Chapter 74 |
To the Princess, To the Knight. (1)
A blue screen.
Reward notifications packed it from top to bottom.
To think I’d cleared all these quests in a single night.
“For some reason, this feels like deja vu from right after Lacquer Night...”
Of course, I wasn’t complaining.
Opening a gift box was always exciting.
Nobody hates Christmas, and even fewer people hate Santa Claus.
“Hmm.”
As expected, my wandering finger clicked the first window that had popped up.
A clear mechanical chime rang out behind the smooth feel of the glass.
Ding-!
[Hidden Quest cleared!]
-Title: More Growth! More Balloons!
-Objective: Reach 500 Parrying uses with growth-type weapon 'Balloon Sword+.'
[Through stunning persistence, you have met the conditions!]
-As a reward, this weapon's grade will increase.
The Balloon Sword quest.
That alert had appeared while I was restoring the ghoulified villagers.
I slipped a hand into my robe and pulled out the colorful weapon.
It gave off a soft glow, like an LED was lit inside it.
“It’s squishy...”
Kidding, lol.
I squeezed the not-quite-ripe Balloon Sword.
Ding-!
[Balloon Sword+]
-Category: Growth-type Weapon
-Grade: D+
-Growth Limit Grade: None
-Status: Colorful, Squishy, Sparkling
-Description: A special Balloon Sword. It emits a faint purifying light from the blade. You may use the passive skill 'Twinkle Twinkle!'. A weapon capable of growth.
[Skill Name: Twinkle Twinkle!]
-Heals targets stroked with this weapon.
-As this exclusive weapon's grade rises, both range and effect increase.
A lot of text had been added.
More importantly, the weapon had jumped three full grades.
“And it even got a skill?”
Twinkle Twinkle!
That was an aggressively magical naming sense.
It looked healing-based, and it seemed to scale with the weapon’s rank.
“Is this... actually going to turn into a holy sword later?”
I muttered under my breath.
It looked absurd, seeing this many options stuck onto a mere Balloon Sword.
If I really raised it to the max, was an Absolute Holy Balloon Lightsaber going to be born?
“...This is cool as hell, though?”
I definitely had to keep raising this thing.
Now that it had a healing option, it would be useful in way more situations.
It had been overshadowed by Wiggles so far, but if it grew into a completely different niche, that changed everything.
“I’ll use Wiggles for combat, and this one for cleanup.”
Perfect balance.
I smiled at the unexpected haul.
After that, my finger moved on and clicked the next rewards without hesitation.
Ding-!
[Hidden Quest 'Path of the Saint' cleared.]
[Item 'Faded Rosario (C+)' obtained.]
Ding-!
[Sub Quest 'Lunar Eclipse' cleared.]
[Skill 'Omen of the Apocalypse (A-)' acquired.]
One item, one skill.
My eyes went to the item first.
I read the description without much expectation.
Ding-!
[Faded Rosario]
-Category: Accessory
-Grade: C+
-Status: Old, Damaged
-Description: A rosary once left behind by a believer. Its color has faded over long years, but it still carries a sacred energy. When equipped, Merit Points obtained through the title [Saint] increase by 200%.
“What...?!”
My pupils widened the moment I read it.
A 200% increase to Merit Points gained through the [Saint] title.
I never expected that kind of effect.
“Honestly, I saw C-rank and expected nothing...”
An experience gain boost.
And it was doubled.
I’d already been painfully aware that I needed stat grinding.
“I need to build my body up overall.”
A glass-cannon stat line with only Agility jutting out on its own.
After my one-on-one duel with Jersian, the backlash had been brutal.
My body couldn’t handle B- speed on top of all those item effects.
I couldn’t keep suffering overload every single time.
“The other stats need to catch up too.”
At minimum, I needed to fully control the cards in my own hand.
With that in mind, Agility upgrades were banned for a while.
If I pushed it any higher now, it was obvious I’d fail to handle the speed and end up breaking something.
“Anyway, this’ll make stat grinding a lot easier.”
I rolled the old rosary between my fingers as I thought.
Its worn surface had a strangely distinct texture.
“Still... I should be able to keep getting Merit Points whenever major incidents happen.”
This was a world where extras got swept away like autumn leaves.
And not just during calamities. Small events were the same.
There were more than enough people I’d need to save.
If I kept raking in points each time, stat grinding might not be such a brutal road.
“I made almost 8,000 points this time too.”
That let me push Agility straight up to B-.
If I kept this pace, I could probably build a decent body before the final battle.
“Good.”
The [Saint] title was still the most promising thing I had.
I hung the rosary around my neck, then checked the remaining skill description window.
Ding-!
[Omen of the Apocalypse]
-Category: Activated Skill
-Grade: A-
-Attribute: Isolation, Domain
-Description: A skill known to be used by the Four Knights of the Apocalypse, specifically the Red Knight and the Black Knight. When activated, it unfolds a barrier centered on the caster, reaching up to 1 km. Targets struck by the skill become trapped inside the barrier with the caster. The stronger the caster's mana, the stronger the barrier's durability, duration, and range.
Barrier sorcery.
It was probably that unsettling dome I’d run into a few times.
The same barrier that had swallowed an entire village last night.
“This looks really usable too...”
It looked like a high-potential skill in a lot of ways.
In short, I had my own domain expansion now.
