Seeking Energy (Coming Up with Titles Is Really Hard)

At first light the next day, Adam went to work in the stables as usual—feeding the horses, grooming them, cleaning up. Every step was no different from before. But once he had finished, he did not leave straight away as he usually did. Instead, he opened the door he would normally have shut and stood quietly to one side.

Ever since he had learned to control his strength to a basic degree, he had discovered another use for Mental Power. This special energy possessed formidable sensory abilities, far stronger than the naked eye. Within its range, there were no dead angles and no blind spots. Just like now—without even turning around, he had already sensed someone approaching.

Ophelia was as radiant as ever. She passed by Adam without the slightest reaction, treating him as though he were merely an ordinary servant of the estate.

She had come to take her mount away—the unicorn-blooded warhorse she had named Black Cloud.

For Ophelia, who had reached the rank of Great Knight, this mixed-blood warhorse could no longer offer any additional combat strength. Once a Great Knight's blood and qi erupted in full force, the horse would collapse outright. Yet pure Magic Beast mounts could not be tamed by a knight's strength. Thus, in the hands of Great Knights, warhorses had returned to their original function: transportation.

Ophelia did not say a word. As Black Cloud left the stable, it lightly brushed Adam with its tail. Adam likewise said nothing. He closed the stable doors and headed toward the dining hall.

Riding Black Cloud out of the estate, Ophelia galloped toward Cold Maple City in the Northland. She was going to fulfill her promise.

She knew that her father, Earl Johnson, had never been a kind man. He observed the bottom line expected of both a noble and a knight, but he was not so rigid as to conduct himself entirely according to knightly principles. If Ophelia did not make the request, Earl Johnson might force Adam to sign a Master-Servant Contract, ordering him to give up his status as a free citizen and become his subordinate. If that caused Adam to lose his chance to become a mage, Ophelia would break her promise. To a knight, that was a stain upon the spirit.

As for whether Adam could handle Marshall and Dennis's threats and temptations, Ophelia did not care. In her heart, Earl Johnson was an irresistible force. This man, as powerful as a Magic Beast, was someone she could not oppose even with her current strength. Her two elder brothers, at most, counted as ordinary beasts. If Adam could not even deal with a threat of that level, then his best choice was to honestly become a knight, no matter whom he served.

Cold Maple City was the center of the Northland, a vast city. The Lord's Mansion where the Earl lived stood at its very center. Ophelia and Black Cloud drove straight in, and no one along the way made even the slightest attempt to stop them.

"Ophelia, what is it?" Earl Johnson sat in an enormous chair at the head of the hall. He was a towering man, and even now he wore refined steel armor. His greatsword and knight's lance rested within arm's reach, as though nothing in the world could threaten him.

Ophelia mocked herself. This was her father—speaking to her as though she were a stranger.

"About Adam, my groom. I hope to take him with me to meet the Mage Master from Mordo Mage Academy." Ophelia stated her request directly.

Earl Johnson showed no expression. When he had learned yesterday that Adam had apparently caused an energy rampage during his very first training session, he had been greatly surprised. But only surprised—there had been no joy.

Although Adam worked at his estate, he was a free citizen. A family's guardian knights were completely untrustworthy unless their loyalty had been cultivated from childhood. Wandering knights could only be employed as mercenaries. But clearly, it was already too late to brainwash Adam.

As for forcing a free citizen to sign a Master-Servant Contract and become a slave or retainer, there was no doubt it would provoke fierce backlash from the people within his territory. The losses would outweigh the gains.

But if Adam could be kept by another method...

"Ophelia, you know that if you pass the aptitude assessment and leave, the family will suffer a loss," Earl Johnson said slowly.

Ophelia sneered inwardly. She had already guessed what her father was going to say. Just as expected. I am nothing but valuable merchandise.

Earl Johnson continued, "Losing one Great Knight has already dealt the family a grievous blow, and now you want to take away another genius who is certain to become a Great Knight. I cannot accept that. I think you ought to consider the family. I heard that the boy named Adam was your childhood companion. You should have a way to persuade him to serve the family, do you not?"

"No, Earl. Adam is a free citizen, not your slave. He has the right to choose. I have neither the means nor the right to influence him." Ophelia's voice was ice-cold. "As for me, sir, my name is Ophelia Johnson. My surname will not change depending on whether I become a mage."

Then she gave an undisguised scornful laugh and said, "Sir, you should know perfectly well what your two sons are capable of. Therefore, Mage Ophelia Johnson is the true umbrella shielding the Johnson Family."

After you die. Ophelia did not voice those final words. She only said them to herself.

