Cream of mushroom soup, white bread, beef bourguignon, Bayonne ham...
On the long dining table, dishes were served one after another.
A maid beside him handed him a glass of the local Weir Red Wine.
The game had become reality. Real, natural food entered his stomach, and the long-lost feeling of a full belly was paired with a delicious taste.
As expected, life in the world of "God's Revelation" was what you could truly call living!
He finally no longer had to experience the tasteless nutrient paste of the Earth Federation that made one want to vomit.
It was just a pity that his current identity was a European noble in the second act. If he could have become an Eastern lord in the first act, the Eastern cuisine would have been more suited to his Chinese palate.
After eating and drinking his fill, Chen Xinhe tentatively scanned the people around him.
As he had expected, the maids were not professionals, with levels ranging from LV1 to LV3.
Even Butler Anke was only LV7, with the sub-profession of a butler, and his various attributes were not even as high as a certain LV3 maid's.
As a level 17 professional, he could already be considered a significant figure in the main city of the Duchy of Weir.
"Butler Anke."
"My Lord Baron, your orders."
Anke quickly came forward from behind, half-bowing beside him.
"What has the relationship between our Merrick family and the Anbett family been like in the past?"
"This... My Lord, your father had no dealings with the current Viscount Anbett."
A hint of helplessness flashed across Butler Anke's wrinkled face.
He knew of his young master's admiration for the youngest daughter of Viscount Anbett. This was not the first time the young master had asked him about the Anbett family.
It was just that... the two families had little interaction in the past.
"Our Merrick family is a hereditary barony in the city, passed down through the Merrick Blade Technique, and we are also one of the seven major hereditary noble families in the city."
"As for Viscount Anbett, he is the treasurer of the Duchy of Weir, which is why he was granted the title of Viscount."
...
So even though my title of Baron is lower than his, my actual status might be beyond his comparison?
If he wasn't the treasurer, he might not even be able to pass down his Viscount title?
"Do the other seven major hereditary noble families also rely on inherited techniques?"
...
"That's right. Among the seven major noble families in Weir City, the Earl Connor family is currently the leader, and our Merrick family is one of them."
"In fact, before the Kingdom of Lucian granted the Weir family the title of Duke, this land, including the Weir family, had a total of eight major hereditary families."
"Before the old master passed away, he always hoped you could win the heart of Miss Erica from the Connor family, but you..."
Combining the old butler's few sentences of introduction with the history of Weir City he had just read, Chen Xinhe immediately sorted out the power structure within the city.
In other words, the current Weir City had always been passed down through eight major professional families, ruled by the Weir family as the leader.
Later, after Weir I pledged allegiance to the Kingdom of Lucian, he became a Duke.
The remaining seven major professional families were enfeoffed as hereditary nobles, and the Merrick family was one of them.
This was understandable. The various families with long-standing inheritances had all trained a certain number of professionals.
Even if the Weir family became Dukes themselves, they couldn't just eliminate the other seven old families and collaborators.
However, after so many years of development, the seven major families were now led by the Earl Connor family and had gradually become distant from the Duke Weir family.
"How many professionals does the family still support?"
Butler Anke's eyes held a strange look. In his memory, this newly succeeded Baron Lister had never paid attention to family affairs since inheriting the family three months ago.
He didn't practice the family's inherited techniques much either, single-mindedly pursuing that Miss Anna.
He didn't expect him to show concern for these matters today, which surprised Anke.
"When Baron Mel was alive, there were only three professionals who followed him."
"After you inherited, those three professionals left. Now..."
...
"Are you saying that in the entire Merrick family, I'm the only professional left?"
Butler Anke pursed his lips and lowered his head, not speaking.
The silence was the answer. The development of the seven major professional families in Weir City had varied over the years.
Some grew more and more glorious, like the Earl Connor family.
Others went downhill and began to decline, with the Merrick family being a prime example.
No wonder in the second act's expansion, Blade Master Merrick was all alone.
He probably fell into despair for over a decade after losing the duel and being hurt by love, and the family just fell apart.
Only then could he have a complete awakening at the age of forty, once again bringing glory to his family's Merrick Blade Technique.
However, even if he mastered it to the peak, he could only be confined to the Duchy of Weir in the second act.
Chen Xinhe was unwilling to stay in this small city for a lifetime.
He knew just how vast the world of "God's Revelation" was. The first few acts were all microcosms of different regions of this world.
It wasn't until the fourth act that the entire world entered a stage of great integration and gradually stepped into the galactic interstellar era.
A mere noble in a small city was not his future!
"My Lord Baron, are you planning to train family professionals again?"
"Forgive my bluntness, but the family's current financial situation can probably only support you alone."
...
"No need. We won't be training any for now."
"Help me keep an eye out for passive techniques! If there are any in the city, acquire them at any cost!"
Chen Xinhe had no interest in cultivating his own forces for the time being.
On one hand, the duel with Kunt was imminent. On the other hand, how could cultivating a family force be as direct as waiting for people to come and follow him after he became powerful?
"Pa... passive techniques? My Lord, I have never heard of such techniques."
"Oh! It's something like our Merrick family's breathing method."
...
Anke's eyes widened, looking as if Lister had gone mad.
"My Lord! All kinds of techniques are priceless in the city!"
"A secret family method like the Merrick family's is an even rarer inheritance!"
"You... you're not thinking of buying the inherited techniques of the other families, are you?"
...
As expected, Chen Xinhe knew it wouldn't be simple.
When it was a game, players could still obtain passive skills through quests. Even though the drop rate was low in the first two acts, there were many players.
At least in the early stages of the game, you could occasionally see such skill books in the auction house.
Now that the game had become reality, even ordinary techniques were probably worth a fortune in the duchy, let alone special passive techniques. Most people probably couldn't even tell what a passive technique was.
He estimated that the other major hereditary families might not necessarily have such passive methods, or place much importance on them.
After all, the experience required to level them up was huge, and the attribute points they added in the early stages were not high.
They weren't as direct as high-level skills, which could play a decisive role at lower tiers.
But Chen Xinhe was considering more than just the present. Now, wanting to obtain this kind of breathing method early had become another major problem for him.
"Anyway, just help me keep an eye out. If there's any method called a breathing method in the entire Duchy of Weir, notify me immediately."
In the first act's Eastern background, passive skills were mostly named as visualization methods.
In the current second act he was in, such methods were mostly named breathing methods.
With that said, Chen Xinhe had already stood up.
He packed his saber overnight and had the butler prepare dry rations and water.
No matter what, the top priority now was to level up first.
He needed to quickly raise the level of the few skills he had mastered, and also improve his own strength.
Only then could he solve the problem of the duel and gain a greater voice and more resources for growth in Weir City.