Chapter 4
This is my longest chapter yet at 7.2 k words. Feel free to point out mistakes or give suggestions.
Perseus was logged back in to the library. He logged in feeling pleased with himself as he had woken up to the sound of his sister screaming at the sight of her wet bed. Seeing as he still had time till he went back to instructor Grok for his letter, Perseus decided to look through the characteristics of the three weapon types he had to choose from. After reading through all the sections in various books about the three weapon types, Perseus now knew what each weapon was meant for.
Axes that were designed for combat weighed far less than an axe meant for cutting wood and could be thrown. The blades were generally narrower and sharper allowing for deeper more grievous wounds. They were meant to slice through the opponent’s arms and legs. They are mainly used in one hand however there are also those that require two hands as they are heavier and longer than others. Those longer than 1 meter are considered pole arms. Axes overall have extremely good striking ability.
Swords are meant for mainly slashing and thrusting like axes swords come in different shapes as well as sizes each meant for a different type of fighting style. The Great sword which emphasizes strength and slashing at the cost of speed or the rapier which favors speed and thrusting at the cost of strength. Swords generally have a longer reach than axes, if you don’t count poleaxes which are more pole arm than axe. They are very versatile.
Finally maces are meant do deal blunt melee damage and generally have the least range of the three but a lot of power behind each blow. The heads of maces can be flanged, knobbed or have built in spikes to allow the penetration of armor. While they may not cut an opponent they have the possibility of crushing bones, destroying armor and stunning.
Having finished his research, yet still undecided, Perseus decided to leave and meet the instructor. After putting all the books back on the shelves he made his way out of the library. On his way out he spotted the librarian and called out to him.
“Hello sir librarian, thank you for your help in my research.”
“Think nothing of it, anything to help an up and coming knight.”
“How did you know I was training to be a knight?”
“Only someone who is interested in being a knight would look up the history of Rosenheim and its military. You are a squire right, who is your master?”
“I am going to meet him today all I know is that his name is Aglaron.”
At the mention of the name the color drained from the librarian’s face.
“What’s the matter you look like you have seen a ghost?”
“What, you mean you don’t know? No its better if you don’t know for now, just don’t mention your new master’s name casually. Good luck in your apprenticeship.”
‘You will need it.’
“Thank you, I think. Right then, good bye sir.”
“Yes good bye.”
‘I do hope he survives.’
After the weird reaction he got on the mention of his new master’s name Perseus decided to be more careful with information. He felt a disturbance in the force (I’m sorry I just couldn’t resist). He decided to take the direct route to the training hall ignoring the stares.
Upon reaching the training hall he quickly found the instructor yelling at some poor fool who was using his sword as a toothpick. After ten minutes of yelling and insulting, which ended in a young emotionally scarred man running from the hall crying, the instructor finally noticed Perseus waiting for him.
“Sorry I didn’t notice you.”
“No problem.”
Perseus didn’t mind in fact he enjoyed watching he even found some new insulting material from the exchange a few minutes ago. It was a quite entertaining and profitable ten minutes for Perseus.
“I assume you are here for the letter. Here you go there is the letter along with a map of the city and directions to the military base. Oh and you can take off the weights now. He will probably make you put them back on though. You best prepare yourself now.”
After removing the weights Perseus felt lighter, faster and stronger than before.
“Instructor I thank you for everything you have done for me in the past week.”
“Think nothing of it, I got a kick out of watching you struggle.”
Perseus smiled, he had grown quite fond of the instructor. After a final goodbye Perseus made his way to the military base to meet his new master.
After making a few twists and turns Perseus had reached the main military training base. It was of the main military bases in the city, located near the east gate of the city. It was a massive area equal to ten football fields. It had walls made of stone and barbed wire for railing on top to prevent thieves or assassins from entering the training grounds. There were many high profile knights of the army training new recruits as such the price on their heads from other kingdoms would be high. The grounds only had a single entrance guarded by four guards armed with swords. From what Perseus could tell they looked like falchion blades. Walking closer to examine them he was stopped by a guard.
