Surviving is Proof of Strength (2)
"Ah..." A hollow, despairing gasp escaped her lips.
Fffshhh—
The fierce aura that looked ready to tear me apart just a moment ago flickered and died right before my eyes. My own swirling golden sword energy stopped mere millimeters from Sara's pale, slender throat.
The sheer turbulence of the mana, sharp enough to slice the fine hairs on her skin, made Sara's eyes tremble. She, too, realized the truth. Unleashing sword energy was one thing, but possessing the absolute control required to halt it with such pinpoint precision was infinitely more terrifying.
Thud.
Her legs giving out, Sara collapsed onto the stone floor. The petty pride of being the family's greatest prodigy, the deep-seated contempt she had harbored for her brother—all of it vanished in an instant. When faced with imminent death, the human brain tends to go completely blank.
"..."
Without a shred of lingering interest, I turned my gaze away from the utterly defeated Sara. And then.
Schwing!
I quietly pointed the tip of my sword toward the dead-silent spectator stands.
...
...
The crowd remained frozen, their mouths agape in sheer disbelief. It was only natural. A trash noble who used to weigh over a hundred kilograms had not only shed his fat but had also crushed the supposed pillar of the family in a single exchange.
The one to break that heavy silence was, surprisingly...
Clap.
Clap.
Clap!
Duke Baltar Brace slowly stepped forward from the VIP box. Clapping his hands in a slow, deliberate rhythm, he channeled his mana and let out a roar that shook the entire arena.
"What are you all doing?!"
His thunderous voice reverberated through the colosseum.
"A new sun has risen over the Ducal House of Brace!"
"Wh-What...?"
"A new sun...? Then that fat... no, the young master was really Sian?!"
The Duke's grand proclamation was the spark that ignited the silent crowd, setting off a massive chain reaction.
"W-Waaaaahhhhh!!!"
"Sian! Sian Brace!"
"The new sun! Long live the young master!"
"Young Master! It was this guy! This is the bastard who called you a fatty!"
"Y-You crazy son of a—"
Only minutes ago, these very people had been throwing popcorn and mocking me as a bloated monster. Now, the veins in their necks bulged as they screamed praises. In an instant, the entire arena transformed into a boiling cauldron of fanatical enthusiasm.
Swoosh—
Standing tall in the center of the cascading waterfall of cheers, I calmly withdrew my sword energy and thought to myself:
...This is just the beginning.
Twisting the fate of Sian, the minor villain and extra trash noble, was merely the first step. While establishing my position in the family was important, the real reason I had planned this so meticulously lay elsewhere.
The Goddess of Destiny stares at you intently.
Right on cue.
I knew that sadistic, psychopathic deity of the Ariel universe wouldn't miss this. The impending catastrophe: the Brigade of Destiny. In the original game, this massive cult of fanatics would bring the world to the brink of destruction. That horrific disaster would begin by subtly bypassing the protagonist, Cain, who was heavily protected by his protagonist buffs.
Which means powerless extras and outsiders like me will be the first to be ruthlessly swallowed up.
I had absolutely no intention of lying down and waiting for a dog's death. If I wanted to survive, I had to prepare myself to defy destiny. Plastering a politician-like smile on my face, I waved to the crowd as they frantically chanted my name.
...But seriously, when am I going to log out?
The midday sun beating down on the arena felt exceptionally hot. Had I gotten too immersed? Honestly, once I logged out, none of this would matter... I had lost track of how many months had passed. For some reason, an ominous chill ran down my spine, but I chose to ignore it for now and simply enjoy the moment.
Once the heated atmosphere cooled down.
"Sian."
As expected, Duke Baltar Brace summoned me to his study.
"Bwahahaha! To think you restored a shattered core—a feat said to be nearly impossible even in ten years—in a mere month, and unleashed such immense sword energy! I completely misjudged you."
"..."
"As of today, I shall officially reinstate you as the first heir of the Brace family, and I promise you the full support of our house."
Greed and ecstasy gleamed undisguised in Baltar's eyes. To a thorough pragmatist like him, I had successfully upgraded myself from family trash to the ultimate prodigy.
"And how, exactly, do you plan to support me?"
"Wh-What...?"
I cut him off mid-sentence, my eyes narrowing. I didn't trust him. Or rather, I found his offer highly offensive.
Fucking cheapskate. Trying to lowball me already.
The success rate of restoring a shattered core was one in a hundred million. Even the most talented individuals had a 99.999% mortality rate. I had proven my worth by achieving the impossible, and he wanted to settle it with mere "support"?
Granted, I only figured out the core restoration method by sacrificing tens of thousands of characters in the game.
But still, before I possessed this body, Baltar was such a miser that he wouldn't even spend money to attempt a cure for Sian. If I didn't establish dominance right from the start, he would walk all over me.
"The position of heir is mine by right, as I have proven my worth. I would like to personally decide the compensation for this achievement."
"...What did you say?"
