Chapter 14

Roy was fascinated with the Stamina Restoration Manual.

It was the greatest thing he could ask for at the moment.

What did it exactly do?

Well, it was a set of breathing techniques that would allow a person to restore their stamina rapidly and feel full of vitality no matter what they were doing.

He looked at the blue screen that was showing it and desired to learn it, and immediately a message appeared in his vision.

[Would you like to learn the Stamina Restoration Manual?]

Arlo & Amelia were looking at him, yet they weren’t confused, only surprised, and hence, Roy further verified that not only the commoners but even the powerhouses couldn’t see the blue screen.

What did that signify? He didn’t need to fear others finding out he had a golden finger!

‘Yes.’ Roy said without a word.

The pendant hung around his neck released a dirt-sized glimmer. Of course, it went unnoticed by everyone, even the one wearing it.

The next instant, out of nowhere, a huge amount of information drilled into Roy’s mind.

He had already become familiar with the piercing pain that would come when things like this happen, so he easily endured it.

For what seemed like no more than a couple of seconds, he found the world in his eyes distorted.

Only after clarity returned to his mind did he realize that, just like the previous times, there were new pieces of knowledge in his head.

[You’ve learned the Stamina Restoration Manual]

– Stamina Restoration Manual (Lvl: 1) (0/10)]

His eyes brightened up.

He understood everything about the Stamina Restoration Manual!

He could use it straight away!

How hard was it for a person to learn a technique in this world?

Some people need days to learn a skill, while others need to grind for no less than a month to understand the basics of one.

However, with the help of the Strongest System, he learned skills with just a single fuckin’ word!

How amazing was that?!

Roy’s eyes turned to the Basic Swordsmanship Shard.

It was inside a blue screen, just an arm’s length away from him.

[Would you like to learn the Basic Swordsmanship Shard?]

“Hehehehehe.”

It was cold, and seeing a fatty laughing out eerily while staring at empty air made it even colder for Arlo. He felt a chill creep up his spine.

[You’ve learned the Basic Swordsmanship (Fake Version)]

-Basic Swordsmanship (Fake Ver) (0/10)

Knowledge of basic swordsmanship was ingrained in his body and mind, improving his Swordsmanship. He was still no match for a person who had learned basic swordsmanship. But it had become possible for him to block a hit or two from one such swordsman.

Roy realized another thing.

Basic Swordsmanship Shard was like a low-level soul shard, although not as good as one.

But as long as he gets ten more, he would be able to advance his Fake Basic Swordsmanship into Real Basic Swordsmanship!

It was the level of swordsmanship that an average swordsman would need a year to learn!

And it would be 3 for those with worse talent than an average person!

…

Although he had completed the hidden quest, it hadn’t gone away. It had just refreshed, meaning he could complete it an infinite number of times within the next 23 hours and 45 minutes. The sad part was that the stats points he would get as a reward for completing it had reduced significantly.

Big beads of sweat were forming on his forehead even in this cold temperature, sliding down his cheeks ever so often.

Although it was cold, it didn’t stop him from getting sweaty like a drenched dog.

With the back of his hand, Roy wiped the sweat off his face.

[You’ve activated the Stamina Restoration Manual.]

The way he was breathing changed.

The number of times he was breathing in half a minute had changed.

The volume of the air he was inhaling, and exhaling had also changed.

Amelia didn’t notice anything different about him.

‘It isn’t just her,’ Roy realized.

Even an expert like Arlo – who was capable of changing the weather for around half a minute with a single punch – had failed to notice the change in him.

…

[You’ve restored 0.2 points of stamina.]

– Stamina Restoration Manual (Lvl: 1) (0.1/10)]

[You’ve restored 0.4 points of stamina.]

– Stamina Restoration Manual (Lvl: 1) (0.3/10)]

The more he used it, the better he got at it.

[You’ve restored 0.5 points of stamina.]

– Stamina Restoration Manual (Lvl: 1) (0.6/10)]

Roy found something inside him change.

[Your stamina has been restored up to 3.2 points.]

Vitality was coursing through him, exterminating the exhaustion haunting his every breath.

To the surprise of the onlookers, he was no longer panting as heavily as before.

Unlike a Giga Chad, he started to beat the meat for some sauce again!

Pa! Pa! Pa!

Pa! Pa!

[Your stamina has decreased to 2.6 points.]

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

[Stamina Restored to 3.2 points]

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

[Stamina Decreased to 2.6]

Pa! Pa! Pa!

[Stamina Increase to 3.2 points]

What the heck was going on?

He had entered a state of perfect equilibrium!

The amount of stamina he was losing every minute was equal to the amount of stamina he was restoring through using the Stamina Restoration Manual!

