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A party to enjoy? Part 1
🕑 Added 2023-06-06 02:31:58 +0000 UTCI know... Neither I can't believe it.
Perhaps I bring not what you seek, but maybe, just maybe... Exactly what you require.
Follow me as we dive into this chapter that is about 7.3K words long.
(Ps: I'll try to not make this small Arc too long, we're done with Noble parties already)
PEACE!
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/A few minutes before Philip and crew arrived at the Palace…/
/Hustle.../
"Urg… This is so damn tight…"
I'll die at this rate!
'Standing in front of a full-size body mirror, a man with heavy dark circles in his eyes stared at his reflection as he tried to loosen his elegant, reddish black tuxedo's collar.'
"Cough!"
It wasn't enough that I almost died every day in that accursed training, now even my shitty clothes wants to suffocate me?
/Tighten!/
"ARG! What is this made of?! It's actively trying to tighten itself!" He said out loud as he pulled the collar apart
'It eventually stopped struggling, giving him time to think and a moment to breathe.'
"Phew..."
It's still tight though...
'Thinking about the past few months, Petter cursed Dae and everyone in his mind as he conformed himself to his fate, there was no way to avoid this one.'
"Another party… Didn't they have enough of these?"
It's the third one… At least for me.
Not counting all of the other ones those crazy guys held…
'In the last 5 months they've been in the Imperial Palace, the number of parties held within were too numerous for him to even count.'
'Mostly held by the Rich and Popular kids as a way to reduce their stress, Petter never actively participated in them, finding anything else more productive and relaxing, albeit he sometimes sneaked in to grab a sweet before sneaking out like a thief, though this truth he would never admit even on his grave.'
'Petter himself had only ever fully participated in 3 such parties, and those were the ones he was obliged to go.'
'The first one was held a week after they arrived at the Palace, and it was hosted by the Second Prince, it was supposed to be some sort of grand welcome ceremony while also being an event where many of the questions the Heroes had were respectively answered by him and the other natives that participated in it.'
'Honestly, it all felt like corporate talk for Petter, a bunch of nonsensical sweet words he was too tired to listen to and process.'
'Besides, every answer he wanted was given to him by Dae, and albeit it was bad to trust a single party too much, the things said by the Crown were too idealistic for him to even stomach, either way, he listened to them all due to obligation, so at the very least, he has two sides to compare.'
'But if he could turn back time, he would've exchanged that day for a few more hours in bed without a shadow of a doubt…'
'Petter's biggest problem with those parties wasn't even the event itself, it was the people that attended the party…'
'Staying with your friends wasn't really a problem, the issue was that he had none...'
'And also because of the Crown's goals.'
'From the moment they arrived at the Palace, the Crown had already started to divide them further, not just into Offense, Defense, Support, and the rest, giving more attention to those they deemed more valuable.'
'They had the Heroes fight each other to determine their rankings and superiority, giving more attention to those they deemed had more potential.'
'This may be a very grim way of looking at things, but Petter did not have the time to sugar coat his thoughts, it had always been like that, be it in here or back on Earth, the goals and reasons only changed a bit.'
"Privileges are given to those that deserve it or are lucky, there's no in-between."
What time is it?
'He turned to the side, gazing at a clock that was slowly ticking away...'
'The time it showed was irrelevant, as the only thing that mattered was that he was super damn late... Well, not quite.'
'The true event only started in a few minutes, he still had some time before that.'
I pushed this up for long enough, it's time to go... Unfortunately.
'Alas, Petter was also a slave for punctuality and formalities...'
'Dealing with those Nobles when their intentions were so clear was almost as tiring as his training, not to speak of dealing with the Heroes.'
'Like a certain friend said, the Heroes were a bunch of weird fellows.'
'And after being given powers, benefits, and more, their weird factors had been elevated by square.'
'Some were fine to interact with, but a few others were way too over the top, even for him who wasn't exactly normal in the head either.'
'From the Geeks that were lost in their own imagination and theories to the Edgy kids that lost themselves in their own powers and delusions, fitting in this world in a rather paradoxical way...'
'The Popular Guys who overall seemed all rather talented…'
'The Pretty and Mean girls whose behavior Petter finds rather deplorable, but did not comment on it because he was too bothered to deal with them…'
'The Sad and Depressive guys that at this point he found it was surprising they hadn't 'offed' themselves… Though thanks to therapy most of them were now fine.'
