Talent and Training

"Little boy, I have to say, your Talent is really suitable to be a Knight," John said these words as Parr put down the package and ate his jerky and bread.

"Oh?"

Parr was stunned for a moment. With food in his mouth, he asked incoherently, "Uncle John, I heard you talk about Talent last time. That black-robed man also talked about Talent. Is Talent very rare?"

Parr did not fully understand since he had obtained two Talents in a short time and was still able to upgrade his Talent further.

"Of course! You lucky boy, of course, Talent is rare." John rolled his eyes. Parr made him feel like he was a good teacher, so he was eager to explain further. 

"Little boy, listen to my explanation about Talent."

Talent is a unique ability. Regardless of whether it is strong or weak, all kinds of creatures in this world could awaken their own Talent, even if they are mere rookies. There were strong and weak Talents, but powerful Talents could allow one to fight at a higher level. Talent was very rare. A warrior with Talent was someone everyone fought to rope in and befriend, provided that the Talent could grow further.

However, it did not necessarily mean that one would have Talent from birth. In the process of one's growth, they might inadvertently awaken their Talent. This depended on their luck. There was a way that did not count on luck, and that was to plunder the Talent of a Magical Beast. It was said that any living creature could awaken their Talent. Hence Magical Beasts were no exception. 

Should an Apprentice-level Knight wish to become a Bronze-level Knight, they require the magic crystals of a Bronze-level Magical Beast and a potion made from the blood of its heart. If the Bronze-level Magical Beast were a Magical Beast with Talent, then the Knight would also have a chance to inherit that Talent. Because of this, the value of a Bronze-level Magical Beast with Talent was priceless. As long as it appeared and was discovered by others, no matter how dangerous the place was, there would be people who were blinded by greed coming one after another. 

…

"So that's how it is!"!

Parr nodded, dispelling another doubt in his heart.

"Little boy."

After John waited for Parr to finish digesting the information he had told him, he pressed on Parr's shoulder with a solemn expression. When Parr raised his head to look at him, he looked directly into Parr's eyes and reminded Parr of an essential matter.

"Boy, now that you know what Talent is, I need to remind you of another fundamental matter. You must not tell others about the details of your Talent, even if it is the person closest to you. Even if others could roughly guess your Talent, you must never tell them about the details. 

"Why?"

Parr had to ask this because he needed to keep up his image of a ten-year-old boy. 

John was not surprised. He continued, "Because this matter concerns lives. When we adventurers go out, we must be prepared to deal with any danger that might occur at any time. Everyone has to prepare their own trump cards, and our Talent is our ultimate trump card. Because of this, we can not tell others."

"Is that so? I understand."

Parr nodded to show that he understood. Then, he changed his tone and asked tentatively, "Uncle John, you have your own Talents too, right? Otherwise, how would you know so much?"

"Hehehe."

John smiled and said,

"That's only your guess!"

"Only a guess? Isn't it true?" Parr almost said this, but he held it back in the end. Then, he didn't say anything more and continued to eat his bread.

…

The two of them finished eating and sat on the grass to rest for a while. As Parr was getting sleepy from the warm sunlight, John's voice came into his ears.

"Little boy, have you rested enough?"

"Oh! I'm done."

Parr shook his head and got up to carry his big package.

"Wait, let's not leave yet."

John stopped Parr. He then got up and pulled out his sword to face Parr.

"Little boy, let's not leave yet. Let me test your current strength first so that I can make a training plan for the future."

"How do you wish to test me?"

Parr became serious. He grabbed his black sword.

"Come! Attack me with all your strength."

John casually grabbed the hilt of his sword and asked Parr to hit him.

"Okay."

Parr nodded. He knew that he was still no match for John currently, so he did not hold back. He directly used the Max Level Wind Wolf Basic Sword Drawing Technique. However, he did not use the three-hit special effect since it would consume too much Stamina.

Slash!

Clank!

Just as Parr had thought, John quickly blocked his attack. The black sword clashed with John's. As the sound of metal clashing rang out, a long string of sparks was also created from the friction.

"Woah!"

Although it was effortless to block, John still let out a strange cry. He looked at Parr as if he was looking at a tiny monster. He forcefully pushed away Parr's black sword. After returning to his previous position, he shouted, "Again!"

"Yes..."

Parr took a deep breath and sheathed his black sword. He gathered his strength and once again drew his sword to attack.

"Upper slash!"

