Daze mountain range was just half an hour away from Marcus's estate.

  After dropping the impounded cargoes, Marcus called for three more guards to join his entourage.

  Though he didn't want to throw his weight around the guards, he had to make sure that he didn't go to the mine’s location unprepared.

  Looking at the nine knights gathered in front of his estate’s gates Marcus secretly sighed.

  These knights were merely Flowing Knights, a rank above the beginning of knighthood and the highest rank commonly found in Agard.

  But against a well-funded Baron, even that might not be enough.

  This made Marcus hesitate and consider taking all his knights with him, but…

  His mind couldn't help but wander back to the night he woke up.

  If he took all his guards with him, and the spy that reported to Reginald that night did something again.

  ‘What if one of my knights is the spy?’

  A chill went down his spine, ‘there’s no point thinking about it now. I need to move fast.”

  “How much do I owe you?” Marcus suddenly said, catching everyone off guard.

  Of all things they were expecting to hear him say, this wasn't part of it.

  None of them spoke, or rather, they were skeptical.

  “You don't need to be calculative with me. I know that you all have misgivings about your current position and ranks. If you had left my estate years ago with the rest, you might have already broken through and become Tidal Knights. Taking into account the opportunity cost, call a figure and tell me how much I owe all of you.”

  Brown, who had been with the young lord all day had been. Trying to understand him.

  To them, Marcus was much of an enigma. They were all Awakened Knights when the Sirdi’s Mansion began crumbling.

  Their mentors had encouraged them to pick a descendant to swear an oath to, however, they showed some partiality towards Marcus.

  Mainly because of a request his mother made.

  They never thought that life under the young lord would degrade to such a level.

  To them, men of modest ambition, a life of salary, food, and women whenever they pleased was heaven.

  However, everything went downhill when the young viscount descended into madness.

  When they took an oath to serve the young lord, he was only 11.

  Brown stepped forward, “Lord Viscount, we stopped receiving our salaries two years after your condition began. Making it eleven years without pay. As Flowing Knights, we used to receive 150 silver coins a year, that's a total of 1,650 silver coins.”

  Everyone looked at Brown, admiring his courage, or rather, lack of fear.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Marcus nodded.

  Eleven years of silent complaints and perhaps resentment, and yet they remained true to their oaths.

  A weight settled in his chest. A disgusting sensation, yet, he needed it to be there.

  If he didn't treat them right going forward, Marcus would self-acclaim the title of the worst lord in history.

  “I take it that I owe the rest of you similar amounts?”

  “Yes sir!”

  For the first time, these knights showed a bit of respect when answering to Marcus.

  “Then stay with me for six more months and by the end of the fifth month, I will reimburse every silver owed, with interest. All I ask is that you trust and serve me wholeheartedly.”

  Marcus paused to observe their reactions, and sure enough, they were all skeptical. Though their faces didn't give out much, their eyes said it all.

  “If by the fifth month I haven't begun to pay a substantial amount of what I owe all of you, then I swear on my name and honor, to absolve you of your duties towards me.”

  This time, the guards were shocked.

  They didn't know whether or not to believe Marcus or not.

  Brown frowned.

  This young Lord of theirs was… an unusual one. If he absolved them of their duty towards him, who would protect his estate and person?

  “You don't need to doubt what I say now, at least, wait until we're back from a mission today before believing me. If you still don't have any faith in me by the end of today, then come meet me personally, and I’ll set you free.”

  At this point, the guards had no reason to object.

  Bradley stood by the side, confident in Marcus's words. He too felt that after these guards saw what they were going to acquire today, they too would change their thoughts about the young lord.

  If only he knew that Marcus had other things in mind.

  …

  Not long after, thirteen horses sped out of the estate, rushing towards Daze mountain range.

  With Lamile ahead leading them, Marcus wasn't really worried about encountering danger on the way.

  The Iron ore deposit was located very close to the outskirts of Daze, and it was a bit rare to see ferocious beasts wandering these areas.

  By the time they were a few hundred feet away from the opening of the mine, they stopped to assess the topography and scout ahead.

