Bat's Eye Medical Hall.
Early this morning, Ivan arrived early, but there was one person who was even earlier, the girl in the green skirt whom he had seen a few days ago; the two did not interact with each other.
When Old Orio arrived, the first thing he did was to remove the bandages from Ivan's wound to inspect it.
"The recovery is not bad."
Indeed, only some traces remained on the arm, it was no longer evident the swell had been there.
The worry Ivan had been holding in his heart subsided.
Old Orio added, "This is a type of mutated insect poison; there would still be minuscule traces of the toxin lingering in your body unless you're willing to spend dozens of Gold Coins on treatment, otherwise, you'll have to rely on self-recovery."
Ivan looked at him in astonishment and asked, "Will that affect my health?"
Old Orio swept him with a displeased glance, "What are you talking about, how could it affect your life after being treated by me? This bit of poison, once you become a Knight, it won't even take half a day to clear out by itself. Even if you're not a Knight, it will dissolve over time."
Ivan then asked, "So I can definitely practice the Knight Breathing Method, right?" He wasn't going to be at ease without getting a clear answer.
Old Orio began to busy himself with other things but still answered his question, "You sure talk too much, don't you see who treated you?"
These words undoubtedly acted as a reassurance for him.
In his free time, Old Orio tested him on the medical herb information from "Herbs Record Vol. 1," deliberately choosing more obscure items, yet Ivan was still able to give satisfactory answers.
After the casual testing, Old Orio did not give any comment or indication, leaving Ivan confused.
The green-skirted girl was an employee of the medical hall; with her around, there was even less for Ivan to do.
Since Old Orio didn't send him away, Ivan just hung around him, watching him meticulously process the herbs, as well as the refining of various medicines and potions.
At noon, the medical hall still did not provide a meal.
Ivan was prepared; he brought a packed lunch and could make do with it at the doorstep.
The girl in the green skirt had to go home to eat. Seeing him who didn't care for niceties, she couldn't help but say, "You're a tough one, my name is Justine."
"Ivan."
"Mr. Ivan, I came here over a month before you, and I won't give up. I will become a formidable Pharmacist."
From her attire and habits, it was clear that Justine came from a well-off family; presumably, she worked at the medical hall to seek apprenticeship, but Old Orio's attitude towards her seemed even colder than towards Ivan.
Ivan did not know what had happened between them, and he was too lazy to probe into it, as long as it didn't affect his own studies.
Ivan spent the entire afternoon at the medical hall.
[Apothecary Skill Experience Point +1]
[Apothecary Skill: lv0 (7/10)]
Occasionally, Old Orio assigned him some other tasks, and unbeknownst to him, his Apothecary Skill experience points increased by 1.
As the evening approached, Ivan left the medical hall with "Herbs Record Vol. 2" in hand.
This series of books totaled three volumes; each volume listed more than three hundred types of medicinal herbs, some of which were eccentric, and even somewhat inhumane - a compilation of Old Orio's own summarization of medical herbs.
This time, Old Orio didn't say anything extra; he didn't tell him not to come, nor did he tell him to come back after a few days.
Before leaving, Ivan said he would go up to learn the Knight Breathing Method the next day, and Old Orio did not refuse.
...
The next morning.
Ivan went to seek training in the Breathing Method from Instructor Quincy.
A fee was required to study at the Swordsmanship Hall, which included boxing, swordsmanship, horse riding, archery, and the Breathing Method, with the promise of mastery. Ivan's father, Leider, had paid the fee on the first day he had sent him there: a total of 30 Gold Coins.
These tuition fees were not cheap, possibly equaling the income of some small noble territories for half a year.
"Note this down."
Instructor Quincy took him to another secluded martial arts arena within the hall and handed him an old beast hide scroll to look over initially.
The beast hide scroll had several small figures in various odd postures; with his background in boxing and swordsmanship since childhood, it was not difficult for him to memorize the basics.
In total, there were 20 small figures, indicating there were 20 moves.
"I will start by teaching you the first movement."
"Pay attention to the height of your arms, pay attention to the rhythm of your breathing."
"Your waist, the waist must swing with enough amplitude, and you cannot have any thoughts of being lazy or conserving strength; the motions must be precise."