Baltar's eyebrows twitched at my sheer audacity to interrupt him and initiate a transaction. But I remained unfazed. Only an amateur would eagerly accept empty concepts like "honor" or "titles" at a time like this.
"My academy suspension is about to be lifted, is it not?"
Through the information I had gathered, I knew Sian was currently serving a suspension. He had been disciplined for sexually harassing female students and bullying commoner students, and the suspension was nearing its end.
"As the heir of a ducal house, I will require a substantial amount of funds to maintain my dignity. Please deposit a fixed monthly allowance of ten thousand gold coins."
"T-Ten thousand gold?! You truly haven't cured your spendthrift habits, have you?! That is the annual budget of an entire barony!"
"Am I not worth at least that much?"
"..."
Baltar shut his mouth, utterly speechless. Because, frankly, I was right. The potential I had demonstrated today was worth ten times that amount.
"And."
I cast a sidelong glance at Iris, who was standing nearby.
"I happen to know the family possesses another treasury besides the underground relic vault. I would like permission to raid it just once."
"Ha! How on earth did you find out about that?!"
Baltar glared at Iris. The visibly flustered expression on her face was quite amusing.
That's revenge for calling me a delicate girl.
Of course, Iris had no idea such a place existed. But since there was no way I could have found out on my own, Baltar would naturally assume Iris had helped me.
"Sigh..."
Iris stared at me, dumbfounded by my shameless framing. Realizing she had been thoroughly set up, she let out a deep, resigned sigh.
"Please... grant the young master's request."
"...Even if it is you, Sword Princess, I will hold you strictly accountable for leaking the family's secrets later."
Baltar threatened Iris coldly. He stroked his chin, lost in thought for a moment, before his lips curled into a sly, oily smile.
"Very well. I shall allow it. However, there is a condition."
"What is it?"
"The treasury you speak of is guarded by the 'Sword Spirit' that has protected the Brace family for centuries. Normally, as the head of the family, I would pacify the spirit and open the gates safely."
Baltar's eyes flashed with a testing, predatory gleam.
"But since you wish to prove your worth as the first heir, you must do so by your own hand. I will not pacify the spirit. You must bypass the guardian using your own strength."
The moment he finished speaking.
"Understood. Let's go right now."
I accepted without a second of hesitation. My immediate, enthusiastic agreement caught Baltar off guard, but he soon smirked, clearly harboring hidden motives.
Old man. You really hate losing a single penny, don't you?
I scoffed inwardly. Did he think I didn't know what he was plotting? The Sword Spirit of the Brace family. According to the original game's lore, that guardian possessed a combat power equivalent to a 7-Star master.
If I, who had barely scraped into the 3-Star rank, tried to fight it head-on, I would be sliced into mincemeat before I could even channel my sword energy. Baltar knew this. He was pretending to grant my request while actually setting me up to fail so he could protect his treasury.
However.
While I could never win in a test of brute force, I had a brilliant trick up my sleeve. A perfect method to completely bypass the head of the family's authority and easily cheese that ridiculously overpowered 7-Star guardian.
I'm going to pack my inventory to the brim before I head to the academy. Hehehe.
"Heh, hehehe..."
"Hehehe."
"..."
As father and son exchanged silent, wicked grins, Iris shook her head and let out yet another deep sigh.
"That fucking Scrooge-like cheapskate of an old man!"
Tick-tock-tick-tock!
Boom! Bang! Crash!
I rolled across the floor, narrowly dodging a barrage of pink magic missiles.
I underestimated Baltar... I can't believe he prepared such a lovely trap!
Panting heavily, I glared ahead as a voluptuous, intoxicating scent assailed my nose. I had expected the 7-Star Sword Spirit to be guarding the door in combat mode, but I hadn't anticipated a literal army of succubi blocking my path.
...Who in their right mind unleashes a horde of demonic beasts like this in their own family's treasury?
It was a diabolically malicious trap. An illusion trap designed to target the raging hormones and rampant lust of Sian Brace, a teenage boy in the peak of his youth.
Pop, bang!
With every puff of pink smoke, the succubi scanned my mind and transformed into my "ideal types." And they did so completely stark naked, shamelessly tempting me at every turn.
"Sian~ Want to come study magicology with me?"
"Where do you think you're running?! A swordsman showing their back in bed is a disgrace!"
"Sleep. With. Me."
Dorothy, the top student of the Magicology Department. Hilda, the battle-crazed sword fanatic. Even Wol-yeong, the jiangshi girl from the Eastern Magic Tower.
To think I'd see these girls like this before I even set foot in the academy!
The heroines of the original game were rushing at me from all directions, completely unclad. It was a horrific visual reward... no, a visual terror.
"Young Master Sian. Why don't you receive some private tutoring from me tonight?"
"...But why the fuck is Iris here when she's not even a heroine?!"
With her usual icy, indifferent face, the fake Iris pressed her voluptuous breasts against me. This was driving me insane. Every time I looked at her face, my lower half twitched against my will.