Levi once again practiced the Moon Wolf Knight Breathing Technique.
As he moved, a surge of power welled up from every part of his body, like a giant wolf running under moonlight, rushing toward his heart.
Levi's face instantly turned green with a flush of red, and his heart throbbed with intense pain.
This was the sign that he was about to condense a seed of life energy—the prelude to advancing into the knight rank.
At this point, there was no turning back.
If he failed, his heart would burst, and he would die.
Unless he had some other protective method.
Clearly, Levi had no such method.
The only thing he could do was continue practicing the movements of the Moon Wolf Knight Breathing Technique, guiding the power within his body and restraining its destructive force.
For Levi, this was not difficult.
Because of the two mysterious crystals in his soul sea, his mental strength had a strong control over these forces.
He even felt somewhat at ease.
Time passed bit by bit, seeming long.
But in reality, it wasn't long at all.
Only a few minutes.
At Levi's heart, a faint, illusory cluster of energy appeared, occasionally transforming into the shape of a moon wolf. From its four claws extended countless phantom threads, tightly intertwining with his heart.
A realization arose in Levi's mind—this was how knights unleashed inhuman strength through this connection.
At this moment, his complexion returned to normal. Not only had the redness faded, but even the earlier green hue disappeared.
He felt more refreshed than ever before.
He cast a Detection on himself.
A series of messages appeared:
[You have advanced to the knight rank. Your Strength, Constitution, Agility, and Spirit have been permanently increased.]
[The number of times you can use Detection and Conversion has increased.]
[You can unleash the power of the life energy seed to greatly boost your Agility and Strength for a short period. However, afterward, you will fall into a weakened state and must rest for some time to recover.]
After these messages faded, Levi's status panel appeared—
[Name: Levi]
[Identity: Transmigrator, Fugitive]
[Strength: 3.35]
[Constitution: 3.12]
[Agility: 3.41]
[Spirit: 2.7]
[Charm: 1.7]
[Abilities: Origin Energy (non-upgradable), Detection LV3 (1/400), Conversion LV1 (90/100), Moon Wolf Knight Breathing Technique LV3 (1/400)]
[Note: You have permanently increased your physical attributes by consuming certain items. Upon breaking through to the knight rank, your strength has been further enhanced.]
...
Levi had finally reached the knight rank, possessing inhuman physical strength.
And he had done it in less than a month.
If those knight attendants who had trained bitterly for over a decade yet remained stuck at the final step saw this, they would go mad with envy!
The reason for his speed was naturally the combination of Detection and Conversion.
Although Levi did not possess the so-called knight potions, the things he had consumed were far more effective than such potions.
Of course, this level of strength was still far from enough to deal with the Magic Mirror Queen.
But it gave Levi a certain sense of security.
From the moment he obtained the Moon Wolf Knight Breathing Technique to becoming a true knight—
Less than a month had passed!
If this news got out, it would surely shock a large number of people!
Other knights trained from childhood, starting as knight apprentices, becoming knight attendants, and only after years of effort breaking through to the knight rank.
Even if it didn't take over a decade, it would still take at least seven or eight years.
And Levi?
He had done it in just over ten days!
Levi was fully aware that ninety-nine percent of his achievement came from Conversion and Detection, not from himself.
Detection allowed Levi to obtain tailored "nutritional meals."
And Conversion enabled him to absorb the energy from those "meals" with extremely high efficiency.
This allowed his base attributes to quickly approach the value of 3 in a short time.
After condensing the life energy seed, his attributes easily surpassed that threshold.
So Levi understood clearly—his most important source of power still came from the magical abilities he had copied from fairy tale artifacts.
Although these abilities did not seem particularly powerful at first, they could gain experience through use and practice.
Once leveled up, their effects would also improve.
For example, Detection had reached Level 3 during this period. Although its consumption increased, it could now reveal deeper layers of information.
After a brief cleanup, Levi returned to the city of Zelantu. Near Old Bar's inn, he used a Level 3 Detection on Old Bar.
The information he obtained this time was far more detailed:
[Owner of Old Bar's Inn. He was once a Great Knight of the Kingdom of Amtyr. Due to greed, he was injured and his strength fell to the level of a knight, but he still ranks among the top within the knight class.]
[In order to regain his title and fief, he accepted a mission from the kingdom and became the head of its intelligence network within the Kingdom of Francis.]
