Chapter 180: Training from the Master

Chapter 180: Training from the Master



The young man who had just guided them suddenly became quite enthusiastic, chatting more as he led the way.

"So your name is Rain, I'm Basque. My father is Baron Landonia of the Golden Coast, and I have an older brother."

Upon hearing this, Rain glanced at him.

No wonder, judging from his perception, the young man had likely just become a formal knight, and his strength was not particularly impressive, showing a noticeable gap compared to the others who had been practicing on the island.

It turned out that it was because of local connections, and he probably received some kind of preferential treatment from Master Gunther.

This was also understandable. Master Gunther was indeed dedicated to swordplay research, but he still needed someone to help with miscellaneous tasks.

Aside from other matters, regarding food, someone had to make extra preparations.

But this was a threshold, and only by meeting this requirement would the subsequent training be meaningful.

The first step was quite challenging, requiring a high level of knightly breath control and swordsmanship from the person being assessed.

However, some stone houses were obscured by those in front, so there were over ten stone houses in total.

'Limit Break!'

Half an hour later, a system notification sounded: 【You have trained in Inner Breath Technique, and your understanding of it has improved!】

This didn't seem too difficult; in fact, it seemed too easy.

"Then let's wait and see. When he realizes he can't do it, he'll remember what you said, Basque."

This time, Rain's feet touched the seabed, and the silt instantly stirred up, but Rain felt a sense of solidity at that moment.

"But don't worry about it. Klaya prefers those stronger than her, and your strength..." Rain glanced at him and immediately poured cold water on this young man named Basque.

Rain didn't mind this jealousy; after all, he was more handsome.

At this moment, Basque patted his head and said, "Rain, there's one more thing. If you want someone to take care of meals here, you'll have to pay a fee, and the same goes for your horse."

Without further thought, Rain swung the giant sword in his hand and slashed at the swaying Resilient Seaweed.

Instantly, everyone's eyes fixed on Rain, silently watching. "Very good, faster than I expected. You've passed the first training task."

Even when pulled out from the seabed, the Resilient Seaweed was incredibly resilient, aside from the slimy membrane covering it.

Rain walked around and found that these stone houses seemed to be cleaned regularly, so he randomly picked one and brought his luggage inside.

"Yes, yes, what's the relationship between you two?" Basque continued to ask.

Huh? Isn't this about learning swordsmanship?

"That's right. It's about cutting seaweed, but this seaweed is very resilient. I can't explain the exact reason, but it's just hard to cut. You'll understand once you try it yourself." The boy nodded, speaking with certainty.

It was no wonder that the seaweed was known for its resilience.

"Regardless of the breathing technique you've been practicing, this Inner Breath Technique is compatible with all of them."

"Yes, but not many. Master Gunther doesn't care whether you use a one-handed or two-handed sword, and he won't remind you. But from what I've heard from him, you should use what you're familiar with in combat."

However, learning something good was always a positive thing.

Undoubtedly, this must be the Resilient Seaweed that Master Gunther had mentioned.

But if they could add some Ferocious Beast Meat, it would be much better. However, the cooking process was time-consuming and laborious, and having someone dedicated to it would undoubtedly save a lot of time and effort.

Obviously, if it took a long time to barely complete the 'Cut Resilient Seaweed' task.

After all, they had three days, and if any issues arose, he could still solve them by allocating skill points in time.

Rain closed his eyes and carefully sensed and experienced this change.

After continuously using the Resilient Seaweed Juice, he gained a vague understanding of the Inner Breath Technique, so he decided to seize the moment, harvest more Resilient Seaweed, and accelerate his mastery of the Inner Breath Technique.

His casual strike had just missed.

"The concept of skin breathing is quite abstract and hard for ordinary people to understand. If you apply this fresh Resilient Seaweed Juice all over your skin, it will help you accelerate your understanding of this Inner Breath."

