Mastery Is Earned

After eating and drinking his fill, Raymond leaned back in his chair, drained the ale in his cup, and let out a satisfied belch.

Henk rose and stretched, making every joint in his body crack and pop.

“What are you two planning to do next?” Teddy asked when he saw that they had finished eating.

Raymond considered it briefly. “I need to go out for a while. What about you, Henk?”

Henk paused and gripped the hilt of the hand-and-a-half sword resting on the table. “I want to practice with the sword.”

“I know a place that's perfect for you. Come with me later.” An idea had occurred to Raymond.

“All right!” Henk trusted Raymond and nodded without hesitation.

Seeing the two settle their plans, Teddy grew anxious. “Hey, why aren't either of you asking me?”

Henk glanced at him without speaking and simply fastened the hand-and-a-half sword at his waist again.

Raymond gave Teddy an interested look. “What? Did you find another commission?”

Teddy scratched his head awkwardly. “Not exactly. But you two are the men everyone in Blackstone is talking about right now. Shouldn't you take advantage of that and pick up more work?”

After exchanging a look with Henk, Raymond told Teddy, “There's no hurry. We still need a few days of proper rest.”

Henk scratched his neck, looking rather tempted, but said nothing.

After packing another serving of food, Raymond and Henk left the Blackstone Inn together. Raymond made his way through the intersections and alleys with practiced ease, while Henk followed silently behind him with his head lowered.

“What do you plan to do next? I mean, after we've dealt with this batch of spoils,” Raymond asked as they walked.

“Earn money,” Henk replied tersely.

Raymond nodded in understanding, then asked curiously, “Where are you from?”

“Far to the north.”

“How did you end up all the way down here?” Raymond asked.

Blackstone lay at the southernmost edge of the Kingdom of Goldvale. No matter where in the north Henk had come from, the journey could not have been short.

Henk fell silent. Only after a long while did he say, “I need to earn money, but no one trusts a half-orc.”

Though Henk's explanation was brief, Raymond could roughly imagine the difficulties he had faced. A half-orc no one trusted would struggle to find decent work on his own. Along the way, he had probably been forced to take whatever grueling labor no one else wanted, working his way south until he reached Silverleaf Village. Fortunately, wiping out the bandits had yielded considerable spoils and would likely bring him a substantial income.

Raymond gave Henk a thoughtful look but said nothing more.

Before long, the two passed through an alley, rounded several closely packed houses, and arrived at an ordinary plank house. A large open yard lay before it, with a training dummy standing in the middle. A middle-aged man with his right hand bandaged sat in a chair by the doorway, staring blankly at the training dummy.

“Captain Carter.” Raymond went forward to greet him.

Carter came back to himself and immediately smiled. His gaze fell on the cloth bag in Raymond's hand. “Why did you bring me food again?”

“I was coming this way anyway.” Raymond chuckled and took a food box from the bag.

Carter looked past the food at the large man behind Raymond. Henk's towering frame forced Carter to tilt his head back before he could see his face clearly. “Is this the warrior who helped you wipe out the bandits' hideout?”

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“Yes. His name is Henk, and he's a half-orc,” Raymond said by way of introduction. “Henk, this is Captain Carter. Without Captain Carter, I wouldn't be where I am today.”

As he spoke, Raymond opened the food box. The food had been packed neatly inside. The roasted meat was cut into bite-sized pieces, and even the bones had been carefully removed from the lamb chops.

There was also a jug of Carter's favorite ale. Carter had been about to politely decline, but the words died in his throat. He swallowed audibly.

“Why is the food so lavish today?” Carter tore his gaze away with some difficulty and looked at Raymond.

“I just collected a reward from the sheriff. Of course I had to enjoy a proper feast.” Raymond grinned.

Carter smiled faintly and accepted the box. With his left hand, he picked up a piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth, nodding as he chewed.

“Ever seen this before?” Raymond asked, taking out the small piece of dark, nearly black ore.

Carter glanced at it. “Isn't it just iron ore? What else would it be?”

Apparently, he did not recognize it either. Raymond did not press him. He simply put the ore away again, deep in thought.

While Carter ate, Raymond picked up a wooden sword and tossed it to Henk. “Want to spar?”

