Chapter 394

Chapter 394

“...!” Oscar’s face stiffened after getting stabbed. She had not imagined, even in her wildest dreams, that he was going to betray her like this when she had helped him escape.

Salvatore pushed his face right in front of hers and said, “Who the fuck are you?”

His expression made him look as if he was possessed by—no, he was the incarnation of an evil spirit. Findd new stories at novelhall.com

“Who the fuck are you to tell me what to do, bitch!”

“So... you have decided to stoop this low...” Oscar said while casting an indifferent look at him.

“Low? What’s low about this? Keke... Kekeke!”

“...”

“Know your place,” Salvatore spat out as his eyes started to become tainted with madness before continuing. “I’m grateful that you saved me, but... I don’t remember giving you the right to tell me what to do with my life, did I?”

“...”

“Do you think this is the end for me? Don’t fuck with me! This isn’t the last of me! I started from the bottom, and I will do it again!”

“Pathetic... So pathetic you’re making me sick...” Oscar muttered under her breath.

“Life is pathetic, didn’t you know that?” Salvatore replied with a smirk.

“That only applies to you.”

“Ha! Stop acting high and mighty, Oscar! Ah, do you know why I abandoned you?”

“I’m not curious.”

“Because I stood to gain nothing from marrying you, and I’ll have to continue working at that stupid academy! Forget about fame and riches, I’ll be stuck living as a knight for the rest of my life!” Salvatore exclaimed.

He then continued his tirade. “A pathetic life! A life without a future! That’s all you had to offer! But guess what? My life changed after I abandoned you! I'm on the run right now, but... Hehe... See? Do you really think that this is the end of me? Like this?”

“...”

“Just wait and see...” Salvatore said before he twisted the dagger with all of his strength.

Squelch!

Oscar shuddered when the dagger was twisted inside of her.

“Watch from hell and see if I can get back on my feet or not!”

“You are... really... pathetic and... repulsive...”

“Goodbye, Oscar,” Salvatore said. He kissed her cheek before leaving the cave.

She was now all alone in the cold damp cave with a dagger stuck lodged inside her.

***

Deep within the Casca Mountains...

“Sniff, sniff! Sniff, sniff, sniff!” Hamchi sniffed around the ground.

Beside him was Siegfried, who was still in his mountain bandit disguise.

“Hey, search more thoroughly. Can’t you pick up Oscar’s scent?”

“Kyu! Be patient, owner punk! Do you think this is easy?” Hamchi glared and retorted.

“It’s already been four hours! What if Oscar is hurt? She looked injured a while ago!”

“Hamchi is trying! Don’t pressure me! Kyuuu!”

“Alright, alright, just search faster.”

“Okay! Kyuu!”

Four hours passed since Hamchi used Meerkat~! to look for Oscar.

Oscar and Salvatore escaped nearly seven hours ago, thanks to Siegfried blocking the ranger, but the reason why Siegfried commenced the search only three hours after they escaped was just in case any other groups were tracking them down.

In other words, Siegfried bought time for Oscar and that piece of trash to run away safely, and he was now trying to track them down.

“Tsk... I need to smash that piece of trash’s head open...” Siegfried clicked his tongue while waiting for Hamchi to find any lead.

He was fine with helping Oscar, but saving that piece of trash had left a bad taste in his mouth.

‘I’m going to deduct three months' pay once we’re back, Oscar,’ Siegfried decided to punish her by not paying her three month’s worth of wages.

“Kyu?!” Hamchi flinched as his ears perked up.

“Did you find anything?!”

“Over there! I can smell Oscar from there! Kyuuu!”

“Really?”

“But I can smell blood, too! Kyu!”

“Heok!” Siegfried gasped and said, “Did they run into a monster? Where is it?! Let’s hurry!”

“Over there! Kyuuu!”

Hamchi ran ahead and led the way while Siegfried and Carell followed right behind.

They ran for thirty minutes until they arrived in front of a cave, and there they found Oscar collapsed and bleeding on the ground.

