19 Exclusion 1 (2/2)
The gold coin was the size of a walnut and was as thick as a normal coin. Engraved on the face of it was a double mast galleon in full sail against the wind. Above the galleon was a snake with its mouth open, ready to bite.
On the bottom of the coin was a number: 1521.
On its flip side was a knight's suit of armor. A sword ran through the armor from within, angled upwards, and a helmet hung from the tip. A garland encircled the whole armor.
Garen rubbed on the coin repeatedly. He could make out a dark golden color beneath the black paint from a few spots on the flip side of the gold coin.
As he pressed a finger to the dark gold spots, and the Potential on the bottom of his vision jolted.
From 179% to 180.
And then it stopped moving.
”That's it?”
Garen silently put down the gold coin.
Ever since he’d accrued a few Attribute points at the old man's place, he hadn't used any of them, but instead saved them for the time being.
He originally intended to add them to the White Cloud Secret Method, but later considered that it would probably be better to add them to the Explosive Fist Arts. After all, that was the technique that would give the best results in a short amount of time. On top of that, he hadn't been successful in getting anything out of the book ever since he borrowed it from the old man, which made him even more reluctant to use the rare Attribute points on anything.
”I thought I could find something substantial on him. For a member of an organization that’s stolen so many antiques, all he had on him was a gold coin. Should I deem him a side character in the grand scheme of things?”
He shook his head, then hid the gold coin in the desk drawer.
”Since this is a misunderstanding, it should end here. I can't keep getting dragged into it.” Recalling how he was stabbed without warning earlier, he broke into a cold sweat.
”If I hadn’t trained in Explosive Fist Arts which hardened my skin, that stab could have killed me. Fortunately, he was weak. If it were someone stronger, and with some poison on the knife…”
When he thought of this, a shiver ran down his spine.
”I'll just stay focused on going to school and practicing martial arts. This business is too dangerous. It's better if I just leave it to professional detectives like Dale Quicksilver.”
He made up his mind not to meddle in this matter anymore. The Bronze Cross Emblem was valuable, but there was a new source of Potential from the Old Man. Thus, even though he could no longer get any more regular absorption from it, Garen's desire to get the emblem back gradually faded.
”I'll use the last bit of Potential on the White Cloud Secret Method. The sooner I add to it, the faster my strength and physicality can begin to increase.”
He pondered for a second, and finally cast his line of sight onto the White Cloud Secret Method in the Skills pane.
Slowly, the stream of qi from his brain flowed out and entered one of the items under the White Cloud Secret Method.
The words gave a shake and gradually blurred, upgrading from 'intermediate' to 'advanced'.
Snap!
A crisp sound rang through his brain. The 'advanced' instantly blurred and reverted to 'intermediate'. A current flooded back into Garen's brain.
”What's going on?” He frowned and carefully reviewed the Skills pane.
A new symbol had emerged after 'White Cloud Secret Method'.
Even though he didn't know how to pronounce it, Garen strangely understood its meaning: ”Information Incomplete”.
”It seems that the teachings of the Secret Method were incomplete. The key to the advanced Secret Method should be in the hands of the dojo masters and key disciples,” Garen deduced the truth of the matter.
He thought about it, then focused his sight on Explosive Fist Arts. Similarly, after the Attribute points were added to it, the words blurred then reverted to 'elementary'. There was a new symbol after it, the meaning of which Garen again immediately understood.
”Does the intermediate level of Explosive Fist Arts require external drug stimulation as a simultaneous therapy? Otherwise, it would harm the body and mind…” He was well aware that, to have been initiated in Explosive Fist Arts without any assistance, was extremely fortuitous.
It would be the same for the White Cloud Secret Method. The dojo would naturally want to maintain certain core elements within their control. It's not likely that they would give it all away in one go, otherwise they wouldn't be so established.
”So it seems that, to enhance my martial art powers, I have to elevate my status within the dojo.” Ever since he transmigrated here, almost all of his time had been spent on his fascination with martial arts. Something that he could only dream of on Earth, he could actually be exposed to here. This had always made Garen excited. And now that he understood the importance of martial arts and the security it provided, his pursuit of it had become more fanatical.
Although he was encountering some problems, he wasn't too concerned. As long as he could participate in the dojo's internal qualifying tournament, he could attain a good ranking and gain the attention of the high-level core figures.
”Since I can't add to Skills, I'll just add to my basic Potentials.” He shifted his sight and lingered on the basic Potential pane.
Strength: 0.53. Agility: 0.23. Physicality: 0.33. Intelligence: 0.36.
”I've added to Vitality, Strength and Intelligence before. I should just add to Agility this time, and check out what effect that has.” Garen held a ”might as well add to it” attitude toward Attribute points.
Compared to his ordinary peers, he would have a better starting point no matter which items he added his Attribute points to.
After all, he had an ordinary body enhanced by Attribute points.
On top of that, the stabilizing effect of Potentials meant that once he reached a certain level of a Potential, even if he didn't really train much, the body could still maintain the Potential at its peak and wouldn't regress. If he didn't practice martial arts to build up his physicality under such favorable circumstances, even he felt that it would be a sinful waste.