Continuous Stat Increases

The recent gossip within the class, while not greatly affecting his life, truly annoyed him.

Furthermore, if it persisted, it might reach Linda and Smith's ears. It was time to clear out this gossip.

"It stinks." Colin was suddenly awakened by the foul odor on himself, his face immediately contorting. He carefully opened his room door, went downstairs, took a cold shower, and changed into clean pajamas. To avoid arousing Linda's suspicion, he washed his dirty clothes, something he rarely did, and hung them secretly outside his bedroom window.

This reminded Colin of the first time he had secretly washed his underwear due to some dream.

The next day, Linda and Smith noticed nothing unusual. After the three siblings had their breakfast as usual, Smith left first, followed by Colin.

Upon arriving at school, Colin greeted Bill as usual and then sat down obediently to wait for class. The first class today was Heraldry.

Heraldry, such things, were exclusive rights enjoyed only by nobles with titles or hereditary knight families with inherited lands.

Every crest had a traceable origin. For example, the crown on the Marquis Kent family crest represented a past royal marriage alliance.

Every family crest was registered and archived in the Nobility Council, serving as a symbol of prestige. Families like the Russells, who were nobles, only had proof of identity.

Fame and fortune could be won on horseback.

As students of Will Knight Academy, they were all seeds of the extraordinary. Noble scions, merchant sons, and wealthy farmer's children here all aspired to advance further through extraordinary power, and they were all filled with interest in Heraldry.

After one class, the entire class was discussing how to design their own family crests.

"Colin, I remember the origin of the Russell family, Duke Russell's crest was a bear, and the family crests of the noble lords of the Russell clan, with Duke Russell as the main branch, all featured a bear as the primary motif. If you were to gain a noble title in the future, or become a hereditary knight lord, what would you design your crest to look like?" Bill asked Colin, turning his head curiously.

Colin knew this guy wasn't pursuing heraldry itself, but was interested in crest design. This guy hoped to work in fields like fashion, jewelry, or perfume, and was also skilled in courses like oil painting and heraldry design.

"It's too early to think about this now; it would seem like we're overestimating ourselves," Colin shrugged, then pinched his chin and pondered for a moment before saying, "If that day ever comes, I definitely wouldn't design a bear as the main theme of the crest."

"Alright. It seems you're an unusual Russell," Bill also shrugged.

Soon, Bill and Colin stopped their discussion because the second class, History, began. The morning's cultural classes were unremarkable. Colin wasn't interested, merely grasping the general ideas without delving into them.

The afternoon was mostly filled with training classes, including Riding and Swordsmanship today. However, nothing special happened, and neither Brian nor Chal came to provoke him.

It seemed those two had already decided he was someone who had failed to enhance his Bloodline and was no longer a threat.

This disappointed Colin a little; he had been looking forward to it.

However, this was also good. He could continue to improve his strength and accumulate power. When the opportunity arose, he could deal with both of them at once, rather than one by one.

After class, Colin said goodbye to Bill at the school gate. Upon returning home, nothing special occurred. That night, Colin finally refined another Basic Strength Potion.

After collecting the energy, Colin sat cross-legged on the old floor and began to ponder.

In the class, Brian was considered upper-middle tier. His Swordsmanship and various physical stats were all above Colin's. Currently, for his physical stats to catch up to Brian's, adding one or two points to attributes wouldn't be enough. To rapidly improve his strength, the best strategy was to first upgrade the Roer Military Swordsmanship.

After thinking, Colin opened the System interface, converted energy points into skill points, and then added them to Roer Military Swordsmanship.

Thus, on his System skill bar, Roer Military Swordsmanship (Sparse) became Roer Military Swordsmanship (Common).

As the skill improved, Colin didn't feel significant changes in his body. However, it felt as if a clear stream flowed through his mind, and his comprehension of the Roer Military Swordsmanship had deepened.

Immediately, Colin stood up, walked to the door, picked up the Training Greatsword placed on the ground, drew it from its sheath, and performed a flourish.

"My wrists and footwork seem much more agile. It's not that my agility has increased, but rather the changes brought about by mastering the swordsmanship," Colin tested several sword moves consecutively, feeling quite pleased.

"I'll first raise Roer Military Swordsmanship to Perfect, then add a bit to Strength, Agility, and Vitality. As time passes, Brian will just be a piece of cake."

"Knock, knock, knock." The sudden knocking startled Colin. Colin looked at the Training Greatsword in his hand and inwardly cursed his carelessness.

"Damn, I got carried away. It's late at night now."

"Colin, what are you doing?" Linda's voice came from outside the door, her tone filled with confusion.

"Nothing, I just couldn't sleep, so I picked up my greatsword and practiced a bit," Colin quickly sheathed and put away the sword, replying.

"Even if you can't sleep, lie down. Smith has to work tomorrow," Linda said.

"Okay," Colin obediently replied.

Soon, footsteps could be heard from outside the door. Linda had likely gone back to sleep. Colin breathed a sigh of relief and then obediently went to bed.

From Tuesday to Thursday, everything was very peaceful. Colin used his Perfect Pharmaceutical Technique to craft three more Basic Strength Potions, adding points to them respectively.

When Friday arrived, and Colin went to school with his backpack and the Training Greatsword sheathed, his character attributes on the System interface were as follows:

Colin Russell

Class: Novice Knight.

Vitality: 2 (+1)

Intelligence: 5

Strength: 4 (+2)

Agility: 4

Bloodline: Black Bear Bloodline (Common) [Note: Requires 1 Bloodline Point to upgrade]

Bloodline Influence: Strength +2, Vitality +1

Skills: Roer Military Swordsmanship (Proficient) [Note: Requires 1 Skill Point to upgrade], Riding (Proficient) [Requires 1 Skill Point to upgrade], Basic Alchemy, Basic Strength Potion Crafting (Perfect) [Note: Requires 1 Skill Point to upgrade].

Unallocated Attribute Points: 0 [Note: 1 Energy can be converted into 1 Attribute Point.]

Unallocated Skill Points: 0 [Note: 1 Energy can be converted into 1 Skill Point.] [Note: Skill Points can also be used to learn skills]

Unallocated Bloodline Points: 0 [Note 2 Energy can be converted into 1 Bloodline Point]

Energy: 0 [Note: Energy can be converted into attribute points, skill points, and bloodline points. Unused attribute points, skill points, and bloodline points can also be converted into energy.]

[Note: All items with magic can collect energy.]

Status: Healthy.

The 4 points of energy he harvested from Monday to Thursday were each allocated as 1 Strength and 1 Agility, and he leveled up Roer Military Swordsmanship by two grades, greatly increasing his strength.