To Remington County
Even in the game Path of Guardians, there was a concept called leveling up.
The setting was that those who overcame trials would receive an even stronger divine blessing.
Most of your stats rose compared to before, with slight differences in the numbers depending on which blessing you had taken.
In the case of the Guardian I chose, for example, you received an S-rank correction to Health, Stamina, and Defense, and an A-rank correction to Strength.
Everything else rose a little as well, but Intelligence, with its F-rank correction, barely went up at all—you could treat it as if it didn't.
In the game the numbers were displayed right in front of you, so it was easy to see at a glance how much stronger you'd become.
But now that this was reality, it wasn't so simple to gauge exactly how much I'd improved.
A little disappointing, maybe, but it wasn't a real problem.
I'd chosen the Guardian's blessing with all of that already factored in, after all.
"That was a magnificent battle, Young Master."
I was wiping away sweat and letting out a breath of relief when Bern approached, wearing a rare show of emotion.
"To face a Crimson Bear right after receiving your blessing… ahem! You are truly the Immortal reborn."
Something about him felt a little different from the usual Bern.
Overblown phrases like "the Immortal reborn" didn't suit him at all.
"So it really was a Crimson Bear, then?"
"Yes. Faint though it is, there is a red gleam in the eyes, and here… if you look at this spot, you can see a faint protrusion, just like a Horn Rabbit."
Honestly, even after the explanation the difference was so slight I could barely tell.
Well, it wouldn't make sense otherwise.
That one blow had shattered the Barrier completely.
If it hadn't been an ordinary bear but a Crimson Bear, that was more than possible.
"Ordinarily, those who have overcome five trials form a party to face one. Even if it has only just woken from hibernation, it is by no means an easy opponent."
Five trials meant level 6.
Stable hunting in the reverse-correction range, huh.
In Path of Guardians, the recommended hunting level for a regular bear was 1 through 3, and for a Crimson Bear it was around 3 to 5.
Go past that and reverse experience correction kicked in, so killing one barely paid off.
Gamers naturally matched the recommended level or hunted something higher to grow.
But this place wasn't a game. It was reality.
The Guardian's blessing was treated like a disability, so no one chose it.
Close-range dealer classes like Warrior or Knight ended up doubling as tanks.
Even in full armor they were still glass cannons, so party resources burned faster and rest periods between fights dragged out.
For safe hunting they would take monsters below the recommended level, eat the reverse correction, and then split that already-reduced experience among the whole party.
Leveling took forever—and while you were burning that much time, retirement age came creeping up.
Because it was time to get married.
So the overall standard of strength was inevitably lower than in the game.
A world where you could die and try again, versus a world where death was the end.
Of course there would be a gap.
"Young Master, I shall send for people from the manor."
"Is that really necessary?"
Bern's words pulled my wandering thoughts back into place.
Roughly three hundred kilos, give or take?
It would have lost weight after hibernation, so that much I could easily sling over my back.
"Up we go!"
Heavy, sure—but not more than I could lift.
"…Young Master?"
Are you even human?
His face looked like it was asking exactly that.
"Allow me to assist."
"No need. I'd rather you handle the cleanup."
I pointed at the goblins knocked out or killed in the aftermath of the fight, then started walking toward the manor first.
"Yes, understood."
Bern nodded, cleaned up the surroundings in a flash, and caught up to me.
As expected of a Ranger with S-rank Agility.
"A pity."
"What is?"
"A Crimson Bear, right after receiving your blessing. If only you had received the Warrior's blessing like Young Master Aren…"
I replayed the earlier fight in my head at Bern's words.
…I might have died, actually.
I could only shrug at the way Bern furrowed his brow as if it were a genuine loss.
Barrier formed a protective shield equal to thirty percent of your HP.
That Barrier reflected the sum of your toughness and the defensive power of your gear—your total defense score.
A Barrier that already factored in leather armor, gambeson, shield defense, and my own toughness had shattered in a single blow.
And that hadn't even been a direct hit; I'd blocked it with the shield.
