𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟓𝟐: 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 (2)
“Oh . . . . . .”
Oswald, who had returned to the academy, happened to run into Elsa.
Elsa had a much fiercer aura than before the break.
She glanced at Oswald once before going her own way. Based on his senses, she had definitely gotten stronger since before the break. Of course, she was still lacking . . . . . .
Still, it wasn’t bad as far as progress was concerned. It was just . . . . . .
‘𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 . . . . . .’
It must be because of him. She probably never imagined that he would actually kick her out, and having her pride hurt like that probably made her hold a grudge.
‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳.’
Elsa’s group wasn’t even ranked anyway. And with her being a troublemaker . . . He probably didn’t need to worry about her in the next league.
‘𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮.’
Oswald’s growth had stagnated ever since he had obtained the Blood Daemon. Ever since he had started using his powers, which allowed him to rival even masters if he used up his blood, he had become less proactive about developing his stats and skills.
He had already absorbed the essence he had obtained from the chaos demon he had caught in Birmingham last time. It was an essence that had contained 3 levels of magical power . . . but when Oswald absorbed it, it had scattered throughout his body, and in the end, his strength and endurance levels had only increased by 1 each.
‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 60.’
Regardless, Oswald still felt that he was lacking in power to face his strong enemies.
‘𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 . . . . . .’
Unfortunately, there was no stat or skill in the Fate Shop that had that ability.
‘𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 . . . . . .’
There were two ways to check an opponent’s information. One was to use a cheat, and the other was to use an artifact of truth.
It was called the ‘Eye of Horus.’ The problem was that it wasn’t easy to obtain the Eye of Horus.
‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭.’
The Eye of Horus was currently in the possession of an organization called the ‘Seekers of Truth.’ Just from the name, you could tell who they worshipped.
When Horus was a good deity, they had been called the ‘Theological Society of Truth,’ but when Horus fell and became a Chaos God, they also fell.
They had received demonic power in exchange for glimpsing the truth and had fallen, but they had also ascended to a higher level than before. They were already so demonized that it was no exaggeration to call them chaos demons.
‘𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴. 𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩-𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.’
The average circle of the Seekers of Truth was around 5, so their level was quite high.
Although no one had reached the 9th circle yet, there were two people who had reached the 8th circle, making them the second strongest force among the chaos-worshipping forces, after the ‘Order of Sin.’
‘𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳.’
He didn’t plan on trying until his strength, agility, and endurance levels were at least over 80.
Before he knew it, Oswald had arrived at the dormitory. He was about to enter his room when he sensed something behind him. He turned around and saw Gilgamesh standing there.
‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 . . . . .? 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬?’
Gilgamesh’s aura and energy were completely different. It was definitely different ever since he had gotten involved with Oswald . . . He was almost at the level of a Grandmaster.
“Oswald, do you have a minute?”
“Of course.”
Oswald opened the door and let Gilgamesh in. He hadn’t been in his room for a month . . . but thanks to the cleaning magic circle, the room was still tidy.
“So, why did you want to see me?”
“I have a proposal for you.”
“What is it?”
“I’m thinking of starting an organization here in the capital.”
“An organization?”
“Yeah, like a secret society similar to the Dark Brotherhood.”
‘𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?’
“Don’t tell me you want me to join?”
“That’s right.”
“You do know what organization I belong to, right?”
“It won’t matter after 10 years when your obligation is over.”
“Well . . . . . . No, what kind of organization is it?”
“An organization to deal with the end, of course.”
“There’s already the Chaos Invasion Defense Agency.”
“They have too much red tape.”
It was true that the CID had quite a few procedures to go through before they could directly influence anything.
“You know as well as I do that you need to be incredibly strong to deal with the end? To fight against the chaos demons in particular, you need to be at least platinum-class.”
“We can recruit people who have the potential and help them grow.”
” . . . . . . “
He almost blurted out, ‘When will that be?’ But judging from the fact that he had made this proposal, it seemed like he planned on making this organization last for at least 10 years.
“Who are you thinking of?”
“Miguel Stendar, Azel Solcrushid, and Alicia Yuilhan.”
All of them were people who had grown strong enough to be close to diamond-class in Gilgamesh’s regression. They were also talented enough to have grown to be diamond-class even in the game.
‘𝘓𝘦𝘪𝘬𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘭𝘴𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘮.’
“Fine, can I recommend someone as well?”
“Of course.”
“Royman.”
“Royman?”
When Gilgamesh asked with a look of incomprehension, Oswald added one more thing.
“Royman Kronen.”
“He’s a good recommendation.”
Gilgamesh also knew about the Kronen family. The Kronens were a prestigious family of assassins that belonged to the Seven Dark Families that ruled the Titan Continent’s underworld.
“He’s already gold-class. He’s just pretending to be silver-class so that he doesn’t reveal that he’s a Kronen. And since he was the heir to the family but was threatened with assassination when his younger brother was born . . . if we play our cards right, he’ll become a fervent supporter of yours.”
“But isn’t Royman someone you’ve been in contact with?”
