CHAPTER 186: SHERFILIA'S MASTER

After finishing the meal, it naturally came time for sparring practice.

Just like before, Lin Mo and Sherfilia went to that small courtyard. Sherfilia slightly bowed and made a gesture of invitation.

Lin Mo immediately applied the "Fortitude" and "Lightness" status effects to himself, then took the initiative to attack.

Compared to their last sparring session, Lin Mo's strength had improved significantly, something Sherfilia could clearly feel. However, for her, it still didn't pose any real pressure.

But for some reason, as they fought, her thoughts began to drift elsewhere.

Especially during occasional physical contact with Lin Mo, she would suddenly recall the words her mother had said to her that morning, causing her movements to become sluggish and even starting to space out.

"What's wrong?"

Lin Mo obviously noticed this and thought she might be feeling unwell, so he stopped his movements and asked with concern.

"It's nothing..."

Sherfilia shook her head: "Sorry."

She didn't offer further explanation and immediately refocused on the sparring session before them.

Sherfilia's skills were as sharp as ever. Once she got serious, Lin Mo immediately found himself at a disadvantage.

But this kind of pressure was exactly what he needed. Under Sherfilia's relentless offensive rhythm, Lin Mo tried his best to keep up with her movements to defend, and even looked for opportunities to counterattack.

Of course, this was extremely difficult. Most of the time, he was still getting beaten up one-sidedly.

But because of this, the proficiency of the 【Fortitude】 skill was steadily increasing.

Similarly steadily increasing was the 【Lightness】 skill, which was already close to reaching its maximum level.

Most of the afternoon sparring time quickly passed. When the sun began to set in the west, Lin Mo finally stopped moving, completely out of breath, his body long soaked with sweat.

Sherfilia didn't look particularly relaxed either. Although as the stronger party, this couldn't really be considered a real battle for her, and her consumption was relatively smaller, Sherfilia was after all an assassin by profession, not a monster like Lin Mo. Her constitution attribute wasn't very high, so her endurance wouldn't be particularly outstanding either.

"Thank you."

After catching his breath slightly, Lin Mo expressed his gratitude very sincerely.

Without Sherfilia, he wouldn't have found a suitable person to help him train.

Sherfilia frowned slightly, seeming like she was about to say something.

Lin Mo could completely imagine what she wanted to say, so he spoke first: "I know, no need to be polite with you, but I'll still say this... Your thoughts are your thoughts, and I have my own thoughts too. After all, you're Finnie's maid, not mine, so since you've helped me, I naturally have to thank you."

Sherfilia's lips parted several times, wanting to speak but stopping, ultimately holding back some words and not saying them out loud.

Now... wasn't the right time yet.

But some things needed to be made clear.

Otherwise, her future "master" might not even understand the situation.

Covered in sweat, Lin Mo naturally needed to take a bath before dinner.

But he wouldn't be bathing at the City Lord's Mansion, instead returning directly to his own manor.

Sherfilia and Ellie followed him back as well.

Of course, they didn't forget to stop by the Adventurers' Association on the way to pick up Lena after work.

After returning home, Lena hurried to the courtyard to tend to the plants she was growing, and Ellie accompanied her. The two young sisters chatted in the courtyard. ṙ𝘢ΝȪ฿Ê𝒮

Lin Mo returned to his room, took off his clothes, and entered the bathroom.

Such a high-specification manor naturally had special magical energy devices that could provide hot water directly from showerheads, much like modern times.

Warm water sprinkled down from above, washing over his body. Although he had already simply cleaned himself using 【Cleansing Flow】 earlier, that feeling was still different from taking a real bath.

Lin Mo let out a long sigh, enjoying the water's flow while opening his status panel. He didn't rush to look at the information that had briefly appeared earlier, but first checked the proficiency of the Fortitude skill.

【Fortitude】Lv5(129/180)

Compared to skills that could directly gain proficiency by killing monsters, skills like 【Fortitude】 were quite difficult for Lin Mo to train.

It had been quite some time since he obtained this skill, and until now, not to mention evolution, it hadn't even reached level 6.

And as an Excellent-grade skill, it needed to reach level 7 to be maxed out.

A long road lay ahead...

But where there was sorrow, there was also joy. While 【Fortitude】 as an Excellent-grade skill was naturally difficult to practice, the progress of the similar 【Lightness】 skill was much faster. On one hand, the training method for this skill itself was simpler than 【Fortitude】, and on the other hand, it was only a Common-grade skill after all.

So during the afternoon sparring, it had successfully reached its maximum level.

"Skill 【Lightness】Lv4（100/100）has leveled up!"

"Current skill 【Lightness】Lv5（Max）"

"Gained attribute points Agility+2!"

"Automatically evolved into new skill——Swiftness!"

"Comprehended skill 【Swiftness】! Gained attribute points Agility+2!"

The skill reaching max level, plus the new skill obtained, together provided Lin Mo with a total of 4 Agility attribute points.

Thus, Lin Mo's base Agility attribute had reached 47 points.

The upgraded version of the 【Lightness】 skill had an equally concise name, called 【Swiftness】.

