Julian had been feeling rather troubled lately.

Personally, he was deeply grateful to Carter for having given him his big break.

Without the opportunity Carter had given him, his life wouldn’t be what it was today.

Now that Carter had died unexpectedly, and with Duane as his sole heir, he naturally didn’t want to leave during such a difficult time.

But he was no longer the unattached man he once was.

He had a wife and children, a family of his own. With moving his entire family being out of the question, he had many worries.

What’s more, his wife was worried about the dangers of going to Black Forest Island and didn’t approve of the idea.

Faced with Duane’s question, Julian hesitated for a long moment before finally voicing his concerns.

"Those are very practical problems."

Duane listened and expressed his understanding. "Everyone knows the conditions on Black Forest Island. Knights have tried to develop it in the past, only to end up either bankrupt or dead at the hands of Demon Beasts after being too reckless. It’s true that the place is far from ideal."

Julian nodded and looked at Duane with concern.

"Baron, please forgive my frankness, but you don’t possess Lord Carter’s strength. It will be very difficult for you to conquer the Demon Beasts and Exotic Beasts on that land."

"What you say is also true, at least for now."

Duane’s tone shifted. "But Broken Wave City has existed for many years, and they can’t threaten the city itself. With the inheritance my father left me and Kaelon to protect me, establishing a foothold here shouldn’t be too much of a problem."

He continued, "Once Broken Wave City is well-managed and I’ve formed my own pioneering army, expanding my territory will be a natural course of action, as long as I’m not reckless."

"Although the conditions on Black Forest Island aren’t great right now, its territory is comparable in size to an Earl’s Territory. Its development potential is enormous!"

’He might say that, but establishing a foothold is one thing; actually managing and growing the territory is another matter entirely.’

’What are Black Forest Island’s main businesses? What resources does the Lord have to make money?’

’Without money, how could he arm the troops under his command?’

Nevertheless, Duane’s words still took Julian by surprise.

He couldn’t help but size up the young Baron. The man had shed his recent dejection and now seemed determined to manage Black Forest Island with care and bring glory to the Brian Clan.

Duane went on, "I know your current salary is 30 Silver Coins a month, which comes to 3 Gold and 60 Silver Coins a year. If you come with me to Black Forest Island, I can give you a ten-year advance on your salary—that’s 36 Gold Coins—so you won’t have to worry about your family’s livelihood."

Julian’s eyes flickered. This sum of money could, to a certain extent, alleviate his worries.

Duane continued, "Furthermore, I’ll pay you an extra ten Silver Coins each month as a raise, and at the end of each year, I’ll give you one thousand pounds of grain."

"My Lord, this is..."

Julian hadn’t expected Duane to offer such exceptional terms to keep him.

A salary of forty Silver Coins a month was comparable to that of a Civil Servant working for an average Viscount.

Let alone the fact that Duane was advancing him thirty-six Gold Coins—something unheard of from other nobles.

’To be honest, for me, spending thirty-six Gold Coins to retain a trustworthy Civil Servant is very much worth it.’

’Besides, I’m not just giving the money away; it’s an advance.’

"Go home and think it over carefully. Talk with your family, too. Once we’ve established a firm foothold, you can bring them to live with you. Black Forest Island may be dangerous, but it’s also an opportunity."

Duane shrugged and said with a helpless smile, "If I truly don’t make any progress in the future, it won’t be too late for you to come back then."

Julian stood up, picked up his hat from the side, and bowed respectfully. "I will consider it seriously. I’ll give you my answer in the next two days!"

After saying this, Julian departed in a hurry.

He had been conflicted when he arrived, but as he left, it was as if he already had an answer, vaguely knowing what choice to make.

’Just as Duane said, there was danger, but there was also opportunity.’

’Going to see for myself is better than just quitting without even trying.’

Duane watched Julian’s departing figure, silently looking forward to his decision.

’I never thought I’d be the one making such grand promises.’