Basque's behavior was likely not because of Master Gunther, nor was it because of Rain.

When the greatsword slashed at the soft Resilient Seaweed, the seaweed swayed like willow catkins in the wind, barely affected by the force, only shaking slightly, and remaining completely unharmed.

For example, Rain himself needed to eat over ten pounds of ordinary food to meet his nutritional needs.

"Swoosh!" The giant sword slashed through, creating a trail of bubbles.

Hiss! Many people gasped in surprise.

With the added resistance of seawater, the combination of these three factors caused Rain's previous strike to miss.

Now, Rain's nose and mouth breathing accounted for 95%, and skin breathing had increased from 1% to 5%.

This made Rain narrow his eyes slightly, and he began to observe the Resilient Seaweed more closely.

It turned out that this Resilient Seaweed was used to accelerate the understanding of this Inner Breath Technique.

After using up the bucket of Resilient Seaweed Juice, Rain returned to the seaside.

However, Rain thought for a moment and asked, "Has anyone completed the first task using a two-handed greatsword? Or what did Master Gunther mean?"

The young man named Arturo's face turned slightly red, and he replied, "Half a day."

He was in charge of logistics here, practicing with Master Gunther on the side and handling miscellaneous tasks. He was very familiar with the master's habits.

Therefore, Rain's swift strike was much slower than it would have been on land.

"This is the second training task. I hope that within three days, you'll master this Inner Breath Technique. If you want more Resilient Seaweed Juice, go and cut some more from the sea."

"After saying this, Gondor left the stone house."

"No, look at his age. He's not that old, and he might have extraordinary talent, but at this age, his strength won't be that remarkable. After all, strength requires time to accumulate."

After a while, Rain began to wield his faintly glowing greatsword and started harvesting the resilient seagrass! And after comprehending the Inner Breath Technique, Rain's ability to stay underwater also slightly improved.

"What about you, Arturo?"

Constitution: 21

Strength: 19

Agility: 17

Spirit: 25

Remaining Attribute Points: 2

Remaining Skill Points: 6

Although he had six remaining skill points, Rain decided not to rush into allocating them after a moment's thought. Instead, he followed Master Gondor's instructions and decided to improve step by step.

He didn't stop but continued to swing his sword, slicing through the water with vigorous movements, as the more intense his actions were, the more oxygen he consumed.

"Yes, Master."

Rain observed for a while longer and then swung his sword several more times.

A group of people continued practicing their swordsmanship, occasionally glancing at Rain's location on the water's surface.

"Could it be that Master Gondor has some reservations about Rain? That shouldn't be the case."

Rain's face darkened. You're not a beauty, and I'm not guessing with you! Guess what, you ghost!

Rain was startled by this remark. It seemed that Klaya's influence was far-reaching.

Suddenly, Rain felt the chill of the seawater and the pressure coming from all directions.

So, money was not an issue for Rain at the moment.

"Don't look down on me, Rain! I'm only sixteen, and I've already become a full-fledged knight. I'm here to receive training from Master Gondor so that I can excel in the knighting ceremony."

Even the young man who had just said that Rain might be very strong couldn't help but show disappointment.

How could he have learned the Inner Breath Technique so quickly?

"How much?" Rain nodded, finding it reasonable.

"It seems like he's another one who doesn't understand the situation. He probably thinks the seagrass here is the same as the one he's seen before." Another young man spoke.

Master Gondor remained in his original position, instructing the young men in their swordsmanship. After seeing Rain and Basque approach, he nodded slightly, indicating for Rain to follow him.

"See? I told you, even with extraordinary talent, his strength won't be that remarkable. I know too well the nature of most noble offspring. They enjoy excellent cultivation conditions but..."

"If you can use that knight's greatsword, the difficulty of completing the first task should be reduced significantly." The boy glanced at Rain's faintly glowing greatsword on his back and reminded him.

