Chapter 20: The Art of Courting Maidens

Two weeks had passed since Chris, Aldric, and Serena had found the poisonous flowers.

During those two weeks, the three of them continued traveling through the forest while Chris searched for stronger beasts that could help him and Azreon increase their levels. Unfortunately, stronger beasts were relatively rare, and when they did appear, they were often found in large groups like the Horned Serpents, making it far too dangerous to attack them without knowing exactly what they were dealing with.

Even so, Chris still managed to find plenty of beasts scattered throughout the vast forest, and Azreon would often hunt the weaker ones whenever they came across them. Those beasts only provided a small amount of experience, but it was still better than getting nothing.

After the battle with the Horned Serpents and two weeks of hunting through the forest, both Chris and Azreon had already reached Level 35.

It was good progress, but they were still a long way from Level 40.

During their journey, Chris had also grown much closer to Aldric and Serena. Aldric had taught him many valuable things, and Chris had noticeably improved his combat skills because of the old man’s advice.

Every afternoon before they settled down for the night, Aldric would give both Chris and Serena a training lesson, and Chris was genuinely grateful for the opportunity.

Throughout the years he had spent wandering the Wilds, Chris had learned how to survive and had honed his combat skills to a high level, but most of that improvement had come from fighting alone. He had learned through dangerous encounters and countless close calls, but that kind of experience could never completely compare to having a mentor with decades of experience who had participated in countless expeditions and wars.

Aldric’s guidance allowed him to notice weaknesses in his own fighting style that he had never realized existed.

Their relationship had improved greatly because of that, and the two of them had gradually started acting more like friends than a legendary general and a young Beast Tamer.

They would often bicker and throw jokes at each other while traveling, which constantly baffled Serena because she had never seen her grandfather behave like that with anyone before.

In her eyes, Aldric had always been a strict and disciplined warrior who rarely gave anyone much attention, not even her father, who was his own son and the current leader of their family.

Even her father would often be afraid of the old man and sometimes wouldn’t even dare to look directly into his eyes.

Yet now, Serena could barely recognize that version of her grandfather whenever he was talking with Chris.

Her relationship with Chris had also changed considerably.

Serena was full of curiosity about almost everything she encountered, and she would constantly ask questions about the beasts, plants, strange places they passed, and even Chris’s experiences in the Wilds. He never minded answering her and would patiently explain everything he knew, sometimes surprising even Aldric with how much knowledge he had gathered during his years of survival.

Chris could also tell that Serena had started looking at him differently.

There was admiration in her eyes, and sometimes something that looked suspiciously like affection.

He wasn’t stupid enough to misunderstand it. Serena was developing feelings for him.

Chris liked her as well, especially after seeing her personality and endurance throughout their journey. She was disciplined and strong-willed compared to most people of their generation, and despite the pain caused by the poison and the enormous expectations placed on her by her family, she continued moving forward without constantly complaining about her situation.

That was something Chris respected. However, he had no intention of developing their relationship any further.

They had only recently gotten to know each other, and it was far too early to think about something like that. More importantly, Chris had other things occupying his mind.

Over the past two weeks, he had finally realized and accepted the fact that he had become obsessed with getting stronger.

When he first entered the Wilds, his goal had been to prove everyone wrong and show the people who had called him useless that they had made a mistake. He had also carried feelings of revenge toward the people who had betrayed him, and there were many of them, including Becca, his former girlfriend.

But somewhere along the way, those feelings had started to fade.

The countless dangerous encounters and close calls with death had changed him. He was no longer interested in proving himself to other people. Instead, he wanted to prove something to himself.

He wanted to become strong enough that he would never again find himself completely helpless against an enemy.

Until he reached that point, Chris didn’t think he could truly open his heart to anyone. There would be plenty of time for everything else in the future, but for now, he needed to become stronger.

Coming back to the present, Chris was walking through the forest on a sunny morning alongside Aldric and Serena while Azreon flew through the trees in the distance, scouting for stronger monsters.

At the moment, however, the conversation had nothing to do with monsters.

It was about a woman. More specifically, it was about a woman Aldric had been trying to court for years.

Chris had initially been stunned when he learned that the legendary General Aldric was having trouble capturing a woman’s heart. Considering the old man’s reputation, accomplishments, and status, he had always assumed that women would be the ones trying to approach him.

Serena was even more shocked because she had never known that her grandfather was interested in anyone.

Yet over the past few days, Aldric had started talking about the woman repeatedly, explaining his attempts to court her and complaining about how little progress he had made.

Chris had lost count of how many times he had rolled his eyes. At this point, he was completely tired of hearing about it.

