Labyrinth Villa.
180 years ago, this residence became the key that determined the fate of the Theocracy. Over ten thousand soldiers had fought a bitter battle in this place, using the swords in their hands to shape the future of the country. That was a bloody period of time that revealed both the evil and goodness of humanity, treacherous betrayals and steadfast loyalty, the clash in ideals and wills, and the feud within the royal family over the crown.
The splitting headache that Roel experienced when the labyrinth artifact activated was so excruciating that even the accident that brought about his death in his previous life couldn't compare with it. He felt like his brain was being sizzled on top of a barbecue rack, and his blood and nerves were being stung every single instant. The pain traveled through his veins into his eyes, making him feel as if someone was pumping mercury into his eye sockets.
He wanted to scream, but no voice would come out of him. Everything in his line of sight had started to distort. Even when he tried closing his eyes, everything remained blood-red. It felt like something had grabbed hold of his eyes, forcefully keeping them open. Ancient scriptures, stone tablets, broken swords, and all sorts of bizarre items swiftly flashed across his eyes before he finally arrived at the origin of it all.
It was a single candle lit amidst the darkness. As the candlelight flickered, he could see indistinguishable silhouettes creeping nearer. However, Roel was too dazed to pay heed to it. Vaguely, he heard the jingling of bells in his ears.
"The kingmaker…" sounded a hoarse voice.
Roel couldn't tell where the voice had come from, but in the next moment, everything dissipated into emptiness. Darkness descended upon him once more as he lost consciousness.
---
The pulsation of bloodline—this was currently what Nora was feeling. Her last memory before she was knocked out was a massive burst of light as the Labyrinth Villa broke through the studio. It was only when the searing pain in her bloodline jolted her awake that she finally opened her eyes once more. She found herself lying in a foreign environment, and lying next to her was a black-haired boy.
"Roel, what wrong? Roel! Roel!!!"
"Argh, my head… It hurts… Nora?"
"Yes, it's me. Are you fine?"
"… Can't say so."
Roel forced himself to answer Nora's question. His head was still aching terribly, and the pain only further intensified for his eyes. It was so unbearable that Roel's body curled up as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly.
However, his response seemed to have put Nora in a spot.
"Roel, I know you aren't in good shape right now, but there's something really wrong here…"
Nora's voice sounded a little flustered. Roel, who was in such great pain that he wanted to start rolling around, forced himself to open his searing eyes and focus his attention on his surroundings. An incomprehensible sight awaited him.
How could this be? Why would there be sunlight here?
He was so shocked that he even forgot about his pain for a moment.
It had been less than half an hour between Peter Kater's sudden arrival and the activation of the labyrinth. Even if he had fainted along the way, surely it shouldn't have already been daylight by the time he woke once more?
The confusion made Roel's senses grow dull. He tried his best to assess his surroundings, and he soon realized that the sunlight was actually the least of his worries…
Half-collapsed buildings, bloodstains everywhere, corpses lying all along the street, shattered fragments of bricks strewn about, flipped carriages…
Everything Roel saw was so incredulous that he suspected he was hallucinating, but the vividness of the scene didn't just apply to his sense of sight. He could smell the choking stench of rotting corpses and the shouts sounding from afar, which only further drove home the fact that everything was real.
"What's going on? T-this is…"
"Roel… Is this a scene created by the Ascart House's labyrinth?"
"I don't… think so…"
"Could it be grandpa's doing then? But…"
Roel forced himself up as he scanned his surroundings once more in bewilderment beside Nora. They were both dumbfounded by the unexpected scene change.
"That Peter fellow doesn't seem to be nearby. I saw him getting hit squarely by the light earlier.
"Peter?"
"I'm referring to that evil cultist."
"How do you know his name?"
"It's a spell. No, that's not important now. We should quickly get a grasp of what's going on first."
"… Alright."
Roel and Nora climbed to their feet under each other's support, and they began wandering around the area in search of clues to determine the situation. It was also around then that a familiar tone sounded in Roel's head.
[Ding!]
[System is activating…]
[System activated.]
[Acquiring new information…]
[User Interface refreshed.]
[Name: Roel Ascart
Gender: Male
Age: 10
Bloodline: Iron
Epithet: Fist King of the Royal Garden, Protector of the Lady
Tier: E+
Fundamental Spells: Minor Heatwave, Phantom Hands, Focused Burst, Controlled Breathing, Spell Gloves]
[Warning!]
