"Lord Baron, I'll go find Doctor Blythe right now!"
As soon as they returned to the baron's castle, Butler Anke saw the tattered and torn clothes on Lister, which were also stained with specks of blood.
Coupled with the strong smell of blood all over him, his eyes instantly filled with terror.
Although he hoped that the new Baron Merick would pull himself together and restore the family's glory.
He certainly didn't want him to be seriously injured or face death. After all, he himself was in his twilight years and just wanted to retire peacefully in the Merick family.
If something were to happen to Lister, it would be almost impossible for a butler like him to serve another new noble family, as trust would be a major issue.
"Doctor? Didn't you say the family no longer employs professionals?"
"Doctor Blythe is not a professional."
Ever since accepting his new identity and knowing that his life wasn't like a game character's with infinite revivals, Lister stopped being reckless.
Even though he believed that ordinary Cerberus Knights posed no threat to him.
He still played it safe and returned home to rest and recover.
The Doctor Blythe mentioned by Butler Anke was also an elderly man when he came before them.
He had learned some local basic medical skills for treating external injuries, and indeed, he was not the healing-class professional Lister had imagined.
"Lord Baron seems to have suffered a severe impact, but it's nothing serious. A few days of rest will be sufficient."
"If you are still worried, my lord, drinking a little holy water will do."
With that, he took out a large glass bottle filled with water from his pocket. From the outside, it was impossible to tell that this was the so-called "holy water."
Only after a system scan did Lister believe that this very old Doctor Blythe was not one of those deceptive, feudal-era physicians.
"Obtained Low-Grade Healing Water of the Church. Effect: Slowly restores health and stamina."
Lister didn't use it immediately. His health was recovering quite well inside the house, at a rate of 20 points per hour.
A good night's sleep should be enough to fix him up. He would save this low-grade healing water for his next trip to the Cerberus encampment in the coming days.
In the room, the history book of the Lucian Kingdom was still open on the table, untouched.
Lister opened his system panel at this moment.
[Remaining EXP: 41210]
Without a moment's hesitation, he clicked on the Merick Blade Technique.
[Merick Blade Technique LV3→LV4 (11231/40000): Precisely strike the target, dealing 417~525 (buffed by Strength attribute) damage]
Although he knew that the most important foundation was to improve the Merick Breathing Method, the current pressure to survive was immense.
The damage increase from skill upgrades was far greater than the benefits from passive abilities. Even if he wanted to grind monsters to level up, he first needed to upgrade his skills to be able to damage them effectively.
...
Lister slept exceptionally well, and when he woke up, it was already the evening of the next day. He had slept for nearly 20 hours.
Anke had prepared dry rations for him early on, as instructed.
Just before he was about to leave, Anke asked with a worried expression.
"Lord Baron, have you accepted a quest to exterminate monsters?"
"Why don't you take it slow? Considering the Merick family's reputation, the duel certainly won't take your life, but..."
The old butler was also worried about his duel a month later. He wisely stopped halfway through his sentence.
Lister naturally understood that since the duel was witnessed by Duke Will II, his life would certainly not be in danger.
But there was no guarantee against getting injured or losing face, and injuries were almost unavoidable in a duel.
"Why don't you stay home and train?"
The professionals native to this world naturally leveled up through training, long-term training.
The other way was to spend a fortune on various magic potions or rare treasures.
Other than that, there were no other methods to rapidly improve one's strength. Exterminating monsters at most honed one's practical combat skills.
But Lister was different. Although killing monsters didn't drop extra items, he still gained the experience points a player should have.
This was his only shortcut to rapidly increase his strength before the duel.
"Say no more, I have my own judgment on this matter. Do you really think I'm no match for that Kunt?"
"No! My lord is powerful and will certainly not be defeated!"
The old butler inwardly felt that Lister would have a tough time, but to his face, he naturally said something else.
Especially seeing Lister's confident expression, he figured that as long as Duke Will was there, the Lord Baron's life wouldn't be in danger.
Lister shook his head, finding it amusing.
Even after he had made his stance so clear, the old butler, despite being on his side, only dared to say he wouldn't be defeated, not that he would defeat his opponent.
From this, he could also tell that his prestige within the Merick family was indeed not high, let alone the Merick family's current reputation in the Duchy of Will.
If it weren't for the lingering fame of the previous generations of barons, the decline would probably have been even faster.
"Butler Anke, besides the matter of the inheritance technique last time."
"Please also help me keep an eye on information about Miss Anna and Kunt, especially Kunt's activities in the city."
With that, Lister rode off again, leaving only Butler Anke with a complicated expression.
He didn't think Lister wanted to understand his opponent better.
Instead, he believed Lister wanted to keep an eye on his love rival, to prevent Kunt from having any overly intimate interactions with Miss Anna while he was out of the city.
...
He once again arrived at the familiar hills.
The Cerberus nest he had destroyed the night before had not respawned.
The dead bodies were still scattered where they fell, and some had even been gnawed on by other unknown monsters.
This made Lister's heart sink for some reason.
Logically, in a game, respawns should happen on a 24-hour cycle, but it had been well over 24 hours since he had hunted the Cerberus guarding the entrance to this outer cave.
If he wasn't mistaken, the monsters in this world would not respawn infinitely every 24 hours like they did when the game was launched.
Once they were eliminated, they were gone!
Now he could only pray that there were enough Cerberuses in this area, at least enough for him to level up.
"Pfft~!"
The dull thud of a blade cutting into flesh once again echoed through the caves in this area.
Lister was much more cautious this time. Even with Cerberuses several levels lower than him, he would first lure them out and then find the right moment for a fatal blow.
He tried to conserve his stamina as much as possible to hunt more.
The LV4 Merick Blade Technique was indeed a huge improvement. Although the on-paper damage only increased by less than a hundred.
The damage here was also amplified to a certain extent based on his own Strength.
Coupled with critical hits to the back of the neck, it was practically a slaughter of the Cerberus Knights in this area for Lister.
At the same time, he saw more and more human corpses in the caves.
One could actually find some valuables by carefully rummaging through the piles of bodies, but it was just too disgusting.
Lister didn't have the time to search through dismembered corpses for a few copper coins.
Three hours later, Lister had cleared a total of three outer caves.
[Remaining EXP: 62643]
"Congratulations, your Merick Breathing Method has been upgraded. Your Merick Blade Technique has been upgraded."
[Merick Breathing Method LV2→LV3 (1/30000), Bonus Strength +3]
[Merick Blade Technique LV4→LV5 (1/50000): Precisely strike the target, dealing 537~635 (buffed by Strength attribute) damage]
[New Merick Blade Technique extension skill added—Merick Sword Draw: Use Merick Sword Draw to perform a wide-range circular slash on nearby enemies.
Note: This skill cannot be actively upgraded. Its damage increases with the level of the Merick Blade Technique, with a certain increase in damage and circular slash range every LV5. It can be buffed by the Strength attribute.]
"Phew~!"
Lister let out a long breath. He was even dirtier than the day before, and his clothes were covered in blood.
However, his face was filled more with excitement. He had finally unlocked the Sword Draw.
Although the Sword Draw couldn't kill a Cerberus Knight in one hit, it was still a great AOE crowd control tool when surrounded.
For martial arts-based classes, this kind of AOE skill was a rare and valuable asset.
This was also why many martial arts players kept the Merick Blade Technique in the later stages of the game. They didn't level it high, but it was at least sufficient for dealing with mobs.
And for Lister, this Sword Draw was a symbol that the Merick family's techniques had been passed down.
Its current symbolic and practical significance were both crucial.