In the section where those adorable eyes ended up being fixed, it talked about an updated version of the origin of the Magic Sequences—The very basis of Modern Sorcery—and said the following after the title:
The Hypothesis that would give rise to the Magic Sequences
The magical sequences owe their existence primarily to the hypothesis that arose when the numerologists of the Tower of Sorcery discovered that all the laws of nature follow a mysterious mathematical pattern. With this, the researchers were able to open the door to a universal 'Root', a kind of 'law of laws' that encompasses them all.
Under the guidance of Archmage Anderson Chavales, of the Tower of Sorcery's numerology department, they eventually discovered this interesting mathematical pattern that repeats itself in the various formulas of nature that had been developed, which revealed something fundamental about the world in which they lived.
"Although the material plane manifests itself in a wide range of natural phenomena with varying levels of complexity," wrote the numerologists who took part in the study in an article that can be consulted on the tower's server, "the formulas that describe them all show certain regularities and statistical patterns."
To reach this conclusion, Chavales and his colleagues were inspired by linguistic laws, "where Narf's law states that the frequency of any word in a large corpus of text is approximately inversely proportional to its rank in the frequency table."
In other words, Narf's law states that the most common word in a language appears twice as often as the second most common word, three times as often as the third, and so on.
In Loveritian, for example, the word 'troe' tends to make up about 6 percent of any long text, followed in frequency by 'Ode', which appears about 3.9 percent of the time. What's more, the same law seems to hold in other situations as well, such as the distribution of population in large cities. In the laws of nature, too.
The authors therefore decided to investigate whether such patterns also arise in the distribution of mathematical symbols and operations used to construct the various laws of nature. To do so, they used three entirely different corpuses of formulas: those used in the famous 'Nature Lectures of the Spiritualist Fuynmian'; those from a list of formulas named by author obtained from a book famous in his community; and a set of formulas describing the formation of the first moments of the existence of Genesis...
—That's interesting…- the redhead (?) murmured, somewhat intrigued by the topic presented in this slightly thin book, as she calmly continued her reading about the hypothesis that changed the world of sorcery and made possible the very Arcane Engineering that drives human civilization.
….Chavales and his team treated each symbol and each mathematical operator as if it were a word, and then analyzed their distribution and the frequency with which they appear by applying Narf's law.
“One might expect,” Avalon Lunen Ivrin Lainervorial, Third Emperor of Loveritia and Head of the Imperial Academy of Bomenslik, who acted as co-author of the study at the time, once said, “that this distribution would differ significantly between the three different sets of formulas because they came from different places.” But to his surprise, that was not the case, and all three sets seemed to fit a single pattern.
Numerologists were not entirely clear at the time what it meant by the fact that nature's formulas, which describe the reality in which we live, follow this pattern.
An eyebrow rose. The idea that nature could be manipulated the way sorcerers did just by replicating this strange pattern was unbelievable to her(?). Only now, having gone far from home to study at this prestigious academy, was she(?) coming to hear of such a thing. After all, not everyone was interested in learning arcane science instead of sorcery.
As a result, many young people, including herself (?), did not know the origin of the symbols that made up the magical sequences and appeared in various grimoires. They simply assumed that it was the power of the sorcerer that did all the work and that the symbols were just instructions for constructing each sequence and shaping the formula through incantations.
As far as I knew, modern witchcraft is an art that uses formulas composed of symbols representing laws—both natural and esoteric—to manipulate reality by combining a series of specific patterns; or sequences. This can be divided mainly into two techniques of operating phenomena: Interference and Recreation (although they are not the only ones).
Interference is the act of using thaumaturgical formulas through magical circuits to interfere with the mechanisms of reality and control elements and the like with which one has an affinity. Recreation, on the other hand, is the act of simulating a “False Reality” and promulgating it as real upon the world in order to recreate natural and mythical phenomena.
All this was done based on a single system.
Aduptivus magiischus Sequinzialungssystren (Adaptive Magic Sequencing System in the Alumite Magical Language) or simply AMS, was a magic modulation system that the Third Emperor himself invented as a method of improving magical efficiency. This system gave the Loveritia Empire an absolute advantage in their undisputed magical superiority for roughly nearly two centuries, before the rest of the Tower of Sorcery and the nations finally began to follow suit after this was firmly proven, shattering the old methods.
In fact, it was in the enormous empire from which he came, Loveritia, where part of the current system of sorcery used throughout the continent in recent years was born in the hands of the most famous emperor in history after the founder, a source of pride for them to have this legacy.
Anyway, the concept behind this system is that each word of an incantation is actually a mnemonic for a unique magical sequence module composed of multiple sigils and symbols, which can allow the Sorcerer to construct a complex fabric of maryoku from mythical threads.
These magical sequences are recorded in the magical circuits as a set of thought bodies that allow the sorcerer to combine them into a complete magical formula designed to achieve a spell that takes advantage of the sorcerer's best qualities to achieve the best results, allowing them to create their own 'Style of Sorcery'....
Well, that was all she (?) knew about it. She had never bothered to learn much about the principles of magecraft for many personal and objective reasons and even if she had wanted to, her territory was so poor that no one would waste money to obtain resources that would not help her at all with her poor talent…
The young girl (?) shook off that self-deprecating thought with a wry smile and continued her reading while still waiting for her friend to arrive. She searched where she left off for a moment, then continued from there.
