The Beginnings of Change (1)
The Beginnings of Change (1)
"Redin."
Rebecca, who was in the back of the cave, waved her hand, signaling us to come over.
He took slow strides.
"Why?"
"The vice-captain wants to see you."
Inside the cave, Riena was talking to a platinum-haired man with a serious expression on his face.
Paladin of the Holy Empire.
Between his handsome appearance and the decapitated skull emblem on his chest, there's one NPC that comes to mind.
White Reaper.
Manuel Harumus.
One of the survivors of the Holy Empire that will no longer exist. Since his survival, he has hunted demons, fiends, and minions alike.
Then he meets a hero and joins a party to kill the demon god.
Redin never thought he'd meet someone like this, just like he did when he met Marek Casino.
"Redin, say hello. This is Sir Manuel Harumus, a Paladin of the Holy Empire."
“My name is Redin, a Burning Hell Special Task Force 7th Division member.”
"Nice to meet you. I'm Manuel."
We shook hands lightly.
Manuel lowered his hand and cut to the chase.
"I asked to see you because I had a few questions."
"Yes. You can talk to me."
"Did you notice anything strange while dealing with the Necromancer?"
"Hmmm....."
He pretended to think about it for a moment.
The reason he was confident he could handle Tervis was because he knew what he was doing.
-If I hadn't taken so much damage killing the Saint Candidates... I could have taken down the Holy Empire once and for all.
Information learned while playing the game.
Tervis lost most of his forces against the Saint Candidates and Holy Knights.
Why did he make that choice?
That's because he made a deal with a demonic religion.
-The trade itself wasn't a loss, because he learned how to be a Lich.
There are many more like him.
They made a deal with the Demon Gods to gain power in exchange for helping to create a rift in the Holy Empire.
As it cracked and gnawed away.
The Holy Empire will be brought to its knees by the demonic religion.
Now he needs to make a choice.
Follow the original story and let the Holy Empire fall, or turn the tide and save it.
Each has its pros and cons.
Surviving a Demon like Baal requires a lot of variables, and not just the usual ones.
"I didn't notice anything weird, but I picked this up instead."
He pulled a Divine Stone from his pocket.
A translucent gem.
A special gem created when divine power and magic meet. It doesn't do much, but it's proof.
Proof that Tervis created the Death Knight out of a Holy Knight.
"This.."
Manuel's eyes softened slightly.
By now, Manuel has his own place in the Holy Empire. I'm sure he's aware of the murder of the Saint Candidate.
Although Redin knows this from playing the game.
Only a few within the Holy Empire know of the existence of the Saint Candidates, and even their convoy missions are highly secretive.
That they were attacked.
This means that there is a traitor inside who leaked the information. Redin doesn't have any information about the traitor. They have never been revealed in the game.
"I'd like to speak with Tervis alone, is that okay?"
"Sure."
Riena accepted.
"Then, let's go first."
Manuel bowed his head slightly and quickly left the cave.
-The real culprit was on the inside, and if we had realized it sooner, the Holy Empire would not have fallen.
That was one of Manuel's lines.
A traitor within the Holy Empire.
Manuel attributed it to an emerging organization called the Darkness Seven to prevent him from leaking the information.
However,
Redin knows that Tervis acted alone, not the Darkness Seven, in killing the Saint Candidate.
There's not much Manuel will get out of the interrogation, but he'll know there's a traitor on the inside.
They will now move to find him instead of Redin.
Although it can be risky.
Manuel will move calmly due to his personality, so Redin believes he will do well.
“Shall we go back soon?”
As Riena and him emerge from the cave, they see Derok going on a rampage.
"Don't you dare touch me! Do you know who I am? I'm the Knight Commander of House Volta!"
He screamed and thrashed his body this way and that.
Despite not being able to use mana, Derok's basic physical abilities were superior to the arresting officers.
"Stay still!"
"I said let go of me!"
Eventually, the arresting group lost their grip and fell backwards. Derok snapped his neck, glaring at the knights beside him.
“You guys, we’ll see.”
Phew.
Redin walked briskly ahead.
I heard footsteps, and the moment Derek's gaze turned in my direction, I cupped my face in my palms and steadied myself.
Perhaps because of the sound of footsteps, at that moment Derok's gaze turned in Redin's direction, Redin gripped Derok's face with his hand and then swept him off footing.
