Chapter 122. Battle Against Myself (1)
A frigid silence enveloped the entire space in an instant.
Eventually, all the darkness that had descended upon the area was driven away.
Only then did First Prince Leon regain his senses.
“Gasp...!”
The confusion that had been turning his mind upside down vanished in an instant.
But because of that, he couldn’t understand what was happening.
First, there was the silver-haired woman standing protectively in front of him. This woman, whose pure beauty resembled delicate flower petals, was—
“Give my brother back to me right now!!”
Seraphia, the eldest daughter of House White Wolf.
“Why are you here—”
Before Leon could finish his question—
“Don’t make me laugh!!”
A sharp shout cut him off.
When he turned his gaze, he saw a woman whose seductive beauty contrasted sharply with Seraphia’s purity.
That woman, distinguished by her deep, alluring eyes, was….
“Luseria?”
What in the world was going on...?
“How could someone like you possibly do that?!”
Luseria’s face twisted with rage.
Black clouds suddenly surged from her body.
They were dense and ominous, as if despair and madness had been condensed into physical form.
And then—
The darkness disappeared.
“What...?”
A bewildered sound escaped Luseria’s lips.
Leon’s eyes also widened, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
Whoooooosh—!
An overwhelming wave of cold swept out in every direction.
Seraphia stood at its center.
“My goodness….”
Leon’s mouth dropped open.
He had heard the rumors.
Rumors that Seraphia had caused a disturbance at the royal palace. Rumors that she had single-handedly incapacitated the Royal Knights.
But he had assumed they were exaggerated.
She was only a sixteen-year-old girl.
How could a girl like that possibly incapacitate the Royal Knights, the kingdom’s greatest military force?
Naturally, he had assumed the rumors were exaggerated. He had never imagined that they had actually been understated.
Crack!
An explosion of cold erupted and annihilated the darkness.
Luseria ground her teeth.
She continuously swept both hands through the air, summoning more darkness.
Fwoooosh!
The darkness burned like flames.
The flames of darkness spread in every direction as though they were setting the entire space ablaze.
“Die!!”
Luseria thrust both hands forward.
At that moment—
Frigid frost engulfed her.
The flames of darkness failed to melt the cold.
“Ugh...!”
A groan escaped Luseria’s lips.
Blood poured uncontrollably from her nose, ears, and mouth before freezing solid.
The cold of the frost spread from the tips of her fingers.
“Argh...!”
Luseria’s body froze in an instant, and the blood vessels and cells within her body were torn apart.
She was….no match for Seraphia. It was as though they existed on entirely different levels.
“Aaaaaaaagh!!”
Luseria screamed in agony.
* * *
Memoria’s eyes narrowed.
And then—
At precisely the same moment, we charged at each other.
We raised our Dragon’s Claw [A] and swung.
At that moment—
The muscles throughout Memoria’s body twitched. Its joints then began moving in unnatural ways.
It was Slime Cell [B-].
It was too late to confront it head-on.
In that case….
Memoria sank into thought.
But apparently unable to reach an answer, it asked me—
“Was there an ability I failed to obtain?”
“Who knows?”
I shrugged once.
◆ Activating the skill, Assimilation [C+]!
My form rapidly assimilated with the surrounding environment and disappeared.
Memoria’s gaze wavered slightly. It had momentarily lost sight of me.
But Memoria didn’t panic.
“Since it’s an ability I possess as well—”
Memoria muttered quietly.
“I also know how to counter it!”
The joints in both of Memoria’s arms moved unnaturally as it wildly slashed in every direction.
Rumble-rumble-rumble—!!
....I couldn’t get close.
I could respond by using Dragon’s Skin [U], but….
‘It consumes too many calories.’
The one who created a “difference” would win this battle.
Since neither of us could use Inventory, our available calories were limited and equal.
This was a battle over who could use their calories more efficiently.
The first one to exhaust their calories would lose.
After a moment of deliberation, I abandoned my attack.
I pulled back.
The moment I deactivated Assimilation [C+], Memoria charged as though it had been waiting for that exact moment.
“There you are!”
Before I knew it, Memoria had pulled its Dragon’s Claw [A] far back and was swinging it toward me.
There was no technique whatsoever behind the swing.
It was painfully simple.
But I knew.
That attack represented the pinnacle of biological evolution, something that had no need for technique.
