Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

Kania Bell (The still-naive witch)

Atina (Unknown Ability User)

Hetia Tartu (Knight)

Kira (Dark Mage)

Anjaberg (Magic Engineer)

Lindsay (a clergy nun)

Evelyn & Elena (Undeveloped Twin Gems)

Megan Payne (Slave Grand Knight)

Melanie Snowfield (The Great Ice Wizard)

Ten colorful murals of beauties in different poses are arranged in a row, and their various abilities and personalities are shown on the stone wall.

Wait, wait, wait, this is a lot of information!

First, let's talk about Atina's introduction. Unknown ability? What unknown ability? Ryuka has known Atina for several years, and apart from being docile, intelligent, and emotionless, he hasn't noticed anything different about this girl.

It seems I need to investigate. But considering Atina's taciturn nature, Ryuka figured asking her directly wouldn't work; if she were willing to tell, she probably would have already. Let's wait and see…

Then there's Megan, who was recently subdued. Her title of Grand Knight has the word 'slave' in front of it, since she herself was controlled by high-level enslavement magic.

But why didn't Hetia, whom they had previously subdued with the Slave Scroll, have the word 'slave' on her name?

Ryuga glanced at Hetia, who was looking up at the direction of the explosion with a surprised expression that revealed nothing of her thoughts.

Was the slave scroll invalidated? Was it because Kania obtained a cheap, low-grade item? Or had Hetia's subservient nature changed?

Ryūka is still unable to draw a conclusion.

So, are Evelyn and Elena, the two sisters, actually 'rough gems'? Does that mean they possess certain talents that need nurturing?

Ryuka wasn't surprised that Vitris wasn't on the list, since the two were still 'friends'.

To Ryūka's surprise, the final indicator for achieving the goal was Melanie, and just now...

Just as she wished, a gust of cold wind swept in, and Melanie's graceful figure floated in, her slender high heels lightly touching the ground, forming a patch of frost.

Melanie's icy blue eyes looked at Ryusha, a different meaning in her gaze.

She had only been told about the existence of the 'magical weapon' by Ryūka, but she had just witnessed its power firsthand.

Although it couldn't compare to the powerful magic she chanted over a long period of time, it was still a level of power that ordinary magicians couldn't achieve.

Moreover, weapons are not people; they are not afraid of death and do not require decades of training. They can be manufactured as long as the conditions are right.

"I retract my previous statement; perhaps the Department of Magical Engineering isn't as useless as people think..."

Melanie whispered to Ryusha, her beautiful face as always, but her eyes held a mixture of admiration and complexity.

But Anjaberg jumped out and started cooing at Melanie.

"Senior Melanie! You should be apologizing to me! This is my... umm..."

Two female engineering students came out from behind Anjaberg, covered her mouth, and dragged her back, fearing that Melanie would tie her up again and put an ice pack around her neck...

“I only said I retracted what I said before, I didn’t apologize.” Melanie lowered the brim of her mage hat to hide her expression.

"Besides, this isn't something you did all by yourself, Anyaberg. If I'm not mistaken, this idea and approach came from Ryūka."

"Well... he did help a little..." Anyaberg said insincerely, looking away.

"Perhaps, magical engineering can really become an extension of magic."

Melanie raised her head again, her tone becoming more relaxed, and she began to tease Ryuka with a different expression.

“I’m going to the snow mountain to train for a while. Remember, you owe me a ‘Hetia performance’.”

"When I 'punished' Megan before, you were secretly watching from a distance, weren't you? You seemed to dislike her quite a bit too, does that not make up for it?"

Ryuka's words made Melanie blush! She quickly covered Ryuka's mouth, her soft, slender fingers gripping too tightly with excitement.

"What nonsense are you talking about! I didn't! And this is this! That's that!"

Ryuka pushed Melanie's hand away, licked her lips with a mischievous grin, and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Really? But the smell on your fingers..."

Chapter 23 Hero Skills and Follower Development

Boom! Melanie's staff instantly transformed into a giant ice spear, stopping on Ryusha's shoulder, threatening him to stop talking. The aloof archmage was already blushing.

