44: Incorporate

“I’m not trying to replace them, I just… I just want to take care of you.” Randall’s voice trembled slightly, revealing a hint of worry, as if afraid I would reject him. “Are you willing to come live with me in Elturgard, or I can stay here, okay?”

The moment his words fell, a new panel, Lord, materialized from the system information.

However, this Lord panel was semi-transparent.

It read: “First potential subject detected. Answer ‘Yes’ to gain your first subject. Refusal will cancel the Lord panel.”

“Yes,” I answered almost instinctively.

“Good, good!” Randall was as excited as a child.

He turned towards the door, clasped his hands in front of his chest, and bowed deeply, gratefully saying to the professor, “Elder, your kindness deeply impresses me. Please accept my respect.”

At this moment, I had no time to pay attention to him; my mind was focused on the newly solidified Lord panel:

“Territory Name: None”

“Lord Level: Level 0”

“Note: The Lord’s personal professional level must be greater than 1 and the number of subjects greater than 10 to upgrade.”

“Lord Prestige: 0”

“Number of Territories: 1, including 1 Wizard Stronghold”

“Territory Area: Territory No. 1 is 0.0041833 square kilometers”

“Number of Subjects: 1 person”

“Including 1 Fallen Holy Knight (position assignable).”

“Territory Officials: None”

“Territory Resources: Meat 205 tons, Vegetarian Food 0.62 tons, Fresh Water 16 tons, Wood 7.85 tons, Stone 5 tons…”

“Territory Facilities: 1 Wizard's Hut, 1 Wooden House, 2 Dog Kennels, 0.05 mu of Vegetable Patch.”

“Economic Indicators: 0”

“Military Strength: 2 people”

“Including Commander 1 person (Lord), 1 Fallen Holy Knight.”

“Weapons and Equipment: Spears 2, Leather Armor 8, Longswords…”

“Training Level: Lord (Level 3 Hunter and Level 1 Mage) Beginner, Fallen Holy Knight Intermediate”

“Defense Capability: 10”

“Combat Power: 4”

“Diplomatic Relations: None”

“Magic and Technology:”

“Number of Mages: 1”

“Magic Items: … (Lists all magic items owned by the host by quantity and quality)”

“Magic Inventions: 1 (Flame Arrow)”

“Technological Inventions and Applications: 0”

“Special Events and Missions: None”

After reading this information, I was a bit stunned. Is this a territory building quest?

Now was not the time to delve into it.

The information about the Fallen Holy Knight also caught my attention.

I switched to the attribute panel, and sure enough, Randall’s information was there.

“Name: Randall Barkman”

“Subject Loyalty: 90”

“(This person is very loyal to you. Only if you commit heinous acts or do things that go against his principles will his loyalty to you decrease, until he is forced to betray you.)”

“Race: Human”

“Gender: Male”

“Alignment: Lawful Good”

“Age: 21”

“Place of Origin: Elturgard”

“Background: Noble”

“Profession: Fallen Holy Knight”

“Professional Level: 7”

“Attributes: Strength 18 (-2 = 16, reduced by 2 attribute points in fallen state), Dexterity 12, Constitution 14, Intelligence 14, Perception 10, Charisma 17 (-2 = 15, reduced by 2 attribute points in fallen state)”

“Defense Level: 0”

“Health Points: 72 / 72”

“Zero-level Hit Points: 8”

“Damage: 2 to 8 (Unarmed)”

“Skills:”

“Religious Knowledge: 14”

“Noble Knowledge: 16”

“Saving Throws:”

“- Paralysis / Poison / Death: 10”

“- Rod / Staff / Wand: 9”

“- Petrification / Polymorph: 11”

“- Breath Attack: 12”

“- Spells: 10”

“Holy Knight Spell Skills: None (Fallen State)”

“Fallen Holy Knight Spell Skills: Fear”

He’s truly a powerful tank; his professional level has already reached Level 7. With such a subject, the defensive strength around the Wizard's Hut will undoubtedly be greatly enhanced.

It’s just that the profession of Fallen Holy Knight is a bit perplexing.

At this moment, I noticed that the System Quest panel had also released two new system quests:

“System Quest: Increase Lord Level”

“Raise Lord Level to Level 1.”

“Add 9 more subjects to upgrade.”

“Currently, there are 2 convertible subjects in the territory.”

“Quest Reward: Host’s spell power, weapon power, and saving throw advantage increase by 1%, increasing to 2% within the territory.”

“Quest Completion Time Limit: Unlimited”

“System Quest: Save the Fallen Holy Knight”

“Guide Randall Barkman back to the correct path of a Holy Knight.”

“Quest Reward: Randall Barkman’s loyalty +10%; Lord Prestige +20%.”

“Quest Completion Time Limit: Unlimited”

“Ryan, Ryan.” Randall, seeing no one respond outside the door, turned to ask me, but saw me in a daze.

“Hmm, I’m here. What is it?” I snapped back to reality.

“Who was that elder just now?” Randall asked.

“Oh, he’s the Professor. You’ll see him again later.” I replied. After thinking for a moment, I looked up into his eyes and asked, “Randall, you said you wanted to take care of me and teach me. What abilities do you possess?”

Randall’s eyes dimmed slightly, and he slowly said, “Although I have lost all my Holy Knight spell skills, my martial arts are still intact. I can teach you martial arts,” he said, his eyes growing brighter, “I can also protect this place, I am literate, and I understand etiquette. I can teach you to become a gentleman with strong martial arts…”

“Excellent.” I said, “In the future, I will go to Creek Valley Village, a Halfling village, near the Green Field…”

“I’ll go with you!” Randall’s eyes seemed to rekindle with hope. “I will protect you to the best of my ability. What happened to Young Master Bach, I promise it won’t happen again!”

At the mention of Bach, his eyes darkened again.

“This forest is also perilous, with creatures more terrifying than animated thorns. If you regret it, it is still not too late…”

Before I finished speaking, Randall puffed out his chest again and declared loudly, “I will guard you, by Tom above, no matter what evil creatures are here, I will fight them to the end!”

I nodded and continued, “I truly need assistance here. Everything within the mist is my territory. Are you willing to help me guard it?”

“I am willing!” Randall’s answer was resolute.

“Can John and George be persuaded to return to my territory and be used by me?” I continued to ask.

Randall pondered for a moment, then said, “Those two are timid and cowardly, not trustworthy people.”

“These two were originally farmers; their hearts are not evil, and their conscience is not lost.” I said, “I lack not only warriors here, but also farmers.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to them.” Randall said after thinking.

I turned and brought the two over from the dog kennel.

Randall explained my intentions to them, and John and George expressed a desire to return to Gorgoroth.

Randall glared at them and said, “Ryan saved your lives; you should know how to repay him.

This is also an opportunity for you to regain your honor for abandoning your companions and employers before!

Do you want to bear the stigma of such treachery for the rest of your lives?

It’s time to prove yourselves!”