NOVEL NEXT Chapter 106
Chapter 106: Childhood Friend – Achievement
Lev inhaled deeply, refining his thoughts.
‘Just now I…’
Instinctively used the charm. It seemed natural as if he had this ability from the beginning, not some kind of skill. The power of apostle is manifested in this way.
‘Amazing…’
He exclaimed with his mouth agape.
Even though it was only used to raise the price of jerky, with this ‘charming eyes,’ he could do countless things.
With this… clearing was not difficult. No, it was as good as done.
All he had to do was charm the king.
Even the process seemed simple. It was said that by repeating the process of being introduced by a friend’s acquaintance six times, one could meet almost everyone in the world.
Right now, Lev knew the headman of Demos Village. And the headman knew the officials of the castle, and the officials knew the governor, the governor knew the viscount of Guidan, and the viscount of Guidan knew the king.
Just passing through five levels could meet the king, and those who were charmed would not hesitate to recommend their acquaintances.
And at the end, if charm could be cast on the king… Lena would be ‘adopted’ and become a princess.
‘Have I been struggling all this time for such an easy path?’
Lev was speechless.
The engagement scenario was similar. It was even shorter.
Retired knight father, Noel Dexter was granted a name by the king. Since he retired, he probably didn’t have the ability to introduce his son to the king, but he had excellent connections.
According to Lena Einarr, Noel Dexter was a disciple of the swordmaster Arpen Albasete of the Astine Kingdom.
When knights discussed seniority or studentship, it was not only a term denoting the time they joined the knight order but also usually referring to the relationship between a shooter and an assistant shooter on the same team.
If Noel Dexter was subtly proud to be the disciple of that person, the latter was correct.
So the engagement scenario only needed two introductions. Through Noel Dexter, introducing Albasete Viscount, and getting to know the king was enough.
The adopted Lena Einarr became a princess, and I would marry her…
“Lev, what’s wrong?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just a little tired.”
The young man guarding the cart looked at Lev lying on the ground with bewilderment.
Lev, as if nothing was wrong, pointed with his hand and leaned against the cart. He was dizzy from the exhaustion of running at full speed for hours, but excitement drove away fatigue.
‘There are many ways to clear the beggar siblings scenario. Starting as a beggar is not a big penalty if I can get help from others through charm.’
Of course, the ‘bloodline’ event would still be challenging, but there was no reason to follow that. Just make my sister a princess… Through the introduction of Viscount Bernard Tatian or anyone, get to know the king, adopt Lena as a princess, or make her meet the kind-hearted prince of the Bellita Kingdom.
Even if the sister does not like the prince or has to follow the ‘bloodline’ event, there was a plausible plan.
Just charm Count Gustav Peter and get help. If I could get the Bishop’s help through him, there would be a way.
Of course, there were still secrets there that I didn’t know, but as long as there was the ability of charm, the possibility of things turning sour was small. I could at least protect my sister’s life as securely as possible…
The problem was whether this power of Barbatos could be used in other scenarios. Since an achievement was given under the name of ‘Barbatos’s apostle,’ the possibility seemed very likely. If so…
‘Idiot.’
As the excitement subsided, Lev gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. He blamed himself in a self-reproachful manner.
All the hardships he had experienced came to mind.
Lena being driven out of the capital church, dying at the hands of Herman Forte, being exposed and separating from his sister, dying to Bart, almost breaking off the engagement and ending the relationship, rotting under Oriax’ curse.
Even though there was such an easy path…
And the responsibility for all these tragedies lay with Lev, not Minseo.
When the seventh, or rather the third childhood friend scenario began, I made a big mistake. When my father first asked, “What do you think of Lord Barbatos?” I showed a negative intention.
For some trivial reason, because I couldn’t follow Lena due to the tattoo, I decided to let her go, but I couldn’t let go of my lingering feelings.
If I hadn’t done that… I would have undoubtedly noticed this easy path much sooner. None of the hardships I had experienced would have happened.
Lev bowed his head. The guilt continued to grow. The more he thought, the heavier his wrongdoings felt.
It seemed to Lev that the childhood friend scenario was the first scenario for a reason. He also seemed to know why the ‘hunting’ ability was given first.
This game presented a route as straightforward as the tattoo etched on his arm.
He was being urged to use Barbatos’s power for evil… It must have been difficult to escape such damage.
‘Fool.’
I made everyone suffer.
Because of me, we pushed ourselves into unreasonable difficulties.
