Heimarian Odyssey

Chapter 87: Low-rank Knecht

Locke was still shocked by Wyr's visit. It had only been a night, and Wyr had already heard about the strengthening potion. He had probably heard the news from Cardoj.

This showed how valuable the strengthening potion was.

It didn't take long for Locke to consider Wyr's favour before agreeing to it. He didn't really have a choice as his current rank was lower than Wyr's and he was still in his care, not to mention that Wyr was a powerful knight.

Of course, the potion wasn't given for free. Locke hadn't forgotten the three favours that Wyr had promised him. Locke felt that three favours from a high-rank Knecht was worth it for a small bottle of potion. To be honest, he hadn't figured out how to use the strengthening potion.

Now that his mentor was here, he decided to make full use of it. Locke took a bottle of strengthening potion and gave it to Wyr. He took it carefully and put it inside the front pocket of his chest.

"Herr Wyr, I would like to ask how one might use strengthening potion? Can you enlighten me?" asked Locke.

Wyr seemed to be surprised that Locke didn't know the purpose of the strengthening potion and how to use it, but he didn't say anything. He explained directly, "Strengthening potion is used to assist beginner-rank Knechts to overcome the bottleneck of becoming low-rank Knechts. It can improve the physical fitness of a knight and quicken the absorption of impetus.

"Not only that, the biggest function of strengthening potion is the stimulation of the human body's potential with minimal side effects. This potion was imported from the Aomar Empire because the main resources for producing the potion were extremely scarce, so most of them had to come from there. This was why the strengthening potion is so valuable."

Locke felt weird that Wyr wanted a potion that was used to assist beginner-rank Knechts to overcome the bottleneck of becoming low-rank Knechts. Wyr seemed to have realised Locke's doubts and explained, "This potion is not only used to overcome bottlenecks. Low-rank and mid-rank Knechts can also use this potion to improve their strength. So for a high-rank Knecht like me who has never used the strengthening potion before, it might improve my strength slightly if I used it for the first time."

Locke had only realised how precious the strengthening potion was after listening to what Wyr said. It was a treasure that could even be used by high-rank Knechts. No wonder the entire 2nd Division only had a few bottles of it.

After Wyr had left, Locke looked at the remaining two strengthening potions that were in his hands and thought about how to use them. These two potions were like hot potatoes for Locke at the moment. It had only been a night and someone had already come and asked him for it. He was afraid that in a few days' time, other nobles would come and do the same.

Locke felt resentful that the baron had spread the news of him having the strengthening potions. He wasn't sure why someone who had such a high reputation and did things meticulously like Cardoj would do such a thing.

In fact, Cardoj was indeed the one who had told Wyr about this. It wasn't just because the potion was valuable, but it was also because Cardoj wanted to use this against Locke.

After all, Locke was still a soldier under Cardoj and a commoner. As a noble, Cardoj was always firmly suppressing Locke in terms of his status. But because Locke had rescued Princess Angelina, every elite knew about the existence of this commoner.

Cardoj had a strong desire for dominating others, and he didn't want to have someone under him who wasn't under his control.

But, Cardoj was actually overthinking. Although Locke was favoured by Prince Kenzir and Margrave Marmen, it was all because he'd rescued Angelina. It was impossible for him to be promoted to a noble or to high military rank for no reason.

Kenzir and Marmen wouldn't break the conventions of nobility just for an insignificant person like Locke.

And to be honest, Locke had no wild ambitions and had never thought of being in the limelight. All he wanted was to just live a down-to-earth life with his family. It was his biggest wish, just like the rest of the commoners in Faustian.

Locke was ready to use the strengthening potion right after learning its usage from Wyr. The siege of Audis, the capital city of Shalor, was starting soon. This battle was the battle to end the war, and it was probably the last one Locke would participate in. He knew that he should improve his strength as much as he could before the battle started.

Nothing else counts if one wasn't alive. In order to prevent others from bothering him about the potion, he decided to use it this afternoon.

As for the will-condensing potion, judging from the fact that even the user's name had to be registered, it was impossible for others to use this precious medicine. Locke wasn't in a hurry to use it. He didn't even know how to use it, and if he did so rashly, it would be a disaster if he suffered consequences.

Locke planned to look for Angelina and ask her about it. He'd heard yesterday that she was currently in an area in the middle of the joint camp. He would go and ask around for directions first, believing that once an announcement had been made, Her Royal Highness would agree to meet her saviour.

Locke wasn't stupid. He didn't tell anyone about the fling that was going on between them. If someone knew about it and had reported it, Locke couldn't think of what other consequences there might be besides being hanged.

Angelina seemed unconcerned about their future together. It seemed like she already had plans for the two of them in the future, but she'd never told Locke about it. Locke was also not in a rush about it. He had to face it sooner or later anyway.

