Late at night, everything was silent.
Inside the master bedroom of Jaqenion Estate, heavy curtains blocked out the thin moonlight of King's Landing and the distant glow of the harbor lighthouse.
The only illumination ca from a uniquely shaped bedside lamp — a Blue Star LED rechargeable night light — casting a soft, warm yellow glow over one corner of the enormous bed.
On a bed so large it was almost absurd, Luke lay on his back, breathing steadily.
Emma's brown hair was spread across the pillow. She slept soundly, her long lashes casting faint shadows on her eyelids.
Annie curled up like a little kitten, her cheek resting against his upper arm, one hand unconsciously draped across his chest.
Both girls were deep in sleep, their faces carrying a faint blush and traces of exhaustion.
Yet Luke's eyes were wide open, staring at the ceiling decorated with intricate star patterns. His gaze was clear, with no trace of drowsiness.
The excitent of the rank-awarding ceremony earlier that day, the planning for the fief's developnt, and the delicate political maneuvering with various factions had all temporarily settled.
A deeper, more personal thrill — tied to his greatest secret — was now surging within him.
With a slight thought, the semi-transparent panel that only he could see appeared before his eyes:
[Personal Panel] Strength: 11 Constitution: 11 Intelligence: 1 Spirit: 1 Fire Strength: 0 Fire Resistance: 0 Light Strength: 0 Dark Strength: 0 Ice Resistance: 0 Fire Resistance: 0 Light Resistance: 0 Dark Resistance: 0 Free Attribute Points: 10
Since his transmigration, free attribute points had slowly accumulated over ti and through certain special actions.
Now, they had reached 10 points.
"Strength and Constitution are already at 11," Luke thought. "From what I've felt before, once an attribute exceeds 10, each additional point brings a noticeably smaller increase — like hitting so kind of bottleneck or threshold. My current 11 points in Strength and Constitution already give physical abilities far beyond ordinary people. That's more than enough for the current situation. No need to invest more there for now."
His gaze shifted to the pitiful "1"s in Intelligence and Spirit, then swept across the rows of elental strengths and resistances below.
"This world… has magic. Dragons, the Others, the Children of the Forest, greenseers, the red priests' fire magic, the warlocks of Qarth… Although magic has faded, it hasn't completely disappeared. Since my 'golden finger' has these attributes, they can't just be for show."
"I used to think 'Intelligence' and 'Spirit' only ant literal thinking speed and willpower. But in a world with supernatural forces, they are very likely linked to concepts like 'mana' or 'psychic power.' Even the 'elental strengths' and 'resistances' below could represent specific magical talents and defensive affinities!"
A bold hypothesis took shape in his mind.
Rather than continuing to strengthen an already powerful body, it might be better to gamble and invest in areas that could unlock new powers!
He no longer hesitated. Focusing his will on the panel, he commanded:
"Intelligence, add 4 points!" "Spirit, add 4 points!" "The remaining 2 points… Fire Strength and Fire Resistance, 1 point each!"
The numbers on the panel changed instantly:
Intelligence: 1 → 5 Spirit: 1 → 5 Fire Strength: 0 → 1 Fire Resistance: 0 → 1 Free Attribute Points: 10 → 0
Almost at the sa mont, an indescribable sensation erupted from deep within Luke's body — more precisely, from his brain and a hard-to-locate "core of consciousness."
First ca warmth.
It wasn't a physical rise in temperature, but a soul-level warm current that swept through his entire being.
The faint ntal fatigue and physical weariness he hadn't even noticed during the day dissipated like mist under sunlight.
His mind felt as if it had been infused with a clear, refreshing spring. It beca incredibly sharp and transparent.
The occasional sluggishness he used to feel when thinking disappeared. Countless details and possibilities regarding fief developnt, personnel arrangents, and future plans flooded in like a tide, yet were efficiently sorted, analyzed, and organized.
He could even multitask — thinking about whether the supply list for the departure in ten days had any omissions while simultaneously recalling the distinctly different yet equally enchanting charms of Emma and Annie earlier.
The feeling was miraculous!
An increase in Intelligence didn't grant him new knowledge outright, but it dramatically improved his thinking speed, information processing, logical deduction, and creativity!
Next ca the changes brought by the increase in Spirit.
If Intelligence was an upgrade to the "hardware" and "algorithms" for processing information, then Spirit was the expansion of the "energy" and "perception" that drove it all.