With tragedy as a guarantee, Lev plunged his hand into the dark future without any power or information, full of gloom.
And the responsibility for the arm that was mercilessly severed… was his own.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Everyone…”
Lev apologized to the other Leos, deeply reflecting on his mistakes. He also felt genuinely sorry for the Lenas who had met a tragic end.
He sat down heavily, quietly shedding tears, while the young men who had plundered everything arrived one by one and chattered quietly.
“Is Hans out of his mind right now?”
“Yeah, I saw it too. He was getting scolded by the merchants… don’t even tell us why he’s acting like that when we ask.”
The next day, the young men returned to the village with the goods they had bought from the market.
The cart was lighter on the way back, but Lev’s heart sank heavily.
Hans didn’t accompany them.
* * *
Lev climbed up to the mountain and showed his father the money he earned from selling jerky.
His father was pleased to see that his son could sell jerky for a good price (“You have to live well.”), and left happily.
He didn’t say where he was going. He simply packed his gear, took a portion of the money he had saved, and disappeared into the western mountains.
Lev stayed at the mountain ranch for a few days.
Since he was planning to leave soon, he took the most expensive leathers to sell. He also didn’t forget to lay traps around the ranch.
It wasn’t for hunting. It was a precaution against bandits raiding the ranch while his father was away.
No matter how many traps his father set up, it wasn’t a danger. Among the hunters Lev had seen, his father was the best.
After making sufficient preparations, Lev also left the mountain ranch.
He loaded the leathers on his back and descended to the village to head towards the big city once again.
The Demos village sent the cart to the market held in the big city every once in a while, but there was no reason to wait for it, so Lev left the village alone.
Before leaving, he didn’t forget to inquire about Lena to Monk Leslie. He confirmed the reply that it would take at least three years for Lena to become a priestess.
It would probably take four to five years, but Lev couldn’t help but feel that the period would be greatly shortened due to Lena’s intelligence.
“Three years are more than enough. No, it’s quite generous.”
Now he didn’t feel pressed for time anymore.
Once he gained the power of Barbatos, the important thing was how he would proceed with his work.
Upon arriving in Torito, Lev sold the leathers to the merchant to whom he had handed over the jerky earlier. The market had closed, but it wasn’t hard to find him as he was hurrying to leave. That’s why Tracking Magic is so handy.
This time he received a high price too… but the merchant didn’t avoid losses as much as before.
The allure had faded in the meantime.
But he didn’t particularly care. The money was enough as it was. There was no need to receive a high price to the point of exhaustion as before.
“Now what should I do…”
Lev, who had shed off the leathers and felt empty, pondered.
West or north.
Would he go to Nevis to meet the king, or would he go find the vagabond siblings? His heart leaned toward the west.
There was still enough time, and it wouldn’t take long to charm the king.
“I might as well gather Barbatos’ power first and then go find the siblings. We’ll decide whether to end it by just warning them to avoid tragedy or to help defeat Oriax.”
As Lev was finishing his contemplation while wandering around the empty market,
“Well, Lev. Did you come alone?”
Hans approached.
It seemed like this guy had been staying here all along. The market had ended, so what was he doing here?
He spoke with a cunning expression.
“Hey, I’m sorry about last time. I wasn’t feeling good then. I’m fine now… come here for a moment.”
Lev felt extremely uncomfortable.
He had a suspicion of what the guy wanted him to follow for. He must be coaxing him to go to the brothel again.
Feeling unhappy due to the guilt of messing up everything, Lev curtly replied,
“It’s okay. I’m not going.”
“Ah, you’ve been there too? Okay then. I went there for the first time the day before yesterday, but…”
Lev tried to pass by without paying attention to him. However, Hans just continued to blabber without sensing the situation.
“There was a kid just the size of Lena. She’s this tall, and her chest is small enough to fit in one hand… ”
Useless details, gestures that seemed to be grasping something, all of this made something surge up fiercely inside Lev.
– Kill him.
He was about to strike the guy’s jaw but changed his mind.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
“As she took off her clothes, her innermost place… Huh? Let’s go? Hahaha, good thinking.”
Even though the guy was babbling while walking, Lev was not listening.
“Judging from how you walk, you must have really come here. Dude, you pretended like it wasn’t like that, but you… ”
– Bam!
Upon reaching the door marked with the insignia of the brothel, Leo’s fist struck Hans’ jaw terrifyingly.
