The story of the black silk female knight

The bald man rested his chin on his hand, thought for a moment, then glanced at the list again before handing it back to Valensa.

"I'm only interested in materials related to fine wine, but another old guy I know is arguably one of the most knowledgeable about food on this continent."

After speaking, the bald man looked up at the sky again, at the sun that had just risen above the horizon:

"The sun has already risen... Hmm, according to that old guy's habits, he should already be fishing. We can try our luck at a few fishing spots nearby, maybe we can run into him."

If you can't run into him, come to my office tomorrow to get a letter of introduction and visit him through the proper channels.

"Yeah, I understand."

Valensa nodded obediently.

"Then follow."

The bald man yawned again, then leaped into the air and began to traverse through the dense forest.

It didn't seem fast, and even seemed a bit clumsy because of his bear-like, muscular body, but Valensa had to use all her normal strength, and even expend some mental energy to enhance her speed, just to barely keep up with the bald man's speed.

The two searched several small lakes and ponds within dozens of kilometers of the school, but failed to find the bald man.

"Who exactly are you taking me to, Headmaster?"

After finding nothing at yet another pond, Valensa finally couldn't resist asking out of curiosity.

"Who else could it be?"

The bald man shrugged.

"You're looking for top-quality ingredients, so of course you can only go to those three old guys from the Gourmet Association... the cook, the hunter, and the fisherman. I'm on good terms with the fisherman; he often comes over to have a few drinks with me... I think he even knows you."

Cooking, hunting, fishing...

Valensa's heart skipped a beat:

"Are you referring to the three giants of the Food Association?"

"Hmm, that's them... Oh ho, I can sense the fisherman's presence, come quick."

The bald man nodded, then his eyes suddenly lit up, and he leaped out again.

Valensa quickly followed.

They traversed another four or five kilometers through the wilderness and dense forest, during which Valensa even kicked to death a large monkey monster that was standing on a treetop watching the sunrise.

The giant monkey monster didn't actually provoke Valensa, but Valensa felt that the giant monkey monster looked a bit like the Great Prophet of the Wild Beasts, so she couldn't help but kick it.

At their destination, by a small lake with rather beautiful scenery, Valensa finally met the person the bald man wanted to introduce her to, and was quite surprised:

"Old sir...it's you?"

She actually knew this person; he was the old man who would occasionally go fishing at the pond next to the girls' dormitory but always came up empty-handed. Valensa had even sent him some simple wild game she had prepared for her friends a few times.

Valensa sensed that this old fisherman was no ordinary person, but she never expected that he would be one of the three giants of the Food Association.

This feeling is probably similar to that of a friend you occasionally played games with in your past life, someone you bragged about your views on the internet industry to, only to suddenly discover that the person's surname is actually Ma.

It's embarrassing, and even feels like a dark chapter in my history.

But thinking about it the other way around, since this old man who fishes is one of the three giants of the Food Association and a close friend of the principal... perhaps it was because he mentioned me to the principal that the principal started paying extra attention to me, leading to the special care I receive now?

While Valensa was lost in thought, she appeared very well-behaved and polite, and formally introduced herself to the old fisherman, whose name she had chatted with many times but still didn't know.

The old man fishing has a very ordinary name, Basel, and no surname. He is a strong man who rose from humble beginnings to his current position, just like the bald man who also came from humble beginnings.

The bald man didn't have a surname either; his first name was just a very common one, O'Neill... Perhaps that's one of the reasons why he and the fisherman became good friends.

Chapter 124 Gourmet Points

Generally speaking, even if one comes from a humble background, as long as one can cultivate to the Radiant Rank, it is still quite easy to become a noble and have a surname.

Although the royal family is now very strict about titles, nobility does not necessarily require a title. As long as one person in a family holds a title, the rest of the family members can be considered nobles.

Many noble families and royal families have affiliated minor noble families. The members of these families share the same surname even though they are not related by blood. These people are often the confidants and elites of the noble families.

For example, Tia's Britannia family has a subsidiary family called the Brightman. The Brightman family currently has more than twenty members, but none of them are related by blood. They are all commoner geniuses who came from military backgrounds and were granted the surname Brightman and noble status after swearing allegiance to Britannia.

With his status and strength as a bald man and a fishing grandpa, he could easily choose any noble surname, and even become a kinsman to the royal family if he wanted.

But neither of them did that.

Accepting the offer of a position from royalty or nobles means pledging allegiance to them. While this may bring more honor and resources for cultivation, it is also difficult to refuse their requests.

Valensa doesn't know much about the old man fishing, so she can't say for sure, but she can probably guess from the bald man... This person is probably not loyal to the royal family at all, but rather has a mentality that with great power comes great responsibility, and regards protecting Fran as his duty.

