Chapter 263
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 263
Chapter Title: Crown Prince Raos
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Crown Prince Raos couldn't hide his discomfort.
'Contact's been cut off. What the hell happened?'
Every morning, he received secret reports.
The content was none other than updates on the remote Bern Village.
Officially, it was about inspecting small villages, but beneath that pretext, it was packed with details on the special energy.
But this morning.
He got word that contact from Bern Village had been severed.
"Hey! Why's the cleaning so shitty? You blind or what? Can't you see this dust?!"
As a result, the servant in charge of cleaning his room took the heat.
It looked spotless to the eye, but Raos needed an outlet for his anger right now.
"I-I'm sorry! I'll be more careful from now on!"
"Sorry? Fuck, then don't fuck up in the first place! Hey! Lock that damn bitch in the basement and make her drink nothing but water for three days!"
"I was wrong! It won't happen again!"
The servant turned pale, dropping to her knees and begging desperately.
Being thrown in the basement dungeon didn't end with just three days on water.
The brutal torture that came with it.
Once it was over, she'd be half-crippled and booted from the palace.
That would leave her siblings at home starving.
But Raos showed no mercy.
"Get her out of here now!"
Knights entered the room at his command and dragged her away.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!"
Even as she was hauled off, she cried out desperately for Raos.
"Can't use trash who don't know their place. Tch."
Raos geared up to head out and left his room.
"Your Highness, where are you off to?"
A servant who managed the entire palace approached cautiously.
Word had already spread about the cleaning servant being dragged away, so he knew better than to be careless.
He did his best to show proper respect without irking Raos.
Fortunately, Raos didn't pick on his demeanor.
"Got some business outside. Where's Blanc right now?"
"Probably at the training grounds. Shall I fetch him?"
"Yeah. Tell him we're heading to Bern."
"Understood."
That was when the servant was about to hurry off to the training grounds.
"Prince Karban has returned!"
News of Karban's return reached Raos's ears.
It froze his steps dead as he was about to leave.
"What...?"
Karban came back alive?
That bastard should be in the middle of experiments in Bern Village right now.
Raos turned toward the servant who delivered the news.
"Say that again."
"Pardon...?"
"Say it clearly to my face!"
Raos grabbed his collar and glared murderously.
"I-I'll tell you! Prince Karban has just returned!"
Reports from Bern had stopped, and Karban was back.
'Damn it.'
Raos's eyes blazed.
"Where's Karban now?"
"Y-Yes... He's waiting to see His Majesty."
"Is that so?"
Still just a kid.
For a guy who should be dead to come back alive meant he had a hidden backer.
Raos calculated in his head as he headed to the audience chamber.
As soon as he entered the palace, an exclamation mark appeared over Karban's head.
You have completed the quest.
Claim your reward.
Upon completing the quest, Karban pulled a pocket watch from his pocket and offered it to Jeong Hoon.
"Will you accept this?"
"What's this?"
"...It's the most valuable thing I have."
Broken Pocket Watch
- Type: Clock
- Grade: ???
- A clock imbued with mysterious power.
- Broken and non-functional.
The pocket watch was busted.
The most valuable thing he had, huh.
'A broken one as a reward...'
Refusing it wouldn't likely trigger a new quest.
He'd specifically said it was his most valuable possession.
Jeong Hoon accepted the watch.
"I'll gladly take it."
A clock with mysterious power would reveal its true value once restored.
"Thank you so much. If not for my benefactor... I'd probably be dead."
A boy no older than ten spoke of death.
A question mark blinked over Karban's head once more.
Episode Quest: The Third Prince's Survival
- Restriction: Third Prince Karban enters the palace
- Reward: Next quest unlock EXP
- Description: Help Third Prince Karban survive. (7 days)
The episode quest had begun.
'It was originally supposed to start through the Second Prince.'
Rescuing Karban had unlocked it through him instead.
The quest required helping Karban survive seven days in the palace.
Meaning someone was out for his life.
'Probably the Crown Prince.'
When Jeong Hoon visited Darvis, he couldn't start the episode but had heard about it.
The quest involved protecting the Second Prince from the Crown Prince.
Even after claiming the throne, the guy kept tabs on his brothers and eliminated even slim threats.
He tried to quietly assassinate the Second Prince, but player intervention failed the plan, leading to the Crown Prince's own deaththat was the episode's core.
Being an episode, it skipped a lot and lacked detail, but players appreciated how straightforward it made the quest.
'Let's wrap this up quick.'
Jeong Hoon had no intention of dragging it out.
Normally, you'd fend off the Crown Prince's men to protect the prince, but Jeong Hoon had a better way.
Just make it so there's nothing left to fend off.
'Suck up Raos's power too, and the final quest will be a breeze.'
Bonus of boosting the Seven Deadly Sins' stats too.
"Seven Deadly Sins. Hungry?"
