Chapter 9: Danger
Translator:_Leo_
Editor:DarkGem, VirtualFrappe
Angele walked towards the deep forest while holding his bow. He was already quite familiar with the area after hunting for half a month. He once met a white-scaled boar in the deeper area, but he dealt with it easily, so he wasn't too worried about going deeper.
'Strange target detected. Proceed with caution.' Blue-colored information appeared in front of Angele's eyes.
'Something new appeared?' Angele was excited, and he grabbed a white-feathered arrow. He nocked the arrow on his bow, and aimed it slowly towards the blue point marked by Zero.
He firmly applied force by pulling the bowstring along with the arrow backwards, with the black arrowhead reflecting the sunlight. Angele completely drew the bow and released the bowstring.
BAM!
The arrow flew into the air like a white flash.
DANG!
Angele suddenly had an extremely bizarre feeling in his mind. He sensed danger creeping up on him, and he felt fear. He felt as if the arrow was going to fly back and strike him right in the face.
Suddenly, some data was sent to his brain by Zero, but he had no time to check. Angele rolled towards the left side with his full strength, and he hid behind a tree.
BOOM!
It sounded like something exploded inside the woods. The tree was still shaking after the collision, and Angele could see tree leaves falling down like it was raining.
"What?" A deep voice came from the other side, and it sounded like the man was surprised that Angele didn't get struck.
Angele was still in shock, and his face turned pale. He was still behind the tree, and he was breathing heavily. His forehead was soaked in cold sweat.
If he didn't roll towards the back of the tree, his head would've probably been smashed right now if he was even just one second late. The chip saved his life at this instance where Angele was so close to death.
'Shit, what should I do?' Angele could not think of anything.
'I don't want to die again… I can't just die again like this!' Angele thought.
Angele was still panicking, and his face turned paler.
Angele was just a normal young man before reincarnating into this world, and he was living in a peaceful place on Earth. He would even consider hunting as a dangerous activity back then, and now he was in a much worse situation.
'Run! Yea! Run back! I will be safe after reaching the castle!' Angele suddenly realized the situation. He did not hear any noise after the explosion, and he felt a bit worried.
The desire to return back to the castle pushed him to start moving again. He lowered his body and slowly moved towards the direction he came from. Suddenly, the chip alerted him again.
'Right side! Leg!' Angele knew where the attack would be coming from, and he rolled towards the front quickly. His head hit something on the ground during the process, but there was no time for him to think. He stood up and swiftly ran towards the route he came from.
BANG!
Angele heard the sound of something hitting the ground he was at.
"Damn!" The man was cursing at the other side. "Second fucking time!"
Angele ran like crazy, and the trees on both sides seemed like were flying. He knew the place pretty well through all the hunting he had done. Even though the forest's route was pretty complex, Angele was not slowing down at all.
However, he had this chilly feeling from his behind. He quickly rolled towards the front again, and he could still feel the chill from his back. Angele decided to hide behind a tree again but the chill just would not go away.
He was getting panicked again. He bit his teeth hard, and he kept rolling around. Angele's body was getting hurt by the rocks and branches on the ground, but he did not care. He just could not escape the chilly feeling on his back.
'Turn back and block.' Zero reported.
However, Angele was too scared to turn back. He ran around like crazy. He was still about 100 meters away from the cavalry's training grounds because he had gone too deep into the forest. The 100-meter distance felt like a thousand to him.
'Turn back and block.' Zero kept reporting.
HUE!
Angele rolled again.
He could hear the sounds of a metal chain from behind. The chain had the thickness of a human arm. It went around the tree in front of Angele and wrapped around it. The chain blocked Angele's escape route.
"Keep running, you little rat!" The man's voice came from back. "Fuck, what is going on today?!" He seemed enraged.
Angele wanted to start running again, but he decided to roll towards the right. The chain flew right beside him again, and was pinned on the tree in the front.
'I... I can't run anymore…' Angele felt hopeless. He was unable move due to the chill that kept him from thinking clearly.
'I am going to die again?' He slowly stood up and turned around.
A man in the black showed up from the bushes. The middle-aged man was covered in black, and he wore a black mask. His eyebrows were blonde, and he was holding the two chains in his hands.
"Your end is coming." The man released one of his chains, and a black flash flew out of his hand. Its speed was way faster than the previous attacks. Angele could hear the sound it made.
Angele stood at his current position, and he could imagine how painful it was going to be.
"I don't want to die…" He was talking to himself.
Angele kept repeating those words, and the voice of his own self echoed continuously within his mind. The chain was getting closer and closer. It became a black point from Angele's view.
'Lower your body and draw your sword, block it beside your head.' Zero reported again.
Angele's desire to stay alive made him act. He drew the sword quickly, and he tried to block the oncoming chain.
DANG!
The force of the chain was way too strong, and Angele could feel it from his sword. His face turned red, and he spat some blood out of his mouth.
The shock from the hit woke him up. If he had no way to run anymore, he would have to fight to survive! Angele focused on the enemy, and his heart kept on beating rapidly.
"You are lucky, young man!" The man in black said, and he waved his hand. Two chains were somehow released from the tree, and it started to return to his hands.
The man stared at Angele for a second, and he disappeared in the bush. Angele did not move until he could not see the man anymore. He knew that if the man did not leave, he would've been a corpse by now. Even with the help of the chip, he could not keep up with the chain's speed. Angele had never fought a true battle before, and his current opponent seemed to be a veteran fighter. If he did not follow the chip's report, he would've already died even before the chase began.
After resting for a while, he found a black card on the ground and picked it up. The card had a black background color and a bloody red spider symbol in the middle; it was kind of shiny.
******************
Dice's arm was hurt before the fight ensued.
He was trying to get the young man; unfortunately, he was injured by the arrow. He did not expect an arrow to be coming. Though he blocked it in time, but his right arm still got affected. For some reason, he was losing strength, and he felt awful after being struck.
"Damn!" Dice touched his forehead and noticed that he had a fever. "The arrow actually had poison on it! That little fucking bitch! He dipped the arrow with venom! How sinister he is!" He kept cursing, and then he took out a yellow tiny paper bag. He opened it and ate the white powder inside it.
"Almost lost my life here… Thank god, it was just the venom of a red single-eyed snake, and I prepared for it." Dice said, but he still felt sick. The arduous actions he did after being struck made the venom travel faster through his body. It might take hours for the medicine to work.
"Next time I will get you first!" Dice yelled. "A black card is not enough, you almost made my mission fail!"
He stepped on a branch, and he fell to the ground. A sharp stone injured his head, and he started to bleed.
"What the…!" Dice was so mad. "Fucking piece of shit!"
He was completely enraged.
*******************
In the washroom.
Angele closed the door and sank himself into the bathtub. The warm water surrounded him, and he felt rested. He did not realize how dangerous this world was until today.
He had basic sword skills and the assistance of the chip. He even increased his stamina, and he had believed he was very close to a post-knight. However, having the skills was very different from knowing how to fight against them.
He poured water over his face, and he thought of the black card the man left.
"The card means he will come back for me?" He talked to himself; he knew something similar from Earth. He became nervous from just thinking about it. The unknown had always brought fear and mystery. He wanted to know what the card actually meant.
He got out of the bathtub and used a towel to wipe himself dry. He changed his clothes right after.
"Young Master, do you still need hot water?" Maggie's voice came from outside the door.
"I am fine." Angele wiped his hair, and he opened the door.
He went out of the living quarters right after finishing the shower.
It was night.
There were still children on the training grounds practicing. The wind blew across Angele's body, and he felt very comfortable. He went across the training grounds and then to the main building. The baron's book collection was there inside a special library.
Besides the baron, Audis, and Wade, only Angele had the key to the special library, therefore showing how important he was. In this world, books represented knowledge, and books were objects of extravagance and wealth. Only nobles were allowed to read books. A single book costs about forty gold coins. Though people were willing to buy books, people rarely sell them.
There were two guards guarding the main building. They saluted to Angele after seeing him coming.
"Young Master Angele." They greeted.
"Is father here?" Angele nodded, and he asked.
"The baron is not back yet, but Knight Audis just left with Kerry." They answered. Kerry was the son of Knight Audis. There was also an arena in the main building, and the two trained in the arena regularly.
"Alright." Angele walked into the main hall.
Besides the elders, there were only two types of people in the castle: those who wanted something from Angele and those who did not. Kerry was the second type. He had the talent of a knight, and he was just acting respectful to Angele. Kerry was actually looking down on him, and he kind of represented the opinion of other post-knights in the castle.
Chapter 10: Furious (Part 1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
It did not take too long for Angele to reach the special library on the third floor. He took out the key and unlocked the door. The room had no light at all, and it was very dark. Angele closed the door carefully, and he locked it. He lit the candle on the table, then finally seeing the room clearly.
There were three bookshelves in the room, but they were not completely filled up with books. The books were made out of leather; they looked heavy, and were very thick. Angele walked to the back of the third bookshelf. According to his memory, there was a strange book at the back of the bookshelf that was full of bizarre information, and he sometimes read it to kill time.
