The Duke heard that the Minstrel actually mentioned Earl Hardy, and couldn't help but admire the audacity of this person, daring to discuss the Earl in Hardy's own territory.
However, this was also related to it being the Adventurer's Tavern, which is a relatively more free place.
From listening to this group, he learned that Earl Hardy was also known as the Red Glove Earl.
The reason is that Earl Hardy wears a red glove on his left hand year-round, and this glove possesses extremely mysterious and strange power, capable of causing people near Earl Hardy to suddenly die violently.
This is also one reason many people deeply respect and fear Earl Hardy, as they can only harbor fear in the face of such inexplicable power.
"Red Glove..." The Duke took a sip of wine, pondering the truth of this matter.
This was also his first time hearing of it, as among the people he usually interacted with, no one dared to casually discuss Earl Hardy, unlike these bold adventurers.
The Duke tended to believe that the power of the Red Glove truly existed, after all, this is an Extraordinary World.
Though the idea of people nearby dying violently sounded somewhat absurd, it only suggested that he had encountered too little, and his understanding of this world was still far too shallow.
This world is far from as simple as it appears on the surface.
After staying a little longer and not gathering any valuable information, the Duke left the tavern and returned to the manor to continue honing his proficiency.
After going through the events of the past two days, he increasingly felt his own weakness.
He used to believe that practicing Breathing Techniques and becoming a Knight Attendant, mastering stronger powers, would grant more self-preservation ability.
Now it seemed that unless one reached Knight Level, they were merely cannon fodder.
Even becoming an Official Knight, it's still very difficult to handle Magic Power.
The Duke took a deep breath, deciding not to overthink; all he could do was take each step well, practicing steadily and surely.
...
A month later.
In his room, the Duke stood bare-chested, with sweat trickling down the curves of his muscles.
He chewed a piece of Magical Beast Meat, swallowed it, and continued practicing Pile Skill.
Now, the Duke could perform these movements with ease, as if it had become instinctual, without any difficulty.
However, correspondingly, the training effects significantly diminished.
For ordinary people, this was usually the limit, and it's hard for the physical body to improve further through Pile Skill, basically marking the end of the knight's road.
Even when paired with Magical Beast Meat, the improvement obtained is extremely limited.
But the Duke was different; he had the Skill Tree on his side. He just needed to continually repeat the Pile Skill practice to improve the proficiency of the Giant Whale Breathing Technique and would eventually break through one day.
In his mind, on the branch representing the Giant Whale Breathing Technique, a green bud trembled, then bloomed like a flower, extending an emerald green leaf.
[Giant Whale Breathing Technique: LV3 (1/1500)]
[Giant Whale Breathing Technique level up, Physique +0.5, Strength +0.3, Agility +0.5]
[Physique: 8.2]
[Strength: 8.4]
[Agility: 8.2]
[Spirit: 8.1]
[Free Attribute Points: 3]
This improvement brought the Duke a very noticeable sensation; he felt as though his whole body had expanded slightly, making him seem taller and stronger.
Although not apparent to the naked eye, he could feel it himself in that instant.
The Duke's overall attributes had now surpassed eight points, and the comprehensive enhancement in all aspects marked a qualitative leap in his strength.
During this period, he also observed other members of Nightingale.
The Duke found that the average attributes of medium-tier Knight Attendants were around six points, while high-tier Knight Attendants were about seven points.
If not for the presence of Fighting Spirit, he could have crushed high-tier Knight Attendants a month ago.
Others had raised their body attributes to this level through years of painstaking cultivation.
The Duke had not fully demonstrated his strength before these people and usually kept a low profile, appearing to be nothing more than an unremarkable low-tier Knight Attendant.
Now, having elevated the Giant Whale Breathing Technique to the third layer, the Duke successfully stepped into the threshold of a medium-tier Knight Attendant, significantly increasing the amount of Fighting Spirit his body could accommodate.
He felt as if all the meridians in his body had been widened, making the movement of Fighting Spirit within more fluid, creating a feeling as if the roads had become broader.
These were internal bodily changes, unobservable from the outside.
The Duke pondered these internal changes noticed that after advancing to a medium-tier Knight Attendant, due to broader meridians, he could use more Fighting Spirit at one time.
Now, he could gather twice the previous amount of Fighting Spirit in his fist, making it as hard as iron, with incomparable strength.
The amount of Fighting Spirit his body parts could contain was minimal before, unable to focus a large amount in one area, as internal meridians couldn't bear so much Fighting Spirit.
But now, with broader and thicker meridians, the amount of Fighting Spirit they could simultaneously accommodate was increased, indirectly enhancing his strength.
The Duke's meridians transformed at the instant the Breathing Technique level advanced, which would take others at least several years to achieve.
If one's aptitude was poor, they might never cross this barrier in their lifetime.
[Basic Swordsmanship: LV5 (Trait: Bleeding)]
The Duke also managed to grind Basic Swordsmanship to the maximum level during this period, gaining some free attribute points and activating a trait.
[Bleeding: When using sword weapons, a chance to affect the opponent's blood clotting function]
The Duke looked at this information, unsure of the specific effect.
The function of blood clotting can vary greatly depending on the duration and whether the effect is significant.
If it can affect the opponent's blood clotting function for a long time, he could strike and then retreat, eventually waiting for the opponent to bleed to death.
However, the Duke felt it couldn't be that simple, as achieving such an effect might be probable against an average person but would be different against a robust knight.
After practicing Breathing Techniques, the body generally becomes stronger, so the bleeding trait might have a limited effect.
The Duke planned to observe more during future combats since such attributes were better than nothing.
This also made him think about more possibilities; since Basic Swordsmanship had a trait after grinding to max level, other skills might too.
Currently, only Basic Swordsmanship had a trait, implying it's probabilistic.
The Duke glanced at his Giant Whale Breathing Technique, which was only at the third level; achieving max level was still far off, making him wonder what transformations might occur upon reaching it.
After perceiving his enhanced body, he sliced a bit of Magical Beast Meat, consumed it, and continued Pile Skill practice.
A few minutes later.
[You completed a session of Giant Whale Breathing Technique, proficiency +2]
"Did the proficiency decrease?" The Duke frowned.
He had been using Magical Beast Meat to aid in practice for some time, and until now, the minimum increase was three points, encountering a two-point increase for the first time.