“Halt, state your name and business.”
“Hello, sorry I just wanted a closer look at your swords, didn’t mean to alarm you. As for why I am here I was told I would meet my new master here today.”
“I see and what is your new Master’s name?”
“I was told his name was Aglaron. If you want to see my letter I ca-“
“N- NO, that won’t be necessary; he is at the smithy waiting for you. Take a right, go straight and you’ll find it.”
After hearing Perseus’s new master’s name the guard cut Perseus off and looked quite terrified.
“Thank you”
Perseus entered the gate wondering what kind of demon his new Master was. Following the guards instructions Perseus reached the Smithy. It was quite large with over twenty forges, each of which was being used. There were ores and tools scattered all round. In the middle of it all was a man standing tall at 6 foot 4 wearing pure black armor wearing a long sword. Perseus assumed he was his new Master and went forward to talk to him. When he was about to call out to him however, the man suddenly turned around and flashed his long sword at a speed Perseus found impossible, attempting to take off Perseus’s head. After all the training he had done with the instructor he had just barely managed to dodge it and jump back. Sheathing his sword the man spoke.
“You have good reflexes”
“What do you mean “You have good reflexes” you could have taken off my head.”
“No that’s not possible my future disciple cannot possibly be killed by such an obvious surprise attack.”
“So you mean you are my new master?”
“Yup. My name is Sir Aglaron, you can call me Master, Sensei, Sifu or Masenfu if you prefer. Scratch that you will call me Masenfu.”
“Wha-, yes Masenfu”
When Perseus voiced an objection his new Masenfu had gazed at him with his obsidian eyes filled with killing intent so deep and murderous Perseus that Perseus submitted. Perseus realized that there was no way for him to ever beat him, he was to too strong. Just his killing intent was enough to tell that. Perseus just accepted the fact that he was his Masenfu.
“Right then show me your stats and skills”
“Yes, Masenfu, show Stats and Skills”
Taking a look through Perseus’s stats and skills Sir Aglaron showed no reaction yet raised his eyebrow at killing spirit and killing spirit manipulation.
“Directing your killing spirit at Grok may have been okay with him but I recommend you refrain from doing so with the knights and soldiers in the base you will most likely be attacked. From what I see directing it at nothing in particular poses no problem and you will still get the boost in ability from the fighting spirit portion, but if you make it too murderous you could get in trouble. Aside from that do you have the weights you used in the training with Grok?”
“Yes.”
“Put them on and follow me, oh wait I forgot I have to officially ask if you want to be my squire. Would you like to train under me?”
Job offer: Squire
You have been offered apprenticeship from Sir Aglaron. If you accept you shall gain training and access to the training grounds. You will convert to the class of Squire. After your training, you may be knighted into the Black Order.
Do you accept Yes/No
“I accept”
‘So he is from the black order, looking at his strength he must be at least a knight colonel.’
After accepting Perseus followed his Masenfu to the far end of the smithy. Perseus began studying the appearance of his new Masenfu. He was tall and his eyes, hair and armor were all obsidian black, no wonder he was a part of the Black Order (I was quite tempted to make him a White Order knight for the sake of irony, but some how held on =P).
“Now then as a knight you will need the optimal amount of defense so that you won’t die from a few hits. Knights usually wear a pair of leather armor followed by chain mail and on top plate armor this gives the optimal amount of defense. However this is also quite heavy and to wear it for long periods of time you need to increase your strength, stamina and speed so that you are not worn out from just wearing the armor. So to prepare you for that, the duration of your training will be spent wearing those weights and a set of leather, chain mail and plate armor. Also we will increase the weights to 50 kg. Most squires will just train with leather and mail armor but you are my apprentice so you will have to be stronger than the others.
“Yes Masenfu”
“So the training will go like this when you wake up in the morning you will train with the rest of the squires and then at night you will train with me. Don’t ask about sleep I will give you 6 hours of sleep that is more than enough.”