'The Muscular guys who had an obsession with power growth and Martial arts…'
'The 'Cute' Gyarus that were in fact obnoxiously ugly due to the fact their entire appearance was a lie… Albeit some of them had already permanently changed thanks to the wonders of this world…'
'The Rich kids whose entire purpose seemed to be amassing more wealth and connections…'
'The Lolis who were had surprisingly taken over due to the large array of abilities…'
'The Outcasts that weren't exactly that anymore since they have each respectively joined another group as time passed…'
'To finally the rest, the Normals that were too ordinary for him to even care, most of them had also joined other groups like the Outcasts, forever cursed with being fillers in the background.'
'And this was merely for the School Students, there were also some of his previous classmates, professors from both institutions and a few others.'
'It was simply too many people for him to count…'
"There was also the second Party 2 months ago…" He said with some annoyance as he checked his hair
'After spending 3 months in the Palace, a party was held by the High Noble Lupio himself together with many other Nobles of high stature in the Kingdom.'
'It had also been the first party where the Heroes were revealed for real to the High Society of the Kingdom, and obviously, that wasn't done without a cause.'
'Heroes were summoned every 100 years, but that didn't mean it was done so because they needed them.'
'Right now, there wasn't much for the Heroes to do, no big conflicts for them to participate in, there wasn't exactly a War for them to be on, even 100 years ago, things were at a relative peace...'
'In fact, it wouldn't be wrong to say things were more peaceful in that time than now.'
'The only things they did was train, again and again, while consuming resources by the droves.'
'But after enough time had passed and they had been "cooked up", it was time to sort them out…'
'With so many Heroes, they had to decide who would get who.'
'The King had to maintain stability after all, and with so many resources being poured into this Event every 100 years, he had to make sure those that supported the Kingdom would do so willingly.'
'It was a party to show the worth and value of the Heroes to the Nobles, while also displaying their Power and potential.'
'After all, one day, the Heroes would reach their limit, perhaps and most likely, they would leave their marks in History and call it a day.'
'And it would be too much to assume all of them would reach the stature of their respective Classes, or grow to the same height as the Legends of the past.'
'They were Heroes, not Legends.'
'In any case, at that point, wouldn't it be for the best if they retired… Let's say… Within a Noble Family?'
'Nobles cannot maintain their positions solely through politics and business, there was more to it than just that.'
'The right word for it would be… Selective breeding.'
'Nobles had to make sure their next generations would be able to enjoy the splendor of the future, and they did that by a variety of means… Such as validating their talents before they were even born.'
'And who if not the Heroes brimming with positive traits be the partners of their own respective children?'
'The child between a Hero and Noble, is there anything more 'right' than this?'
'It was the natural course of the world, many thought so.'
'Even if they could not grab their hearts or bodies, they could always do so with their descendants.'
'The bloodline of a Hero would remain strong for a very long time… They just needed to act when all factors aligned.'
'Sometimes, having two Heroes marry and grab their child would be more advantageous than trying to win over the parents, who oftentimes would be beyond their reach.'
'If not those, then their grandchildren, as if they did things right, perhaps they might be able to time the birth of the next generation with the upcoming of the next wave of Heroes.'
'It had been done numerous times in history, not solely by Humans, but by all Races.'
'It was a rather odd way of looking at the world, but for these people, they had been thinking like this for 1000 years.'
'After all, all of these young Nobles must've come from somewhere, right?'
'A family that specialized in magic would seek talents in the field to join their ranks, why not pursue a Hero of Magic that has both talent, power, and pedigree combined?'
'Being a Hero was a very High honor in itself, especially one that achieved great deeds.'
'There was even a considerate explosion in population growth around 25 to 15 years before ever Hero summoning, it was literally ingrained in their culture to do so.'
'Without a doubt, every single Noble Family amidst the top echelons of the Kingdom had a Heroic bloodline somewhere in their history, some sooner, others not as much.'
'Many also saw Heroes as an opportunity to awaken hidden abilities from their bloodline.'
'Imagine, a child that fully awoke all of their hidden powers while also inheriting the abilities of their Heroic Parent… Wouldn't that be nice?'
'Petter himself had received quite a few "date requests" from minor Nobles, albeit he refused them all "graciously".'
'However, despite the way he wished to look at this situation as barbaric and a manipulation of their emotions, Petter knew it would be foolish to think only bad things would happen from such interactions.'