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing rang out once again. Sparks flew in all directions. John used all his strength to push Parr away, who was now exhausted, onto the ground.

"Amazing! Little boy, you're really amazing!" John stretched out his hand and pulled Parr up. His gaze towards Parr contained a mixture of surprise and compliment.

"Boy, your Wind Wolf Basic Sword Drawing Technique has gone up another level compared to a few days ago! It's truly unexpected."

"Hehehe."

Parr stood up. He did not reply, only smiled.

John rubbed his chin and slowly started to walk. He was thinking about how to teach Parr further.

"Eh?"

Suddenly, John saw a gray shadow in the grass from the corner of his eye. He was stunned for a moment before a smile appeared on his face.

"I got it!"

…

"Little boy."

John walked back to Parr. Parr was using the Wind Wolf Basic Breathing Technique to recover his strength. He opened his eyes and looked up at John.

"Uncle John, what's wrong?"

"Look over there."

John raised his hand and pointed at the grass, and Parr looked over. The Bright Eyes talent can also be used even when not activated. It helped Parr see things clearer. Therefore, Parr was able to see a touch of gray in the green grass.

"Uncle John, are you referring to that gray thing?"

"Yes."

John nodded and withdrew his arm. He patted Parr's shoulder and said, "Parr, you have just become an Elementary Knight Apprentice. There is still some time before you reach the next stage. During this period, you need to adapt to your strength. However, strength does not mean everything. We, Knights, need to have keen observation, swift reaction, and proficient combat skills in addition to strength. The next thing I want you to do is to train your reaction."

"Yes."

Parr repeatedly nodded without any objections. However, his data panel was too simple. It did not even state the specific strength, speed, and reaction force values. It only gave him a vague sense of his physical and mental strength. The three things that John mentioned were exactly what Parr lacked at the moment.

"Very good."

John held back his laughter and explained further. "Little boy, that thing over there is a rabbit. It's the most common small animal in the wild grass. To train your reaction speed, you need to catch it with your bare hands. Understand?"

"Yes."

Parr recalled the information about the rabbit in his memory and then nodded with complete confidence. Although he had never caught a rabbit with his own hands, the Haystack Village hunting team could catch more than a dozen of them every time they entered the forest. Parr once asked Old Jack if the rabbit was easy to catch. Old Jack said that it was indeed effortless to do.

After waking up from his memories, Parr swallowed his saliva again. He loved rabbit meat the most in his previous life, especially the braised and spicy ones, which were extremely fragrant! Therefore, Parr set off confidently. He was going to eat roasted rabbit meat tonight!

"Hahaha."

John looked at Parr and laughed. Then, he sat on the ground and calmly watched Parr's following actions. He felt like he was watching a show.

"Rabbits are not easy to catch! Especially for those who have not been caught before."

Rabbits were the most common small animals in the wild. They were completely gray and had a pair of long ears that were the same length as their bodies. They liked to eat fresh grass, so they can often be seen around patches of it.

When the rabbit ate, it would raise its long ears to listen to the wind and the grass movement around it if any predators were lurking. This would help them to identify the direction of the predator. However, when they establish that a predator is nearby, the rabbit would not immediately run away. 

Rustle!

Parr stepped lightly on the grass and slowly approached the seemingly unaware rabbit. When he felt that the distance was right, he used both legs to pounce. His hands grabbed straight at its long ears. However, the dumb rabbit had avoided extinction until now because it had its own way of surviving. The long ears were actually baiting to lure the predator.

Just as Parr was about to succeed, the rabbit's ears were withdrawn and stuck to its back. Then, the rabbit kicked hard with its hind legs and jumped more than two meters high, dodging Parr's pounce. But this was not the end. The rabbit's eyes seemed to flash with a red light. It lowered its head and looked at Parr, who had fallen to the ground. Its body twisted and jumped straight toward Parr's head.

Bang!

Parr was trying to get up from his failed leap when the rabbit stepped on his head, forcing him back to the ground. After doing so, the rabbit resumed eating.

Squeak!

The rabbit's chewing sounded like mockery. It then hopped a few times and kept a distance from Parr before gnawing on the grass.

"Bah! You're dead now, rabbit!"

Parr stood up angrily. He felt extremely humiliated when he saw that the rabbit was still leisurely gnawing on the grass not far away. In his previous life, he was called a rabbit devourer. He swore that he would capture this rabbit today and consume it!