“Find me after you have learned them,” Calm repeated his previous words, then turned and left the square.
Matthew nodded respectfully, indicating that he understood.
Looking at the weapon at the other man's waist, he took a deep breath. A Blue quality weapon was certainly powerful, but it was still far too distant for him right now.
His immediate goal was to master the new movements and concepts taught by Instructor Calm as quickly as possible, raise his 【Basic Swordsmanship】 to a higher level, and continuously strengthen his own attributes.
However, the scene from just now had been witnessed by almost everyone in the square.
Now that Instructor Calm was no longer in the square, the silence was broken by a low, irrepressible murmur of surprise and discussion.
“Did... did you see that? Instructor Calm personally taught Matthew!”
“I heard his parents are both gone. He's quite pitiful.”
“Do you think it's because Matthew learns fast? When he was practicing the basic movements just now, I felt like he was much smoother than the others...”
“There are plenty of fast learners, and it's not like we haven't had them before. How come we never saw Instructor Calm act like this?”
Just then, a low but powerful voice rang out, instantly drowning out the buzzing whispers of the youths:
“Shut up, all of you! Focus on your own practice!”
It was Byrne.
An elder of the village, though his personal combat strength might not be as prominent as Instructor Calm's, he was highly respected because of his dedicated work for the village.
Admonished by him, the youths' chatter came to an abrupt halt.
Many quickly lowered their heads and pretended to continue practicing, though their eyes couldn't help but dart toward Matthew.
Byrne didn't say anything more either, only casting a deep glance in Matthew's direction.
He knew Calm better than anyone else did, and he knew Calm would never teach someone out of pity. This only proved that Matthew indeed possessed talent... and had caught Calm's eye.
But Matthew had no time for idle thoughts at the moment; his heart was filled with excitement!
Because as he practiced according to the postures taught by Instructor Calm, in less than ten minutes, a prompt popped up before his eyes:
【Basic Swordsmanship +1】
Matthew thought as he practiced, his mind suddenly clearing.
Previously, after 【Basic Swordsmanship】 broke through from "Mastered" to "Novice," the proficiency growth had become exceptionally slow. Practicing for an hour only yielded 1 point (from 1/100 to 2/100).
He had thought that improvement after reaching Novice was simply difficult, or that his training efficiency had hit a bottleneck.
Now it seemed that was not the case.
The knowledge Instructor Calm had taught previously was below Novice level. Repeatedly practicing this "Novice level" content was still effective, but the marginal utility had greatly decreased, resulting in slow progress.
But just now, the knowledge Instructor Calm imparted was clearly at the Novice level and above, which naturally allowed him to connect the dots and greatly increase his efficiency.
Of course, the slight efficiency boost provided by the White weapon also played a certain role.
Having figured this out, Matthew threw himself even deeper into his practice, making it more targeted. He no longer merely chased the outward form of the movements, but strived to understand how each footstep coordinated with the sword strikes.
Sweat soaked the hair on his forehead, and the sore, numb feeling in his arms returned, but Matthew's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Until Instructor Calm returned and called out, “Training ends here for tonight.”
Only then did Matthew stop. Panting heavily, a strong sense of hunger washed over him, gnawing at his stomach.
The energy provided by the two pieces of black bread tonight had clearly been completely depleted during this focused, high-intensity training.
He quickly took a piece of black bread from his small pouch and began to gnaw on it.
Yet, just as intense as the hunger was the joy in his heart.
After all, while he was training, prompts had been constantly popping up on his panel.
“This must be what it felt like to open mystery boxes in my past life, except what I'm getting is extraordinary power...”
With a thought, he brought up the panel:
【Basic Swordsmanship: Novice (12/100)】
“16... at this rate, it won't take many days to break through!” Matthew munched on his bread. “The only worry is the food issue.”
Though progress was fast, his energy failing to keep up was indeed a troubling matter. He found himself looking forward to the harvest from his traps even more.
Meanwhile.
“You're really pushing yourself. I saw Instructor Calm personally guiding you just now?” Edmond walked over, carrying his spear on his shoulder. “Hungry, aren't you?”
As he spoke, he took two pieces of black bread from the pouch at his waist and handed one to Matthew.
Matthew swallowed the bread in his mouth and took the thick piece of black bread Edmond offered, the warmth in his heart deepening.
He had nothing to hide from Edmond, and besides, this wasn't some big secret.
“Yeah, the instructor taught me a few new movements and footwork coordination. It's indeed harder than just practicing the basics before, but it's also much more useful.”
“Once I've mastered them, I'll teach you these new movements and key points,” Matthew said, looking at Edmond seriously.
He truly hoped this friend, who had always looked out for him, could also become stronger and have a better chance of protecting himself in any upcoming dangers.
Edmond was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, then shook his head. “No, no, Matthew. I'm slow-witted, not like you who can learn things so quickly.”
“You just focus on practicing your sword. Who knows, I might have to rely on you in the future!”
His words were straightforward, without a trace of hypocrisy or jealousy. He simply accepted the limitations of his own talent with ease and was genuinely happy for his friend's progress.
Looking at the sincerity in Edmond's eyes, Matthew knew he meant what he said, so he didn't press the matter.
“Let's go. It's getting late, time to go back and rest.” Edmond shouldered his spear.
“Alright.” Matthew stuffed the last bit of bread into his mouth, packed up his things, and the two walked side by side out of the gradually emptying square, returning under the cover of night.
...
Early morning, half a month later.
The air already carried a hint of early autumn chill.
The figure of a handsome youth appeared in the outermost edge of the Shadow Forest, in the buffer zone near the village, his gaze carefully searching the ground.
Having checked several traps in a row with no harvest, the youth's brow furrowed slightly.
Suddenly, the youth's eyes lit up!
Beside a patch of low shrubs ahead, the Vine Trap trap he had meticulously set was currently pulled taut! The lasso tightly bound a slightly twitching, grayish-brown little thing—a plump wild rabbit!
The wild rabbit's hind legs were firmly caught in the slipknot, and it was kicking in vain, trying to break free.
The vine bit deep into its fur, leaving it absolutely no room to struggle.
“Once the proficiency of this vine trap reaches 'Practiced,' very few wild rabbits will be able to break free.”
Matthew walked forward, deftly pinning down the wild rabbit, untying the lasso, and weighing the heavy harvest in his hand.
This tangible piece of meat made the corners of his mouth turn up.
But amidst the joy, a heartbreaking scene from checking the traps over the past few days involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
Rate on N.U.