He also took out someone's biography, and he walked to a reading desk. He started to read carefully. After a while, the candle was nearly out. He finally found a page with an image of the black card he had obtained. He took out his card and compared them carefully, and they were completely similar.
"That's it!" Angele said, and he started checking the words at the side of the image.
Dark Emblem, an assassin organization across several countries. Their targets would receive black cards before the assassins would actually kill them. There was only one sentence by its side, but it was enough for Angele to understand what was going on.
"That guy will be coming for me." Angele said, and he started to worry again.
'Fear won't help me anyway. I need to find a way to deal with him.' He calmed down quickly this time and thought clearly. He thought over his day when he was in the bathroom, and he could calm down much faster now.
'I've died once. It's fine if I die again.' He laughed.
'Zero, did you get the data of the man that attacked me?' He asked Zero in his mind.
'Data collected and marked as Dataset 1. Name Unknown: Strength 4, Agility 1.5, Stamina 5. Weapon category: chain hook, longsword, knife.' Zero reported.
'Holy, how did I survive that…' Angele thought.
'He was poisoned before engaging.' Zero reported.
'Poisoned?' Angele was trying to remember what happened before the chase. He shot an arrow, and it probably hit the man. He started dipping his arrowheads with the venom sacs he had found from red single-eyed snakes, and he could easily track down the preys if they were hit. He would burn the wounds to remove the poison if he wanted to eat them.
Angele started to scan through the biography quickly and used the chip to store all the information. He could search the data easily after, and it was like he only needed one second to scan all the words on the pages.
Besides the information about the black card, Angele also had something else he wanted to know. There was a record of a certain small flower. The author stated that there was a flower could make people become very strong within a duration. However, the aftermath was brutal as the people who ate the flower to fight their enemies all died afterwards. It looked like they died due to sudden heart attacks.
Angele stored the picture of the flower into his chip, and the flower had a fire-like red color. He went through the two books again before putting them back. He heard the footsteps of someone before he tried putting out the candle.
The door opened with a 'Ka Cha' sound, and the baron walked in with a serious face. He did not expect someone to be in the library, and he looked at Angele.
"Angele, still reading?" The baron asked.
"Yes, father." Angele saluted, and he spoke with a light voice. "I am heading back." He said.
"Alright." The baron was not in the mood to talk. His hair was all over his shoulders, and he looked very tired.
Angele did not know what to say, and he decided to just leave instead.
"Wait." The baron asked before Angele could go down the stairs. "I will send you to the Noman city, your aunt's place. I am pretty busy recently, and I probably won't have time for you. You can have a good rest there. What do you think?" He asked.
Angele turned back; it was actually a charming offer. He might escape the assassin if that man came for him.
"What's this smell? Some fragrance from women? Angele, you need to control yourself, don't spend too much time on it." Before Angele could answer, the baron stopped him and said that.
"I…" Angele was trying to explain.
"Well, never mind. Go have some rest." The baron stopped him.
Angele did not say anything; he left the room after seeing the baron waving his hands. Angele could hear his own footsteps in the darkness.
Angele walked down the stairs; he could see light coming out of the special library. He was a bit confused.
'Check my body condition.' Angele said.
'Angele Rio. Body condition: Strength 0.8, Agility 2.4, Stamina 1.6. Status: Healthy, but with a special fragrance.' Zero reported.
'Special fragrance?' Angele was surprised. 'When did I get it, and where did it come from?' He asked.
'You got it before leaving the forest, and the smell comes from your right feet.' Zero reported, and it showed Angele the graph of his body. Angele could see some blue circles around his right feet.
Angele confirmed his guess; the man in black left it on him. It was probably used for tracking. He ran into the bathroom again and asked the maid to bring him a bucket of water. He put his right feet into the bucket and started to wash thoroughly.
'Is it still on my feet?' Angele asked after washing for a while.
'The concentration was not lowered.' Chip replied.
'I knew it would not be gone that easy.' He thought; the fragrance was probably made for tracking.
'He really wants me dead…' He thought.
"Let's see who is going to survive next time…" Angele whispered, and his face became solemn.
******************
It was the next morning, and Angele woke up before it got bright outside. He changed his clothes to a white hunting suit and walked down to the training grounds. Some people were already training there.
Dang!
A half-naked strong old man was hitting the forge with a large black iron hammer. There was a teenager standing by his side listening to the words of the old man, and they noticed Angele's appearance right away. The old man put down his hammer, and he walked towards Angele.
"How may I help you, Young Master Angele?" The old man's voice was deep.
Angele looked around the shop.
"I want a good complete set of body armor." He said.
"Good complete set of body armor?" The old man was a bit speechless. "I have that, but it probably won't fit you very well…"
"It won't fit my size?" Angele was confused.
"The lightest set has a weight of over forty pounds." The old man said.
Angele understood the reason. Based on his current strength level, forty pounds was probably too much for him, and his agility would then be greatly impacted. It was not a great idea for him to wear such a heavy armor.
"Well, can I just get some iron balls then? The ones that can pull the carriages?" Angele asked.
"We have a whole bunch of that here." The old man pointed towards the corner of the shop.
���You can take as many as you want since they are made out of leftover iron. They're perfect for parking the carriages." The old man said.
Angele nodded, and he looked at the corner. There were a lot of round black iron balls there, about twenty or thirty of those. They were about the size of a hand, and it seemed burdensome to carry. They were forged to help store the iron in an easier way, and they could be used in many situations.
Angele thought of telling the baron about the fragrance on him, but he wanted to decide his own destiny. Also, he saw the baron had the same black card as he did, and he thought it was totally his fault.
'If I can't take care of myself in this world, I won't live long. I can't just rely on others all the time; I have to do this myself.' Angele thought calmly. Since the baron had the card too, he was probably one of Dark Emblem's targets too. Also, the baron was not stronger than the man in black he met; the baron's data was even a bit lower. The baron looked apprehensive last night, and Angele did not want to make things more complex. Angele had advantages on agility, and he could probably try to retaliate with it. Last time, he wasn't prepared, and he was trying to figure out a plan this time.
Angele asked several workers to carry the iron balls for him, and he took about ten of those balls. He also asked the maids to bind the balls with linen ropes and hang them over the beam inside his room.
He spent a long time to do everything, and it was already dinner time when he realized it. The red sunlight came through the window and poured onto the ground. There were about ten iron balls over Angele's head right now. They looked like a bunch of cannonballs, and they were hung in a certain arrangement.
Angele stood in the middle of his room, and he examined those iron balls calmly. He took a deep breath, and he locked the door.
"Let's get started." He said, and he walked toward the first iron ball at the other end. He pushed the ball, and the ball started to swing. The iron ball matrix. This was exactly what he wanted. It was a game he played when he was on Earth, and he was pretty good at it. He could stay in the matrix for over an hour.
However, he played it with the AI on Earth, and now he was trying to use it physically. It was not easy, but the chip's report said it would help him with his body's development.
PONG!
An iron ball hit Angele's chest when it swung back, and Angele lost his balance right away. The other balls started to hit him following the first one. He was simply knocked away from his original position.
'How long do I need to recover?' Angele checked with Zero after the fifth time he was struck by a bunch of iron balls.
'20 minutes.' Zero answered.
Angele nodded, and he walked out of the door. He ran to the training grounds quickly; it was already a bit dark outside. Kerry and his father Audis were sparring against each other on the grounds. Both of them were using crossguard swords. Kerry seemed to be trying his best, and there was sweat all over him. Audis was very calm, blocking Kerry's attacks easily.
There were many people watching the sparring, and people were all cheering for them. The place was boisterous.
Angele stood at a place slightly far away from the audience. He watched them spar carefully. Audis sometimes picked people to train with him in order to give them battle experience. Angele watched all of them, and he collected the opponents' datasets. After half a month, he got the data of every strong fighter in the castle.
'Are we done, Zero?' Angele asked.
'Data completed: 70%. Audis, Karl Rio, and Kerry's sword skill data are complete.' Zero reported.
Angele stopped watching, and he walked towards the dining area. He already gathered what he needed. Most of the workers in the dining area were out at the training grounds, cheering. There were only several maids cleaning there. One of them saw Angele coming, and she walked towards him.
"Young Master Angele, the things you've ordered are here. But I am not sure if I got them all, I did not have enough time." The maid said, and she looked a bit nervous.
"Where is it?" Angele asked the others to leave.
"In the kitchen." The maid answered.
They walked into the kitchen quickly. Many fruits, vegetables, and meat were placed on a large table in the middle of the kitchen.
"This was all I could find." The maid said.
"Alright, you can leave now." Angele said, and he walked towards the large table quickly. He wanted to sample all the food in this world, because he was trying to find something else that could boost his attributes. He then asked a maid to try collecting all the food she could find in the castle.
He gave two silver coins to the maid, and she seemed ecstatic about it. She bowed and left the kitchen after closing the door. There was a candlestand in the kitchen, and the place was a bit dark even with the light from the candle.
Angele grabbed a purple fruit on the table. It looked like a purple orange, and he took a bite on it. The taste of its juice was a bit spicy and sweet.
'Analyze the fruits. Let me know if you can find anything that will boost my stamina.' He ordered.
'Analyzing contents…' Zero started to work.