If I'd taken that same strike as a pure-offense Warrior, I might have just died on the spot.
"At any rate, if you have already felled a Crimson Bear, you may soon need to change hunting grounds."
"Yeah, probably."
The monsters that appeared in the Revan family's hunting grounds sat around level 10.
Even in the game, unless you were an exception like a Guardian, it was treated as a tutorial hunting ground you graduated from in a day.
If you'd picked a late-blooming blessing like Guardian the way I had, you needed to stay about a week of game-time to grind proficiency.
Play it by the book in reality and it'd be about a month.
Just as Bern said, that meant I'd have to leave the territory before long.
"If you do leave, where do you intend to go?"
Spending too much time on travel was a waste, so I needed somewhere I could stay put and level for as long as possible.
At the same time, ideally a place where I could pick up proper gear or recruit companions.
I also had to factor in that this was the world ten years before the main story, and it had to be a city with a Cretus Church.
Weigh all of that and only one place remained.
"I'm thinking of heading to the Remington County."
"Ah—are you considering the dungeon, by any chance?"
I nodded at Bern's question.
Of course, I've got things to do before I go.
The flower of the Guardian blessing: the two passives for status ailment resistance and pain tolerance.
I needed to learn both of those for sure before I left.
Viscount Revan was speaking with his wife Licia, who had sunk into despondency.
"And so I decided to trust him."
"Haah… why must such a trial fall on our Ed of all people…"
It felt as if she were exhaling every sigh she would ever breathe in her entire life, all in a single day.
That was how thick the worry and anxiety were on Licia's face—enough to make even Viscount Revan think so.
Honestly, it wasn't hard to understand.
They said he was getting beaten by a pack of Horn Rabbits…
With a report that he was surrounded by Horn Rabbits and taking a one-sided thrashing, it was only natural.
Why, though?
Even before choosing Guardian at the ceremony for Elysion's blessing, Edwin had trained diligently and shown real effort.
There had even been reports that, blessing or no blessing, he could easily hunt about six goblins on his own.
That same Edwin, surrounded by a pack of Horn Rabbits and getting beaten without landing a blow—it made no sense.
Horn Rabbits sat at the absolute bottom of the food chain, monsters so weak they became goblin food.
Knock, knock.
"My lord. Gamekeeper Bern has sent a carrier bird."
"Enter."
Viscount Revan took the message Bern's bird had brought from the head butler.
"…"
"What is it, dear?"
When the Viscount stiffened as he read the message, Licia sensed something was wrong and looked over the letter herself.
What the carrier bird had brought was shocking.
It reported that he had captured a pack of goblins, tied them to trees, and was abusing them as if working off some grudge.
"…I think I should go see Ed."
Viscount Revan couldn't bring himself to tell her to wait and trust their son.
First the news that he was getting beaten by Horn Rabbits.
Then, hard on its heels, the news that he was abusing goblins.
This cannot be a god's trial…
Then what had that attitude Edwin showed in the study been?
If this was a dream, it was a thoroughly vicious nightmare.
Thinking that, Viscount Revan strode after Licia as she headed for the hunting grounds.
They were just about to step into the edge of the forest when a bear appeared—gaunt, as if it had only just woken from hibernation.
Sticky blood caked its muzzle, and its brow had been crushed so badly the original shape was hard to make out.
"Edwin?"
"Ed!"
More precisely, it was Edwin walking toward them with the already-dead bear slung across his back.
The carrier bird had clearly said he was tormenting goblins.
Yet somehow Edwin was hauling an adult bear well over two meters long.
The Viscount turned a questioning look on Bern, who glanced at Edwin and answered with a small nod.
Meaning this kill wasn't his—it was Edwin's.
"Ed. Did you take this one down?"
"Yes, Mother."
"Good heavens…"
Looking carefully at the bear Edwin had brought, it wasn't an ordinary bear at all but a monster that appeared to be a Crimson Bear.
If humans received the gods' blessings, monsters received the Demon God's.
A creature that had gone from beast to monster.
That was a Crimson Bear.
