NOVEL NEXT Chapter 302
[You have consumed Victoria’s Elixir.]
[All stats increased by 2. Divine Power stat increased by 10.]
To have my stats increase immediately… as expected of an elixir.
The issue now was the strange question that popped into my mind.
‘…Why did it taste like curry?’
The famous internet debate resurfaced in my thoughts.
Curry-flavored poop or poop-flavored curry.
In that case, the elixir I just consumed, which tasted like curry, was actually…
“Mmm! I feel like power is surging through me!”
“M-Magic is coursing through meeee!”Rezé started to burn with energy. It almost looked like yellow flames were flickering around her.
What is this, a Super Saiyan rabbit?
“Zero, how about you? Didn’t you say that thing smelled weird?”
“Keke, fortunately, it seems effective.”
“That’s good. Well, maybe it was a little spoiled. Don’t worry about it.”
…Wouldn’t that be a big problem, Luna?
Still, I had to agree with her not to worry.
Curry-flavored poop or poop-flavored curry, who cares? The important thing is that my stats increased.
[Zero]
Level: 41
Strength: 61.3 (+5)
Agility: 60.5 (+5)
Intelligence: 56.4 (+5)
Stamina: 80.9 (+5)
Magic Power: 129 (+5)
Divine Power: 29 (+5)
Potential: 16
Luck: 17 (+5)
Owned points: 90
My current stats were fairly decent.
User level-up perks, titles, stat increases from training in the [Fleur Family Style], and now even elixirs.
Considering I hadn’t used a single one of the 10 points received at each level-up, these numbers were exceptionally high.
‘I’ve accumulated quite a lot of points.’
My current Potential stat was 16. And I had 90 points in reserve.
Yes, the time had come.
It was time for the ‘Potential Gamble.’
“Hm… So, what should we do now?”
Luna muttered. It was three days until the students of Annwood Academy would leave Carpathia.
Since I hadn’t mentioned anything about searching for the black mage yet, Luna’s question made sense.
At that moment, Rezé pulled out a pamphlet while rummaging through a box.
It was a tourism guidebook featuring Carpathia’s main attractions, famous restaurants, and specialty goods.
“M-My recommendation is the vegetable farm experience!”
“A farm experience, huh… Not bad. We could get some carrots and fruits too, right?”
“O-Of course! Hehe!”
Rezé’s face was lit with a smile of pure happiness.
I wondered what kind of expression she’d make if I told her we were going to search for a black mage instead.
‘She’d probably smile even more happily than now.’
Our Rezé is a tough rabbit. She’d definitely be pleased.
Luna and Rezé began chatting while looking at the pamphlet. It annoyed me that they were talking without me, but I decided to let it slide for now.
After all, I needed some time for the Potential Gamble.
As I invested points into the Potential stat, I fell into deep thought.
‘I need a skill related to searching or tracking, given that I have to find the black mage…’
While I did have the [Hyper Sense] skill, it was only effective for detecting ‘something related to me in my vicinity.’
Just looking at how I flailed my arms around whenever I tried to find Rezé hiding in a box was enough to show it couldn’t pinpoint an exact location.
It wasn’t a suitable skill for thorough searching or tracking.
‘Of course, even if it’s not a skill from that category, it’s fine.’
I wasn’t hoping for another [Darkness]-grade skill like before. As long as I got something comparable or even just a useful skill…
Eventually, my Potential stat reached 100, and a flash of light appeared before my eyes.
[Your Potential stat has reached 100.]
[A hidden power is being unlocked.]
[You have acquired the skill ‘Digging (S).’]
[Your Potential stat has been reset to 0.]
[Digging: S]
When equipped with a ‘shovel,’ you can dig through the ground or break through walls.
If you’re lucky, you might find something special?
[Digging].
Digging, breaking, farming, excavation, attack, defense…
A skill that could be used in quite a variety of scenarios.
Of course, the main use for this skill was…
‘Hidden Piece excavation.’
Digging the ground would sometimes yield items or uncover hidden pieces.
But the probability wasn’t high. Most of the time, you’d end up with rocks, dirt, or trash.
‘About… 99.9% of the time?’
It’s a skill that depends on ‘location,’ not randomness.
This means that in places where there are no hidden pieces or items set to appear, you’ll only ever dig up rocks.
