Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Uncontrolled Strength
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*Shhh.*
Carlyle pulled a dagger from within his coat.
“…I'm not fond of self-harm, but.”
Muttering to himself, Carlyle sliced his palm with the dagger.
A throbbing pain followed as blood gushed out, filling a small basin.
Soon, the blood that had pooled in the basin began to flow along a thin groove, stretching out in a red line until it reached the stone door.
Red lines, formed from Carlyle's blood, etched themselves onto the stone door, creating a single magic circle.
*Fwoosh!*
The moment the magic circle glowed red.
*Rumble…!*
The tightly sealed stone door opened, revealing a passage into the chamber beyond.
‘So I'm definitely of the Sigmund bloodline.’
Carlyle took a potion from his coat, poured it over his palm, and wrapped the wound tightly with a bandage.
The potion must have been potent, as the stinging pain quickly subsided.
The wound would likely heal cleanly, without a single scar.
*Step, step.*
Carlyle stepped into the stone chamber.
[Notification: You have entered the .]
*Click!*
As soon as he set foot inside the chamber, lights made of magic stones flickered on, illuminating the interior.
[Forgotten Treasury]
A treasury created by the ancestors of the Sigmund family for emergencies.
It was built in case Decaron was ever conquered and houses items of considerable value.
Inside the treasury, various items were organized by type.
All sorts of books, potions, expensive luxury goods, and so on.
Carlyle headed first to the far-right corner.
There, in a massive display cabinet, all kinds of potions were stored under preservation magic.
‘Let's see…’
Carlyle's gaze swept over the potions.
His eyes settled on a potion filled with a pure white liquid.
[Elixir of Vigor]
An elixir that permanently increases stamina.
Without hesitation, Carlyle uncorked the Elixir of Vigor and gulped it down.
It tasted like a very thick, concentrated sports drink, but it wasn't unpleasant.
[Notification: Stamina has been permanently increased by 100.]
Carlyle wasn't satisfied with just one.
*Gulp, gulp!*
Two bottles, three, four…
[Notification: Stamina has been permanently increased by 100.]
[Notification: Stamina has been permanently increased by 100.]
[Notification: Stamina has been permanently increased by 100.]
He drank four Elixirs of Vigor in total.
Thanks to them, Carlyle permanently gained 400 stamina points in just five minutes.
He was certain that with this much, he wouldn't collapse from exhaustion easily.
‘Yeah, you guys go ahead and train hard.’
A smirk played on Carlyle's lips as he thought of the brothers, Hector and Gunter.
They had no choice but to run themselves ragged every morning, but Carlyle was different.
Why go through all that trouble when he could get stronger without trying?
* * *
‘I feel bad for Frey.’
Carlyle gave a wry smile, thinking of his younger brother, Frey.
This treasury was originally intended for the main character, Frey, so it was no exaggeration to say that all the treasures here belonged to him.
That's why he hadn't planned on touching anything, but the problem was time.
‘I have to look out for myself first.’
In just a few months, he'd be sent to a place teeming with barbarians. There wasn't enough time to train the conventional way.
Besides, he didn't want to run into the brothers, Gunter and Hector, while he was alone and get himself into a nasty situation.
Frankly, he wasn't the type to suffer needlessly when he didn't have to.
‘I can always restock it with better things later.’
With that thought, Carlyle reached for the other potions.
[Notification: Strength has been permanently increased by 100.]
[Notification: Strength has been permanently increased by 100.]
[Notification: Strength has been permanently increased by 100.]
Strength, vitality, agility, mana, intelligence, and so on.
Carlyle drank one of each type of stat-boosting potion.
In the game [Overlord], items that permanently raised stats were extremely rare.
Even an item that raised a stat by 50 was considered precious, so an elixir that boosted it by 100—twice that amount—was immensely valuable.
It was so valuable that when playing as other main characters, players would make the long journey to Decaron just to raid this hidden treasury.
It was one of the few ways to easily acquire high stats early in the game, so it was often recommended for beginners.
‘This should be enough.’
Carlyle pocketed a few elixirs for emergencies and left the rest for Frey.
And…
‘Hmm.’
Carlyle's gaze fell upon the stones displayed in the center of the cabinet.
[Stone of Transcendence]
A mystical stone that awakens and maximizes a person's latent potential.
There were three Stones of Transcendence in total.
‘One is for Frey. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to use the other two.’
The problem was the lack of information on the character Carlyle van Sigmund.
If he used a Stone of Transcendence only to find he had no hidden talents or abilities, it would be a complete waste.
It would mean losing a precious Stone of Transcendence, so he was hesitant to use one.
‘No. I'll use one, just in case.’
With that, Carlyle took one Stone of Transcendence and put it in his pocket.
And…
[Stone of Proficiency]
A mystical stone that increases the proficiency of one's skills.
‘I won't touch this for now. It's too valuable to use at my current level.’
The Stone of Proficiency was most effective when used for a specific skill or ability that had hit a plateau.
