Chapter 38
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Performance Evaluation
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Fwoosh!
The world changed once again.
"What is this place now..."
It had said it would show me my death, and in an instant, I was in an unknown place.
"It's night, and the location is a forest?"
I was in a forest thick with trees and undergrowth. Strangely, a white light emanated from the trees and bushes.
It didn't seem like an ordinary forest, but rather a place filled with a spiritual aura, as if it held some kind of legend.
"I have no idea."
As expected, I couldn't figure out where I was. Looking around, all I could see were trees.
Step.
Just then, I heard footsteps from behind. When I turned, I saw myself.
My future self was walking toward me.
Gulp.
Not knowing how my future self would react, I swallowed hard. But my future self didn't see me and walked right past.
"As I thought, he can't see me. By the way... why is he wearing that?"
My future self was clad in golden armor emblazoned with lightning bolts, and its abilities seemed specialized for one single purpose.
"What on earth did he come here for?"
I followed my future self, who was walking slowly as if lost in thought.
After following for some time, his steps, which had been as regular as if measured with a ruler, came to a halt.
"This place is..."
My future self had stopped in a clearing devoid of trees and bushes. In the center of the clearing stood five stone monuments in a row, resembling some kind of altar.
"As I expected, I can't touch them."
I tried to touch the monuments, but my hand passed through them as if through smoke. In this place, I was an intangible presence, like a ghost.
My future self did nothing, simply standing before the monuments.
Flash!
About ten minutes passed when the sky brightened for a moment, as if night had turned to day.
Enduring the blinding light, I looked up to see something shimmering in the sky.
"What is that."
I squinted, trying to get a better look at it.
"Don't tell me..."
It was a Kirin, a fantastical beast from Eastern mythology with the head of a dragon, the scales of a fish, the body of a deer, and the tail of an ox.
"A Kirin?"
I had always been fond of mythological creatures, so despite this being a Western fantasy setting, I had included Eastern spiritual beasts in my novel.
However, the Kirin had no specific role; I had only set it up to guard a certain place.
In fact, the protagonist never even sees the Kirin. So I had no idea why my future self had come to meet it.
"What is he saying?"
I could hear other sounds, but not the words of my future self. He wore a serious expression as he spoke to the Kirin.
The Kirin simply floated in the air, watching my future self without any reaction.
"Is the Kirin using some kind of telepathy?"
Although the Kirin wasn't making any overt movements, judging by my future self's reactions, they seemed to be conversing.
"Huh? What's this?"
Just when I thought the conversation was over, my future self drew a hidden weapon, and the Kirin began to glow again.
"No way, are they going to fight? With that divine beast?"
My future self generated something like a giant umbrella rib and drove it into the ground.
CRACKLE!
Lightning began to flow from the horns of the glowing Kirin.
Zzzzap!
The lightning struck down, aiming for my future self, but it was caught by the giant rib and channeled directly into the earth.
Zzzzzzt!
"A lightning rod? Did he make a lightning rod with Agnes?"
The Kirin continued to flash, sending down bolts of lightning, but they were all diverted by the lightning rod, their energy flowing harmlessly into the ground.
Not only the lightning from the sky, but also the electrical energy overflowing from the ground was menacing, yet it had no effect on my future self.
The distinguishing feature of the golden, lightning-emblazoned gear was its high resistance to the lightning attribute. The equipment my future self wore completely blocked the Kirin's lightning flowing through the ground.
Looking at him now, it seemed my future self had come here with the intention of fighting the Kirin from the very beginning.
Shwaaaa!
My future self pulled out a reddish iron stake and threw it forcefully at the Kirin.
It flew as if tracing the shortest possible line between us, piercing the creature's body before it could even react.
Krrrrrumble!
The iron stake embedded in the Kirin's body was no ordinary weapon. The Kirin, maddened with pain, thrashed about, spewing lightning in every direction.
But thanks to the lightning rod and his armor, my future self remained unharmed.
Zzzzap!
The Kirin, bleeding profusely, began to shroud its body in lightning.
FLASH!
The entire world turned white, as if a flashbang had gone off right in front of me. When I managed to force my stinging eyes open, the Kirin was piercing my future self's body.
"Shit..."
Moving closer, I saw the Kirin's horn had run straight through my heart. A moment later, the Kirin also collapsed to the ground from blood loss.
"I'm going to die like this? Gored by an antler?"