Chapter 11: Furious (Part 2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Purple fruits, red veggies, blue-colored meat, and several nuts of different types; Angele had eaten a whole bunch of those. He stood in the kitchen waiting for Zero's analysis.
'No enhancement effect detected.' Zero kept repeating those words.
After half an hour, Angele finally found some usable veggies.
'Good for strength enhancement. Possible negative effect: Diarrhea. Please name the data.' Zero reported. Angele was not sure if he should be happy about the result. He finally found a helpful veggie, but it would give him diarrhea.
'Name it as Blue Bamboo Shoot.' Angele said while looking at the veggie.
It looked really like the normal bamboo shoots on earth, but it was blue. It had a soft, but crunchy taste, and Angele could smell some flower-like aroma from it.
'Naming finished, Blue Bamboo Shoots. Consume three times a day; a total of 30 times will increase your strength by about 2 points.' Zero reported. Angele looked at the blue-colored data, and a graph of the bamboo shoots was shown. It also indicated the head part of the bamboo shoot contained most of the essence, which could increase his strength.
"Bamboo shoots' heads…?' Angele grabbed one of the bamboo shoots and took a bite on its head. It tasted slightly bitter at first, but turned slightly sweet after. This vegetable was used as a digestive support by the locals, but no one knew that it could increase people's strength. However, Angele had to eat it more than 30 times and no less than 150 grams every time.
'Alright, analyze the data of the sword skills gathered recently. Combine them all and find the most suitable set for me.' Angele ordered. The chip worked best when Angele gave proper orders.
'I hope the chip could multitask… It could save me a whole lot of time.' Angele thought while eating the bamboo shoots. After finishing 150 grams of the bamboo shoots, Angele still wanted to try some other food. However, he found nothing useful after that.
He left the dining area, and he returned to his bedroom; Angele started to train with the iron balls again. Maggie and Celia were trying to converse with him recently, but he tried his best to avoid them. He absolutely had no time for them. He followed his plan for the next several days.
PONG!
Angele blocked an iron ball with his right palm. It was early in the morning, and the light outside the window were all over him. He was alone in the bedroom with the door locked.
'Is the sword skill set finished?' Angele asked while breathing heavily.
'It was finished three hours ago, please name the set.' Zero reported.
'Basic sword skill set.' Angele randomly named it.
'Name saved. Would you like a visual demonstration?' Zero asked.
'Yea.' Angele said.
Zero inputted the images into Angele's brain. Angele started to see simulations within his mind, and there was a guy standing there. He looked similar to Angele, and he used the sword to make a front slash. He then attacked the front side and followed up with a left slash, right pointing slash, and a low slash. He was attacking the same point, and the whole process only took two seconds to finish.
The speed was very fast, and Angele felt like he was seeing an illusion attacking the same point with four slashes. Right after that, the man demonstrated blocking techniques, advancing techniques, full power strikes, parrying skills, and evasive maneuvers along with many other basic sword skills. Everything was fast and simple, and it looked very smooth.
After the simulation was finished, Angele was able to see his bedroom again, and he started to contemplate about the whole skill set.
'This would probably be the best set I could use at the moment, and the chip made sure I could perform all those.' Angele thought, and he grabbed the crossguard sword by the desk. There was an insignia of the Rio Family on the handguard of the sword. It looked like an eagle trying to fly out of the thorns, and the body of the sword had a silver color. It looked very shiny.
Angele drew the sword carefully, and he started practicing. Suddenly, Angele heard the sound of horses stomping the ground outside. He opened the window immediately. At the main way out, the baron was riding on a white horse. He wore a complete silver-colored armor set, and there was a huge black sword being carried on his back. The blade had a width of a human's head. There were ten cavalrymen behind the baron.
They left the castle as a squad quickly. Angele looked at them until he couldn't see them anymore.
"Maggie!" Angele yelled after closing the window.
The maid knocked on the door quickly, and Angele opened the door.
"What happened, Young Master?" The maid was still wiping her hands; it seemed like she was washing something.
"Where is my father headed to?" Angele asked.
"There was some trouble over the silver mine, and the baron was going to check it out." The maid answered.
"Okay." Angele nodded. "You may continue with your own thing now. Oh wait, how is Cecilia doing?" He asked.
"I asked her to keep your bedroom clean." The maid replied politely.
"Okay." Angele said.
"Young Master, Knight Audis has returned to his territory this morning, and Wade has been recruiting new maids recently. Several thieves were sentenced to death not so long ago; it could get noisy in the castle after, so he asked me to inform you about it." Maggie said.
"Understood." Angele nodded, and he closed the door. It was November, and it was usually the time to recruit and calculate taxes. November was the busiest month of the year.
Angele checked his body condition after closing the door. His strength had gone from 0.8 to 1.4, and it seemed the Blue Bamboo Shoots were working distinctly well.
'It's about time. I need three or four more days to finish my preparation.' Angele thought. "There is only one last thing to do." He looked at the iron balls and said.
******************
In the forest outside the castle, Dice was standing on a branch and gazing at the castle.
"Ha, Angele Rio, I am going get you first before the mission. You played me like a fiddle last time, where can you hide now?" He said. Dice found out who the young man was when he got back. He could not believe that he did not get the playboy, and his pride could not allow that.
He was well-prepared before heading to the castle again and thought his plan was perfect. Dice saw the baron left the castle, so he decided to kill Angele first and get the baron on his way back. He crouched on the branch, and he waited patiently for the entrance to be opened.
Suddenly, the door was lowered. A young man came out of the castle with two guards, and they were walking towards the forest. Dice got angry after he saw the young man's pale face.
"That's him! This little punk! Great…" Dice laughed, and he left the branch. He disappeared into the forest.
******************
Angele had his sword on his belt and his longbow on his back. There was also a black ring that he was using to protect his finger.
Angele walked towards the forest alone, and the guards were sent back by him after a long conversation. They were already used Angele's habits, so they did not think it would be dangerous to leave him alone in the forest.
But this time, Angele had something important to do, and he could not let them know. He walked across the training grounds and entered the forest.
'Unknown suspect in front, prepare to defend.' Zero reported right away.
Angele felt a chill similar to last time again, and he rolled towards the front without thinking. A silver knife flew towards his original position right after; he would've died already if he did not roll forward.
'That's him!' The situation reminded Angele about what happened last time. He felt infuriated because he had no way to fight back that time.
'Let me know where he is.' Angele asked. He stood up quickly and hid behind a tree. He took out an arrow from the quiver as planned. He also dipped poison on the arrowhead and shot it right towards the enemy.
'It isn't snake venom this time…' Angele was completely focused, trying to hear any movement.
"Die!" He said. He fired an arrow again, and he once again hid behind the tree afterwards.
The arrow looked like a white flash, and it was fired into a cluster of high grass. Angele could hear the sound of blocking. He was getting excited as he knew his life was in danger.
Angele heard the sound of the metal chain. He did not hesitate and fired another arrow, and he then ran out of the brush. He was running in an "S" like route to avoid potential attacks.
Angele could hear swift footsteps from behind; the opponent was chasing him. He kept firing arrows and rolling around. He found a downhill slope, and he rolled down to the ground. Angele drew his sword right after; he had no time to take care of the mud on his face.
'I am still not good enough, but at least I can try retaliating now.' Angele thought while holding his sword with both hands. The blade was also dipped with poison.
He could hear the footsteps from above getting closer. Angele took a deep breath, and he gathered all his strength. He glared towards uphill like a snake.
Chapter 12: The Fight (Part 1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
The footsteps were getting closer. Angele was gripping the sword tighter and tighter, and he was trying to hide his body out of the opponent's sight. Angele jumped up after the footsteps stopped, and he raised his sword above his head to block. A black shadow appeared on top of him, and the sound of metals clashing with each other resounded in the air.
DANG!
Angele blocked the chain with his blade, and then he jumped back right away. His face turned red, and he looked at the man in front of him calmly. The man stopped his attack and pulled his metal chain back.
"Angele Rio, I heard you were a dumb playboy with absolutely zero talent. I did not expect you to be able to handle my attacks. It seems that rumors are not always accurate…" The man in black took his mask off. He looked like an average middle-aged man, and there was a big scar on his face. It looked like his face had been bitten off by some beasts.
"Who are you? Are you from the Dark Emblem?" Angele did not lower his guard.
"You know about the Dark Emblem? Ha." The man laughed, "My name is Dice." He held his chains on his left hand.
"Well, it is just my codename. I can't tell you my real name for sure. I thought it was just a coincidence that your arrow got me last time. Based on your performance, it was probably not just a simple coincidence." Dice said.
"Yea?" Angele started to survey the surroundings while listening to Dice. They were at a natural groove, and the mud there was wet and soft. The smell was not good at all.
"Are you trying to run?" Dice laughed. "Sadly, you can't run away from me this time."
He leapt towards Angele after finishing the conversation.
DANG!
Angele slashed Dice's hands, but the black metal gloves on Dice's hands protected him.
'Support function enabled. Jump towards the back and slash right after.' Zero said in Angele's mind.
Angele jumped back a little bit, and he slashed at the front right away.
"Damn!" Dice was surprised; he had to dodge the attack. He was almost struck in the chest, and he started to sweat. Dice unsheathed his sword after dodging the attack.