It goes without saying that going from level 99 to 100 is far more difficult than going from level 1 to 2.
‘That's enough for today.’
Carlyle finished his grave robbing, of a sort, and left the Forgotten Treasury.
* * *
On the way back.
“Ah! Young Master!”
“S-Salute!”
The knights on patrol spotted Carlyle and hastily saluted.
They were the same ones who had been bad-mouthing him earlier.
“Get down.”
Carlyle ordered the knights.
“Sir?”
“I said, get down.”
“W-What do you mean by that…?”
The knights broke into a cold sweat, looking troubled.
“Something about ‘that damn degenerate on the training grounds,’ something about ‘pathetic stamina.’”
“...!”
As the gossip they had shared just hours before came from Carlyle's mouth, the knights' faces turned pale.
“You can say whatever you want behind my back. But it's a different story when you get caught.”
“W-We're sorry.”
“Get down.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
The knights got into a line and assumed the push-up position.
“On one, you say 'I'll watch'. On two, 'my mouth'. One.”
“I'll watch!”
“Two.”
“My mouth!”
“One.”
“I'll watch!”
“Two.”
“My mouth!”
The knights obediently accepted the punishment Carlyle doled out.
For knights, who were military men, to dare bad-mouth the lord's son and get caught was tantamount to breaking their oath of loyalty.
If they were lucky, they'd get a pay cut for at least six months. If they were unlucky, they could be stripped of their knighthood.
“Get lower. Don't try to cheat.”
Carlyle gave the knight at the very end a ‘light’ kick in the side.
*Thud, thud!*
The line of knights collapsed like a row of dominoes.
“Y-Young Master! Urk!”
“Not getting up?”
“M-My ribs. Ugh!”
“What?”
“My ribs… I think they're broken. Hahk!”
The knight Carlyle had kicked suddenly let out a wheezing sound, writhing in pain.
The side of his armor was dented inward, as if from a powerful blow.
“Y-Young Master? I think we need to get him to the infirmary, quickly. It looks like a broken rib has pierced his lung.”
“Huh?”
Carlyle was slightly surprised.
He'd only meant to kick him lightly to knock him over; he never expected to dent armor and break ribs.
‘Did I drink too many elixirs?’
His strength stat had risen by 300, so his power must have become immense.
“Young Master…?”
“Yeah.”
“If we don't get him to the infirmary soon…”
“Take him.”
Carlyle was a little flustered, but he commanded them with a cold expression, as if nothing was wrong.
“Thank you, Young Master.”
Once Carlyle gave his permission, the knights bowed their heads in thanks, then carried their colleague with the broken ribs toward the infirmary.
‘I need to practice controlling my strength.’
Carlyle thought to himself as he watched the retreating backs of the knights.
His strength had grown so much in such a short time that it was difficult to control. If he wasn't careful, he might end up hurting someone else, just like that knight with the broken ribs.
And Carlyle's prediction turned out to be spot on.
A few hours later.
“Maranello, a cup of tea.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Carlyle craved caffeine—or what felt like it—the moment he woke up.
He hadn't gotten enough sleep after his trip to the treasury last night.
“Here you are.”
*Pour.*
Maranello poured tea into Carlyle's cup.
‘Ugh. I'm so tired.’
Carlyle rubbed his sleepy eyes once and casually picked up the teacup.
*Snap.*
The handle of the teacup broke.
“…Huh?”
It didn't just break; the handle had completely crumbled.
“Young Master, are you all right?”
“Ah, I'm fine.”
Just as Carlyle tried to lift the cup by its body instead of the broken handle.
*Crack.*
The teacup shattered into pieces.
“Young Master!”
Maranello quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped up the hot tea.
“Are you burned?”
“I'm fine. Clean this up and bring me a new one.”
“Please wait a moment.”
Maranello poured tea into a new cup, but the result was the same.
*Snap.*
The new teacup's handle broke.
“What in the world.”
Maranello frowned.
It was rare enough for a teacup handle to break, but for it to happen twice in a row was a first for the elderly butler in all his long years of service.
“Maranello.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Bring me a few more cups. No, bring me about twenty.”
“Sir…?”
“Just bring them.”
“Y-Yes, sir.”
Carlyle broke the handles of the new teacups Maranello brought, one by one.
*Snap, snap, snap, snap…*
It was when the handle of the thirteenth teacup broke.
*Slurp.*
Carlyle, having finally succeeded in bringing a teacup to his lips, took a sip of tea.
“Young Master, what in the world are you doing…?”
“Can't you tell? I'm training.”
“Is there such a thing as training to break teacups?”
“No.”
Carlyle answered with a smirk.
“I'm training *not* to break them.”
“Pardon?”
“I've gotten too strong.”
As he said that, Carlyle slammed his fist down on the table for emphasis, and it shattered with a crash!
“…Good heavens.”
Maranello stared, his expression one of utter disbelief.