Chapter 49

A tough-looking middle-aged man, donning militaristic clothing, spoke to himself as he gazed ahead with annoyed eyes―towards Seronia's capital city.

"...I can't believe we were stationed now, of all times. Right when I planned to retire, too. I swear, this was a setup."

Although the pouring rain splashed on the muddy ground around him, he was not wet; a transparent barrier of Wind Magic surrounded him to deflect any water before it touched him.

"Ahaha. In the first place, Sir, I'm afraid that, even if you demanded it, His Imperial Majesty would likely decline your request to retire."

A much younger man who seemed to only be in his mid-20s commented from the side with a bitter laugh. He also wore military attire and was dry thanks to the same magic.

"Yes? Then it appears I have something to say to that little rascal. I am no slave, and I refuse to be treated as such."

"Calling the Emperor such a thing... Sir, you know how it is. The renowned "Elite Commander of the Empire", is simply too valuable of an asset for His Majesty to let rest, and I'm sure His Majesty is aware of your benefit more than anyone else."

"Huh. If I were so important, why not give me some time off for once? Rest is just as important as the work itself, but of course, there is no way a mere child would know about something like that. Still, that amateur... he resembles the previous Emperor, quite closely..."

"..."

"Despite being the son of his father, he knows nothing. Damn him."

"A-Ahaha..."

Glancing first at the sky, and then back at the army of soldiers behind him―hundreds of specialist platoons averaging Advanced-tier of both wizards and swordsmen―the middle-aged man remarked.

"...How dreary."

They, too, were all being kept dry with magic, but their expressions were tense; as if they were waiting for something in great anticipation.

"Hah, this is boring... The opponent's main base of operations is right in front of my eyes, and yet I cannot begin the siege until I receive "the signal", which I haven't even a clue of its characteristics? That woman is having a laugh. We've been preparing years for this moment, but I am being ordered to wait further?"

The identity of the middle-aged man was Gerhardt, the lead Commanding General and Officer of the Empire's army, and the man in charge of all the Empire's military forces. The younger man was his assistant, an Executive Officer, Charles.

The two stood at the front of a legion of infantry, at a distance of about 1km from Seronia's capital.

"That useless prophecy the Princess told of... Why did it not come with more explicit information? This is why that woman and her prophecies are just a pain. Tch.", Gerhardt complained.

"S-Sir, I don't think it's good for you to continuously refer to both His Majesty and Her Highness in such ways... But... Hm. Wasn't it said that the signal would be immediately recognisable once we see it? In that case, we should have nothing to worry about."

"Bah.", Gerhardt waved his hand as if Charles said something ridiculous, "Has there ever been a time where a prophecy or divination has been perfect? The answer is no. Until that time comes, no one who claims to have the power to see the future will have my respect."

"That's wrong though, isn't it, Sir? All of the previously foretold prophecies have been extraordinarily accurate."

"Hah."

Gerhardt laughed before shaking his head.

"How naive. That's what you think, Charles, because that's all you know. There have been dozens of mistold or incorrect prophecies that only the Princess, His Majesty, and I, know of. Because they were inaccurate, the public isn't aware that―"

―Gerhardt abruptly stopped speaking as the men suddenly sensed an unfathomable amount of magic power coming from ahead of them; in the direction of the city.

A few moments later, an enormous eruption-like noise sounded, causing a short-lived but strong breeze to sweep past both them and the many soldiers behind them.

"...Oh, my God..."

Gerhardt exclaimed under his breath, his eyes widening. Charles blurted a few silence-filled moments later.

"......Was that the signal?"

Regaining his senses, Gerhardt wet his lips as if to say "finally". Everyone behind him eagerly awaited his order in a tension-filled silence after experiencing the same thing as their commander, and they could instinctively feel that now was the time.

Raising his voice with a magical voice amplification device, he commanded all the troops behind him that, in total, numbered roughly 10,000―it was the maximum amount of fighters that could easily be mobilised and simultaneously kept hidden from Seronia's eyes.

"Men! We fight! For the Empire!"