Obviously, Rain couldn't succeed in such a short time, so this time, when he surfaced, he either needed to catch his breath and try again or request a change of weapon from Master Gondor.

Rain realized that the resilient seagrass he had cut was the same as the one he didn't know about yet. After juicing it, it would have some use.

However, at this moment, Rain had no desire to chat with them.

Master Gondor led Rain to a nearby reef and pointed at the seawater, saying, "There's a resilient seagrass underwater. Within three days, use your sword to cut ten of them. That's your training task."

Of course, in addition to the resilient seagrass itself, its swaying state in the seawater also made it difficult to apply force.

Suddenly, from the farthest stone house nearby, a young servant rushed out and bowed to Rain and Basque, saying, "As you wish, Young Master Basque."

Otherwise, why would there be so many young people practicing swordsmanship near the lighthouse, sweating profusely? It's obvious that they were stopped at the first stage. They couldn't even get through the door!

The subsequent task, 'Master the Inner Breath Technique within three days,' without the help of resilient seagrass juice, became almost impossible to complete.

Rain's heart stirred, and he began to understand why Basque had said that.

After some thought, Rain shook his head.

"You should be familiar with her, or she wouldn't have given me a letter of introduction, right?" Rain smiled and said.

Rain took off all his clothes and covered his entire body with the pale green seagrass juice.

He now understood the significance of the first training task.

[You have comprehended a new skill - Inner Breath Technique]



"I also think he'll surface soon and ask Master Gondor to change his weapon."

Huh? Rain hadn't expected this.

Soon after, Rain felt like he had grasped the knack of it.

He had thought the first task would involve fighting some kind of marine creature, which would likely be quite challenging.

Additionally, the wealthy and charming Jennifer had also prepared an extra sum of money for him before his departure.

Rain, soaked from head to toe, dragged a long bundle of resilient seagrass behind him. Judging by the quantity, it was already more than ten! "How is this possible so quickly!" The young man couldn't help but point at this scene and exclaim.

Occupation: Apprentice Wizard (Extraordinary) Lv4 (345/1000) / Knight (Extraordinary) Lv4 (277/1000) / Beast Trainer (Extraordinary) Lv5 (64/2000) / Armorer Lv1 (17/100)



"The rooms with circles on the door are occupied, and the ones without circles are empty. Rain, you can choose any empty room to stay in." The boy beside him waved his hand, allowing Rain to choose.

He decided to try again.

This casual strike of his could probably be defended by an ordinary full-fledged knight.

At this moment, Rain realized that he had only seen seven or eight stone houses from his position on the coast due to the angle.

Whether it was the young people around the white lighthouse or the ones practicing swordsmanship, their eyes shone with brilliant golden light as they looked at Rain.

Even a veteran knight would likely need to attempt it for several hours, repeatedly collecting the seagrass, and for a full-fledged knight, it would be even more challenging.

"He rubbed his hands together and asked somewhat awkwardly, 'Rain, you must be very familiar with Miss Klaya, right?'"

"Not necessarily. The person Klaya introduced might be very strong."

This time, the biggest difference from the last time was that Rain seemed to vaguely feel that his skin was 'breathing.'

[Your Inner Breath Technique has improved. Experience +1]



Everyone immediately looked at him in confusion, all with the same stunned expression.

"Since that's the case, I don't need to change! But Basque, thank you for your reminder," Rain shrugged and said with a smile.

A young man with a crew cut frowned slightly, glanced at Basque, and said, "Basque, didn't you tell him that it's a disadvantage to use a two-handed sword to cut resilient seagrass underwater?"

"How long did it take you, Doug?"

From his current position, about ten meters away, he could vaguely see the seabed, where many slender plants were swaying.

"Be careful, use the sword, not your hands to pull it out."

When Rain followed Gondor's instructions and focused his gaze on the azure seawater, he realized that because this was an island about twenty to thirty meters away from the coastline, the water depth around the reef had already exceeded two meters.

