After dinner, Rein was inevitably pulled aside by his mother, Emma, who then bombarded him with questions.
The question she had been pressing in her heart was finally voiced after her son Rein attained Transcendence, "Rein, I've noticed you've been challenging that girl Lagaray to contests these past few days, do you like her?"
Rein was taken aback upon hearing this.
Before he could even share his opinion,
Emma continued, "That's believable, Anna is a bit too thin after all. But... now that you're a Knight, should you consider marrying a noble lady?"
"Of course, I'm not against you interacting with Anna, she's a good girl, and that barbaric girl Lagaray isn't bad either. I've heard nowadays many noblemen have lovers..."
Although they were in the room, Rein knew all too well about the poor soundproofing of their home and feared that continuing this conversation could lead to…
"Hold on, uh... Mother, let's talk about this later. I've just been promoted to Transcendent, and I still need time to adjust my physical condition. Let's discuss this matter later," he said.
Rein beat a hasty retreat!
Sure enough, when he stepped out of the room, he saw Anna, her face flushed and her head bowed.
Lagaray too had a rare blush on her face, but upon seeing Rein emerge, she huffed loudly, carried her chin high with a hint of haughtiness, and pulled Anna away.
This made Rein breathe a sigh of relief.
Otherwise, he didn't know how he would face Lagaray and Anna later; it might have been so awkward that he could "dig out a three-room flat with his toes."
Back in his own room, Rein calmed his mind and started checking the system prompts:
"[Your skill Giant Bear Sword Technique has improved, Experience +286]"
"[You experienced a battle, Knight (Transcendent) Experience +32]"
Rein frowned immediately upon seeing this, obviously, the experience gain for Giant Bear Sword Technique hadn't changed much, but the experience for Knight (Transcendent) was significantly less compared to his earlier status as a Night Watchman.
But after a moment's thought, Rein started to smile.
At least it could still be improved through fighting, right?
What's there to be unhappy about!
It was merely a matter of 'grinding'.
After that, Rein focused his attention on two Transcendent attributes.
Regarding the Transcendent trait 'Iron Skin', Rein had practically tested it in Hamilton's resting room and was fairly familiar with it.
And the Transcendent trait 'Huge Strength', in his fight against Karavi, Rein had also gained a preliminary understanding.
It seemed similar to 'Strength Burst' at a low range, and if used together, it was still quite a burden on his body. Fortunately, when he advanced to a formal Knight, his Constitution had directly increased to 16 points.
So Rein guessed that using 'Huge Strength' together with one hundred percent 'Strength Burst' in the short term wouldn't be a big problem, only that the 'side effects' might be quite intense.
Besides, he tried combining 'Huge Strength' and 'Strength Burst' multiple times, and by looking at the panel's numeric display, he confirmed that the stacking method was not multiplicative but straightforwardly additive.
If his base Strength was 10, then the combined state would be 'Huge Strength' at thirty percent, plus 'Strength Burst' at one hundred percent, resulting in a total increase of 130%, thus in the combined state, the panel displayed his Strength score as 23.
About the limit breaking, actually, he had already exceeded the limit while using the Transcendent trait 'Huge Strength' in a previous battle.
But the 3% degree of exceeding the limit was really too low, almost the same as not having exceeded at all on the attribute panel, so he hadn't noticed it.
However, now that Rein thought carefully about it, he realized that exceeding the limit was very different from the 'Huge Strength' Transcendent trait.
After exceeding the limit, his Constitution, Strength, and Agility were comprehensively enhanced, and the degree was exactly the percentage displayed on the panel.
So, if Rein's limit exceedance reached 10%, once activated, his Constitution, Strength, and Agility would all increase by an additional ten percent.
While the 'Huge Strength lv1' Transcendent trait was an increase of thirty percent in Strength.
After pondering for a while, Rein simply summarized his current understanding.
Exceeding the limit is an explosive enhancement to one's physical quality, whereas Transcendent traits focus on enhancing a particular attribute or characteristic.
No wonder the degree of exceeding the limit likely determined the combat strength of a Knight, of course, this refers to cases where only one Transcendent trait is possessed.
After all, possessing only one Transcendent trait is the current situation for the vast majority of Knights.
Just then, Rein suddenly noticed on the Knight (Transcendent) panel, the 'Physical Limit Exceedance Value (5%)' had a plus sign next to it.
Oh! That's not right, the value inside the parentheses was clearly 3% before, how come it changed to 5%?
Rein noticed the change immediately.
He recalled carefully, and it seemed that it happened during the contest against Karavi, when he had added a point to Agility. Could that be the reason for the change?
Could enhancing attributes increase the limit exceedance value?
But what's the deal with this plus sign?
Rein pondered for a moment, then focused his consciousness on the "+" sign. Suddenly, a Skill Point disappeared, and the Break Limit value shot up to 15%.
