Thor's mind wandered as various thoughts intertwined. Finally, with a light chuckle, he had no hesitation as he directly stuffed the life fruit into his mouth.
With one bite, the flesh of the fruit instantly turned into a warm stream spreading throughout his entire body.
The next moment, Thor felt an intense heat surging all over him, accompanied by the rapid agitation of the life force that had been almost imperceptible before.
The life force contained within the life fruit was undoubtedly immense. As the primary ingredient of advanced life elixirs, its potency was enough to elevate a squire to a sky knight. For someone like Thor, who was not even a squire yet, this amount of life force was akin to an ocean.
Fortunately, the life force contained within the life fruit was extremely gentle and would not cause the body to explode.
Although unable to absorb all of it, the vast amount of life force swiftly merged into Thor's flesh and blood, laying the foundation for him.
However, even so, the intense heat was still unbearable. Beads of sweat dripped down, soaking Thor's clothes, which then gradually dried under the night sky.
When the blood-red moon gradually adorned the sky and night fell, Thor suddenly opened his eyes.
And in that instant of opening his eyes, he felt the world around him change.
He could clearly see the faint dust particles in the air, hear the insects chirping outside the window that he had never noticed before, and even hear the footsteps of servants in the corridor.
At that moment, his perception of the entire world had undergone a drastic change.
No, not the entire world, but his perception of it.
His senses were heightened to an unprecedented level, and even his body seemed to be undergoing changes.
If one could observe his internal body at this moment, they would find a tiny green light hovering quietly in the center of his heart, radiating a faint glow. The blood in his heart was constantly being infused with this green light, spreading to every part of his body.
And this blood, tainted by the green light, brought subtle changes to his entire body.
Knight.
This was the extraordinary power of this world.
Only those who had condensed their life seeds could be called squires. Because the power bestowed by the life seed was unparalleled, it could subtly change every aspect of a person's body—strength, agility, reflexes, perception—everything.
Every squire possessed powers that ordinary people couldn't match.
As for Thor's father, with the daily intelligence system, if he really had ideas, Thor believed there would still be opportunities.
A smile appeared on his face.
Thor couldn't help but clench his fists. "Next is to see my father!"
Muttering to himself, he rose from his seat, and his servants came to attend to his washing and dressing.
When he walked out of the room again, his figure was immaculate, and his temperament had obviously changed.
Walking through the castle, the maids occasionally glanced sideways.
As his figure passed, the maids' voices of discussion began.
"Master Thor seems different today!"
"Yes, Master Thor seems even more radiant!"
"Master Thor seems much more handsome today!"
With the keen hearing of a squire, Thor could still hear the maids' conversations even after leaving.
He wasn't too surprised by this.
Having condensed his life seed, he had undergone significant changes from the inside out, changes even ordinary people could perceive.
This would be even more apparent if he became a knight. Unless he reached a higher level, he wouldn't be able to conceal these changes, something a squire couldn't do at this moment.
But he didn't need to hide.
In fact, with his coming of age just over two days away, he needed to demonstrate his strength to his father, Engel Dressrosa, the lord of the castle.
His steps moved forward.
He arrived at the third floor of the castle.
This was the highest point of Dressrosa Castle, where Engel Dressrosa, the count, usually stayed.
On any other day, at this hour, Engel Dressrosa would be in this study, reading.
Today was no exception.
Engel Dressrosa was standing in front of the bookcase, leafing through the "History of the Continent." But what no one noticed was that his thoughts were not focused on the history of the continent but drifted elsewhere.
"Ninety years have passed..."
A soft voice echoed, tinged with a sigh and deep concern.
After the sigh, the room fell silent once again.
Until...
"Knock, knock, knock!"
The door made a soft sound, followed by the voice of the butler, Charles.
"Count, young master Thor requests an audience with you!"
The voice was not loud, but it brought Engel Dressrosa's thoughts back from drifting.
"Thor?"
"Come in!"
Engel Dressrosa's brows furrowed slightly. He hadn't paid much attention to Thor, his ninth son, as his talent was extremely poor, almost ranking last among all his sons. But after a moment's thought, he responded.
(End of Chapter 3)