At that moment, Ron stood quietly in the corner opposite the Passionate Bar, waiting patiently. After a while, as dusk approached, Ron's gaze sharpened, focusing intently on a figure approaching from afar.
The man was of average height but slightly plump, with a pale complexion and eyes that were narrow like slits. He was accompanied by two servants, dressed in coarse linen, their steps unsteady and clearly indicating they were mere common servants, not knightly attendants.
"Here he comes," Ron thought to himself, recognizing Barto's eldest son, Nem. He had seen Nem before when Barto had taken their property, so he could identify him instantly.
Nem arrived at the Passionate Bar and greeted the doorman with ease. The doorman nodded and bowed, flattering Nem with a few words. Nem laughed heartily, then tossed a handful of Copper Deer Coins at the doorman. The doorman, overjoyed, scrambled to pick up the coins. Nem, along with his two servants, strode in nonchalantly and disappeared from Ron's sight.
"Perfect," Ron said to himself. After confirming that Nem had entered, he stepped back and vanished into an alley. He couldn't enter the bar; that would reveal his presence.
However, he didn't need to wait here idly, as the system's intelligence indicated that Nem would drop his notebook at the corner of the Second Street intersection. That was where Ron should lie in wait.
An hour later, the door of the Passionate Bar opened, and Nem, with a flushed face and dazed eyes, stumbled out, clearly intoxicated. His two servants hurriedly supported him on either side to prevent him from falling.
Nem's tolerance for alcohol wasn't very good; he had only been drinking for a short while before he was nearly drunk. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have mattered if he got drunk; he could just sleep it off at the bar and return the next day. However, things were different these past few days.
Firstly, there had been reports of magical beast tracks outside the town, leading to a curfew being enforced. Secondly, his father Barto had been injured in an accident, and as the eldest son, Nem couldn't afford to be seen carousing outside.
Thus, the two servants dragged Nem, staggering towards the wealthy district. When they reached the Second Street of Hippo Town, Nem suddenly felt nauseous, pushed the servants away, and rushed to a corner.
"Ugh!" A foul smell filled the air, causing the servants to wrinkle their noses in disgust. However, as lowly servants, they had no choice but to endure it. One patted Nem's back while the other took out a handkerchief to clean him up.
"I'm fine, let's go back quickly," Nem waved his hand dismissively after vomiting and continued walking forward on his own. The servants quickly caught up, supporting him again, paying no attention to the mess in the corner.
After the three left, a figure quietly emerged.
"Hmm…" Ron frowned, feeling a bit disgusted. However, he couldn't afford to be squeamish. He bent down, using the faint moonlight to look closely. He noticed that Nem had vomited into the drainage ditch, and two meters away, on a clean stone slab, lay a small booklet quietly.
"This is it!" Ron's face lit up with joy as he picked up the booklet and put it in his pocket. He looked around cautiously, and seeing no one around, he felt relieved.
Then, he made his way through the twists and turns back to the civilian area of Hippo Town and went to the cheap inn he had found earlier, renting a room.
Due to the curfew, the city gates were already closed. Although he had discovered a hidden dog hole that could be used to enter and exit once before with the help of the system's intelligence, it was now too dark to see anything. Even if he could get out through the dog hole, the risk of encountering wild animals or magical beasts on his way back was too great. He might lose his life. Therefore, for safety reasons, Ron had no choice but to rent a room in the inn temporarily.
The rented single room was less than ten square meters in size. However, it had a bed, a table, and even a kerosene lamp, which was enough to meet the needs of the guests.
Ron closed the door, blocked it with a stool, and then lit the kerosene lamp with a match. Under the dim light, he took out the small notebook, no bigger than the palm of his hand, and began to read carefully.
"This is the breathing method!" Ron was extremely excited and laughed silently. The notebook not only had diagrams of the breathing method but also Nem's own records and analyses. Nem, being uneducated, used simple and understandable vocabulary. Therefore, Ron quickly flipped through it and found that he recognized all the words!
"According to Nem's records, this is a Primary breathing method," Ron thought. "After practicing it, one can slightly increase strength, agility, defense, and endurance. If one achieves mastery, they can enhance their sense of smell, hearing, and vision like a wild wolf, and even see as clearly at night as in the daytime." The various magical effects made Ron very satisfied. Although it was only a primary breathing method, it could still condense the seed of life and produce fighting spirit.
"As long as I can become a knight and get through this most difficult step, everything will be easier in the future," Ron thought to himself. He continued to read the notes until the kerosene in the lamp ran out. Only then did he reluctantly get ready for bed.
However, he couldn't fall asleep this time and tossed and turned for a long time. It wasn't until midnight, when he was about to fall asleep in a daze, that the system notification sound suddenly rang.
[Ding! Daily intelligence as follows—]
[1. The stone house you are currently living in was magically built by the solitary alchemist Harrington.]
[2. Harrington left half a year ago and left a low-grade harmless alchemical item in the drawer of the stone table in the stone house.]
[3. The elemental fruit is beneficial for knight training, but ordinary people with weak physical qualities should not take it directly, otherwise, they may suffer from indigestion at best, and at worst, die from a burst body.]
[4. The elemental fruit can be used to make magical potions or nutritional supplements. The current simple nutritional supplement production method circulating on the market is click to expand.]
[5. Practicing the breathing method requires a lot of nutrition as support, especially meat and egg-based foods.]
[6. Barto, upon learning that Nem had lost his personal notebook, became furious, which worsened his condition. His wound became inflamed, swollen, and purulent. Without subsequent proper treatment, he will die in twelve days.]
[7. Barto's family doctor, Liton, noticed the worsening of his condition and therefore plans to change employers or open a private clinic.]
[8. Due to his incompetence, Barto's butler, Pok, was scolded and therefore comes to the Pirate Tavern every day after work to drown his sorrows in alcohol.]
[9. After meeting with you yesterday, Mirraf has become rejuvenated and is once again seeking handsome men for a night of passion.]
[10. The magical beast tracks outside the city were actually forged by the thief guild to cause panic among the people.]