Matthew looked around the private training room out of habit.
The walls were made of roughly cut stone slabs, with some weathering in the corners, giving off a simple and practical atmosphere.
A worn wooden stool and a small wooden rack leaned against the door, provided for resting or placing small items; everything seemed concise and orderly.
He then gently placed the food and water he had brought on the wooden stool against the wall.
In the center of the room stood a life-sized cast-iron dummy, its surface covered in various dents and scratches—clearly marks left by long-term striking.
The dummy's arms were slightly spread in a steady posture, and the joints were equipped with adjustable latches, allowing for practice in grappling or joint-locking techniques.
In the corner, several pieces of basic training equipment were neatly stacked: stone locks of different weights, a bundle of worn leather ropes, several leather sandbags for throwing practice, and two unsharpened training blades.
Although the equipment appeared old, it was well-maintained and clean, without a trace of rust.
Matthew closed the door behind him, instantly cutting off the noise from the outside world, leaving only the quiet, cool air characteristic of stone and iron.
He walked to the iron dummy, drew his wooden sword, and slowly deepened his breathing, letting his breath settle in the silence.
The reason he didn't use the Dawn Sword was that even with a wooden sword, the power of his Melting Slash was already quite startling.
If he used the Dawn Sword... Matthew didn't want to pay excessive compensation for damages during training.
With that thought, he slowly lowered his waist, gripped the wooden sword with both hands, and held the blade level in front of his chest.
He closed his eyes, feeling the familiar and restless energy within his body—a product of life energy mixed with a deeper power, flowing through his veins like molten lava.
His breathing gradually ceased.
He snapped his eyes open, a faint light flickering within them.
Upon the wooden sword, life energy surged like a living thing, instantly plating it with a solid white glow.
He stepped forward and lunged, his movement as simple as a straight line.
The wooden sword swung down.
There was no clank of metal clashing, no shower of sparks.
Only a dull, heavy "Dong—!", like a giant log striking an anvil.
A clear indentation appeared in the center of the cast-iron dummy's chest.
The metal at the edges of the indentation didn't shatter; instead, it seemed to have melted and collapsed inward slightly, like soft mud scorched by high heat, forming a smooth, curved sword mark half an inch deep.
The iron dummy's heavy body vibrated violently, its base grinding against the floor with a piercing screech as it slid back a full two inches.
Centered on the sword mark, a visible ripple of pale white air suddenly exploded, kicking up fine dust from the ground and spreading outward.
The stone locks in the corner shook slightly, and the ends of the leather ropes swayed without wind.
The air in the entire room seemed to be sucked dry by this strike, only to rush back in an instant, creating a brief, low whistle.
Matthew withdrew his stance. The wooden sword was perfectly intact, but the energy attached to the blade had already dissipated, returning to its original dull wood.
He stared at the indentation on the iron dummy's chest, feeling shaken in his heart.
“This was only with a wooden sword...”
If he had performed it with the Dawn Sword at full power, it certainly wouldn't have just left a mark; this thin-skinned iron dummy would have been cleaved wide open or cut in half!
His joy was palpable, and immediately, black text appeared before his eyes.
【Melting Slash: Proficiency +1】
With a thought, he immediately brought up his panel.
Name: Matthew
Age: 16
Strength: 28.25 (+0.75), Agility: 26 (+1), Constitution: 28.25 (+0.75), Perception: 7.5 (+0.5), Spirit: 8.35 (+0.25)
Equipment: Dawn Sword (Blue), White Fang Bow (Blue), Filthy Bone Chain (White), Steel Chainmail (Green), Damaged Staff (White)
Skills:
【Basic Swordsmanship: Practiced Rank (262/500)】 (+100)
【Basic Archery: Practiced Rank (219/500)】 (+134)
【White Snake Breathing Technique: Novice Rank (269/500)】 (+60)
【Elemental Meditation Method: Mastered Rank (213/500)】 (+43)
【Melting Slash: Basic Rank (52/300)】 (+30)
【Energy Missile: Novice Rank (55/200)】 (+10)
【Eagle Eye Gaze: Basic Rank (3/200)】 (+40)
【Fireball spell: Mastered Rank (7/30)】
【Detection Spell: Novice Rank (19/100)】 (+34)
Scanning the prompts before him, Matthew wasn't very surprised.
Finally, his gaze landed on his Perception attribute.
The breakthrough in Eagle Eye Gaze had allowed his Perception to increase by 0.5 after a long time.
In contrast, the growth of his Spirit was still slow, even showing signs of a bottleneck!
Under normal circumstances, if Matthew persisted in daily meditation, his Spirit would increase by about 0.3 over a month.
But now that over a month had passed, his Spirit had only increased by 0.25, which even included the feedback given by the panel after the breakthrough of his Detection Spell.
“Progress is too slow...” Matthew sighed inwardly.
“I wonder if I've hit a bottleneck of the realm itself, or if there's some other reason I haven't noticed yet.”
As for the slow increase in the proficiency of Energy Missile, it was mainly due to the lack of a suitable practice ground.
When he was crossing the grasslands earlier, he was always with the group, so it was impossible for him to expose the secret of his magic just to increase a bit of proficiency.
“However, there's no need to rush.”
He exhaled softly, a calm and distant light flashing in his eyes.
“Once I reach the Silver Rank... the world is vast, where can I not go?”
“I will definitely find that wizard organization.”
“With the persistence provided by the panel, the day I become a legendary wizard is likely not far off.”
Thinking this way, the faint trace of anxiety in his heart gradually settled.
Matthew slowly exhaled and shifted his gaze away from the panel.
He walked to the wooden stool and took a few sips from his waterskin.
The cool water slid down his throat, slightly calming the turbulent aura within his body after the practice.
The shadows of the stone locks in the corner grew long under the slanting afternoon sun, fine dust floated in the air, and silence once again enveloped the simple training room.
“Although the outer city is crude, it's ultimately a place where I can let loose.”
He thought to himself.
At least here, he didn't have to worry about the gazes of others all the time, nor did he have to worry about alerting anyone when he used Melting Slash.
As for magic practice... he still had to wait. At the very least, he needed a truly private place where he wouldn't be spied upon.
Standing before the iron dummy again, Matthew gripped his wooden sword once more.
After standing still for a moment, he lowered his waist and raised the sword again.
His breathing became even, and his mind grew tranquil.
Life energy was slowly mobilized, like a stream flowing into a river, surging steadily through his meridians.
The wooden sword swung down.
“Dong—!”
The iron dummy vibrated again, sliding back another half inch.
On its chest, another indentation was almost parallel to the previous one, with a similar depth and equally smooth, slightly melted edges.
【Melting Slash: Proficiency +1】
...
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