The battle lasted until dusk, and the last goblin finally collapsed in a pool of blood.
As for the two massive beasts, they turned out to be brown bears controlled by dark magic. By now, they had been shot so full of arrows they resembled hedgehogs. Their bodies, also scarred with numerous burns from Fireballs, no longer showed any signs of life.
Roger lowered his bow and stretched his aching arms, which were sore from continuously drawing the bowstring. In his mind, he quickly calculated his earnings from this battle.
Each of the dark magic-infused brown bears was worth 200 points, totaling 400.
He had shot and killed about thirty goblin grunts. At an average of fifty points each, that was another 1,500 points.
Adding a few stray targets caught in the crossfire by stray arrows and Fireballs, his total points earned steadily reached 4,140—more than he had made in any single previous battle.
When he took stock of his quiver after the battle, the ordinary arrows he had gotten for free were completely gone, leaving him with only three poison arrows.
However, the defensive line had paid a heavy price. Over a dozen conscripts and several armed retainers lay dead in front of the position, most of their bodies clustered around the section of the line breached by the two brown bears.
Knight Waters himself had been wounded during the close-quarters struggle against the brown bears, his left vambrace torn open by the bear's sharp claws.
But he had no time to worry about his own injuries, quickly ordering a messenger to report the battle's outcome to Baron Raymond.
Taking advantage of the brief lull after the battle, Roger quickly walked over to the wounded lying on the ground and cast Heal on them.
On the surface, he was performing his duties as medical personnel, but he had another calculation running in his head.
The experience bar for Heal was still a bit away from leveling up, and every wounded soldier here represented a chunk of experience points.
After this round of treatment, the experience bar for 【Heal】 finally rose to about halfway.
Although rumors of Roger knowing healing magic had already spread throughout the camp, everyone was still amazed upon seeing it with their own eyes.
Knight Waters looked at his healed left arm, then at Roger's extraordinarily young face, a complex and indefinable emotion welling up in his heart.
He was nearly thirty years old and had practiced swordsmanship diligently for over a decade, yet he had never been able to awaken any extraordinary power.
Yet this young mercenary, who looked to be under twenty, had not only awakened both Life Energy and magic talent but also possessed as many skills as cabbages in a vegetable market. This stark contrast felt like a tiny thorn pricking his chest.
Of course, he wouldn't show this petty inner emotion on his face.
He couldn't beat Roger in a fight anyway, and he still had to rely on him to defend the northern line. He could only swallow his bitterness and disappointment, forcing a reasonably genuine smile as he offered Roger his thanks.
Once all the wounded had received basic treatment, the corpses on the battlefield were simply dealt with, and the relief troops arrived, Knight Harold ordered his men to pack up and return to camp.
The soldiers formed a loose column and trudged back toward the camp, carrying the wounded and hauling salvaged weapons on their shoulders.
Back in his tent, Roger eagerly opened the system mall and typed the keyword “mana recovery” directly into the search bar.
This need had already crossed his mind when he was running around the forest kiting goblins. Although he could get by with mana recovery potions for now, potions were consumables; once used, they were gone. Relying on them in the long run to replenish his mana was not only a waste of points but also lacked flexibility.
What he needed was a piece of equipment that could improve his sustain.
Although his current points were enough to buy a decent small-scale area-of-effect skill, Roger knew exactly where his shortcomings lay.
With his current mana pool, he would probably bottom out after casting it once or twice. He would then be left slumped on the ground, unable to move, without even the strength to run away.
The trope of “collapsing on the ground for half a day after casting a single explosion spell” might add comedic effect in a gag isekai anime, highlighting the protagonist's resourcefulness.
But on a real battlefield, doing that would actually get him killed. If the explosion spell failed to kill the enemy, he would be the one dead.
It was better to focus on endurance before worrying about anything else.
Considering portability and concealment, his goal this time was still ring-type accessories.
A ring worn on a finger took up no space, didn't require pulling out extra equipment when casting spells, and wasn't easily ripped off in close combat like a necklace or earring.
There were several mana-regeneration rings in the mall, with prices ranging from a few hundred to over ten thousand points. He scrolled through the list one by one, finally stopping at the one with the best value.
