Chapter 11
Adolf Seltarion.
His gaze was incredibly gloomy as he started to speak.
He was staring at me intently, as if trying to observe every detail of my reaction.
I figured giving a safe answer was the best option.
“The demand for magicians exists everywhere. Naturally, they can also be of help to our family.”
— “Exactly.”
It was a situation where we were both cautiously testing each other with brief statements.
As expected.
What a sinister guy.
— “By the way, have you met Brother Abel recently?”
“I haven’t had the chance yet.”
— “I see. He must be quite busy with the succession ceremony. Don’t be too disappointed. There’s a lot to prepare for becoming the future head of the family. Indeed… Brother Abel is truly the most suitable candidate for the next head of the Seltarion Family.”
That level of nonsense was quite impressive.
If he really thought that, he wouldn’t have split the family in two.
If I just smiled and agreed, saying, “Yes, indeed,” I’d likely find myself added to his blacklist.
“Well, the successor hasn’t been officially decided yet, has it?”
I glanced at him subtly and added another remark.
“And… isn’t life full of unexpected twists and turns?”
At those words, a faint smile appeared in Adolf’s eyes.
It was obvious he was interpreting it however he wanted.
That wasn’t what I meant at all.
But the more misunderstandings pile up, the better it is for me.
There was nothing to lose.
— “Do you really think that way?”
“For now, yes.”
For now.
This was a hint that things might change in the future. Knowing how meticulous Adolf was, he’d grasp my meaning perfectly.
The villain before me was eyeing me with interest.
And with Abel as my competitor, the best way to increase my value was to pit them against each other. Sitting idle, trying to grow stronger quietly, wouldn’t help me stop them.
I needed to start taking a more active role in building my influence to even stand a chance.
Adolf.
If I could light a fire in his heart, I might be able to secure some lucrative support. If I displayed just the right amount of talent, he’d start salivating over the possibilities.
Soon, he made eye contact with me and spoke.
— “You overcame Hermemu, so you can use proper magic now, right?”
“Yes. I’ve created a mana circle.”
Curiosity flashed across his face at those words.
— “Could you show me?”
“Of course.”
Since I needed to show some of my skills to gain something from him anyway, there was no reason to hesitate.
Whoosh!
Magic began to flow from my right hand. As Adolf witnessed the magic, his eyes filled with interest.
— “That’s… fire magic?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
— “But the firepower is quite strong for that.”
“I made this one myself.”
As soon as I finished speaking, Adolf’s face filled with astonishment.
— “…You made it yourself?”
“Yes. The methods described in existing magic books seemed inefficient, so I experimented with a few things, and it worked.”
— “Is that the magic you’re using now…? How many of these experimental spells have you successfully created?”
“There aren’t many yet. About five.”
In reality, I had over twenty, but of course, I had no intention of revealing that.
Five.
Even that was enough to astonish Adolf.
— “You’ve only been focused for a little over a month, if I’m not mistaken…”
This guy was practically a stalker.
He quickly fell into deep thought, clearly calculating something in his head. The fact that I had discovered three new methods of using magic in just a month?
That alone was enough to demonstrate my potential.
A magic genius.
That term probably flashed through his mind. Right now, I was only a first-circle magician, but if my circles increased in the future?
Looking at the future, he would definitely see enough potential to invest in.
And if he could recruit me, my magic formulas could be used strategically, like a goose that laid golden eggs.
If he wanted to win me over, he’d have to offer a lot.
Of course, no matter what I received, I had no intention of siding with him.
Joining forces with the villains?
That was the same as becoming a puppet. There’s a reason those guys corrupt humans.
Meanwhile, Adolf, still in thought, finally spoke again.
— “Kyle.”
“Yes.”
— “This Friday, the Subjugation Force is set to march out.”
The Subjugation Force, huh.
The Trastan Territory.
If you travel south from here, you’d come across a forest where monster colonies gather.
Starting from goblins and orcs, the deeper you go, the more formidable monsters like trolls reside.
If left unchecked, they would rapidly breed and invade the territory, which is why it’s customary to send out the Subjugation Force multiple times a year.
It seemed like this Friday was exactly one of those times.
“I see,” I replied.
