"Here," Gerald handed over a copy of the map and then made a few quick pictures of the place. "It's around here, and there should be a crack in the ground like this… I'll be going there in a few days after I recover, but if you want to do something before that, be my guest!"
Tabbris took the paper with a serious expression and looked over it. The pictures were so clear and life-like that he couldn't help but take a deep breath in surprise.
"I see…" He bowed towards Gerald and said, "You have done our Kingdom a great service finding these clues… I'll be going now, I have to notify my father as soon as possible!" He then left the mansion at the fastest speed, seemingly in a hurry to spread the news.
Gerald simply shrugged his shoulders and let him do whatever he wanted. He had other things to do right now, namely recover...and read!
He sat comfortably on the bed and opened the Falcon Dance Combat Art and read the first sentence. A smile crept up his face…
***
"Father! Father!" Tabbris ran through the hallway in the Royal Palace where the guest rooms were.
The Guardians had their own place to stay when in the capital, but on special occasions and in times of war, they could stay in the Royal Palace.
And now it was one of those special occasions.
"What is it?" He found his father in an office, seemingly going over Kingdom maps and refreshing his memory on war strategies. He appeared busy.
"Was there something wrong with the gifts? Also, did you confirm if he can really fly, or confirm his true identity?" Razor Northendark questioned.
"Ah! I completely forgot about that!" Tabbris slapped his forehead. "But it doesn't matter anymore, I have discovered something much more important!"
He hurriedly took out the papers Gerald gave him and spread them out on the table.
"What is this?" Razor asked doubtfully. He sent his son to create a friendly relationship with Gerald, but also to figure out who that guy really was. He did some research and the information he received made it appear as if the guy simply appeared out of thin air about half a year ago. It was suspicious!
"So, I went to deliver these gifts…" Tabbris told of the entire conversation he had with Gerald and how he got the maps.
Razor's face darkened as he listened, "An Orc you say…" He looked through the window and commented, "It's too late to do anything today, but I'll go and speak with the King and see what can be done!"
Tabbris nodded in agreement, "I'll bring the Phoenix Knights to take a look tomorrow. Based on the map it should take us about a day to ride there, so we won't know if the lead is any good for a while…"
His father approved of his idea and even gave him a document. "Take this and go get a Royal raven. Send us a message as soon as you discover something!"
***
Gerald just finished reading the Falcon Dance manual.
"What is agility?" Gerald wondered out loud. "In simple terms… It's the ability to change the direction of movement while still being in control of your own body… The faster the change, the greater the agility!"
He stroked his chin with a smile and stared into space, "Who knew you could use Mana in this way. I would need at least a few months of trial and error to stumble upon it by chance! Having a guide sure is useful, hehe!"
He stood up and stretched his body. Then he took a combat stance and did a few kicks in the air while guiding Mana according to the manual. He spun around and jumped, kicked off the wall, and did a summersault, landing gracefully back on the floor.
Spinning around he punched the air aggressively and continued kicking, dodging, and punching, almost as if there was an actual enemy fighting him. His movements were like the wind, fast and silent, and his punches and kicks flowed smoothly like water, going with the flow.
"Not bad, not bad! No wonder I couldn't touch him back then! Compared to now, I was just like a beginner martial artist, simply raw power but no technique! I can definitely make use of this…" Gerald exclaimed after thoroughly testing his new capabilities.
To say that he was satisfied would be an understatement. Many would probably gladly accept the gifts from the Northendarks, but Gerald would instead risk offending them by wishing for something else.
The Falcon Dance Combat Art might not be worth all that much, but it was quite difficult to find. The publicly open library only contained theoretical knowledge and low-level spells, and even those weren't all that useful. Getting his hands on more closely guarded secrets was a must if he wanted to grow as fast as possible!
While learning the Falcon Dance, Gerald gained a few insights, and a whole new world opened before him. He even got a few ideas on how to combine both spells into one, Juggernaut and Falcon Dance.
To make sure it all worked as it should and there were no problems it would take at least a few days, maybe even more. But it would all be worth it in the end!
"Although…." Gerald sighed, "The Mana consumption is getting extreme already! If I actually manage to combine it, it will consume around 100 MP/min… I could only use it for a few minutes!"
Gerald took in a cold breath, "Yikes! That's not good! I need to either increase my recovery rate or get even more Mana…" He checked his storage space inside the ring, only to then shake his head in disappointment.
"I'm so poor! Not a single God's Blood is left… And they are so damn difficult to find!"
It was not like the plant was rare, far from it, it's just that it was quite difficult to distinguish among hundreds of other plants unless it was blooming. Though then again, the flower was the one that contained the most desirable properties.
The entire herb was quite small, making it easily missed among the dense grass.
"Eh~…" Gerald sighed, "I'll just focus on Greater Mana Potions first I guess… I'll just give the recipe to Qiona, that should make her happy." He decided to take the freeloaders in his mansion on a herb-gathering adventure! It was time to experience the wilderness once again!