Shield Warrior

The day of the duel drew ever closer. In the blink of an eye, it was only a day away.

Ever since Lister had cleared out the three-headed hounds' settlement, he had not gone out to grind monsters again.

It was not because he had grown complacent or thought his victory was assured.

Rather, there were no other monster settlements near the capital of the Duchy of Will.

The only other two monster populations, the ghost-eyed giants and frost wolves, were out in the duchy's remote regions.

But they were so far away that the journey there and back would take more than ten days.

The duke himself would witness the duel. If Lister stood him up, he would be in even bigger trouble!

So Lister had slowed his leveling and spent more of his time on the Poly Merchant Association.

The association's development had gone unexpectedly smoothly.

Magical plants from Viscount Gabriel's territory were soon being supplied to the capital of Will in large quantities.

The family had suddenly earned a substantial sum of gold, and Lister's resources for growth had likewise become plentiful.

Now he was in his room, holding a bottle of blue potion that the Poly Merchant Association had just purchased for him.

In the sunlight, the blue potion shimmered with an unusually dazzling luster.

"Congratulations, you have obtained a 'Remington Potion.'"

[Remington Potion]

[Quality: C-grade (rare)]

[Effect: permanently increases the drinker's intelligence and agility by 1 point each]

[Note: attributes cannot exceed the level limit, and the potion ceases to work after being consumed three times]

Although it did not increase every attribute by 1 point like the Turquoise Liquid, the Remington Potion could be taken three times.

All told, it provided a greater boost than the Turquoise Liquid.

Of course, it was also more expensive. A single little bottle was worth over a thousand gold coins, enough to swallow up more than half a month's income from the Merick Family's new trade route.

Fortunately, though the Merick Family had fallen on hard times, it still had some savings.

The Poly Merchant Association was also very considerate and had secretly contributed a substantial amount toward the potions it bought for Lister.

The bottle in Lister's hand was already the third he had received during this period.

Other potions had also been purchased and consumed in the meantime. The Merick Family's savings had dwindled rapidly and were nearly exhausted.

He downed the potion in one gulp. The familiar cool, pleasant clarity washed over his mind once more, and his body grew lighter again.

[Attributes: Strength 18, stamina 16, intelligence 17→18, agility 15→16]

Sure enough, killing monsters to level up was no match for popping potions. Wherever one went, money and resources were the quickest shortcuts to greater strength.

Boosted by a large number of precious potions, Lister's four attributes were gradually approaching the level barrier of 20 points.

That also meant the day of his first advancement was drawing closer.

"My lord baron, Quint has left the castle!"

Butler Anke hurriedly knocked, entered the room, and reported the news.

"He's out? Where did he go?"

"Judging by the direction, probably Viscount Anbet's residence."

He had finally come out. Tomorrow was the day of the duel.

Could Duke Will II really have confined Quint to the castle before this?

He had hurried straight to the Ambet Family as soon as he came out. Could Lister really have been overthinking things?

"Have someone keep an eye on Quint. If there's any news, report to me at once."

With that, Lister rose and headed for the training ground at the family castle.

His four attributes had just increased, and he still needed to get used to his strength before tomorrow's duel.

The Merick Family's training ground was on the open land directly in front of the castle.

Most great families would have planted a garden there, but the Merick Family had used the entire plot to build a training ground.

Counting Duke Will's family, there were eight established professional families in the city. Only the Merick Family belonged to the martial path and used sabers, requiring a large area to train their saber skills.

The other professional families naturally had their own separate training grounds for their inheritances.

"Swish!"

The C-grade, rare-quality saber passed down in the family was indeed comfortable to use.

When practicing the Merrick Saber Technique, it felt exceptionally smooth and light in his hands.

Lister's Merrick Saber Technique was still at LV5. He had not spent any more points on it.

Even so, practicing the technique caused quite a commotion. With the passive boost from his LV9 breathing technique, his strength attribute of 27 was already the limit for a level 27 professional.

Though the skill's level was not high, its actual power far exceeded its current level.

Suddenly, Lister stopped practicing the Merrick Saber Technique, and his expression turned serious.

