Chapter 4B: Martial Training Part II

By the time the Leylin left the yard the sun hung straight above. He walked to his chambers and asked for a bath to be drawn. Over the years, He had left standing instructions on how his bath was to be prepared and what herbs and scents were to be added. This concoction was something he came up with Angela. After a bath and soaking in hot water, he dressed up and went for lunch in the great hall. The rest of the day went by while he did his reading and experimenting with Angela in their lab.

His father had already spoken to Valdis during the day and by now the whole castle was under the belief that he was some legendary warrior. At this point, he was worried about his father's first wife dying of heartache.

His father was over the moon by supper he spent the whole time talking about him and what Valdis told him. At this point, he wondered if his father would feel like even his feces was divine. Though the faces of his stepmom seemed to age a decade. 'I don't know what my father thinks about my feces but I am sure that my stepmom knows what it tastes like, Leylin thought as he fought to suppress a snicker.

After supper, he followed his father to his father's solar up the tower. The room remained inaccessible to anyone but his father. Only when summoned could anyone except Valdis, Melvon & Areo enter. The room was a well-lit room with a hearth on the left. A desk made of fine black blackwood with ivory inlays imposing centered the room. A diwan lined the right wall by the window. Behind the desk were books that were either deemed too sensitive or precious to be kept in the library. On the mantlepiece above the fireplace was his family's sword 'Eagle's Claw'. It was one of 100 starmetal swords on the continent. The family heraldry was etched into the ornate cross guard. By the fireplace hung the family tapestry.

Seeing Leylin lost in thought his father smiled.

"Leylin, Do you know what is the difference between a knight and a warrior?", His father asked

Leylin shook his head knowing it was one of the secrets of the world that was taboo to talk about he pretended to be ignorant of.

"Leylin, In this world, there were several mysterious forces, one such force is inner life energy. It is harnessed through a special breathing technique that allows someone to nurture their body beyond the limits of normal people. These breathing techniques are monopolized by noble houses and are given as rewards.

The sharing of breathing techniques is equivalent to raising someone to nobility. There are different ranks of techniques depending on how far one can progress with that technique. Some techniques also give unique attributes to the practitioner they are all precious family heirlooms. Sharing a breathing technique without royal consent is prohibited under the pain of death.

Our family breathing technique can allow someone to reach a high-rank knight moreover it improves the agility of the practitioner and is considered quite valuable. Only ducal houses and above have Grand knight techniques." His father explained.

Viscount John handed leylin an old manuscript he then asked him to memorize it. Leylin thought, 'Copy, and isolate it new file Knight breathing techniques.'

[Beep! Task Established. Copying information into new file...…. Copying complete...….new file generated....Knight Breathing Technique]

His father gave him a demonstration and helped him perform the breathing technique. He then told him to rest.

Once Leylin reached his room he muttered in his mind, "A.I. Chip! According to my statistics, simulate and create the best model for me to start training the breathing technique!"

[Beep! Task Established! Host human model established! Begin simulation.....]

As the mechanical voice sounded out, a 3D model of a human figure appeared in front of Leylin's eyes.

The 3D figure repeatedly started training the breathing technique, constantly adjusting the frequency, rate, and magnitude. Slowly, a red line could be seen moving around in the 3D figure's body.

After a few minutes, the simulation ended, and the A.I. Chip's mechanical voice sounded out once more.

[Beep! Simulation ended. Cross blade accompanying breathing technique – Time required for one revolution: 30 Minutes. 10 Revolutions will improve the Host's body by 0.05 strength, 0.06 agility, and 0.03 vitality. The improvements will gradually lessen as the stats improve! Warning: If the Host goes through long-term training of this technique, it will result in residual damage caused to the Host body. Recommendation to think twice before starting.]

Leylin then instructed the A. I chip to optimize the breathing technique

[Beep! Task Established: Optimisation initiating, estimated time: 125 minutes.]

After waiting rather impatiently, the two hours finally passed. The A.I. Chip's voice sounded out right on time.

[The optimization for the breathing technique has been completed. Time taken for the breathing technique is 5 minutes 23 seconds, and the effects have all risen by 5%! The side effects of the injuries have vanished!]

Leylin then had an idea, ' Use the information in WMW.pdf and attempt to upgrade the technique to Grand Knight technique.'

[Beep! Task Established: Technique upgrading, Estimated Time 1 year 3months 2 days]

"Very good!" This result made Leylin very satisfied. Now he set a goal he needed to be a high-level knight by the time the technique was upgraded. Only when he becomes a grand knight could he could truly start enacting his plans.

If the effect was a 5% increase each time, then dozens of times, and even hundreds of times, would result in huge differences.

"Amongst the many Knight families, it is considered to be the upper middle grade!" "After the optimization of the breathing technique done by the A.I. Chip, I'm afraid it might even be comparable to the secret scroll techniques of those smaller kingdoms!"

Leylin quietly pondered, and immediately said impatiently: "A.I. Chip, transfer the optimized breathing technique to the memory zone!"

After a few minutes of transfer, Leylin gently rubbed his head: "I feel a little giddy, but this is a normal occurrence!"

"I'll give it a try!" Leylin thought, and his body lay on the floor in the shape of a cross.

According to the suggestions on the breathing technique which was presented by the A.I. Chip, there was no need to have any special actions to complement it, but just to find the most suitable and comfortable position.

"First, I must hold my breath for 65 seconds, then take three long and one short breath. The duration and frequency must be..."

Leylin followed the description of the breathing technique, and gradually entered a state of cultivation.

He looked unconscious; his face was bright red and his temples throbbed as if carrying out some kind of exercise.

As time passed, Leylin's face grew redder, and eventually, he began to perspire out some faint black-colored fluid.

After he had maintained this process for over 20 minutes, Leylin opened both of his eyes and opened his mouth to exhale.

"A.I. Chip, display my body's statistics!" Leylin ordered.

[Beep: scan complete] [Name : Leylin Farlier Gender: Male Strength: 0.7 Agility: 1.8 Vitality: 1.5] [Status: Neural function normal, Improved Eyesight, mild injury]

Leylin remained impassive: "Change the method of display and move the data back to 10 decimal points. Also, make comparisons with the data before the cultivation."

With Leylin's orders, the image flickered, and the body statistics had shown 10 more decimal points. The last three numbers had not stopped changing.

[Beep! After comparison, undergoing Knight Training increases the Host's strength by

0.005, Agility by 0.006, and vitality by 0.004]

The A.I. Chip faithfully relayed the message.

"Mn! Because this was the first practice, the figures are still climbing up!" Leylin analyzed and said.

"I've only cultivated for a bit over 20 minutes, but, the data's increase is already rather considerable."

Leylin thought indifferently, "What a pity. According to my memory and the A.I. Chip analysis, breathing techniques have cultivation limits. The Farlier family's breathing technique can only be practiced once a day. Additional practice will not only have no additional benefits but will even cause harm to the body!"

"A.I. Chip, are there any methods to let me increase the number of times I can practice the breathing technique?" Leylin asked.

[Beep! Medicinal items are required as a supplement.] The A.I. Chip feedbacked.

"List all the necessary medicinal items!"

[Beep! Quinoline element, Calcium dioxide...] The A.I. Chip listed a whole bunch of medicinal items, which were all from Leylin's previous life.

"Is it possible to substitute any of them with other medicinal items or herbs?" This seemed to be an impossible task, but Leylin furrowed his brows and asked anyway.

[Beep! Substitutes found....Reactant: a crushed mix of 2 parts autumn crocus with 1 part willow bark solvent 3 part liquid extract of Rutaceae.....triple diluted in water...….dosage 20ml twice a day]