In the Novel, the protagonist starts his journey after the creature of chaos invaded the Far West and destroyed Baldwin County. That means it will be after two years that the protagonist will earn the acknowledgment of the consciousness of the world and gain a sword skill as spectacular as Roy. There was, though, a big difference between how Roy gained his skill and how the protagonist would gain his. Roy had learned a skill similar to the ones the world, itself, would bestow upon the protagonist without earning anyone's acknowledgment. The protagonist's skill increased the damage he dealt with his sword to others by 50%. Roy's did way less damage. However, Roy thought his skills were still better than the protagonist. 'Why?' One might think. Unlike the protagonist's skill, His could evolve. He could increase their effect by leveling up his basic swordsmanship!
'I have gained a lot of experience points for the Stamina Restoration Skill during training. I should level it up now.'
Stamina Restoration Manual (Lvl: 1) (230/10)
He had more than enough EXP to level it up to level 2.
'Upgrade.'
Ten experience points decreased.
And then immediately, the Stamina Restoration Manual on the blue screen shone.
[Stamina Restoration Manual: Lvl 1 →Lvl 2.]
[You can restore stamina points 10% faster than before.]
The 10% increase might not seem much, but it was a game-changer.
It would be especially helpful if he were in a drawn-out battle with an opponent of equal skills.
Roy looked at the screen again. And found out that he could level it up again!
Stamina Restoration Manual (Lvl: 2) (220/100)
'Upgrade again.'
[Stamina Restoration Manual: Lvl 1 →Lvl 3]
[You can restore stamina points 20% faster than before. You can transfer 10% of your stamina to another person instantly. You can only do that once per day.]
To upgrade it another time, he needed 500 points. He only had 120.
"Wow!" Roy exclaimed. He couldn't help it. Only Mages or Weapon Masters could do something like transferring their energy to others. But he, who wasn't both, could also do it.
Roy only had an only thing to say.
This skill of his was too much!
He read through his character sheet again.
NAME: Roy
Age: Sixteen years and nine months old
EXP POINTS: 310
Power Level: Body Tempering Stage 0 Level (0/10 EXP)
Health: 2
Mana: 0
Strength: 9.8
Stamina: 7.4
Agility: 1
Perception: 5.5
Endurance: 6.8
Physical Defense: 1.36%
Magical Damage Negation: 0.76%
The maximum limit of the basic stats of Level 0 Body Tempering Stage normies was ten. Only a few dared to achieve such perfection before tempering their body. One could count the number of people who could do that in two hands. Those who didn't die or weren't killed before realizing their potential all went on to become legends. In the novel, the number increased to 11 after the protagonist made his appearance. However, Roy was close to becoming one such person himself. And he would've if the rewards he was getting for completing the repeatable quest hadn't decreased to a bare minimum. Most of the time, it didn't give him even a single Basic Swordsmanship Shard. It did give him plenty of experience points. It also increased three of his basic stats in three figures many times. But there was a twist to it too. The three figures were behind a fuckin' decimal!!
Still, compared to where he had been, his current state was way better. There was no denying it. His agility was still worse than an average person's. But he was optimistic about it too. He believed that he would be able to increase it by a nice amount soon.
He picked up the sword from the ground.
[You've equipped the wooden sword. Your Strength has increased to 11.8 points.]
Roy curved his eyes. It was just as he had thought. By equipping a sword, he could break through his limits. His strength was already beyond that of typical Level 1 body tempering trainees.
Roy moved slowly but efficiently, landing several strikes on the puppet in mere moments like a man proficient in swordsmanship.
His sword was like a snake when he thrust it and like a boulder when he used it to pound the puppet. It was ever-changing. But not once did it move in contrast to his desires.
Amelia covered her mouth with his hands. She felt awed by his Swordsmanship. He had made these movements many times before, but they weren't anywhere near as smooth and full of force as now. He had improved his skills by too much in too little time.
'Is this really my master? Why is he like a true knight showing his Swordsmanship?!'
Arlo's felt no different than her. His bulging eyes were threatening to pop out of their sockets. That's just how much Roy had shocked him.
"My eyes aren't playing tricks on me. He really went from a complete amateur to someone equalling trainees who had been learning the sword for a year or three in less than a day. Moreover, his Basic Swordsmanship is like a stable well-crafted boat, way better than the weapon master trainees in this county. His foundation is too strong. No matter how high a wave, he would be able to cut it in the future. He just needs to be guided well. He's better than the ones I thought to be prodigies..."
It was already that time of the day. The knight had appeared in the training grounds to train.
Most of them ignored Roy, but one of them looked at him with a venomous gaze.
"He clearly has no good intentions," Amelia thought and became guarded towards him.
After seeing his swordplay, Yiran haughtily said, "Lord Roy? What a surprise to see you training by yourself. But I must ask you to take your leave."
