8: Unexpected gain

"Ross, take Eric and the Cavalry Squad to patrol the perimeter of the territory daily starting today to eliminate all threats and hidden dangers."

"If you encounter remnants of the Fel Orcs, you must eliminate them, but do not act rashly if you encounter a difficult target."

The Cavalry Squad was composed of elites with no recruits. With Ross, a Warrior Class at the peak of Bronze Rank, leading the team, Wren felt at ease letting them go out to clear potential threats.

"Yes, My Lord!" Ross stood up and accepted the command.

"Alger, Wayne, one of your teams will be stationed in the town to guard the safety of the town and Red River Fortress. The other team will be divided into small squads to protect the Farmers working in the fields outside, ensuring neither Fel Orcs nor anything else harms them."

The young and strong men Wren brought back were refugees who had just experienced a life-and-death escape. Although they had settled down in Red River Town, their emotions were still tense. If any accident occurred during their labor, it could easily cause a riot. Wren took precautions in advance to prevent any mishaps.

"In addition, the two of you must intensify the training of those recruits so they can form combat effectiveness as soon as possible."

There weren't many recruits to begin with, and since Alger and Wayne were veterans of the Border Defense Army, training these few recruits was an easy task. Furthermore, with weapons and equipment already available, Wren didn't need to worry too much.

"Yes, My Lord!" Alger and Wayne stood up and accepted the command.

"Then let everyone get moving. Fornal has already organized the Farmers to begin their work; you must ensure their safety."

"Yes, My Lord!" The resonant voices of Ross and the other three echoed in the castle hall.

After Wren finished assigning the tasks, Ross and the others left the hall and quickly went into action.

Although these 250 men of the Guard Army had just arrived at the Red River Territory and were not yet familiar with this strange environment, they were, after all, battle-hardened warriors from the Border Defense Army with high military discipline, showing no signs of maladjustment.

The Derrick Family's Red River Fortress was the tallest building in the territory. Standing on the castle balcony, Wren could clearly see everything happening in the adjacent Red River Town.

The army soon set out. Ross led the Cavalry Squad galloping out of the barracks, the loud sound of horse hooves echoing through the town and drawing the gaze of the inhabitants.

The infantry followed closely out of the barracks, then divided into ten small squads to head for the fields outside the town along with the Farmers who were preparing to go out.

Upon learning that the Guard Army was there to protect them while they worked, the Farmers—who had been incredibly nervous seeing the army mobilize, thinking another war had broken out—finally felt at ease.

Looking at the fully armed soldiers beside them, their hearts immediately felt secure, and their steps became a bit lighter.

Wren nodded, withdrew his gaze, and turned back into the castle.

Fornal was overseeing the labor and production in the fields, while Ross led the army's protection and purging operations. What Wren needed to do now was seize the time to recover his own combat strength.

"As long as I recover, the territory will have a Silver Knight presiding over it, and the threat of those Fel Orcs hiding in the mountains will be much smaller."

Before the Fel Orcs invasion, the Red River Territory only had three Silver Rank knights: Baron Bode himself, Wren's uncle who was a member of the Derrick Family, and a Silver Knight who pledged loyalty to the Derrick Family. All three had died on the battlefield against the Fel Orcs.

Generally, a single Silver Knight in a Barony is enough to handle the vast majority of threats. As long as Wren recovered his Silver Rank combat strength, the safety of the Red River Territory would be sufficiently guaranteed.

The advanced recovery potion Wren had taken was a rare magic potion made by a mage. The Derrick Family treasury once held a bottle, but it was gone now, having been consumed on the battlefield against the Fel Orcs.

"An advanced recovery potion is truly a life-saving treasure. I must find a way to stock more of them in the future."

Several days had passed, and Wren could still feel the residual power of the advanced recovery potion within his body assisting in the healing of his injuries.

Making his way to the family treasury, Wren searched carefully, wanting to see if there were any missed treasures that could help recover from his physical injuries.

Previously, with time being tight and a pile of affairs weighing him down, he hadn't had the chance to properly inspect the stock in the family treasury.

With over 180 years of history for the Derrick Family, there were bound to be many good things in the family treasury. Even though his cheap old man had consumed much of the family's foundation during this Fel Orcs war, some things must have been left behind.

Inside the treasury, Wren searched for a long time and managed to find some yields.

He found some special materials, mostly ores, gemstones, and the like, which could be used to forge enchanted weapons and equipment, though he couldn't use them for the time being.

"It's a pity the territory lacks a high-level blacksmith; these materials are currently useless."

