Chapter 117: The Surplus Son-in-Law?
Chapter 117: The Surplus Son-in-Law?
After dinner, it was inevitable that Reyn would be cornered by his mother, Emma, who had a barrage of questions ready.
The question that had been weighing on her mind finally came out after witnessing her son's advancement into the Supernatural realm, "Reyn, I've noticed you've been sparring with Miss Lagra quite a bit these past few days. Do you like her?"
Reyn was momentarily taken aback by her words.
Before he could respond, Emma continued, "It's understandable, Anna is a bit too skinny. But now that you're a Knight, shouldn't you consider marrying a noble lady?"
"Of course, Mother. I'm not against your friendship with Anna; she's a good girl. Miss Lagra, the savage girl, is also quite impressive. I've heard that many noble lords these days have mistresses."
Although they were in the room, Reyn was well aware of the poor soundproofing in the house. He knew that if they continued this conversation, it might be overheard. "Wait, Mother, let's discuss this matter later. I've just advanced to the Supernatural realm and need time to adjust my physical state. Let's talk about this another time."
Reyn made a hasty exit.
As he stepped out of the room, he saw Anna blushing and lowering her head in embarrassment.
Lagra, too, had a rare look of shyness, but when she noticed Reyn, she let out a heavy sigh, her chin held high with a hint of tsundere, and she led Anna away.
Reyn breathed a sigh of relief.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have known how to face Lagra, and the awkwardness might have been enough to make him wish for a three-bedroom apartment.
Back in his room, Reyn calmed his mind and checked the system prompts:
[Your skill, Bear Sword Technique, has improved. Experience Points +286]
[You have engaged in combat. Knight (Supernatural) Experience Points +32]
Reyn's eyebrows furrowed as he read the prompts. Clearly, the experience points gained for Bear Sword Technique hadn't changed much, but the experience points for Knight (Supernatural) were several times less than what he had earned as a Night Sentinel.
After a moment's thought, Reyn smiled.
At least he could still improve through combat, right?
It was just a matter of grinding.
Reyn then focused his attention on the two Supernatural Abilities.
Regarding the Supernatural Ability 'Iron Skin', Reyn had already gained some familiarity with it during his practical experience in Hamilton's break room.
As for the Supernatural Ability 'Gigantic Strength', he had a preliminary understanding of it during his battle with Carave.
Currently, it seemed not much different from a low-level 'Power Surge', and using them together put a considerable strain on his body. Fortunately, upon his advancement, Reyn's Constitution directly increased to 16 points.
So, Reyn estimated that using the stacked state, i.e., 'Gigantic Strength' plus a tenfold 'Power Surge', shouldn't be too much of an issue, although the 'after-effects' might be a bit intense.
Additionally, after repeated attempts to use 'Gigantic Strength' and 'Power Surge', he confirmed through the displayed values on the panel that the stacking method was not additive but multiplicative.
For instance, if his base Strength value was 10, the stacked state would be 'Gigantic Strength' plus a tenfold 'Power Surge', resulting in an additional 130% increase, so the panel would display a Strength value of 23 in the stacked state.
As for Break Limit, during the previous battle, when he used the Supernatural Ability 'Gigantic Strength', he had indeed triggered it.
However, a 3% Break Limit was too low to notice on the panel's attribute display, so he hadn't paid much attention to it.
But now, as Reyn carefully contemplated it, he found that Break Limit differed significantly from the Supernatural Ability 'Gigantic Strength'.
Break Limit resulted in a comprehensive boost to Constitution, Strength, and Agility, and the extent of the boost was precisely the percentage displayed on the panel.
In other words, if Reyn's Break Limit value reached 10%, once activated, Constitution, Strength, and Agility would all increase by an additional ten percent.
In contrast, the Supernatural Ability 'Gigantic Strength lv1' provided a tenfold increase in Strength.
After some contemplation, Reyn summarized his current understanding of these mechanics.
Break Limit was an explosive, all-encompassing boost to one's physical attributes, while Supernatural Abilities were enhancements to specific attributes or qualities.
No wonder the level of Break Limit largely determined a Knight's combat prowess, especially considering that most Knights only possessed a single Supernatural Ability.
At this moment, Reyn noticed a + sign next to the Flesh Break Limit value (5%) on the Knight (Supernatural) panel.
Hmm! That's odd, he thought. The value inside the parentheses was clearly 3% before, but now it showed 5%. Reyn immediately noticed this change.
Upon careful recollection, it seemed that during the sparring with Carave, when he added a point to Agility, this might have caused the change. Could increasing attributes elevate the Break Limit value? But what about this + sign?