“What, what is it suddenly… why… ohh!”
Lev didn’t even feel the need to draw his sword. He hit the guy’s throat, thrust his knee into his chest, kicked his side when he fell, and finally stepped on his occiput, smashing the guy’s face into the ground.
“What’s this commotion? Oh no!”
As the gangster guarding the window felt the disturbance and came out, Woodduck, jabbed the neck with his heel.
Now, all that needed to be done was to frame that gangster for the murder of Hans…
Lev’s eyes widened. In front of the startled gangster, he too became startled.
[ Achievement: Civilian Killing – Killed ‘5’ civilians. Becomes slightly unhappy. ]
Feeling a strange sensation as the achievement of civilian killing came to mind, the message that appeared before his eyes felt ‘usable’.
‘Ah…!’
As Lev realized something, he muttered softly, “It is offered.” Then, the power of Barbatos came down. A crimson aura firmly wrapped around his heart.
[ Achievement: Civilian Killing – Killed ‘4’ civilians. Becomes slightly unhappy. ]
For the hunting god Barbatos, the prey didn’t necessarily have to be animals or monsters. ‘Humans’ were also good prey for him.
His whole body shuddered.
But it wasn’t just because Barbatos fed on humans.
It was because of the system.
The just made offering could not be called a ritual. He didn’t bury heads and hearts in the ground, nor did he dissect bodies like Prince Eric, but he still succeeded in the offering.
He had a system called ‘Counter’ that transcended such trivial ceremonies. When someone killed another, ‘1’ life was automatically credited to him, a sacrifice that could be offered anytime.
“You, you little brat! What have you done!”
Lev’s eyes gleamed. Using a bit of his newly acquired power, he cast a charm.
The gangster fell silent.
Just a moment ago, the one who had been about to call out the other gangsters now wore a troubled expression.
“Hey, why did you do that? Don’t you know that if you kill someone in the village, you’ll be chased by the guards? Ah, even if I don’t know what happened, just endure it…”
Then, resolutely, he said,
“Go. I’ll somehow handle this. You run away quickly. Don’t come back for a few days. Got it?”
The gangster acted as if he were upholding loyalty to his companion, and Lev quietly left the alley without a word of thanks.
As he walked away quickly, his body grew cold. A shiver ran down his spine.
“Is this… Is this really okay?”
[ Achievement: First Murder – Lev feels less guilt for murder. ]
Everything was set up.
Barbatos’ convenient abilities backed by the system. The ‘First Murder’ achievement obtained by killing the gangster during the second childhood friend scenario when Lena was kidnapped.
And…
[ Achievement: Alley Cleaning – Get stronger in dark alleys. ]
[ Achievement: Defeat 10 Bandits – Get stronger when facing bandits. ]
[ Achievement: Defeat 10 Thugs – Get stronger when facing thugs. ]
[ Achievement: Defeat 10 Mercenaries – Get stronger when facing mercenaries. ]
[ Achievement: Defeat 10 Soldiers – Get stronger when facing soldiers. ]
[ Achievement: Defeat 1 Knight – Get stronger when facing a knight. ]
[ Achievement: Nobility Killing – All nobles will feel mild fear towards you. ]
Achievements of killings.
All of these were counters.
Gangsters, bandits, thugs, mercenaries, soldiers, knights, nobles… Every one of those he had killed was meticulously recorded, and he felt they were all usable.
As a test, Lev used the life of one thug. Silently, he offered homage to Barbatos in his mind.
Then,
[ ‘Defeat 10 Thugs’ achievement transforms. ]
[ Achievement: Defeat ’35’ Thugs – Get stronger when facing thugs. min(10) ]
Sure enough, Barbatos’ crimson power descended. The sweet power tightly enveloped his heart, and Leve’s body trembled.
Indeed, everything was prepared. And I… truly knew nothing.
For a moment, he thought that the names of the killing achievements were slightly tilted, but it was not a mistake.
It was a signal indicating that the lives of those he had killed were accumulating… true to their nature, the transformed achievements’ names stood out as correct.
Lev was overwhelmed by the cruelty of the system, forgetting where he was headed.
When he had just started this game, he had a thought.
If he repeated scenarios endlessly and kept getting stronger, someday he would cut down all his enemies, all the while hoping to see the ending.
The massacre route.
The mercyless route that he had given up on, the blood-stained shortcut, whispered sweetly.
– This is what you wanted, right?
Somewhere, the smell of blood lingered.