Swords, magic, and martial arts

Rhodes returned to the tavern, ate something casually, and fell asleep on the bed without even taking a bath.

Before, it would have been impossible for him to sweat so much without taking a shower, but after a few days in this world, he has "when in Rome, do as the Romans do".

The tavern doesn't offer free hot water; you have to pay to boil your own water if you want to take a bath. Nords rarely have the opportunity to bathe in winter, but they actually love bathing and will take a soak whenever they have the chance. If a Nord discovers a hot spring, they won't leave until they've soaked to their heart's content.

When Rhodes woke up, it was already past three in the afternoon.

Is a day in this world also 24 hours long, with 30 days in a month and 12 months in a year, just like Earth used to be?

This kind of lifestyle isn't good; I need to adjust it. From now on, I should exercise during the day and sleep at night, Rod thought to himself.

Rod felt hungry again and wanted to go downstairs to get something to eat.

I wonder if I'll ever acquire a martial art that allows me to abstain from grains, so I can carry less food when I go on adventures. Rhodes thought to himself as he went downstairs.

When he got downstairs, he ran into Baron and Weber, who were returning from outside.

Baron pulled Rod, who had just come down to the first floor, back into the room.

"Let's discuss things like dividing the spoils after I finish eating," Rod said to Baron.

"That's not what I wanted to talk to you about. We have something more important to discuss with you now," Baron said, closing the door behind him.

"What's wrong?" Rod asked.

"When Waver and I were searching for the necromancer's relics in that cave, we were cursed by one of his relics. We need to go to Winterfell, the southernmost province of the kingdom, find a temple, and do something like praying to break the curse," Baron said.

"How do you know so much about how to break this curse?" Rhodes asked.

Baron pulled a stone tablet from his pocket and said, "The effects of the curse and the method to lift it are all written on this stone tablet. You must never touch this tablet. Waver and I were cursed because we touched this tablet. It says on the tablet that if the curse cannot be lifted in this way within three months, we will die instantly."

"Then how do you know you're cursed?" Rhodes asked.

Baron showed Rhodes the back of the stone tablet, "Look, after Weber and I encountered this stone tablet, our names appeared on the stone tablet's cursed list."

Rhodes glanced at the stone tablet in Baron's hand. It indeed bore the names of Baron and Webber, along with a colorful image of a flower. The purple flower's alluring form looked rather eerie on the tablet.

"Are you sure this is true?" Rod asked again.

"We only understand a small part of the forces that exist in this world. There are many ancient relics similar to this stone fragment, mysterious and dangerous. We'd better believe that if we are truly cursed, we'll be dead," Baron said.

"To break this curse, we need to cross most of the kingdom, and three months isn't enough time for us. Do you want to come with us?" Baron asked Rod.

Since his last adventure, Rhodes has no goals for the near future, so it would be good for him to follow Baron to see different places and experience different cultures and landscapes.

He nodded and said, "I want to go with you."

"Alright, you go eat first, Weber and I will go prepare some necessities. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning," Baron said.

……

That evening, Rod, Baron, Weber, and Hammer sat in a room in the tavern.

Before them were the items found by the necromancer. If they wanted anything, they could take it; otherwise, they could sell the useless items to pay for their journey.

"Hamer, are you alright?" Rod asked curiously. Hammer's leg was slashed and he was poisoned the day before yesterday. He didn't expect to see him today.

"Aside from not being able to run at high speeds, jogging and walking are still fine," Hammer replied somewhat impatiently, as if he had never really liked Rhodes.

These people are truly monsters. Rhodes looked at Hammer and Baron in front of him, their injuries so severe yet healed so quickly.

"This is a spatial ring, containing about three cubic meters of space. Does anyone want it?" Webber said, holding up a ring set with a ruby.

Rhodes was somewhat tempted. Spatial rings always appeared in novels, and now that one was in front of him, he was excited.

"There are eighty-one identical spatial rings in the Nords. It is said that if you collect them all, you can get a treasure map and unlock the treasure of an ancient Nord king. I wonder which bored person came up with this legend to keep future generations from having nothing better to do. I also wonder if anyone has actually tried to collect them," Weber added.

Baron seemed to see what Rhodes wanted and said, "Give it to Rhodes. He's not very strong in combat. Let him manage logistics. It'll give him something to do."

Weber glanced at Hammer, who nodded.

Webber tossed the ring to Rhodes, saying, "Remember to keep it safe."

Rhodes, holding the spatial ring, asked, "How do I use this?"