Dragon’s Claw [A] slashed through the air as though tearing space itself apart.
Claaaaang—!!
A tremendous impact spread through me, forcing my body several steps backward.
....Where was Memoria?
It was twisting its body in midair to regain its posture.
Memoria raised its Dragon’s Claw [A] once more.
It all happened in an instant.
Booom!
My kick slammed into Memoria’s side.
Crunch!
Its Dragon’s Claw [A] tore into my calf.
Memoria was sent flying backward.
I didn’t pursue it.
We both possessed Regeneration [B+].
However, I had consumed more calories in that exchange.
....It was strong.
It felt strange to say this about myself, but I was strong.
‘I can’t gain the upper hand.’
Since Memoria possessed none of my memories from my previous life, I had naturally assumed I would have the advantage.
My experience across countless battlefields.
My experience as the Special Warfare Unit’s Covert Operations Commander.
My combat prowess had been built upon those experiences.
But had Memoria replicated my body’s memories?
As expected of the Commander of the Dark Legion, an entity that stood on another level even among those who were already on another level, Memoria was keeping pace with the countless battles I had fought and the combat instincts I had developed.
Its replication was not perfect.
However, Memoria was going beyond simple imitation and reconstructing those experiences.
Even if its combat instincts weren’t perfect, it learned and applied them while fighting me, refining them with increasing precision.
In other words, even the advantage I possessed through experience had disappeared.
More precisely, we had become equals.
The difference created by Predation [S+] was meaningless.
‘As for Berserk….’
I didn’t have enough Sanity remaining.
I had used it all while experimenting with various things.
But the same applied to Memoria.
The conditions between us remained equal.
Therefore, the only variable remaining was….Ian’s ability.
Memoria had failed to replicate Ian’s ability.
However, it had replicated my body after Ian’s ability had already been applied to it.
In the end, we possessed the same abilities and the same stats.
It probably hadn’t been able to replicate Inventory either.
But once again, that was meaningless. After all, I couldn’t use Inventory either.
Inventory did not respond within the Vanished Social Club.
A variable.
I had to create a variable.
Something capable of distinguishing me from Memoria.
Even if I had to force one into existence, I needed to create it. But there was no suitable way to produce such a variable—
That was when it happened.
A variable appeared.
Something even I had never anticipated. Something Memoria had been unable to replicate.
Something that could determine the outcome of this battle—
The sole variable.
It was neither an ability, strength, nor experience.
◆ You have cleared the Territory Quest, [Unemployment—Argh! Damn It! Normalize the County Right Now!]
◆ You have cleared the Territory Quest, [Make Way for the New Recruits!]
It was the “connections” I had built over all this time.
* * *
The White Wolf County was trapped in bitter cold throughout all four seasons.
However, the County’s central plaza was filled with lively activity.
Various handcrafted ornaments and woven goods were neatly displayed upon stalls throughout the plaza.
There were exquisitely crafted ceramics as well.
Furs and winter clothing were arranged in pristine condition.
Merchants who had flocked in from Freche moved among the stalls.
After personally inspecting the County’s products, they couldn’t hide their admiration.
“Wow...! The quality is much better than I expected.”
“I came here because I heard it was Lord Adrian’s Territory, but....”
“Excuse me! How would you feel about signing a formal contract with our Merchant Guild?”
New contracts were being established with Freche’s merchants, signaling the beginning of the County’s revival.
Meanwhile—
The Vister recruits completed their grueling training and officially began their duties.
They were assigned to different units and patrolled the County’s outskirts.
They maintained law and order throughout the County while also protecting the merchants traveling along its trade routes.
Along the boundary stretching across the rugged, snow-covered mountains—
“Waaaaah!!”
A child’s cries rang out.
The enormous shadow of a beast loomed over the child.
It was an Alakron.
The Alakron was about to pounce on the child.
At that moment—
“Hey!”
A deep, rough voice rang out.
A heavily built, intimidating man stepped in front of the child. It was Sarpedon, the former Ark Master of the Black Grasp.
Sarpedon’s axe smashed into the Alakron’s face. But the Alakron didn’t simply endure the blow without retaliation.
Acting on its bestial instincts, it raised its claws and tore deeply into Sarpedon’s shoulder.
“Urgh!”
Red blood sprayed into the air, and the pain of his muscles tearing left him dizzy.
....What about the Alakron?
Sarpedon quickly turned his gaze.