The bald man neither interfered with nor was interested in the power struggles among royalty and nobility.

But anyone who blatantly harms the innocent people of Fran or shakes the foundation of Fran will most likely be smashed into a pancake by a headbutt or crushed into a soul crystal by hand.

Of course, all of this has to happen if the bald guy isn't drunk or out looking for alcohol...

Valensa and the old fisherman already knew each other, and they always had a pleasant chat. With the bald man speaking up for her, it was easy to persuade the old fisherman to agree to help.

The Culinary Association truly lives up to its name. Of the nearly twenty top-quality ingredients on that list, seven are already in stock, and the sources of the other four are also well-known and readily available.

Unfortunately, ingredients of this caliber are generally not sold even for money, let alone given away. Even if the old fisherman is one of the three giants, he can't just do whatever he wants.

"How about this."

After thinking for a moment, the old fisherman came up with a roundabout solution:

"I'll make the decision and grant you the right to accumulate and purchase food points. You can find a way to save up enough food points and then use them to buy those ingredients."

"Food points?"

Valensa's Gold membership in the Gastronomic Association was practically free; she knew more about many things within the association than even the Silver and Bronze members.

"Is such that……"

The old man fishing clearly understood this as well, and explained it to Valensa with a smile.

Food points are actually an exclusive currency used by members of the Food Association. Members at the Diamond level and above automatically unlock food points, while Gold level members require special approval from the three leaders.

Many top-quality ingredients, kitchenware, and recipes that money can't buy can be redeemed with food points, including the ingredients Valensa needed.

There are three simple ways to earn food points.

One way is to submit various ingredients through hunting, but not just any ingredients will do; they must be monster ingredients of at least the Lighthouse level.

Secondly, new dishes are developed. For every new dish that receives positive feedback from the public, the developer can earn a certain amount of food points based on the dish's evaluation.

Third, you can earn food points by completing tasks assigned by the Food Association. These tasks are diverse, including hunting powerful monsters, serving as an assistant to top chefs, participating in food competitions and winning prizes, and participating in the Food Association's commercial activities.

Valensa initially considered the second method: to gain food points by extensively copying and developing dishes from her previous life's Celestial Empire.

However, after carefully consulting with the old fisherman, she regretfully learned that while Chinese cuisine is indeed very popular among ordinary people, the ingredients used are mostly common and the flavor relies mainly on spices, which does not conform to the mainstream pursuit of top-quality ingredients and natural flavors in this world. Therefore, the rating is not high, and it is very inefficient to earn food points in this way.

The tasks posted by the Food Association are not available all the time, and many members rush to complete them each time, so it's not easy to earn points.

Therefore, Valensa ultimately only had one option to choose from.

hunting.

Use a large number of lighthouse-level mid-to-high-grade ingredients to exchange for food points. After accumulating a lot of food points, use them to exchange for top-tier ingredients.

Another advantage of this method is that the submitted ingredients do not necessarily have to be hunted by the member himself. He can buy them or hire someone else to hunt them. The food association only looks at the quality of the ingredients, not their origin.

But the advantage is also the disadvantage—it costs a lot of money, a lot of money.

Valensa roughly estimated that if she used the method of buying mid-to-high-level ingredients to exchange for food points, and then using the food points to exchange for top-tier ingredients, the gold coins she would spend would be more than 40% higher than the market price of those top-tier ingredients.

It's a huge loss, but there's nothing I can do. The seller is capricious; take it or leave it.

In short, this is a problem that can be solved with money, but the problem is that there isn't enough money.

Even though Valensa's financial situation has improved significantly and Tia has provided full support using her own wealth, funds are still very tight.

You need money to buy high-quality, attribute-free magic crystals to develop and repair ruins.

You also need money to buy mid-to-high-end ingredients to earn food points.

The next step, naturally, is to find ways to make money.

. . . . .

With a handwritten note and a keepsake from the old fisherman, Valensa's food points activation went very smoothly.

After saying goodbye to the bald man and the old fisherman by the pond, she went back to her dormitory, took a shower, ate some breakfast at the cafeteria, and then rushed to the headquarters of the Food Association in the capital to take care of her business.

In the afternoon, Valensa intended to visit Yashiro to see what conditions Yashiro would offer for the batch of high-quality, attribute-free magic crystals she had. As long as it wasn't too outrageous, agreeing to her terms wouldn't be a bad idea.

Valencia desperately needs money right now.

However, upon arriving at the Nora Chamber of Commerce headquarters, the sweet and pretty receptionist told them that Yashilo and her best friend Lanzhi had gone on vacation and wouldn't be back for five days.

