In the training room, Locke's entire body was emitting white smoke. His Falconim had been circulating frantically over and over again, but there was still no sound of a breakthrough.
The things that were originally placed on the table in front of him were gone. A few wooden boxes and test tubes were scattered randomly on the ground. He could vaguely see that they were boxes containing blood essence and crimson potions.
Three hours had passed since Locke entered the training room.
An invisible shackle shackled Locke's entire body. No matter how fierce the Falconim in his body was, it couldn't break through. It was like a natural moat.
Bloodstains slowly appeared around his body, and his veins bulged. This was caused by the excessive pressure in his blood, which couldn't withstand the violent Falconim.
It could also be the side effect of cliff-edge grass. A few minutes ago, Locke had just consumed cliff-edge grass.
Closing his bloodshot eyes, Locke forced himself to suppress his restlessness. His long experience had tempered his willpower to become abnormally strong.
After another two hours, the originally violent impetus in his body showed signs of slowing down. Locke knew that the auxiliary potions were gradually losing their effectiveness.
However, the feeling of a breakthrough hadn't arrived yet. A thick layer of blood had formed on the clothes on his body. This was caused by Locke's blood surging and seeping out of his body.
As the pain of his blood surging subsided, another feeling of weakness from the depths of his bone marrow suddenly appeared. The sequela of a failed breakthrough was already waiting for Locke.
Why did so many mid-rank Knechts choose not to break through again in the latter half of their lives? Apart from the extremely low probability, their biggest concern was probably the reduction of their lifespan.
This was the reason why Locke didn't tell everyone. In his mind, he was still young. He was only twenty-three years old. According to the average lifespan in Faustian, he still had at least thirty more years to live. Knights also lived a little longer than ordinary people, so he wasn't afraid at all.
A mere ten years of lifespan wasn't precious to him yet. However, he was unwilling to fail this time because he already had a premonition that he was just a little bit away from success.
After a hard night of advancement, the barrier of a high-rank Knecht had already revealed its true face. What Locke lacked now was the final push.
As long as he had some help, perhaps he could break through!
With a slight movement of his fingers, a wooden box appeared from Locke's spatial ring. There were two cliff-edge grasses inside.
Locke had never heard of anyone consuming two cliff-edge grasses at once. No one knew better than him what kind of feeling it would bring to a knight. It was excruciating, as if his blood vessels were about to burst. More than half of the blood stains on his body were caused by the cliff-edge grasses.
"Screw it!" Locke cursed under his breath.
Apart from the cliff-edge grass, the wooden box containing the blood essence also appeared on his right.
The effect of the blood essence on the breakthrough had been exhausted. He took out the blood essence to resist the side effects of the cliff-edge grass. He hoped that the blood essence could improve the hematopoietic mechanism faster than the speed at which he lost blood.
He raised his trembling hand and saw a thick layer of scabs sliding down his arm. The gaps between his fingers were filled with a mixture of blood and sweat. It had been a long time since he was in such a sorry state.
He wasn't sure if he was hallucinating, but he saw himself when he first joined the army. It was during the bloody battle at Gordon Heights.
He'd only been in the army for two years. Back then, he'd been hiding in a pile of corpses, shivering in fear. He didn't know what life was or what death was. He was only afraid of pain, afraid that a sword would cut his neck. He didn't even dare to imagine what it felt like.
Locke chuckled at the memory. His trembling arms stopped, and he picked up the cliff-edge grass in front of him and swallowed it.
He felt his impetus surge again. Once again, he charged towards the enemy's high ground!
It was already late at night. Although it was summer, the frost and dew at night still made the girls feel a certain chill.
However, no one left. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the stone door, waiting for it to open.
Angelina was wrapped in the clothes handed to her by the guards. She looked at the stone door in front of her. The cold night wind blew past, but she didn't pull the clothes on her body. She didn't care about the cold wind blowing on her bare shoulders.
"Let's talk to Grandma Parlina tomorrow." The Sanctum wasn't Angelina's only option. She had someone more important to consider.
Parlina was Angelina's grand-teacher, a powerful water elementalist and a Magister. She was also one of the advisors of the caster faculty in the academy.
Parlina was very fond of Angelina because of her talent and her ability to speak.
The two of them were very close in private. Angelina even called Parlina 'Grandma'.
Parlina, who had no children of her own, was very happy to accept Angelina as her granddaughter.
The Sanctum's quota was insignificant compared to that person. Through the stone door, Angelina seemed to see the man she'd depended on in the snowy night.
