'No, not yet.' She thought to herself. She shook away all her depraved thoughts before finally focusing her attention back on him. With a quiet grace that didn't match her current appearance, she spoke.
"Well, for a first-timer, you certainly seem to know your way around a woman. Plus, it seems you are much stronger than normal men."
The countess remembered how he was able to withstand the crushing of his neck with her thighs—something that would have been hard for a normal man to do. Though she was controlling her strength and wasn't actually trying to kill him, the fact that he was able to resist her so thoroughly spoke immensely of his strength.
Her mind wandered back to the report she had received about him—how he worked on an empty stomach and was still able to deliver the result of two grown men for a consecutive number of days.
"Does he have…?"
As soon as the thought appeared in her mind, joy—different from the sexual kind—flowed through her. If he indeed had what she thought he had, then she would have done more than pick up a boy toy for herself.
She would have found herself a diamond in the rough. Or rather, in the mines.
However, before her thoughts could spiral further, she had to test him. No point in getting her hopes up for no reason. With that, she waved her hand, and a book appeared in her grasp.
It looked like it was in pristine condition, yet the fingerprints of time could not be removed from it. Though aged, all its pages seemed to be crisp and sharp, as if it were pressed every day.
As soon as the book appeared, a wave of surprise mixed with joy washed over him. While it might look like an ordinary book, he could tell exactly what it was.
An Ardent cultivation technique.
While others might have spent the previous seven days lazing around, Gareth wasn't like that. With nothing to do, he spent that time scouring through the memories of the previous owner of his body.
He searched for every clue, every snippet of information that could be useful and help him gain an upper hand in this world. And sure enough, he found it almost immediately—the most surefire way to gain power in this world.
To awaken as an Ardent.
From his memories, Ardents were superhuman people capable of wielding the mana of the world to perform extraordinary feats. From commanding forces of nature like fire and lightning to bend to their will, to wielding the physical strength to cleave mountains in two.
They were able to do it all.
Of course, all this was just tales from stories he had heard, embellished to make them more interesting. However, that didn't mean they were false.
The knowledge of the Ardents was akin to a universal truth—one that every single person knew to be true regardless of whether they had come into contact with one or not. Besides, they weren't uncommon. If one wanted to see one, there were certain places where they were guaranteed to be found.
In a world ruled by power, becoming an Ardent was the universal goal of everyone, from a young man to an elderly person. However, just because you wanted something didn't mean it would be given to you.
In this world, the majority wouldn't even be able to begin taking the first step on this path, let alone last long enough to become someone of renown. That was because, to begin on this path, something was required—a fundamental piece that could not be bypassed.
An Ardent cultivation technique.
The very thing that the countess was offering Gareth right now.
However, make no mistake—just because the countess was offering it so easily to Gareth didn't mean it was easy to obtain.
It wasn't just something that could be bought simply because one had the money. Even if that were the case, the sky-high cost would be something most couldn't afford—if you even found someone willing to part ways with it in the first place.
And in this kingdom, most Ardent cultivation techniques were either in the hands of the nobles or the royals. For the rest, unlucky enough not to be born among them—well, tough luck.
Nobles were stingy by nature and would never part with something that precious, not when they could use it for themselves. The only chance an ordinary person who wasn't born a noble or royal would have to become an Ardent was to find a cultivation technique in the wild or to pledge their life in service to one who possessed such a technique.
The first option was utterly unrealistic. It was plain hope disguised as delusion—the belief that one would be lucky enough to find something like that in a random place.
The second option, while more realistic, was equally challenging. Pledging one's life in servitude to another was something most would be reluctant to do. In a world filled with mana, it was simply another form of slavery.
Those who provided the techniques would certainly have their ways to ensure absolute obedience from those they chose to help. No one would be foolish enough to entrust such valuable items solely on the word of another person.
No.
While he didn't know how, it wasn't a far-fetched conclusion to reach. In a world filled with magic, ways to ensure loyalty would be a dime a dozen.
However, even being chosen to be enslaved was another challenge entirely. Without displaying sufficient talent, no noble would grant another their Ardent cultivation technique.
People train for a long time before being granted the opportunity to cultivate. Almost no one would decline the 'loyalty bonds' their employer would place on them. After all, wasn't that the reason they were training in the first place?
The temptation of power was more than enough for them to forgo any hesitation they had about being tied down. Besides, most nobles wouldn't do anything that would harm their Ardents.
After all, an Ardent was akin to a symbol of power. Losing even one would be a severe blow—one no one would want to bear. So even though Ardents were no different from slaves, no one in their right mind would treat them as such.
Most of the time, they were treated like special guests, with their every whim catered to.