Playback complete.
The death-predicting Future's Eye will now close.
Pop!
"Hah!"
The massive body of the Sharkrai King was before me. I was back at the exact moment I had beheaded it and picked up the orb.
"Hoo..."
Now I finally understood why this was considered a reward. It had shown me my death, giving me a chance to avoid it.
"What a crazy reward."
Perhaps because it was the first time, the reward was unbelievably immense.
"A Kirin..."
My future self hadn't encountered the Kirin by chance; he had sought it out. That meant I didn't need to be on edge for now.
At some point, an event would occur that would lead me to seek out the Kirin myself. I just needed to figure out how to avoid its final attack.
"The Kirin is one thing, but what about that orb and the cracked room?"
The white room with the cracks was a true mystery. I was beginning to doubt whether this world was truly the novel I had written.
"Sigh, I don't know. I wonder if the kids are fighting well?"
Thinking about the orb and the white room wouldn't yield any answers right now, so I decided to climb the fortress wall to watch Arin and Klyde's battle.
Swoosh!
Arin had apparently already dealt with one Sharkrai, as she was now launching her sword at a new one, leaving a mangled corpse behind her.
KWAAAAANG!
Klyde, as if showing off his strength, was trading blows with a Sharkrai. Of course, since he was in a berserker state, it was the Sharkrai that was being beaten to a pulp.
Watching my knights in action, my sunken mood lifted, feeling refreshingly clear.
"Nice. I really picked well."
"Thrust!"
"Thrust!"
After the Sharkrai King's death, monsters began to appear again.
Creatures like Bolraks and Mantars appeared frequently. I considered them good training partners for the soldiers, so I stayed back and commanded the troops from behind.
"Spearmen, forward!"
"Spearmen, forward!"
After I killed the Sharkrai King, the soldiers' perception of me had completely changed. They now trusted me so completely that they would feign death if I ordered them to die.
"Grand Prince! A Sharkrai has appeared."
"How many?"
"Two of them."
For a while, a huge number of Sharkrai had appeared, as if seeking revenge for the death of their king, but they all ended up as training dummies for Arin and Klyde.
Whether their numbers had dwindled from being killed off or they were too scared to show up, now only one or two appeared at a time.
"Arin, Klyde!"
"Should we each take one?"
"Yes."
"Grand Prince."
As I watched Arin and Klyde run toward the Sharkrai, Philo spoke to me.
"Yes?"
"His Excellency, the Marquis, has sent word for you to come to the front of Haiwa Island in a week."
"A week from now?"
"Yes. Just like here, the number of monsters has significantly decreased in other areas as well. On our side, not even twenty appear a day now, so it seems he is planning to have us return."
"Then why not just have us come home? Why there?"
Going to Haiwa Island was a hassle, and gathering there to return together was another. I didn't understand why we had to assemble there.
"Traditionally, after an expedition ends, the final duty is to sail around the sea to ensure there are no further issues."
"I see."
It seemed the Marquis wanted to give me, Collin, and Raon the experience of a short sea voyage.
"I believe you can observe the situation for about four days, and if nothing happens, you can depart on the fifth day."
"Understood."
As time passed, the number of monsters continued to decrease. After three days, not a single one appeared.
As planned, we left the fortress at dawn on the fifth day and headed for Haiwa Island.
Following the Marquis's orders, we arrived in front of the island at noon on the seventh day. It seemed we were the last to arrive, as Collin, Raon, and the Marquis were all waiting for us.
"You've worked hard."
"Not at all. I heard from the butler that you, Marquis, headed to the most difficult area. You have worked hard."
"That is the duty of the Marquis Lox."
The Marquis's face bore a satisfied smile, clearly pleased that all three of his sons had finished the battle safely.
"Brother! You've endured much."
"Yes. You've worked hard too."
Raon approached and bowed his head respectfully. He looked perfectly healthy, without a single injury.
"That one is certainly consistent. So consistent."
In contrast, Collin pretended not to see me and was talking to a knight beside him.
"Now that everyone is gathered, shall we begin?"
The Marquis ascended a platform, and we lined up before him in our respective formations.
"You have all worked incredibly hard, facing an endless tide of monsters during this expedition."
"You have worked hard, sir!"
"Waaah!"
As the Marquis finished speaking, the knights and soldiers all shouted with joyous voices.
