Chapter 2: Chapter 2 The Qualities of an Academic Prodigy
It seemed there was no danger, only his head was in deep thought, taking up some of his energy.
Ivan settled his mind to observe, cautiously staring at the slightly flickering membrane of light, a familiar feeling.
It should be a projected light screen.
The light screen was searching and adapting to something, and after a minute or two, the changing light screen stabilized in his view, and his head felt more relaxed.
"This—"
Looking at the thing so close at hand, Ivan couldn't help but recall a widely known saying, my son has the makings of a Great Emperor, no, it's the young master has the makings of an Academic Prodigy.
"Keep it low-key!"
He murmured softly, forcing himself to calm down.
[Apothecary Skill: lv0(1/10)]
A simple line of text, no other information.
It couldn't be clearer.
Wasn't it just like the interface in games?
Thinking about the earlier changes, he felt it might not necessarily relate to games, the appearance of the panel might just be switched to a model that he could easily understand. Anyway, it should be a good thing.
"Isn't that wrong? I also know the Body Drilling Skill, boxing, sword fighting, horse riding, axe technique, and archery. Why aren't they displayed?"
Ivan immediately thought of the reason. It probably counted from now on, and he needed to practice them again. Glancing at his injured arm, he abandoned the plan to go out and practice swordsmanship and archery.
"Close panel."
He tried issuing the command, and indeed, the membrane of light disappeared.
He called the membrane of light back the next second.
He then tried issuing commands in his mind without speaking aloud, and it worked just as well.
Unfortunately, the panel was too monotonous, and he returned his attention to the apothecary book.
"Looks like I can't hit 999 with one attack; this is going to kill someone with OCD."
Until late at night, the experience bar didn't budge, which unnerved him a bit, but he was too tired and needed to sleep first.
A new day.
Ivan felt refreshed and alert, surprisingly, his injuries had healed significantly overnight, and most of the discomfort in his body had dissipated.
The door opened, accompanied by a slight creak.
Peggy was nearby, tending to potted plants, and put down her scissors upon hearing the noise.
"Good morning, Brother Ivan, aren't you sleeping in a bit more?"
"Good morning Peggy, I slept really well last night."
"Has your injury gotten better?"
"Thanks to Mr. Orio, much better, the injury should heal in about two or three days."
He gave a relaxed answer to his sister's concerned gaze, though he wasn't actually sure of it.
He could see Peggy had deliberately waited near the door just to find out his condition early.
Sure enough, hearing his words, Peggy breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "I had Madam Kasey prepare breakfast, come quickly after you freshen up, Brother Ivan."
Ivan nodded lightly.
Peggy hurried towards the dining room and couldn't help but add before turning the corner, "Please don't dawdle, the food loses its taste when cold."
"I'll be quick."
Ivan nodded again, watching his sister's satisfied departure, then he rolled his eyes.
The previous self was unreliable.
The Marichadon family had been nobles up to three generations ago; his great-grandfather was a Baron but somehow lost his title. Unlike ordinary civilian families, they maintained three meals a day, occasionally enjoying afternoon tea and supper, although the food wasn't as exquisite and luxurious as that of nobles.
Today was different, his breakfast was special, richer than usual, with bread, smoked fish, eggs, milk, honey, and jam biscuits.
Sean frequently glanced his way, but due to Peggy's authority, he dared not ask for food.
Ivan noticed and found it somewhat amusing, then ate without reservation.
The jam biscuits were sour yet sweet, and the smoked fish had a unique woody and fragrant flavor.
"Madam Kasey, the food is delicious."
"Thank you for the compliment, but don't expect the same breakfast tomorrow. Today was Miss Peggy's special request."
Aunt Kasey was a household employee, currently busy with some chores on the side. She smiled at Ivan's words and then emphasized.
Ivan glanced at his sister involuntarily.
With slight caution, Peggy said, "Dad only left us enough money for daily expenses; we can't buy anything extra."
"I understand, and I'm glad you arranged it this way."
Hearing her words, Ivan decided not to inquire about the medical expenses, preferring to wait for their father's return.
It seemed the previous impression left by his former self was rather poor; he would slowly have to change their views.
Peggy felt the atmosphere at the dining table was a bit stiff and spoke up, "Brother Ivan, have you started learning the Breathing Method? I might need to prepare more food for you."
Knights practiced a type of Breathing Method that extracted the Breath of Life. Because it increases the body's consumption, they needed to eat more food daily.
Ivan said, "I need to wait until my injuries have healed."
Typically, one could start practicing the Knight Breathing Method at the age of 13, but his father clearly didn't plan to teach him the family's Breathing Method, intending for him to learn swordsmanship at the Swordsmanship Hall instead. His former self was unwilling and had been procrastinating.