All he needed was these few words and the army reflected Gerhardt with voices full of passion and vigour.

"""For the Empire!!!"""

Like that, the soldiers of the Empire stormed the gates of Seronia's capital city.

You have entered the『Greed Dungeon』 Current Dungeon Clear Status:【0%】

The first thing Jae noticed after entering the Dungeon was his surroundings.

"...Unexpectedly pleasant.", he muttered.

In front of him, was nothing but an endlessly stretching prairie; completely different to the dank and dark atmosphere of the previous Sloth Dungeon.

What then entered his mind was the Inner Zone of the Pride Dungeon, despite not even being that similar of an environment―perhaps it was the exceptionally pure and mana-rich air that gave him this nostalgic feeling.

Is this it...?

He felt briefly overcome with a feeling of disappointment. At first glance, the Greed Dungeon truly seemed to consist of nothing but boundless grasslands, however, after turning around, Jae was immediately proved wrong.

"Oh... Nevermind."

What stood―not quite 'proudly'―was a tremendous castle.

The reason it isn't standing proudly... is because it's broken; cracks ran through every visible surface, vines covered a substantial portion of the structure, and the bricks were weathered to the point it seemed as if a war had occurred. No, it's more like the castle was abandoned centuries ago.

Staring at the castle, Jae could easily tell that was where he was supposed to go, but before he went, he thought about Rena and Bailey's decision to stay behind.

They really didn't need to... Why did I agree? Should I go and get them? I can always come back here--No, no, I'm already here, so I might as well get this over with quickly. Besides, they won't have any trouble. The strongest one there is Chris, and he would never lay a hand on a child. His morality wouldn't allow him to stand back and just watch kids be hurt by others, either.

Jae convinced himself again and again that they would be fine.

And, they can't lose to the regular guys, anyway. If I were to give a guess of what would happen, it'd be that Chris would just keep them unharmed but exhausted or unable to fight, and wait for me to return. He definitely isn't the kind of guy to let someone hurt or kill some kids, so, realistically speaking, there's no chance for them to die. In the end, it's just some good training and practical combat experience to help them grow.

Like that, he stopped thinking about it and activated Sloth, blinking to the somehow still-standing entrance of the archaic, overgrown castle.

"......It's just empty."

Walking inside and exploring a bit, Jae found that the castle was quite lacking in content. There were no monsters nor loot to be found.

I don't know what the time difference or ratio is like here, so I shouldn't waste too long. There has to be a boss somewhere. I'll just kill it and return. If I had to guess, it'd be at the top of the castle.

He used both his magic and aura sensing abilities, but the castle really was barren.

Jae ended up reaching the very top of the castle without seeing a single thing of interest. This was very unsettling for him. After all, "greed" is the coveting of things. If there is nothing here, then what happened to it all?

Having such thoughts, Jae entered the final room of the castle.

*creaaaak*

He opened the archaic, wooden double door, and found himself face-to-face with a man. He was an out-of-this-world handsome young man and wore expensive, comfortable clothing.

However, he had lifeless eyes; as if full of sorrow.

"Oh... Why, hello. You are here to collect me, yes?"

The man spoke in a tone that signalled tiredness. Despite that, he still looked unnaturally handsome.

His skin was transparent, making him look exactly like a ghost, but even that wasn't the strangest thing.

Skill「Envy」has failed Skill「Envy」has failed Skill「Envy」has failed

"What...?", Jae muttered under his breath upon seeing the notifications.

It failed? That's never happened before, has it?

"Oh, was that the Imitation Nightmare's ability? It won't work on me as I am now... You see, I'm actually a ghost. I died."

...A ghost? They exist? No, that's not surprising, but why is there a ghost here?

"Who are you?", Jae asked.

"I was the king of this castle.", the ghost replied.

"I think... you would call me "Greed". At least, when I woke up again in this place, that's who I recognised 'myself' as. Although I retained my memories from life, I seem to have lost my sense of self."

"..."

