Chapter 1

Under the starry night sky, the rugged Bennett Castle stood like a giant guarding the plain. This was the fief of the Bennett Knights, located at the southernmost end of the Carmel Principality and the intersection of the Rift Mountains. Far from the wars, it was an important granary of the Carmel Principality.

The wheat fields under the moonlight were neatly arranged, gently swaying with the summer breeze, as if showing the richness of the land.

"Scare!" A boy of about twelve with black hair was swinging a huge sword. He was wearing a suit of iron armor, which was quite large. At his height of about 1.5 meters, the armor made him look like a bell hanging on his body. However, his small face was very serious, as if he were doing something sacred.

With each swing of the huge sword, the boy would shout, partly to exhale and partly to squeeze out every bit of strength from his muscles.

The sound of hooves, "clip-clop, clip-clop," startled the boy who was focused on swinging his sword. He turned his black hair, revealing a young and tender face. Sweat had already soaked his black hair, which clung to his cheeks, and his purple eyes shone with a dreamy luster.

"Alber, look what I brought you!" A young man of about eighteen jumped off his horse. He had long golden hair, thick eyebrows, a high nose bridge, and sky-blue eyes. He was wearing leather armor and riding boots. As he spoke, he took a small package from the saddle.

"Big brother, you're back."

Alber did not show the usual curiosity of a child towards the gift but politely greeted the young man.

Zack, as the older brother, was already used to Alber's attitude. Since Alber had fallen off a horse and woke up a year ago, he seemed to have grown up a lot and became very mature.

These two boys were the sons of the Bennett Knights of Bennett Castle.

The older one, Zack, was eighteen and the eldest son of the Bennett Knight, a 4th-level squire, who had just returned from Liburg Town. The younger one, who continued to practice diligently at night, was the second son of the Bennett Knight, who had only started his squire training two months ago.

As the eldest son of the Bennett Knight, if Zack could become a knight, he would inherit the knight's fief and Bennett Castle. The second son, Alber, would have to work hard to earn his own living.

But this did not affect their relationship. Every time Zack went to town, he would buy some gifts for Alber with his limited pocket money, fulfilling his duty as an older brother.

Alber always understood and did not ask his father for training resources, as the knight's fief, though covering a hundred miles, had no special products and relied on grain income to sustain itself. After paying taxes, the annual grain income was only five hundred gold coins.

This money had to cover the castle's expenses and the training costs of the eldest son, Zack, leaving almost nothing left.

Alber took the package from Zack. It was a long, rectangular box wrapped carefully in a colorful cloth, showing Zack's thoughtfulness in choosing the gift.

"What a beautiful dagger." Alber exclaimed with delight, playing with the dagger in his hand. The dagger was made of fine iron, heavier than ordinary iron daggers and much more valuable.

"I'm glad you like it. Today I got lucky; a guy who didn't know the value was selling this dagger for just 70% of the price of an ordinary iron dagger, so I bought it." Seeing Alber's joy with the dagger, Zack was very happy. Alber had rarely shown such a childlike smile in the past year.

"Keep practicing, I'll go home first."

Zack did not disturb Alber's practice. The castle had only one set of iron armor, which was mostly used by Zack during the day, as designated by the Bennett Knight. Only at night would it be given to Alber for practice.

Squire training first involved practicing basic sword techniques, which effectively compressed and condensed every bit of strength in the muscles, eventually returning a form of energy to the body. This energy would gradually accumulate to form a qi channel, and each new qi channel would represent a level-up in the squire's rank. When five qi channels were formed in the body, they would compress further to form a qi core.

A knight with a qi core was a regular knight, capable of using battle aura for combat and activating various combat skills to enhance their fighting power.

To quickly compress the strength in the muscles, knights discovered over a thousand years of practice that wearing heavy armor during training could better accelerate the formation of qi channels. Therefore, every knight's family must have a set of iron armor, which could be used for training in peacetime and as a sturdy shield in battle.

By reducing or adding armor plates, both beginners and more advanced squires could use the same set of armor for training, making armor and horses essential for knights. A knight without armor and a horse would not be recognized as a knight.

"97... 98... 99... 100." With the last swing of the sword, Alber's last bit of strength was gone, and he fell to the ground. His purple eyes looked at the stars in the sky, and he whispered, "Which star is my home?"

The original Alber had died in a fall from a horse a year ago. A soul from Earth had taken over this body, becoming the new Alber. This was the reason for Alber's personality change over the past year. A thirty-year-old soul in a twelve-year-old body, no matter how careful, would still seem different. However, due to the impact of the fall, everyone assumed the child was just scared.

Alber, whose Earth name was Li Yabo, was a seasoned fitness coach. He was busy with work and remembered that night he had come home around 10:30 PM, feeling a bit annoyed. He took out his laptop and opened the classic game Diablo II, one of the few games on his computer and his favorite.

He clicked on the icon and played for a while, noticing that the "Town Portal Book" showed zero. He often forgot to buy town portal scrolls, so he opened a cheat and modified the "Town Portal Book" to automatically recharge every minute.

Feeling satisfied, he was enjoying the game when a bolt of lightning struck the building where Li Yabo was. The lightning rod on the building was useless, and the lightning traveled through the wires, hitting Li Yabo, who was playing on his laptop.

When Li Yabo woke up, he found himself as the second son of the Bennett Knight, also named Alber.

Putting aside his thoughts, Alber, who had regained some strength, stood up, took the large sword, and walked towards the castle. He felt good today and might be able to advance to a 1st-level squire by night.

When Alber returned to the castle, he did not go to eat. It was still half an hour before dinner, and he needed to maintain the armor.

He carefully cleaned the sweat from the armor, cleaning every plate and every small crevice, and then applied maintenance oil. Alber was very meticulous, and whether it was Alber, Zack, or even the Bennett Knight himself, they would all maintain the armor after use. This was a knight's tradition and a necessary means to keep the armor in good condition.

Next, he took care of the greatsword. This was a type of two-handed sword, with a massive blade and an unadorned hilt, reflecting the simplicity and practicality of its maker.

After everything was done, Alber took a shower and went to the dining room, where his father, the Bennett Knight, his mother, Nara, and his older brother, Zack, were already seated.