Chapter 6: New Goals

Chapter 6: New Goals

"So, as Viscount Cain, I only have 500 gold coins at my disposal now?"

William received a positive response from Joyce and rubbed his temples with a headache.

How could his predecessor waste so much money? He spent the Cain family's annual income plus the savings accumulated over many years, and after all that time, he was just a junior mage. No wonder he was becoming a joke among the Fis nobility.

He thought he could live a life of financial freedom, but it turns out that even being reborn as a noble, he still had to face an economic crisis.

500 gold coins might seem like a lot, but in reality, it was just that—a common magical equipment could cost over a hundred gold coins.

"Prepare 300 gold coins for me first; I need it."

William instructed Joyce listlessly, and Joyce didn't ask for the purpose but simply bowed in agreement.

"Do we have any other residences in the city? Preferably with a spacious yard and a bit secluded."

After thinking for a moment, Joyce said:

"If that's all you require, there's a warehouse with a yard on Bell Street. It's usually used to store goods from the manor and shops outside the city. If you need it, I can arrange for it now, and it will be emptied by tomorrow."

"Clear it out first." William hesitated for a moment and then asked, "How many guards does the family have, and what are their strengths?"

William apologized for asking such a question, but his predecessor really didn't care about these matters concerning his own safety, yet this was very important for William's next plan.

"According to royal law, you can have a guard squad of ten people, but currently, we have only hired three, and the family is training three exclusive guards, making a total of six. Among them, there is one golden warrior, one silver warrior, and the rest are bronze warriors." 

"What weapons are they good at?"

Hearing this, Joyce looked up at William and hesitated to say:

"I'm not very clear about that. Captain Welf should be good with a long sword, and the other guards use spears more often. Do you need me to find out for you?"

William pondered for a moment: "Never mind, just ask Welf to come to the study, and prepare a set of servant's clothes for me in my room by tomorrow morning."

After Joyce bowed and left the room, heavy footsteps were soon heard.

"Come in."

Gently pushing the door open, a very sturdy middle-aged man in light leather armor came in, holding his right chest with his left hand and bowing:

"Good morning, Master William, what can I do for you?"

William looked at the only golden warrior guard of the family, who truly valued physical strength in his profession, with arms almost as thick as William's thighs.

"Recently, I've been wanting to strengthen my physical training a bit. What weapons are you and the other guards good at?"

Welf was a bit surprised. Hadn't their young master always been immersed in magical research, hardly ever leaving the house? The guards' work had become much lighter. Why suddenly think of physical training? Could it be...

"If you just want to strengthen your body, you don't need to start with weapons. We can assist you in starting with basic strength enhancement, such as the upper body, waist..."

William frowned, jokingly noting he could hear what Welf was implying, and waved his hand, saying:

"You don't need to worry about that. I want to start with weapon training to see which one suits me best, and I want to try them all."

Welf didn't mind; he wasn't a guard raised by the Cain family but had only signed a contract for hire. As a golden warrior, he could still gain a certain respect among some small and medium-sized nobles. A little joke was harmless.

"I'm skilled with the sword and shield. Among the guards, there are those who know how to use spears, bows, knives, axes, and hammers. Although they are not experts, it's no problem to give you an overview."

"Okay, I'll have Joyce clean up a warehouse on Bell Street, and then arrange for two guards and you to bring weapons and practice there with me tomorrow."

Although it seemed strange not to train directly in the mansion's courtyard, Welf didn't overthink it. He couldn't fathom the thoughts of nobles; it was best just to follow orders.

After Welf closed the study door and left, William sighed in relief, lightly tapping his index finger on the bronze-gilded mahogany desk in front of him.

It was time to prioritize his secondary professional specialty.

The warrior specialty [Mastery of Arms]!

This was one of the easier warrior specialties to obtain, requiring no prerequisite tasks.

All he needed was to achieve intermediate proficiency with ten types of weapons to automatically acquire it.

The effect of [Mastery of Arms] was straightforward, unlike other specialties that provided various enhancements. Its benefit was entirely focused on weapon mastery.

[Mastery of Arms — Strength attribute receives double value correction, all weapons' initial proficiency fixed at intermediate level, mastery level of the weapon with the highest proficiency +1]

This specialty was the most suitable for William, considering he had the [Jack of All Trades] talent, allowing him to master skills from other professions. The overall enhancement of weapon proficiency was highly beneficial.

Of course, the main benefit was still to come.

Unconditionally increasing the mastery level of the weapon with the highest proficiency by one!

In the game "Gods Apocalypse," weapon proficiency levels were categorized into low, intermediate, high, and legendary. Achieving legendary proficiency was extremely challenging for players, making the [Mastery of Arms] specialty highly sought after among warrior players.

After all, as long as a player's weapon proficiency reached a high level, it could be directly upgraded to legendary weapon mastery, making this specialty as valuable as any top-tier specialty.

This effect also applied to staff-type weapons, which made the [Mastery of Arms] specialty highly coveted among mage players.

Therefore, in the game, players with legendary staff mastery were quite rare, and many of them were special professions like magic swordsmen who could acquire the [Mastery of Arms] specialty.

Since William possessed the [Jack of All Trades] talent, he naturally wouldn't miss out on the [Mastery of Arms] specialty, which he had coveted in his previous life.

The focus of his efforts in the coming period would be to diligently study arcane arts while quickly mastering the [Mastery of Arms] specialty.

As for other professional specialties, he might not have the opportunity to acquire them in the short term. The top specialties of other professions in his memory were still out of reach, and he didn't want to settle for a random specialty. Cases like his mage specialty [Magic Mind], which could be directly replaced by the superior [Arcane Mind], were rare.

William's current concern was how to avoid the fatal outcome he would face in three months.

After all, it was the opening of the Fis Kingdom's main storyline in the game, and he had too little information. It was like facing a fog, unsure where to begin.

He didn't know if he was already targeted by the mastermind behind the scenes. Today's encounter on 16th Street served as a reminder. He would need to keep a low profile and disguise himself when going out. Otherwise, his actions would be as transparent as glass to those with ulterior motives.

"The task is arduous and the road is long!" William sighed.