...A human that died and became 'Greed'... How poetic. Or was he Greed before he died? Either way, I guess it makes sense why his Dungeon was in the middle of Seronia's palace, then, if he was a king. It was probably centuries ago, at the very least.

Jae was astonished to see that Greed was a human, but still had questions to ask. Fortunately, he didn't seem hostile, which wasn't to be expected, but Jae was of course still thankful for it.

Still, the first question he asked was something that irritated Jae.

"Why is this place so damn empty? I came here expecting loot since this is the Greed Dungeon, yet it's barren."

"Oh... That's because, of course, this place is abandoned. It's a replica of what my castle would have been like if it still existed. As such, everything of value has already been taken other than what I had taken special care to hide.", Greed replied.

"......I see."

Jae was immeasurably disappointed at the fact that the Dungeon was ransacked before it even existed, but moved on. He didn't even realise that Greed admitted to still having items stored somewhere.

"What was that 'Imitation Nightmare' you were talking about?"

"Ah, it was the name we gave to a terrifying monster that existed back in the days... I subjugated it eventually, but it reaped the lives of many men in return."

"A monster?"

"Indeed. Its main ability was to steal the appearance of a person or beast, and when it did that, it would also replicate its stats and skills."

What the hell? That sounds overpowered... But, doesn't that sound like a Doppelgänger? And Envy's ability is similar, he says? ...Wait. Envy's system power to steal skills... Woah, wait a minute; did Envy used to be that monster he's talking about? So, Envy was a Doppelgänger? It might be a bit of a stretch, but... If it's true, then it's definitely interesting. I guess that's why he was so against acquiring Greed, then...?

"Certainly, it was a dreadful creature that drained tons of my country's resources... But, I eventually vanquished that abominable creature at the cost of my life."

Jae was surprised even more as Greed continued.

"Huh? You killed it yourself? I thought kings refrained from combat."

Well, looking at Seronia's previous king, that notion appears to not be true.

"Also, how old were you? You look young now, but to kill such a powerful monster..."

"Why, of course, I killed it.", he replied as if it were obvious.

"That, as well as my appearance; I suppose it is part of what makes me Greed."

"What do you mean?"

"―My Unique Skill. It allows me to take the Unique Skill of whatever I kill. I fought the Imitation Nightmare because I coveted its power, but it resulted in both our deaths. That's also why I appear young and attractive; because of a skill I once stole from a succubus."

"Ah..."

Greed... Now that's one hell of a skill...

He continued.

"From the knowledge I obtained after regaining my consciousness here, I believe it is similar to the ability of that Gluttony fellow. However, the distinct difference between my skill and Gluttony's, is that I only take Unique Skills, whilst Gluttony takes all types of skills except Unique Skills. Also, the difference between eating and killing, of course."

...I understand now, why Greed was called a candidate for 'strongest sin skill'.

"I see... So, does that mean I'll have the ability you used to have when I clear this Dungeon?"

Being able to steal Unique Skills would be fantastic. Then, I'll be able to steal all kinds of skills. Unique Skills are pretty much all overpowered, too, so it would be a massive boost to my combat potential.

"Uh... No."

"Huh?"

Lamentably, however, Jae's dreams of stealing all the Unique Skills he could were crushed in an instant by Greed's next words.

"Sorry to burst your bubble... Certainly, that was the Unique Skill I had when I was alive, but it is not the power you would be able to use once acquiring Greed as a skill."

"...Well, what is it then?"

That's... a shame, but there's nothing I can do about it if that's not it. I also remember though, that Greed only has one System―an extraordinarily powerful one―so I wonder what it could be...?

"The power I have now... In other words, the System you will acquire after clearing this artificial space of mine... is one of the powers I have stolen."

"...What? Does that mean I only get to use one of the skills you took?"

That kinda sucks, doesn't it? What's with that?

"No, that's not all. Obviously."

But he wasn't done yet. Far from it.

"Not only will you be granted a more advanced version of the skill, but you will be able to acquire multiple as I, the skill, level up. Because I will start at Level 10 after you leave this place, you will have three skills to choose from."

"Three? And they're all enhanced?"

