William eagerly awaited the next day. Since the training ended early, he continued to read the last book in the study. He loved that room and the books in it. He had almost finished all the books now. This was the last book he had.

There were hardly any unnecessary books in this room. All these books, which helped him complete the personality of his grandfather and father, gave him a more detailed idea of what kind of people his family was.

He was also influenced by them. Almost all of them were storybooks that contained either information about the world or reality. He was never bored while reading a book.

The book he was holding was an example of this. His father had told him to read this book last. It was a story book. It was the story of someone who started out as a peasant, grew stronger through various encounters in his life, and climbed the noble rungs.

In his old world, he wouldn't have believed it. Because once you were a farmer, you would always be a farmer. In this world, things were different. When people respected power, their status rose accordingly.

The title of the book was 'My Rusty Pitchfork'. The name of the main character was 'Ender'. In this world, the meaning of the name 'Ender' was different. It meant perseverance and endurance. He talked about how he didn't turn down many opportunities and everything he put in to get a job done helped him climb the ladder of power.

He quickly realized why his father had to put the book down. Most likely, Theo was also waiting for an opportunity. When that opportunity came, it was obvious that he would give it his all and take a big risk.

Theo hadn't taught him many lessons. He wasn't much of a father, but he wasn't a cold person either. Whenever he asked a question, he would patiently answer, even explain more.

That's why William was happy with him. When he finished the book, understanding Theo's feelings, he made a promise to himself that if Theo took the opportunity, he would help him in any way he could. In the evening, he slept with the setting sun and awoke in the dark of the night before the birds began to chirp.

He listened to the wind by a willow tree, by the small pond in the castle garden, until dawn. With the first light of dawn, he opened his closed eyes and walked to the training ground. For the first time today, he was surprised. For the first time, twenty soldiers had preceded him. He grinned at them. 'These guys are just kids excited about candy,' he thought.

They greeted each other. William sat down next to Godo. As he sat down, Godo said to him with a pained expression, "Why did you have to hit me so hard?" pointing to his head, "The swelling still has not gone down." He said.

"Heh, you should have thought before you threw dirt at me," William said grinning.

Godo must have been furious, "Damn! It was just a game! The trainer told me to do it. Or do you think I would do such a thing to a noble?"

"Heheh, do you consider me a noble now?" he said, grinning in surprise.

"Well...Um...No, but that was an order!"

"Anyway, you threw dirt and I took my revenge." Then he added, "And don't worry, consider me a friend, your comrade, not a nobleman."

Godo, still a little offended, pursed his lips, "As you wish."

Everyone waited in silence. Twenty-one people waited for the baron without speaking. About half an hour after daylight, Theo and Pierce appeared side by side. Pierce was carrying what looked like a bag, and on his back was a large trunk. The two of them walked calmly to the training ground. As if they were in no hurry. When all the soldiers and William saw them, they immediately stood up and watched them slowly walk toward the training ground. The excitement of all of them could be seen on their faces, including William's.

When Theo arrived at the training ground, he took off his long red robe with gold embroidery and handed it to Pierce. He looked at all the faces in front of him at once and began to speak.

"Congratulations to all of you on completing this basic training. You all have the talent and potential to be chosen here. Now I'm going to give you two options, accept or reject, there is no in-between!"

After examining the faces of the soldiers, he continued to speak.

"If you want to be a warrior, you must sign a contract with us and take an oath. Pierce, take out the contract and the oath."

Pierce took two pieces of paper out of his bag and handed them to the soldiers. He didn't give one to William. Since he was already the Baron's son, there was no need for such a procedure. All the soldiers read the contract in their hands and frowned. The soldier to Theo's right raised his hand.

Theo pointed at him and began to speak. "Sir, we thought we were chosen because of our talents. We never thought we would need this..." Theo interrupted him.

"Yes, you are talented, but unfortunately you do not come from a family of generations of warriors. So even if you have the talent, are you willing to spend a few more years to start on this path? Remember, we don't do anything by force. The cost of your training is not important either. If you don't want to right now," he pointed to the exit of the castle.