"Hmph!" Seeing Liuxia stop talking, Melanie waved her staff and flew back into the air, pulling down her hat brim to hide her expression. "Let's go..."

"Aren't you going to Sochi to meet with the Third Prince's men?"

"I'm not going. Let them think I'm dead."

"Do you need me to plead with Vitris for you to go to her house to cultivate?" Liu Xia asked, glancing at Vitris who was being fed snacks by Kania in the distance.

"Hmph, hmph! Don't worry about it, I have a way with my sister." Melanie muttered, her tone softening.

"It's your older sister, isn't it..."

"It's my sister!"

Melanie emphasized in a low voice, then rode the wind and snow into the distance...

"What a lovely girl," Ryuka thought, watching her retreating figure.

"Hey, Lord Ryusha, what is 'Hetia's performance'?"

Suddenly, an angry and jealous voice came from behind Liuxia. She turned around and saw Hetia, who had the best hearing, standing behind her with her hands on her hips, looking at her with dissatisfaction.

If Hetia knew that he was going to 'punish' her in front of his nemesis Melanie, she would probably just draw her sword and commit suicide, or never cooperate with him again.

Anyway, the matter was put on hold for the time being, so Liuxia simply waved her hand dismissively: "It's nothing, just swordsmanship and stuff like that."

"Hmm..." Hetia bit her lip in dissatisfaction as she looked at Ryusha's 'what can you do about it' expression.

"Alright everyone! It's time for us to go home!" Ryuka mounted his warhorse and called out to everyone present.

Although the [Leader's Proof] provides a wealth of information, what interests Ryuka more right now is the new ability at the second level:

Originally, the level one ability simply involved acquiring abilities from the followers. Those with battle aura copied it, and those with magic learned magic. Ordinary followers who had nothing provided only a small amount of physical abilities.

Because the skills that can be copied from Kania and the others are limited by their affinity and their own abilities, Ryuka has accumulated a considerable number of superior points.

Within a five-kilometer radius of Ryūsha, every ordinary person who acknowledges Ryūsha as a [Governor] generates one point per day. SR special followers like Hetia receive ten points daily, while UR-quality Kania receives one hundred points daily.

The majority of the more than 1000 residents of Linhu Town have already accepted Liuxia, and Liuxia can gain more than 1,000 points every day.

Over the past two months, I've gained over 60000 points. The number of skills I can copy from Kania and the others is limited, as it's affected by their affinity and strength. After exchanging for skills from Kania and the others, I still have over 10000 points left.

The second-tier ability, the title of "Hero of Linhu Territory," expands the scope of point acquisition to the entire territory under the jurisdiction of Linhu Town. Combined with the population of villages large and small throughout Linhu Territory, the number of ordinary followers reaches over five thousand.

The [Superior Points] obtained from them can be exchanged for new [Hero Points] at a ratio of 10 to 1, that is, 500 [Hero Points] per day.

The points generated daily by special followers such as Kania are directly upgraded to [Hero Points], which is 190 points per day.

If you achieve certain highly rated Heroic Deeds, you can obtain a large number of Hero Points at once.

As for the uses of points, there are two types: [Follower Development] and [Hero Skills].

[Hero Skill] Usable Scope: Regions with Hero titles and their followers.

Basic [Hero Skills] have been acquired:

[Inspire]: Encourages followers to act with high morale, greatly boosting their spirits. They also gain a short-term power boost (20% increase), consuming one [Hero Point] per follower.

[Call to Arms]: This command compels followers to overcome resistance and discontent, obeying your orders. The cost of [Hero Points] depends on the specific situation and rhetoric. Failure occurs if the command is too demanding. Forced commands can be issued after unlocking the third-tier ability [Lord's Call to Arms].

"Hmm... As a heroic 'leader,' giving orders and boosting the power of subordinates is a very useful skill."

Ryuu was deep in thought. Although he didn't lack personal combat strength at the moment, this wasn't a world where one person's strength made one invincible. Whether knight or mage, combat ability always had its limits, and in the future, he would inevitably have to rely on his subordinates and teammates.