"Feel it with your heart. I remember you have a talent for learning magic, but you just don't want to learn it," Baron said.

Rhode focused his attention on the ring and successfully sensed the space inside. It was empty; they had probably already taken everything out. Rhode remembered that Baron also knew some magic.

The necromancer's belongings included a staff, two robes, a ring, and a large quantity of alchemical materials. The ghouls' weapons and equipment, however, were worthless items that had already been sold.

The staff, robes, and alchemy materials were of no use to the group, so they planned to sell them, giving most of them to Sam's family and keeping the rest for travel expenses.

The remaining ring has an enchantment that enhances one-handed weapon damage. This ring was given to Weber, who is skilled with short swords and daggers, while Rhodes was not considered because his combat power was too low.

Rhodes remembered that he had a necklace he had obtained from a ghoul that he hadn't had appraised yet.

"Do you know anyone who can appraise equipment?" Rhodes asked the group.

"Haha, don't you know there's an expert appraiser sitting right in front of you?" Hammer said with a laugh.

"Are you the expert?" Rod asked doubtfully.

"It's the one sitting next to me," Hammer said, pointing to Weber.

"Can you help me figure out what this necklace is for?" Rhodes handed the necklace he had taken from the ghoul to Weber.

"You've already handed it to me, and you're still asking if I can authenticate it for you for free, out of respect for Baron." Weber took the necklace.

"This necklace will enable the blacksmith to forge better equipment. It's useless for you to keep it; it's better to give it to Hammer," Weber said after holding the necklace in his hand and looking at it for a while.

"Could Hammer be a blacksmith?" Rod asked curiously.

"Blacksmithing is just a side job for me. I only do it occasionally when I'm short of money. It's useless to me, but I can sell it for a few hundred gold coins," Hammer said.

"This necklace is worth that much?" Rhodes asked in surprise. The agreed-upon commission for their last mission was only ten gold coins.

"This amethyst necklace is valuable even without enchantment. I think you're really lucky," Baron remarked from the side.

"Didn't you find any magic scrolls or spellbooks on that necromancer?" Rhodes asked again.

"Uh... there's a diary of his, full of his crazy ramblings, it shouldn't be worth much." Baron patted him down and found the diary.

Hammer noticed this. "Baron, are you still keeping Dong XZ on you like before? You must have some other valuable treasures on you."

Baron blushed briefly before returning to normal. "Besides this tattered book, there's only a broken dagger."

He pulled a strange dagger from his body and threw it on the ground.

Weber picked up the dagger and examined it closely. After a while, he said, "This dagger itself isn't worth much, but it seems to be a key to something."

"This is too vague. There are so many ruins and tombs in Nord. Maybe we're standing right under our feet. Where are we supposed to find anything related to this dagger?" Baron said.

"Keep it for now, it might come in handy later. Put it in Rhodes' spatial ring for now." After saying that, Weber tossed the dagger to Rhodes, who was studying the diary.

Rhodes casually put the dagger into his spatial ring and continued studying the diary. He wondered if he could scan it with the system; perhaps he could find something useful.

"Scanning..."

"An unstored spell has been discovered in the system. The host is hereby rewarded with a martial art. Please choose one of the following three martial arts techniques."

Five-Step Plum Blossom Stakes: A basic Taoist movement technique that enhances the ability to move and dodge.

Taizu Changquan (Emperor Taizu's Long Fist): Also known as Thirty-Two Postures Long Fist, it is famous throughout the world and is known as the "Mother of a Hundred Fists".

Basic Sword Techniques: Thirteen basic sword techniques containing the profound principles of swordsmanship.

Taizu Changquan appeared in the system's options for the second time, but Rod had no intention of choosing it. He was torn between choosing the Five-Step Plum Blossom Stakes or the Basic Sword Technique.

Considering that he lacked offensive martial arts skills and had recently acquired a sharp sword, Rhodes ultimately chose basic swordsmanship, even though its name sounded rubbish.

After the basic sword techniques were added to the martial arts skill slots, three of the five slots were occupied, leaving only two. Rhodes was a little worried about not having enough slots in the martial arts skill slots in the future, and wondered if it was possible to increase the number of slots through a lottery or similar means.

"Then let's meet at this tavern tomorrow at noon, and Webber and I will go to a grocery store in the morning to sell these things. We're going on another long trip in this damn winter," Baron said.

"We'd better find a caravan or something to travel with, that way we can earn a commission and hitch a ride," Hammer suggested from the side.

"Alright, I'll go outside and see if there are any caravans heading south from the city tomorrow." Baron nodded.

……