"So, as Viscount Kane, I only have 500 gold coins available to use right now?"
Having received a confirmatory response from Joyce, Lis rubbed his temples with a headache.
His predecessor was so incredibly adept at squandering wealth, spending the Kane family's annual income plus years of savings, and after all these years, he was merely a Junior Mage; no wonder he was on the verge of becoming the Feis nobility's laughingstock.
I thought I could finally enjoy financial freedom, but being reborn as a noble still means facing an economic crisis.
Although 500 gold coins may seem like a lot, in reality, they aren't much; a single piece of ordinary magic equipment could cost hundreds of gold coins.
"Prepare 300 gold coins for me for now, I have a use for them."
Lis instructed Joyce listlessly, and Joyce, without asking for details, bowed and consented.
"Do we have any other accommodations within the city? Preferably with a spacious open area that's somewhat secluded."
After thinking it over, Joyce said:
"I'm not sure if you have any other requirements, but if it's just as you said, we have a warehouse on Belle Street with a courtyard. It's usually used to store goods from the estates and shops outside the city. If you need, I can make arrangements now, and it will be cleared out by tomorrow."
"Clear it out first," said Lis, pausing before adding, "How many members are in the family guard now, and what are their strengths?"
Forgive Lis for asking such a question; it's just that his predecessor truly never cared even about these matters related to his own safety. But this was very important for Lis's next step.
"According to the Royal law, you can have a team of ten guards, but currently, we've only hired three people, and the family is cultivating three exclusive guards, making six in total. Among them is one Golden Warrior, one Silver Warrior, and the rest are Bronze Warriors." (Note: The Court Viscount's guard numbers requirements are very strict, as all of the Court Nobles are concentrated in the capital.)
"What weapons are they skilled with?"
Hearing this, Joyce looked up at Lis, hesitated, and said:
"I'm not quite clear on that. Captain Welf likely excels with the longsword, while the other guards use the long spear more often. Would you like me to find out for you?"
After some thought, Lis said, "Never mind, just ask Welf to come to the study for a moment. And prepare a set of servant's casual clothes for me in my room by tomorrow morning."
Upon hearing this, Joyce bowed and left the room, shortly after which Lis could hear heavy footsteps approaching.
Upon gently pushing the door open, a supremely muscular middle-aged man clad in light leather armor entered, his left hand over his right chest as he bowed and said:
"Good morning, Master Lis. What can I do for you?"
As Lis looked at the family's sole Golden Warrior guard, who truly valued physical strength above all, his arms were nearly as thick as Lis's thighs.
"Lately, I've been thinking of slightly intensifying my physical training. What weapons are you and the other guards skilled with?"
Welf was a little surprised; hadn't their Lord Viscount been immersed in magical studies all this time, hardly ever leaving his home? The guards had an easy job because of it. What could have brought on this sudden interest in physical exercise? Could it be...
"If you're just looking to strengthen and improve your physique, there's no need to start with weapons. We can help you begin with basic strength training, such as for the upper arms, waist..."
With a face full of black lines, Lis couldn't believe what he was hearing from Welf. He waved him off and said directly:
"You don't need to worry about that; I just want to start with weapon training. I'm not sure which weapon will suit me best, so I'd like to try them all," Lis said.
Welf didn't mind; he wasn't a family guard raised by the Kane family, just under a contract for hire. Moreover, as a Golden Warrior, he could still command a certain level of respect among the smaller and medium-sized nobles. An occasional jest did no harm.
"I specialize in swords and shields, but amongst the guards there are those who can handle spears, bows, knives, axes, and hammers. While we can't claim to be masters, we can certainly give you an introduction," Welf reassured him.
"Fine, I'll have Joyce clean out a warehouse on Belle Street. Tomorrow I'll arrange for two other guards to bring weapons and train there with me," Lis decided.
Although Welf found it strange not to simply train in the mansion's courtyard, he didn't ponder it further. The thoughts of a nobleman were beyond his understanding; he simply followed orders.
Once Welf had closed the door to the study, Lis exhaled with relief and tapped his right index finger lightly on the redwood desk adorned with bronze gilding.
The time to work on his second professional specialization was also approaching.
Warrior Professional Specialization [All Martial Arts Mastery]!
This was one of the warrior specializations that were relatively easy to obtain since it didn't require completing any prerequisite tasks.
You just needed to reach an intermediate proficiency with ten different weapons to automatically acquire it.
The effects of [All Martial Arts Mastery] were quite straightforward, without the comprehensive bonuses found in other specializations; its effects were all about mastery over the weapons in hand.
[All Martial Arts Mastery — Strength Attributes receive a double value modifier, all weapons begin at an intermediate proficiency, and the control level of your most proficient weapon increases by +1.]
This was the warrior specialization that Lis found most suitable for himself, given his [All-Purpose] talent, which allowed him to master skills from other professions. The boost to proficiency provided by [All Martial Arts Mastery] was incredibly useful to him.
Of course, the main benefit lay in what followed.
An unconditional level-up of your highest proficiency weapon!
In the game Divine Revelation, weapon proficiency levels were categorized as Low-level, Intermediate, Advanced, and Legendary. Not to mention NPCs, it was incredibly difficult for players to break through to the Legendary level, making [All Martial Arts Mastery] an incredibly sought-after specialization among warrior players.
After all, if your weapon proficiency is already at an Advanced level, it could be directly elevated to Legendary weapon control, an effect that rivalled other top-tier specializations.
This effect was also applicable to magical wands, which made the [All Martial Arts Mastery] specialization the envy of many Mage players.
Therefore, in the previous life's game, the number of players who had Legendary Wand Control was quite rare, and a significant portion of them were magic swordsmen and other special professions capable of mastering [All Martial Arts Mastery].
Since Lis had the [All-Purpose] talent, he naturally wouldn't overlook [All Martial Arts Mastery], a specialization he had been quite envious of in his past life.
His efforts for the upcoming period would thus be focused on this: while diligently studying arcane arts, he would also aim to quickly master the [All Martial Arts Mastery] specialization.
As for other professional specializations, there might not be a chance to obtain them in the short term. He didn't have access to other top-tier professional specializations from his memories, nor did he want to settle for just any specialization. After all, situations like his Mage specialization [Magic Power Thinking], which was directly replaceable by the higher-tier [Arcane Thought], were rare.
Currently, what worried Lis was how to avoid the death that awaited him in more than three months. After all, it was the beginning of the Feis Kingdom's main storyline game, and he was in the dark with precious little information at hand, like facing a dense fog without knowing where to start.
He didn't even know whether he had already caught the attention of the mastermind behind the scenes. Today's encounter on Langai Street had served as a warning; from now on, he would need to disguise himself with a bit more subtlety whenever going out. Otherwise, to those watching with intent, his actions would be as transparent as glass.
"The road ahead is long and arduous," Lis sighed.
But let that be a worry for another time. For now, he was eager to test out his newly activated arcane subsystem!