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 intersection of the Camay Duchy and the Rift Mountains in the southernmost part of the Holy Continent, far from the wars and serving as an important granary for the Camay Duchy.

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

"Ha!" A boy of about twelve with black hair was swinging a massive sword. He wore a suit of iron armor, which was quite large, making him look like a bell with the armor on his 1.5-meter-tall frame. However, his young face was very serious, as if he were performing a sacred task.

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

The "clatter" of hooves startled the boy, who was focused on his sword practice. He turned his head, revealing a young and tender face, with sweat soaking his black hair and sticking to his cheeks. His purple eyes sparkled with a dreamy light.

"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, and sky-blue eyes. He wore leather armor and 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 for the gift but politely greeted the young man.

Zack, as Alber's older brother, was already accustomed to Alber's attitude. Since Alber had fallen off a horse and been injured a year ago, he seemed to have grown up a lot and become very mature.

These two boys were the sons of Bennett Castle's knight, Sir Bennett.

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

As the eldest son of Sir Bennett, if Zack could become a knight, he would inherit the fief and Bennett Castle. The second son, Alber, would have to strive to find his own livelihood.

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

Alber, being very sensible, never asked his father for training resources. The fief, though spanning a hundred miles, had no special products and relied on grain income to sustain itself. After paying taxes, the annual grain income was only 500 gold coins.

This money had to cover the castle's expenses and the training costs for the eldest son, Zack, leaving little to spare.

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

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

"I'm glad you like it. I got lucky today; a clueless guy was selling this dagger for just 70% of the price of an ordinary iron dagger, so I bought it." Seeing Alber's delight 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 Sir Bennett designated for Zack's use during the day. Only at night was it 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, ultimately feeding it back to the body as a form of energy. This energy would gradually accumulate to form energy channels, with each channel representing a level of squire. After forming five energy channels in the body, they would compress further to form an energy core.

A knight with an energy core was a formal knight, capable of using combat energy and various combat techniques 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 energy channels. Therefore, every knight's household 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." Alber's last bit of strength disappeared as he swung his final sword, and he fell to the ground. His purple eyes gazed at the stars, 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 his 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 ten-year-old body, no matter how careful, would still seem different. However, due to the impact of the fall, everyone assumed the child had just been frightened.

Alber, whose Earth name was Li Alber, was a seasoned fitness coach. He was busy with work and remembered that night, around 10 PM, he was feeling a bit annoyed and took out his notebook to play the classic game Diablo II, one of the few games on his computer and a favorite of his.

He opened the game and played for a while, noticing that the "Town Portal Book" showed 0. He often forgot to buy town portal scrolls, so, to pass the time, he opened a cheat and modified the "Town Portal Book." After a while, he was satisfied with the "Town Portal Book's" auto-recovery rate.

Just as he was feeling good, a bolt of lightning struck the building where Li Alber was, and the lightning rod was ineffective. The lightning traveled through the wires and struck Li Alber, who was using his notebook.

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

Putting aside his thoughts, Alber, who had regained some strength, stood up, took the large sword, and walked toward 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 dinner, as it was still half an hour before dinner time. During this time, he went to maintain the armor.

He carefully cleaned the sweat from the armor, cleaning every plate and every small gap, and then applied maintenance oil. Alber was very meticulous, as both he and Zack, and even Sir Bennett himself, would maintain the armor after use. This was a knight's tradition and a necessary means to keep the armor in good condition.

Next, he tended to the massive sword, a type of two-handed sword. The large blade and unadorned handle reflected the simplicity and practicality of the sword's maker.

After finishing, Alber took a bath and went to the dining room, where his father, Sir Bennett, his mother, Nara, and his older brother, Zack, were already seated.