Early the next morning.
Raine arrived at the clearing in the dense forest on the outskirts of Mill Town, where he often practiced Freezing Ray.
But today, he was here to test the second Spell-like Ability he had newly mastered—'Barbaric Charge Lv1'.
"Fifteen meters, huh?"
Raine stopped and examined the tree with the size of a bowl not far ahead.
He felt he had practiced this ability hundreds or even thousands of times; just a thought could immediately tell him whether he was within charging distance.
Meanwhile, as the idea of performing the Barbaric Charge stirred, his body naturally assumed the position at the designated spot—
'Feet apart, one behind the other, bending the knees, leaning forward slightly, left shoulder slightly dipped down, strong deltoids facing forward, left hand slightly raising the elbow.'
"Whoosh!"
The next moment, with a heavy push off his tiptoes, Raine sprinted rapidly, like a roaring boar, toward the target.
"Boom!!"
A gray shadow carved a straight path through the charge; Raine's left shoulder heavily slammed into the bowl-sized tree, instantly snapping it with a crunch.
"Hiss~"
Raine couldn't help but frown, rubbing his left shoulder with his right hand.
"This recoil is quite strong."
"Indeed, force is reciprocal."
"Looks like I'll need to craft a specialized Impact Iron Shoulder Guard."
Though Raine gained the passive bloodline ability 'Thick Hide Lv2' from the Wild Boar Warrior, the issue was Raine himself, as a human, didn't have the thick mane and skin layer of the Wild Boar People.
Therefore, crashing hard objects directly with muscles inevitably causes pain.
Considering that the target might have spikes or other sharp objects, clearly, a metal shoulder armor suitable for charging is still preferable.
The best would be shoulder armor with sharp rams to inflict powerful piercing damage upon impact.
"Hmm, the Barbaric Charge not only expends stamina but also drains slight spiritual power."
Raine carefully perceived the changes in his body, noticing a slight feeling of fatigue, both physically and mentally.
Recalling something, Raine glanced at the footprints he left on the ground—a distinct straight line.
"I remember the charge path of the Wild Boar Warrior seemed curved."
Raine then selected a tree thick enough for a person to wrap their arms around and began testing continuously.
Ten minutes later.
"Hoo! Hoo!"
After testing roughly ten times, Raine's left shoulder was now reddened; he was rubbing his shoulder continuously, breathing heavily.
Looking at the footprints on the ground, consisting of both curved and straight lines, a smirk appeared on Raine's face.
After testing, he concluded three things.
Firstly, with his current spiritual power and stamina, under the enhancement of the Wild Boar Warrior Bloodline, performing Barbaric Charge approximately allowed up to twelve times; considering other physical exertions during combat, this number wouldn't exceed six.
Factoring in using Freezing Ray, Raine thought about controlling the Barbaric Charge to three times in one battle at most.
Of course, this was temporary.
Secondly, while executing the Barbaric Charge, he could slightly adjust his steps to avoid obstacles, but roughly twenty to thirty degrees was the limit.
It wasn't possible to stand behind a rock and weave an S-shape to charge a target on the opposite side.
Nonetheless, this greatly enhanced the practicality of the Barbaric Charge ability.
Lastly, he could not alter the force application method of the Barbaric Charge for now; the reason is mainly because this skill originally comes from a Monster Skill.
Wild Boar Warriors are accustomed to using their shoulders or tusks to charge, so the inherited refined charge in his mind involved the shoulder or head, while for humans, the shoulder is evidently more suitable for exerting force.
With a shield, it could also sink the shoulder for forceful impact, though the power would be slightly reduced.
Of course, this might be due to him only just grasping the Barbaric Charge.
Perhaps, with increased familiarity, these three points could gradually be improved.
"But, right now, what I am charging at is a tree, not a demon; smaller aggressive humanoids or demons will fight back."
"If I execute a Barbaric Charge and the opponent promptly attacks my head, it becomes troublesome."
"The Wild Boar People achieve the effect of a Spiked Helmet because of their sharp tusks, steel needle-like mane, and the hardest skull."
Upon careful consideration, Raine realized that as a human, to apply the Barbaric Charge in combat, he needs to also enhance head protection besides acquiring a shoulder guard.
"The common Nose Guard Helmet has standard defense but exposes too much open space."
Initially, Raine thought of the Nose Guard Helmet popular among adventurers—iron exterior, soft leather lining, characterized by a two-finger-wide iron strip in the middle of the helmet.
The extending strip provided good protection for the bridge of the nose, hence the name Nose Guard Helmet.
However, in Raine's view, the exposed areas of the face were still too large.
Easily targeted by the enemy at close range.
"Pig Nose Helmet?" After pondering momentarily, Raine thought of another helmet.
"Hmm, strong defense!"
As the name implies, Pig Nose Helmet features a conical protrusion at the mouth area of the helmet, with honeycomb-like holes on one side for breathing.
However, Raine had glimpsed a modified version at the weapon shop, where the previous sharp protrusion transformed into a smoother arc surface.
The rest of the helmet was fully enclosed in iron, with a round top similar to the Nose Guard Helmet, lined with soft leather inside.
"Unfortunately, the Pig Nose Helmet still lacks Rams."
"If aiming for Rams, a Horned Helmet would be better?" Raine frowned slightly, contemplating.
"To maximize the power of Barbaric Charge, a Horned Helmet is naturally the best choice, though it is slightly weaker in defense."
...
Half an hour later.
Raine returned to Mill Town, entering the Weapon and Armor Shop for the first time.
Although the Blacksmith's Shop makes and sells some common weapons, if one wishes to purchase finely crafted weapons or intricate armor, a specialized Weapon and Armor Shop is undoubtedly a better option.
Raine hadn't shopped at the weapon store previously due to a lack of funds, not a lack of interest.
But this time was different.
In the Wild Boar People task, Raine had just acquired the 'huge fortune' of 50 silver coins.
Being originally a Farmer, this was undoubtedly a substantial sum for Raine.
Even a skilled Farmer, after a year of hard work, would earn about 20 silver coins; averaging less than 2 silver coins a month, and after deducting daily expenses, couldn't save even 1 silver coin.
Raine's earnings from this adventure task equated to two and a half years of a farmer's struggles without eating or drinking.