He bent forward slightly and held his saber across his chest with both hands. It was the starting stance of the Merrick Saber Draw Slash!

A strange man suddenly appeared before him, vaulting over the side of the Merick Family castle's outer wall and approaching him rapidly.

Just as Lister was gauging the distance, ready to draw at any moment, the approaching stranger greeted him first.

"Lister, long time no see."

The stranger wore a light purple silk robe with a dark purple cloak over it, draping from his shoulders to his ankles.

The chest of the robe was covered in dense gold embroidery. Lister could not make out any particular pattern, but the garment looked magnificent.

The man had a high-bridged nose, deep-set eyes, and short blond hair that shone brilliantly in the setting sun.

He was nearly 1.9 meters tall, with a strong, muscular build to match.

Both men wore purple, but the outfit worn by President Porter of the Poly Merchant Association left people at a loss for words.

The young man before him, however, brought out the full nobility of the color.

"What? You don't even intend to speak to me before the duel?"

Hearing that, Lister immediately examined him closely.

So this young man was his opponent in tomorrow's duel, Duke Will II's son, Quint Will!

Hadn't Butler Anke reported that he had gone to the Ambet Family?

How had he suddenly arrived at Lister's home in the blink of an eye?

No, wait! Since Butler Anke had heard nothing, that meant Quint had come secretly. Otherwise, he would not have needed to climb the wall.

Lister immediately lowered his saber and slid it back into its sheath.

"Instead of using the front gate, you insisted on climbing over the wall. What do you want?"

As Lister spoke, he had the system scan Quint's strength.

Until today, he had known nothing about Quint's strength. He had only thought that, as the duke's youngest son and one the duke did not like, Quint probably would not be particularly strong.

[Comparing enemy and user strength... Results obtained...]

[Level: Lv21]

[Age: 25/97]

[Class: shield warrior (martial path) (first advancement)]

[Health: 1371/1371]

[Stamina: 861/861]

[Attributes: Strength 18, stamina 21, intelligence 16, agility 13]

[Skills: Eternal Shield (C-grade, rare) LV2: blocks frontal attacks for three seconds and absorbs 381-461 damage (absorbed damage is increased by stamina); Shield of Will (C-grade, rare) LV2: counters damage received based on the enemy's strength; Will Sword Technique (D-grade, high) LV4: deals 271-291 damage to the enemy, inflicts a laceration effect, and applies additional bleeding damage; Will Breathing Technique (passive, ungraded) LV1: additional stamina +1]

[Overall rating: E]

Good grief. Lister had not expected Quint to have reached the third tier at only twenty-five, a whole tier above him.

No wonder he had not been Quint's match in the original course of events.

And Quint Will had trained quite a lot! He had four skills in total. Aside from the Will Family's secret techniques, Eternal Shield was probably a skill he had received after his class advancement.

He was a duke's son, after all. Even if the duke disliked him, the basic resources available to the ducal family were more than sufficient.

Otherwise, Quint's four attributes could never have been so high on his own. His stamina had actually been at the barrier's maximum when he advanced.

In any case, Lister breathed a sigh of relief. At least Quint, who had only just entered the third tier, could not possibly be his match.

Although Lister was level 20, at the limit of the second tier, his actual strength had already reached the late third tier. Even his basic slashes could crush Quint.

Not to mention, none of Quint's skills were at a high level. He had probably focused more on his professional training and neglected to hone his skills.

His overall combat rating was only E, so he really was nothing to fear.

What Lister had not expected was that the Will Family's inherited class would be a shield warrior.

Although shield warrior belonged to the martial path, it sat at the bottom of the martial path's pecking order. Later on, players had even collectively demanded that it be kicked out of the martial path category.

The reason was simple. Early in the game, shield warriors could deal damage, tank hits, and counter with their shields.

But in the later stages of Galaxy Era, nearly every boss was humanoid. Being outstanding at nothing made the shield warrior utterly useless, a giant health pack that ranked dead last among the martial path classes.

The one thing that pleasantly surprised Lister was that the Will Family really did have the passive skill he was looking for—and it boosted base stamina, no less!