Seeing Rain's displeased expression, Basque restrained his smile, became slightly more serious, and said, "Cut the seagrass."

It had been so long since anyone had left, but her legend still lingered here.

Rain found it strange that the other party had suddenly become so enthusiastic.

Rain looked at him speechlessly and said, "I shook my head because I don't know."

This should be the thing that released the force from the sword he had just slashed.

"About two hours," the young man named Doug said in a low voice.

Rain wondered if there was something strange about the seagrass in this area, making it quite challenging?

"Okay! I'll pay for one month first."

"."

"Oh? So that's how it is. That's great!" The boy's emotions changed so quickly.

On the side, Basque listened and muttered to himself, "Hmm, that's strange. Usually, it's a requirement to do it within seven days, but why did it become three days for Rain?"

This boy seemed like a chatterbox, but he seemed like a decent person.

After mastering the trick, Rain, who had already reached 83% of his physical limit break value, found the task relatively easy.

After settling down briefly, Rain thought for a moment and put his chrome iron set and pig-headed hammer in the room. He wore the black waistcoat with gold and silver embroidery prepared by Jennifer, the beautiful woman, and walked out of the stone house.

Sure enough, he heard someone outside the door say, "Master, I've already ground the resilient seagrass juice."

Soon, he felt a cool substance slowly seeping into his skin. Rain held his breath and focused on the sensation.

He realized that he had to pay attention to the direction of the underwater currents. When the seagrass swayed to its limit in the front or back, it was most effective to slash it at that moment.

"Is there someone among us who is that fast?"

He noticed that the resilient seagrass had a layer of almost transparent gel on its green surface.

Since it was winter, the seawater was much colder than in other seasons. Even with Rain's physical qualities, he couldn't help but shiver slightly.

After all, this was just the first training task, and it wouldn't be too difficult once the trick was mastered.

Rain glanced at the other party but didn't continue. However, in his heart, he added, 'You won't have a chance because your opponent...'

Without asking any further questions, Rain took a deep breath and slowly stepped into the azure seawater.

Due to the larger cross-sectional area of the two-handed sword compared to a one-handed sword, the resistance when wielding it underwater was naturally much greater.

The seagrass in this area, which the locals called resilient seagrass, had a layer of secretions on its surface that didn't dissolve in water. When slashed with a sharp weapon, it would often reduce the force.

Now that he knew the reason, Rain slashed again with more force, and the effect was slightly better than the last time.

But after a moment's thought, Rain seemed to understand something.

"I understand, Master Gondor," Rain nodded.

"Although my strength is slightly inferior to Miss Klaya's, I think I still have a chance," the boy said confidently, changing the topic.

At this moment, Rain couldn't help but ask, "Basque, what is the first task?"

Rain looked at his attribute panel: Name: Rain Karan

It had been less than five minutes, and even the strongest among them, Burnett, had only succeeded on his second attempt.

After descending only three to four meters, Rain saw the green belt-like seagrass growing from the seabed, swaying slightly in the water currents.

Basque shrugged helplessly and said, "I told him, but he didn't listen. What can I do?"

The first step, or the first task, was to start with cutting the seagrass.

Basque brought in a half-wooden barrel of green juice, emitting a strong grassy fragrance with a hint of seawater scent.

Seeing Rain's slightly frowning expression, Basque immediately waved his hand and said hastily, "Rain, don't misunderstand. I wanted to ask if Miss Klaya already has a fiance?"

Rain vaguely felt that each step of Master Gondor's arrangement had a purpose, and the ultimate goal was to encourage the apprentices to understand something.

The answer was clear—because of Klaya.

Rain was startled, and his steps paused slightly.

"Bring it in!" Master Gondor said.

"Oh! Miss Klaya already has a fiance!" Basque exclaimed, looking dejected.

Rain naturally didn't mind. Recently, he had made a significant fortune from the Zalar Resistance's stronghold, so spending this amount of money didn't hurt him at all.

