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Chapter 35: 002: Complement each other
In the mortal world, wizards are actually a secret, known to very few people. The ones who are truly renowned, instead, are the knights—they are the direct ruling class of the mortal world.
Noble, powerful, omnipotent.
This is the impression of knights as recorded in the memories of the original owner of Lynch’s body. Their strength was especially vivid to Lynch, who had once witnessed a knight killing a bear that had wandered out of the forest with his bare hands and lifting a boulder single-handedly that several people couldn’t move. Truly, it was like a superhero.
Lynch flipped open the booklet and began reading carefully.
According to the description, knight training is divided into two parts.
The first pertains to external physical fitness—this includes swordsmanship training as well as hand-to-hand combat techniques. The core logic is actually similar to Earth’s fitness principles: through a series of exercises targeting muscles and other aspects of the body, physical fitness is improved. It’s fairly easy to understand.
The second part, however, felt somewhat fantastical. This involves adjusting one’s breathing rhythm and honing the five senses to digest the energy produced during physical training in order to enhance one’s own capabilities. From the description, it was reminiscent of the internal techniques in martial arts novels...
"Let’s give it a try first."
Lynch carefully read through the booklet, and upon finishing, two new lists appeared on his system panel:
[Detected knowledge carrier "Basic Swordsmanship," automatically loaded.]
[Basic Swordsmanship lv0: 0/300.]
[Detected knowledge carrier "Knight Breathing Method," automatically loaded.]
[Knight Breathing Method lv0: 0/300.]
Inside the Space Pocket, there was also a complete set of training gear: gloves, wrist guards, knee guards, and so on. Lynch took them out, donned them neatly, and picked up the Cross Sword left behind by Yuri.
This Cross Sword was about three feet long, made of refined iron, clearly polished and forged with care. The craftsmanship was exquisite, showcasing a cold, silver-white luster. The hilt was wrapped in dark hardwood, and the cross-guard bore a tulip emblem, with the word "Honor" engraved upon it.
Lynch stepped outside to the open area behind the room, stabilized his stance with a T-step, and lifted the Cross Sword with both hands, beginning his first swordsmanship training session.
"Huff! Huff!"
The blade was heavy, weighing over two kilograms. Each swing produced a dull, whistling sound as it cut through the air.
The training movements included diagonal upward strikes, vertical upward strikes, thrusts, and slashes. Coordinated with specific footwork, there were also defensive maneuvers such as blocking, dodging, and parrying.
A single routine took less than two minutes, yet Lynch was already gasping for air, drenched in sweat, feeling as if he’d just completed a half-hour jog and plank workout. Heat radiated off his body, almost to the point of steaming.
[Basic Swordsmanship skill level +1]
Hurriedly, he returned to the room and sat cross-legged, following the booklet’s instructions to begin training.
"This feeling..."
After practicing for a while, Lynch frowned slightly, his expression turning peculiar.
This was because he found the so-called Knight Breathing Method somewhat familiar—it was surprisingly similar to the Spiritual Guidance Technique taught by the wizards before. Both focused heavily on refining the five senses.
However, the Spiritual Guidance Technique emphasized honing the five senses to perceive something beyond them—a sixth sense—while the Knight Breathing Method used the five senses to absorb the energy generated by physical training.
"Could there be some connection between the two?" Lynch wondered curiously.
Thanks to the foundation provided by the Spiritual Guidance Technique, Lynch mastered the technique smoothly and entered a cultivation state quickly. For ordinary beginners, this would be impossible to achieve so effortlessly; even learning how to control the five senses would take several weeks.
[Knight Breathing Method skill level +1]
After more than twenty minutes, Lynch successfully completed his first training session using the Knight Breathing Method.
Simultaneously, his stomach let out a loud rumbling noise. Opening his eyes, he immediately felt an intense hunger, as if he hadn’t eaten for an entire week—his stomach seemed utterly empty, without a trace of leftover food.
Where did everything I just ate go?
