The First Magic World War

Charles returned to the embassy and went straight to sleep. When he woke up, it was already the evening of the next day. He ordered some food and moved around a bit to loosen up. Realizing it was quite late and there was little to do, he returned to his room and began practicing Bloody Glory.

He had been practicing diligently and continuously, making different improvements in the six unique skills he was proficient in: Angel's Thorn, Bloodline Mantra, Blood Flame Qi, Spirit Spider Technique, Insight, and Quickness Technique.

Charles always felt that the first breakthrough would probably be Angel's Thorn or Blood Flame Qi, but unexpectedly, as he practiced till dawn, the Bloody Rune of the Quickness Technique vibrated slightly and split off a new one, leading to an unforeseen breakthrough in this unique skill.

With an additional Quickness Technique Rune, Charles instantly felt lighter. With a slight gathering of energy, he leapt into the air and noticed his speed was slightly faster by a fraction, and he seemed to be able to jump higher as well.

Charles stepped out of his room. At that moment, dawn was just breaking, and no one else was around. He jumped with all his might, reaching the height of about eight or nine meters, one or two meters higher than when he first condensed the Quickness Technique Rune. His movement technique's speed, leaping height, and nimble changes were all enhanced.

A touch of joy emerged in Charles's heart, and he thought to himself, "With another breakthrough in Quickness Technique, my odds of victory against Retainer Lamarlock in the duel have increased."

Since he was in the embassy and not at his own home, Charles felt it was inappropriate to demonstrate the Quickness Technique. As a diplomat, how would it look to be jumping around like a monkey and running wildly in the embassy?

Excited, Charles didn't return to his room but wandered aimlessly around the embassy. He pondered: "Retainer Lamarlock is a master of gunmanship. If I duel him using a rapier, I'm at a disadvantage, but I'm also not skilled in gunmanship." Stay updated via My Virtual Library Empire

"After so many duels with Cyrus, even though I'm familiar with his gunmanship, I really haven't learned it. Reading martial arts novels, characters often steal martial arts skills through sparring, but I guess my talent is insufficient. Although I'm familiar with the stance of the Golden Requiem gunmanship, how to harness energy and the fine techniques are beyond me. If only I could steal a fraction of Cyrus's gunmanship, I would have nothing to worry about."

Suddenly, Charles thought of something, slapped his thigh, and said, "Why don't I find a weapon longer than a long spear? And then use the Cat's Mask to learn how to wield it?"

"There is already a master of the Meteor Hammer in my team."

With this line of thought, Charles's mind brightened. The Cat's Mask he possessed could morph into six different creatures' forms and randomly extract one skill from the morphed target, as long as there had been prior contact. Wearing it also slightly increased agility.

Charles didn't really need to morph into someone else's appearance, nor did he need the small boost to agility the Cat's Mask provided. The agility boost from this extraordinary object was far too minor for Charles, who had the Quickness Technique, and was virtually negligible.

However, he had used the Cat's Mask to learn the Orc Assassin's Flying Dagger Technique and Aubrey Barrington Atwood's Shooting Technique.

The other skills, such as driving a carriage, cooking, and standing guard, were of no value to Charles and could be swapped out completely.

He had lent the extraordinary object to Belisa, who learned the Flying Dagger Technique and Aubrey Barrington Atwood's Shooting Technique. Then, she returned the Cat's Mask.

Charles went to find eighteen Hunchback Red Bear Warriors, and after briefly making contact, he swapped out the ordinary human. To his surprise, he did not extract the Bear People's Meteor Hammer Technique from the great bear but instead extracted the Bearman Battle Axe Technique.

He wasn't disappointed, however, as he managed to extract the Meteor Hammer Technique from Hundred Bear Chief and the Bearman Shield Hammer Technique from Bee Honey.

Charles decisively gave up the Battle Axe Technique. This combat technique was too strength-oriented. With his strengths lying in the Quickness Technique and Spirit Spider Technique, he was a swift-type swordsman. His strength was greater than an ordinary person's, but in the realm of the transcendent, it was not remarkable. He simply couldn't wield a battle axe.

Even after learning the Battle Axe Technique, it could only intimidate ordinary people and was not suitable for dueling experts.

Seeing that the sky had brightened considerably, he left the embassy, released the "Dark Luxury," and headed to Old Buddha's shop to find Julian.

To Julian's surprise, he asked, "Now you want to have breakfast here too?"

Charles, without a hint of embarrassment, replied, "That's a trifle. I have a duel with Retainer Lamarlock. My rapier is too short, putting me at a disadvantage, and I'm not skilled in gunmanship, so I thought of learning a couple of other weapons on the fly."

Although Julian was still visibly shocked, he reluctantly accepted and asked, "What weapons do you want to practice?"

Charles decisively said, "Meteor Hammer Technique and Shield Hammer Technique."

Julian retorted, "Aren't those Beastman things?"

Charles shrugged his shoulders. He knew that in front of Julian, he couldn't keep using the "I am Qian Nan" Beastman joke, but such matters didn't necessarily require an explanation.

Although Julian was deeply puzzled, he still found Charles a pair of meteor hammers and a set of shield hammers. Old Buddha's shop sold only fine goods, and although these two weapons were not Extraordinary, they were not ordinary merchandise either.

Extraordinary weapons from the Beastmen were even rarer than bloodsucking weapons, and most Beastmen did not have much money. Ordinary humans could not handle the heavy weapons of the Beastmen, so Old Buddha's shop did not stock them.

Julian took Charles to the basement, where Old Buddha's shop also provided a service for trying out weapons.

Charles put on the Cat's Mask and after briefly trying out the weapons, he handled the pair of meteor hammers with incredible finesse. The Hundred Bear Chief was the leader of this team of Hunchback Red Bear Warriors, and his power was even greater than that of the Bear Tyrant. He simply did not prefer to test the meteor hammers, but his skill with the hammers was even superior to that of the Bear Tyrant.

When Julian saw Charles donning the Cat's Mask, he somewhat understood. But as soon as Charles took off the Cat's Mask and clumsily wielded the meteor hammers, almost hitting himself and nearly throwing one at Julian, Julian was confused again.

Julian kept him company for a while, then left Charles to his practice and went to take care of his own business.

Charles practiced all morning and by the time Julian sent someone to invite him for lunch, he had managed to swing the meteor hammers convincingly. While it was not enough for a Transcendent battle, he could certainly crush a few ordinary soldiers without issue.

In the afternoon, he tried the Shield Hammer Technique. This martial art required too much strength and stature, so after getting slightly familiar with it, he promptly gave up and devoted himself entirely to mastering the Meteor Hammer Technique.

After the two countries signed the alliance, there were still very complex procedures to follow. During this period, Charles had nothing to do and couldn't leave Notruden temporarily.

Aurora did not come to see him. Charles went out early and returned late each day, mainly visiting Old Buddha's shop to borrow Julian's place to practice the Orc Meteor Hammer Technique, also taking care of lunch and dinner.

One could not tell if it was because he had a talent for long-range weapons, but his Meteor Hammer Technique improved incredibly fast, making rapid progress each day. Even in the occasional sparring sessions with Julian, he managed to hold his own.