Free Web NovelChapter 40: Chapter 40: Practical Skills
The worker’s condition was clearly getting worse. Veins bulged on his forehead, his eyes grew bloodshot, and he even started muttering something under his breath.
Seeing this, Lloyd quickly stepped forward and grabbed both of the man’s hands. A series of notifications immediately sounded in his ear:
[Ding~ Madness Value +1]
[Ding~ Madness Value +1]
Lloyd held on for about three minutes, only letting go when the notifications in his ear finally stopped.
The worker seemed dazed for a few more seconds, then shook his head hard. Suddenly, he felt refreshed and full of energy—in much better shape than when he had been working earlier.
He then noticed a church member in uniform standing before him and asked, surprised:
"Sir, did you need something?"
"It’s nothing. You looked like you were working hard. Here, take this drink."
As Lloyd spoke, a pang of guilt hit him. He quickly shoved a can of soda he had bought while wandering around earlier into the man’s hand and beat a hasty retreat. He could still hear the worker’s voice calling from behind him:
"Thanks! You’re a really good person!"
This made Lloyd feel quite ashamed...
’But at least I helped ’treat’ all his pent-up ailments, so it’s not like I actually harmed him, right?’
Through these few field tests, Lloyd had gotten a good grasp of the practical applications of [Aggressive Speech]. It was indeed of limited effect on normal people, making it seem very weak, but against those in a poor mental state, it had a rather impressive ’aggressiveness.’
’If I run into one of those lawbreakers who have fallen into madness in the future, I can be like a proper protagonist and subdue them with a verbal beatdown. That way, I won’t need to risk exposure by using the power of [Twist]...’
’All in all, this skill is pretty good. After all, it’s only level 1 right now. It should get stronger after it levels up, right? But the way to level this skill is by acquiring more fragments? That’s a bit of a pain...’
After summarizing his thoughts, Lloyd headed over to the training ground where Weiya had previously held her public class, planning to test out another new skill—[Swordsmanship].
Since the stunningly beautiful Judge wasn’t teaching today, there wasn’t a soul to be seen at the training ground, leaving Lloyd free to do as he pleased.
He found a wooden practice sword, stood before a training dummy, and, relying on the muscle memory he had just acquired, tried out a few moves.
THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK~
The dummy was immediately battered with a series of thwacks.
His moves were remarkably simple and unadorned, consisting of basic slashes, upward swings, and thrusts. He couldn’t produce any dazzling sword gleams or release any brilliant sword auras; it was probably impossible to show off and look cool with this.
But its strengths lay in its heavy force, swift speed, precise angles, and agile footwork. It would be incredibly effective for killing enemies, giving off the feel of a practical, combat-oriented master.
Lloyd nodded in satisfaction and muttered to himself:
"Not bad, not bad. I like this simple and practical style. It’s fine if I can’t look cool with it. I’m already handsome enough, anyway..."
Then he rubbed his sore, tired shoulders and complained to himself:
"My arm is sore after just a few swings? This won’t do! Even though I’m a gentle and cultured man of the arts, my physical fitness can’t be this bad..."
"Speaking of which, since this skill levels up through repeated practice, why don’t I just use sword practice to work out? It’s got to be better than pumping iron at a gym. That’s all just building useless, dead strength."
With that, he put down the practice sword and found other cold weapons—sabers, spears, staffs, and the like. Then, enduring the soreness in his arm, he swung them a few times to get a feel for them.
Sure enough, [Swordsmanship] wasn’t limited to just swords. As the skill description said, it was also effective with other common cold weapons, which delighted Lloyd even more.
After all, once you’ve taken [Swordsmanship] to its absolute limit and become a Sword Saint-level master, it’s time to switch to a spear...
At this point, Lloyd had more or less processed everything he’d gained that day. The time was also approaching the dinner hour, so he headed back to the prayer room to see if Weiya was awake.
When he got back to the prayer room, he saw Weiya sitting on the edge of the bed. She was holding a little kitten’s paws in both hands, so engrossed in playing with it that she didn’t even notice someone had arrived.
The usual sternness and seriousness on her stunningly beautiful face was replaced by a relaxed smile.
This was the first time Lloyd had ever seen her smile. It was sweet and beautiful, brightening up the entire infirmary room.
It wasn’t until Lloyd took a few more steps closer that Weiya suddenly snapped back to her senses. She looked flustered and frantically tried to stuff the kitten into her deep cleavage.
But her clothes were neatly worn, the buttons of her blouse beneath strained taut, leaving no space at all for a kitten.
"Don’t be nervous. You’re fine."
Lloyd quickly reassured her.
Only then did Weiya place the kitten on her lap. She lowered her proud chin toward Lloyd and said very seriously:
"Thank you, Executor Lloyd. I’m very grateful that you saved me."
Her tone sounded sincere, but her actions lacked the same conviction—she only lowered her head, not bowing at the waist.
Lloyd, however, replied nonchalantly:
"You’re welcome. It’s my duty."
As he spoke, they made eye contact, and both were simultaneously reminded of the moment when Lloyd had thanked Weiya.
Then, they looked at each other and smiled, both of them relaxed. The distance between them seemed to shrink.
...
"Sis, I won’t be back for dinner tomorrow night."
After dinner that day, Lloyd told Evelor he would be out.
Weiya had invited him to dinner as a token of her gratitude.
Lloyd didn’t awkwardly refuse; he accepted frankly, just as Weiya had accepted the small handmade gift he had given her.
"Eh? Is a girl finally asking my little Yi out on a date?"
Evelor asked quickly, her voice a mix of surprised delight and a hint of some unexplainable worry.
"Actually, it’s my direct supervisor..."
Lloyd then began telling his sister what had happened that day.
After listening, Evelor immediately jumped down from her desk. Without even bothering to put on her slippers, she pattered over to Lloyd on her fair, delicate bare feet. Then, with an anxious expression, she reached out her hands to him in a "gimme a hug" gesture.
What she really wanted was for Lloyd to bend down so she could reach him.
Lloyd quickly complied.
Evelor first gave him a hug, then vigorously squished his cheeks, and finally pressed her forehead against Lloyd’s. Only after confirming that her little brother was still her little brother did she let out a sigh of relief and repeatedly pat her chest.
"Phew~ You scared your big sister to death! You have to be more careful, Yi! I’ve been getting a lot of submissions lately describing how ferocious and terrifying Demons are, and it’s made me especially worried about you, Yi."