【Name: Azure Ring
Quality: Excellent
Description: The surface of the ring is engraved with miniature mana absorption runes, which passively absorb free mana from the surrounding environment and continuously convert it into the wearer's own mana.
Conversion efficiency is unaffected by the wearer's actions or state. The higher the mana concentration in the environment, the more significant the recovery effect.
Exchange Cost: 1,500 points】
“Points -1,500. Balance: 2,640.”
A silver-blue ring appeared silently in his palm. Roger slipped it onto his right middle finger, right next to the Rune Ring on his index finger.
“Maybe in the near future, my hands will be covered in all kinds of rings,” he thought self-deprecatingly.
By then, some busybody would probably give him a nickname like “Lord of the Rings.”
Shaking off this unlikely future image, he continued to browse the mall.
He had already learned quite a few magic skills. Combined with the casting focus and mana-regeneration passives provided by the two rings, his current setup far exceeded what a mage of his level should have.
In contrast, his physical martial skills seemed a bit lacking. Aside from 【Iron Wall】 for defense and 【Empowered Shot】 to boost his basic attacks, his martial repertoire was almost non-existent.
With the mindset of learning a bit of everything, Roger typed “swordsmanship” into the search bar, set the price range to under 500 points, and pressed search.
【Name: Swordsmanship Specialization
Description: Upon learning, the host will automatically acquire the system's knowledge and techniques of swordsmanship, including basic footwork, offensive and defensive stances, and the execution and countering of common sword strikes.
The higher the level, the deeper the swordsmanship attainment, allowing the learning of stronger sword-related skills.
Level Cap: Lv10
Prerequisites: None
Exchange Cost: 400 points】
【Name: Sword Qi Slash
Description: Condenses Life Energy onto the blade, releasing it as sword qi through a slashing motion to strike targets at short to medium ranges.
The range and power of the sword qi depend on the level of Life Energy and the skill level. This skill can be woven into close-combat combos or used independently as a medium-range poking tool.
Level Cap: Lv5
Prerequisites: Life Energy Lv1, Swordsmanship Specialization Lv1
Exchange Cost: 500 points】
One was a specialization, and the other was a medium-range attack based on Life Energy. Together, they cost exactly 900 points.
Without much hesitation, Roger clicked to exchange for both skills at the same time.
“Points -900. Balance: 1,740.”
A sensation completely different from when he learned Alchemy Specialization flooded his body.
Alchemy Specialization had given him knowledge, like stuffing a textbook into his brain, whereas Swordsmanship Specialization and Sword Qi Slash felt more like muscle memory.
Roger flipped open the tent flap, walked out into the clearing, and summoned Arcane Hand.
A translucent blue hand materialized out of thin air and drew the arming sword from his waist.
Guided by the newly implanted sword techniques in his mind, he controlled Arcane Hand to perform a few basic moves.
The blade carved smooth arcs through the air, the movements far cleaner and sharper than when he had previously forced Arcane Hand to mimic them. The awkward, stiff lag was completely gone.
Next, he attempted to channel a small amount of Life Energy toward the blade. A white, gaseous energy spread from the crossguard, flowing slowly along the edge until it enveloped the entire blade like a sheath of flame.
He commanded Arcane Hand to swing the arming sword swiftly from top-right to bottom-left. A visible white wave of sword qi slashed forward.
The sword qi traveled about three to four meters before gradually dissipating, kicking up a brief, sharp gust of wind.
The effect wasn't particularly impressive. Compared to the scenes he had read about in web novels in his previous life, where sword saints cleaved mountains and seas with a casual swing, this wave of sword qi was pitifully modest.
Forget splitting mountains and seas; it would struggle to even chop down a tree as thick as a bowl.
However, this was purely because his current Life Energy level wasn't high enough. Being able to release a three-to-four-meter wave of sword qi at Lv2 was already thanks to the skill's bonuses.
Once his Life Energy level increased further, both the power and range of the sword qi would grow with it.
Roger decided to save his remaining 1,740 points for now.
Rate on N.U.
