Vivian stood on the high platform and glanced at the scene below, gaining a clear view immediately.
She quickly noticed Duke; mastering the first move of the Pile Skill so swiftly surprised even her.
Seeing Duke persisting, Vivian stepped down from the platform and approached.
Duke was deeply focused on his breathing, trying hard to maintain this state, completely unaware of Vivian's presence.
He tried to hold on a bit longer, but every second felt extremely long.
When he finally couldn't persist any longer, he collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
Only then did Duke realize he was drenched in sweat, with his clothes soaked and dripping.
Turning his head, he saw Vivian in her full armor and quickly stood up, saying, "I'm sorry for making you laugh, Miss Vivian."
"It's your first time; one minute is already impressive," Vivian's cool voice echoed from her heavy armor.
Still gasping for breath, Duke heard these words and thought of something, but dared not express it, only wiping the sweat from his forehead.
He hadn't expected the Pile Skill to be so exhausting, more tiring than a major battle.
"George, guide him more," Vivian instructed before leaving.
Hearing this, the people around gave Duke a second look, some envious.
Nearly two hundred people were practicing the Breathing Technique on site, with only twenty being Nightingales.
Miss Vivian specifically arranged for someone to guide Duke, clearly seeing potential in him, which made many envious.
After resting a bit, Duke continued practicing the second move of the Pile Skill.
With George by his side now, he had to seize this opportunity to master all twelve Pile Skill moves as quickly as possible.
Once the Giant Whale Breathing Technique appeared on his Skill Tree, he could grind it to the top level.
By the end of the day, Duke only mastered the first four moves of the Giant Whale Breathing Technique, feeling utterly exhausted, finding it difficult even to lift a finger.
Still, he was progressing fast; most people hadn't even mastered the first move, with only a few mastering one or two moves.
The training was hard, but the treatment at the manor was very good.
Duke and his fellows would be staying at the manor for this period, where the beds had mattresses filled with goose and duck feathers, remarkably soft.
This was something only nobles could enjoy, while commoners would at most use some dry grass as a mattress.
Six people, all participating in the selection of Personal Soldiers, stayed in Duke's room.
They introduced themselves and roughly got to know each other's names and backgrounds.
Among them were both commoners and nobles, and even one who had risen from being a slave to become a commoner, finally reaching here.
This person, named Hewen, looked unnoticeable, short in stature, but sturdy with muscular arms and back.
Duke paid more attention to him, knowing how hard it was for a slave to become a commoner in this era.
In theory, it was almost impossible; his ability to escape slavery and reach here proved he was no ordinary person.
They didn't chat much, all too tired, falling asleep quickly with snores filling the room.
Duke, being slightly more physically robust than the others, recovered faster and woke before dawn.
He quietly left the house to continue practicing the Pile Skill.
Duke started from the first move, reviewing what he had learned the day before.
Not yet solidifying the Giant Whale Breathing Technique in his Skill Tree, he needed to practice repeatedly to avoid forgetting some details.
After a while, the door behind him opened, and Hewen stepped out.
Hewen, seeing Duke practicing the Pile Skill, was visibly surprised; he hadn't expected anyone to be even more diligent than himself.
Having mastered two moves yesterday, Hewen also started practicing on the side.
Both seemed very determined, not slacking at all, practicing until most of the manor's inhabitants were awake before stopping.
Duke clearly felt that practicing the Pile Skill was much easier than yesterday, with his muscles becoming more flexible.
Though his body's attribute panel showed no improvement, he could clearly feel his body becoming more comfortable.
The manor provided an exceptionally rich breakfast, with three meals a day, containing unlimited supplies of beef, lamb, bread, and sour pickles, allowing everyone to eat to their heart's content.
Among the group, the majority were commoners who had never experienced such treatment, eating heartily to enjoy the feeling of a full stomach.
Quite a few nobles did the same; many nobles had the title but lived no better than commoners.
After breakfast, training continued.
According to the manor's schedule, only Breathing Technique training would be conducted for the first seven days, with other training items arranged later.
George continued to guide Duke exclusively, needing not to pay attention to others, focusing solely on Duke.
Duke, already diligent and determined, made rapid progress under George's guidance.
...
Three days later.
Inside Duke's mind, the Skill Tree began to change, with a branch extending, and a small green bud appeared above.
[Giant Whale Breathing Technique: LV1 (0/1000)]
After three days of training, Duke had mastered all twelve sets of Pile Skill for the Breathing Technique.
When he completed the twelfth set of Pile Skill, the Giant Whale Breathing Technique also became solidified in the Skill Tree.
At the same time, a warm current appeared in Duke's abdomen, with a Life Seed condensing there.
Practicing the Giant Whale Breathing Technique again, after about an hour, a faint trace of Fighting Spirit emerged in his abdomen.
Under his mental control, this trace of Fighting Spirit wandered throughout his body, freely controllable at will.
This tiny trace of Fighting Spirit couldn't achieve much, but once accumulated enough, it could be used in battle.
Glancing at the proficiency of the Giant Whale Breathing Technique, Duke realized that completing an entire set of practice only increased it slightly, with each session taking an hour.
Calculating this way, even practicing the Breathing Technique for ten hours a day, it would take a hundred days to grind the Giant Whale Breathing Technique to Level 2.
Moreover, practicing the Breathing Technique for ten hours a day was hard to sustain; the current body couldn't withstand such high intensity, with five to six hours being the limit.
Perhaps more training time could be endured in the future, but progress would still be slow.
Knight training required high aptitude; the majority could not complete the step of condensing a Life Seed.
Among those who successfully condense the Life Seed, many remain Low-tier Knight Attendants for life, unable to advance further.
When the Giant Whale Breathing Technique is trained to the third level, one crosses the threshold of becoming a Mid-tier Knight Attendant, at the fifth level a High-tier Knight Attendant, and at the seventh level an Official Knight.
Thinking it over, Duke realized that the Giant Whale Breathing Technique had nine levels; if LV1 corresponded to the first level, LV2 to the second, his training speed indeed seemed slow.
His knight aptitude was somewhat lacking, as individuals with good aptitude generally needed only a month to progress from the first level to the second.
It was thanks to the presence of the Skill Tree that Duke was able to accelerate the progress of the Giant Whale Breathing Technique.
Following his natural training speed, reaching the second level in this lifetime would be challenging.
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