Chapter 11

It was 3 a.m. The sun was high in the sky, and the Arcanaships were flying over almost the entire capital of the Loveritia Empire on their regular routes.

 

The commoners of the lower-class district walked out of their houses with calm expressions or big smiles on their faces because they were in a good mood due to the beautiful day, indicating a peaceful life within the walls of this great walled city for each of them.

 

Some headed to the markets, filled with the shouts of enthusiastic vendors from various shops advertising their wares, while others, like groups of young friends or housewives with children, visited the beautiful local parks scattered around the city to relax and chat.

 

The pedestrians' clothing was barely distinguishable from modern Earth clothing due to a blend of medieval style with the material quality of textiles from an advanced world; indicating that they were quite well-off financially compared to any other commoner in almost any country on the Centoria continent.

 

Not only that, the general attitude and atmosphere indicated a relatively high level of sophistication, demonstrating a well-educated population. Undoubtedly, an opulent display of prosperity that many commoners in other kingdoms and empires would envy.

 

The administration of the imperial households was as efficient as ever in their capital.

 

The people working at the stalls set up in the shopping malls of the lower-class district seemed quite cheerful and enthusiastic towards their customers, as if they had few worries in their lives beyond quietly earning their daily bread, and the knights of the imperial police patrolled all the streets of the capital with seriousness, ensuring the stability of the city under the rule of the Imperial Houses with loyalty.

 

Still, there was always a good thief in the crowd who, with skill and a charming smile, would pick pockets without anyone noticing. On the other hand, there were children, orphans or not, who tried the same thing and were harshly scolded by their "victims," ​​though not to the inhumane level seen elsewhere.

 

This place was really peaceful, quite far from the typical medieval scene of a typical fantasy world.

 

And amidst all this bustle, a luxurious carriage passed by, driven by an elegant old man dressed as a butler, traveling along the roads designated for aristocratic traffic. The carriage stood out for its ostentatious wealth, compared to any other noble carriage in the area, and it was evidently made of very rare and valuable materials.

 

The vehicle itself was white, with beautiful golden lines creating beautiful images of flowers and vines, and bore on its doors the insignia of the most prominent noble family of the time, inevitably attracting the attention of people passing by on the pedestrian paths along the roads.

 

The black and gold heraldry of this empire's sole Archduchy, the roaring Black Dragon pierced by a holy sword while divine rays surrounded it, looked magnificent in the sunlight.

 

—That's Archduke Pendragon's carriage, isn't it?

 

—Isn't it obvious, mate? He even has his heraldry on display for all to see!" A certain curious muscleman's companion responded by rolling his eyes at his ignorant words and grimacing.

 

A pretty girl passing by said ruefully as she looked longingly at the carriage's single window —... Why did it have to have one of those dark windows? I wish I could see his true face at least once...

 

—Of course a nobleman like Archduke Draco Silva would care about his privacy so the common people wouldn’t see his nobility! - A friend of hers said at her side, rolling her eyes. —He’s probably being very affectionate with some maid accompanying him or something as he travels back to his grand mansion.

 

—Don’t spout such slander!” the other whispered, panicking and angry, looking around. - Saying that the Princess’s fiancé has a secret lover might not only get you in trouble with the law, you know? Many of the Archduke’s fans might even beat you up for even suggesting there’s a girl lucky enough to be by his side without being his legal fiancée! The idea of ​​a woman lucky enough to be the Archduke’s concubine is simply…!

 

The girl finished speaking, clearly jealous of the idea. Her friend simply looked at her, uninterested. "Yes, yes, fangirl."

 

"If only I could take a picture of him..." the other continued, holding her holocane.

 

—Shut up, will you?

 

Unbeknownst to either of them, the latter's insinuation wasn't far from the truth... at least inside the luxurious carriage, Arthur was certainly being very affectionate with his chimerical maid at that very moment.

