High-Level Knight Apprentice

Duke braced himself against the table, barely managing to steady his body. It felt as though his mind had just been struck by a heavy hammer.

When he came back to his senses, he found that his clothes were covered in a faint golden glow. He had no idea what it did.

Duke looked at the Brass Ring on his hand and connected it with the information he had just received. He roughly understood.

After he had spoken the words Amokoyelensa, the ring had drawn something out of his mind before activating.

The faint golden glow clinging to his body came from the ring's power. Judging from the meaning of Amokoyelensa, it was meant to withstand elemental attacks.

"Elemental attacks... does that mean magical power?" Duke pondered.

He recalled what he had heard the bard say at the tavern. This ring was clearly a mysterious item as well, and most likely something left behind by a Wizard.

Duke picked up his longsword and lightly drew it across his arm, leaving behind a white mark.

If he had used a little more force, he could have easily cut open his skin.

This faint golden membrane could not defend against cold weapons, so it did not seem particularly useful for now.

Duke had never encountered an enemy capable of using magic, so he probably would not need this thing anytime soon.

He put the Brass Ring on his finger so that he could activate it whenever necessary.

Thinking back to the moment his vision had gone dark, Duke guessed that his mental power had been too low, or perhaps it had only just met the requirement to activate the ring.

If his mental power had been any lower, he might not have been able to activate the ring at all.

Since Leo had placed the ring inside that box, he must have known that it was special.

Yet he had not worn it himself, which suggested that he had not figured out how to use it.

More precisely, Leo's mental power had probably been too low to meet the minimum requirement for using the ring.

Leo had most likely failed to discover the mystery on the ring as well and had not seen the words that appeared on it.

Duke glanced out the window. Thankfully, there was no one outside right now, or they would have seen him glowing gold all over.

He quietly shifted his position and hid in the corner of the room to avoid being seen.

About ten minutes later, the faint golden glow gradually faded away.

Duke also learned the duration of the spell. Without suffering elemental attacks, it could last for ten minutes.

Three days later, Wood woke up. His injuries had not worsened, and everything was slowly improving.

In November, heavy snow fell, instantly covering all of Jade Province in silver.

Besides buying himself cotton clothes, cotton shoes, and other winter garments, Duke also bought Wood, Uncle John's family, and the others some essential supplies for the winter.

In addition to clothing, there was all kinds of food to ensure that they could get through the winter safely.

The entire Yining Village received Duke's aid. Every household could collect cotton clothes, quilts, and essential food. No one would freeze to death this year.

Ever since Duke could remember, winter had been the season of death. Someone always died from cold or hunger.

Now that he had some ability, he could finally do what he could for the people of the village.

Duke did not stay in Yining Village for the winter. After settling the villagers, he returned to Habs Manor.

The manor had more complete facilities, making daily training much more convenient.

There were few people at the manor at this time as well. After winter arrived, the entire Moonlight Forest seemed to have calmed down, and incidents of beasts and magical beasts attacking villages and towns had become rare.

After working hard for an entire year, the members of Nightingale were granted a fairly long holiday. Only a small number remained at the manor to take shifts on guard duty.

There were very few people like Duke, who had not been assigned a guard shift yet still remained at the manor. Most either returned to their hometowns or spent the winter in houses they had bought.

Many Nightingale members owned homes in Maple Hill City. They usually did not live at the manor, much less during winter.

Most of them had families. Unlike Duke, they were alone and could live anywhere.

Living in Maple Hill City was indeed far more convenient. Whether it was drinking or finding women, they could reach their destination just by turning a corner after stepping outside.

Duke did not want to buy a house for the time being. For one thing, they were rather expensive. For another, the manor had everything, and food was free. Leaving the manor would cost him quite a bit more money.

He had quite a few Gold Coins on him now, but he was still reluctant to spend extravagantly.

His biggest recent expense had been purchasing winter necessities for the villagers.

Duke intended to spend most of his money on cultivation. Magical beast meat was too expensive, so he had to be frugal.

One month later.

[Whale Breathing Method level increased, Constitution +0.3, Strength +0.3, Agility +0.3]

[Whale Breathing Method: LV5 (1/2000)]

[Burning Wave Sword Art level increased, Constitution +0.2, Strength +0.2, Agility +0.2]

[Burning Wave Sword Art: LV4 (1/500)]

[Constitution: 9.7]

[Strength: 9.7]

[Agility: 9.7]

[Mental: 8.1]

[Free Attribute Points: 3]

Duke spent a peaceful month alone at the manor. After quietly developing himself during this time, he raised both the Whale Breathing Method and the Burning Wave Sword Art by one level.

The Whale Breathing Method had reached the fifth level. A pale white flower had sprouted between the two green leaves on the Skill Tree.

This also meant that Duke had successfully entered the ranks of a High-Level Knight Apprentice, and his entire body underwent another transformation from the inside out.

His meridians became broader and tougher, greatly increasing the amount of Battle Qi they could contain.

Having reached this level, he could officially begin striving for the realm of an Official Knight.

Many Knight Apprentices remained stuck at this point for their entire lives, unable to advance any further.

Without sufficient talent, it was always difficult to take this step, even with the aid of magical beast meat.

Duke's talent as a knight was not particularly good, but he did not need to worry about that.

As long as he pushed the Whale Breathing Method to the seventh level, he would be promoted to an Official Knight.

The Burning Wave Sword Art had also reached the level of great mastery. Theoretically, this was the highest realm of this combat skill, but judging by the Skill Tree, it could still be raised further.

Duke walked out of the wooden house and stood in the snow with his longsword in hand. When he circulated the Burning Wave Sword Art, a layer of white Sword Aura immediately covered the blade. In the blink of an eye, the white Sword Aura turned into a ring of flames that blazed fiercely along the sword.

This was the effect of cultivating the combat skill to great mastery. The Battle Qi within Duke's body was being consumed frantically and would soon be exhausted.

He had only just become a High-Level Knight Apprentice, and the amount of Battle Qi in his body was still insufficient. Only after cultivating the Breathing Technique for some time could he accumulate enough Battle Qi to use this combat skill.

Affected by the intense heat radiating from the flames, the ice and snow around him gradually began to melt.

"I didn't expect you to master it so quickly." A cool voice came from nearby.