"Let's stay a little longer in the south to earn a little more money and then co back north."
Saying this, Maxi was firmly convinced that when he returned, he would create a small earthquake in the Kingdom.
After all, his strength and his rcenary group couldn't be hidden forever.
Previously, his strength and that of the rcenaries were still within an acceptable range.
But when they returned to fight Baron Barthon, Maxi would probably have at least the strength of a knight at the grand success stage, while he would have at least 3 n at the knight entry or even petit success stage.
In this way, the strength of his rcenary group could even be compared to that of a powerful baron or even a viscount, so strong will they be.
But all this would happen in the future.
After the montous events of the past few weeks, a rare period of calm set in for Maxi and his elite n.
Settled in the Académie des Chevaliers Pourpres, a place dedicated to training Count Ardan's elite, they took advantage of this respite to train, hone their skills and enjoy a few monts of daily life away from battle.
The academy itself was an impressive place: a vast fortified complex surrounded by high stone walls and featuring several training grounds, forges and libraries.
Statues of knights with fascinating and heroic histories stood in the main courtyards, reminding students and guests of the importance of discipline and honor.
Saber-toothed tigers enjoyed a special status, since they had proved their worth against the orcs and obtained the Count's authorization.
As a result, they were all housed in spacious, luxurious quarters. They were even better housed than the students and so of the professors.
They were also allowed to use the academy's facilities, which led to regular scenes of rcenaries taking part in supervised training as well as cultural courses, usually reserved for nobles.
Most rcenaries had never had access to intellectual courses.
Everything they learned ca from their parents or neighbors when they were still villagers.
Obviously, the knowledge passed on in this way was limited.
And most of these courses were very advanced, so very few rcenaries managed to learn anything from them.
Only Tena, Ernest, Rodrigo and Laura continued to attend.
Tena, on the other hand, was a particularly keen learner and spent a lot of ti in the library.
For his part, Maxi had spent most of the week practicing like crazy with his sword.
With a combination of hard work, talent and Alarick's help, he finally achieved his goal.
[Sword mastery level 3 (1/100)]
"Congratulations Maxi, I think you now have fencing comparable to that of a knight!"
Alaric smiled at Maxi, his eyes showing admiration for the young prodigy's progress.
He'd never seen anyone improve so much in such a short ti.
"Thank you Alarick, I couldn't have done it without you.
Maxi thanked Alarick sincerely.
If it hadn't been for his help, he'd never have made such rapid progress.
Of course, he had been content to keep up the physical level of an apprentice knight at the peak stage.
There was no need to show all his strength right away.
It would have been difficult to explain, not to ntion unhelpful during training.
After all, he could crush Alarick with just his physical strength now.
"I'll leave you here Maxi, I've got to go and prepare a lesson for the 4th graders."
"No worries."
For his part, Maxi went quietly to eat in the great hall.
There were only a few groups of apprentice knights filling it, leaving this large room a little empty, but allowing him to eat in a less noisy atmosphere than usual.
After eating, Maxi decided to check on his new VentBois recruits to see how they were doing.
He'd only run into them briefly during als, and with the strict schedule he'd imposed on himself, he hadn't been able to chat much with them.
So he strolled out into the main courtyard of the Purple Knight Academy.
The air was fresh and laden with the scent of damp leaves. The afternoon sun was gently illuminating the cobblestones, casting a golden glow over the academy's majestic buildings.
The weather was fine, despite the low temperature.
Maxi strode forward, his long black coat fluttering slightly behind him.
He had borrowed the coat from among the things the academy provided, thinking it would fit him rather well.
As he reached his destination, he was increasingly eager to see the thirteen rcenaries he had recruited in Ventbois.
These n and won, though still young and inexperienced, all had promising potential thanks to his talent.
Particularly Garen and Lira, who were now 4-star talents, and therefore likely to have knightly strength in the future.
What's more, Garen possessed the Berserker talent and Lira had an affinity with shadows.
