As the mechanical electronic sound echoed, the blood in the bottle suddenly began to boil, bubbling and evaporating at a visible rate until it disappeared. An unseen, intangible power surged into Ge An's body.
"Extraction successful. Obtained Swift Rabbit Tier-One Gold Bloodline: [Keen Sense]."
"[Keen Sense]: Tier-One bloodline talent that allows the user to hear any sound within a 20-meter radius. Upgradable."
Ge An was thrilled with the successful extraction. Three months ago, he had crossed into this world, awakened a system that enabled him to extract bloodlines from any animal endlessly. Extraction failures had no negative effects, and successful extractions usually granted him attributes. Using this system, Ge An had repeatedly extracted low-level animal bloodlines, boosting his attributes and advancing from an ordinary person to an advanced knight's squire.
In terms of raw stats, he was actually on par with a junior knight, though the people of Sunset Fortress had yet to find out.
"007, display my attribute panel."
**Name**: Ge An
**Strength**: 1.8
**Agility**: 2.4
**Spirit**: 0.8
**Magic**: 0
**Level**: Knight's Squire (Advanced)
**Bloodline Talent**: [Keen Sense] (Tier-One)
**Extraction Level**: Tier-One (Proficiency 996/1000) (Success Rate 0.1%)
Bloodlines are classified by quality: white, green, blue, purple, and gold, from lowest to highest. This [Keen Sense] was already the highest quality for a Tier-One bloodline talent, a worthwhile result after three months and a thousand extraction attempts. This talent was far beyond his expectations; with it, he could detect almost any sound within 20 meters—an invaluable skill for fighting or gathering intelligence.
What comforted him even more was that every extraction attempt, successful or not, increased his proficiency. Once his proficiency reached a certain threshold, he could level up his extraction ability, allowing him to extract from higher-tier animals.
Ge An rinsed the glass bottle, capped it, and placed it in his pocket. Then, he carefully took out a black wooden box from under his bed, unlocked it, and opened it slowly. Inside were a few bottles of bright red blood, specially preserved to prevent spoilage or odor. These were Tier-Two animal bloodlines, collected with help from Uncle Rhine and Uncle Nal, each bottle labeled with the name of a different creature: Gutting Dog, Chameleon Snake, Stinky Boar. He decided to save them for extraction once he reached Tier-Two Awakening.
For now, with the harsh cold and heavy snow, there were few animals out. He'd have to wait for milder weather to hunt.
Just then, a knock sounded at his door.
"Young master, are you in?" It was Nal's voice.
"Yes, I'm here."
After straightening his clothes and boots, Ge An opened the door to see the smiling, silver-haired knight Nal. "Young master, the baron requests your presence in the fencing hall."
"Understood. I'll be right there."
Watching Nal's departing figure, Ge An pondered for a moment. This senior knight had always been kind to him, perhaps due to a close connection with his mother. The system even showed he suffered from a hidden ailment, which explained his breathy tone when he spoke.
Five minutes later, Ge An entered the fencing hall. This room was the castle's largest aside from the main hall, about 80 square meters, built with stones resembling blue bricks. Torches lined the walls, illuminating the hall brightly. The floor was covered in patterned marble to add friction and prevent slipping. Weapon racks along the walls held swords of various designs: greatswords, knight swords, rapiers, shortswords, broadswords, cleavers, piercing swords—all with unique dimensions and blade profiles.
The baron, dressed in knightly attire, stood to the side, flanked by Rhine and Nal, with two young men behind him. The rugged, square-faced blond man with blue eyes was Ge An's older brother, Naither Stark, a quiet knight. Next to him was the baron's second son, Yuri Stark, with dark curly hair, an aquiline nose, and slender blue eyes that exuded a cold malice—a senior knight's apprentice.
Opposite them stood the young knight squires from the castle, a mix of builds, all dressed in uniforms.
"Hey, Ge An!" Rhine greeted him warmly.
"Young master, come here." Nal smiled as well.
Ge An's eldest brother Naither gave him a cursory glance before looking away, as if Ge An were invisible. Yuri walked over, initially attempting to sling his arm over Ge An's shoulder, but seeing his height fall short, he patted Ge An's back instead, a false smile on his face. "I heard you hunted a Swift Rabbit today, Ge An. Impressive."
Ge An always kept his distance from Yuri. People in the castle described him as cruel and vengeful; he once buried an entire family alive because a commoner accidentally bumped into his horse.
Without reacting to Yuri's sarcastic tone, Ge An simply smiled. "Just lucky, I guess."
"Father," Ge An greeted the baron with a nod.
The baron, expressionless, nodded back. Seeing that everyone was present, he stepped to the center of the hall, casting a commanding gaze over the group.
"The Stark family rose from commoners, earned this land and title through service in the kingdom's wars. This is our honor. In the Kingdom of Vikia, on the continent of Calradia, only knights are recognized as the strong, as true warriors."
"Today, we hold the Sunset Fortress swordsmanship competition for the younger generation. The winner will be celebrated, and the loser forgotten."
"Do you want to win?"
The baron's words, simple but powerful, stirred excitement among the young knights-in-training. Their faces flushed with anticipation, a fire ignited in their chests.
"Yes!" Almost everyone shouted in unison, except for Ge An, who remained unaffected by the baron's impassioned words.
When the atmosphere was right, the baron suddenly drew his sword with a metallic ring, shouting, "Now, let the duels begin!"
The hall erupted in enthusiasm, the young men's eyes flashing with intensity, eager to leap into combat.
Ge An mused silently to himself. *So, this is the way of life in a medieval European world?*
The rules were simple: each side selected a wooden sword and dueled within a white-lined circle. Going out of bounds or falling was considered a loss. Since this was a competition for knight squires, the eldest brother Naither only watched from the sidelines.
"Good luck, Ge An," Rhine cheered, clenching his fist in encouragement.
Ge An smiled, nodding, and picked a cruciform longsword from the rack. It was narrow and elongated, crafted to closely match the proportions of a real steel sword.
"The first match: Gafu vs. Woma!"