Just as the girls were getting more and more worried about Locke, the first rays of the morning sun peeked through the door. Before they knew it, the night had passed.
The stone door to the training room suddenly opened. A hunched figure, accompanied by a strong smell of blood and acid, emerged from the stone door.
Locke trudged out with heavy steps, blood dripping from his body.
"Locke!" Angelina exclaimed and ran towards him as fast as she could.
Lia, Suzanne, Grace and the other girls followed behind.
"Are you alright?" Angelina hugged Locke as he staggered out of the training room.
Locke, who was covered in blood, looked like he would collapse at any moment.
However, Angelina, Grace and the other girls didn't seem to care about the blood stains and the stench on his body.
"I'm not going anywhere," whispered Angelina as she hugged Locke.
Suzanne and the others, who didn't know what was going on, didn't say anything. Grace, on the other hand, gave Angelina a meaningful look.
Among them, only Glace knew how much Angelina had sacrificed for her to make this promise.
Locke, who was in everyone's arms, smiled, revealing his pearly white teeth.
He raised his right hand with all his might and a flash of green impetus suddenly appeared.
Proof that he was a high-rank Knecht! Impetus release!
After doing all this, Locke's consciousness fell into darkness.
It was noon in Princeton. There were no signs of autumn in Princeton in September, as if the word "cool" was completely out of place here.
The cicadas outside the window were still chattering. It was already September, so why were these short-lived insects still offering their voices?
In the bedroom, Locke was still unconscious and Angelina was sitting next to him.
Grace had just left a few minutes ago. It had been three days, and Locke hadn't woken up at all. The girls took turns to watch over him.
Angelina accompanied him on the first and second days. She didn't know how a weak caster's body could support her for so long.
On the third day, Angelina only returned to her room to rest for half a day after Lia and Glace strongly urged her to.
However, when she woke up, she found herself in this room again.
Glace went to get some food. It was a nutritious meal prepared by Laffey. As a maid who grew up in the margrave's house, her cooking was top-notch.
Locke had been eating liquid food made by Laffey while he was unconscious. There was a lot of major monster meat in the ingredients. Not only was it delicious, but it was also rich in energy.
Opening his hazy eyes, Locke looked at everything in front of him curiously. Where was this place?
The familiar room, the familiar people next to him, and the tearful look on their faces instantly reminded him of everything. The trial mission with a narrow escape, the breakthrough in the training room, and after he succeeded, he came out to see the girls who cared about him.
Angelina covered her mouth and lay on Locke's body, sobbing. Locke had been unconscious for many days and his body was very weak. Even so, he still stretched out his hand and placed it on Angelina's shoulder.
"Look, I did it," said Locke in a hoarse voice. Although he had been eating liquid food for the past few days, it wasn't water after all. His throat was now very dry and painful.
The attentive Glace next to him handed him a glass of water.
Someone went out to report the news, and after a while, the whole room was filled with people. Not only were Lia, Suzanne and the other girls present, even Cage, the viscount of Faustian, was among them.
Kristin also hugged Locke's leg excitedly and made a noise. She didn't want Locke to leave her. Locke had been in a coma for three days and the state he was in when he first came out of the training room.
Kristin could rely on her young age to stick to Locke, but Angelina couldn't. She was a Faustian princess, and there were still a few Faustian nobles standing in the room. Angelina wiped the tears on her face and stood up, but her red eyes didn't leave Locke for a moment.
"Congratulations on advancing to a high-rank Knecht, Brother Locke!" The tactful Cage broke the awkwardness in the room and stepped forward to shake Locke's hand.
A high-rank Knecht was already considered a master in Faustian. Those with a family and background could become division jarls in the army or hold important positions in the palace.
In Cage's eyes, Locke was already a rising star among the Faustian nobles in the future because of his relationship with Angelina.
At this time, Locke and his family needed to talk a lot. Cage knew that it wasn't good to stay too long as an outsider, so after a few words of greeting, he left with the Faustian nobles.
"Don't take such risks next time!" When they walked out of the room, Lia came forward and said to Locke. Among the women, Locke listened to her the most.
"Okay," Locke, who was leaning on the bed, said faintly as he looked at the people who were concerned about him.
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Thank you to Cliché Lazily Mixed Wine for your support of one monthly ticket. Thank you to Wu Mingming 12 for your support of 100 Cross Point Coins. Thank you to Bookfriend 23755254 for your support of 100 Cross Point Coins!
I have something to do today, so it seems that I'll have to postpone it until tomorrow. Sorry everyone.