Chapter 263: Chapter 263

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 263

Crown Prince Laos could not hide his discomfort.

“Communication has been cut off. What in the world is happening?”

Every morning, he would receive a secret report.

The contents were always about the village of Bern, located on the frontier.

Officially, it was under the pretext of inspecting small villages, but the reports were filled to the brim with details regarding a peculiar energy.

However, this morning, a report came in stating that contact with Bern had been severed.

"Hey! Why is the cleaning so sloppy? Can’t you see the dust here?!"

The misplaced frustration ended up being directed at the servant responsible for cleaning.

On the surface, the room appeared spotless, but Laos needed someone to vent his anger on.

"I-I’m sorry! I’ll be more thorough next time!"

"Sorry? Damn it, then don’t do something you’ll have to apologize for! Hey, lock that useless wench in the dungeon and give her nothing but water for three days!"

"Please forgive me! It won’t happen again!"

The servant turned pale, dropping to her knees and begging earnestly.

Being confined to the dungeon for three days with only water wasn’t where the punishment ended.

It involved brutal torture throughout the process.

When the torture was finally over, she would likely be left half-crippled and expelled from the royal palace, forced to fend for herself.

If that happened, her younger siblings waiting at home would surely starve.

Yet Laos showed no mercy.

"Are you deaf? Get her out of my sight now!"

At Laos's command, the knights entered the room and dragged the servant away.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

Even as she was being taken away, the servant desperately called out to him.

"That’s what happens when you hire untrained fools. Disgraceful."

Laos clicked his tongue in irritation before leaving the room, preparing to head out.

"Your Highness, are you going somewhere?"

The steward managing the entire royal palace cautiously approached.

Word had already spread that the servant responsible for cleaning Laos's room had been dragged away, so it was impossible for him not to know.

To avoid provoking Laos's temper, the steward maintained a deferential attitude.

Fortunately, Laos did not take issue with his demeanor.

"I need to go out for a while. Where’s Blanc?"

"He should be at the training grounds. Shall I summon him immediately?"

"Yes, tell him I’m heading to Bern."

"Understood."

As the steward hurried off towards the training grounds, a sudden announcement echoed through the palace.

"Prince Karvan has returned!"

The news of Karvan’s return reached Laos’s ears, causing him to freeze mid-step.

"What...?"

Karvan had returned alive?

That bastard was supposed to be conducting experiments in Bern right now.

Laos changed direction and approached the servant who had delivered the news.

"Say what you just said again."

"Pardon...?"

"I said, speak clearly in front of me!"

Laos grabbed the messenger by the collar, glaring at him with a murderous intensity.

"I-I’ll repeat! Prince Karvan has returned!"

The report from Bern had been cut off, and now Karvan had returned.

"Damn it."

Laos’s eyes burned with fury.

"Where is Karvan now?"

"H-he is waiting to meet His Majesty."

"Is that so?"

That brat was still young.

For someone who should have already been dead to return alive could only mean he had hidden allies.

Calculating the situation in his mind, Laos turned and headed toward the audience chamber.

***

As Karvan entered the royal palace, an exclamation mark appeared above his head.

[You have completed the quest.]

[Claim your reward.]

Upon completing the quest, Karvan pulled a pocket watch from his coat and handed it to Jeong-hoon.

"Could you accept this?"

"What is this?"

"...It’s the most valuable thing I own."

[Broken Pocket Watch]

- Type: Watch

- Grade: ???

- A watch imbued with mysterious power.

- It has lost its functionality due to being broken.

The pocket watch was damaged.

The most valuable item he owned, and yet it was broken.

"A broken watch as a reward..."

Rejecting the item didn’t seem likely to trigger a new quest.

Karvan had explicitly stated it was the most valuable thing in his possession.

Jeong-hoon accepted the watch.

"Thank you. I’ll treasure it."

If the watch contained mysterious power, its true worth might be revealed upon restoration.

