But for a Psychic Sorcerer, that was somewhat heaven-defying, after all. A normal Psychic Sorcerer who had eight hit points was already considered quite high; it wasn't rare to see them with merely five or six points, as most casting professions didn't place much emphasis on enhancing physical strength but focused more on delving into the soul and casting abilities.
When synchronized with the Magic Network, most of their strength was used to enhance their soul consciousness, resulting in much less magic power allocated to their physical body.
Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity, the three major attributes, were almost the same as what Gaven had estimated for himself. After all, his physical quality was there for all to see, and having reached a professional level in this life nearly a year earlier than in his previous one, he hadn't trained to his peak in every aspect. There was still a certain degree of flexibility that could fluctuate with his own training.
However, the next three attributes were much different from what he had expected—not lower, but higher.
He remembered that before his rebirth, his Intelligence was only 15, Perception 14, and Charisma 13. How had it suddenly increased by so much?
As Gaven pondered this question, the Magic Network very thoughtfully flashed several pieces of information, providing a detailed explanation.
The significant increase in Intelligence was because Gaven had once received systematic high-level education, which clearly referred to the master's degree he obtained on Earth, directly boosting his Intelligence by four points. He wondered if completing a doctorate and post-doctoral studies would allow him to break through twenty points and advance into the Transcendent realm.
The growth in Perception and Charisma was also due to experiencing a lot more people and events on Earth, leading to new growth.
With these six-dimensional attributes, if he were to continue down the warrior path, that would truly be a lamentable waste.
Among his peers, not even counting the enhancements from magic items, Gaven was an existence defying the natural order. Considering this was the accumulation of his experiences over three lifetimes, it was as normal as it could be.
This enhancement was immediate and directly reflected in his physical form.
Gaven couldn't help but strip off his clothes, standing in front of the window, using the blurred reflection to observe his own body.
He was of average height, just over 1.7 meters, but at sixteen, there was still plenty of room for growth. With adequate nutrition, it was possible that he would grow even taller than he did in his life as a Legendary Warrior, especially since during that life's critical growth period, he was in a state of slave-like scarcity of food.
His build was lean, a result of the Half-Elf bloodline. His training volume was not any less than that of most warriors, but when it came to muscle growth, he certainly lagged behind those with extraordinary genetic gifts.
His muscles were defined, which indeed fell a bit short in sustained outbursts, but when it came to agility and instantaneous explosive power, he had a natural advantage. The difference could be likened to that between a cheetah and a male lion. Gaven's muscle definition was commonly referred to as the "cheetah's contour".
After feeling around a bit, Gaven was satisfied with the outline and size of all aspects, including his manhood—ahem, this had always been something he took pride in. In his previous life as a slave, he had even received special treatment because of it. Sigh... those were experiences best left unrecalled, when those high-born ladies let loose and played wilder than the men.
The biggest change, though, stemmed from his vitality.
The face reflected in the window seemed no different from before, but the more he looked at it, the less familiar it appeared to be.
His life force seemed as if it was overflowing.
In those deep blue eyes, it seemed like endless stories were hidden.
No wonder Captain Zalanda's gaze had been somewhat peculiar when looking at him lately; the change in his vitality was too obvious and too significant.
...
"Young Master Gaven... Young Master Gaven, are you there?" A knocking sound came from the door.
"What is it?" Gaven wrote swiftly without looking up.
"Captain Zalanda ordered us to come see if you needed help packing anything or to assist in carrying it down. Your carriage is ready, and the Captain said we'll set out when the sun is at its zenith. We won't make camp tonight and strive to reach Kami Village by sunset tomorrow," the person outside continued.
"I have everything ready here. If it's not too much trouble, would you mind taking it down for me?" Gaven stopped writing and began to put away his papers and pens, then said.
"Not at all, not at all!" As they spoke, two boys, barely thirteen or fourteen, entered the room. They were servants of Nort Castle, only having arrived a few days ago. In their past and present lives combined, they had only seen Gaven a few times and still couldn't recall his name.
As the two servants helped Gaven move his things, they couldn't help but sneak glances at him, their admiration undisguised.
The shorter leader, visibly more lively, seeing that Gaven wasn't too difficult to talk to, couldn't resist and said, "Young Master Gaven, I didn't expect your horsemanship, spearmanship, or swordsmanship to be so impressive. Barely older than us, and I'm still hacking away with a wooden sword. Just yesterday was my first time drawing a real bow. Does the young master have any good tips for us? We hope to one day follow you and the Captain into battle to protect our families."
Clearly, these two lads had been on the battlements that morning and witnessed Gaven charging and slaying his enemies on horseback.
Their proximity in age naturally spawned a sense of admiration in them.
"This matter has no shortcut to success. I learned the basic swordsmanship, spearmanship, and horsemanship that Captain Zalanda taught the Nort Militia. There are no shortcuts to success; practice makes perfect. If you practice what the Captain has taught you three hundred times a day for three years, you'll naturally see results and might even be like me today." Gaven paused, offering advice that wasn't really advice.
In truth, what he said was known to many, but rarely achieved.
In both his past and present lives, Gaven had accomplished this. His shining performance that morning wasn't solely due to combat skills from his past life, but also the result of eight years of consistent militia training. He wouldn't claim to have worked the hardest or most desperately, but he was among the most disciplined—a fact where Captain Zalanda's strict supervision also played a crucial role.
"Three hundred times?!" Upon hearing this, the faces of the two lads fell, and they said with gloomy expressions, "We struggle to persist even with a hundred repetitions a day; no wonder the young master is so much better than us."
"You and I are different. I can manage three hundred times a day because I don't need to do labor like you. For you to persist with a hundred repetitions while also completing various chores is already commendable," Gaven said.
It was then Gaven remembered that this was Felen, not Earth, where children their age were already part of the workforce at home, their tasks no less onerous than adults, some even married with children of their own.
"To become as capable as the young master, we will make sure to complete three hundred repetitions every day," the leading boy said, his eyes gleaming with determination as he encouraged his peer.
Gaven looked at the two boys with a hint of admiration, not wanting to dampen their spirits, only encouraging them: "Good, I look forward to your performance. If you work hard, I believe there will be a place for you in the Nort Knight Cavalry in the future."
If only he weren't leaving so soon, he would have really liked to train them and see their performance. But as long as they were willing to work hard, under Zalanda's command, they would have the opportunity to stand out and shine.
After sending away the two young lads, Gaven turned his gaze to the corner of the room and said, "Get up; I know you've been awake for a while. Don't tell me you don't understand the common tongue."
The dark shape in the corner wriggled a little and slowly sat up; it was the Goblin Sorcerer that Gaven had captured alive. His hands and feet were firmly tied, sitting up was the limit of what he could do. Although he didn't speak, his movements indicated that he understood the common language, or at least could comprehend it.
After returning to Nort Castle, Gaven selectively forgot to hand over the Goblin Sorcerer to Zalanda.
Whether Zalanda, too occupied to remember it, had forgotten the matter entirely or tacitly recognized the Goblin Sorcerer as Gaven's private property and approved of his prowess by not sending anyone to inquire about the Goblin Sorcerer was unclear.
Gaven pulled out the dagger from his waist and walked towards the Goblin Sorcerer.
"Please, don't kill me... don't kill me... I'm willing to pledge loyalty to you... I will do anything for you, I swear I won't run away..." The Goblin Sorcerer cowered like a cocoon towards the corner of the wall, wishing he could burrow into it. Although he could speak the common tongue, it was broken, with every ten sentences containing two in the Goblin language.