Chapter 183: Chapter 183: Archmage (4)

[You gain Stratagem experience. Stratagem reaches lv14. You acquire the ‘Meticulous Designer’ trait.]

The system message I saw after a long time was quite welcome.

The trait was good too. Meticulous Designer gives bonuses to the stages of Stratagem conception, preparation, planning, and execution.

It’s similar to previous traits.

For instance, thoughts that wouldn’t normally occur might come to mind, or slight suspicions from others might be overlooked.

In fact, I don’t know exactly how this works. The same goes for traits I’ve obtained before.

But it will certainly have an effect.

‘Just looking at how well I’ve done so far.’

Not all of my activities as a spy have gone well simply because I’m excellent.

When acting, I hide truth within lies, but it’s difficult to properly deceive those close to me.

Especially people like the duke or Phiri. Among the things I’ve told them when situations were urgent, there are some aspects that seem strange when I think about them again.

The fact that it hasn’t been a problem suggests that the traits I’ve gained probably helped in those situations.

Even when working in the imperial palace or making plans, things went smoothly without particular suspicion or difficulties.

It might be like minor doubts are overlooked because it’s me.

‘Most recently too.’

I had my reasons for thinking so, but Duke Brusek approved my personal activities in the capital without saying a word.

Perhaps even Erendil’s acceptance of me despite me killing his mother was due to the influence of such traits.

There was also a trait with the name “savior” in it, after all.

Of course, that doesn’t mean people would believe me if I said 1+1 equals 3.

People don’t become hypnotized by my words. I have to create situations that make sense to some extent.

If people want to believe something, they tend to create reasons to convince themselves and believe it.

Anyway, it’s been a while since I leveled up.

When was it? About a year ago, when I realized the revelation about Lu Anuma’s Sword in the southwest.

‘Well, it hasn’t been that long, has it?’

In fact, I haven’t done much stratagem-related work since then. All I did was recruit colleagues and return to the capital.

I did try when saving Erendil, but I didn’t expect much.

Once when killing the empress, once when deceiving the Archmage and unifying the archipelago, recreating Ines’s revelation in the southwest, and unifying two regions.

If I had to compare, saving Erendil wasn’t enough to level up immediately.

And I probably gained much more experience from this recent event than from saving Erendil.

I don’t know the exact method of calculating experience, but when playing the game, it felt like long-term events gave more experience.

‘This recent event was planned since I met Shahri in the western archipelago last year, so it took a year.’

The plan changed slightly in the middle, but maintaining it during a rapidly changing period was significant.

From now on, leveling up will become more difficult. As you go up, the experience required for each level increases.

But I don’t think it matters. In fact, I’ve never reached this level with any character while playing the game.

This is how far I’ve come after going back 10 years from the game’s starting point and growing properly under Duke Brusek.

Anyway, it was a satisfying result.

Archmage and Tilivan. To deal with them, at least two Sword Masters are needed.

Considering Tilivan, one of them would have been severely injured or even killed.

Now, I’ve killed two major enemy figures while saving one Sword Master.

‘And Shahri was also a spiritual leader for the elves.’

The alliance between devil worshippers and elves won’t necessarily fail just because Shahri is gone.

But the speed and momentum will inevitably be different.

Unless someone worse than Shahri appears. It’s beneficial for now, regardless of what the future holds.

Come to think of it, it reminds me of something else. I’ve never seen a nuclear bomb, but the destructive power was unbelievable.

If this is really similar to a nuclear bomb, it might be a bit dangerous.

‘But it probably won’t be a big problem.’

There was no Death Avoidance warning before approaching the area. And if it was really the same as a nuclear bomb…

Wouldn’t I have been burned to death the moment that light touched my body?

I was cautious twice during this plan.

One was the act of throwing the bomb itself, and the other was going to check the situation.

The variable came from an unexpected place. Just before I threw the bomb, goosebumps started forming on the back of my neck.

In fact, I didn’t expect Death Avoidance symptoms to appear at that distance. That’s why I was surprised and threw it immediately.

‘Considering how I was affected, if I had been a little late, I might have died too.’

