The adventurer at the bottom is fantasizing again.

Chapter 103 Military Swordsmanship → Beginner (4K)

After leaving the blacksmith shop, the two went to a jewelry store and disposed of the gems they had seized from the goblin camp.

A total of 27 gold coins were sold, and each person received exactly 9 gold coins.

The two then headed towards the tavern.

Eileen suddenly slowed down on her way back.

"I'm planning to go to the Mage Association this afternoon to inquire about any traces of mechanics here," she said.

Lorraine was taken aback, then said, both touched and somewhat embarrassed, "A mechanic? I'm very grateful... but if I were to infuse it now, I'd really have to sell myself to you."

"Ha, who wants you?"

Eileen was somewhat immune to his teasing. She raised her hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, which was blocking her view, and said calmly, "I had been planning to have a mechanic craftsman create a spellbook, but I had too many things to do and kept putting it off. I'll take this opportunity to resolve it."

"A spellbook? What's that?"

Lorraine became interested in this unfamiliar term.

This kind of thing wasn't mentioned in "Malcolm's Beginner's Guide to Spellcasting," which he consulted while learning magic.

He had seen Eileen's spell notes before, but they were clearly not the same as spellbooks.

"You... sigh."

Eileen sighed and explained to him helplessly, "A spellbook is a magical artifact that can store spell models in advance. The principle is actually quite simple:

When the spellcaster is at a free time, he or she will pre-construct the spell models he or she will then infuse them into his or her spellbook and store them there.

This way, during combat, you won't need to reconstruct complex spell models; you can simply call the stored spells from your spellbook.

"This magical artifact sounds wonderful."

Lorraine carefully considered her description and became increasingly convinced that this thing was truly amazing.

"Of course."

Eileen's lips curled slightly as she continued, "So if you have the financial means, you should do it as soon as possible."

Once a spell reaches the first level, the time required to construct the spell model becomes the biggest bottleneck limiting casting speed, even surpassing that of incantations and runes.

She paused, then held up a finger and shook it in front of Lorraine's eyes: "However, it also has quite a few limitations."

"First, the spell models it stores are fixed, and their power or range cannot be adjusted temporarily."

"Secondly, the number of spells that each spellbook can store is limited, depending on its quality and capacity, and also related to the mage's own mental strength."

"And the price? It doesn't sound cheap."

"

"...Don't think about this thing anymore."

Eileen rarely showed a slightly guilty expression when the topic of money came up, but she quickly straightened her back.

"But that's my problem. You should worry about your own financial troubles first. How many 150 gold coins do you have right now?" she asked.

"After deducting the deposit that was just paid, the final payment is still short by about 10 gold coins."

I don't know how much those spices and furs will sell for; they might not even cover the cost of the throat irrigation.

But that's more than enough to cover the remaining 10 gold coins.

Lorraine blurted it out, clearly having already considered it many times in her mind.

"Okay, that's fine then."

Eileen nodded, acknowledging his attitude that he had already planned how to repay the money before borrowing it.

She took a few more slow steps, then suddenly turned her head, her tone carrying a serious warning: "The cost of infusion won't be cheaper than reforging that sword. What we gained before definitely won't be enough. Don't end up paying me for it yourself. I don't want someone who's just going to freeload."

"I wouldn't say I'm freeloading. I can be your bodyguard, and I'll provide the meals," Lorraine said with a smile, raising her hands.

"You're already my bodyguard," Eileen stated expressionlessly, "and for free."

Lorraine was speechless for a moment, unable to find a rebuttal.

"Okay, okay, we won't keep our beautiful and kind Miss Eileen waiting for long," he said with a smile.

He was already prepared to take on missions to raise the money, but if Eileen went on missions with him, would that mean she was helping him earn money so he could pay her back?

The two continued bickering, and before they knew it, the stone path beneath their feet had come to an end, where they looked up to see the familiar sign of the Hearthfire Tavern.

"I'm leaving, I'll be back tonight." Eileen waved and turned to walk towards another street.

"Okay, see you tonight."

Lorraine watched her walk away until her red figure disappeared into the crowd before pushing open the tavern door.

The lobby was much quieter than in the morning. The revelers had long since dispersed, leaving only two or three regulars huddled in a corner, leisurely sipping their first drink of the afternoon.