— “Indeed. Preparations are already in full swing. Under the command of Baron Jerome, one thousand troops from the 5th Legion, which I personally trained, will be mobilized.”
Baron Jerome, huh.
That guy was one of Adolf’s loyal pawns.
‘An Expert-level knight at the upper rank,’ I recalled.
Of course, not all upper-rank knights were the same, and if you compared him to Leonhardt, Jerome would fall quite short.
— “How about you join the Subjugation Force? After all, experience in real combat is the most valuable teacher.”
I pretended to hesitate, lowering my head in thought.
Considering that the commanding officer was one of Adolf’s faithful lackeys, it was obvious that the Subjugation Force would be teeming with his underlings.
Subjugation missions don’t end in a day.
Naturally, we’d eat together, sleep together, and spend a significant amount of time with each other.
Their plan was likely to slowly win me over to their side during this time.
It’s hard to win someone’s loyalty through force alone.
“But I’m only a 1st Circle Mage,” I said.
— “Your potential is boundless. You’d be a great asset. And with the troops from the 5th Legion, you won’t be in any real danger.”
One thousand troops—it was a relatively small unit for an assembled force.
Subjugation operations could be large-scale endeavors or smaller, more frequent missions. This time, it seemed to be the latter.
“I would like to join, but it’s a bit difficult right now. I’m currently under house arrest, after all.”
— “I’ll persuade Father. This is a safe opportunity to gain experience, and I’m sure he’ll agree.”
If that were the case, joining wouldn’t be a bad idea. My reputation had grown a little, but I still had a long way to go.
If I could make a name for myself by excelling in this subjugation mission, my standing would naturally rise.
My influence within the family would grow, making it easier to move around.
Plus, Adolf was desperate for me right now, which meant he’d surely order his lackeys to protect me.
In other words, I could perform brilliantly without any real risk.
And since Adolf himself offered to handle the persuasion, I couldn’t help but be grateful.
‘Still, about that 5th Legion.’
Adolf.
After accepting the power of darkness, he gained a peculiar ability—to imbue his words with a sinister form of mind control.
‘It worked on knights up to the mid-Expert level.’
Given enough time, he could slowly corrupt even high-level knights, turning them into his loyal followers.
Using that ability, he’d gradually ensnared soldiers and knights into his web.
For those knights where the power didn’t work—those at the higher ranks—he’d assess their inclinations and then directly offer them the power of darkness, winning their loyalty.
That’s how rebellions are born.
Of course, the power of mind control wasn’t limitless.
‘It doesn’t work on people with neutral or good-aligned natures.’
For the mind control to be effective, the target had to possess a nature leaning toward evil.
After all, this ability was given to Adolf specifically to select individuals with corrupt natures.
The closer someone’s nature aligned with evil,
The more potent the control became.
They would become fanatics, bound to serve Adolf with absolute loyalty. And the unit where he gathered such evil-aligned fanatics was the 5th Legion.
It was a testament to how many wicked people existed in the world. He had managed to gather a whole legion of 15,000 soldiers.
‘It took about ten years.’
After accepting the power of darkness,
He spread his mind control ability throughout the Trastan Territory, targeting citizens, soldiers, criminals, and knights, collecting fanatics who would worship him alone. It took him roughly a decade to build up the massive 5th Legion.
Now, Adolf controlled that legion of crazed individuals, ensuring that their true natures remained hidden.
Though part of the reason was to avoid causing trouble for himself, the more crucial reason was—
The moment that repressed evil exploded,
‘They go mad. Driven by insanity.’
At Adolf’s command, they would slaughter even children without hesitation, consumed by frenzy. One of the five legions within the Seltarion Family’s forces was full of these lunatics.
When the rebellion breaks out, it won’t be surprising to see rivers of blood flowing.
‘There’s no saving them.’
From the start, humans were inherently drawn to evil, so expecting rehabilitation was pointless.
It wasn’t as if good people were being forced into becoming villains; rather, the place was swarming with individuals whose very nature was close to that of a villain.
There was nothing to be done.
The best solution would be to wipe them all out in one go.
But in reality, that was quite a difficult task.
How was I supposed to deal with those who, under Adolf’s control, appeared outwardly normal? Suggesting something like that would make my position plummet to rock bottom instantly.
