Urgent I

Following the spiral staircase upward, he soon reached a room on the third floor.

He took out a key, unlocked the door, and pushed it open. Inside was pitch-black, without a glimmer of light.

Anglie carefully shut and locked the door.

He took out a flint and lit the candle on the desk.

The library immediately brightened.

There were three bookshelves in total, and the books on them looked rather sparse. Every book was made of leather-like paper and appeared extremely weighty. Nearly every one was as thick as a New Chinese Dictionary from his previous life.

Anglie frowned. Following his old memories, he skillfully walked behind the third bookshelf. There lay a book of miscellaneous records concerning strange and bizarre things. He had occasionally come here to flip through it and pass the time.

He casually took down the miscellaneous records, along with a biography beside it.

Anglie sat beside the desk and began reading carefully.

No one knew how much time had passed. By the time a whole candle was nearly burned down—

Anglie suddenly perked up. On one page of the miscellaneous records he had opened, a hand-drawn black card bearing a Spider pattern appeared before his eyes. He fished out the card from his waist pouch.

Comparing the two, they were exactly the same!

"That's him." Anglie murmured, his gaze following the written record beside it.

Dark Chapter, a massive assassin organization spanning several nations. Those marked for assassination would often receive a black card from them beforehand.

There was only that brief sentence of introduction. Yet Anglie now thoroughly understood the meaning behind that card.

"That guy really will come again." A trace of anxiety rose in his heart, only to be quickly forced down. "Being nervous and afraid won't do a thing. I have to think of a way."

After the tension and terror of the day, he was now much calmer.

"Isn't it just death? It's not as if I haven't died before!" He gave a self-mocking smile. "Zero, did you collect the data on that man's physical abilities from today?"

"Data collected. Data automatically designated Unknown 1.

Unknown individual: Strength 4, agility 1.5, constitution 5. Estimated weapons used: Chain Claw, longsword, throwing knives."

Anglie sucked in a cold breath. "What a terrifying bastard. I actually survived against someone like that. Really..."

"Reason for survival: target was poisoned." Chip automatically prompted.

"Poisoned?" Anglie recalled the arrow he had fired at the beginning. Ever since he had noticed the poison gland last time, he had simply coated every arrow with snake venom. That way, so long as it grazed the prey when it struck, he would not have to worry about it escaping. One-Eyed Snake venom could be removed with high heat, so there was no need to worry about the meat becoming inedible. He had probably injured that man right at the start.

He rapidly flipped through the miscellaneous records and the biography. Chip's storage capacity automatically recorded all the information into his brain for later reference. That was the benefit of Chip. It allowed him to remember everything at a glance.

Aside from the origins of the black card, Anglie had not come away empty-handed.

The biography also recorded a piece of information. During an adventure in the woods, the author and his companions had accidentally discovered a small flower. Eating it made one's body burn hot and greatly increased one's strength. However, it came with severe aftereffects. Four people had eaten the flower to deal with a crisis, but all four died afterward. Before dying, they had all clutched their hearts tightly, their veins bulging all over their bodies in a terrifying sight.

Anglie remembered this detail. That small flower was crimson from stem to petal.

After hurriedly skimming the contents of the two books, he returned them to the bookshelf. Anglie stood before the desk, about to extinguish the candle flame, when faint footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.

Click.

The door opened.

The Baron pushed open the door, his face full of thought. Seeing someone inside, he raised his head and swept a glance over the room.

"So it's you, Anglie. Reading this late at night?"

"Yes, Father." Anglie gave a slight bow and said quietly, "I was just about to leave."

"Go on." The Baron was in no mood to speak with his son. His flaxen hair hung loosely over his shoulders, and exhaustion showed on his face.

Anglie did not find it appropriate to ask more. He walked to the doorway, passed by the Baron, and was about to head downstairs.

"Oh, right." The Baron suddenly spoke. "In a while, I want to send you to Norman City, to your aunt's home. I may have matters to deal with soon and won't have time to look after you for the moment. Go there, have some fun, and recuperate for a while. What do you think?"

Anglie turned back. The Baron's proposal moved him somewhat as well. If he truly left this place, perhaps he could avoid that man's pursuit...

He was just about to reply.

Suddenly, the Baron's expression shifted. He sniffed.

"What smell is that? Why is there a woman's fragrance? Anglie, you should indulge in those things less. They take too much out of your body, and you're still too young." He frowned.

