Chapter 14: Chapter 14: The Unbuyable Recipe
In the quiet dining hall.
Duane gently patted his bloated stomach.
Tonight, he had intentionally increased the amount of Fire Source Beast Bone to make a larger portion of the soup.
But no matter how much he forced himself to drink until the last drop, his attribute points didn’t increase by 0.1 as they had before.
Whether the portion was insufficient or not, it seemed the Fire Source Beast Bone Soup had lost its effect on him. His stomach was already full to bursting.
"Owington, did you manage to find any Magic Energy Cuisine at the market this afternoon?"
The Male Servant looked uneasy, as he hadn’t successfully completed the task the Baron had given him.
"My lord, please forgive me. I did not bring back any recipes."
Duane was slightly surprised. "You couldn’t find any?"
But Owington shook his head and explained,
"This afternoon, I visited taverns, restaurants, and hospitals. Any slightly upscale establishment has such things, but they won’t easily sell the dishes or their recipes."
"Even for the more common items on the market, they basically only sell the finished product."
Duane was taken aback for a moment, then he pondered the matter carefully.
After a while, he understood.
He had to admit, sending Owington out to find recipes for Magic Energy Cuisine and Extraordinary Herbs had been shortsighted of him.
Secret recipes represented profit and money. Selling them would inevitably impact their own business and could even create competitors.
For example, the Magic Malt Beer produced by Count Orlando Bloom’s family was one of the Pruck Kingdom’s finest spirits.
But every step, from cultivating the Magic Malt to brewing it into beer, was a closely guarded secret of the Bloom Clan, completely unknown to outsiders.
There was no way Orlando would sell this technology.
As for Duane’s situation, the Brian Clan’s possession of the Fire Source Beast Bone Soup recipe was due to two main reasons.
First, Carter was a nobleman of reputation and status, so he wouldn’t leak the recipe after obtaining it.
Second, the main ingredient of the Fire Source Beast Bone Soup, the bones of the Fire Source Beast, was special. It wasn’t a Demon Beast material you could find just anywhere. It was produced in a Secret Realm Space controlled by the Calvin Clan.
Although the Calvins were only a Viscount Clan, they had accumulated considerable wealth over the years precisely because of the Fire Source Beast.
Even though Duane had the recipe, his use of it was restricted.
Though Carter was dead and Duane now had the recipe, he still couldn’t leak it to outsiders, nor was he allowed to sell the finished soup.
If he broke this rule, he would face all-out suppression from the Calvin Clan, and they might even declare war.
Then again, since the Calvin Clan controlled the raw materials, it was difficult for outsiders to get into the Fire Source Beast Bone Soup business without them anyway.
"Alright, let’s put this matter aside for now. You don’t need to search anymore."
Buying recipes required connections, money, and reputation.
Having lost Carter, the Brian Clan was at its lowest point. It was doubtful anyone would sell to them now.
Therefore, rather than have Owington waste time on this, it was better to have him familiarize himself with the duties of a personal Male Servant.
Duane glanced at the empty soup bowl, then at his motionless attribute panel.
’If I can’t gain attribute points from the soup anymore, should I even continue making Fire Source Beast Bone Soup?’
If he were to continue, he would need to invest a fair amount of money to buy the ingredients.
Calculating at ten Silver Coins per bowl of soup, it would cost several dozen Gold Coins at the very least to raise his Skill Level with the Fire Source Beast Bone Soup.
’Black Forest Island isn’t well-connected to the outside world, and I don’t have my own ship. It’s going to be a bit difficult to restock.’
Duane interlocked his fingers, gently tapping the back of his hand.
Even though drinking it had no effect on him, his Skill Level with the Fire Source Beast Bone Soup was close to a breakthrough. Giving up now would clearly be unwise.
"Jasmine, how much of the Fire Source Beast Bone and White Crystal Fruit do we have left?"
"We have a two-day supply left, my lord!"
Duane pondered for a moment before saying, "We have eight days until we depart. Have Mara purchase another six days’ worth."
"Y-Yes!" Jasmine immediately agreed.
She secretly licked her lips. She had never tasted the actual soup.
However, Mara would reuse the dregs left over from brewing the soup—an unwritten rule in a noble’s kitchen—and she had been lucky enough to try a small bowl.
The soup was slightly sweet and somewhat refreshing, but to be honest, it wasn’t even as tasty as the leftover meat broth.
She couldn’t quite understand why the Baron had taken such a liking to it.
’Perhaps the Baron just has unique tastes?’ she wondered.
Duane forced down a couple of bites of dinner despite his bloated stomach, then walked around the castle to aid his digestion.
During his walk, he happened to see Jack and John patrolling the castle grounds.
As his only two Guards, they had to work hard until the soldiers sent by the King arrived.
A thought suddenly occurred to Duane: if the soup no longer gave him attribute points, he could simply bestow the Fire Source Beast Bone Soup upon Jack and John.
They were ordinary people whose strength was approaching that of a Basic-level Warrior. The soup would be perfect for them.
