In the bedroom, Ranch reassured the arriving Colin Rein and instructed him to spread the word in the city that someone would take care of the magus.
Ranch didn't want the City of Crimson to become deserted.
He needed a substantial amount of gold coins.
Although it was a small city, the people there could provide many gold coins, which he couldn't afford to miss.
Colin Rein immediately nodded and complied.
After he left, Ranch opened the system store.
He remembered clearly that the system notification mentioned, besides the new system achievements, there was also an option to upgrade the store.
[Store lv1]
[Upgrade available!]
[Spend one thousand gold coins and three 1-tier spellbeast magicrystals to upgrade the store!]
[Upgrading the store will add a permanent item slot, ensuring that the item does not disappear when the goods refresh, increase the chance of rare items appearing, and offer a very small chance of epic items appearing.]
"The magicrystals of a spellbeast, too," Ranch furrowed his brows but, seeing the benefits of the upgraded store, deemed all else trivial.
The store must be upgraded swiftly!
Without hesitation, Ranch called upon Sophia, and together, they rode out of the City of Crimson on horses provided by Colin, heading swiftly towards the Wolf Fang Mountains.
Along the way, Sophia shared information about spellbeasts. "The strongest in the Wolf Fang Mountains should only be 2-tier spellbeasts, roughly equivalent to an intermediate knight. But typically, a spellbeast of the same tier is more formidable than a human. They possess powerful physiques, and some have mastered magic, making them quite challenging to confront."
Ranch nodded but insisted, "Sophia, unless I encounter a fatal danger, don't intervene. I want to test my current strength."
"Very well, Lord Ranch," Sophia changed her way of addressing him.
Now in her eyes, only Ranch deserved to be called the young lord of House Muir.
Before they set out, she had a slight test of strength with Ranch.
If it had been the her from before, she definitely wouldn't have stood a chance against him.
But with the infusion of that strange aura from Ranch's body, her strength had significantly increased.
At least for now, she could still outmatch Ranch.
Together, they ventured into the Wolf Fang Mountains, confident that they could sweep through the area as long as they didn't encounter any 2-tier spellbeasts with unique bloodlines.
...
Half an hour later, Ranch and Sophia entered the Wolf Fang Mountains.
Within the mountain range, there were many adventurers, all there either to earn gold coins or to hone their skills.
Their abilities were generally modest, and they dared only to roam the outskirts of the Wolf Fang Mountains.
Naturally, Ranch and Sophia wouldn't waste their time hunting spellbeasts in such an area.
They pressed on, and the adventurers they passed kept silent, intimidated by Sophia's formidable presence.
"To avoid unnecessary trouble," she explained.
"Being an elf, I often attract unwarranted attention, much like annoying flies, which is distasteful."
Indeed, Sophia's pride was inherent.
She only set it aside in the presence of Ranch, a submission to the stronger.
Soon, venturing deeper into the Wolf Fang Mountains, the duo encountered their first spellbeast—a 1-tier razorback boar, its two curved tusks gleaming with a cold light.
A normal person struck by it would likely be torn apart instantly.
With a smile, Ranch provocatively challenged the razorback boar.
Although 1-tier spellbeasts weren't highly intelligent, they could recognize a human challenge.
The boar charged immediately, but Ranch chose not to dodge.
To truly test his current strength, he avoided using any clever tactics and opted for a head-on confrontation.
In the moment the razorback boar charged, Ranch instantly grasped its tusks, channeling all his strength into his hands.
With a loud shout, he flipped the wild boar onto the ground.
"This is my power now!" Ranch exhaled deeply, delivering a powerful punch to the boar's skull, instantly killing the spellbeast and extracting its magicrystal, then bursting into triumphant laughter.
His long-suppressed emotions were finally unleashed.
Exiled by House Muir, enduring various hardships to reach the City of Crimson, accumulating gold coins through the Traveling Merchant System, and constantly strategizing, he had transformed from a ridiculed waste to someone who could now single-handedly defeat a 1-tier spellbeast.
The exhilarating sensation of growing stronger was truly intoxicating.
"Sophia, let's continue, onto the next one!" Ranch said, discarding the boar's carcass and resuming their hunt in the mountains.
The second, the third…
As the sky gradually darkened, Ranch had slain a total of eight 1-tier spellbeasts.
Through such relentless combat, his strength had once again enhanced, gaining a deeper understanding of the Knight Aura that Sophia had described.
[Current Information]
[Ranch]
[Class: novice knight trainee]
[Bloodline: Dragon God Vessel (Sealed)]
[gold coins: 1283]
[Attributes]
[Strength: 25; Spirit: 10; Stamina: 20]
[Evaluation: A knight trainee with some strength.]
Most importantly, he had fully mastered the energy hidden within his body, subtly feeling that even if the Dragon God Vessel were completely unsealed, he would not lose control.
The pair chose not to return to the City of Crimson.
"Sophia, how are you holding up?" Ranch asked, kindling a campfire and turning to Sophia.
As he continued to grow stronger, Sophia also did not cease her training, although she couldn't find suitable spellbeasts for practice and focused instead on honing her knightly skills.
"I'm almost there; I estimate I'll reach the limit of a novice knight in two days. However, there's no Paladin's Temple in the City of Crimson to receive the blessing," she noted, pinpointing a real issue.
Knights needed to receive the Paladin Blessing to advance, which would grant them significant enhancements.
"After retrieving the treasure of the dragon, it'll be time to leave the City of Crimson. After all, it's just a small city, and the wealth it can bring me isn't that substantial," Ranch thought to himself.
Just then, a group of adventurers appeared.
They looked at Ranch and Sophia sitting by the fire, their eyes filled with a mix of wariness and longing, until finally, a tall man approached and asked, "Hello, may we rest here for the night?"
"No problem, feel free," Ranch responded, not turning them away.
Having been a noble himself, he recognized something unusual about this group of adventurers.
The tall men seemed to be mercenaries registered with the Mercenary Guild, and the protected cute girl along with the white-bearded old man appeared to be the real patrons.
Though Ranch noticed these details, he had no interest in engaging with them.
This peculiar group entering the Wolf Fang Mountains was likely to attract trouble.
However, he might have underestimated his own charm.
Ranch was naturally handsome, and the addition of the Dragon God Vessel from the system rewards endowed him with an invisible aura, drawing the attention of the protected cute girl.
"Hello, may I know your name?" the cute girl suddenly approached Ranch and boldly inquired.
Ranch glanced at her.
The girl was dressed in an exceedingly ornate pleated skirt, seemingly adorned with diamonds, her brown eyes and light yellow hair exuding an aristocratic aura.
"Ranch," he responded nonchalantly.
Sophia looked towards the girl, her eyes filled with an inexplicable wariness, and asked, "Are you a member of the Dark Night Tribunal?"
Just as the girl was about to respond, the elderly man accompanying her approached and said to the girl, "Miss, do not reveal your information to strangers."
"But he told me his name," the girl tried to argue, but the old man paid her no heed, instead speaking dismissively, "The name of someone irrelevant is not worth remembering."
After speaking, he led the girl back to the tent set up by the mercenaries and instructed her to rest inside.
Ranch watched the elder, his gaze narrowing slightly.
Of course, he just took note of the old man and had no intention of initiating conflict, echoing the elder's sentiment that irrelevant individuals were not worth remembering.
Time moved into the deep night, hitting midnight.
The system store was ready for refreshment.
Ranch immediately clicked on the upgrade button for the store, and a notification message appeared.
[Store upgrade successful!]
[One thousand gold coins and three 1-tier spellbeast magicrystals have been deducted!]
[Store lv2]
[...]