On the one hand, numerologists believed that this might be telling them something important about how the very nature of existence works. After all, each formula on its own is remarkably accurate at predicting actual events in the natural world, so a 'general pattern' followed by all the formulas together could very well contain valuable information about how the world we all live in is organized.
Chavales, a supporter of this idea, explained at the time that the pattern found is very consistent, and that it occurs even in the symbols that appear more rarely: "The operators that appear less frequently (the exponential, logarithmic, hyperbolic and trigonometric functions) follow the same law. Which is surprising."
Avalon, for his part, cautiously suggested at that point that the result might simply be a statistical by-product, reflecting numerologists' attempts to express their ideas succinctly….
The young girl (?) commented as she opened her eyes slightly in surprise, “The Emperor himself who helped the rise of “Modern Sorcery” was cautious about the pillars of it… Now that is unexpected…”
He quickly continued, displaying a writing that supposedly represented the thoughts of the most powerful Imperial Archmage in existence regarding this ancient hypothesis, now the greatest theory of all regarding sorcery.
…?We create formulas that we know are useful - said the then Third Emperor - With language, what we want is to communicate the greatest amount of information possible with the least amount of symbols or in the shortest amount of time, and the same is true of formulas that describe nature.?
?However…understanding the underlying reasons behind this statistical pattern may shed light on Nature’s modus operandi, but also reveal recurring patterns in researchers’ attempts to formalize Nature’s laws.?
With this last statement, His Majesty Avalon had opened up the interesting possibility that the two scenarios are equally real and could occur at the same time. "By being pioneers in the study of statistical regularities in the formulas of nature," the Archmage finally concluded, "our results would open the door to a 'Root' of Nature, a fundamental principle of existence which defines reality and which all natural laws obey."
And with that door open to the Root, which supposedly governs reality, sorcerers under His Majesty's direction would over time develop magical sequences that would simplify the entire magical process of sorcery by reducing the complexity of rituals, upgrading the Phenomenon Operation Technique to a new level of….
—There's a lot I didn't understand about all this, but for a casual read on academic subjects, this was unexpectedly entertaining. — She said (?) openly as she stopped her reading there when she saw that it was getting more complex; not at all aware that the book the maid brought her said in small print “A condensed and simple reading of arcane knowledge for idiots.”
For her mental health, it would be better if she didn't notice this malicious act at all... Not to mention that she didn't notice the lack of attention she was being given by not being present in the guest room… the poor (?) noblewoman whose status was no different than a peasant's fortunately had no idea of ??this blatant disregard by the staff.
With my situation, I should try my best to understand sorcery more after all…
As she (?) was thinking thus in blissful ignorance of the situation, the door to the parlor was opened by the hand of an obedient maid (?) and a beautiful young woman with auburn hair entered, causing her—wait no, he was the son of a baron, Lars Hamilton von Laniere, who placed the book on the table and then raised his gaze to observe her with curiosity and some annoyance.
—Jheane-nee... What happened? What took you so long?
The moment Jheane entered the visiting room with a quick step and saw the figure of her innocent and adorable imouto-tsundere... Correction, she saw the figure of her little brother, the first thing she heard from him was a complaint about her tardiness, which made her roll her eyes impatiently while breathing somewhat agitatedly from her short run.
—Haaa... It didn't even take me an hour to get here, you know? Plus, I was busy trying out the luxurious bathrooms in my room when one of my maids informed me that you were looking for me, so I had to clean up and get dressed before coming. I should also mention that the hallways aren't small, Lars-kun.
Jheane simply lied about the reason for her delay and Lars believed her without question. Not that she had any reason to do so.
-...How envious, you have maids and a luxury bath to enjoy and I have to go to a communal bath like everyone else in the Aereus District....The food is so little that it is so good
-If you would at least behave, I would bring you another Bento.
Lars could easily imagine the ruckus it would cause if a beautiful SS Class girl brought him a Bento to his dorm, so he immediately refused. “No, I’d rather go to those fancy restaurants in the Shopping District. Why does there have to be some stupid rule that says you can’t go in unless you’re invited by Class A or higher… And don’t treat me like a child.”
The redhead groaned and Jheane put her hands on her hips as she looked at him, frowning.
-Your entry into Bomenslik was a fortunate event that only happened after that incident, you know? I think Headmistress Amelia took quite the risk by having a young man who doesn't even meet the age requirements to enter or even possess the talent needed to register like you did, you're already lucky that you were also given a temporary pass to use the transport gates between the islands... A District and a Class better than G for you? - Jheane snorted - You might as well ask him to officially remove himself from his position for overstepping his authority. You didn't forget that the only reason you managed to qualify for Class G was because of your 'special ability', right? -
-Yes... I know, you don't need to remind me- Lars nodded bitterly at the matter.
The mysterious Trait that awakened while trying to save Jheane from a dangerous situation within the Barony of Hamilton, Lars felt conflicted just remembering it.
On one hand, it was a power he gained during the worst situation of his life so far, where his friend was almost kidnapped and who knows what kind of terrible fate would befall her if he hadn't intervened... (Or so he thought, then he found out that the master alchemist's people were there to save her anyway. Though he would have kept trying anyway.)
