Chapter 167: 166 Scold Them Well? (Please subscribe! Seeking Monthly Tickets!)
Late at night, Shane walked out of the large bathhouse of the Lazahad family.
“This bath is so huge, it’s just like soaking in a hot spring.”
Holding a towel, Shane wiped his wet hair, dressed in casual clothes, and emanated steam, looking refreshed and invigorated.
After dinner, the butler had organized the bathing schedule for everyone and informed Shane about the unusually large open-air bathhouse, suggesting he should enjoy it.
The bathhouse had designated times for men and women—women in the early evening and men later in the night. The butler and servants naturally couldn’t use it, so it seemed that up until now, it had been used only by Migis, the Family Head, during the latter half of the night. Tonight, there was also Shane.
However, Shane had no intention of joining another man for a bath, so he took the opportunity to soak alone when Migis claimed he still had some work to attend to.
Shane had wondered if there might be a chance for a clichéd and favorable plot twist to unfold before his eyes… no, that’s not it—he thought it might be a good chance to properly scold any girls who should be more careful. But such melodramatic situations wouldn’t actually happen.
“Knowing that the latter part of the night is for men, what woman would be foolish enough to go in?”
It wasn’t a matter of separate areas where one could wander into the wrong one; it was simply a matter of timing. Surely, no one would forget the schedule and end up taking such a massive advantage, right?
Shane wasn’t disappointed; soaking alone was quite comfortable.
But during this soak, Shane made a discovery that he hadn’t noticed before.
“I leveled up without making a sound?”
Once again, Shane had leveled up.
Although it was only from Level 24 to Level 25, Shane had definitely leveled up.
“It must have been because of that battle with the princess?”
Despite killing so many from the Old Demon Clan, including Beddo who was as high as Level Eighty-four, he hadn’t leveled up. However, this time, it was merely a sparring match that got a bit out of hand, and yet it caused him to level up, something Shane had not expected.
“But when I think about it, it seems pretty normal.”
As mentioned before, depending on one’s potential and quality, some level up slowly and some quickly, with battle being the main method for leveling up. But battles lead to leveling up not because, like in games, defeating an opponent grants you experience points; rather, it is through the actual combat experience gained, the training received, and the growth achieved.
One can only level up after sufficient combat and training. If defeating one’s opponents becomes too easy, leveling up will be much slower.
Therefore, the best way to level up is either to fight opponents close in strength or stronger than oneself. Training and practice can also lead to leveling up as long as there is growth.
From this perspective, Luoqi was undoubtedly the opponent closest to Shane in strength that he had encountered so far. In their sparring, Shane had truly given his all. It seemed only natural that he could achieve growth from this.
Not to mention anything else, Shane felt that his control over the Magical Sword had become even more masterful, and his understanding of various Skills had improved from before.
“This is proof of growth gained from actual combat experience, isn’t it?”
So, leveling up in this way was nothing out of the ordinary.
Looking back at the battle with the Old Demon Clan Faction, Shane had pretty much crushed his opponents throughout, with no pressure at all, and by the end, he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
If it was all fun and games, then there likely wouldn’t be any growth, would there?
Instead of defeating opponents with a vast difference in strength from himself, Shane would benefit more from learning a few more Skills; that way, he could grow and level up faster.
The main reason Shane’s Level had increased so much when he learned Skills from Tielle was precisely this.
Of course, if one keeps repeating battles, even against weak opponents, one can still improve one’s abilities through real combat experiences, right?
Just like when Shane first arrived in this world, stranded in that accursed forest, or during the escorting of Killian, he had repeatedly defeated weak demons and had thus leveled up.
A task, through repetition and enduring training, can still yield definitive growth, no matter how dull or ordinary it may seem.
Therefore, leveling up entirely depends on whether one can achieve growth, not on the number of enemies defeated. The idea that fighting to the death is the fastest way to level up comes from the fact that life-or-death battles can stimulate one’s potential the most, enabling growth and training.
“So you’re saying that trying to level up quickly with weaker opponents through methods like ambushes or assassinations won’t work then?”
Shane felt a bit regretful.
“I was thinking of finding some clueless fool to backstab, just for kicks.”
The intention to harm others indeed never died within him.
As Shane wandered aimlessly through the hall, thinking of various things and heading back to his room, he felt a familiar magic power nearby and looked over.
Shane was somewhat taken aback.
He saw Tielle, still clad in a black robe, revealing nothing but the lower half of her face, headed towards the door, seemingly preparing to leave.
“Where would she be going at this late hour?”
Shane furrowed his brows.
Then, he couldn’t help but recall the events that had occurred in the state guest reception room during the day, as well as Luoqi’s instructions to him.
“…I should follow her and see.”
After hesitating for a moment, Shane made that decision.
Right then, Shane used the “Concealment” skill without a second thought, transforming into a silent phantom to follow Tielle.
“Too bad, this one can’t be backstabbed.”
The Royal Capital was still bustling at night, teeming with people everywhere.
Particularly adventurers, who often went out for a couple of drinks after a hard day’s work to vent out some of the stress and hardship from their jobs.
The Royal Capital is the birthplace of adventurers and the location of the Guild’s headquarters; there were way more adventurers here than in Lamijion, which meant that every now and then, you could see drunken adventurers clutching their bottles and staggering loudly through the streets, making it appear even more chaotic than during the day.
Fortunately, with Knight Order’s knights patrolling the streets, the citizens were not afraid of the adventurers causing trouble and merely steered clear of the inebriated adventurers, continuing on their way to their respective destinations.
Tielle walked along the streets of such a bustling Royal Capital, her head down, exuding an air of indifference that warned others to stay away.
Passing by, many drunk adventurers laid their eyes on Tielle and couldn’t help but call out provocatively.
“Hey, little girl over there, where are you heading?”
“Why dress so dark in the middle of the night? You’d look better with less on!”
“Come here, I can give you some money for candy?”
“Want to come and play with us?”
While they were full of banter, none of these adventurers dared to actually approach and touch her; otherwise, the watchful knights would not hesitate to restrain them.
Tielle ignored these adventurers and turned into a narrow alley by herself.
Eventually, Tielle arrived at a graveyard.
Following behind Tielle, Shane couldn’t help but start to ponder as he saw this scene.
Especially when he saw Tielle stop in front of a grave, he watched even more silently.
Tielle just stood steadily in front of the grave.
Before long, glistening droplets, seemingly from under her hood, began to fall.