"Little punk, you are making me an…" Dice didn't have the chance to finish his words.
Angele tried to do a downward slash and followed it with an upward slash. However, his attacks were all blocked by Dice, but still, he was able to prevent Dice from attacking him.
Top-right, and then switch position; top-left, and then switch again. Angele was moving flawlessly. Once his attack was blocked, he just switched positions. He was trying to strike Dice's weak point. With the chip's assistance, Angele could perform his skills rapidly and precisely. His combos were flawless, and he looked like a dancer in the woods.
He was using his advantages well. Even though his strength was still lower than Dice, he could force Dice to defend for awhile. Dice could only try and keep up with Angele's pace. Angele's combos were improving faster and faster that he did not need the chip's assistance anymore. Even if he got blocked, he would find a way to attack Dice's other weak points.
DANGDANGDANGDANG!
The sound of swords clashing with each other became louder and louder. Angele was attacking from different angles, and he was borrowing the force exerted by Dice to counterattack. Dice's face finally turned red as well, as he did not expect Angele to have the advantage. He was way too slow to strike back; though he was an experienced killer, he could not react to Angele's speed.
A melee fight was not in Dice's favor. He had no time to talk at all because he saw that Angele's blade had a weird blue tint to it. He did not want to touch it at all.
"Damn it!" Dice was becoming completely enraged. He suddenly jumped far back away and took out five silver-colored knives from his pouch at the back. He threw all of them towards Angele; two were aimed towards the chest, and the rest were aimed towards the head.
Angele became surprised by the knives' appearance, and he had no time to dodge. He had to roll to the left and block the front with his sword. Two of those knives were blocked by the sword, but two other ones grazed his shoulders. His shoulders started to bleed, and the last one hit his left arm.
The last knife embedded into Angele's left arm, and he was bleeding badly. It was very painful. Angele's face got pale, and he took the knife out of his arm. Then, he rolled towards the left to dodge the chain, and he started to run towards the forest.
"Where are you going?!" Dice yelled, and he started chasing.
Dice could not keep with Angele's speed, and Angele dodged several chain hits with the help of the chip. Dice slowed himself down while trying to attack.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Dice screamed in anger, and he ceased chasing.
He could not see Angele in his sight anymore, and he was breathing heavily. He did not have enough stamina to pursue him.
"I should've poisoned my knives." Dice felt regret. He was not a fan of applying poison to his weapons. He had no idea why Angele could predict his attacks, and why Angele was much faster than him. He felt infuriated about it. However, he had found Angele's weakness.
"Well, if you could read my attacks, I will not give you time to do it…" Dice smiled, and he wiped the sweat off his face. He started to walk back.
Suddenly, the sound of the wind came from Dice's back. He stopped right away and threw his chain towards the back. However, it was a bit too late. The shiny blue blade struck his right shoulder. He turned back and saw Angele who had a pale face. Angele somehow made it back within such a short duration. Dice totally thought he had run away already, and the stench of blood covered the fragrance of the tracking chemical.
Dice wore leather armor, but his shoulder got injured as the blade cut through his skin. Dice became anxious as he knew that he got poisoned.
"You are done…" Angele smiled, and he said.
BAM!
Dice punched Angele right in the chest. Angele was not able to dodge it, and he flew towards the bush on the side. There was blood everywhere. Some was on the tree, the grass, the black mud, and on Dice himself.
Dice took out a small paper bag quickly, and he swallowed all the powder in it, but he could still feel something going on in his body. The poison Angele used took effect quickly.
"I have to go." Dice said as he felt danger.
Angele stood up, and he was severely hurt after taking the punch. He could barely see things clearly.
'Check my body condition.' Angele ordered.
'Several broken ribs and gastrorrhagia. You are losing about 5% of your total blood.' Zero reported.
'Not a very big deal.' Angele was relieved. He stood up using his sword and looked at Dice. The assassin from the Dark Emblem was not having a good time, and his face looked completely blue. Angele mixed the snake venom with an assortment of other random poison to make his special blade enchantment, and there was definitely no cure for it.
He tried the poison on a chicken, and it died with three minutes. He was not sure about how it would affect humans though, but it looked quite effective on Dice at least. Dice felt like he was getting paralyzed, and he decided to retreat after glaring Angele for a while. He wanted to get healed first since he wasn't sure what was going on in his body.
His shadow steps and ranged attacks were not effective at all. His powerful melee attacks were useless due to Angele's high speed and precise sword skills. Dice also ended up being poisoned, and his best medicine could not really help him. He was very upset about the result because he really had no way to deal with Angele.
"Are you trying to run away?" Angele noticed Dice's plan, and he spoke.
"I have one question before I leave, how did you find out where I was?" Dice asked with a deep voice.
"I just knew it. Ha." Angele laughed, and he leapt towards Dice.
DANG!
The two swords clashed against each other once again. Dice couldn't handle Angele's force, and he stepped back for the first time.
"AH!" Dice screamed and tried slashing Angele with all his remaining power. He did not even try to block the sword coming towards his face; he was just trying to trade his life with Angele's.
The two swords struck each other at the same time, and blood started to come out of them. Angele and Dice held each others' shoulders to keep themselves standing. The blood was dripping down their clothes quickly.
Chapter 13: The Fight (Part 2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Dice found it unbelievable that a young teenager had the nerve to trade hits with him. Angele's sword stabbed into Dice's right eye, and the blade came out of the back of his head. Angele exerted everything in this strike. Angele's left shoulder was severely injured; though he tried to avoid the sword that was going for his head, his shoulder was still grazed. Some parts of his flesh had been sliced off, and his bones became visible on the wound.
Angele noticed that Dice was trying to retreat, and he saw Dice holding his chains in his hand. Dice was trying to use the chain as bait, and he'd just run away afterwards. When Dice was focusing on his chains, Angele decided to advance towards him instead of avoiding the chain. That was probably his only chance, and if he let Dice go, Dice would come back for revenge later. With the help of the chip, he won the gamble and Dice was killed.
"I won! HAHAHAH!" Angele laughed. He stepped back, and took his sword back. The blood made the eagle insignia look crimson. Dice staggered backwards and fell down to the ground.
'Leave the place within 5 minutes, the stench of blood will attract beasts.' The chip reported. It would warn Angele about dangerous situations automatically. Angele was so happy about his victory that he almost ignored the warning. He held his wound on his shoulder with a piece of cloth, and he slowly walked towards the body of Dice.
"I just won the fight… I need some trophy." Angele said. He was not so comfortable with looting the body, but he had to do it. There was one knife left in his pouch and an antique-looking emerald ring. The emerald had cracks on it, and there was also a small pouch of coins on Dice.
Angele took everything and also grabbed the two metal chains. He also took Dice's sword, and he started to leave.
"Wooooooo!" A beast started howling in the forest. Angele heard it after walking only several steps. He became terrified, and he started to run back to the castle. The sound came from the place Angele just left, and he could die if he stayed any longer. The beast sounded much stronger than the boar he encountered earlier, and it might even be a mountain bear.
The beast kept howling in the forest, and many birds flew out of the trees. Angele did not stop for even a single second and ran out of the forest at full speed. He thought Dice's body should be taken care of by the beast, and it probably saved him some time later.
Angele saw the two guards when he had just left the forest. The two were worried about him and came back to check the situation. They probably heard the howl of the beast, becoming too nervous.
"Young Master Angele! God! What happened?" The two stared at the severely injured Angele running out of the forest.
"Take me back to the castle!" Angele said while breathing heavily. He could barely stand still, and the two guards held his arms to support him. The cavalrymen on the training grounds saw the situation and quickly came to help. They helped Angele get back to the castle, and their training was stopped due to the loud disturbance created by the beast.
*****************
Rumors quickly spread in the castle. Some said that Angele was hurt while hunting, and some others said that Angele was robbed by the criminals. Some even thought Angele met the legendary mountain black bear.
The maids, workers, and future knights were all gossiping about the rumor in their free time. Angele was placed down on his bed in the bedroom in the afternoon, and the doctors came to check his wounds. They carefully patched him up and told Angele the things he ought to do before leaving. Angele looked like a mummy lying down on the bed, and the light of sunset made the room look bright.
Cecilia was sitting by Angele's bed. She decided to take care of Angele, and she was preparing some fruits for him. Angele slept for a long time after he got back, and he felt much better after resting and the wounds weren't that painful anymore. The iron balls in his room were taken by Cecilia and placed into a corner. The items Angele looted from the body were also cleaned up and placed on his bedstand.
"Did anyone come by when I was sleeping?" Angele asked.
"Master Wade was here awhile ago, and he saw you sleeping. He told me to take good care of you before leaving. Ms. Maggie and Ms. Celia also came to check on you." Cecilia answered.
Angele nodded, but he did not say anything. The baron probably did not know about his injury. It would take about five days for him to get back from the silver mine. Even if someone was passing the information to the baron, it would still take several days. The silver mine was at the edge of Rio Family's territory and the castle was located at the middle of their territory.
"Also, Master Wade said that the beast you encountered may have been an adult mountain bear. It is much stronger than the mountain black bear, and it is the king in the forest." Cecilia said.