Reyn focused his thoughts on the + sign, and suddenly, a skill point was consumed, and the Break Limit value rapidly increased to 15%.
Reyn pondered this for a moment.
This was undoubtedly good news, as once the Flesh Break Limit value reached a certain level, 'Break Limit' and the two Supernatural Abilities, 'Gigantic Strength' and 'Iron Skin', would also improve, signifying an increase in his combat prowess.
Wait a moment...
If attribute points could also elevate the Break Limit value, would adding points to Agility, Strength, and Constitution yield different degrees of increase?
If possible, adding points to Bear Breath Technique seems to be an option, as it gradually increases his strength and constitution over time.
However, this process takes much longer than direct attribute allocation, which yields immediate results!
After flipping through his panel for a while, Reyn took out the Silver Tome, 'Beast Taming Diary', which he obtained from 'Dog King' Cole.
Now that he had entered the Extraordinary realm, learning these unknown characters was officially on his agenda.
Reyn opened the Silver Tome and, after some thought, selected several unknown characters, copying them onto a small slip of paper.
These characters, chosen by him, were not consecutive, so Reyn wasn't worried about anyone discovering anything suspicious.
Even if someone asked, he could say he saw them in an ancient book and was curious to learn more.
He planned to ask Hamilton the next morning to recommend him to a scholar in the county city, saying he wanted to study some knowledge about the characters.
Reyn also had a backup plan; he could search for and go to the Bat Market himself, where he was highly likely to find related information.
The error-free version is available on 69shu. 6=9+1, read the original novel on 69shu.
However, the market was a mixed bag, and Reyn was still hesitant. Recalling the diverse and treacherous combat methods of Endre, the first-level wizard apprentice, Reyn didn't dare to underestimate him, even though he was now a Knight.
Reyn had a premonition that understanding these unknown characters would greatly benefit his previous idea of utilizing mysterious side energy particles.
The next morning, when Reyn stepped out of his home, he noticed a carriage with a noble crest parked at his doorstep, accompanied by four cavalry guards, each alert and seemingly formidable.
The crest on the carriage was a kite-shaped shield with a flower resembling a lily.
But Reyn's limited knowledge of noble crests prevented him from identifying which noble family it belonged to.
A middle-aged man in a black tailcoat approached Reyn with a smile. "You must be Lord Reyn. Baroness Crowley is waiting for you in the carriage. She wishes to have a word with you."
Reyn was taken aback. He was certain he didn't know this Baroness Crowley.
Just as he was about to decline politely, the middle-aged man continued, "The Baroness has come all the way from the county city and has been waiting for you for half an hour. So..."
Reyn's heart softened, as the man didn't seem to be causing any trouble.
After some thought, Reyn nodded. "Alright, let's talk. Lead the way."
The butler-like middle-aged man seemed delighted and quickly led the way, escorting Reyn into the carriage.
As soon as Reyn entered, he was enveloped in a rich fragrance. He looked up and saw a noblewoman and a young lady, both maintaining a dignified posture.
The noblewoman wore an elegant off-shoulder deep blue gown adorned with lace trim and pearls.
The off-shoulder design revealed her fair skin, and a sapphire brooch secured the gown's plunging neckline.
The young lady seemed more reserved, her attire slightly more conservative. She glanced at Reyn, quickly averted her eyes, blushed slightly, but then looked back at him, as if remembering something.
Once Reyn was seated, the noblewoman spoke with a gentle smile, "You must be the talented young Lord Reyn."
"Yes, my lady. What brings you here...?"
The noblewoman glanced at Reyn and said, "I've heard that a knight genius has emerged in Flashgold Town."
"So, I implore you to consider my proposal. Marry into the Crowley family. We can offer you much assistance, such as exempting you from the nobility examination and directly inheriting the Crowley family's barony."
"My husband, Baron Crowley, passed away a year ago. As long as you marry Jennie, you can inherit the barony soon after."
"Of course, once you and Jennie have children, they will inherit the barony. Additionally..."
After the conversation, Reyn blushed.
The noblewoman's words immediately reminded him of what his mother, Emma, had said the night before about marrying a noble lady.
He hadn't expected the news of his Extraordinary breakthrough to spread so quickly, and here was Baroness Crowley, proposing that he become her son-in-law, with her daughter as his future wife.
According to the traditions of the Dragon Empire, if he accepted, he would instantly gain the support of a barony and share the responsibilities of managing the family with Jennie.
However, he would also had much to lose, such as the surname of his future children and...
Baroness Crowley noticed Reyn's frequent glances at her, but when he fell silent for a while, she hesitated and then dropped a 'bombshell'.
(End of Chapter)
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