Knight Commander (1)
“Compress, reinforce, synthesize.”
Back at the mansion, I mass-produced rose candies. No such thing as too many when they're for my own body.
Repeating the process had bumped my [Compress] skill from E to D rank.
“Running low on candies now, huh. Gotta tell Sibers to place an order.”
They're not overly stimulating—just sweetly flavorful enough to enjoy long-term.
“Five days left until the chief physician exam.”
The Gotberg family's knight order and the training hall healers were heading out to the northern forest for a monster subjugation.
The marquisate's northern border was ringed by towering walls. The empire's untamed north teemed with monsters, after all.
The Gotberg mansion sat right at the forefront—a mark of trust in how secure the territory truly was.
Those walls hadn't been breached once in the 200 years since the family founded them.
“No major monsters in the forest, either.”
Still, no room for complacency. With my current stats, even the weakest monster could flatten me in one hit.
Strength: 6
Stamina: 6
Mana: 1
MP: 14(UP)
Divine Power: 22
Faith: 100
“MP went up from casting spells.”
Practice makes perfect, after all. But with zero magic talent, my mana stat was hopelessly stagnant.
“Divine power will keep climbing, but I won't use it.”
Thanks to good bloodline, but even that topped out around 50. Growth slowed after that in my ten-years-from-now memories.
No talent meant stats and skills hit a wall eventually.
Mine were alchemy and medicine.
“Meaning MP has no cap.”
Alchemy drew from knowledge as its source, spells from MP as fuel. Medicine's mechanics? Unclear. Just straight-up Earth medicine as I knew it?
“Chasing knights during the exam with this strength and stamina? Not cutting it.”
Needed to build them up more. A proper trainer would make it way more efficient.
“And we've got just the talent in the family.”
Time to ask that knight tomorrow.
“Plus, for high scores on the exam, I need some flashy healing performance...”
My current arsenal: stamina-boosting rose candies and first aid skill.
“Not enough.”
Candy healing was sustained—no instant dramatic effect. First aid just halted worsening, no on-the-spot cure.
Healing spells, inefficient as they were, had visible flair that people here instantly understood.
Big difference.
“Need medicine with real impact. A medical skill like that would be perfect, but no guarantee it'd rank up in five days.”
And who knew what new skill it'd even be.
“Even betting on healing spells, these stats won't beat the training hall ace—and I don't wanna use 'em anyway.”
One path forward.
“Make medicine with impact.”
Alchemy seemed fastest.
“Let's see what reagents we've got...”
Mansion limits my stock. I opened the window.
The backyard yellow rose field was nearly bald now. My doing, of course. But with candy mountains piled up, I felt secure.
Swish... rustle. A breeze stirred the leaves.
Willows clustered near the annex swayed.
“Willow?”
Idea sparked. Dagger in hand, I dashed to the yard.
Sliced the base of the nearest willow, peeled bark gently.
“This is it.”
Willow bark eased pain. Not here, maybe, but an ancient wound-wrap staple on Earth.
“Extract beta-glucoside, compress and reinforce—should yield salicin.”
Painkiller, basically.
Back to my room, straight to experiments. Piled bark, sank MP evenly like sprinkling.
“Compress.”
Bark creaked, morphing to pill form.
Checked status.
Effect: Slightly reduces pain for 5 minutes.
Success. Now, magic circle.
Asella taught: more vertices boosted effect. Regular polygons only—uneven sides backfire. Circles best, infinite vertices.
Practice stage: square.
“Reinforce.”
Light flared. Circle spun slowly.
“...Taking forever?”
Unlike rose pills, cast time dragged. MP crawled the perimeter like a worm. Unoptimized game loading.
“This is gonna take a while.”
Good stuff demands investment, apparently.
Focus slipped—speed dropped more. Annoying.
Two hours of concentration later, first cast done.
Effect: Greatly reduces pain for 5 minutes.
“Wording changed?”
