After killing the masked knight, Reed's first task was to check if the guy had left any clues on his body.

  After all, being attacked for no reason, he had to figure out who was behind it.

  He used the tip of his sword to poke open the tattered clothes of the masked knight and started carefully feeling around.

  The armor was quite sturdy, but it was scorched black by the thunder, probably beyond repair.

  "Hmm? What's this?" Reed pulled out a piece of parchment from the inner lining of the masked knight's clothes. Unfolding it, he saw densely written words and some strange emblems.

  "An employment contract?" Reed glanced at it a few times and immediately understood its nature.

  The party A of the contract was "Aaron Aide," and the party B... The name was smeared with blood, only vaguely making out the word "Morris," the surname was unclear.

  "Aaron Aide? So it's him!" Reed's anger intensified.

  He had suspected Aaron was behind it before, and now this employment contract confirmed his guess.

  This guy actually hired someone to assassinate him!

  The content of the contract wasn't special; it just stated that Aaron hired Morris to assassinate Reed, with a reward of 100 gold coins, and after the deed, Morris could join the guard team of the Aide family.

  "100 gold coins for my life? Quite the compliment," Reed sneered and put the contract away.

  For ordinary people, 100 gold coins might be a huge sum, but to Reed, it was nothing. Moreover, how could his life be measured by money?

  However, the contract revealed an important piece of information—the masked knight's name was Morris.

  "Morris... I'll remember you." Reed glanced at the corpse on the ground with cold eyes. He wasn't someone who killed indiscriminately, but he wouldn't be lenient with those who wanted his life.

  Just then, something strange happened.

  Reed was about to deal with Morris's body when he suddenly felt a strange energy fluctuation.

  He looked down and saw that the hand he had placed on Morris's body was emitting a faint gray light.

  "What's going on?" Reed was startled and tried to pull his hand back, but it seemed stuck, unable to move.

  However, the next second, the gray light on his hand suddenly disappeared.

  Everything returned to normal, as if it had all been an illusion.

  Reed shook his head, finding himself unharmed and feeling no discomfort.

  "Was that... an illusion?" He looked at his hand in confusion, then at Morris's body on the ground.

  The body remained unchanged.

  "Was I seeing things?" Reed began to doubt his own eyes.

  Just then, he suddenly felt some unfamiliar information appear in his mind.

  Reed was stunned and quickly focused to examine the information in his mind.

  "A knight skill book?"

  Sure enough, a phantom book appeared in his mind, with ancient characters on the cover—Knight Skill Book.

  He mentally flipped through the pages, and on the first page was the name of a skill—Swift Wind Step.

  "Swift Wind Step? Was this the skill the masked knight used?" Reed's eyes widened, filled with shock and confusion.

  He recalled the battle earlier, and indeed, Morris had used a very fast footwork.

  "And... this skill book is a white four-star?"

  "My God, I actually got a knight skill?"

  Reed felt like he was dreaming, finding it hard to believe.

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  He looked at Morris's body again, then at his hand, and a guess started forming in his mind.

  "Could it be... that the gray holy light in my body has a special ability to absorb the skills of knights I kill?"

  As soon as this thought emerged, it grew wildly in Reed's mind like weeds.

  If this were true, could he gain various knight skills by continuously killing knights?

  "This is too... unbelievable?" Reed muttered, feeling his worldview was being overturned.

  However, upon reflection, the gray light and the sudden appearance of the skill book seemed to confirm his guess.

  "This must be it!" Reed became more and more excited.

  "This secret must not be known by anyone!"

  This ability was too overpowering; if it were leaked, it could cause a huge uproar and even bring him fatal danger.

  "I must keep this secret and never expose it unless absolutely necessary," Reed warned himself.

  With this ability, his strength would improve far faster than others.

  After the excitement, Reed calmed down. It wasn't time to celebrate; there were more important things to do.

  "Let's go to the armory first and get a weapon." Reed remembered the academy manual stated that students who reached squire level 2 could go to the academy armory to get a weapon for free.

  With that in mind, Reed didn't hesitate. He quickly tidied up the battlefield and headed for the armory of Lake Knight Academy.

  ...

  The knight instructor on duty at the armory spotted Reed from afar.

  "Well, isn't this Reed, who's been making waves recently?" The instructor's loud voice carried from a distance, with a hint of teasing and curiosity.