Without contemplating further, Lynch rushed to the kitchen again, ate all the leftovers from earlier, and even cooked two flamingo eggs to fill his belly before he finally felt alive again.
"Why am I eating so much?"
Looking at the food scraps on the table, Lynch was puzzled. Flamingo eggs were even larger than ostrich eggs; usually, half of one was enough to fill him up. But now, he’d eaten two whole eggs and still felt only slightly satiated.
It’s no wonder Lynch had rarely heard of commoners becoming knights in the mortal world, apart from the nobles’ monopoly over the knowledge and techniques. It seemed the training costs were also a significant factor—with this level of consumption, even if ordinary people managed to obtain a complete set of knight training methods, they likely couldn’t afford the expenses required for practice.
"Hmm?"
At that moment, Lynch made another surprising discovery—this time involving his spiritual power.
"Why has my spiritual power suddenly recovered so much?"
Lynch was startled to find that his previously drained spiritual power had returned to more than half. Normally, it would have taken several hours to recover without external assistance.
"Could this knight training method actually restore spiritual power?"
Lynch’s first thought was of the booklet in his hand. After all, the only thing he’d done differently today was performing knight training.
The verification process was straightforward—Lynch immediately began another knight training session, and as he’d suspected, upon completing the training, his spiritual power had fully recovered to its maximum state.
"This is incredible!"
Lynch exclaimed in amazement, leaving his mouth agape. He had no idea how this worked—that knight training could actually restore spiritual power?
"Fantastic!"
Once the brief shock wore off, Lynch was overcome with joy. For a long time, the scarcity of spiritual power had troubled him greatly. Just as he was getting fired up to grind experience, bam—his spiritual power would be depleted.
Afterward, he’d have to wait for hours or rely on external items like awakening magic beans to restore it.
However, such recovery methods had their downsides. First, there was the issue of cost—currently, with limited spiritual power, cheaper recovery materials like awakening magic beans could barely suffice. But what about the future?
As spiritual power increased, the effects of awakening magic beans—which could only be used three times a day—would diminish. At that point, he’d have to rely on higher-level magic materials or magic potions, and those were undoubtedly pricey.
Price was one issue; the bigger concern was side effects.
In the Wizard World, any form of "forcing growth" carried risks. Excessive consumption of awakening magic beans would lead to mental impurities, making future advancements as a wizard more difficult. The three-times-a-day limit existed precisely to prevent impurity buildup.
This was only the lowest-level material, not even considered a magic potion. For stronger materials, the side effects would likely be even greater, jeopardizing physical health if abused—a case of losing more than gaining.
But now, with this Knight Breathing Method, it would be much easier and safer to restore spiritual power in the future, perfectly complementing Lynch’s grind-heavy approach—a mutually beneficial enhancement!
Lynch was utterly delighted.
"Caw! Caw!" At this moment, two hoarse and low calls came from outside the window.
Sitting beside the stone window, Lynch instinctively looked up to see a black raven flying toward the Stone House District under the gray sky. Its dark silhouette sliced through the heavy atmosphere, resembling a fleeting black ghost.
Lynch recognized it as the Tower’s messenger raven, used for delivering messages.
The raven circled high in the air a few times, pinpointed its target, flapped its wings, and glided down—its trajectory...
Is it coming to me?
While speculating, the raven had already arrived, gracefully landing on the windowsill. Its slender claws pressed against the moss-covered stone, and it gazed into the stone house, addressing Lynch, "Apprentice Lynch Valen?"
Lynch stood up: "That’s me."
The raven’s long beak darted into its dense feathers, which seemed like a treasure chest hiding precious items. When it turned back, it held an emblem in its beak.
This was the Tower’s pass emblem. Holding it granted access to the Tower without fear of being chopped down by the magic statue guards at the entrance.
The raven placed the emblem down and said, "Apprentice Lynch, please proceed immediately to the third floor of the Tower’s Third Church to accept the mission."