"------"
Quincy demonstrated first, and Ivan copied him.
After several attempts, Quincy corrected him on the side.
The movements are difficult and hard to master, needing to be combined with rhythmic breathing.
By the time his actions had some semblance of proper form, there were still many issues, especially with the force application and breathing rhythm. The requirements for this Breathing Method were far more demanding than learning swordsmanship, reaching a point of severity.
At this moment, Ivan deeply understood.
Another half-hour later, he was so exhausted he was gasping for breath, and his movements began to deform.
Instructor Quincy signaled for a stop, "Ivan, come back tomorrow."
"Instructor Quincy, thank you for your hard work."
Ivan did not refuse and expressed his thanks respectfully.
Quincy was a middle-aged instructor and also a formal Knight.
According to gossip from his classmate Donnie, Quincy had suffered a severe injury when he was young, had lingering health concerns, and was indebted to Hall Master Cassia, which was why he remained at the Swordsmanship Hall as an instructor.
No matter how you looked at it, an instructor was a Knight Class expert, and it was not Ivan's place to be anything but respectful.
After the two left the small martial arts arena and the instructor had walked some distance away, Ivan took a bag of candies out of his pocket and stuffed several pieces into his mouth.
He was starving!
He felt like he could eat an entire stag.
This was a normal phenomenon, as practicing the Breathing Method was about squeezing out physical and mental strength to refine the Breath of Life.
Since starting to practice the Breathing Method, he needed to consume a large amount of food daily, especially nutrient-rich meats. Otherwise, the more he practiced, the weaker he would become until his body would collapse from exhaustion.
In the outer martial arts arena, Donnie quickly approached.
"How did it go, did you learn it?"
Ivan said, "Of course, I 'learned' it to death."
Donnie was full of questions, "What?" He didn't understand the joke.
"How could it be so quick? We're not some kind of geniuses. I'm too hungry, see you later."
Ivan waved his hand and walked past him towards the outside.
Normally, talented people could learn the Breathing Method within two to three days.
His father had examined his skeleton and muscles for him; his aptitude was not that of a genius. Coupled with his predecessor's lack of focus on foundational physical training, he figured it would take him several more days to learn.
When he got home, Peggy, true to her word, had prepared plenty of food, allowing him to have a big meal and fill his empty stomach.
In the afternoon, Ivan visited the Bat's Eye Medical Hall again.
In the evening, Ivan read "Herbs Record Vol. 2".
And so, a fulfilling day passed.
On the second day, Ivan discovered that Old Orio's potions were not cheap, yet quite a few people were buying them. It seemed that being a Pharmacist was a very lucrative career, and he was quite poor by comparison.
On the third day, Ivan continued to learn the Gushing Breath Method from the instructor as usual.
Instructor Quincy no longer demonstrated himself, only occasionally stepping forward to touch Ivan's lower back or a certain muscle group, to correct some minor force application and breathing habits.
"Clap-clap-clap."
At one moment, when Ivan had completed a series of Breathing Method movements coherently, Quincy patted his hands together in praise.
Ivan looked at him in surprise, "Instructor Quincy, are you—"
Quincy smiled and said, "It seems you've underestimated your own talent. You've learned the full set of the Gushing Breath Method and no longer require my corrections."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Ivan realized that he had indeed learned a set of Breathing Method, quicker than he anticipated. He guessed it was related to his learning and understanding abilities.
[Apothecary Skill: lv0(8/10)]
[Linguistics Skill: lv0(1/10)]
[Knight Breathing Skill: lv0(1/10)]
The panel showed this, but he had not noticed it before. The subject name was not Gushing Breath Method, but Knight Breathing Skill.
After bidding the instructor farewell, Ivan ran into Donnie again.
The instructor's teaching time was around an hour, so when Donnie saw him leaving early, he ran up to him in a flash.
It was the same question: "Did you learn it?"
"Yes."
"Then—congratulations."
Donnie, who had taken seven days to learn, had a somewhat insincere look on his face, which aptly fitted the saying: brothers fear for each other's hardships, but also fear seeing each other drive a luxury car.