Chapter 29: The Challenge

Ethan watched Lily, who was brimming with confidence and dreams of a beautiful future, and he couldn't bring himself to shatter her illusions. He simply told her she was free to move around the ship and that her door would no longer be locked. Then, he hurriedly left.

After seeing Lily's cramped quarters, Ethan returned to his own room and realized just how spacious it was. Angelina was waiting for him.

Seeing the untouched food on the table, Ethan frowned slightly, "Didn't I tell you to eat first? Why did you wait for me?"

"As a wife, shouldn't I wait to have dinner with my husband?" Angelina replied with a smile.

"You seem to misunderstand my position," Ethan said as he sat down at the table. "I'm the one who married into the Lawson family."

"What does that matter?" Angelina asked, confused. "You're my husband! Are you feeling inferior? If so, I'll help you regain your confidence later!"

Ethan's right eyebrow twitched involuntarily.

"Just eat your dinner. I need to think about some things."

Seeing Angelina nod, Ethan leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest.

He felt overwhelmed these past few days, constantly dealing with family matters and Angelina's challenges, leaving him with almost no time to think independently. He hadn't even had time to check the benefits of defeating Angus.

Now that he had a moment of peace, Ethan decided to plan for the future.

First, he checked his gains. During the duel with Angus, he had used the [Leverage] skill and, because it was a kill, received 80% of Angus's power as the maximum yield.

"Angus's 80% power yielded only 100 points, and he was at Silver Level 5. This means each level in Silver holds around 25 points. After killing three Silver Knights, I gained a total of 225 points of power. Adding Angus's 100 and my original 267, I now have 592 points of power. If each level in Gold requires 25 points, doesn't that mean I've crossed into the Master Level 3 territory?"

"That's unlikely. The power required for each level in Gold must be more than 25 points. Even so, I should now have the power of a Gold-Level Knight. In Maro City, that's enough to walk around with confidence. There are rumored to be no more than three Master-Level Knights in Maro City, and they rarely show themselves."

"It's a pity that killing those with power only grants me their power, not their strength. Although power is much more useful than strength, what I need most now is strength to exchange for skill points to unlock a second talent tree."

Ethan had already decided that based on his journey to the territory, the second talent tree needed to have scouting abilities. He had been torn between the Dagger and the Bow since both had scouting-related skills. As a second talent tree, even though there are four skills in total, only the first three could be allocated points. The ultimate skill cannot be activated.

By the third talent tree, there are also four skills, but only the first two can be allocated points. From the fourth talent tree onward, only the first skill can be allocated points. This means that although he can learn countless talent trees, only the first three are highly effective.

For his first talent tree, Ethan had chosen Sword Mastery. Therefore, he had to be careful with his second talent tree. After thorough consideration, he ultimately chose Bow Mastery. The first two skills in Bow Mastery are similar to Sword Mastery, enhancing bow skills: [Archery Mastery] and [Precision Shot]. These two skills are nothing special, but the third skill is extraordinary.

[Tame Hawk]: Trigger Skill

Hawks are an archer's best friends. When hawk species are nearby, you can use your power to summon a Power Hawk and endow it with extraordinary abilities, taming it to become your reliable assistant. It will follow your commands to scout, attack, and relay information. You can see through the hawk's eyes and use [Precision Shot] to aim better. Hawks endowed with power will also gain corresponding skills. Each level up unlocks one skill, up to a maximum of five. Current Level: LV0

"In this era with underdeveloped scouting and communication methods, this is practically a divine skill!" Ethan marveled. "And in the territory I'm heading to, where scouting is crucial, if manpower is insufficient, I'll have to rely on hawks."

"But where can I get skill points?"

"I can't possibly target people on the ship, can I?"

"Absolutely not! Even though they won't stay in the territory, I need them to unload the cargo. If they lose strength, it won't benefit me at all."

"I'll have to figure it out later."

"Right now, I need to think about where to stay once I reach the territory. I can't possibly stay in a tent in the wilderness with Angelina."

"The forest is rich in resources; I could build a house out of wood."

"That could work, but there's no time. Besides, wooden houses aren't fire-resistant and don't offer much protection. If enemies attack, I might be fine, but Angelina might not survive."

Ethan regretted bringing Angelina along. However, not bringing her was not an option. Before their relationship was confirmed, he didn't care about her past because she wasn't his woman. But now that their relationship was established, Angelina was his woman. He would never allow anyone to disrespect his woman—that was his bottom line.

"What should I do? I have no skill points and no place to stay!"

"Sigh…"

While Ethan was brooding, Angelina woke him up.

"Ethan, what's wrong? Don't scare me!"

Ethan knew that every time he allocated talent points, he would automatically enter a tortoise breathing state. That's why he didn't like thinking in front of others, especially Angelina. In this state, he appeared lifeless to others, which would worry those who genuinely cared about him.

No man wants his family to worry about him; it's an instinct. Hence the saying: report good news, not bad. Ethan understood this well but had no choice; he had too many things to handle.

"It's nothing," Ethan replied with a smile. "Just a bit tired and dozed off."

Angelina felt guilty. "Is it because of me? Am I making you work too hard?"

"Absolutely not!" Ethan, knowing what Angelina was referring to, said with righteous dignity, "This amount of work is nothing for me."

"Really?"

"More real than gold!"

"Alright!" Angelina said with a mischievous smile. "You're not allowed to sleep tonight. If you get tired, just admit defeat, or I won't let you go."

"Who's afraid of who?" Ethan proudly pounded his chest.