Sir Aglaron thought that Perseus would belly ache because of only 6 hours of sleep. Perseus however did not mind as during his time with the instructor he sometimes had as little as 2 hours of sleep in between his training and his fixing of gear.
“As you say, do I go join the squires now?”
“Yes you will find them on the track just go back out take a right, go straight and then take a left it is huge you can’t miss it. Tell the instructor
there I sent you he will understand.”
Wordlessly Perseus exited the forge after putting on the armor. As he made his way to the track he felt that the armor didn’t constrict him as much as he thought it would. The armor, as Perseus noticed also, allowed him to make all the slashes and strikes he would soon learn possible but it did restrict him of certain unnecessary movements.
Upon reaching the track he was greeted with the sight of twenty odd young men jogging along a massive track, the track was larger than the one in the training hall by half and had a few obstacles here and there.
Walking up to the instructor Perseus noticed that the other squires were giving him questioning glances. Perseus assumed they were questioning his wearing of extra armor and weights, so he ignored them. The instructor knight in charge was a gruff but tough looking old man. When he noticed Perseus he called out to him.
“Who sent you?”
“Sir Aglaron, sir.”
Aglaron’s name started a ripple of whispers to break out from the exhausted squires.
“Quiet down you lot, well get in line I don’t have all day.”
‘So the brat chose this kid, eh. Well I’ll see what he’s got.’
Perseus walked to the back of the line and they resumed there long jog across the track. Along the track Perseus started conversing with the squire at the back of the line with him. He was of average height and had a slim muscular build. The only defining features he had were his red hair and his never disappearing smile.
“Hi, I’m Dan.”
“Hey, I’m Perseus”
“I am training to be a knight of the White Order; I am assuming you are joining the Black Order.”
“Yea, how did you know?”
“You said your master’s name earlier right.”
“Yes, but how did you know he was a part of the Black Order?”
“What, you don’t know. Your Master is the legendary Black knight who took down an entire army of 1000 men by himself, not to mention he is the Commander Knight of the Black Order as well as the strongest knight of the kingdom second only to the Commander General himself. More over on the continent he is ranked in the top 50 knights. How did you now know?!”
Perseus was dumbfounded he thought his Master was strong but not this ridiculously strong. He realized he made the right choice in starting his plan in Rosenheim. Here Perseus would learn combat from one of the strongest men on the continent. When Perseus was going to question him further the instructor called back to them.
“Stop gossiping like little girls and keep up.”
Perseus and the recruits had been running for an hour, how many laps he ran Perseus lost count. He could keep with the pace but the running was just as hard as when he first started out with instructor Grok. Determined not to give up he activated killing spirit, and charged forward. Perseus had the habit of activating it whenever he felt pressured. The skill made him feel as if he could go on longer than he normally could. His spirit had caused some of the more sensitive squires to look around in panic to find out if it was the instructor who was mad, at those moments he would lower his spirit. The continuous low and high of the Killing Spirit manipulation caused a good experience gain. The instructor had noticed Perseus use of killing spirit and seemed amused. He felt pleased at the fact that some young people these days had found the good use for emotion as he did. It was from this point on he decided to be tough on Perseus. As his instructor had been on him for it produced the greatest results.
Immediately after the 2 hour run, he barked at the tired squires to follow him to the weapons ground. The grounds were packed with scarecrows used for teaching the motions of weapon usage to the knights. Knights were required to be able to use properly at least two types of melee weapons and then after one week of training specialize. Most of the other squires haven’t been here for a week and so they were all being barked at the instructor on the proper usage of the mace, sword, axe, pole arm, and shield.
The instructor was being exceptionally tough on Perseus berating him for the tiniest errors. Perseus was enraged at how the instructor was picking on him. He activated his Killing Spirit and then began directing all of his anger and frustration onto the scarecrow. Using his Killing spirit manipulation, he directed it a side and attacked at the opposite, practicing how he would use Killing Spirit on a real person. His aura caused many of the other squires to shrink away from him. While most felt that way, Dan and a few others appeared unaffected as if they were used to such a thing. While the instructor appeared to be disapproving of Perseus’s skill he was actually quite leased at his Perseus’s movement and obedience. Perseus’s training to improve his fluidity and lung capacity had done wonders for his ability to use weapons.