"Adult mountain bear?" Angele licked his lips and said. He knew it from the book in the special library. It looked identical to a mountain black bear, but it had much greater strength. Though it was slower than mountain black bear, it had an indurated skin and a strong resistance to poison. It was one of the top ranked beasts in the whole Rudin Empire. The mountain bear could probably fight two to four knights on its own, and it would get even stronger if it became enraged..
The baron hunted a regular mountain black bear before, yet it was already a great achievement. If Angele met the mountain bear, he would be dead for sure.
"Well, I was lucky." Angele said. He was pretty scared when recalling the whole situation. He lied to the doctors when he was getting treated. He said he met someone that was fighting with the mountain bear and a sword flew over to his shoulder. A knife then hit him after the sword, nearly killing him there. He ended up grabbing some items on the side and went back with severe injuries. This was also the source of the rumors.
The head of the doctors said Angele was extremely lucky that he did not lose his life there. He had no idea on how to explain what exactly happened to him recently. He got stronger within a short amount of time, and people would probably not believe eating random food could boost their attributes. Also, it was generally impossible for ordinary people to learn sword skill sets with such absurd speed. If he said he killed an assassin from Dark Emblem, it would become a really big news, and he would get into more trouble instead.
Karl, Wade, and Audis would regularly check on Angele's progress before the time he fell off the horse, therefore they knew his capability. He practiced the sword skills with his father the day before he fell off the horse, so it would be difficult to explain why he was able to learn a whole set of skill recently. He needed to do something to make things seem more reasonable.
Angele grabbed the items he looted and put them on the bed. A silver-colored crossguard sword, two metal chains, and a knife. There was also a ring and a leather money pouch. He opened the pouch first, and there were several coins in it. Some were gold and some were silver, however, it meant nothing to Angele because his monthly allowance was more than ten gold coins. Ten silver coins was equal to one gold coin, so Angele was not concerned about them.
He put the money pouch aside and grabbed the metal chain. The chain was completely black, and had a claw on its end. It had some special paint on it, which made it shine during the night. It was also very sharp, and it slashed the bedsheet open when Angele put it down.
The long sword had no insignia on it, and the blade was very sharp, too. It was made out of high quality materials. The body had no cracks at all even after the fight.
"Great material." Angele said, and he decided to use it as his weapon.
The last was the ring. He grabbed the ring, and it must be something special because Dice carried it with him the whole time.
The ring had a copper-like color, but Angele was not exactly sure what the metal was. There was also no insignia on it, and it looked very simple. The ring itself had a rough surface, and it looked like someone rubbed it several times. In the middle was a round emerald, and it had cracks all over it.
"It seems broken?" Angele wondered, and he looked at it carefully. Cecilia was looking at him curiously before, but now, she was more curious about the ring.
"You may leave the room for now." Angele said.
"Oh… Okay." Cecilia was a bit surprised, and she put the fruits on the plate. She bowed to Angele and left the room.
Angele started to examine the ring again after the door was closed. He had this special feeling that he could ascertain that the ring must be something notable.
Chapter 14: The Kill (Part 1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Angele put the copper-colored ring on his palm. The emerald on the ring had the size of a nail. If it was not cracked, it would probably be clear and beautiful. It looked as if it was about to fall out of the ring. Aside from the cracks, Angele also saw some white patterns engraved on its surface.
"There must be something special about it." Angele thought as he found it interesting. It was Dice's ring; he would not carry it with him all the time if it was not important. He looked at the surface carefully, and realized there was a word engraved on it.
"Ma…ss." The word was written in the universal language, so Angele could still read it.
"Mass?" Angele wasn't too sure if he was correct. "There might be another way to read it, like… Manss?" The emerald started to shine right after Angele said the word.
"Unknown energy detected! Unknown radiation detected! Affected area or entity unknown!" Zero started sending warning messages.
Angele was surprised; he stared at the shiny green ring without doing anything else. The green color made his upper body look green as well. The whole room looked very weird as the green light filled it up. Angele could feel some chill wind blowing within his palm, and the wind was twisting. It felt like he was holding a mini tornado in his hand.
"What is this…" Angele was shocked, and the green light started flowing like a river. He could even smell the fragrance of the sea.
"Unknown energy is disappearing. Absorb it or not?" the chip asked.
"Wait? I can absorb it?" Angele had no idea that the chip had this function besides passive support.
"Will there be any impact on me?" he asked.
"Not enough data. It will have a positive radiation effect on your body. I can store the energy source," Zero said.
"Absorb it!" Angele had no time to hesitate because the green light was becoming fainter.
The green light disappeared after some faint noise.
KA!
The emerald on the ring was now completely cracked, and it lost its luster. It looked like a normal green stone now. Angele held the ring in his hand, still thinking about the things that had just occurred.
"This power…" Angele remembered something from the biography he read. It mentioned that there was once a group of people that were stronger than the knights. They could control lightning and wind. They could bring disasters, but they could also bring hope. They knew everything, and they had the same level of power as the legendary monsters.
They called themselves Wizards, and they once existed in this world.
"That was the power of the Wizards…?" Angele took a deep breath; he was getting excited.
"Absorption complete. The energy can enhance your body slowly. I can start the enhance process if you want to, it will be very slow," the chip reported.
"Enhancement? How does it work?" Angele asked.
"Parts related to your agility," the chip reported.
"Wait, don't do it yet." Angele thought of the Blue Bamboo Shoots. The enhancement process of the Blue Bamboo Shoots wasn't completed yet, and he could still use the bamboo shoots first. Though it gave him diarrhea, he could have as many bamboo shoots as he wanted. The mysterious energy was not unlimited, and it would be better for him to keep it first.
"Oh, how long does the enhancement process take exactly?" Angele asked.
"About 76 hours." Zero answered.
Angele slightly nodded his head and grabbed the ring again. He wanted to check if the power was really gone.
"Manss… It means light like the wind. That was probably the function of the ring?" He was not sure, but he felt his body becoming lighter when he said the word. Maybe the enhancing effect was too small, and it could not help him in a real fight.
"Manss! Manss!" He said the word twice, but the ring did not shine at all. Though he knew the energy was gone already, he was still a bit disappointed. He decided to store the ring in his pouch.
"Zero, tell me what food will help me recover faster," he ordered.
"Starting analysis…" Zero reported. The chip could easily find out what was best for Angele right now, and proper food selection would help him recover better than others.
Angele stayed on the bed for about three days, and he was recovering fast. With the food selection that the chip provided, he asked the maid to bring him the right dishes, and it helped to recover faster. On the fourth day, the chip finally confirmed that he could now do some basic exercises.
He could only barely walk recently, and all of his activities were in his bedroom. He could not go to the dining area to eat the bamboo shoots. He did not want to get diarrhea during the recovery period. Angele stood up and looked outside the window.
"It has been a long time…" Angele said, and he shook his head. He grabbed the silver crossguard sword on the side; it was Dice's sword. His sword got broken after the fight, so he sent it to the blacksmith have it repaired. He left the room after changing to a white swordsman suit.
Cecilia took Angele's dirty clothes to the washroom, and the maids at the stairs greeted Angele constantly. It was very quiet in the living area because the knights and the future knights went back to their own homes for the New Year's celebration. There were only few students left in the castle because they had no family.
Those students needed to work in order to stay in the castle. They needed to guard the castle and patrol around the territory. After they became knights, they would need to work for the baron for five years before leaving. Most of them had the seeds, and they would probably become strong warriors in the future. It was like trading their services towards the chances to study in the castle.
Angele learned from his memory that this was a common thing in the world. Some lords abused this tradition by forcing the future knights to do the most difficult tasks for them, and the students revolted after they became real knights. Those things actually helped the tradition to be fairer after because now, the lords knew how they should treat the students properly.
Angele walked down to the training grounds, and he was the only one there. It was early in the morning and there were many clouds over in the sky. He felt a bit depressed.
"It's going to rain." Angele said after glancing at the sky.
He did not care if there were many students in the castle because he had no interest in them, and the students were not interested in him, too. The baron was young and strong; he could probably live for another fifty years, and those future knights were of no threat to him. He also did not care about others' thoughts towards him.
The workers were in the bar drinking and chatting, and the girls were playing chess together. For noble children such as Celia, they were probably playing with some musical instruments. People barely had any entertainment at this age, so they spent most of their time working and studying.
"Maggie is probably playing chess right now." Angele guessed. In his memory, many people had dogs as pets in the Candia City. Nobles like Viscount Candia loved a dog called Haball; it came from some other country and its fur was white. Angele thought it looked like the German shepherd on Earth.
However, the baron did not like pets, and no one was allowed to have one in the castle. Angele also heard that nobles from Rudin City loved to train eagles as pets, but he had never actually seen any.
Angele walked towards the door of the castle, and there were two guards by it. They saluted to Angele when they saw him.
"Are you heading out, Young Master?" One of the guards asked.
"Yea, I need some exercise. Is Master Wade back yet?" He nodded, and he asked.
"Yes, Master Wade is on his way back, and it seems like he is bringing back many people. It will take him a while." One of the guards said in a light tone.
