Leaving Lucy's manor, Eric stretched widely in the sunlight. Checking that his sabre was properly sheathed on his back, he began to consider what to do now that he'd been kicked out of the manor. Originally, he'd planned to study in Lucy's library for the entire afternoon before going hunting with his friends later this evening, but now it seemed that he would need to alter those plans.

Pacing back and forth in front of the manor entrance, Eric slid the strap of the sabre sheath downwards, causing the sabre to hang sideways behind his back. Letting his hand rest on the pommel of the sabre, a contemplative look appeared on his face as he considered his options. Eyes brightening, Eric laughed to himself as he realized that what he should do was literally staring him in the face. Ryan had been asking him to come down to the field where he trained for days now, especially since he'd received Grimarok's sabre after the Battle of Lichfrost. Now that he had time, there was no reason for Eric not to spend some time training his sword skills, especially after his fights against Hydrus and Grimarok had made him realize the importantance of melee combat.

At this thought, Eric's face darkened. His defeat at Hydrus' hands still caused him anger even now, several days later. It wasn't as if he couldn't stand losing, he was still friends with Jun after all, even despite all the times Jun had defeated him in various games across the years. No, it was the way in which Hydrus had won that still rankled. The way in which he had won, and the way in which he had acted, Eric thought to himself with an annoyed scowl. Okay, so maybe he was a bit of a sore loser, but losing to an arrogant a.s.shole like Hydrus felt way worse than losing to a more gracious opponent might have.

Swearing revenge on Hydrus for what might have been the hundredth time in the past three days, not that he was counting of course, Eric departed Lucy's manor, headed for the fields outside Tonbura.

As he made his way through the streets of Tonbura, Eric turned his attention from the beautiful weather to his user interface. A notification had been flashing in the corner of his eye for a while, but he'd ignored it in order to pay attention to Lucy's lesson.

[System Message]

Congratulations on learning the Whisper spell! You have now unlocked the private messaging system. Simply pressing on a friends name in your friends list will allow you to cast a Whisper spell to contact them. Only the caster needs to have unlocked the Whisper spell to enable communication between players.

[You have learned: Whisper!]

Whisper: Intermediate Arcane Magic

No Mana Cost - Mana does not regenerate while using Whisper

The primary means of magical communication. An easily disrupted method of communicating over long distances, the Whisper spell is the lowest level form of magical transmission.

Smiling happily, Eric closed the notification window and brought up his stats page in its place. It had been a while since he'd last checked the progress he'd made and he was eager to see how his recent training had affected his level. As the list of skills came up, Eric winced. The number of skills he possessed had now surpa.s.sed thirty, causing the list to extend nearly down to his feet.

"You've gained even more skills?" Eleanor asked, appearing beside his shoulder. The diminutive guide fairy had grown far more casual with him in recent days, often showing up to chat as he studied magic inside Lucy's manor, or explored the forests around Tonbura.

"Yeah," Eric nodded. The length of the skill list spoke for itself, there wasn't really much else he could say.

"Do you want to hide the skills you haven't worked on for a while? I can hide any skills that you haven't leveled recently, as well as any below a certain level if you like," Eleanor offered causing Eric to brighten.

"That would be great, thanks Elle."

Eleanor giggled. "No problem," she said, fluttering down from his shoulder to hover in front of his skill interface. "I'll hide any skills below Beginner 5 that you haven't gained a level in for at least the last week. Sound good?"

Nodding once more, Eric watched with interest as Eleanor began the process of shortening the list. Placing her hand upon the window, she concentrated briefly before flying back up to his shoulder. "There you go! It should be easier to deal with now."

Indeed, the skill list had shortened considerably. Where before, skills such as Militia Spearmanship and Basic Herbalism had filled the window, with depressingly low skill levels beside them, now only skills that Eric had actively leveled remained. Thanking Eleanor once more, Eric leaned forward to look at his newly updated skill list.

[Status]

Erick Kystfyr - Level 27

Health: 360/360

Mana: 360/360

t.i.tle: Knight of Crowsea

Weapons: Fine Yew Longbow - (20 Fine Goose-feathered Iron Arrows, 20 Stone)

Grimarok's Sabre

Quickwind Dagger

Armour: Leather Padded Armour (Common)

Skills: Basic Magic (Arcane, Fire, Wind, Water)

Basic Martial Arts (Journeyman 9)

Militia Swordsmanship (Journeyman 4)

Basic Archery (Apprentice 10)

Basic Evasion (Journeyman 10)

Active Skills:

Evasive Shot (Journeyman 7)

Charged Shot (Apprentice 1)

Sword Technique - Guard (Apprentice 8)

Sword Technique - Dashing Cut (Journeyman 6)

Magic:

