𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐: 𝐎𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐝 (𝟐)

Two days had passed since he had boarded the train.

Even though the discomfort of being cramped in the narrow third-class cabin with so many people was present. . . it wasn’t uncomfortable for him who had served in the military while he was in Korea.

Of course, the density was considerably higher than back then. . . but because it boasted an expensive price, there were occasional empty seats.

‘Let’s see. . . let’s first list the opportunities I can get.’

Artifacts would still be helpful even without magical power. Since ordinary artifacts could be difficult, he needed at least a hero-grade artifact or higher.

There were a total of seven grades: basic, fundamental, proficient, master, hero, legendary, and mythical. This also applied to skills.

‘Oh, that’s good. If I had that, I might be able to endure the demon hunter’s body transformation.’

What Oswald thought of was the Troll King’s Heart. It was an artifact literally made from the heart of the Troll King, and it granted the wearer tremendous regeneration and recovery power.

‘It’s closer to fusion than wearing.’

It was in the form of a jewel, and it was fused to one part of the body.

It was an artifact that was usually embedded in the incisor or navel and took its place. It was an artifact that anyone who was a living being with blood could wear, even without magical power, but the problem was that it wasn’t easy to obtain.

“Sigh. . .”

Even so, since he had raised his strength, endurance, and agility to level 20. . . in terms of ability, he would be around the level of a bronze knight. And to obtain the Troll King’s Heart, he needed to be at least at the Gold Knight level.

‘Wasn’t the strength level of a Gold Knight 50?’

Usually, people used a method called Body Strengthening, which temporarily strengthened the body using magical power, to exert superhuman strength. This meant that people with higher levels of magical power would have their strength, endurance, and agility levels increase even more through Body Strengthening.

‘An artifact that I can obtain before the Troll King’s Heart and use to strengthen myself. . .’

He could think of a few, but. . . there were only about two that would actually be helpful.

One was the Phoenix’s Bracelet, which contained a spirit, and the other was the Cursed Plague Grimoire. In particular, the Plague Grimoire seemed to be the artifact that suited Oswald the best.

The Plague Grimoire, which used plague as energy instead of magical power, allowed the wearer to inhale the plague and use it to enjoy effects similar to Body Strengthening, which used magical power.

However, the problem was. . . the more he absorbed the plague, the more he would be exposed to the plague, causing him pain and eventually leading to his death by consuming his life. That was why it was called a cursed grimoire.

Fortunately, there was a way to deal with this. It was an armor that also had a unique skill called ‘Plague Diffusion’, which spread the plague to the surrounding people.

The Phoenix’s Bracelet was also an artifact that didn’t require magical power, and like the grimoire, it had the ability to store and restore magical power on its own.

The difference was that it didn’t cause any harm or plague to the user, but rather had a beneficial effect. One of these beneficial effects was purifying curses and diseases.

This would allow him to eliminate the side effects of the Cursed Plague Grimoire that he would wear in the future. Of course, he couldn’t do anything about the pain caused by getting sick. . . It was something he had to endure.

‘The Phoenix’s Bracelet is buried under the Fire Totem of the Winchester Earldom.’

The Fire Totem. . . It was a place where the spirits of fire were worshiped in a local religion that had existed since before the old empire was formed. When the current empire was established and the Chronos Order became the main religion, the Fire Totem was abandoned.

And now, no one managed it. . . It was treated as nothing more than an ancient relic that no one worshiped. . .

Anyway, the Phoenix’s Bracelet was an artifact that allowed the user to summon the upper-level fire spirit, Phoenix. Since he could use Phoenix for reconnaissance as well as surprise attacks and various other tasks, the Phoenix’s Bracelet would be of great help to Oswald in the current situation.

‘The Cursed Plague Grimoire. . . is in the Plague Chaos Dungeon. . .’

You can get it by going past the plague-ridden undead inside the Plague Chaos Dungeon and going down to the basement of the Plague God Temple located in the center of the dungeon.

‘I’ll transform my body into a demon hunter after I get the Heart of the Troll King.’

Oswald, who had changed his mind from giving up, reaffirmed his determination to take the demon hunter route as he had originally planned. Then he went to the dining car, had a quick lunch, and returned to his seat to lie down again. There was nothing he could do right now.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Time passed. . . and he finally arrived at Winchester City Station, the center of Winchester Nation.

Oswald pressed down on his conspicuous silver hair with a bowler hat. Since silver hair was evidence of Winchester’s bloodline in Winchester Nation, it was necessary to hide it in order to avoid people’s eyes.

“Whew. . .”

Even though it was the 99th time. . . he couldn’t help but be nervous. The head of the Winchester family was a truly fearsome person. The head of the Winchester family, who was a Gunmeister and Gunmaster.

Along with the title of Gunmeister, which was only given to the top craftsmen of ‘Gunsmith’, a specialized gun handling store, he had reached the realm of Gunmaster, which allowed him to imbue magical power into bullets and fire them. Thanks to this, he had obtained the position of Frontier Earl and was able to open up a hundred nations.

Winchester, a fairly developed metropolis, although not as much as the capital, Central. When he got off the train, the palace that could be seen right along the boulevard was the Earl’s Palace of Winchester Nation.

“Young master.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve come to escort you.”

He had tried to sneak in, but. . . this butler. . . His eyes were sharp.

Out of the 99 times, he had been caught by this butler and dragged away about 70 times.