"Master Wade told us to make sure you don't go too far away from the castle… Like the deep forest." He said.
Angele smiled. Wade knew Angele would not listen to anybody other than the baron, so he only gave him a simple warning. Wade was just following the baron's order, and he was actually not too concerned about Angele because he did not have high expectations in Angele anyway. Also, Wade was not too worried due to Angele's archery skills.
Angele left the castle alone, and he held his sword tightly. He practiced his sword skill set at the empty ground, and then walked into the forest. He started to run after entering the forest, and headed straight to the location where he fought Dice.
About half an hour later, he saw the familiar downhill slope. There were still traces of dried blood on branches around. Two knives were still in the bush. Angele walked down towards the ditch and looked at the place that Dice was killed. There was nothing left besides some blood, and he could see the trail of the blood that went deep into the forest.
Angele walked towards the blood trail and dipped it with his finger.
"He was dragged into the forest." He whispered.
Angele stood up and checked around. He took his quiver and longbow back, and took a glance at the blood trail again. After what happened with the green ring, Angele found this world much more mysterious than he thought. There was much for him to learn and explore.
Chapter 15: The Kill (Part 2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Angele decided to head back to the castle, but suddenly heard people talking from his right side.
'Unknown targets detected, number of targets is two,' the chip warned. Angele quietened his footsteps and crouched. He then moved towards the right side slowly. He was able to hear them clearly from a closer distance, but Angele only caught some of the words being spoken.
"…It has been 4 days…We won't make it from here…" A man said with a deep voice.
"It's fine… We will make it before he comes back from the silver mine… We can just wait a bit longer…but the time…" Another one was a lady with a sharp voice.
Angele hid behind a large terrain and crouched behind the bush. He listened to the conversation quietly, but the two were moving, and the voices disappeared in the forest shortly. The two reminded Angele of the criminals the baron mentioned before. Knight Audis said the criminals were like trained military members since they were not acting like typical criminals. They had strong fighting skills.
The baron was trying to capture those criminals when Angele first returned to the castle after being inflicted with severe injuries. He did not hear anything about the results. If they could succeed, there would be a celebration party, but if they failed, the baron would give out pensions to the families of the dead soldiers. It seemed that they just did not find any criminal when they arrived at the location.
Angele did not fear fights any longer after the battle with Dice, and he was actually a bit excited at the thought of it. He had the help of the chip, and he acquired a strong set of sword skills. He had also increased his stamina and strength and was now very close to the level of a knight. With the help of his archery skills, he had become a decent fighter, and all he needed now was another chance to gain more experience.
Though he had slain Dice, it was the poisoned blade that contributed the most. Angele decided to follow the two after thinking for a while. He followed the direction that the sound came from with the assistance provided by the chip. After about ten minutes, he found some footprints on the ground. The forest was soaked after the rain, so the footprints were easily visible to him.
Angele walked faster after he found the footprints. He could smell the aroma of roasted meat in the air after a while, and he stopped there. He surveyed his surroundings. The trees here were tall, and the leaves pretty much blocked the sky. Only a few streaks of sunlight passed through the small gaps of the branches. Even if it was morning, Angele could feel the chill of a dark night.
Angele took out his longbow and nocked a white-feathered arrow upon it. He dipped the arrowhead with poison as usual because he wanted to make sure that every shot would kill. Though he had a weapon on hand, he was focusing on the situation carefully.
If the criminals were really the military members of the Saladin Empire, he could easily get spotted by them. Saladin Empire was a country located within a large forest, and most of the people there were impressive archers. They were familiar with forests, and they were the best fighters in such landscape. The king of the Saladin Empire was said to have been a descendant of elves.
Angele was moving forward carefully, and the aroma of the meat was getting stronger. He was very close to their camp.
KA!
He accidentally stepped on something.
"Someone is here! Look out!" Someone yelled. Angele could understand their language since Saladin Empire used a similar language to Rudin Empire anyways. Angele knew he had been detected.
'11 enemies ahead,' the chip reported.
Angele scanned the people and could see blue-colored lines marked on them. They were hiding in the bush and moving towards him quickly. They were like snakes, silent but swift.
Some of them were trying to shoot their arrows at Angele, and their arrows had a green color that made them hard to spot. Angele had no way to run, so he decided to retaliate. He fired an arrow and it hit one of their archers. He could hear the screams of the archer. Angele then hid behind a tree, and nocked another arrow on his bow. However, he first decided to lure some enemies out, so he kicked a stone to the air.
Three green arrows hit the stone at the same time, and all the arrows flew to the ground after the collision. Angele was surprised by the force applied on the arrow. They were no ordinary soldiers for sure, and they were probably close to the knight level. People could only fire such strong and accurate arrows after having body enhancements.
Angele fired his arrow right after they hit the stone and another man was hit. The man started to scream too.
"Surround him!" A man with a deep voice started to yell orders.
Angele could hear them drawing their swords, and it seemed like they have given up on ranged attacks. They were trying to use the advantage of numbers. Angele was getting excited, and he put down his bow and quiver on the ground quietly. He then drew his sword. Though there were no footsteps that could be heard, Angele knew they were getting closer.
Ding!
He blocked an attack that came from his right. The swords they were using were very thin and slim, only about the width of a finger. After blocking, Angele applied force on the sword to make the man lose his balance, then he sliced the man's neck off.
Angele's strength became powerful after eating a bunch of bamboo shoots. Dice's sword made him even stronger. After he finished the first one, he moved to the left and dodged another attack from his back. He then pointed his sword towards the back without looking, and the man from behind was stabbed right in the chest.
"Harry!" A lady yelled.
Angele licked his lips and ran towards the front. He jumped towards the left side and slashed his sword towards the source of the voice. The lady blocked Angele's first two attacks, but Angele easily sliced her head off. She died right away.
The chip's analysis helped Angele catch every movement in the battlefield. There were eight people left, and they finally trapped him in the middle. They all wore green suits with tree leaves on them. The men all had handsome faces, and the females were all superbly attractive. Angele would probably hire them if they were not his enemies because he liked good-looking people for some reason.
Though he was trapped, he was not nervous at all. He realized that he was much faster than them during the fight. With the help of the chip, he could dodge every single attack easily.
"Angele! It's Angele Rio! The son of Karl Rio!" A girl yelled in rage. She looked like she was about 17 years old, yet she was already participating in such operation.
"How is that even possible!" They were getting nervous.
Angele smiled as he started to enjoy the feeling of playing with fire. He rushed towards the girl in but a second and slashed her neck open. Blood splashed into the air, and her head dropped to the ground. She died with a surprised expression on her face with her green eyes wide open.
"Kill him! God! He just killed Elena!" Several men ran towards him in frenzy.
Angele slightly moved his body towards the side, and he dodged two oncoming slim swords. He also blocked an attack from the front and borrowed the force from the attacker to counter slash. He turned back and slashed through a man's waist. The man got separated into two pieces and fell down to the ground. The blood coming out of him flooded the place.
The rest of them were surprised by his reaction speed. Before Angele moved to the next target, he suddenly raised his sword above his head.
DANG!
Angele blocked a black arrow and was pushed back from his position.
"I will make you pay!" A man screamed, rushing towards him from a bush. He was holding a black slim sword and started attacking Angele from multiple angles.
'A knight!' Angele thought as he became a bit surprised. However, since they escaped the baron, it was quite likely that they have knights with them, and Angele calmed down quickly.
He blocked the attacks with his crossguard sword quickly, and he found that the man had faster attacks than him. However, the man's sword skills were lacking effectiveness. Sometimes it seemed like the man could be faster, but his unnecessary movements slowed him down. Angele blocked another arrow coming from the side and quickly checked the data.
'Unknown target: Strength is greater than 2, Agility is greater than 3, Stamina is lower than 2, but is greater than 1. He is using his full potential.' Zero reported.
Angele stepped back and crouched right away. He pointed his sword upwards without even sparing a look.
"It's over." Angele said while jumping back.
The man stood in his original position like a fiddle. Angele's sword went through his head from his chin, and blood came out like a line of water.
"No! Master Rica!" Some people were screaming in agony.
'That's the power of my sword skill set,' Angele thought. His skill set was created by the chip, and it was pretty much like cheating because other regular skill sets always had certain flaws in them. The knight-level man fell down to the ground and died.
'This is the first knight level warrior I killed all by myself!' Angele was very excited, but he did not know why. He held his sword and rushed towards the other ones remaining. After the noises of metal clashing against each other, those people screamed as they died.
The forest restored its tranquility once again.
Chapter 16: Peace (Part 1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
After a while, Angele wiped his sword on a corpse's clothes, trying to clean its blade. He looked around; there were decapitated body parts everywhere. His face looked a bit pale; though he had already killed someone, the current scene was too much of a shock to him.
A breeze blew across the tree, and the leaves started to make noises. The sunlight mixed with shadows on the ground looked like the river flowing. Angele's silver sword shone under the sunlight as he walked towards the knight level warrior. He checked the man's belongings and found nothing aside from a coin pouch.
"They were trying to hide their identities during the mission maybe?" Angele guessed. He stood up, and he could smell the blood in the air. When Angele was about to leave, he saw a shadow coming from his right side. He did not expect it coming, and had no time to react, so he slashed towards it heavily.