"Old man, will you stop whining about that woman every single day!? I didn’t want to say this to you out of respect, but listen to me carefully."

Chris stopped walking and turned toward Aldric, finally deciding to say exactly what he thought.

"Hearing you ramble on and on about that situation makes me dizzy! No wonder that woman is avoiding you. You are a wise and powerful warrior, and that is something I respect, but when it comes to women, you are completely hopeless!"

He stomped his foot against the ground in exasperation before continuing.

"Any woman in that situation would react the same way she did. Whenever you hear that woman’s name, your IQ drops to nearly zero. You can’t even form your words properly from what I can understand from the conversations you’ve told me about. You’re acting like a complete simp, and it’s only going to make her uncomfortable!"

Chris practically yelled the last few words.

"Huh?"

Aldric stared at him in stunned silence. It took several seconds before he finally managed to find his voice.

"Chris!? W-What are you saying!? What did I do wrong?"

"You did everything wrong! How can you be this stupid and clueless?"

"What do you mean!? I did everything exactly as explained in the book!"

Chris blinked.

"A book? What book?"

"I bought a book about courting women many years ago. It cost a fortune!"

Aldric reached into his storage space and pulled out an old book.

Chris stared at it in disbelief.

"There really is a book about this?"

He stepped closer and took it from Aldric. Serena, equally curious, moved beside him and looked over his shoulder.

The title immediately caught Chris’s attention.

*The Art of Courting Maidens*

Chris slowly opened the old book and started raeding.

*Dost thou suffer from vexation in the wooing of gentlewomen? Art thou desirous of bettering thine own person? If yea, then this tome was writ for thee alone.*

Chris turned the page and cintinued reading.

*First Degree: Of Sweet Words and Praise.*

*Fair damsels do dearly relish the bestowing of sweet praises. When thou dost approach a maiden, let thy first utterance be one of flattering discourse. Laud her comeliness, praise the brightness of her smile, and extol the sharpness of her wit.*

*Second Degree: Of Tokens and Bounties.*

*Maidens take great delight in receiving gifts. When thou leadest a lady abroad, strive to purchase for her choice tokens, for she shall adore it. Verily, what woman would not rejoice should a gentleman bestow upon her, by way of example, costly under-garments of silk and lace?*

*Third Degree: Of Boasting and Mighty Deeds.*

*Damsels admire men of prowess and capability. When thou discoursest with a lady - having already offered thy praises and tokens - fail not to sound thine own trumpet. Speak at length of thy majesty, and demonstrate how far thou dost surpass all other men in worth. Vaunt thy wealth and thy manifold skills that thou mayest capture her heart.*

*Fourth Degree: Of Treating Her After the Manner of a Man.*

*Women are not the equals of men, nor are they possessed of equal capability. Of this simple truth they are each aware, though they confess it not. Yet, a maiden will well-nigh swoon with delight shouldst thou treat her as near unto an equal, for it proveth unto her that thou dost regard her as a fellow.*

The longer Chris read, the darker his expression became.

By the time he reached the end, several black lines had formed across his forehead.

He slowly closed the book.

’If I read any more of this, I might permanently damage my intelligence.’

Serena looked equally horrified.

She slowly turned toward her grandfather.

"Grandfather... you actually followed this?"

Aldric nodded proudly.

"Of course. It was an expensive book."

Chris stared at him for a moment, and then he threw the book as far away as he could.

A powerful fireball immediately appeared in his hand.

Aldric’s eyes widened.

"Wait!"

Chris tossed the fireball.

*BOOOOOOM!*

The explosion completely swallowed the book.

When the flames disappeared, there wasn’t even a trace of ash left behind. The power of the attack had also destroyed everything within a twenty-meter radius, leaving a large crater in the ground.

"CHRIS!? MY BOOK!?"

Aldric rushed toward the crater and frantically searched through the destroyed ground, as if there was somehow a chance that the book had survived.

Chris walked over and smacked the back of Aldric’s head without holding back.

"Ouch! What was that for!?"

"You stupid old man! I wondered why you were so hopeless when it came to courting women, but now I understand. You found a stupid book and became stupid while reading it!"

"What do you mean a stupid book!? That book cost me a fortune!"

"Old man, can’t you see that book was probably hundreds or even thousands of years old!? How could you possibly use something like that to court women in modern times? Things that might have been normal back then aren’t necessarily normal now. I’m honestly impressed that the woman you love didn’t cut off contact with you a long time ago."

Aldric froze. He could tell that Chris’s words made sense, yet he still couldn’t understand exactly what he had done wrong.