The event he had just triggered gave Raine a clearer understanding of his system.

He checked the panel. Great Bear Breathing Method Lv. 1 (1/100) had appeared under Militia, probably because there was no more suitable Class Panel for it.

Putting a breathing method under Blacksmith Apprentice would have made even less sense.

Lost in thought over the advancement requirements, Raine held the first posture of the Great Bear Breathing Method for a full fifteen minutes before he realized it.

Compared to the five minutes he had managed before, it was an enormous improvement.

Claire watched from nearby and nodded with a smile. "Very good, Raine. Once you can hold the first posture for more than half an hour, you can attempt the second."

His Constitution was a little lacking, but his comprehension was excellent. He learned quickly.

Of course, being distracted had contributed quite a bit to his endurance this time.

Head Maid Shadia stared at him in surprise.

*No wonder Miss Claire thinks so highly of him. His rate of improvement is astonishing. My lady truly has a better eye for people than I do.*

[Congratulations! Your Constitution has increased!]

Raine's attention snapped to the panel. His Constitution had risen from 5 to 6.

He had not spent an Attribute Point. It had increased on its own.

How?

Neither Blacksmith Apprentice nor Militia had leveled up, yet his Constitution had improved anyway.

His gaze fell on the Great Bear Breathing Method.

Could its effects really be that immediate?

No—it probably wasn't solely the breathing method's doing. His previous sword training must have laid the groundwork, bringing his Constitution close to a breakthrough. Today's practice had simply pushed it across the threshold.

That explanation made more sense.

An unexpected windfall.

The moment his Constitution increased, the fatigue weighing on his body vanished.

On his third attempt at the first posture, he managed to hold it for roughly twenty-two minutes. The extra point of Constitution had made an obvious difference.

Once again, Shadia could only stare.

Claire nodded in satisfaction.

He had excellent potential as a Knight.

Raine ended his third attempt drenched in sweat. A question occurred to him, and after a moment's thought, he asked, "Miss Claire, do you know how long the fastest person took to master the first posture of the Great Bear Breathing Method?"

He wasn't trying to show off. He simply wanted to know where he stood.

If his performance was too extraordinary, people might start treating him like some kind of monster.

Claire gave a soft laugh. "As far as I know, the fastest person took five minutes to grasp the essentials. On his first attempt, he held the posture for more than thirty minutes."

Raine froze.

So he was the clown after all.

"That will be enough for today. Go back and rest, Raine. A maid will bring you here each day for the next few days. Shadia will keep the Great Bear Breathing Method scroll safe for you."

"Yes, Miss Claire. Head Maid Shadia. Then I'll take my leave."

Raine bowed and followed the maid out of the rear garden.

His initial excitement settled as he made his way back, replaced by serious thought.

He had obtained the Great Bear Breathing Method because Miss Claire valued his talent. Without that opportunity, even with the system, it might have taken him years to set foot on the transcendent path.

For a commoner in this world, that path was far harder than it was for a noble's child.

The Dire Bear meat he had eaten was the first and most obvious example. It was nothing like ordinary meat. It had to be either ruinously expensive or extremely difficult to obtain.

Without a powerful faction behind them, commoners could never afford to consume such a thing regularly.

Judging by his body's reaction, Raine doubted his current Constitution could have endured several rounds of the first posture without that piece of Dire Bear meat.

Then there was the Black Tung Oil.

Its formula was probably a closely guarded secret, and either its ingredients were hard to acquire or the production process itself was demanding.

He had experienced the difference firsthand. Practicing with Black Tung Oil and without it were entirely different propositions.

The difference in efficiency was at least three- to fivefold.

The EXP made that plain. Half an hour without the oil had yielded nothing; half an hour after applying it had given him five points.

A full fivefold difference.

Finally, there was the advanced potion Claire had mentioned in passing.

Raine still didn't know what it was, but it sounded crucial. Even Claire had frowned when she brought it up, which spoke volumes about its rarity and value.

Taken together, the conclusion was obvious. If he wanted to advance smoothly along the transcendent path, he needed money and the support of a powerful faction.

And to secure that support, he had to prove his worth.

That much was the same in both his lives.

---

George was the first to hurry over when Raine returned to the page boys' dormitory.

"Raine, what did the head maid want with you?"

The entire dormitory fell silent. Raine glanced around and found nearly every page boy listening with pricked ears.

He grinned. "Guess."

"Get lost." George laughed and swore at him. He was plainly curious, but since his friend didn't want to say, he let the matter drop.

The others were not nearly so calm.

"No wonder Raine dared to fight Bushy Brow. His family knows the head maid."

"Right. Looks like there is more to his family than we thought."

"But I heard he's only a farmer's son."

"..."

Raine slept soundly through the night.

The next day's introductory houndmaster training was still nothing more than playing with puppies.

According to the old man, the exercise was meant to strengthen the bond between a dog and its owner.

To Raine, it felt like a criminal waste of time.

*I want to practice swordsmanship.*

*I want to train the breathing method.*

Those thoughts filled his head.

Even so, he held on to the faint hope that the training might trigger a new Class Panel—Houndmaster, Beast Tamer, or something similar—so he did not make an excuse to leave.

After another full day of playing with dogs, Raine followed the pretty maid back to Miss Claire's study.

He was served another piece of Dire Bear meat. This time he examined it more closely and decided it was probably a rib.

Still savoring the taste, he found himself wondering about something.

Wasn't the paw supposed to be the finest part of a bear?

He had never eaten one in his previous life. Perhaps he would get the chance in this one. A Dire Bear paw had to taste even better than an ordinary bear paw.

Raine expected another session devoted entirely to the Great Bear Breathing Method. Instead, after he completed the first posture once, Claire proposed a spar.

He was thrilled.

He had spent the last two days playing with dogs, and his Basic Swordsmanship had barely improved. A chance to spar was exactly what he needed.