Skill Replication

The wind carried a faint smell of blood into the tent. Firelight flickered across the canvas walls, making the shadows waver.

Shien took off his boots, caked with blood and mud, and spread the personnel roster across the desk. His pen paused over Hans Croft's name, then decisively struck it out.

Today's show of force had not been a spur-of-the-moment decision. He had planned it all in advance.

With his current strength and resources, hoping to build up grace little by little through acts of kindness was a pipe dream. It would cost too much, take too long, and carry enormous risk.

In the heartland of the kingdom, he could still use the church's banner and the might of the Holy City Army to keep things stable.

But once they entered the buffer zone around the Eternal Night Wall, the pressure of the approaching Blood Moon would keep growing. Outside authority would quickly lose its force, and every source of instability would surface.

Killing a rebellious knight commander then would be courting death. In truth, he had little time to act.

That was why he had chosen to crush the unrest and rebellion within the group tonight, as swiftly and fiercely as possible...

To make everyone understand that he alone was their leader.

What Shien had not expected was for a speech meant to establish his authority to send grace values soaring.

It was not only the condemned who saw a massive rise. Knights, warriors, and even church knights gained grace values.

That meant grace did not depend solely on helping people or showing them kindness. A shock to the spirit, the shaping of a story, the instilling of belief—all of it could stir grace.

This far exceeded his expectations. It meant there were more ways to improve his advantage, which was undoubtedly good news.

Soft footsteps sounded outside the tent.

The old steward Griffin spoke with a little more respect than before. "Young master, the man you wished to see is here."

"Let him in." Shien set down his quill.

The tent flap lifted, and the burly Ivan ducked inside.

His nearly eight-foot frame seemed to make the tent even smaller. In the firelight, he looked like a brown bear clad in iron, though his eyes held excitement and nerves.

Shien glanced at the number hovering above Ivan's head in his vision. Around 440. It stood head and shoulders above those of every other knight and warrior in the company.

He had noticed Ivan back when they first set out. Amid a sea of gray and white on the first day, Ivan's grace value had shown a faint hint of green.

After tonight's speech, that green had surged faster than anyone else's.

Passionate, easily inspired, quick to find fulfillment—a knight driven by honor.

He was perfectly suited to be the Canon of Grace and Righteousness's first test subject.

Ivan had no idea he was being studied so closely. All he felt was a burning tightness in his chest. Why had the lord summoned him?

He dropped to one knee, clumsily doing his best to imitate a noble knight's formal salute. "Y-your subordinate Ivan... has come as ordered."

Even half-kneeling, his towering frame brought his eyes almost level with Shien's.

Shien noticed how rigid his shoulders were, and how badly he had failed at imitating a nobleman's manner of speech.

He gave Ivan a gentle smile, measured to just the right degree. "Relax, Ivan."

Ivan swallowed, and his shoulders visibly loosened, though his face remained scarlet. "Yes, my lord."

Shien made his voice warmer and asked directly, "The name Corbin is hardly unknown in the Kingdom of Austeria. And a genius who entered the Resonance Realm at sixteen should never have ended up in my company."

Ivan shuddered slightly and lowered his head. "Three months ago, at a market in the royal capital, Count Greywood's second son... your brother, my lord, brought men to abduct a farmer's daughter. I stopped him and punched him in front of everyone."

At that, Shien thought of the pack of vile vermin the Greywood name had raised.

Most of his half-brothers were rotten to the core, and the second son in particular was a worthless bully who threw his family's weight around.

Self-doubt filled Ivan's voice. "I... didn't save the girl in the end. And my father personally ordered me into your expedition to appease the count's anger. My lord, I'm not afraid to go to the Eternal Night Wall..."

His next words seemed forced out of his chest. "But these past few days, I've kept wondering... was that punch a mistake?

"If I'd pretended not to see anything like everyone else, perhaps my father wouldn't have been humiliated. Perhaps that farming family could have lived on the hush money."

Shien watched him quietly, studying the emotion in Ivan's eyes until he was certain that sincerity was no act. Only then did he speak.

"Ivan, most people kneel to the darkness and call it a way to survive. To me, it is cowardice to the bone."

He slowly reached out and rested his fingers on Ivan's shoulder armor. "Look up."

Ivan instinctively straightened his back and raised his head, meeting Shien's deep gaze.

"The scum who flaunt their power by tormenting the weak don't deserve your loyalty. Here, you are worthy of being called a true knight."

Shien deliberately lowered his voice, speaking as though he were swearing an oath before the Source Furnace. "From tonight onward, you are no longer a castoff. You are my chief guard, the last wall standing before me."