【Swiftness】：Consumes a certain amount of Qi and Blood, you will have lighter footsteps, movement speed +10%, and can consume additional Qi and Blood to gain an extra 20% instantaneous burst speed!

In the first half of its function and description, 【Swiftness】 was almost no different from 【Lightness】, just with enhanced values, increasing from 5% to 10%.

But it added a new function, and this function could be said to be quite excellent.

Consuming Qi and Blood to gain 20% instantaneous burst speed—just hearing the description showed how useful this skill could be.

Although it was only instantaneous, according to the description, it probably meant literally just for a moment.

But in intense battles, sudden speed increases themselves were changes that enemies found difficult to predict. If the opponent didn't know about this ability, then this instantaneous burst speed could likely catch them completely off guard.

Of course, Lin Mo didn't have only this one similar method.

Previous Flash, including the assassin's Epic-level skill 【Shadow Split】's function of swapping positions with clones, all served similar purposes and were even more outrageous than this 20% instantaneous speed.

But at the same time, their consumption was much higher.

No one ever complained about having too many methods. Overall, Lin Mo was quite satisfied with the 【Swiftness】 skill.

Besides the skill reaching max level and evolution, the most important thing was of course professional advancement.

The exhilarating feeling of the Priest profession advancing five times consecutively was something Lin Mo still remembered clearly.

And now, with the 【Lightness】 skill reaching max level, he had unlocked the Ranger profession.

"Promotion conditions met, obtained profession Ranger (lv1)"

"Gained profession attribute bonuses: Strength+2, Spirit+1, Agility+3!"

"Gained profession skill——Ranger's Heart!"

Somewhat surprisingly to Lin Mo, the Ranger profession's attribute bonuses actually included 1 point of Spirit, perhaps because rangers needed aiming, which tested spiritual concentration.

【Ranger's Heart】：Bows and crossbows hunt everything, arrows tear through flesh, you are a natural shooter, beyond ten steps the arrow is fast, within ten steps the arrow is both accurate and fast!

Skill effect: Ranged physical attack damage increased by 10%

Although Ranger's Heart's description had some questionable points, compared to that, Lin Mo was more concerned about the skill's specific effect.

Ranged physical attack damage increased...

Lin Mo immediately thought of a question: did "Sword Energy" count as ranged physical attack?

Logically, it should count, right!

If that were the case, then Ranger's Heart would be useful for him.

After all, although Lin Mo had obtained the Ranger profession, he didn't plan to use weapons like bows. But if Ranger's Heart's ranged physical attacks included Sword Energy, then some of his Warrior profession skills could also benefit from the effect.

He could test it out later—practice brings true knowledge.

Next, just like the previous Priest profession, the Ranger profession also experienced a wave of consecutive level-ups immediately after being obtained.

"Promotion conditions met, profession Ranger (lv1) promoted – current profession Ranger (lv2)"

"Gained profession attribute bonuses: Strength+1, Agility+2!"

...

"Promotion conditions met, profession Ranger (lv3) promoted – current profession Ranger (lv4)"

"Gained profession attribute bonuses: Strength+1, Spirit+1, Agility+3!"

Awesome!

However, Lin Mo's Agility attribute wasn't as high as his Mana after all, and his Assassin profession was only at level 4 currently, so the Ranger profession could only reach level 4.

But this was enough—the feeling of a profession leveling up several times at once was just too satisfying.

Unfortunately, this kind of thing probably wouldn't happen again later.

After all, there were only those 6 basic professions, and Lin Mo had already obtained all of them.

As for later... he didn't know if there would be opportunities for job changes, nor what the situation would be after job changes.

These things would probably only become clear after some more time.

After organizing all this information, Lin Mo focused on taking his bath.

Just as he was about to wet his hair, some movement came from his room.

Lin Mo was somewhat puzzled—was it Ellie?

But she should be outside with Caina right now, and at this time, before having dinner, she shouldn't be coming over according to reason...

Or was this little wolf-girl planning to play some exciting games?

Just as Lin Mo had anticipated, soon the bathroom door was pushed open.

However, he then showed a surprised expression, because the person appearing before him wasn't the little wolf-girl Ellie with whom he had long been intimate, but Sherfilia wearing her maid outfit.

Lin Mo immediately instinctively covered his crucial parts, somewhat flustered as he said: "Why are you here?"

Sherfilia glanced faintly at the place his hand was covering, a barely noticeable blush appearing on her face.

But she still tried her best to maintain composure, using a tone that seemed completely natural as she said: "I've come to assist you with your bath."

"Uh..."

Lin Mo's brain seemed to briefly freeze, unable to analyze the meaning of these words for a moment.

"I've come to assist you with your bath, please move your hand away."

So Sherfilia repeated it again, speaking as she walked toward Lin Mo as if nothing was unusual.

"Wait... wait a moment!"

Lin Mo suddenly became flustered, instead acting like a defiled young girl: "Isn't this too sudden?"

Sherfilia stopped walking, pursing her lips slightly.

Clearly, although it wasn't visible from her expression, she was also extremely nervous.

