Chapter 40: Chapter 40: Someone Broke Through
After finishing his meeting with Kalina and Kubatu, Duane got busy again.
The first thing he did was have Owington dig up some earthworms to have on hand. Then he picked up his fishing rod and started fishing again.
[You have completed a fishing attempt. A fish took the bait. Basic Fishing Skill Level +3]
[You have completed a fishing attempt. The hook is empty. Basic Fishing Skill Level +1]
[You have completed a fishing attempt. A fish took the bait. Basic Fishing Skill Level +5]
Duane discovered that at the Initial stage of Basic Fishing, he got +1 Skill Level for catching nothing, +3 for catching a Malt Fish, and +5 for catching a crucian carp over ten centimeters long.
Once, Duane caught a grass carp weighing over a pound, and his Skill Level increased by 8 points all at once.
As evening fell and the sun began to set, Duane put away his fishing rod. In the past three hours, his Basic Fishing Skill Level had successfully broken through to (Entry 7/200).
During that time, his rod had snapped and his line had broken, so he had to craft two additional fishing rods.
This also caused his Basic Manufacturing Skill Level to successfully break through to (Entry 5/200).
If it weren’t for the limited number of needles, which were difficult to make, he would have crafted several more fishing rods to keep as spares.
Reaching the Entry level in these two new Skills earned Duane 0.2 attribute points.
After allocating the points, his Strength had reached 6.8.
Although he didn’t know what the standard Strength was for a Middle Level Warrior, his own power had clearly improved.
If he really did end up participating in the duel, his chances of winning would be that much greater.
"My Lord, are you still planning to brew the Fire Source Beast Bone Soup tonight?" Jasmine asked, approaching the pond.
"Of course!"
Duane glanced at the sky. It was indeed getting a bit late.
"Owington, after you put away this fishing gear, go tell John, Michele, and the others to get some more practice in. Let them know when the soup is ready."
"Yes, My Lord."
Although Duane’s culinary skills were improving, brewing soup was a time-consuming task. Even at its fastest, it would take about an hour.
And since he also had to stir-fry other dishes, it would take even longer.
Jasmine watched the Baron’s busy figure, feeling a momentary sense of confusion.
’Don’t they all say the Nobility love to indulge themselves? How is it that this young Baron before me is so busy he doesn’t even have time to rest?’
’This is completely different from what I’ve heard.’
Kaelon and Raymond returned to the courtyard.
They hadn’t been in a real fight recently, so they had just sparred for a bit to get their edge back.
When they saw the Lord bustling about in the kitchen, they frowned slightly.
At any other time, it would have been fine. They wouldn’t interfere with whatever the Lord wanted to do.
But now that he was intending to participate in the duel, it was a bit puzzling that he was still busy in the kitchen.
’With this time, wouldn’t it be better to practice diligently, or even just get a good rest to build up his Spirit, than to be cooking?’
"I think we should find a chance to remind him later," Raymond suggested.
Kaelon nodded. "It is indeed necessary."
Just then, Duane finished his work in the kitchen. The Skill Levels for Fire Source Beast Bone Soup and Basic Cooking had increased by 36 and 38 points, respectively.
He came out into the courtyard, called John, Michele, and the others over to drink the soup, and walked over when he saw Kaelon and Raymond.
"Kaelon, after dinner, I want you to practice Swordsmanship with me for a while."
His Spirit Swordsmanship Skill Level was still at (Skilled 15/300), and he needed to work on it.
If Kaelon was busy, he would just ask Raymond instead.
After all, both of them were very powerful, more than enough to be his practice partners.
"My Lord."
Kaelon suddenly called out, "If you’ve truly decided to participate in the duel, it would be best to spend less time in the kitchen and more time practicing your Swordsmanship."
"Hmm?" Duane was surprised. He hadn’t expected Kaelon to make such a suggestion.
