Return of the Fallen Nobleman With an SSS-Rank Talent-Chapter 52: Mid-ranking Knight

Novice Knight [EXP: 500/500]

Adam stared at the number.

He had finally gained enough experience to advance to the next rank.

Much faster than he had imagined.

The pain continued to course through his body as he lay prostrate in bed, unable to even sit up without feeling his muscles tear again. He had suffered. And he was still paying the price.

But it had been worth it.

A crooked smile, distorted by pain, spread across his lips.

He had prevented the city from being destroyed. He had made plans, executed them under pressure... and survived.

It wasn’t luck.

It was a choice.

He let out a slow sigh, the smile still on his face. For the first time since the battle, he felt something akin to satisfaction.

He had won.

Not just experience.

He had won time. Future.

His gaze drifted down to the new notification windows floating in front of him.

The rewards awaited him.

[You have accumulated enough EXP to become a Mid-ranking Knight]

[Do you want to become a Mid-ranking Knight?]

[Yes/No]

Adam’s smile widened as he moistened his lips.

But he hesitated for a moment.

If he accepted... would he suffer?

When he became a Novice Knight, he hadn’t felt any pain.

He just hoped that this time would be the same. In his current state, he wasn’t sure he could take any more.

Without hesitating again, he pressed [Yes].

Instantly, his heart began to beat violently, setting a deep and powerful rhythm. The mana in the environment responded, stirring as if it had received a silent command. The energy flowing through his internal channels intensified, expanding and penetrating every fiber of his body.

It pierced his skin.

It slid through his bones.

It enveloped them.

There was no pain.

It was completely different from when he used stat points, that time when his body was forced to change under brutal pressure. This was different.

As if a warm current were flowing through every corner of his being, restoring and strengthening him from within.

His muscles tensed with new vitality. His tendons became firm. His skin became more resistant.

It was not violence.

It was harmony.

The sensation was almost sacred, as if the Creator God himself, Omnimana, extended his presence and enveloped him in an invisible embrace.

For the first time since it all began... Adam smiled without tension.

The feeling lasted a few more minutes before slowly fading... until it disappeared completely.

Feeling his body with renewed strength and filled with new energy, Adam slowly opened his eyes and regained his senses: he had officially become a Mid-ranking Knight.

Adam Hall

Mid-ranking Knight [EXP: 0/1000]

Talent: A

Trait: Fencing (SSS) Hand-to-Hand Combat (D) Tracking (C) Mana Manipulation (B) Magic (SSS) Mana Perception (S)

Strength: 31 --> 51 +

Stamina: 47 --> 67 +

Agility: 35 --> 55 +

Vitality: 35 --> 55 +

Mana: 85 --> 105 +

Statistics points: 0

Adam looked closely at the status window. A bitter expression crossed his face when he saw the experience required to advance to the next rank.

He needed 1,000 EXP to become a High-ranking Knight.

His eyes scanned the remaining information. His stats had increased by twenty points, and his mana was now over one hundred. The rest remained the same.

It wasn’t insignificant.

But it wasn’t enough either.

Besides, he hadn’t forgotten that he was also a first-circle wizard. He couldn’t afford to neglect magic; he knew that, in the not-too-distant future, he would depend on it more than he could imagine.

The status window slowly faded away.

Then Adam turned his face and met his mother’s reddened eyes.

Alisha rushed toward him and wrapped him in a delicate embrace, as if afraid of breaking him.

Her hoarse voice whispered in his ear:

"F-Finally... you woke up."

Adam felt something tighten inside his chest as his mother’s tears wet his shoulder. He remembered the promise he had made to his father: never to make them worry again.

And once again, he had failed.

"I’m sorry..."

Alisha pulled away slightly, holding his face between her hands with infinite gentleness.

"You don’t have to apologize... You did everything you could to keep our home from being destroyed."

Her eyes scanned the wounds, the bandages, the pallor.

She paused, and her voice became more fragile.

"It just breaks my heart to see you like this... you’re just like your father when he was young."

Adam didn’t know if that was a compliment... or a condemnation. He opened his mouth several times like a fish... but in the end, he said nothing. Simply by delicately moving his hands, he hugged his mother.

...

A few minutes later, Adam remained leaning against the headboard. His mother had already left; she had to attend to matters related to the mansion. Before leaving, she had kissed him on the cheek.

And now...

Now he faced another problem.

His fiancée.

"Selene..."

She didn’t turn around. She remained standing by the window, rigid, as if the call had never happened.

Adam exhaled softly.

"Are you going to ignore your fiancé... even after he almost died in a great battle?"

Silence.

But not absolute silence.

Adam noticed Selene’s arm tense slightly at her side.

So she was listening after all.

A small, weary smile appeared on his lips.

"I see... My beautiful fiancée is only here out of courtesy. And I thought..."

He left the sentence hanging.

Selene turned abruptly, ready to retort, but when she met his eyes, she hesitated. She looked away almost immediately, struggling to regain a stern expression.

She didn’t quite succeed.

Her eyes were red.

She had been crying.

And that hurt more than any wound.

Selene tried to maintain her composure.

"Courtesy...?"

Adam watched her silently.

She took a step toward the bed.

"Do you really think I’m here out of courtesy?"

Her voice rose, breaking.

"Do you know what it was like to hear that you were unconscious? That you almost didn’t wake up?"

Adam blinked.

Selene clenched her fists tightly.

"While everyone was celebrating that the tide had turned, all I could think was... that you weren’t going to open your eyes again."

The silence that followed was heavier than any scream.

Adam felt something sink into his chest.

Selene took another step, and this time her voice was barely more than an angry whisper:

"Don’t ever put me through this again."

Adam didn’t respond immediately.

Instead, he reached out and gently took her wrist.

Selene tensed.

With a gentle tug, he pulled her toward him. It was a slow movement, as if he were giving her the chance to stop him.

Their foreheads almost touched.

Adam held her gaze for another second... and then kissed her.

Selene tried to resist for just a moment... but her fingers ended up clutching the fabric of his shirt.

Selene rested her forehead against his, breathing heavily, and whispered.

"Idiot..."

Adam just smiled.