The beating from his brothers had taught Robin something valuable: he needed to accelerate his training. Being stronger wasn't enough. He needed skills. Real combat ability that went beyond basic conditioning.
The system had given him a path. Weapon Mastery. Currently stuck at rank F with a rusty kitchen dagger that was more decoration than weapon.
But it was a start.
[WEAPON MASTERY (DAGGER) - RANK F]
[PROGRESS: 47/100 USES TO NEXT RANK]
Fifty-three more repetitions and the skill would evolve to rank E. Then D. Then C. Eventually, if he survived long enough, it would reach the mastery levels that Justin had possessed.
But that rusty dagger was a problem. It was dull, poorly balanced, and the blade had developed a noticeable crack near the hilt. Maybe ten more training sessions before it shattered completely.
Robin needed a replacement.
He waited until late afternoon, when most of the household was occupied with dinner preparations. The servants would be busy in the kitchens and dining halls. The guards would be focused on the main areas of the castle.
Perfect timing.
Robin made his way through the servant passages to the eastern wing. Not to the forgotten courtyard, he'd abandoned that after Sarah's discovery. This time, his destination was different.
The castle's refuse area.
Every great house produced waste. Broken furniture. Worn-out tools. Equipment deemed too damaged for repair but not valuable enough to recycle properly. It all ended up in a large yard behind the kitchens, waiting for eventual disposal.
Robin had scavenged there once before. Found the kitchen dagger in a pile of culinary castoffs. This time, he was hoping for something better.
The refuse yard was exactly as he remembered, chaotic, smelly, and largely unguarded. Why guard trash?
Robin picked his way through the piles carefully. His enhanced perception helped him spot potentially useful items among the debris.
Broken chair. Useless.
Cracked pottery. Irrelevant.
Rusted garden tools. Wrong type of blade.
Then he saw it.
Partially buried under a pile of moth-eaten tapestries was a wooden practice dummy. The kind used in training yards. Its surface was scarred with thousands of strikes, the wood splintered and cracked.
But mounted on a rack beside it, forgotten and overlooked was a training dagger.
Robin pulled it free. The weapon was heavier than his kitchen knife. Proper weight, proper balance. The blade was blunted for practice, but the edge could be sharpened. The grip was worn but intact.
This was a real weapon. Old, yes. Damaged, certainly. But functional.
[ITEM ACQUIRED: BLUNTED TRAINING DAGGER]
[QUALITY: COMMON]
[CONDITION: POOR]
[DURABILITY: 28/50]
Robin felt the familiar pulse of the system activating. The moment his fingers wrapped around the dagger's hilt properly not just holding it, but gripping it with intent something clicked.
[WEAPON PROFICIENCY DETECTED]
[ANALYZING COMBAT EXPERIENCE...]
[MATCHING WEAPON TYPE TO HOST KNOWLEDGE...]
Blue text scrolled across Robin's vision:
[SKILL UNLOCKED: WEAPON MASTERY (DAGGER) - RANK F]
[PASSIVE EFFECT: +15% DAMAGE WITH DAGGERS]
[ACTIVE EFFECT: BASIC DAGGER FORMS ACCESSIBLE]
[GROWTH PATH: PRACTICE TO IMPROVE RANK]
But this time, something was different. Robin had already unlocked this skill with his kitchen knife. The system was recognizing that, adapting.
[WEAPON UPGRADE DETECTED]
[CURRENT MASTERY TRANSFERRING TO NEW WEAPON...]
[PROGRESS MAINTAINED: 47/100 USES]
[BONUS: SUPERIOR WEAPON INCREASES TRAINING EFFICIENCY BY 25%]
Robin smiled. The system rewarded better equipment. Every strike with this training dagger would be more effective than with the rusty kitchen knife.
He shoved the dagger through his belt, covering it with his shirt. Took one last look around the refuse yard to ensure no one had seen him, then headed back through the passages.
His destination wasn't his room. Not yet. The afternoon was fading into evening, but he had time before dinner. Time to test his new weapon.
Robin made his way to a location he'd discovered a week ago: an old storage room in the castle's foundation. Ancient, forgotten, accessible only through a half-collapsed stairway that servants avoided.
The room was perfect. Stone walls absorbed sound. No windows. A single door he could bar from inside. And most importantly, absolutely no one came here.
Robin lit a small candle he'd stolen from the library. The flickering light cast dancing shadows on the walls.
He drew his new dagger. The weight felt right. Balanced. Real.
[WEAPON EQUIPPED: BLUNTED TRAINING DAGGER]
[ATTACK POWER: 5-9 (+15% FROM MASTERY) = 10]
Better than the kitchen knife's pathetic 3-6 damage.
Robin moved to the center of the room. Took the basic stance. Weight balanced, knees slightly bent, blade held in middle guard.
Then he began.
Thrust. The dagger shot forward, proper form, full extension. Recovery. Reset.
[WEAPON MASTERY: 48/100]
The system counted each execution. Each proper form completed.
Robin continued. Slash patterns. High, middle, low. The blade cutting through empty air with precision.