Finally after eight hours of hellish fighting with each weapon type and leveling his Killing Spirit once, Perseus was going to follow the rest of the squires to the Mess hall when he remembered he had training with his Masenfu. Groaning he went to the instructor to ask where his Masenfu was.
“Instructor, sir, would you please direct me to where my Masenfu is?”
Perseus did not want to aggravate the instructor and get laps as punishment he had seen a few who had taken that punishment.
‘Trying not to me mad, huh, smart kid.’
“I saw heading to the smithy.”
“Thank you sir.”
Perseus made his way to the smithy once again. He saw his Master standing in front of the smithy waiting for him.
“You made me wait, don’t be late next time. Now follow me.”
“Yes, Masenfu”
Sir Aglaron led Perseus to his room in the Senior Knight quarters. Sir Aglaron’s room was quite large and a good equivalent to a penthouse in Royal Road. It had a few rooms, one a lounge for relaxing, the next a bedroom with a large bed, and lastly a massive personal training room with walls lined with weapons of all types and armor ranging from leather and plate.
“Well, come on then.”
Perseus wordlessly followed Aglaron to the training room.
“Okay now today you have been introduced to all kinds of weaponry and normally a squire will have to wait a week before receiving specialized training in his chosen weapon. However since you are my disciple you will specialize now.”
“Really? That’s awesome, but I can’t decide on a weapon I have three types of weapons that I want to learn but……”
“That is isn’t a problem since you are my disciple it is only right you specialize in more than one weapon. So what weapons did you have in mind?”
“I want to have the heaviest possible weapon in maces, swords and axes. So I was thinking a Gada, a Claymore and a heavy Double Edged Axe.”
“So you like heavy weapons, huh, good thing for you I have mastered every weapon in this room. Ok then along with the weapons you have chosen I will teach you how to use the other weapons from the types you chose as well. Today we will focus on swords; tomorrow we will do axes and the day after maces. I f you get through the next six days without whining I will teach you some of my best techniques on the seventh day.”
“Awesome, thank you Masenfu.”
“Right then lets begin.”
Perseus spent the rest of the night building on the hellish training with the instructor with an even more hellish training. Aglaron had taught better efficient ways of slashing, thrusting, parrying and diverting the opponents attack with each type of sword. They spent the most time on the Claymore. According to his Masenfu the Claymore can be a dangerous weapon in the hands of those trained. While most believe it to be slow but with enough strength and skill it is possible to overcome that weakness. Aglaron taught Perseus a more efficient way of using the claymore so that it cuts through the air rather than fighting against it this improved his swords speed and power greatly. After four hours of continuous practice Perseus had generated the Sword Mastery skill and after another five hours brought it to level two. At that point Perseus was panting and fell to the ground the moment his Masenfu told him that that was all for today. He had survived the first day. After lying on the floor Perseus got up and asked his Masenfu where he could get some food.
“Go to the mess hall there is always someone there because many people do late night training. After that go to the barracks you are in room B12. You have six hours to sleep you get up at eight for training with instructor Grant. You can take off the mail and plate armor while you sleep but keep the leather and weights on.”
‘So his name is Grant’
“Yes, thank you for the tutelage, Masenfu and good night.”
