Chapter 33: A Qualified Knight

Levi Snyder

Black Snake Breathing Method: Level 3 (Limit)

Frost Wolf Breathing Method: Level 3 (234/10000)

Golden Cross Slash: Level 3 (9527/10000); Special Effect: Vibrate (Advanced)

Beast Taming: Level 3 (Advanced); Special Effect: Heart of the Wild

Forging: Level 3 (6666/10000); Special Effect: High-Quality Goods

Looking at his proficiency panel, Levi could feel a sense of accomplishment.

Consuming one Black Snake Medicine per day, he shortened his estimated training time by two-thirds of the original period, but he has hit a bottleneck.

No matter how hard he trains, he cannot reach Level 4 without condensing the seeds of life. Once he does this, he will become a qualified knight.

As for the Frost Wolf Breathing Method, it wasn’t difficult to practise at all.

Levi’s agility is far superior compared to before. Some time ago, he went to a relatively deep part of the mountains and found a pack of wolves to test his strength.

Even without wearing any armour, he was able to kill ten mountain wolves with relative ease.

This is far beyond the level of Quasi-Knights – even Knights have trouble dealing with a dozen wolves without any armour.

Levi estimates that he could beat an ordinary Knight in combat, but he has no real opponent to verify this.

Knight Fred would subconsciously go easy on Levi, so it wasn’t a true measure of his strength.

As for his Golden Cross, it is almost on the verge of hitting Level 4, and he will finally have access to the long-awaited [Ripple].

On this day, he stood on the tower, watching Knight Fred lead a team of men to the City of Icy Winds.

It was time to deliver goods to the unknown Knight in the Shining Tavern. This time, he prepared a total of twelve sets of armour and kept five sets for his strongest men. He also asked Knight Fred to buy ambergris for him while he was in the city.

Levi would go in person, but he has to condense the seeds of life, and he doesn’t want to delay it any longer.

With Knight Fred’s reliability, he believes that nothing wrong will happen.

“I should have a total of 600 gold coins in my reserves after this, which should be enough for me to practise in peace for a while,” Levi muttered to himself.

Watching Knight Fred and his men disappear into the horizon, he turned back to the castle and closed the gate.

The crucial moment is now.

After practising his breathing method for more than two years, it was time to become a truly qualified Knight.

Once he is successful, he will no longer have to shrink in fear.

A qualified Knight, although not invincible, would be enough to deal with most adversaries in this world.

In his bedroom, Levi traced over the Black Snake mural on the castle walls and sat down. He had already prepared food and water in advance and was prepared to condense the seeds of life based on Knight Fred’s instructions.

“Condensing the seeds of life,” as elaborated by Knight Fred, is the process of focusing and imbuing all of your power into your heart.

Levi breathed in deeply, feeling the power surge through his veins.

White smoke started to emit from his body, and he felt that the water content in his body was rapidly decreasing, but it wasn’t the time to drink the water.

Levi endured the extreme discomfort caused by dehydration and continued to breathe. He could feel his blood solidify in his veins, and numbness washed over his limbs in waves. Levi felt that if he continued, he might die.

‘Absolutely not. I can’t stop now.’

He continued to inhale and exhale, and soon, his breathing method reached its peak.

Insurmountable power surges through his limbs and bones, his veins and capillaries, straight towards his heart.

Severe pain pierced through his left chest.

“Argh…”

Levi knew that this was a crucial step in condensing the seeds of life.

He knew that if he was unsuccessful, death would be the outcome.

These turbulent forces will rush straight into his heart and blow a literal hole in his chest.

Levi persisted and trained his muscles to contract as if he were directing the surge in power straight into his heart.

Soon, after enduring excruciating pain that clawed at his chest, the pale-faced Levi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he couldn’t help but laugh.

‘I… I’m a Knight.’

Night fell upon Blackwater Valley, and the castle was dim. However, Levi could perceive his heart—a faint, winding, snake-like black smoke that circled his heart, distributing that black smoke through his veins.

“Black Qi.”