It was not a monster someone who had only just received Elysion's blessing should be facing.
A Crimson Bear with a body that has only just received Elysion's blessing…
And while bearing the worst blessing of all—Guardian?
Truly, it was an overwhelming gift for combat, worthy of being chosen as the great warrior of the one called the God of War.
He was his own son, and still the Viscount felt immense pride.
Even so, he did not voice the thought.
He feared that praise might go to Edwin's head and send him charging into some deathtrap.
Instead, after a brief pause, Viscount Revan made a show of casually looking Edwin over from head to toe.
"Was it hard on you?"
"I managed."
In truth the armor Edwin wore was in tatters, but there were no conspicuous wounds.
"Then that is enough. Leave the carcass there. I will send people."
"Yes, Father."
"Ed, you're truly not hurt anywhere?"
"Edwin is a grown warrior now. Must you fuss so much?"
"It was a Crimson Bear! You know that isn't an opponent a child who just received his blessing should be able to beat!"
"Ugh… nngh…!"
"Ed?!"
When Licia raised her voice, Edwin grimaced as if something hurt.
Thud!
Then he dumped the Crimson Bear onto the ground like he was throwing it down.
"Where? Where does it hurt, Ed?"
Flustered, Licia checked him over here and there, asking anxiously.
A mischievous smile rose at the corner of Edwin's mouth.
"Mother's worry has pierced my heart so deeply that it aches."
"…Honestly, who does this child take after?"
Thump!
"Oof!"
Edwin clutched his chest as if in pain, dipped his head in a little bow, then trudged off toward the manor.
Watching their son's back, Viscount Revan and his wife both let out quiet sighs.
"But what was that about abusing goblins supposed to mean?"
That was a question even Viscount Revan couldn't answer easily.
"…He must have been using them to lure a bear that had just woken from hibernation. In any case, we should trust Edwin and do what we can, should we not?"
"You're right. First we should send a letter to the Remington family."
Among nobles, marriages arranged between houses were more common than love matches.
Naturally, neither Aren, the eldest son of the Revan family, nor Edwin, the second son, were exceptions.
Aren was preparing for a wedding aimed at this autumn, but nothing had yet been finalized for Edwin—not even a formal engagement.
Even so, the matter had been discussed at least once, so the other house could take it sensitively.
Noble marriage was that serious an affair; the Revan family had to treat it as such and act in advance.
"Make it clear that Edwin did not take the Guardian's blessing out of any slight toward the Remington family."
"Of course. Don't worry, dear."
The Remington family…
Their eldest son suffered from an illness of unknown cause, and their second son had lost his life after going to war.
Word was that a shadow of ruin hung over the house, yet they were still the most powerful great nobles in the region.
With marriage talks already in play with such a house, their son had received the Guardian's blessing.
There was a real chance they would misread it as some farce staged to reject the match.
Viscount Revan could only pray the whole affair would pass quietly.
The study of the Remington family.
The Count of Remington had fallen into despair after losing his second son on the battlefield and watching his eldest waste away with an unknown illness.
In his place, the Countess acting as head of the house turned her gaze to a letter that had arrived from the Revan Viscounty.
The Revan family—a frontier knight house put forward as a prospective match for Ariella, the eldest daughter and youngest child of the Remingtons.
What the letter said about their second son set the Countess's temper on edge.
"…Guardian?"
Every child of the Remington family showed the talent of a spirit user before receiving Elysion's blessing.
Yet Ariella had turned sixteen this year and still displayed no such gift.
Was she perhaps a child born of some unsavory affair?
Rumors to that effect were already circulating in high society.
And now, in that climate, the second son of the Revan family—Edwin—had received the Guardian's blessing.
It was enough to make one suspect they were mocking Ariella's lack of spirit talent and deliberately slighting the house itself.
Of course the letter was filled with polite, carefully worded explanations, but to a Countess whose nerves had been worn raw by stress, even that could only feel like mockery.
"How dare they…!!!"
The harsh sound of the letter being crushed echoed through the room.