I can evolve everything

After quickly glancing at the attributes, Renn's gaze shifted to the skill panel next to him.

It was only then that Raine discovered that the time required for the evolution of the previous branch of [Street Fighting]—[Alleyway Combat Techniques]—had secretly been reduced from ninety days to eighty days.

"Hmm?" Renn was somewhat confused upon seeing this.

He then quickly scanned the evolutionary branches of other skills.

As expected, the time required for the evolution of all skills has been reduced to some extent.

Does this mean that as attributes or strength increase, the cost of deduction will decrease accordingly?

With this question lingering in his mind, he turned his gaze to the very end of the [Black Rock Breathing Technique].

As he read the memories of the "Black Rock Breathing Technique," a brand-new inscription, emitting a faint earthy yellow light, slowly condensed in the gray mist.

[Black Rock Breathing Technique (Excellent/Incomplete)]

[Description: A knight's breathing technique focused on defense.]

Below the characters, an evolutionary branch slowly emerges:

[Evolutionary Branch: Black Rock Breathing Technique (Perfect)]

[Description: By repairing errors and eliminating impurities, one who masters this technique will be difficult to harm from swords and blades.]

[Required Resources: Reserved energy (for ten years).]

Time required: Ten years.

Rein remembered his father saying that breathing techniques were divided into four levels, and the next level of Black Rock Breathing was perfection. It seemed that this evolution would upgrade the quality of Black Rock Breathing by one level.

But he also saw the time required.

"Ten years?" Renn shook his head decisively.

He calmed down.

This is the same situation as when we evolved [Knight's Basic Swordsmanship] before.

When the goal becomes too large and complex, the cost of evolution increases exponentially.

At that time, he abandoned the entire sword technique and only chose to evolve the most specific aspect of it: parrying.

"I don't need to master the entire breathing technique right now."

Ryan's gaze wandered over the characters on the wall.

"What I lack most right now isn't defense—the Iron Wall Stance is enough for me to protect myself during the apprenticeship phase. What I lack now is explosive power."

He recalled his father's words: "When you can feel the heat gathering in your lower abdomen, you've reached the threshold."

The first step in breathing techniques is initiation.

It is about how to efficiently extract the first wisp of life energy from the blood through breathing.

He focused all his attention on imagining what it would feel like to feel the heat gathering in his lower abdomen.

[Sub-skill detected: Black Rock Breathing Technique - Heart Pumping (Basic)]

[Description: By using a specific breathing rhythm, the heart is stimulated, blood circulation is accelerated, thereby temporarily improving physical fitness.]

Then the gray mist churned, and evolutionary branches emerged:

[Evolutionary Branch: Black Rock Breathing Technique - Heart Pump Chapter (Gargoyle Augmentation)]

[Description: Your heart will beat only once per minute. You will gain a tortoise-like lifespan, but your movement speed will also become as slow as a tortoise.]

[Required Resources: Reserve energy (30 days).]

[Time required: 30 days.]

"Refresh." Although the evolution time of this thing is quite short, Rein skipped it without hesitation.

This time, perhaps because he was already a trainee knight and his physique and spirit had improved significantly, the feeling of being drained of energy was not as intense as before and was still within an acceptable range.

Immediately afterwards, a new branch of evolution slowly emerged.

[Evolutionary Branch: Black Rock Breathing Technique - Heart Pumping Chapter (Goblin Amplification)]

[Description: By altering your breathing rate, you become exceptionally sensitive to the mineral scents underground. You will become an outstanding human-shaped mineral prospector.]

[Required Resources: Energy Reserves (15 days)]

[Time required: 15 days.]

This time it took even less time.

"I'm going to be a knight, not a miner." Renn sighed. This refresh mechanism was too random.

Fortunately, Rennes now has plenty of time to allow him to repeatedly improve.

He tried to squeeze out more energy from his body to refresh his record once again.

[Evolutionary Branch: Black Rock Breathing Technique - Heart Pumping Chapter (Lava Amplification)]

[Description: Simulates the magma flowing deep underground in an obsidian vein. A legendary knight, drawing inspiration from the fire giants' method of refining life energy, has mastered this skill and can now burn your heart as fiercely as a furnace.]

It can slightly improve the efficiency of refining life energy. When actively activated, the heart pumps violently, granting temporary superhuman strength and speed; the trade-off is a sharp rise in body temperature for a period afterward, like embers from a burning fire.

[Required Resources: Energy Reserves (60 days' worth)]

Time required: Sixty days.

"This is it!"

Although there were some side effects, the results seemed much better than the previous two. Moreover, sixty days was neither too long nor too short, covering exactly the month he spent resting at home and the first month after he set off with Karen.

"locking!"

With Renn's confirmation, the line of characters solidified and became embedded in the corridor wall.

Ryan murmured to himself, "Two months..."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In the early morning, the lazy sunlight of the rising sun shone through the windowpanes and fell on the floor.

Raine opened his eyes, his consciousness gradually returning to reality.

Similar to the previous evolution [Iron Wall Stance], apart from a slight feeling of weakness, there wasn't much discomfort.

"call……"

It wasn't noon yet, and the air in the courtyard was still damp and cold, with a slight grassy smell.

When Raine finished breakfast and walked down the steps with his wooden sword to practice, Lina was already there.

The girl was dressed in casual clothes, and her gray braids swayed with her movements.

She was practicing the most basic chopping motion, her movements meticulous.

Hearing footsteps, Lina stopped what she was doing and turned around.

Good morning, second brother.

"Good morning." Renn walked to the weapon rack, picked up his wooden sword, and said, "Up so early today?"

"I can't sleep." Lina pursed her lips and gripped the sword hilt tightly again. "The thought that you also passed the test makes me feel like I'm falling far behind."

"Big brother Allen is already a full-fledged knight in Lionheart City, and now you've become a trainee knight." Unlike her worries a few days ago, Lina's tone now carried a hint of girlish anxiety. "Only me... I'm still nothing."

In this world, the only fate for noble children without power is often political marriage. Although Lina is still young, her precocious nature clearly shows that she has already realized this.

Looking at his sister, who usually seemed aloof but was actually strong-willed, Raine felt a slight stirring in his heart.

"Then hold your sword a little tighter," Renn said calmly, assuming the starting stance of the [Iron Wall] technique. "I was just lucky to get half a step ahead of you."

"I don't believe it's just luck," Lina muttered. "Two years from now, I'll get that badge too. Then I'll be just like you and my older brother."

"Then you'd better work harder," Ryan smiled. "Don't end up crying."

"Who would cry!"

In the early morning courtyard, the sound of a wooden sword slicing through the air rang out once again.

Raine didn't use any [Iron Wall Defense], but simply accompanied Lina in basic sparring.

Of course, if Raine doesn't use [Iron Wall Defense], he and Lina can only fight to a draw at best.