Jeong Hoon summoned the Seven Deadly Sins.
"I'm always starving."
"Good. In a bit, take out the guys I point out. Don't kill 'em."
"Perfect!"
The Seven Deadly Sins grinned wide.
"Uh... what is that?"
Karban couldn't tear his eyes away.
His face was full of shock.
Something popping out of nowhere would startle anyone.
"My summon."
"Summon...?"
"Think of it as a pet I've tamed."
"Oh, I see."
Only then did Karban curiously eye the Seven Deadly Sins.
Soon after, the Emperor's chamberlain emerged.
"His Majesty bids you return."
The Third Prince's return.
Yet the Emperor dismissed the audience request without a care.
'Typical of him.'
The Emperor had clawed his way to the throne over rivers of blood.
He planned to pass it to someone equally bloodied and surviving.
This place was a battlefield.
The weak were naturally culled.
"I-I see..."
Karban nodded with a crestfallen face.
Even if his father showed no interest, he hadn't expected him to refuse even a glance after three months apart.
"So please leave now."
The chamberlain delivered the message and retreated inside.
"...Guess I should head back. Thank you so much for seeing me this far."
Karban's quarters were in a distant annex.
Jeong Hoon had accompanied him intending to request proper recompense for his savior.
But with the audience denied, he felt apologetic.
"You okay going alone?"
"...No choice."
"Then let me walk you to the annex. I've got time to burn, as you see."
Jeong Hoon smiled brightly.
Karban's face lit up.
"You sure that's okay?"
"Yeah. I got my reward, but leaving now wouldn't sit right."
Jeong Hoon held up the pocket watch.
"Then I'll take you up on it!"
That was when.
"Hey, Karban."
A man's voice came from behind Jeong Hoon.
Karban started trembling at the sound.
The child's eyes filled with terror.
'Crown Prince.'
Jeong Hoon turned slowly.
A man in his late teens strode toward them.
'Seven Deadly Sins.'
Jeong Hoon signaled without a second thought.
"Dinner time!"
The Seven Deadly Sins lunged at the Crown Prince.
"What the?!"
The Crown Prince halted in surprise as it charged.
"Insolent fool!"
A following knight drew his sword and swung at the Seven Deadly Sins.
But Jeong Hoon had already stepped into Supremacy of the Heavenly Demon, grabbing the knight's wrist. The attack fizzled.
Crunch
"Urk!"
The knight grimaced as Jeong Hoon squeezed.
"Let go now!"
Another knight behind aimed his sword at Jeong Hoon.
Jeong Hoon jerked his head at the wrist-bound knight with a cold sneer.
"Lower that sword, or this fucker dies."
"W-What?!"
"What? Think I won't?"
Jeong Hoon gripped harder.
Crack
"Arghhh!"
Bones shattered. The knight screamed and collapsed.
At the cry, the other knight frantically lowered his sword.
"At least one of you thinks straight."
Only then did Jeong Hoon release the wrist.
The knight clutched his throbbing hand in agony.
Absorbing stats.
In that gap, the Seven Deadly Sins latched onto Raos and began draining his stats.
"Aaagh! Get this thing off me! Get it off!"
Raos drew his sword and slashed at the Seven Deadly Sins.
But it blocked the strike effortlessly, focusing on absorption.
"Your Highness!"
The knight tried rushing to Raos.
"Where you going?"
Jeong Hoon drew Leviathan, aiming to block them.
Activating Brainwash.
He triggered Brainwash.
With Jeong Hoon's overwhelming stats, the two knights fell under it instantly.
"Protect the Third Prince. That's your job."
"Yes..."
"Understood..."
The knights nodded blankly.
"Alright then."
Jeong Hoon turned after finishing the brainwash.
NPC Info
-Nickname: Raos Rud Hicksion
-Level: 275
-Job: Crown Prince of the Hicksion Empire
Level 275.
Not a low number.
'This'll be juicy.'
Jeong Hoon's lips curled up.
Raos Rud Hicksion.
His mind was a total blank right now.
What the fuck was going on?
He'd come to see his little shit of a brother who clawed back from death's door, and some freak latched onto him, refusing to let go.
Worse, his strength was draining away the longer it went onhe was starting to think he'd drop dead.
"Get off! You fuck!"
"Delicious."
The thing finally detached after clinging forever.
Seeing its satisfied grin made his blood boil.
"You... I'll kill you for this!"
Raos glared murderously at the Seven Deadly Sins.
"What're you gonna do?"
Jeong Hoon stepped forward slowly, standing before Raos.
"You dogshit bastard! What the hell did you do to me?!"
"What? Just made sure you can't do your job."
"What...?"
"Go hole up in your room and play dead. Do that, and you won't die."
Jeong Hoon placed a hand on his shoulder and slowly applied pressure.
With all his stats sucked dry, even light force buckled his knees in agony.
"Urgh! Let go! Let me go!"
"I warned you."