"The door is over there." He said calmly.

The soldiers thought for a moment and saw that the conditions were not too hard. Since William wasn't as tall as the others, he couldn't see what was written in the contract, but he could guess that it was something like a loyalty contract.

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"Now, if you agree, spill your blood on the contract." At Theo's words, Pierce handed the first-line soldier a small dagger. The soldier used the dagger to cut the middle of his hand, leaving a few drops of blood on the contract. Small wounds like this were nothing, thanks to their powerful bodies. It would heal by itself in a few hours.

No one was confident enough to refuse the contract.

Pierce handed each soldier a dagger in turn. He didn't even look at William as he passed him by.

When the last soldier was spilling his blood, Theo spoke again. "Now read what is written on the other paper!"

The soldiers brought the other paper forward. They began to read aloud in unison.

"From this day forward, under the name Theo Aureus, I will be completely loyal to the Aureus family for five years, obey orders as long as they do not do anything immoral, protect the Aureus family and the lands of the barony at the cost of my life, treat all people living on the land equally, help when necessary, I swear I will shed blood if necessary!"

William was touched. This oath included not only the Baron and the Barony, but his entire family. He felt a little safer.

The scene that followed was strange. The oath and contract papers in everyone's hands began to burn with a fire out of nowhere. On the contract paper, a fiery image similar to the seal of the barony appeared. It was a jade tiger. Then, with a fierce roar, it leapt into the chest of the soldiers. A tattoo of a tiger's head on crossed swords appeared on everyone's chest. It glowed blood red. After a while, the glow faded and only a small tattoo remained.

Theo nodded calmly and began to speak.

"Congratulations! You are now part of the Aureus family. From now on you will protect us and we will protect you." He signaled Pierce with his hands.

Pierce continued to speak while unpacking the chest on his back.

"This contract was made by mages. It will remain in your body for five years, and in the event of unprovoked betrayal, it will instantly explode your heart. You understand what that means. Finally, I will teach you what a warrior is and how to be one." He said.

He walked over to the chest and pointed to its contents.

Inside were twenty-two leather scrolls and twenty-one small potion bottles. The potion bottles were filled with a red liquid.

"These are potions made by mages using the blood essences of various monsters. Without these potions, who knows how many years you would have to train to become a warrior? After all, not everyone is equal in this world." Then he looked at William, who watched his eyes curiously.

"Yes, even you are not that talented." He said and continued.

"Today you will get one. It will allow you to open your 'Opening Meridian'. I'm telling you now. Be prepared for great pain!" Theo's face was serious.

Pierce handed one to everyone, including William. Theo motioned for everyone to drink.

When William unscrewed the small cork of the bottle and drank it all in one go, trusting his father, he realized that he should never trust those damn muscle brains again. The red liquid smelled and tasted like blood. But it was hot like lava. It was as if it was burning its way into his stomach. When it reached his stomach, the feeling of pain and extreme heat spread all over his body. The focal point was just below his belly button. It burned like a hellhole. He couldn't even turn his head to look at the others because of the pain. His skin began to turn red. He curled up on the floor and held his stomach. The pain even covered his mouth. He couldn't make a sound except for a small moan.

The other soldiers were no different. They were all covered in the same red, curled up on the ground.

After half an hour of hellish agony, everyone, including William, noticed that their pain was beginning to subside. Although they felt fitter and stronger now, they showed some signs of fatigue.

Theo looked at them with a smile. "Telling you wouldn't change anything, it would only make things worse." The crowd understood the reason for his words. Who would want such pain?

Pierce then handed out leather scrolls to them. Inside the leather scroll was a drawing. It looked like an anatomical drawing. But the vascular structure inside was slightly different. Theo called them meridians and began to point to the scroll in his hand.

"The one above your belly button, which you are now opening, is called the 'opening meridian'. It allows you to see the pool of your spiritual energy(Qi). In this pool you accumulate the spiritual energy you receive from the world around you. With this accumulated spiritual energy you can open other meridians and become a true warrior," he said.