After thanking his Masenfu Perseus made his way to the mess hall to get a bite to eat he was surprised to find Dan already there. It turns out they were both doing training with their Masters late at night and to Perseus’s surprise they were roommates. When Perseus asked Dan who his Master was it turned out he was the newly entered Commander Knight for the White Order. As it turned out the previous Commander Knight of the White Order had retired and needed a replacement and Dan’s Master was chosen to be the new Commander Knight and was granted his promotion a couple weeks back. Was it coincidence that two disciples of Commander Knights known to only have a single disciple appear at the same time and more over be roommates? Perseus didn’t have an answer and frankly he was too tired to think about it. He wolfed down what remained of his food and walked to the barracks with Dan. He immediately crashed into the bed exhausted.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
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Six Days later
Perseus had been training at the base for six days now and today was the most anticipated day of them all. His Masenfu had promised to teach him a new technique today. But first he had to do his training with instructor knight Grant. Walking out of the shower Perseus put on his three set of armor and adjusted the weights on his arms and legs. His Masenfu had increased his weights by another 20 kg so that they now weighed 60 kg. He was a total sadist but Perseus had to admit he was a good teacher. After he removed weights Perseus would be much stronger than any other squire in the base. While Perseus was mulling these thoughts Dan had gotten himself out of the shower and dressed. Together they made their way to the track. The two of them had gotten close over the six days they spent together. They had talked about their lives before coming here and how they got here. Dan was a pretty cheerful person and quite dependable. When Perseus forgot to return the weapon at the end of the weapon training on the second day Dan took the blame for him instead. Since then they had been good friends.
Upon reaching the track Perseus reactivated his Killing Spirit he had gotten the habit of activating and using it whenever and wherever he could. Whenever anybody noticed it he toned it down and through this process had managed to level it up to beginner level 7. His other skills however remained at a standstill, he couldn’t find the time in between training to level them.
The other twenty odd squires arrived and the instructor began the laps, Perseus now had no problem with keeping the pace and by the end of the two hour run he was barely breathing hard.
They moved onto weapon training and for the next seven hours Perseus was practicing using the Gada, Claymore and Two Handed Axe in sync with
his killing spirit. He had gotten proficient with using the Killing Spirit with his attacks and even got advice from the instructor on better timings to use it. He had also managed to get mastery for the mace and sword, but when he got axe mastery the three combined and formed Weapon Mastery at a level of three.
Weapon Mastery Beginner level 3
Increases Weapon Attack speed by 9%
Increases Weapon Attack Power by 30%
After finishing training for the day finished Perseus made his way to the mess hall for a bite to eat before departing for his training with his Masenfu. Hearing no response to his knocking on his Masenfu’s door, Perseus opened the door and went inside.
There was no light in the room and Perseus slowly made his way to the training room. When he reached the middle of the training room he felt a violent aura, but he couldn’t tell where it was coming from. Perseus grabbed the bastard sword lying on the ground and took up defensive stance. Perseus then released his Killing Spirit. He made it swirl around him in a 2 feet radius so that he could sense if anyone enters the radius. Moments after he set the field, his opponent striked. It was the worst time for Perseus to receive an attack as he was not prepared for such a sudden attack. He pivoted and raised the sword to receive the attack when the two swords clashed sparks fired and the curtains opened. The identity of the attacker…..
“Masenfu?”
“Hello”
“Don’t hello me you could have killed me!”
“That’s impossible remember what I said when we first met there is no way my disciple will die from a simple and obvious surprise attack, besides I wasn’t serious if was you would be dead a hundred times over.”
“Alright, but why did you attack me?”
“To see if you were ready to learn my technique.”
“So am I?”
“Yes, I will start by telling you this; the technique I am going to teach you is one of my most powerful and is related to a skill you already possess. Yes Killing Spirit Manipulation. The technique is about using your emotions as power, you convert it into energy and can use it to enhance your body and other abilities.”
“How do I learn it?”
“Let us start by this close your eyes. Now imagine the sweetest old lady you can. She treats you like a son and gives you a silver to go play with. You have her in mind, good. Now imagine the most rotten bandit you can. Good now imagine this, the bandit walks up to her, pushes her onto the ground and then proceeds repeatedly stabs her in front of a frozen you, too paralyzed with fear to do anything. You hear screams begging for help and when they finally stop what is left behind is a mutilated bloody body and for what reason was for such a death for? It was all for the piece of silver she gave you. She died all for you it was for you and because of you. You did nothing even though you were right there.”
