Book 3: Chapter 12: Training

“Master, you’re back! I completed my official attendant registration!” Upon returning to the villa, Didi the little goblin had already returned. He excitedly showed Qin Lun an electronic card. “But it seems you haven’t confirmed the request on your Apostle Identity Plate yet.”

Qin Lun took out his identity plate somewhat confused. Sure enough, a message from the City Hall awaited, asking him to verify Didi’s status as his attendant. After confirming, Qin Lun thought for a moment. He took Didi’s green electronic identity card and transferred 5 City Points plus 1000 Shattered Crystal from his own identity plate.

“Next, I’ll be going to the Training Ground a lot. You’ll handle our living expenses!” Qin Lun tossed the green card to Didi. After a moment’s consideration, he added, “I have a task for you: Go into the city every day and gather the latest rumors!”

“Yes, Master. Anything else?” The little goblin blinked his eyes obediently.

“Stay safe. Take Ram with you. Hire him directly with Shattered Crystal to escort you,” Qin Lun instructed, looking slightly concerned. “Try not to reveal you’re an Apostle’s attendant. It’s safer if you just act like a distant relative of Ram. After all, you two are roughly the same size!”

“I’m from the Lu-Lu Tribe! He’s a Gnome! We don’t even have the same skin color!” Hearing his master’s irresponsible suggestion, Didi felt both amused and frustrated, grumbling silently inside.

But then the little guy reconsidered. The Lu-Lu Tribe were indeed a very weak group within the Shattered Starry Sky. Most Sapient Races, let alone Apostles, didn’t even recognize them. From his experiences over the past couple of days, maybe he really did look like some distant cousin of Ram’s to outsiders.

A genetically mutated Gnome boy? A self-mocking, yet unwilling expression flickered across the little goblin’s face.

The next day, Qin Lun didn’t wait for Didi to wake him. He left early in the morning for the Auction House to retrieve the items and equipment acquired in yesterday’s trade from the storage area.

The FN-500 was pure silver, just like its projection image suggested. It felt heavy and solid in hand. While the 25mm barrel gave it a slightly bulky look, its overall shape was elegantly classic – definitely a fine weapon.

With a practiced flick, Qin Lun spun the gun. His mind focused, and the FN-500 dissolved like liquid mercury, flowing and reshaping across his palm. It extended slowly, eventually forming a sharp, gleaming silver rapier.

Qin Lun frowned, though. The transformation had taken far too long. True, he might not have been perfectly focused, but even so, this speed meant he could never switch weapon modes effectively in the heat of battle. Apostles fought with blinding speed. This sluggish shape-shifting fundamentally prevented the FN-500 from alternating its two forms freely during combat. His original plan seemed too naive. Unless modified further to enhance its silicon-based lifeform intelligence, the weapon’s practicality was drastically reduced.

Despite his dissatisfaction with the FN-500, the Shahbakh Ring somehow made up for it. The ring itself was a deep purplish-red, enveloped in a faint crimson shimmer that pulsed with a tangible wave of elemental energy.

Wearing it, Qin Lun felt a pleasant warmth envelop his body. As described, the ring’s fire elemental energy likely formed a defensive fiery barrier around him.

Leaving the Auction House, Qin Lun headed back to the Training Ground. Though he’d paid for two weeks, he only had a fixed daily time slot. Being late meant cutting his own training time short.

The firearms instructor surprised Qin Lun – it was a Gnome. Actually, this only revealed Qin Lun’s lack of general knowledge. Within the Shattered Starry Sky, Gnome firearms culture was one of the most advanced among Sapient Races.

Gnome civilization was built on Magic Crystal technology. Their mastery over Magic Crystal usage approached perfection. The advanced technologies throughout Devil’s Horn, like the 3D projections – unlike Earth Federation’s science – were all rooted in Gnome Magic Crystal civilization. Almost all gun masters in Devil’s Horn were therefore Gnomes. Qin Lun decided not to use the gun proficiency scroll immediately. He wanted to first become familiar with various firearms through coaching, understand their construction principles, and learn proper shooting stances. Using the skill scroll after that, he believed, would help him master marksmanship more thoroughly.

Qin Lun’s swordsmanship instructor belonged to yet another Sapient Race he hadn’t encountered before – the Rakshasa Race. His first glimpse of this Rakshasi Woman instructor immediately caught Qin Lun’s eye; she was stunningly beautiful.

This Rakshasi swordsmanship instructor was an alluring, mature Rakshasi woman. Her skin was a smooth, sky-blue, like polished satin, and her heart-shaped face framed eyes that were a cold, ruthless red. Constant swordsmanship training maintained a perfectly proportioned figure – curvy and full-bodied, like a fresh, juicy peach.

Sadly, just a few brutal, merciless, hellish sessions under her instruction reshaped Qin Lun’s impression entirely, quickly demonizing her in his mind. He’d taken a few swordsmanship classes at Academy Eiflit Bogg, but compared to this Rakshasi’s training, those had been like child’s play.

Her approach to teaching swordsmanship held only one principle: push the regenerative ability of an Apostle’s Law Body to the absolute limit. Discipline formed the dutiful son – well, the blade forged the diligent student.

