I was an apprentice in Ferren

Chapter 100 Past
They had barely chatted a few words after getting back when her wild man was already busy bullying the child. Kailes gave Man Shi a helpless sidelong glance, but still gave DuPont a boost of Bull Power.

To DuPont's surprise, the system notification was not the normal +4 Strength, but +6.

In other words, if he were to unleash his berserk state now, he would have a full 24 points of strength!
It's important to know that a 600-pound ogre with brute strength would only have around 21 points of strength at most if it didn't have the talent to become a professional.

The limit for ordinary people is at most 18, and those who can reach 20 must be professionals with exceptional talent.

Judy, who was watching the commotion, carried over a wooden stake with her short legs. The two of them stood on either side of each other. As the halfling shouted "Start!", DuPont suddenly roared, his eyes instantly becoming bloodshot.

violent!

Seeing this, Man Shi grinned from ear to ear.

He had been in the academy for many years, and he never expected that his unintentional guidance to a disciple would lead to him becoming a barbarian through self-study.

Who would believe this?
Grasping the hand that was a size smaller than his, DuPont suddenly exerted force the instant they made contact, launching a surprise attack.

This sudden move caused the barbarian stone's hand to instantly deflect to the edge, a rare change that made both the halfling and the female elf instinctively hold their breath.

Although Man Shi was definitely not serious, Du Pond's arm was only the thickness of a normal human, so where did he get such strength?

However, when the outcome was just an inch away, the veins on the back of Man Shi's hand suddenly bulged, and his hand no longer tilted at all, but instead began to tilt to the left little by little.

DuPont's face was flushed red from exerting too much force. Seeing that he was about to lose, he shouted and flicked his wrist. The sudden change caused his arm to move two centimeters to the right, but the next moment he was pinned to the wooden stake.

"Hmph, kid, you actually dare to play wrist-flipping with me? You're still too green."

After the rampage ended, DuPont felt a bit of a toothache from hunger and post-outburst weakness. He looked at Judy and asked, "Is there anything to eat? I'm hungry."

"Yes, and there's tofu too."

The halfling went back to get the cold dishes. DuPont moved his slightly sore wrists but didn't pay much attention to them.

It would be a miracle if he could actually win an arm wrestling match against a high-ranking barbarian. However, he felt that his strength was no weaker than his opponent's, but he just couldn't beat him in a head-on contest of strength, which was really strange.

“My muscles are natural muscles that I’ve developed through eating meat, drinking milk, and exercising. They’re definitely different from the magical power you’ve acquired out of thin air.” Man Shi explained DuPont’s question in this way: “You don’t have that much power in normal times, so you don’t know how to use that power that you’ve acquired out of thin air. It’s only useful for fighting monsters or newbies, but it might leave you with openings when fighting real masters because you’re not familiar with it.”

"I see." DuPont understood: "So, if I want to make the best use of this sudden power, it would be best to practice frequently by casting buffing spells on myself?"

“That’s one way, but when using Berserk, people usually act on instinct. Actually, your power will definitely not be too bad if you use this method, but your Berserk time should only last for about 2 minutes. If you use it and still can’t kill your opponent, and you are weak when the Berserk ends, then you will definitely be waiting to die.” Kairus said, “Don’t listen to the barbarian’s bewitching words. As long as you can go far on the path of a mage, it is definitely more promising than being a barbarian.”

Upon hearing this, Man Shi, unusually, did not retaliate, but simply picked up some raw meat and started grilling it: "So what? When we went on adventures together, didn't Lavoisier invite me?"

"Yeah, didn't you complain countless times about not wanting to be a meat shield, saying things like barbarians are still human, and if you're constantly being schemed against by them, you'll die sooner or later, and if you have children, being a spellcaster is more promising, and so on?"

“Not just anyone can be a spellcaster. It’s better to be a barbarian than a useless apprentice wasting your life. I’ve killed plenty of spellcasters.” Seeing the two were about to argue again, DuPont changed the subject: “By the way, when you went on adventures with the Dean, was it you and Judy?”

“We were a six-person team back then, and Judy joined last after the incident.” Manstone said, counting on his fingers: “Lavoisier, me, my woman, Crane, Ed, and Tyrell. We were quite the big shot back then, and even Orcus’s death was related to us.”

