"Brother, why did you come back so early today?" Anna, who was playing with 'Cookie,' looked up to see her brother Rein returning and asked with slight surprise.
At that moment, Anna also looked up towards Rein.
Seeing Anna's rosy complexion, Rein knew that after a night's rest, she had recovered from the fatigue caused by using the amulet yesterday.
"Well, something came up, cough... cough..." Rein patted little Anna's head.
"By the way, Anna, could you come with me for a moment?"
"Hm? Of course." Anna nodded and stood up, but when she took a closer look at Rein, she noticed something amiss.
Rein seemed to have a pale complexion and had just coughed.
As Rein passed by her, she also detected a faint smell of blood.
This scent was deeply ingrained in her memory, for her home had also been filled with this same smell that night.
This immediately made Anna tense.
Upon entering the room with Rein, Anna asked anxiously, "Rein... are you injured?"
"What! How did you know, Anna?" Rein was initially surprised, but then, looking down at his damaged cotton armor, he immediately understood.
"It's nothing serious, just a minor injury, but I might need to bother you to touch that amulet again."
At the moment, Rein was also unsure whether the amulet had a limit on the number of times it could be used.
Or could it be that after consuming that mysterious energy, the amulet needed a certain amount of time to absorb some kind of external energy before it could be used again?
"Yes, no problem at all. I'll try!" Anna nodded emphatically, grateful for the rare opportunity to be of help to Rein.
"Relax a little, I'm really fine... cough..."
Seeing Rein cough while insisting he was fine, Anna couldn't help but give him a reproachful look.
Immediately taking the wooden amulet Rein handed her, Anna focused her mind and gently touched it.
Sure enough, the amulet emitted a soft green glow again!
This time, Anna felt it was a bit easier to control than the last.
The green light quickly leapt from the amulet and flew towards Rein's body.
Instantly, the green light intensified!
Enveloped in the green light, Rein felt as if a cool, soothing stream was flowing into his body from the outside, quickly coating the damaged capillaries and alveoli of his lungs.
An exceptionally cool and refreshing sensation spread from within.
Seconds later, Rein felt his injuries had fully healed, and he no longer felt the urge to cough!
This once again made Rein marvel at the miraculous nature of this energy.
It also proved that the wooden amulet could indeed be a magical item used repeatedly.
However, when Rein looked up, he saw Anna's complexion had turned pale again, just like the night before.
"Don't say that, Rein, I'm really happy to help you, truly."
"By the way, are you feeling better now?"
"Of course, I've fully recovered! Thank you, Anna." Rein smiled and patted his chest, indicating he was completely healed!
After sending Anna back to her room to rest, Rein curiously opened the sheepskin scroll.
Upon opening it, Rein was somewhat astonished. The top was inscribed with bold letters: "Dragan Empire Military Swordsmanship." Below the text were seven separate diagrams depicting a stick figure performing various sword techniques.
Further down were two slightly more complex diagrams, also showing a stick figure executing a type of sword technique.
The stick figures in the book all had one-handed swords.
They differed drastically in style from the Giant Bear Sword Technique Rein was practicing.
After scrutinizing the images, Rein's expression initially showed both shock and delight, but soon he began to furrow his brow in thought.
It turned out that the seven patterns represented basic sword moves with a simple style, somewhat straightforward, yet upon closer inspection, they also contained a sense of sharpness and even brutality.
Because the sword moves targeted the critical points of an enemy, it was no wonder they were called military swordsmanship, where simplicity implied ease of learning, and the ruthless sharpness was aimed at quickly dispatching foes.
The two slightly more complex patterns at the bottom were secret techniques derived from military swordsmanship; one was the 'Swift Sword Triple Strike' performed by the middle-aged man earlier, and the other was another move called 'Flash Strike'.
Without a doubt, imperial military swordsmanship with secret techniques was more than ten times as precious as the plain imperial military swordsmanship!
Although the military swordsmanship of the Dragan Empire was also an outstanding swordsmanship, without secret techniques, it couldn't be considered true Extraordinary Swordsmanship.
If Rein had only discovered the seven basic military sword moves, he might not have been inclined to learn them immediately.
But upon realizing the existence of two secret techniques, his desire to learn them grew incredibly strong!
He had felt the power of the 'Swift Sword Triple Strike' personally, and if his opponent had been determined to trade injury for injury, even if Rein had been lucky enough to win, he surely would have sustained serious injuries.
According to the description, 'Flash Strike' was even more powerful and equally more difficult to perform, seeming to require the capability of a formal Knight.
This left Rein rather covetous.
He decided to try learning them later that evening.
It was then that Rein had the time to check the system notifications:
[Your skill Giant Bear Sword Technique has improved, Experience +267]
[You have experienced a battle, Night Watchman Professional Experience Points +131]
Although a normal fight wasn't lengthy, totally at most around two minutes, but every second was a precarious balance between life and death, so the generous Experience granted was to be expected.
Rein's Giant Bear Sword Technique lv4 (298/1000) progress crossed halfway, reaching Giant Bear Sword Technique lv4 (565/1000).
Rein then flipped back to the 'Attributes Page' on the system panel.
Profession: Blacksmith lv2 (0/300) / Night Watchman lv3 (161/500) / Dog Trainer lv2 (31/300)
Remaining Attribute Points: 0
Remaining Skill Points: 0
Now his attributes were very balanced, just one point shy in Constitution from reaching 11 in each attribute.
Afterward, Rein folded his arms and paced back and forth in the room, deep in thought, reflecting on the battle he had just fought, summarizing the gains and losses.
Within a manor that belonged to either a noble or a wealthy merchant, the storeroom on the second level below ground had clearly undergone expansion, its area comparable to an average noble's banquet hall.
While the walls weren't graced with fine murals or richly decorated, they were carved with mysterious and brutal ritual scenes and various bizarre monsters, giving the entire hall a dark and eerie atmosphere.
In such a spacious hall, only two mountain-shaped wall lamps were lit, their flames struggling to burn, but still unable to light up the overly large hall sufficiently.
At that moment, a deep voice emerged from the center of the dimly lit hall.
"How much longer until the Black Flame Prayer Ceremony?"