Checking the subsequent state wouldn’t have been a problem even if Death Avoidance warnings appeared.

If a Death Avoidance warning appeared at a distance I couldn’t approach, it would mean they were alive but about to die soon.

Well, anyway. The job was well finished.

Now it’s time to return to Chenarus.

***

“What, you saw that? Really?”

“Yeah! I couldn’t sleep at dawn and was about to go out for a smoke when suddenly the world lit up!”

“Don’t lie.”

“It’s true. And after a while, a gust of wind blew. Where I was staying was fine, but the glass in the house across the street shattered.”

I could hear the merchants’ conversation. News of the explosion had spread quickly even before I arrived in Chenarus.

It’s natural. There’s quite a distance from Karantang Forest to the capital. The Homing Pigeon moves faster than me on foot.

I heard things on my way too. The light of the explosion briefly turned night into day.

It was just for a moment and it was dawn, but some people observed it even in cities beyond the mountains.

I had my back turned and the situation was urgent so I didn’t realize, but it seems to have shone brighter and larger than I thought.

I only saw the world brighten for a moment.

‘There were many eyewitness accounts of the light and two giant shadows.’

There were also stories of massive shockwaves, with many windows broken in nearby cities.

In the city I just visited, I heard that Karantang Forest had disappeared and an enormous crater had formed.

It seems search parties sent from nearby cities had already reported. There would be imperial agents too.

They’re scattered in all sorts of cities.

They’ll also be heading from the capital to Karantang Forest for an accurate investigation.

Anyway, my body was fine. It seems it was different from a nuclear bomb after all.

Several days have passed, but seeing no discomfort, I put aside worries about radiation.

“Did you see it too?”

The merchants who were talking asked. I’m now heading to Chenarus with them.

They’re people I met in the previous city.

“I was sleeping so I didn’t see the light. I woke up when the ground suddenly shook.”

“So you felt the impact?”

“Yes. I was quite far away, but the ground shook. When I opened my eyes, birds were flying up into the sky.”

I thought it wouldn’t look good for a mercenary to travel alone when such a huge event occurred.

Imperial agents would be coming this way.

At first, I joined as an escort for one group, but we met another group on the way.

They were merchants we knew, so with such a huge event happening, we decided to travel together.

After that, I was able to arrive in Chenarus not long after. The checkpoints had become stricter.

It was natural for the capital to become more stringent after the big explosion.

“Who’s this?”

“I’m Hegnu from the Anues mercenary group.”

I held out my mercenary badge. It had an engraving given when registering at the capital’s brokerage.

The guard who received the badge was surprised.

“Anues mercenary group? The one that killed Mirel?”

What’s this about? Mirel was the leader of a medium-sized mercenary group in the imperial capital.

He was the guy who went on the mission with Denif, did something happen there?

“Killed Mirel?”

“You don’t know?”

“I was out on an individual mission.”

“Ah, right. With all the commotion including this recent event, it’s understandable you haven’t heard the news from the mercenary side.”

The guard nodded and patted my shoulder.

“Go hear it from your comrades. You’ve become quite famous.”

I endured the unpleasantness on my shoulder and smiled. Judging by how he spoke, it didn’t seem to be bad news.

Still, attracting attention was a bit of a problem.

I wanted a moderate reputation, not great fame and attention.

‘But the timing isn’t bad. It’s likely to be buried because of the explosion.’

A blessing in disguise, you might say. Anyway, the capital I arrived at was in even greater turmoil than outside.

I checked the newspapers first, and they were talking about two possibilities.

One was that a huge meteorite had fallen. This was just a hypothesis.

It would be revealed over time that there were no meteorite fragments anyway.

The other was that this incident was the work of devil worshippers.

In fact, it was a natural connection since there had been a terrorist attack targeting Erendil not long ago.

[The First Prince, who went to inspect Albaco, was threatened!]

Some newspapers were saying this. It seemed the First Prince was engaging in media warfare.

The story was that devil worshippers had targeted the First Prince who went to inspect the empire’s weapon warehouse.

It would seem plausible to people.