"Thank you so much. Without you... I’d probably be dead."

A boy, no older than ten, spoke of death so casually.

As Karvan spoke, a question mark began to blink above his head again.

[Episode Quest: The Survival of the Third Prince]

- Condition: Ensure Third Prince Karvan enters the royal palace alive.

- Reward: Progress to the next quest + Experience points.

- Description: Help the Third Prince Karvan survive. (7 days)

The start of an Episode Quest.

"This was supposed to be triggered through the Second Prince."

Since Karvan had been rescued, the quest was now accessible through him.

The quest’s objective was to ensure Karvan survived for seven days within the royal palace.

This clearly implied that someone was targeting Karvan’s life.

"It’s probably the Crown Prince."

When Jeong-hoon had visited Darvis, he couldn’t start the episode quest but had heard about its storyline.

The quest involved protecting the Second Prince from the Crown Prince’s machinations.

Even after ascending to the position of Crown Prince, he continued to suppress his siblings, eliminating even the slightest potential threats to his rule.

He attempted to assassinate the Second Prince quietly, but with players’ intervention, the attempt failed, and the Crown Prince ultimately met his demise.

The episode had significant narrative skips and lacked detailed lore, yet players appreciated the simplicity, which made completing the quest more convenient.

"Let’s wrap this up quickly."

Jeong-hoon had no intention of dragging this quest out.

Normally, one would need to counter the Crown Prince’s faction and protect Karvan, but Jeong-hoon had a different approach.

If there was no opposition to begin with, there’d be nothing to defend against.

"I’ll use Laos’s abilities too—this will be a smooth ride to the final quest."

And in the process, he could also boost the stats of the Seven Deadly Sins.

“Hey, Seven Deadly Sins, feeling hungry?”

Jeong-hoon summoned the Seven Deadly Sins.

“I’m always hungry,” it replied with a grin.

“Great. I’ll have you deal with a few targets later. Don’t kill them, just incapacitate them.”

“Sounds delightful!”

The Seven Deadly Sins grinned widely.

“Um… what exactly is that?”

Karvan couldn’t take his eyes off the creature, his expression clearly flustered.

It was understandable—something had just appeared out of thin air.

“It’s my summoned companion,” Jeong-hoon explained.

“A summoned companion…?”

“Think of it as a pet I’m training.”

“I see.”

Finally understanding, Karvan began observing the Seven Deadly Sins with fascination.

Not long after, an aide to the Emperor approached them.

“His Majesty declines to see you.”

The return of the Third Prince.

Yet the Emperor, showing no interest, refused the audience request outright.

"He’s always been like this."

The Emperor had claimed the throne after bathing in the blood of many.

He intended to pass the throne to someone who could also survive and thrive in such a blood-soaked environment.

This palace was a battlefield.

The weak were naturally weeded out.

"I-I see..."

Karvan nodded dejectedly, his face filled with dismay.

No matter how indifferent his father had been, he hadn’t expected the Emperor to refuse to see him even after three months of separation.

"Then, please just return."

Leaving those words, the aide turned back and disappeared inside.

"...It seems I have no choice but to return. Thank you so much for accompanying me this far."

Karvan’s residence was located in an annex quite a distance away from here.

His reason for bringing Jeong-hoon along this far was to formally express his gratitude to the benefactor who had saved him.

However, having been denied even an audience with the Emperor, Karvan now felt deeply apologetic.

"Are you sure you’ll be okay returning on your own?"

"...I don’t really have a choice, do I?"

"Then let me accompany you to the annex. As you can see, I’ve got plenty of time to spare."

Jeong-hoon gave a small smile.

At his words, Karvan’s face brightened.

"Would that really be alright?"

"Of course. After all, I’ve already received a reward; if I just leave now, I wouldn’t feel right either."

Jeong-hoon held up the pocket watch as he spoke.

"Then I’ll gladly take you up on your offer!"

