Julie saw the skill proficiency training of Paladin Blue with much interest.
Unique grade class skills were something that even she, a noble, considered a treat to be able to witness from time to time. Those players under her family had very few with an unique grade class among their ranks.
From that it was already apparent how much of a rare sight this grade was within the entire domain. Her class was of very rare grade but compared to Paladin Blue’s class it didn't mean that it was worse off or anything. A grade only indicated the rarity of it among the player society but in actuality only the player themselves were the focus rather than the class they had.
A good player could still dominate with a common grade class.
Julie was however fascinated by the skill effects she had learned from the information about his class. It was very multifaceted. Take for example the Wailing Sanctum defensive skill. It was supposed to be defensive but it could also be used for mid range offense.
Such was the quality of the Blight Paladin.
She observed all the three skills she knew beforehand but the last one was what truly drew her interest. She was aware that this was the healing skill he unlocked after reaching the First Skill Unlocking stage at level 5 some time ago.
The way it worked surprised her as it actually absorbed the surrounding aura to heal his body. This was very divergent from the Paladin class in her opinion but again an unique grade always showed surprises.
She was keeping track of his condition so when he seemed to be couldn't go on any longer she promptly teleported him next to her as intense exhaustion assailed him. He then drank the restoration elixir and sat down in a meditative pose to resolve the mental exhaustion.
She waited for him to get back to his peak and a little less than half an hour later, he stood up with much vigor.
“I noticed that it took less time for you to fully recover. You're already making progress on the second try. Good, now take this treasure and try absorbing the aura within it on your third try.”
She gave him an apple but it was made of glass and within the glass there were mists of vibrant colors swirling within. He took the treasure with a curious expression before asking,
“Lady Auburn, this glass apple is?”
“It is a space element treasure called Chasm Apple. It is formed in the Inner Area environment when the Outer Area’s highly unstable space finally gets assimilated. There is enlightenment of space element condensed in this fruit.”
“So try absorbing as much aura from it as you can. Within the increased gravity it will refine your aura vein as you absorb thus it will help on leveling up, on top of that, your space element comprehension will also increase from the information contained in those aura.”
She explained patiently and when she noticed that he raised an eyebrow at the mention of aura vein refining she then remembered that the compulsory subjects still haven't covered that part yet.
She promptly explained so he didn't remain ignorant of such an important matter.
When he finally nodded from understanding she got him to get going with his third try. She had already seen his awakened body finally adapting in that environment so she was curious about the result of his third try.
There was bound to be some visible progress.
°°°°
Blue advanced step by step on the periphery of the Mountain of Triumph. His speed became slower and slower but when he reached the tenth step he didn't stop this time but went three more steps further before finally stopping with a “grimacing” expression.
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This was what he had planned to do from this point on.
He deliberately showed that he “recovered” much faster than before because he had to give Julie the impression that he was finally “adapting” to this environment. In truth, his awakened human body influenced by the abyss spawn soul had already adapted on the first try.
He was already able to go till fifteenth step and his full recovery time was only about ten minutes maximum on the first try. He nerfed it to ten steps and the recovery to half an hour to be within the limit of her expectations.
So he was now finally showing “growth” just like her wishes to see him perform excellently. He had to thoroughly get Julie impressed with him to the point that their relationship could progress to the next stage. Her present stance on him was still not up to par in his opinion.
That being said, the Chasm Apple was a pleasant surprise for him.
Earlier he mused that his aether attribute comprehension training would be a total waste of time as his true comprehension or the aether vein refining wouldn't see any progress during it. This was proven wrong as Julie finally seemed to have taken the decision to invest in him with “good” stuff.
Though the elixir was good but it wasn't to his liking but this Chasm Apple was something he really appreciated. His true comprehension would still not see any progress as just one treasure was still not enough to make a dent in it but his new body's aether vein refining would see much progress.
Now he could keep refining it on all three segments of his training and it was bound to make him level up more than earlier.
That being said he could actually absorb the entire apple's aether in one sitting if he used Hearty Meal skill on it but obviously he couldn't show such a thing to Julie. At present it was known that the new healing skill could only heal his injury from surrounding “aura” so if he did anything different then his intentional hiding of the skill's true effect would be exposed.
He naturally doesn't want it to happen.
At the thirteenth step he slowly sat down in a meditative pose with the apple in his hand. He tried absorbing the aether and it “slowly” diminished bit by bit before it halted as he showed intense “exhaustion”.
He also showed a “bewildered” expression as he looked at the apple. His acting really showed how an ignorant newbie player would react upon using a treasure for the first time. Julie didn't find any oddity from it but instead teleported him back before checking on how much he gained from the Chasm Apple’s enlightenment.
He truthfully answered her as the apple only gave him information about what he already knew of. She nodded her head in satisfaction at his “progress” and then informed him,
“This is how you will keep training for these three days. From nine in the morning till sunset we will be here following this schedule. Resting period is only at night time. The lodging is that wooden hut by the way. The space inside is big enough to accommodate more than just the two of us, after all.”
“I understand. Then I will be relying on your care, Lady Auburn.”
“Leave it to me. I will make sure that your levels and three attainments’ had reached so much higher that your peers wouldn't even be able to recognize you at the monthly evaluation.”
“Truly, I am ever grateful for the care you have shown me.”
He gave her a deep bow of gratitude to show his “gratefulness” and he noticed the faint smile of appreciation on her face as their conversation carried on,
“At present you can already reach thirteen steps but let me give you a goal for these three days. The total steps that require you to reach the foot of the Mountain of Triumph is one hundred and eight. With every step the gravity increases and will reach a point where you could only go further if your level had reached the Third Skill Unlocking stage.”
“So I have to be at least level 13 to reach the foot of that mountain? My present level is only 8 so I am not quite confident to actually gain five more levels in just three days. I might disappoint your expectations, Lady Auburn.”
“No worries. You still don't know the true effect of this increased gravity phenomena. The more you keep refining your aura vein in here the better you will gain experience which will inadvertently help you level up faster.”
“With this routine being done for three days straight in a fixed pattern it is within the limit of possibilities to gain five more levels. So just be sure to maintain your diligence and trust the process. Is that clear, student Blue?”
“I will strive hard to not let you down, your ladyship.”
He replied with a solemn expression and his eyes radiated intense seriousness that almost overwhelmed her for she couldn't help but think why this young man had to be so serious.
Even if he didn't reach the foot of that mountain she will still value his potential nonetheless. That being said, if he could really reach it then in regards to his consistent diligence she decided inwardly to give him an appropriate reward for it.
Thus with many goals and plans, he started a new grind.