On the other hand, that same power is what changed her life forever and gave her the chance to still have a connection with the one she considered an older sister, even if they weren't related by blood. (Although being separated by such distant districts with a huge difference in status and influence makes things... very difficult.)
However, if Lars, personally, had to point out the biggest problem he had with this power... it was its origin, in the words of the Director herself, Amelia Dumbardonnia.
The power of a Demon King's Authority?
How was I going to achieve something like that?
And what am I supposed to do with that? I can barely use it... And I even need to use an enchantment for it, even though an authority doesn't work with such a thing!
These questions and complaints filled his mind with anxiety every time they appeared. And, the memory of how to use it the first time that left him unconscious for at least three days or more was still fresh. Overall, he didn't know how he should use a Trait that wasn't his to begin with, which left him exhausted, almost comatose, and on the verge of death...
-Witchcraft Authority or whatever, it's useless if you can't use it properly...
Looking at the childish pout the boy made as he whispered to himself in the wine red plush chair he was sitting on, Jheane held back a fond smile.
Acting so adorable... How am I supposed to stop seeing you as a little sister?
She thought it was only natural, not just because of his unconscious actions, but because of everything else. That's because if there was one thing Jheane wanted to mention about her little brother, it was that Lars suffered from Klinalvager syndrome (Klinefelter in the real world).
Narrow shoulders and wider hips.
Taller than the others.
Less facial and body hair to the point of not existing at all.
Breast growth and a pitifully small penis (Don't ask how the hell Jheane knows that last one, seriously...)
Weaker bones, a very low apparent sexual interest in the other gender or, at worst, in the same gender, and pathetic physical stamina...
All these symptoms that he was previously unaware of and only realized when he learned about many diseases that Alchemy could not cure for now, Lars had them, shaping his current self.
Lars' crimson hair, cut almost to his small shoulders, was pretty enough to make normal women feel envious when looking at it, especially since it didn't need any special care of any kind to keep it looking nice. His hairless skin, which was rather white and slightly pale, gave him an especially delicate appearance; especially because of the obvious lack of masculine muscles in his arms.
His height, which couldn't be easily measured from where he was sitting, was much greater than most, making him taller than the average man, at least around 179 cm. In addition, he had attractive pink lips, which, coupled with his beautiful pair of emerald eyes, made him especially charming.
Added to the excessive lack of masculine features, at least from Jheane's point of view, is the fact that Lars could easily pass for a handsome teenager with an ideal height if he dressed like a girl. Especially with his small, cute breasts and his pitiful package that can be easily hidden if necessary...
He could easily pass himself off as a girl, even right now... Jheane imagined him in the female Academy uniform.
(This is what she looks like as a girl in her mind)
-... Hmm? - Lars looked at her suspiciously when he noticed her gaze - Are you thinking very rude things, Jheane-nee?
Wow... she even has our famous feminine instinct, what a cute and adorable little thing . Jheane teases fondly in her heart as she replied with what she thought was appropriate, -What could you be thinking about besides the stupidity that won't leave your head even if I keep hitting you with all my power, Lars-kun?
Lars's mouth opened and closed for a few seconds as Jheane gave him a figurative blow with her words, her lips trembling at the memory of a certain beating, before he gathered his will to defend himself and exclaimed indignantly, "But was I supposed to ignore it? That guy was insulting his fiancée's dreams by discrediting them as worthless! How is that supposed to be acceptable?"
-Yes, yes, you are upset because Sir Pendragon made the beautiful and defenseless Princess Laura cry, I know that. Don't you know that you are too weak to pretend to be a knight in shining armor? If it weren't for the fact that Sir Pendragon is not an immature man, unlike you, getting hit would have been the least of your problems, you know?
Lars groaned as if her words seemed ridiculous to him. He exhaled deeply and looked at her again, strong suspicion emanating from his green eyes.
-Because... Why do I feel like you're on that guy's side?
Jheane laughed as she crossed her arms, mindlessly highlighting her enormous breasts. "Am I on his side? Is that what you think, mmh? Maybe... at least knowing that he didn't beat you up or worse like other spoiled nobles who think they're the masters of the world would have done. Otherwise, I would surely hate him... but no, he simply taught you a lesson with words that, although biting from what I heard, were very accurate and showed that he was a magnanimous enough man to overlook your disrespect and your recklessness in challenging a high noble like a simple country baron, even more so the only Archduke of this Empire and son-in-law of the Emperor himself. Really... what were you thinking, no matter how much I think about it, you are really stupid, little brother..."
-Hey! What the fuck are you talking about? That guy literally looked down on me and told me to my face that I wasn't worth a second of his time! - Lars gritted his teeth at the memory, his eyes that were a bit bigger than the average man's threatening to release tears of anger (according to Jheane at least) as he recalled those humiliating words.
"What kind of disrespect is this? You are being too rude, Sir Hamilton. Even if you are the son of a simple country baron, you should at least strive to maintain your dignity as a noble at all times and treat your superiors accordingly, or you will be no different from those despicable mercenaries."
-Ha?! Are you blatantly belittling me?
—Did you realize what was obvious…? How wonderful, you are much more perceptive than you seem, that is a miracle that I don't think I will see again in my life —An indifferent voice came out of her lips, saying something that no matter how you looked at it, was an insult to her intellectual depth.
—You!
