Chapter 82: The Test and the Breakthrough

The sound of “thud” rang out! A long, cloth-wrapped object, making a “swish-swish” sound as the cloth rubbed against the air, slammed straight into George’s back. Unfortunately, after the Blessing of Order adjusted his abilities, one of them gave him defensive power far beyond that of heavy Scale Armor. At the same time, this defensive energy, almost like a Force Field, flickered in and out of visibility on his skin. It could only be seen clearly when an attack actually arrived. The unique state of this tangible matter’s protective Force Field made a sound like an object hitting the ground during the collision, which felt a bit strange and weird.

This strike was completely taken by George on purpose. Originally, his sensing ability matched his martial arts realm so well that he had reached the level of “the cicada feels the wind before the wind moves,” a state from the traditional martial arts of his previous world. Unfortunately, in this world full of supernatural abilities, as long as there was a suppression spell, his sensing ability could hardly play any role.

Let me give you an example! The level of “the cicada feels the wind before the wind moves” allows one to sense when others are plotting harm against them. But if the attacker uses a defense spell like Mental Fog or the Thought Shield mentioned earlier, although one cannot say this ability is completely countered, sensing hostility and killing intent would be at best only one or two out of ten.

Of course, spells are expensive, and very few people can stay under the protection of spells all the time. But if someone truly planned to take action against George via assassination, temporarily covering their presence with spells was completely doable. Unfortunately, George had not yet experienced an assassination attempt up to now.

Otherwise, he would have realized that after being targeted by hostility and killing intent for a long time, if these feelings suddenly disappeared without reason, it meant the enemy was about to strike. If the opponent had a special ability or magical item for permanent shielding, George would respect the former. But for the latter, he would only have three words to describe it: “rich guy.”

Since George had not yet suffered such treatment, besides using this ability against weaklings, he could only show off during sparring with peers of the same rank like Hiren and Craig.

As he took Craig’s slash with his back, he seemed to vaguely sense another threat. His body shrank slightly, which was the sign of preparing to counter-attack. From this, one could see that George’s application of sensing had reached a perfect stage. He was no longer just using the form of sensing killing intent, which was like a sixth sense.

He could also combine the sound of the weapon cutting through the air, the changes in air flow caused by moving objects around him, and the vibrations on the ground into a comprehensive intelligence network. This was something George could absolutely not do before. But after receiving the Blessing of Order, his sensing ability began to improve. Although the Lord of Justice had once said that this effect would take two months to fully take hold, the strengthening effect started from the moment of the blessing.

According to the data given by the System, George’s sensing value before the strengthening was 18. According to the System’s explanation, this value was the limit that Humans in this world could reach. That means, barring any unexpected accidents, it was a limit that was basically impossible to surpass before reaching the Black Lead Rank. Surpassing this limit would be considered stepping onto the path of the extraordinary, or rather, the path of being non-human.

From then on, George could combine the information collected by different sensing systems. In the future, if equipped with special methods, he might even achieve the effect of the five senses connecting. Even now, with just the initial changes, George felt like he had opened a door he had never seen before.

George swung his left arm and stomped his right foot. In an instant, all his power originated from his feet, gathered in his waist, and circulated. When his arm swung out with stored power, a layer of hazy white light appeared. The white light flashed and vanished. Just as his arm was about to touch the Longsword, he dodged to the side of the sword like a rat in hot oil, without the slightest delay. Then, he clenched his five fingers, turned his palm into a fist, and struck the spine of the Longsword wrapped in cloth. A sharp, grating “clang!” was heard. George’s strike had disrupted the sword’s original trajectory. Fortunately, Hiren’s movements had reached the level of complete control, so the sword did not hit the ground directly.

“Alright, guys, you can stop now.” Feeling that he had preliminarily tested his newly acquired ability, George spoke up to ask them to stop.

“Clang!” As soon as the words left his mouth, Craig threw his Longsword aside, rushed over to George, and pounded his fists on George’s body with a loud thud. Then, tilting his head, he asked George, “Hey, George! How did you manage to do that?”

Seeing Craig like this, George couldn’t help but want to tease him. He loosened the strap, took off his glove, and patted Craig’s head, saying, “Do you want one too?”

“I want it, I want it. With this, I won’t have to wear such heavy armor anymore.” As Craig said this, he showed a naive expression. To be honest, moving in such heavy armor was not necessarily convenient, but it was definitely uncomfortable.

Just as Craig showed a look of eager anticipation, George revealed his true colors: “Even if you can never eat candy again?”

