Having received too much information in a short period, Jiang Lin's mind lapsed into a daze once more.
Simultaneously, the muscles in his body were growing rapidly. Calluses formed on his palms, and muscle memory from the superlative level was being carved into his body.
Skill proficiency was divided into the following levels, from lowest to highest:
Beginner, Practiced, Proficient, Perfect, Superlative
Generally speaking, very few ordinary adventurers could train a skill to the superlative level.
To reach superlative required either extreme talent or spending over a decade obsessively honing a single skill.
While Jiang Lin's talent in swordsmanship wasn't exceptionally high, it was decent. As Basic Swordsmanship was his primary skill, it had taken him three years to barely reach the proficient level.
He was near the top of the tail-end class.
As for the protagonists in storybooks, they possessed monstrous talent, requiring only a single week to take a skill from beginner to superlative.
Jiang Lin had also heard his homeroom teacher mention a highly gifted student who took only a month to reach superlative. That student was now studying at the best academy in the kingdom.
However, whether it was the storybooks or the legendary senior, none were as exaggerated as Jiang Lin reaching superlative from proficient in just a few minutes.
It was a pity he hadn't selected the 【Paladin Breathing Technique】 for the upgrade; otherwise, his cultivation speed would have been greatly enhanced.
Breathing techniques were the foundation of all cultivation, equivalent to the cultivation methods in xianxia novels. The higher the proficiency of the breathing technique, the faster the cultivation speed.
As a professional skill exclusive to the paladin, the 【Paladin Breathing Technique】 required the user to have a kind and righteous heart; otherwise, proficiency would progress extremely slowly.
With the temperament of an ordinary person, Jiang Lin had practiced for three years and only reached the practiced level. Even reaching proficient was a distant dream.
These breathing techniques were bestowed by the Temple. Basically, every registered profession had a corresponding breathing technique.
Only a few extremely rare unique professions required praying to the gods for a gift.
Of course, these were just basic breathing techniques that harmonized with one's profession, improving attributes in a balanced way.
On the market, there were many other breathing techniques developed or modified by predecessors to better suit themselves.
For example, the Holy Light Breathing Technique could increase light attribute affinity, while the Thick Earth Breathing Technique increased defense.
However, breathing techniques of that level required at least Rank 1 to learn, which was beyond Jiang Lin's current reach.
......
After fully digesting the superlative level 【Basic Swordsmanship】, Jiang Lin let out a long breath.
The next period was combat skills class. Students of different professions would go to different classrooms, similar to an elective system.
The swordsmanship course Jiang Lin had chosen required him to go to the swordsmanship classroom. Other students from different classes who had chosen this course would also join based on the schedule.
Students who chose this course were generally from professions like knights and warriors.
Although his roommate Tie Chen was a warrior, he had chosen fist techniques, so he wasn't in the same classroom as Jiang Lin.
Standing up, Jiang Lin took a single step and nearly fell because he exerted too much force, losing his balance.
He wasn't yet fully accustomed to the enhancement of his physical attributes and mental power. He needed time to adapt, and the next combat skills class was the perfect opportunity to adjust to his increased strength.
......
In the swordsmanship classroom, the swordsmanship teacher, a Rank 2 warrior named Monsa, watched his students enter one by one.
Seeing that almost everyone had arrived as the class bell rang, Monsa spoke loudly:
"The potion teacher for the elite class swapped a lesson with me, so the swordsmanship students from the elite class will be joining you for this session.
"You can take this opportunity to see the gap between yourselves and the elite class students."
The original students looked around and indeed noticed many unfamiliar faces.
Just then, a voice came from the doorway:
"Reporting! May I come in?"
Everyone turned toward the sound and saw the late-arriving Jiang Lin standing at the door.
Monsa was strict about class management, so Jiang Lin couldn't just sneak in after class had started.
Monsa frowned as he looked at Jiang Lin.
He had a relatively deep impression of this student. He had awakened the rare paladin profession and was initially placed in the elite class when groups were first assigned.
At the start, his cultivation speed was quite astonishing. He and another girl who had also awakened the paladin profession were called the 'Twin Prodigies' of this year.
However, for some unknown reason, Jiang Lin's cultivation speed suddenly became incredibly slow—slower than most students with ordinary professions. He gradually fell into the tail-end class, and now even getting into a Middle Magic Academy was a remote hope.
Logically, someone capable of awakening a rare profession should have good talent, and their cultivation speed shouldn't be this slow.
Teachers had questioned Jiang Lin and examined his body, but they never found an answer.
What comforted Monsa was that although Jiang Lin's cultivation talent was mediocre, he wasn't lazy when it came to swordsmanship. Among the bottom classes, he managed to maintain an upper-tier level.
"What happened? Out of two classes, you're the only one late,"
Monsa asked with a frown.
Jiang Lin felt quite helpless about this.
Although the improvement in sword skills was carved into his body through muscle memory, his current physical strength still made it hard for him to react properly.
He had no experience handling a sudden surge in muscle power, so his walk over here could only be described as that of a zombie.
One could only imagine the level of despair needed to walk with such a gait.jpg
"Something came up, and I was delayed for a few minutes,"
Jiang Lin explained.
The elite class students naturally noticed Jiang Lin standing at the door.
Some of them were Jiang Lin's former classmates, so they recognized this "genius" who had awakened the paladin profession.
Monsa nodded reluctantly.
"Fine, come in."
"Jiang Lin looks like he's always late. Has he started giving up on himself after falling to the tail-end class?"
someone speculated.
At the same time, many people glanced intentionally or unintentionally at a girl in the class—Anya Castrot.
She was a tall girl with golden hair and golden eyes. Her features were exquisite, and her skin was fair and radiant. Just standing in the crowd, she was a beautiful sight.
Her golden eyes showed no emotional fluctuations as she watched Jiang Lin walk in from the doorway.
The reason everyone looked at her when Jiang Lin was mentioned was simple: they were the only two paladin profession holders in the entire grade.
At the start of the school year, because both were handsome and beautiful, many people had shipped them as a couple.
Unfortunately, despite both being paladins, their talents were worlds apart.
The girl currently maintained her status as the top student in the grade, while Jiang Lin could only rank near the bottom, even in the tail-end class.
At this moment, Monsa spoke:
"Since both classes are together today, why don't you spar with each other in swordsmanship?"
Hearing this, the tail-end students' eyes widened.
'Us against the elite class? For real??'
The elite class students, however, had slight smirks on their faces.
'Smashing some low-level players? Sounds interesting...'
Monsa added:
"Of course, the gap in your swordsmanship attainments is quite large; I'm sure you're aware of that.
"The Middle Magic Academy entrance exams are approaching. You students from the lower classes need to step it up. See the gap between yourselves and the excellent students so you know how hard you need to work."
As he spoke, he looked at the late-arriving Jiang Lin and the poised female paladin.
"Jiang Lin, Anya, you both represent the top levels of your respective classes. Why don't the two of you start us off and give everyone a demonstration?"
Jiang Lin, who had just joined the line, was completely bewildered.
'Wait... why am I being called out??'
The righteous Anya simply nodded silently in response to the order.
At that moment, Jiang Lin received a notification from the system:
【Temporary Mission:】
【Jie jie jie, the favored daughter of heaven, beloved by all, stands right before your eyes. As a demon lord, you must naturally take her for yourself!】
【Requirement: Ravage the opponent, turn her into your furnace, and then ravage her again.】
【Reward: Upgrade a designated skill to max level.】
......
Rate on N.U.