The Alakron had collapsed onto the ground.
Since it was no longer moving, his earlier blow appeared to have been fatal.
....It had been difficult, but his combat training had paid off.
Sarpedon breathed heavily.
“Damn…. That hurts like hell.”
Sarpedon rubbed his torn shoulder.
Pressing down on the wound that was pouring blood, he looked down at the child sitting on the ground.
“Kid, get up if you can.”
The child’s body suddenly stiffened. The child’s eyes were filled with fear as they stared at Sarpedon.
“Why are you trembling like that?”
“A-Are you….a Vister?”
....So that was the reason.
Sarpedon smiled bitterly.
Well, he was accustomed to this kind of treatment. It had always been that way.
Sarpedon, Ark Master of the Black Grasp.
Fear and contempt had always followed him.
He might currently be training as a soldier of the White Wolf County, but he was still a Vister by birth.
In other words, a criminal.
Sarpedon had been born in the Lawless City.
And before becoming the ruler of a gambling house, he had stained his hands with far too much blood.
How many people had he betrayed and deceived?
How many screams had he ignored?
He had done it all while struggling to survive in Violess, but….
....He had become too filthy.
A stain that could never be erased remained upon him.
People did not change. They were incapable of changing.
No matter how desperately they tried to walk a new path. No matter how desperately they tried to live a different life.
The stains of their mistakes could never be erased.
They merely followed Sarpedon like brands burned into his flesh.
‘Someone like me has no right to call himself a soldier.’
It didn’t suit Sarpedon.
The place where Sarpedon belonged was that filthy gutter.
“That’s right, kid. This old man is worse than a monster.”
Beyond his torn shoulder—
Blood that seemed particularly filthy today flowed between his fingers.
At that moment—
“....Don’t lie.”
The child’s lips moved. The child’s voice was timid and barely audible.
Yet Sarpedon heard it clearly.
“You….saved me.”
The child’s trembling fingers clutched the edge of Sarpedon’s clothes.
The child was undoubtedly terrified. But the child didn’t turn away from him, calling him ominous or cursed.
“You’re not bad. You’re definitely not a bad man.”
At some point—
The child’s clear eyes had fixed upon Sarpedon. There was no contempt or fear within them.
They simply looked at Sarpedon exactly as he was—
“You’re a good man.... Bad things just happened to you.”
Sarpedon’s eyes trembled.
At that moment—
“Sergeant!!”
“Are you all right?!”
The other members of his unit hurriedly ran over from the distance.
But Sarpedon remained frozen like a statue.
“Sergeant...?”
“Huh? Sergeant, are you crying?”
Sarpedon’s massive shoulders twitched.
“I-I’m not crying….”
“Your shoulder is pretty badly torn, but—”
“Come on. You’ve been stabbed in the gut hundreds of times. Why would something like this make you cry?”
“I said I’m not crying...!! I’m not crying!!”
Sarpedon hurriedly turned his head away and roughly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
“I’m not crying...! I said I’m not crying!!”
But his voice continued to tremble even more. Before he knew it, his face was covered in tears and snot.
Sarpedon rubbed his disheveled face and thought—
“I told you I’m not cryiiing! You fucking bastards...!”
He was truly, sincerely glad that he had become a soldier of the White Wolf County.
And he made a vow.
To the White Wolf County, which had accepted him—
To Adrian, who had given him the opportunity to live a new life—
“Waaaaaaah...!!!”
He would devote all the loyalty remaining in his life.
* * *
The Territory Quests had suddenly been cleared.
Even though this place was a Barrier Space, Ian’s abilities, including Solo Level Up [EX], operated normally.
In other words, I could also receive the Experience Points awarded for completing the quests.
However, I didn’t know why they had suddenly been cleared. It was a variable that even I had never anticipated.
But the reward for both quests was “a large amount of Experience Points”.
◆ You have obtained 10,597,800 Quest Experience Points!
◆ You have obtained 10,412,500 Quest Experience Points!
◆ Your level has increased! ×24
My level had risen by an astonishing twenty-four levels in a single instant.
These were stats that Memoria had failed to replicate.
They were also the result of Ian’s ability, something Memoria could not copy—
And the connections I had built.
With that—
The additional stats and their amplified effects created a clear gap between Memoria and me.
“I’ve always wondered about this at least once.”
What would happen if I used Predation [S+] on myself?
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