Chapter 128: Chapter 128
Ron didn’t dwell on the minor misunderstanding, and the two of them headed home together.
On the way, Jason noticed the wooden box Ron was carrying and couldn’t help but ask, “The box is radiating cold. Is that a Bloodline Secret Art inheritance? Did My Lord give you your Individual Combat rewards early?”
“Yeah.”
Ron nodded, reaching out to open the wooden box to show Jason the inheritance ice crystal, but Jason immediately stopped him. “Keep it closed. It’s not like I haven’t seen an inheritance ice crystal before.”
“Alright then.”
Since Jason didn’t want to look, Ron didn’t insist. After all, when it came to such a precious item, if he were being completely honest with himself, he wasn’t exactly eager to show it off to others anyway.
However, though Jason declined to look at the ice crystal, he still couldn’t resist asking, “What Bloodline Secret Art did My Lord give you? 【Icy Touch】 or 【Ice Breath】?”
“Neither. It’s 【Ice Armor】!”
“Ice Armor?”
Jason couldn’t help but let out a startled exclamation. “Oh man, that’s trouble. No one has mastered that Secret Art for a very long time. Even if you wanted to seek advice from someone, you wouldn’t be able to find anyone! Should I go talk to Young Master Foss and ask him to exchange it for a different Secret Art? Young Master Foss is usually quite reasonable.”
“No need. Young Master Foss already made it clear to me that this is My Lord’s test for me. He swapped out the original reward, the 【Icy Touch】 Secret Art, for 【Ice Armor】.”
“If it’s My Lord’s test, then it’s best not to change it.”
Jason possessed an idolizing reverence for the Lord of Sis. In truth, as long as one was a subject of Sis Territory and had lived through the Aberrant Beast invasion from five years ago, it was nearly impossible not to develop a deep sense of worship for a Lord willing to sacrifice himself for his people.
Because of this, Ron never dared to breathe a word of his suspicions regarding Morris’s death or his distrust of the Lord to anyone.
“By the way, Uncle Jason, since you’ve heard of the 【Ice Armor】 Secret Art, do you know what it actually does?”
“Of course I do! It’s not like the territory’s Bloodline Secret Arts have been lost to history. It’s just that no one has been able to learn them. We still know their specific effects.”
Whenever the topic of Bloodline Secret Arts came up, Jason’s tone brimmed with longing. He had been a Formal Knight for some time now, and aside from gaining more opportunities to inherit Breathing Techniques, what he looked forward to the most was obtaining a Bloodline Secret Art.
“【Ice Armor】 is an enhancement-type Secret Art capable of granting the user incredible defensive power. More importantly, this defense isn’t restricted to the surface of the skin; even the internal organs receive comparable protection.”
“That powerful?” Ron was somewhat skeptical.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t witnessed Morris’s Bloodline Ability, 【Icy Touch】. Frankly, it was quite miraculous. The fact that a human body could generate freezing temperatures would probably be mocked as a sentient refrigerator if it were back on Earth.
But that was the extent of it. At least in terms of combat, the ability was practically useless.
Ron was currently in a state where he severely lacked a sense of security. When evaluating an ability, the very first thing he considered was its combat application. And the combat potential of 【Icy Touch】 was just too weak.
Even if he could use it as a foundation for in-depth development, doing so would require a whole series of supporting protocols. It was highly unlikely to translate into combat readiness anytime soon.
But according to Jason’s description, 【Ice Armor】 was an incredibly formidable Bloodline Ability, and from the way he painted it, it would likely provide immense utility the very moment it was acquired.
“You don’t believe me?”
Seeing Ron express doubts about his words, Jason felt a little anxious, but he couldn’t immediately think of a convincing argument to persuade him.
In the end, he could only invoke the Lord’s name. “If 【Ice Armor】 wasn’t powerful enough, why would My Lord use this Secret Art to test you?”
“Fair point!”
Ron didn’t bother firing back with a rebuttal like “the difficulty of learning a skill has no direct correlation with its ultimate power.” He simply went along with Jason’s reasoning and agreed.
After all, the two of them weren’t discussing this to win some debate over who was right or wrong.
…
Jason was, after all, merely a “newbie” who had advanced to Formal Knight just a few days ago. His understanding of Bloodline Secret Arts, particularly 【Ice Armor】, was incredibly limited.
The two quickly bypassed that topic and moved on to the other rewards Ron had just received. “Uncle Jason, I’ll still need to trouble you to help me safekeep these Ignition Potions.”
“How many are there?”
“Twelve vials in total. I’ll keep two on me for emergencies. I’d like to entrust the remaining ten to you, Uncle Jason!”
“Ron!”
Thinking of himself, Jason couldn’t help but sigh. “I just realized that even though you’re still an apprentice, your ability to earn Ignition Potions is better than mine! How long has it even been? Another ten vials just like that!”
“These are all non-repeatable windfalls. By comparison, advancing to Formal Knight as early as possible is the only way to secure a truly stable income,” Ron said in a calm, measured tone.
The apprenticeship period had a hard limit. Once it passed, the territory would no longer supply Ignition Potions for free. To continue receiving the potions, one had to join the Territory Guard and carry out missions, just like those quasi-Knights.
But even then, the monthly quota didn’t increase compared to the apprenticeship phase; it actually decreased.
Only by becoming a Formal Knight could one obtain a stable and substantial supply of Ignition Potions, and only then was it possible to progress further along the path of Knighthood.
While the territory didn’t explicitly forbid anyone from walking the Knight’s Path, invisible restrictions were everywhere. If a person wanted to achieve something on this path, they either had to possess overwhelming talent and fight for it themselves, or they needed the backing of a powerful patron.
But realistically speaking, without sufficient talent, what kind of patron would be foolish enough to invest in a hopeless case? In the end, leeching off one’s family was probably the only road left!
Right now, Ron had both the talent and no shortage of powerful backers. If he still couldn’t walk far and deep down the Knight’s Path with these advantages, then what hope was there for anyone else?
…
Upon returning to Liya’s house, Aunt Mary had already prepared a celebratory meal in advance. Ron’s absolute favorite among the dishes was the fresh vegetables, a rare treat they seldom got to eat.
He wasn’t particularly interested in the meat, funnily enough. After all, meat was what he ate the most on a regular basis. The fact that he hadn’t developed a physiological aversion to it yet was a testament to his strong constitution.
“Eat up, eat up! I heard you took first place in the Martial Tournament today. Liya made a special trip to the vegetable farm in the west to buy all these greens just for you. She’s been thinking about you non-stop!”
Mary’s teasing made Liya blush furiously. Seeing this scene, a pang of guilt tugged at Ron’s conscience. When he first started spending time with Liya, he hadn’t offered even a sliver of genuine affection. But as they continued to interact, he found himself gradually moved by the young woman before him.
However, he was ultimately not the original “Ron.” Under these circumstances, the kinder Liya was to him, and the longer he spent by her side, the heavier the burden of guilt weighed upon his heart.
It wasn’t a sense of guilt toward the original “Ron”; it was solely a guilt directed at Liya.
He knew that if he couldn’t resolve this inner conflict, there would never be a future between him and Liya.