Victor invited Hector to stay overnight at the castle, but the baron declined, citing the need to return to his own territory.
Escorting his guest to the gate, the lord summoned his knight and headed to the back courtyard for training. Once there, he donned his armour and assumed a fighting stance, only to pause suddenly, remembering what he had read in the book. Attempting to concentrate on casting the blessing spell on himself, he failed to activate it.
Perplexed about how to apply the skill, he opened the menu and searched for a skill panel, but found nothing. Just before closing it, he noticed a faint glowing crown-shaped mark on his hammer.
Closing the menu hastily, he grabbed the hammer and tried pressing the mark, but nothing happened.
Under the confused stare of his knight, the baron rubbed the hammer, hit it, and even talked to it, earning only ridicule. Instead of gaining a blessing, he felt like a fool conversing with an inanimate object.
In jest, he raised the hammer high, mimicking Thor, god of thunder, and laughing at himself. Suddenly, a bright light burst around him, forming a ring that spread outward from the hammer, engulfing everything within twenty meters, including Alganis.
Victor trembled with raw energy flooding his body, threatening to rip him apart. Trying desperately to contain it, he noticed cracks forming on his skin, emitting light, accompanied by excruciating pain.
Seeking help, he glanced at his knight, who knelt with his sword planted in the earth, clutching it tightly, as if afraid to release it.
Realizing he wouldn't receive aid, Victor refocused, attempting to control the energy, mentally forcing it to move within his body. Eventually, it began to rotate slowly, then faster, spiraling out of control.
Struggling to regain mastery, he watched as the hammer lit up and absorbed excess energy, leaving only a fraction.
Calming down, he felt significantly stronger. Power seemed to course through him, but his attempt to restore his concealed aura failed.
Glancing at his knight, he saw his aura in chaos.
Unwilling to disturb him, Victor sat cross-legged several feet away, observing silently. An hour later, a shockwave exploded from Alganis, knocking the lord backward three meters.
Struggling to stand, he stared at his knight, who now looked deranged.
— My lord, I've broken through to Silver Level! — Alganis exclaimed, shaking with excitement.
Still recovering from the blast, Victor was overjoyed. Having gained a silver-level knight meant greater safety for his domain, and more importantly, he could now bless his soldiers to augment their strength.
Confused about the mechanics of this power, he nevertheless felt reassured by its presence.
— Are you okay? — he asked, flashing a broad smile.
— My lord, I don't know what power you obtained, but I owe you my gratitude and loyalty, — Alganis repeated, kneeling again.
Alganis then explained that for the past five years, he had made no progress in developing his skills. Reaching a plateau meant hitting a limit, where even potions couldn't enhance his strength.
Now, however, he had broken through from High Bronze to Silver, and his strength continued to evolve, albeit slowly, raising hopes of climbing even higher.
His father had remained stuck at High Bronze, and Alganis assumed the same fate awaited him. Thankfully, he had not only ascended but also gained momentum.
— Fine, get up. You'll see more wonders in the future. Remember, your strength is my strength, so there's no need for gratitude, — Victor sighed, tired of endless displays of deference.
His knight still stared at him incredulously.
— My lord, you've broken through to Bronze Level! — he exclaimed suddenly.
Unable to hide his increased power, Victor realized Alganis had noticed.
— That's right, we'll both grow stronger going forward, — he announced, turning to leave for the castle, pausing occasionally to admire his hands, which bore crack-like patterns from the breakthrough.
Concentrating on his aura, he observed it now tinged bronze-coloured. Recalling his earlier status as an Iron Knight, he noted his aura had been dirty grey; now it matched the bronze level.
Probably, this correlation was intentional.
"What does the aura of an 'Eternal Radiance' knight look like?" he wondered, entering the castle.
At the entrance, Lulu awaited him with a damp towel. Accepting it, he cleaned his face and returned it to her, rewarded by her bright smile.
Touching her head affectionately, he walked into the dining hall, where he took his seat, awaiting supper.
Seated at the table, Victor eyed the butler, who supervised the serving of dishes, and addressed him.
— Jin, tell the kitchen to diversify our meals. I can no longer eat chicken and meat, — he added after brief reflection: — Does our cook know any other recipes?
The poor butler was dumbfounded. The cook employed by the castle was an ordinary woman he hired upon arrival, unable to relocate a professional chef from their previous residence.
Seeing Jin's bewilderment, Victor dismissed it, recalling simple recipes he cooked on Earth.
— Don't worry about it. Just buy ingredients from neighbouring lands, and I'll share new recipes.