Better effect, then. Popped a pill, swallowed.
“Hm.”
Bit my finger.
“Oh.”
Dental partial anesthesia vibe. Just faint nerve tingle—no real pain.
“Nice. This'll have impact.”
Healing spells didn't kill pain. Regeneration often doubled it, risking shock death.
Real willow stuff wasn't this strong, sure.
“Alchemy's useful.”
Reinforce pushed beyond common sense.
Then, status alert.
Skill rank increased.
Synthesis E → D
Property Change E unlocked.
“Next alchemy skill tree branch opened.”
This is it. Feels rewarding.
Read property change description—another idea hit.
Drugs? The classic one men know well.
“Can't skip that.”
***
Next day, up before dawn, moved before sunrise.
That knight was diligent—miss this window, he'd be swamped.
Here—knight barracks for escorts.
Found the knight order barracks behind the mansion. Fitting for the marquis's direct unit: upscale lodging, modern training gear.
But small force. Gotberg focused on healer training; imperial court banned large private knight orders to curb rebellion.
Monster surges? Hire guild adventurers.
Impressive talent from such soil—pure luck.
Heading to the training yard, sentry saluted.
“Young master? What brings you at dawn?”
His face screamed annoyance. I'd never brought good news before.
“Wanna work out inside. Open up.”
“Work out? Do that at the mansion. Knights aren't active yet.”
“This is my mansion. Won't do anything stupid—promise.”
Stepped forward; he blocked with an arm.
“Hey now. Drunk all night again? Father's gonna hear.”
“Wasn't. Slept great. Oh, almost forgot.”
Pulled a stick candy from my pocket, unwrapped. Crunch—sugar rush.
“Ugh, driving me nuts.”
“Step aside, problem solved.”
“No...”
“What's this?”
Serious voice cut between us.
Here she is.
Familiar face, but far younger. Fiery red hair like burning passion. Eyes calm contrast. Sleek build, sweat drop from cheek—mid-jog?
“Good morning, Captain Tanya.”
“Young master.”
Tanya, Gotberg knight order captain, nodded curtly.
Just twenty, already sword expert prodigy. Soon scouted by imperial army, rising to swordmaster.
Both eyes intact—feels off.
Family massacre later: false accusations hit her too. Imperial knight by then, but resisted out of loyalty—maimed.
Hated injustice. Knew our innocence, probably.
Ten years on: hidden master aiding the hero.
Future bigshot—worth befriending.
“What brings you? Knights start at nine.”
“Sweat's best at dawn. Why else were you jogging pre-sunup?”
“...Fair point.”
She eyed me suspiciously.
“My stamina's trash lately. Might drop dead. Heading to monster subjugation in five days too.”
“Heard. Chief physician exam, right?”
“Train me a bit for it? Sword lessons too.”
“Sword?”
Her face chilled. Swords were sacred to her—don't trifle.
But push now, for my body.
“Won't blame you.”
“Bigger issue first.”
“Which is?”
Cold reply: “You're not physically ready. Run before gripping a sword.”
“Can't turn tail from monsters mid-exam.”
“Run. If you value your life.”
Running was exam hell. Words wouldn't convince.
Tempt her.
“Captain Tanya, you know my fiancée?”
“Yes, but why bring her up...?”
Warriors weak to politics. Spell it out.
“Say I become Third Princess Asella's chief physician, enter the palace. Special case.”
“Special how?”
“Nobles above count entering court service can bring two escort knights.”
Her eyes widened slightly.
Ambition burned for sword peaks—accepted imperial scout for growth.
“Naturally, family's best—you—should escort me. Thoughts?”
“...I have knight captain duties.”
“Captains need big-league experience, right? Who knows—fiancée might scout you. Spar with palace masters, hit swordmaster.”
Whispered provocatively: “If you're that confident in your sword.”
She mulled, then ordered the sentry.
“Fetch wooden swords.”