Anglie froze.

"I..."

"Enough, no need to explain. Go rest first." The Baron waved a hand.

Anglie fell silent for a moment. He glanced at the Baron's right hand, said nothing, and turned to head downstairs. In the darkness, his footsteps sounded one after another in a steady rhythm.

Descending the spiral staircase, Anglie looked back at the library. Its door was slowly closing at that very moment, blocking out the yellow firelight within.

A trace of doubt appeared on his face.

"Check my current physical condition."

"Anglie Leo. Physical attributes: Strength 0.8, agility 2.4, constitution 1.6. Physical condition: Healthy, contaminated with an unknown fragrance."

"Unknown fragrance?" Anglie's face immediately darkened. "When did I pick it up? What is the source of the fragrance?"

"Contaminated upon leaving the forest. Source is..." A transparent virtual model of a human body slowly appeared before his eyes, displaying an eerie pale blue hue. A ring of Deep Blue traces was clearly visible around his right ankle.

As expected...

Anglie understood at once. This thing must have been left by that man in black. It was likely meant to track him.

He hurried back to the bathhouse. After instructing a maid to bring him a bucket of water, Anglie quickly thrust his right foot into it and scrubbed furiously.

"Is it still there now?" After washing for a long time, Anglie silently asked again.

"The concentration remains unchanged." Chip's reply made him intensely irritated.

"As expected, it won't be that easy to remove." Anglie knew that man had likely set his sights on him. This fragrance meant the other party would not rest until one of them was dead.

"Not until one of us is dead..." he muttered softly. "In that case, let's see who dies in the end..." A vicious glint surfaced on his face.

******************

Early the next morning, before dawn had broken, Anglie rose early.

After changing into a white hunting outfit, he headed downstairs to the training grounds. Some people were already there voluntarily doing their morning exercises.

Ignoring everyone else, Anglie crossed the training grounds alone and arrived at the blacksmith's shop in the castle's miscellaneous district.

Clang!!

A brawny old man, bare from the waist up, raised a black iron hammer and smashed it heavily onto the anvil in his hand, sending sparks flying. Beside him stood a teenage boy, listening respectfully as the old man said something.

Anglie's approach drew both their attention. The old man set down his hammer and came forward.

"Young Master Anglie, do you need something?" His voice was hoarse, like a leaking bellows.

Anglie swept his gaze around the shop.

"I want a decent suit of full-body armor."

"A better suit of full-body armor?" The old man wore an expression caught between laughter and tears. "We do have some, but I'm afraid they won't suit you very well..."

"Won't suit me?" Anglie was slightly startled.

"Even the lightest of these suits weighs more than forty pounds, around forty jin." The old man spoke with difficulty.

Anglie understood the reason. With his current strength, never mind whether there was one that fit him, just forty jin pressing down on him would force even his agility of over 2 down to around 1. It was simply not worth the loss.

"In that case, I want some iron balls, the sort used for hauling carts. Do you have any?" Anglie changed the subject.

"We have as many iron balls as you want." This time, the old man answered readily. He pointed toward a corner of the shop. "They're all over there. Take however many you want. They were melted down from scraps and offcuts of the castle's discarded iron. They're perfect for parking carts, hauling carts, and the like."

Anglie nodded and glanced at the corner. A densely packed pile of black spheres lay there, roughly twenty or thirty of them. Each was the size of a fist and quite heavy. These iron balls were generally used as counterweights and also served as a method of storing iron ore.

It was not as though he had not considered telling the Baron and the others about the enemy who might be drawn here by the fragrance on him. But when it came to handing his fate over to others, Anglie preferred to hold his own destiny in his hands.

More importantly, Anglie had also seen something in the Baron's hand the night before—the black card bearing a Spider pattern.

"Since I've come to this world, if I can't grow stronger myself and must rely on others, there's no way I'll live long." Anglie's heart had never been so calm. Since the Baron also had a card, it meant he too was a target being hunted by that man, or by others working with him. Judging by the data collected, the Baron's physical abilities were inferior to that man's. His complexion did not look good either; clearly, he was already too busy saving his own skin. Even if Anglie told him, it would be useless. It would be more practical to rely on himself. He had thought it through carefully. With Chip, and with agility exceeding his opponent's, he might not necessarily lack a chance of winning in a real fight. He had only been caught so badly off guard before that he had ended up in such a sorry state.

