strokinit Chapter 12 Skills
Chapter 12 Skills
"Um...can I pay on credit?"
House explained his current situation.
He only had 5 silver and 91 copper coins left in his pocket, and he needed to use the 91 copper coins for daily expenses.
Right now, all he has to offer is 5 silver coins.
This caused a flicker of surprise in Marcus's eyes.
He glanced at Karp subtly, his eyes seeming to say, "Why can't this kid even produce 10 silver coins?"
Wasn't this kid supposed to be so generous that he could pull out 10 silver coins in one go just to participate in an adventure?
Karp shook his head and chuckled slightly.
He hadn't expected that House would leave no way out, having spent almost all his savings before even taking the risk.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. It's not surprising that such a prudent young man would make such a desperate decision after investigating and making all the necessary preparations.
"How about this, House, for Mr. Karp's sake, I'll allow you to pay on credit first, with the repayment date set for three months from now."
Marcus agreed to House's request for credit.
Three months is enough time for an average adventurer to earn 10 silver coins.
The premise is that no unexpected events occur.
Upon hearing that he could use it now and pay later, House immediately thanked Marcus and Karp.
Honestly, this kind of opportunity to learn skills is truly rare.
If it weren't for Karp, House would have had to spend an unknown amount of time learning skills through normal means.
House was unaware that Marcus had actually given him a discount.
According to the guild's standard pricing, even the most basic introductory combat skills would cost a full gold coin to teach, enough to buy an ordinary house.
Ten silver coins can only buy a fragment of a scroll for practice at most.
House only needs 10 silver coins to learn the complete and orthodox combat skills. This exceptionally low price is a special offer that Marcus made out of consideration for Garp.
These 10 silver coins are the guild's share; Marcus himself doesn't take a single penny.
You could say it's free teaching.
As for why Garp went to such lengths, Marcus initially didn't understand either.
But when he heard that House had displayed remarkable warrior talent during his first adventure and had even saved Russell and Jack from danger, he instantly understood the reason.
With talent, courage, and goodwill, they are destined to shine in the future.
Such a young man is worth befriending.
......
After a few words of conversation, Karp got up to say goodbye, while Marcus led House to the Adventurers' Guild's exclusive training ground.
The two arrived at the training ground.
On a training field the size of half a football field, a dozen or so teenagers were chopping at the air or wooden stakes.
When Marcus walked in, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.
House, who was behind him, was also being watched by everyone.
"Greetings, Master."
"Yes, keep training, don't slack off."
After a brief greeting, Marcus led House to the weapons rack and gestured for him to choose a suitable wooden weapon.
All the weapons here are wooden implements with little lethality, perhaps because the guild is worried that newcomers might accidentally injure themselves during training.
House glanced at it and picked up a longsword.
Seeing this, Marcus also took an identical longsword, and then led House to a corner.
Standing in front of the wooden stake, Marcus began his formal lesson.
"House, listen carefully. My instruction will only teach you how to unleash combat techniques, but I cannot guarantee that you will be able to learn them. It depends on your individual talent."
Marcus gave himself a "liability absolution buff": he only taught, not guaranteed, so that if House couldn't learn it later, he wouldn't blame him, the training master.
"clear."
House nodded.
Marcus then formally demonstrated the longsword's "slashing" technique to House.
Unlike the "slashing" motion of Garp's greatsword, the "slashing" motion of the longsword does not require raising it above the head. It is simply a matter of holding the sword vertically, aiming it forward, and then slashing straight down with force. The movement is simple and unpretentious, without any fancy moves.
Well, House didn't understand it.
At this moment, Marcus took out a parchment scroll with magical patterns drawn on it from his pocket, handed it to House, and slowly began to explain:
"The prerequisite for unleashing a combat technique is that you must first sense the magic power within your body. Once you can sense the magic power, then try to use it to trace the trajectory of the combat technique..."
Listening to Marcus's explanation and watching the skill scrolls, House gradually gained some understanding of the essence of skills.
At the same time, I realized that just because an ordinary person cannot use a combat technique does not mean that the person has not learned it.
Many people have memorized the key points of exerting force but still fail to release it. The root cause is that the magic power in their body is too thin and is not enough to support the complete operation of the combat technique.
Simply put, you've unlocked the skill encyclopedia, but you don't have enough mana.
The daily training expands one's mana bar and reduces the mana required for skills.
Until one day, when the upper limit of magic power in the body is sufficient, or when the mana consumption of skills is compressed to a level that the user can bear, the user will be able to successfully activate combat skills and complete their release.
Having understood this, House began to imitate Marcus's movements and start swinging his sword. At the same time, following the magic route of the skill shown on the scroll, he tried to concentrate and draw upon the magic power within his body to begin outlining the combat technique [Slash].
This is different from releasing the Monster Contract skill [Slow Self-Healing].
The former requires House to understand, outline, and successfully mobilize magic power to circulate within his body and release combat skills;
The latter is completely natural, requiring no deliberate manipulation; it works naturally, like an innate instinct.
House calmed down and began to focus on training.
Marcus watched quietly from the side, occasionally offering guidance and correcting House's sword-wielding posture.
Once House's movements finally reached the standard, Marcus quietly left, leaving House to train alone.
Generally speaking, it takes an average person anywhere from a few months to several years to master a skill.
And to fully release it, one might never be able to do so in a lifetime.
Marcus believes that even if House himself has the talent of a warrior, it would take at least several weeks for him to barely reach the beginner stage.
Just like those young people on the other side of the training ground who are born with the ability to sense magic within their bodies and are sent by their parents to learn skills.
During this time, he only needs to come over occasionally to take a look, provide some guidance, make corrections, and answer questions.
......
Even after Marcus left, House did not slack off at all and continued to train tirelessly.
Fine beads of sweat covered his forehead, slowly sliding down his cheeks, flowing over his chin, soaking his clothes, and finally being quietly absorbed by the slime nestled in his arms.
House, who was focused on practicing, didn't know how long he had been practicing—it could have been ten minutes or an hour. Suddenly, he felt that the previously sluggish flow of magic power within his body had become smoother.
[Slashing Proficiency +1]
[Skill: Slash Lv1 (1/10)]
[Shared Monster Talent Skill: Slow Self-Healing]
......