The Herb King

Chapter 18: Improving Skills

Soon, a wooden box filled with more than five types of weapons was delivered to Leric’s tent. After thanking the soldier that delivered the box, Leric eagerly opened it.

The weapons inside the wooden box were of great quality. Leric was satisfied with the weapons.

“General Gavin is truly generous! He even gave me the ones with great quality. Maybe I should make those pills for him...” Leric was talking about the pills he had refined for his father.

Leric grabbed a sword from the wooden box. It was three feet one-handed sword. The blade was made using carbon steel, a great material for swords.

Leric swung the sword casually with one hand and the air emitted a whistling sound following that simple movement. From the looks of it, this sword might have been crafted by a very skilled blacksmith. Leric didn’t know how to wield a sword, but that smooth stroke was a clear indication that the sword itself was meticulously created.

“Not bad!” He muttered to himself while looking at the sword in his hand with bright eyes.

You have acquired the skill [Swordsmanship]

.....

Skill [Swordsmanship] Level 1

– You can now wield the sword properly.

Leric grinned when he saw the new details added to his Status Screen. Others would have to train for many years before they could learn how to wield the sword properly, but Leric only needed to swing it once to learn the skill!

“Hahaha! I must be blessed by the gods!” Leric laughed joyfully, but he hurriedly closed his mouth when he sensed a few perplexed stares looking at him.

Leric turned his head and saw a few soldiers looking in his direction. They were confused why this noble Alchemist suddenly laughed.

Leric smiled at them gently. He didn’t want to look crazy in their eyes, so he decided to continue inside his tent. He then placed the sword back into the box before he went inside his tent.

This time, Leric grabbed a bow and an arrow. He then sloppily nocked the arrow and pulled the bowstring to its maximum limits. After feeling the tension from the bowstring, Leric aimed to the ground and released the arrow.

Swoosh!

The arrow whizzed through the air before hitting the ground.

You have acquired the skill [Bow Mastery]

Skill [Bow Mastery] Level 1

– You can now use the bow more accurately

After learning [Bow Mastery], Leric proceeded to learn the skills for the other weapons. Soon, Leric learned the skills of using the weapons that are inside the wooden box.

“This is still not enough if I want to protect my father. From what I’ve heard, the Northern Viper Group is a ferocious gathering of criminals from all over the Leone Empire. It would be best if I could improve the skills I just learned. That way, I would have a better chance of providing help for my father if something unexpected happens.” Leric muttered to himself.

After he said those words, Leric spent half of the day improving his skills. He didn’t even touch the food sent by the General. However, his diligence paid off!

Skill [Swordsmanship] Level 4

– You have reached the level of a sword expert! You can now freely wield the sword with great mastery and you can now perform difficult sword movements.

Skill [Bow Mastery] Level 4

– Your accuracy has increased significantly and you can now hit any target more precisely within a radius of 500 meters. Adding world essence to your bow and arrow would strengthen the power of your shots!

Skill [Spear Mastery] Level 4

– You can now...

Skill [Axe Mastery] Lev...

Leric wiped the sweat off of his face using the edges of his clothes. He smiled when he saw the improvements in his skills. Although he was only able to improve his weapon-wielding skills, he still has a lot of time to increase the levels of his others skills in the future.

“Now I should be able to overpower a normal Level 3 Esper with just my weapon proficiency alone...” Leric felt a bit proud of himself, but he hurriedly erased this thought since everything was because of his Status Screen! Without it, he would need to spend years just to learn those skills.

Leric suddenly heard his stomach making a rumbling sound. He patted his empty belly and grabbed the food sent by the General. It was already cold, but it was still edible, so he immediately devoured the food to satiate his hunger.

After eating his fill, Leric went out of his tent to catch his breath. He saw that the sky was now slightly dark. He realized that he ended up using half of the day to improve his skills.

Suddenly, Leric noticed a disturbance at the entrance of the camp. Upon seeing this, he immediately dashed towards the entrance.

The moment he arrived there, he saw a group of bloodied soldiers being escorted inside the camp. From their clothes, Leric concluded that they were from Barden City’s army. He wondered what this poor group has encountered for them to end up like this.

“Hey, buddy, what happened here?” Leric grabbed a soldier and asked him curiously.

The soldier frowned when he saw Leric’s unfamiliar face, but he still answered in a cold voice. “They were ambushed by the Northern Viper Group! Twelve of them died and the rest returned injured!”

Leric could sense the anger in his tone.

From the looks of it, the battle between the two forces would happen soon!

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS

Malignant Malignant

Hello guys! This is my entry for WPC 274. I hope that you can help me win first place. You can support me by sending power stones ??