Time passed quietly, like a flowing river. Over half a month had gone by since his return from Songmu Town.

Roland’s life returned to its previous calm and fulfilling rhythm.

His mornings were spent busy in the Blacksmith Shop, his evenings were for personal training, and at night, he studied ancient texts with Bronson. Occasionally, he would try new things, hoping to awaken new Skills.

Bronson’s research was also progressing quite smoothly. He had successfully designed Spell Patterns that perfectly matched the bones. However, completely engraving these intricate patterns onto the bones’ surface would likely take a considerable amount of time.

The only unfortunate part was that the scholar’s performance in Alchemy was truly lackluster.

He was extremely unfamiliar with the Potion refining process and completely lacked any talent for it.

After dozens of failures, not only had he failed to refine the Potion to activate the Consciousness Shallows, but he had also wasted over half of the precious materials in the process.

Witnessing this, Roland, who had previously succeeded in refining the Secret Silver Body Refining Secret Medicine, volunteered to take over the task.

However, to his surprise, the refining process for the potion to awaken the Consciousness Shallows was far more tedious and complex than he had imagined.

Each ingredient required a different processing method. The slightest deviation in quantity or procedure would render all previous efforts useless.

Compared to this Potion’s complex refining process, creating the Secret Silver Body Refining Secret Medicine was as simple as making mud pies.

After several attempts, Roland was also unsuccessful.

The only silver lining was that, in the process, he unexpectedly awakened an Alchemy-related Skill.

Due to a shortage of materials, Roland switched to learning from Bronson how to refine some simple potions with basic ingredients and procedures.

Although his success rate for refining Potions was still not high, the Experience Points for his Alchemy Skill continued to grow.

Putting that frustrating matter aside, this orderly, routine life was quite satisfying.

’It would be even more perfect if there wasn’t someone chattering nonstop beside me all day.’

"Roland, did you hear?"

Dalko, his leg injury nearly healed, said enthusiastically as he groomed a horse with a brush.

"The Demon unrest in Black Pine Forest seems to have temporarily subsided!"

"Who knows what those Demons are up to. They actually dug a huge nest underground in the forest, and after that, they just holed up and haven’t come out to cause trouble since. As a result, that old guy Beckham..."

Roland chimed in, finishing his sentence.

"...dismissed the local militia and left only his own direct troops to stand guard at the forest’s edge."

"Huh?"

Dalko’s eyes widened in surprise. He stared at the young man who was kneeling on one knee, cleaning clumps of dirt from Black Wind’s hooves.

"Roland, how did you know? This is firsthand news! I came to tell you the moment I heard it from my father."

Roland carefully picked out the last bit of dirt. His thoughts drifted to a letter he had received not long ago, and Sean’s good-natured face unconsciously came to mind.

’I can’t believe that guy Sean actually became a member of Beckham’s personal troops...’

A faint smile touched his lips at the thought.

He then stood up, gave Black Wind’s glossy mane a pat, and picked up the wooden bucket filled with fresh water. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"I have a friend who happens to be serving under Lord Beckham."

"Your friend?"

Dalko’s eyes lit up at his words. He gave his mount a light pat on the rump to send it off before leaning in closer to speak.

"To be handpicked by that old guy Beckham, he must be pretty strong..."

He stretched out his arm and, with some effort, slung it around Roland’s increasingly sturdy frame, resting his hand on the other’s shoulder.

"Listen, Roland, what kind of future is there following Beckham? He’d be better off working for me!"

"As soon as I get back from my studies at the Knight Academy, I’ll immediately make him my Knight’s Attendant!"

"Dream on..."

Roland easily slipped out from under Dalko’s arm and went back to washing the horse’s mane with water from the bucket.

"My friend grew up listening to the legends of Lord Beckham. He worked hard just to become a soldier under his command, so why would he turn around and follow you? Besides..."

Roland glanced at the golden text that suddenly appeared before him. His expression flickered, but instead of examining it right away, he voiced a question that had been on his mind for a while.

"Dalko, from your tone... it sounds like you have a problem with Lord Beckham?"

"A problem? Hmph!"

Dalko snorted, his expression somewhat unnatural as he spoke.

"The old guy’s life is certainly the stuff of legend. He graduated from the Knight Academy as an impoverished noble and even inherited a Breathing Technique..."

"But to curry favor with the noble who gave him the Breathing Technique, he actually changed his own surname!"

The young nobleman slammed the brush against the side of the wooden bucket, sending water splashing everywhere.

"Although... I can understand why he did it, but..."

Dalko cut himself off and waved his hand in frustration.

"Forget it, forget it. Let’s not talk about this..."

The young nobleman decisively changed the subject. He suddenly leaned in and flicked the Iron Sword at Roland’s waist with his fingertip.

"Speaking of which, what is this Iron Sword of yours made of? It’s been through so many nasty fights and is still completely unscathed. Don’t tell me..."

Dalko winked slyly.

"You secretly used some amazing technique or material, didn’t you? If you agree to forge one for me, I’ll keep your secret. How about it?"

Hearing the teasing tone in his voice, Roland shook his head helplessly.

