Chapter 133 : Second Mind! Dual-Track Extreme Grinding!
Chapter 133: Second Mind! Dual-Track Extreme Grinding!
Manta gave a brief thanks, set down the test tube, and slapped her forehead hard, forcibly pulling herself together before quickly throwing herself back into the alchemy process.
At this moment, the entire process had reached its most critical stage.
Both Leo and Manta were mentally stretched to the limit, like a steel wire that could snap at any moment.
From here on, every second was crucial.
Time seemed to slow down.
Even Green, standing nearby, had his palms sweating; he suppressed even his breathing to the lowest level.
Finally!
As the solution in the flask gradually stabilized, everyone’s tense nerves completely relaxed.
Manta poured the solution into a Sealed Bottle, and with the friction sound of the stopper sealing it—
“Damn it! Damn it!”
Manta seemed to go mad as the self-blame she had been suppressing erupted completely.
Just now, she had almost made such a fatal mistake. In that brief moment of distraction, she had nearly caused everyone’s efforts to be wasted.
What she didn’t say was—
this had been their final chance. The Catalyst was only enough for this one Tier 3 alchemy attempt.
So throughout the process, she had repeatedly told herself to stay calm.
Yet in the end, she still made a mistake.
Fortunately, Leo had been there today.
Thankfully, the alchemy had succeeded.
Like a drowning person who had finally crawled ashore, she gulped down the air around her.
Leo watched Manta’s somewhat extreme reaction but didn’t step forward to comfort her.
At this moment, she needed space—to adjust herself and release the pressure.
“Leo! Thank you!” A few seconds later, Lady Manta came back to her senses, her eyes fixed firmly on Leo.
She hadn’t expected that her student could not only complete his assisting tasks but also keep track of her side of the work.
This was no longer something a Tier 1 Alchemist could achieve.
“How did you do it…”
“Teacher, don’t think too much right now.” During the process, Leo had already noticed something was off with her.
In the latter half, her spirit had long been exhausted—she had been holding on purely by willpower.
Leo helped her sit down and handed her a bottle of Tier 1 Sleep Potion. “Go rest. Leave the rest to me.”
“Alright.” Lady Manta looked at Leo. This young novice alchemist gave her an unexpected sense of security.
After drinking the potion, she fell asleep almost instantly in a completely relaxed state.
Leo had long known that Laforin had been waiting outside the dungeon during this alchemy session.
“Green, go inform Lord Laforin. We succeeded.”
“Yes! Sir Leo!”
Green, a grown man, was already in tears from excitement.
…
One day later, Leo was still training in the dungeon.
With the assistance of the Tier 3 Golden Body Tempering Potion, the progress of his Furnace Breathing Technique advanced rapidly.
At the same time, Leo was exploring something unprecedented.
Feeling the Black Aura flowing rapidly within his body, Leo lowered his gaze.
It was as if he were controlling two separate streams of thought.
At this moment, his chest and abdomen were vibrating at two completely different frequencies.
As the Black Aura circulated, different degrees of tingling appeared in his waist, hips, and legs.
【Breathing Technique: Furnace Breathing Technique Stage Two 15→16/100 (Black Aura Coating)
Lightning Breathing Technique Stage One 2→3/100
Rock Breathing Technique Stage One 1/100】
Just now, he had simultaneously trained the Furnace Breathing Technique and the Lightning Breathing Technique—and both progressed by 1 point.
Leo realized that after his Spirit Attribute reached 2.0,
he could split off a second mind.
At this moment, his primary and secondary minds were independently controlling his chest and abdomen, absorbing two different types of Energy Factors from the environment.
“Furnace Black Aura and Lightning Black Aura—although they look identical, they are completely different types of Energy Factors.”
In other words, Leo could now operate two Breathing Techniques simultaneously.
Training two Breathing Techniques at once was something he had never been able to do before.
It was also something ordinary knights could not achieve.
Even high-tier knights like Laforin could only use one Breathing Technique at a time.
The key to all of this lay in the Spirit Attribute.
Only now did Leo truly understand its power.
From this perspective, 2.0 was clearly a threshold.
If so, then when his Spirit Attribute reached 3.0—
would he unlock a third mind?
This was an advantage unique to Leo.
And it wasn’t just about dual cultivation of Breathing Techniques.
Now, while training one technique, he could also perform other tasks simultaneously.
Not just simple actions like eating or walking that relied on muscle memory—
but even complex operations like Hunting Moment, Shared State, or alchemy.
Leo could now handle them in parallel.
This was terrifying.
One body, two minds.
Leo could already foresee that his training speed would accelerate dramatically.
However, dual-track training also meant double the resource consumption.
From his observations, he now needed both Tier 3 Body Tempering Potion and Tier 2 Body Tempering Potion simultaneously.
His consumption of Beastkin Meat would also increase accordingly.
“In that case, both potions and Beastkin Meat will be consumed faster… my current resources will soon become tight again.”