[He possesses a magical item that conceals his knightly power, making it difficult for ordinary people to detect anything unusual.]
[Driven by greed, he secretly swapped two treasures and hid them respectively in…]
A flicker of brilliance flashed in Levi's eyes.
These were details he hadn't been able to detect before.
He was also surprised—the innkeeper, the antagonist from the fairy tale "The Table, the Donkey, and the Stick," was actually a spy from a neighboring kingdom.
A spy from a neighboring kingdom?
A royal knight?
Levi's thoughts stirred. He felt this was something he could exploit—he could let them fight it out, then step in and reap the benefits.
His gaze shifted, and Old Bar's attributes appeared before him:
[Name: Bar]
[Identity: Knight, Spy of the Kingdom of Amtyr]
[Strength: 3.95]
[Constitution: 3.16]
[Agility: 3.52]
[Spirit: 1.9]
[Charm: 1.3]
[Ability: Unknown]
[Ability: Unknown]
[Note: Although Old Bar is injured, dealing with a newly advanced knight would still be easy for him. He has mastered certain knight combat techniques capable of delivering immense lethality.]
Seeing these attributes, Levi's expression remained unchanged. He turned to look in the direction of Far-Sail City, and an as-yet unrefined plan began to take shape in his mind.
Meanwhile.
In the Kingdom of Francis, the queen who held absolute power over life and death lazily awoke. She asked the Magic Mirror, "Mirror, mirror, who is the most beautiful woman in the world?"
"Queen, Queen, you are the most beautiful woman in the world."
A satisfied smile appeared on the Magic Mirror Queen's face. She was about to take a milk bath when she suddenly remembered something else. After a moment's hesitation, she expended magic once more and asked, "Mirror, mirror, tell me—has Hassein killed Levi?"
"Queen, Queen, Hassein has not killed Levi. He was misled by Levi and went to Far-Sail City. In truth, Levi is still near the outskirts of Zelantu," the mirror answered truthfully.
Hearing this, the Magic Mirror Queen's chest heaved with anger. "Idiot!"
"An idiot fit to be buried in the dust of history!"
"Fooled so easily!"
"Idiot!"
Although she cursed furiously, once she calmed down, she pondered for a long while. In the end, she summoned a green-eyed owl, had a maid write a note, sealed it in a small tube, and the owl took the tube and flew toward Far-Sail City.
...
It was time once again for the daily Information Detection.
[Information 1: The Magic Mirror Queen has already learned that Knight Hassein was misled by you. She is sending a message via owl, ordering him to return to Zelantu and kill you.]
[Information 2: Rudolf's younger brother has received letters from his two elder brothers. He has sworn to help them reclaim the treasure.]
[Information 3: Old Bar has paid a great price to purchase a potion from a mysterious existence that can heal his injuries. His spy subordinate is transporting it through the "Sword and Flower Caravan." They are currently camped ten kilometers outside the city and are expected to deliver it to him tomorrow.]
Information one and two were of no use to Levi.
But the third piece of information made him frown.
Even injured, Old Bar already possessed knight-level combat strength.
If he recovered, wouldn't he be able to exert the power of a Great Knight?
In the face of an absolute gap in strength, no amount of schemes would matter.
So he could not allow the other party to obtain that potion.
Levi made his decision immediately. Without hesitation, he picked up his weapon, slipped out of the city under the cover of night, and with the help of Detection, found the caravan's campsite outside the city, locating Old Bar's spy subordinate.
With Detection, and now possessing the physique of a knight, Levi moved like a moon wolf. He easily abducted and killed the man, taking the crucial potion from him—along with the secret method of communication between him and Old Bar that Detection had uncovered.
With that communication method, and the mysterious potion in hand, Levi began his work.
He forged information, and through a complicated process, transmitted encrypted messages onto the notice board of Old Bar's inn.
As Old Bar greeted and saw off guests, he glanced at the notice board casually—and his pupils shrank.
Others could not understand it, but he deciphered the message related to himself—
[The Kingdom of Francis has confirmed his identity as a spy. Hassein has been ordered to return from Far-Sail City to kill him.]
A few days later, through an indirect superior he had never contacted directly, he received another instruction—
[Identity exposed. Without alerting others, kill Hassein and then withdraw back to the homeland.]
Within that instruction, it also revealed a specific location and time where Hassein would pass by—an ideal ambush point.