'Was it so alien to imagine that a happy relationship and family could sprout from what was basically arranged marriage or an overcomplicated blind date?'
'In fact, if he were to accept it, wouldn't he gain a beautiful wife that would(might) love him? As long as he put in a bit of an effort, he would already be ahead of 95% of all Noble Males, as it wasn't a surprise that most guys weren't exactly 'romantic'.'
'Succeeding wasn't that hard, he only had to try a bit and things would go rather well...'
"Sigh..."
'But he shook his head, something within him refused to accept reality, perhaps it was his pride or his greed of seeking even more beautiful girls that were not only capable but also pretty.'
'Whatever it was, Petter opted to keep his freedom. He and many others.'
'Alas, it was too soon to present the Heroes with such opportunities, most, if not all, refused just like he did.'
'Each for their own reasons, whatever they were.'
'And it wasn't difficult to imagine what they thought of this, being all products of a modern civilization with more "developed" ideas.'
'Albeit it was true this world likely had way more history than Earth itself… But could Culture even be calculated? Some may say yes, others no...'
'But let them think what they wanted, Petter had his own problems too…'
"Arg my neck…"
'Such as the deplorable collar that was irritating his neck… And how many hours of sleep he would have tomorrow.'
"... Enough of this, I'm already late." He said as he turned to his room's door
The third party… Great.
Just what do they want this time?
I heard the King will participate, it's been a while since I last saw him...
And that son of a bitch told me to pay attention to it, so I might as well stop bitching about it.
"I wonder what he's doing?" Petter said as he thought of Dae
For the entirety of the 5 months, it seemed as if his thoughts were elsewhere.
I know he's focused on the future, but he acts so mysterious about it.
Work work work, training training training, if he were to listen to my thoughts right now, he would increase my training intensity by saying I was too energetic to be able to worry about others...
'Petter rolled his eyes, opening his mouth as he tried to imitate Dae's voice:'
"Petter… Stop whining and do 100 reps of what you just did."
"Petter, cut off your middle finger and try to control your blood flow…
"Petter… Petter… Petter!"
"For fucks sake, why don't you cut your %$^* and shove it up your ass!" He said loudly as his expression turned red
/Silence.../
"..."
Phew… I feel somewhat better after screaming like that.
'It was safe to say Petter was stressed and tired…'
"Perhaps I do need to relax at a party… Should I just give in and drink something for a change?"
I was never a drinker though...
'Thinking about what to do, he took a step closed to the door.'
Hum… Aha!
"I remembered… Wasn't today also the day when… Heh."
'Remembering a certain old pal, a smile formed on his face.'
"Well, I'm curious alright…"
"Just what he did out there."
/Creak…/
'Opening the door outside, Petter was met with a small maid that bowed immediately.'
'She was there to make sure his looks were in check and to guide him to the party.'
"H-Hello..." He said awkwardly as he looked at her
Was she here all the time?
For God's sake, these damn Maids and Butlers creep me out...
Wait, did she hear what I said?...
"It is my pleasure, Hero Petter." She said in an extremely formal dialect, simple, but elegant
"..."
"?..."
'After the initial greetings, she checked his current look and after giving him a cold glare, she grabbed his neck and…'
"GAH?!"
'Pulled his collar tighter.'
Do you want to kill me bitch?!?!
'With violent thoughts forming in his mind, Petter barely had time to say anything as the Maid was already halfway across the corridor.'
'So cursing internally as he grabbed his neck, fighting once more against the darned collar, Petter followed her into the distant sounds of chattering and music…'
…
/~~Music~~/
'Petter was led by the maid through a very luxurious hallway full of decorations he was too tired of seeing every day, eventually arriving at an even more flamboyant party ballroom.'
'The place was so big it was hard for him to even see the ceiling due to the magic curtains floating around, sometimes he would even see what seemed to be a buttler floating amidst the decorations, doing whatever he was tasked with doing.'
'Like a fish swimming in the middle of algae, that was the term he was looking for.
"..."
Against my expectations... This place looks quite nice.
No... It had always been like that, it was only that the other parties...
Sigh, hopefully, this time I can sit down and just eat something in peace.
'Turning his expression to observe the rest of the ball as the Maid returned to the hallway, Petter studied this place for the first time.'
'This wasn't just any ballroom, this was the Royal… Whatever the term was, a place where many important meetings happened in the past.'
