When Colin reached the doorstep of his home, the torrential rain had already ceased.
The massive iron gate was unlocked, and Colin pushed it open to enter.
The courtyard looked much the same as before, except for the right-side horse stall which was eerily empty; he had no idea where Arthur had gone off to.
On the lawn to the left, Demi was frolicking in the water. She paused for a moment upon seeing Colin.
In the next second, she quickly scurried her little legs towards the main building.
"Sister! The master's back!"
"Little Demi..." Colin had barely started to greet her when he swallowed his words, involuntarily touching his nose.
Soon, the main building's door was flung open, revealing Renee's figure.
"Master!" She looked at Colin with a face full of surprise and asked.
"Mm," Colin nodded, stepping into the main building while asking, "Where did Arthur go?"
Renee, holding little Demi's hand, followed behind him and replied,
"Master, he went to the West City gate to wait for you."
"How long has he been gone?" Colin paused in his steps.
"Not long... he had come back earlier for lunch."
Colin nodded; he hadn't expected to just miss Arthur.
"I need to take a bath, is there hot water?"
"Yes, master."
"Good," Colin said approvingly.
Although he could use the Cleaning Technique, he occasionally enjoyed soaking in a bath after completing his shift.
Renee, uncertain of when he would want a bath, generally prepared hot water every day.
However, it was now afternoon, and for Renee to still have hot water ready was indeed thoughtful.
Reaching the master bedroom's washroom on the second floor, Colin waited quite a while before he saw Renee, somewhat strained, carrying up a basin of hot water.
Every time for a bath, Renee would go up and down the stairs like this five times to bring enough hot water.
'Perhaps I could teach her the Sunlight Breathing Technique.'
Colin couldn't help but think that, although she was only responsible for looking after him, these tasks weren't easy in a world without the convenience of various appliances.
If Renee could become a Knight, at least she would be more efficient the next time she brought him his bathwater.
He slowly stepped into the tub, sighing comfortably.
...But all these were for later. Right now, he didn't have the spare time to teach Renee how to cultivate.
After the bath, Colin came out of the washroom.
On the wooden table outside, Renee had already prepared a tableful of sumptuous, steaming-hot meals for him.
Colin sat down and eagerly began to eat.
Compared to his time in the Wizard Territory, the quality of his life had significantly improved.
While eating, he suddenly turned to instruct Renee,
"Renee, go and call Arthur back later. I have to go on duty tonight."
"Of course, master," Renee nodded and replied.
After dinner, he instructed Renee not to disturb him and then went down to the basement alone.
After locking the iron door to the first floor behind him,
He thought for a moment and summoned the Golden Paper.
[Name: Colin Leonard]
[Rank: Intermediate Wizard Apprentice (3/100); Great Knight (30/100)]
[Meditation Method: Apprentice Phase Circulation Meditation I (39/100); Sunlight Breathing Method I (80/100)]
[Witchcraft: Zero Level Tricks: Slight; Zero Level Witchcraft: Steel Armor I (10/100); Arrow Shooting Skill I (11/100); Minor High Temperature Tolerance (43/100); Hope Defense Field (45/100); Fireball Technique (49/100); Detect Evil (31/100); Purification Evil Power (26/100)]
[Skill: Basic Level Magic Crystal Making]
[Limit Breaking Point: 0]
Colin meticulously scanned the Golden Paper from top to bottom, and found nothing unusual.
...His Wizard Level finally increased by 1 point... With this rate, it seemed that he could progress one point every twenty days.
However, that was the speed before. Now that he had been transformed by the Golden Four-leaf Clover, his training speed was likely to change.
Colin glanced at the Golden Paper again, and for some reason, he always felt a bit peculiar in his heart.
He followed his intuition.
And saw that just behind the Meditation Method section on the Golden Paper, a new line of characters had quietly emerged—
[Talent: Intermediate Strong Life (23/100)]
Colin was startled for a moment, but soon realized what it meant.
This Intermediate Strong Life Talent undoubtedly referred to the substantial self-healing ability that the unusual Golden Four-leaf Clover had given him.
Therefore, it seemed that the primary effect of the Golden Four-leaf Clover was likely not to strengthen the soul, but to grant the consumer this Strong Life Talent.
And moreover, the energy in his heart area had not yet been fully digested... It would follow that, if it ever fully digested, Intermediate Strong Life might not be the final effect.
Of course, what thrilled him the most was—
Just like the other magic or Meditation Methods on the Golden Paper, the Talent Intermediate Strong Life also had a progress bar behind it.
This undoubtedly meant that the Intermediate Strong Life could also be forcibly advanced through practice, and after reaching the limit, it could even break through the Limit Breaking Point!
'But how should this Talent be trained?' A hint of doubt arose in Colin's mind, and he inexplicably thought of his ability to heal rapidly.
'Could it be that I need to practice in a way that breaks me before remaking me?'
Once this idea surfaced, it was unstoppable.
Clang!
After hesitating for a moment, he resolutely drew the needle from his waist!
He gritted his teeth against the pain and viciously slashed his arm.
The blood had not even begun to flow out before it immediately congealed, followed by the wound gradually closing into a red line, which then slowly vanished.
His arm returned to its unscathed state.
Colin let out a small breath and looked towards the Golden Paper.
The progress behind Intermediate Strong Life hadn't budged an inch.
'Perhaps the number of practices isn't enough...'
He slashed once more but then realized something was wrong.
There wasn't even a flickering ↑ symbol behind the progress of Intermediate Strong Life on the Golden Paper... This was abnormal.
Due to the effect of the Golden Paper, no matter what magic or Skill he practiced, there would always be progress.
And the corresponding flickering ↑ symbol behind the progress on the Golden Paper would appear with each practice.
This time, after "practicing" twice, there were still no signs indicating improvement on the Golden Paper.
'It seems I got the direction of practice wrong.'
After pondering for a moment, Colin put down the needle and instead began to practice the Limit Breaking Sunlight Breathing Method.
A sequence of movements was quickly completed, and he looked at the Golden Paper once more.
This time, surprise flickered in his eyes.
Now, three items on the Golden Paper had the flickering ↑ symbol appear behind them.
Apart from the progress of the Great Knight Level and the practice of the Limit Breaking Sunlight Breathing Method... as he expected, behind that Talent Intermediate Strong Life, a flickering ↑ symbol had also emerged.
He gradually understood.
The fundamental logic of the Intermediate Strong Life brought by the Golden Four-leaf Clover was probably grounded in a strong Life Force, with self-healing being just one of its external manifestations.
In other words, he should practice Life Force.
But this kind of Life Force training clearly had no special technique... Or perhaps, techniques like the Sunlight Breathing Method, which can train the body, could more or less all increase the progress of Intermediate Strong Life!
A smile slowly appeared on Colin's face.
He glanced at the time. It was getting late, and soon it would be time for his shift.
So, he straightened his attire and left the basement.
By then, Arthur had also returned.
After eating dinner hastily, Colin headed straight to his shift in West City.