Like the Cassia Swordsmanship Hall, the Mieyan Swordsmanship Hall was also located in South City, with the two situated on adjacent streets. The director of the Mieyan Swordsmanship Hall was a retired leader of a Mercenary Group, and with this identity, the hall had recruited many aspiring students.
Rosyth and Benson were students of the Mieyan Swordsmanship Hall.
“Benson, do you have any Gold Coins?”
“First tell me what you want to do.”
Upon hearing Rosyth’s words, Benson instinctively became more cautious.
Since their defeat to Ivan, their relationship had actually become less harmonious than before because they had different attitudes; Rosyth was obsessed with revenge while Benson felt that returning the favor was enough to settle his debt to Ivan.
However, their relationship was still not bad.
Rosyth leaned in and whispered, “Do you want to become a sorcerer? There’s an opportunity right now. As long as you pass the aptitude test, you can go overseas and learn mystic spells from a sorcerer.”
“Really?”
“Of course, it’s true, but the test isn’t cheap, ten Gold Coins per person.”
Which youth didn’t dream of becoming a sorcerer? Benson was no exception, yet ten Gold Coins was not a small sum.
Rosyth continued, “As for me, even if I have to steal, I will gather the money. You can decide for yourself, but if you want to take the test, remember to find me in front of Hobson Library tomorrow in West City.”
Without waiting for Benson’s reaction, Rosyth hurriedly left to gather the money.
The next day.
Benson hurried to the front of Hobson Library and, seeing Rosyth’s figure still there, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Under Rosyth’s lead, the two went to Karl Manor and were taken inside by a servant.
“The money?” Following behind the servant, Rosyth reminded, “Give it to me, I’ll secretly hand it to the Baron’s steward.”
Benson, trusting him, handed over the ten Gold Coins he had scrounged up with difficulty.
Led by the servant, they came to a small room on the left side of the manor, just as someone inside had finished testing.
“Mr. Beaman, unfortunately, you do not possess the qualifications to become a sorcerer.”
“Excuse me.”
Upon hearing the voice from inside, Rosyth perked up; he knew Ivan had a brother named ‘Beaman,’ and the latter part of the steward’s words almost made him laugh out loud.
To think someone of the same worthless ilk as that guy still dreamed of becoming a sorcerer, what utter ignorance of one’s own limits.
Beaman walked out of the room, and the three exchanged glances without greeting each other; another servant escorted Beaman to the manor’s entrance.
Inside the room, only Old Steward David remained, seated in front of a table with two boxes on it. One box was on the outside of the table, clearly for the Gold Coins, with a registry book beside it; the other, more exquisite box was in front of the steward, containing a blue silk cloth with a crystal rod on it.
Rosyth gestured to the steward and placed the Gold Coins into the exterior box and registered their names.
Benson watched the scene puzzled, as Rosyth had only placed ten Gold Coins; then he saw Rosyth gesture for him to test first.
The steward looked down at the registry book, “Benson?”
“Yes.”
“Hold it and stare at the top.”
“Unfortunately, you do not have the qualifications of a sorcerer.”
Benson did as instructed, but the crystal rod remained inert, and then he heard the steward announce it, feeling a wave of disappointment inside.
It was Rosyth’s turn, and the crystal rod remained unchanged, making him very reluctant to let go for a long time.
“Alright young man, no qualifications mean no qualifications, holding onto it longer won’t help,” the old steward impatiently urged, and Rosyth sheepishly handed the crystal rod back to him.
The old butler pulled out a handkerchief and meticulously wiped the crystal rod as if it was tainted with some dirty matter, making the situation even more awkward for the two.
“Excuse the interruption.”
The two asked to leave.
The old butler spoke unhurriedly, “Besides recruiting apprentices, the sorcerer also needs some attendants with a talent for swordsmanship. How skilled are you?”
Upon hearing this, Rosyth was overjoyed and quickly responded, “We are quite capable, standing out among the 2nd Class pages, and we also rank at the top in our Swordsmanship Hall.”
The old butler looked up at them, his tone flat, “Is that so, how can you prove it?”
Shouldn’t this be tested in the martial arts arena?
Thinking of something, Rosyth stepped forward and stealthily slipped the last three Gold Coins he had into the old butler’s pocket.
Only then did the old butler nod slightly, “You’re in.”
A smile crossed Rosyth’s face, and he thought to himself that his gamble had paid off.
Benson had given all his Gold Coins to Rosyth and now had none left. He could only stand there anxiously, his round eyes glaring at Rosyth.
“My lord Butler, we will come again tomorrow.”
Rosyth would not let Benson mess things up and quickly dragged him out of the room. He whispered to Benson, promising to gather enough Gold Coins by tomorrow, finally calming the reluctant Benson.
…
The Marichadon family.
Ivan dabbed his finger in some newly concocted medicine and gently applied it behind the plaque of the medical clinic, revealing a corner of a pattern as his fingers moved.
He increased the pace of his application. A familiar small figure pattern fully emerged. Unbelievably, Old Orio had recorded a set of the Knight Breathing Method behind his own clinic’s plaque.
“Bat’s Eyes.”
After a while, all the patterns behind the plaque became clear. It turned out that “Bat’s Eyes” was the name of a Breathing Method.
Bats have poor vision. They mainly rely on echolocation to identify and locate things.
Actually, Bat’s Eyes is a Breathing Method that amplifies hearing, accumulating blood energy around the ears at the page class level and is considered upper class. This Breathing Method comes in page class and Knight Class levels, with 45 and 49 movements respectively, each accompanied by a recipe for a secret medicine.
“It’s indeed effective for gathering herbs and alertness, though it probably can’t match the burst strength of the Goliath Frog Breathing Method in combat.”
The Breathing Methods he unexpectedly acquired, both the page class and Knight Class versions, were relatively complete, so naturally, he wasn’t going to complain about anything.
Three days passed in a blink.
[Knight Breathing Skill: Lv2 (198/200)]
The incomplete Breathing Method previously sent by his father Leider provided 30 Experience Points from upper class and 19 Experience Points from intermediate.
The Bat’s Eye Breathing Method increased his Experience Points by 44.
After a series of movements, he was just one step away from Level 3 in Knight Breathing Skill.
He now faced a dilemma: whether to switch from the Gushing Breath Method to another, with two options troubling him: either the Goliath Frog Breathing Method or the Bat’s Eyes Breathing Method.
Currently lacking in combat strength, the Goliath Frog Breathing Method would undoubtedly provide the strongest burst strength once he let loose.
After pondering for a long while, he went to seek his father Leider’s opinion and showed him the record behind the plaque.
Leider looked at his son with a strange expression and seriously said, “Choose Bat’s Eyes; the reason upper class Breathing Methods are rated as upper class isn’t as simple as you think. Our family’s Goliath Frog Breathing Method surely can’t compare.”
A perfectly intact upper class Breathing Method versus a flawed intermediate one. Was there even a choice to make?
Yet he didn’t know that Ivan had been misled by his deputy leader Glowe’s makeshift ‘High Ridge Eagle,’ leading him to underestimate the quality of upper class Breathing Methods.