’Dalko did have a point.’

An ordinary Iron Sword would have had its edge curled and chipped after so many battles, even if the blade itself remained intact.

The reason his Iron Sword was so durable was all thanks to the Extra Benefit: [Battlefield Maintenance].

In fact, he hadn’t fully realized the power of this benefit until his life-or-death battle with the Winged Dogman.

In that battle, the Iron Sword had clashed head-on with the heavy Giant Axe several times.

Yet, when he inspected it after the fight, he found that aside from some slight wear on the edge, the entire sword was perfectly intact. It only needed a simple sharpening to be battle-ready again.

But obviously, he couldn’t tell Dalko this secret.

So Roland just smiled. Just as he was about to make up an excuse, a sudden rush of hurried footsteps sounded nearby.

Turning to look, he saw a servant striding quickly toward them.

"Young Master Dalko..."

Upon seeing the servant, Dalko instantly dropped his flippant demeanor.

He frowned slightly and chided in a low voice.

"What’s the rush? If you have something to say, say it calmly!"

"Yes... Yes..."

The servant flinched under Dalko’s sharp gaze, hurriedly wiped the sweat from his brow, and bowed as he spoke.

"The Master has summoned you to see him at once."

"My father?"

Dalko looked up at the sun, which had not yet set, and asked in confusion.

"It’s not time for dinner yet, is it?"

Though full of questions, he deftly straightened his slightly disheveled collar and turned to Roland with an apologetic smile.

"Roland, I have to go. We’ll talk more tomorrow."

Once Dalko’s figure had disappeared into the distance with the servant, Roland felt a wave of peace and quiet wash over him. He couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief.

After composing himself, he summoned his Professional Panel.

[Analysis complete. The Basic Profession: Groom is now available.]

[Requirements: 0.5 Power, 0.5 Agility, two Full Level skills related to Taming Horses.]

[Acquire Profession?]

’So it really is Groom, huh?’

Seeing it was exactly as he had predicted, Roland raised an eyebrow and thought,

’Acquire Profession: Groom.’

[Profession Acquired. Current Profession: Groom]

[Attribute Bonus received: Power +0.5, Agility +0.5]

[Trait Gained: Rapid Charge]

[Rapid Charge: For a short period, stimulate your mount’s potential, significantly boosting its burst speed and allowing it to ignore negative terrain effects (e.g., swamps, loose stones). Duration depends on the mount’s stamina.]

’Another activated Trait.’

Roland’s eyes lit up. After carefully reviewing the Trait’s description, he swung himself onto Black Wind’s back and picked a wide path in the training yard.

With a silent command, Roland felt a warm current surge from his body, flowing through the reins and into Black Wind.

The already magnificent black horse suddenly reared its head and neighed, its mane flaring out like a fire. It pawed the air twice with its front hooves, and when they landed, they stamped half-inch-deep prints into the packed earth.

"Go!"

With a slight flick of the reins, Black Wind shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.

Caught off guard, Roland was thrown back by the inertia, the scenery on either side instantly blurring into colorful streaks.

The wild wind tore at his linen shirt, the horse’s tail streaming out behind them in a straight, black line.

As they charged across the training grounds, several Horse Boys who were brushing down their animals stared wide-eyed as the gust of wind from their passing sent water buckets tumbling through the air.

But its performance when clearing obstacles was the most astonishing part.

As Black Wind charged toward a half-man-high woodpile at the edge of the yard, Roland instinctively tightened the reins. But he saw the horse’s hind leg muscles suddenly bulge, and as it leaped, it seemed to break free from the bonds of the earth.

For the instant they were airborne, Roland felt as if his own frantic heartbeat was resonating with the blood surging through Black Wind’s veins.

CRUNCH!

The gravel kicked up by the landing pattered against the wooden fence.

A moment later, Black Wind snorted white foam and gradually came to a halt.

Its pupils dilated and contracted, and its muscles trembled uncontrollably. Clearly, such an explosive burst of speed placed an immense strain on its body.

Seeing this, Roland quickly dismounted.

After a careful inspection, he confirmed that Black Wind was merely exhausted and otherwise unharmed. Only then did he let out a long sigh of relief, his mind buzzing with excitement.

’If I launched a surprise attack at this speed, combining it with the force technique of Flowing Slash... I doubt anyone could react in time.’

Roland’s eyes lit up as he imagined himself wielding a Long-Handled Weapon, sweeping across the battlefield like a whirlwind.

But when he turned and saw Black Wind still panting heavily, he shook his head in resignation.

’But just like Flowing Slash, the mount enters an exhausted state after using Rapid Charge. It looks like it can only be used as a last resort...’

’Still, after changing my Profession to Groom, I now meet the Attribute requirements for the Warrior Profession. Plus, my Lion Swordsmanship is about to reach Full Level. It shouldn’t be more than a few days before I can become a Warrior. Oh, right...’

At this thought, Roland quickly focused his attention on the Professional Panel.

’I still haven’t checked what Extra Benefits were triggered from the Professional Resonance between Groom and my other Professions...’