The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 153

“Haha, this is truly a joyous occasion! Hahaha!”

“Oh my, congratulations on becoming a semi-master, Sir Knight.”

“I don’t really know what that means, but congratulations! Uncle Lowe!”

-Woof!

Upon hearing the news that Lowe had become a semi-master, everyone in the temple, including Elise and Cassie, offered their congratulations.

Becoming a semi-master was the highest level that an ordinary person could achieve, deserving of such celebration.

The deputy commander of the Remes Ducal House was currently at the level of Sword Resonance, and the commander was known to possess high-level Sword Aura.

Now, Lowe was stronger than the commander of the ducal knights.

This result surpassed Aden’s expectations.

‘Who would’ve thought he’d skip the high level and reach the peak immediately?’

In his past life, Lowe had become a semi-master ten years from now and was famous as a one-armed semi-master mercenary.

He had reached a level he should have only achieved through ten years of strenuous effort.

His system revealed the reason behind Lowe’s sudden transformation.

[Knight’s Soul]

This is a trait that only knights with extremely high and steadfast loyalty can develop at a very rare chance.

The higher the status of the lord they wish to protect, the faster their level grows until it equals their lord’s level.

“For those who wield the sword to protect someone, as long as their loyalty remains unwavering, their sword will not break.”

The trait that Lowe had developed, Knight’s Soul.

When Aden first read this explanation, he felt a great shock.

‘It grows until it equals the status of the lord.’

The person to whom Lowe pledged his loyalty was Aden himself.

And Aden’s current level was that of a superhuman.

If the system’s explanation was true, it meant that Lowe was destined to become a Sword Master like Aden someday.

‘And this is just the beginning.’

Aden would continue to grow.

At least to the level he reached at the end of his previous life, the high-level Sword Master.

This meant that when Aden became a high-level Sword Master, Lowe would follow and reach that level as well.

Aden couldn’t help but shiver in excitement.

‘I’ve gained a power I never expected.’

Reaching the semi-master level was just the start; Lowe would continue to grow stronger.

As much as Aden himself would grow.

‘The Fruit of the Human Faced Tree was more incredible than I thought.’

The ‘Knight’s Soul’ trait that Lowe developed was born from his potential to possess such a trait.

So, feeding the fruit to others wouldn’t produce the same trait.

However, even considering all that, it was undoubtedly an excellent elixir.

-Craaagh, Craa, Grrr!

“Now, chew thoroughly and eat it all. Good boy.”

Crunch, chomp, chomp.

The sound of the Human Faced Tree chewing and munching on the wraiths’ screams echoed around.

Aden watched the scene with a satisfied smile.

-Dragon Slayer, as usual, but especially today, you’re quite terrifying.

“Hm? What did you say?”

-…Nothing.

After seeing Lowe become a semi-master, Aden immediately fed the Human Faced Tree the wraiths.

Having eaten so many wraiths at once, the Human Faced Tree showed a ‘kill me…’ expression due to indigestion, but Aden ignored it.

As a result of grinding up roughly twenty-two wraiths,

Plop, roll.

The Human Faced Tree spat out another fruit.

-You have obtained the ‘Low-grade Fruit of the Human Faced Tree’.

It was another low-grade fruit.

Though it looked very repulsive, Aden immediately put it in his mouth and chewed.

Expecting a terrible taste, Aden showed a surprised expression.

“It’s not as bad as I thought?”

It was more edible than expected.

Was Lowe exaggerating for no reason?

If he had to describe the taste, it was like mint ice cream mixed with fruit-topped cheesecake and mashed worm dumplings…

-Stop, stop. Don’t describe it any further, Dragon Slayer. Can’t you imagine! And your disastrous sense of taste is the problem!

Curse urgently interrupted Aden’s thoughts, shuddering.

Well, as a mercenary, Aden had eaten spoiled bread or bugs when there was nothing to eat or when supplies ran short during war.

To him, this level of bad taste was somewhat tolerable.

The fruit of the Human Faced Tree melted in his mouth, passed down his throat, and turned into energy, absorbed into Aden’s body.

-You have consumed the ‘Low-grade Fruit of the Human Faced Tree’.

However, Aden couldn’t achieve his desired purpose.

-The fruit’s grade is too low.

-The user’s current status (Master) is too high compared to the fruit’s effectiveness.

-The user needs the highest-grade fruit to see the effects.

-Potential blooming failed.

The energy from the fruit that was absorbed into Aden’s body was suppressed by the mana he possessed and dispersed.