"Yes. One skill for Level 1, a second at Level 5, and a third at Level 10."

"Right..."

"Additionally, you don't have to pick all three immediately if you decide to wait."

"Ohhh... Now that's interesting... I see."

Yeah, three skills are much better than just one. And them being more advanced... I wonder to what extent he means by that. Oh, and...

"By the way, is there anything you can tell me that I should know? Like, information about the skills, Sins, Gods, Virtues, or anything? Even something like hidden items in this Dungeon?"

"Ah, there is an item you can have. There is one left. There were two, but I gave one to a human king a couple hundred or so years ago. I know nothing about things like divine beings, or other sins, or such."

That was the scabbard, huh... Damn, I wanted it. I thought there'd be more stuff here...

Jae thought bitterly about how he already destroyed one of the two items. He was going to stop thinking about it when something occurred to him.

"...Wait... Is that really all they did with this place? That doesn't make sense."

There's no way that the king of a country―especially that guy―would stop at just one item. Especially since this Dungeon should've been here for a long time; they must've done other things with this place, right?

"Hm? Oh.", Greed exclaimed as if he remembered something, then spoke.

"The last time was about a dozen or so years ago? A human king requested to borrow the magic energy of this place, as the quantity of high-quality mana here is so vast. I allowed them to take as much as they want, but it didn't seem to affect the amount here at all. Of course, I demanded a hefty sum of gold in return."

...I guess that's why you're Greed. Even though you don't even have a use for it... But, what was that?

"'Last time'? How many times did they borrow mana? And why?"

"It was for a total of 14 times that a human king has asked to borrow mana from me since I've been here. Each time, it was a different king, except for the previous two times. Indeed, I wondered why they requested it too, so every time, I asked."

"And?"

"Ah, well, it turned out that, from the second king onwards, they had all discovered my old friend, Avosa's, research notes. He was a talented magician, you see. No, honestly, 'talented' would be an understatement. He was called the Great Sage by many."

"What were the research notes about? And what was the first king's request?"

"The first request was just the item. That guy thanked me graciously and claimed he would pass it down to his future descendants."

"I see."

So all of these Seronian Kings were the descendants of the first one to make a request, right?

"And about that Sage...?"

"...Avosa had discovered a method to call upon those from distant worlds. It appears the human kings found those notes and wanted to use them to summon bunches of Otherworlders using this place's mana."

Jae was stupefied at the revelation. His shocked expression was a sight to see, but within, he was seriously contemplating.

...The 'Hero Summoning'... How I was brought into this world, to begin with; it was indirectly caused by Greed and his friend...? Everything just came... and went around in one big circle...

"I wasn't too surprised since I also asked Avosa to summon a few of them back in my heyday. They all had special Unique Skills, you see."

"..."

It took a while to recover from Greed's words, but even when he did, Jae still felt a bit light-headed.

He began to think of even more questions, such as, 'Did that God know about this too?', but, knowing that time was of the essence right now, Jae concluded with a final question.

"...Is there anything else?"

"Other than that the last two requests were made by the same king, and that one of those requests was enough mana to power some kind of high-tier spell meant for war, no."

Though I'm curious about what kind of spell needs so much mana to activate... It's nothing I need to worry about, as they won't be able to easily acquire that much mana after the Dungeon collapses.

"Okay... Then, can I see that other item you mentioned?"

"Please wait a moment."

Greed turned around and opened an aged wooden drawer. It was surprising that he could interact physically with the world, but Jae surmised that it was because this was his Dungeon in the first place.

He retrieved something out of the drawer and brought it to Jae, who gratefully took the item. He was confused upon identifying it.

"...A coin?"

It was a single gold coin. Jae looked at it dumbfoundedly, and Greed replied.

"When your mind is overcome by Greed, use this. It will help you."

"Does it have a special effect or something? I don't feel anything from it..."

"It's one coin with the value of all the money I owned in my life, in addition to all the gold I was given by those kings."

Jae, clearly surprised, raised an eyebrow at the odd statement.

"......It is?"