Hisss! So it could be done this way!
One Skill Point corresponds to a 10% Break Limit value?
After a brief contemplation, Rein couldn't help but feel delighted.
Clearly, this was a good thing, as once the physical Break Limit was elevated to a certain level, both the "Break Limit" and the two Transcendent traits "Huge Strength" and "Iron Skin" would improve, meaning his combat power would increase.
If attribute points could also enhance the Break Limit, would it make a difference whether he added points to agility, strength, or constitution, that is, would different increases in attributes have different impacts on the Break Limit?
If that were the case, choosing to add points to the Giant Bear Breathing Technique would also be an option because it builds up over time, enhancing his strength and constitution.
However, this method would take much longer, unlike the immediate effects witnessed from direct attribution!
After flipping through the panel for a while, Rein once again retrieved the Silver Book of "Beast Taming Diary" that originally came from "Hound King" Cole.
Now that he had stepped into the Transcendent realm, studying this unknown script was officially on his schedule.
Rein opened the Silver Book, thought for a moment, and copied a few unidentified characters onto a small piece of paper.
After his selection, these characters were non-sequential, so Rein was not worried that anyone would discern anything from them.
If asked, he could easily claim he had seen them in some ancient tome and was merely curious to learn about them.
He planned to ask Hamilton the next morning, with the reason being that he wanted to learn a bit about script and asking for an introduction to the scholars in the county town.
Of course, Rein had a backup plan, which was to search and head to the "Bat Market" himself. There, it was highly probable he could find relevant material.
However, that place was a den of mixed repute, and Rein still hesitated, especially remembering the Level 1 Wizard Apprentice, Endri, whose combat methods were diverse and cunning. Even though Rein was now a knight, he was not to be underestimated.
Rein had a premonition that, if he could decipher these unknown characters, it would likely bring tremendous benefits to the use of the mysterious side energy particles he had contemplated before.
The next morning, as Rein stepped out of his house, he found a carriage adorned with noble crest marks stopped at his door, flanked by four cavalry guards, each looking vigorous and powerful.
The crest was a Kite Shield with a rose-like floral design on it.
However, Rein's limited knowledge of noble crests kept him from identifying whose carriage it might be.
Just then, a middle-aged man dressed in a black tailcoat came forward with a welcoming smile, "You must be Lord Rein? Baroness Crowley is in the carriage waiting for you. The lady wishes to have a word with you."
"Hmm?" Rein heard this with a start; he was certain he had never met any Baroness Crowley.
Just as he was about to politely refuse, the middle-aged man continued, "The lady has come from the county town and has been waiting here for half an hour already, so..."
This made Rein reconsider, and from the man's tone, it seemed he was not here to cause trouble.
Thinking it over, Rein nodded and said, "Alright! Let's have a chat then."
This pleased the butler-like middle-aged man immensely, who went ahead and opened the carriage door for Rein, who stepped in.
Upon entering the carriage, Rein was greeted by a fragrant waft of perfume. He looked up to see a noblewoman and a young noble lady sitting properly, gazing at him with grace.
The noblewoman was dressed in an elegant off-the-shoulder deep blue gown adorned with lace and a few pearls.
The style exposed a lot of her fair skin, and a sapphire brooch secured the bustling top of her gown, which trembled slightly.
The young noble lady appeared much greener, her attire more conservative. She looked at Rein and quickly diverted her gaze, her cheeks turning slightly red, but she seemed to think of something and looked back at him again.
Upon seeing Rein settled, the noblewoman began softly, "This must be the accomplished young Lord Rein."
"Yes, honored lady, may I know the purpose of your visit..."
The noblewoman glanced at Rein, saying, "I heard that a knight prodigy has emerged from Flashgold Town..."
"Therefore, I must implore you to consider my proposal. Marry into the Crowley family and we can provide many supports. For instance, Lord Rein can forgone the noble title examination and directly inherit the Baronetcy of the Crowley family."
"My husband, Baron Crowley, passed away a year ago due to illness, so once you and Jenny are married, you can soon inherit the baronetcy."
"Of course, once you and Jenny's children come of age, they would need to inherit the Baronetcy of the Crowley family. Furthermore…"
After the conversation, Rein blushed.
The lady's words immediately reminded him of his mother Emma's words from the previous night, 'marry a noble's daughter'.
He hadn't expected the news of his stepping into the Transcendent to spread so quickly. Baroness Crowley intended to make him a 'son-in-law', and the young noble lady beside her would be his wife if he agreed.
According to the traditions of the Dragan Empire, if he agreed, he could instantly climb to high status, enjoying the support of a baronet family and manage it together with Miss Jenny.
However, he would also lose many things, like the right to pass his surname to his offspring, and...
Baroness Crowley, seeing Rein frequently glancing at her but now suddenly falling silent, seemed to have thought of something. She hesitated for a moment before throwing another 'blockbuster'.