For the mont, the two had shown no signs of awakening these talents, but when they did, there was no doubt that their fighting power would explode.
There was also Jean, who, although a notch below them in terms of potential, possessed the blessing of the wind, and already knew to so extent how to use it to scout.
As he passed through the arches leading to a secondary training area, he heard familiar noises: the clatter of blades, cheers, and the muffled impacts of blows to training dummies.
When he arrived on the field, he was imdiately greeted by Garen, who was acting as leader among these new recruits.
"Chief, there you are! It's a pleasure to see you here!"
Maxi nodded, watching as the twelve remaining rcenaries interrupted their exercises to gather around him. The group had changed in just a few days. Their posture was more assured, their looks more determined.
"Good to see you again, guys," Maxi said with a smile.
"So, how's your stay here going?"
Jean, stepped forward with a confident smile.
"Chief, it's incredible! The training here is demanding, but we've learned so much. The teachers say we all have good potential, even if we're not from noble bloodlines."
Beside her, Lira nodded.
"We also took part in battle simulations with first-year students. At first we were getting beaten up badly, and many of the students were secretly laughing at us."
"So of them had fun comparing us to the old rcenaries, saying we were really garbage compared to Andrew or even Laura."
"But now we're starting to co into our own."
"Everyone's surprised by how fast we're progressing and is starting to look at us differently."
Maxi observed each of the rcenaries in turn. Garen, Lira, Jean and the others did indeed seem tougher, their physiques having been strengthened by intensive training.
But it wasn't just their physical strength that had evolved. He could see a new confidence in their eyes, the kind of confidence you gain by overcoming hardships and becoming stronger, both physically and ntally.
"Good. Now I'd like to see what you've learned. Show what training here has done for you."
At these words, the rcenaries quickly scattered to prepare for a demonstration. Garen picked up a sword while Lira grabbed a pair of daggers.
The two quickly began to spar under Maxi's watchful eye.
Their duel was fast-paced and technical, with every move revealing a heightened mastery of the basics of close combat.
"They're already not far from reaching level 2 in their weapon mastery, that's really good," Maxi thought as he watched them.
After that, other recruits such as Reta and Yvan practiced breaking reinforced dummies, showing impressive raw power for people who had only been villagers a few days before.
Because even brute strength required technique.
Otherwise, it was impossible to reveal even 70% of his raw power.
Once the demonstrations were over, Maxi called the group together.
"You've worked hard over the last few days. Keep up the hard training. I have a feeling we'll have an important mission soon, and when that ti cos I'll be counting on you to show what you're capable of."
"You may be young, but I see in you the future of our group. Stay focused and disciplined."
The rcenaries nodded in agreent, Maxi's words touching them so deeply that the fire of determination shone in their eyes. Maxi, satisfied, gave them a few more instructions before leaving them to resu their activities.
He continued his day by talking to his rcenaries scattered throughout the academy.
All had adapted well to life at the academy.
The next morning, as Maxi watched a combat demonstration in the academy's large arena between Jas and a 4th-year apprentice knight, a soldier approached him softly.
"Chief of the Saber-toothed Tigers, Count Ardan wishes to see you in his office."
Maxi exchanged a puzzled glance with the rcenaries standing beside him, before following the ssenger.
He crossed the long corridors of the academy and arrived at the door of Count Ardan's office.
The soldier knocked gently three tis on the door before taking a step back.
"Who is it?"
The Count's deep voice rang out. Enjoy new tales from My Virtual Library Empire
"This is Private Kotar, reporting that the chief of the Saber-toothed Tigers is waiting outside the door."
After a brief mont of silence, the Count's voice rang out again.
"You may go, Kotar, and please co in, Maxi."
The soldier gave Maxi a slight military salute, to which he also replied, and then left.
Simultaneously, Maxi opened the door and entered the academy director's room.
Count Ardan was waiting for him, standing in front of a map spread out on a table.
He was dressed in a richly embroidered but sober tunic, and looked grave. His weathered face betrayed a certain tension.
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