It just looks like a normal gold coin...

"Yes. I used a Unique Skill I had once acquired to condense my every penny into this one coin."

"But why? Can I even get them out...?"

"Not without the Unique Skill."

"..."

"It was so that I could keep it with me at all times. I am Greed for a reason, after all. I refused to part with a single coin that I didn't have to, so I combined it all into one, allowing me to carry it everywhere with me. My kingdom was founded upon my greed for power and wealth, but that same greed resulted in my demise, in the end."

"Right..."

"Anyway, take it. Because it holds so much value, I believe it will be sufficient as a deterrent for the side-effect of Greed that may overcome you."

"I believe I'll be fine either way thanks to「Steadfast Mind」, but... Alright. I'll keep it on me. Thanks."

"Mm, good.", Greed nodded, "Then, I think that's all? We should finish things up so that you can head back now."

"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing, but how do I kill you? You're a ghost, so..."

"Oh, ghosts are fragile. I know you can't use Holy Magic thanks to your... 'constitution' as a technical Undead, and other types of magic won't have an effect, but using Wrath's power will work. That is an attack which has the potential to damage the spirit."

He didn't expect that answer, so he was taken aback slightly.

"Wrath? I haven't used him in a while... Okay. Then, I just want to ask you one final thing?"

"Go ahead."

Jae spoke after a pause.

"...Why are you... so human? You're Greed, a deadly sin, so I expected you to act... accordingly. But you're not. You seem to be a... relatively normal person. Why is that?"

It was a reasonable question.

After all, every other sin he had met so far have been living up to their names and titles, but Greed was not. Even Aphy was exceptionally prideful, though she seemed to hate being the [Ruler] of it.

"Oh, that..."

After a few seconds of silence, Greed smiled softly; his lifeless eyes curved, and a slight glint could be spotted within them.

"You see... when I woke up once again, after already meeting my end, and with the knowledge jammed into my head that I was this being called 'Greed', and all this other insane stuff... It strangely felt as if my soul was cleansed. I am much... calmer, now. I couldn't explain why, exactly, but... That's just how it is, I suppose."

He mellowed out, huh...

"...Well, thanks for sharing. It's certainly not something you'd expect from a guy called Greed, is it?"

"Pft. Haha! You're a funny guy, huh?"

"Ha."

Jae smiled wryly along with Greed. He stuck his hand out, and activated the Unique Skill「Wrath」for what felt like the first time in ages. It was something that made him briefly recall Wrath's Dungeon that Reius mentioned.

*fwooosh!*

As the flames gushed forth, Greed soon evaporated into gas and dispersed.

You have defeated the boss of the『Greed Dungeon』 Dungeon exit has opened

That was it.

"..."

There was no experience gained, but the boss was beaten, and the Dungeon was cleared. A copy of the Dungeon's entrance portal appeared in the middle of the room.

Taking one last glance at the coin in his hand, Jae placed it in his pocket. He walked towards the exit.

This was the shortest time I've ever been in a Dungeon by far. Well, it was a useful experience nevertheless. I can always ask him questions later when he wakes up in my head.

Somehow, Jae thought that Greed was a guy he wouldn't mind as a voice in his head.

...Anyway.

With a deep breath, he stepped into the portal, and it felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders as he accomplished what he came here for.

You have exited the『Greed Dungeon』 Dungeon Clear Status:【100%】 The designated Dungeon Boss has been defeated,『Greed Dungeon』will now experience collapse The designated Dungeon Boss has been defeated, rewards will be given Reward: Functions of skill「Greed」will be fully unlocked Skill「Greed [Lv.0]」has been acquired and rose to [Lv.MAX] Due to reaching [Lv.MAX] with a【Sin】-grade skill, Level Limit increased by 50 Title「Apostle of Sin」has activated Initiating assimilation with「Greed」

Finding himself back in the ruins of Seronia's royal palace, the Greed Dungeon's entrance disappeared. He skimmed through the notifications that arose.

"Huh... Last time, I fell unconscious for a while, but this time, I'm fine. Was it just because that was Sloth?"