 

♦♦♦♦

 

Sora, who was inside the carriage that caught the attention of everyone who passed through the streets of Loveria, didn't take long to put aside the matter of her growing affection for him for now, because there were clearly more important things to do at that moment than worrying about the incomprehensible emotions of women.

 

Just by looking out the window, he had noticed (besides the crowd watching him (?)) that the carriage was already slowly approaching the gate in the wall that separated the lower-class district from the bourgeois district, and it wouldn't take long for them to reach the wall that contained the noble district, where Arthur's mansion in the imperial capital was located.

 

Sora wanted to see information about this last boss's other abilities and traits before that. Therefore, while subconsciously playing with the adorable maid Franx's hair, he quickly mentally ordered the system to display information about the item called {Rigrit's Ring}, as he didn't know what it was.

 

So instead of the disembodied voice that appeared when I wanted information about {Charisma}, a holographic window with an image of the object in question was displayed, which was convenient.

 

There was a silver ring embedded with an emerald. The silver seemed to form two dragon claws on either side to hold the emerald. It was quite pretty, and since Sora liked dragons, he figured it wouldn't hurt him, even if it was trash.

 

Although this ring was far from junk.

 

<The Ring of Truth: This is a provisional name for a magic ring created through Wild Magic, the primordial magic of the New World in the "Overlord" novel series. This ring was created thanks to the power of the Platinum Dragon Lord. According to him, it is described as an item that surpasses the limits of humanity in the new world, and in Britannia, it is considered a Unique Item capable of strengthening even beings above Lorius Rank. Overlord's author, Maruyama, stated that if this ring was worn and activated in combat, it could help temporarily increase a warrior's stats/skills by five levels. And one could obtain its benefits even without using magic to become a warrior, which, according to Britannian laws, would be equivalent to ignoring one's Aspirant Class and granting it its excellent blessings>

 

Arthur's eyes widened at this revelation. Who would have guessed? This ring was a one-of-a-kind piece!

 

This is simply astonishing! A growth equivalent to five levels of strength... regardless of your original power! It truly is a unique item that would drive even the world boss, the Prince of Darkness, mad with unbridled greed...! If it weren't for the {Dignity of a Noble}, Sora might have made Arthur drool at the sight.

 

It had been a while since he'd seen a unique item from the Britannia games! While he himself had obtained some unique items in the game that significantly increased his strength, this was different from obtaining something through hard work and dedication, like he did in that virtual world.

 

Britannian objects were classified as common, uncommon, rare, extraordinary, legendary, artifacts, unique, and divine; the latter two were often comparable in power and differed only in their replicability. While it was obvious that this ring had a unique classification, as there was no other like it in the world, it would at least remain divine in terms of its ability.

 

Sora never imagined he'd receive a unique item from the system so soon after arriving in this world. While Arthur already possessed six divine and unique items inherited from his parents, it was still incredible that something like this could happen to him so easily—especially given the tangible benefits it granted to any aspirant who used it, regardless of rank or level.

 

I almost wanted to kiss everyone in the world of Olverlord, including Platinum Dragon Lord and even Ainz, for this beautiful draconic contraption.

 

Almost.

 

With this I'll have the power of a level 77 effortlessly!

 

Pleased with this gift, Sora quickly began checking the other gifts in the system, the next being {Minor Healing Potions}. An item that also comes from the Olverlord universe, if he remembered correctly.

 

<Minor Healing Potions: A consumable from the virtual world, Yggdrasil, that players bring to the new world. It is considered by the natives of the New World to be the "Blood of the Gods" and is legendary among alchemists, though to players it is merely a beginner's consumable. However, in the world of Britannia, this item would, by conceptual laws, be transformed into an alchemical medicine capable of almost completely healing a human from any mortal wound, regardless of their level, as the concept of HP does not apply to the inhabitants of Britannia or the New World>

 

That makes sense… Sora mentally nodded to himself, convinced of it.

