I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 40 Proficiency and Mastery

DuPont's situation is really bad.

Last night, ever since he bought the course, he fought that unreasonable mirror image all night long. The longest he lasted was only 45 seconds. He didn't even know when he fell asleep. This morning, he ate a quick bite of food and came to the classroom, only to fall asleep right away because he was so sleepy.

"It seems DuPont is quite interested in combat training." The instructor on the stage glanced at him, turned around, and casually said, "But don't worry, if you encounter thugs while on business trips in the future, it's easier to deal with them using magic missiles. If you don't want to get your hands dirty, just call the guards. Fighting those guys with weapons is the most foolish thing to do. After all, if you like hand-to-hand combat so much, why not become a warrior? That's much cheaper than the tuition for a mage."

Upon hearing his mentor's words, the apprentices in the room burst into laughter. DuPont rubbed his eyes, too lazy to pay attention to these clueless classmates, and too lazy to argue.

Friendships between classmates can be precious, but most are worthless. At most, everyone will have a farewell dinner in two years, and socializing with these vulgar people is a waste of time.

However, I need to be more alert and take a nap at noon. Not only will I not enjoy sleeping during spell class, but I'll also miss out on valuable experience.

Due to his condition, DuPont only gained 40 experience points in these two classes. Fortunately, he took a nap at noon and felt more energetic. After making up for the missed classes in the afternoon, he gained a total of 100 experience points today.

After copying two scrolls, DuPont entered meditation again to face the mirror image that seemed like a god.

Gaining proficiency is not difficult. After practicing last night, he has already reached the proficiency level for weapons such as daggers, canes, sticks, and spears. The remaining weapons, such as maces, spears, and ranged weapons, still require practice.

He only needs to attack the mirror image 5 times without taking damage, but that's all he can do. Defeating the opponent is not just a matter of basic attribute values; physical strength and skills are also far apart.

If you can defeat the mirror image with a single weapon, you will gain weapon mastery. However, DuPont tried several times but fell far short, so he focused his efforts on proficiency.

The real key is being able to play without hurting yourself.

However, significant difficulties have arisen in the military weapons project.

There are many types of military weapons, and each one is more difficult to use than the last. The requirement for two-handed weapons is to hit the enemy five times without being attacked, which is a real headache for him.

The mission objective seemed simple, but in reality, the mirror image had mastered almost all weapons. Not only was he behind in experience, but he was also constantly being beaten. The ways he experienced death that day were enough to fill a book of 100 ways to die.

Fortunately, he made rapid progress in the face of life and death. He had mastered the light armor while dodging and blocking, and he also knew how to pass the shield training.

That means only defending and not attacking, using your shield to block the opponent's shield attacks as much as possible, then using your weapon to parry the opponent's weapon, and using footwork to switch between offense and defense. You will definitely succeed if you try this a few times.

However, DuPont did not do that. Instead, he abandoned the shield and began training with a different weapon.

Although he was constantly being attacked in mirror matches, each defeat allowed him to learn new techniques, especially his opponent's footwork.

This is something that fighting classes don't usually cover, but it was the most important technique that DuPont discovered after being attacked all night.

Especially with polearms, short spears and long spears, once you learn to move forward or backward in accordance with the opponent's rhythm, completing a skilled task is almost effortless.

In comparison, two-handed swords were much more difficult, and he couldn't find a way to use giant axes and hammers at all. His strength and agility were simply not enough to handle these weapons. Once his offensive could not be suppressed, he would have a huge opening and be directly killed by the mirror image stepping forward and striking.

"He cripples me, I die. These heavy weapons are just too stupid." DuPont was a little confused: "Is this how it works in actual combat?"

Two-handed heavy weapons are generally used by combat-oriented characters with high strength, and a certain level of agility is also required. If the user's own conditions do not meet the requirements, it is recommended to train with simple/elf weapons as a foundation.

You're making it sound like I'm willing to die for it, but isn't this a basic requirement that both barbarians and warriors need?

DuPont put down the military weapon and opted for the simple weapon instead. Since the attributes weren't good, it would be a waste of time to keep trying; if that didn't work, he'd save up some money and buy a new one for 100 gold.

"Buy knowledge about sports and nature."

As soon as he finished speaking, an exaggerated 1000-meter obstacle course appeared before DuPont's eyes. He had only ever seen many of the things in it during his military training, such as trenches, low walls, ladders, and jumping platforms.

Please pass all obstacles within 6 minutes.

Just as DuPont was getting a little nervous, many more flowers, plants and trees appeared around the obstacle course.

[Become familiar with 100 common plants and 30 animals in the Faroe Islands, and remember their main attributes.]

This seems simpler than running laps?

You have 23 days left until your loan repayment deadline.

You have gained proficiency in simple weapons, light armor, and shields, as well as advancements in athleticism and natural knowledge.

[To acquire the Barbarian part-time job, one specialization is still missing: Military Weapons Proficiency]

[Current experience value 2766/2000]

Your malnutrition has worsened from moderate to mild. Your constitution has decreased by 1 point; your current constitution level is 15.

"You haven't been here for several days. I thought you weren't planning on coming to practice." Judy watched DuPont cleanly and efficiently kill three livestock. "What, slacking off?"

"The course pressure has been too great these past few days, and I've also been secretly exercising, which has led to insufficient sleep. I'm completely exhausted, both physically and mentally. I finally got a good night's sleep yesterday." Having gained another 30 experience points, DuPont was in a good mood: "I'll come back tomorrow. I'll cook some braised dishes while I'm at it, but I won't have time to make it for lunch. Just save me a pig's trotter and some intestines."

“No problem.” Judy said, pointing to the butcher at the slaughterhouse: “Hasn’t Wildstone returned yet?”

“Who knows?” DuPont shrugged. “Maybe there’s something he cares about a lot in the woods behind the mountain.”

Judy seemed thoughtful upon hearing this, while DuPont went to deal with the wastewater. After a while, the halfling spoke up: "Lavoisier was quite satisfied with the pig's trotters last time, and he had 12 stored in the cold storage. Let's make them all this time."

"Okay, but he still won't eat anything else?"

"Just leave him the best part, whether he eats it or not is his business. A chef should never make too much of one dish, otherwise he'll get tired of it. The part used in this dish is destined to be hard to be a main course for a ceremony, but it's not bad as a side dish in private." He said with some curiosity, "Do you know any other new dishes? As long as they are original and not bad, that's fine. I have to give him a new menu every month and we can't repeat it for three months. It's so troublesome."

"Let's wait until Saturday, then we'll have more time." DuPont said, pointing to the pig's head. "And you can also send different parts of the pig. Today it's pig ears, tomorrow it's pig tongue. Today it's hot braised, tomorrow it's cold. Wouldn't that be new dishes?"

"You always have the most clever ideas."

The two men burst into laughter, and DuPont's figure was spotted by some acquaintances.

"Connor, isn't that the kid who plays in the mud? How come he's hooking up with the chef here?"

(End of this chapter)