It would be interesting to think that it exploded due to the enemies’ stupid mistake while trying to target the First Prince. There were other opinions too.

“Wasn’t it actually aimed at the capital?”

“They say it targeted the First Prince.”

“Read it carefully. Only the title says that, the content is just speculation.”

“Is, is that so?”

“They say it wiped out an entire forest? If that had happened in Chenarus, not only us but even the Emperor would be dead!”

The people’s fuss wasn’t an exaggeration. The imperial palace would be viewing this even more seriously.

They’ll think the devil worshippers did this.

If it had really exploded in the capital, even the Emperor or Sword Masters would have died, so they must be chilled to the bone.

The devil worshippers would be similar. A high-ranking executor died where I was.

Moreover, an unbelievable explosion. They must be dumbfounded too. But unlike the imperial family, they know it was my doing.

“Brother! You’re back!”

When I arrived at the lodgings, my companions welcomed me enthusiastically. Everyone had beaming faces.

Especially Osten. He was also full of curiosity. They all seemed to know it was a success since I had explained the plan before leaving.

“We were worried you might not return since your return was delayed. Congratulations!”

“You all worked hard too.”

“What hard work did we do!”

Denif approached. He had a slightly mischievous face.

“No injuries?”

“No.”

“Take me with you next time.”

“The timing wasn’t right.”

“I almost followed you.”

“You did well to hold back.”

“Don’t forget you promised to spar with me.”

Denif glared at me. It was a will that he absolutely wouldn’t let it slide if it was just talk.

I nodded and changed the subject.

“But what’s this about Mirel? What happened?”

“Ah, it’s not a big deal.”

“Nothing strange, right?”

“We should avoid too much fame, but it couldn’t be helped. And it might actually be good?”

If Denif speaks so confidently, it might really be a good thing.

“Tell me about it.”

“I was going to the bathroom at night in the lodgings, and that guy Mirel’s movements were suspicious. His reputation wasn’t good either, so I was curious and followed him.”

Denif puffed out his chest proudly.

“I saw him trying to sneak into the room of the Alrend merchant group’s daughter. He even knocked out the guards.”

“Daughter?”

“Yeah. She came along to learn the work, following her father’s subordinate, and she was quite pretty.”

The daughter of the Alrend merchant group…

Alrend was the person I had personally introduced to Erendil as the future top merchant of the empire.

“So I killed the guy and saved that daughter. That’s it. How about it? Not bad, right?”

Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen Alrend’s daughter in the game.

Hmm. It seems an unfortunate incident was about to happen, but Denif prevented it?

Looking at it that way, it’s not a bad thing. In fact, I didn’t have big expectations for this small trade of the Alrend merchant group.

Building a good relationship with them like this is absolutely not bad.

‘Oh? If I do this well…’

Moreover, I knew a war would break out soon. As one of the top 10 merchant groups, they would naturally be mobilized for supplies.

I might be able to create a justification to legally get involved in the war using connections with the Alrend merchant group.

Even if I move personally, there might be times when Denif’s strength is needed.

It’s dangerous, but there shouldn’t be a problem if I give a warning in advance. Well, nothing’s decided yet, so let’s think about it when the time comes.

And several days passed.

Public opinion in the capital concluded that this was the work of devil worshippers. It was because no meteorite fragments were found.

They believed it was an attempt to target the First Prince following Erendil. Or that it was an accident while targeting the imperial palace.

Either way, it stimulated the already boiling anger of the imperial citizens.

-War! Only war! Death to the scoundrels who worship the deluded!

If even newspapers that undergo imperial review say this, it means the angry public sentiment can’t be controlled.

This, it seems the war might come much faster than I thought.

It would just be the opening skirmishes, but what I did seems to have caused a butterfly effect in a bad direction.

Well, thinking as positively as possible, it’s something that would happen anyway. It might be better to take the beating early.

That way we can prepare more quickly and extensively.

And even though there will clearly be expected damage, it’s still a profitable business since I killed Shahri and Tilivan.

‘Preventing it would be best, but what can we do. We need to prepare.’

It seems there will be a lot more work to do again.

Author's Thoughts

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