Leo slowly opened his eyes, looking around in confusion finding that he was in his room, memories of what happened before he passed out returning to him
Which caused him to let out a wry smile, the sound of breathing caught his attention causing him to glance to the side
Finding that Diana was next to him, fast sleep. Slowly getting up, he found that his bed was filled with Rebecca and the others, all surrounding him fast asleep
' what did I miss ' thought Leo as he jumped out of bed, landing on the floor silently as there was no way he could get up without disturbing the girls
He opened the door and left the room, finding that the suns were still up which made him think he wasn't out long. He went to the kitchen, looking for something to eat, as he felt like he was starving
He found some left overs and started warming them up. Only for the sound of footsteps to catch his attention
Turning around the found that Hilda had entered the kitchen and was staring at him with her eyes wide
" hi? " he said with a somewhat awkward smile, not knowing the meaning behind her gaze. He was met with silence as Hilda walked towards him and slapped him
Leo felt the stinging pain on his face and turned his head to glance at Hilda in confusion. Only for this confusion to grow as she suddenly hugged him
" do you know how worried they were, you've been unconscious for 6 days. If you weren't breathing steadily, I don't know what Rebecca and the others would have done " said Hilda, her tone laced with blame and worry
Leo raised his head in surprise after he heard her words
" I've been what? "
" when we came back from the village, we found you on the ground, blood streaming from your nose and eyes. We didn't know what to do, we were panicking....ahem, the girls were panicking " Hilda changed her words when she noticed Leo's strange gaze, turning her head to the side unnaturally
" after finding that you didn't wake up, we discussed what to do. But Anna found that the blood from your nose and eyes eventually stopped flowing, so they cleaned you up and put you in bed " said Hilda
" It's just that you stayed asleep for the rest of the day. Which then turned to 2 days and eventually 6. They never left your side, even to eat. I'm sure if I wasn't here, they wouldn't have "
Hearing her words, Leo fell silent as he pictured their expressions and their behavior, feeling warm but also cursed himself for putting them through it, noting how careless his actions were
" I'm sorry for worrying you " said Leo, his expression serious as he looked at Hilda " and also thank you, for what you did. I'm glad you're here " the moment his words dropped, Leo suddenly hugged her, feeling her body tense before it relaxed as she hugged him back before stepping back
" I- what happened when we left " asked Hilda ultimately deciding to change the subject
" well....I didn't know how to refill my ki seed. So i tried to actively absorb magical energy " said Leo as he took his food and started eating
" but I found that the magical energy was mottled and impure, so I had the bright idea to try and strip the impurities from it. I actually succeeded. It's just when i tried to do it again, I passed out. Then you guys found me "
After not hearing a reply, he raised his head and found that Hilda was staring at him in shock, her mouth opening and closing, not saying a word.
Before he could ask her what was wrong, the sound of Rebecca and the others bellowing his name while running towards this direction could be heard
Leo got up and walked towards the door, only to be tackled to the ground
' this is familiar ' thought Leo as he felt the tears wetting his shirt
Leo spent the next hour consoling each of the girls, finding that their dependence on him was much deeper than he once expected
It's only after he was finished and led the girls to the dining area that he got to continue his conversation with Hilda, the girls sitting around them eating their lunch while listening to Leo's and Hildas conversation
" why the shocked expression? "
" do you know what you've done? " asked Hilda speechless. She found that Leo was sometimes brilliant and other times it was like he knew nothing
" if I did, I wouldn't be asking you "
" for centuries, people have relied on passive recovery. Your ki seed can recover 1 unit of magical energy an hour " explained Hilda before she continued
" it's only in the last century that people have created skills that speed up the rate of recovery. But no one, to my knowledge has ever tried to actively absorb magical energy. At least and succeed "
Hearing her words, Leo nodded his head thoughtfully as he understood why she was so shocked and he instantly understood why he could succeed. His high intelligence attribute gave him high mental energy which also enhanced his senses and memory
Seeing his expression, Hilda knew that she had understood what she meant and heaved a sigh of relief
" so don't do that anymore. I'll teach you a skill that can double the rate of recovery "
" I can't do that.... " said Leo after thinking for a while. His words caused the dining area to fall silent as the girls all looked at him angrily
" don't look at me like that, I found that the process of purifying magical energy increased my mental energy. So while you girls might not reach the limit, it can still increase your mental energy " explained Leo, smiling as he saw their expressions calming as they listened to his words
" with discretion of course, stop when you reach your limit and try again the next day "
***
A few hours later, Leo looked at the skills the barons guards delivered to the barracks while he was unconscious. Now that he thought about it, the Baron didn't keep his word about merging the 2 groups, not that he wanted to but he also took note of this fact
Shaking away the thoughts, he read through the skills and found that they were much better quality than any of the ones he had, except for the army swordmanship
For example this elementary Archery skill, at level 1, someone will be able to have 100% accuracy within 50 meters
This was one level higher than the one he upgraded. Which made him pay more attention to the back grounds of these nobles. These were the skills the son of a Count could get his hands on. Not to mention an Earl or even a Duke
What kept him calm were the criteria need to learn this skills. For the same Archery skill, you needed a Strength and Physique attribute of 8 to learn, which explains the state of the guards
What caught his attention was a skill called stone fist. The skill required you to punch stones repeatedly until the skin on your knuckles broke.
Which with the Physique of an Apprentice Knight would take several hours a day. Then dip your hands in a medicinal soup. Which refine the skin on the knuckles
When practiced to a high enough level, the bones in the hands are also refined. To a quality comparable to stone
The effect of the skill was nonsense as human bone was comparable to stainless steel in his previous life. Not to mention this one where people can get much stronger
What he cherished was the potential of the skill. What if he could upgrade it to the point where the bones in his hands were comparable to diamond. What if this skill could be used for all his bones
He couldn't imagine how powerful he would be at that point. Calming his mind, he turned his attention back to the Archery skill
He discovered the way UP upgrade skills. It takes the best parts of the source skill, removes the strenuous requirements and then UP points are use to make up for the deficits and to balance the skill
For example, the Elementary Archery he taught the girls, it has lower strength requirements because the eyes and coordination are improved upon learning the skill
Which means, you can see farther naturally. Not to mention that as you improve in the skill. The strength and physique growth are larger
He plans to do something similar to this skill, though he won't increase the attribute growth, he'll just add the effect of increase eye sight and coordination which will make training easier
But he plans to take the increased distance and attribute growth from this skill and add to the one he has now. He doesn't plan to strengthen anyone who could be a potential enemy