'The first incursion into the Demonic lands was proclaimed here, hundreds of years ago by one of the ancestors of the current King!'
'He could almost smell the history! And the sense of grandeur in the air... Or was that the smell of beef?'
'In the edges of the room, two massive rolls of tables could be seen going from one end of the room to the other, full to the brim with all sorts of foods.'
'He could see many people sitting around, some he recognized, some he didn't.'
'The middle of the room was reserved solely for dances, but between that area and the table, many floating disks could be seen around a meter above ground.'
'Those were "meeting areas" where Nobles and Heroes stood around, grabbing drinks that magically descended from the skies, talking about whatever they wanted.'
'So while the long rectangular tables were reserved to eat, those circular ones were reserved for more private talks…'
'Next to him, on his right, was a tall and grand stand with a tall pair of double doors.'
'That was the entrance reserved for the King and affiliates, when they arrived, there would be a loud announcement like, "X HAS ARRIVED!!" together with some cool magical effects.'
'It was like a firework show.'
"I'll just wait for this to end in the corner…"
'Regardless, he needed to drink something as his throat was on fire.'
/Tap…/
"Hum?..."
'But before he could do anything, someone touched his shoulder from behind.'
'So he turned his head to check out who it was.'
'It was a man with blond hair, and by the looks of it, he was also having the same problem with his collar as he was.'
'It was a guy he saw many times before… One he grew to loathe more than the cursed weights in the training room.'
'However, due to the fact he wasn't wearing his standard sunglasses, he almost didn't recognize him.'
'In fact, wasn't this his first time seeing his eyes for the first time?...'
'Well, that would be an exaggeration, but at the same time, this was indeed his first time this close to this version of him, allowing him to see the strange glint in the man's eyes.'
'They were oddly reflective, he could perfectly see himself through them... Just like how he used to through his sunglasses.'
"Roy…"
"Hey, man… I was going to ask how you're doing, but why do you look so down to see me?" Roy replied with an awkward expression as he touched the back of his head
"Don't play around with me, you know very well why." Petter replied as he had the urge to spit at the man's foot
"Haha… That was just a misunderstanding…"
He's still holding me for that, isn't he?... Sigh...
"As if, trying to pull a sneaky one on me? Do as you please, I'm already done with you."
"Ah come on, that wasn't much was it?"
This is the time he'll say... "Not much?"...
'Petter turned to Roy, furious.'
"Not much? You mean selling my Status information wasn't much?"
"Screw you and your damned observation Skill, stop trying to divine the size of my balls! Why don't you go divine who's fucking your future wife or something?!"
"I…"
"Due to your 'misunderstanding', I got my fair share of stupid idiots going after me and ruining my rare peace and quiet."
'He pointed at his own eyes.'
"See this? It's partly thanks to you, even the Maid was troubled by it trying to hide it."
"It took me 3 months to convince those bags of self-loathing that they were better than me so they would leave me alone from their childish ploys, and if that wasn't enough, now those shitty brats think I'm a pushover."
"None of this would've happened if you had kept your mouth shut, now, if you had enough, go to another corner, I'm not feeling well today." He said as he crossed his arms, turning his gaze to the food tables
"Sigh… I told you before, haven't I? It was the most desirable outcome…"
He could've just fought back though... He's still as lazy as ever.
If only I had more time and choices to make...
The future is ever-changing, and trying to peek at it is…
"I don't care man!"
"What? You're going to tell me you did all of this for the sake of my own growth like a Shaolin Master sending his disciple to fight 8 demons so he can surpass his 7 Virtues or something? Come on."
"The only thing I got from being thrown into that conflict was a pain in my back and a handful on my ears from the instructors and those bitches over there." He said as he pointed at the Mean Girls
"..."
'Roy went silent.'
"Just give me some time alone."
"... If that's what you wish…" He said as he shook his head with a small smile
"But let me give you a piece of advice."
'Petter rolled his eyes.'
"By trying to ride the waves, you'll only end up sinking."
"You should seek to be the one behind the tides, even if the path ahead hides nothing but turbulent storms."
"... Uhum." He replied, uninterested
/Chuckle/
'It was Roy's turn to laugh drily as he turned around.'
"Also, if I were you, I would move out of the open."
'This time, Petter was surprised.'
"What do you…? Huh? Roy?"
'When he turned to face Roy, the latter had vanished.'
"What was that all about? Arg!"
Everyone is so damn cryptic! Can't they just be direct once or twice and be done with it?