With that, he turned and took a silver-plated steel longsword from a wooden chest.

The sword was one of the few treasures he had brought from his Lineage.

Shien offered it to Ivan with both hands, his words and movements steeped in ceremony. "Take it. Let the Sacred Flame bear witness to your grace and righteousness. I promise you that one day, I will lead you back to the Royal Capital."

"When that day comes, those sinners who profane the light will kneel at your feet and pay for every evil they committed today."

The instant Ivan took the longsword in both hands, a chill shot from his palms all the way up his spine.

The hands of this third-tier knight, who could crush rock with his bare fingers, trembled so badly he could barely hold a sword that was not especially heavy.

Three months of self-doubt, the humiliation of being cast out by his own kin, the way his faith in justice had wavered in a dark cell...

All of it turned to blazing fire in that moment, threatening to burst from his chest.

He had never imagined that someone could see into his soul, let alone crown it as holy.

"My lord..." Ivan raised the longsword horizontally above his head and pressed his forehead against the cold blade.

In that moment, Shien was no longer merely his lord. He was the only light in the long night.

"With this sword in my hands, and the Sacred Flame as my witness..." Ivan closed his eyes, letting hot tears fall onto the dirt. "From this day forth, wherever you point, there shall your subordinate lay down his bones."

An indescribable reverence welled up from the depths of Ivan's soul. The next instant, the Canon of Grace and Righteousness burst into light in Shien's vision!

The number above Ivan's head climbed wildly!

442... 570... 767... 812!

The bright green swiftly faded, its color deepening into blue—the color of devotion so absolute that he would entrust his life to Shien.

Shien steadied himself and called softly in the depths of his mind, "Canon, inspect."

Illusory text appeared at once:

[Activate Karmic Manifestation inspection. Cost: 50 Reward Value. Proceed?]

"Proceed."

The Canon slowly opened in his sea of consciousness, visible to Shien alone.

[Canon of Grace and Righteousness · Karmic Manifestation]

[Target: Ivan Corbin]

[Current Grace Value: 812 (blue)]

[Current permissions available: Secret Inspection, Intelligence Gathering, Skill Replication]

As the Canon's pages turned, everything Ivan had accumulated over his life became icons suspended in Shien's vision.

[Skills currently available for replication]

LV.1 skills (cost: 200 reward points): Knight's Footwork, Shield Block, Basic Battlefield Awareness, Basic Bandaging, Whistling...

LV.2 skills (cost: 600 Reward Value): Short-Term Battle Aura Burst, Piercing Slash, Knight's Charge...

Shien focused and checked his remaining Reward Value. Tonight's bloody show of force had rapidly raised his total to 932.

Just enough to replicate one LV.1 skill and one LV.2 skill. Shien's gaze swept quickly over the skill icons.

Shield Block or Rock-Solid Stance would certainly help him take a beating.

But neither suited his current fighting style. With his slight build, he could not yet meet force with force like Ivan, a walking fortress of flesh.

Piercing Slash and the other combat skills also required long practice with a weapon.

Staying alive comes first. Shien made the rational choice. In the Eternal Night, danger could lurk in any shadow.

[Confirm replication: LV.1 Basic Battlefield Awareness, LV.2 Short-Term Battle Aura Burst]

[Total cost: 800 Reward Value. Remaining: 132. Replication commencing...]

Boom!

It was as if some force had exploded deep inside his skull.

Shien's senses stretched outward in an instant. The moment Basic Battlefield Awareness loaded, the once-quiet tent became astonishingly vivid in every dimension. This was a combat instinct normally possessed only by a third-tier knight.

Without even trying, he could sense the rhythm of the candle flame flickering behind him, catch Griffin's breathing outside the tent, and even smell the lingering blood in the distance.

Then a second force poured into his body. A violent wave of heat burst from his heart, scorching through every limb and bone.

The technique of Short-Term Battle Aura Burst imprinted itself into every muscle fiber. Now, with a single thought, Shien could multiply his strength severalfold in a fraction of a second.

The skills finished loading.

Ivan had no idea what had just happened. He only felt his lord's gaze turn terrifyingly deep for an instant before returning to calm in the next breath.

Shien withdrew his hand, his voice composed. "Rise, Ivan. Guard the tent tonight. Remember: your sword is my will."

"As you command, my lord!" Ivan replied in a deep voice.

He backed out of the tent and took his place at the entrance. Firelight fell across his towering body, making him look all the more imposing and solemn.

After tonight, anyone who wished to enter the lord's tent would first have to step over his corpse.