House Alminus's first move wasn't the lawsuit, but a sar campaign.
Why?
They could have just filed the lawsuit and waited for the court to rule in their favor.
My conclusion was this:
'Count Alminus doesn't want this to go to trial.'
If that was true, the lawsuit was just a gesture.
Or rather, a threat.
It was a ssage: You and I are in different weight classes, so if you don't want to lose even more, settle this quietly and pay up.
'Count Alminus isn't short on money...'
So it must be about his reputation.
That's how the noble society worked.
It was a world divided into winners and losers.
And backing down in this situation would be a clear sign of defeat.
Therefore, I decided to turn public opinion in my favor.
That's what they were focusing on, after all.
'The original Baron Yandel wasn't strong enough to slay a Floor Lord.'
'If it weren't for the Sawtooth Clan, his clan wouldn't have been able to kill the Chaos Lord.'
Technically, both statents were true... but Count Alminus was using them to manipulate public opinion.
It was a setup.
He would start with questioning my abilities and then gradually escalate the accusations.
'Bjorn Yandel stole the credit from the Sawtooth Clan, who risked their lives to slay the Floor Lord.'
'Is that how a hero should act?'
Count Alminus had correctly identified the source of my power.
My reputation.
"Hmm, so you filed the raid request without telling us?"
"...Yes!"
I returned ho and told Alia about the raid plan. Her gaze was cold, but...
"Ha..."
...it didn't last long. She sighed, like a parent looking at their troubleso child, and asked,
"Do you even know how many clans have disappeared after attempting a five-man Floor Lord raid?"
"I heard about it. They said it's especially dangerous with only five people. That's why most raid teams have twenty to thirty mbers..."
That number was based on the average level of 6th and 7th-floor explorers.
But...
"Don't worry. I have a plan."
Five-man clears were the standard for the Lord of Terror.
That's how you got the best rewards.
And the rewards were well-known, so there were always a few clans who attempted it.
Not many, maybe two or three every hundred years.
'If you know the strategy, a five-man clear is actually much easier than a thirty-man raid.'
That's why I had chosen the Lord of Terror as our next raid target.
People considered a five-man Dreadfear clear more difficult than a Riakis clear. If we succeeded, no one would question my abilities.
"..."
Auyen, who had been quietly listening, started fidgeting.
I suddenly wondered why he was even here... but I didn't say anything.
He had been through a lot with us in Ice Rock.
"Lokrok."
"Yes, Baron. What can I do for you?"
I told him what he wanted to hear.
"You don't have to join us for this expedition. Don't worry about it."
"Ah... I see..."
He looked relieved, letting out a sigh.
"Then who will fill the last spot?"
After sending Auyen to his room, we discussed the raid plan and the remaining mber.
And after a while...
"Yandel."
As I was about to leave the room, Alia called out to .
"You've been making a lot of enemies lately... Are you sure you can handle this?"
In other words, wasn't I being too reckless?
"The Count, for example. It would have been better to just pay him off than to make an enemy out of him."
I understood her concern.
They were the established powers of this world.
She was probably worried about the potential consequences of my actions.
Becoming Chieftain as a noble, challenging Count Alminus...
But...
"Alia."
I didn't back down.
"If you're scared of being attacked, you'll never be able to expand your territory."
It was my long-held belief.
"...?"
Alia looked at as if I was speaking a different language.
___________________
The next day, I went out with Erwen.
It was just the two of us.
Our destination was Raven's lab in the Mage Tower.
"Oh, you're here?"
"It's been a while, Raven."
"I heard about your promotion. Congratulations. I tried to visit you a few tis, but you were never ho."
"I've been busy lately."
The lab was covered in dust, just like I rembered.
"...Sorry about the ss. I've been spending most of my ti at the military base in the Imperial City. It's been a while since I've been here."
"Thank you. I didn't expect you to take ti off for this."
"Of course I would. It's a chance to see a Floor Lord essence. Any mage would jump at the opportunity."
Well, she wasn't wrong.
But there was no one I trusted more than Raven when it ca to magic.
Bersil specialized in artifacts, not essences.
"I did so research on the Riakis essence after you contacted . It's quite a unique essence."
"It is."
"Shall we begin...?"
Raven approached Erwen with a grin, and Erwen took a step back, looking at .
"...Can't we just do this with the two of us? Like before?"
Erwen didn't like being treated like a lab rat, but it couldn't be helped.
"As I said, we need a mage to properly analyze your new abilities."
"..."
"Can you do this?"
"Yes..."
Erwen reluctantly agreed, and Raven chuckled.
"...Erwen, you haven't changed at all."
"It's none of your business."
"Well, that's true. Co here."
