015 Five Days

The "Basic Swordsmanship for Swordsmen" was vastly different from the Heavy Strike old Jack had previously taught Karen, especially in terms of its value. Heavy Strike could certainly enhance combat effectiveness, but its impact on physical conditioning was rather mediocre.

In contrast, Basic Swordsmanship for Swordsmen, while not suitable for actual combat, served as the foundational technique for soldiers in the Bourbon Kingdom to improve their strength. According to old Jack, if Karen could fully master this basic swordsmanship, his abilities would experience a significant leap. Of course, the exact nature of this improvement was something Karen would have to discover for himself.

Perhaps it was a result of having traversed worlds, but Karen’s progress in learning these skills was remarkably swift. He had mastered Heavy Strike in less than half a day, and within a single day had raised it to level three. Although Basic Swordsmanship for Swordsmen was a bit more challenging, it wasn’t excessively so, as it remained a fundamental technique.

The complete set of Basic Swordsmanship for Swordsmen comprised twelve movements and a coordinated breathing method. Karen took only a day to grasp the basics, and once he had, the skill appeared on his attributes panel as well.

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Basic Swordsmanship for Swordsmen
Skill Level: lv1 (1/25)
Skill Description: The most basic swordsmanship training for swordsmen, can be cultivated up to level three. Each level slightly enhances the practitioner’s physical attributes and accelerates the training speed of sword-related skills.
Upon reaching level three, it is possible to activate the Seed of Battle Energy.
Skill Effect: Increases training speed of sword-related skills by one percent.
...

Karen could feel that, beyond the effects displayed on his attribute panel, Basic Swordsmanship for Swordsmen also improved his physical strength—his power had grown by roughly a layer.

However, Karen realized that the true value of Basic Swordsmanship for Swordsmen lay not in the enhancement of physical attributes or the acceleration of skill training, but in the mysterious Seed of Battle Energy. Fascinated by this unfamiliar force, Karen devoted all his energy to cultivating Basic Swordsmanship for Swordsmen over the next few days.

He changed his training location, no longer frequenting Goblin Forest as he had earlier. Besides old Jack’s parting instructions, the main reason was that, after his rank had risen, hunting small creatures no longer yielded experience. This was frustrating—he had hoped to reach the next tier by relying on the energy from hunting small animals, but the system had left him stranded.

Still, the system hadn’t completely closed the door to advancement. Though Karen could no longer gain energy from hunting small animals, he could still earn it by slaying humans or more powerful creatures—likely a result of his elevated strength level.

Besides defeating stronger beings, Karen had another, more convenient means of advancement: the feedback from his territory. Now that his territory was activated, he received five points of personal energy from it each day. In other words, even if he did nothing, his strength would naturally increase after ten days.

Given this situation, Karen no longer spent his days guarding Goblin Forest. Each morning, he’d deal with his catch there, but the rest of his time was devoted to training in the village.

Karen’s living arrangements had also changed. He moved from the small wooden cabin back to the home of his cheap uncle. Since he had already killed the man, there was no reason to feign high-mindedness by refusing the inheritance—most of which had originally belonged to his predecessor anyway.

Truth be told, his uncle’s estate wasn’t much: a simple two-room house with a courtyard, three acres of land, and a modest amount of money and grain. The courtyard, though, was quite suitable for Karen. Its four surrounding walls, combined with the intimidating reputation he’d earned by killing two men, provided him with a relatively private space for training.

Karen wasn’t the only one training in the courtyard. The young girl Niv was there as well. Though Karen hadn’t been in this world long, he understood its darkness all too well. Coming from a peaceful world, living here had given him a deeper sense of crisis than anyone. He knew that to thrive in this world, one must possess strength.

Not only himself—Niv needed it too. Only with power could one resist the darkness of the world, so Karen almost unhesitatingly taught her Basic Swordsmanship for Swordsmen. Old Jack hadn’t forbidden its dissemination, so Karen assumed he wouldn’t mind. Even if he did, Karen would have taught Niv anyway—he’d simply make sure Jack never found out.

What troubled Karen, though, was Niv’s slow progress. Whether it was her young age or some other reason, she wasn’t advancing rapidly. Karen had managed to grasp the basics in a day, but even under his guidance, Niv took five days to barely master Basic Swordsmanship for Swordsmen.

Still, though her pace didn’t satisfy Karen, her dedication moved him deeply. The girl seemed to understand that this was her only chance to change her fate—she would arrive early each morning and train all day, never stopping until her strength was spent. Over those five days, she had collapsed from exhaustion several times, causing Karen much distress.

Yet her perseverance had paid off. Though slow to progress, after five days of training and Karen’s rich meals, Niv was visibly healthier—no longer so frail, with a bit more color in her cheeks.

Karen, too, had gained much in those five days. Perhaps due to his talent, his progress in Basic Swordsmanship for Swordsmen was phenomenal; he had already cultivated it to the maximum level of three. Heavy Strike had risen to level six, with his personal energy points reaching thirty. Five days of training had brought a tremendous improvement—he could easily defeat two versions of himself from five days prior.

Yet, perhaps because he advanced too quickly, the level three Basic Swordsmanship for Swordsmen had only increased his power by three layers, and, more importantly, he had not activated the Seed of Battle Energy.

Fortunately, Karen’s temperament was steady enough to be patient and take things slowly. He was clearly at a critical juncture—once his rank advanced and the Seed of Battle Energy was activated, his strength would soar.

But just at this moment, Karen encountered a troublesome situation...