Chapter 12 Anna Stargaze's Arrival
The night before the test, Noel opened his system again to check his progress over the past week.
Training: Running 40 Km
Reward: Stamina +0.25% (Accumulation: 0.70%)
Training: Push Up 500 times
Reward: Constitution +0.25% (Accumulation: 0.70%)
Training: Swinging a Sword up and down 500 times
Reward: Sword Mastery +0.25% (Accumulation: 0.70%)
"Hmm. The effect doesn't feel that big, but I think I will feel the effect the stronger I become. After all, I heard that there is a big difference for each individual strength the stronger you are… Well, I will continue accumulating this point, I guess." Noel nodded with a serious expression and opened the other panel.
Requirement: Help 25 Townspeople (3/25)
Reward: Excellent Citizen Medal and 4 Honor Points
"I've got two medals, the Good Citizen Medal and the Great Citizen Medal." Noel opened each medal. "And I'm using the latter right now since it's quite good."
Medal: Great Citizen Medal.
Effect: Constitution +0.5%
Description: Helping people is a good thing to do. As a great citizen, you need a good health to continue helping other people.
In the past couple of days, Noel found some time after training to help the citizens in need like finding their pets, bringing home a drunken guy, and other miscellaneous stuff.
He'd never done all this stuff when he was a noble. And when he did, he got the warm smile from the townspeople. Some of them even invited him to have dinner with them as thanks.
It was truly refreshing to find another perspective when he was just a mere commoner.
After reminiscing the good memory, Noel's focus returned to the medals.
"Well, it seems that the Constitution is giving me an overall boost in my physical ability. My strength, agility, dexterity, and other stuff. Stamina from Running is as it is. The weird one is the Sword Mastery. I don't feel it that much, but it's kind of easier to wield the blade. That's probably the reason." Noel nodded in satisfaction.
Unfortunately, there was no full explanation from the system or Ardagan regarding his power, so he kept deciphering their meanings as he improved himself.
Last but not least, he opened the 'Shop' since that was the only place to spend his Honor Points he gained from the medal mission.
[Shop]
Available Points: 5 HP
1 Skill Point (2 HP)
Disinfectant Bandage (1 HP)
Water Bottle (1 HP)
Torch (1 HP)
When Noel looked at these four items, he believed the current point was barely enough for survival kits.
"Should I spend all my points? No, that won't be wise. If I buy one of them, will it appear mysteriously or something will happen? I think I should try one first." Noel sighed and decided to spend one point in Water Bottle.
Suddenly, a wooden bottle appeared in front of him. The size was perfect for his hand and the length was a little less than his lower arm's length.
"Hmm… this is the water bottle?" He immediately grabbed this item and felt the heaviness from the water, realizing it was completely filled. He tried to open it and confirmed the water. However, he wondered whether it was edible or not.
Although he was a bit hesitant, he still took a small sip and tasted the water.
"Hmm, it tastes… a little sweet, unlike the normal water. And somehow I get this refreshing feeling. Other than that, I don't feel any change. I guess it's a high quality water or something that can make you feel refreshed. At least, it's not an ordinary water. I guess 1 Honor Point is worth it." Noel nodded with a calm expression. It was perfect for his survival since he didn't need to find a water source.
"Then, I still have 4 Honor Points… For now, I should buy one Skill Point first since the skill intrigues me."
Noel exchanged two Honor Points to one Skill Point and immediately raised his Ardagan Swordsmanship.
Skill: Ardagan Swordsmanship (1/15)
Requirement: 3 SP
"This is…" Noel widened his eyes as his heart skipped a beat when he raised the Swordsmanship. He suddenly moved to the center of the room and swung Ardagan like how the teacher in the camp taught him.
However, he soon found the difference.
"No, no. The swing should be slightly higher…" Noel shook his head and corrected his form. "Wait a minute. Why do I know I should swing a bit higher? Is this the effect of the skill? It seems that my body will learn how to use it instinctively. And I can still upgrade this skill 14 more times.
"I see. I'm looking forward to the effect of all of them. In that case, should I buy another Skill Point to get either Swift Strike or Mega Slash? No, no, no. With this Swordsmanship alone, I should be at the level of the average people in that camp.
"All I need right now is to cooperate with the others to kill the demons since I have a mission to kill ten demons for medal and Honor Points. At that time, I have some to spend to the skill since I need to save a few Honor Points for emergency use. I can't be too reckless and spend it all because a mistake will cost me my life."
With this, he had finished checking all his progress. The last thing he did was to check all the forms of his Swordsmanship. Since his body knew how to do it, he only needed to check the improvement so that he wouldn't make a dumb mistake.
After that, he took a proper rest and headed straight to the camp for the test.
Unbeknownst to him, there was a female riding a horse outside the city.
"Ngihihii…" The horse let out a cry as it stopped in front of the city gate.
The female looked at the tall and sturdy brick walls and smiled. She fixed her blond hair and said, "It's really astonishing. I wonder how's that guy doing since this place should be the start of his journey…"
That smile of her entranced the guards that wanted to ask for her identification. That was why she was the one approaching them while showing an insignia.
"I am Anna Stargaze, the first daughter of Marquis Stargaze. Please let me pass."