Even when he wanted to show his anger at his disdain, the other party didn't hesitate to turn around and completely ignore him. It was only when Lars asked him what a coward he was for provoking him, asking him why he didn't accept his request for a duel, that the man, Arthur, deigned to return his gaze.
-Hmmm - He seemed to reflect for a few seconds, and responded with a weak smile -... Why are you insignificant?
-That!?
At that moment, Lars couldn't help but widen his eyes in total disbelief at seeing that guy say such a thing to his face, but he didn't bother to at least allow him to process his words that seemed so absurd to the redhead and said in a more arrogant tone:
—Aside from the fact that I have no idea why you are challenging me to a duel, Sir Hamilton, I am not particularly interested in fighting a man as weak as you. That would be a valuable waste of time that could be spent on more important things, regardless of what kind of duel you desire. Still, it is not cowardice if you are so weak from the start that the outcome of the duel would already be obvious to anyone with eyes, is it?
That set him off. Lars told him straight to his face that he shouldn't be arrogant, that being an ?Awake? didn't give him the right to be so condescending to others, and all he said in response was...
-You knew of my power and yet you challenge me? What a fool, you should recognize the difference between our powers before doing something so foolish. If you'll excuse me, I won't waste any more of your time.
..Or something like that.
Basically, they treated him like someone inferior who wasn't even worthy of their time. Not because he had a lower status... but because he was too weak and insignificant in comparison!
And damn...it's true!
The redhead thought regretfully, admitting something he never, ever wanted to say with his own mouth, even if he was beaten mercilessly like Jheane did later.
The guy was the son of the first Archduke in centuries and the youngest Archduke in history, he was also the most powerful noble after the emperor, some would say more in certain aspects, a powerful Episcopal rank as far as he knew... and he was as handsome as the legendary incubi.
That he was not superior to Lars, the mere son of an earl whose ability barely reached the Peunis Rank in any sense?
I thought it looked great too...
She thought reluctantly as she remembered seeing him walk out with unparalleled dignity and poise, his back straight as a sword and his steps firm and powerful.
The man left after saying what he had to say with the presence of a lord above all others, and Lars... no, many of those present that day, whether women or even men, could not help but feel great admiration for him.
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Arthur was full of charm and charisma that could only be admired even when you confronted him. He reluctantly acknowledged it too. Of course, and once again... Lars would never admit it with his own mouth!
Especially since he's an idiot who doesn't think about his fiancée's feelings and makes her cry by rejecting her dreams! Hmmm!
That clearly took a lot of points off his awesomeness, at least in his mind. Well, he wouldn't say it out loud either... Arthur's noble female fans, who looked at him like he was a pathetic animal after that incident, would kill him.
I had no proof of this, but no doubts either.
-To you, Sir Pendragon may sound like an arrogant bastard, but to me, he's rather kind for not leaving you half dead, according to what I know of most of the Aristocracy...
Jheane waved her hand dismissively, bringing him back to reality. And before Lars could retort, she quickly said, "Besides, think about it for a moment, will you? Why would he care about your existence? At least he talked to you, that's pretty good, I think... hehe," she finished with a smile.
-What? Do you like it or what?
Lars pointed an accusatory finger at his older sister, silently hoping it wasn't true.
-Yes, I'm attracted to his sensuality like a moth and I want him to dominate me in bed until I'm satisfied. Whether he treats me like a bitch and pounds me with his powerful hips from behind without showing any mercy, makes me swallow his seeds or makes a mess with my anus, I want it all, all until the last drop.
Jheane answered without hesitation and truthfully, leaving him speechless. “Perverted woman,” she whispered softly with an expression that was absurd at that level of depraved thinking, and Jheane let it go because it was totally true anyway.
If you were a woman, we would join a party of depravity together with my dear... how shameful... He lamented inwardly for a moment.
-So, Lars-kun, why did you want to see me?
Jheane asked as she closed her eyes, sitting on the plush couch across from Lars as the latter's gaze casually wandered around the room.
The guest room, the room they were both in, had a beautiful wooden floor, a marble fireplace, a magnificent golden chandelier with the same mana light used in the rest of the bedroom, and some paintings of very powerful nobles and heroes from the past, looking dignified and magnificent. And it could comfortably accommodate at least 10 people.
The Avalon Guest Hall is named after the late Third Emperor of the Loveritia Empire, who was the Emperor who had the greatest contribution in helping expand his empire's territory to what it is today... if we ignore, of course, the magnificent size today thanks to the existence of the current Pendragon Clan.
Although it was just a simple room for receiving guests, it exuded a remarkable elegance and richness that you couldn't ignore unless you were accustomed to it.
-Oh, of course- patting his legs covered by the white uniform of the imperial academy, Lars gave him a serious look with an attitude that seemed like life or death- Is it possible that you can make me... a potion that will help me develop muscles effortlessly?
-Huh?
Jheane frowned in disgust despite her better judgment. Why did he want to do something so disgusting?
The image of my dear little sister is almost gone in you... And you want me to help you make her disappear? No, no way, no way! I won't do it!
As Jheane shook her head in her mind and resisted doing the same in reality, Lars continued while waving his hands with a sheepish smile at her reaction. “I-it’s not like I’m asking you now. Just when you have time… and if you can’t, it’s okay, I’ll find another way…”
-Lars... Leaving aside how shameless it is to ask for something that will improve your physique without putting much energy on your part, why are you suddenly asking me that? - Jheane expressed her doubts with a certain coldness in her voice.
