Chapter 52

Chapter 52My pristine white hair is now wet, tangled in sticky blood and flesh.

The thick scent of blood permeates my lungs.

With that, I slowly raise my head and walk over towards the woman.

Luna.

The youngest of the three swordsmen, the blade of the current me. {1}

No, there is a woman who makes me wonder if even the future me will dare to touch her.

Someone who will later have a direct impact on the main story.

I look up at her and ask in a voice that couldn’t be calmer.

[Talent ‘Master of Acting’ is activating].

“Are trials a rite of passage?”

* * *

Dense silence falls over an altar set up on a grassy path.

The forest exudes an air of seclusion.

As I was enduring the red moonlight that only rises here I ask her.

Am I worth something now?

To you, to this organization. Am I useful enough?

The answer was what I expected.

“Yes, you are. You’ve passed the test. No, you’ve passed it with flying colors.”

Luna nodded her head in affirmation.

The tension in my body seemed to ease a bit. After all, I had somehow survived this monster-infested place.

Even if you have the right stats and talents, you only have one life, and how you use it is up to you.

Earlier, I had taken a gamble of sorts.

‘The problem is, I hid it all under the table. Hah... I’m going to get a lot of flack from Zitri when I get back.’

Zitri is strangely inclined to emphasize this disciplinary aspect.

Hajiya, I’ve made a few mistakes, but of course she’s allowed to do that. It’s all because she’s worried about me.

‘When I get back, I’m going to make her another cup of tea. Normal this time.’

As I nodded in agreement, Luna spoke in admiration.

“You fought the enemy for the longest time of anyone who’s ever gone through the Trial of the Moonlight, and you won. I suppose that’s proof that you deserve it.”

I nodded.

Of course there were many stronger men than me. But none of them had the genius and prodigy traits I had, and none of them had the exact stats I had.

Now that I thought about it, I could feel the dreaded difficulty again.

Luna looked strangely excited, but she kept it together as best she could.

“Welcome to the Lunatic Order, and while it would be customary to run a background check on you, yes... you’re a material of House Reinhafer. I’m sure we won’t need to do that.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

I sincerely thought so.

Right now, I need to play both the hero and the villain in the main story.

In order to do so, I needed to be recognized as a member of the Lunatics and get the items I wanted quickly.

‘This is the moment when the Dark House comes to my aid.’ {2}

After being greeted with fear and disdain on a daily basis, it was an oddly uplifting feeling to receive a different assessment.

At the time of the immediate entrance examinations, Echidna of the Holy House and Penelope, the Princess, had thought of me as almost a pathogen.

‘Of course, considering the dark times, the confrontation between the Divine Houses, and the wars that took place during the establishment of the country, it’s not unreasonable....’

In any case, it was the work of an ancestor, a Knox ancestor whose face I had never even seen. I don’t think it’s fair to look at me with such contempt when it has nothing to do with me.

I tried to be polite for a scoundrel.

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Luna nodded, apparently satisfied with my answer.

“Listen, newcomer. There are five ranks in the Lunatic Order, not counting the captain and vice-captain. Since you’re new, we’ll start with the third rank.”

“I understand.”

Luna narrowed her eyes a little at my answer.

She doesn’t seem to be convinced that I’m willing to start at the bottom.

Of course, coming from such an authoritarian family, she was expecting me to blurt out that I wanted to start at the top.

It’s pretty obvious that if I did that to a group of discipline-oriented Lunatics, it wouldn’t go over well.

As it turns out, everyone with the title of swordsman or sage in this game is always on guard.

Not only that.

‘Raising your standing in Lunatic is a no-brainer, as long as you can maneuver the intertwining events between the main story and the subplots.’

It’s not that I don’t want to be high on the list, either.

The Lunatics are basically a meritocracy, and higher ranks mean greater status, artifacts, and more.

Plus, since it’s a black market by nature, you get access to the black market without paying any fees. It’s a win-win in many ways.

‘But I also don’t want to get too much attention prematurely.’

What is my primary goal anyway?

I need to survive and make a living, and enter the main story.

Play the villain as well as possible in order to keep the story on track.

...plus the protagonist role, which makes four in total.

It seems like I’m doing more and more.

But it’s not something I can control.

For now, let’s focus on what we can do.

It’s for the best.

“However.”

Just as I was thinking, Luna spoke up.

The way she spoke made me listen.

“We can’t treat someone who just set a new record in our Lunatic Trials like a rookie. Normally, we’d give the third-tier Lunatic Apprentice uniforms to our members, but...... you’re going to be given the full outfit right away.”

Lunatic’s outfit.

What kind of windfall is this?

‘Does Luck 10 work in this way?’

I think to myself, rejoicing.

A man interrupts me.

“I’m... Duff...... a... member... of Lunatic.”

“Nox von Reinhafer.”

I recognized the face.

