​"Can I ask what happened?" Ian asked with deep curiosity.

​"That Chief Headguard is really crazy, I tell you. But if I were in his shoes, there was really no other way to do it," Trevor said, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

​"He first came into my office and asked stupid questions that he already knew the answers to. He asked for my full name, where I am from, and why I came here. It was really just some small talk. We even drank while talking everything was going well.But then, it changed."

​Trevor took a deep breath before continuing his story.

"He told me, ’You know, you are a really lucky one. You didn’t even spend an entire year here, and you are already a Headguard. You are not the youngest, but you are the fastest to rise in this estate,’ he said, casually drinking his cup of beer. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

​"I replied, ’I was just lucky since I was always with the Young Mas—’ but I stopped mid-sentence. I suddenly wasn’t feeling well. I couldn’t see clearly, and everything was becoming a dizzying blur. ’What the hell is this? I just drank one cup of beer. It’s not supposed to be this strong,’ I thought, looking down at my cup.

​"I looked up at Vincent, who was still drinking as if nothing was happening in front of him. ’You drugged me... when? How?’ I asked him.

​"He just stared at me while I struggled to stay awake. ’It took longer than I thought. I was starting to run out of things to say,’ Vincent told me. ’I’m actually pretty shocked it took this long to kick in. I guess you are closer to the Fourth Stage of Aura than I thought, huh? Now, go to sleep. I’ve got real questions that need answers.’ He said with a very scary expression"

​Trevor sighed, crossing his arms. "And that is all I remember from last night. When I woke up this morning, he just acted like nothing happened and told me I was in the clear and he even wished me good luck with the new job."

​"If I had to guess from your story, that drug was some kind of truth serum," Ian said, narrowing his eyes. "That is how he got real answers from you without you even being able to lie and tge most troubling thing is you don’t even remember the questions you were asked. "

​"I figured that much, I once even heard that some noble houses use it on the very first day when they are recruiting new guards. Good thing I have nothing to hide. I’m just a guy from a small town looking for money to pay off my father’s debt," Trevor shrugged.

​"I know that much, but he didn’t. And a man like him will not just take your word for it unless he is truly sure through his own methods," Ian said.

​"You are right, Young Master. Well, I should get going now. The reinforcements from the Main House are almost here, and I should greet them since I am the Headguard here and that guy Chief Headguard Vincent should already be waiting for them too," Trevor said, turning and walking toward the training grounds.

​Ian just stared at Trevor’s back until he was completely out of sight. He then continued to roam around the estate, but there was one thought deeply worrying him now.

​’If a truth-telling drug like that really exists and other nobles must have it too. What if an enemy captures someone who is cultivating my clan techniques and drugs them? My secrets would leak to the outside world immediately! This is a real problem. I need to find a way to fix it, for now I should just give it to people that I trust...’

​Ian continued his walk and eventually went to check on Emily and Emma. He found them training incredibly hard in their room. Emily actually kicked him out, loudly complaining that he was disturbing her focus. Emma, on the other hand, was much sweeter. She invited him in, and they talked and caught up on everything that had been happening.

​When Ian finally went back to his room to rest for the day, a sudden system notification popped up in his vision.

​[Notice: Detected that Ivory Thorne has broken through to the Middle Stage of Skin Cultivation. Rewarded: 15 Prosperity Points.]

​’I guess Ivory made a breakthrough already, huh? He is really determined to gain strength. I should go see those orphans when I have some free time.’

​Over the next few days, the one-week deadline before leaving for the Main House steadily approached. Ian could be seen everywhere in the Thorne estate, constantly keeping busy. He talked to every worker in the estate that he could find and see if there were any problems or if they needed something to make their work easier. He didn’t want a repeat of what happened in the guards training grounds.

​Also system notifications kept popping up for David, Dion, and Dennis as they all slowly broke through to the Middle Stage as well. Factoring in his remaining balance, Ian calculated that he now had exactly 80 points saved up.

​Tomorrow was the day he was leaving to go to the Main House. But today, he was in a genuinely great mood because a massive notification had just popped up that he had been waiting for.

​[Notice: Detected that Emily Thorne has broken through to the Late Stage of Skin Cultivation. Rewarded: 50 Prosperity Points.]

​’Finally, she broke through. It took a bit longer than I expected. I guess reaching the Late Stage is really hard huh,’ Ian thought, looking at the floating blue screen.

​"System," Ian called out, standing alone in his room.

​[Name: Ian Thorne]

[Age: 17]

[Lifespan: 73]

[Martial Arts: None]

[Cultivation Arts: Adamantine Ox Hide Technique]

[Martial Stage: Peak Stage of Skin Cultivation]

​[Prosperity Points: 130]

[Prosperity Shop]

[Notifications]

[External Members: 4/5]

​’Wait, wait... where is the plus sign? I have 130 points! Why can’t I break through?!’ Ian thought, starting to panic as he stared at his system.

​"What do I do? I have reached the peak of Skin Cultivation, but I can’t—" Ian muttered out loud, but he stopped mid-sentence as a brilliant idea suddenly popped into his head.

​He quickly opened the system menu again, but this time he navigated straight to the [Prosperity Shop] tab.

​That was when he saw brand new Cultivation Techniques listed in the shop. He also checked the Martial Arts side of the shop, but the screen said ’Required Level Not Met’. Since he definitely had enough points, it clearly meant his overall cultivation level was still too low to learn martial arts!

​Ian started laughing out loud, heavily slapping his own forehead. "Of course! I already reached the absolute peak of the Adamantine Ox Hide Technique, so there is nothing more to learn from it! I need to buy a completely new technique to enter the next major stage!"

​Ian rubbed his hands together excitedly, his eyes scanning the floating digital marketplace. "Now, let’s see what cultivation technique to choose that is best suited for me."