Gale March Breathing Technique

It did not rely purely on physical strength. It could draw upon the user's internal energy, attach it to their fists and feet, and unleash even more terrifying destructive power.

Unfortunately.

Lance had not yet officially taken up a class, nor had he learned any skills capable of accumulating an energy pool.

So for now, he could only stare helplessly at the part concerning energy usage.

"Looks like I'll have to get a breathing technique first and see if I can unlock an energy pool."

Lance clenched his fist, sensing the fierce moves imprinted in his mind.

This was like being handed a pillow just as he was getting sleepy.

He had been worrying about where to find a suitable unarmed combat skill to meet the class requirements for the Pale Sentinel.

Yet a casual gift from Amber had directly solved this huge problem for him.

Lance looked at the remaining stack of cards on the table, his feelings becoming somewhat complicated.

He carefully put the cards back into the black velvet box.

This gift was far too valuable.

He seriously suspected that Amber, that big silly girl, had no idea the item held such a function.

"I still need to find Amber tomorrow."

Lance touched the box, feeling as though it was burning hot in his hands.

Though he had already learned the skill and could not exactly spit it back out, he still had to make things clear to her.

If he silently accepted the benefit like this, he would feel somewhat guilty.

After clearing away all the leftover rubbish in the yard, he scrubbed the borrowed grill clean as well.

Only after finishing all that did Lance drag his tired body back to the bedroom on the second floor.

He lay spread-eagled on the soft new bed, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling.

Though the departure of his friends brought a trace of melancholy, he knew that sadness would change nothing.

Only by becoming stronger could he reunite with them someday in a better state.

"Sleep."

Lance turned over and pulled the blanket over his head.

Tomorrow would be a new day.

Starting tomorrow, he would no longer be a clerk who only knew how to copy documents.

He was now a true full-time adventurer, and it was time to charge toward becoming a Pale Sentinel.

The next morning.

Now that he had quit his copying job to become a full-time adventurer, and with the huge sum he had earned from selling medicine.

Lance felt it was time to completely upgrade his gear.

Early in the morning, Lance expertly slipped into the noisy Craftsmen's District.

He had visited this place several times before and had long since formed a rough plan for his upgrades.

This time, he did not hesitate in the slightest. He skipped past the ordinary leather goods shops and entered an armor store with a hammer sign hanging outside.

After careful selection and bargaining, Lance settled on a finely made reinforced chainmail shirt.

It used thick monster hide as its inner lining, while its outer layer was woven from countless dense iron rings.

It was not light when worn, but its heavy weight brought an incomparable sense of security.

Lance tried moving his arms, and the rings rubbed together with a faint rustling sound.

The defense offered by this composite structure was far beyond that of simple leather armor.

If he had been wearing this sturdy gear on the shallows back then, those Goblins' stone spears would never have so easily pierced his lower back. At most, they would have left a few bruises.

What pleased Lance even more was that the chainmail shirt came with an integrated chainmail coif.

As long as he pulled it up, it would protect the back of his head and his neck, saving him the cost of buying a helmet separately.

Naturally, the rest of his equipment needed matching upgrades as well.

He replaced both his bracers and greaves with heavy leather-and-metal armor. The metal strips fixed onto them were no longer cheap pig iron, but refined steel bands.

As for his handheld equipment, he ruthlessly discarded the wooden round shield that was nearly ruined.

In its place was a kite shield covered in thick steel plating.

This kind of shield was narrow at the bottom and broad at the top, offering a larger defensive area. Its pointed lower edge could also serve as a deadly weapon in close combat.

Along with a sharp new shortsword.

Once he had put on the entire set, Lance stood before the mirror and looked at himself, armed nearly to the teeth. He nodded in satisfaction.

The whole set had cost around twenty-two silver coins, but its quality was genuinely outstanding.

This equipment would be enough to let him swagger through the Outer Region of Copper Creek Forest.

Lance pulled up his chainmail coif, covering most of his face, and headed for the Adventurers' Guild in full gear.

When he pushed open the doors, the guild hall was bustling with voices.

The complete success of the joint sweep had restored vitality to the previously somewhat desolate mission hall.

A large number of gathering missions had been posted, and countless adventurers crowded around the commission board, choosing suitable targets.

Lance was not in a hurry to join the commotion.

He instinctively glanced toward the familiar counter.

The brown-haired girl who always wore an energetic smile and occasionally slacked off was not there.

In her place stood an unfamiliar middle-aged receptionist.

It seemed Nia had taken the day off.

Last night's gathering about parting had indeed hit that innocent girl rather hard. She probably needed some time to process her emotions.

Lance sighed softly and withdrew his gaze.

Everyone had their own challenges to face.

Besides that, he noticed that there were many more young men and women in violet clothes in the guild today.

Under the guidance of people who seemed to be instructors, they followed different teams out.

Perhaps they were the academy students Nia had mentioned to him before.

After watching for a few moments, Lance paid them no further attention and headed straight for the dedicated merit exchange counter.

His main goal today was not to take missions and earn money, but to carefully choose a Breath Combat Technique that suited him.

Although the moves of the [Azure Dragon Supreme Essence Style] were already imprinted in his mind, without energy to drive them, the core of the skill could not be displayed.

He urgently needed a Breath Combat Technique to unlock the energy pool within his body.

"Please check how many merit points I have now."

Lance handed over his identification plate.

The clerk behind the counter took the plate and operated the bulky magic device for a moment.

"Mr. Raven, you received 2 merit points for reporting the abnormality at the gathering site last time."

"Along with your outstanding performance supporting the vanguard and rescuing your teammates during this joint sweep, the guild has specially awarded you 20 more points."

"Your current total is 22 merit points."

Twenty-two points.

Lance looked at the number and nodded slightly.

For a newcomer, this was already no small sum.

"Sorry for the trouble, could you let me see the Breath Combat Technique exchange catalog?"

The clerk handed him a thick booklet.

Lance opened the catalog, his finger rapidly sliding across the pages before finally stopping at the bottom of the first page.

Recorded there was the lowest-threshold breathing technique currently available for exchange through the guild.

[Gale March Breathing Technique: Requires 100 merit points to exchange]

This was already the cheapest common option in the booklet. The other breathing techniques started at three to five hundred points apiece.

Breathing techniques occupied a foundational position in this world's class system.

Tracing back to the barbaric age older than even the first generation of heroes, humanity had yet to master the secrets of high-level magic and could only serve as food before those terrifying Mythical creatures.