That’s right. The [Digging] skill. It’s a skill that’s no different from trash.
Sure, one could argue that you might eventually find something valuable. However, the problem was that using the [Digging] skill consumed stamina each time.
To abandon strength gained from training or opportunities from conversations in favor of picking up rocks?
It was practically the epitome of waste.
Furthermore, I had already mastered the [Fleur Family Style]. It was much more advantageous to spend my time improving my stats through training than gambling with the 0.1% odds of [Digging].
A worthless skill acquired after wasting 100 points.
But my lips couldn’t help but form a smile.
To others, it was a trash skill. But to me, it was equivalent to an SSS-grade skill.
‘Because I’m an old hand at this.’
It’s been 18 years since ‘Hero of the Academy’ was released.
The first Potential Gamble you could make after reaching level 11.
Sometimes, the [Digging] skill was what you’d get.
So what did those who obtained this skill do? They spent all day digging.
For 15 years. And I did it alone for 3 more years.
You could say I’d dug every possible spot. Thanks to that, I was aware of most of the locations where good hidden pieces or items could be found.
Incidentally, the places in Carpathia where the [Digging] skill could be used were…
‘None of them.’
Moreover, if you use the [Digging] skill in Carpathia, there’s a hidden event where you get detained by Rodelin for a day.
In other words, it’s not something I’d be using here.
Except for one place.
‘Other than where the black mage is hiding.’
The black mage was rumored to be hiding somewhere in Carpathia. If I used [Digging] at his hideout, I might find something.
Of course, there was a high chance it’d just be rocks. As I mentioned earlier, 99.9% of the time it was trash, even when used across the entire map.
Still, having hope was what mattered.
‘Besides, there are hidden pieces and items that can only be found with this. Now I have the chance to get all of them.’
Honestly, it was a more useful skill than [Darkness]. No wonder I couldn’t stop smiling.
“Zero, where do you want to go?”
Maybe I looked pitiful, laughing by myself. Luna thrust the pamphlet in my face.
“The v-vegetable farm! A p-peaceful vegetable farm!”
Rezé strongly insisted. It was a powerful appeal I rarely saw from her.
I looked at the pamphlet with the large phrase ‘Introduction to Carpathia’s Tourist Attractions’ printed on it.
Tourism… Yeah, we’d do some sightseeing. A very special kind of sightseeing.
“How about a black mage sightseeing tour?”
“Huh?”
“I’ve received information that one is hiding somewhere here in Carpathia.”
Rezé, who had been energetically raising a carrot, froze.
“T-Tell me you’re joking!”
“Keke…”
“…?”
“Kekeke…”
“N-No! Say you’re kidding!”
“Kekekekeke!!”
“Kieeeeek!!”
Scratch, scratch, scratch!!
Rezé started clawing at the wall. Of course, it was a pointless act. I already had her by the back of her neck.
“S-Stop lying! T-There’s no way a black mage could be in C-Carpathia after all the searching that’s been done!”
Oh my, has our rabbit become so logical? She really is a rabbit that gets stronger in times of crisis.
The problem was that, as Rezé said, my words lacked solid reasoning.
“That’s true. They must have had dozens of high-ranking knights search, right? How could a black mage still be hiding?”
“The information is reliable. It came from none other than Professor Caron himself.”
“Professor Caron… If it’s from him, then it must be true.”
Of course, bringing up Caron’s name easily satisfied the condition of ‘logic.’
Caron means logic, and logic means Caron.
To the point where there’s practically an equation in this world that says ‘Caron = Logic.’
Sure, I was exploiting Caron’s name a bit… But who cares? Not between us.
Caron won’t say anything, either. Right?
“There’s not much time left. Let’s get moving immediately.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll find him today.”
Crack.
Luna twisted her neck from side to side.
Having spent four days lying around, she must’ve been feeling restless.
“H-How did a fun vegetable farm experience turn into a black mage hunt?!”
“Just think of it as a black mage farm. Maybe that will make it easier?”
“I-I don’t want to go to a place like thatttttt!”
And so, we left the room.
With Rezé slung over my shoulder, wailing in despair.
Dwener leaned back in his chair, rubbing his tired eyes.
