28: Alice actually dared to give orders?

Chapter 28: Alice Dares to Give Orders?

Time quickly came to the day before the Academy started. Dick was not nervous at all. Every day he just went to the market to buy wine and did not train extra for the special recruitment assessment.

Swordsmanship is the core technique of a Swordsman and the place where talent is best reflected.

Millions of years have passed, and the Swordsman profession has spawned many branches. Similarly, swordsmanship has also become diverse.

A large number of swordsmanship schools were born from this.

The differences between different swordsmanship schools are huge, and the style, method, and strategy of combat are completely different.

There are those who charge blindly like a Berserker, those who are elusive like a Rogue, and even those who cast skills from a distance like a Mage...

Each swordsmanship school has its own advantages and disadvantages, and no perfect school has ever been born in millions of years.

Therefore, many Swordsmen do not follow a specialization route but learn a little of every school and know a few moves from each.

This is also why the Swordsman profession is called a Jack-of-all-trades.

After all, the Swordsman is too versatile; it almost covers the abilities of the other eight major professions.

As the saying goes, if you are confused about your future, why not become a Swordsman? You can make a living anywhere and are guaranteed not to starve.

Of course, as for Dick, with the blessing of his hundred lifetimes of experience, he understands a little bit of every swordsmanship school.

But no matter what he does, Dick only has one style: solving problems in the most efficient way, and combat is no exception.

This leads to Dick often being a hybrid master in combat, only using the appropriate swordsmanship at the right time.

As for aesthetics, martial virtue, or common sense... Dick doesn't care about any of that. As long as he can win.

Even if he were a max-level Hero, Dick would not hesitate to use despicable sneak attacks or shameless ambushes when necessary.

After dinner, in the manor's reception room, Cooper brought the repaired Holy Shield.

Just as Dick expected, Cooper went all out but only managed to repair it to the intermediate high level.

"Dick, the Holy Shield's core can be used normally now. I also did my best to repair the inscriptions and miniature magic arrays on it, reaching the standard of intermediate high level for now..."

Cooper looked at his masterpiece with a proud face. He hadn't touched such a high-level Magic Item in decades.

You know, even the Aimiya Empire's Empress, her personal weapon is only high-level intermediate, and this has been passed down through the Royal Family for generations.

One can imagine how valuable this cicimian holy shield is.

High-level high, this is the highest level below a divine artifact; this shield is almost about to transcend!

Although it has been through vicissitudes and is completely damaged, it has only been repaired to the intermediate high level at present.

But a lean camel is still bigger than a horse; the cicimian holy shield is still a treasure!

If one day it can be fully repaired, or even upgraded and transcended...

Cooper's heart surged just thinking about it. A divine artifact level shield, this is the dream of how many Blacksmiths.

Looking at the plain Holy Shield on the table, Dick carefully inspected it with "Magic Item Identification", finally nodded with satisfaction, and paid the remaining balance.

Before leaving, Cooper still looked at the Holy Shield reluctantly, his eyes practically dripping with affection, as if an old father was seeing off his son.

"Dick... can I come and see it sometimes in the future, doing some regular maintenance work and such..."

This was not only because Cooper had developed feelings for the Holy Shield but also because maintaining high-level Magic Items helps improve a Blacksmith's level.

Through "Know Yourself and Your Enemy", Dick discovered that Cooper's Blacksmith level had risen from level 41 to level 42!

Clearly, the repair work on the Holy Shield had given him experience and insights, allowing him to level up successfully.

Dick smiled upon hearing this and said softly, "Free?"

"Of course, it must be free!"

Cooper was afraid Dick would refuse and immediately added, "Even the materials used for maintenance will all be free, and the time will be arranged by you..."

Soon, Dick agreed to Cooper, allowing him to "visit" the Holy Shield every two weeks.

This made him extremely happy, and he even promised to give Dick a 10% discount on all future forging services.

After Cooper left, Mina hugged the Holy Shield happily, liking it more and more the more she looked at it.

Alice, who was nearby, was a little jealous because Dick had never given her any gifts.

