Chapter 142: Chapter 141: Breakthrough

In Swamp Town, inside a rather luxurious villa, Reisen was in bed, tangled up with his lover.

Nobles were typically only allowed one wife at a time, a rule passed down from the old laws of the Empire.

However, a nobleman could have many lovers.

Reisen had lovers in several places, and he kept one in Swamp Town whom he would visit for a bit of fun whenever the mood struck.

After a brief climax, he entered the cool-down phase. He lay in bed with the beautiful woman in his arms, but a sense of unease lingered in his mind.

’Didn’t the Skull Society send an assassin to kill Ronin? How has it been this long with no news from Mountain Forest Town?’

Knight Philton had delivered the letter himself, and it was Philton who had brought back the verbal reply.

’Could the assassination have failed?’

The moment he considered this possibility, Reisen dismissed it.

If the Skull Society truly intended to assassinate Ronin, they would absolutely dispatch a core member.

As far as Reisen knew, while the Skull Society didn’t have many core members, every single one of them was exceptionally powerful.

Once a core member took action, the assassination success rate was extremely high—especially when the target was a rookie like Ronin, who was only a Basic Level Knight.

Reisen couldn’t think of any reason they would fail.

’Hmm, with all the ice and snow recently, and Mountain Forest Town being so remote, it’s possible the Skull Society just hasn’t chosen this time to act.’

Reisen landed on a more reasonable possibility. After all, the message Philton brought back only said the Skull Society would act, not when they would do it.

“My lord, what are you thinking about?”

The woman in his arms nuzzled against his chest, cooing softly. Her small hands reached down below again, pulling Reisen’s attention back to the present.

He gave her a firm squeeze and laughed. “What, still want more?”

“This time, I want to try something different~”

While Reisen was indulging himself, Ronin was leaning against his headboard, quietly waiting for midnight to arrive.

It was December 14th. According to the monthly check-in rules, he could claim the month’s second Heartwarming Gift Package today.

As text appeared before his eyes, Ronin knew the time had come. He eagerly opened his Attribute Panel:

[Level]: 3-Advanced Level Knight (280/300); 3-Senior Mage (400/400)

[Attribute Points]: 31

[Energy Essence]: 1187

The second Heartwarming Gift Package brought him 25 Attribute Points. Combined with what he had accumulated over the past few days, Ronin now had 31 Attribute Points—more than enough for a breakthrough.

’I can finally break through!’

Ronin was thrilled. A Bronze Knight and a Great Mage—either title alone carried significant weight in the world.

Take Wiggin, for example. His hopes of breaking through from Advanced Level Knight had already been slim, and now that he’d lost a leg, his chances were gone for good.

And yet, seventeen-year-old Ronin had already reached that point.

He no longer hesitated, pouring all 20 Attribute Points into his Knight Level.

As the progress bar filled, the text on his Attribute Panel changed first.

[Level]: 4-Bronze Knight (0/800); 4-Great Mage (0/1200)

Immediately after, a bronze radiance flashed across his skin—the telltale sign of a Knight breaking through from the Advanced Level to the Bronze tier.

Through this light, Ronin felt as if he could see through his own skin, flesh, organs, and bones.

At the same time, Ronin could feel that his physical strength had been significantly boosted, and his skin and muscles seemed to have been reinforced.

In that moment, the impact of breaking through to a new Great Tier washed over his senses. From body to spirit, he felt himself soar into the clouds, as if he could look down upon the entire world. The feeling was exhilarating.

’I’ve heard that Bronze Knights have very tough skin.’

Ronin lifted his hand, examining his palm. Outwardly, there didn’t seem to be any difference.

He picked up a small knife from the table and lightly grazed it across his finger. It didn’t break the skin or draw blood.

’My defense is definitely a little stronger, but it’s still very limited. It won’t stop a real blade.’

A light swipe from the knife couldn’t break the skin, but with a bit more force, it still could—to say nothing of the violent clashes of an actual battle.

The improved recovery for his stamina and Spirit, however, was very real.

After a Knight reaches the Advanced Level Peak, they must use Fighting Qi to temper their flesh and blood to achieve a breakthrough.

To go from Bronze to silver, they must use Fighting Qi to temper their internal organs.

To go from silver to Gold, they must temper their bones.

These three stages are therefore known as “Cast Iron Body.” Cultivating with the help of a Fighting Qi Secret Scripture can accelerate the tempering process.

Lurans had gifted him the Wushan Clan’s Fighting Qi Secret Scripture, but Ronin had no need for such a thing.

All he had to do was add points. Fighting Qi Veins would form automatically within his body, and his flesh, organs, and bones would absorb Energy on their own to complete the reinforcement.

Ronin focused on his Mana Space.

Although breaking through to Great Mage didn’t come with a bronze glow like the Knight advancement, Ronin could clearly feel his Mana Space had expanded by more than half!

He could now refine far more Magic Power, and the number of spells he could cast had increased tremendously.

He traced the Magic Patterns for the Third-level Flame Burst Skill in the air and discovered that after his breakthrough, his casting speed had also quickened slightly, making it considerably easier than before.

Once Ronin mastered all the Tier Four Combat Skills and Magic, his available options in a fight would increase significantly.

At that point, if he were to face the assassin called Shadow again, he would be able to take them down with absolute speed.

’It’s just that the number of Attribute Points I need next is a bit too high…’

To break through again, he would need to accumulate a total of 2,000 Attribute Points. Calculating based on the 139 points he could get each month, he would need fifteen months to reach the Silver Level.

’Uh, a little over a year… that doesn’t actually seem that slow, does it?’

Ronin scratched his head. It took even the fastest Bronze Knights two or three years to break through to the silver tier.

His rate of advancement was already that of a genius among geniuses.

If he was complaining that this was slow, other people would probably want to kill him if they found out.

’The Knight Level only requires 800 Attribute Points, 400 fewer than the Great Mage. It’s probably best to prioritize adding points to the Knight Level for now.’

Of course, that wasn’t set in stone.

If necessary, like when learning a spell that consumed a lot of Magic Power or Spiritual Power, Ronin could always add a few points to his Mage Level.

’Now that I’ve broken through, I wonder how Ridder is doing in Grey Soil Village?’

Ridder had been an Advanced Peak Knight ever since he was summoned, and his inability to break through was due to being constrained by Ronin’s own Level.

Now, that constraint no longer existed.

「Grey Soil Village.」

Ridder had been preparing to rest when, unexpectedly, a bronze radiance burst forth from his body.

He was startled for a moment, but he quickly understood. “It seems my lord has made a breakthrough.”

In that instant, his abilities were enhanced.

At the same time, fragments of memory began to surface, flashing rapidly through his mind.

They included a Fighting Qi Secret Scripture, new Combat Skills, and fragments of certain past events.

’Nightmare Demon?’

He had previously only remembered being the Commander-in-Chief of the Flame Expedition Army, but now, images of battle were added to his memories.

And his enemy, it seemed, was an entity called the Nightmare Demon.

’That’s a rather strange name.’

Aside from that, the new memory fragments also contained a few scenes of him leading troops into battle, but not many.

After Ridder processed all this, he took advantage of his brimming energy and began his Cultivation, circulating the methods from the Fighting Qi Secret Scripture.

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