Basic Arcane Magic (Intermediate 1)

Arcane Strike (Journeyman 7)

Arcane Blade (Beginner 9)

Arcane Dart (Apprentice 6)

Basic Fire Magic (Apprentice 3)

Flame Strike (Beginner 8)

Multi-linked Flame Strike (Beginner 3)

Basic Wind Magic (Journeyman 8)

Wind Blade (Apprentice 7)

Wind Dart (Journeyman 8)

Multi-linked Wind Dart (Apprentice 4)

Whisper (MAX)

Arcane Formations (MAX)

Basic Nova.n.a.lba Mana Technique (Journeyman)

Unknown Mana Technique (Apprentice)

Eric whistled lowly. The Battle of Lichfrost had certainly acted as a catalyst for his growth, propelling his level far beyond what it had been only days before. His magic and martial arts skills in particular had both soared after the fight with Grimarok, although his sword skills were still pitifully low.

Perhaps it's time to start learning how to use a sword properly instead of treating it like an oversharpened baseball bat, Eric thought, glancing over his shoulder at the sabre hanging across his back. Staring at the weapon, Eric brought up its stats for what must have been the thousandth time in the last two days, again, not that he was counting.

[Grimarok's Sabre - Rare]

Attack: 12-16

Durability: 100/100

Requirements for use:

Journeyman 1 Swordsmanship

Effects:

Damage of all slashing skills increased by 15%

Damage while mounted increased by 15%

Description: A hobgoblin war sabre that was wielded by Grimarok of the Blood Worg tribe. The sabre is well balanced for use while mounted, but could use rebalancing for use by non-hobgoblins. The sabre is crafted using the finest goblin metallurgy techniques, and was dowsed in the blood of an Alpha Worg, creating a fine edge that will never dull.

Dismissing the window, Eric sighed. Certainly, there was very little reason to have an amazing weapon when his skills with said weapon were, frankly speaking, atrocious. While he'd been able to hold his own so far thanks to his skill at martial arts and magic, that was primarily due to the low level of most of his opponents so far. Those opponents with real skill at arms such as Hydrus or Grimarok, had pushed him to the limit, forcing him to resort to magic and cheap tricks in order to stand toe to toe with them.

Then again, was there anything inherently wrong with being bad at swordplay? Eric wondered. It wasn't as if he was a prodigy with the sword, in fact, he was fairly average with it if his results from the tutorial were to be believed. Perhaps slightly above average at best, wouldn't focusing on magic give him better results?

Shaking his head stubbornly, Eric dismissed the notion. Being bad at something was never something he'd been able to accept. Be it martial arts, gymnastics, or even math, he'd always done his best and given it his all.

Okay, maybe not math, but everything else for sure, Eric thought with a chuckle. There were no real downsides to learning how to properly defend himself using a sword. It would allow him to be more aggressive with his positioning in future battles, and provide him with another weapon for his growing a.r.s.enal of skills. Plus, secretly, even if he'd never admit it, swords were cool as h.e.l.l. There was definitely a reason that heroes always used swords, even if spears were more effective. Slipping into a daydream where he was defending a girl from goblins with his incredible sword skills, Eric didn't notice that he'd already arrived at the northern gate until he nearly tripped over the b.u.t.t of a spear that was leaning awkwardly across the gateway.

"Who's there?" a voice asked groggily, waking Eric from his daydream.

Looking up, Eric saw the familiar face of the sleepy guardsman who regularly manned the gate. It appeared that during his daydream, Eric had accidentally woken the guard up from his actual dreams by nearly tripping over the spear that the guard had dropped.

"Hey Harak, just leaving the village, don't mind me," Eric said with a laugh.

"Ah, Eric? Right, righ- Just go on through, don't mind me," Harak responded with a yawn, grabbing his spear and setting it beside him as he leaned back in his chair, intent on resuming his nap.

Shaking his head at the man's antics, Eric left through the gate, headed for the north-eastern field where he would find the tentatively named, Tonbura Training Troop.

Beyond the walls of Tonbura lay a large swathe of farmland that extended from the borders of the nearby Stillwood Forest all the way back to Tonbura, a veritable sea of crops and livestock, grazing contentedly in open pastures as their shepherds kept an eye out for danger.

Roughly a ten minute walk northeast of the village, nestled between rolling golden fields of wheat and surrounded by short trees to act as a windbreak, was a small, unused field. Formerly owned by a farmer who had died in a monster raid the previous year, it was this field that had been taken over by the Tonbura Training Troop as their practice spot. Emerging through the trees, Eric could make out nearly twenty figures moving about in the field, their bodies glistening with the sweat of their exertions. Spying a pair of familiar faces, Eric paused to observe as he watched the action unfold.