What made him even happier was the skill pane right below.
‘Precision Blueprint: Not Learnt. (Max Level: 3)’ There was a faint red symbol at the end of the sentence. It was the basic requirement for an increment via attribute points.
Garen had not noticed the symbol at the beginning as the skill Precision Blueprint was grey, which indicated that it could not be increased.
He quickly set his sights onto the faint red symbol for three seconds.
The symbol’s meaning appeared in his mind.
‘Requirement to learn Precision Blueprint: Intelligence 0.6, Vitality 1.1, Agility 1.0, Strength 1.0’
Garen finally understood that it was his weak physical body that forbid him to enter the beginner-level of the skill. If he were to purely follow the traditional learning path, he could only fulfill this requirement after understanding the theories, go through lots of practice and ensure that the body was used to it. What’s shocking was that this was the requirement to enter the beginner level, and it would required at least half a year.
"Luminarists really do hold up to their name… This needs four different kinds of attributions." Without any hesitation, Garen set his sights onto the Precision Blueprint.
The skill’s word moved slightly and went out of focus. When it crept back into clarity, it had already changed its form.
‘Precision Blueprint: Beginner-level (Total of three levels: Beginner Level, Intermediate- Level, Master-level.’
Cool air flowed out of Garen’s brain and entered both of his arms.
He suddenly felt that his agility and speed had went up a notch as he reached out and moved his hands.
"According to the manual, it would need half a year to reach this level. On top of that, continuous training and learning in between." He nodded satisfactorily.
Every Luminarist was a master of Precision Blueprint. Only when one became a master of the former skill could he unlock the beginner-level studies of the Luminarist, which was also the basis of tactics.
Even now, countless Luminarists-to-be ceaselessly practise this basic technique; they were mastering the Precision Blueprint via repetition.
Garen used the towel to clean his body and put on a bathrobe as he slowly got out of the bathtub. He stood still and closed his eyes, slowly moving his lower body. He was performing the most basic technique from the White Cloud Gate.
What was supposed to be the White Mammoth from the White Cloud Gate technique looked totally different than it should be. It became some sort of technique that used palm techniques as a base, after it had merged together with the Divine Statue Technique.
"East King Hand!!"
Garen pushed both of his palms forward with all his might, and two high pitched noise were generated from the air. The transparent air condensed for a bit before disappearing right after.
He shook his head in disappointment as he withdrew his hands.
"Looks like I still can’t use the actual secret technique."
He had come up with four of his strongest secret techniques from merging multiple battle skills from his past life. They were the East King Hand, West Phoenix Fist, Southern Double Fist and Northern Capturing Hand. These four strongest techniques were derived from his understanding and experience in martial arts. It was his martial arts life’s work.
When combined, these secret techniques produced massively different results.
His martial arts overall structure went something like this.
The first tier were his four strongest techniques.
The second tier was the combinations of techniques such as: Red Jade Thousand Mammoth Spring. This type of technique had the momentum of the Thousand Mammoth Traction, coupled with the effects of the Red Jade Palm.
The third tier were different types of battle skills that he freely used. The strongest among this tier was his integrated Mammoth technique of the White Cloud Gate, Thousand Mammoth Traction, third form.
The last one was the typical sleight of hand such as Capturing Hand, Combination Fist, Palm Knife, etc.
Garen sat by the study desk and penned a few lines onto white paper.
‘Four major tiers. First: Ultimate Technique, second: Secret Technique, third: Normal Technique, forth: Sleight of Hand.’
"Since the day I practice martial arts in the White Cloud Gate, I have not lost to anyone other than Sylphalan." Garen’s gaze became dim as he recalled his two battles against Palosa. He started to feel emotional all of a sudden. "The Secret Techniques cannot possibly have this little strength…"
He was unwilling to accept the fact that there was a huge difference in strength between Secret Technique and the Luminarists. One relied on the user’s own strength whereas the other used the strength from an external source. It was similar to comparing martial artists and sages in the legends of China. The difference between them was too huge!
On a whim, Garen started writing all the secret techniques that he had learnt on the piece of paper.
The Four Major Secret Techniques were written at the front, as these four techniques were the result of combining secret techniques and battle skills. Each of these skills required complicated techniques and aura to execute. These techniques suited Garen best, as no one could possible have learnt such a technique, even if he taught them step by step.
Garen, who had practiced martial arts for such a long time, had accumulated boundless experience. He would obviously feel dissatisfied when secret techniques became insignificant all of a sudden. Releasing the emotions that were welling up inside him, he had listed down all the possible routes that he could take on the piece of paper.
Half an hour later…
Garen finally exhaled and placed down his pencil helplessly. He felt a sense of disappointment as he looked at the white paper, densely packed with handwriting.