With no other option, Valensa had to return to school and, after a long absence, attend a practical lesson, beating up several classmates who knew they couldn't win but still insisted on challenging her.

Chapter 125 Imperial Rewards (Part 1)

With Valencia's current skill level, she can still learn some new knowledge in theoretical classes, so the necessity of practical classes is quite low.

Apart from a few practical instructors whose strength has reached the Shining rank, other Lighthouse-level practical instructors may not be able to defeat Valensa now, and they have nothing left to teach her.

Valensa doesn't need experience in fighting opponents of the same level or easily defeating weaker opponents, but she has more experience in fighting stronger opponents of higher levels than those practical instructors.

After all, in this world, the gap between those below the Radiant Rank is too great. Not every person below the Radiant Rank can muster the courage to attack an enemy below the Radiant Rank, and not every person below the Radiant Rank who attacks a Radiant Rank can survive or even win.

And sparring with classmates would be even more bullying. Valensa has long surpassed her classmates in both strength and combat experience, making her a true top student.

Originally, she was still somewhat behind sword saints like Ryan in the inheritance of advanced combat skills, but as she returned to the Sun Church family and inherited the Inner Temple Knights, this shortcoming was also made up.

Furthermore, she even learned magic from Friggia, the original witch, so it can be said that she has completely embarked on the path of a hexagonal female knight.

Her classmates are no match for her; challenging her is simply asking for a beating.

After happily beating up quite a few classmates in the practical class, Valensa spent another night in Tia's dormitory, welcoming a new day.

Today is a very special day. Officers and soldiers who have distinguished themselves in the autumn war will return from the front lines to the capital to meet the king and receive their rewards.

As the person who made the greatest contribution in this war and the recipient of the Golden Iris Vanguard Award, Valensa naturally had to go to the palace.

Just like the award ceremonies in her previous life, the more prestigious the award, the more it was placed last. Valensa was the grand finale at the award ceremony.

Moreover, those who were granted titles had to wait in the square outside the audience hall before they could enter, and could only do so after their names were called.

Valensa, on the other hand, could remain in the audience hall, which contained only about twenty high-ranking officials besides the king, dressed like a guard in a silver paladin's skirt armor, lace lining, and pure black stockings, standing behind the strategist.

She watched the entire award ceremony.

The Golden Iris Award is the highest honor in each autumn war, but it is not only recipients of the Golden Iris Award who receive royal commendations and rewards; there are many others as well.

Like the Golden Iris Award, those who receive these awards and honors are also divided into three categories.

One type is the brave ordinary soldier.

Although the fortresses on the northern frontier can stop most ordinary wild beasts, even the hundred-meter-high fortress walls can be scaled by wild beasts under their fearless and relentless attacks.

At this time, the experts inside the fortress would climb the city walls to fight the enemy, but the wild beasts also had experts. If the experts inside the fortress had to fight the wild beast experts, then the ordinary wild beast warriors would naturally have to be met by ordinary soldiers.

With their absolute advantage in equipment and medical support, even if their physical condition is slightly worse, the casualty ratio between human soldiers and ordinary beast warriors in melee combat can easily reach 1:5 or more.

In an autumn war, ordinary soldiers who kill more than 10 wild beasts and survive will receive a military reward. Those who kill more than 20 wild beasts will be able to meet the king at the palace and receive a personal reward.

Valensa roughly counted that in this year's autumn war alone, there were more than 200 ordinary soldiers whose achievements met this standard.

They were divided into several groups based on their respective fortresses or troop numbers, and received the king's rewards in turn.

These soldiers received almost exclusively monetary rewards, equivalent to about five years' salary for an average worker.

However, some individuals did not choose to ask for money. For example, one veteran who was over 30 years old blushed and begged the king to give him a beautiful wife.

The king did not refuse him. He selected a maid with a beautiful face and figure from among the palace maids and betrothed her to the old soldier, also providing a rather generous dowry for her.

The veteran was so moved he almost cried.

The second category of those who received rewards were officers, though their numbers were far fewer than those of the soldiers.

Aside from the recipients of the Golden Iris Award, there are only three others.

One of them was a staff officer who proposed a brilliant strategy during a defensive battle, which was adopted and led to a major local victory for humanity, annihilating more than 100,000 wild beasts with almost zero casualties.

The other two were captains of the logistics transport teams. They performed exceptionally well when their transport teams were intercepted by elite beast warriors. Through their outstanding command and the tacit cooperation of their soldiers, they managed to kill the elite beast warriors who were intercepting them.

It's important to know that the elite warriors of the Wild Beasts are all at least at the Lighthouse level, while ordinary soldiers are only around the Firefly level, and even the Candlelight level is extremely rare. Reaching the size of a Pearl is considered being an officer.