"Now close your eyes, calm down, and feel the 'spiritual energy' around you. It's like a tiny thread. Guide it into your body."

Everyone sat down and did as he said. No one made a fuss. After a while, Godo was the first to find it. Theo and Pierce noticed it.

The second discoverer was William. Shortly after he had calmed his body and started to meditate like the people in his old world, he felt a thread of spiritual energy pass by him like a wind. He tried to guide it slowly into his body, just like the people in the novels he read. Immediately, the thread slowly crept into his body and entered his belly.

William felt as if another eye had opened in his body. He could now 'see' what the so-called pool in his belly was. It was always mentioned in the legends of the Far East, but it was only considered a 'myth'. In this world, however, he finally realized that it was something that existed.

It was a balloon-like structure with only one exit. The thread had just entered that pool from the side of the balloon and turned into mist inside. After that, he felt that his body was both stronger and more resilient.

He opened his eyes with joy and looked at Theo smiling at him. He saw that he was very happy and satisfied.

About an hour later, the last person was able to feel as well. Theo began to speak again.

"Your body has nine meridians. If you want to be a warrior, you have to open them first. After opening the nine meridians, you can now call yourself 'strong'." He said. Then he began to explain the information on the scroll again. All nine meridians were inscribed. They were 'Opening', 'Beginning', 'Healing', 'Pain', 'Life', 'Strength', 'Speed', 'Intelligence', and 'Death Meridian'. He also explained how to open them.

He said that when you have accumulated enough spiritual energy, you should direct the spiritual energy in the pool to attack and break other meridians. Of course, there was a shortcut to this, but it was not considered necessary because it was both very expensive and easy to do normally. Usually, wealthy families of mages and warriors preferred such a quick route for their children.

He said that the first three channels were relatively easy to open. After those three channels were opened, true martial arts could be used slowly.

Then he talked a little about it. "You don't need to learn these martial arts right now. But let me explain it to you anyway. Those who open their third meridian can learn 'Fire Sword' and 'Iron Body' according to their abilities. The Fire Sword not only turns your sword into fire, but also gives you tremendous attack power and fire resistance. Iron Body, on the other hand, is not only defensive as its name suggests, it also gives you sharpness for your sword and piercing power for your spear." He said and finished.

"Now! Any questions?" He looked into the eyes of the soldiers and William.

No one made a sound. William raised his hand just as Theo turned his head.

"Ask," Theo said.

William asked his question with some concern.

"And Dad, what comes after the nine meridians?"

"Ha! Good question. To become stronger, you need to ask more questions. But you don't need to know, because it's not clear yet if you can even open the nine meridians." He replied with a smile.

He must have thought of something later when he continued to speak. He mumbled as if he were keeping some sentences to himself. "Anyway, there's no harm in telling you. Listen carefully. After the nine meridians, true power will open its doors for you. The first level is Iron, followed by Bronze level. I don't know what's next. But rumor has it that the former king of the kingdom reached the Silver level. I don't think those names are in vain. I guess there is a 'Gold' level as well, but I've never seen or heard of such a thing." He said. It was obvious from his expression that he was lying. But the crowd was so into it that they thought it was real.

William understood now. Etha had mentioned it in his book. Then he could not help but be afraid. He said that there was a gold-level creature in the area of the Jade Tigers. He thought about the possibility of it attacking him and immediately nodded. He immediately put it out of his mind. Then he thought and asked if his father could defend him.

"So Dad, what are your levels?"

"I'm only in the middle of the Iron Warrior level. Pierce is at the beginning of the Iron level. From our age and strength, I hope you understand how difficult this path is." An expression appeared on his face that made it clear that he was trying to lie again, which could only fool children and muscle-headed people.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Again William thought of the dreaded Tiger. They would surely be destroyed in a major attack.

He decided to put these thoughts aside for the time being.

When there were no more questions, Theo and Pierce left with one last word.

"Whatever you do, open the third meridian in three months. Then your 'real' training will begin."

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