Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Monster Parade (4)
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'What the hell is this?'
The moment I took down the cultist I suspected of starting the Monster Parade, a series of alerts popped up announcing that I'd saved fates.
He had a pattern etched on his face, just like the ones from Savior of World, and he'd used that curse that drained health to boost mana.
I'd figured he was no ordinary guy, but I never imagined he'd have this kind of impact.
Saving fates meant I'd changed a situation that was originally headed for total destruction.
Which could only mean...
'This bastard was going to wreck this many villages?'
But when I saw his face, I was sure I'd never spotted him in Savior of World.
A guy with this level of influence wouldn't have survived unnoticed all the way to the Savior of World timeline.
So that meant...
'He must've been taken down within the next three years?'
But until then, countless villages would have been sacrificed—and the idea that I'd just saved them all made perfect sense.
And at the end of the endless stream of alerts...
[Your Magic Power and physical abilities rise as a reward for salvation.]
[Your second perk is unlocked as a reward for salvation.]
[Some information on your perks is unlocked as a reward for salvation.]
Unexpected rewards had been granted.
Saving Tenka and Kirigumo had boosted my physical abilities.
And a bit of info on the next perks had been revealed.
But now, one of the perks granted alongside Supreme Physique had been unlocked.
I immediately opened the perk window.
The unlocked perk was none other than...
[Unyielding Mind: A spirit nothing can invade. No being can corrupt or interfere with your mind.]
Unyielding Mind.
If Supreme Physique granted massive potential for physical prowess, Unyielding Mind seemed to be the perk that blocked all mental attacks.
And recalling my time playing Savior of World, this was undoubtedly another overpowered perk.
'This is the ultimate perk against evil gods!'
In Savior of World, beyond physical debuffs like poison or bleeding, there were mental debuffs.
Stuff like pressing the attack button only to hit yourself, being unable to cast spells or holy arts for a time, or even instant death once the debuff gauge filled.
Even with Supreme Physique, I wasn't sure it would fully protect my mind.
But with Unyielding Mind, I could block all that perfectly.
And more importantly...
'Doesn't this mean I can run a curse build without the drawbacks?'
Evil gods treated the world like their playground, but savior players could wield holy arts powered by those same evil gods.
They could use curses.
No one knew why players—who were their enemies—could wield curses.
You could chalk it up to "it's just a game," but most players saw evil gods as pure chaos incarnate.
So the theory was they made it fun by letting players spam their powers too.
Either way, curses let you stack debuffs, drain life, or burn extra mana for powerful attacks or buffs.
But with this perk, I might use curse skills without the mental debuff issues.
'Assuming I can even access curses in the first place.'
At the very least, it meant no mental interference from evil gods or cultists.
Next, I checked the perk with partially unlocked info.
[Currently locked perk: Ma■■ Tota■]
Only the first letter was revealed.
I still had no clue what it meant from that alone.
But unlocking Unyielding Mind was reward enough—I wasn't too disappointed.
"Thanks, Honeybo."
[Honey!]
I stroked and praised Honeybo, who'd absorbed and nullified the spell without needing Cloud Mist Veil.
Until now, I'd left him with Amelin to keep feeding him spells, but I hadn't expected him to handle one that powerful.
Physical tanking was still iffy, but whenever the enemy used magic, he turned into the most reliable magic tank.
After praising Honeybo, I headed straight back to the battlefield where everyone was still fighting.
The fact that he'd orchestrated the Monster Parade meant he'd tamed all these monsters currently in combat.
'But there's no guarantee the freed monsters will just scatter.'
As expected, even after I returned, the monsters were still locked in battle with the foes right in front of them.
I rejoined swiftly, just like when I'd chased down the cultist, and took on the rampaging beasts.
"My lord! You've returned!"
"I took down the cultist behind this mess."
"As expected of you, my lord! Are you unharmed?"
"He tried casting a spell, but Honeybo blocked it."
