“Thank you, Instructor! There's no need. I am very satisfied with this sword,” Matthew said, thanking Instructor Calm solemnly as he unbuckled the sword that had accompanied him for so long and handed it over.
Instructor Calm took the old sword, casually slid it into the spare scabbard at his waist, and nodded. “Mm. What do you plan to do with the wild boar skin and tusks?”
“I was just about to ask you, Instructor. Who in the village buys these things for a fair price?”
“You can go to Old Joel.”
“He's the one in charge of external trade for the village. He goes to town often, and his prices are quite fair; he won't cheat you. The hide is intact, and the tusks are in good condition, so you should be able to get a decent price for them.”
“I understand. Thank you for the advice, Instructor,” Matthew said, keeping the name in mind.
“You've processed the wild boar meat well.” Instructor Calm glanced at the smoking rack. “Get some rest early. Training tomorrow as usual, don't forget.”
“Yes, Instructor!” Matthew replied. Then, with a thought, he picked up a chunk of the wild boar meat resting nearby and offered it to him. Before Calm could speak, Matthew quickly added, “Instructor, when I first started practicing, it was all thanks to your jerky. Consider this a return gift.”
Instructor Calm smiled and accepted it without ceremony. He turned and strode away, his figure quickly disappearing into the gathering darkness.
Matthew watched the instructor leave, then looked down at the sword in his hands. His heart began to race uncontrollably.
【Equipment detected: 【Finely Forged One-Handed Sword】. Equip?】
【Yes/No?】
“Yes!” Matthew decided without hesitation. Instantly, he felt a deeper, closer connection between himself and the longsword in his hand.
At the same time, the panel before his eyes quietly updated:
【Equipment: Finely Forged One-Handed Sword (Bound)
Quality: Green
Equipment requirement: Strength 5.0, Constitution 5.0
Description: Carefully forged by the town's blacksmith using high-quality iron ore. It was once used by the Brass Rank Class holder, Calm Roland. The blade has undergone basic quenching, making its toughness, hardness, and sharpness superior to ordinary iron swords. Well-maintained, it is a reliable and battle-tested weapon.
Effects: Slightly increases the training efficiency of Basic Swordsmanship; increases effective damage dealt to unarmored/lightly armored targets; slightly increases the power of sword-type skills.
Skills: None】
“Really Brass?!”
When Matthew first received the sword, the text had popped up before his eyes. He had skimmed through it quickly, and his shocked expression back then was precisely because of this word.
As far as he knew, Class holders were also divided into ranks. The lowest was the Black Iron Rank, followed by the Brass Rank, Silver Rank, Gold Rank... Anything higher was beyond his current reach.
“Instructor Calm is actually a Brass Rank Class holder,” Matthew thought, his heart shaking.
In a frontier place like Stone Mill Village, having a retired Class holder serve as an instructor was already a stroke of immense luck. Let alone a Brass Rank one!
No wonder he could lead the patrol so effortlessly along the edge of the Shadow Forest, recognize the origin of the kobold remains at a single glance, and handle various emergencies with such composure.
He suppressed the shock in his heart, and his gaze gradually drifted down.
“Three effects?”
Slightly increasing the training efficiency of Basic Swordsmanship, increasing effective damage dealt to unarmored/lightly armored targets, and slightly increasing the power of sword-type skills.
Matthew already knew about the first two and had experienced their effects.
“Slightly increases the power of sword-type skills.”
“Sword-type skills...” Matthew repeated in a whisper, his heart skipping a beat.
This effect seemed... rather powerful.
However, Matthew immediately shook his head slightly, suppressing his excitement. He murmured to himself, “It looks powerful... but it's only on paper for now.”
After all, Matthew didn't have any sword-type skills. The only one he even knew of was a skill called 【Spin Slash】.
To him, this was like preparing exquisite decorations for a palace that hadn't been built yet—the items were excellent, but the palace itself was still just a foundation.
“But... at least it points in a direction.”
“During tomorrow night's sparring session, I'll find an opportunity to ask the instructor. He must know more about sword-type skills.” He made up his mind.
Having figured this out, the slight regret Matthew felt from being temporarily unable to fully unleash the weapon's effects quickly dissipated, replaced by an even stronger fighting spirit. He then began practicing his swordsmanship.
...
Early the next morning, as the first light of dawn broke and the thin mist in the forest had not yet fully dispersed, Matthew returned from the edge of the Shadow Forest, holding a fat wild rabbit in a cloth bag.
Although goblins still hadn't appeared, his basic food supply was at least guaranteed.
Returning home, he quickly skinned and processed the wild rabbit, leaving a portion to eat and drying the rest of the meat for later.
Matthew's gaze fell on the pile of rabbit skins in the corner, then looked at the thick, intact wild boar hide next to them.
He walked over and gathered the rabbit skins and wild boar hide together.
“I need to sell these skins and the pair of tusks for money as soon as possible,” Matthew calculated. “Instructor Calm said Old Joel handles external trade for the village and his prices are quite fair. Since I have time today, I'll visit him first.”
He first hung up the processed rabbit meat to air-dry, then rolled up the wild boar hide and rabbit skins, tying them securely with rope.
Next, he cut several of the best-looking, well-marbled pieces of raw pork and wrapped them carefully in a clean burlap cloth.
Once everything was sorted, he left the house and walked toward the mill.
In the early morning, Stone Mill Village was already waking up, the air drifting with the scent of hearth smoke and grains. Matthew walked with light steps and soon arrived outside the mill. The familiar creaking of the waterwheel and the muffled rumbling of the stone mill reached his ears.
He entered the mill, immediately spotting Uncle John and Edmond hard at work.
Uncle John was standing by the stone mill checking the grindstone, while Edmond was laboring to hoist a sack of wheat onto his shoulders.
“Uncle John, Edmond,” Matthew called out.
The two turned around at the sound of his voice. When Uncle John saw Matthew, his face wore his usual, slightly tired smile. “Oh, Matthew's here?”
“You really stole the spotlight yesterday!” Edmond exclaimed.
Matthew smiled and stepped forward, placing the burlap bundle on a clean low table nearby. He untied the knot, revealing the fresh, well-marbled wild boar meat.
“This is some wild boar meat I luckily managed to get yesterday. I brought some for you to try.”
Both Uncle John and Edmond froze, staring at the bundle of meat on the table, then looking back at Matthew. Wild boar meat was a rare delicacy, let alone meat this fresh.
“This... Matthew, you child...” Uncle John rubbed his hands together, his face showing a complex mix of relief and slight embarrassment.
“It's not easy for you to get food for yourself. You should keep it to nourish your body, especially with training being so hard. We're fine here with some black bread and pickled vegetables.”
Edmond nodded in agreement, though his eyes couldn't help but dart toward the meat, his throat bobbing as he swallowed. “Yeah, Matthew, eat it yourself. Growing your strength is what's important.”
Matthew shook his head and said sincerely, “Uncle, Edmond, you've taken great care of me. I can't finish all this meat by myself anyway, and it'll spoil if left for too long. Just think of it as a treat to change things up.”
Rate on N.U.