'Although Petter was annoyed, he still choose to follow his words, it was what he was going to do anyway.'
'Albeit he was angry at Roy, he understood his reasons to some extent, and he knew this had all likely been set by none other than that Korean guy...'
'Why? For a series of reasons, the biggest one being the fact his Core Skills haven't been revealed, together with a few others that solidify his current powers.'
'That had most likely been a ploy from the one whose name cannot be spoken so he would fight against the annoying kids on his behalf.'
'But he still could not accept the fact Roy could so easily Divine his Skills and Abilities, he was a dangerous guy, one he didn't know how to handle.'
'He wasn't like Dae that had the experience, or like Philip who was too uncaring to even bother, he wasn't even in the middle...'
'He only wanted to be left alone, and in a sense, this was his greatest virtue and curse.'
'So he turned his gaze to the side, walking to the table to grab some food…'
"!"
'But as he walked, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as his stomach grew cold, a sign of a problem, a great one.'
'The times he felt like this were few, like when a knife cut through his throat during training, and when Dae started "helping" him in raising his resistance Skills...'
'Just think about it gave him the shivers...'
"...?... ?!?!"
'This prompted him to look at a particular spot on the other side of the room, what he believed to be the source of his instinctive bodily reaction.'
'There, he saw a small set of doors open, revealing a group of three people.'
'A rather pretty girl with long purple hair, and a burly Dwarf next to a rather ordinary Human male…'
/Gulp…/
'A Human that was looking at him with a wide, almost demonic smile…'
"Philip…"
I'm trembling...
[The Skill, Danger Sense Lv19 has activated]
[Target found, initiating analysis...]
[DING]
[Danger Sense has determined your odds of survival at -> Bow and beg for a quicker death]
[Danger Sense Lv19 -> LvMax(20)]
Was it finally maxed?... Yippi...
[The Skill, Predator of the Depts Lv13 has left chat]
"?"
What do you mean you have left chat?! Come back here punk!!
[😱]
"#!!"
I hate this fish...
'The man who had vanished was back, looking at the ballroom with a "warm" smile!'
…
/Back to the present…/
"Excuse me." Someone said to Philip as the latter entered the ballroom
'It was a butler wearing some very fancy clothing, he had a long magic list floating next to him like an Elder Scroll.'
'Philip immediately recognize who he was supposed to be, so he said:'
"Philip… Vinten."
It's been a while since I used my own name I almost said Polter...
Sorry father, I won't do it again.
'The butler's expression didn't even change as he bowed deeply.'
"It's an honor to have you back, Hero."
"?!"
'Viera's expression twisted when she heard the words, reality slowly falling into place as she connected the dots…'
'The butler turned to look at Viera, but he already knew who she was, the problem was the dwarf…'
"He's with me."
'The butler nodded without a single sign of complaint, grabbing his pen as the magic scroll floated in front of his body.'
'At the same time, Philip nodded at Tredis, who proceeded to say:'
"Tredis Jas Alquor." He said with elegance and confidence, despite not knowing if this was all he needed to share
'At the very least, he tried to sound cool and domineering, as it soon be his time to act like that, at least once his research became widespread.'
'He never imagined that he would be in the big parties so soon, though he attributed that to his capable investor.'
/Sribble…/
"Done, once again, allow me to welcome you all into the Palace." The butler said as the list magically floated out of his way
"Enjoy the party."
'Philip and Tredis nodded as they walked ahead, while Viera was momentarily stunned, following them right after.'
"..."
'The butler looked at them one last time before a bead of sweat fell from his forehead as he turned around, leaving his position.'
'Soon enough, someone else took over his place, standing there to welcome future guests from the teleportation Nexus as if it was the natural thing for him to do.'
…
/Meanwhile…/
"Well then… Here we are." Philip said with a wide smile as he looked at the people in the room
'There weren't that many people looking at him, which was to be expected, it would've been strange otherwise.'
"The party should last quite a bit, so enjoy it while you can, don't care about the others and if anything bad happens, just come to me or straight out ignore it." He said as he looked at Tredis and Viera
"As for me, I have some people to meet and catch up to, so if you all don't mind…"
"W-Wait!" Viera said out loud as she looked at him
"Oh? Is something wrong?"
"... Really? It's not even funny."
"Ha… Guess I did push it a bit too far." Philip said with a small smile
I said to her all of her questions would be answered once we arrived at our destination, she is a smart girl, so many of them should be answered by now...