"What the fuck are you trying to say? Be clear with your words." Roy could feel that this handsome bastard didn't have any good intentions toward him. So he didn't bother showing the other any respect. Respect should be earned, not taken for granted.
"Watching your incompetent swordplay is like watching a jester in a royal banquet. It's funny but very disturbing. We can't have a joker between serious men, now can we?"
Roy and Arlo both felt offended by his words. 'Does he have shit for eyes?' Surprisingly, they both thought the same thing.
Both coincidentally opened their mouths at the same time to teach him what it means to taunt someone to the point of drawing blood out of them, but someone was far faster.
"You're talking to a noble, not a servant. Yet, Trainee Yiran, you forgot to watch your tongue. Basic etiquette is the most important for knights serving nobles. But yours are very lacking. Before coming here to train, you should go and fix up that attitude of yours." Amelia scolded Yiran.
It was a feminine-sounding name, but the person who had it was anything but girly.
He stood 1.78 m tall, and he was just 16 years old. God knows how tall he will grow in the future.
Amelia's words were like sharp knives stabbing the teenage boy's wound. He came from the slums. He was able to get here because his master took an interest in his talent. But he would get angry whenever someone would do something to remind him of his origin, even if unintentionally.
His fingers went through his long, brown hair and the grip of his other hand tightened on his wooden sword as he smiled at Amelia like a lizard.
"You're too gusty for a mere maid. I will give you that. But You ought to be taught a lesson for talking down to a knight. I will do your master a favor and straighten you out!"
Yiran had already rushed close to Amelia before finishing his words. His shadow draped over Amelia, darkening her ever-widening eyes that were full of horror.
Those who knew him knew he was cruel and from the slums, but no one thought he would attack a maid so suddenly, not even Arlo.
The knights didn't look the least bit troubled. They weren't interested in interfering in their scuffle. Roy meant nothing to them. The knights were loyal to the count and knew he didn't like this son of his, so they kept a distance from him so as to not displease their lord. They had long sworn not to interfere in his matters, even if that meant his death or the death of his maid.
Amelia would surely not survive if she took this hit from Yiran.
But what did the life & death of a mere maid have to do with them?
Arlo stood up. Although Yiran's attack was too fast and he was too far away, he wanted to stop it. And he was going to give it his all to do so.
However, he suddenly went back on his words and stood rooted in his place.
Someone was far faster than him in protecting Amelia!
A shadow brushed past the petite maid.
Thud!
The onlookers' eyes widened to the size of cups. Yiran's sword was blocked by the failure of the County!
"Y-you..."
Yiran felt shocked. But more than that was his anger. He was angry to see that a failure of a man had blocked his sword!
"Who the fuck do you think you're to punish my maid? A lowly white-eyed wolf like you want to teach her a lesson? Huh!" Roy scoffed. "Over my dead body."
"As you wish."
Yiran gnashed his teeth evilly and tried to attack him again. Roy didn't sit still. Although his opponent was clearly better than him in terms of speed, his Swordsmanship wasn't as good as his. Anyone with a keen eye could tell that. He moved his sword to block his opponent's.
"Do you think nothing of me? How dare you?
Before their sword could clash, a man appeared in between them like a ray of light. A shine reflecting off of his clean and shiny temple stabbed both Roy and Yiran in the eyes, blinding them.
When the stabbing pain in their eyes disappeared, they saw something that electrified them.
Their sword was stopped by Arlo.
Roy's strength was two times that of an average person, and Yiran's was no less, and they both had used their all in this attack of theirs.
It was simply shocking to see that he had so easily stopped their attacks in their tracks.
But the way he had stopped their swords was even more shocking!
How had he stopped them?
He had pinched their tips between his fingers to force them to come to a halt.
"He started it."
"They were asking for it."
"Shut up! I don't want to hear any excuses. Do you think I am blind and can't tell who's in the right or who's in the wrong?"
It seemed like Arlo was scolding them both, but his fiery eyes were set only on one person.
"Yiran, go back to your station. If I catch you hovering around Lord Roy again, it won't end with a mere scolding."
At least someone had a good sense of judgment in this family. Amelia felt happy to see someone standing up for her master. It wasn't without a reason that Arlo helped Roy. No matter what other says, the blood of Baldwin was undoubtedly coursing through Roy's veins. Baldwins could look down on him, but a mere outsider shouldn't dare to do so under his watch!
"Hmph!" Veins popped up on Yiran's temple. But after three breaths, he yanked his sword out of Arlo's fingers and stepped away.
"You got lucky this time."
Like a true fool, he didn't forget to smash a villainous line on Roy's face before turning around to Move away.
Roy didn't acknowledge him. His eyes were already somewhere else.
["Triumph Over the Bully" Quest has been activated.]