It was at that moment.

"Hey, Karvan."

A male voice rang out from behind Jeong-hoon.

At the sound of it, Karvan began trembling.

The child’s young eyes were quickly overtaken by fear.

The Crown Prince.

Jeong-hoon slowly turned around.

Striding toward them was a young man in his late teens.

Seven Deadly Sins.

Without needing to think, Jeong-hoon sent a signal to his summon.

"Enjoy your meal!"

With those words, the Seven Deadly Sins charged at the Crown Prince.

"What in the world is this?!"

Startled, the Crown Prince stopped in his tracks as the Seven Deadly Sins lunged toward him.

"How dare you!"

One of the knights accompanying the Crown Prince swiftly drew his sword and slashed at the summon.

But before the attack could land, Jeong-hoon had already stepped forward, using the Heavenly Demon Sovereign Step to grab the knight’s wrist and halt the strike.

Crunch!

"Ugh!"

As Jeong-hoon applied more pressure to his grip, the knight grimaced in pain.

"Release him this instant!"

Another knight pointed his blade at Jeong-hoon in warning.

With a cold smirk, Jeong-hoon tilted his head toward the knight whose wrist he held captive.

"Lower your sword, or this guy loses his hand."

"W-what?!"

"What, think I’m bluffing?"

Jeong-hoon tightened his grip further.

Crack!

"Arghhh!"

With the sound of bones breaking, the knight let out a scream and collapsed to his knees.

Hearing the painful cry, the other knight who had been pointing his sword at Jeong-hoon hurriedly lowered it.

"At least one of you has some sense."

Only then did Jeong-hoon release the wrist he had been gripping.

The knight clutched his throbbing wrist, grimacing in pain.

[Absorbing stats.]

In the meantime, the Seven Deadly Sins latched onto Laos and began draining his stats.

"Arghhh! Get this thing off me! Get it off, now!"

Laos drew his sword and swung it at the Seven Deadly Sins.

However, the summon effortlessly blocked the strike and continued its absorption undeterred.

"Your Highness!"

One of the knights rushed toward Laos in a panic.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Jeong-hoon stepped forward, drawing Leviathan and aiming it at the approaching knights, halting them in their tracks.

[Activating Mind Control.]

With a single command, Jeong-hoon unleashed his overwhelming power, instantly subjecting the two knights to mind control.

"Protect the Third Prince. That’s your only duty now."

"Yes..."

"Understood..."

The two knights nodded blankly, their expressions vacant.

"Now then," Jeong-hoon said, turning his attention back.

===

[NPC Information]

- Nickname: Laos Rude Hixmion

- Level: 275

- Class: Crown Prince of the Hixmion Empire

===

Level 275.

Not exactly low.

"This should be quite profitable," Jeong-hoon mused, his lips curling into a smirk.

***

Laos Rude Hixmion.

His mind was in complete disarray.

What in the world was happening here?

He had come to confront his younger brother, who had miraculously returned from the brink of death, only to find himself under attack by a strange entity that refused to let go.

To make matters worse, he felt his strength draining by the second, to the point where he began to fear for his life.

"Let go, you bastard!"

"That was a good meal."

At last, the creature detached itself, looking satisfied.

Seeing its smug expression only made Laos boil with rage.

"You little... I’ll kill you myself!"

Laos glared at the Seven Deadly Sins with murderous intent.

"And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

Jeong-hoon stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Laos.

"You filthy wretch! What the hell have you done to me?!"

"Done to you? Oh, nothing much. Just made sure you’re no longer capable of doing anything useful."

"What...?"

"Go back to your room and live like a mouse in hiding. If you do that, I might let you live."

Jeong-hoon placed his hand on Laos’s shoulder and slowly applied pressure.

Devoid of his stats, Laos could no longer resist, and the slight force made him crumble to his knees.

"Urgh! Let go! I said, let go!"

"I already warned you."

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]