The air was filled with a musty smell, and cobwebs were everywhere. The dust on the ground was so thick that a footprint was left with each step.
To be honest, Jefferson found it hard to believe that he would find what he was looking for in such a place. He had come here because, a few days ago, his master, Miss Eileen, had unlocked his inner vision and planted a seed of Fighting breath within him.
A knight is not merely a knight because of superior physical attributes; more importantly, they possess Fighting breath. Even if a knight loses limbs, it's not a big deal. Prosthetic limbs can be easily made, and although they aren't as flexible as the original ones, they don't hinder combat. However, if a knight loses their Fighting breath, they are completely finished. Therefore, the worst punishment for a knight isn't death but the destruction of their Fighting breath.
Having a Fighting breath seed meant that Jefferson finally had the chance to become a true knight. His greatest fear was that, as an incomplete knight, he wouldn't be able to integrate the Fighting breath seed. However, having the seed didn't mean he had Fighting breath yet; he still needed the technique to cultivate it. This was no joke—the quality of the technique could determine a knight's strength, more so than their inherent qualities.
In the army, there were some techniques passed down, but if there were other options, no one would choose these well-known techniques. Though safe, easy to practice, and with plenty of experience to draw from, these techniques had a clear drawback: no future prospects. In Jefferson's knight order, no one practiced these public techniques.
"None of the people here are simple; each has a powerful background," the military officer Miss Christine had once said, which made Jefferson realize the underlying truth. He had been asking around for several days but to no avail. The reason was simple: any family's inherited technique was closely guarded and never shared. None of the women knew any other practicable techniques, so they couldn't help him even if they wanted to.
Just when he was about to lose hope, the mischievous Michelle suddenly told him there was a place that held many techniques. Jefferson didn't quite believe Michelle, as he had been pranked by her many times before. The worst prank was when she tricked him into a restroom where Captain Wallis and Miss Eileen happened to be. The outcome was as expected...
After much hesitation, Jefferson finally decided to follow the mischievous woman here. Although he knew he might be tricked again, he was willing to try anything for a brighter future. This place wasn't Brookfield but Sava, the capital city of Lakewood Province. Jefferson had taken a nine-hour carriage ride to get here.
Sava was the capital and the headquarters of the knight order. Jefferson was sneaked into the knight order's library, but only this area was locked. Getting in was entirely thanks to Michelle's skills. Jefferson never imagined that this prank-loving beauty was so adept at lockpicking. These doors had double locks, yet she managed to open them quickly.
"You stay here alone. This place holds centuries of accumulated techniques. Find the ones you like and copy them down. I won't stay here and eat dust with you. I'll come back before four in the afternoon to take you back," Michelle said hurriedly before leaving, not wanting to stay a moment longer.
Carefully retreating from the room, Michelle suddenly showed a sinister smile, pleased that the little guy had been fooled again. She wiped a sign at the door, changing it from "Confidential Area, No Entry" to "All materials in this storage room are unverified."
Jefferson had no idea that each province's knight order headquarters had such a storage room. Initially, some knights placed techniques they had found inside. Most of these techniques were incomplete and not suitable for direct practice, only for reference. Over time, some knights threw in their whimsical techniques.
While some made sense, most were complete nonsense. Eventually, people like Michelle, who enjoyed pranks, threw in a bunch of joke techniques. From then on, no one took such a storage room seriously. Although treasures might be hidden inside, when treasures are mixed with poison, anyone rational would choose cautiously. This was why the storage room had so many locks. In fact, many higher-ups believed it should be abolished and the contents destroyed.
Unaware of all this, Jefferson was like a beggar in a treasure trove, delighted. He randomly picked up a few booklets, which indeed recorded techniques. One, in particular, was astonishingly impressive, detailing dimension cutting and instant movement, making Jefferson's eyes nearly pop out. He couldn't help but fantasize about how wonderful it would be if he could learn these.
However, after a closer look, Jefferson ultimately gave up because the booklet stated that the technique required extremely high innate talent. Although it was a pity, Jefferson didn't linger, knowing there were plenty of other things he wanted here.
Jefferson went through one booklet after another. Initially, he examined them carefully, but later, he almost skimmed through them. If interested, he set them aside; if not, he put them back.
Jefferson had lost track of how many hours had passed and was beginning to feel numb as he casually opened another booklet he had just taken down.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and his heartbeat quickened. He nervously glanced around, even though he knew there couldn't be anyone else here. Despite this, Jefferson felt a bit panicked.
The first page depicted a man and a woman entangled with each other. The woman sat on the man's lap, her long, slender legs wrapped around his waist. Jefferson, no longer a child, immediately knew what this was about. For a young man his age, sex was an incredibly enticing topic.
At night, while lying in bed, he often fantasized about the pretty girls in his class, imagining how they would moan and gasp under his prowess. Jefferson's breathing became heavy, and he began to feel aroused. With no one around, he pulled out his erection and started stroking it with his right hand.
As he flipped through the booklet, Jefferson masturbated, being careful not to make a mess on the pages. The more he read, the faster his heart beat, and his body began to heat up. This was indeed a lewd, evil, and perverse technique. The core of it was to make women climax and then steal their life energy during the act.
This was undoubtedly a sinister method of gaining power without effort, but Jefferson was deeply intrigued. He was also delighted to see that the technique was described as easy to learn and quick to master, with rapid progress and no bottlenecks in strength improvement.
Jefferson read the technique repeatedly, his face flushed and his blood boiling, eager to find someone to practice on immediately. He had made up his mind—this was the one. Any man would choose this technique.
However, he also noticed that the booklet only contained the core method for cultivating Fighting breath, with no mention of how to use it in combat. There wasn't a single offensive technique, only a brief mention that practicing this technique would greatly enhance sensory perception and endurance.
Having been in the squad for a while, Jefferson knew a few things. For a knight, the most important aspects were Fighting breath strength, explosive power, speed, and reaction capability. These determined a knight's strength, followed by power, which included sensory perception and durability against attacks. Endurance was the least useful since the duration of a battle was determined by the energy in the armor. Beyond that, endurance didn't matter much.