The atmosphere was stifling.
We used to be so close...
But things had changed.
'She did try to separate us because she thought I was using Erwen...'
Maybe Raven still cared about .
'Whatever, it's their problem.'
I didn't care about their relationship and focused on the experint.
"Here, put this on."
Raven handed Erwen a familiar bracelet. It was the sa one she had used when we tested the Corpse Golem essence.
Well, could you even call it a bracelet?
"...Ugh."
As soon as Erwen sat down on the ominous chair, the 'bracelet' snapped shut, locking her in place.
"Don't worry. We're just going to insert a mana conductor into your vein and monitor your vital signs."
"..."
"Shall we begin?"
Raven made the necessary preparations, and then she instructed Erwen to use her new ability.
"It might be difficult since it's your first ti, but just imagine it. Try to rember the na the Sage gave it..."
"I can do it myself, so be quiet. I need to concentrate."
"Alright. You're the expert when it cos to abilities, after all."
Erwen closed her eyes, and a few seconds later...
Beep, beep, beep, beep...
The graph displaying Erwen's vital signs started fluctuating wildly.
The essence's skill had activated.
「Erwen Fornachi di Tersia has cast [Fusion].」
[Fusion] was a Transformation ability, similar to my [Transcendence], but also different.
[Transcendence] affected active skills, while...
「All passive skills are combined into one.」
[Fusion] only affected passive skills.
'I wonder what it is...'
I tried to rember Erwen's passive skills.
「Chaos energy consus [Elental Enhancent].」
The 5th-grade Evan essence.
It increased all four elental damage types: fire, water, wind, and earth.
「Chaos energy consus [Absolute Focus].」
The 4th-grade Lithcannon essence I had recomnded as a reward.
It doubled the damage of casting skills.
「Chaos energy consus [Harmony].」
The 5th-grade Patrol Ertes essence.
It converted Soul Power into natural energy.
「Chaos energy consus [Half-Blood's Blessing].」
The 5th-grade Kalban essence.
It gave her a random buff every few minutes.
「Chaos energy consus [Tracker's Eye].」
The 4th-grade tcrow essence.
It tripled all vision-related stats and gave a bonus to ranged attacks.
And lastly...
「Chaos energy consus [Food Chain].」
The 3rd-grade Heavenly Judge essence she had received from the fairy tribe after our team disbanded.
It increased damage against monsters proportional to their level.
Even though it wasn't as powerful as [Rupture], the essence's active skill, the passive was still quite valuable.
'The Floor Lord essence isn't included in the fusion, so that's all of them.'
I didn't know what the combined skill would be.
There were countless essences in [Dungeon and Stone].
Even I, a seasoned player, couldn't possibly test every single combination.
I hadn't played the cheat version.
'...Well, I've tested most of the higher-grade combinations.'
I had found quite a few useful combinations.
But recreating those combinations was a long-term goal.
So what about now?
What kind of skill had Erwen obtained?
「Erwen Fornachi di Tersia's body is imbued with Chaos energy.」
We needed a mage to analyze the skill's effects.
I couldn't see the system logs.
"So... how does it feel? Anything different?"
"I don't know..."
"Alright, then we'll test it out one by one."
Raven began the experint, just like she had done with in the past.
It wasn't sothing we could finish in a single day.
"I've taken the rest of the month off, so co here every day."
Erwen's schedule for the month was set.
___________________
「Erwen Fornachi di Tersia's body is imbued with Chaos energy.」
「Soul Power and Natural Energy are greatly increased, proportional to the character's level.」
「When dealing elental damage to monsters below 4th-grade, additional Chaos damage is inflicted.」
「While concentrating, all received damage is absorbed using Soul Power.」
___________________
I was busy after returning from the Mage Tower.
[I've heard so strange rumors about you lately. Of course, I'll help. That should quiet them down.]
I secured testimonies from the explorers I had rescued.
[There was a fierce battle on the summit of Dragon's Mountain Range. One of the Seven Strengths died. And there's sothing else you should know—]
I received a report from Bersil about the war and other news.
[Bjorn!! Co to the sanctuary! We need you!]
I had to visit the sanctuary to deal with so tribal matters.
[...It hasn't even been a month! What do you know about blacksmithing? To properly lt Mithril, you need to build a specialized forge... What? You're not rushing ? Don't lie!]
I visited the dwarf's forge to check on the progress of the loot disposal and Mithril slting.
In idle gas, you have to click on the progress bars to speed things up.
'...It's only been two weeks?'
I was exhausted.
I returned ho late at night and collapsed onto the bed.
I wanted to sleep...
But I couldn't.
「Character's soul resonates and is drawn to a specific world.」
I had one more task to complete.
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