Kaelon immediately explained, "Please forgive my impertinence. I don’t wish to interfere with your freedom, but for a Warrior, it is crucial to remain in a state of training."
Raymond, standing to the side, nodded and chimed in.
"Yes, My Lord. Take two Basic-level Warriors. If one hasn’t touched a sword in half a year and the other practices every day, the difference between them will be obvious the moment they fight!"
Both of them were worried about Duane’s safety, afraid an accident might happen during the duel.
Duane naturally understood their concerns, but he couldn’t exactly tell outsiders about his Skill Level system.
"Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing."
Duane had to come up with an excuse. "You only see me cooking, but you don’t know that during this process, I’m able to calm my mind and reflect on the shortcomings in my training, searching for ways to improve my techniques."
His forced explanation left Kaelon and Raymond stunned.
They had been Warriors for many years, but they had never heard of cooking helping someone calm their mind to reflect on the ups and downs of their training.
"This..."
The two of them exchanged a glance. The words of persuasion they had prepared were suddenly stuck in their throats.
Duane chuckled. "Kaelon, you’ve seen the speed of my progress in Basic Swordsmanship and Spirit Swordsmanship with your own eyes. You can feel the difference, can’t you?"
Kaelon nodded blankly. "That is true. Your Swordsmanship has progressed at an incredible speed, My Lord!"
Duane lowered his voice. "This is my training secret. I don’t tell just anyone. If you’re interested, you can give it a try yourselves."
He shrugged. "But, I can’t guarantee it will work for you."
With that, he let out a laugh and walked toward the dining hall. "Owington, Jasmine, serve the food."
Kaelon and Raymond looked at each other, then simultaneously turned to look in the direction of the kitchen.
’Could it be true?’
"Maybe... we should give it a try?"
Raymond shook his head. "I don’t really believe it."
But despite what he said, he had already decided to secretly give it a try.
’If it doesn’t work, no big deal. But if it does, I’ll have hit the jackpot.’
Duane was enjoying his dinner. The dishes were a bit different from when he first arrived, as Auntie Mara had learned two new cooking methods from him: stir-frying and steaming.
"This stir-fried pork with scallions is decent, but the flavor of the marinated pork isn’t quite right," he commented.
The maid, Jasmine, was already getting used to her new job. She quickly jotted down the Lord’s words to give feedback to Mara for future improvements.
"Owington, we’ll start brewing the wine tomorrow," Duane said.
The Male Servant immediately perked up at his words. "Yes, My Lord! I’ve already prepared everything. We can start anytime."
When they left the Royal Capital by boat, Owington had brought the tools and materials from his home, just waiting for the Lord to take an interest in starting the work.
As the two were talking, a joyous shout erupted from outside.
"I broke through!"
"I broke through!"
It was Michele’s voice. Unexpectedly, after Jack, the captain of the first squad was the second person to break through.
The cheering didn’t last long before Raymond shouted for it to stop. Fortunately, Michele hadn’t specified what level he’d broken through to, otherwise there would have been a risk of leaking information.
However, everyone in the courtyard was one of their own, so the risk of a leak wasn’t high.
Duane walked outside to see an excited Michele run over and drop to one knee.
"Thank you for your guidance, My Lord! I’ve successfully broken through!"
"Well done, Michele!"
Duane walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "How many bowls of Fire Source Beast Bone Soup has it been? I didn’t expect you to break through so quickly!"
"It is all thanks to your grace, My Lord!" Michele said solemnly.
Duane smiled and gestured for him to stand, then looked toward Raymond.
"Michele is the captain of the first squad. Now that he’s broken through, the leader of the first squad’s first group will drink the soup next. The same will apply when Evans and Willie break through."
Raymond understood. The Lord’s method was designed to foster competition between and within the squads.
After all, a resource like the Fire Source Beast Bone Soup was limited.
If one squad’s members drank more, the other squad’s members would drink less.
"Yes, My Lord. I will pass on your arrangements to them!"