"Thud!"
There is a thing called hierarchy in this world.
To use the kingdom analogy, at the top is the king, and below him are the dukes, marquis, earls, viscounts, and barons.
Below them are knights and wizards.
And under that again is the Commoners.
And the prison guards of Burning Hell are treated worse than the commoners of each kingdom. For they do not serve any of the kingdoms.
In addition,
Burning Hell is a union of the six kingdoms. Naturally, the guards are subservient to the nobility of each kingdom.
"How dare y-you..."
"Shut up. You're a knight, not some noble."
"Get off me..!"
"If you committed a crime, then you should just roll over and go to prison. What a waste of time."
"I've never admitted to any sin."
"Those Knights are going to testify..."
The knights who made eye contact with Derok averted their eyes.
Derok was stunned.
Did they change sides?
When Redin looked at Derok again, he was beaming like some kind of winner.
“Don't you need to take off those clothes? Unless you want me to call for Viscount Volta."
Article 13, paragraph 4 of the Supreme Law.
In case of attempted murder or murder of a Special Task Force, the suspect will be immediately arrested and all qualifications will be temporarily revoked.
There is a certain law.
But those who are above the law are the nobility. Even if you're just a Viscount. There are Earls who oversee Viscounts, and then there are Marquis and Dukes who oversee those Earls.
Hands bound to curl inward.
It shouldn't be too difficult for Viscount Volta to rescue Derok if he sets his mind to it.
“It’s amazing how everything you do doesn’t deviate from what I expected.”
"what?"
I took out the identity card of the special committee I was wearing on my chest and thrust it in the guy’s face.
Redin took out the identity card of a Special Task Force member from his chest and shoved it into Derok's face.
Pouring mana on the identity card.
Ding!
A translucent square appeared, and a magically recorded video played inside.
'You should have thought before you got greedy. You're in this situation because you're only thinking about killing me.'
'How do you... know that.......'
.
.
.
'Grab that prison guard, and sacrifice him and then we get the hell out of here.'
Along with the sound, there was a scene of Derok dashing out and wrecking the entrance.
“Did you think I caught you without any preparation?”
“Even if something like that happens, they won’t be able to charge me with murder!”
“Well, do you think Viscount Volta will come to your defense after seeing this video?”
Derok frowned.
Apparently he couldn't understand what Redin was trying to say. If he did, he wouldn't have made that face.
"Who was it that didn't do the task he was ordered to do, and instead tried to bring death to an entire order of knights, all of whom were the property of House Volta?"
"... ..."
"When you compare all those knights, would you say you're more valuable?"
A world where the number of knights is power.
Derok has become a bastard who threw away his position of power for his own life.
"..."
Derok shuddered, his complexion turning bright blue. Redin lowered the identification card he'd been holding out and said.
"You want to live, then just shut up and go to jail."
* * *
Northwestern part of the continent.
Brule Port City.
While waiting for the ship to depart for Burning Hell, they grabbed a quick bite to eat in a restaurant.
"If you're done eating, should we go?"
Riena gets up and pays the bill, followed by Rebecca, and together they exit from the restaurant.
The ship hasn't arrived yet.
Riena snapped her fingers, signaling for Rebecca to follow.
"I'll show you where you can buy or equip the things you need for your mission."
"Okay."
Riena and Rebecca.
Redin slightly distanced himself from the two.
And then he quietly called out his status window.
[Status Window]
Name: Redin
Occupation: Level 6 Prison Guard
Strength: Pinnacle (below)
Mana: 4 stars (below)
Luck: F
Talent: F
Possessed Skills - Copy (EX), Blazing Soul (EX), Eye of Arrakis (S), Fire of Purification (S), Cold Heart (A), Strong Mind (B), Harungel's ....⁴
Special - Bloodline (D)
- Magic Resistance.
- Locked
- Locked
.
.
.
'Handling this case pushed both my strength and my Mana Hole to new heights.'
When he reached the end of realm.
He'll encounter a wall that separates the Realm of the Venerable and the 5th Mana Hole. Once Redin crosses that threshold, he'll be among the strongest.
At the Expert Level.
The leader of the Knights of the White Knight, Leaders of criminal organizations, or the Royal Guardian Knights, who protect the king, is at an Expert Level.
