Chapter 14: Skill Mania
By the second day, I had unconsciously started calling Mr. Welter “Master,” but around the fourth day, I began to feel a bit of doubt. While he was teaching me various things, it seemed a bit haphazard.
“Next, let’s try swinging this.”
After about an hour of practicing with a wooden sword, just as I thought I was starting to grasp the technique, my master’s words came. He handed me a wooden spear instead.
“Wait, are we done with the sword already?”
I was taken aback by his sudden words, but seeing him grinning for some reason, I couldn’t help but ask.
“Yeah, it seems you’ve already developed a swordsmanship skill.”
“Huh!?”
“You’re quite the prodigy, kid. Skills are sprouting up one after another. Hehehe… At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before I encounter skills I don’t even know about… After I’ve taught you some known skills to a certain extent…”
After handing me the spear, he began muttering to himself. Then, as if he had come to some conclusion, he turned his gaze toward me, signaling the start of the next training session.
“No, I think I’ll teach you the spear in detail instead of just swinging it. That might help you develop your skills faster.”
Indeed, my master was a skill fanatic.
As of now, he claimed to have developed nine skills: swordsmanship, spear technique, dagger technique, staff technique, throwing technique, martial arts, shield technique, along with Earth Magic, Wind Magic, and Spatial Awareness. It seemed that Rio had also learned Fire Magic, Earth Magic, Wind Magic, and staff techniques.
It appeared that I developed skills in as little as thirty minutes, which had my master excited. When I learned Earth Magic, it was obvious I was determined to create a bath.
We had grown accustomed to our master, who was constantly evaluating us with a grin. At first, I felt I should express my gratitude for his help, but now it had become trivial. Well, I am grateful, you know? Just to be clear.
“By the way, what can you tell with your appraisal, Master?”
“Oh, I can tell quite a bit.”
Curious, I asked during dinner, and it turned out he could discern not only skills but also names, races, professions, and even HP, MP, and attributes like strength and stamina.
“However, not everyone who uses appraisal can see that much. Some can only see names, while others can only see professions; it varies.”
“Really?”
“I suspect there are different ranks of appraisal, just like there are ranks for magic, such as beginner and intermediate. It stands to reason that appraisal would have its own ranks as well. To begin with, appraisal is…”
Ugh, I had opened a can of worms. I tuned out my master’s lecture while sipping my soup.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Having been here for two weeks already, today was the day we would go hunting with my master. Until now, we had only trained in the yard, so this would be our first venture outside since arriving.
With a dagger created from Earth Magic at my waist, wearing armor made from the hide of a monster my master had slain, and carrying a shield made from a scale of an Ancient Red Dragon that my master had fortuitously acquired, I felt ready.
This dagger could slice through even the dullest iron, and I had recently quipped about how my master seemed to have everything covered.
Of course, Rio was equipped similarly. She wielded a staff made from an Eldertree that resided in the Forest of Enchantment, wore the same leather armor as I did, and donned a robe covered in the scales of a small dragon.
Apparently, my master had a plethora of unused equipment stored in his Dimensional Box. Ah, the Dimensional Box is like a personal item box created through Spatial Magic. Once you become adept, you can use various types, such as a time-stop box or a time-acceleration box.
There are also storage bags that can hold more than they appear to, but my master claimed he didn’t have one. He said that for just himself, the Dimensional Box was more than sufficient.
I focused mainly on close combat while Rio took on the role of a rear guard, learning various techniques from our master. Now that we had reached a certain level of proficiency, it was time for our first real battle.
“Ugh, I’m a bit nervous.”
“You’ll be fine, Shuu. After enduring all those… rigorous training sessions from Master…”
For some reason, as I finished my sentence, Rio’s eyes looked like those of a dead fish, and I couldn’t help but zone out as well. I wondered if my master thought that being strict would help develop skills… Ah, just thinking about it is painful. I want to forget.
“In this Forest of Enchantment, there’s no one stronger than Master, right?”
“Not necessarily.”
I had been thinking optimistically, but my master cut me off sharply.
“There may not be any around the house… but if you go deeper into the forest, they’re crawling with them. However, the area we’re heading to should be fine.”
Seriously? There are that many monsters lurking deeper in the Forest of Enchantment? I definitely don’t want to go there. Well, I don’t think I’ll have the chance anyway.
“That’s a bit reassuring.”
“However, there may be skills that only develop after defeating stronger opponents.”
“No, no, no, no!”
Both of us vehemently denied my master’s words. We certainly didn’t want to encounter monsters that even he couldn’t handle. We wanted to ensure our safety at the very least.
“Hehehe, for now, let’s head to our destination. I’ll be running, so keep up with all your might.”
With just that one statement, he enveloped himself in magic power and took off running.
“Wait, hold on a second!”
In a panic, we hurriedly chased after him.