[49/100]
His muscle memory from Justin's lifetime was integrating with this young body. Each repetition felt smoother. More natural.
[50/100]
Halfway to the next rank.
Robin increased the pace. Combinations now. Thrust-parry-riposte. The flowing sequences that turned individual moves into deadly chains.
[51/100]
[52/100]
[53/100]
Sweat dripped down his face. His improved endurance meant he could train longer without fatigue, but his muscles still burned with exertion.
The movements became meditation. Thrust. Slash. Block. Parry. Each form executed with mechanical precision.
[60/100]
Robin lost track of time. The candle burned lower. His body moved on autopilot, Justin's knowledge flowing through child muscles.
[70/100]
This was what he'd missed most about his previous life. Not the glory or respect. Not even the power.
This. The pure, simple focus of training. The clarity that came from perfecting technique. The quiet satisfaction of improvement.
[80/100]
His arms were shaking now. His stamina depleting. But Robin pushed through. Just twenty more.
[85/100]
He thought about Leo. About that kick to his ribs. About lying on the floor while his brothers laughed.
[90/100]
Every thrust was preparation. Every slash was practice for the day he'd repay that humiliation.
[95/100]
Almost there.
[96/100]
[97/100]
[98/100]
[99/100]
One more. Robin executed a perfect spinning slash, putting everything into the form. Speed, precision, power.
[100/100]
[SKILL RANK UP!]
[WEAPON MASTERY (DAGGER) - RANK E]
[NEW PASSIVE EFFECT: +25% DAMAGE WITH DAGGERS]
[NEW ACTIVE EFFECT: INTERMEDIATE DAGGER FORMS ACCESSIBLE]
[NEW TECHNIQUE UNLOCKED: VITAL STRIKE]
[VITAL STRIKE: INCREASED CRITICAL HIT CHANCE WHEN TARGETING WEAK POINTS]
Robin collapsed to his knees, gasping. The rank-up had triggered a flood of new knowledge. Techniques Justin had known but this body hadn't learned yet were suddenly accessible.
He could feel them. Advanced parries. Counter-attacks. The precise angles needed to slip a blade between ribs or sever an artery.
Deadly knowledge, encoded directly into his muscle memory by the system.
[NEW STATS UPDATED]
[ATTACK POWER WITH DAGGER: 10 (+25%) = 12]
His damage output had nearly doubled from where he'd started.
Robin stood slowly. His body ached, but it was the good ache of growth. Of progress.
He sheathed the dagger, covering it with his shirt. Extinguished the candle. Made his way back through the dark corridors to his room.
The evening bell was ringing. He'd missed dinner, but that was fine. Missing meals was normal for the cursed child.
Robin collapsed onto his bed. Pulled up his status screen:
┏━━━━━━━[ Host Profile ]━━━━━━━┓
│ Name: Robin Stark
│ Level: 3
│ Title: The Cursed Child
│ Rank: F-
│
│ Core Attributes:
│ STR Strength 7
│ AGI Agility 5
│ END Endurance 5
│ DEX Dexterity 6
│ INT Intelligence ?? [ SEALED]
│ WIS Wisdom 1 [SEALED]
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛
┏━━━━━━━[ Active Skills ]━━━━━━━┓
│ ◆ Weapon Mastery (Dagger) - Rank E
│ ├─ Effect: +25% Dagger Damage
│ ├─ Technique: Vital Strike
│ └─ Progress: 0/150 to Rank D
│
│ ◆ Combat Sense (Inherited)
│ └─ Detect hostile intent (10m range)
│
│ ◆ Tactical Analysis (Inherited)
│ └─ Enhanced battlefield awareness
┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛
Real progress. Measurable, undeniable progress.
Robin stared at the ceiling, his mind already planning tomorrow's training. He'd need to establish a new routine. Balance physical conditioning with weapon practice. Continue the nightly library visits for knowledge.
And most importantly, keep it all hidden. The Duke was watching. His brothers were suspicious. Sarah knew he trained.
Too many eyes. Too many variables.
But Robin had survived worse. Had navigated more complex battlefields. This was just another campaign, with higher stakes and a longer timeline.
He thought about the training dagger hidden under his mattress. About the feel of it in his hand. About the new techniques unlocked by reaching rank E.
In my previous life, I mastered the sword at rank A. Took me fifteen years of constant combat.
This time, with the system... how fast can I climb?
The thought was intoxicating. Dangerous. But undeniably appealing.
Robin closed his eyes. Let exhaustion pull him toward sleep.
Tomorrow, he'd push harder. Train longer. Grow stronger.
Tonight, he'd rest. And dream of the day when the weapon in his hand wouldn't be a blunted training blade.
But cold steel, sharp and ready.
Pointed at the hearts of everyone who'd ever dismissed him.
Every night after this, Robin made his way to that forgotten storage room. Every night, he practiced until exhaustion forced him to stop.
The dagger became an extension of his arm. The forms became instinct.
And with each session, the cursed child grew a little more dangerous.
One thrust at a time.