Chapter 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Survival
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Helena's voice was thick with venom. She leaned forward as if she might burst out of the screen, not even bothering to close her robe as she jabbed her finger accusingly.
"Duke Karls! Don't kill that bastard right now! Don't give him the mercy of a quick beheading!"
Duke Karls's eyebrow twitched. He held his sword steady, staring at the hologram with a hardened expression.
"Queen Helena. I understand your anger, but this man is the Empire's tyrant. If we don't execute him now, he'll..."
"Who said to let him live?! I'm going to kill him myself! Don't cut off his breath until I rip out that filthy tongue and slice off that disgusting thing with my own hands!"
Her furious shout made King Gras of the North drop the chicken bone from his mouth. Elder Sage King Eldric of the Magic Kingdom cleared his throat awkwardly and averted his gaze.
Karl bit his lip tightly. The Kingdom of Roselia, ruled by Queen Helena, was a military powerhouse bordering the Empire.
Coincidentally, Duke Karls's territory of Argent lay right on that frontier. If he ignored her demand and severed the Emperor's head in this situation?
An enraged Helena would have more than enough justification to lead her army across the border. The banner of "restoring the honor of the insulted queen" would be plenty to rally the neighboring nations.
And while attacking the entire Empire might be beyond their capabilities or pretext, taking and holding Duke Karls's territory after ignoring her demand—no, her plea—would be entirely feasible.
It might seem like a personal vendetta, but it could just as easily be a political maneuver.
Karl ran the political calculus.
Now that they'd marched to the capital, an attack on his rear base would make victory in the rebellion too costly, even if successful.
And if the palace nobles or bureaucratic aristocrats in the capital rose up?
He'd be cast aside by the other nobles who'd joined the rebellion.
The strength drained slowly from Karl's grip. The mithril blade's aura faded.
I watched the scene in a daze. My legs gave out, and I slumped onto the throne.
The plush cushion pressed against my backside, but it felt unreal.
This was a pattern I'd never seen in 98 deaths. I'd always lost my head facing Karl...
"Haha... for real..."
A hollow laugh escaped me unbidden.
Helena was still heaving on the other side of the screen.
Sweat-matted red hair clung to her cheeks, and tears of rage glistened like jewels at the corners of her eyes.
She clutched her robe roughly with trembling hands.
"Do you hear me, Duke? If I see that bastard's head rolling on the floor right now, my knights will be pounding on Argent's walls by morning."
It was a threat. Blatant and direct. Her expression was deadly serious. It wasn't just about humiliation.
She seemed to be calculating how to leverage this into meddling in Empire politics.
Of course, the foundation of that calculation was clearly dominated by the shock of my "act" moments ago.
Karl let out a short sigh. The metallic rasp echoed heavily from within his helmet.
He sheathed his sword slowly, very slowly.
Clank.
The sound felt like a stay of execution.
Karl shot me a cold glare, then nodded to the knight commander behind him.
"Bind the Emperor. Lock him in the deepest cell of the underground dungeon—the mana-sealing chamber."
The soldiers approached hesitantly. They stepped carefully around my open fly and the mess on the floor.
As if afraid of stepping in filth.
I had no strength to resist. Rough, cold gauntlets seized my arms. Pain twisted through my shoulders, but no scream came.
As they dragged me away, I turned to look at Helena on the screen. She was still glaring daggers.
Eyes mixed with murderous intent, shock at the unbelievable sight, and a subtle disgust.
Then Karl stepped forward and spoke to the screen, politely but with steel in his voice.
"Queen Helena, as you wish, we'll keep this tyrant alive for now."
How many hours had passed...? I was in the underground dungeon.
It was damp. The cold stone floor chilled my cheek, seeping into my bones.
My nostrils filled with the stench of mold, old moss, and sewage leaking from somewhere.
The weight of the chains on my wrists and ankles grounded me in reality.
Clank.
Shifting made the chains scrape the floor, echoing sharply in the silence.
This was the palace's underground dungeon, the deepest mana-sealing chamber.
Faint light from embedded mana stones barely outlined the shapes around me.
The mana-suppressing barrier made my body feel like lead.
A spark that would normally flicker at a fingertip's twitch was gone.
Only the frail flesh of a powerless human remained.
'What time is it?'
Time blurred. In this windowless void, day and night were indistinguishable.
But instinct—or gamer's intuition—told me midnight had passed.
A day gone. The 98th day ended; the 99th began. A new turning point.
I curled up, burying my face in my knees. My stomach growled.
Gorging on delicacies as Emperor, now a day without food and my gut ached. Helena had saved me.
No, she'd just delayed a more painful death.
Still better than an instant beheading.
A distant bell tolled midnight.
[Alert: Impossible Achievement Unlocked!]
Suddenly, a clear chime rang—not the bell, but in the air before my eyes. A blue holographic window lit the dim cell. The familiar system interface.
The status window that had only shown my name and save point count!
I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Not a hallucination.
Achievement: Altering the Empire Emperor's Fate
They are shocked. The scripted path to ruin has been twisted by your antics. They have no choice but to revise their plans.
'They?'
My mind raced. Who were "they"? The developers of this game? A group plotting this world's doom? Or so-called gods? Everything was uncertain.
But I had a hunch that my mad stunt wouldn't end as a mere life-saving fluke.
Remaining Save Points increased.
Previous: 1 → New: 10
"Whoa."
Air hissed from my lips.
10 times. From one last chance to ten.
This was huge. Sure, I'd died 98 times already, but those were desperate failures. Now, trial-and-error info-gathering opportunities had multiplied tenfold.
My heart pounded. As the terror of death peeled away, a strange thrill welled up.
The system window wasn't done.
[Persuasion (Lv.1)]: A tongue that opens closed hearts. Makes even absurd nonsense sound plausible.
[Iron Constitution (Lv.1)]: Tired in full plate armor? Not anymore.
[Minimal Sleep (Lv.1)]: 4 hours of sleep per day is enough.
My eyes raced down the list. For a fantasy world, these were oddly practical and humble abilities.
No continent-splitting fingers or transparent dragon summons.
'Iron Constitution.'
Tempting, honestly. This Emperor's body looked flashy but had crap stamina.
But as a condemned prisoner, what good was stamina? Just enduring torture longer?
Even with armor or better running, knights wielding auras would crush me.
'Minimal Sleep.'
Useful for a gaming shut-in. Less sleep here for what? Counting moss on the walls?
One left.
[Persuasion]
The weapon I needed most now. First, prevent Karl from suddenly killing me. Later, soothe Queen Helena's rage—persuasion was essential.
My mouth alone hadn't broken 98 deaths. But system-boosted 'Persuasion'? Different story.
'Makes even absurd nonsense sound plausible.'
That line hooked me. My stunt with Helena was peak absurdity, so quelling her fury meant making nonsense plausible.
I tapped the air with my finger.
Special Ability 'Persuasion (Lv.1)' acquired.
A tingle like electricity brushed my tongue. My throat itched, and a corner of my brain cleared.
I had a feeling I'd intuitively spot openings in others' psyches.
Footsteps echoed from the corridor beyond the bars. Heavy boots. Steady rhythm, weighty.
Not a regular soldier. I rattled my chains, straightening up.
Cold seeped from the stone into my rear, but my back stayed rigid.
A shadow halted before the iron grate. Torchlight backlit him, hiding his face, but the gleaming silver armor gave him away.