To put it simply, the situation was like this.
Just as modern society has numerous power factions within political parties, this place was divided into three factions.
One was the Royalist Faction, one was the Noble Faction, and the last was the Neutral Faction.
The Royalist Faction was obvious—they were nobles loyal to the King, individuals who would stake their very lives on any matter related to the King.
On the other hand, the Noble Faction existed in complete opposition to them; they blindly pursued only their own interests, focusing solely on filling their own pockets.
And as the name suggests, the Neutral Faction was just that—neutral.
Anyway, Lake, the older brother of Rave, the Lord’s Son, was a staunch member of the Royalist Faction.
Not only did the King personally promote him to Deputy Commander of the Royal Knights, but even while attending the academy, he quietly received support behind the scenes, reaffirming his unwavering loyalty to the royal family.
Yet, if he was caught off guard, it meant he had been swept up in the Noble Faction’s conspiracy.
The reason Lake got entangled in the Noble Faction’s scheme was nothing else.
At the time of graduating from the academy, the person who graduated second was the son of the Noble Faction Leader.
Naturally, since the son of a powerless minor noble finished first, the nobles were displeased—not to mention jealousy, envy, and a thoroughly prepared plot for restoring their honor.
Their plan was that while Lake was on leave, he would cause a disturbance at a tavern under the name of the Royal Knights, assault someone, commit extortion, and create a scandal.
But during that leave, Lake had actually visited the Kingdom of Alita on the King’s orders, even stopped by a house along the way, spent his leave there, and returned to the castle.
The King’s request in Alita had been to obtain a birthday gift for the Princess.
That exact same item was at the house he visited, but Lake had not returned with the receipt at that time.
Although there was clear evidence proving that he wasn’t at the scene on that day, it couldn’t be immediately verified, so the Noble Faction promptly threw Lake into prison, cutting off all external access.
If only the Captain of the Royal Knights had been present, things would never have escalated so drastically, but unfortunately, the Captain was also absent, temporarily away on the King’s orders.
With two key figures of the Royal Knights gone, the unit’s duties were in chaos, and though there was an attempt to free Lake by royal decree, the Noble Faction’s fierce resistance made it impossible.
However, if the receipt in Rave’s hand were handed over, the situation would change.
After all, they couldn’t keep holding him prisoner when clear evidence existed.
That’s why an ambush happened just like now.
The movement within Lake’s family meant that the imprisoned Lake might be released, so they were trying to prevent him from reaching the King.
Only after hearing this whole story did I take a gulp of the beer.
Then, I cautiously took a sip of the naturally flowing trim.
The taste was quite bitter.
‘And the troubles with those noble sons are bitter too.’
He was risking his life to save his older brother, now heading toward the capital with only one Knight.
That Knight was dead, though.
Anyway, I couldn’t help but be moved by that courage.
A boy with no strength or remarkable abilities, just an ordinary body, struggling so desperately—it was pitiful.
“I will do my best to escort you to the capital.”
That was all I could say.
No, even if I had more words, I couldn’t say them.
Because no appropriate words of comfort came to mind.
Half-hearted consolation would only poison him.
So I did what I could.
“Please.”
After hearing the Lord’s Son’s words, I bowed my head and left the room.
The single gulp of beer I had just taken continued to taste bitter beyond reason.
“Yes, let’s grow stronger.”
As planned, I returned to my room and took out magic books one by one from the storage space.
-Skill ‘Dig’ acquired.
-Skill ‘Stone Edge’ acquired.
-Skill ‘Fog’ acquired.
-Skill ‘Darkness’ acquired.
-Skill ‘Shield’ acquired.
-Skill ‘Dispel Magic’ acquired.
-Skill ‘Haste’ acquired.
-Skill ‘Strength’ acquired.
-Skill ‘Fireball’ acquired.
-Skill ‘Search’ acquired.
-Skill ‘Search’ and Skill ‘Search’ merged.
-Skill ‘Search’ level adjusted to 6.
I had read through ten magic books at once.
“Ugh…”
Learning ten kinds of magic simultaneously was evidently causing me tremendous mental and physical stress; my head felt dizzy, my stomach churned, and I felt nauseous.
“This much I must endure.”
What did pain matter if I was growing stronger?
If I were truly weak, reality would be full of suffering far worse than this.
Whether it was in sympathy or some other reason, the skill activated naturally.
-Skill ‘Willpower’ activated.
-Skill ‘Willpower’ level increased.
The Willpower skill, which pushes one beyond limits, healed me.
Right now, I was stepping forward to a new level.
“Hahaha.”
All the pain I had felt a moment ago was now resolved.
What remained was only a stronger spirit.
“Search.”
I immediately started increasing my skill proficiency.
Although I had leveled up, Search was a skill that needed constant use.
Feeling my mana steadily draining, I activated Search Magic within a radius of 500 m.
Enemies appeared in red, allies in light green.
There was no red marker nearby.
I ended the Search Magic and resettled.
“Search.”
Once again, mana drained as I scanned the surroundings.
The situation was exactly the same as before.
I repeated this several times.
-Skill ‘Search’ level increased.
It was still early evening.