"It's just that this shield is still a bit worn out; it doesn't look like an intermediate high level at all..." Alice pouted.

Hearing this, Mina retorted, "This is called simplicity; it's a special kind of beauty, and besides, appearance doesn't help in combat at all."

"But you have to carry it with you normally, on your back. With this rustic look, won't people laugh at you?"

"No, it's not rustic, not rustic at all. Everything Dick gives me is beautiful, I like it all..."

Mina was not good with words and was quickly flustered by Alice's few sentences, already speaking incoherently.

Finally, Dick spent a few minutes using extremely skilled techniques to give the shield a makeover for Mina, transforming it into a trendy hit.

This time, Alice completely lost it. Looking at Mina, who was grinning foolishly while holding the shield, the jealousy in her heart was hard to suppress.

"Di, Dick, I also have some Magic Items that need your help to optimize their appearance..."

Hearing this, Dick waved his hand and said, "Your Magic Items are already fancy enough with gold and diamonds inlaid. What else are you going to do?"

"I don't care, you have to help me!"

Alice was a little emotional, seemingly reverting to the arrogant young lady she used to be.

Seeing this, Dick said coldly, "Are you ordering me?"

"No... no, I just..."

Before Alice could finish, Dick directly said, "Punishment time!"

He seemed to have been too gentle with Alice recently, to the point where she dared to be so arrogant.

To restore the master-slave relationship to normal, he had to make corresponding adjustments.

"Di, Dick?!" Alice exclaimed.

Looking at Dick, who was flexing his wrists, looking at his palm that gleamed coldly, Alice quickly said, "I request to change to a different... punishment!"

Looking at Alice, whose face was slightly red, Dick raised an eyebrow.

...

At midnight, in Duke Stu's bedroom in Stu Manor, Jack lay on the large bed, breathing lightly.

He had just finished his nightly duty and his waist felt a little sore.

Duke Stu was a woman in her thirties, at a ravenous age, with needs almost every night.

Jack was not a native of Amyria; he came from a small tribe in the Northern region.

A year ago, Jack came to the Emilia Imperial Capital full of confidence and vigor, vowing to become the strongest Swordsman here.

At that time, Jack, only 19 years old, was already a level 24 Swordsman.

He was amazingly talented and had perfectly mastered the profound meaning of the Ancient God Mind Flow.

This was a very rare swordsmanship school, extremely difficult to learn, but incredibly powerful once mastered, practically invincible among those of the same rank!

Originally, Jack thought that with his talent, he could easily stir up trouble in the Royal Capital.

However, the reality was that without a noble's guarantee, he couldn't even register for the Academy's special recruitment assessment.

Also because of his arrogant personality, Jack caused trouble everywhere, offended many playboys in the Royal Capital, and was eventually thrown into prison.

In the cold and damp dungeon, Jack understood that his current strength could not support his arrogance; he needed other external help.

Fortunately, Fate had not given up on Jack.

Several months ago, he gained the favor of Duke Stu with his handsome face and became her male consort.

Duke Stu held immense power and wealth in the Royal Capital. Logically, Jack had reached the pinnacle of his life.

But Jack's ambition was not here. He wanted to prove the power of the Ancient God Mind Flow to the world, and he wanted his name recorded in history!

"Little Jack, just rest assured, I have already arranged everything for tomorrow's swordsmanship special recruitment assessment..."

Hearing this, Jack frowned. With his strong self-esteem, he disdained such methods.

"Your Grace, I don't need you to do anything extra. The Ancient God Mind Flow is the strongest, and I am also the strongest!"

Jack turned over and pressed Duke Stu down, saying with extreme confidence, "A mere special recruitment assessment, I will definitely..."

Before Jack could finish, Duke Stu put her finger on his lips, her charming face flushed.

"Of course, I believe in your ability, but the Academy's assessment is very deep water; we must have an extra layer of insurance."

Jack didn't like the despicable act of bribery.

But now, he was no longer the naive youth who had just arrived in the Royal Capital. After struggling for a while, he could only reluctantly accept.

"Jack, there's still a long time until dawn, I still want to..."

Hearing this, Jack sighed and began his main job again.