24 Hearts

29====================

The twenty-fourth fragment, Carpe Diem

Serenia: Kaseun’s Mansion

“No…”

As I opened my eyes with a slight groan, I shut them at once under the dazzling light. When I slowly opened them again, my vision was blurred. The first thing I saw was a strange ceiling. It was not the ceiling I was used to; it was a luxurious ceiling with beautiful moldings and patterns.

The blanket covering me also felt different than the one in my home. It was of a very soft material.

Where am I?

As I looked around, I thought that I could recognize some features of the place.

Is this Kaseun’s mansion?

I thought about why I would be here, and then sighed a little. My last memory was that I had met Gabriel in the temple. She then tried to kill me, saying things that I did not understand after reacting in an unexpected manner. Then someone appeared and saved me.

I hadn’t seen the man’s face, but how many people could have saved me from a Holy Monarch? I figured that it could have been Xian.

“…I should be glad that I didn’t die.”

If I had died at that moment, I would have had to start over.

It was terrible, just imagining it. I felt dizzy at the thought that everything I had built up so far could have been reset: My relationships, training, and all my stat and skill proficiency gains. The saves I could make depended on me getting fragments, with me gaining one save for every fragment in my possession. Xian didn’t say that the gain would be cumulative, so getting two fragments wouldn’t grant me two saves and so on.

I figured that I should try saving at this point.

[—]Your resurrection save has been set to the current location and time[—]

Shortly thereafter, a message popped up saying that the save was completed, just like in a game.

I loaded the system message log. In its holographic screen, brief information gets recorded about important past events. If something special happened while I had been unconscious, it might be recorded there.

[—]21:20-You met b Holy Monarch Gabriel}, whom even high-ranking priests have not met. You saw Kain Sabrak being chosen as b Gabriel’s Sword}. Witnessing it was a great fortune and honor. Your Magic increases by 2 for having witnessed that wonderful scene[—]

[—]21:25:Queen Gabriel gave you the trait of b The Chosen One: Rank_A}[—]

Something seemed to have been omitted from the log. It was obvious that I had been attacked by Gabriel. So why did she give me a characteristic all of a sudden? There was no attack or anything else recorded in the log, as only special occurrences are recorded.

“Ha, really. It’s useless.”

I stared at the screen for a while as I chewed on my lip and then confirmed the characteristics of {The Chosen One}.

──────────────────────

[The Chosen One]: Rank_A / Workmanship: Master

Today was a lucky day. You have been chosen as one among many. It seems that luck comes from unexpected places.

Luck increased by 5

Luck potential increased by 1

──────────────────────

It was no different from how I remembered the trait to be; it was the same as the one I had created. However, I couldn’t understand why Gabriel had given it to me. It was a trait that Kain had, for he was chosen as Gabriel’s Sword. I was feeling confused, so I flipped the blanket from me, sat up on the bed, and began loosening my joints, back and forth.

‘Kuddeok,’ I heard the sounds of my bones setting, and my body felt more refreshed, but I quickly felt like a fool. I had chanced to look out of the window and realized that the morning sun had already risen, shining brightly over the world. I stumbled from the bed.

“Oh, I said I would buy bread.”

I only then remembered Tia’s bread-fetching errand. I had told her that I would go to the temple for a bit, but a day had already passed. I had gone out on a moonlit night, yet now the morning sun has already risen.

Thanks to this, I could buy the bread that was baked fresh in the mornings. Still, I was worried about what Tia was thinking, with me being absent from home last night without a word.

I was now fully awake and figured that I had to go home quickly.

Then, ‘thump thump thump,’ I heard someone run down the hallway.

It was utterly annoying! Who the hell was running through the halls in such a loud and uncultured manner in a noble’s mansion? No, I didn’t even have to question who it was.

‘Quaang!’ the door was flung open and Kain hustled into the room.

“Judah!”

“Oh, Mr. Sa…!”

At the same time that the door banged against the wall, I heard someone shout. I endured it all, trying not to swear and show my irritation. I took a deep breath as I saw Kain entering.

“You woke up! Are you okay? So you were in the chapel too? Laying there?”

Kain came up to me with a pure look, asking whether I was okay. I closed my eyes and swallowed my annoyance as I looked at him. At the same time, however, my heart beat faster, and it beat with murder in mind. Kain had gained a higher class of occupation called {Gabriel’s Sword}.

It was as if he had become a b Black Claw}, which was a higher class of {Magic Swordsman}. As I became conscious of this, I was engulfed by an inner conflict.

“…”

With my eyes closed, Kain’s information came into my mind.

Now that he had become Gabriel’s Sword, Kain would leave Serenia on his fifteenth birthday, the day of his coming-of-age ceremony, to collect fragments. He would claim several fragments with the help of his outstanding companions, eventually becoming Pernen’s successor.

To be honest, I hadn’t thought much about Kain until now, yet now the situation had changed.

It has become a real problem. Kain… He was a dangerous guy.

Shall I kill him?

I could easily kill him. My current strength was a little higher, and Kain had a poor understanding of the job of b Gabriel’s Sword}.

If I fight him, it would be a guaranteed victory. In the first place, b Gabriel’s Sword} was a job for an apostle of the Holy Monarchs. As time goes on, Kain would become stronger. Of course, if Kain was alone, it would not be that difficult to crush him even if he was strong unless there were certain variables on his side.

My occupation of b Black Claw} was the exact counter of an occupation like b Gabriel’s Sword}. Defeating Kain would not be that difficult, as long as this reality followed the rules of my game.

But I can’t kill you here.

This place was Kaseun’s mansion. If I killed Kain here, Kaseun would surely kill me. With my current stats, I would not be able to escape Kaseun’s wrath.