I could isolate enemies inside my zone, or do the opposite and separate civilians to protect them.
The only minor issue was that my Mana Sensitivity was only E+.
“A skill whose power depends on the caster’s mana.”
It was different from growth-type abilities.
I didn’t need to strengthen the skill itself. If I got stronger, the skill got stronger with me.
Either way, it wasn’t something I could expect huge results from right now.
More like a skill I could expect to shine a few months later.
“One more reason I need stat grinding.”
I figured that worked out nicely.
I had to do it anyway, and clear rewards made it easier to stay motivated.
“And finally.”
Only one window remained now.
Ding-!
[Main Quest cleared!]
-Title: The Water Knows the Answer!
-Objective: Secure the New Kingdom vampire 'Jersian.' Break him through various means of persuasion.
[Through a stunning performance, you have eliminated the target!]
-A reward will be provided. Please check your status window.
The reward that had been marked ??? before.
Only now, after completing the quest, was its content revealed.
I held my breath and stared at the text above the status window.
[Reward: A clue regarding ■■■]
-Click to confirm.
“...”
Again.
Just like last time, when the entire status window had been stained black.
The blurred letters looked hazy enough to make my eyes hurt.
What exactly was ■■■ for the status window to throw out warnings this hard?
“If it’s a Main Quest reward, then it’s definitely something that could affect what comes next...”
Too many parts of this felt wrong.
Frowning, I carefully pressed the status window.
Ding-!
Sure enough, the screen turned black again.
The frame tore apart wildly as if an error had occurred.
A bizarre cracking noise rang in my ears.
“...”
Same as last time.
Only incomprehensible words appeared, and then the screen blacked out as if it had shut down.
I stared at it in silence.
The status window returned to blue as if nothing had happened.
Even the letters that had turned red went back to their original color.
“This is...”
There was definitely something there.
This wasn’t something I could just brush off as a bad feeling.
If the same phenomenon happened twice, calling it coincidence was a stretch.
And I wasn’t optimistic enough to dismiss this as a mere system glitch.
This was a warning.
The status window was warning me.
“But about what...?”
That was the problem.
I had no clue.
Everything was so vague that it was hard to pin down any meaning.
The most suspicious part was still those three blurred characters.
“A place name? Or... someone’s name?”
■■■.
Whatever it was, it didn’t seem like anything pleasant.
I manipulated the status window back and forth, lost in thought.
“I need to investigate this too.”
Something that might be connected to the status window,
connected to the Evil God’s Mask,
something that might become a danger later,
and made up of three characters.
The hint was broad, but if I used it as a base and dug deeper, it wasn’t impossible to find clearer clues.
“Huu...”
With a sigh, I closed the status window.
As if my head didn’t hurt enough already, now I had even more to think about.
“I’ll investigate it slowly.”
I flopped down onto the sofa.
It bothered me, but there was nothing I could solve right away.
And honestly, I didn’t even have the strength left to move a finger.
“I’ll sleep first. I’ll think after I wake up...”
The moment I leaned against the backrest, my eyes drifted closed.
I let my fading consciousness go.
A deep breath leaked out.
It had been a ridiculously long day.
***
After that.
Thankfully, the next days were the weekend, so the catastrophe of dragging this body into class never happened.
I sprawled on the sofa for two days and got enough rest.
“Carmilla...”
My roommate, vampire princess, and one and only master.
The girl stayed shut in the bedroom for two straight days.
The life in those red eyes looked especially faint.
Normally, she would’ve whined that it was the weekend and begged me to play with her.
“She’s quiet.”
She felt like a different person.
That younger-sister-like innocence and oddball energy were gone.
What remained was deep and somehow sad, like looking at a much more mature woman.
“...”
Carmilla Blandir.
The last princess of the fallen vampire dynasty.
She had the eyes to match that title.
She sat still, expressionless.
Even when I tried to talk to her, she only gave a weak smile or stayed lost in thought without answering.
“Was the shock that bad...?”
A reunion with an old retainer.
That seemed to have shaken Carmilla deeply.
“She probably needs time to think.”
I quietly watched over Carmilla.
So she could sort out her heart and stand back up on her own.
If I approached that wound too quickly, it felt like I’d only make things worse right now.
So I took a step back for now.
“Will she be okay...?”
Worry stayed in my chest.
The silence in the dorm seemed like it would continue.
At least, until the second night, when Carmilla stormed into my bedroom.
“...Princess-nim?”
Blood Manipulation.
My arms and legs were bound by blood-woven ropes.
As I lay on the bed, half-naked Carmilla was straddling me.
“Princess-nim.”
I called out in panic, but nothing like an answer came back.
Reason already seemed shattered in those crimson eyes.
It looked like a girl pouncing on a boy.
I was in thin sleepwear, and Carmilla wore nothing but a single shirt.
Her distinct, sweet scent brushed past me through the thin fabric.
“Princess-nim? Please calm down, p-please undo this...”
“Viktor.”
Rustle-.
Her curved body pressed down, leaving a soft sensation.
The shirt barely covered only the tips atop her pale mounds.
Her fingers touched my cheek.
“Stay still.”
“...”
Her lips moved.
I couldn’t move at all, pinned down by my bare princess-nim.
Carmilla’s pupils trembled as if they might shatter any second.
Heat passed between our touching skin.
That chill made cold sweat run down me.
“What is this.”
How the hell did this happen.