’I can kind of see why bosses love to do it now.’

’But I’m not the type to only make empty promises. As long as the conditions are right, I will definitely fulfill my commitments. That’s one of the key elements to achieving great things.’

’I hope he doesn’t disappoint me!’

Duane put those thoughts aside. After a simple afternoon tea to recover his stamina, he began practicing his Basic Swordsmanship again.

He had completely assimilated the original owner’s Basic Swordsmanship. He was now familiar with every move, the initial sense of unfamiliarity long gone.

Once, twice, three times...

Sweat once again soaked his clothes, but his movements never stopped.

Finally, just as evening was about to fall, his Swordsmanship Skill Level broke through.

From Initial, to Entry, and now to Skilled.

In that moment, Duane felt a flood of new knowledge enter his mind.

’So the way I was putting force into my thrusts before wasn’t correct.’

Reflecting on the insights gained from the Skill Level breakthrough, Duane identified numerous mistakes in his previous practice.

’A thrust’s power requires coordination between the feet, legs, waist, arms, and even the wrists, combined with footwork, to unleash greater might!’

SWISH!

Duane’s figure moved abruptly, and for a moment, both man and sword seemed to erupt with a dangerous aura.

He took a great step forward, all parts of his body working in unison as he thrust his sword straight out.

Fast, precise, and ruthless!

It was as if the very air was pierced, letting out a sharp whistle.

’This move consumes more stamina than before!’

Although his mind understood it, there was still a gap when his body actually tried to execute the move.

Duane looked at his attribute panel.

From Entry to Skilled, the current Swordsmanship progress was (Skilled 0/300);

And this time, his attribute points had increased by 0.2, not just 0.1.

’It seems different Skill Levels give different attribute point bonuses.’

Duane was eager to know what Level came after "Skilled" and how big of a change the breakthrough would bring.

As he pondered, he spent all his attribute points.

His Strength Attribute reached 4.2.

’In less than a day since I transmigrated, my Strength has gone from 3.5 to 4.2. That’s incredibly fast!’

SWISH, SWISH, SWISH...

Duane swung his sword a few times, the sound incredibly swift and light.

’I can feel that my strength has increased by a huge margin!’

A single increase of 0.1 wasn’t very noticeable, but the accumulation of 0.7 attribute points allowed him to clearly feel the difference in his body.

Duane looked at his attribute panel.

[Strength]: 4.2

[Spirit]: 1.8

[Basic]: Basic Swordsmanship (Skilled 0/300), Basic Cooking (Entry 3/200)

[Cooking]: Fire Source Beast Bone Soup (Entry 5/200)

’A Strength Attribute of 4.2 is still within the range of an ordinary person. I wonder what number I need to reach to become a Basic-level Warrior.’

Duane looked at the last two lines.

’It’ll probably be a bit difficult to quickly gain attribute points from these three from now on.’

Duane began to think about the original owner’s abilities and realized that besides Basic Swordsmanship, the previous owner had also learned Riding Skill and Shield Techniques.

’I wonder if those two can trigger new Skills.’

He glanced at the sky. ’The sun’s about to set. Why isn’t Kaelon back yet?’

The round trip from Lakefront Manor to the Royal Palace only takes three hours. Kaelon left in the morning, so by all accounts, he should have been back long ago.

’Don’t tell me something went wrong?’

He couldn’t help but recall the rumor Kaelon had mentioned—that Count Orlando Bloom would target those loyal to the Brian Clan.

’Logically speaking, it’s unlikely. Would a Count really condescend to deal with commoners?’

As Duane understood it, their goal was the Lakefront Secret Realm. As long as they obtained it, other things weren’t particularly important.

If they really were to attack commoners, the Nobility would lose face.

As he was contemplating, the sound of horse hooves came from outside.

Duane listened carefully. ’It sounds like more than one horse.’

He frowned and walked outside, ready to see what was going on.