-W-well, look at me... I look like a sissy no matter how you look at it, so building muscles would definitely help me be more masculine. - Lars subtly looked away while scratching his cheek with a finger.
She definitely couldn't tell him that it was like that because the look Arthur gave her, as if he was analyzing her figure and found her pathetic, was simply so humiliating that she wanted to become stronger so she could never look at him like that again.
Definitely not
-I'm sorry, Lars, there is no recipe to create a potion that helps muscle development, and researching something like that would take a long time...
-No, it's okay, you don't have to worry about that.
Lars shook his head as he stood up, having no idea that his beloved sister had just lied to his face with a fake expression of regret.
I have to stop you from doing any kind of physical training , Jheane thought shamelessly as she looked at him. It'll be easy, your low stamina makes you give up in no time when you tried to do so in the past... I just have to stop you from having access to the Dulcias... Shit, who the hell came up with that nonsense! My Larissa-chan is getting further and further away and the existence of those things isn't helping!
If she had any idea...
-Are you leaving already?
“Yes, Jheane-nee,” he sighed, shaking his head. “After all, curfew is approaching and it would be troublesome to let time pass foolishly…”
-Ah... I see. Well, be careful...
-Okay, see you later.
-And Lars...you...maybe...
-Hmm? - He turned to look at her with curious eyes and Jheane looked at him with deep seriousness as she said in a solemn voice, - Have your breasts grown back? They look a little bulging from here...
-...What the fuck!?
Lars cursed as he reflexively patted his chest area and sighed in relief before shooting a glare at the giggling Jheane, her lips forming a mischievous smile.
Oh gods... Do I need to be reminded that I have two little pimples where there should be a ton of man hair?
The effeminate boy felt very sad.
????
It was 3 a.m. The sun was high in the sky and the Arcaronships were flying over almost the entire capital of the Loveritia Empire regularly.
The commoners of the lower-class district walked out of their houses with calm expressions or big smiles on their faces because they were in a good mood because of the beautiful day, indicating a peaceful life within the walls of this great walled city for each of them.
Some headed to the markets, filled with the cries of enthusiastic vendors from various shops advertising their wares, while others, such as groups of young friends or housewives with children, visited the beautiful local parks scattered around the city to relax and chat.
The clothes of the pedestrians were hardly different from modern Earth clothing due to a mix of medieval style with the material quality of textiles from an advanced world; indicating that they were quite well off economically compared to any other commoner in almost any country on the Centoria continent.
Not only that, the attitude and general atmosphere indicated a relatively good level of sophistication, demonstrating a good education among the population. No doubt, a fragrant display of prosperity that many commoners from other kingdoms and empires would envy.
The administration of the imperial houses was as efficient as ever in their capital.
The people working at the stalls set up in the shopping malls of the lower-class district seemed quite cheerful and enthusiastic towards their customers, as if they had few worries in their lives beyond earning their daily bread calmly, and the knights patrolled every street of the capital earnestly, ensuring the stability of the city under the rule of the Imperial Houses with loyalty.
Even so, there was always a good thief in the crowd who, with skill and a charming smile, would steal from pockets without anyone noticing. On the other hand, there were children, orphans (or not) who tried to do the same and were harshly scolded by their "victims", although not at the inhuman level of other places.
This place was really peaceful, quite far from the typical medieval scene of a typical fantasy world.
And in the midst of all this hustle and bustle, a luxurious carriage passed by, driven by an elegant old man dressed as a butler, traversing the roads intended for aristocratic traffic. The carriage stood out for its ostentatious display of wealth compared to any other noble carriage in the area, and it was evident that it was made of very rare and valuable materials.
The vehicle itself was white in color, with beautiful golden lines creating beautiful images of flowers and vines, and it bore the insignia of the most prominent noble family of the time on its doors, inevitably attracting the attention of people passing by on the pedestrian paths along the roads.
The black and gold heraldry of this empire's only Archduchy, the roaring Black Dragon pierced by a holy sword while divine rays surrounded it, looked magnificent under the sunlight.
—That's Archduke Pendragon's carriage, isn't it?
—…Isn’t it obvious, my friend? He even has his heraldry on display for all to see! — A certain curious muscleman’s companion responded by rolling his eyes at his ignorant words with a grimace.
A pretty girl passing by said with regret in her voice as she looked at the carriage's one-way window with longing eyes... Why did it have to have one of those dark windows!? I wish I could see his true face at least once...!
—Of course a noble like Archduke Draco Silva would care about his privacy so that the commoners don't see his noble face! —A friend of hers beside her said, rolling her eyes. —Most likely, right now he's being very affectionate with some maid accompanying him or something while he travels back to his grand mansion.
“Don’t do that kind of slander!” The other whispered in panic and anger, looking around. “Saying that the Princess’s fiancé has a secret lover might not only get you into trouble with the law, you know? Many of the Archduke’s female fans might even beat you up for implying that there’s a girl lucky enough to be by his side without being his legal fiancée! The idea of ??a woman lucky enough to be the Archduke’s concubine is simply…!”
The girl finished saying with obvious jealousy at the idea. Her friend just looked at her, with little interest. —Yes, yes, fanatic-chan ~
—If only I could take a picture of him…! — the other continued, holding her holocane1
—Shut up, will you?
