First Tier.

Charlotte's heart stirred slightly, followed by a wave of excitement.

As a lord, she couldn't rely solely on her own strength to control her territory. Extraordinary followers were necessary.

And a boy who condensed the heart of source power at the age of fourteen to become an extraordinary knight, although could not be called a genius, was indeed extremely gifted.

At this moment, the young men and women who had been watching finally noticed Charlotte.

They quickly fell silent and abandoned Rand to gather around the girl, bowing respectfully.

"Lady Charlotte!"

Charlotte smiled faintly.

"You've all worked hard."

Rand also quickly walked over.

This carefree young man was also very excited, his bare arms, forehead, and body covered in sweat from hitting the sandbag.

Charlotte could even sense his strong aura through her keen intuition!

Although much weaker than Chatham, the captain of the Demon Hunter squad, he was much stronger than the other newcomers.

Standing together, they gave Charlotte the feeling of stars and the moon.

"Lady Charlotte!"

Rand knelt down on one knee, his right hand placed over his chest, respectfully performing the knight's gesture of facing his liege.

"Please rise. When did you advance?"

Charlotte smiled, her smile naive and romantic, filled with the joy of a young girl.

Rand scratched his head innocently.

"Hehe, it was last night. After returning home last night, the Inquisition attacked our house, injuring my father. Then, out of anger... I condensed the heart of source power."

The condensation of the heart of source power is often influenced by intense emotions.

Obviously, the young man had advanced under extreme anger.

In fact, many nobles would choose similar methods, perhaps in different ways but leading to the same result. This was also the mainstream path for extraordinary knights to advance in tiers without using the awakening seeds.

Of course, the process of the young man's advancement was certainly not that simple.

Charlotte could even imagine that although Rand was speaking lightly now, it was probably a moment of life and death for him at that time.

For the heretic... the local Inquisition forces were always merciless.

He was probably in a life-or-death struggle, and he advanced from being engulfed in extreme anger and fear.

"Injured your father? Is it serious? How is he now?"

Charlotte frowned slightly, her expression filled with concern, her clear blue eyes full of tension.

Rand gratefully said.

"With the help of the Demon Hunter Knights, my father's injuries are already healed."

Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief at this.

"That's good..."

Strictly speaking, although Charlotte was concerned about Rand's father's injury, she wasn't as exaggerated as she was just now.

But since she appeared as a cute little girl, she knew how to make these followers feel closer to her.

Charlotte knew her heart wasn't pure.

But so what?

Even if you're not a gentleman at heart, if you keep doing gentlemanly things all your life, you're still a gentleman.

As a ruler, she knew how to do better.

Seeing her like this, the young men and women's eyes became even more respectful.

"What bloodline power did you awaken?"

Charlotte asked again.

Unlike nobles with inherited bloodlines, extraordinary individuals like Rand, although their parents were extraordinary, their ancestors might never have been extraordinary.

Or even if they were, they might never have been Second Tier, Silver Moon extraordinary.

Extraordinaries below the Second Tier do not form inheritable bloodlines, so the awakened powers of people like Rand are usually not accompanied by special bloodline effects.

Of course, after becoming a First Tier, extraordinary individuals are considered to have awakened for the second time.

Those without bloodlines will awaken bloodlines, and those with bloodlines will strengthen them.

Charlotte was an exception.

She was different from other nobles. For the original body owner before possession, she had always been treated like a canary and had never awakened her bloodline.

After the possession, Charlotte became a Bloodborne, and her noble bloodline was likely overshadowed by the Bloodborne bloodline.

But even so, after becoming a First Tier, Charlotte vaguely felt that something had changed deep in her bloodline.

But she hadn't tested what it was yet. She just felt that it seemed to be related to the Bloodbornes.

"It's the Stone! My bloodline power... is the Stone!"

Rand said happily.

The Stone... Charlotte's heart stirred slightly.

The Stone is one of the commonly awakened bloodlines for extraordinary individuals without inherited bloodlines after advancing to the First Tier.

As the name suggests, it enhances defense and strength.

Especially in terms of defense, the bonus is very high, and when the bloodline is activated, the body becomes as hard as a rock.

Charlotte even seriously suspected that perhaps she had beaten Rand too much last week, and when he awakened, he was also beaten by the Judgment Knights, which led to the awakening of this bloodline.

But... it's not bad.

The Stone bloodline is one of the best bloodlines for guardian knights.

Hmm... although Charlotte seriously doubted whether with her own strength, does she really need protection from others. He was very suitable as a punching bag.