But it's not easy to accept them either way.
"As I said before, it was best to wait to explain things to you once we're here…"
"It took me long enough but... I'm a Hero, there isn't much to say about that though."
Any more than this would be bad, would the Chains be here? They definitely are, if they hear me, would they become pissed?
No wait, they definitely already know that I'm a Hero, they should've connected the Dots by now already, if they haven't acted, then it means they must be seeing this issue through another perspective.
I'm thankful they haven't come to collect their gold anyway, even if by now, I wouldn't be too sad to lose it, albeit it's still well over 95% of the money I own, not counting the Principals' stash...
Still, that 5% is enough for me to go by.
"..."
'Viera looked at Tredis for some level of comradeship in surprise, but the latter seemed aware of this situation, making her even more pissed.'
'How come she was the only one surprised by this?!'
"So I imagine this place is…"
"Correct, the Imperial Palace!" He said as he opened his arms wide
Uhh... By her expression, she doesn't seem that amused...
Arg, I overdid it...
"..."
'Viera's expression turned ashen.'
'This wasn't the expression Philip expected from her, it made him feel a bit bad.'
"Look, don't worry too much about it, no one will, or can do anything to you."
"Treat this place like that other party we went to, a lot of annoying people and good food, that's it."
It's not like the King would go to her to give her a hello...
"..."
'She remained silent.'
"..."
This isn't enough…
I expected her to be shocked, but it was my fault, the Imperial Palace isn't just any place.
"Look, stay with Tredis for now, we'll talk after I'm back." He said as he silently nodded at Tredis
"Once everything's over, any question, I'll answer."
"... Any? Like truly any?" She asked as she looked at the ground
"Yup, any…"
'The moment he said that, she raised her head with a large smile, saying.'
"Then it's a promise."
"..."
What?
'While he was stunned, Viera turned to the side and B-lined to the dining table, ignoring both of their reactions.'
"..."
"..."
Did she just…
/Chuckle/
'Chuckling in a low tone, Philip looked at Tredis.'
"Looks like I thought too much and ended up being played."
"Hum... Is that how it looks to you?" Tredis replied as he looked at Viera
"... I know. Just… Make sure she is fine for now." Philip said with a rare somber expression
"Of course, I was going to do that anyway." Tredis replied as he turned to go after her
"Although, I advise you to not do this again anytime soon, else she may end up snapping."
"Haa… I don't have any more Earthshattering secrets to reveal anymore." Philip joked as he looked at her from afar
"... That's not up to me to decide." Tredis said as he shook his head
"Once stay with her for now, I don't think it would be an issue for you to find us would it?" He asked as he turned his head to look at him
/Shake/
'Philip shook his head.'
"Then... I'll see you later on."
"Promise me you won't drink... Much."
"HA! As if I would do that." Tredis said as he walked forward
'But his mouth salivated for a moment...'
…
'With the two gone, Philip was free to do as he pleased.'
"The issues of hiding secrets from others…" He mumbled to himself as he shoved this problem to the back of his head
In any case, I have some people to meet like that stupid guy that is trying to hide at the end of the room and the other guy that I can't seem to find anywhere.
Is he not here yet? Talk about punctuality...
I thought he was supposed to be the star of these parties.
'Philip's gaze sharpened as he scouted the area.'
Quite a lot of interesting people.
The Heroes are one thing, but a lot of Nobles as well, I can recognize a few from my studies into the Aristocracy… And even a few I saw before.
The rest are either Maids or... Escorts, like some of the people next to those young Nobles in the central part of the room.
I can't imagine other kinds of people would be able to join this kind of party.
If a Merchant is here, then he's a Noble, it's impossible for anyone else to be here, unless they possess another form of power, of wealth so overwhelming to move the Crown in a way...
But as I said before, if there was such a merchant, then he/she would be a Noble already unless they built their wealth in a single generation or something of the like.
How nice would it be to be able to use MT now, but despite the recent changes I made to it, using it in public wouldn't be exactly wise.
I can see some people looking at me, but their reactions are either one of 3:
Pensive, as they must be trying to figure out who I am, given I entered through the backdoor reserved for the cooler people or those that came from afar.
Confusion, as they may know something about me, but not be entirely sure of who I am, they may also be interested in me as given my recent changes have turned me... Into quite the gaze magnet.