They hadn't ended yet, however.

Assimilation with「Greed」complete Title「Ruler of Greed」has been acquired 「Greed」has activated

This is a royal palace, right? So, shouldn't there be some gold somewhere...?

Suddenly becoming distracted and feeling a craving for money, Jae left the decrepit room that contained the Dungeon portal.

Extracting hidden factors Factor discovered 『Greed's Authority』has been acquired

Reaching the top of the staircase, Jae gazed around at the wreckage of the palace for anything valuable before abruptly realising something.

"...Oh, wait. I have gold on me."

He grabbed the coin out of his pocket, pacifying his, quite literally, greedy desires.

"Hooo, that was close. I didn't know it was gonna be that strong of a stimulus..."

He instinctively shuddered and shook his head.

"Waah... Okay. I'm fine now."

Jae still didn't have a clue as to what the 'factor' or 'authority' means, but it didn't matter right now. Before anything else, he wanted to figure out how Greed worked.

「Greed」has activated Usage of the「Predator」System is authorised

Upon seeing the notification, a menu of options appeared before Jae.

Choose 3 [Upgraded Unique Skills] to integrate:

1.「Perfect Imitation」- Doppelgänger

2.「Angel's Touch」- Seraphim

3.「Equivalent Exchange」- Otherworlder

4.「Demonic Magic Erasure...

5....

―A massive list of skills, along with the Race of the skill's original owner. Reading through it, Jae excitedly fiddled with the coin in his hand.

He killed a Seraphim as a human? Wow. I guess it goes to show just how strong he was; and Envy for killing him too, I guess. And, an Otherworlder? No, well, I guess it shouldn't be that unusual for people from other worlds to exist here. There was the magic that brought us here after all... But, I wonder what that skill,「Equivalent Exchange」, does. It sounds interesting.

When he thought of wanting to know what the skill did, a description of it magically appeared.

「Equivalent Exchange [Upgraded]」- Allows user to sacrifice skills to level up other skills. Exchange rate is based on the difficulty of skill obtainment and the level of skills involved in the exchange.

No mana cost.

Upgrade: Efficiency is always a 1:1 ratio

"Oh...!", Jae exclaimed in fascination as he read the description. He was very impressed by the Upgraded function.

"It's better than I expected! But it probably doesn't work for Unique Skills, right? Maybe..."

All of this greatly enthused him, but first of all, he immediately decided to check the other skills as well.

「Perfect Imitation [Upgraded]」- Allows the user to temporarily take the form of any living creature currently visible.

When transformed, all stats become identical to the target's except Health. All of the target's skills except Active Skills and Unique Skills are also temporarily acquired. Heavy strain is placed on the user if disparity between current Status and target's Status is too wide.

Duration up to 1 hour.

Base cost 30% Total MP, plus 1 MP/s while transformed - increased based on Status gap up to 10 MP/s.

Upgrade: Can be used to imitate any creature the user has seen at least once 「Angel's Touch [Upgraded]」- Allows the user to [Purify] a target when in contact. [Purifying] a target cleanses all negative status conditions and recovers all wounds, diseases and illnesses. If the target is an [Undead] lower level than the user, brings the target's HP down to 1 and applies [Weakened] status condition.

Costs 40% Current HP, 15% Total MP.

Only usable by a [Seraphim].

Upgrade: Can be used regardless of Race 「Demonic Magic Erasure [Upgraded]」- Allows the user to negate any visible magic by sacrificing a [Demon]'s horn. Must be in contact with a [Demon]'s horn to use.

Costs 50% Total MP.

Upgrade: Does not require the sacrifice of a [Demon]'s horn

The list went on for a while. Like a huge catalogue, various Unique Skills skills popped up like「Evil Eye of Transportation」,「Spirit's Magical Blessing」, and even「Succubus Ultimate Temptation」... Eventually, Jae had reached the end.

"...Yeah, in theory, that should work, right...? I don't see why it wouldn't..."

He chose only one skill to integrate to start with and would decide again at a later date for the second and third skills, as there was no need to rush this important choice right now.