Anglie grew increasingly calm.

He called over several servants and had them carry away more than ten iron balls. Then he had a maid find a pile of hemp rope and tie the iron balls up one by one. He hung every last one from the beam in his bedroom.

He remained busy until afternoon. After dinner, the red glow of the setting sun spilled in through the window.

More than ten iron balls hung densely in midair in his bedroom, tied up with rope. They looked like more than ten black cannonballs, forming a small formation.

Anglie stood in the bedroom doorway, calmly gazing at the suspended iron balls. He took a deep breath.

"Begin." He locked the door behind him and strode straight into the formation created by the iron balls. Then he gave one of them a light push, and it immediately swung outward.

This was what he wanted: the Iron Ball Formation.

Back on Earth in his previous life, he had been an expert at this game. Among the holographic simulation games on Earth, this was the only high-difficulty game he could persist in for an hour straight.

Of course, a game was a game, and reality was reality. Actually putting it to use was no simple matter. Yet once he could truly master it, according to Chip's calculations, Anglie's physical abilities would be utilized to their fullest extent. This was the first step in strengthening himself.

Time trickled by, drop by drop.

Bang!

An iron ball swung once more into Anglie's chest, making his body tighten as he instantly lost his balance. Then other iron balls slammed into him viciously. He was finally knocked out of the formation and stood to one side, gasping for breath. This was already the fifth time he had been knocked out.

"Give me the recovery time."

"Twenty minutes." Chip instantly produced the result.

Anglie nodded, turned and opened the door, then quickly went downstairs. It was already evening. He arrived at the training grounds.

A fierce battle was currently unfolding on the field—or rather, a fierce demonstration.

On one side was Knight Audis, and on the other was his son Krey. Each held a cross sword. Krey looked as though he was already giving it everything he had, his forehead covered in sweat, while Audis remained as tranquil as still water, casually blocking Krey's attacks one after another.

Besides the future Apprentice Knights, many guards and cavalrymen had come to watch the excitement. Cheers and shouts of approval rose without end, making the place noisy and bustling.

Anglie stood outside the crowd and calmly watched the battle. Every few days, Knight Audis or the Baron himself would come to the training grounds to select people for sparring matches, in order to improve the Apprentice Knights' combat experience. This was why Anglie came by occasionally. From time to time, he collected information on everyone. After more than half a month of gathering data, he had already collected nearly all the information on the major strongest figures in the castle.

"Has the data collection been completed?" Anglie silently asked.

"Data completeness: seventy percent. Swordsmanship data for Audis, Kyle Leo, Krey, and others has been fully collected."

Anglie did not watch any longer. He walked along the edge of the training grounds toward the dining hall. After training, what he needed was not to stand there and watch the excitement.

Most of the servants in the dining hall had gone to watch the spectacle. Only two or three maids remained inside cleaning.

When a young maid saw Anglie enter, she immediately came forward.

"Young Master Anglie, I found one of everything you asked for. The time was a little rushed, though, so I don't know whether I managed to find them all." The young maid was slightly nervous.

"Where are the things?" Anglie waved for the others to leave first.

"In the kitchen." the young maid replied.

The two quickly entered the kitchen. On a large table in the middle of the originally grimy, oil-stained kitchen were piled vegetables and fruits of all sizes, along with various cuts of meat. There was not much of any one ingredient, but the variety was quite complete.

"This is everything that could be found recently." the young maid said nervously.

"I understand. You can leave first." Anglie nodded and quickly walked to the large table. Ever since he had eaten the One-Eyed Snake's eyeball and discovered its components, he had entertained this idea: he wanted to try every food in this world and see whether he could find more things that could improve his physical abilities. Thus, he had secretly instructed a maid to collect different types of food for him.

He casually tossed the young maid a gold coin. She immediately beamed with joy, bowed respectfully, and withdrew from the kitchen, closing the door behind her.

A mountain-shaped candleholder still burned on the kitchen wall. The nearly complete darkness outside mingled with the pale yellow candlelight, giving the place an unusually murky, drowsy feeling.

Anglie casually picked up a purple, tangerine-shaped fruit from the table and lightly bit into it. Sweet juice with a faint spicy tang flowed into his mouth.

"Analyze the food components. Notify me if you discover anything that can enhance my constitution."

"Analyzing components..." Chip prompted that the analysis had begun.