"Is there no other path?" He muttered. He stood up, opened the window and allowed the cold night air to blow onto him and freshen up his spirit.
"No… There must be a way." This thought flashed through his mind as he looked up at the full moon in the sky, the disappointment within his gaze slowly turning to calm.
"My strength has recovered to the third tier, which is a little stronger than before. If I compare it to the handbook…" He took out the handbook, which was given by teacher Emin, from the drawer.
Black words littered the plain yellow pieces of paper, all of which were handwritten notes by teacher Emin.
Garen flipped it to the last few pages, which was where the remarks were located. There, it was clearly written:
-- Luminarist levels are very strict. However, understanding this is meaningless for you now. I have written down how we Luminarists categorise you commoners.
We Luminarists grade ourselves as Silver Level. Anyone below us would be categorised under Commoner Level. The following was the categorisation for the commoners.
Comoner Levels can be broken down into four levels: Master-level, General-level, Guardian-level and soldier-level.
A Soldier-level can fight against ten people, a Guardian-level can fight against a hundred people and a General-level can fight against five hundred people. However, they can be of different types and each has their pros and cons. A Master-level can fight against a thousand people and can completely overwhelm a General-level. They are, under any circumstances, at the peak of the Commoner Level. This is the limit of a commoner.
As for Luminarists, in theory they should not be affected by the Common Level, and they should not be a threat to a Luminarist. The attacks of a non-Luminarist to a Luminarist is very minor, and can even be considered negligible. You can ask your father to prove this point to you.
Only a Luminarist who has managed to completely forge his own totem and light his White Luminescence is officially a Silver Level Luminarist. At this point in time, do not reveal. --
There was another remark at the very back.
-- Do not tell your father that you are learning from me. Do not forget your promise. The moment you graduate is the moment I have fully cleared my life debt towards you. --
Garen closed the handbook, and he also knew why his teacher was reminding him so.
Emin didn’t know why he had approached him to learn the ways of the Luminarist, and he didn’t care for the reason he wanted to pursue this path. He merely treated this teaching experience as a trade. Perhaps he might have reasons to want to protect himself. He had considered some aspects in detail, but ultimately, this was just a trade.
He stowed away his thoughts, followed the instructions recorded in the handbook, and started to estimate his strength.
"Based on the categorisation here, when I was at my peak with my Divine Statue Technique, I should be in the Master-level, which was the peak of the Commoner Level. The current me who had just slightly recovered should be at Soldier-level."
He knew that the person that the writing was referring to was the standardised elite soldier who had undergone training. The elite soldiers in this world were slightly stronger than the previous world.
He was no more than a soldier-level at his current strength and his secret technique.
He could only handle three blue-scaled snakes from that day. Forget about going against Guardian-levels or above; the General-levels and Master-levels respectively.
Even his father Vanderman’s strongest underlings were at the peak of the Guardian-level. The distance to becoming a Master-level was still far away.
"A mere Soldier-level, the lowest rank of all?" Garen looked at his hands as he felt his strength was constantly recovering. That was the soul’s ability changing the structure of this body, which was a slow and irreversible process. Since it was a change from nought to one, the process required was slow and lengthy. "So weak… but only for now. If I were to use all three medicines, I will soon recover my physical attributes. I am currently constrained by my physical attributes, and I can’t use most of my strength. My strength will recover tremendously if I can reach the threshold."
He turned his head around and looked at the crystal clear water in the bathtub.
"I should be able to recover to a decent level, and no longer remain at Soldier-level when I fully absorb these three medicines. The next step will be to do repetitive practising."
***************
Northen region of the Lush Forest District, somewhere inside the forest in the mountains.
Night time.
A woman in a green shirted walked slowly from a forest slope in Aquarius’s manor.
With her attire being all green, she was like a forest ranger who had become one and blended completely with her surroundings.
The woman was around twenty, and had a long and slim body. She looked like a sexy female aristocrat who was about to go on a hunt.
She had a noble themed green colored lantern sleeve shirt and was wearing a small green circular hat which even had a white feather inserted into it.
On her lower torso, she was wearing a light green mini skirt and green floral patterned stockings. Revealed in between the stockings and the miniskirt was a swathe of her fair thigh.
The woman was wearing a green mask, and a green longbow slung across on her back. The quiver was hanging from her waist in a way that was hidden yet convenient at the same time.
She looked at the manor from far away, as the manor was lit by dots of yellow under the night sky.
The woman raised up her right hand and wound up her pinky finger as she placed her blue colored metal ring, which she wore, to the side of her lips.
"I have arrived." She whispered to the ring. Her accent was not of the Lush Forest region, and her tone was slightly high pitched at the end of the sentence. She sounded like she was singing.