And, at that time, he heard voices calling for him in the distance.

"Maaasterrrr...!"

"Daddyyyy...!"

"Hm? Oh, you two are here..."

A happy smile rose on his lips as he waited for them. Once they arrived, panting with heavy breaths and sweating profusely, he spoke. They appeared fine, though Rena's condition was particularly fatigued.

"Seems like you're alright. How was the fight? A good experience, right?"

""Yes!"", they said energetically.

"Oh, Rena, are you okay? You seem ill..."

Was it the rain?

"Yes...? No, I'm fine... My mana is just very low."

"O-Oh, yeah. Rena used the Unique Skill which took a lot of her mana capacity. I think she's also exhausted physically, which is why I helped her on the way here.", Bailey added.

"I see..."

When he saw the tone of her skin, which was paler than normal, he promptly healed her as best he could with magic and allowed her to recover her MP. Unfortunately, he had run out of potions that could restore stamina or mana in his Inventory. Then, Bailey asked something.

"Um, Master, did you finish...?"

"Yeah.", Jae nodded, "You'll love the results."

He was quite content right now, and, if he were honest, there was probably not much that could ruin his current, exceptional mood. He was very much impatient to test out the new power he acquired.

"By the way, Bailey, the stronger guys didn't fight you two, did they?"

"No. They just stayed back and watched."

"Ah, good. That means I can use them as a test dummy."

Then again, with the power I have attained, I think it could easily take on even that crazy Angel of Diligence... Well, I'll still make sure to limit test first.

After that, the three of them headed back to the Nobles' District.

Along the way, they met no one; probably because everyone fled at the sight of the palace's extreme demolition. However, as expected, the students were still in the same plaza as before, trying to recover and figure out what was going on.

Jae abruptly called out to the students.

"―Hey, you bastards. You're still loitering around here?"

Everyone's heads snapped to look at him, who returned in frighteningly high spirits.

"...J-Jae..."

Chris was the first to open his mouth with a stutter. Jae looked at him.

"Hm?"

"...What... What happened...? What did you do up there...?"

"Oh. Well..."

He smirked.

"I've done some renovations. While I was at it, I replaced some staff."

"Huh...?"

Chris didn't seem to understand what his words implied, and Jae's next lines only confused him further.

"Well, you know. There's a lot more fresh air in the palace now. I also felt it was a bit too cramped, so I opened some new windows. Or, one, really big window..."

Horrified, Chris' eyes widened as he realised exactly what had gone on. Still, it took a while for him to mentally process it.

"......N-N-No, w-wait a second... Aren't you saying that the palace has been ravaged...? That explosion... is it what I think it is...?"

"...Father... no..."

Eleanor, who was next to him, then collapsed helplessly on the floor as she muttered denials. Her legs were in much better shape than before, but she still couldn't stand by herself, which is why she fell.

She also understood what Jae's words meant, and what the eruption of magic power really was.

"No... NO...!! Father! ...E-Evil... Y-You son of a bitch! You killed him! You killed Father, didn't you!? No...! No... It can't be...!"

She pointed at Jae, screaming, and then cried out, distraught. Sobbing, tears streamed down her cheeks, and it was soon the only thing that could be heard in the entire plaza.

Chris, on the other hand, simply seemed shocked to his very core, as if he just refused to believe what happened. He opened his mouth again after a short while.

"...Jae."

He spoke in an unusually low voice that even gave shivers to his own classmates.

"Did you... really kill someone? Tell me it's not true..."

No one had seen him like this before, and so everyone was freaked out by his cold, shaky tone of voice. Except for Jae, that is.

"What, the King? No, sorry; previous king, hah. Yeah, well, it's not like it's the first time. He was an obstinate bastard, right up until his final moments. He deserved what he got."

"You really... have gone too far this time... As the Hero protecting this country and its people, I must stop you."

"Wait!"

Suddenly, Yamato desperately shouted out to Chris.

"Chris, wait! Look at him; he's not worried at all! You'll lose! We need to work together!"

