Chương 53

The next three weeks were a total blur of bruises, mud, and flying food. Every single morning, Commander Vane forced Rudra onto the slick, frozen training yard. And every single morning, the five elite Murray Kingdom knights tried to brutally tackle him just to steal his breakfast.

"Get back!" Rudra yelled, swinging his Abyssal Ironwood Staff. A knight in heavy plate armor lunged, completely ignoring his defensive training just to grab the spicy roasted duck in Rudra's left hand. Rudra didn't panic, and he definitely didn't use his Abyssal Step to jump away. He planted his boots firmly on the slick ice. He dropped his hips to anchor his weight and swung his staff low.

"[Sweeping Gale]!" The heavy wood smashed into the knight's shins. The guy's boots flew out from under him, and he tipped backward. Rudra didn't stop moving. Before the knight even hit the ice, Rudra snapped his wrists. He thrust the blunt end of his staff right into the exact center of the falling knight's chest plate. Thwack. He instantly pulled the staff back an inch and hit the exact same spot again. Thwack. A tiny swirl icon appeared over the knight's helmet.

He hit the ground, completely stunned and drooling slightly at the smell of the roasted duck.

"That's one!" Rudra cheered, taking a huge bite of the duck.

"Don't get cocky! Four more!" Vane barked from the sidelines. It was a grueling routine, but it worked perfectly. By taking away his ability to run or fly, Vane forced Rudra to actually fight like a Black Staff Expert. His brawling style was still messy and chaotic, but it was grounded. He learned how to use his enemies' weight against them, and his precision skyrocketed. His skills were leveling up like crazy.

Every time he blocked a heavy blow from Vane during their afternoon sparring sessions, his [Iron Guard] gained proficiency. But there was one big problem. One evening, Rudra sat on a wooden crate, rubbing a nasty bruise on his shoulder. Vane handed him a cup of hot water.

"My physical stats are going up fine," Rudra complained, taking a sip.

"But my intelligence is falling behind. I'm just hitting things all day. I need books. Do you guys have a library?" Vane grunted and reached into his heavy coat. He tossed a small, silver badge at Rudra.

"The Royal Library is near the palace," Vane explained, crossing his arms.

"But access is strictly tiered. Level 3 is for lower officials. Level 2 is for minor nobles and important military officers. Level 1 is for high-ranking nobles, and Level 0 is completely restricted to the Royal Family." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Rudra looked at the silver badge. A neat number '2' was carved into the metal.

"You're giving me Level 2?" Rudra asked, surprised.

"Gareth vouched for you, and you didn't cry when I threw you in the Abyssal Pits," Vane sneered.

"Don't cause trouble, or I'll snap your staff in half."

"Thanks, boss," Rudra grinned. For the rest of the month, Rudra added a new step to his routine. Every night, after he finished cooking dinner for Elysia and Kratos at the inn, he walked over to the massive Royal Library. The place smelled like old parchment and dust. Rudra didn't have the patience to sit and read every single word. He just used his naturally fast reading speed to skim through giant piles of books.

He read up on the geography of the continent, basic alchemy recipes, and the history of the Murray Kingdom. Kratos usually tagged along, hiding in his cloak. Whenever Rudra sat down to read, the tiny half-gold, half-black cub would crawl out, find the thickest encyclopedia on the table, and use it as a bed. [Your understanding of the world has expanded.] [Intelligence +2] [Your knowledge of ancient herbs has deepened.] [Intelligence +1] The system notifications pinged quietly in his vision every night.

Finally, the thirtieth day of the training camp arrived. Rudra stood in the center of the yard. The morning sun was actually warm today. The slick ice had completely melted, leaving behind a thick layer of sticky brown mud. He took a deep breath, letting the cool mountain air fill his lungs. He spun his Abyssal Ironwood Staff. It felt totally different now. It didn't feel like a heavy tool he was lugging around. It felt completely weightless, like a natural extension of his own arms. He opened his status window.

He didn't care about the exact numbers, but seeing his core physical stats cross the 600 mark felt great. His Intelligence had securely hit the 500s thanks to his speed-reading marathons. But his skill list was the best part. [Crushing Strike has reached Lv. 10 (Max)!] [Iron Guard has reached Lv. 10 (Max)!] [Intermediate Staff Mastery has reached Level 9!] [Intermediate Cooking Mastery has reached Level 8!] Even the cooking has increased a lot since he cooked multiple dishes using rare and epic rated ingredient bought by the knights and even the commander.

"Just a tiny bit more," Rudra muttered, closing the window. He just needed one really good fight to push his mastery over the edge. The heavy wooden doors of the barracks slammed open. Commander Vane walked out. But he wasn't holding his wooden practice halberd today. He was holding his real weapon. The massive steel blade gleamed sharply in the morning sunlight. The handle was wrapped in dark leather, and the heavy metal radiated a thick, intimidating aura.

The five elite knights, who were usually ready to tackle Rudra for his breakfast, immediately backed away to the very edges of the yard. They looked nervous. Vane stepped into the mud. He rolled his broad shoulders, his joints popping loudly.

"Thirty days," Vane said, his deep voice carrying over the quiet yard.

"You survived the poison pits. You fixed your sloppy footwork. You can finally hit a target straight." Vane pointed the heavy steel halberd directly at Rudra.

"But you are still holding back," Vane said softly.

"You treat this like a game. Today, you graduate. Or you fail." Rudra didn't smile. He dropped his usual slouched posture. He gripped his staff with both hands, planting his boots firmly in the mud.

"Come at me," Vane challenged.