Piper sat alone on a high stool in front of the bar, with the huge wooden barrel cup in front of him, idly drawing circles on the cup with his finger.

Hearing the door open, he turned around expectantly and his eyes lit up when he saw Lorraine.

"Lorraine! You're back! We can start sparring now! It's afternoon!"

He jumped down from the high stool in a flash, babbling a string of words.

Lorraine dodged to the side, and just as she was about to pat his head, she realized that his head lice were still there, so she quickly withdrew her hand.

"Wait a moment, I'll go upstairs and look at my swordsmanship notes first, then I'll give it a try," he said.

"Okay! Piper's going to wait for you in the backyard, hurry up!"

The short man ran back to the bar, picked up the ordinary hammer he had borrowed from Gustav, and also borrowed a one-handed sword for Lorraine. He then dashed out the back door.

Lorraine smiled at the short man's eager expression, then went upstairs back to her room and picked up the notebook that Viscount Hermann had given her.

He moved the goods from the wooden chair by the window to another location and, using the afternoon sunlight, began to carefully read the contents of his notes.

Turning past the jokes Herman had jotted down in his youth, and the simpler techniques his instructors had taught him, a line of admonition was etched into the paper like a knife cut: "Only in the face of life and death can you understand the true path of a warrior."

Lorraine memorized those words and continued reading.

Following that admonition was a brief title—[Military Swordsmanship].

The following sections are records of basic footwork, common sword moves, and the connection and switching between sword moves.

The descriptions are precise and unpretentious, and many are accompanied by hand-drawn illustrations by him.

Two simplified stick figures, one representing himself and the other representing his opponent, are surrounded by densely packed annotations indicating the weight shift, direction of force, and several common line-changing options for each action.

Lorraine became increasingly engrossed in watching.

These seemingly dull basic training records precisely exposed his biggest weakness, after all, he was a complete self-taught individual.

All his combat skills are instincts honed through life-and-death struggles, with at most a little bit of insight gained from learning combo attacks.

These insights that Hermann jotted down in his youth filled exactly what he lacked most:

The foundation of swordsmanship.

After a long while, Lorraine closed the notebook, slowly exhaled, leaned back in her chair, and let her mind wander for a moment, allowing the densely packed small words and diagrams to slowly settle in her mind.

Ultimately, combat skills can only be truly mastered through actual combat; otherwise, written words are merely empty words on paper.

After his restless heart calmed down, he got up and went downstairs to the backyard.

The afternoon sun was shining brightly, and the muddy ground in the yard was dried out, making it perfect for practice.

"You're finally down! Piper thought you'd fallen asleep while reading! Let's get started! Piper's going to beat you to a pulp today!"

The short guy had been waiting impatiently for a long time.

When he was learning combat skills at Hefna, he was often beaten up by Lorraine because of his height and long arms.

Haifu had been absolutely refusing to let him use Berserk during sparring, which was incredibly frustrating. Today, he finally got his chance to get revenge.

"Here it comes, here it comes."

Lorraine smiled, picked up the unsharpened iron sword leaning against the wall, and familiarized himself with its weight and center of gravity.

This iron bar is much lighter than the rusty throat; with his previous strength, he could barely feel its weight, but it was enough for practicing the basics.

"Come on, let me see what new things Instructor Jill has taught you."

Lorraine waved to Piper. He didn't plan to use any combat techniques in this sparring session, not even parrying or counter-attacking.

In any case, the purpose of this sparring session is not to win, but to integrate the contents of the notes and make them truly one's own.

As soon as he finished speaking, the short man stomped on the ground and crashed into us like a cannonball flying close to the ground.

This guy's attacks are always straightforward, without any technique, relying entirely on brute force.

"Reckless attack!"

Piper excitedly read out the name of the combat skill, and the ordinary hammer was quickly covered with a layer of red light, swinging horizontally with a whooshing sound.

"So fast!?"

Lorraine's forehead twitched. This guy wasn't holding back at all. Even though the hammer had a soft pad, it would be hard to take a hit from it!

He stared intently at Piper's movements, the contents of his notes flashing through his mind: use stillness to control movement, lower your center of gravity, don't just focus on the enemy's weapon, but observe the movement of their entire body.