The "shadow" had a very bad smell, and it made Angele sick. He ran into the thing, and he was pushed far away from it. He rolled about ten meters away, but he did not get hurt. Angele finally got the chance to look at the thing.
It was a huge black bear. The bear was about 3 meters tall and was standing straight. It was going to attack Angele again. From Angele's perspective, he felt like he was looking at a small hill.
"Crazy Mountain Bear…" Angele was scared after he realized what the "thing" actually was. An average Mountain Black Bear was about half of its size, and the baron had one of the Mountain Black Bear's skin in his hall as a trophy, so Angele was familiar with the beast.
He did not have time to think, so he jumped backwards swiftly. He then pointed his sword at the bear's left eye. Though the bear was huge, it was still very fast and it simply slapped Angele's sword to make him lose his balance.
"Crazy Mountain Bear: Strength greater than 6, Agility greater than 2, Stamina greater than 10," Zero reported. Angele could not hear the report until the bear stopped roaring.
When the opponent was much stronger than Angele, the chip's data was unable to help him win the fight. The chip was able to report the enemy's location to Angele because the opponents were at least close to him in terms of attributes.
The chip's analysis was based on Angele's sensory information, and it would get stronger if Angele himself was stronger. The Crazy Mountain Bear had extremely high strength and stamina. Angele tried to fight the bear with his high agility. However, he could only barely damage the bear and his slashes did pretty much nothing to it. The bear's skin felt like thick metal, and his sword could not slash through it.
Angele decided to run away quickly as there was nothing he could do. The bear did not chase him because it knew the target was much faster than it. The bear walked towards the bodies, and it started to have a nice meal.
Angele examined the bear for a while, and it shook his head.
"Its skin is way too thick. I need some legendary weapon for it, or maybe higher strength would do as well? I can't damage it at all for now," Angele thought. The bear was eating, but it did not lower its defences. Angele saw that the bear was about to chase him, so he just left the place.
Angele was satisfied with today's result. At least he gained some fighting experience, and he had gotten a better understanding of his own ability.
"Maybe I can go for the bear next time. I need to eat some more bamboo shoots." He thought as he left the forest.
He killed some Saladin's troops and slew a knight level warrior. Angele thought his fighting ability had already reached the knight level, which meant he had similar power with the baron. He felt a bit relaxed as he knew he could protect himself now. Power was the only thing that matters in this world.
The knight he killed was at a similar level as Wade and Audis. If Angele and the baron were at the top level among the knights, Wade and Audis would be at the middle level. The gap between the top and middle was huge. Dice would've probably been at the top level, so he had the confidence in taking the mission of assassinating the baron. He was killed by Angele because his assassination skills weren't too effective on melee fights. Angele used poison and also had the chip's assistance. If they engaged in a regular fight, Angele would be the one dying.
Average future knights with seeds would improve a lot during the first several months, and most of them would stay at the low and middle level after they became knights. They rarely gained top level power. Angele focused his training more on the skill side, unlike other great warriors who instead focused more on pure power. People in this world thought that if one was faster and stronger than the others, one would not even need skills to defeat them.
Angele spent about ten days to conclude his recent fights after he got back to the castle. He was trying to figure out his mistakes during the recent battles, and he started to eat the Blue Bamboo Shoots after he recovered. The baron also returned to the castle, and he heard that Angele was nearly killed by the Crazy Mountain Bear in the forest.
Fifteen days later.
Angele was reading some random history book in the special library. He was using the chip to store everything in his brain. There were several hundred books in the room, and they were like a priceless treasure in this world. The Rio Family spent a long time to collect them.
The book was all copied by hand, and the paper looked old, but still had a nice feeling to it.
"I wonder what material was used for those papers. Some books are still completely readable even after a hundred years," Angele thought. It was noon, and the sunlight went into the room through the window. Angele could see the dust in the air with the light.
"Angele." The baron opened the door, and he said. He had his long hair draped over his shoulders, looking shiny in the sunlight. Karl had a handsome face, but currently had a serious expression. There was a golden short sword on his waist, and he looked strong but gentle.
"Father." Angele quickly stood up and greeted the baron politely. He knew the baron treated him very well, so he wanted to at least show his gratefulness. Sometimes, Angele could see the worry in the baron's eyes, and he knew that the baron was just worried about his future.
"I heard you met the Crazy Mountain Bear in the forest?" The baron said with a deep voice.
"You heard about it? I was just trying to…" Angele spoke in a light tone.
"Tell me the location!" The baron stopped Angele from talking.
"Father…" Angele said.
"Don't make me repeat!" The baron was a bit disappointed, and he had a cold look on his face.
"About 200 meters away from the north of the castle. I don't know the exact location…" Angele felt a chill from his back and told the baron the location. It was Angele's natural reaction since he just couldn't handle the pressure from his father.
The baron glanced at Angele for a second and left the room.
BAM!
The door was slammed shut.
Chapter 17: Peace (2)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
Angele ran down the stairs right away after taking a while to understand what was going on. By the time he had arrived, the baron had already gathered and was overseeing a squad of heavy armored swordsmen on the training grounds.
"Who went to the forest with Angele that day?" the baron spoke with a very deep voice.
Some of the swordsmen looked at each other in panic, but no one responded.
"If you hand yourselves in now, I will not go too hard on you. You know you did not protect your Young Master well," the baron took a deep breath, and he said slowly, "As per the rules, 20 lashes for now. However, if I have to find out who it was myself, I will make you suffer."
It seemed like the swordsmen became relieved after hearing the baron's words and two of them walked out of the group.
"Baron Karl, it was me and Hank. Please punish us!" One of them spoke loudly.
"Someone bring me my whip!" The baron nodded as he said.
One of the workers started to run to get the baron his whip. Suddenly, the baron drew his sword and stabbed it right through the heads of the two swordsmen. Everything happened in but a mere moment. The two swordsmen fell down to the ground, and blood started to trickle out of their heads.
The training grounds became deathly silent.
"Angele is my son! If he dies, who is going to lead the Rio Family in the future?!" The baron yelled with a cold smile on his face.
"You should've never let my son go into the deep forest alone. Are you trying to kill my son?! I could've killed your whole families, but I've already known you two for a long time. That's it for this time," the baron said.
"I hope I don't have to do this again." The baron looked at the other swordsmen as he spoke.
"Someone burn their bodies!" he yelled. Everyone watching the scene could not make a sound. People could not even breathe in such a situation, and they were trying their best not to make the baron angrier. Two of the swordsmen went to retrieve and carry the bodies away.
"Get me my weapon and my armor; I need to go to the forest," the baron said.
"Yes!" One of the workers said with a pale face, and he ran to the armory.
Angele was at the side of the training grounds the whole time, and he witnessed the two guards that helped him recently die in front of him. He felt slightly forlorn, and at the same time scared. He also had a better understanding of the baron's temper.
Angele saw the baron put on his golden leather armor and grab his greatsword. The baron left the castle and headed towards the forest. Angele knew the baron was going to hunt the Crazy Mountain Bear.
"Father…" Angele said with a faint voice, and he tightly gripped his sword with his right hand. He could feel the weight of his father's love in his mind, and it was very heavy. Angele knew his father was trying to convey a message to him that people needed to think about the consequences of their behavior by slaying the two guards.
**********************
Half an hour later, Angele heard the roars of the bear from the forest, and then he heard the sounds of battle. After a while, the baron walked out of the forest. There was blood coming out of his mouth and his left arm looked broken. However, he was smiling.
The soldiers and workers were waiting for the baron outside the castle. Old Wade, the baron's sons and daughters, and Angele all stood there quietly and looked at the baron walking towards them. The baron was holding a thick black hide, which belonged to the Crazy Mountain Bear Angele encountered before.
Angele was the only one who fought against the bear before, and he knew how hard it would be for someone to skin the bear. The baron must have had a good fight.
"Find the doctor now!" Wade yelled, and the people around started to create a commotion. Some of them ran back to the castle, and some others tried to help the baron. Angele became teary-eyed after seeing his father fight the bear for him.
Angele walked towards his father and assisted him with his hands. He looked at the baron, and he felt like he was looking at his father back on Earth.
"Angele." The baron smiled as he looked at him.
"I will protect you till the day I die." He said, and Angele felt extremely emotional. Angele had always felt the baron was his stepfather, but now it felt like the baron was the sole person who gave him his life.
***********************
Ten days had passed since the baron killed the Crazy Mountain Bear.
Angele kept eating the bamboo shoots to increase his attributes during these days. He was trying to serve the bamboo shoots to his father too, but the chip reported that the enhancement effect was solely effective to Angele himself. It seemed like his body was distinctly different from other people around him. The bamboo shoots might help him a lot, but they would only make the baron's stomach ache. Angele felt slightly disappointed about the result.
Angele thought that others just didn't know about the effects of the food, but it seemed that his body was special. He also felt worried that someone would know his secret of the food he had been eating, but no one seemed to care.
It was lunchtime.