And lastly, shock, from those that likely know I am.
Funny really, is it that shocking?
'He found it all that amusing...'
[DING]
[Scholar Vision has activated]
"..."
'Philip's expression turned dark as his smile intensified.'
'He could tell who was trying to spy on him, so he turned to the side, gazing at a girl eating some pudding next to another group of girls.'
'She looked rather cute, but Philip didn't care about that right now…'
[Due to the difference in Mental Power, the Skill, Great Sage's Eye of Wisdom has been blocked by Scholar Vision]
[Due to the difference in Skill rank, Scholar Vision is momentarily disabled]
Oh?
'This came as a surprise to Philip.'
This is the very first-time Scholar Vision has ever been 'disabled'.
It has been shattered once, or in other words, broken through overwhelming differences in power.
Bt never this.
Still… Annoying.
'His eyes locked with hers, and while his expression did not change, her's certainly did though, slightly.'
'She seemed immeasurably surprised by the fact her Skill failed, averting her gaze from his as she tried to think of something.'
Most importantly… I fucking hate this Title's passive effect.
One of a Kind passive effect… Highlights compatible partners for me in the vicinity…
Originally, the effect was very weak, not very noticeable… By not equipping the Title, the effect mostly vanished unless I truly saw a 'hot' girl.
The problem was after I received Sahrot's Ruler, which is basically the same Title as One of a Kind, but with more perks while being 10 times more annoying.
One of my plans is to fuse the two Titles together since they are so equally annoying... I mean, compatible, but that's another story.
Until that Title came into being, I could live with it, as only some Maids shone back in the Manor.
Sometimes I would meet a girl on the streets that shone a little too, but they were rather rare, so rare it would actually attract my attention…
But here, and with the fact I'm using Sahrot's Ruler as my secondary Title, there seems to be an unusually high concentration of these… 'Compatible' girls.
And this has caused some girls to literally look stunning… Not in the good sense of the word.
And… I don't know the system but… I'm not interested in her! Or in any of those girls!
In her case, she's literally half my height!... That's a bit exaggerated, she's about the height of my chest…
It's not that I'm against short girls, but she's a damn Loli, from her height to her bust…
I'm not interested in kids, small chest is okay, but when multiple traits overlap...
'He closed his eyes to think.'
Urg… I need to focus… If I focus the Title deactivates on its own…
'When he thought of that, the light around the girl vanished, and Philip let out a sigh of satisfaction, but not before his expression turned devious.'
This girl... She tried to peep into my Stats.
Well then, I'll give you a taste of it since you were so curious.
'With a devilish expression, he locked eyes with her once more.'
[Activating, ***** Might Lv4]
…
/POV change…/
/Chomp… Chomp…/
'This is so sweet!' A girl thought to herself as she took bite after bite of the pudding in front of her
Its sweetness and texture are out of this world!
Even if I can't read my favorite Novels, at the very least this world's food is in no way lacking!
Though I still miss soda...
'Standing at around 145 Cm in height, having clear chestnut hair that went to her to her neck, curving inwards to make two cute waves, together with an unusual pair of amber-colored eyes, she looked very cute, like the very definition of a spirit girl that should be protected.'
'Next to her were her friends, girls around her height that all looked cute overall.'
'Some with cold expressions, others with angry expressions, a few even looked airheaded, it was a mix of little girls for all tastes…'
'Like always, they stuck together, from before their transfer to this weird world to now, a strategy to prove effective, given how much they grew recently.'
'Staying in their own square, the group never really tried too much, preferring to stick with what they knew, rarely interacting with other groups.'
'And even then, it was either with individuals or groups they trusted a bit more, such as the Geeks, who despite their horrific vocabulary and use of the 'forbidden' word, they were overall pretty insightful people that had helped them greatly in their learning of this world's ways.'
'Reflecting their more passive way of life, each of them had awakened Supportive or Analytical Classes, such as her, someone who loved to read, awakened as the Great Sage of legend!'
'She felt really proud of it, like a heroine of the stories she used to read.'
'In fact, wasn't she experiencing one such story herself? The Heroes around her, the Nobles chattering next to her, the foreign music playing in the background as she ate her otherworldly pudding?'
'There was only one thing lacking…'
'In such stories when you had a Heroine that played with Magic, wasn't there a need for a strong gallant Swordsman to complement her?'
'Or even a cute pet?...'