At this point Perseus was practically foaming at the mouth with rage and ket saying “Not again, no not again move, move, do something” , then he let out a roar and with all his might slashed down the bandit in both his mind and the one he imagine one standing before him. The slash caused a red black wave of energy to shoot out. The energy caused the room to split in half.
After cutting him down Perseus fell to the floor still whispering “no not again, move, move.”
Sir Aglaron was shocked he didn’t think he would bring up a tragic memory of the past for his disciple. This was the only way to learn the skill but he felt horrible for what he reminded his disciple of, what can only be assumed as the death of a loved one.
Sir Aglaron lifted his crying disciple up and moved him to the bed where he fell asleep. Sir Aglaron sat at the bed deep in thought over what he did. How could he do such a thing to his disciple?
After two hours Perseus woke up and sat up.
“I apologize as your Masenfu I should have known that it was getting too personal for you and stopped but that was the only way to learn the skill and I only realized at the end. For that you have my apologies.”
“It is not your fault; it is because I didn’t tell you.”
“You do not need to speak about it if you do not wish to.”
“No sir I think it is good I tell you, as you are my Masenfu and it also relates to why I want to be a knight.”
“When I was seven my dad took my elder sister to the park and left me at home with my mom. We didn’t go because I was playing in the rain the week before and became sick. We were having a good time until we heard the door open. My mom called out went out to see if they came back, but as soon as she had left she came running back and locked the door shut. It was a thief come to rob our house my mom told me to hide under the bed and stood in front of the locked door. The thief wasn’t going to let my mom go because she saw him so he kept trying to break the door. Eventually the thief broke down the door and entered he asked my mom if anyone else was in the house and she replied with a no. The man did not believe her and proceeded to stab her in her arms and legs asking again and again the same question.”
“Again and again she answered saying that she was alone after the twentieth stab he finally believed her and then killed her. I had seen the whole thing and the entire time I was too scared to get up and help my mom. To this day I think about what would have happened if I had done something differently, would she be here with me, would she be alive? That is the reason to be a knight to make sure nothing like this happens to anyone. To protect the young and innocent as well as their families. It is also why I have great anger at anyone who makes fun of the weak or bullies them. But the one I bear most anger towards is myself.”
At the end of his horrible trip down memory lane Perseus had tears in his eyes and his face was filled with anger and resentment.
“You shouldn’t regret over what might have been, your mother gave her life so that you would be safe. If you had gone up and out of the bed her efforts would have been in vain and she would have died without a reason. However, because you live so does she, in your heart and memory. You must move on and protect those that need protecting not grovel on the ground in regret over what has been or would have been.”
His Masenfu’s face had the look of someone who understood Perseus’s feelings quite well, as if he had felt what Perseus had a point in his life.
“It is alright to cry once in a while.”
“Yes Masenfu”
At the his Masenfu’s words of permission the tears that he had stopped came rushing out. Perseus had realized his Masenfu was right. He decided he would regret any more instead he will be thankful to his mother and fight evil in her name. He had also decided that his Masenfu was a person worth being taught by and a great knight. He now had a goal to be a better knight than he is so that he can face forward with everything he has so that he can protect the weak.
“Thank you, Masenfu, Thank you.”
“You are my disciple how could I not help. Anyway aside from all that sad nonsense look at your new skill.”
Perseus wiped away his tears and looked at the pop up that had opened up while he was sleeping.
New Skill: Killing Spirit Control (Passive) Beginner 3
By learning to harness you Killing Spirit you have upgraded you Killing Spirit Manipulation to Killing Spirit Control. You can now control you killing spirit you can now control it to enhance yourself or create weak blasts and shockwaves. Depending on how you use it mana will be consumed. The power of your abilities changes according to your emotions depth. If enough mana is not available health will be consumed.
“It is a good skill right? The skill’s strength depends solely on your emotions so it will grow stronger as you grow as a person.”
“It is amazing.”
“Ok today has been a bit dramatic so I will give you the day off.”
