Traffic Bustled

Outside the Merick Family castle, the usually secluded area had suddenly come alive.

The wasteland in front of the castle gates had been packed with carriages since early morning, and wheel tracks covered the ground.

Quite a few factions in Will City had sent their stewards or younger family members to deliver congratulatory gifts!

The old steward Anke stood outside the gates that morning, full of vigor, with none of his usual stoop or breathlessness.

His voice rang out strong, and his face glowed.

Even when the old baron was alive, the family had never seen such a grand occasion.

But that had changed because of the strength Lister had displayed on the dueling platform yesterday, along with his signature Merrick Saber Draw Slash.

The nobles in the city had immediately seen the Merick Family in a new light, leading to this morning's spectacle.

"Thank you for Count Andrew's gift. Lilian! Take some people and bring it to the hall on the east side of the castle's first floor!"

"Vera, this is a congratulatory gift from the Poly Merchant Association. Put it in front of the bookcase farther inside on the west side of the first floor."

Anke seemed to have boundless energy today. He had entered the Merick Family's service at seven and become its new steward at nineteen, after the old steward died.

He had witnessed the Merick Family's constant decline, its decline...

Who could have known that, at his age, the Merick Family's fortunes would suddenly turn around?

Young Master Lister, who had always been unremarkable, had made tremendous strides in strength since succeeding as baron!

He had also truly inherited the Merick Family's rare-grade saber technique. Now, Anke naturally had no doubt whatsoever.

The Three-Headed Hound Knights outside the city had indeed been wiped out by Lister some time ago.

All at once, he had a new outlook for the Merick Family.

What people feared most was having nothing to look forward to.

Now that Lister had suddenly revealed his strength, the Merick Family had hope again.

Everyone in the family, even the maids, had a new radiance about them.

As for Lister, who was now in such high demand, he had not been able to take a break.

At that moment, he was having tea and talking with the duke's first heir, Valen Will, in the reception room.

"Are you sure? Just for wiping out the Ghost-Eyed Giants, I get a viscount title and a medium-sized red copper mine?"

Lister could hardly believe the wonderful offer Walen had brought him so early in the morning.

He had already planned to seek out a group of Ghost-Eyed Giants or Frost Wolves on the border for his next level-up.

And now Will II had handed him a mission he could complete along the way.

A medium-sized red copper mine was worth a fortune and could instantly shore up the Merick Family's ailing finances.

Not only would it give him more money to buy potions for himself, but with a little more effort, the family could even begin training professionals again.

That was to say nothing of the viscount title.

To the other major professional families in the city, baron, viscount, and count were all the same. Strength and inheritance came first.

In any case, the seven professional families had been hereditary nobles for nearly two hundred years, and whatever their specific titles, they ranked above the city's newer nobles.

But the viscount title meant something different to Lister. His main quest was Reforge Merick's Glory.

As for glory in Will City, a mere duel naturally did not count as completing the quest, and the system's main quest had indeed shown no response after the duel.

But if he could become a viscount, compared with the Merick Family's line of succession that had begun with a baron, it would definitely count as reforging its glory.

That would complete the first stage of the main quest!

"Sorry for the trouble, but please tell Duke Will I accept the mission!"

Walen had been about to persuade him further, but Lister had accepted so readily.

He breathed a sigh of relief and did not stay any longer as a guest.

After a nod, he immediately turned and took his leave with a cold face. His dislike for the Merick Family was practically written on it.

Lister had not expected Walen, Duke Will's first heir, to be only at this level.

He did not even bother to hide it. How could he compare to Quint?

Quint was conceited, but his shrewdness and scheming seemed far superior to those of this elder brother, who was more than twenty years older than him.

Perhaps Valen Will had been doted on by Will II since childhood and had led too smooth a life up to now. He did not even know how to hide his thoughts.

After Walen left, quite a few people came to visit the Merick Family.

Lister, however, only met with people from the other major professional families.

On the surface, he was extending a friendly hand to the other families as allies. In reality, he wanted to find out whether any of them had the passive skills he needed.

But after meeting with them throughout the day, he was disappointed by the result.

Of the other six major families, two, including the Conner Family, had mage-type professions, two had ability-type professions, one had a healing-type profession, and one had a mechanical-type profession.

None of them had a special breathing technique passive skill, completely dashing Lister's earlier hopes.

Fortunately, he had anticipated this. At least the Will Family had a passive skill, which reassured him somewhat.

That evening, most of the carriages that had come and gone with gifts outside the Merick Family gates departed.

Lister was counting the gifts in an unused reception room on the castle's first floor.

Most were tier-one equipment of rare quality or higher. They were rather like gifts from his previous life, such as a two-thousand-yuan lighter: unusual things that were completely useless.

Truly rare-quality equipment of tier two or above would cost several times as much.

Everyone was merely going through the motions. Without shared interests, none of them was willing to give such an extravagant gift.

Only the gifts from the other professional families were more suitable. They were all healing potions he could use, or other buff potions.

Count Connor's family alone had sent the most valuable gift.

[Lucian's Advanced Bauhinia Liquid (C-rank): Increases the strength attribute by two points when consumed. Note: This potion cannot be consumed more than once.]

They had given him a B-rank, exceptional-grade potion before yesterday's duel, and today another bottle, a C-rank rare potion.

It was clear that, as long as the other major families proved themselves, the Conner Family, as their elder brother, was absolutely willing to support them.

Lister drank the potion in one gulp. It tasted much better than the turquoise liquid he had drunk before, sweet and refreshing.

[Attributes: Strength 18→20, stamina 16, intelligence 18, agility 16]

His strength had finally reached the level barrier, and his other three attributes were close as well.

He had already asked the Poly Merchant Association to help him buy suitable potions at high prices. Fortunately, he could tell which of his attributes were lacking and buy potions for the corresponding attributes.

Given the few attribute points he still needed, Lister believed he would soon make up the difference and then complete his class change.

"My lord, Lord Quint is here to visit."

A servant came up to Anke and quietly reported the news. The next moment, Steward Anke passed the message on to him word for word.

Lister had been about to eat, but when he heard Quint had come, he had Anke prepare an unoccupied reception room for their meeting.

As soon as Lister met Quint, two servants following behind Quint carried in a huge wooden chest half a person's height.

"You're too kind! That's a big chest. What's inside?"

Soon, only the two of them were left in the room again. Lister did not bother with pleasantries and spoke directly to Quint.

He had expected Quint to come looking for him again, but not so soon.

Quint had come back only a day after the duel, and Lister had not expected him to bring a gift either.

But when Quint silently undid the latch and pushed the wooden chest all the way open, Lister realized he had guessed wrong.

Inside were not the equipment and armor he had expected Quint to give him, but two people bound tightly with ropes.

One was naturally Anna, whose entire body was bound with rope.

Instead of her usual luxurious dresses, she wore more conservative commoner clothes.

But under the ropes, it was hard to tell which fellow had deliberately tied them so tightly.

They outlined Anna's breasts and the curves of her body, making them even more alluring.

As for the other person pressed close beside her, that was naturally the painter, Ruisi.