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

The sound of something getting spanked rapidly and furiously was louder than the howls of the wind.

But… it sounded as indecent as an S&M play!

However, Arlo didn’t let that stop him from finding out that Roy had gotten a little better at swinging the sword than just ten or so minutes ago.

‘He seems different today…’

‘It’s like the thread holding him back has snapped, allowing his potential to come out of deep murky waters.’

Arlo didn’t know why but he became deeply interested in Roy.

…

-Slash the Puppet (10/10)

-Stab the Puppet (10/10)

-Land overhead Strikes on the Puppet (10/10)

[You’ve completed the quest, “The Resolve of the Weak to Change for the Better,” for the second time.]

[You Acquired +0.3 STR, +0.2 STAMINA, and a Basic Swordsmanship Shard]

[Basic Swordsmanship Shard × 1 Learned]

-Basic Swordsmanship (Fake Ver) (1/10)

[The Quest, “The Resolve of the Weak to Change for the Better,” has refreshed.]

[The reward you’ll get from completing it has decreased.]

…

Roy didn’t immediately start the third round.

Why though?

His cute little maid was looking over him like a mother hen while shivering in the cold.

She had forced him to wear a furry jacket on top of thick clothes but had forgotten to get more than a cotton coat over her one piece.

Thud!

He dropped the sword and immediately went up to her.

Without as much as a word, he took the jacket off himself and stretched out his hand to give it to her, but instead of taking it, she confusedly looked at him, her pretty eyes blinking twice.

“Wear it,” Roy said gently.

“What do you mean, my lord?” Said the maid, bewilderment vivid in her eyes.

A slave wearing the clothes of their master was unheard of. The old clothes of one’s master were usually burned, not given away for others to wear. It wasn’t a law and just something nobles did out of their own accord.

“Don’t think too much about it. I took it off because I was afraid of ruining it while swinging the sword. And I’m giving it to you because I don’t want to place it on the cold and dirty racks and the ground.”

“I’m not that naive.”

It was clear to her that he was lying for her sake.

Roy chuckled, “Keep it warm for me by wearing it, alright?”

She didn’t want to decline him another time.

“Yes, I will.”

Thus, she gave him the answer he wanted to hear.

“Thanks, you’re a wonderful lord.”

She smiled pleasantly as he helped her into his thick jacket.

He had just taken it off. It was still warm with his body heat. Wearing it helped her stop shivering. She no longer felt as cold as before. More than the warm lapping at her was the warm filling her heart.

“I’m blessed to have him as my master.” She mumbled beneath her breath.

Witnessing the romance budding between his nephew and his maid, Arlo ate dog food.

…

Day turned to dawn.

But Roy didn’t stop training.

He slashed, stabbed, and landed over-headed strikes on the puppet no less than a thousand times.

Swinging the sword thousands of times should be nigh impossible for a fragile chicken like him. His body was too out of shape for him to do sword training. But he made the impossible possible, relying on his endurance. At least that was what Arlo thought. He didn’t know that Roy managed to come so far, mainly relying on abusing the Stamina Restoration Manual. But if his endurance hadn’t increased to become better than an average man during training, he would have fallen unconscious long ago. His bones were literally crying each time he moved. The Manual was capable of killing his exhaustion but didn’t do a thing about the pain piling up on him.

He was ready to fall at any time.

The good news was that he had gained enough sword shards to improve his fake basic swordsmanship to the next level

[You possess Basic Swordsmanship Shard × 13]

-Basic Swordsmanship (Fake Ver) (5/10)

Roy focused his eyes on the screen.

Then… the number of his Basic Swordsmanship Shard decreased rapidly.

[Basic Swordsmanship Shard Consumed]

-Basic Swordsmanship (Fake Ver) (6/10)

…

…

…

[Basic Swordsmanship Shard Consumed]

Basic Swordsmanship (Fake Ver) (10/10)

[Basic Swordsmanship (Fake Version) has upgraded to Basic Swordsmanship (Lvl: 1) (0/100)]

[Swing & Stab has been created.]

[Chop & Overhead Strike has been created.]

[Pound has been created.]

-Swing & Stab (Lvl:1): Increase damage dealt by 10% when you thrust your sword.

-Chop (Lvl:1): Increase damage dealt by 10% when you move your sword vertically.

-Slash (Lvl: 1): Increase damage dealt by 10% when you move your sword horizontally.

-Overhead Strike: Increase damage dealt by 10% when you land a hit on your opponent’s temple.

-Pound: Increase Damage Dealt by 10% when you slap your opponent with your sword.

Roy felt as if he had gained a year’s worth of swordsmanship knowledge in an instant.

Ridiculous!

Absolutely Ridiculous!