“Can’t eat candy? What does that have to do with not eating candy?” Craig immediately bristled like a cat with its tail stepped on.

Hiren, on the other side, also came over to join the fun, saying, “It looks like if you want to eat candy, you can’t cultivate this kind of ability.”

“Candy, no armor? No armor or candy.” Craig was now truly caught in a dilemma.

Temporarily leaving Craig, who was stuck in his confusion, George turned his gaze to Sir Val, the Knight watching from the side. Regardless, he was the strongest in the Territory. Whether in personal strength or insight, he was far superior to George and the other children, and even the other Knights in the Territory were far behind him. For this experiment, George had specially invited Sir Val to watch, hoping he could comment on his newly acquired ability. If he could also help design some targeted special training, that would be even better.

“I think this should be an ability from the Vow of Poverty. But George, you wouldn’t really want to go down that path, would you?” Sir Val, being well-traveled, immediately discovered the original source of George’s ability. Of course, his words clearly showed his attitude toward such a vow. Although not quite disdainful, the meaning of losing more than gaining was fully displayed.

Hearing this news, Hiren, who had been focusing all his attention on teasing Craig, jumped up like a fire had set his butt on fire. He grabbed George’s shoulder with one hand, turned him around, and shouted almost in a roar, “Vow of Poverty? George, don’t you really want to go down that path. The days ahead are long. Think of all the delicious foods, think of your soft velvet bed. You wouldn’t want to live a life like a hermit forever, would you? Besides, what will you do when you attend various social banquets and balls as a Lord in the future? You can’t let someone else go for you! Most importantly, you won’t be able to use Magic Items anymore. For now, the abilities of the Vow of Poverty seem very powerful. But if you can’t use Magic Items, the restrictions are huge. Although I’m not clear on the specific numbers, everyone knows Bolerum is wealthy. It shouldn’t be hard for you to buy some nice Magic Items for yourself in the future. It’s not too late to give up now. I’ve heard that even if one breaks the vow, there are no aftereffects. But once you get used to the abilities it grants, you might not be able to make the decision to give it up later…”

After Hiren finished his rapid-fire speech, like a machine gun, George and Craig in the scene stared at him with wide eyes as if they had seen a monster. Even Hiren’s father, Sir Val, stroked his chin, looking interested as he examined Hiren up and down.

After all, who could have imagined that the usual Hiren, who acted without thinking, could organize his thoughts so clearly, analyze so smoothly, and explain so powerfully to deliver such a long speech. This not only overturned everyone’s usual impression of him but even gave some people a surreal feeling, as if they were in a dream.

Knowing the truth, George was not as calm as Sir Val, who remained unmoved even if a mountain collapsed before him. He first took a deep breath to calm his nerves, which had been stimulated for a moment, and then asked softly, “Hiren, did you… did you breakthrough?”

“Breakthrough? Wait, let me feel it.” Saying this, Hiren closed his eyes and fell into self-perception on his own.

At this moment, Craig, who was also standing nearby, was startled by Hiren’s behavior. Then George’s words left him completely confused. Seeing Hiren act like this again made his doubts even deeper. Forcing himself, knowing that everyone was concerned about Hiren’s final answer, he still couldn’t hold back his curiosity and desire to know.

Craig reached out and tugged at George’s sleeve. Seeing George turn his head, he made a gesture to lower his head. Unable to resist Craig’s puppy-dog eyes, George soon gave in. He bent his body sideways, adopting a horse stance, to temporarily bring his height to the same level as Craig.

Knowing he shouldn’t affect Hiren, Craig waited for this opportunity to lean close to George’s ear and whispered, “What was the change in Hiren just now? And what did you mean by breakthrough?”

George turned his head again to look at Sir Val. Regardless, Hiren’s special state over the long past belonged to the secrets of the Val Family. Although George didn’t know exactly how many people were aware of this, whether to reveal it to Craig still depended on Mr. Val’s consent. After all, Craig was still a kid with a loose mouth. If there were any taboos on the path Hiren was taking that were revealed through his mouth, it would be bad.

Sir Val shrugged his hands, neither confirming nor denying, and kicked the ball back to George’s feet. Although Craig had lowered his voice specifically not to disturb Hiren, it was not in a range that only two people could hear. With Sir Val’s strength, he could definitely hear it. His laissez-faire attitude made George scratch his head for a while. ‘Should I tell Craig or not? But looking at Mr. Val’s appearance, he wants me to make the choice myself! If that’s the case, I think there shouldn’t be any big problems. At least it won’t affect Hiren’s safety and future development. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had that attitude just now. After all, no one would joke about the safety of their Heir.’

