The next morning, I woke up earlier than usual.
Exhausted from hunting for the first time in a while, I had gone to bed early, and that rest had allowed me to wake up well ahead of schedule.
"I can't do physical training at the guild, so I should make good use of this time."
Given the setup at the Adventurer's Guild right now, practicing Swordsmanship or Physical Enhancement was out of the question. I figured I would hone them in the inn's backyard while nobody was around.
Carrying my laundry, I headed outside to the backyard.
There was no one there today, either. I quickly finished washing, returned to my room to hang the clothes up to dry, and came back downstairs with a wooden sword in hand.
"All right, now I can focus on training until Amanda-san comes out."
Gripping the wooden hilt, I swung. Adhering strictly to the form Ryan-san had drilled into me, I repeated the motions with exact precision. Slashing downward, sweeping horizontally, thrusting upward from below—I moved through the various routines I had been taught, over and over again.
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You have trained your [Swordsmanship]. Gained 1 EXP. 68/100 until next level.
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When Amanda-san came out, I wrapped up my training and helped her with the rest of the laundry. After finishing breakfast, I returned to my room and checked my status screen.
The experience was steadily accumulating. I had already learned firsthand that as a skill's level increased, its effects grew significantly stronger. Raising my Swordsmanship skill level would make fighting monsters much easier.
"Still, I can't do anything about my character level right away."
Going up a single level required defeating a hundred monsters. Once I reached a higher level, taking down dozens or even hundreds on my own might be feasible, but right now, I was only Level 4. I lacked the Stamina to fight that many, and simply tracking them down would be an ordeal in itself. Raising my skill levels through training was definitely the more reliable path to growing stronger.
With that conclusion in mind, I changed clothes, left the inn, and headed for the Adventurer's Guild.
I greeted Reina-san at the reception desk and made my way to the usual room.
"Is she not here yet today?"
Olivia-san had yet to arrive. Since there was nothing else I could do in the room, I took a seat and decided to wait.
About an hour slipped by. Growing fairly bored, I passed the time by practicing with Appraisal.
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You have trained your [Appraisal]. Gained 1 EXP. 40/100 until next level.
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Training by actively using the skill had yielded a considerable amount of EXP. I had considered practicing it alongside other skills, but in the end, I focused solely on Appraisal.
Just as my mana was running low and I was resting in my chair, Olivia-san entered the room.
"Erik-kun, I'm so sorry. I'm late."
"No, don't worry about it. I was just practicing on my own. But did something happen for you to be delayed this much?"
"Well, you could say that... A bit of a troublesome matter came up, and I had to deal with it."
"A troublesome matter? Is everything all right?"
For someone of Olivia-san's caliber to call it troublesome, it had to have been something quite serious.
"It will be fine for the time being. I took care of it properly, so shall we get started on today's training?"
"Y-Yes, of course."
Olivia-san offered no further details about why she was late. From there, just like yesterday, we carried out our session while experimenting to find the most effective way to train Appraisal.
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You have trained your [Parallel Thinking]. Gained 1 EXP. 100/100 until next level.
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Your level has increased. 0/100 until next level.
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You have trained your [Parallel Thinking]. Gained 1 EXP. 11/100 until next level.
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You have trained your [Mana Control]. Gained 1 EXP. 26/100 until next level.
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You have trained your Mana. Gained 1 EXP. 43/100 until stat increase.
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You have trained your [Appraisal]. Gained 1 EXP. 46/100 until next level.
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Today's method had not yielded great results for Appraisal either. On the bright side, I had accumulated plenty of Parallel Thinking EXP, even leveling up the skill.
"It seems trying to visualize multiple objects in your mind at the same time doesn't accomplish much," she observed.
"Maybe my concentration just wasn't deep enough."
"That could be part of it. Hmm... We've tried so many approaches, but I wonder if the training method you used when you first acquired the skill was the best one after all, Erik-kun?"
After all that trial and error, we had circled right back to the beginning. Still, the other methods had not been a total waste. Since they had yielded EXP, they were definitely valid ways to train Appraisal.
"Starting tomorrow, let's stick to the same method you used when you first unlocked it," she decided.
"Understood. Does that mean we won't be looking for new training methods anymore?"
"Yes. We've tested everything that seemed promising for now, and the conclusion is that the method you discovered on your own works best."
"That's really nice to hear."
Hearing Olivia-san praise my own training method made me feel a quiet surge of pride.
With that, our session for the day came to an end. I stepped out of the room and let Reina-san know that we were finished.
"Erik-kun, mornin'~!"
"Good morning, Philia."
When I walked out to the front of the guild, Philia was already waiting for me. After meeting up, the two of us set off, chatting about where to grab lunch today.