"You might find it puzzling, but this is perfectly normal... The matter between you and Young Mistress Finnie has been confirmed by the Lady, meaning you are now essentially Young Mistress Finnie's fiancé. Therefore, you are also equivalent to my—"

"Master."

She was obviously saying this word for the first time, her always calm tone sounding somewhat unnatural.

Lin Mo's brain finally caught up, but he became even more shocked.

There was such a thing?

Thinking about it, it did seem quite reasonable, but... wasn't this a bit too good to be true?

Not long ago, he had imagined how wonderful it would be if Sherfilia could become his maid.

And now, this beautiful dream had come true so simply?

"Please move your hand away."

Sherfilia repeated this sentence again: "Before your maid, there's no need for any shyness."

As she spoke, she used her hand to gently move Lin Mo's arm aside.

Sherfilia's pupils clearly contracted at this moment, then she began to wash Lin Mo's body with somewhat stiff movements.

Soon her movements became smooth and skilled.

After all, she had often helped Finnie wash like this before.

Overall, there wasn't much difference...

"Wait! This... this part isn't necessary, right?"

Words that sounded like those of a shy young girl came from the bathroom.

Sherfilia just looked at him with her still calm eyes: "Although I've already said it, I must repeat—before your maid, there's no need for any shyness."

As she spoke, she reached out her hand....

"Hiss——!"

A short while later, having changed into a bathrobe with Sherfilia's assistance, Lin Mo sat on the sofa in the living room, his expression still somewhat dazed.

Although there had been some signs before—for example, Sherfilia's attitude toward him had clearly been gradually improving—such an abrupt change still left him somewhat disoriented.

Lin Mo had indeed heard about such traditions in this world. In some great noble families, they would often arrange a personal maid for young ladies like Finnie from a very young age, some even being the young lady's half-sisters...

These personal maids would grow up with the young lady from childhood, accompanying them throughout their lives.

This naturally included after the young lady married—the personal maid would go along as part of the dowry, becoming the maid for both husband and wife.

They would even often undertake nighttime service duties.

Lin Mo remembered Sherfilia's mother, that well-endowed maid, who seemed to have always followed Lady Bessie—probably the same situation as with Finnie?

If that were true, then from Miss Melissa to Sherfilia, this kind of inheritance-like relationship... could it be that Sherfilia was actually Lady Bessie's, meaning Finnie's father's, daughter?

If so, wouldn't that make her Finnie's half-sister?

No wonder Finnie addressed her as "Sherfilia sister"—they really were sisters!

"The meal is ready, please come eat... Master."

Sherfilia still seemed somewhat unaccustomed to the change in address.

Even less accustomed was Lin Mo, the person involved.

To be honest, hearing a beautiful maid like Sherfilia call him "Master" did give him a somewhat elated feeling.

And because Sherfilia's tone itself was relatively calm, without any abrupt fluctuations, it actually sounded very natural, not awkward at all.

Following Sherfilia's guidance, he sat down at the dining table. Looking at the beautiful young girl standing beside him, helping cut the steak, that dreamlike feeling became even stronger.

So, from now on, she would also be considered his maid?!

Ellie, who had also come to the dining table, seemed to have noticed something. Although she had always been the most enthusiastic about eating before, now her gaze kept focusing on Sherfilia, barely touching the food before her.

As a half-orc, Ellie's perception was very sharp.

This sharpness wasn't only reflected in detecting danger, but also now, in sensing subtle emotions.

"What's wrong, Ellie?"

Compared to her, the gentle cat-eared girl Lena beside them seemed rather slow.

"Nothing..."

Ellie shook her head—some things of course weren't suitable to say out loud in front of everyone.

And this was actually quite normal—she had long prepared herself mentally for this.

Being able to keep a place by Lin Mo's side, and even taking the lead, she was already fortunate enough.

But when things were really about to happen, she still felt a sense of loss, like a child having her toy taken away.

Just at that moment, Lin Mo suddenly picked up a piece of steak with his chopsticks and placed it in her plate: "Is the food not to your taste?"

"No..."

Ellie immediately waved her hands repeatedly: "Miss Sherfilia's cooking is excellent, I really like it."

Lin Mo was momentarily stunned—these words seemed to carry some hidden meaning.

He didn't know if he was overthinking it, or if the seemingly straightforward little wolf-girl actually had such delicate thoughts.

Sherfilia beside them slightly bowed: "I'm glad you like it."

She always positioned herself in the role of a maid—this was true when facing Finnie, and after some matters were confirmed, it was the same when facing Lin Mo and even Ellie.

There didn't seem to be any tense atmosphere between them, and Lin Mo breathed a sigh of relief.

Only the innocent little cat-eared girl Lena didn't understand what was happening. She also felt the dinner atmosphere was somewhat strange today, but completely didn't understand why.

The little cat-eared girl only knew that dinner was delicious, so she should eat more, stuffing her cheeks full while looking at everyone with a puzzled expression.

Lin Mo couldn't help but be amused by her innocent appearance, while Ellie shook her head somewhat helplessly—it seemed her "remedial lessons" for her good friend were still far from enough, she needed to continue teaching, and teach more radically...