Blademaster Ascension

11- Deep into the Marsh

The next few days passed peacefully. With the archmage running around between the three localities, monster beasts had more or less become a bit more hesitant to attack unrestrained. Of course, small skirmishes and sneak attacks happened often, but compared to what the three towns had experienced previously, these were practically a stretching out exercise.

Rowan himself didn't go out much.  After running out of ingredients for the paralyzing potion, he tried to concoct a potion that raised the sensitivity of a creature's body to the extreme. This potion was usually used to detect miniscule hidden injuries inside muscles while training or after a battle.

However, there was also another way in which this potion could be used. When the sensitivity of a creature was so high, even the smallest pain could make one writhe in agony. Usually, hunters used it to deal with ferocious monsters they couldn't beat in a battle.
Problem was, the potion was too precious to be wasted like that unless one had a large supply of ingredients. So it was mostly used as a life-saving treasure. After three trials, Rowan managed to concoct a barely passable potion. In fact, he wasn't sure if it would actually work.

Then came the laxatives. As creative and vicious as he might be when it came to hunting monster beasts, Rowan was rather hesitant to brew this potion. He could already imagine a scenario where a poor monster was continuously throwing up from the wrong door and finally die from exhaustion. With a shudder, he muttered something about 'just to be on the safe side' and got to work.

In the end, Rowan had half a litre of paralyzing, sensitivity raiser and a very small amount of laxative potion. He also collected the liquids from the failed trials. If nothing else, he could just throw them at random monsters to see what happens.
After finishing his alchemy session, he divided each potion into five parts and put them in delicate vials that would explode if it hits a monster beast.

After that, Rowan decided to practice his sword skills. Currently, his only special technique was the curved force, a skill which required extremely delicate control of muscles and timing. Taking out the specially forged sword from his room, he went to the back of his home where he usually practiced. Under the sunlight, the unsheathed sword looked rather ordinary and non-descript. It was a meter in length including the 15 centimetres long metal handle. The blade was about two inches wide, rather thin for a sword around this part of the kingdom.

The disciple in charge of the rewards told him that the sword was extremely sturdy yet pilable. Apparently, the materials used to craft the sword was of better quality than steel and the the blacksmith who had forged the sword was quite famous. Another of its function was that at a moment of terrible danger, the wielder could utter a code word to make the sword explode. The guy explained it as curving a prepared spell formation inside the sword, just like the scroll which summoned a firestorm the other day. The catchphrase was "poof". Rowan himself knew almost nothing about how to make a sword. But he felt that what the guy said was true. It was truly a good sword, and the explosion ability made it practically magical.

Rowan's family had always specialized in the way of the sword, or that's what his parents told him ever since he was young. With all the strange things happening recently, he wouldn't bet a single coin on anything. But the diary itself seemed genuine enough with all the mysterious sword techniques recorded inside.

Swordsmanship itself was an art. One could practice it delicately, like the shifting of leaves caused by a passing breeze; or one could practice it elegantly, like the king of all creation swaggering with unstoppable momentum; or perhaps brutally, like the reaper of all living things, without any regard for style, only to draw blood and slaughter legions.

Starting with the standard posture for defence, he practiced arduously for a long time, shifting from from each posture after getting the hang of it with the new sword. Of course, he also made Chip record the whole practice to analyze his weaknesses later on. In addition, he practiced the curved force technique more than a hundred times to make sure that he could practice the move perfectly in an emergency.
At the end of the day, he went back inside his home for an early dinner. It was dark outside. Rowan had done all he could to prepare for tonight's adventure. He would delve much deeper into the marsh this time. As the night deepened, a shadowy figure sped out from Rowan's home, avoiding the town patrol and slipping outside.