The Duke heard the Minstrel actually mention Earl Hardy, and couldn't help but admire the man's bravery; daring to discuss the Earl in his own territory.
But this was also related to being in the Adventurer's Tavern, considered a relatively free place.
He listened to the group talk and learned that Earl Hardy was also known as the Red Glove Earl.
The reason was that Earl Hardy's left hand always wore a red glove, possessing extremely mysterious and eerie powers, which could cause people near him to suddenly die violently.
This was one of the reasons why many people revered Earl Hardy, facing such unexplained power, they could only harbor fear.
"Red Glove..." The Duke took a sip of alcohol, pondering the truth of this matter.
He had heard of this for the first time; no one he had interacted with before dared to discuss Earl Hardy so recklessly, unlike this group of adventurers.
The Duke still leaned towards the belief that the power of the Red Glove truly existed, after all, this was an Extraordinary World.
Although the idea of people near dying violently sounded bizarre, it only showed he had encountered too few things and his understanding of the world was still too shallow.
This world was far from as simple as it appeared.
After staying a while longer without gathering any valuable information, The Duke left the tavern and returned to the manor to continue his proficiency practice.
After experiencing these past few days, he increasingly felt his own weakness.
In the past, believing that after practicing the Breathing Technique, becoming a Knight Attendant and gaining stronger powers would afford him more self-defense capability.
Now it seemed that those not at the Knight Level were merely cannon fodder.
Even as an Official Knight, dealing with Magic Power was difficult.
The Duke took a deep breath, no longer dwelling on it. What he needed to do was to take each step carefully and practice diligently.
...
A month later.
In his room, The Duke stood shirtless, sweat dripping down the curves of his muscles.
He chewed on a piece of Magical Beast Meat, swallowed it, and continued practicing the Pile Skill.
The Duke could now easily perform these movements; it was as if they had become second nature, without difficulty.
However, the exercise effect had significantly decreased.
For ordinary people, this usually meant reaching their limit; the physical body could hardly improve further through Pile Skill, the path to being a Knight was at its end.
Even with the Magical Beast Meat, the improvements would be very limited.
The Duke was different, having a Skill Tree, he only needed to keep repeating the Pile Skill practice to increase the proficiency of the Giant Whale Breathing Technique, and one day he would break through.
In his mind, the branch representing the Giant Whale Breathing Technique had a green bud trembling, then blooming like a flower, extending into a bright green leaf.
[Giant Whale Breathing Technique: LV3 (1/1500)]
[Giant Whale Breathing Technique level up, Constitution +0.5, Strength +0.3, Agility +0.5]
[Constitution: 8.2]
[Strength: 8.4]
[Agility: 8.2]
[Spirit: 8.1]
[Free Attribute Points: 3]
This improvement gave The Duke a very noticeable feeling; he felt his entire body had expanded a bit, and he became taller and stronger.
It was not visually apparent, but he could feel it at that moment.
Now The Duke had all attributes above eight points, and the comprehensive improvement in every aspect had resulted in a qualitative leap in his strength.
During this time, he had also been observing other people in the Nightingale.
The Duke noticed that generally, the average attribute for mid-tier Knight Attendants was about six points, and high-tier Knight Attendants were around seven points.
If not for Fighting Spirit, he would have crushed high-tier Knight Attendants a month ago.
Others achieved their physical attributes through years of practice, gradually increasing to this level.
The Duke hadn't fully demonstrated his own strength in front of these people, usually staying low-key, appearing as an ordinary low-tier Knight Attendant.
Now having raised the Giant Whale Breathing Technique to the third layer, The Duke successfully stepped into the threshold of being a mid-tier Knight Attendant, with the amount of Fighting Spirit in his body greatly increased.
He felt that all his body's meridians seemed to have become clearer; when Fighting Spirit flowed through his body, it moved more smoothly, as if the paths had widened.
These were internal body changes, not visible from the outside.
The Duke sensed the changes within his body; he found that after advancing to mid-tier Knight Attendant, as his internal meridians became wider, the amount of Fighting Spirit he could utilize at once increased.
He could now gather twice the previous amount of Fighting Spirit in his fist, making it as hard as iron, with incomparable strength.
Previously, the amount of Fighting Spirit that bodily parts could accommodate was very little; it wasn't possible to concentrate a large amount of Fighting Spirit in one place, as the internal meridians couldn't bear so much.
But now the meridians were thicker, the capacity to accommodate Fighting Spirit increased, indirectly boosting strength.
The changes in The Duke's meridians occurred the instant his Breathing Technique level increased; for others, even beginners, it would take years to accomplish this.
If lacking talent, one might never overcome this hurdle.
[Basic Swordsmanship: LV5 (Trait: Bleeding)]
During this period, The Duke also maxed out Basic Swordsmanship, aside from gaining some Free Attribute Points, he activated a trait.
[Bleeding: When using sword-type weapons, there's a chance to affect the enemy's blood clotting function]
The Duke looked at this information, unsure of its specific effect.
The impact on blood clotting could be significant or minor, depending on the duration and whether the effect is noticeable.
If it could affect the enemy's blood clotting function for a long time, he could strike and run, waiting for his enemy to bleed to death.
But The Duke felt it wouldn't be that straightforward; for ordinary people, achieving this effect might be probable, not so for strong Knights.
After practicing the Breathing Technique, the body generally becomes increasingly robust, so the Bleeding trait might play a minor role.
The Duke planned to observe during future practical battles; better than not having it.
However, it made him think about more; that since maxing out Basic Swordsmanship resulted in a trait, maybe other skills could too.
Currently, only Basic Swordsmanship showed a trait, suggesting it's probabilistic.
The Duke glanced at his Giant Whale Breathing Technique, realizing it was only at the third layer, far from max level, curious about what changes might occur when maxed.
After sensing the improvements in his body, he picked up Magical Beast Meat nearby, cut a small piece, ate it, and continued practicing the Pile Skill.
A few minutes later.
[You have completed a practice of the Giant Whale Breathing Technique, proficiency +2]
"Proficiency decreased?" The Duke furrowed his brow.
He had been using Magical Beast Meat for practice all along; previously, the lowest increase was three proficiency points, it was the first time encountering two points.