This was the goal of today's test. Although Herbert realized that it would be great if Ingrid could have some firepower, the thing that he wants to see the most from her was her survivability. Since the church would soon be making a move against them, Herbert knew that they would be unscrupulous in their means. And if he brought along Ingrid, as the weak link, they would probably target her more.
To block the incoming projectiles, Ingrid manipulated the whip to block their trajectory to keep herself safe. Herbert had deliberately reduced the number of feathers that shot forth which gave Ingrid the leeway to adjust during battle.
Herbert soon followed up his attack by creating a sword and attacking melee. This time, he lowered his speed and strength to somewhere around Ingrid's level. Her response to this was to form a protective array of thorns to block Herbert's path.
However, this did little in stopping him. But the small amount of time that he spent on breaking free from it had given Ingrid enough time to once again escape.
From this perspective, Herbert found that her survivability should be good enough. Even if she couldn't completely defeat an enemy, the fact that she can slow them down until reinforcements arrive would already be considered a success.
As the both of them continued their back and forth, Herbert tested Ingrid's bottom limit. The last thing that he wanted to make sure of was her stamina. As an awakened with two bloodlines, one of her many advantages was to have a higher capacity for energy as she has two different bloodline sources to get it from.
By the time they finished, it was already nearing lunchtime. Ingrid was now sitting on the floor, slowly catching her breath. Being under pressure, she had exerted a lot not just physically, but also mentally. As a result, her sweaty face was still flushed and showed a deep shade of pink.
"You've made great progress. I think we can soon continue our partnership."
Herbert uttered as he looked unruffled. Despite moving around a lot he did not seem to have exerted much effort.
"Splendid! It looks like all of my hard work had finally paid off."
Although Herbert did not want to encourage a habit of being overconfident in Ingrid, he did not shy away from giving compliments when it is due. Considering that it had only been about a month or so since she had awakened, it was already incredible that she had reached the second rank.
"Yeah. You have worked hard. Great job."
Seeing her wide smile, Herbert felt thrown off. Seeing her being so obedient was extremely off-putting. But Herbert guessed that even she can become obedient if she was tired.
"Anyway, now that I've seen your progress with your Rozenblood bloodline, this time I want to see your improvement with your Larksong bloodline."
Ingrid then looked at Herbert before looking around from left to right.
"You mean right now?"
"Yes."
"Like, right here?"
"Yes."
"But didn't you tell me not to use it?"
"I only told you not to use it when there are others around. Tell me, Ingrid, am I others?"
Seeing that Herbert was adamant about it, Ingrid no longer argued with him. Compared to the progress of her Rozenblood bloodline which was already at rank 2, her Larksong was relatively weaker. At this stage, it is currently still at rank 1.
From her mouth, a sweet melody came out like it was raining candy on a bright sunny day. Because of the nature of her bloodline power as a Larksong, it is usually considered a supportive role. In an instant, her previous fatigue seemed to have been swept away. However, this was just a temporary effect as she still has to naturally recover the energy that she had used earlier during their spar.
Because the Larksong bloodline has a relatively weak combat ability, Herbert instructed Ingrid to focus more on her Rozenblood bloodline. This would also be of help to him and her situation in the future when they encounter enemies coming from either the church or the Rozenblood family. She wouldn't be able to become recognized as the head of the family if she at least did not have the basic capability to protect herself.
Herbert then nodded to himself, now that he intends to move, Ingrid should be able to increase the cultivation of her Larksong bloodline during their travel. This would save time and would also come in handy as his next destination was to wash away the soon-to-be plague that is brewing on the Osxword territory.
"Although you haven't been able to utilize it as much as your Rozenblood bloodline, you still made some improvements. Not bad."
Hearing Herbert continuously sing praises about her made Ingrid smile. This was a once-in-a-lifetime moment as Herbert usually wouldn't be so honest.
"Do you still remember what happened in Tenebra city?"
Ingrid nodded her head. She could still remember the days that she had spent in that city. Tenebra City was the place where she had been given an Awakening Crystal by Herbert and had fully become a part of the Awakened.
Aside from that, it was also the place where they had gained the company of Collins and his family for their trip to the Ravenmoon territory. Since that trip had been very memorable for Ingrid, she quickly recalled what happened.
"If you can still recall what we did, then it's great. I'm sure that you're going to be quite busy. Our trip might just become a repeat of what we did but multiplied by a thousand."
Ingrid then looked at Herbert with a puzzled look on her face. She still didn't understand what Herbert intends to do, but she would support him since he had already given him far more than what she had originally intended.
With the supposed outbreak of the artificial plague, Herbert had a reason for wanting to bring Ingrid along this time. If he managed to get a hold of the Awakened which had released those parasitic worms in advance then he might not need her help, but if he fails then he would need her presence to solve the problem.
Of course, Herbert did not originally intend to solve the plague this early, but knowing that the protagonist was already being entangled with the Ravenmoons, he had to make use of this chance to take care of it before the protagonist comes as it would be troublesome to solve the both of them at the same time.