Chapter 25 - Rank 3 Beginner Warrior

That morning, after waking up, Rohan did not immediately begin his daily mediation. He felt he was getting closer to the goal, and much faster than he had expected.

He took out the Essence Stone that was in his bag, lying casually in the corner of the room, and used it to see where it was.

Race: human

Age: 14

Constitution: 3.76

Mana: 21.32 / 29.96

Spirit: 11

This result impressed him more than anything. It had only been three weeks since he resumed training! And even though he had decided to increase his sessions by two instead of one, such a result was still impressive!

Looking more closely at the data, he told himself it was just downright impossible. First off, he was going to turn 15 in two months, and he had never heard of a rank 3 Beginner Warrior that was as young as him. Maybe it could be seen in the northern empires, where the mana was more condensed and better potions were available, but here? In this lost hole? It was almost inconceivable!

But what shocked him above all was his constitution. You should know that an adult warrior who has just been promoted to rank 3 generally has a value of 4. Now, the fact was that Rohan, barely out of childhood, and still no rank 3 himself, already had a value of 3.76. And that, for Rohan, was almost impossible.

When he was going to fully open his meridian, and connect it to the outside, a flow of mana would then strengthen his body, and as when he had been promoted to rank 1 or rank 2, his physique would grow exponentially. What does that mean? It meant that he was probably going to far exceed the value of 4 after this meditation session!

That was why Rohan was sitting on the floor thinking. Did he misunderstand the method of opening and modify it by luck to improve it? However, that was almost impossible. The methods for opening the meridians were all designed over hundreds or even thousands of years. So there was little chance that a stroke of luck had allowed him to improve the technique. Besides, without bragging about it, he had a very good memory, there was no way he had been wrong!

He ends up ignoring these thoughts and putting them aside, there was no point in thinking about them anymore since he was unlikely to find a reason. He put the stone away and focused, a mana potion resting beside him just in case. It was time to become a rank 3 Beginner Warrior.

He closed his eyes and focused on his mana core. The white sphere with the mana cloud now had three links attached. A meridian that circulated to his right arm and another that went to his right leg. The last link, which will become the third meridian of Rohan in some time, went to the left leg.

This was what Rohan had decided, he thought it was better to be able to move at full speed than to deliver blows. This will allow him to use both legs to use Charge, which will be much more efficient.

He began to gather the mana in his core and shaped it into an oval as usual, before sending it with all his might to follow his third link. The opening of the meridian was done without problem, and the connection to the mana inside was done without difficulty.

A wave of mana seeped into the newly created meridian to strengthen and stabilize it, only to spread throughout Rohan's body.

A smile bloomed on his face as a tingling and comforting sensation filled his body. It was the third time he had risen in rank, and the feeling of making himself stronger and stronger on his own was spellbinding.

He opened his eyes and picked up the Essence Stone to check his stats. Only by moving his arm, he realized that he was much stronger than before. Rohan was now excited to know how much stronger he had become.

As he held the stone in his hand, he remembered the words of that commander who gave it to him, when he had become a rank 1 Beginner Warrior. Knowing his stats made this stone a miraculous object indeed.

He put his thumb on the engraved circle.

Race: human

Age: 14 years old

Constitution: 4.36

Mana: 0/30

Spirit: 11

"Did...did I break the stone or something?" Right now, Rohan was seriously wondering if the Essence Stone wasn't waterproof or if some violent shock somewhat broke it when he had fallen on the river back then.

A warrior with that much constitution was a warrior with his fourth meridian formed more than halfway. Certainly not a youngster who had just happened to break through the third rank.

"Well, whatever."

He stood up, feeling better than ever before. This new strength in his body was making him more joyous than ever.

He put away the Essence stone and the potion which he didn't need at the end and left the room to start another day.

After he had finished his breakfast, he descended like every morning to deliver the food to Horim, while asking himself why the hell did he need to do that.

Reaching the forge with the awful heat crashing on his face, Rohan asked himself how could this foolish bear was able to live in this hell place. He was not a normal blacksmith, that was pretty obvious.

But Rohan was sure he was not a warrior. He wasn't a wizard either, as he already had seen his forearms.

It was pretty easy to guess what he was. Delia did tell him that Horim came from the Empire of The Saint Goddess. And in the opinion of Rohan, that was probably the last empire he wanted to visit.

He had already read a few books about it, and this empire was one of the most powerful human empires in the world. One of the most powerful, and above all, it was the one with the most brainwashed people in the whole world.

But the worst was that these firm believers of the Goddess had the means to reach any place they wanted. Churches of the Goddess were in every capital, and even the Great Empire, the most powerful empire governed by the Wizard Emperor, far in the north, did not have a choice but to be diplomatic with them. In the opinion of Rohan, they were worse than the gangrene eating up an injury.

And in this empire, there was a group of mana users, said to be more powerful than warriors in the same rank. Paladins. The fact was, that outside the paladins, no one knew how to become one.

Some said it was so horrible it was taboo, others said it was a gift from the Goddess, while others were gnashing their teeth about these tactical resources. Of course, it wasn't difficult to guess what statement this empire came up with, to be a paladin, a pure soul must believe in the Goddess.

For Rohan, that was certainly bullshit, but that wasn't his problem either. And at the end, he could only guess that his master blacksmith was a paladin. A strange one, for sure, but a powerful one.

He was losing himself in such thoughts as he put the plate on the table, and he didn't even notice that Horim was looking at him with widened eyes. A monster!

For a paladin, feeling the flow of the mana around oneself was natural, and this capacity was much more developed than a warrior's one. That was why Horim could perfectly feel that the mana absorbed by Rohan was entering through three paths: he had already managed to open his third meridian!

"Rohan," his hoarse voice of the morning echoed in the room, making Rohan snap out of his daydream, "how old are you again ?"

"Eh ?" This one, somewhat amazed by the sudden question, took some time before turning his face toward his master while answering. "I will be 15 in two months, why do you ask, Master ?"

With an astonished expression, and a mouth slightly ajar, Horim stood up and headed toward the table with a stiff face.

Rohan shrugged his shoulders as he saw his master not answering and prepared to leave.

"Rohan." As he was about to cross the doorstep, Rohan looked behind to see Horim with a strange expression. "No… nothing, you can go."

As he looked at his disciple going up the stairs, Horim rested in a daze for a few minutes. A young boy, 14 years old, becoming a rank 3 Beginner Warrior. A young boy, who normally was playing with a wooden sword. A young boy, who normally was playing tricks on some girls. A young boy, only a bit older than his son.

But he couldn't overlook these eyes. Each day, it was as if a beast inside was growing. Rage? Revenge? A lust for power? He didn't know. But what he was sure, was that if this young man didn't die, he would grow toward the apex of the world.

He thought back to the map of the Barren Lands but dismissed the idea that grew in his head.

Now was not a good idea, as a rank 3 Beginner Warrior was still quite weak. But still, Horim was now really curious about Rohan.

Back at the shop, Rohan resumed his daily training with the same sword. Making the same move, again and again, to get used to his strengthened body.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a group of people entered one after another. Rohan, seeing that, threw his weapon behind the counter, hoping that Horim would never know about the way he treated his sword and turned back to welcome these people with a big smile.

"Welcome, to Master Horim's Shop." Even though he knew that it sounded too fake, Rohan couldn't do better than that. Even smiling like that was a pain in the ass for him. "Do you need something speci…"

"Shut up."