 

While such an item was of little use to players and NPCs in the New World, there was a reason why the Minor Healing Potion was considered legendary. Aside from its inability to be produced before the handsome alchemist did so to receive support from Nazarick, there was also the fact that the "HP" only applied to beings from Yggdrasil, which were materialized data.

 

With no fixed hit points and a potion that could even heal severed limbs of novice players (a simple in-game animation), you naturally had an elixir that could save any human from the brink of death in the New World. This meant the potion would be equally powerful for any creature in the New World, with the exception of giants and enormous creatures for obvious reasons.

 

Additionally, it's worth mentioning that Aspirants and Awakeners, with their Conceptual Bodies made of Aether and soul information, were considerably easier to heal than ordinary humans. With enough mana or maryoku, limbs healed easily. And with this potion? You'd easily save up magical energy to continue the battle.

 

It's great to have a lifeline like this for me and my future loves. Arthur smiled, pleased with the system's gift as he looked at the image of the blood-red potion. Loopholes like the ones these kinds of conceptual objects created were always good when they benefited you.

 

And why didn't Britannia have any HP despite being a game world in itself? Shiragaki Sora had no idea. He could only say that how damage to opponents, players, and NPCs was calculated was a mystery to everyone, even in Xianpai games.

 

This made it difficult to know when you'd kill or defeat the boss you were facing. Regardless, Sora continued to explore his gifts.

 

Show me information about [Random Summon Cards (Low Level)]

 

<[False Servant Random Summon Cards (Low Level)] are system-exclusive items. The Master can use these cards for free to randomly summon almost any character from different story worlds as a sort of Incarnate Servant, as long as their level is below 50, the average among challengers and adventurers.>

 

Summoning beings from other fictional worlds, similar to Heroic Spirits...? That sounds incredible; you don't call yourself a System Master for nothing, do you? Still... Arthur grimaced.

 

Clearly, this didn't seem very useful since Arthur Pendragon von Draco Silva's weakest but capable subordinate was over level 50. However, the possibility of summoning an anime girl or even a damn Pokémon as a servant (I have no idea why he thought of a Pokémon)... That alone made Sora very, very tempted to use it.

 

Still, he resisted the urge, though the temptation to summon a beautiful anime girl or even Pikachu (Why, again?) was too strong... Then, Sora realized something and quickly asked the system. The answer was:

 

A Fake Servant Summon Card, whether random or not, is an item that temporarily summons a character from another story using a large amount of HP as if they were an incarnated servant, complete with their own Noble Phantasms. No magical energy is required to maintain them, and the trade-off is that they will eventually disappear, though it can be prolonged with their maryoku. However, if you manage to get them to form a strong emotional bond with the world as an anchor and introduce them to at least 100 people within the time limit as closure, the world may naturally accept them as a part of it. Of course, it is highly recommended not to reveal or do too much that would demonstrate your foreign origin to the world.

 

Now, with all kinds of characters... Do you mean the ones from old anime, like L from Death Note or the legendary Dominic Toretto from the "Fast and Furious" movie series? No... even the sexy Ada Wong and that Leon S. Kennedy from the Biohazard game series... Would it be possible to have them as my servants too?

 

Yes, host. Furthermore, the loyalty of those summoned is guaranteed, as they'll be given a legitimate reason to be loyal to you without the system wasting power.

 

I don't know what to say except... Great!

 

Sora was excited at the prospect; especially the possibility of having Ada Wong or even Jill Valentine as a Master.

 

Also, imagining Leon S. Kennedy or Chris Redfield as his bodyguards is pretty cool, even if they're technically pretty weak humans by this world's standards, still... How cool would that be?

 

However, it seems that the cheapest Character Cards to use cost a lot of SP, so it's likely that even if he obtained a lot of Character Cards through his actions like before, he wouldn't be able to use them for a while... especially considering how he would have to account for the presence of such characters in the future.