“Thank you Masenfu”
With that Perseus left with a lighter heart. After Perseus left Sir Aglaron was in a dilemma how would he explain to the carpenters how his room was cut in half. Perseus unaware of his Masenfu’s trouble was comfortably getting ready for an early sleep.
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The Next Morning
“Alright maggots today you will be learning how to ride and fight on a horse. Now each of you grab a horse and begin riding.”
Perseus grabbed the horse at the end of the line it was a white horse that looked pretty friendly. After riding for an hour Perseus had generated the riding skill.
New Skill: Riding
Riding skill improves your ability to balance and speed to an extent when riding a horse.
Improve balance by 10%
Improved riding speed by 3%
After everyone had learned the skill the instructor began teaching everyone on how to generally fight on horseback. After another three hours of practicing they went to the weapon training field.
Once there Perseus picked up his Claymore and began attacking the scarecrow. After fifteen minutes he started battering the scarecrows all around him one after the other and activated the skill his master taught him and thought of everything that made him mad. Elevator music, the scratching sound of the chalk board (you know the one) until finally he reached the most annoying one of them all, that one classmate who keeps asking those stupid questions and with a final full powered wide slash the scarecrows within the vicinity all fell apart.
Panting Perseus looked up he saw a large crowd of people staring at him squires and knights alike. All wondering what the hell kind of skill he was using to break the scarecrows, when Dan started clapping. Instructor Grant chose that moment to speak up.
“What are all you looking at, go back to your work.”
After sending them all away he turned to Perseus.
“Don’t use that skill so publically next time, that skill is one of the secrets techniques of the old empire.”
“You mean it is a technique of the Vanaheim Empire?”
“Oh so you know of its name. Indeed it is, and as such it is a military secret known only to a single line of Master and student within every order.”
“If that is true then how do you know of it?”
“How do you think?”
“No way you are my Masenfu’s Masenfu?!”
“Who do you think came up with Masenfu?”
“Wow that must mean you are even stronger than him.”
“No he has long since surpassed me. Anyway this is not about me and Aglaron. It is about you not showing our ability so publically unless you are backed into a corner, got it?”
“Yes”
“Well get back in line”
After the incident Perseus didn’t use the skill to enhance himself, publically, but he did practice using its intent. Intent means your intent to attack or kill. Perseus practiced directing it with the new skill and found it much easier to control with the new skill than the old.
By the end of training he had managed to level it up by one and then made his way to his Masenfu’s room. While passing the smithy Perseus found his Masenfu standing there waiting for him.
“Hey there disciple from today on we are going to begin your blacksmithing training.”
“So I get to make my own weapons?”
“Yeah, we won’t be able to use my room for a while since someone slashed a giant hole into my room.”
“Yeah, ha ha ha.”
“Well, lets start.”
Perseus learned that to build anything with ore the first step was to smelt the ore. After smelting the ore you pour it into a mold in the shape of the sword. You wait for it to become solid to the point where you can flip it over yet it still remains hot. When it is at that point you have to hammer the edges to create an edge. Which end you start at and how many strikes you give each side; greatly affect how your sword is balanced. If you are attempting to make a singled edged blade then you only hammer one side of the sword. After this process it will most likely be cooler. Then after this you begin tempering the blade. But first we have to have to increase the heat of the forge to a cherry red flame to soften the blade. The temperature required can be measured by checking if a magnet sticks to the end of the hilt if not it is ready. At that point depending on the type of ore used you either dip the sword into oil or fire. Now you shine it a bit and the move on to low flame where you hold it over the fire and make sure the color of the blade changes to wheat color and not blue. After that you dip it into either oil or water depending on the ore used.
The tempering is now complete, after tempering the blade you polish the blade and move on to the guard. To make the guard you have to create a square rod at the size of the guard you wish using a mold. Next you use a hammer to make 5 small holes along the middle of the guard. Next you have to join these five holes to make 1 wide slot large enough for the sword to enter. You can shape the guard into more than just a sure with the help of a file. After that you make the hilt and pommel. To make the hilt you need to first…..