Unbeknownst to either of them, the latter's insinuation was not far from the truth... at least within the luxurious carriage, Arthur was certainly being very affectionate towards his chimerical maid at that very moment.
????
Sora, who was inside the carriage that caught the attention of everyone passing through the streets of Loveria, it doesn't take long for me to put aside for now the matter of he growing affection for him, because clearly there were more important things to do at that moment than worrying about the women's incomprehensible emotions.
Just by looking out the window, he had noticed (in addition to the crowd watching him (?)) that the carriage was already slowly approaching the gate in the wall that separated the lower-class district from the bourgeois district, and it wouldn't take long for them to reach the wall that contained the noble district, where Arthur's mansion in the imperial capital was.
Sora wanted to see the information about this last boss's other skills and traits before that. Therefore, while unconsciously playing with the adorable maid Franx's hair, he quickly mentally ordered the system to display information about the item called {Rigrit's Ring}, as he didn't know what this item was.
So instead of the disembodied voice that appeared when I wanted information about {Charisma}, a holographic window was displayed with an image of the item in question, which was convenient.
There was a silver ring with an emerald embedded inside. The silver seemed to form two dragon claws on either side to hold the emerald in place. It was quite pretty, and since Sora liked dragons, she figured it wouldn't hurt, even if it was trash.
Although this ring was far from trash.
Arthur's eyes widened at this revelation. Who would have guessed? This ring was nothing short of a one-of-a-kind piece!
This is simply astonishing! A growth equivalent to five levels of strength… regardless of your original power! It really is a unique item that would drive even the world boss ‘Prince of Darkness’ mad from uncontrollable greed…! If it weren’t for the {Dignity of a Noble}, Sora might have made Arthur start drooling at the sight of it.
It had been a while since he had seen a unique item from any of the Britannia games! Although he himself had obtained some unique items in game that significantly increased his strength, this was a different matter than obtaining something with effort and dedication, like he did in that virtual world.
Britannian items had classifications ranging from common, uncommon, rare, extraordinary, legendary, artifact, unique, and divine; the latter two were comparable in power on many occasions and only differed by whether or not they could be replicated. While it was obvious that this ring had a unique classification because there was no other like it in this world, it would at least still be divine in capability.
Sora would never have thought that she would receive a unique item from the system so soon after arriving in this world. While Arthur already had in his possession up to six divine and unique items as an inheritance from his parents, it was still unbelievable that something like this could happen to him so easily; especially with the tangible benefits it granted to any Aspirant who used it, regardless of rank and level.
He almost wanted to kiss everyone in the Olverlord world, including Platinum Dragon Lord and even Ainz, for this beautiful draconic contraption.
Almost.
With this I will have the power of a level 77 without effort!
Pleased with this gift, Sora quickly began to check the other gifts in the system, the next one being {Minor Healing Potions}. An item that also comes from the Olverlord universe, if he remembered correctly.
That makes sense… Sora mentally nodded to himself, convinced of it.
While to players and NPCs in New World such an item was hardly useful, there was a reason the Minor Healing Potion was considered legendary in the first place. Aside from its inability to be produced before that handsome Alchemist boy did so in order to receive support from Nazarick, there was also the fact that “HP” would only apply to beings from Yggdrasil, which were materialized data.
Lacking a fixed HP and having a potion that could even heal severed limbs of novice players (mere gameplay animation), you would naturally have an Elixir that could save any human from the brink of death in the new world. Which meant that the Potion would be equally powerful for any creature in the New World, with giants and huge creatures being an exception for obvious reasons.
Also, it must be mentioned that Aspirants and Awakeners, with their Conceptual Bodies made of Ether and soul information, were considerably easier to heal than ordinary humans. With enough mana or maryoku, the limbs would be easily healed. And with this potion? You would easily save up magic energy to continue the battle.
It's great to have a lifeline as good as this for me and my future loves. Arthur smiled, pleased with the system's gift as he looked at the picture of the blood-red potion. Loopholes like the ones these kinds of conceptual objects created were always good when they benefited you.
As for why Britannia had no HP despite being a game world in itself? Shiragaki Sora had no idea. He could only tell you that how damage to opponents, players and NPCs alike, was calculated was a mystery to everyone, even in Xianpai games.
That made it difficult to know when you would kill or defeat the boss you were facing. Either way, Sora continued to check out more of his gifts.
Show me information about [Random Summon Cards (Low Level)]
<[Fake Servant Random Summon Cards (Low Level)] are system-exclusive items. The Master can use these cards for free to randomly summon almost any character from different story worlds as a sort of Incarnate Servant, as long as their levels are below 50, the average between challengers and adventurers>
Summoning beings from other fictional worlds like beings similar to Heroic Spirits…? That sounds incredible; you don’t call yourself a System Master for nothing, huh. Still… Arthur grimaced slightly.
Clearly, this didn't seem very useful since Arthur Pendragon von Draco Silva's weakest yet capable subordinate was over level 50. However, the possibility of summoning an anime girl or even a damn Pokemon as a servant (I have no idea why he thought of a Pokemon)... That alone made Sora very, very tempted to use it.