 

Now was the time to test out his new skills. While he already had a pretty good idea of ​​what [Mythic Senses] did, it wouldn't hurt to know all the details. He also needed to master the effects of skills and traits like [Dragon Monarch Domain] and [Fatal Charm].

 

<Dragon Monarch Domain: A trait inherent to Arthur Pendragon von Draco Silva that grants him the ability to create a natural enclosed area around himself that can weaken his enemies and reduce their mental resistances, affecting them with different psychological states depending on the situation, abilities, and parameters. It is also possible to manipulate atmospheric mana with will, though the final effect depends on the natural density

 

In combination with the [Fatal Charm] trait, [Charisma], or both, this trait can also be used to weakly manipulate the minds of certain individuals under mental duress, whether intentional or not. Of course, the effect is greater if the user acts with determination.>

 

The only thing Sora understood about this trait was that it allowed him to create an area that inflicted mental debuffs like confusion and fear on his enemies, in addition to performing some sort of word magic or similar. Beyond that, he didn't really understand why this particular trait interacted with his other abilities to allow something similar to hypnosis.

 

Well, that was something he could find out in the future, or not. Anyway, it was just a minor curiosity, and he quickly put it aside to review the rest of the information he wanted.

 

<Mythic Senses: An ability that grants the user the ability to perceive emotions, presences, and subtle details that mere mortals would be unable to perceive, and can even see fragments of the future. At higher levels, one can read the minds of others and even manipulate them using the Aura. The effect is enhanced with [Dragon Monarch Mastery] and [Charisma] (also with Fatal Charm)>

 

This is weird... going through this feels like I've been given the ability to subtly manipulate others like puppets.

 

<It's just your imagination>

 

The system quickly dismissed their suspicions as soon as they arose, which only made them even more acute. It almost seemed as if they believed Arthur wasn't good enough as a final boss and wanted to grant him powers worthy of a mastermind behind the scenes, or something.

 

However, the following information debunks that idea...

 

<Fatal Charm: A class skill from the Korean novel [Destined to Be Loved by Villains], which grants the user the ability to positively attract (?) people of evil alignment. The more extreme the alignment, the more powerful the effect.

 

Originally, it was an ability that allowed the user to receive gifts from the game system based on the growth of the affected villains, in the form of skills, knowledge, and more. However, the system already takes care of this, so it was removed. Furthermore, due to the conceptual laws of this world, this ability also makes the user very attractive to those with high negative karma. Naturally, the same rule applies: the more extreme the effect, the stronger it will be, and it ignores all defense abilities against charm and mental strength>

 

“….“

 

Sora was speechless at this revelation. So much so, that he stopped petting Franx, causing the adorable Chimera to raise her head as she looked at him in confusion, as if asking, "Why did you stop?" while blinking tenderly.

 

Despite himself, Arthur couldn't help but smile at the adorable sight, which didn't fit with his dangerous identity as deputy chief, and quickly went back to playing with her hair, quietly saying, "It's nothing," to soothe her displeasure. Luckily, Franx was far from expressing anything like that, and she rested her head against his again as if nothing had happened.

 

With that finished, the Mini-Sora inside Arthur took a deep breath and exclaimed loudly in his heart towards the troubled system.

 

"Wait a minute, you computer idiot! Are you telling me you just made me the supreme idol of all the villains in this damn world?" he said, inwardly agitated by this disturbing matter.

 

I had a bad feeling about that trait of his, to the point of cursing the Korean idiot who came up with such a skill for his novel.

 

<The ability isn't limited to women, hostess… It also has an effect on men>

 

What!? Sora's heart sank at those words, but the relentless AI with the creepy girlish voice continued on without a care in the world.

 

For men of normal sexuality, it will simply make him more charismatic and charming in her eyes overall, which works in conjunction with {Charisma} and makes it easier to support or influence her. For gay men, it will have the same attraction effect as it does on women. Incidentally, even if a woman is a lesbian, the Trait's power will ignore it as long as she's a villain, making her completely attractive to him, so he can have fun seducing them at will.