Looking at these special materials, Wren thought to himself that he must find a way to get a high-level blacksmith to bring out the potential of these materials.

However, high-level blacksmiths were rare commodities, all held firmly by major nobles; an outsider would have to pay a heavy price to get one.

The craftsmen Wren obtained from Count Sena were basically junior craftsmen, and mostly carpenters, stonemasons, and the like. They were good at repairing houses and building defensive works, but they were lacking in other areas.

The few remaining tailors and blacksmiths were also of low skill. They could repair ordinary equipment, but manufacturing equipment for Professionals was truly beyond them.

In the treasury, besides some forging materials and a few treasured pieces of enchanted equipment, only some books remained.

Knowledge is wealth. Nobles are the ones who control knowledge resources, and it is the monopoly on knowledge—especially the inheritance of transcendent professional knowledge—that allows nobles to continuously cultivate outstanding talents to maintain their rule.

The Derrick Family treasury contained the knowledge collected by the family over a hundred years: secret techniques, battle skills, craftsman techniques, blueprints, and even Breathing Techniques and body-tempering arts for Professionals.

Wren picked through them but didn't find anything particularly useful for himself.

"They're all common goods, the kind of stuff you find everywhere. Not a single high-quality item. Compared to the secret vault of the Raging Bear Fortress Knight Academy, it's really far inferior!"

In Wren's memories, the secret vault of the Raging Bear Fortress Knight Academy was a true treasure trove.

"Eh?"

"Basic Meditation Method?"

"Is this a meditation method for mage cultivation?"

Wren suddenly discovered a good item on the bookshelf, a book on meditation.

"The family actually has such a good thing?"

Basic Meditation Method—judging by the simple name, one could tell this wasn't a very sophisticated meditation method.

But it also represented the path of the mage profession. A Spellcaster's meditation method was a top-tier treasure, far more precious than a warrior's Breathing Technique of the same level.

"How come I don't remember the family having this before?"

As the most sought-after profession, Spellcasters were also the most dependent on talent. Without talent, one couldn't even dream of entering the path. Members of the Derrick Family would all undergo mage aptitude tests at a very young age.

Unfortunately, the original Wren had no talent for becoming a mage. In his memory, not a single mage had ever appeared in the history of the Derrick Family.

Taking the Basic Meditation Method off the shelf, Wren curiously flipped it open and began to read.

As Wren carefully read the contents on the first page of the Basic Meditation Method, he suddenly felt a buzz in his head, and then the world looked different.

A powerful spiritual field enveloped Wren. At this moment, his mind was exceptionally focused, and the knowledge from the Basic Meditation Method began to be etched into his mind as if carved by a chisel.

Wren began to unconsciously operate the Basic Meditation Method, and strands of mana began to gather from the surroundings and pour into his body.

Time passed, and it wasn't until the sun set and the bright moon rose that Wren emerged from this peculiar state.

"Hahahahahaha!"

A loud laugh echoed in the treasury.

"Basic Meditation Method, a mana core... I never thought I could actually become a mage."

Wren was incredibly excited as he felt the constantly rotating mana core in his mind.

He originally had no mage aptitude, but perhaps because his transmigrated soul had merged with the original soul, his aptitude had improved significantly. Especially his spiritual power, which had become more than twice as strong as before, giving the current Wren the aptitude to become a Spellcaster.

Mage talent, to put it simply, is the strength of spiritual power, which is essentially the strength of the soul. Now that Wren's spiritual power and soul had more than doubled, his spiritual power was very strong, naturally giving him the aptitude to become a mage.

Furthermore, through the practice of the Basic Meditation Method just now, Wren discovered that his progress while practicing it could be described as rapid, completing the condensation of the mana core in just one day.

Wren estimated that his mage aptitude should be extremely outstanding.

"I didn't expect the transmigration benefits to be waiting here!"

The significant increase in spiritual power and soul strength gave Wren extraordinary mage aptitude.

Even before this, Wren had discovered that the dou qi core in his heart was more active than in his memories, combat qi recovered faster, and the effects of cultivation were stronger. This also indicated that his knight talent had likewise been enhanced.

Wren was already a genius on the path of a knight; after transmigrating, his talent was further elevated to a whole new level. Wren felt that ascending to the Gold Rank might not be so far off.

Now he could also cultivate magic, and his talent and aptitude were equally high, which made his future path even broader.

"Dual cultivation of magic and martial arts—this finally feels like a transmigrator."

Wren had originally wanted to find some treasures in the treasury to recover from his injuries; he hadn't expected such an unexpected surprise.