Henk grinned, though the expression looked somewhat ferocious. “Sure.”

The wooden sword was just right for Raymond, but rather light for Henk. After setting aside their weapons, the two entered the training yard and began their match.

Only when Raymond actually fought the enormous man did he understand how terrifying the half-orc was.

Henk stood nearly seven feet tall, with broad shoulders, arms longer than an ordinary person's, and especially thick forearms. Whenever Henk swung the wooden sword, Raymond could not even get close and was forced to dodge repeatedly.

Henk brought the sword down. Unable to evade in time, Raymond could only block in haste. Henk had clearly held back, yet the tremendous force still drove Raymond three steps backward. Only by bracing the wooden sword against the ground did he barely manage to stop.

Raymond stared at Henk in disbelief. He was fortunate that such a powerful half-orc was his companion.

“Rookie, do you know how to deal with an opponent who's taller and stronger than you?” Carter called out.

Raymond turned and saw that Carter had set down the food box. He sipped his ale while watching the two with interest.

“How?” Raymond asked humbly.

“One word: run!” Carter burst out laughing, though his expression was complicated.

Raymond could not help laughing with him.

The battle at the bandits' hideout had brought a tremendous improvement to his Basic Swordsmanship. Actual combat raised his Proficiency considerably faster than training did.

[Basic Swordsmanship Lv. 1 (82/100)]

After several more rounds, Raymond finally gave up on sparring with Henk. He had almost no ability to fight back. Continuing would only mean taking a one-sided beating.

Henk did not mind. He tossed the wooden sword aside, drew his hand-and-a-half sword, and began training on his own.

Raymond went over to Carter and asked, “Captain Carter, I seized a coat of plates that's fairly close to my size. The smith said I need to wear a padded garment underneath it. Is that right?”

Carter's smile widened. “You're certainly lucky. A coat of plates is excellent armor. The smith wasn't deceiving you—you do need a protective layer underneath, but you don't have to wear a thick, heavy gambeson.”

“In my opinion, a close-fitting, lightly padded arming coat would suit you better. It won't restrict your shoulders and arms too much or interfere with your swordsmanship.”

“A lightly padded arming coat?” Raymond nodded slightly and committed the name to memory.

“It sounds like you came away with quite a haul. But did you count everything? Were there any discrepancies?” Carter asked, changing the subject.

Raymond had no reason to hide it. None of this was secret. “We counted everything. All the large items matched, but quite a few small valuables went missing.”

Carter smiled. “That's normal. With that many hands on the goods, someone was bound to pocket a few things. As long as nothing major disappeared, it's fine.”

Raymond nodded in agreement.

After draining the ale in his jug, Carter looked at Raymond. He hesitated several times before speaking. “You two are famous now. There'll be no shortage of commissions coming to your door.”

“But this is exactly when you need to be most careful. Investigate every commission thoroughly before accepting it. Don't throw your lives away for a few silver coins. Some people value your abilities, but others will want to use you as a weapon. And plenty of people have their eyes on this batch of spoils.”

Raymond nodded gravely. Then he took out a silver coin and handed it to Carter. “Captain, this is tuition for the next ten days.”

“Tuition? What is this supposed to mean?” Carter's expression darkened as he questioned Raymond bluntly.

Raymond's expression did not change. “I need you to instruct me in swordsmanship. That takes your time, so paying tuition is only fair.”

Carter gave a bitter smile. “A cripple like me has all the time in the world. I don't need tuition. Just come keep me company when you're free.”

“Those are separate matters. Your time and experience are valuable to me. Without your guidance, I might have died somewhere by now,” Raymond said firmly.

Carter's face remained dark, and he did not take the money. He was about to speak when he saw Henk place several copper coins on the table as well. Carter glanced at Henk. “What? You're paying tuition too?”

“Use of the yard,” Henk replied simply.

Raymond immediately added, “He should pay to use your yard, and I should pay to use your time. That's only right.”

Carter fell silent. After thinking for a long while, he finally accepted the money.

“Swordsmanship isn't the only thing I need to learn from you,” Raymond said with a smile.

“Learn from me?” Carter shook his head self-deprecatingly. “I'll teach you everything I can, but some things can't be taught by anyone else.”

He looked at Raymond seriously. “You're better than I was back then.”

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