Aden frowned deeply.

“The fruit’s grade is too low?”

It seemed that those with a high level needed an equally high-quality elixir to see its effects.

In the end, he had wasted the wraiths.

Aden read the explanation aloud.

“The highest-grade fruit is needed, huh…”

Come to think of it, Aden remembered the message from the Slaughter God that said the more evil souls fed to the tree, the better the fruit produced.

‘So, the higher the grade of the souls I catch and feed, the higher the quality of the fruit?’

The wraiths of warlocks and bandits, who treated people as mere playthings or test subjects, were of low grade.

He couldn’t even imagine how much more vile a soul would need to be.

‘Does feeding more wraiths simply increase the grade? And what even defines evilness? Are murderers and goblin wraiths considered the same?’

There were too many ambiguous points.

“Hm, I guess I need to experiment a bit more.”

Aden looked down at the Human Faced Tree with a gaze full of curiosity.

-Ugh, ughhh…

“Do your best from now on, Human Faced Tree.”

The tree trembled as if it were scared of Aden’s gaze, facing a future of indigestion and overeating.

* * *

After about a week of various experiments, Aden had some results.

In front of Aden were six fruits.

These were the results of the Human Faced Tree eating countless wraiths, shedding tears but still devouring them, and the sacrifices of numerous wraiths.

“It seems that just feeding many wraiths doesn’t guarantee the tree will produce fruit.”

Sometimes, the tree didn’t produce fruit even after eating thirty wraiths, but other times it produced fruit after only consuming about ten.

“It depends on the karma and strength of the wraiths?”

From what Aden had discovered, it seemed that the criteria for the tree to produce fruit were based on how strong the wraiths were in their lifetime and how much evil karma they had accumulated.

Weak wraiths or those of monsters who killed based on instinct required about thirty to match one low-grade fruit.

‘On the other hand, the wraiths of Chaos’s warlocks or the subordinate knights of Sylbeta required only a few.’

This was the result in front of him.

Among the six fruits, one was particularly bright red.

It was the first time the tree produced a mid-grade fruit.

-So, the stronger and more evil the soul, the better the fruit it produces, Dragon Slayer?

“That seems to be the case.”

Despite discovering a good fact, Aden’s expression did not lighten.

He had ground up the worst kinds of people, who treated others as mere playthings or sacrifices, yet it was still mid-grade.

How strong and evil would the soul need to be to produce the highest grade?

‘Mephisto, the High Troll Shaman, or the Black Knight might do?’

Those three were among the strongest wraiths Aden possessed.

If they were used, there was a chance they might produce a high or highest-grade fruit.

However, it felt like a waste to use such valuable assets for just one uncertain fruit.

“Tsk, it’s a shame, but I guess I have to give up for now.”

Although the blooming of potential was highly desirable, there was nothing he could do about it without the right wraiths.

“Well, I’ll get one if the opportunity arises.”

After all, the world was full of evildoers and powerful beings.

As he moved around seeking revenge, he would gather strong wraiths.

Deciding not to rush, he focused on reaching the level he had achieved in his past life, the high-level Sword Master, and began his mana breathing.

* * *

The next day, Aden visited the Dwarf Kingdom, Stoneheim.

He decided to visit the mad magitech engineer Gustav after a long time.

“He’s a funny man.”

Dwarves had a strong xenophobic tendency.

Yet Gustav got along so well with the dwarves, as if they were soulmates, that he settled in Stoneheim.

Now, he was living back and forth between the Remes territory and Stoneheim with the help of the dwarves.

Aden arrived at the new facility in Stoneheim that the dwarves had built by hand, the ‘Magitech Workshop.’

As soon as he arrived, Gustav came running over.

“Oh! Young Lord Remes! It’s been a while! If you had notified me, I would have prepared in advance, how embarrassing.”

“Good to see you, Viscount Gustav Hyde. But… are you getting enough sleep?”

It was no wonder that Aden had such doubts as soon as he saw him.

Gustav, already having dark circles under his eyes, now had even darker ones and looked like he might collapse at any moment.

However, his precarious appearance was overshadowed by a strange intensity and enthusiasm, making him seem like a dangerous man.

“Haha… I’ve been so engrossed in new research that I lost track of time. Oh, right. Instead of standing here, please come inside.”

Following Gustav’s guidance, Aden entered the workshop.

“Hey, someone bring a mana stone here! The output is insufficient!”

“Fix the magitech circuit this way…”

“It’s done! Finally succeeded!”

