Chapter 55: 55 Breaking Through to Intermediate Level

Chapter 55: 55. Breaking Through to the Intermediate Level

The outside world was turbulent and bustling, yet none of it concerned Ronin.

For now, he was merely a forlorn little baron, recently stripped of his inheritance and banished to a remote mountainous region; possessing neither strength nor manpower, he was completely beneath the notice of the various regional nobles.

This was just as well, as it afforded him the quietude required to develop in peace.

After completing a brief inspection of his serfs' progress in reclaiming the wasteland, Ronin returned to Crow Hill Castle and, drawing from the memories within his mind, sketched out the design for a curved-shaft plow.

Guided by Chahar, he paid a personal visit to the town blacksmith's shop to find Callus.

Though it was called a blacksmith's shop, Callus's labor actually extended far beyond smithing iron. After all, iron was prohibitively expensive in this day and age; even if the tenant farmers and free men possessed a few iron tools, they used them sparingly, so they did not break often.

Consequently, Callus usually sustained his family of three by crafting bone implements, stone tools, and pottery.

Right before Callus's eyes, Ronin gave a detailed explanation of his blueprints, vividly describing the utilization of the curved-shaft plow so that the man might grasp a deeper impression of it.

Callus naturally reacted to the lord's personal visit with a mixture of surprise and delight, while simultaneously feeling both anxious and excited about the task entrusted to him.

He was excited because the lord had promised a rich reward if he could successfully forge this type of plow;

he was anxious because he feared he might fail to complete it and suffer the lord's punishment.

Having settled in this impoverished, desolate place, securing the protection of the castle was of paramount importance; if he offended this newly arrived lord, his future days would be even harder than they had been during Prinster's time.

Forcing himself to steady his mind, Callus listened intently to the lord's words.

He discovered that this curved-shaft plow was something he had never encountered before, and the lord's description of it was so nimble and ingenious that he truly might not be able to forge it.

Ronin, on the other hand, possessed great confidence in Callus.

In his view, the structure of the curved-shaft plow was not complex, and since he had provided detailed blueprints, there should be absolutely no issue in creating it as long as the man's smithing skills were decent.

Having concluded this business, Ronin returned to the castle.

By now it was already afternoon, and McCann reported on the defensive duties of the territory.

The loyal captain of the guard proposed the necessity of constructing a watchtower near the entrance of the town.

At the same time, until the watchtower was built, he advocated stationing two guards on watch to register all personnel entering and leaving the territory (even though no one seemed to be coming or going at present);

furthermore, McCann intended to have David and thirteen other guards remain to garrison the castle, while the remaining twelve men would patrol the town, wheat fields, and orchards in groups of three, primarily to maintain public order.

Ronin rather approved of this plan, seeing that McCann indeed possessed a knack for security work and a clear line of thought.

Thus, with all preparations in order, early the next morning Ronin set off for Steed City, riding horses and driving a carriage alongside three extraordinary individuals, four guards, and his manservant Garen.

Ronin had long wished to visit this city ruled by the Ironhoof family, but plans could never keep pace with changes; it was only after arranging the affairs of Mountain Woods Town that he could seize the opportunity to venture out during Baron Layson's absence from the Saine Territory.

Truth be told, had Baron Layson not gone to celebrate Earl Orson's birthday, Ronin might still have had to look over his shoulder just to step out of Mountain Woods Town.

This trip to Steed City was strictly a purchasing expedition for Ronin.

Magic crystals, monster pelts, land-clearing tools, and wrought iron were all items he urgently needed to procure.

The mountain path was bumpy and swaying, but the company had already grown accustomed to it.

Of the many days he had spent since arriving in this world, more than half had been consumed by travel.

Sometimes he truly wished to use the contract scroll inside his spatial ring to bind a giant flying bird, but unfortunately, he had encountered no such magical beasts, nor could he squander such a precious item merely to replace foot travel.

Because of the carriage, the party could not move quickly, making it impossible for Ronin to traverse the woodlands as swiftly as Feridun had.

Nevertheless, compared to their arrival journey, they were still considerably faster; by the evening of the fourth day, the group arrived outside Steed City.

Traveling was evidently tedious, yet the journey held a small, pleasant surprise.

Precisely at midnight today, Ronin claimed his third heartwarming gift pack, receiving 30 attribute points and energy essences respectively.

In order to cultivate a top-tier combat power for Mountain Woods Town, Ronin continued to expend all the energy essences on McCann, helping his knight rank progress to intermediate 165/200.

While assigning points to McCann, Ronin inadvertently called up Elrond's status panel. He hadn't paid much attention to the mage's strength recently, but to his unexpected delight, this glance revealed another surprise.

There on Elrond's status panel, it clearly displayed:

[Elrond Phao]: Intermediate Mage · Light (4/300)

Over the past ten days or so, without receiving any assistance from Ronin, Elrond had relied on his own cultivation to increase his progress by 4 points, averaging an increase of one point every three days!

This might be related to the sheer volume of mana Elrond had been refining every day recently, but regardless, the man truly lived up to his potential as a mage with the aptitude of a seventh-tier Grand Archmage; the speed of his advancement was remarkably swift.

Since Elrond could improve his strength through cultivation, McCann naturally could as well.

It was just that the latter's aptitude was lower, making his progress difficult to perceive. Furthermore, Ronin's allocation of points to him masked the improvement brought about by his own cultivation.

Among everyone present, Ronin was likely the only one incapable of advancing through cultivation; after all, his predecessor possessed not an ounce of talent for it.

Fortunately, he possessed the attribute panel, gaining at least 1 attribute point every day, which translated to a very rapid rate of progress.

And this time, relying on the heartwarming gift pack, he finally maxed out his progress as a beginner mage.

With both his knight rank and mage rank progress fully maxed, a refreshing sensation of strengthening washed over him.

He had broken through.

At this moment, Ronin's status stood at:

[Rank]: 2-Intermediate Knight (12/200); 2-Intermediate Mage (0/300)

He still chose to allocate his attribute points to his knight rank first.

After breaking through to the intermediate level, Ronin's cultivation became busy.

He needed to practice the two spells he had obtained from Pedro: the Lightness Spell and the Wind Blade Spell;

besides that, in terms of battle techniques, he needed to master the Flame Slash and Fire Fist Bombardment which he had acquired from Prinster.

His exceptional affinity lowered the difficulty of mastering battle techniques and magic, but these were intermediate skills after all; unlike the simple first-tier spell, the Gentle Breeze Spell, he would still need to practice repeatedly for a while to master them completely.

Take the Wind Blade spell, for instance; its magical lines were far more intricate than those of the Gentle Breeze Spell. It required a higher degree of focus in his sketching, as well as greater coordination between his mental power and mana.

Ronin estimated it would take him another two or three days of practice to use it with ease.

This breakthrough brought about a significant shift in the mindsets of the party members—McCann and Elrond were fair enough, but it was primarily Tom.

He had never imagined that the eldest grandson of the marquess, a man so utterly disparaged by Prinster, was not only a professional knight but also a mysterious mage just like Mr. Elrond!

The Lightness Spell cast upon his body made him feel an unprecedented buoyancy, boosting his speed by twenty to thirty percent in the blink of an eye!

When converted into combat effectiveness, such speed was highly formidable.

He felt increasingly wise for having surrendered directly back then, rather than choosing to resist head-on as Prinster had.

Though he wore a mask now, Tom believed that a day would come when he could discard it and reveal his true identity.

By that time, Baron Layson of the Saine Territory would likely be no match for Baron Ronin.

No, perhaps by then, Baron Layson would no longer even exist.

(End of Chapter)