Jin's confusion intensified. He couldn't fathom how a nobleman could acquire new recipes, let alone know anything about cooking.
Typically, nobles could cook rudimentary meals while camping, but these skills rarely extended beyond roasting meat over a fire.
"Could the lord have found a recipe book somewhere in the castle?" Jin wondered, believing this to be the logical explanation.
After supper, the exhausted lord retired to his bedroom, guided by his maid.
Next morning, he resumed his day with training. This time, he discarded his defensive tactics and engaged in full-fledged sparring with his knight.
Victor blessed himself and Alganis, but this time no dramatic consequences occurred. His comprehension of combat improved, but only marginally.
Whenever Alganis attacked, Victor could anticipate his moves and adjust accordingly.
Unfortunately, his skills were severely inadequate. Two hours of intensive training yielded no weak spots in Alganis' defence, and all his strikes were blocked, while he sustained several blows that could have killed him in a real fight.
Ending the session, he reviewed his stats in the menu.
Strength: 34 (+5 points)
Agility: 32 (+5 points)
Intellect: 18 (no change)
Luck: 12 (+3 points)
Armour proficiency: Increased from -56% to -23%. Hammer and shield were now silver-coloured, matching the belt. However, despite tapping them repeatedly, no additional features unlocked.
"Was that mark on the hammer the key to unlocking extra abilities?" he wondered.
Finishing here, he went to his study and retrieved hidden sheets of parchment, recalling something important. Opening his inventory, he attempted placing one leaf inside, whereupon it vanished from his hands and reappeared in the inventory. Delighted by this discovery, he packed all sheets there.
Forgotten about his original purpose, he exited the study and, calling Alganis, rode toward the seashore to inspect the progress of salt farms.
En route, Victor surveyed his lands, which appeared desolate and neglected.
Soil was depleted from drought and continuous planting, reducing fertility drastically. Fields resembled nuclear test sites, stripped of life.
Proper agriculture required fertilisation and rotation. Ideally, dividing plots into four sections, planting diverse crops annually, and leaving one plot fallow yearly restored nutrients.
Grains sucked the land dry, exhausting it within two to three seasons.
Ideally, locating clover, alfalfa, or legumes would enrich the soil with nitrogen, structurally supporting it and feeding livestock.
Saltpetre, if available, could solve many problems, but legumes remained preferable, harmless save for their rampant growth rate.
Most urgently, he wanted to find potatoes. A versatile crop capable of thrice-yearly harvests and storing for a year, it could revolutionize food security across his domain and the continent.
Challenged by varying names for vegetables and fruits in this world, he relied on visual identification or descriptions, complicating searches.
Arriving at the beach, he found the bailiff hovering over a pond, constantly removing debris to ensure purity.
Spotting Victor, the man rushed over, dropping to his knees, awaiting instruction.
The lord wasted no time, ordering water transfer to the adjacent pool. Prepared beforehand, the ponds were dug at different levels, separated by wooden barriers.
Supervising the process, he instructed continued vigilance and alertness to intruders.
This operation promised to become a cornerstone of his territory, and secrecy was paramount to protect his investment.
Mounting his steed, he and Alganis rode north to the village by the watermill. Curious to see how his latest invention was progressing.
En route, he contemplated recruiting more serfs and commoners for his projects, needing vast amounts of manpower.
Commoners were abundant, and any lord would gladly dispose of them, as they generally caused more problems than solutions. Starvation rates among them were highest, as they struggled to find jobs, even as indentured serfs.
Nonetheless, persuading them to join his territory seemed unlikely.
Migration was tricky here. Supplies for travel and sustenance upon arrival were essential.
Nobody would believe a lord would support them, and dangers such as bandits further complicated the journey.
Therefore, Victor decided to construct a road connecting his neighbours, establishing a trade route.
However, a danger lurked that no one dared ignore: demonic monsters stalking travellers outside settlements at night.
Lost in these thoughts, he heard children's laughter echoing through the streets, interrupting his reverie.
Stopping to observe children playing tag, he noticed them scattering and kneeling at his approach, some fleeing in terror.
Seconds later, the bailiff approached, grinning ingratiatingly, dashing toward him.
Following a ritualistic bow, they proceeded to the watermill, where Victor found water streaming through wooden gutters into freshly dug irrigation channels.
Abundant moisture transformed the soil, now dark and fertile, teeming with life.
Witnessing this transformation, Victor inexplicably felt hopeful, certain that his efforts would bear fruit.