I wanted to do some proficiency training before sleeping.
I repeated the Search Magic several times, happily watching the level rise until I quietly fell asleep.
***
The next morning, the soldiers were busy.
First priority was securing enough food for the soldiers, and second was ensuring feed for the horses.
We had anticipated the ambush and assigned a Knight to accompany us, but that Knight was already dead.
The fastest way to travel was on horseback, but that naturally increased the amount of baggage.
Knowing this well, the Lord’s Son quietly loaded supplies into the carriage and hurried us forward.
We left the territory early in the morning and rode for a long time.
The day passed quietly, but on the second day after leaving the territory, I had to stop those running ahead.
“Wait!”
Though it was a sudden order, everyone adeptly halted their horses, and the party looked at me with anxious eyes.
“There are enemies ahead.”
Since I had been using Search skill continuously, I was able to detect them first.
About 500 m away, some enemies were hiding.
In front of us was a small hill.
They would likely be visible after crossing it.
If we had just gone forward, we would have been caught off guard, but now that we knew, we had to figure out how to respond.
To my surprise, they showed themselves first.
“Does this mean all those who went ahead were taken down?”
“I don’t see that guy. Did they die together?”
I spotted two Knights wearing armor identical to the ones worn by the first ambushers.
I tensed, and the soldiers hurriedly dismounted to prepare for battle.
Behind the two Knights appeared several others.
Including the two Knights, there were 20 people.
A robed figure who looked like a Mage with the hood pulled over their head, someone dressed like a disciple, and sixteen soldiers.
“There’s a Mage.”
The one with the hooded robe spoke.
Surprised, one of the Knights said,
“A Mage? Is that why these people survived?”
“Don’t be fooled. He’s only a Level 1 Circle. They must have been careless.”
The Knights nodded at the Mage’s words.
Then respectfully requested,
“Then we entrust the Mage’s handling to you.”
“No problem.”
The Mage stepped forward.
With a lazy flick of one hand, they said,
“You’re a rookie Mage, or rather a mercenary. I don’t know how you learned Magic, but someone like you who only reaches half a day’s worth of power is a disgrace to Mages. So come here and die.”
The Mage stared straight at me as they spoke.
‘Hm? I’m only Level 1 Circle?’
I realized a fact I hadn’t known before.
I had just been using Magic and skills casually, but I was hearing for the first time that by the world’s standard, I was Level 1 Circle.
‘What’s the standard, I wonder?’
There had to be some criteria.
I subtly glanced at the Status Window.
-Name: Kim Solo
-Race: Human
-Great Achievements: 4
-Level: 86
-Stats: Strength 11 (+3), Health 37 (+3), Intelligence 11 (+3), Magic Power 16 (+3)
Looking purely at the stats without the skill window, it wasn’t too shabby.
Seeing me dazed, the Mage thought I was scared and loudly threatened me.
“Your pathetic Level 1 Circle mana can’t keep up with my Level 3 Circle mana. If you even twitch your knee now, there’s still a chance I’ll spare your life.”
I chuckled and replied,
“Bullshit. Come at me.”
“You bastard—”
At my challenge, the Mage lunged forward, quickly forming hand seals that had been forming since earlier and began casting Magic.
“Fireball.”
From the start, the Mage requested a fiery spectacle.
A flame orb larger than a fist sliced through the air and flew toward me.
I couldn’t dodge this Magic.
If I did, the soldiers around me would surely get hurt.
So I charged forward instead.
-Skill ‘Dash’ acquired.
The skill activated, my speed instantly increased, and I quickly distanced myself from the soldiers.
“Shield.”
I used Magic to protect my body.
A transparent barrier formed, wrapping around me, just as the Fireball collided with it.
Bang!
The large explosion and bursting flames looked like a spectacular fire show, but that was only from the perspective of a spectator.
Fortunately, the Shield wasn’t broken, but I still took a heavy blow inside.
It felt like being hit by a huge hammer.
Sss—
Bitter words slipped out of my mouth, but it wasn’t unbearable pain.
I immediately counterattacked.
“Magic Missile!”
My Magic Missiles formed and I fired them.
The enemy Mage sneered.
“A pathetic Level 1 Circle Magic Missile? How pitiful. Magic Missile!”
He fired back.
After making a few quick hand motions, he summoned a Magic Missile that struck mine.
Bang!
The two Magic Missiles collided and exploded in midair.
Both the enemy Mage and I prepared the next spells.
“Fire Bolt! Magic Missile!”
I created two spells at the same time.
Each hand held one, and they flew off like they were competing.
“Dispel Magic!”
The enemy Mage, for the first time, used Magic without hesitation.
It was a sign of urgency.
Looking at his face, I was certain of one thing.
“This is it.”
The reason for my certainty was right before my eyes.
Muttering incantations and forming hand seals took precious time for that Mage.
Unlike him, I only needed to speak.
“Magic Missile, Magic Missile, Magic Missile!”
In an instant, three Magic Missiles appeared in my hands.
-Skill ‘Magic Missile’ level increased.
Smiling slyly at the timing of my proficiency rise, I fired the Magic Missiles.