Luke felt his awareness of his surroundings beco extraordinarily acute.
Even with his eyes closed, he could "sense" Emma's steady, warm breathing beside him, Annie's gently rising and falling chest, and could even vaguely detect the soft footsteps of the night maid in the next room and the rustle of leaves in the courtyard farther away.
This was more than just improved hearing — it felt like an all-encompassing, three-dinsional field of perception.
He tried concentrating this newly born, surging spiritual power.
His gaze fell on the clothes rack not far away, where the elegant dark-blue velvet doublet he had worn earlier hung.
He focused his mind… imagining an invisible force… pushing it…
At first, nothing happened.
But Luke refused to give up. He kept trying to capture that elusive "driving" sensation, adjusting the "output" and "focus point" of his spiritual power.
After more than ten seconds, just as sweat began to form on his forehead and he started to feel strained, the hem of the luxurious robe hanging on the rack moved — extrely lightly, almost imperceptibly.
It wasn't the wind! The windows were tightly closed.
Luke's heart raced. He concentrated even harder, shaping the warm stream of spiritual power into a clearer "psychic tendril."
The robe's hem moved again, this ti with greater amplitude. Then the entire garnt began to float without wind. It lifted slightly, then, as if held by an invisible hand, slowly rose, detached from the rack, and drifted and rotated gently in mid-air!
Success!
It really was telekinesis!
Luke suppressed the wild laughter of joy that nearly burst from his throat. His cheeks flushed with excitent and the brief ntal exertion.
He controlled the robe, making it perform a few simple movents — swaying, rising, falling.
Although the speed was slow and the control felt laborious, lasting less than a minute before he felt ntally drained and had to gently return the garnt to the rack.
But this was undoubtedly a historic mont!
"Intelligence affects the strength of telekinesis… How heavy an object I can lift and how fast I can move it probably depends on Intelligence."
"Spirit affects the 'stamina,' precision, and duration of telekinesis… That feeling of exhaustion earlier was spiritual depletion."
"As for Fire Strength and Fire Resistance…"
Luke tried directing the new warm current within him toward his fingertips, hoping to see sparks or feel heat, but nothing happened yet.
Perhaps specific knowledge, incantations, or higher attribute values were needed to manifest elental power.
However, the increase in Fire Resistance gave him an instinctive, subtle affinity and resistance toward high temperatures and flas.
"Does this an I might beco one of those 'unburnt' people in the future…"
An overwhelming surge of excitent and joy welled up in his chest like magma, almost ready to overflow.
The feeling of grasping the beginning of supernatural power excited him far more than acquiring vast wealth or a noble title!
This was his personal, transcendent foundation!
He needed to share it!
He needed to release it!
Although he couldn't explain the source of this power, the surging emotions demanded an outlet.
Luke turned to the side and gently kissed Emma awake.
The girl drowsily opened her sleepy eyes. Before she could fully wake, she felt her master's unusually intense gaze and rapid breathing.
"Master…?" Emma murmured softly.
Luke said nothing. He expressed his excitent through action.
He was gentle…
"Mmm…"
Emma woke up instantly, caught off guard by the sudden passion.
On the other side, Annie was also stirred awake by the movent. She blinked her hazy eyes.
Her cheeks flushed, but she drew closer with curiosity and anticipation, like a little animal seeking affection…
"Master… what's wrong? You seem especially happy…"
Annie asked softly, sensing an unusually vibrant energy radiating from Luke.
Luke pulled Annie into his arms as well.
"It's nothing, my Annie… I just suddenly feel that with you both by my side, and with the future we are building, everything is full of hope. It makes … overjoyed."
He couldn't explain the attribute points and telekinesis, so he could only attribute this surge of emotion to satisfaction and passion for the present and the future.
Although Annie didn't understand why, being so needed and cherished by her master — and feeling his genuine joy — was the greatest happiness to her.
Emma set aside her confusion and devoted herself completely… tenderly receiving her master's seemingly endless joy.
"Master… please be gentle with us…"
"Lord Luke…"
The temperature in the bedroom rose once more. Soft moans and gasps intertwined, drowning out the rising wind outside the window.
The warm night lamp silently witnessed the extraordinary nature of this night.
Not just because of the intimacy, but because the life level of the young man on the bed had quietly crossed the first threshold of the extraordinary.
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