Time flies like an arrow, and the sun and the moon shuffle against one another like a shuttle.

Practising his breathing method, sword skills, blacksmithing, reading, looking after his bears.. This mundane cycle repeated on and on, and the days of his cultivation went by quickly.

On the training ground, Levi and Knight Fred dashed around, competing against each other. Knight Fred used only one hand, and even then, his attacks were difficult for Levi to parry.

In the end, Levi was defeated.

“Not bad. Last year, you could only last a minute; this year, you lasted five.”

“Enough with the flattery,” Levi chuckled, fully knowing Knight Fred didn’t even use a fraction of his strength.

Levi was absolutely no match for Knight Fred’s sheer strength. After training, he left, and Knight Fred continued to train the military.

Levi sat down and opened his proficiency panel.

Levi Snyder

Black Snake Breathing Method: Level 3 (3666/10000)

Golden Cross: Level 3 (4399/10000) – Special Effect: Vibrate [Advanced]

Beast Taming: Level 3 (Max) – Special Effect: Heart of the Wild

Forging: Level 3 (1314/10000) – Special Effect: High-Quality Forging

In the past year, he made great progress in four major skills.

The slowest and most gruelling was undoubtedly the Black Snake Breathing Method. In one year, he could only fill 3,000 of his proficiency bar. Without the medicine, it’ll take at least two years for him to reach the fourth level.

This speed was admirable, but it wasn’t enough for Levi.

This world is dangerous; if you have no strength, you can only humble yourselves and hide in the background.

The progression of the Golden Cross was fast as well. After another year or so, he’ll be able to master the power of Ripple soon enough.

Then he’ll be able to fight against Knight Fred, even if he’s just a Quasi-Knight.

Beast Taming has reached its limit: Levi has read almost all the books on animal taming available on the market. Now, he was confident that he was the Master of Animal Taming.

To Levi’s surprise, a special effect appeared after he finished levelling up his Beast Taming skill.

[Heart of the Wild: You can gauge the intentions of most beasts by observing their body language and sounds. You can also use your own body language to communicate with beasts perfectly.]

This change was great—the bears were no longer apprehensive towards Levi but instead treated him like family. He could also perceive the thoughts of the bears, which was heart-warming to him.

Therefore, with such powerful skills, the three cubs were all well taken care of by Levi, and their body sizes underwent earth-shaking changes within a year. They were nearly two metres in length and weighed over 300 kilogrammes.

An adult man can no longer subdue them without a weapon. Even just a firm slap from one of them could cripple Levi.

And they were just less than two years old.

Meanwhile, his forging has hit the third level as well.

[High-Quality Goods: Whatever your craft is considered a high-quality good.]

With this effect, his plans to get rich were set in motion.

In the past year, he has crafted a total of a hundred swords, of which fifty were of high quality and were used to arm his own men.

Before hitting Level 3, his swords were only occasionally high-quality, but now, every sword he crafts is a high-quality one.

Compared to Milan’s father, Toby, his swords would be far inferior to Levi’s. Levi had the strength and speed of a knight, while Toby was just an ordinary man.

However, if you want to become a forging master in the true sense of the word, forging long swords isn’t enough.

Knight armours, which represent the highest achievement of a blacksmith, are the lifelong pursuit of every blacksmith.

Now, he has insufficient iron in his territory. Since iron is an important strategic resource, the Lords who have access to iron ore rarely commence trade with iron.

Levi intends to sell his swords. Then, he must start looking for iron ore in the mountains behind his territory. However, now that the mountains are covered with a blanket of heavy snow, he has to remain dormant until next spring.

Levi stopped forging for a while and devoted himself to breathing and swordsmanship.

The month of Winter soon came.

Levi, who was busy practising his breathing method, was suddenly awakened by the dreadful howling of wolves behind his castle.

And they didn’t sound far from his castle.

Just as he was about to investigate, Knight Fred hurried in: “Master Levi, our territory is under attack by a pack of wolves. There are about a hundred of them, and much of our livestock have perished. I shall lead some men to deal with them.”

“Excuse me?” Levi’s complexion changed. It was normal for a few wolves to infiltrate their territory once in a while, but a hundred?

Putting on their armour, they both rode horses towards the site of the incident.

Levi is now an advanced Quasi-Knight and has mastered the power of [Vibrate]. All of his men were armed with high-quality swords, and Knight Fred was there leading them as well.

There was no way that these beasts wouldn’t be subdued!