 

No, while I don't like the idea of ​​gay villains falling in love with me, the real problem here is the terrible women who abound in this world for some reason, you know? Like that crazy damn saint!

 

Sora cursed, and a cold sweat began to break out at the implications of such power due to certain deranged female characters he knew. In particular, a certain Student Council President, Germinalia Lian Celesty, whom all the players fearfully referred to as "The Crazy Yandere of the New Century."

 

The student council president of Bomenslik was an evil woman who disguised herself as kind and good, while plotting and manipulating everyone with a wicked smile in the shadows. She was like the Golden Princess of Overlord, who would betray her kingdom to have eternal life and her "beloved" faithful dog without remorse, earning her the title of "Witch of the Fallen Kingdom."

 

You know what's so funny about that comparison? Germinalia is the princess of another nation... To be precise, she's the crown princess of her country, the daughter of a powerful duke consort to the queen, but a princess nonetheless, just like Renner. Furthermore, her people worship her as if she were another saint on earth, which is, obviously, a blatant farce.

 

After all… In Britannia: Lost Order, that woman was able to conspire between two gangs within her Kingdom to cause a terrible incident in the first chapter of the game for her benefit.

 

What was it all about? Simple: Demonic Cults. Although her nation was deeply religious, evil cults existed in her Kingdom that even included nobles, and Germinalia, like the cunning and wicked witch she was, manipulated them to provoke incidents that she would resolve openly to maintain her royal legitimacy and gain the support of the people.

 

…Many of these terrible incidents involved massacres of many innocent people without any remorse.

 

With that, it was clear that she was a crazy princess who would definitely get along well with Witch Renner, since she has almost the same twisted personality and wicked intelligence as the "Golden Princess". In fact, some who were familiar with Overlord might claim that XianPai created the character of Germinalia with the third princess of Re-Estize in mind... if we ignore the fact that the first one was a very sexy adult woman instead of a beautiful young woman.

 

<Master, you will now be involved with crazy women as the sub-main bosses of the game [Britannia: The Academy Fool], what will happen if another crazy woman is added?>

 

This is different, Alice (?)!

 

While it's true that Arthur himself was already entangled with crazy women like Franx's "Mother" and her sisters, even those villains had their moral boundaries that guided and restricted them.

 

Germinalia? Please, that excuse from a person who literally wanted to kill the heroines in the worst possible way just because they dared to breathe the same air as her beloved and adorable Lars (Yes, she also falls in love with that jerk if you follow a certain route... one that's almost mandatory to defeat Arthur!).

 

If the player didn't handle things well on that route, many of them would quickly die in the various death traps Germinalia had prepared for them... She truly was a horrible woman.

 

And here they gave Arthur a trait that could make a woman so evil that she'd fall for him if he didn't handle things right? It was crazy!

 

Given his tendencies and how charming Arthur already was before this, Sora might end up locked in a dark room after falling for one of his elaborate schemes!

 

That was definitely something that could happen. It's no wonder that, in the bad endings, Germinalia locked Lars in a secret room, with no freedom, while forcing him to try a variety of things, from the most exciting to the most terrifying.

 

<I don't know if it's a coincidence, Master, but the protagonist of that novel faced a similar problem from the first chapters of the Novel>

 

No way... Arthur rolled his eyes. The title of the damn novel was literally "Destined to Be Loved by Villains," right? So it was obvious...

 

<Yes, there the first heroine (villain) was a Student Council President of a Sword and Magic Academy like Bomenslik, being a character that could destroy a nation if she got angry, who by chance is also the daughter of a powerful Duchy like Germinalia Lian Celesty... she also planned to keep the protagonist locked in a dark room for five years to have five children>

 

Sora was speechless for a moment, before a Mini-Sora in his heart screamed with all the anger he could feel, but not express, while pointing at his own mental image of the system. "You... you did that on purpose!"

