Obviously, completing more than a thousand basic swordsmanship drills in a single morning was no easy feat. Luciel practiced until the soreness and tingling sensation in his right forearm became more pronounced, and the biochip continued to issue warnings before he decided to stop. Alongside swordsmanship, he also practiced the basic footwork that accompanied it, tailored for an apprentice knight. Advancing, retreating, sidestepping, and sideslipping... With the chip's powerful assistance, Luciel swiftly improved his footwork from 60% perfection to 74%.
After pushing his physical limits, Luciel headed to the college cafeteria to refuel. Once back in his dormitory, he took a hot bath before diving into further study of the biochip's functions. The biochip's capabilities went beyond simply storing and analyzing data.
"Is the basic swordsmanship and basic footwork optimized?" Luciel mentally asked.
"Optimize now," the chip replied.
Luciel read the command silently in his mind. The chip began the optimization process, estimating it would take fifty minutes. The optimization refined Luciel's combat skills, stripping away unnecessary movements and enhancing the essence of each, making the skills more suitable to his abilities. The basic swordsmanship and footwork had been handed down through generations of knights, perfected over time. After countless trials, the skills were almost flawless, with only small improvements remaining. Luciel watched a progress bar appear in front of him, indicating the ongoing optimization.
Fifty minutes passed quickly.
[The basic swordsmanship optimization is complete.]
Next came the footwork.
[The basic footwork optimization is complete.]
Luciel practiced the optimized swordsmanship and footwork again, noticing that these skills were not only more aggressive but also more practical. In addition to improving his physical conditioning, they now enhanced his combat effectiveness. Even with a wooden sword, every move was filled with a chilling intensity.
"It's as if my basic swordsmanship and footwork have transformed from something simple to something deadly."
Luciel marveled at the power of the chip. "I should call them 'Modified Swordsmanship' and 'Modified Footwork' now."
After becoming familiar with the changes, Luciel asked the chip, "Can you synthesize these two skills?"
[Non-similar skills, insufficient data in the database, unable to synthesize]the chip responded.
Although Luciel could not yet fuse skills due to a lack of data, he understood this was another powerful feature of the biochip—fusion combat skills. In the future, as Luciel learned more combat techniques, the chip would be able to combine them for even greater abilities.
"The most urgent task is to improve my physical strength in all aspects," Luciel muttered to himself. "Without a strong foundation, no matter how refined the skills are, they are just empty gestures."
Luciel's eyes gleamed as a thought struck him. "The super soldiers trained by the previous government used various hormones to unlock human potential, turning ordinary people into superhumans... In this world, magic potions serve a similar purpose."
He reached under his bed, pulling out a small, exquisite leather box. Inside, apart from some clothes, was a black cloth pouch containing over thirty kingdom gold coins. Each coin featured the founding monarch's face on one side, with the iris flower, symbolizing the royal family of Ryan, on the other. This was Luciel's entire fortune.
One gold coin was equivalent to one hundred silver coins or ten thousand copper coins. A few copper coins could buy a full glass of ale in a tavern, and the average family's monthly expenses were only a dozen silver coins. In this world, one gold coin had the purchasing power equivalent to 10,000 yuan in Luciel's past life. It was clear that Baron Ruf had indulged his son with such wealth.
Luciel hurried out with the pouch, returning half an hour later with a small, beautiful crystal bottle containing a light red liquid.
"A bottle of the cheapest low-level strength potion costs 20 gold coins. The profession of magic pharmacists is indeed lucrative," Luciel muttered.
This expensive potion was typically reserved for the children of high-ranking nobles, not something Luciel could easily afford as a son of a minor country baron. Luciel didn't immediately drink the potion but carefully placed it back into the cowhide box as though it were a treasure.
He then left again, this time heading to the college library.
The Orland Knight Academy and the Orland Magic Academy were situated close to each other, separated by a small square. Though the two academies had different tutors and courses, public buildings like the library and cafeteria were shared between them.
Luciel walked along the College Avenue, lined with silver maple trees, passed through a small square with a magic fountain, and arrived at the tall building with a blue and white roof—the college library.
Inside, the library was filled with tall bookshelves, neatly arranged and tidy. The dark blue ceiling, spiraling upwards, gave the place an expansive, starry-sky feel. Luciel walked between the shelves, scanning the titles before pulling out a thick book labeled Basic Magical Materials. As he flipped it open, Luciel silently commanded, "Store information."
The biochip began recording the content, and a light blue progress bar appeared in his vision, moving forward as he continued to read. Though Luciel appeared to be reading the book at a normal pace, the speed of page turning was significantly faster due to the chip's data collection process.
Unbeknownst to Luciel, two young girls had appeared more than ten meters away from him, walking toward him step by step...