Faster growth required more resources—this aligned perfectly with Leo’s understanding from his previous life.
Under this new training state, Leo began planning his next steps.
His main areas of focus were Breathing Techniques, swordsmanship, and 【Alchemy】.
Without sufficient Catalyst, grinding alchemy was inefficient, so he had to wait on Lady Manta.
“From what I’ve gathered, Catalyst is a core special resource allocated to Blackstone City by the kingdom. There are basically no other sources… I’ll ask Lady Manta later.”
That left his three Breathing Techniques and the Dark Extinction Cross Sword.
Leo quickly arranged his plan.
His primary mind would train the Furnace Breathing Technique while also cultivating the Dark Extinction Cross Sword.
His secondary mind would train the Lightning Breathing Technique and the Rock Breathing Technique.
During breaks, he would also use his second mind to maintain Shared State, gathering intelligence and sustaining his network.
Leo felt his training life becoming increasingly fulfilling.
Compared to before, it was double the effort—and double the gains.
He became immersed in this sense of daily progress and accomplishment.
When he could feel himself improving every day, things like food, social gatherings, or beautiful women no longer held the same importance.
“Then next—high-intensity dual-track grinding begins!”
…
Peaceful days passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, ten days had gone by.
Under the leadership of his father, Rang Laide, Leo’s territory had already planted a new batch of wheat seeds.
Nourished by spring wind and rain, signs of sprouting had begun. The soil of Blackstone City was far more fertile than that of Blackwater City.
If nothing unexpected happened, this year’s harvest should be good.
Meanwhile, Blackstone City had been bustling.
At the Knight Hall, due to the massive consumption of materials for Tier 3 potions,
a large number of hunting missions had been issued again.
Not only were Quasi-Knights busy accumulating Merit Points,
but even Formal Knights like Clarsen, Ray, Ross, and Eve had begun leading teams on high-level hunts.
Leo noticed that the number of Beastkin in the dungeon increased daily.
Only Leo himself remained undisturbed—Laforin had specially permitted him to stay within the city.
Because he was not just a knight, but also Lady Manta’s most capable assistant.
After his major contribution in the previous alchemy session, Laforin had even rewarded him with one hundred silver coins.
Everything seemed to be developing in a positive direction.
Leo, however, maintained his extreme homebody lifestyle.
Each day, he moved only between his residence and the dungeon.
But tonight, he made an exception and went to the Knight Hall.
After ten consecutive days of training, he decided to give himself a break.
Not out of laziness—
but because Laforin had decided to hold a grand Knighthood Ceremony tonight for Blackstone City’s seventh knight.
Originally, Leo’s ceremony had been scheduled for the Month of Early Summer.
But due to the schedules of the other knights, Laforin chose this day when everyone was present.
The preparations, led by the chief steward Dover, had begun a week ago.
From decorations and invitations to the banquet arrangements, what seemed like a half-hour ceremony actually required extensive manpower and resources behind the scenes.
This was a privilege unique to knighthood ceremonies.
Dover, along with dozens of servants, had worked tirelessly for days.
After Burton’s death, this new steward proved perceptive and efficient.
Following Laforin’s instructions, the ceremony’s scale matched that of Eve’s.
He understood Leo’s importance in Laforin’s eyes.
So he ensured that every detail was flawless, rehearsing each step in advance.
As for Leo himself, he didn’t care much about the ceremony.
It was just a formality—what he needed was the title, not the ritual.
…
The moon hung high, and lights illuminated the night.
On the evening of the ceremony, nearly everyone in Blackstone Castle gathered at the Knight Hall.
Beneath the statue of the Holy Knight, candles burned brightly.
Except for those on special duty, all notable figures of Blackstone City were present.
The bell tolled.
“…In the name of the Father of Light and the Holy Spirit, we witness the birth of a loyal knight.” After a lengthy prayer, the ceremony began.
Leo stepped onto the stage in full armor, all eyes fixed on him.
At the beginning, no one in Blackstone City had believed he could become a knight.
They had seen him as a poor lord’s son from a remote place.
A quiet, reclusive Knight’s Squire with no background or prospects.
But over six months, in places unseen by others, Leo devoted all his time and energy to training.
His efforts bore fruit.
The once frail boy had grown into a powerful Formal Knight.
He proved himself through action.
Facing the statue, Leo knelt on one knee.
The six knights stepped forward in full armor.
Holding slender ceremonial swords, they touched them to Leo’s left shoulder.
Among them, Eve’s eyes shimmered the most, her smile deeply moved.
It felt like only yesterday that Leo had been her student in the Training Room.
Now, he stood as her equal.
Laforin spoke loudly:
“On this day, at this place, under the witness of the Father of Light and the Holy Knight, I grant you the honor, duty, and authority of knighthood.”
The six swords shifted to Leo’s right shoulder.
“I, Leo Laide, swear upon my life—”
“From this day forth, my blade shall protect loyalty and honor, and my shield shall defend this land and the weak!”