"Honeybo did? Good boy, Honeybo!"
[Honey.]
Even after I downed the cultist, the monsters kept coming—but that only lasted five minutes.
No matter how dumb the beasts were, they weren't stupid enough to keep charging once their tamer's control broke and their attacks did nothing while they just got slaughtered.
Of course, it took dozens more dying for them to figure it out, but eventually, the monsters stopped attacking and fled into the forest.
"What? It's over already?"
"Don't run away~!"
"Let's play a bit longer!"
My excited siblings—who'd been gleefully unleashing spirits on the monsters—grumbled in disappointment, but everyone else looked relieved as the monsters retreated.
I approached my siblings and asked,
"Kids, did you have fun?"
"Yeah!"
"It was the best hunt ever!"
"Glad you came to play with us, bro."
"I'm glad too. But don't forget—we protected our people as members of the imperial family."
"“Got it~.””
With the battle over, we decided to head back to the mansion.
First, the cultist's body I'd taken down needed to go to the heresy inquisitors, so I had Mikel tie him up securely. Then we loaded up me, Tenka, Gillek, and Kirigumo and flew toward Dandelrion.
On the way, we spotted hunters and villagers being led to safety, so we landed midway to tell them the Monster Parade was over.
"The Monster Parade's ended? You don't mean... you stopped it?"
"Yes, so you can all head back now. Oh, but the village outskirts are littered with monster corpses, so you'll probably need to request cleanup aid. Anyway, we have a report to make, so we'll be off."
I said my piece and took off again, arriving at the mansion.
"Master Aren, you're back safe?"
"Yeah, Ridel. Contact the temple first thing."
"The temple, sir?"
"The Monster Parade was caused by a cultist. Look."
I pointed at the cultist tied to Mikel.
"I'll notify them right away. And I'll prepare a bath."
"Thanks, but before that, I need to head to the village."
"The village, sir?"
"Gonna brief the guild master and tell him to send hunters to clear the monster corpses scattered around."
"Understood."
"Amelin, keep working hard with Mikel."
"Y-Yes, Your Highness!"
"Oh, and prepare some griffon feed for Mikel too, Ridel."
"Right away."
-Grrrrowl!
Amelin went off to fetch the rest of the group, while I took Gillek as an escort down to the village. I entered the guild and headed straight to the guild master's office.
The guild master jumped in surprise at my sudden visit, but I explained what had happened in Dourka Village.
"S-So, Your Highness, you stopped the Monster Parade?"
"Not just me—my siblings, the knights, and the servants all pitched in."
Thud!
The guild master dropped to his knees before me in gratitude.
"Thank you! Truly, thank you, Your Highness!"
"Protecting the people is an imperial duty. More importantly, it's your turn to step up now."
"Ours, Your Highness...?"
"The village outskirts are piled high with monster corpses. Handle the cleanup, please. It'll stink to high heaven if you wait too long."
"Got it! I'll put out an emergency hunter muster right now!"
"Good. Take care."
As we left the guild, Gillek—who'd been silent the whole time—spoke up once we were out of the village.
"Your Highness, you are the very model of imperial virtue."
"Really? You're embarrassing me."
"Serving a liege who acts for the people without a moment's hesitation fills me with pride."
"I'm grateful to have a knight like you serving me, Gillek."
"Your Highness...!"
By the time I returned to the mansion and finished bathing, the priest and heresy inquisitors from before had arrived.
"Your Highness, taking down another cultist. The Lord God will be pleased."
"Couldn't capture this one alive, though."
"No, preventing that wicked cultist from doing more evil is good enough. May the Lord God's blessings always be with you."
The priest had the inquisitors take the body and left the mansion.
And shortly after...
"“Bro~!”"
My siblings returned to the mansion on griffonback.
I greeted them, saying,
"Bath's ready—go wash up!"
'While waiting for the rest to get back, might as well check how much my magic and strength have gone up.'