  “Down there, behind that hill, there’s an opening on a huge boulder that leads to the underground mine.”

  “Apart from me, there are 15 other skilled miners who were lured by Savani's offer. Apart from the first month, we haven't received any salary from them, and we've been doing their bidding. Not long after, a few hundred slaves were secretly transported into the mines and forced to learn from us.”

  Lamile clenched his fist as he spoke, as though he was restraining his anger.

  As for the guards, this was the first time they had heard about a mine around this area and they were shocked.

  Putting two and two together, they figured out a few things and some of them looked at Marcus with a gaze of enlightenment.

  “Who here is good at scouting?” Marcus asked.

  And a tall, brown-haired man, stepped forward. “Me, my lord. I have senses that have been praised since my younger days with the mentor.”

  He said confidently.

  Marcus stared at him for a few seconds, activating [Inspect].

  [Joshua Gale. Knight of the Flowing Rank. Possess a unique bloodline that requires Bloodroot sunflower to awaken. Possesses potential to reach the Void Rank.]

  Joshua's information almost threw Marcus off. He had to catch himself fast and maintain his demeanor.

  “Knight Joshua, right?”

  ‘The young Lord knows my name?’ Joshua's brows rose slightly.

  “Just Joshua, my lord. I haven't earned the true title of knighthood.”

  ‘Quite bureaucratic of him. I can see why he has remained true to his oath. I have to find a way to keep him under my wings.’ Marcus thought.

  “Good, admirable. For your decision to step forward, I will be adding 500 silver coins to the total I owe you.”

  This wasn't an impulsive decision, rather, it was bait… weak as it was.

  Upon hearing this, the others quickly felt regret as they too were good at scouting.

  However, they weren't eager to step forward.

  “Thank you my lord!” Joshua saluted before turning around and running towards the mine.

  While waiting for Joshua to return, Marcus turned his focus to the translucent screen.

  [Name: Marcus Sirdi.]

  [Age: 24.]

  [Level: 1 (Mage)]

  [Race: Human.]

  [Mana: 121.]

  [Achievement Points: 15.]

  [Arcane Knowledge Learned (Lv1). Advance Technological Knowledge Learned (Lv1). Body Modification Knowledge Locked. Futuristic technological Knowledge Locked.]

  [Redo: 1.]

  [Days Left: 6 months (187 days)]

  …

  The first thing that Marcus noticed was the increment in his mana reserves.

  Which was a pleasant surprise.

  After attaining the knowledge of level 1 spells and experimenting with them, Marcus had since realized that his mana reserves were severely holding him back.

  With enough mana, his spells could reach their full potential.

  He had searched the acquired knowledge for details about how to increase his mana, but he came up with nothing.

  And yet, on its own, without his knowledge, had increased.

  The knowledge he acquired from Arcane Knowledge basically revolved around 4 elements; water, air, earth, and fire.

  Each element with varieties of attacking and defensive spells. And then, there's also some rudimentary information about Formation Arrays.

  All of which were considered level 1.

  From what Marcus could tell, Formation Arrays required more than just mana, it also required some level of understanding and mastery from the scribe.

  And more importantly, a great sum of mental strength.

  Marcus could infer from the knowledge he acquired that what he knew was just an opening into the world of magic.

  ‘How can I upgrade my knowledge?’

  The moment the thought crossed his mind, the information before him changed.

  [Arcane Knowledge (Lv1): 0/100]

  [Advanced Technological Knowledge (Lv1): 0/100]

  [Body Modification Knowledge (Locked): 0/1000]

  [Futuristic Technological Knowledge (Locked): 0/10000]

  This was the first time the system actively responded to his thoughts.

  ‘What are these numbers for, and how do I increase them?’

  Marcus focused on Arcane Knowledge and with his mind, tried to change the zero to a one.

  And surprisingly, it happened, but at the cost of his achievement points.

  From 15 points, it dropped to 14, while the info on Arcane Knowledge changed to 1/100.

  Marcus rubbed his chin as understanding dawned upon him.

  ‘So this is how I grow stronger, at the cost of my achievements.’