Earl Johnson abruptly raised his head and stared at his youngest daughter. His muscles swelled with rage, making his refined steel armor creak. Ophelia met his gaze without yielding in the slightest. This father had utterly disappointed her.

After facing each other for a long while, Earl Johnson said nothing more. He waved a hand to signal Ophelia to leave. He knew that his daughter was right. He also knew that after his death, a family without a Great Knight would be nothing more than a slab of fat meat. Neither of his sons possessed enough talent to support the family's continued rule over the Northland. That was also why he had tacitly allowed Ophelia to pursue the path of a mage. The family needed a deterrent.

"My daughter... why are you my daughter?" Earl Johnson sat alone in the broad hall and let out a long, profound sigh.

Ophelia calmly walked out of the Lord's Mansion. Black Cloud stood proudly outside. Sensing its master's low spirits with remarkable intelligence, it gave a soft neigh and rubbed its large head against her face.

Ophelia patted it and swung into the saddle. "Let's go."

The atmosphere in the estate dining hall was strange.

Adam still sat alone, with a mountain of food piled before him. He ate one bite after another with meticulous care, wasting not a trace of the energy contained in each morsel. Under Adam's complete control over his body, it was perfectly absorbed, strengthening his physique.

Scattered all over the ground around Adam lay the servants, battered and bruised, constantly sucking in cold breaths. The intense pain left them unable even to stand up and leave. Joe, the Bearded Man, sat slumped beside the doorway with his head hanging low, blood streaming over his face. If not for the rise and fall of his chest proving that he was alive, he would have looked like a corpse.

The ointment had truly helped Adam enormously. In a single night, it had strengthened his physique to the level of an ordinary person. But Adam knew there would not be a second dose of ointment for him anytime soon, so this ordinary food was an important source of energy.

Thus, a situation completely opposite to the past emerged. Adam, whose food had often been stolen, took the initiative this time. After cleanly knocking down every servant, he enjoyed their food with a clear conscience. These servants could not withstand a single blow and had no ability to resist.

Every muscle in Adam's body trembled at a tiny frequency, achieving a training effect through this method. But: Still not enough. The energy gained from low-grade food cannot sustain the cultivation of the Breathing Technique.

After finishing the last piece of black bread, Adam sat in his chair and began practicing the Breathing Technique. The commotion was just as immense as before. No. 3 energy surged eagerly into his body, and a faint red glow rose around him.

The onlookers were terrified. They had never seen such a violent energy reaction when any knight in the estate practiced. At last, they understood the gap between themselves and Adam.

After Adam breathed at full force for only five minutes, his muscle tissue began showing signs of overload. The energy obtained from food had been completely exhausted. Adam silently rose to his feet, his cold, emotionless gaze sweeping across the people on the ground. The servants endured their pain and retreated again and again. They even thought Adam might choose to eat them. Only after he left the dining hall did they breathe a sigh of relief and curse viciously under their breaths, "Damn it, that bastard, that monster."

In truth, Adam had not been without the thought of eating them. In Adam's mind, he and they were not the same species at all. He had no psychological barrier that said humans could not be eaten. The only reason he did not do it was that he did not yet possess the ability to challenge universal values and bear the consequences.

Adam picked up his basket and sickle and headed out of the estate. Today, he had brought an extra flint striker.

Within such a relatively enclosed environment, news traveled quickly. By now, everyone knew that the fool who had once barely registered in their eyes and had been treated as little more than a joke had suddenly transformed into a genius. Even those who refused to believe it had begun to half-believe after the knight attendants at yesterday's training ground confirmed it so emphatically.

Adam received countless stares along the way. After hearing that Miss Ophelia had protected him from the hands of the two young masters, those who had often made things difficult for him before tucked away their claws and fangs. When the gate guards saw him, they hurried over from beside the furnace to open the side gate for him, without saying a single word of nonsense.

By chance, he ran into Ophelia on her return. Seeing Adam's outfit, she instantly understood the vile amusement of the lower servants and knew what Adam was going out to do. After a moment of hesitation, she offered no explanation and said coolly, "From today onward, you no longer need to feed my horse."

Adam raised his head and glanced at Ophelia without speaking. He silently walked toward the wilderness. Ophelia did not wait for his answer either, and the two passed one another.

The estate grew smaller and smaller behind Adam. He did not take the familiar path, instead heading deeper into the wilderness. The snowflakes drifting down from the sky foretold the approaching end of late autumn in the Northland. Next would come the long winter.

And before the heavy snow completely buried the land, Adam needed to hunt as many wild beasts as possible.