Giant Whale Elixir

Duke turned around and discovered that Vivian had arrived at some point. She seemed to have been standing there watching for quite a while.

He realized he had been somewhat careless. Being inside the manor had made him lower his guard.

Fortunately, it was Vivian who had come. If it had been an enemy, he would surely have suffered for it.

Vivian was still clad in full armor, though she was not carrying her great axe. Only an exquisite longsword hung at her waist.

"Miss Vivian!" Duke placed his right hand over his heart and saluted.

Vivian walked over and said, "Teaching you this combat skill was merely a whim at the time. I wanted to see your potential. I hadn't expected much, but I never thought you would truly train it to this level. How is your progress with the Breathing Method?"

"Recently, I just reached the fifth level of the Breathing Method," Duke said.

"Good, very good. Nightingale has gained another High-Level Knight Apprentice. You have the potential to advance to an Official Knight." Vivian was silent for a moment before giving her assessment.

"Are you planning to spend the winter here alone?" Vivian asked.

Duke nodded. "Yes. I have nowhere else to go."

He had no relatives in this world either. He was entirely alone.

"Today, I brought some food and wine to visit the soldiers staying behind to guard the manor. I saw your name on the list and came to take a look. I didn't expect you to give me such a pleasant surprise," Vivian said.

Count Hardy treated his own people well. Those who remained at the manor through the bitter winter would naturally receive some compensation.

Besides food and wine, they would also be given a sum of money.

Count Hardy was a straightforward man. He never wasted words on empty pleasantries or false promises. As long as someone rendered merit, he would reward them—and those rewards were generally glittering gold coins.

That was one of the reasons so many people were willing to risk their lives for him. As long as they worked, they would be rewarded. Even if they died unfortunate deaths someday, they would not need to worry about their families being left uncared for.

Duke now had some understanding of the situation in the surrounding regions and knew a little about the other territories.

The soldiers in many territories did not receive such favorable treatment. It was considered only natural for personal guards to give their lives for their lords.

Even if they died in battle, their families would only receive a few Silver Coins as compensation.

Jade Province still had no grand duke. The highest-ranking nobles were counts. At present, Count Hardy's Maple Hill County was the largest territory, with the most troops and the greatest strength.

Duke also learned that apart from internal threats such as bandits and magical beasts, Maple Hill County faced threats from other territories as well.

Several neighboring territories eyed Maple Hill County greedily, always hoping that one day they could take a bite out of this rich prize.

Maple Hill County covered a vast area and possessed great stretches of plains that produced abundant grain.

The wheat Duke had harvested at the beginning had come from those plains. They were the greatest grain-producing region in all of Maple Hill County.

In this era of scarce resources, grain was the most important strategic resource.

Many territories had their eyes on Maple Hill County because they wanted to seize that grain-producing land.

The Vira Kingdom turned a blind eye to wars between these minor nobles. Or rather, it lacked the ability to control them.

Other than knowing that the royal family of the Vira Kingdom was the Wright Family, Duke knew nothing about the royal house.

Most commoners in Maple Hill County would hear little news of the royal capital from birth until death.

To them, it did not matter who the king was. They only cared who ruled Maple Hill County.

Vivian then checked Duke's training progress and had him demonstrate the Whale Breathing Method once more, as well as the effects of the Burning Wave Sword Art.

She seemed quite satisfied. Then she took an exquisite oval glass bottle from beneath her armor and said, "This is Giant Whale Elixir. Take it and use it. When practicing the Breathing Method, apply a few drops to any part of your body, and it will be absorbed."

Duke accepted the exquisite glass bottle. It still retained some warmth, and when he sniffed it carefully, he could smell a faint fragrance.

Vivian explained, "Giant Whale Elixir is specially made to assist with the Whale Breathing Method. It can greatly accelerate progress in the Breathing Method. Its main ingredients are ambergris and fresh blood from Twilight Deer."

Only then did Duke understand why Vivian had issued a mission to capture Twilight Deer. He had thought she merely wanted to keep them as pets.

"Miss Vivian, I will work hard to become an Official Knight as soon as possible. I won't let down your expectations," Duke said solemnly.

The moment Vivian took out the Giant Whale Elixir, she was truly treating Duke as one of her own and nurturing him accordingly.

Many nobles controlled inheritances of Breathing Methods. Most Breathing Methods had exclusive elixirs to accompany them, allowing training to yield twice the results with half the effort.

However, such elixirs were generally extremely precious and scarce.

The ambergris Vivian mentioned was an expensive spice, a luxury exclusive to the royal family and great nobles. Even the Soaring Eagle Merchant Guild found it difficult to acquire.

Duke had no idea how much ambergris had been used to make this small bottle of Giant Whale Elixir. Its value was impossible to estimate.

Vivian said nothing more. After giving him the Giant Whale Elixir, she left.

Duke held the bottle of elixir in his hand and watched Vivian depart.

He returned to his room and opened the bottle. An extraordinarily enticing fragrance drifted out.

The scent was not overpowering. It was pleasant to breathe in, relaxing his mind considerably.

Duke carefully dripped a drop onto the back of his hand, rubbed it in, and began practicing the Whale Breathing Method.

[You have completed one session of Whale Breathing Method practice. Proficiency +17]

[Whale Breathing Method: LV5 (18/2000)]

Duke's eyes widened at the number. He almost suspected that he was seeing things.

Even when he used High-Tier Magical Beast meat to assist his training, he only gained four or five proficiency points each time. Now, he had gained a full seventeen points in one go.

At this rate, Duke would be able to raise the Whale Breathing Method to the sixth level in less than half a month.

Duke glanced at the liquid remaining in the bottle and estimated that it would only last for about half a month.

If he could use Giant Whale Elixir to assist his training every day, Duke felt that it would not take him long to reach the realm of a Great Knight.

But that was merely wishful thinking. This bottle of Giant Whale Elixir had clearly been meant for Vivian's own use. She had only given it to Duke on a sudden impulse.

There was another point as well: the Giant Whale Elixir's current effects were so great, but it might not remain this effective later on.

It was like magical beast meat. At first, mid-Tiered Magical Beast meat had fairly good effects, but later, High-Tier Magical Beast meat became necessary.

The effects of High-Tier Magical Beast meat had already diminished for Duke. It used to grant him four or five proficiency points each time, but now it could only increase his proficiency by two or three points.

For him, he would probably need to eat Tiered Magical Beast meat to obtain better results.

But Tiered Magical Beasts possessed strength comparable to Official Knights, and they were generally even stronger than Official Knights.

Meat from magical beasts of that level was no longer simply a matter of price. It was something money could not buy.