Knight: from Apprentice to the Almighty

Roland had taken the initiative to ask Bronson about Tricks before, so the scholar had demonstrated Flaming Arrow for him on more than one occasion.

But Bronson’s version of Flaming Arrow only managed to conjure a weak, knuckle-sized flame at his fingertip.

To be frank, from what Roland had observed, it was even less powerful than a common fire-tipped arrow.

However, the Flaming Arrow he had just cast was completely different. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Not only had a scorching, palm-sized fireball formed above his fingertip, but its power...

Roland’s gaze involuntarily turned toward the coast.

That massive reef, which had once stood tall, was now shattered into countless pieces by the explosive flame.

Tiny fragments rose and fell with the waves, washing up onto the beach at his feet and shimmering with a faint light in the sun.

’Why is there such a huge difference...?’

Before he could puzzle out the answer, a tearing, excruciating pain suddenly assaulted his mind.

It felt as if someone was slowly and cruelly splitting his skull open with a blunt axe.

His vision suddenly distorted, the scene before him like it had been dipped in muddy oil paint.

The waves, the reef, the sky—all of it twisted into blurry patches of color.

A sharp ringing echoed in his ears, as if countless fine needles were piercing his eardrums. It was so intense it even drowned out the roaring of the waves.

"Ugh..."

Unable to stifle a pained groan, Roland staggered and fell to his knees on the beach. He dug his fingers deep into the damp sand, trying to steady his swaying body.

But the ground seemed to be constantly tilting, and every breath sent a throbbing pulse through his temples.

A metallic, sweet taste like rust rose from the back of his throat. Cold sweat rolled down his spine, soaking his linen undergarment.

’Can’t... pass out...’

Roland bit his tongue. The sharp, metallic taste of blood jolted him back to his senses for a moment as sweat dripped incessantly from his brow.

Relying on this, he managed to hold onto his crumbling will, stopping himself from fainting completely.

After an unknown amount of time, the scene before his eyes gradually cleared, and his senses slowly returned to normal.

Roland pushed himself up slightly with his hands, then lay back on the sand, his chest heaving as he gasped for air.

Having experience with activating the [Concentration] Trait, he quickly assessed his current state.

This was a sign of excessive Spiritual Power consumption.

He slowly raised his palm, holding it before his eyes to examine it closely.

His fingertips seemed to still hold the scorching sensation from the Flaming Arrow’s explosion, and the question from before resurfaced in his mind.

’The inscribed Runes are fine, and the method for drawing in Magic Elements is correct... Could it be that the Spell Patterns Mr. Bronson carved onto the bone are flawed?’

The moment the suspicion arose, Roland dismissed it.

’No... When I tested this Spell Pattern for drawing magic yesterday, I only felt a slight discomfort. There were absolutely no signs of Spiritual Power consumption.’

After a moment of contemplation, an idea suddenly struck Roland.

He immediately called up his Professional Panel, his gaze locking onto the Traits section.

[Heart of the Furnace: Greatly increases Flame Affinity and significantly enhances Flame Resistance.]

’Could it be that the Flame Affinity from [Heart of the Furnace] was what caused the power of my Flaming Arrow to surge?’

He recalled the scene of casting the Flaming Arrow.

The dense Fire Elements were like docile young beasts, joyfully winding and gathering at his fingertip.

This unusual phenomenon immediately confirmed Roland’s suspicion.

Feeling his energy recover a little, Roland pushed himself into a sitting position on the sand. He took two Energy Potions from his waist pouch and drank them in one go.

As the stinging pain in his temples gradually subsided, he slowly stood up, then cast Light Technique, Repair Skill, and Mage’s Hand in succession.

These three Tricks were cast smoothly, without any abnormalities.

The Light Technique gathered a soft orb of light around him, its effect of dispelling Darkness much better than a torch’s.

Mage’s Hand manifests Spiritual Power through Runes, allowing one to manipulate objects from a distance. Its strength is directly related to the Caster’s Spiritual Power.

The Repair Skill was the same; depending on the amount of Spiritual Power invested, it could repair damaged items to varying degrees.