A straight-line dash, a horizontal swing of the hammer that will hit your own thigh, a lift of the left foot... and you'll land here!

Lorraine dodged past, the blade of his iron sword grazing the hammerhead, and with a swift movement, he pulled his opponent along, causing him to cry out, "Ouch!"

The short man took two steps forward and almost fell headfirst to the ground.

"Huh...why can't I hit it? Let's try again!"

He scratched his head, and the hammer glowed red again. He roared and charged forward.

Damn it, does this guy always attack recklessly?!

Lorraine shook his palm, which was still numb from the mere graze, and grimaced, saying, "You're incredibly strong."

Seeing Piper approaching, he stepped aside, using the short man's forward momentum to make him stumble, and then kicked him again.

"Oh dear... Lorraine! Why are you acting like a girl!"

Piper was kicked to the ground, rubbed his upper back and stood up. Lorraine originally wanted to kick him in the butt, but the position was too tricky (he was too short) for him to reach.

"Pipe is here too!"

The short guy muttered something.

This time he learned his lesson and stopped using all his strength to rush forward. Instead, he followed Lorraine's example and started to take a detour.

Although his zigzagging movements looked like he was drunk.

Lorraine couldn't help but laugh, but then the hammer grazed her shoulder, causing her to yelp in pain. Annoyed, she yelled, "That was a sneak attack!"

"Hehe! All's fair in war, that's something Instructor Jill taught me!"

Piper proudly shook his hammer.

The two practiced back and forth in the backyard for the entire afternoon.

Deep footprints were left on the muddy ground, along with several hammer craters. The clothesline in the corner of the yard was snapped by Piper's hammer, and then the two were chased around the yard by Lily, who had come to watch the show.

By the time the sun began to set behind the city wall, both of them were so tired that they could barely stand.

Piper had thrown away the hammer and was leaning against the wall, panting heavily.

Lorraine's stamina wasn't as good as the little dwarf's, but because she exerted less effort, she looked slightly better.

But his shirt was half-soaked with sweat, and his shoulders and back were burning with pain. Piper had learned some tricks from the dwarf instructor, and the hammers behind him were so accurate and difficult to dodge.

However, he felt a sense of peace he had never felt before. He was finally able to use the movements he had painstakingly figured out on his own, as well as the principles he had only half-understood on paper, in actual combat.

Although he was still quite inexperienced, his control over his strength was not yet refined, and his footwork was only at the very beginning, he had already found the way to continue.

This sense of control fascinated him immensely.

The system notification flashed briefly at the edge of his field of vision.

Through continuous training and practical experience, you have mastered the skill—military swordsmanship (passive skill)

Military Swordsmanship → Beginner: A formal swordsmanship system proven on the battlefield, emphasizing efficient transitions between movements.

Your blocking, parrying, and counter-attack speeds are increased.

You can become proficient in using any type of sword weapon more quickly.

Lorraine struggled to her feet, looked at the backyard they had ravaged, kicked Piper who was sprawled on the mud, and said, "Clean this up, let's go eat!"

"Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready! Piper can already smell the roast meat!"

The little guy instantly jumped up from the ground, quickly ran to the corner of the wall with his short legs, picked up two shovels, and tossed one to Lorraine.

By the time they filled in the last mud puddle and reconnected the clothesline, it was almost dark.

The lobby was already full of guests who had come to drink. Many of them heard the clanging sounds coming from the backyard and glared at the two of them as they pushed the door open.

"Why is it so noisy! Can't you let people sleep?"

'

An adventurer with a fierce expression was about to complain about being kept awake by the noise in the afternoon, but he quickly recognized Lorraine. His anger melted away like cream, and he exclaimed with delight, "Isn't that the ghoul hunter! He's been training all day; no wonder he's so good!"

Upon hearing this, the guests at the surrounding tables turned around, recognized Lorraine, and began to raise their glasses in a boisterous celebration. One person even shouted, "Good evening, hunter! Just finished a killer training session and now you're training like crazy? I admire your dedication! Here, have a drink!"

Lorraine had gradually gotten used to this kind of scene. He smiled and responded to their greetings, then apologized, "Sorry, sorry... I forgot about it. Mr. Gustav, please bring a glass of ale to each of these tables and put it on my tab."

"Hooray! Cheers to our ghoul hunters!"

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