‘He knows I’m coming like a ghost and sends someone right away. . . It’s really amazing every time I see it.’

Anyway, since he had come to escort him, it would be rude to ignore him, so Oswald got into the magic steam car.

The steam car, which was spewing steam, began to roll forward. Winchester Nation was the most advanced and steampunk place.

Of course, it wasn’t that there were no horses or carriages at all, but it was also the place with the most magic steam cars in the empire.

That was how he arrived at the Earl’s Palace, the Palace of the Eagle. It was called the Palace of the Eagle because a large eagle was engraved in the center of the roof.

“Please come in. The master is waiting.”

“Woah. . .”

As he entered the palace, he could feel gazes piercing him from here and there. . . If it hadn’t been the 99th time he had entered the mansion, he would have felt quite burdened by the gazes.

“Piece of trash.”

At that moment, a murderous voice reached Oswald’s ears.

A man with shiny, short silver hair and cold eyes.

He was Oswald’s twin brother, the eldest son of the Winchester family, and the young master, Lewis Oswald.

He coolly ignored his sarcasm and arrived at the lord’s office, where he saw Wilhelm von Victor Winchester, the Earl of Winchester, who had an equally cold expression.

‘He’s murderous. . .’

He definitely felt a more murderous aura than in the game.

‘Is it because I raised my senses and agility levels?’

The Earl’s gestures, movements, breathing, and everything else were recognized and caught in his eyes.

“Despite being a half-wit with no magical power, I spent money to get you admitted. . . But you’ve been doing nothing but trash and disgracing the family’s honor. Do you know your sin?”

At times like this, it was best to just bow down. Wouldn’t it be better to get kicked out with less scolding even if he was kicked out?

“I have nothing to say, even if I had ten mouths.”

“Huh, you thought you were going to get away with it this time, but you’re wrong. Even if you bow down like that in front of me, the fact that you’re a piece of trash that can’t be rehabilitated won’t change. As of today, I will take away the Winchester surname from you. Never come near this place again.”

“. . .”

As he remained silent, the Earl shouted at him to get out.

As he heard those words and went outside, he saw his mother’s face, which was filled with sadness. His mother, Aizena, whom he had met 99 times in the game.

“Oswald. . . Hurry and go back inside and beg.”

“. . .”

Even if he went inside and begged, the fact that he was kicked out wouldn’t change. That was why Oswald didn’t bother begging and just silently went to his room.

At that sight, Aizena went into the room and argued with Wilhelm, but. . . she couldn’t change her husband’s mind.

Oswald, who had returned to his room, packed everything he could, especially the loot he had. This would be his starting capital later on. . .

After packing everything he could sell and his clothes and going outside, he met his mother, who was carrying a long box and a pouch.

“Mother. . .”

“Take it. You should at least have a weapon to protect yourself.”

He opened the box to check and saw that it was the Winchester V10. It was named after the tenth series, which came from the V in his father’s middle name, Victor.

It was a state-of-the-art magic engineering rifle that allowed him to fire magic bullets by equipping it with magic stones, even without magical power.

“And I put some money in here. Please use it wisely.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

Aizena, who always took care of her youngest son, who was like trash. Even though she was a character in the game. . . If his heart didn’t flutter after meeting her 99 times, he wouldn’t be human.

Oswald, who had received everything, went outside. He felt sharp gazes piercing him from behind. . . but he didn’t bother looking back. Lewis was probably standing behind him. . .

After that, Oswald took out a raincoat from his magic backpack and put it on. It was because it was going to rain soon. Was it like a prelude to Oswald’s miserable state of mind as he was kicked out?

As he put on the hood attached to the raincoat and completely left the palace, thunder roared and rain began to fall little by little.

Now it was the beginning. The first step in the journey to change the fate of the extra villain, Oswald.

Oswald walked along the boulevard with the gentle sound of rain.

After walking for a long time, Oswald, who had reached the outskirts of Winchester City, immediately headed to his first destination, Flare Village, where the Fire Totem was located. It was a place that was about the size of a small town within Winchester Nation and wasn’t very far from Winchester City.

As Oswald left like that, someone was secretly following him. However, Oswald didn’t notice at all and just kept walking forward without looking back.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

“Did he leave?”

“Yes, Earl.”

“Ha, I wonder what that punk is thinking this time.”

His youngest son, who had naturally thought he would come back and beg to be useful, had changed somehow.

“He left with everything, as if he would never come back.”

“What do you mean?”

“According to the maids who cleaned the room in the morning, he took everything that was loot and could be sold.”

“Hmm. . . There’s definitely something going on.”

“Should I send someone?”

“Have one of the Shadow Hounds follow him.”

“Yes, Earl.”

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Oswald, who had purchased dried provisions and jerky in a village located a day’s distance away, prepared for a long journey. This was because it would take at least four days to walk from this village to Flare Village. Since there were no villages to stop by in the middle, it was better to thoroughly prepare to camp out.

He would have liked to buy a horse, but. . . the price of horses was also quite expensive. Even a packhorse cost 5 gold, and a warhorse cost as much as 10 gold. Of course, there were several other beasts that were used as mounts besides horses, but they all cost at least 10 gold.

‘So I should save when I can.’

He currently had about 20 gold, and if he sold all the loot, he could gather about 100 gold. However, if he thought about the supplies he needed to prepare to obtain the Cursed Plague Grimoire. . .

‘It might not be enough. . .’