After barely surviving the first lesson, Qin Lun immediately used the Basic Swordplay Scroll. Otherwise, he seriously doubted his own fitness could endure another week.

His slight confidence boost from recent gains vanished completely faced with this cold Rakshasi instructor. It wasn’t just beaten down; it felt utterly extinguished.

After repeated probing, the impatient Rakshasi finally revealed her swordsmanship level was only medium-lower among swordsmen. If classified by Apostle combat professions, she might rank only as a Primary Profession swordsman.

This realization plunged Qin Lun’s spirits steeply downward. Though he hadn’t unlocked his combat profession system yet, he truly hadn’t expected a swordsman’s offensive power to be this intense. It seeded genuine doubt about sticking with the Summoner and ranged attacker path he’d vaguely considered.

The next two weeks proved incredibly productive for Qin Lun. He used all three skill scrolls. As hoped, his firearms skill rose to Proficient level. The sheer power of the Insta-Shoot skill delighted him.

His swordsmanship, meanwhile, reached Primary mastery. He could now actually hold his own against the Rakshasi instructor for a respectable period of time.

During this period, Qin Lun’s residence remained unusually calm. Both master and servant maintained a deliberately low profile, avoiding entanglements. Didi diligently gathered the street gossip circulating throughout Devil’s Horn, allowing both to deepen their understanding of the city.

As time slipped by, the Moonlit Elves quietly began their counter-attack against the other ruling races. Rumors trickled then surged through the city’s streets and alleys. The whispers claimed that the four Chaos Faction ruling races conspired to exclude the Moonlit Elves. Worse, they allegedly joined with the Night Elves in a plot to transform Devil’s Horn entirely into a Chaos city.

Amid these escalating rumors, the Moonlit Elves skillfully leveraged the psychology of numerous High Apostle teams. They underscored a key advantage: as Devil’s Horn’s only Lawful-Good faction, the Moonlit Elves were being victimized. They effectively hung the heavy label of factional oppression around the necks of the other four ruling races.

Unnoticed by many, Devil’s Horn’s public opinion gradually shifted in favor of the Moonlit Elves. Qin伦 viewed this news with personal satisfaction. He hailed from Moonlight Forest and maintained good ties with figures like Mafa. If the Moonlit Elves retained their Council seat, it might benefit him down the line.

During the second week of Qin Lun’s training, Adeline visited alone. The elven girl joyfully informed him that since the Moonlit Elf counter-offensive started, the Gnome Clan had altered its neutral stance. The two races were negotiating a renewed alliance.

Qin Lun wasn’t entirely surprised by this. The Elven Race’s elder council surely harbored many shrewd veterans. Their initial blindness to the Night Elves’ involvement likely stemmed merely from being too immersed in the conflict.

If one thing truly dissatisfied Qin Lun during this calm training period, it was discovering that reviving big black bear Ben cost him a staggering 50 Soul Lifespan points upon reactivating the Mazer Summoning Art.

Breaking instantly into a cold sweat, Qin Lun suddenly remembered. Back when converting the Golden Summoning Scroll into a permanent skill, he seemed to owe the Shattered Starry Sky for a Law Fusion Crystal – with non-payment penalty being a 50 Soul Lifespan point deduction.

Perhaps when Ben died and the Mazer Summoning Art turned grey (locked/unusable), the Shattered Starry Sky deferred collecting the debt upon his return. Only when the Intermediate Summoning Art became usable again did it duly deduct the owed 50 Soul Lifespan points.

Luckily, it was just Soul Lifespan consumed, not his Soul Life Limit permanently decreased! That kind of loss would have warranted actual tears. Still, this deduction left Qin Lun with only 50 Soul Lifespan points remaining. Adding to his troubles, his funds were insufficient to buy more Soul Power Crystals from the market. His survival now literally depended on successfully completing the next Otherworld Mission…

Fail the next Otherworld Mission, and he could very well die.

Brimming with this acute sense of crisis, Qin Lun finally, after two weeks, felt the abrupt pressure of spatial displacement emanating from the Shattered Starry Sky.

He didn’t delay this time. He transferred nearly all his remaining City Points to Didi. Then he rested solidly for an entire day, entering Devil’s Horn’s Teleportation Hall feeling thoroughly refreshed and alert.

The Teleportation Hall was a massive, oval-shaped structure resembling a honeycomb. Inside, countless sealed chambers lined its expansive interior. Shielded by dense networks of Protection Magical Arrays around their walls, each chamber boasted monitoring devices directed outward, not inward. Apostles inside the chamber could see outwards, but observers outside could not see the occupant within. Naturally, there was an emergency call button inside, should an Apostle return grievously injured.

Qin Lun paid 200 Shattered Crystal. He organized his Storage Space efficiently. He then assumed a meditative seated position right in the chamber’s center, waiting for the dimensional rift to open.

Suddenly, a small whirlwind spun violently within the chamber. Above Qin Lun’s head, a dark, vertical slit flashed open like a malevolent pupil. It acted like a powerful vacuum hose, effortlessly sucking him up as if he were nothing more than a frail leaf.