The inside was wider than expected, with hundreds of dwarves bustling around.

Dwarves usually devote themselves to one field for their entire lives.

Most of the dwarves here were researchers who had just entered the field of magitech.

“They are all still inexperienced but proper magitech engineers, Young Lord.”

“I see.”

At that moment,

Boom!

The sound of an explosion came from somewhere, followed by a dwarf’s scream, probably due to a mistake during an experiment.

The dwarves turned their heads toward the explosion.

“Tsk, another explosion over there.”

“Alright, everyone, keep working.”

They soon ignored it and continued their tasks.

“Hmm… they’re quite nonchalant about it?”

“Haha, small explosions are a daily occurrence here, Young Lord. We have safety measures and emergency healers on standby, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

Soon, they arrived at a place where dozens of magitech engineer dwarves had gathered.

There lay the massive body of a stone golem, which had appeared in Stoneheim and was still being generated periodically.

Gustav, looking somewhat excited, began to explain.

“This is the result of my and my friends’ combined efforts, Young Lord! We were just about to test it, so please watch with us!”

In place of its original core, the stone golem had been fitted with an artificial device, and magical inscriptions had been engraved on various parts of its body, partially modifying it.

They began the test.

“Test number six, begin!”

“Rise!”

The dwarves infused the golem’s body with mana extracted from the mana stones through a ritual.

Then, a blue light emanated from its chest, and the inscribed magical circuits across its body began to glow. Suddenly…

ROOOAAARR!

The golem, which had been lying lifelessly, stood up and let out a roar.

However, unlike when it was just a stone golem, it did not show any hostility towards the dwarves.

“It worked! We finally did it!”

“Haha! We’ve succeeded at last!”

The magitech engineer dwarves cheered, and some even had tears in their eyes.

“We’ve finally conquered the golem! Look at the splendid form of the ‘Magitech Circuit Golem’!”

“Woooooo!”

The Magitech Circuit Golem.

Originally, Gustav had designed it in the future but couldn’t build it due to a lack of funds. After his designs were confiscated following his terrorist attack on the Mage Tower, the tower manufactured these golems and used them in the fight against the Underlord.

‘They made the Magitech Circuit Golem so quickly. Is this why he’s been staying up all night?’

Though it was still an experimental prototype with many shortcomings, it was certain to develop rapidly.

‘And now, I own this Magitech Circuit Golem.’

As Aden felt satisfied with this, Gustav approached him with a haggard face but eyes full of joy and tears.

“Young Lord Aden Remes.”

“…Why the sudden sentimentality, Gustav?”

“Please, look at them, Young Lord.”

Gustav gestured towards the magitech engineer dwarves.

“Ha-ha! Let’s toast tonight!”

“Let’s get drunk while admiring the golem we created!”

“Hey! Someone bring a barrel of ‘Fairy’s Lazy Afternoon’! Haha!”

They were hugging each other and cheering while looking at the golem.

Seeing this sight, Gustav’s eyes deepened.

“’Combining machinery and magic is pointless, relying on external tools is foolish.’ Despite such sayings, they chose to devote their lives to magitech engineering. They decided to dedicate their entire lives to it. And they understand the field I created, they are passionate about the research, and they are ecstatic about its success.”

This was the scene that Gustav, the pioneer of magitech engineering, had always dreamed of.

His magitech engineering being recognized by others.

He felt greater joy watching the dwarves’ enthusiasm than from completing the Magitech Circuit Golem.

“If it weren’t for you, Young Lord, I would still be in the slums, drowning in alcohol and self-loathing.”

Aden had pulled him out of such a future.

To him, Aden was not just a benefactor but a ‘hero’ of his life.

“This Gustav Hyde, Viscount, sincerely thanks Young Lord Aden Remes. Truly… truly, thank you.”

“This Gustav Hyde, Viscount, sincerely thanks Young Lord Aden Remes. Truly… truly, thank you.”

The man who had been scorned as a mad wizard, Gustav, smiled brightly as he cried.

* * *

After a brief conversation with Gustav, Aden gave him a low-grade Fruit of the Human Faced Tree.

Not only would it help in blooming his potential, but its inherent medicinal properties would also be beneficial for his future activities.

Afterward, when Aden returned to the Frozen Branch Temple, he received some news.

“A letter from the Sacred Fire Order?”

At Aden’s question, Priest Bali nodded.

“Yes, Young Lord. An invitation has arrived for you and the Saintess in the name of the Holy King.”