Charlot Mecklenburg returned to the embassy and collapsed into bed. When he woke up, it was already evening the next day. He ordered some food, moved around a bit to loosen up, and, finding it too late to do much else, returned to his room to continue cultivating Blood Glory.
Recently, Charlot had been diligently honing his skills. Among the six Extraordinary Abilities he had mastered—Angel’s Thorn, Blood Clan Verbal Spellcasting, Bloodflame Aura, Spider Technique, Eye of Insight, and Swiftstep Technique—each had seen varying degrees of improvement.
Charlot had always believed Angel’s Thorn or Bloodflame Aura was the most likely to break through first. Yet, to his surprise, as dawn approached, the Blood Rune of the Swiftstep Technique began to tremble faintly, and then split into a new rune. This remarkable technique had unexpectedly advanced.
With an additional Agility Rune from the breakthrough, Charlot felt his body become noticeably lighter. Testing his strength, he leapt into the air, finding his speed slightly increased and his jumps noticeably higher.
Stepping out of his room, Charlot observed the dim pre-dawn sky. Seeing no one around, he mustered his full strength and leaped, soaring to a height of nearly eight or nine meters—one or two meters higher than when he had first formed the Agility Rune. Both his agility and aerial capabilities had improved in all aspects.
Joy welled up in Charlot’s heart as he thought, “With this breakthrough in the Swiftstep Technique, I now have a greater chance of defeating Count Lamorak in our duel.”
However, being at the embassy, rather than in his own home, Charlot hesitated to practice the Swiftstep Technique too blatantly. As a diplomatic envoy, he couldn’t risk behaving like a lunatic, bounding around and sprinting wildly within the embassy grounds.
Still brimming with excitement, Charlot strolled through the embassy grounds, musing, “Count Lamorak is a master of spear combat. If I fight him using a rapier, I’ll be at a disadvantage due to its shorter reach. But I’m not skilled in spear techniques either.”
“Though I’ve faced Hughes countless times and have a thorough understanding of his spear techniques, I’ve never managed to learn them myself. In those martial arts stories, fighters often steal techniques just by dueling. Unfortunately, I seem to lack the talent. While I’m familiar with the stances of the Golden Requiem, I can’t grasp the subtleties of power generation or intricate techniques. If I could pick up even a few spear techniques from Hughes, I wouldn’t have to worry.”
Suddenly, an idea struck Charlot. Slapping his thigh, he exclaimed, “Why not find a weapon even longer than a spear? Then I could use the Mask of the Cat to pick up some combat skills!”
“Our team even has a meteor hammer expert.”
With this new perspective, Charlot’s mind cleared. The Mask of the Cat, capable of transforming him into six different forms of creatures and randomly drawing one skill from each form’s repertoire, now seemed far more valuable. Its additional boost to agility, though minor for someone with the Swiftstep Technique, made it nearly negligible for Charlot.
Still, Charlot had previously used the mask to learn the Throwing Knife Techniques of an orc assassin and Shooting Techniques from Aubrey Tildon Atwood. Other skills—like driving, cooking, or night watch—were useless to him and could be discarded without regret.
He had once lent the Mask of the Cat to Belisa, who learned both the Throwing Knife Techniques and Atwood’s Shooting Techniques before returning it to him.
Charlot then sought out the Redback Bear Tribe warriors. After brief contact, he replaced his original target. To his surprise, while he failed to draw Big Bear’s Meteor Hammer Technique, he did gain the Bearman Axe Technique.
Though slightly disappointed, Charlot found consolation when he managed to extract the Meteor Hammer Technique from Hundred Bears and the Bearman Shield Hammer Technique from Honey Bear.
Without hesitation, Charlot discarded the Bearman Axe Technique. The technique relied heavily on brute strength, unsuited for someone like Charlot, whose specialties lay in speed and agility through the Swiftstep Technique and Spider Technique. His strength, while superior to that of an ordinary person, was unremarkable among the Transcendent, making axes impractical.
Even if he mastered the Bearman Axe Technique, it would only serve against common foes, offering no real advantage against formidable opponents.
As the sky brightened, Charlot left the embassy and summoned Dark Luxury, heading to Old Flor’s shop to meet Julian Arsilo.
Julian greeted him with astonishment. “What brings you here so early? Are you planning to eat breakfast at my shop too?”
Unfazed, Charlot replied, “That’s trivial. I’m preparing for a duel with Count Lamorak. Since rapiers are too short and I lack spear expertise, I’m thinking of training with other weapons.”
Julian, though still taken aback, managed to process Charlot’s words and asked, “What weapons do you have in mind?”
Without hesitation, Charlot answered, “The meteor hammer and shield hammer.”
Julian raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t those orc weapons?”
Shrugging, Charlot knew it was pointless to elaborate further. His usual quip about being Kainan, an orc, wouldn’t hold up with Julian. But no explanation was truly necessary.
Despite his confusion, Julian provided Charlot with a pair of Meteor Hammers and Shield Hammers. While not Extraordinary, the weapons, like everything at Old Flor’s shop, were of exceptional craftsmanship.
Orc Extraordinary Weapons were even rarer than vampiric ones. Orcs were generally impoverished, and their heavy weapons were ill-suited for most humans. Thus, Old Flor rarely stocked such items.
Julian escorted Charlot to the shop’s basement, which offered a space for customers to test weapons.
Donning the Mask of the Cat, Charlot briefly experimented with the Meteor Hammers and quickly became proficient, thanks to the knowledge extracted from Hundred Bears. The Meteor Hammer Technique of the tribal leader, though rarely practiced, was more refined than even Big Bear’s.
Watching Charlot wield the Meteor Hammers with the mask, Julian began to piece things together. However, when Charlot removed the mask and reverted to clumsy handling, nearly hitting both himself and Julian, his initial understanding vanished.
After a brief stay, Julian left Charlot alone to handle other matters.
By lunchtime, Charlot’s practice yielded impressive results. Though his skills were not yet sufficient for combat with Extraordinary individuals, he could now easily defeat ordinary soldiers with the Meteor Hammers.
In the afternoon, he attempted the Shield Hammer Technique but found it too reliant on physical strength and size. After familiarizing himself with its basics, he abandoned it entirely to focus solely on mastering the Meteor Hammer Technique.
With the alliance between the two nations still requiring intricate arrangements, Charlot had no urgent tasks and could not leave Britain.
Even Aurora had not sought him out. Charlot spent his days training at Old Flor’s shop, borrowing Julian’s facilities while enjoying meals there.
Perhaps Charlot’s natural talent leaned toward ranged weapons, as his progress with the Meteor Hammer Technique was astonishing. Within days, he could spar with Julian without being at a disadvantage.