Starting With A Trash Hand

Hymn of Flowers

[YNQUISH TONGUE]

RANK - BRONZE

TYPE - CONSUMABLE

[Once used, the target will be able to read, speak, write and understand Ynquish language up to level 6.]

I'm sure I know the 5 levels of fluency. What the hell is level 6? Is that the level of Miriam and Cambridge? I'll be like a living dictionary if that's true.

Without hesitation, I used the card. I felt a head-splitting pain. My nerves felt like they were inflamed. My sight vanished, followed by the rest of my senses. All I felt was pain, I can't even think about the pain or anything for that matter.

And after what felt like an eternity in hell, everything returned to normal, like what happened was just a lie. My senses came back and the pain was gone. I was drenched in sweat and my clothes felt uncomfortable. I put off viewing my other loot for after I shower.

I waved at the approaching Gles and signaled her to turn back. We were done for today. Before we exited the gate I converted the Salamandrake's Slime Essence.

"Hey, Gles. You did well today. Here." I handed her the bottle of essence. "Make sure you drink it when you're soaked in a bathtub. It'll work wonders."

"Really? What's inside?" She gazed curiously at the contents of the bottle.

"That's a secret."

"Muu." She pouted.

****

I took a quick shower after arriving home and sat down on my study.

I pulled up the four remaining cards.

[WHITE KNIGHT FULL ARMOR SET]

RANK - BRONZE

TYPE - ARMOR

[Ride out in style with shining white armor. Can negate bronze eight damage and below.]

It was not as tough as the original boss armor, but I get to have the whole set.

[WHITE KNIGHT'S STEED]

RANK - BRONZE

TYPE - MOUNT/PHYSICAL

[The perfect mount to save the princess with. The dragon flies faster than a plane? Don't worry, with this mount, you can easily chase after it.

When mounted, you can use Chivalric Charge for 120 MP. Charge at a target within 30 meters, the user is invincible during the charge.]

That's like Mach 0.80. Nearly the speed of sound. That could easily break my neck. Thankfully, it couldn't maneuver properly back at the battle with the knight, or I would have been dead.

And that skill is OP. I could probably break through walls when I charge at an enemy.

[COOL RED CAPE]

RANK - BRONZE

TYPE - ACCESSORY

[Look stunning as you make an epic pose with this flowing red cape. No winds? No worries, this cape can flap on its own. Can negate energy type attacks below bronze seven.]

Energy-type elements were elements without a physical form, like fire and lightning. Ice for example has both corporal and energy types. Corporal magic includes ice arrows and ice walls. Energy type includes frost breath and fog.

[FOURTH BLOOM - WINTER PLUM]

RANK - BRONZE

TYPE - PASSIVE/MARTIAL ART

[You are able to use SIX BLOOM SPEAR ARTS at proficient level.]

This card would be a good replacement for my current technique. The Five Blades Seeking Stars was a grade lower and was not compatible with my sword. This card though was a perfect match with my newly acquired spear. All I need to do is convert the spear into a card.

I replaced the old technique with the new card. After a few seconds, my vision blurred.

I stood upon a clearing filled with orchid blooms. In my hand was an overlord spear. Like my previous technique card, my body moved by itself. This time I focused on every twitch of my muscles. Petals flew with the breeze, my spear hand moved. With elegance, spun like a wheel, gathering the petals in the air. Several spins after, I slammed it down like a hammer. The First Bloom - Spring Orchid.

I stood atop a raft in the middle of a shallow lake. The sun was high and lotus blooms were floating around. Giant koi swam past under the raft. My spear moved. From a low sweep to a diagonal rise, like a lotus pod rising from the waters to meet the sun. The Second Bloom - Summer Lotus.

A garden with beautiful architecture and falling red leaves. I was standing in a pavilion, the chrysanthemums unfurled their beauty everywhere in the garden. A fall breeze blew lowering the temperature. The spear stabbed out and after reaching an extent, it spun like a wheel. Another stab and a wheel. In a continuous loop, as many as the petals of a chrysanthemum. The Third Bloom - Autumn Achillea

Whiteness ladened the soil, plum trees surrounded the stone platform. The plum blossoms fell like snow, dotting the white with purple. Snowflakes danced through the air. The weapon was swung and the spearhead created five arcs that formed the shape of a plum blossom. The Fourth Bloom - Winter Plum.

****

"I'd like to rent a room," I spoke to the clerk. It was eight in the evening and I decided to test out the new spear arts at a gym. I didn't have to worry about anyone overhearing my moans with the spear arts, unlike the time when I practiced with the whip.

"Would you like a cultivation chamber or a simulation room." The clerk asked with a professional smile.

"The simulation room, please. The bronze rank."

"The simulation room cost 100 gold coins per hour for the bronze rank."

I paid the clerk 550 gold and rented a room for five hours. The 50 gold was for a midnight meal to be delivered after four hours, in case I get hungry.

The simulation room was equipped with a new technology called the virtual training partner. It creates a haptic illusion capable of harming a human being.

Before I turned the simulation on, I first summoned my grimoire. I flipped over to the conversion page and placed the spear that I've been lugging all this time. I must have been stupid not to convert the spear back home. I positioned the spear over the page. A bright light enveloped the spear and vanished. A bronze card was formed over the magic circuit.

[SERENADE OF EDELWEISS]

RANK - BRONZE

TYPE - WEAPON/PHYSICAL

[Can deal peak bronze nine damage. Increases the rank of Six Bloom Spear Arts by one when equipped. Damage increases by one stage when mounted. Boosts the damage of charge-type skills.]

Another flower, cool. I immediately replaced the Ore-pig Fangs. It didn't matter as I had no techniques for those. While it doesn't cost anything to convert a card into another form, the conversion of the weapon cost me 1000 card points.

Equipping the spear, my vision blurred.

I found myself before a c*****e. A battlefield left by a bloody war, forgotten, dreadful. Corpses were strewn everywhere the eye could see. No carcass was complete. Blood flowed like streams.

In this godforsaken place, flowers bloomed. As red as blood, petals sharp like talons clawing against the heavens. A beauty in contrast to its surroundings.

My spear hand shook, spear lights rose from the ground. A circular swing of the weapon and the spear lights gathered around the spearhead. I sent it thrusting forwards. The spear lights spun like a drill around the tip. It was similar to what the knight previously used when he attacked me. This was The Fifth Bloom - Death Higanbana

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. With a sigh, I opened my eyes. I was back in the simulation room.

I recalled all five scenes of the art again and pulled out my spear. It weighed heavily on my hand. I took a stance, feet firm, back straight, eyes up front. Sturdy as a pine tree. I held the spear diagonally, tip pointed to the ground. I took a stride and twirled my weapon overhead.