Abe the Wizard

Chapter 9 The Continuous Improvement of Realm

In the early hours of the morning, it was only then that Nara, Abbe's mother, left Abbe's room. Abbe sat quietly on the stool in the room, reflecting on his life in the castle over the past two years. At an actual age exceeding 40, he understood Knight Bennett's thoughts very well. If Abbe hadn't demonstrated extraordinary learning abilities and outstanding knight training qualifications, everything could have been as it was before—wait until Abbe turned 18 to leave home, rather than do so at just 12 years old to a strange place.

He tapped the Heradic cube on his right arm and took out a bottle of dark golden "Condensing Qi Potion." Abbe decided to drink a bottle of "Condensing Qi Potion" today to increase his strength. Bennett Castle made Abbe feel safe, like a guardian god, but now that he had to leave the castle, Abbe, feeling insecure, urgently needed to enhance his strength.

The amber-colored potion slid down his throat and entered his body. A continuous stream of breath circulated endlessly within his body, with every muscle constantly circulating. Sitting on the carpet, he continuously used the Knight's Breathing Technique to transform this generated breath. These breaths were calm, just like the ones generated during usual practice, but they did not consume his food, instead directly forming Qi veins. With the support of this Qi, the third Qi vein slowly formed, and the formation process was stable, unlike the perilous breakthroughs Abbe experienced on his own.

Abbe used the Knight's Breathing Technique every night, but never for such a long time as today. Normally, he could only use the technique twenty times each night, but today, the Knight's Breathing Technique was continuous, causing the curtains in the room to sway with the rhythm of his breathing.

After half an hour, the effects of the potion gradually dissipated, and Abbe's Qi veins had stabilized at three, with enough stored Qi to form another half vein. This pleasantly surprised Abbe. The effectiveness of the potion far exceeded that claimed by the auction house for the Master-level "Condensing Qi Potion."

In fact, the so-called Master-level "Condensing Qi Potion" had differences. A truly perfect "Condensing Qi Potion" contained no impurities. No matter how skilled the Master was, there were limits to human abilities. Abbe's "Condensing Qi Potion" was synthesized by the divine artifact Heradic cube. In the synthesis process, the proportion of impurities and the effectiveness of the potion were strictly controlled according to the power of the rules.

What is the power of the rules? It is the power of the divine. As a divine artifact, the Heradic cube could use a portion of the divine rule's power to alter the synthesized item. A flawless "Condensing Qi Potion" made using the Heradic cube would naturally be much stronger than a regular Master-level "Condensing Qi Potion. In fact, Abbe's "Condensing Qi Potion" should be called a perfect-grade "Condensing Qi Potion" in terms of level, or even the ultimate version.

Half an hour had increased his realm by one level, and the temptation to become stronger compelled Abbe to take another bottle of "Condensing Qi Potion" from the Heradic cube. The feeling of rapid advancement returned, and the Knight's Breathing Technique allowed the generated Qi from the potion to continuously condense into a part of the Qi vein. Slowly, the fourth Qi vein also formed. After stabilizing the fourth Qi vein, the potion lost its efficacy.

As Abbe stood up, he noticed that his entire body was covered in black stains, and his white undershirt had been dyed a dark brown. The smell of these stains filled his nose. This rapid increase in strength in a short time forced impurities out of his body that had accumulated over several years of gradual improvement, resulting in his current state.

Hurriedly entering the washroom, Abbe discarded all his clothes and used soap to wash away all the stains from his body. After three buckets of water, he finally cleaned himself up and opened the window to let the fresh morning air remove the odor from the room.

In the past six months, Abbe had grown 10 centimeters taller, reaching a height of 1.6 meters. The systematic knight training had sharpened every muscle in his body. Abbe was his own fitness coach, knowing how to train for a perfect physique.

Abbe admired the martial arts of this world. Whether it was the warriors or knights he encountered, as long as they had weapons, they could become incredibly powerful. However, hand-to-hand combat was less emphasized in this world. Most warriors or knights engaged in clumsy bare-handed brawls.

As a fitness coach, Abbe was proficient in boxing, mixed martial arts, Muay Thai, and Tai Chi. While he wasn't a martial arts master on Earth, his extensive theoretical knowledge made him a master of unarmed combat in this world.

During his sparring with his older brother Zack, Abbe could easily knock down his much larger and stronger brother. Unarmed combat wasn't solely determined by strength. Faced with the scientific system of unarmed combat techniques on Earth, the techniques known to Abbe in this world were still clumsy.

This was related to the world's environment. The greatest enemies of humans were the orcs. Fighting the orcs bare-handed was suicidal, given their robust physique and lightning-fast speed. Besides, it was considered highly disrespectful for nobles to engage in bare-handed brawls. Conflicts among nobles were resolved with swords.

Abbe made a few martial arts moves and felt his strength and speed. Due to the rapid increase in strength, he had some difficulty controlling the sudden surge of power. Just as he was about to drink water, he crushed the wooden cup, demonstrating the uncontrolled reflection of increased strength. However, this was acceptable. Abbe was only 12 years old this year, and with less than a month until the new year, he would soon turn 13. At 13, he had already reached the level his older brother had reached at 18.

When learning Tai Chi, Abbe's teacher once said that Tai Chi was the best martial art for controlling strength. The subtle and continuous style of Tai Chi allowed the practitioner's mind, breath, form, and spirit to gradually merge into one.

Standing in front of the mirror in the room, Abbe found that he could control his external level through Tai Chi. Experienced practitioners could see that Abbe's level was that of a fourth-level squire, but with Tai Chi, he could display the level he wanted others to see, provided it didn't exceed his actual level.

This was very useful for Abbe now. He was thinking about how to explain to his father about his two-level increase in realm overnight. Now he had the solution. Satisfied, he packed up his belongings.