However, these two skills are not needed at the moment, so Ryuka turned her attention to [Follower Development].

【Kanya Bell】(Witch) Talent: SS (Maximum cap, cannot be increased)

Currently available training programs:

Magic reserves, magical knowledge acquisition, special skill acquisition...

Special? Techniques? What the hell?!

Ryūka felt a chill run down his spine. Kania was already strong enough in that area! He wasn't going to waste his strange points in a place like this!

Kania's talent is the highest SS level, meaning her growth rate is the fastest. The others are A level, and to upgrade to S level requires 100,000 Hero Points.

Roughly calculated, it would take five or six months to upgrade an SR follower to SSR...

"Hmm?" Kania, who was behind Ryūka, suddenly felt a surge of power within her body, and her magic reserves suddenly increased by about ten percent...

At the same time, Ryuka also felt that her magic reserves had increased.

Can you gain the same boost while training others? That sounds good.

So, this special technique... will it also improve my skill if I use it?

Ryuka quickly dismissed the idea: No! Wouldn't that mean I'm not good enough right now?

A great mage's magical power is usually about ten times that of a mage. If all the points you get each day are invested in developing Kania's magical power, you can raise Kania's and your own magical power to the level of a great mage in less than three months.

Hmm... this is assuming no further point consumption. Besides that, Ryuka also needs to save some [Hero Points] for unforeseen circumstances.

"Hey, Ryuka." Kania rode up from behind, flipped onto Ryuka's horse, and hugged him from behind, her fragrance and soft touch washing over him.

"I think I've suddenly become a little stronger. Do you have any clues?"

The little witch twirled her fingers around her chest, her tone suggesting she was certain this was related to her.

Why are you asking me?

"Stop playing dumb. Who else could it be but you? I still don't know what your heretical abilities are..."

Kania suppressed her excitement and whispered softly in the boy's ear with her soft, fragrant lips.

"My dear Ryuka~ How did you do that? Can you make me even stronger?"

Although her magic power only increased by a mere ten percent, it was still beyond Kania's imagination! If Ryūka really had this ability, Kania wouldn't have to worry about her short lifespan.

Kania's eyes shone brightly. As long as she became stronger quickly enough, her chances of overthrowing the Autus royal family and breaking the curse would be even greater.

Chapter 24 Strange Competition

Ryūka, of course, understood why Kania was excited. This little witch was excellent as both an ally and a lover, and the two were highly aligned on their paths of ambition. However, the fact that witches couldn't truly love made Ryūka harbor a mischievous thought of teasing Kania.

"Yes, that's possible, but I also need to allocate these opportunities reasonably."

"Fair allocation? What do you mean?" Kania's eyes widened, her tone tinged with doubt.

"What I mean is... Miss Hetia, could you come over here for a moment?" Ryuka smiled and winked.

Hetia glanced at the duo riding together; Ryukyu and Kania's relationship was practically public knowledge. But in front of others, she was still the lord's lady and didn't want anyone to notice anything amiss.

Furthermore, she still harbored resentment about 'Hertia's performance' that Melanie mentioned.

"What is it?" Hetia asked, her face stern as she approached.

"Do you want to become stronger?" Liu Xia smiled at her.

"Get stronger? Who doesn't want to get stronger? You're just... ugh!"

As Hetia was speaking with a frown, she suddenly felt a surge of energy within her body.

Her fighting spirit has increased! She feels she's very close to becoming a Grand Knight! Originally, she was a year away from breaking through, but now she estimates she'll only need eleven months!

Hetia stared wide-eyed at Ryusha in disbelief, a blush rising on her fair face, adding to her captivating charm.

"This is...you...could it be..."

"Shh—" Ryuka put a finger to her lips.

He had just invested the remaining 500 points in Hetia's training, which not only increased his battle qi reserves but also made his body stronger.

It seems... he's grown a centimeter taller?

"Ryuka! Can you do it again! I want more!" Kania immediately understood what had happened when she saw the interaction between the two. She held Ryuka tightly with both hands, as if afraid that he would run away.