Wizards begin by accessing the Inspiration panel.

Chapter 5 The Wandering Poet

The difference this time was that Richard did not drag the slider to the far right, where it would go, to 278.

Instead, it was fine-tuned to 100, which is a little over one-third of the way down the slider, and then stopped.

Only then did Richard select "Yes!"

In an instant, Richard, in his soul form, entered the dream space with practiced ease, possessing the body of a figure constantly practicing the Clavel breathing technique, the first form, the second form...

With each movement, Richard gained new insights, and some of his previously incorrect postures were gradually corrected.

After an unknown amount of time, Richard's body trembled slightly, and he finally came to his senses.

Silently reciting the panel in my mind, I saw that the content in parentheses for Clavier's Breathing Technique had changed from (Shallow 53%) to (Proficient 2%).

Richard immediately began practicing breathing techniques in the room again, but this time, he chose "no" and did not use his cheat code.

After completing the entire set of breathing exercises, Richard was drenched in sweat, with drops of murky sweat secreting from every pore of his body.

"Not bad!" Richard thought to himself, "After the breathing technique was improved to a proficient level, the whole set of movements became much smoother, and the effect of doing it once was much better than before when it was at a rudimentary level."

Suddenly, Richard felt a surge of heat pumping powerfully from his chest and heart, circulating throughout his limbs and bones, making him feel as if he were soaking in a hot spring.

The fatigue from the recent battle was completely swept away, and I felt as if I had inexhaustible energy.

After a while, the heat gradually dissipated from my body.

When Richard brought up the panel again, he noticed a subtle change in the attribute section.

Name: Richard Clavel

[Attributes]: Strength 2.1, Agility 2.4, Constitution 2.2, Spirit 3.8

[Skills]: Clavier's Breathing Technique (Proficient 2%), Cornell Swordsmanship (Basic 62%), Bow and Crossbow (Master 2%)

[Energy Points]: 178

It seems that the improved breathing technique allowed him to break through some kind of physical barrier, and now all his attributes have improved.

This greatly encouraged Richard!

Unfortunately, breathing exercises should generally not be performed more than twice a day.

Excessive practice can deplete your potential and damage your body.

He clearly remembered that before his breathing technique was improved, his strength was only 1.9, but now his strength had become 2.1, and his other attributes had also improved to varying degrees.

This shows that after the breathing technique is improved, each cycle will comprehensively enhance his physical fitness.

But after the heat subsided, a sudden, intense hunger pang shot through my stomach, like someone who hadn't eaten for three days and now felt like they could eat a whole cow right there.

Richard immediately called Serena over and asked her to tell the kitchen to prepare something for him, specifically emphasizing that he should have plenty of meat.

Upon hearing that Richard was going to eat so much, Serena's eyes widened, and she murmured, "Young Master Richard, eating so much food at night isn't good for your health, is it?"

"Go quickly, young master is hungry!" In a great mood, Richard gently pinched the maid's chubby cheeks.

Serena was immediately embarrassed and dared not persuade her any further. She lifted her skirt and hurried downstairs.

After eating enough food for three people, Richard finally felt full. He patted his stomach and felt much more comfortable.

He was initially feeling sleepy, but then he remembered that he still had 178 energy points, and that his swordsmanship seemed to be improving to the proficient level soon, currently showing as (62% rudimentary).

So he immediately decided to practice swordsmanship.

Richard took down the knight's longsword hanging on the wall and began practicing the thirteen moves of Cornell's swordsmanship from his memory.

The first move is a right-side step-and-slash.

The second move is a left-side step upward sweep.

Sure enough, his practice quickly sparked inspiration.

This time, Richard dragged the slider to position 78, intending to reserve 100 energy points for emergencies.

Richard re-enters the dream space, this time possessing the body of a figure diligently practicing Cornell's swordsmanship.

Richard meticulously studied the key points of each movement, such as downward slash, upward sweep, thrust, and horizontal slash, as well as the subtle details of how footwork should be coordinated with sword moves.

This dreamlike process of practicing swordsmanship lasted for an unknown amount of time.

When Richard came to his senses, Cornell's swordsmanship level on the panel was already displayed as (Proficient 8%).

Seeing that all three skills had improved, Richard immediately smiled with satisfaction.

After taking a shower, I fell into a deep sleep and slept soundly through the night without any dreams.

The next morning, Richard was awakened by the first rays of sunlight outside his window. After eating the breakfast that Serena had specially brought upstairs, he went to the training ground feeling refreshed.

Before Richard could even reach the training ground, he encountered an elderly man dressed impeccably in a tailcoat and white shirt as he passed through the inner garden.

The old man's name was Paddy, the old butler of the Clavel family, who had served two generations of barons and was extremely loyal.

"Second Young Master, the Master requests your presence in the study," Old Paddy said respectfully.

"Okay, is my brother already here?" Richard asked casually, presumably to discuss what happened last night.

"Yes, besides the young master, there is also Sir Rollins, the sheriff of Silverpine Town, and a guest who should be a bard," old Paddy added.

"A bard?" Richard was surprised; he had heard of bards before.

Many of the books he had read before were accounts of wandering poets recounting their travel experiences.

Upon hearing that there were wandering poets present, Richard became very interested and quickened his pace.

A short while later, he arrived at the Baron's study.

Sure enough, just as the old butler had said, in addition to his father, brother, and Knight Rollins, there was also an old man in a grey robe in the room.

When Richard walked in, the old man glanced at him. As their eyes met, Richard felt that the old man's eyes were as deep as the ocean, captivating him. But Richard quickly came back to his senses.

"Huh!" The old man's expression changed slightly, seemingly surprised by Richard's performance.

"Father, brother, Sir Rollins," Richard said, bowing.

"Richard, this is Lord Stefano, a bard who has been invited by Earl Harris to Silverpine Town to investigate the monster incident."

"Your Excellency Stefano, it is a great honor to meet you!" It never hurts to be polite, and Richard always held himself to high standards of etiquette.

"Second young master of the Clavel family, it is a pleasure to meet you!" The gray-robed old man's voice was deep and magnetic, seemingly inspiring goodwill in those around him.

"Now that everyone is here, Lord Stefano, let's go and take a look at the remains of some monsters."

Also, I would appreciate it if you could identify what kind of monster this is.

The baron rose and invited the old man to go first.

"Of course, that's also my main purpose for coming here," the gray-robed old man said with a smile as he stood up.

Amidst laughter and conversation, the group moved to the castle's tightly sealed basement.

When the gray-robed elder Stefano saw the initial four-meter-long wreckage, a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face.

"Your Excellency, if I may ask you, could you briefly explain how you killed this monster?"

I find it hard to believe that, without the intervention of any supernatural force, you and your soldiers alone were able to slay the tree demon through sheer bravery.”

After the Baron recounted the details of the kill, Stefano nodded, revealing an expression of certainty, and said, "No wonder. It would have been better if a wizard apprentice or a witcher had been there."

Your chief guard will not have been killed, as the tree spirit has a special ability: parasitism.

However, the host must have obvious wounds.

Clearly, your chief guard's wound was already infected with the seeds sown by the tree spirit at that time.

So, not long after you returned to the castle, he mutated into a parasitic tree spirit.

The mutations of the other three wounded soldiers were also due to this reason.

"A wizard's apprentice? A witcher?" Richard's attention was immediately drawn to these words.

(End of this chapter)