Now, Ivan had other ideas.
Peggy earnestly said, "You study well, and I'll prepare the food for you."
"Hmm."
Ivan didn't refuse.
At that moment, Sean suddenly looked up, staring blankly at Ivan.
His actions caught the attention of the siblings.
Sean's face formed an ugly smile as he said, "I have one good news and one bad news, Brother Ivan, which one would you like to hear first?"
Peggy, who knew him well, understood that this was Sean's attitude after causing trouble.
Peggy said, "Out with it, what bad thing have you done now?"
Sean moved his butt forward half an inch, preparing to run away, and said, "Dad left a message for Ivan before he left. He had asked that grumpy old man to let Ivan visit the clinic the day after tomorrow to learn how to become a Pharmacist from him."
Peggy immediately understood that her brother had delayed conveying the message by a full four days, causing their brother to miss an important opportunity.
"Holy Mother above." Her eyes widened as she exclaimed loudly, "Sean, look what you've done."
"I just forgot."
By the time Peggy was ready to make a move, Sean had already darted behind a chair.
On the other side of the dining table, Ivan's face darkened; that child really knew how to cause trouble.
No wonder Old Orio was so aggressive yesterday!
He had just acquired the membrane of light ability and was contemplating how to go to the clinic to study and further explore his abilities when he discovered a betrayal from his brother.
Thinking of the pain he had experienced the previous day, he stepped in front of the exit and looked at his brother seriously and asked:
"Sean, do you know what 'the fist of love' means?"
...
Two days passed.
Early in the morning, Ivan arrived at the end of the street, where the clinic's door was firmly closed.
'Bat Gaze'
The name of the clinic probably meant that, no, it should be 'Bat's Eyes'.
He noticed the wooden nameplate above the clinic, written in ancient Vandali script, a strange name that strangely suited Old Orio.
Huh?
He sensed something and muttered 'Academic Prodigy' silently in his mind.
[Apothecary Skill: lv0(3/10)]
[Linguistics Skill: lv0(1/10)]
The panel he named 'Academic Prodigy' appeared, showing a new subject that puzzled him when he looked at it.
The past two days, he had tried swordsmanship, archery, and others; he should have a solid foundation, yet the panel hadn't changed. Conversely, today it appeared without intention, introducing a new subject.
Could it be that it depends on the potential of the subject, and those with shallow potential don't get recorded?
"Coming so late, did you expect me to come and invite you myself?"
At that moment, Old Orio emerged from around the corner of the street, his face stern.
Ivan silently muttered to close it, and the membrane of light disappeared.
He had previously shown it to his sister, brother, and Aunt Kasey; no one else could see his Academic Prodigy panel, so it likely only existed in his own sight.
"Good morning, Mr. Orio. I feel like I am almost healed."
Owing the man for medical treatment, he didn't mind Mr. Orio's attitude.
Because of Sean's mistake, another issue still existed between them, but he didn't plan to explain anything. Since Mr. Orio was famously cranky, over the years, no one who wanted to apprentice succeeded; there must be a reason.
His plan was to start with menial work and see how things go from there.
Hearing his words, Mr. Orio shifted his attention to the illness and quickly opened the clinic door.
"You're far from healed, the poison is the hardest to completely clear out. What are you standing there for, come here and let me have a look."
Inside the clinic, Ivan nervously extended his arm, unwrapped the cloth around it, and revealed a scabbed wound. The original purple-brown bulge had vanished, replaced by minor swelling with several dark spots in the center.
The dark spots confirmed Mr. Orio's words; some poison was still left.
"Thud."
His arm unsuspectedly received a heavy punch, right at the site of the wound, and the pain you can imagine was intense.
Ivan stared at him wide-eyed.
"Need to break it up first, to squeeze it out easier."
Mr. Orio ignored his look, applied some medical oil, skillfully poked a few small holes, squeezed out the poisoned blood, cleaned it, applied ointment, and bandaged it—a fluid completion of everything.
After bandaging, he pointed at a table and said, "Clean up well. You now owe me 3 Gold Coins, so make yourself useful around the shop."
Hearing this, Ivan silently started to clean up.
Over the past two days, his memory seemed to have enhanced compared to his previous life; he had memorized the medical book.
It only increased his experience by 2 points; reading it further wouldn't increase it anymore.
If he wanted to increase his experience points, staying in the clinic was certainly important.
Thus, he was motivated to work.
Seeing him tidy up around the place with injuries and not shirk, Mr. Orio didn't say anything, but his gaze softened; he had heard about his stubborn nature before.