‘Duff the Stutterer.’ He’s one of Lunatic’s leading figures.

He handed me a jet-black robe.

“Take...ah...this...is...the...uniform...worn...only...by...the... hallowed...ones...of...Lunatic..........”

[Acquired the equipment].

[You have acquired ‘Conquest of the Lunatic Order’].

[Displays information about the acquired item].

“Until then.”

I replied, feeling the blue light engulf me.

A faint smile flickered across Luna’s otherwise expressionless face.

For the briefest of moments, I felt the world go black, then return.

“I take it you’ve taken care of your business?”

“Yes.”

I returned to the tavern.

Waiting for me there was none other than Keiron.

The man who guards the [Bugbear Brewery]. {3}

He’s not one to interfere with customers coming and going unless it’s a big deal, so I expected him to disappear quickly.

But he looked at me for a moment and gave me a curious smile.

I feigned discomfort and said.

“Is there something you want to talk to me about?”

“You’re being unfair.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re supposed to know each other’s names. But I haven’t heard your name yet.”

Keiron smiles slyly.

His words make me wonder why.

A similar smile almost tugged at the corners of my mouth.

The reason was simple.

Keiron. He runs the [Bugbear Brewery], and as far as I know, he never asks for anyone’s name.

When I told him my name in the game he always replied. “F*ck off, I don’t want to hear the name of a guy who’s about to die.”

But there was one situation where he would talk to me.

The only time he would speak to me was when I was a full member of the Order and wearing its regalia.

I looked him in the eye and coldly replied.

“Nox von Reinhaber. Is that the end of our business?”

“Very well, then I suppose you should get going. I’ve heard that keeping up with the academy’s schedule is quite a challenge, so... well, it shouldn’t be too hard for you.”

* * *

[Moon Shadow] and [Lunatic’s Conquest].

Aside from that, there was one thing I had overlooked in my quest to get something useful.

It was... the maid.

“Young Master, are you listening to me? I’ve told you many times, you should stay away from anything dangerous. I know your family has a bad reputation, but that’s something you can work on in the future....”

“I’m not listening.”

My tone was stern, but I was almost pleading.

Zitri, now awake, was bugging me with more intelligent eyes than usual. I know it’s the right thing to do, but...

She’s too sincere, it’s a problem.

“So... no matter how you slice it, being an unauthorized outcast on your first day at a prestigious academy like Eldain.......”

“Ah, rather than that. How were you today? I thought you had a maid lesson.”

I hastily changed the subject.

I have to survive this somehow...!

Ten more minutes of nagging like this and I’ll be dead.

Maybe even shorten my life.

I can’t let that happen.

Zitri opened his eyes sheepishly, then sighed heavily as if he understood my intentions.

“Well, it’s always been the same for me,” she said.

“You mean you’ve been bullied.”

I immediately interpreted what she was saying.

It doesn’t seem to be that bad yet, but this is a school that is half noble. Not surprisingly, the maids are mostly from noble families.

Although Jitri had once been a noble, fallen nobles were treated worse than commoners.

I thought there would be bullying. It seems I was right.

“If there’s a problem... no. It’s not your fault.”

“I’m pretty stubborn, just like you. I didn’t even realize it.”

Zitri sounded naturally virtuous, but if something were to happen to her soon, I needed to deal with it somehow.

A character who joined my faction anyway. I’m a stickler for taking care of my units.

“Here, take this, and if you have any problems, open this compartment.”

I said, handing something to Zitri.

Zitri scratched her head.

“This is...?”

“Only open it if you’re in trouble. It’s a very reasonable solution to any situation.”

Zitri looked at the small clasped amulet I held out to her. There’s something inside, but you can’t see it.

It’s specially enchanted.

It was a timing artifact that could only be used once.

“...I see, I’ll take care of it.”

“Good. Don’t hesitate to use it in a dangerous situation. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

With that thought, I organized the items I had acquired and the future curriculum accordingly. Then, just as I was about to go to bed.

I suddenly received a status message.

[You have succeeded in entering Eldain Academy].

[You have cleared the first main story].

[You can check the likability of each registered unit at.......]

It was a message that made my eyes widen.

I immediately straightened up and thought to myself.

I immediately straightened up and thought to myself, ‘Finally, I’ve managed to open up my favorability rating. This should make things a little easier from here on out, because it’s nice to know what the other units think of me in advance.’

I nodded in satisfaction.

I heard an unexpected sound from the system, like a celestial force.

[An error has occurred!]

[Your request to display likeability has been denied!]

......?

Before my embarrassment was over, the voice continued.

[A new letter has arrived in your mailbox].

[Do you want to check it?]

{1} : 지금의 나로는 – jigeum-ui naloneun , can be removed – thought that phrase made sense

{2} : reference to his family’s presence within the underworld

{3} : I’ll be keeping it as this from now on