Angele sat at the opposite side of the baron. The baron's wives, sons and daughters were sitting by the two sides. Not all of the baron's wives got to sit on the table, the only ones around were favored by him. There were about ten dishes on the table. There were meat stew, pan fried vegetables, steamed fish, and a huge piece of roasted beef that was sitting in the middle.
The baron was cutting the beef on his plate and eating quietly. Each person had a maid standing behind them, and their duty was to serve them the food they wanted. Wade stood behind the baron, wearing a black noble suit. His white hair looked very flat.
The baron was the only one with the highest authority on the dining table, and if he did not talk, then no one else could, except for Angele. But Angele had pretty much nothing to say.
The people on the table only ate their food in silence; the current atmosphere being emanated was a tad bit heavy. Angele heard about a new rumor about the baron from some guards. He was able to hear them from a long distance away, most likely due to the increase in his abilities. He heard people talking about how the baron killed the Crazy Mountain Bear, and how the baron fought the king of the forest as a human being. People were also talking about how cruel the baron was and how they started calling him as "The Devil Baron".
Being titled as "The Devil Baron" meant that the baron was all-powerful, yet mysterious, like a devil. People began fearing him, and they even started to think that Wade and Audis were evil as well.
Angele took a bite on the mushroom. Although he yearned for Chinese food back on Earth, the dishes here were ingenious and tasty. The only thing that made him sad was that people here did not eat rice, and there was only bread available in the castle. The nobles ate white bread while the maids ate black bread. Drinking soup while eating bread was typical here, but it took Angele a while to get used to it.
Their lunchtime lasted for more than twenty minutes. When the baron almost finished his meal, a guard in leather armor suddenly rushed into the dining hall. The guard was blocked by a maid, and Wade went to investigate the situation. Angele saw the change of expression on Wade's face, and Wade whispered something to the baron.
No one heard the information, but Angele was able to capture the words said with the help of his chip.
"Audis discovered plenty of iron ore veins in his territory, and it would be nice if you could check it out yourself," Wade whispered.
"Iron ores?" the baron became excited. If he could build a mine there, he would earn a lot of coins. After all, iron was also an essential commodity especially during wartime.
"No time was wasted after the discovery. It would be better if we could head there now." Wade said.
The baron thought for a while as he held his left arm. He hadn't yet recovered from the injury, but the discovery of an iron mine was an extremely crucial matter to him.
"You stay in the castle. I will go there now." The baron said
"Got it." Wade became slightly surprised with the order, but he still followed it.
"I think I should go with you as you haven't fully recovered yet," he said.
"It's fine." The baron waved his hands and said.
Chapter 18: Intent to Kill (1)
Translator: Leo Editor: DarkGem/Frappe
"Though my left arm is not fully recovered yet, I think I will be fine on the road," the baron said. He completely drank the soup and stood up.
"I am leaving," he said, "Angele, stay in the castle. Just don't go out until I am back. Understood?" The baron looked at Angele.
"Yes, father." Angele answered as he nodded in affirmation.
"Um… I think this trip will take me about half a month. The situation is terrible outside the territory. Wade, take good care of the castle." The baron turned back and said to Wade.
"Don't worry, I will protect the castle and Young Master Angele when you are out there," Wade said.
The baron nodded his head and left the dining hall. His wives and children stood up and bowed to him until they could not hear his footsteps anymore. They sat down and started talking, the atmosphere becoming much more relaxed.
Angele sat on his seat, and it looked like he was thinking of something. He was actually looking at the baron's body data Zero provided. The blue-colored information were presented in front of his eyes clearly.
"Karl Rio, analyzed 19 times. Body condition: Strength is around 2-4, Agility is around 3.4, and Stamina is around 3.9. Healthy. Attributes naturally increasing." Zero reported. Angele smiled after seeing the report. 'Healthy' meant the baron had already fully recovered, but for some reason he was trying to hide it.
"Father's arm was already fine, yet he pretended to still be injured. Maybe he realized something." Angele thought. He felt relaxed now after knowing the truth. The baron was stronger than ordinary top level knights and was probably also stronger than some of the assassins from the Dark Emblem. However, assassins like Dice were experts of stealth combat; they might be able to win a fight against the baron in certain situations.
Angele started to eat again; he put a piece of fish into his mouth.
"I have finished my meal. Brother Angele, take your time." One of the girl on the left side said and bowed to Angele. She had silk-like red hair.
"I am done, too." A girl in black named Chia said, and she bowed to Angele. They left the table together.
Angele nodded and let them leave. The two girls were about 11 years old, and their mothers were the baron's maids. They looked pretty cute, and the baron liked them. Their mothers were not maids anymore, so they were allowed to sit on the table. Though they were still not real nobles, but their position in the castle was higher than Maggie's family.
People started to leave the dining hall after they finished their meals. Only Angele and some other teenagers remained after ten minutes, and he saw Celia was there too. She was sipping the thick, white fish soup, and she took a glance at Angele. Angele left the table after finishing his food, but someone stopped him before he left the dining hall.
"Brother Angele." Celia said, her voice was cute and crispy.
"Yea?" Angele turned back and looked at her.
"I heard Maggie went to your room several times recently…" Celia walked towards Angele quickly and said; she was blushing.
"Well, is there anything wrong with that?" Angele asked. He did not touch Maggie at all, and even if he did, there was nothing wrong with it. It was a convenient way for smaller noble families to build relationships with noble families that were in higher positions.
"I was trying to wash myself in the bathroom, but the hot water there is not constant, and I am wondering if I could…" Celia said with a very faint voice. Angele smiled; he knew what was going on. In the castle, there was a special bathroom built for people like Angele, while the low rank peasants could only go to a large bathroom. In the large bathroom, there were some individual rooms built for people like Celia.
The castle made sure the high-ranked nobles could have nice showers. For Celia, she could only use the individual rooms in the large bathroom. For the baron, Audis, and Angele, they had totally separated individual bathrooms, and there were maids making sure they could get constantly hot water. It would take the maids some effort to keep the water warm, so only a small amount of high-ranked people could enjoy their showers.
However, Celia wanted more than just a shower. She wanted to shower with Angele. Angele looked at Celia; he could see her long black hair. The red one piece she was wearing made her look gentle but beautiful. She did not have a sexy body like Maggie, but she was still very cute. Angele stared at her white skin, and he could smell the fragrance she used.
"Sure, I think I am going to get rid of the dust on me, too." Angele was enthralled by Celia and spoke with a smile on his face. Celia gave Angele a hug; Angele could see her face blushing heavily. Some of the girls in the room were jealous of Celia, while some of the boys were looking down on her. However, everyone was trying to maintain eye contact with Angele because no one wanted any trouble.
"Let's go." Angele put his arms on Celia's shoulder and said.
"O…Okay." Celia answered.
Angele knew Celia wanted something from him, so he decided to take advantage of her. He was not actually trying to have s*x with her, but he still wanted to have some fun. He avoided s*x because he wanted to make sure his body could develop properly.
They left the dining hall together and went towards the living area after crossing the training grounds. Angele's individual bathroom was in the living area, and he asked all the maids to leave them alone. He also told Cecilia to stay in her room.
Angele led Celia to his bathroom. Angele thought the bathroom looked like a standard washroom on Earth, just without the toilet part. The floor was built with shaped stones, and the whole room looked grey. There were white towels on a stone-made stand.
Angele ended up taking the shower by himself because he was afraid that he'd lose control if he took a shower with Celia, so he asked Celia to wait outside the room. Also, Celia already told Angele what she wanted.
*****************************************************************************************************************************
An hour later.
Angele felt refreshed as he walked out of the bathroom. Celia was still waiting outside quietly.
"I will ask Wade to help you with the things you asked," Angele said, "have some rest."
"Um… Okay…" Celia did not look at Angele directly and answered.
"Maggie!" Angele yelled. Afterwards, he heard the footsteps of the maid.
"Yes, Young Master." Maggie said.
"Take Miss Celia back to her room. Go across the training grounds." Angele asked.
"Yes." The maid said, and she left the place with Celia.
Angele wanted people to know that he had 'slept' with Celia by asking the maid to take Celia back through the training grounds. There were many people there usually, and someone would often spread rumors. He was trying to help Celia get into a higher rank in the castle.
"Well, since I promised her, I'd better move." Angele smiled as he said. He walked down the stairs after shaking his head. He went down from the fourth floor to the third floor, expecting Wade to be there. He wanted to tell Wade about the thing that Celia asked.
Angele went to Wade's room and knocked on the door, but no one answered. Suddenly, he heard someone talking outside the window before he was about to leave. He then slowed his footsteps and walked to the window. The sound was coming from below.
"… Is that true?" Wade asked. Angele, however, did not catch the first half.
"Yes, Master." The guard said.
Angele saw Wade talking to a guard at a corner through the gap of the window. He was a bit too late, and their conversation was already over. Angele could see Wade worrying about something, and the guard by his side remained standing quietly.
"Well, you can leave now." Wade sighed as he spoke.
"Yes, Master." The guard answered and left afterwards.
Wade stood at the corner for a while and left the place after sighing again. Angele could see him walking towards the living area.
"Wade would tell me if there is something I need to know about. This must be something I cannot help with." Angele thought, and he decided to go down the stairs.
Angele met up with Wade right after he went down to the first floor.