Everything after the polishing he knew and so tuned out the rest, but for the sake of his master he kept quiet and listened there were also a few bits and pieces he knew nothing about. His master had spent 2 hours making the finished sword.
The finished product looked like this:
Splendid Hard Iron Sword
Durability 120/120
Attack 25-30
Created by a very experienced blacksmith, superior to the iron sword received at the training hall.
Options
+20 strength
Restrictions
Strength +50
“I finished the sword in two hours using the techniques I had when I started out. If I used my current techniques it would take half the time, but you will have to discover those by yourself.”
“Yes Masenfu”
“I showed you how to make a sword the rest you figure out on your own, you have enough information. I will be away for the next two weeks and won’t be able to teach you for a while so just keep practicing your weapons and blacksmithing.”
“Yes Masenfu”
Perseus began making swords, at first he could make only make two in four and a half hours. He then tried making two swords simultaneously and succeeded in making some fairly decent swords in three hours.
After putting the materials away he went back to his room to sleep for tomorrow he would begin training again.
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A Week Later
It had been a week since Perseus had started his horse riding and blacksmithing. He had learned how to make the weapons and armor he used with the help of the system advice but the gear he made was still too weak for him to have any use for. The skill itself though leveled up to beginner level 5. His horse riding had risen exceptionally to the level of beginner level 7. His weapon Mastery was at beginner level 8 and his Killing Spirit Control was at beginner level 7. He had been secretly practicing his control over it and enhancing his body when nobody was around. He had also found a way for it to help in Blacksmithing. If he directed the Spirit toward the forge it increased in heat faster but if he increased the heat too fast it could have negative effects on the crafted item. This cut his smithing time by a third. Perseus had also found that being near a forge for a long time had increased his fire resistance. He also now had no problems with the weights and then decided to increase them himself. They now weighed 70 kg. Finally Sharpening, Polishing, and Identify also gained a few levels.
Today it seemed like something was up because the instructor looked really excited and whenever he was excited it meant trouble for them.
“Alright maggots some of you may have heard. But we will be holding a tournament in a weeks’ time. The tournament will be between all you squires and the prize will be the opportunity to take a test that will choose or create a knight class for the winner of the tournament. We hold the tournament for every couple of batches of recruits.”
That caused a ripple of whispers to break out among the squires.
“Shut your mouths. Now in preparation for the tournament we will be starting real combat simulation that means sparring. I have taught you all how to fight now we will practice using it. Divide into pairs and we will begin.”
The squires divided into pairs and began sparring with each other. Perseus’s partner wasn’t all that good and Perseus held himself back in order not to shame him. The other squire was aware of Perseus’s skill when he broke those scarecrows and was grateful. Perseus training and sparring with his master had made him better at the sparring lessons than most of the other squires. And so the rest of the day went on in the same way as before. He went over to the mess hall, after training and then to the smithy to practice his blacksmithing. Finally he went back to his room and lay in bed content with his days work.
‘I have to win that tournament the class could help me with my goal. I should check my stats and skills before logging off.’
“Stats and Skills”
Avatar: Perseus
Race:Human
Level: 1
Class: Squire
Title: None
Fame: 0
Life: 1350
Mana: 400
Strength: 85
Agility: 82
Stamina: 97
Wisdom: 30
Intelligence: 34
Leadership: 0
Luck: 0
Killing Spirit: 104
Offence: 19
Defense: 13
Resistance to magic:
Fire: 5%
Water: 0%
Earth: 0%
Black: 0%
Repair: Intermediate 1(11%)
Polishing: Intermediate 2 (27%)
Sharpening: Intermediate 1 (46%)
Identify: Intermediate 3 (22%)
Killing Spirit Control: Beginner 7 (29%)
Riding: Beginner 7
Weapon Mastery: Beginner 8
Blacksmithing: Beginner 5
After closing his windows Perseus logged off and proceeded to dump water on his sister’s bed again.