Transcending from simply focusing mana into a sword to the point where mana is being shaped.
This is required in order to use Harungel's 3rd movement method.
"Hmmm...."
Speaking of which, Redin needs to find a sword.
The second sword that contains the 3rd Movement.¹
He doesn't know where it is now, but he has an idea of when it will show up. It shouldn't be too much of a problem to go get it then.
He lowered his gaze to the Bloodline again.
He got a magic resistance skill, but it was hard to figure out anything about this character from that alone.²
But the good news is.
Now he has figured out that the condition for unlocking the powers of the Bloodline is strength. As he steadily grows stronger, he will learn the secrets of his lineage.
"It's only just beginning......."
Given what Redin learned so far, and where he's at now, he made a new plan.
The Third chance to use the Copy Skill³
The second skill that Bahad acquired.
An item that exists in some hidden dungeons.
Redin plans to get at least two of these before Hell Battle in a few months.
To do that, he needs to work diligently.
"Redin, come on."
He dismissed the status window and started running to join Rebecca and Riena waiting in front of him.
"Coming!"
* * *
The Burning Hell Prison Warden's Office.
knock, knock
"Warden, I have something to report to you."
At the sound of a familiar subordinate's voice, Warden Rukel spoke calmly, as he signed the papers as usual.
"Come in."
creak!
The door opened and a subordinate walked in.
“This is a report on Redin.”
The subordinate gave a brief, to-the-point report. His capture of Tervis and his entanglement with Viscount Volta's Knight.
"We have confirmed that Redin is currently on his way to Burning Hell by ship."
"Great work. Please keep an eye out for him."
"But, Warden, there's one thing I'd like to ask you."
The subordinate didn't usually ask questions. Rukel looked up, studying his subordinate's expression.
"What is it?"
"Why are you so concerned with this man named Redin?"
Rukel looked at his subordinate.
"Do you know the origin of Burning Hell?"
"It was an execution station, wasn't it?"
Warden Rukel nodded.
"Yes."
A war between kingdoms on the continent of Bern. It ended when they made peace with each other.
They created Burning Hell to bolster their inner circle.
Anyone who tried to rebel or committed war crimes was sent to Burning Hell to be executed.
"It has been since then. Everyone in Burning Hell was ignored as they were treated as human butchers."
"..."
"As time went on and the death penalty went away, it became a place of rehabilitation, but the perception remained the same."
On the bright side, Burning Hell is known to be the worst prison for criminals.
'When Rukel finally held the highest position in it, He felt like It was rotten.'
The top executives were paid by criminal organizations, and the prisoners were not afraid of the guards.
"We need change in Burning Hell. Criminals should be afraid of the guards, afraid to commit a crime."
Rukel turned and stared out of the window.
Throughout Burning Hell, workers rebuilt what had been destroyed and wizards drew new lines of defense to further enhance security.
The start of a change.
When construction is complete, Burning Hell will be reborn, and history will be made.
"It takes a new bottle to hold a new liquor."
"You intend to build a new generation in Burning Hell... to lead new people... to make Redin the symbol of Burning Hell?"
"Nothing's set in stone yet."
Redin isn't the only one who can make a difference.
Rebecca, Seria, Khan.
These are those who performed very well in this class.
“Currently, the one who is most advanced is Redin.”
"Yes..”
Rukel turned and picked up a piece of paper from his desk.
[Mission Order].
-We have learned the whereabouts of the Magnesians who escaped Burning Hell. They are currently in Crane Estate...
Rukel handed it over to the subordinate.
"All we can do is watch."
** ** **
TL/N:
1. Kind of like his encounter with the Sword of Beginning and End, "Cairo" that Sword Saint Harungel used from his early childhood and when he committed suicide.
2. The Game Character Redin that MC created before the game shutdown of "Bern Chronicle" has a backstory he isn't familiar with which he wants to know.
3. [Copy (EX)] is the initial skill that MC has, it has a limit of 7 uses. He already used it two times. 1st on Rohan to get [Cold Heart (A)], and 2nd on Bahad to acquire the [Eye of Arrakis (S)]
4. [Indomitable (A)] Skill got upgraded into [Blazing Soul (EX)] after Redin got the Hidden Piece from the Phoenix.