How come this arcanist is invincible?

Chapter 65 New Clues

In the cell, a faint light shone through the cracks in the wall.

Velanther took the crude wooden knife that Kane handed him.

The heavy shackles still bound his ankles, but they did not affect his steady grip on the knife in the slightest.

"The Susas scimitar technique can even be traced back to before the Drow invaded the continent from the Underdark."

Vilanser weighed the wooden sword in his hand, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground.

"But the skills were more complex and the barrier to entry was higher back then."

However, after a thousand years of improvements, the modern scimitar is now more suitable for use by ordinary professionals.

Kane nodded.

He knew the reason, of course—the elves had a low birth rate and nearly perished under the attack of the drow.

In order to survive and change the gender imbalance, they specifically introduced human blood.

After a thousand years of integration, the Susas Elven Court is now almost entirely populated by half-elves, apart from nobles and royalty.

He continued listening to Veranse's explanation.

"After the curved blade hits the target, it should be 'dragged' along the curve, with the center of gravity forward."

"Place your palm firmly against the hilt of the knife... Stand sideways."

As Kane listened, he mentally compared the assassin's dagger techniques to the movements.

The curved blade is longer and is primarily used for offense, allowing for greater use of the body's strength, mainly for slashing, dragging, and thrusting.

It can also hook away the opponent's weapons or limbs, creating an opportunity to attack;

The back of the blade is used for parrying.

As time passed, the light from the gaps overhead gradually disappeared.

That's all for the basic theories.

"Come back tomorrow," Veranser said, "and we'll practice the most basic chopping motion from the beginning."

Kane simply nodded:

"I'd like to try it out first, could you please correct me?"

Vilanser scoffed, his face full of disdain.

"Heh, kid, do you think Susas's scimitar is like the straight-through one-handed swords of you Nords?"

It took me a whole week to go from understanding the theory to actually doing it...

"Hey, why don't you listen to me, you brat!"

Kane ignored him and slowly moved forward, gripping the wooden sword.

His movements were slow, as if he were dissecting every single detail.

He moved forward, shifted to the side, and spun around, the wooden sword tracing a smooth arc as his body turned.

Every move is executed with precision, without the slightest deviation.

With his expertise in daggers, even after switching to a scimitar, his fundamental skills in "using leverage" and "blade control" remained.

Vilanser, who had been looking impatient, stood by with his arms crossed and watched coldly.

But as he looked, his gaze suddenly froze.

He watched as Kane gradually accelerated from being unfamiliar with the task, becoming more and more skilled, and eventually becoming no less proficient than the new recruits of Sussas.

Although he is far inferior to me, this person has only been learning for one day!

Is this guy a genius? Or did he already know this and is just making fun of me?

Velanther's face darkened, his gaze fixed on Kane's sword-wielding technique.

That cunning change of direction, that skillful use of leverage, carried a familiar, sinister edge!

Finally, he recognized him.

"This is the Dark Brotherhood's dagger technique... What's your relationship with them?"

Kane's movements suddenly stopped, his wooden sword halted in mid-air, and he looked up at Velanther.

After a few seconds of silence, he spoke, his voice flat.

"My first mentor may have been one of them."

"Then why don't you continue learning from him? The Dark Brotherhood also has scimitar techniques."

Kane shook his head and said only three words:

"He's dead."

They died by my sword.

He didn't say the second half of his sentence.

Velanther looked at Kane's city guard uniform and finally understood:

The person who specifically came to learn how to use a curved sword from me is definitely more than just a soldier.

However, his expression relaxed somewhat, and his entanglement with passing on the curved sword technique to the enemy dissipated considerably.

His attitude became noticeably more serious during the subsequent lessons.

A day passed, and Kane didn't leave his cell until it was time to go.

He instructed the soldiers to improve the temporary teacher's meals, and then headed home.

As he left, he looked at the prompts on the panel and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.

[The second-tier swordsman, Vilanser (lv21), is teaching you "Susas Curved Blade Technique," progress 30%]

You have successfully completed a high-intensity training session. Experience +80.

Kane's lips curled into a smile.

"Indeed, the techniques for controlling the blade of a scimitar and a dagger are similar."

"With the 'dagger expert' trait, one can learn similar skills by analogy."

"It seems that I will be able to master this combat skill in a few days."

He wasn't worried about the night watchman's job.

After successfully hunting down the "Carrion Crawler," which usually requires a Tier 2 to defeat, the entire Thirteenth Squad received a considerable amount of rewards.

Reed was in a pretty good mood these past few days and easily agreed to his request for a long leave.

……

As I walked home, my male neighbor happened to be standing at the door.

He was wearing a house apron and had a warm smile on his face.

"Would you like to try our special 'Rock Rock Cookies'?"

Kane's lips twitched slightly, recalling the hard texture, and he shook his head, saying:

"Thanks, but no need—"

"You're welcome!"

The male neighbor had already turned around and handed over a plate.

Kane hesitated for a moment, then took a piece and bit into it.

Click.

As expected, it was as hard as ever.

"How about it? Doesn't it have a distinct Nordic feel? It symbolizes our resilient history."

The male neighbor looked at him expectantly.

"Yes, it's not bad."

Kane's assessment was insincere.

The male neighbor suddenly coughed and lowered his voice:

"Since you work for the Night's Watch, could I ask you something? Someone in my guild said there are some rumors circulating in the city lately..."

"What rumor?"

"Everyone says that a lot of strange things have happened in the fourth district."

Some say they saw a giant, rotting flesh monster being carried away by the city guards on a cart, and others even claim to have seen ghouls.

Ghoul?

Kane's heart skipped a beat, and he pressed, "What exactly happened?"

The male neighbor had a strange expression.

He had hoped to get some inside information from his night watchman neighbor, but it turned out the other man didn't seem to know either.

But once he started talking, he continued:

"I heard that a sheriff saw someone eating a corpse on the street near the sewers in the south of the Fourth District in the middle of the night..."

But as they approached, the creature vanished, though a large chunk of its head had been bitten off.

Kane's thoughts raced.

Ghouls...another necromancer?

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

The Fourth District is part of the inner city, unlike the Sixth or Seventh Districts, which are no-man's-land.

Perhaps... it's related to the demon cult?

He kept this clue in mind and said to his male neighbor:

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind."

"If you have any inside information, remember to tell me!"

The male neighbor yelled as Kane closed the door.

Back in his room, Kane wrote the clues in Chinese characters on striped paper and pondered for a moment.

Ghoul...

If it is indeed related to the demon cult, could it be that a certain "demon child" obtained the relevant characteristics through the Stigmata Ritual?

But ghouls are not demons; they are undead creatures...

He paced a few steps, then suddenly remembered the "Abyss Worship Ritual" he had read at the demon cult's stronghold.

It seems to describe a creature...

"Ghoul."

He frowned.

Ghoul demons are a type of Tanari demon from the Abyss, not low-ranking demons like the Quassa, but true mid-ranking demons.

They can absorb the experiences and memories of victims by consuming the flesh and blood of the recently deceased.

What's more troublesome is that they also possess the ability to transform briefly and disguise themselves as others.

"If that ghoul is also a demon child of the Stigmata Ritual... it means he has the ability to both disguise himself and read memories."

Kane shook his head, sensing that things were getting complicated.

"Forget it, let things escalate for a while longer."

Since it appeared in an inner city area like the Fourth District, the higher-ups won't just sit idly by.

"What I need to do now is to wait and see, and wait for an opportunity to strike decisively."

As for the present situation—

Kane took the scimitar from his waist, gripped the hilt, and began practicing swinging the sword again.