Still, he resisted the urge, though the temptation to summon a beautiful anime girl or even Pikachu (Again, why?) was too strong... Then, Sora realized something and quickly asked the system a question. The answer was:
Now, with all kinds of characters... Do you mean the ones from old animes, like L from Death Note or the legendary Dominic Toretto from the 'Fast and Furious' movie series? No... even the sexy Ada Wong and that Leon S. Kennedy from the Biohazard game series... Would it be possible to get them as my Servants too?
I'm not sure what to say except...Brilliant!
Sora was excited at the prospect; especially the possibility of getting his hands on Ada Wong or even Jill Valentine as a Master.
Plus, imagining Leon S. Kennedy or Chris Redfield as his bodyguards is pretty cool, even if they are technically pretty weak humans by this world's standards, still... How cool would that be?
However, it seems that the cheapest Character Cards to use cost a lot of SP, so it's likely that even if he were to obtain a lot of Character Cards through his actions like before, he wouldn't be able to use them for a while... especially considering how he would have to account for the presence of such characters in the future.
Now it was time to test out his new skills. Although he already had a pretty good idea of ??what [Mythic Senses] did, it wouldn’t hurt to know all the details. Not to mention that he had to be well-versed in the effects of skills and traits like [Dragon Monarch’s Domain] and [Fatal Charm].
The only thing Sora understood about this trait was that it allowed him to create a zone that caused mental debuffs such as confusion and fear to his enemies in addition to performing some sort of word magic or similar. Aside from that, he couldn't really understand what made this particular trait interact with his other abilities to allow for something similar to hypnosis.
Well, that was something he could find out in the future, or not. Anyway, it was just a small curiosity and he quickly put it aside to check out the rest of the information he wanted.
This is weird... going through it I feel like I've been given the ability to subtly manipulate others like puppets.
The system was quick to dismiss his suspicions as soon as they appeared, which only made them even more pronounced. It almost seemed as if they believed that Arthur himself wasn't good enough as a final boss and wanted to give him powers truly worthy of a mastermind behind the scenes, or something.
However, the following information blows that idea out of the water...
“….“
Sora was speechless at this revelation. So much so, that his body stopped caressing Franx, causing the cute Chimera to raise her head as she unconsciously looked at him in confusion, as if asking with her gaze “Why did you stop?” while blinking tenderly.
Despite himself, Arthur couldn't help but smile at the adorable sight that didn't match his dangerous identity as a deputy chief, and quickly went back to playing with her hair while only quietly saying "It's nothing" to appease any discontent she had. Thankfully, Franx was far from expressing anything like that, and she went back to floating her head against him as if nothing had happened.
With that finished, the Mini-Sora inside Arthur took a deep breath and exclaimed loudly in his heart towards the troublesome system.
Wait a minute, you computer moron! Are you telling me that you just made me the supreme idol of all the villains in this damn world? He stated, internally agitated by this disturbing matter.
I had a bad feeling about this trait of his, to the point of cursing the Korean idiot who came up with such a skill for his novel.
What!? Sora's heart sank at those words, but the relentless AI with the creepy little girl voice continued without a care in the world.
No, although I don't like the idea of ??gay villains falling in love with me, the real problem here is the terrible women that abound in this world for some reason, you know? Like that crazy damn woman who plays at being a Saint!
Sora cursed, and a cold sweat began to break out inside him at the implications of such power due to certain unhinged female characters he knew. In particular, a certain Student Council President, Germinalia Lian Celesty, who all the players fearfully called "The Crazy Yandere of the New Century."
The student council president of Bomenslik was an evil woman who liked to wear a mask of a good and kind woman while plotting and manipulating everyone with an evil smile in the shadows. That person was like the Golden Princess of Overlord, who would betray her kingdom to have eternal life and her "beloved" loyal dog without any remorse, earning herself the title of "Witch of the Fallen Kingdom".
You know what's funny about that comparison? Germinalia is the princess of another nation... To be precise, she's the crown princess of her country, the daughter of a powerful duke who is the queen's consort, but a princess nonetheless just like Renner. Plus, her people worship her as if she were another saint on earth, which is obviously a blatant farce.
After all… In Britannia: Lost Order, that woman was able to conspire between two gangs within her Kingdom to cause a terrible incident in the first chapter of the game for her benefit.
What was it about? Simple: Demonic Cults; although her nation was deeply religious, there were evil cults in her Kingdom that even had nobles among them and Germinalia, like every cunning and evil bitch she was, manipulated them to provoke incidents that she would resolve in the open to keep her royal legitimacy strong, gaining the support of the people.
…Many of these terrible incidents involved massacres of many innocent people without any remorse.
With that, it could be seen that she was truly a crazy princess who would definitely get along with Witch Renner, as she has almost the same twisted personality and wicked intelligence as the "Golden Princess". In fact, some who knew about Overlord might claim that XianPai made the character of Germinalia with the third princess of Re-Estize in mind... if you ignore that the first one was a very sexy adult woman instead of a beautiful young girl.
This is different, Alice (?)!
While it is true that Arthur himself was already entangled with crazy women like Franx's “Mother” and her sisters, even those villains had their moral boundaries that guided and restricted them.
Germinalia? Please, that excuse of a person who literally wanted to kill the heroines in the worst way possible just because they dared to breathe the same air as her beloved and adorable Lars (Yes, she also falls in love with that jerk if you follow a certain route… one that is almost mandatory to defeat Arthur!).
