrounded by a fence and a small vegetable patch.

At that moment, Old Hans sat outside his front door, puffing on a homemade cigarette with a worried look on his face.

He was an herb gatherer who made his living collecting herbs from the nearby mountains.

In the past, he had always sold the herbs he gathered to the town's only Herbalist.

Now that the Herbalist's family had been killed by an Evil Spirit and returned to the embrace of the Lord of Flame, he no longer had anyone to sell his herbs to.

Though the Herbalist still had a son alive, Old Hans had met that boy before. The lad was still far too green.

Did he know how to make Potions from herbs?

Doubtful. He would struggle even to recognize all the herbs produced in the mountains.

But what was he supposed to do with the herbs he had gathered?

Wait for the passing merchants who came by once a month?

Many herbs needed to be properly handled soon after being picked, or they would lose their medicinal properties.

And the herbs requiring such treatment were often quite valuable.

"Old Hans, I'm here to buy herbs!"

A gentle voice interrupted the old man's thoughts. He narrowed his eyes and looked toward the newcomer.

Wasn't that Kraun, the Herbalist's son?!

"You? Buying herbs?"

"What, you're not doing the herb-gathering business anymore?"

"Of course I am! What price?"

"The usual price. The same as my father's."

"That's fair. Come in and have a seat."

Kraun smiled and shook his head. "No need. I still have to visit the next household. Just bring them out."

Inside the room, four oil lamps illuminated the square experimental table.

A special herbal juice had been added to the lamps, making their light bright white rather than dim yellow.

On the table, an alcohol lamp burned at full strength beneath an asbestos mesh, with a large crucible resting on top.

Inside, Gorse, Blood-Activating Herb, and dog bones were being simmered in a boiling greenish, cloudy liquid.

Kraun pressed one hand against the edge of a mortar while gently and steadily grinding dried Goat's Rue with the other.

When he could no longer feel any large, gritty particles within it, he stopped.

He sprinkled the Goat's Rue powder into the mixture, then quickly stirred it with a glass rod. The liquid turned a dark red-black.

Once the liquid became thick, he removed the alcohol lamp and began stirring slowly.

When the liquid no longer felt scorching hot, he stopped stirring and let it cool naturally.

Kraun rubbed his slightly swollen-feeling head and sat in a chair to rest.

With his eyes closed, he repeatedly reviewed every step of the Potion-making process in his mind.

He had failed for half the night already. He did not know whether this attempt would succeed either.

But he was not anxious at all. So long as he crafted carefully, his Herbalism proficiency continued to rise rapidly.

Success was only a matter of time.

A while later, the swelling in his head eased, and his taut nerves relaxed as well.

He stood and walked over to the table, lifting the crucible to inspect it closely.

Inside was a thick black medicinal paste.

He brought the crucible beneath his nose and gave it a light sniff.

A faint fragrance wafted into his nostrils.

Yes, this was the smell!

For no particular reason, he knew this attempt had succeeded. He could finally sleep without worry.

Kraun chuckled softly. At last, he had a skill that could support him.

He deftly scraped the paste into ceramic jars, carefully removing every last trace from the dog bones, then wrapped the mouths with oilcloth to seal them.

This was a paste that promoted blood circulation, dispersed bruising, and strengthened bones. He planned to use it to heal the damage to his arms from Marksmanship practice.

He gave this paste a new name: Tiger Bone Ointment!

Just as the morning sun rose, Kraun had already washed up and eaten his fill. Then he sat cross-legged in his room and began Visualization of the Golden Light Incantation.

Now, each practice session earned him three or four points of proficiency.

During the morning, he also needed to eat two additional meals.

In the afternoon, he reported to the Patrol Squad on time for around three to four hours of Marksmanship training.

By evening, he would make the rounds among the herb gatherers' homes in town to see what herbs he could buy.

After returning home, Kraun would apply Tiger Bone Ointment to his forearms and upper arms. After eating a large meal, he would make Potions.

He continued this routine for four consecutive days.

On the fifth day, Kraun stopped after practicing the Golden Light Incantation for half the morning and prepared to go out.

There was no helping it. He had run out of food!

The Golden Wall slowly appeared in his vision, and Kraun's face held a satisfied smile.

[Faruk Language: 1756/5000; Tier 3] (You have thoroughly mastered this language.)

[Herbalism: 896/2000; Tier 2] (You are familiar with the properties of many herbs, greatly increasing your success rate in crafting Potions.)

[Marksmanship: 12/5000; Tier 3] (You never miss fixed targets at short to medium range, and you also have a high hit rate against moving targets.)

[Golden Light Incantation: 1054/10000; Tier 0] (Your energy is becoming more abundant. You can cut down on sleep a little—keep grinding.)

[Cooking: 712/1000; Tier 1] (Besides turning raw rice into cooked rice, you are gradually learning to discover the natural flavors of ingredients.)

In just a few days, he had already left the ranks of complete rookies and gained at least a little ability to protect himself.

Shooting fixed targets could no longer significantly improve his proficiency. He needed to head into the vast wilderness and kill living creatures.

Conveniently, he also needed to market the Potions and medicinal pastes he had made during this time to Kraun's family's main customers.

Some Potions required test subjects before he could determine the proper dilution ratio.

Sometimes, overly effective medicine was not necessarily a good thing.