 

<The Master is unfairly accusing this system! The system simply hands out gifts at random!>

 

Yeah, right! It seems pretty weird, right?

 

Sora sneered at the system's just defense before deciding to take swift action due to this ridiculous situation the system had just put him in. He wasn't in a position to make a permanent fix, but what he'd just thought of should work for now.

 

Although the crazy Germinalia is a serious problem, there are other villains we should pay attention to. Especially those who hide their true nature are not as dangerous as those who act too freely in the open. It is not for nothing that it is said that those with malicious plans don't attract much attention on stage, but rather hide discreetly behind the curtains.

 

Dealing with those female villains would be a real problem! I thought so, someone who unconsciously or not ignored male villains of dubious sexuality.

 

"Franx!" She then vehemently called to her little maid, making her jump into her arms. Not wanting to worry, she quickly said what she had to say. "Convey my orders immediately to your sisters. First, I want Eubira to intercept the Ministry of Security's aerial surveillance networks to find out when Arcaden's Arcaronships cross our borders and request permission to enter Imperial airspace, especially if it's near the Bomenslik Academy; second, I need Ainere to find a woman named Mirien Donslater in the capital so she can protect her and her mother from local gangs, not allowing them to touch a hair. Finally..."

 

He hesitated for a second or two, unsure, before making up his mind and saying it firmly.

—Tell Copellia to go to Arcaden, find the Knight who serves the Queen directly, and protect her in secret… I want these orders executed right now.

 

Although the so-called Copellia wasn't considered a Leumiere per se, Sora remembered that it had a device similar to theirs to communicate... he hoped he wasn't wrong at least in that.

 

—Yes! —Although she was surprised and confused by her master's sudden orders, as a chimera and a servant created solely to serve him, Franx didn't question his orders and began to act.

 

The opaque crystals of both "screws" on the sides of his neck lit up in a matter of seconds, releasing a faint wave of energy he recognized as maryoku. Then, the life light in Franx's single visible eye vanished in less than a second; as if he had disconnected from reality, before quickly returning.

 

—I have already transmitted all your orders to my sisters and Copellia, Arthur-sama.

 

So fast!?

 

Sora was slightly puzzled, wondering if Franx was lying to him. However, he quickly dismissed the idea. Not only was Franx created to be extremely loyal to him, as if she were an NPC from Nazarick who worshipped the Supreme Skeleton, but she also had no reason to do that to him.

 

Above all, I'd almost forgotten that mental transmissions were very fast compared to normal speech. And in a world with beings with parameters far superior to the average human? It was no wonder Earth telepaths lagged behind when it came to transmitting information.

 

Anyway, this is the most I can do for now without raising too much suspicion.

 

He sighed internally to himself, as Arthur looked away from the clearly curious maid, casually glancing out the window with a slight frown.

 

For the time being, he focused on giving orders to find out when the attacks planned by that crazy woman from Germinalia might begin, if they ever happened. Although it was something that only happened in [Britannia: Lost Order], the system had confirmed that such events were valid in this world, and it wouldn't hurt to be prepared for it without being caught off guard.

 

I also thought it was important to prevent one of the main villains from the first game from appearing, the very reason for the Protection Order. This particular villain had a good reason to go berserk, and if Arthur could use his power as Archduke to prevent it, it would be better than suddenly ordering his death, or something like that.

 

Not to mention that he didn't think he was ready to give that kind of order.

 

Either way, Sora decided that when he had time to think on his own, he should definitely think about what to do about the other female villains... and maybe the male villains too, since it would be troublesome if they started chasing him around like he was gold with legs or worse, wanted to lock him in a dark room and drill his holes...

 

Arthur shuddered, causing Franx to look at him in concern. Stroking his little head as if to calm his sudden fear, he cursed, "Yeah, I'm not interested in that!"