If the player didn't handle things well on that route, many of them would quickly die in the various death traps Germinalia laid out for them... She really was a horrible woman.
And here Arthur was given a trait that could make a woman so evil that she would fall in love with him if he didn't handle things right? It was insane!
Given his tendencies and how charming Arthur already was before this, Sora could end up locked in a dark room after falling for some elaborate scheme of his!
That was something that could certainly happen. Not surprisingly, in the bad endings, Germinalia locked Lars in a secret room, without any freedom, while making him try a bunch of things that were somewhere between the most exciting and the downright terrifying.
No way … Arthur rolled his eyes. The title of the damn novel was literally “Destined to be loved by villainesses”, right? So it was obvious…
Sora was speechless for a moment, before a Mini-Sora inside his heart screamed with all the anger he could feel but not express while pointing at his own mental image of the system. “You… you did that on purpose!”
Yeah, right! This seems pretty random, doesn't it?
Sora scoffed at the system that was defending itself righteously, before deciding to take swift action due to this ridiculous situation the system had just put him in. He wasn't in a situation suitable for a permanent solution, but what he had just thought of should work for now.
While that crazy Germinalia is a serious problem, there are still other villains to be aware of. Especially those who hide their true nature are not as directly dangerous compared to those who act too freely in the light of day. There is a reason it is said that those with malicious plans do not attract much attention on stage, but rather hide discreetly behind the curtains.
Dealing with those female villains would be really troublesome! That was what I thought, someone who unconsciously or not ignored male villains of dubious sexuality.
“Franx!” He then called out earnestly to his little maid, causing her to jump into his arms. Not wanting to worry about it, he quickly said what he had to say. “Convey my orders immediately to your sisters. First, I want Eubira to intercept the Ministry of Security’s aerial surveillance networks to find out when Arcaden’s Arcaronships cross our borders and ask for permission to enter Imperial airspace, especially if it’s near Bomenslik Academy; second, I need Ainere to find a woman named Mirien Donslater in the capital so that she can protect her and her mother from local gangs, not letting them touch even the smallest strand of her hair. Lastly…”
He hesitated for a second or two, unsure, before gathering his resolve and saying it firmly.
—Tell Copellia to go to Arcaden, find the Knight who directly serves the Queen and protect her secretly… I want these orders to be executed right now.
Although the so-called Copellia was not considered a Leumiere per se, Sora remembered that she had a device similar to them to communicate... he hoped he was not wrong about that at least.
—Yes! —Although she was surprised and confused by her master's sudden orders, as a chimera and a servant created solely to serve him, Franx did not question his orders and began to act.
The opaque crystals on both “screws” on the sides of his neck lit up in mere seconds, releasing a faint wave of energy that he recognized as maryoku. Then, the light of life in Franx’s only visible eye faded in less than a second; as if he had disconnected from reality, before quickly returning.
—I have already conveyed all your orders to my sisters and Copellia, Arthur-sama.
So fast!?
Sora was slightly taken aback, wondering if Franx was lying to his face. However, he quickly dismissed the thought. Not only was Franx literally created to be extremely loyal to him as if she were an NPC of Nazarick who revered the Supreme Skeleton, but she also had no reason to do that to him.
Above all, I had almost forgotten that mental transmissions were very fast compared to normal speech. And in a world with beings with parameters far superior to average humans? It was not at all surprising that Earthly telepaths lagged behind when it came to transmitting information.
Anyway, this is the most I can do for now without raising too many suspicions.
He sighed internally to himself, as Arthur looked away from the clearly curious maid, casually glancing out the window with a slight frown.
For the moment, he focused on giving orders to find out when the attacks planned by that crazy woman from Germinalia might begin, if they ever happened. While it was something that only happened in [Britannia: Lost Order], the system had confirmed that such events were valid in this world, and it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared for it without being caught off guard.
He also felt it was important to prevent one of the main villains from the first game from ever coming into existence, the reason for the Order of Protection. This particular villain had a good reason for going mad, and if Arthur could use his power as Archduke to prevent that, it would be better than suddenly ordering her death, or something.
Not to mention he didn't think he was ready to give that kind of order.
Either way, Sora decided that when he had time to think alone, he should definitely think about what to do about the other female villains… and maybe the male villains too, since it would be troublesome if they started chasing him like he was gold with legs or worse, wanted to lock him in a dark room and drill holes in him…
Arthur shuddered, causing Franx to look at him worriedly. While stroking his little head as if to calm himself from that sudden feeling of fear, he swore, "Yeah, I'm not interested in that!"
????
While Sora was still feeling anxious about how he should deal with the trouble the [Fatal Charm] Trait might bring, the carriage carrying him suddenly stopped, baffling both Arthur and Franx as it could be seen through the window that they had yet to cross the guard post into the middle-class (bourgeois) district.
-What's going on?
Looking closer, Arthur noticed a situation outside the carriage that explained why it had stopped.
——Apparently, a beastly slave had tried to escape from a slave car intended for the bourgeoisie, possibly.
It was at that moment that Arthur remembered that this world was still trapped in that system at the same time that he recognized, surprisingly, the slave in question, who was resisting viciously despite her sexy body being covered by the mark of servitude.
Alert…villain!
The man became serious.
1- The name is literally Holo (from hologram) and cane (from arcane).