Moonlight Meditation

The library.

"Your Highness, there are seven meditation techniques in total: Meditating on the Sun, storm, thunder, bright moon, Dreamscape, earth, and ocean."

"The technique I practice is Moonlight Meditation. It is the easiest of all meditation techniques to learn. A mage whom my father, Viscount Hughes, hired at great expense taught it to me, and I can teach it to you, Your Highness."

Ilith explained softly.

Upon hearing this, Xian eagerly sat cross-legged on the floor and urged her to hurry with his eyes.

"Your Highness, not now. Beginners learning meditation techniques, aside from Dreamscape Meditation, must see the real object with their own eyes. At midnight tonight, please accompany me to the clock tower and meditate upon the bright moon." Ilith explained, caught between laughter and tears.

Xian coughed twice and rose to his feet, concealing his embarrassment.

He could not be blamed for it. As someone from Blue Star, how could he not be excited at the chance to become a noble mage? "Anlìyà, come read with me for a while."

"My honor, Your Highness."

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

At the castle's Martial Arts Training Field.

The scorching sunlight poured over the ground paved with white stone bricks, dyeing the entire field golden-red.

Even beneath the blazing sun, the crisp clash of blades still echoed here.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Berg, clad in leather armor and wielding an iron longsword, continuously attacked Sauron Knight, who wore only plain cloth garments.

His swordsmanship had no discernible form, yet it was exceptionally fierce.

The ordinary iron sword in his hand resembled a venomous snake, thrusting at Sauron Knight's eyes, heart, groin, and other vulnerable areas from all sorts of tricky angles.

Because Sauron Knight wore only linen clothes without protection, a hit from Berg's blade would undoubtedly result in serious injury or even death. However, that was impossible.

Even as Berg's attacks grew fiercer with each strike, Sauron Knight still blocked his sword as easily as if he were taking a leisurely stroll through drifting clouds.

Bang! Seizing an opening, Sauron Knight raised his hand and violently knocked the sword from Berg's grip with a single strike.

"I lost again."

Berg looked at his empty hands. Already utterly exhausted, he could no longer hold himself up and collapsed onto the ground.

Sweat poured from his body like a fountain, soaking his leather armor through.

His weapon had been knocked away again. Just like when he had failed to protect his lord before, Berg clenched his hands tightly into fists, his nails digging into his flesh, yet he felt nothing.

Humiliation, guilt, inferiority—those negative emotions were enough to numb his pain.

"Kid, was that really your first time using a sword?"

Sauron Knight tossed him a wool towel and forcibly pulled him up from the ground.

"The floor of the training field under the blazing sun is practically a furnace. Lie there any longer, and you'll be cooked."

A smile appeared on his weathered face, as though he were offering goodwill.

"Yes. I used bows and small knives before." Berg answered as he wiped away his sweat.

After only a few wipes, the snow-white wool towel was already filthy.

Embarrassment immediately appeared on the boy's face. Having grown up in a village, he had never used such a fine towel before.

Sauron Knight burst into laughter at the sight. He snatched the towel away and casually tossed it to an attendant nearby.

"To be honest, I used to think you were just a lucky kid who would soon be abandoned by that incomparably noble Highness."

"But now it seems that His Highness has a discerning eye, while rough men like us are the blind ones."

Sauron Knight sighed.

During their battle just now, although Berg's swordsmanship had been completely unstructured, his strikes had always accurately targeted Sauron Knight's weaknesses.

He had won easily, but that was mainly because his physical abilities overwhelmingly surpassed Berg's in every respect. If their physical qualities had been equal, perhaps even he would have been left scrambling, or might even have died. This was not talent for swordsmanship. It seemed more like... an instinct for killing.

Glancing at the word "Hunter" above the boy's head, regret flashed through Sauron Knight's eyes.

"Kid, have you considered changing professions?"

Berg, who had been trying to remove his leather armor to cool down, froze upon hearing that.

"With your talent, if you learned to become a knight under me, then with sufficient resources, you could advance across sequences and become a knight in a year at most," Sauron Knight said in a deep voice.

"Can't I continue advancing to the higher profession of Hunter?" Berg asked in return.

"Heh. From the sound of it, you don't even know what Hunter's higher profession is." Sauron Knight shook his head helplessly.

"The profession after Hunter is Hunter, a profession said to have been secretly passed down by the great God of Storms and Hunting."

"But for ordinary people, it is not a good profession. If you keep walking that path, I'm afraid you might not even remain human." Sauron Knight spoke meaningfully.

"Mr. Sauron, could you explain in more detail?" Having finally heard information about profession advancement, Berg hurriedly bowed and asked for guidance.

"Knights primarily cultivate themselves, but to grow stronger on the Hunter path, you not only need to consume potions refined from all kinds of magical beast organs, but eventually, you must directly replace your own organs with those of magical beasts, becoming neither human nor ghost."

"Among nearly all professions, Hunter has one of the worst reputations. The stronger you become, the more people fear and discriminate against you, and there is even the risk of losing your sanity."

"So, seeing that you have some talent, I advise you to switch to the knight's path as soon as possible. With your lord behind you, you certainly will not lack resources," Sauron Knight said flatly.

Berg fell silent for a long time.

He finally understood why he had not advanced for three whole years, despite hunting and training almost day and night.

So advancing to Hunter required drinking potions. And later advancements would even require replacing organs with those from magical beasts. Was this path Father left me truly suitable for me?

His heart began to waver.

"Rather than hesitate, why not ask your lord? After all, as retainers, we should treat our lord's commands as everything."

Seeing the boy's deeply furrowed brow, Sauron Knight offered his advice.

"Continue practicing."

"Alright."

A moment later, the sounds of blades colliding rang out across the Martial Arts Training Field once more.

By evening, the yellowing slanting sun had finally set, replaced by a night sky thick with stars.

The enormous castle looked especially majestic beneath the moonlight, like a silent black giant.

It was time for dinner.

In his room, Xian accepted the white formal attire sent by a male servant, then refused the man's assistance.

He had no interest in changing clothes in front of another man. This was not some northern bathhouse.

"Mm, not bad." Looking at the tall, handsome young man in the mirror, Xian nodded in satisfaction.

I wonder what Ilith will look like in formal attire.

He had spent the entire day reading in the library until the afternoon, then returned to his room to rest his eyes once his head began to ache. For one thing, he needed to attend Viscount Hughes's dinner banquet; for another, he still had to learn meditation from Ilith at midnight.

"Take me to the hall."

"Yes, Your Highness." The male servant bowed respectfully.