Free Web NovelChapter 44: Chapter 44: The Meeting Ends
From Duane’s perspective, he naturally hoped the duel would be postponed for as long as possible.
But the men from the Broken Wave Gang and the Holy Hand Association felt differently; they couldn’t wait for the duels to begin.
After all, a fight between Warriors could sometimes be decided in an instant. Three matches wouldn’t actually take very long.
Of course, Duane couldn’t just go along with them. Using the excuse that he had just arrived on Black Forest Island and wasn’t in peak condition, he set the duels for the morning seven days later, right here at this three-way fork in the road.
Afterward, the three parties agreed on the specific details of the duels.
For example, underhanded tactics like using poison or hidden weapons were forbidden, as was the use of pets, warhorses, or other items.
After these matters were settled, the tense three-way meeting concluded without incident.
Duane, Kaelon, and Raymond rejoined their group without issue and began to head back.
Bard watched the group depart. Judging from their formation as they withdrew, they were clearly well-trained, professional soldiers.
His own men lacked that kind of discipline.
Daniels laughed. "This new Lord of Black Forest Island certainly puts on a grand show, doesn’t he, Bard?"
Bard glanced at him, his lips twitching into a smirk that wasn’t quite a smile.
If Duane hadn’t suddenly appeared, their own relationship wouldn’t be much better. The only reason they hadn’t come to blows was that they each found the other useful.
"You’d better prepare, old man. That Raymond is a Human Tier Warrior."
As he spoke, he looked at Simone. "Don’t disappoint me in your match."
Simone didn’t respond. He seemed to be a taciturn man.
Daniels glanced at his own subordinate, then turned his gaze back to the burly man before him. "You’d better focus on preparing for your two duels. It’d be a shame if I won, only for you to lose both of yours."
"Don’t worry. There’s no way I’ll lose those two!"
Bard didn’t want to talk anymore and left with his men.
In his heart, he had already estimated the outcome of the fight between Raymond and Simone. He figured the odds were about 60-40.
On one hand, intelligence reports said Raymond was a Captain in the Kingdom’s Third Legion.
For a commoner to have worked his way up to the rank of Captain in the Legion, he had to be the real deal.
On the other hand, Simone wasn’t like an ordinary Advanced Warrior; he had the strength to challenge a Human Tier Warrior.
At the very least, Gaius, who was also at the Peak of the Advanced rank, was no match for Simone.
So, the outcome of this fight was hard to predict.
But even if Simone lost, Bard wasn’t worried. His two matches were more than enough to secure the final outcome.
"Let’s head back as well," Daniels said.
The bustling three-way fork quickly fell silent. The crowd of onlookers dispersed like a scattered herd, returning to the fields to work.
To them, it was somewhat disappointing not to have seen the higher-ups shed blood in a desperate struggle.
After returning to the courtyard, Duane first pulled Kaelon and Raymond aside to discuss the duels.
The outcome of the three duels was extremely important to him. A victory would significantly improve their situation.
Duane told the two of them to set aside their other tasks for the next few days and focus their energy on getting into peak condition.
The outcome of Kaelon’s duel with Bard was uncertain, which meant Duane and Raymond had to win their matches, no matter what.
So, for the next few days, Duane planned to dedicate all his time to self-improvement.
Duane was temporarily using the side hall of the kitchen as a brewery.
Right now, he was discussing brewing with Owington.
Earlier, the Male Servant had explained the specific steps for brewing beer to Duane, which had increased his Basic Brewing Skill Level to (Initial 49/100). freёwebnovel.com
Today would be his first time trying it himself.
"My Lord, the first step in brewing beer is to soak the barley to induce germination. Before that, we need to sort the barley. The plumper the grains, the better the beer will taste."
Owington had wanted to complete this tedious process himself ahead of time, but Duane had specifically forbidden him from doing so. As a result, the barley was still in its sacks.
"Then let’s begin!"
Duane first spread a large piece of burlap on the floor, then poured the barley out of the sack.
"It’s our first time brewing, so let’s start with a small batch."
Duane said as he looked at the grains on the floor.
The grains weren’t uniform. While most were relatively plump, he could also see shriveled ones mixed in.
Looking at the sheer number of grains, Duane was puzzled. ’Surely I don’t have to pick them out one by one?’
"Do we have a sieve? Or a windmill?"
Although he’d never used one, he knew they were tools for separating particles of different sizes.
"We have a sieve. One moment, my Lord!"
Owington went to a side room, rummaged through some tools, and returned with a sieve, which he handed to Duane.
Duane was a little disappointed.
He had originally thought they didn’t have sieves and was looking forward to the sense of accomplishment he’d get from inventing one.
He hadn’t expected they already had them.
"Do we have a windmill?" he asked.
Owington shook his head. "A windmill is a bit bulky; we didn’t bring one when we left the castle. If you need one, My Lord, we can have Carpenter Riesen build one." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Duane nodded to himself.
’I should find some time to learn woodworking from the carpenter,’ he thought. ’It would be a good way to level up my [Basic Manufacturing] Skill Level.’
Duane kept busy, his mind already formulating plans.
He shook the sieve, sifting out a bucketful of the best grains, then prepared to soak them in a wooden bucket filled with clean water.
Throughout the process, notifications about his [Basic Brewing] Skill Level continuously appeared in his vision as it increased.
But it only increased by 1 point at a time.
Even after he finished the soaking step, his Skill Level had only reached (Initial 63/100).
Duane frowned slightly. ’Unlike weeding or archery, the Skill Level for brewing increases really slowly.’
And it seemed to have stalled after hitting 63.
Owington said, "My Lord, the grains need to soak for about two days. We only need to change the water once or twice during that time. There’s no need to watch them constantly."
A realization struck Duane. ’Does this mean I have to complete the entire brewing process just to reach the Entry level?’
"What’s the minimum time required for the entire beer brewing process?"
Owington thought for a moment. "At least a month. It’ll take even longer if there are extra steps for adjusting the flavor."
Duane clicked his tongue. It looked like he wouldn’t be able to quickly raise his Basic Brewing Skill Level to the Entry stage.
"In that case, let’s soak a few more batches."
With that, Duane began sifting a second batch of grain.
The brewing process took a long time. ’I can’t just brew one batch, wait a month, and then start the next,’ he reasoned.
’Sifting the grain isn’t giving me any more Skill Level, but maybe the final quantity of the product will?’
"I heard oak can be used to make fermentation barrels and bottle stoppers, is that right?"
"Yes, Baron. Oak is an excellent material. Even the Bloom Clan’s Magic Malt Beer uses oak stoppers."
Duane nodded.
He decided to have Monbodt go to Forest Village and get a shipment of oak from Bard.
It would be a perfect opportunity to use the oak to make barrels and raise his Basic Manufacturing Skill Level.
Duane worked for a while longer, until he had four buckets of grain soaking.
Now, all he had to do was wait for them to germinate.
Fortunately, this part of the process didn’t require constant supervision; otherwise, Duane really wouldn’t have had the time for it.
He instructed Owington to check on the grain when he had a moment, then disappeared into the kitchen.
According to Kaelon and Raymond, Duane’s current Strength gave him a high probability of defeating a Basic-level Warrior.
But that was only a "high probability."
Duane wanted to turn that probability into a certainty. To do that, he had to increase his Strength as much as possible.
For the next seven days, he needed to grind.
