Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 79 Aftermath
There is no love or hate without a reason, nor does a pie fall from the sky. Such a generous gift from Bert could not possibly be because he has a keen eye for talent and sees that I have a bright future, so he befriended me in advance, right?
There might be some optimism involved, but it mainly illustrates one thing: what Bert received from him was far more than just the belt.

Thinking back to some of the information William had told him, it seemed that the money he had saved for Bert from inviting Master Habasser to personally handle the case must have been astronomical, otherwise he wouldn't be so happy.

The person accepted the gift with a clear conscience, carefully examining the belt. It was dark brown in color, with a simple design, about two inches wide, and had a square-shaped raised pattern on the surface. The buckle was golden in color, and the overall impression was one of ruggedness and grandeur.

Upon further caressing and kneading, the texture felt rough yet soft to the touch, and resilient yet elastic when slightly bent and stretched.

After playing with it for a while, I was overjoyed and tied the belt around my waist. I adjusted the tightness, closed the buckle, and suddenly felt a strange power spread from my waist and abdomen throughout my body.

The clear and obvious changes within his body prompted Zhang Yuan to quickly open his attribute panel, where the Strength row had directly changed to:
Strength 19 (Hill Giant Strength Belt +3)

My goodness!

Although he already understood the function of this belt, the three-point strength boost still made him overjoyed.

With the blessing of this item, Zhang Yuan now has 19 points of strength. What does that mean?
If 16 points of strength could be called a strongman, 17 points would be like a champion weightlifter, and 18 points would be the limit for an ordinary person (note, not a mortal).

Power that exceeds this limit is beyond the reach of ordinary people. No matter how naturally strong one is, unless one possesses a special bloodline, such as a dragon vein, a divine descendant, or a giant's bloodline, one can only cross this boundary by embarking on a professional path and undergoing relentless training and self-breakthrough.

Zhang Yuan, whose strength was originally only 15 points, improved his strength attribute by one point after a month of hard training, which was beyond Ska's expectations at the time.

This improvement became increasingly slow afterward, and even today Zhang Yuan's strength has only remained at the level of 16 points, without any significant breakthrough.

Well, now that's great, a belt has elevated him to that level.

What was once mediocre strength has now become his greatest strength. Apart from agility, he has almost no weaknesses in terms of physical attributes.

Then, all that's left is the accumulation of skills and experience!

With a clang, Zhang Yuan drew his longsword and gripped it tightly in his hand. His fingers pressed and moved erratically on the hilt, mirroring his ever-changing emotions. He would grit his teeth at times, and at others, he would tighten his grip on the sword. His lowered head made it impossible for anyone to read any information from his expression and eyes.

Sheathing his sword and leaving, his steps and silhouette clearly carried an air of arrogance, as if he were swaying his tail.

Before rushing back to his base, Zhang Yuan first went to a post station, spent a little money to ask the scribe next to him for paper and pen, and wrote a letter to Old Man Terry of the Friendly Arm, informing him that he was too busy with his own affairs to go to the Friendly Arm to assist with his summon research in the near future.

As for whether Bantley will accept it or not, or whether he will get angry, that's none of Zhang Yuan's business. It's not necessarily true that the other party would open a portal to come and give him a hard time just because of this.

After a slight hesitation, Zhang Yuan wrote another letter.

This is an apology letter to the archmage Tyrandeur, who is far away in Highhold.

When I first visited Tyrande, I planned to return to Baldur's Gate and visit again, but plans never keep up with changes.

So much has already happened, and the agreement with Nancy and Old Man Bentley must be dealt with first, so the proposal to Tyrantir has to be postponed again.

After finishing writing, he handed both letters to the postman, paid him, and left. Of course, this raises the question: how exactly did these postmen manage to deliver these letters to their respective recipients?

Zhang was not worried about this at all!
As you can see, as long as someone sends you a letter, no matter where you are, whether in a crowded, bustling metropolis or a desolate, deserted wilderness;
Whether in the heavily guarded and trap-filled mage tower, or in the dark, damp, and perilous dungeon;
You don't need to worry at all, because the conscientious postmen will always appear in front of you somehow, hand you a letter that often represents the beginning of a big headache, and then mysteriously disappear.

You don't need to worry about the postmen's safety at all, nor do you need to wonder how these guys found you in the middle of nowhere.

Zhang was 100% certain that these postmen were actually a group of Planeswalkers in disguise.

As for why? Well, what's wrong with a Planeswalker doing a side job to earn extra money when he's bored and has nothing better to do?
Back at his post, Zhang Yuan no longer needed to suppress his urge to try. He went to the training ground, drew his longsword, and slashed at the training puppets.

The wind whips up the fire, and the sword flashes like a dragon!
As the Blazing Sword of Teebu was wielded, the flames that ignited on its blade danced with the wind and the clear whistling, as if cheering for this unprecedented power.

Like a crimson rainbow streaking across the puppet before him, the familiar reaction force was greatly reduced this time. The longsword, which should have been stuck in the puppet, overcame the formidable resistance and severed it completely.

Cut it off!

The upper body of the fallen puppet crashed heavily to the ground, with a few flames burning on the broken surface, and it didn't feel very rough.

Zhang Yuan brandished his sword a few times, then contentedly sheathed it.

The increase in strength has an immediate impact on one's ability. However, the sudden increase in strength also requires practice to master. The full-force slash just now had already made him lose his balance and couldn't handle it.

But thinking about tomorrow's training match against that old woman Nancy, hmph~ I'll teach you a lesson.

The next morning, after warming up, the person who had been waiting for Nancy to arrive finally got to see her.

Using the pretext of a sudden enlightenment, Zhang Yuan almost impatiently challenged Nancy to a duel.

Although she was surprised that this newbie had changed his previous evasive style and actually dared to challenge her, she also wanted to use this opportunity to hone his skills, which would save her the trouble of arguing with him.

Nancy readily agreed, and the two then took out their training swords and began to spar. Upon first contact, Nancy did not notice any difference between her opponent and the last time. Not only had the opponent not improved, but the strength of the sword swings had also decreased.

"Why are you so weak? Did you skip breakfast today? Or did you do too much work last night?" The old woman grinned maliciously, her hands attacking relentlessly while she spewed venom from her mouth.

"But I can understand. For a young man like you who doesn't have a girlfriend, the ways to pass the long nights are indeed very limited."

What? Did a single dog eat your rice? You old lady, aren't you unwanted too?

Zhang Yuan, somewhat embarrassed and angry at being teased in a sensitive spot, had originally planned to hold back and unleash his full power to end the fight decisively. But now, he couldn't afford to worry about that anymore.

Let's fuck her!

(End of this chapter)