[ Bloodied Sage
Realm: 3rd Grade
Status: Lacking in essence.
Note: A type of spiritual herb that solely grows by absorbing the essence of earth and blood of beings around it; consuming it directly can increase the blood essence and overall strength of both human and beast... Moreover, it also had the ability to slightly strengthen one's physical potential. ]
"Great, after consuming the Sun Glazed fruit, I will consume this Moonlight Tear. As for the 3rd Grade Bloodied Sage herb, I can eat it when I'm at the crucial moment of breaking through the skill realm; the energy feedback upon consuming this herb should allow me to smoothen the process!"
Already planning his course of action, Naib immediately took out the small congealed stone he had been absorbing earlier. Sitting in a cross-legged manner, he then continued the interrupted meditation he had earlier.
...
Soon, time passes by...
Without even noticing it, 3 days had gone by since Naib had spectated the clash between the four beasts — although he's quite curious who had won in the end, Naib still hadn't visited the location these few days; instead, he wholly focused his attention on meditation and practicing his two skills.
It could be said that, in these 3 days of solitude — solely practicing his skills all day long while meditating through the rest of the night — all of his skills, even his realm and state of mind, showed signs of improvement!
Although he's still short of advancing, Naib can already sense the inevitable breakthrough!
Huff~
"It's time to practice those two skills again; after I advance the basic sword style skill to the intermediate mastery, I can finally have the basic means to protect myself. When that time arrives, I can start looking for an opportunity to complete the first quest of the system.
Ding!
[ Naib (Human)
Talent: (Unawakened) (Potential Seeing (Borrowed))
Spirit Manual: Beginner Force Star (Basic Mastery 46%) (Low Grade)
Life Span: 15/62
Realm: Beast Apprentice Early Stage (56%)
Bound Beast: Currently None
Skills: Basic Sword Style - Basic Mastery (90%) (Mortal), Wind Riding - Basic Mastery (60%) (Mortal)
——————————————
Fate Points: 8
[ Quest!! ] [ Inventory!! ] [ Feature Locked ] ]
...
"Only ten percent left, let's do this!'
Brimmed with excitement, Naib hurriedly arrived at the clearing where he usually did his training. Taking a deep breath, calming down his agitated heart, Naib then shoved the bloodied sage herb he was saving for a couple of days directly into his mouth before holding the rusty sword with his two hands, tightly yet not to the point of stifling.
Gulped~
Breathe in... Breathe out...
Breathing a couple of times, ensuring that his state is at the peak, Naib finally began to move!
With fluidity, his figure began to move with an irregular pattern; his soles shifted unpredictably as his figure began moving without direction!
Slash!
Shortly after taking his tenth step, Naib then suddenly slashed his sword vertically.
In an instant, a swift, clean cut that seemingly generated an illusion of cutting the space into two unfolded in the way of the sword... followed by the faint sound of splitting airwaves that silently echoed around, disturbing the patch of grasses growing nearby.
Not even stopping to behold the beauty of what his rusty sword had just created, Naib continued utilizing the two skills, moving back and forth unceasingly while slashing the sword in his hand into the empty atmosphere, seemingly fighting an unknown being.
Although his appearance right now remains average, the way his body paces back and forth gives him an ethereal aura and strong bearing, giving the illusion that he was an adept swordsman.
...
Ding!
[ Basic Sword Style - Basic Mastery proficiency increases by 10% upon using it countless times. ]
[ Basic Sword Style - Intermediate Mastery (0%) (Mortal) ]
Ding!
[ Wind Riding - Basic Mastery proficiency increases by 8% upon using it countless times. ]
[ Wind Riding - Basic Mastery (68%) (Mortal) ]
Boom!
Sure enough, not even a quarter of an hour had passed by when he started practicing the two skills. The sound of the long-awaited notification suddenly resounded through Naib's mind.
In an instant, countless pieces of information regarding swords began bombarding his consciousness, making his movement stop abruptly as he was forced to sit down on the ground.
Following that, the bloodied sage herb inside his stomach also started turning into nutrients, hastily turning into specks of dust that coursed throughout his being, saving Naib from the inconvenience of using his flesh just to barely meet the consumption requirements for his brain to completely digest the knowledge that the system was passing to it.
Moreover, still not done, due to the high grade of the bloodied sage herb, Naib's almost skeletal structure even gained weight; the muscles he was building up in the past few days also became quite prominent, making him look thin yet athletic at the same time!
"I understand, so this is how I should use the Basic Sword Style; flashy movements are unnecessary, only the Basic is important.
"Cuts, thrusts, and parries are the fundamental skills that a swordsman needs to master. Although it might appear dull on the surface, anyone who uses swords as their weapon always uses these basic movements every time they battle a being."
Hmm...
"Not only did the system give me knowledge related to the Basic Sword Style - Intermediate Mastery, but it even gave me fundamental knowledge regarding swords.
"If this continues, won't I become a sword saint?'
Pausing for a while, assessing his physical condition with satisfaction, Naib then continued.
"It's much better than I had expected. Not to mention the increase in mastery of the skills, my physical strength alone even shows clear signs of improvement!
"If I do calculations, my overall strength when excluding the newly advanced skill should be around 20% higher than earlier, giving me strength equivalent to a normal beast at the early stage of the mortal realm!'
Closing his palm, Naib then threw the strongest punch he could currently muster toward the atmosphere in front of him, only for his lips to twitch afterward upon not hearing the expected sound of the parting airwaves, causing him to remain in his punching position awkwardly for a couple of seconds.
"I expected much; my current strength was clearly not enough to generate a sonic sound when punching the atmosphere.'