"This expedition had remarkably few casualties. I am happier about the low number of casualties than I am about eliminating all the monsters. This is thanks to everyone's best efforts."
"Thank you!"
"Wooooah!"
At the Marquis's bright smile, everyone before him applauded and cheered.
"You all know I'm not one for long speeches, so I'll move on to the next matter. As most of you were aware, this expedition included a test. It was the first test to select my successor."
The Marquis announced to everyone that he had been conducting a performance evaluation during the expedition to choose his heir.
"I will now announce the results. Raon and the third butler, please step forward."
At the Marquis's words, Raon and the third butler who had accompanied him stepped onto the platform.
"I will now make the announcement."
Raon stood with his hands behind his back, looking forward, as the third butler began to speak.
"Lord Raon has perfectly defended the western wall assigned to him."
"Oh!"
"Wow!"
At the third butler's words, everyone let out genuine gasps of admiration.
"We had predetermined a point system for the monsters with the Marquis. Bolrak, 1 point. Mantar, 3 points. Kerain, 5 points. Sharkrai, 30 points."
The point distribution was based on the monsters' difficulty, so everyone found it reasonable.
"The monsters we eliminated are as follows: 1,854 Bolraks, 467 Mantars, 341 Kerains, and 22 Sharkrai. This brings the total score to 5,620 points."
"Waaaaah!"
"Lord Raon!"
An immense roar erupted from the crowd at the impressive number. Raon politely bowed his head in three directions.
"Excellent! You have worked very hard."
The Marquis patted Raon on the head. Raon, who seemed more pleased by the Marquis's touch than the cheers, smiled brightly and descended from the platform.
"Next, Collin."
"Yes."
Collin and the second butler came up to the platform. He glanced at me, a slight smirk playing on his lips.
"That guy really needs a beating."
Seeing that smug smile, it was clear he had killed more monsters than Raon.
"Lord Collin, like Lord Raon, has perfectly defended his wall."
"Oh!"
"The monsters eliminated are as follows: 2,554 Bolraks, 545 Mantars, 423 Kerains, and 35 Sharkrai. This brings the total score to 7,354 points."
"Waaaaaaaaah!"
"Incredible!"
"Lord Collin!"
The score, about 1,700 points higher than Raon's, elicited even louder cheers from the crowd. Collin looked down at the people with his characteristic twisted smile.
"Truly remarkable. It seems you've dealt with more monsters than I have."
"Not at all. How could I possibly compare to you, Father?"
"I'm proud of you, Collin."
"Thank you."
Praised by the Marquis, Collin also descended from the platform, smiling continuously.
"Finally, Yuren, come forward."
"Yes."
I went up to the platform with Philo. Philo took out a document he had prepared.
"First, the wall of our formation was breached."
"Ah..."
"Oh dear."
"Hmm..."
Everyone except those in our formation began to murmur. They wore expressions that said, 'What did you expect, taking only two trainee knights?'
"Pfft!"
I heard a snicker from the front. It was obvious who it was. Collin.
"Ah, my apologies. I was surprised..."
His expression wasn't the least bit sorry. He was smirking crookedly.
"The monsters we killed are as follows: 1,332 Bolraks, 281 Mantars, 197 Kerains..."
"Kh!"
Hearing the number of monsters, Collin, who had been covering his mouth, burst out laughing again. It seemed he thought he had already won just from hearing this much.
"Collin!"
Collin's laughter stopped only after the Marquis called his name.
"My apologies. Ah, what's wrong with me?"
Collin tilted his head, smiling obnoxiously. But I wasn't offended at all.
Because in a moment, not just Collin, but everyone who was chattering now would fall silent.
"I will continue. 169 Sharkrai. In total, the score is 8,230 points."
"Wh-what nonsense is this! 169 Sharkrai? How could you possibly have killed that many!"
"That's absurd!"
"Don't lie!"
"Ah, my apologies."
At the protests from Collin and his aides, Philo flipped over the paper he was holding and apologized.
"It seems there was a mistake."
"There's a time and place for jokes. Get it right!"
"Just as I thought."
"I knew it."
At Philo's words, people from the other formations started chattering amongst themselves with 'I-told-you-so' expressions.
"Yes. I will get it... right. Lastly, one Sharkrai King. The Sharkrai King is worth 10,000 points. Therefore, Lord Yuren Lox's total score is 18,230 points."
All the murmuring humans fell silent at once, as if frozen solid.