"Mmhm. Why don't you listen to that guy?", Jae said with an amused smile.

―However, they only went ignored.

"「Limit Break」."

At Chris's words, his magic power intensified, and glowing red veins surfaced across his entire body.

"Ooh... Haven't seen that in a while. It's truly the same thing as those monsters, huh... Doubled stats, right? I remember. Let's see, your average is now about... Nine thousand? Funny how you think that will make a difference, though."

Jae, who was still smiling at this point, laughed mockingly at Chris' Soul State.

Before he activated「Limit Break」, his stats averaged around four to five thousand, which was certainly impressive compared to anyone else here, but for Jae's standards, it was far too weak.

Looks like I was wary of him for nothing... Wow, this guy is a pain in more than one way, huh. Guess I'll just try out Greed--

*tuk!*

―Suddenly, an arrow whizzed by and landed on the ground between Jae and Chris.

"Hm...?"

They turned to see where it came from, and...

...An army? From the design of their armour and the crest they present, those aren't Seronian knights, so who...? Oh, is it a foreign invasion?

Jae certainly didn't expect this to happen. He sensed at least a few thousand troops rapidly approaching their location.

"W-What...? Those guys are... Imperial soldiers!? What are they doing here...?!"

At Chris' startled exclamation, the students around him murmured amongst each other.

"The Empire?!"

"No way..."

"We're suddenly being attacked by the Empire now?!"

In stark contrast to the students, Jae was abnormally calm at the sight of an invasion. Even if it wasn't his country that was being invaded; ordinarily, he should at least be a bit worried...

"...No, it's not a problem, exactly...", he indifferently said, but no one heard him amid the frenzied panic.

As the Empire's soldiers marched through the streets of the city, they set everything ablaze―Within a matter of minutes, Seronia's capital city had turned bright orange under the frigidity of the cold and bleak, grey sky.

......As good a time as I'll get, I suppose.

Gazing at this rather remarkable sight, Jae thought that it was a perfect time to experiment with the first Unique Skill he decided to integrate.

Licking his lips, he muttered.

"Let's see how well it works, then, shall we?"

「Greed」has activated

The first skill he integrated was the upgraded version of Envy's old skill from when he was a Doppelgänger.

Option 1 -「Perfect Imitation [Upgraded]」has activated

Thanks to the [Upgrade], he could choose from any creature within his memory, so there were quite a lot of options, to say the least.

However, Jae didn't even need to think twice about it―as soon as the notification appeared, he immediately pictured the creature in his head that he wanted to transform into.

It was something he was very familiar with, so it wasn't hard at all.

Imitation target confirmed

The instant his target was confirmed, Jae's magic energy began to well up inside him―No, it explosively increased to a point unimaginable by ordinary human's; the surrounding atmosphere itself trembled due to the enormous pressure of the deep, rich mana in the air. Not to mention the ground that quaked violently and split apart in numerous places.

Everyone could feel the effects with both their bodies and minds, and it was as if the planet's gravity was suddenly multiplying in the encompassing area, but no one knew why. They all frantically tried to flee from such a scene. Jae urgently warned Rena and Bailey to run away too, to which they obediently listened.

With this ambience, it wouldn't even feel strange for a God to appear in this moment, people thought as they fled.

Disparity in Status is too wide, strain will be placed on user

*cough-*

*splatter*

All of a sudden, Jae coughed up blood.

He could feel magic energy being compacted and squeezed into every square inch of his body, and even the blood itself appeared to be densely full of magic power. He wouldn't be surprised if he were to burst like a balloon this instant, as the pain and discomfort were that profound.

Strain, huh... I see. Well, even though it's fucking painful, it's a cheap price to pay for the power you get in return.

Jae grinned like an insane person as if he couldn't wait any longer.

Pride's voice was abruptly heard, and once the string of notifications came to an end...

[O-Oi, you couldn't be serious with this...]

Imitating target「Aphyllanthes」 Time Remaining - 1h : 00m : 00s

――The [Ruler of Dragons and Pride] descended upon the earth.