Duke, after some thought, decided not to add the attribute point yet, keeping it for future use.
He realized that free attribute points were relatively scarce; so far, he had only obtained 1.1 free attribute points in total.
"What exactly is the use of the Spirit attribute?" Duke looked at his Spirit attribute, which was as high as 8.1, with much confusion.
He speculated that the Spirit attribute might be related to the brain, but he still didn't have a photographic memory.
This question could only be left for later exploration, as it seemed the Skill Tree still held many secrets.
After joining the Militia Team, Duke received an iron sword and a piece of leather armor.
Holding this heavy iron sword, he instantly felt a bit more secure, finally having a decent weapon by his side.
The leather armor was dark yellow and felt stiff to the touch; it was made from tanned cowhide.
It consisted of two layers of cowhide, with linen in between, and the outer layer had been soaked in iron ore to enhance its hardness.
Wearing such leather armor was naturally not comfortable, but it provided a strong sense of security.
In this era of cold weapons, such leather armor offered good defense against swords and arrows.
Once the vital parts of the body were protected, the safety level in combat increased significantly.
Starting next month, Duke would also receive a monthly salary of ten silver coins, ensuring he wouldn't go hungry and even allowing him to save a good amount of money.
Of course, taking the money meant he had to do his part, and Duke had to fulfill his militia duties.
His daily task was patrolling, divided into day shifts and night shifts, taking turns with others for night duties.
The patrol range was generally around the Endland Town area, not too far.
The patrols were usually organized in five-man teams, typically composed of three veterans and two newcomers.
Duke noticed that when he donned the longsword and leather armor, and walked on the town's streets, the other civilians looked at him differently, with a bit more fear.
At night, at the town gate, the bonfire blazed, illuminating Duke's young face.
The night watch was dull and boring, and the cold wind at night was bone-chilling, leaving them to warm themselves by the bonfire.
Duke leaned against the fire, and once his body was warm, he drew his iron sword and continued practicing basic swordsmanship on the side.
The other four were accustomed to this, knowing Duke was extremely diligent, training whenever he had the chance.
In their eyes, repeatedly practicing basic swordsmanship held little significance.
The leader of their five-man team was named Hansen, a retired veteran who had participated in the wars between the Vera Kingdom and the neighboring Gondor Kingdom, bringing with him a wealth of experience.
Seeing Duke still training hard, Hansen couldn't help but say, "Duke, this is useless. Basic swordsmanship just needs to be understood. To improve, you need real combat. Even if you practice ten thousand times, you won't have the strength of Mr. Wood."
"If you really want to become stronger, you must become a knight."
"Brother Hansen, how can I become a knight?" Duke put down his sword and asked respectfully.
Hansen sighed and said, "That's not easy. To become a knight, you must learn the Breathing Technique, but the Breathing Technique is held by the nobles. Unless you are noticed by Earl Hardy and become a knight under his command, you can't obtain the Breathing Technique."
Duke silently watched the burning bonfire, the firelight reflecting and dancing in his eyes.
Gaining Earl Hardy's recognition was not easy; those who obtained the Breathing Technique inheritance were all excellent individuals.
Duke was at best stronger among young people, but he had no experience or background, making it impossible to catch Earl Hardy's eye.
He thought about it and realized this couldn't be rushed; what he could do now was to continue grinding proficiency.
[Basic Swordsmanship: LV2 (420/500)]
Basic swordsmanship wasn't far from leveling up either. Sitting idly through the long night was a waste of life, better to use it to grind proficiency.
Seeing Duke still practicing basic swordsmanship, Hansen and the others could only shake their heads, smile, and say no more; after all, it did no harm.
...
Night faded into dawn, morning light breaking.
The burning bonfire had extinguished, leaving behind a pile of still-warm ashes.
Once the shift-changing team arrived, Duke and his team dragged their weary bodies home.
Duke actually felt fine; even though he had practiced basic swordsmanship all night, he didn't feel very tired.
His attention was on the Skill Tree in his mind, where the green leaf representing basic swordsmanship had turned into a small white flower.
[Basic Swordsmanship level increased, Agility +1]
Duke glanced at his personal attributes, finding that his Agility had now become his highest attribute aside from Spirit.
[Constitution: 5.7]
[Strength: 5.9]
[Agility: 6.1]
[Spirit: 8.1]
[Free attribute points: 1]
The most immediate feeling brought by the increase in Agility was that his body felt lighter. Walking on the muddy road, a light push with his foot could propel him several meters forward.
At the same time, a large amount of swordsmanship experience flooded into his mind, all practical sword techniques.
Duke could imagine that with his current strength and agility, combined with his swordsmanship experience, he could already surpass most veteran soldiers.
Upon returning to Yining Village, Duke freshened up a bit and fell asleep quickly, his recent sleep quality being very good.
With high-intensity training every day, the Militia Team provided plenty of food to fill his stomach, so he didn't stay awake from hunger at night anymore.
Duke was woken up by a knocking sound, accompanied by a girl's shout: "Duke! Duke, are you there?"
He woke up groggy and opened the door to find it was Loy, the daughter of Uncle John from next door.
Loy worked as a maid in Earl Hardy's garden and usually only came back once a month.
Uncle John's family had some reputation nearby due to having a daughter working for Earl Hardy, making it easier for them to take on jobs.
"Sister Loy, what's wrong?" Duke asked.
Loy looked anxious and said, "My parents went to work at the Southern Mine a few days ago. They should have returned two days ago, but today I came back and found they're still not home. I asked around the village, and everyone said they haven't seen them these past few days."
Hearing this, Duke also realized that Uncle John and Aunt Anna had been gone for some time now, and had yet to return.
The Southern Mine was an enterprise of Earl Hardy, often hiring nearby farmers for work, though it wasn't obligatory; they received pay for each day worked.
Uncle John and the others had gone there many times before, usually returning in two or three days.
Because the work at the mine was heavy, most people couldn't work for long, needing to rest after two or three days at most.
Considering the time, Uncle John and the others had been gone for nearly seven days, which was indeed unusual.
Duke thought for a moment and calmly said, "Sister Loy, don't worry. I'll go into town and look for Mr. Wood; he might know something."