“I don’t know if I’ll still be in the Order of the Holy Knights 10 years from now, so what’s the point of staying in contact? I was thinking of raising him a bit and handing him over to the CID . . . . . . “
Of course, he had no such thoughts or plans. He was just spouting nonsense to make it seem like he did.
“As expected . . . . . . You’ve got everything planned out.”
“Well . . . . . . “
He had never really made any proper plans. He had just vaguely thought about helping the people around him, preventing the end, and returning home . . . . . .
Gilgamesh stood up, as if to say that their business was concluded.
“Wait, what’s the name of the organization?”
“I decided on Peacemaker, since it means to prevent the end and create peace.”
“. . .Isn’t that the name someone else is already using?”
“I made it with him in mind.”
” . . . . . . “
“Well then, I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”
“Yeah . . . See you.”
🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸
The next day . . . . . .
Oswald, who was heading to the National Defense Department building, suddenly stopped when he saw a group of people blocking his path.
‘𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺?’
They were familiar faces . . . people he had encountered at least once in his 99 playthroughs as Oswald. They were the lackeys of the third prince . . . . . .
‘𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦?’
The third prince had a chaos demon of truth or a worshipper of it by his side. Since his actions had already been exposed to the chaos forces through Seduction, it was likely that they also knew about Oswald’s true identity.
“Hey, Oswald. Long time no see?”
Oswald honestly didn’t want to get involved with the third prince. But . . . judging from the current situation, it seemed like he wouldn’t be able to avoid it.
“What is it?”
“Prince Douglas wants to see you.”
“What if I don’t want to see him?”
“Refusal is not an option.”
The guys were subtly showing off their strength. They were all the same.
But so what if they showed off their strength? You couldn’t use force here, so there was no need to go along with what they said.
That said, he could use his family background to threaten them, because none of them were from a family more prestigious than the Winchester family, and none of them were from a family that belonged to the Senate. What’s more, the third prince wouldn’t dare to do anything to Oswald, who belonged to a Senate family, unless he lost his mind.
‘𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 . . . . . .’
But the current Oswald was a completely different person.
Oswald didn’t feel like going along with them, so he confidently walked right through the middle of them. As expected . . . none of them dared to stop him.
“You’ll regret this.”
“Go tell him that the Winchester family is the most influential among the eastern senators.”
“What?”
“Don’t you understand? I’m saying that if your precious master wants to become the successor, he’ll have to crawl before me.”
” . . . . . . “
No matter how much of the emperor’s blood ran through their veins, they couldn’t ascend to the throne without the approval of the imperial senate. And if they ascended to the throne without the senate’s approval, they would be attacked by the electors, and after that, the electors would choose a new imperial family.
Oswald shook off the annoying lackeys and entered the classroom. Alicia greeted him happily.
“Oswald!”
“Alicia.”
“How have you been?”
“Not bad . . . . . . “
“Ahem.”
After exchanging some small talk, class started, and Professor Rosen came in and briefly explained the schedule for the upcoming period.
Starting in the second semester, the classes would focus on practical training, and the way that ranks were determined would also change. Now, ranks would be affected by points earned from clearing training dungeons, rather than league rankings and grades. That’s why teamwork among the members of the group that cleared the dungeon was so important.
“Oswald . . . Come see me for a minute.”
As soon as class ended, Royman approached Oswald with a serious expression.
‘𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 . . . 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺?’
That’s what it looked like.
A little while later . . . The two of them started talking in a secluded area.
“What the hell were you thinking, revealing my identity like that?”
“I judged that it would be helpful to you. How long do you plan on hiding who you are?”
” . . . . . . “
“What’s more, among them are people from the Five Grand Dukes families of the empire. If you have their protection, even the left-hand seat of the Seven Dark Families, Kronen, will know better than to mess with you, right?”
The Seven Dark Families might be famous in the underworld, but they were still limited to the underworld. Once you left the underworld, the Kronen family was nothing more than a regular margrave of the empire. And the Five Grand Dukes families were even more prestigious. Unless they planned on going to war with the Five Grand Dukes families of the empire, they wouldn’t be able to touch Royman.
“So from now on, do your best to prove your abilities. Prove to them that you’re worth protecting.”
“Whew . . . . . . Alright, I will . . . . . . But . . . Peacemaker is a bit much, isn’t it?”
“Why?”
“I’m afraid that if you use that name, you’ll get killed by the real Peacemaker.”
“Don’t worry. Objectively speaking, Gilgamesh is stronger than Peacemaker.”
Gilgamesh was close to becoming a Grandmaster. In a little while, he would soon reach the level of Grandmaster, and at that point, the first prince, Peacemaker, would be desperate to get on Gilgamesh’s side.
“You . . . can take responsibility for that?”
“I swear it on my soul.”
Royman didn’t ask any more questions after Oswald said that. It was an oath sworn on one’s soul. If you broke it, your soul would be corrupted and you would be forever tormented in the abyss.
That’s why people in this world didn’t swear oaths on their souls lightly. Most of them swore on their names or honor, and only swore on their magic power when it was absolutely necessary.
“Fine, I’ll trust you.”
“Good, so show them your true abilities this time.”
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