Rand, who successfully advanced to the First Tier, seemed quite excited.

He clenched his fist and said joyfully.

"Lady Charlotte, now... I'm also a Starry Sky Knight."

"I know. Before, you chose me as your sparring partner because I could take a beating the best..."

"But, I know you still restrained your power. You could take on many of us alone. The old me was no match for you."

"But now, hehehe... now I've advanced to First Tier! And awakened the Stone bloodline!"

"From now on, you can unleash your power on me as your sparring partner!"

Rand became more and more excited as he spoke, clearly proud to be the first among the newcomers to reach the First Tier as an extraordinary individual.

At the same time, Charlotte sensed that this young knight also had the stubbornness of youth.

Although he didn't say it, he was probably quite frustrated about being beaten by a "little girl" all the time.

However, Rand's words made Charlotte instantly interested.

Testing physical abilities with magical devices is one thing, but... compared to using devices, she was more interested in sparring with people.

Now she had encountered someone who had also awakened Starry Sky power, and it was also the one who she had previously beaten. She suddenly felt a bit itchy to fight.

Of course, she was a Bloodborne, and strength wasn't her strong suit, agility and magic were.

She was even only halfway decent at magic. She only knew the Majesty magic for now.

With Rand advanced to First Tier and awakened his bloodline power, his strength must have undergone a tremendous change.

But Charlotte didn't care about winning or losing.

After all, she was just a little girl, what did it matter if she lost?

"Sure, let's give it a try."

Charlotte said, her eyes bright with eagerness.

Hearing the girl's words, the young men and women around them were stunned.

"Master, be cautious... Rand just awakened his Source Core. Although I'm not an extraordinary individual, I know that those who have just advanced to the next tier find it hard to control their power. You..."

Casimodo's face changed slightly as he hurriedly interjected.

"Mr. Casimodo, you don't need to worry. I'm used to my current strength, and I won't go all out. I'll just use one hand and a third of my strength... that should be about the same level as Lady Charlotte."

Rand said confidently.

After saying that, he scratched his head.

"If you're really worried, I can also refrain from retaliating!"

"To be honest, I also want to test the defensive power under my current bloodline activation. Among the manor residents, Lady Charlotte is the strongest."

"Lady Charlotte, please strike me with all your strength and let me test my defensive power now!"

"This..."

Casimodo hesitated.

Charlotte, on the other hand, was delighted.

She confirmed one thing again: the perception of a knight is indeed not as acute as that of a mage.

Charlotte had sensed Rand's formidable strength, but Rand had not noticed that she had also advanced.

There was no point in hiding her strength to surprise the other party, after all, he wasn't an enemy.

Charlotte didn't tease them anymore. Instead, she actively released the magical aura within her body and smiled.

"No need, you can go all out."

Rand was taken aback for a moment and was about to say something, but he felt the sudden surge of formidable aura emanating from Charlotte's body, and his simple expression quickly became serious.

At the same time, the young men and women around them also quieted down.

They stared dumbfoundedly at Charlotte, feeling as if the girl were a terrifying volcano of magical power, and her aura became even more terrifying.

As for Casimodo, he was already a bit unsteady, and his legs were trembling.

He widened his eyes, looked at Charlotte in astonishment, and exclaimed.

"First... Tier?!"

Several apprentice mages also swallowed hard with difficulty, their expressions bewildered.

"Lady Charlotte... You've, you've opened your magic pool and become a mage?"

"But... you were able to beat Rand before, you... weren't you an apprentice knight?"

"No... Lady Charlotte is not just a mage, nor just a knight."

Said Rand solemnly.

His gaze fixed firmly on the girl, feeling a strong and formidable aura similar to Source Power emanating from deep within her bloodline, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Lady Charlotte, you are a dual cultivator..."

Taking a deep breath, he slightly clenched his fist, his eyes also filled with determination.

"Lady Charlotte, you truly deserve to be the head of the Castell family."

"It seems... I really don't need to hold back."

Charlotte smiled slightly.

She was certainly not a dual cultivator.

But as a Bloodborne, as a magical creature, it wouldn't be wrong to say she was a dual cultivator.

Humans are not magical creatures.

Without an affinity for magic and magic circuits, they can only become knights.

And those who have opened their magic pool and become mages, focusing solely on magic, find it difficult to pick up Source Power training again to condense their Source Core.

But magical creatures are different.

Magic and Source Power are two different manifestations of the same energy.

In magical creatures, Magic is both Magic and Source Power.

Magical creatures... are essentially dual cultivators!