  After all, it was hard not to notice such a figure suddenly appearing in the academy.

  Reed quickened his pace and nodded at the instructor as a greeting.

  He recognized this instructor, who seemed to be named Carl, usually responsible for defense training and also duty at the armory.

  "Instructor Carl," Reed called out, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.

  Carl looked Reed up and down, his gaze scrutinizing and somewhat skeptical. "What are you doing at the armory? Don't tell me you're here to get a weapon?"

  His tone was clearly doubtful, probably thinking that Reed, being young and newly famous, was getting ahead of himself.

  "Yes, the academy manual says squire level 2 can come to the armory to get a weapon," Reed replied calmly, not angered by the instructor's tone.

  "Squire level 2?" Carl raised an eyebrow, his skepticism deepening. "You? Squire level 2? Don't joke around, Reed."

  He clearly didn't believe Reed could have broken through so quickly, as just over a week ago, the kid had just awakened his knight's heart.

  Reed thought, indeed, without showing something real, these people wouldn't easily believe.

  He didn't want to explain much; actions speak louder than words.

  "If you don't believe me, you can test it," Reed said, his body slightly trembling as a faint gray holy light instantly surrounded him.

  Carl's originally teasing expression froze, replaced by surprise, then quickly turned serious.

  As a genuine bronze knight, he was very sensitive to the power fluctuations of knight levels. The energy emanating from Reed, though still immature, was indeed at the level of squire level 2.

  "You... you really reached squire level 2?" Carl's voice carried a hint of disbelief.

  How did he cultivate so fast?

  Reed didn't speak, just silently retracted the holy light, letting the facts speak for themselves.

  Carl was silent for a moment, his expression changing several times, finally sighing, his tone softening.

  "Alright, alright, you're something. Didn't expect that, truly a rising star. Looks like the academy has another genius."

  Though he said this, he was still muttering in his heart, the speed of this genius's growth was too fast.

  "Since you're already squire level 2, you do qualify to get a weapon from the armory."

  "Follow me, there are many things in the armory, take your time to choose, but remember, only one."

  As he spoke, he turned and walked towards the armory door, his attitude much more enthusiastic.

  That's how the world was; strength was the true currency. When you showed enough strength, others would naturally treat you differently.

  Reed followed Carl, feeling calm.

  He had expected this scene; he was starting to get used to the changes brought by his rising strength.

  The armory door was heavy and ancient, with some exquisite patterns carved on it. Carl stepped forward, took a key from his waist, and unlocked the door.

  "Creek—" The heavy door slowly opened.

  Reed followed Carl inside, his eyes instantly captivated by the scene in the armory.

  The armory was much larger than he had imagined, with various weapons neatly arranged inside—swords, spears, axes... all kinds of weapons were there, truly dazzling.

  On the walls hung bows, shields, armor, and other equipment, reflecting cold metallic luster under the light.

  Reed felt as if he were in an ancient arsenal, the aura of various cold weapons making his blood boil.

  As a knight, who could resist the temptation of weapons?

  "Impressed, huh?" Carl looked at Reed's slightly surprised expression and smiled proudly.

  "The armory of our Lake Knight Academy is among the best in Lion City, filled with carefully selected weapons. You came to the right place today."

  Reed nodded, indeed, the variety and quality of weapons here exceeded his expectations.

  He had thought the armory would only have some standard weapons, but there were so many good items here.

  "Instructor, can I choose any weapon here?" Reed couldn't help but ask.

  "Of course not." Carl shook his head. "Squire level 2 can only choose from the first zone, and only one weapon. When you reach the bronze knight, you can go to the second zone, and the silver knight can enter the third zone. The quality of weapons in each zone is different; the higher the level, the better the weapons you can choose."

  He pointed to the area division of the armory, and only then did Reed notice that the armory was divided into three zones, each separated by fences.

  The first zone had the largest number of weapons, and the types were the most varied, but they seemed to be of relatively ordinary quality.

  The second and third zones had noticeably fewer weapons, but they exuded a much stronger aura, making it clear at a glance that they were not ordinary items.

  "The weapons in the first zone, although of average quality, have all been carefully selected and are more than sufficient for your current stage," Carl patted Reed on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Choose a weapon that suits you well. It will be a great help in improving your strength."