"Following Master Gunther's usual practice, you have a maximum of three days to complete the first training task. If you fail, you'll have to leave."

"Otherwise, according to the Master's opinion, it's highly likely you won't be able to complete the subsequent training tasks either."

Even Rain, who wasn't a fish, couldn't breathe underwater, so he had to act quickly. Previously, 99% of his breathing was through his mouth and nose, with only 1% through his skin.

"Sit cross-legged on the stone slab," Gunther pointed to a large stone slab in the middle of the stone house.

The two of them soon arrived at the center of the island, at a simple stone house built from piled stones.

"If you want to take care of your horse, it will cost one Imperial Silver Coin per day."

Suddenly, a chill accompanied by the pressure from the surrounding seawater enveloped him.

Although it was a sunny day with the sun in the sky, since Rain was underwater, the sunlight that penetrated the sea was scattered by algae, plankton, various fish, and to the seawater's visibility was not high.

The two of them headed towards the position where Gunther had been.

Finally, Rain surfaced before he ran out of breath.

As Rain dragged a large bundle of resilient seaweed, like a bucket, slowly up the reef, the winter sunset was setting, casting its light upon the sea and Rain.

"Yes, who should take care of the horse?" Rain nodded, then looked around, only to find no stable nearby.

Seeing Rain's stylish yet understated luxurious attire, Basque was momentarily stunned, muttering under his breath, "He looks good, but this is for training, not for show."

Looking at the new skill on the Knight's Skill Panel, Rain had now learned this Inner Breath Technique, although it was only at Inner Breath Technique Level 1 (1/100).

This subtle change was barely noticeable, but Rain's sharp perception allowed him to faintly detect it.

Thus, Rain understood that these training tasks were likely interconnected.

each other.

Only to hear Basque continue, "You better try your best."

There, Rain's burly figure slowly submerged into the seawater.

Due to the water's resistance being much greater than air's.

A strand of resilient seaweed was successfully cut, Rain nodded slightly underwater.

"Cut seaweed?" Rain asked in surprise.

This resilient seaweed differed from Rain's expectations, more similar to kelp from his previous life, but much narrower.

"However, the juice of this resilient seaweed evaporates very quickly in the air, and about half an hour later, the effect on perception will start to diminish."

"Tsk tsk, truly a rich man. Let me clarify, I'm not unwilling to remove the change, but this money is for the family, not me," Basque said after receiving the coins.

On the shore.

The two of them arrived at the other end of the island.

"Now, I will teach you a breathing technique for underwater, more accurately called Inner breathing technique. This is an ancient method passed down, combining with your cultivated Knight breathing technique, further transforming your body."

On the seaweed, a pale white sword mark was visible, clearly this time the gelatinous barrier was breached, cutting through to the core of the seaweed without the previous failure.

Though with a constitution of 21, Rain quickly adapted to the cold seawater environment.

At that moment, footsteps came from outside the door, familiar to Rain, they were Basque's steps.

Smiling mysteriously, Basque said, "Guess!"

However, the high constitution of 21 allowed Rain to quickly acclimate to the frigid seawater.

"Simple, give these to my servant. Glendo! Take care of this gentleman's horse."

"However, Rain, using a two-handed greatsword will put you at a disadvantage."

When Rain arrived at the reef, the surrounding young men all looked over, knowing Rain was not just any noble offspring, but a formidable and powerful newcomer.

Suddenly, the young man stopped talking, with an expression of disbelief.

After hearing Master Gunther, Rain was enlightened! So it was.

Stepping ashore, Rain appeared like a divine descending god.

The young Basque observed the scene, muttering to himself, "The difference between people exists."

"But it shouldn't be that great!"

Suddenly, he reacted to something, running quickly towards Rain.

Judicious posture, as if intending to take Rain's resilient seaweed and grind it(End of Chapter)

Chapter end