The clinic wasn't very big, just a shop facing the street. On the left inside the shop were several rows of medicine shelves with various bottles, jars, boxes, and other items scattered about.
In front of the medicine shelves was a consultation table where Mr. Orio usually saw patients, and on one side against the wall was a workbench with various tools on it.
On the right side of the shop, there was a cleaning station that could be separated by a curtain.
Behind the shop was a room split into two halves: one side was a storeroom and the other was his apothecary lab.
Mr. Orio, wary of him being a novice, hesitated to let him handle much, so there actually wasn't much menial work.
Seeing him wander around idly while appearing lazy.
Mr. Orio suddenly commanded, "Fetch 2 ounces of chilli pepper grain."
Ivan paused for a moment, there was no one else here, he was definitely giving the order to him.
Was this a trial or a test?
Chapter 3: Chapter 3 Responding to Difficulties
[Apothecary Skill: lv0(3/10)]
A flicker of confidence flashed through Ivan's eyes.
He first took a small glass dish, a slim measuring spoon, and a wooden spatula from the tool rack and went to the medicine shelf.
All the containers on the medicine shelf were labeled with the name of the medicine. He scanned through them, pausing briefly when he saw some of the more elegant script before moving on.
'Chilli pepper grain'
It was stored in an opaque black glass bottle of intermediate capacity, with the mouth only slightly narrower than the body of the bottle.
Ivan took a deep breath and held his breath, one hand pressing the bottle against the board, while the other gently pulled the cap ~ out.
He carefully scooped a spoonful and used the wooden spatula to level it, pouring it into the small glass dish, then scooped another spoonful.
After stuffing the cap back in, he only relaxed and slowly exhaled after moving away with the items. Even so, he could still smell the sharp scent, feeling a burning sensation in his nose.
This so-called 'chilli pepper grain' was a powder made from a type of chilli seed, over three hundred times hotter than regular chilli, with a potent smell that could even burn the nostrils if inhaled directly.
He had seen from a book that a potion made from chilli pepper grain could clean tools, which meant it was used for disinfection.
'Trying to trip me up? No chance.'
Ivan specifically weighed it on the scales on the tool rack before carefully handing it over to Old Orio.
A flicker of surprise flashed through Old Orio's eyes.
He instructed, "What are you doing for me, go mix it into chilli pepper water and clean the tools you just used."
Ivan followed his instructions meticulously, avoiding any issues.
Without giving him a break, Old Orio ordered him to fetch 'corydalis root' and 'stink bug tail scale.' Both were commonly used herbs, the former soaked in a glue solution, only to be picked with tweezers due to its slippery gelatinous nature; the latter had to be wrapped in damp paper after being taken out.
Luckily, they were all mentioned in the Fifty Commonly Used Herbs.
The book also recorded a special apothecary unit 'ounce,' with 1 ounce equal to 16 drams, and 1 dram equal to 30 grains.
An ounce was both a weight and a volume unit. An ounce-marked medicine's corresponding weight or volume could differ, typically around 31 grams or 28 milliliters, which was obviously complicated and easy for novices to mistake.
Ivan carefully checked and managed not to make any mistakes.
After giving him several directives and seeing that Old Orio couldn't stump him, he stopped giving random instructions and rarely bothered with him.
To this, Ivan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
For the rest of the time, he began the normal chores of a helper, lending a hand when instructed, otherwise standing by.
When Old Orio returned to the apothecary lab, Ivan silently followed.
"Go get 4 drams of green louse liquid."
"Okay."
"Wait, I'll go myself. You stay put."
Before he could leave the apothecary lab, Old Orio called out to him and quickly walked to the medicine shelf himself.
Ivan could only watch from a distance.
Being a helper was all about learning through observation, so how could he not watch closely?
[Apothecary Skill Experience Point +1]
[Apothecary Skill: lv0(4/10)]
After a while, Ivan watched Old Orio make four different potions in succession, greeting him with good news.
A slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Seeing this, Old Orio caught him grinning at his potions and said with a cool expression, "What are you still doing here, lad?"
"Huh?"
Ivan was clueless, thinking that since he came here to work, where else should he be?
Old Orio said, "No lunch provided at noon."
"Oh oh," Ivan dismissed it lightly, "then I'll come back after lunch."
He made a slight bow to Old Orio and turned to walk out of the medical clinic.
"Wait."
After taking just a few steps, Old Orio called out to him again and thoughtfully threw a book into his hands. The book was wrapped in beast hide, two fingers thick.
"Don't come over this afternoon, but remember to come back for a follow-up in three days."
