After extensive testing, it was confirmed that Old Neil, one of High Cliff Castle’s only two Casters, was completely unable to learn any other Magic from the Stone Slab.

It was as if he was born to be favored by the Land Fertility Technique and it alone.

Although the Lord was a little disappointed, he was still satisfied with the outcome.

Currently, High Cliff Castle’s food supply relied entirely on stockpiles seized from other Tribes by the Feder Tribe and the High Cliff Castle Guard Team.

With supplies only going out and none coming in, they could only hold on for about six months.

But this Magic, combined with farm manure, would solve High Cliff Castle’s food crisis.

It was now early September, with only about ten days left before the winter wheat needed to be sown.

Fortunately, thanks to the slaves’ tireless efforts, a vast expanse of fields had already been cleared across the mountains and hills.

Piles of farm manure had also been heaped up across the fields.

They just had to wait until mid-September to begin sowing.

Then, around April of next year, High Cliff Castle’s granaries would be filled to bursting.

Levi couldn’t predict how large the harvest would be, empowered by Magic and farm manure, but he was sure it would be a figure so astounding it would leave everyone speechless.

The only problem was that Old Neil’s Magic Power was pitifully low. He could only cast the Magic once before his power was completely drained.

There was no way he could apply the Magic to all the newly cleared land in such a short amount of time.

Because of this, Levi assigned him to the soldier category in the system.

The Jackal Wolfman Cavalry’s patrols also gained a new task: taking the old Kobold out to attack any hapless wandering bandits to raise his Level as quickly as possible.

As for Sam, that sycophant, he was perhaps spurred on by Old Neil learning Magic. Just as Levi received the notification that Sam had officially joined his forces, the old fellow became more fawning and obsequious than ever.

However, it was because of him joining the team that Levi discovered a problem.

As a Shaman, Sam’s other Attributes were only slightly higher than his kin, but his Intelligence Attribute was a full fifteen points.

To put it in perspective, a normal human’s Intelligence was only around six points.

Though Sam had such high Intelligence, his actual smarts were nothing to write home about—on par with that "strategic genius," Zat. The Lord thus guessed that the Intelligence Attribute was also related to Spiritual Power and wasn’t just a measure of raw intellect.

It was common knowledge on the Middle Ages Continent that all Casters possessed high levels of Spiritual Power—that unseen, intangible force.

According to the research of scholars, Magic Power was closely related to Spiritual Power.

The higher the Spiritual Power, the more Magic Power one tended to have.

Levi speculated that when one of his system soldiers leveled up, the increase in the Intelligence Attribute would also increase their Spiritual Power.

If the experiment with Old Neil was successful...

That would mean that whenever a Caster appeared in High Cliff Castle, the Lord could have them increase their strength at the fastest possible rate.

This speculation excited the Lord so much that he couldn’t sleep all night. Before dawn the next day, he dragged Old Neil out of bed and had Hog take him out to attack some hapless bandits and share in the team’s experience points. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Lately, for some unknown reason, an abnormal number of bandits had been wandering into High Cliff Castle’s patrol radius out on the Wilderness. They were all red-eyed and crazed, desperately charging anyone they saw to fight to the death.

Zat cut open their stomachs but found nothing inside; they were completely empty.

This left everyone puzzled. After all, how could they still have the strength to fight if they hadn’t even eaten anything?

But regardless, it was confirmed that after Old Neil leveled up, the number of times he could cast his Magic increased from one to about three.

In other words, Levi’s guess was completely correct. This was wonderful news that overjoyed the Lord.

He immediately arranged a Magic study group that very night, herding Zat, Baisitina, and Hog into it.

In for a penny, in for a pound. If Heroic Units like Zat and Baisitina could learn Magic, the impact on High Cliff Castle would be immense.

The only downside was that Sam’s workload was starting to become heavy.

But Levi didn’t care. After all, he wasn’t the one teaching.

At that moment, he was finally getting a taste of the sweet satisfaction of being the boss: one simple order from him sent his subordinates scrambling.

As a result, when the Lord passed by the classroom specially built for their studies, his hands clasped behind his back, he almost fainted from anger.

Through a specially provided window, the little old man Sam was cautiously explaining everything he knew to the three high-level members of High Cliff Castle.

He then pointed to the Magic recorded in the ancient script of the Mountain Kingdom on the Stone Slab and explained it in the common tongue.

Baisitina, her small face serious, was jotting down key points with a quill. Although Hog’s eyes betrayed his confusion, he was clearly also listening with extreme concentration.

Only Zat, that big, burly brute, was sprawled on his desk, sleeping soundly as if no one else existed, his snores like thunder.

The Lord walked in, his face cold.

Realizing someone was about to be in for it, Sam quickly clamped his mouth shut and said nothing.

What the Lord hadn’t expected was that Hog, that wolf pup, was quite loyal. Seeing him enter, he quickly kicked the sleeping Zat beside him.

’It’s just like my school days,’ Levi thought, ’getting caught by the dean while my deskmate tried to warn me.’

Unfortunately, the oaf just scratched his butt and went right back to sleep.

BANG!

Levi came up behind him and sent him tumbling to the floor with a huge slap to the back of the neck. The immense force collapsed the wooden desk, sending dust billowing through the room.

"Hog, you heartless wolf pup! How dare you hit me?"

The Beastman was instantly jolted from his sleep, roaring in anger.

In the classroom were only Chief Steward Baisitina and Sam, and those two, thin as bamboo poles, clearly lacked the strength to knock both him and the desk over. Only Hog, whose Power was gradually catching up, could have done it.

Zat felt a fiery pain on the back of his neck, as if he’d been hit by a Giant Stone.

But then he looked at Hog, who was sitting perfectly straight and feigning innocence. The Beastman seemed to understand something. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he stealthily, slightly, turned his head to peek.

That one glance nearly scared the soul out of him.

"Haha, Hog, what a nice day! C’mon, let’s go patrol High Cliff Castle."

Thinking fast, Zat rubbed his bald head, slung an arm around Hog’s shoulders, and tried to walk out.

"Get over here!"

"Right away, Boss."

Without the slightest hesitation, Zat zipped over to Levi’s side with a fawning expression. Wringing his hands, he looked a little uneasy and laughed awkwardly. "Boss, your grip is as strong as ever."

The giant of a man, so tall his head nearly scraped the ceiling, was bowing and scraping before a much smaller person. This comical scene made Baisitina cover her cherry-like mouth, her eyes narrowing into slits as she stifled her laughter.

’Probably only the Lord can handle a Beastman like Zat,’ Baisitina thought to herself.

Not expecting to be caught by Levi, Zat was a bit sullen. He shot a vicious glare at the gloating Sam and Hog.

As for Baisitina, he might be a bit dumb, but he wasn’t stupid. He wouldn’t dare act presumptuously in front of one of the future mistresses of the house.