Knight: from Apprentice to the Almighty

The parchment in Roland’s hand held the Secret Silver Body Tempering Technique he had unexpectedly acquired.

In fact, this was the main reason he had come all this way to see Sean.

Among his friends, Hawke was a dedicated Blacksmith, and John was a lazy old soldier. Neither of them needed something like this.

As for Dalko...

That young lord was already practicing his family’s own body-tempering Secret Technique.

So, after some thought, Sean was the only one who seemed like a good fit for this body-tempering Secret Technique.

His dear friend came from a humble background, just like him. And while Sean had won Beckham’s favor, it was hard to say if Beckham would ever teach him this kind of Secret Technique.

Of course, there was also Bronson...

’But given that scholar’s obsessive focus on his research, he probably wouldn’t be very interested in Body Tempering...’

"Wait!"

An idea struck Roland as he thought of Bronson.

’Maybe I could give this Secret Silver Body Tempering Technique to Mr. Bronson for his research? Who knows, the scholar might come up with an unexpected surprise for me...’

"Roland, we’re friends. I don’t need any gifts to teach you my skills, but..."

Sean trailed off, looking confused. He had just seen Roland raise the parchment, only for his friend’s eyes to lose focus. "What are you holding?" he asked.

"Remember that assassin we ran into in the forest?"

Roland snapped out of it, spreading the parchment on the wooden table and beckoning Sean over.

"You mean..."

Sean’s brow furrowed in thought before he suddenly shot out of bed, his fists clenching unconsciously.

"It was that bastard Marco! Oh yeah, Roland, what happened to him?"

"Him?"

Roland raised an eyebrow and waved his hand dismissively.

"That’s not important. Come take a look at this first."

"Oh!"

Sean obediently leaned over the table and studied the parchment intently for a good while before scratching his head in embarrassment.

"Roland, you know... I... I can’t really read all these words..."

’I almost forgot...’

Roland slapped his forehead. He had just remembered that his dear friend was barely literate.

So, he stopped beating around the bush and said it outright.

"This is a Body Tempering Technique!"

"Body Tempering... Wait!"

Sean’s eyes shot wide open, and it looked as if his curly brown hair was standing on end.

"You mean... this is a Secret Technique that Knights use for Body Tempering?"

"That’s right!"

Roland pounded his own solid chest, which produced a dull thud.

"How else do you think I got a build like this!"

"This... this..."

Sean never doubted Roland’s word.

Even though he couldn’t read the words, he still cradled the parchment as if it were some priceless treasure.

Scenes from adventure novels flashed through his mind, and a fervent glow ignited in the unassuming young man’s eyes.

But that fervor soon began to fade.

He looked away uncomfortably, gently placed the parchment back on the table, and stammered.

"Ro... Roland, this gift is too much. I... I can’t accept it..."

"Come on!"

Seeing his best friend squirm, Roland couldn’t help but chuckle as he clapped him on the shoulder.

"What’s this? Do I have to give some big, heartfelt speech about our friendship, and then we can hug it out and have a good cry before you’ll accept this gift?"

"Well... that won’t be necessary."

Sean rubbed his eyes, which were starting to burn, and gave an embarrassed smile.

"In that case... I won’t be polite about it?"

"Now that’s more like it!"

Roland nodded in satisfaction. He then took the herbs and tools he had already prepared from his bag and skillfully began grinding the ingredients.

At his current skill level, preparing this basic Potion was child’s play.

A short while later, the silver liquid was evenly applied all over Sean’s body.

"Roland... this feeling... HISS!"

Sean sucked in a sharp breath.

"Relax..."

Roland leaned back leisurely in his wooden chair, a slight smile playing on his lips as he watched his friend’s face flush red and his veins bulge.

"The pain is normal. It’ll be over soon."

Out of absolute trust in his best friend, Sean clenched his jaw and didn’t make a sound.

Soon, the silver Potion began to dry, turning into a grayish-black powder that flaked off his skin.

Sean heaved a long sigh of relief. His legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor, large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"How... do you feel?"

A complicated look flashed in Roland’s eyes as he gazed at Sean, who looked almost a full size larger after completing the Secret Silver Body Tempering Technique.

If he remembered correctly, the first time he’d used the technique himself, his Power Attribute on the panel had only increased by 0.7, with almost no visible change to his appearance.

But Sean...

’It seems the stronger a Cultivator’s base Constitution, the more significant the effects of the Secret Silver Body Tempering Technique...’

Lost in his own happy surprise, Sean didn’t notice his friend’s odd reaction.

After taking a moment to catch his breath, the good-natured young man shot to his feet, subconsciously tensing his muscles. His face was filled with delighted surprise as he spoke.

"Roland, this Body Tempering Technique is amazing! I feel like my Power has at least doubled!"

"As... as long as it worked, that’s good."

Roland’s throat felt tight, and he quickly poured a glass of water to wet it.

"Next, we just need to..."

He trailed off, suddenly lost in thought.

’I remember my Power Attribute basically stopped increasing after using the Secret Silver Body Tempering Technique three times. I wonder what Sean’s limit is...’

With that in mind, Roland continued.

"I’ll keep Refining the Secret Medicine for you until you feel your Power isn’t increasing anymore."

"Thank you so much, Roland!"

Sean excitedly waved his thick hands before clapping Roland heavily on the shoulder.

"HISS!"

The sharp, long-forgotten pain that shot through his shoulder made the corner of Roland’s mouth twitch.

For a moment, he suddenly started to have second thoughts about his decision to have Sean practice the Secret Silver Body Tempering Technique.

The two chatted for a little while longer before climbing into bed and quickly falling asleep.

At the crack of dawn the next day, just as the sky began to lighten, Sean hurried off to the barracks.

Roland, meanwhile, strolled through the streets of Wuxi Town, accompanied by Peyton.

He also made a point of stopping by the Adventurer Guild.

After all, he expected to master the Long-Handled Skills quickly. If he could also pick up a few quests to slay Demons and fulfill the requirement of killing enemies while Riding, he could successfully complete the class change to [Knight’s Attendant] before leaving for the River Domain.

In a place as motley as that, every bit of extra power was another layer of insurance.

Unfortunately, just as he’d heard, the Demons in Black Pine Forest had all been driven underground by Beckham’s campaign and weren’t coming out.

The only recent quest to clear out a Demon nest had already been taken by someone unknown.

Roland had no choice but to return empty-handed.

’Oh well. The Riding kill requirement can wait until I get to the River Domain. If time permits, maybe I can try my luck in Songmu Town...’

With that, Roland returned to the tavern and started helping Gary out.

As the sun began to set, Sean returned, leading a brown steed.

As soon as he saw him, the good-natured young man pulled Roland out of town.

When they reached an open field, he deftly unloaded an assortment of weapons from the horse’s back with his right hand.

A Long Spear, a lance, a Long-handled Axe, and a long-handled hammer—the four weapons he was proficient with.

The process of teaching the skills went surprisingly smoothly.

There are shared principles in the techniques for using different weapons.

Therefore, with his foundation in [Short-Handled Mastery] and the aid of his [Concentration] Trait, Roland quickly grasped the essentials of these four Long-Handled Weapons.

However, when he actually mounted the horse to practice, he discovered that wielding Long-Handled Weapons on horseback was far more difficult than he had imagined.