Achievements

In the Billing household, a middle-aged man with beard and a heavy gaze was facing a youth wearing a golden armour, with the face of a knight sculpted on his chest. This youth was known as the crowned champion of Melvinger City, the Golden Lion Knight, as well as the 'Fourth Sword of Melvinger City'.

[Name - George Lionheart | Status - Healthy | Title: Grand Knight, Rank 2 Acolyte

Attributes :

Strength - 6.3 | Dexterity - 5.9 | Vitality - 6.5 |

Internal Energy - 23.5 | Spiritual Force - 7.9

Knight Killing Technique: [Lion Beheading - Deals [Strength*2 + 3] degrees of damage]

Knight Secret Technique: [Lionheart Strength - Increase Strength and vitality by 30%]

Perk: Sword Master, Chirurgical Expert

Spells: Underworld Hands, Shadow hands, Negative Energy Cloud]

*CLASH*

Both men were fighting it out, and in less than a minute, the old middle-aged man found a blade next to his neck, stopping right before seperating his head from his body.

"I am no longer your match, George", the middle-aged man spoke with irony, "You have grown a lot"

George nodded.

In the past year, George spent most of his days in his alchemical laboratory, refining [Hemostasis Potions], which could stop the bleeding and hasten regeneration. Besides refining potions, he would also perform chirurgies and guide his physician trainees through less important operations, earning himself the title of [Medecine King].

The little free time he possessed would be spent in harsh physical training and tedious meditation. As a result, sparring daily with Viscount Frederick Billing allowed him to step into the realm of Grand Knight much earlier than his biochip had initially estimated.

However, George was upset. Despite having grade 5 talent, he was already fifteen years old, yet his body showed no sign of breaking through rank 3. He had reached the spiritual force requirement a long time ago, but showed no sign of breaking through. He had reached the common 'bottleneck' experienced by most acolytes. Negative energy stones showed no effects either, as his body had grown resistant to it. As for the biochip, it only suggested to wait. Wait for his body to become mature enough to handle the breathrough.

[Beep! Estimated time before breakthrough to the rank 3 acolyte realm with daily meditation: 3 Years, 6 Months]

In the series, Leylin became a rank 3 acolyte at the age of 16, and was considered a genius because that was the standard of grade 5 talents. At this rate, George knew that he would attract disappointment from his peers, since it meant that he would only become a rank 3 acolyte at the age of 18 at best.

Still, he became a Grand Knight. And that, alone, was enough to hold his ground against most rank 3 acolytes. However, in the eyes of magi, knight cultivation was not very valuable as the higher your realm would become, the more difficult it would be to train your body. That's why body refinement magi were very rare in this day and age.

However, George still decided to go through this path, because he knew the existence of the 'Branded Swordsman' path, owned by Magus Dorotte, the skeleton magus that had guided him to the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy.

"This should be enough for today", George spoke with clarity

The Viscount nodded: "Are you going back to the Golden Lion Villa?"

The Viscount, as well as the mayor and the other influential individuals living in Melvinger City, were aware of the growing faction created by George. It was independant, solid and most importantly, extraordinary wealthy.

The Golden Lion Villa had acquired land where George would plant hundreds of rare magical plants, most of the seeds acquired from the mayor in exchange of his merits of saving the life of soldiers through the [Melvinger Medicine Hall]. After all, George had already saved the life of 186 regular soldiers, and 8 knights. And that was in one year only, before the war even began.

The Golden Lion Villa's guard had expanded slightly, with the hiring of the [Black Wolf] Mercenary group, composed of 3 knights and 50 average soldiers. Although they were not allowed inside the villa itself, they would patrol around the gates and walls days and night, apprehending anyone who were daring enough to approach the most famous mansion in the inner area.

More importantly, George was satisfied with the Golden Lion Villa Guard, which had stepped up. All the Golden Lion Villa Guard members had reached the knight realm under his daily spars and pointers, with its captain 'Ugly Rat' reaching the 'Expert' realm in swordsmanship, making him one of the strongest individual in Melvinger City, capable of contending with John Billing himself despite having won the Melvinger Knight Festival thrice in the past.

However, George was not planning on following his tedious routine. The orcs were stronger than he expected, and the existence of 'orc shamans', that were thought to be extinct based on his reading, had resurfaced. Orc shamans were not any weaker than acolytes, and George had somehow created a plight that was getting out of his hands. Combat now seemed inevitable.

Of course, the odds of dying in this war were small, considering his strength. However, he could not escape Melvinger City even if he wanted to, due to the orcs killing any human at sight.

"I was actually planning on visiting your daughter", George said while smiling

"Emma, huh? How is she doing?", the viscount spoke with deep love.

Because of the judgement, Lady Emma had been conscripted to the Melvinger City Guard, where she was proficiently leading the dozens of knights and hundreds of soldiers in defending the city, accumulating the highest amount of merits in the city and providing deep and insightful changes to the organization of the city defense.

She was now known as the [Strategist Queen].

"Oh, trust me, she is doing fine", George thought with a mindful smile.

As soon as George got out of the training room, the old butler James greeted him. No signs of aging could be seen on his face still. In fact, it seemed like he had gotten physically younger in the past year. The effects of meditation were known to increase lifespan, if only so slightly. Eyes brimming with confidence, loyalty and wisdom could be seen on his face.

[Beep! Scan complete!]

[Name - James Galeheard | Status - Healthy | Rank 2 Acolyte

Attributes :

Strength - 1.5 | Dexterity - 1.2 | Vitality - 2.3 | Spiritual Force - 4.6

Spells: Minor Fireball, Fire Arrow]

In spite of his low talent, James had reached the rank 2 realm and learned two spells, far exceeding George's wildest expectations and further discouraging him about his own magical progress.

Unlike Leylin, he lacked potions raising spiritual force. He would have to ask his master about them as soon as he would return to the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy. However, even if he wanted to, returning to the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy now would be sheer madness, due to the tensions with the other magical academies. A war was ongoing at the moment.