Locke went to the training camp in the afternoon. After instructing the two soldiers who were on duty outside the training camp to not disturb him, he walked straight inside.

It was around two or three in the afternoon. Although it was winter, it was still sunny. Many soldiers were either patrolling or training at this time, so no one would come to the training ground to disturb him. Locke carried the two small beautifully packaged wooden boxes and walked towards his own zone.

He first started off with practising his bare-hand techniques and he was already sweating all over. They were nothing special, being something that Locke explored from his insights in actual combat. They were simple but practical, and they were considered to be something that Locke had taught to himself. Perhaps Locke would pass on his techniques to the next generation a few years later.

It was just like what Locke's father had taught him about farming. Locke, who hadn't held a hoe for several years, could still remember the details that his father had taught him.

After he'd stretched and loosen up, Locke wasn't in a hurry to use the potion. Instead, he sat cross-legged on the ground and started practising Falconim.

All this preparation wasn't useless. He was told to do all of it by Wyr this morning. Wyr got a bottle of his strengthening potion in return for nothing but a promise of three favours and some advice on how to practice well.

Wyr probably felt like he'd taken a huge advantage of Locke, so he wasn't secretive when Locke asked him questions and would try his best to answer all his doubts. He also thought that the questions that Locke had asked were not particularly central and were mostly irrelevant instead. Locke had even asked him about the general knowledge of being a knight.

But Locke had learned a lot from Wyr, especially common knowledge he didn't have. Locke had learned how to practice impetus unorthodoxly, having had no professional guidance from teachers and using trial and error. Although Uncle Yoshk, Karl and the others had been practicing impetus for a longer time than him, his knowledge of impetus was comparable with them.

As a platoon jarl who was born as a commoner and had impetus, Locke had always used trial and error. Wyr had learned impetus back in the Aomar Empire and was an outstanding student. The knowledge he'd told Locke might even be valuable to some nobles in the Kingdom of Faustian. Locke had hit the jackpot and had asked the right person for advice as Wyr was an expert in this.

After the preparation was done, Locke began to take the strengthening potion. According to Wyr, the effect of the potion was best when a beginner-level Knecht held the impetus in for as long as he could and used the potion when he'd reached a bottleneck. There would then be a 60 percent success rate of a breakthrough to the low rank.

Locke didn't intend to drag it for such a long time. He had been practicing every day, and although he could feel that the impetus vortex in his stomach was still growing continuously, the speed of it was too slow. He had used the redsea flower to increase the speed previously, so he couldn't bear the snail's pace now. Even the speed of the impetus vortex's growth was faster at the Bering Mountains than it was now, but it was probably because he'd eaten monster meat, of which there was an abundance in the forest.

And if one bottle didn't work, he'd take two. Strengthening potion also had the effect of increasing the total amount of impetus anyway. If Locke took two bottles directly, he roughly estimated that there'd be a ninety per cent success rate of breaking through.

Using two bottles of strengthening potion for just the breakthrough was insane in the eyes of most nobles in Faustian. Due to the preciousness of strengthening potion, this kind of potion was often used to help overcome the bottleneck of becoming a low-rank Knecht, and even many mid-level Knechts also desired this valuable potion.

With its minimal side effects, strengthening potion was widely sought after by the Faustian's nobles.

He first took out a bottle and rubbed half of the potion on his chest. He then poured the other half into his mouth and kept it under his tongue. Wyr had taught him this method of using the potion.

After a while, Locke felt like he'd been stabbed in his chest, followed by an unbearable tingling sensation. He wouldn't be able to tolerate the pain if it wasn't for the strong endurance he had honed on the battlefield for the past few years, as this stabbing pain and numbing feeling wouldn't be bearable for most people.

Blue veins started to emerge from Locke's sturdy chest as if there were earthworms and snakes on his body. It was a terrifying sight.

Besides that, Locke's entire upper body was red at this moment. Due to the cold weather, Locke's sweat evaporated into steam and condensed around his head. If anyone had seen Locke in the training ground now, they would definitely be shocked at the supernatural sight.

The circulation of human blood had actually affected the environment around him. With Locke at the centre, the temperature of the surroundings was ten degrees higher than normal.

When the potion under Locke's tongue was about to be fully absorbed, he didn't feel like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon like what Wyr had mentioned. He then took another strengthening potion out from another box and poured all of it into his mouth.

This time, he didn't apply it externally and just took the potion orally. The effect of the potion was stronger and had given him a greater impact.

Puffs of white smoke covered Locke's entire reddened body and his muscles tensed tighter. Crackling sounds could be heard from all over, a sign his bones were strengthening.

A few moments had passed, and suddenly the white smoke around Locke disappeared. His skin colour had returned to normal and a pair of sharp eyes opened. Locke was now a low-rank Knecht!