DuPont nearly dropped the roast meat in his hand when he heard this. Man Shi was very pleased, but Kairus couldn't help but nudge Man Shi with her elbow again: "What's the point of talking about the past? The demon lord isn't so easy to kill. You'll be quiet when his minions are chasing you."

"We didn't kill Okus; he died at the hands of a true god. Let them go and challenge the gods." Man Shi muttered in dissatisfaction, but then Du Bang asked, "Um, what kind of professionals are Krannwo and the others?"

"Kranvo is a skilled warrior. He used to be a nobleman, but his family was cursed and fell into decline. However, he suddenly disappeared during one of our missions. We did manage to get in touch with him later, but he left the adventure team, probably because of that curse."

“Ed is a paladin. He hates evil as much as he hates people, but he is a good man. He was seriously injured after that mission, and was later knighted. Now he is a minor nobleman who works as a judge and lives on the other side of Baldur’s Gate.”

“Taya.” Man Shi hesitated when he mentioned the name. He glanced at Keles and, seeing that she didn’t say anything, continued, “Taya also belongs to the Morning Star family. She was a skilled ranger and Lavoisier’s lover. However, during that mission, she saw Lavoisier in danger and shielded him from a fatal spell, dying in the abyss.”

Cursed by the demon lord, we spent a lot of money and tried many methods, even using prayer spells, but we still couldn't resurrect her. Then Judy joined us and we searched for a while longer. Later, Ed's family had problems, and Cranvor seemed to be constantly disappearing and unreachable due to the curse. Finally, Lavoisier gave up the search, since everyone was well-off and retired. Many years have passed since then.

There was some silence at the scene when this past event was mentioned. It was Keles who spoke up: "The tribe's prophet said that Taiya's soul has returned to the goddess's kingdom. In any case, all of this is in the past. I wonder how Ed and Crannwo are doing now."

"What else can happen? Baldur's Gate is not as peaceful as Harua. But either they can't be contacted, or they can't let go of their family property. However, with their skills, they shouldn't be doing too badly."

"I never imagined you had such a glorious past." DuPont pondered this information, wondering if the Cranevo that Man Shi mentioned was the future Lord of the Dead he remembered. He was somewhat intrigued by this adventure: "How much money did you make on your adventure?"

"I'm not too sure about the specifics, but my money is managed by Lavoisier, who gives me a bonus of several thousand gold coins every year. Plus, I get several thousand gold coins as an unofficial mentor, which is a way to avoid being robbed."

Man Shi said this matter had scratched his head: "But according to Lavoisier, the money wasn't much, far less than what one would earn as the dean of this academy. The money earned from risking one's life and working oneself to the bone couldn't compare to the real power one would have in parliament. I really don't remember exactly how much it was."

"During the Abyss expedition, each person earned about 120,000 gold coins. However, we earned a lot from adventures, buying and repairing equipment, but we also spent a lot. Judy joined later and earned less, but Lavoisier paid him a pretty good salary, since Judy was reliable."

"If you don't take any risks and just stay in this small town, there's not much to spend money on. Basically, you occasionally contact the merchant guild to send some expensive ingredients to treat yourself, which isn't very interesting. The only thing you might consider keeping is some equipment you couldn't afford before, but you can't see it here, so it saves you money."

"By the way, you mentioned the Morning Star family earlier?" DuPont looked at the two of them. "I recall that Dr. Sophie from the academy also has the surname Morning Star. Does she know you too?"

“Yes, she used to be Lavoisier’s shadow, even giving up her druid path to become a mage for him. But when we went on adventures, her skills were average and she was young, so taking her along was practically a disservice to her.” Manshi seemed to remember something and looked at his partner: “I remember after Taiya died, you were going to send a member of your tribe to marry Lavoisier. After you left, we lost contact. What happened to her now?”

“It’s Sophie,” the druid said, glancing at Wildstone with some puzzlement. “They got married three years ago. Didn’t you know that?”

"Huh?" Both Wildstone and Judy exclaimed in surprise, and even DuPont coughed repeatedly from the ash, with only one voice echoing in his mind.

I'm afraid I can't stay in this academy anymore.

(End of this chapter)