'Of course, she did not care about the intricacies of said statement as she herself wasn't exactly interested in pursuing such things nor being on the receiving end of it.'
'The thought of being a frail princess in need of rescue wasn't exactly appealing, but neither did it seem that bad, because if everything aligned, wasn't it just happiness all around?'
'If she truly wanted, any of the Noble boys would do, but for some reason, they all felt so…'
'Boorish.'
'The same smile, the same gaze, the same looks.'
'Each one was a reflection of the other, and overall, they were all mere downgrades of what the Princes were.'
'Not that she favored them, she just didn't like their overall looks, they weren't ugly, very handsome in fact, it was just that it was too much for her.'
'She used to be a girl that read books at the far corner of the classroom during recess, she couldn't picture herself with a knight in shining armor.'
'But one could always dream, as dreaming of impossible things, even if one does not desire it, as this is part of what makes Human life interesting.'
'Who has never dreamt of having an endless cookie? Even if having one would eventually dismiss the very purpose of liking the taste in the first place?'
'Or of having some stupid power?'
'She was a young girl at the end of the day, and like many, or perhaps inevitably, she ended up dreaming of having her own fairy tale in an already fantastical world.'
"Hum?..."
'And it was at that point she saw a strange boy, walking out of the private backdoors of the ballroom followed by a girl with unusual purple hair and an even more unusual Dwarf!'
'This made her expression brighten as this had been the first ever she had ever seen one!'
'Pardon her and the Heroes, but they haven't seen a single member of another species due to their confinement in the Palace.'
'And for good reason.'
'Humans had to protect their Heroes and their Statuses, how would they allow other species to get their gaze on them?'
'The fact this Dwarf was even allowed here was due to a series of factors, but the most important one was the willingness of the Crown to share with the world their Heroes.'
'Perhaps not immediately, but people would come to know of them after today as it would be impossible to keep quiet any further.'
'That was why her eyes open wide when she saw the bearded Dwarf, he was exactly as he pictured one to be, and the way it walked around in its tiny suit was just as funny as she expected it to be as well!'
'So this led her to inquire, who this boy might be?'
'And as she laid her eyes on him, she couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia… That eventually developed into a strange feeling.'
'She eventually figured out who he was, wasn't him with her and the others when they first stepped into the Church half a year ago?'
'The same person that had vanished?'
'Not many had realized the disappearance of one of them, but she and a few others had.'
'No matter who she asked, they wouldn't say what happened to him, making her feel a bit off as it was all too sketchy.'
'Like in the books she read, wasn't this sort of development usually… "That"?!'
'The kind where they take one of them to conduct vile experiments on?'
'But here he was, in the flesh, seemingly unharmed, and even… Shinning?!'
'He… He's handsome…' She thought to herself as her body stiffened a little
'All of this together led her curiosity to the extreme, making her instinctively use her Skill on him, a pass time she had developed over time.'
'One of the main Skills of her Class that allowed her to observe one's full Status when conditions met, it was a very powerful Skill, one of the strongest of its class if not the strongest.'
'There was only a handful of people among the Heroes she couldn't tell what their Stats looked like, and those were obvious, the targets of her curiosity.'
[DING]
'But as she read that her Skill failed, disbelief took over her as a sense of mystery washed away her delusions.'
'When their eyes met, her thoughts blanked, and he frowned before smiling gently at her, she felt her face grow hot…'
'Could this be… Yes, it had to be…' Were the kind of things going through her mind
'So she raised her head to look at him again, and like before, he was still smiling at her, but this time, the smile was a bit strange…'
[DING]
'And as this feeling took root in her heart, the System announced itself to her, breaking her illusion as she was brought back to reality as the world around her slowed down, a clear indication of her skill being used.'
[Sage's Endless Records Lv7 has activated]
[Skill Level is too low to determine the Origin and Level of the Skill being used]
[Whispers of the Stars Lv4 has activated]
[Be careful…]
'But before she could read what it said, time seemed to stop.'
/PRESSURE!/
'And she felt a mountain press down on her from all sides, deafening all sounds, even her thoughts!'
[DING]
[DING]
'Together with a cascade of notifications, she saw her world explode!'
/CRACK!/
.
.
.
Notes
Today, we had two perspectives, one focused on showing a bit of what happened, and the other was mostly just for our boy to stile on...
I'm kidding.
Whose perspectives would you like to see next? I can likely shove at least one or two without breaking the overall idea of the next chapter.