Old Bar was startled. He spent the entire night sleepless, pondering. Finally, he summoned a group of mercenaries and led them into the forest outside.
What he did not know was that as soon as he left, Levi arrived at his inn.
However, Levi did not enter Old Bar's inn. Instead, he bought a donkey cart, made several turns through the streets, and arrived at a secluded house nearby.
This was one of Old Bar's hidden safehouses, known only to him.
Here lay the wealth and treasures he had accumulated over the years.
Rudolf's Gold Donkey, along with his brother's Food Table, were both here.
Through a Level 3 Detection, Levi had already learned of this place from Old Bar.
Using Detection, he easily avoided the traps Old Bar had set and found the Food Table he had long dreamed of.
Levi placed his hand on it. The Origin Energy within his soul spread outward, circled once around the Food Table, and then returned to his body.
In an instant, his soul sea began to tremble. As it expanded, its intensity also increased, and a new spell crystal formed.
Gathering Technique!
When Levi sensed the ability contained within this spell crystal, he was somewhat surprised.
He had originally thought that the spell contained within the Food Table would be Food Creation.
After all, it was a food table!
It should create food!
But instead, it was Gathering Technique.
It could gather the desired food—or rather... items—from various places.
With a thought, he immediately began using Gathering Technique on the spot.
In an instant, moisture in the air condensed into a sphere of water, appearing in his hand.
[Gathering Technique EXP +1.]
After the water sphere appeared, lacking any container, it quickly dispersed, wetting Levi's hand.
Levi didn't mind. Looking at the ground, another thought crossed his mind, and Gathering Technique activated again.
Instantly, some white granules appeared in his hand.
[Gathering Technique EXP +1.]
Salt!
This was salt Levi had gathered from the soil using Gathering Technique.
A trace of delight flashed in his eyes. He realized that this Gathering Technique was quite useful.
With it, even if he found himself deep in the wilderness in the future, he wouldn't have to worry too much about survival.
Combined with his Detection and Conversion, Levi felt that the possibilities were immense.
His eyes flickered, the corners of his mouth slightly lifting. After glancing around, he swapped the Gold Donkey with the ordinary donkey pulling the cart, then loaded the Food Table and a large chest of wealth that Old Bar had accumulated over the years onto the cart, taking everything with him.
Just like that, Levi left Old Bar's safehouse with all the goods.
At dusk.
Old Bar, his body stained with blood and covered in wounds, his face pale, staggered his way to his hidden safehouse.
He intended to take everything he had gathered over the years and leave the city, returning to his homeland.
But what he didn't expect was that the moment he pushed open the door, a cloud of powder rushed toward him.
Old Bar reacted like a leopard, instinctively leaping aside. At the same time, he shut his eyes, drew the knight's longsword at his waist, and raised it in defense.
The enemy hidden in the darkness seemed to have anticipated his response and knew his methods well.
A flash of cold light stabbed swiftly and viciously toward his weak point.
Though Old Barr's eyes were closed, his hearing was sharp. He detected the direction of the attack and moved to respond with his sword—but just as he began to act, the deep wound in his lower back was pulled.
A spike of pain slowed his reaction.
The opponent's knight's longsword pierced into his body, then was violently pulled back out.
Blood burst forth like a fountain.
"Ah!"
Old Bar howled in agony. "Who is it?!"
His mind trembled with uncertainty, and fear of death took hold. "I have treasures! As long as you don't kill me, I can give them all to you!"
"With that treasure, for the rest of your life you will—"
Before he could finish, Levi used Gathering Technique on him, extracting his blood.
Level 1 Gathering Technique had no real effect on living beings, but it successfully caused Old Barr's body to stiffen.
This was a special use of Gathering Technique Levi had discovered through Detection.
Although it couldn't affect living targets directly, the moment the spell descended, it could freeze the opponent for one second.
And that one second was the distance between life and death.
Levi's knight's longsword plunged straight into Old Bar's heart—and twisted.
Agonizing pain surged through him.
Old Bar's eyes snapped open. Through blurred vision, he made out Levi's face.
"It's you!"
Levi didn't respond. He pulled out the knight's longsword and slashed across Old Bar's throat.
A knight's vitality was extremely strong—especially someone like Old Bar, who had once reached the level of a Great Knight. Though old and weakened, he was still not to be underestimated.
However—
No matter how tenacious his life force was, it finally gave out.
He collapsed to the ground, dead, his blood pooling beneath him.