These Tricks were exactly the same as the ones Bronson had taught him, and they consumed very little Spiritual Power.

By Roland’s estimation, with his current Spiritual Power of nearly five points, he could cast this level of Trick more than a dozen times in a row before feeling tired.

’It seems the abnormal power of the Flaming Arrow really could only have been caused by the Flame Affinity from [Heart of the Furnace]...’

Recalling the astonishing destructive power of that Flaming Arrow, Roland couldn’t help but be captivated by the thought.

But after thinking about it calmly, he shook his head helplessly.

’The power is incredible, but the Spiritual Power consumption is just too extreme... I can only use it as a last resort, or...’

Roland carefully recalled the feeling of his Spiritual Power being rapidly drained, his brow gradually furrowing.

’I could try to control my Spiritual Power output, stabilizing the consumption at a sustainable level. That way, I can still increase its power without exhausting all my Spiritual Power and fainting after just one Flaming Arrow, like what happened earlier.’

Having made up his mind, Roland held his breath and focused, trying to cast the spell again.

With his previous experience, the Magic Elements resonated smoothly with the Runes inscribed in his Consciousness Shallows.

In an instant, a red light burst from his fingertip.

Just like before, a continuous stream of Fire Elements channeled through the white bone. The light at his fingertip, which started as a mere spark, gradually grew hotter and more dazzling.

However, during this process, his Spiritual Power began to drain away rapidly again.

"Tch!"

Feeling the stinging pain in his temples, Roland gritted his teeth and began to consciously control the output of his Spiritual Power.

Under his deliberate control, the rate at which his Spiritual Power was draining gradually slowed and eventually stabilized.

And the Fire Elements gathering at his fingertip also reached a controllable level.

BOOM!

With a roar, the fireball shot out.

Because he had controlled his Spiritual Power output, this time the fireball was only the size of an egg, and its power was naturally much weaker.

And although Roland was still on the verge of Spiritual Power exhaustion, he at least remained conscious.

’Looks like this approach works!’

Watching the sea surface, which had been disturbed by the Flaming Arrow but quickly calmed down, the corners of Roland’s mouth turned up slightly.

This successful attempt immediately brought more possibilities to his mind.

For example, by precisely controlling his Spiritual Power, he could lower the power of a single shot while increasing his casting frequency...

With this idea in mind, Roland immediately threw himself into a new round of practice.

However, the results were not ideal.

Controlling Spiritual Power was a delicate operation far more difficult than he had imagined.

By the time the sun set, he still hadn’t managed to achieve the desired effect.

’Forget it...’

Looking at the few reefs on the beach that had been shattered by his Flaming Arrows, Roland let out a long sigh.

’This kind of thing can’t be rushed. I should just practice step by step. Right now, the priority is to complete the one hundred castings required for the [Juggler] Profession.’

’But it’s getting late. I’ll continue tomorrow.’

Looking at the gradually darkening sky, Roland fought back his mental fatigue, mounted his horse, and slowly headed toward Distant Harbor.

「The next few days passed peacefully, without any incidents.」

But Roland noticed that because King Morne often strolled through the streets, many people who had come out of admiration were flocking to Distant Harbor, hoping to catch a glimpse of the legendary King.

The secluded inn where he was staying had also become noisy as a result.

Fortunately, the Refining of the Spirit Summoning Potions was already complete, so the clamor didn’t have much of an impact on Roland’s training.

「In the blink of an eye, five days had passed.」

Although his progress in precisely controlling Flaming Arrow was still slow, with persistent practice and the help of Energy Potions, Roland finally completed the requirement of casting one hundred Tricks to become a [Juggler].

The only thing lacking now was meeting the Spiritual Attribute requirement.

In the past, this might have been a tricky problem for Roland, but now...

Roland let out a soft breath.

After drinking the last of the Spirit Summoning Potion, Roland gently rubbed his throbbing temples and then opened his Professional Panel.

After confirming that all the conditions for the [Juggler] Profession had been met, he recited the words in his mind without hesitation.

’Become a [Juggler]!’