“Dame Oscar!”

“...”

“DAME OSCAR!”

“But it’s cute...”

“...?”

“Is this what they call Gap Moe?”

Gap Moe was a term used by Otakus to describe when someone did something cute that was contradictory to their usual behavior.

“What does... Gap Moe mean...?”

“Who would have known that someone like you, who wouldn't even flinch when getting pricked by needles, would do something so irresponsible? And the fact that it was all because of your first love makes it even more absurd.”

“Please kill me, Your Majesty...” Oscar muttered. She was serious this time. She was so embarrassed that she would rather die than listen to her liege remind her of such embarrassment.

“There you go again. Asking me to kill you.”

“Your Majesty, I—“

“Three month’s pay.”

“...!”

“I can’t punish you more than that since our kingdom’s operation will take a hit, so your punishment will be three month’s worth of pay and no salary increases for the next two years.”

“But, Your Majesty—“

“Please don’t leave my side until the last day I step foot on this world.”

“...!”

“This is an order, and I want your full loyalty this time,” Siegfried sternly said, and then he added, “So stop asking me to kill you. I want you back as soon as possible so you can work your ass off for me. Got that?”

“Your Majesty...”

Flash!

A bright light erupted from Oscar’s body, making Siegfried close his eyes.

‘What was that? Why is she shining all of a sudden?’

Ding!

[Alert: Oscar’s affinity toward you has risen by 999,999,999,999!]

[Alert: Affinity has reached Loyalty from the Soul!]

It was a message notifying him of Oscar’s increase in affinity.

[Alert: NPC Awakening Event has occurred!]

[Alert: Oscar has awakened after being moved by your words!]

[Alert: Oscar is now a Burning[1] NPC!]

[Alert: All experience points obtained by Oscar will increase by 500%!]

The ultra-rare NPC Awakening Event, which had never been seen by any other player, was happening right in front of Siegfried’s eyes!

***

All of the NPCs in BNW were highly intelligent AI created by the Doppelganger Algorithm; they were capable of speaking and acting like human beings. These NPCs had one interesting trait, which was their ability to get influenced by the actions of the Adventurers around them.

One such case was none other than their Growth.

An NPC without relation to any Adventurer remained the same as they went about their daily lives, but an NPC with human comrades would grow stronger the longer they stayed with them.

Oscar was the latter case.

Her abilities and stats would keep on increasing the more time she spent as Siegfried’s subordinate, and her level was now as high as Siegfried's level. It wasn't really strange that her level had increased, considering the fact that her lord, Siegfried, wasn't slacking at all. However, the NPC Awakening Event that occurred today would massively boost her growth.

[Burning NPC]

[This NPC has awakened!]

[This NPC's growth is exponential!]

[All experience points obtained by this NPC will increase by 500%!]

[This NPC will obtain a new class once she reaches a certain level!]

In other words, Siegfried’s kindness, which was actually his desperate attempt to keep her at all costs so he didn't have to do paperwork, had triggered the event that would make her grow exponentially stronger.

“Your Majesty,” Oscar said as she knelt on one knee.

The Burning NPC buff engulfed her body with a bright red aura that was visible only to the Adventurers. Then, she lowered her head just as a knight would to her liege and said, “I, Oscar, swear eternal and undying loyalty to Your Majesty.”

“I don’t need your eternal and undying loyalty,” Siegfried replied with a smile, and then he said, “So please don’t do that ever again, got it?”

“Y-Yes, my lord.”

“Okay, shall we go trash hunting now?”

“Trash hunting...?”

“We still have to kill him, right?” Siegfried had no plans to let the piece of trash live.

He did manage to trigger Oscar’s NPC Awakening Event, thanks to that piece of trash.

“A very painful death at that.”

“Your Majesty.”

“Yes?”

“May Your Majesty... please grant me this one request?” Oscar asked as cautiously as possible.

1. I suppose this is something like ‘fever time’ often found in games ?