Besides, gifting the soup to his subordinates didn’t count as selling it to the public.
Even if the Calvin Clan found out, they probably wouldn’t pursue the matter. They might even be secretly pleased, since the more Duane gifted, the more ingredients he would need to buy.
"My lord." Kaelon arrived, cloaked in moonlight.
He lived near the castle. Jack and John took the first half of the night watch, while he was responsible for the second.
He had come now to spar with Duane.
"I’m sorry for taking up your rest time," Duane said.
Kaelon didn’t mind. "You’re too kind, my lord. For a Human Tier Warrior, four or five hours of sleep a day is enough. I can go back and sleep a bit after we finish sparring. It’s more than sufficient."
Duane nodded. "Then let’s begin."
Sparring for most of the morning had increased Duane’s Basic Swordsmanship Skill Level to (Skilled 256/300), leaving him just 44 points away from a breakthrough.
At the same pace as this morning, he could probably break through in just two hours tonight.
In the castle’s inner courtyard, the light from the Magic Energy Lamps illuminated an open space.
Duane and Kaelon began their spar in this brightly lit area.
Just like in the morning, Duane was on the offense, and Kaelon was on defense.
However, this method didn’t lead to much improvement for Duane. Perhaps that was why he only gained a few skill points from each sparring session.
"Kaelon, you can attack me as well," Duane suggested.
In between the clashes of their Longswords, he added, "Your constant defending is limiting the improvement of my Swordsmanship."
"As you wish, my lord."
Kaelon’s aura changed abruptly, becoming a shade sharper than before.
In the ensuing exchange, he changed his usual sparring tactics of blocking and redirecting, and began looking for openings to attack.
This forced Duane to be more cautious, and at the same time, it exposed the flaws in his offense and defense.
CLANG!
With a sharp sound, Kaelon deflected Duane’s blade from an incredibly tricky angle, stopping the tip of his Sword an inch from the latter’s chest.
"My apologies, my lord," Kaelon said with a smile.
Duane spread his hands and gave a helpless smile. "Failure is the best way to find one’s weaknesses. Kaelon, there’s no need to apologize."
Kaelon nodded slightly. ’The Baron is quite broad-minded. He isn’t like some other nobles who are so obsessed with saving face that they demand their opponents not actually win during a spar.’
"My lord’s Basic Swordsmanship is already very proficient. What you lack are Combat Techniques and experience."
Kaelon helped Duane analyze the fight. "Take that last move, for example. An experienced opponent would have anticipated it and either retracted their sword or taken evasive action in time."
Duane listened attentively to Kaelon’s analysis, nodding in agreement from time to time.
He knew that Kaelon wasn’t just high-Level; he also possessed a wealth of combat experience.
In terms of Swordsmanship alone, the man’s Swordsmanship Level was definitely above "Skilled."
Receiving Kaelon’s guidance was a great help to Duane’s improvement.
Spar, analyze, correct...
This continued for over three hours, until a joyful notification appeared in his vision.
[You have gained new insight into Basic Swordsmanship from the recent match. Skill Level +5]
[Basic Swordsmanship Skill Level has broken through. Mastery (3/400)]
[Attribute points +0.3]
In that instant, a massive amount of information flooded Duane’s mind, leaving him in a daze.
"My lord, what’s wrong?" Kaelon asked hurriedly.
He immediately thought of the Baron’s physical constitution. They had trained for seven or eight hours today; he must be exhausted.
The thought that the Baron might collapse made Kaelon blame himself.
"My lord, let me help you back to rest."
Owington, who had been waiting at the side, immediately ran over and anxiously tried to support him.
Duane waved his hand. "I’m fine."
He was just a bit dizzy from the sudden influx of information.
The information in his mind was about correcting his Swordsmanship movements, Combat Techniques, and various battle scenes.
"Owington, you and Jasmine go prepare some hot water. I’m going to take a bath."
Duane shook off the Male Servant’s hold and turned his attention to his attribute panel.
This Skill Level breakthrough had brought him 0.3 attribute points. What a delightful surprise!
He didn’t hesitate, allocating all of these attribute points to his Strength Attribute.
[Strength]: 4.8 → 5.0
"Hm?"
Duane was surprised. He clearly had 0.3 attribute points, but he had only used up 0.2.
Looking at the attribute panel again, he saw that the plus sign after Strength 5.0 was gone. In contrast, the plus sign after the Spirit attribute was still there.
’Is it forcing me to add points to Spirit?’
Duane frowned slightly as he walked back into the castle, accompanied by Kaelon.
"Kaelon, is a Warrior’s training related to Spirit?" he couldn’t help but ask.
’Warriors are symbols of Strength. Could they really be related to Spirit as well?’
Kaelon mulled it over. "Although it hasn’t been definitively proven, many people speculate that a Warrior’s increase in strength, especially during breakthroughs, is indeed related to their Spirit."
"Oh?"
Duane looked curious. "Tell me more."
