Chapter 14: Acquiring Knowledge, Learning Combat Arts

The sun rose anew within these mystical mountains, bathing the land with its bright light that beamed from the horizon. A colorful splendor greeting all eyes as the flowers and plants were exceptionally bright on this dawn.

Marius had awoken early today, leaving his wife, who watched over the sleeping children while in bed. Coincidentally, it was also the first day of the next month in Valoria, and as this was the beginning of his training regiment, he didn't want to waste even a single moment.

Marius hurried towards the direction of the study, arriving in a short while. Once he opened the door and entered the sight that greeted him was none other than a scene of endless books. Each ranging from as little as two inches to six inches of thickness while they were neatly arranged on top of a large book shelve.

Some were placed on top of counters, stacked together in bundles that were no less than a meter high. Looking around these books, one would see an assortment of scrolls, while on the main table was a series of paper with a feathered pen and inkpot.

A musty smell, much like that of vanilla flowers and almonds, wafted towards Marius's nose, as just by this simple whiff, he could tell that these books were quite aged, not even needing to open them for inspection.

'Alright, where do I start? Hmm, I guess I'll do a tiny bit of reading on their culture before I search for this world's standard of combat techniques and survival arts,' Marius thought as he made up his mind, a warm smile was on his face due to the smell from earlier, giving a tinge of peacefulness and calmness.

After walking around for a few minutes, he picked up a few books and sat around the main table before putting away the inkpot and other objects.

In a few more minutes, Marius engrossed himself into the books he selected, learning of the various races in the world and bits of the culture. While he could use the [System] to record everything instantly, that was only superficial knowledge; he wanted to understand all core details.

In this world, other than the three Ultimate Races, being the Artimans, Spiritans, and Hellians. The Common Races are numerous, and Higher Races are of an adequate number. Each race ranged from ordinary beings seen in folklore such as dwarfs, elves, to more stranger types such as four-eyed Felians, Mantars, and giant bodied Barkians.

In the case of monsters, and beasts that roam the boundaries of dangerous mountain ranges, and even a variety of open fields scattered across the land.

They are each classed as Mystic Creatures, while most are of a basic instinct some of these beasts have acquired sentience, can think and process information much like other intelligent lifeforms. However, the most dreaded thing about these lifeforms is their overwhelming combat capabilities, each born with special innate abilities and physical capabilities that can easily overwhelm even a common expert in this world.

Each race had its own customs, and while the details for both the Spiritans and Hellians were obscure, there was a vast amount of knowledge on the Artimans.

Artmians were a race much like humans, similar in every way except for their crest and aura. They were a race governed by a single central body, those that went by the surname of Alvaria. A dynasty which had ruled since the fabled progenitor Artimas had left his roots in this world from the ancient era.

However, while they had their differences from humans, one thing remained similar as it would with any lifeform. As they were each blinded by their own selfish desires, even if they were at war with other kinds, and the world was at peace. Their domain was filled with a series of internal conflicts.

This didn't mean that each of them was bad; instead, amongst them were the few who offered worship to their progenitor, creating the enormous influence known as the Artimas Church. They are responsible for the balance and order of the empire, ensuring that everyone can find peace of mind despite the chaos both in and outside.

After reading a chunk full, Marius closed the final book on history and details, as he had now further cemented a few things that his wife had told him. He checked the sun's position in the sky through the study's window and saw that it was nearing at 7 am.

"Whew, well, I guess that should be enough to help us when we travel to Alvaria. Let's see the different kinds of techniques in this world..." Marius said as he got up from the seat and walked over to the counter with the different scrolls.

As his eyes started to run over them, a few bits of information then began to appear within his mind as a screen appeared before his eyes.

____

Ding!

[You have discovered a collection of Combat Arts! Processing details: complete!]

Ding!

[Information has been organized, please choose from which you would to learn below:]

...

[Mystical Power Arts]

[Eternity Light Arts - Mystical Power Arts]

[Burning Aura Arts - Mystical Power Arts]

[Lightning Blaze Arts - Mystical Power Arts]

...

[Weapon Arts]

[Cleaving Earth Smasher - Ax Arts]

[Twisiting Gale Swing - Ax Arts]

[Heavenly God Cleave - Ax Arts]

[Blazing Light Sword - Sword Arts]

[Blinding Sword Flash - Sword Arts]

[Flowing Water Spear - Spear Arts]

...

[Unarmed Fighting Arts]

[Choke of Devils - Unarmed Fighting Arts]

[Arieal Submission Palm - Unarmed Fighting Arts]

[Kick of Raging Dragons - Unarmed Fighting Arts]

[Pulsing Earth Steps - Unarmed Movement Arts]

[Seven God Fists - Unarmed Fighting Arts]

____

Marius wasn't surprised that his [System] showed these details as it was the very same way he had learned martial arts on Earth. Though, it didn't seem that those skills were capable of being recognized by the [System] as authentic skills. He thought for a bit recalling the facts about skills and their variety of types.

Combat Arts, much like Inborn Abilities, are the offensive methods used in Valoria to aid one in increasing their survivability across these chaotic lands. Ten levels separate these arts, which are further divided into four grades.

Level 1 to 3 are classified as Low-Grade Combat Arts, Level 4 to 6 are classed as Mid Grade Combat Arts, while Level 7 to 9 are classed as High-Grade Combat Arts.

Legend speaks of a few Ultimate Arts that are capable of achieving Level 10, reaching the MAX Level of all combat arts. However, no one has ever seen such a fable since ancient times...

Marius stared at the information before him with a perplexed gaze as he pondered, "Hmm, which do I choose? While I sometimes used to fight with weapons, I still preferred the feeling of using my fists. However, as I am now a bit uncertain in this world, I will definitely need to learn at least one path of Weapon Arts, with a myriad of Unarmed Fighting Arts."

As Marius thought to here, his eyes fixed on a few skills, as his lips curved into a smile when he spoke with bright eyes, "Huhu... maybe I should try these out for a change..."

A cool morning wind swept through the open window as Marius tapped a few skills with his finger as a bright light shone before vanishing. Moments after, he opened his eyes as a look of confidence came on his face as a series of notifications sounded in his mind, filling him with a hint of surprise and joy.