Duke returned home and used the flour he bought to make some rough bread. It didn't look great, but it tasted pretty good.
There was also a whole piece of bacon. He cut a third of it, steamed it, and then the aroma spread throughout the room, making one's mouth water.
The bacon was already seasoned with various spices, so there was no need to add any extra flavoring.
Duke didn't care about the heat and tore off a long piece of meat, stuffing it into his mouth, and a sense of satisfaction arose spontaneously.
He had forgotten how long it had been since he last had meat. The feeling of the meat and fat bursting in his mouth filled him with happiness.
"This bacon is really delicious!" Duke continued to wolf it down, and soon he had eaten all the steamed bacon.
The bread was also devoured by him in an instant. This was the most satisfying meal he had eaten since he transmigrated.
The three bags of flour and three pieces of bacon cost a total of more than fifty silver coins.
Duke's appetite was also getting bigger. Eating like this couldn't sustain a daily intake of meat, so he could only occasionally indulge.
Uncle John and his family certainly wouldn't indulge like Duke. At most, they would cut a slice of bacon and put it in the pot during ordinary days, not daring to cut a third to eat in one go.
After eating his fill, Duke continued to wield his iron sword in the yard to grind skill proficiency.
[Basic Swordsmanship: LV3 (67/700)]
He noticed that after the battle that night, his proficiency in basic swordsmanship had increased significantly. It seemed that in the process of fighting, proficiency was also being gained.
The proficiency gained from actual combat was more than from regular practice, perhaps related to the opponent's strength.
Duke wielded the iron sword and continued to practice basic swordsmanship over and over, continuing until the starlit night when he finally stopped to rest and prepare for sleep.
...
Half a month had passed, and during this time, it had been very peaceful.
Duke just kept grinding skill proficiency and performing his duty patrol tasks. Life was peaceful, and he enjoyed this life, allowing for steady development.
On the Skill Tree, a small light green fruit had appeared on the branch representing basic swordsmanship, followed by a message.
[Basic Swordsmanship: LV4 (0/1000)]
[Basic Swordsmanship Level Up, Constitution +0.5, Strength +0.3, Agility +0.4]
[Constitution: 6.2]
[Strength: 7.2]
[Agility: 6.5]
[Spirit: 8.1]
[Free Attribute Points: 0]
Looking at the Skill Tree, Duke felt somewhat strange. This time, after upgrading basic swordsmanship to Level 4, the attribute points gained were actually less than when the sickle was upgraded to Level 4.
He remembered that when he had ground the sickle to Level 4, Constitution, Strength, and Agility had all increased by 0.5, but now the Strength and Agility were less.
Thinking it over, Duke could only guess it was because his current physical attributes were relatively high, making the attribute values gained seem less.
But in reality, the increases might be the same, it's just that against the backdrop of his already high base values, it seemed less.
"Is this diminishing returns?" Duke pondered.
This led him to think about a problem, which is that if things continued like this, gaining experience for other skills in the future might scarcely yield any attribute improvements.
Realizing this issue, Duke couldn't help but feel a bit worried.
Since the current method of improvement had its limits, he needed to find other ways to boost his strength as soon as possible.
At this point, Duke also understood the importance of free attribute points. They can increase an attribute by one point regardless of his physical attributes.
He recalled that during the recent event at the Southern Mine, that single point increase in strength far exceeded any before.
Looking back now, that single point of strength might have equaled 1.5 or even 2 points of strength from before.
At night, Duke, as usual, patrolled in and around the town of Enderland with members of the Militia Team.
Holding a torch, he looked up at the night sky. The moonless night was dark and windy.
In Enderland Town, except for the tavern, which was still lively and bustling, other places' residents had long been asleep.
After the battle at the Southern Mine, Duke had gained some reputation in the Militia Team.
For grinding proficiency, he often sought out veterans in the Militia Team for sparring. Towards the end, nobody wanted to spar with him, as no one liked to be overpowered one-sidedly.
Most importantly, Duke seemed tireless and could keep fighting. No veteran could outlast this young man, and they all eventually avoided him.
By now, Duke couldn't find opponents within the Militia Team. No one was willing to practice with him anymore.
Walking at the forefront of the five-person squad, Duke saw a group of people gathered at the town's entrance, not knowing what they were up to. He immediately became vigilant.
Enderland Town had no curfew, but it was rare for people to gather outside this late.
In the past, Duke might encounter one or two drunken people who couldn't find their way home and would help them into their homes. He was more or less familiar with the townspeople.
"Who are you?" Duke directly questioned them aloud.
One of the group, a man in a cloak, slowly approached, smiling and saying, "Officer, we are passing merchants who want to spend a night in the town. You know, it's too unsafe outside..."
As he spoke, he was quietly approaching, unknowingly getting very close to Duke and others.
Duke immediately drew his iron sword and shouted, "If you come any closer, don't blame me for being rude!"
His rich combat experience told him that coming any closer would enter the opponent's attack range, and he was very sensitive to this distance.
Unexpectedly, the man's expression changed, and a cruel look instantly appeared on his face: "Do it! Get rid of these few first!"
Upon hearing this, Duke immediately took a deep breath and then shouted loudly, "Enemy attack!"
His mind was very clear; since the opponent was prepared to attack, it was obviously premeditated.
Since so, with the strength of their five-man group, they likely couldn't stop the other side. What he needed to do was alert the others and then hold off these people, waiting for reinforcements.
Duke's shout was full of energy, resonating throughout Enderland Town and startling many people waking from their dreams.
"Damn kid!" The leader of the group was a small head of the Wild Wolf Robber Group named Cole.
These eight people with Cole were the vanguard unit. Their purpose was to silently eliminate the patrolling and alert Militia Team in the town, and then let the bandit group come in to loot, burn, and pillage.
Unexpectedly, this kid in front of them was so alert and didn't give them a chance.
Moreover, his reaction was swift and decisively sounded the alarm, adding a lot of trouble for them.
Cole stared at Duke, drew his longsword, and said, "In that case, then you shall die!"
Duke noticed that underneath the cloak, the man was wearing a silver-white full-body armor.
He immediately realized that this person was probably a troublesome opponent, having the capital to be equipped with full-body armor.