[Warning!]
[Warning!]
[System detected symptoms of 'Restoration of Primordial Bloodline'.]
[Evaluation of Risk Level: Extremely Dangerous]
[The interweaving of history and present; the amalgamation of light and shadow. Amidst the bustle stands a lone figure. In this great era, a flower blooms and withers.]
[Degree of Bloodline Awakening: 17%]
[System advises the user to give up, due to the immense danger of bloodline awakening.]
W-what's going on? Why did so many notifications suddenly pop up at once?
The sudden emergence of the System notices shocked Roel. Bearing with the pain, he took a careful look at this User Interface and noticed that his tier had unknowingly risen to E+. Putting it in the standards of this world, he should be one of the stronger Origin Level 6s now. Surprisingly, he had also received an epithet, though it was a rather strange one.
Fist King of the Royal Garden… He probably got it from punching those young nobles back at the birthday banquet, while Protector of the Lady should be referring to how he protected Alicia back then. However, that wasn't the biggest problem here.
What really drenched Roel in cold sweat were the additional notifications regarding his bloodline, especially the two striking crimson words, 'Extremely Dangerous'. He couldn't help but grimace.
The System was a queer existence, preaching about freedom and giving all sorts of terribly vague descriptions. However, it had been very responsible in listing down the side effects of items and keeping him away from danger. If it deemed something to be 'Extremely Dangerous', it would be wise for him to pay heed to the warning.
But, why would all of these notifications suddenly pop up right now? Could it have something to do with the current situation he was in? Furthermore, what did the words mean that Holy Eminence John said before he passed out?
Roel was extremely confused at the moment. He felt there was a need for him to straighten things out first.
First and foremost, the System mentioned 'Restoration of Primordial Bloodline'. Did this mean that the Ascart House had some sort of unique bloodline that was passed down through the generations too? But why hadn't he heard anything about it from Carter before? In any case, it seemed to be something rather powerful.
Roel pondered it a little longer, and he soon shook his head.
Who really knew whether it was a good thing or not? If the bloodline was restored too far, he might just end up turning into an orangutan. Besides, the price to pay for it appeared to be far too great—just the pain in his eyes was already hard enough to bear! And once again, the description the System provided…
Son of a banshee, can't the System say something that makes sense for once? What the hell am I supposed to make out of this?
He felt like he was going bald just by reading the vague description. History and present, light and dark; what the hell did all of this mean?
Damn it all. My physical condition is faring very badly right now, there's something funny with the surroundings, and a crazy painter is out for my life!
All of these factors made Roel feel like he was facing unprecedentedly great danger.
Give up? I'll be losing a chance to obtain a powerful trump card if I give up now! If it was any other circumstances, I might have still chosen to give up, but a crazed dog is thinking of mashing me down into meat paste to paint his portraits!
But speaking of which, if I were to give up on the Restoration of Primordial Bloodline, will I receive any compensation?
[This System obeys the law of equal exchange. The greatest reward to giving up the Restoration of Primordial Bloodline is safety. The user should know that safety always ranks first!]
… Here comes the preach again.
Roel felt that he had already tried his best to remain on the safe side ever since he came to this world. He got close to his adopted sister, avoided the princess, and spent his days eating and sleeping without stirring trouble. From time to time, he would even do some good deeds to help the people of the Ascart Fiefdom.
He didn't believe that there was anyone in this world who had lived safer than he had! Yet, he still ended up falling into such a damned situation in the end.
Just thinking about it made rage rush to Roel's head, leaving him furious and indignant.
What if I insist on awakening my bloodline?
[Calculating…]
[With the assistance of the System, the chances of success will be 60%]
[Aid of a possessor of the Angel Bloodline confirmed. Chances of success has increased by an additional 10% to 70%]
Aid of the possessor of the Angel Bloodline? Could that be referring to the burst of light from the Holy Eminence back then?
Roel recalled the events that had occurred before he passed out.
[Estimated cost of the System's assistance: 500,000 Gold Coins]
[The user lacks the required funds. Activating Loan Function.]
[Loan Function activated.]
[With the shutdown of the System for 10 years and 6 months as collateral, you'll be able to borrow 500,000 gold coins.]
[Yes/No]