He’d spent several nights trying to find loopholes in the law, but with the constant influx of reports coming in every hour, there hadn’t been a moment’s rest for his eyes.
Naturally, the reports were filled with information about Count Zachary and Administrator Rieur.
Caron had gathered the intel. And upon reading the reports about them, Dwener’s impression was:
“They’re really bad people. And vicious, too.”
Assault, embezzlement, drugs, under-the-table deals, adultery, murder…
They’d committed a wide range of heinous acts. It was a wonder they hadn’t been caught until now.
‘They must have been pulling strings from behind the scenes.’
Administrator Rieur must have provided considerable assistance.
An administrator’s role is primarily to help the lord, but it was also created to act as a check on them.
But instead of checking, he covered for them and even engaged in corruption with them.
The two pigs were such a perfect match, it left Dwener speechless.
“So, what to do now…”
Dwener’s gaze fell upon a single piece of high-quality paper spread out on his desk.
It was an order. And not just any order—one with the imperial seal stamped on it. To summarize its contents…
-You are granted one month. Conduct a thorough investigation during this time to uncover their crimes.
The order granted him full authority over the investigation.
And, perhaps sensing the situation, Duke Aziz’s side hadn’t sent any messages.
Meaning that Count Zachary and Administrator Rieur were free to be investigated.
“Haa…”
But all Dwener could do was sigh.
Because it was hard to find evidence of their crimes?
No. Even this much was enough to prove their wicked deeds.
Because he was afraid of Duke Aziz?
Maybe a little, but that wasn’t the main reason.
The biggest reason for Dwener’s sigh was…
“There’s no way to make them pay for their crimes…”
That’s right. All that had happened was that the duration of their detention had increased. The sentence against them hadn’t changed.
Several years of suspension from office.
That was the punishment awaiting them a month from now.
‘They caused problems… but no major damage was done.’
A few buildings, parts of the wall, some soldiers, civilians, a few unnamed knights, and about a dozen students.
That was the extent of the damage.
‘If only Carpathia had been half-destroyed or if there had been a massacre of students…’
Then he could’ve hung those two pigs on the execution platform and tortured them until they died.
“Ugh…!”
Realizing where his thoughts were headed, Dwener gagged.
Even if it was for the sake of justice, to think that he’d wish more students had died…
“Kukuk… Dwener… You’ve finally lost it.”
Was it because he hadn’t slept for days, poring over the law books? Or because he was once again feeling his own powerlessness?
Dwener’s mood was getting worse by the minute.
‘I can’t sacrifice the students. I might as well make a pact with a demon.’
Would a demon grant his wish? To brutally kill those two pigs?
If it were guaranteed, he’d want to do it just before he died. That’s how strongly Dwener felt.
‘To be honest, I’d just kill them if I could…’
But if he did that, the law’s existence would be pointless.
Even if his opponent was a villain no different from a demon, the ‘line’ couldn’t be crossed.
It was the right thing to do as a human being, but it was also because he took pride in being the great hero, a descendant of the Seigan family.
In this world, being a hero was a goal and a dream for everyone.
And even for an old man like Dwener, it was no different.
To kill just because someone is a villain? It would mean he’d never be worthy of being called a hero.
“Huu… How frustrating. Maybe I should go for a walk and think things over.”
Just as he’d found a loophole in the law, perhaps there was a solution this time, too.
Should he expose their past crimes? But there was little evidence.
Caron’s report stated that most evidence and witnesses regarding their wrongdoings were lacking.
The initial investigation is always crucial, and with Administrator Rieur in charge of it, the lack of evidence was only natural.
Kyarreuk-!
Hahaha!!
Carpathia was livelier than usual.
After finally winning against Erosion and the students who’d been confined to the academy were given a week’s break, it was only natural.
Children playing joyously everywhere. As he looked at them with a content smile, a group of kids caught Dwener’s attention.
“Let’s go to the v-vegetable farm! A p-peaceful vegetable farm!”
“Keke, there might just be a demon hiding there. Excellent deduction.”
“Kieeeeek!”
“Hmm, the two of them seem to get along well. That’s how friends should be.”
His most cherished student, Zero.
Luna, who had protected him from a high-ranking demon.
And… Rezé, who was shrieking like a rabbit.
–TL Notes–
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