Having gotten the permission, George also lowered his voice and spoke to Craig: “The reason Hiren used to act and speak without thinking might be due to some special cultivation method. And today, when he suddenly managed to speak such a logical and long speech, I was wondering if he had completely broken through that barrier.”

“Do you mean Hiren is about to become a Formal Knight?” Craig covered his mouth and asked in disbelief. You see, because of his age, Craig’s strength was the worst among the five Squires. He had only just stepped into the Red Iron Rank at the beginning of this year, and it seemed he hadn’t fully stabilized it yet.

Most importantly, judging by his current progress, by the time he reached George’s age, his Rank might not even reach George’s current level. The shock and pressure of Hiren seemingly about to become a Formal Knight must be very great.

“This is hard to say! As outsiders, we are actually not very sure about the final situation. Everything will be told to us by Hiren himself in a moment.” To avoid giving Craig too much of a shock, George deliberately spoke ambiguously.

Craig said a bit awkwardly, “Okay! Let Hiren tell us himself.”

In a short while, fifteen minutes passed, and there was still no sign that Hiren had finished his check. This instantly made George lose confidence in Hiren’s formal breakthrough. If Hiren had truly broken through, the obvious changes could not possibly require such a long time to check. Unlike George and Sir Val, the naturally lively Craig was not someone with enough patience to wait quietly. Just as he was about to lose his temper, Hiren slowly opened his eyes.

Finally, the moment of revelation had arrived. Craig, who had been impatient for a long time, asked first: “I heard from George that you might have broken through the barrier between Red Iron and Black Lead. So, can you tell me if you are now a Formal Knight?”

“No! I am not yet a true Formal Knight!” Hiren gave the answer directly.

“I knew it! The path of the extraordinary is not that easy to breakthrough. But Hiren, don’t be discouraged. One day, you will definitely make it.” Although it looked like he was comforting Hiren, his expression of relief was completely displayed on his face.

Although Craig’s behavior just now had no malice, it was bound to make people feel uncomfortable. Sometimes George really wondered if Sir Bart was lacking in education. From past performance, it seemed he spoiled Craig too much. This not only led to Craig often ignoring the occasion and atmosphere. Most importantly, the slow improvement in strength was somewhat related to this. Perhaps it was also lucky that Craig’s nature was good, so under such a father’s education, he didn’t turn into a brat.

As George shook his head, his eyes met Sir Val’s. Both read the other’s meaning in their gaze. ‘It looks like Mr. Val is preparing to talk to Mr. Bart personally. If Craig continues to develop like this, he will offend many people. Unlike Hiren’s previous brainless behavior, where Hiren only embarrassed himself and angered his father Sir Val, Craig’s behavior can sometimes prick people’s hearts like a needle. For us close partners, some things pass and go, and no one takes them too seriously. Of course, if someone is truly angered, they might just grab the boy and go to his door to demand an explanation. But those outside are different. Someone might hold a grudge and strike him at an unknown time. If this causes big trouble, it would really be losing more than gaining.’

Suppressing these thoughts temporarily in the back of his mind, George recalled the meaning of Hiren’s words just now. ‘Not yet a true Formal Knight? Could it be that…’

Thinking of this, George found it hard to suppress his excited emotions. He spoke directly: “Hiren! Tell us clearly. When you said you weren’t yet a true Formal Knight before, did you mean you haven’t had the investiture ceremony yet?”

“Hah! You guessed it so quickly. I thought I could hide it for a bit longer.” Hiren scratched his head and said. Then, using a flattering voice, he spoke to Sir Val, “Of course, Father’s strength is absolutely impossible to hide from.”

Children’s moods change like the weather in summer. Just moments ago he was depressed about Hiren’s advancement, but now he was enthusiastically surrounding Hiren and asking: “How does it feel to be promoted to a Formal Knight? Also, I heard that Knights with special bloodlines gain special abilities upon promotion. Can you tell me if there are any fun things inside?”

Unable to deal with Craig’s pestering, Hiren had to lead the trouble elsewhere: “Don’t worry about my matters for now. The most important question now is whether George has actually taken the Vow of Poverty.”

“I said, Hiren! Since you finally broke through, use your brain a bit. Just look at what I’m wearing now. Do I look like someone who has taken the Vow of Poverty?” Saying this, George struck a pose to show his clothes to everyone.

Seeing the short shirt on George’s body that partially used silk, Hiren, unable to understand, had to scratch his hair desperately.