Ivan was happy to see the book, but a bit reluctant about not coming in the afternoon, "I'm here to work off my debt, wouldn't it be bad not to come?"
"Get lost, don't get in the way here."
"Alright, I'll be here on time in three days for sure."
Ivan knew he couldn't force the issue, so he bid farewell and left.
Within a few steps from the clinic's entrance, he noticed a slim figure standing behind the wall, a brown-haired girl wearing a light green dress. When she saw him emerge, her gaze fell upon the books in his hand, staring intently for a second or two before looking at him.
She was a stranger to him, about his own age, with what appeared to be a hint of hostility in her eyes.
This left Ivan somewhat puzzled.
"Hmph!"
Noticing him looking her way, the girl instinctively straightened up, displaying her precociously prominent features even more. Without waiting for him to say anything, she gave a cold snort and stepped toward the clinic.
Upon reaching the entrance, her expression transformed into one of pitiable sweetness, and she walked in with practiced ease.
Ivan had just walked away when he overheard a conversation coming from behind, and he couldn't help but listen in.
"You've been fired by me."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Mr. Orio, I had issues at home before, which is why I slacked off on the tasks you assigned me. I'll work hard from now on, I'm begging you for one more chance, please."
"------"
Ivan heard everything clearly and realized he had a competitor who was not to be underestimated.
He shook his head and put the matter out of his mind.
A few minutes later, he arrived at another street — Interlock Street.
This was in the South City area, closer to the docks, the most commercially vibrant part of Flying Fish Port. The Cassia Swordsmanship Hall where he trained was located on Interlock Street, which also housed his father's Giant Shield Mercenary Group's headquarters.
He hadn't been to the Swordsmanship Hall for several days and now wanted to explain his situation.
He slipped through a side alley and entered the Swordsmanship Hall through the side door. What he saw was a large training ground.
"Hey, Ivan, you finally showed up."
Donnie, who had just finished training and was preparing to leave, waved hello upon seeing Ivan.
In the sunlight, his short and stocky figure resembled a bear with stumpy legs.
Just like Ivan, Donnie was one of the poor students in the hall, and the two had always had a good relationship.
"Did you get beaten up?"
Ivan rolled his eyes. "Accidentally injured."
"I get it," Donnie said, giving him a knowing look and leveraging himself off Ivan's shoulder, then added, "I'll tell you this, I've started learning the Gushing Breath Method, so from now on, please call me the knight's page, Donnie."
Ivan was 1.7 meters tall, and Donnie was a head shorter than him, making the gesture somewhat awkward.
Seeing him drenched in sweat, Ivan pushed him away with disgust and said, "Congratulations, Attendant Donnie."
"That sounds a bit odd to me, but I'll take your congratulations. You need to make up your mind soon, too," Donnie said.
"I've already decided."
"Have you come to a decision? That's great. In the future, we brothers will train the Gushing Breath Method together and make a name for ourselves in Flying Fish Port. But I can't talk anymore; I'm just too hungry," Donnie said, feeling the acidity in his stomach and hurriedly ending the conversation.
The Gushing Breath Method was one of the Breathing Methods taught at Cassia Swordsmanship Hall. Its name sounded grand and imposing, but in reality, it was only a foundational method.
Sorted by quality, the Knight Breathing Method was divided into elementary, intermediate, upper class, and the legendary supreme ranks. Without a doubt, the Gushing Breath Method was the lowest tier.
No matter the Breathing Method, its effect was to refine the Breath of Life within one's body.
Normally, one had to be at least 13 years old to start practicing; starting too early could damage one's potential and impair physical development.
The reason Donnie was famished was that training consumed a huge amount of energy and he urgently needed to replenish his nutrients and strength.
Like Ivan in his current injured state, his body certainly couldn't withstand the strain of Breath Method practice, so he would have to wait a few days.
'No wonder the previous occupant of this body was reluctant; the family's Goliath Frog Breathing Method was intermediate, two ranks above the Gushing Breath Method.'
Ivan sighed inwardly and continued walking into the interior of the Swordsmanship Hall.
It was lunchtime, and there weren't many people in the hall. He found Instructor Quincy and explained his situation, including his desire to learn a Breathing Method.
Seeing his injury, Instructor Quincy didn't scold him but instead told him to recover from his injury before returning.
He stayed in the Swordsmanship Hall for only a few minutes before returning to the streets of Interlock Street.
"Ivan!"
"Haha, we're so happy to see you."
Not far from the alleyway, two figures quickly intercepted him, adopting an overly familiar demeanor.
Seeing who it was, Ivan's face darkened. These were the swordsmen who had caused his predecessor's demise, his two 'good friends' from before.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
542 Power
stone 
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