I suppressed the murder that had crept into my heart. In return for all the graces I had received for Kaseun, I decided I would not kill Kain while in Serenia.

There would still be many opportunities in the future.

In the original game, Judah has his coming-of-age ceremony before Kain and so leaves Serenia first. I was now thinking about the game for a moment instead of the events of this reality. Judah left Serenia before Kain to gain experience, and he accidentally claimed a fragment.

After that, Judah became fascinated by such power and set out to collect other fragments as well, and in the process, he bumped into Kain. At first, they only talk and then split, but after that, Judah bumps into Kain every time he tries to get a fragment and ends up facing him.

At that point, Judah’s level differs from the Player’s (Kain’s) by about 5 to 10 on average. The player defeats Judah with the help of companions, and so claims fragments, but the process is not easy. Along with the difference in level, Judah’s skills also counter Kain’s, so the total damage dealt by Judah is terrifying. Thanks to this, many players die at this stage due to poor combos or mistakes in controlling the character.

Even if you get Judah down to very low health, he can still catch you off-guard and easily annihilate your team with amazing damage and temporary invincibility.

Thanks to this, players always saved before fighting Judah.

However, Judah, who tends to be annoying and draws out anger, becomes a relatively easy opponent once you patiently collect fragments one by one. Even if his level is so high in the second arc, you can close the power gap by using the effects of the fragments.

Of course, if you fail to get the fragments or if they get stolen, you will suffer, even if you have companions.

Still, what was important was that this was not a game, but a true world; reality.

The story won’t unfold like a game’s, I guessed vaguely. All I knew was that my trails in this reality would not be along the lines of my game’s storyline.

Because I am Judah, not Kain.

It would proceed along the basic path as I remembered them to be at first, but later, things will deviate from the storyline depending on what choices I make.

There will be I remember from the game might be proved wrong.

Contrarily, if I just leave Serenia and do exactly what Kain did in the game, the deviations from the storyline could be significantly reduced.

Then, even the menacing Kain might end up living a sedentary, happily-married life while only possessing a special occupation called b Gabriel’s Sword}.

However, this problem I could only experience and ponder on later.

It was not something to take so seriously now.

It would be later, not now, that I would have to decide on killing Kain or not. I didn’t have to waste time pondering the impossible in the here-and-now.

At the end of such a long thought, I fully faced my thoughts and worries.

What was I thinking? That he will be a dangerous guy later, so I have to kill him right now? Wasn’t I once reluctant to kill people? My values are changing, heading in surprising directions.

I felt myself changing.

“Judah!”

I suddenly opened my eyes as I heard someone calling my name out loud. There stood Kain, the distance between us so very, very small.

“Judah? Are you still sick? Shall I call my grandfather?”

“No, it’s okay. I’m okay, so please don’t stand so close to me.”

Why would I want to be so close to a boy? I wouldn’t have cared if he was a woman, but I was reluctant to have contact with the same sex. I sighed as I watched Kain move away a fraction.

“Yes, what’s going on?”

“No, I came here because you had fainted in the temple yesterday, so we couldn’t talk. I haven’t told anyone yet, in case they don’t believe me, but I’m going to tell you first. So, yesterday,” and Kain looked up at the ceiling, blinking as he recalled events, “I saw an angel! Really, it was a beautiful, friendly angel! I’ve never seen such a beautiful person. Did you see it? You were there too.”

“No. I didn’t see it. I just fell asleep because I was exhausted.”

Kain looked sad. The angel Kain saw was probably a reference to Queen Gabriel; to her.

I then asked Kain something. He was still gloomy after hearing I hadn’t seen the angel.

“Anyway, you say an angel appeared? Did you talk with it?”

“She came down from the sky because she had something she wanted to ask me!”

Kain told me of the conversation the angel had held with him after that. It was an unnecessary story that I did not need to hear. All that mattered was that Kain had become Gabriel’s Sword and that he would be hostile to me in the future.

Someday, we will have to fight one another for the fragments. And I’ll have to take his life. At that time, thinking of such things did not make me feel good. If I could have easily removed myself emotionally and approached the situation with a detached mind, it would have been more bearable.

“She told me to be brave. Don’t you believe me, Judah?”

“No, I believe you, but I think I should go now. I told Gentia I’ll be home soon, but that was last night already. She’s probably worried.”

“Ugh, that tiger auntie?”

As I heard Kain speak, I stood and laughed.

“Excuse me, Kain, but she’s pretty. Just like when you called the angel pretty – she’s that pretty.”

At least to me, Tia was as beautiful as an angel.

Had Tia been there, she might have been angry at Kain for calling her an aunt. No, she would smack Kain off his feet. As I left the room, I was surprised to see someone next to me, leaning against the wall.

“Hello, my pretty and lovely Judah. And… Kain, you little dog.”

* * *

──────────────────────

[—]Hint: When players eat, their stamina recovery rate increases, making them recover from fatigue faster. If it’s expensive, greasy, and tasty, it’s even more effective! So, you can feel free to eat anything. If you enjoy it, remember: It has 0 calories![—]

──────────────────────

「Status Window」

[Name: Judah Arche]

[Title: None]

[Level: 12]

[Occupation: Black Claw _ Shadow Magic Swordsman (Hidden_A)]

[Number of resurrections: 1]

[Strength: 35(D) / Potential A]

[Health: 35(D) / Potential S]

[Agility: 30(D) / Potential SS]

[Magic: 41(C) / Potential B]

[Magical Resistance: 51(C) / Potential S]

[Knowledge: 17(F) / Potential B] ◀ Special

[Luck: 84(A) / Potential S] ◀ Special

[Remaining points: 11]

──────────────────────