Duke thought about it and realized it was probably because he had been promoted to a mid-tier Knight Attendant, which made the magical beast meat less effective for him.
The magical beast meat came from a mid-tier Gale Wolf, a type of meat Duke often purchased. It seemed that as his strength increased, he needed higher-grade magical beast meat to have a satisfactory effect.
Duke still had four pounds of magical beast meat left, and once he finished this batch, he'd need to buy more.
He noticed that after his strength improved, he was able to consume more magical beast meat at once.
He could eat more at a time without worrying about wasting it through incomplete refining.
This way, he could maintain the previous speed of skill proficiency growth, but the consumption rate of magical beast meat also accelerated.
Previously, he'd consume two or three pounds in half a month, but at this rate, he'd be consuming five or six pounds.
Duke calculated that he would need to spend about sixty gold coins a month, which was way too much.
He currently had just over twenty gold coins, only enough to buy a few pounds of mid-tier magical beast meat.
"I need to find a way to earn money!" Duke thought to himself.
Now that he had become a mid-tier Knight Attendant, his monthly salary had increased to two gold coins.
This was already considered high for ordinary people, but not enough to sustain a knight's training.
Most members of Nightingale relied on various odd jobs to earn money for training resources.
...
In Fengqiu City, at the Adventurer's Tavern.
Duke occasionally came here to have a pint of butter beer, mainly to gather some recent news.
The tavern was crowded with people of all sorts, and it was often possible to hear news from various places.
"Did you see that big job recently?" A bearded man at a nearby table suddenly asked.
"The big job? Catching the Twilight Deer?" someone replied.
"Of course, what's the interest in partnering up to try?"
"Forget it, the reward is indeed tempting— a whole hundred gold coins! But it's too challenging. The Twilight Deer is a mid-tier magical beast. While it's not aggressive, it's extremely adept at fleeing. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to catch it."
"True, recently all the adventurers in Fengqiu City have been heading to the Moonlight Forest, but no one has succeeded yet."
...
Duke was intrigued and went to the counter, saying, "I want to see the quest for the Twilight Deer."
Behind the counter was a well-dressed bartender, who nodded with a smile, pulling out a parchment with the quest details.
The bartender not only mixed drinks but was also responsible for receiving and issuing quest commissions, possessing a strong background.
Duke took the parchment, and after reading the quest details, he found out why no one had completed it yet.
The quest required capturing the Twilight Deer alive. No deposit was needed to take on the quest, and completing it would earn a grand sum of one hundred gold coins.
In this era, a hundred gold coins could already make an ordinary person become quite wealthy.
Duke then asked, "Do you have any information about the Twilight Deer?"
"Of course, for a fee," the bartender smiled slightly.
The intelligence business at the Adventurer's Tavern was significant. As long as you were willing to pay, there were nearly no secrets you couldn't obtain.
This was also the strength of the Adventurer Association, which had branches in many kingdoms with extensive information channels.
Duke asked, "How much?"
"One gold coin," the bartender replied while polishing a glass.
Duke thought for a moment and tossed out a gold coin.
The price was a bit steep, but to increase the probability of completing the mission, he had no choice but to invest.
With a wave of the hand, the bartender made the coin vanish, putting it away somewhere, and said, "Please wait a moment."
He then walked into a room at the back, returning shortly with a letter sealed with wax.
"Here's what you want," the bartender pushed the letter over.
Duke took the letter and then left the tavern.
He didn't attract any attention because this was a common scene in the tavern; transactions that weren't of substantial amounts didn't draw interest.
After returning to the manor, Duke opened the letter, discovering it contained detailed information about the Twilight Deer's habits and appearance, even illustrating what its droppings looked like.
This kind of information was important to hunters, one of whose skills was to recognize what animals left behind from their droppings.
"The powder of the Sky Lantern Flower is very attractive to the Twilight Deer..." Duke memorized all this information, then put the letter away.
The next day, he returned to Fengqiu City, purchased quite a few things, thoroughly prepared, and then set out with his longsword and longbow heading into the Moonlight Forest.
The Moonlight Forest was the largest forest in the entire Vera Kingdom, bordering three provinces.
This was a paradise for beasts and also inhabited a variety of magical beasts. Only knight-level warriors dared venture deeply here.
To enter the Moonlight Forest, one needed to pay. Several entrances near Fengqiu City were guarded by Earl Hardy's personal soldiers.
One had to pay a tax of ten silver coins to enter, regardless of the purpose.
If someone sneaked in without paying and got caught, they'd be treated as a poacher and sentenced to the gallows.
Duke approached the entrance, ready to pay, when the guarding soldier glanced at his leather armor and smiled, "Brother, you're with Nightingale, aren't you?"
"Yes," Duke nodded.
The leather armor he wore offered the best defense, so, of course, he wore it.
The soldier chuckled, "Then you don't need to pay. Don't you know that members of Nightingale can enter the Moonlight Forest for free? Earl Hardy has granted this privilege."
"I see," Duke replied, putting his silver coins back into his pocket; saving every penny counted.
"On your way, good luck!" the soldier waved.
They often saw members of Nightingale entering for side earnings from hunting. Given their trained Breathing Technique, they were skilled and often successful.
"Thank you for your service," Duke replied politely before entering the Moonlight Forest.
As soon as he entered the forest, he felt the light dim. Sunlight squeezed through the dense canopy, casting only a few dappled spots on the ground.
Enormous trees that required several people to encircle were everywhere, all growing tall and lush.
The forest was tranquil, occasionally interrupted by melodious bird songs.
A gentle breeze rustled the trees, tempting one to find a grassy patch to lie on and nap away the afternoon idly.
Duke, naturally, had no such leisure. Soon, he noticed some markings on the nearby tree trunks.
These were left by hunters who had previously been here, often used for guiding directions for themselves or others, and to make future entries easier.
Duke was well aware of these; they were basic knowledge for hunters.
[Hunting: Level 1 (1/100)]
A new branch appeared on the skill tree, sprouting a fresh green bud.
To Duke's surprise, identifying just a few hunter marks had led to the appearance of a hunting skill.