The difficulty level of this Marquis family alone was enough to make it clear why I hadn’t been able to clear this game yet.
At that moment, a decent plan popped into my head.
‘Will that work?’
Fantasy Defense.
In this game, players could craft items—everything from weapons to magical items and potions.
NPCs could also craft items using alchemy and magic, but since it was a game, many of the crafting items, like hidden pieces, were only available to players.
Unless players themselves told the NPCs how to do it, these special recipes remained a mystery.
Among these, the one that came to my mind was:
‘Ogre Perfume.’
This was the item.
It could be crafted by combining a few monster by-products with a special solvent. Its effect was simple.
If there was an ogre within a 10-kilometer radius, it would be highly likely to be attracted.
Ogres.
These were monsters so powerful that even seasoned expert-level knights found it difficult to handle one alone.
‘If it works out…’
I could probably start by eliminating one of Adolf’s key underlings, along with the troops and knights he had been nurturing.
Ogres were monsters that roamed everywhere.
It wouldn’t be strange if one appeared anywhere, anytime. And if one showed up and inflicted heavy losses on the subjugation forces or even wiped them out?
They’d just chalk it up to bad luck.
On top of that, no one knew about Ogre Perfume right now, so even if someone got suspicious, they wouldn’t be able to figure anything out.
Wouldn’t this be the perfect—no, a beautiful—accident?
‘I’ll have to craft it.’
“If you think so, brother, I’ll lend what little strength I have to the subjugation force.”
As I spoke, Adolf began to smile.
Smile all you want, you villain.
Soon enough, that grin will be wiped right off your face.
— “Yes. Thank you. By the way, why don’t you try going alone this time? You’re not a child anymore. A man should learn to stand on his own.”
Leonhardt.
Since his presence would make it harder for Adolf’s underlings to approach me, this was his way of subtly trying to separate us. It wasn’t a bad suggestion for me, either.
After all, I’d still have protection from the baron and the knights. And if things really went south?
‘I could just use the Hide spell to escape.’
Hide was a 1st-circle spell.
Normally, its power was limited to simple concealment, but with my complete magic formula mixed in, its power was on a whole different level.
It became comparable to the 4th-circle spell, Invisible.
Even Leonhardt?
That guy once spent quite a bit of time trying to find me when I used it.
I could fool even an ogre’s senses with it. And having Leonhardt nearby could make executing the plan much more difficult.
My escort knights were still unaware of the true nature of this scheme. Even if I managed to summon two ogres by luck, if Leonhardt started helping out, my plan could fall apart.
But now Adolf had provided the perfect excuse to naturally separate him from me.
I could only describe it as… nice.
“I’ll do that. After all, I’m not a kid anymore.”
— “Yes, Kyle. You’ve grown so mature.”
Adolf and I exchanged smiles.
— “I’ll speak to Baron Jerome about this.”
“Thank you.”
Yes, talk as much as you like.
You don’t have many days left.
After finishing the now-cold tea in one gulp, Adolf rose from his seat.
— “I should be heading out. Perhaps because we had such a long conversation, time flew by.”
“You must be busy. You should get going.”
“Yes. Let’s meet again later. Don’t worry about father—I’ll persuade him.”
He then walked out the door.
‘Three days, huh.’
That would be more than enough time to gather the materials.
I had also managed to get plenty of gold from the Marquis, so now it was time to craft the item that would be the star of this plan.
—
Read More at – GENZNOVEL.COM!!
-> MAKE ACCOUNT AND GET [50] COINS FREE!!
PLEASE JOIN OUR DISCORD AND SUBSCRIBE THE ROLE TO RECEIVE LATEST NOTIFICATIONS!!
https://discord.gg/S8c2kGVr2g
-> Rate/Review us on NOVEL UPDATES. It Will help us a Lot!!
Read Our 8 New Additions – Click on the to Read!
- I Became a Raid Boss
- I Became a Plagiarizing Composer in Another World
- I Became a Calamity-Level Villain in the Magical Girl Universe
- I Became the Incompetent Youngest Daughter of the Demon Realm
- [Harry Potter] Another Legacy Weasley
- I Fell into the Hardest Dungeon
- I Became a Mythical Awakener Through In-Game Purchases
- I Became the Administrator of the Hunter Gallery
Comment