I Reincarnated into a Game Filled with Mods – Chapter 17

Chapter 17

“…Women, you say?”

“Yes, women.”

I was slightly taken aback, but I didn’t show it.

Up to the point where the lord subtly proposed a deal to the player, it was the same, but the content of the deal was different from what I remembered. In the game, he asked if I was interested in money or power.

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“There’s no need to pretend. We’re both in the same boat. If you’re a man who was imprisoned there after committing a crime, you should know what I’m trying to say, right?”

I noticed that the lord’s tone changed, albeit very slightly, in that short moment. Perhaps because he was the one proposing cooperation to me, his tone was a bit more formal than before.

“…….”

When I didn’t readily answer and maintained my silence, the lord, for whatever reason, interpreted it as something meaningful and gave a knowing smile.

“Anyway, just know that I have a proposition for you. Neither of us will lose out. I guarantee it.”

“I’ll decide after hearing it.”

“No, the moment you hear this, you’ll have to join me. And keep this in mind. I have the power to fire you from the Knights with a single word. And I also have the authority to kick you out of this city, never to set foot here again, or even imprison you. Wouldn’t it be better to join me?”

“Is that a threat?”

“Of course not. Just a suggestion.”

“Then I’ll follow. There’s no need to think about which side to take here.”

I deliberately answered without a moment’s hesitation. This guy, due to his personality being that of the strong bullying the weak, preferred people with a similarly despicable nature.

“Good, good. You made a very wise decision. As expected, a quick-witted person has an easier life. Especially those like you.”

At my straightforward answer, the lord gave a sly grin. His eyes, nose, and mouth were all buried in his chubby cheeks, creasing them up.

It was a smile that made me want to punch him.

“Now, shall we move on to the real story?”

After finishing the meeting with the lord and even shaking hands as a sign of goodwill, I left the reception room. His disgustingly clammy and unpleasant palm had soured my mood, but I managed to endure it somehow.

I rubbed my palm against the wall to clean it and left the mansion, pondering the lord’s proposal.

‘I had a rough idea from the moment he asked if I liked women.’

While his ultimate goal of wanting to completely destroy the Silver Dawn Knights was the same, the details were the opposite.

In the game, since both the lord and the Knight Commanders of the Silver Dawn Knights were men, he would talk about wanting to poison their food to weaken their physical abilities significantly and then personally kill them with his sword.

The reward for that was the knighthood of the lord’s mansion.

But here, it was different. While poisoning the food of the Silver Dawn Knights was consistent with the game, the purpose wasn’t to kill them directly but to turn the Knight Commanders into sex slaves and own them.

Since they would obviously be suspicious of food he gave them, he told me to get close to the Knight Commanders and then visit the mansion, where he would give me the poison needed for the plan. Applying it was up to me.

He even said that if the plan succeeded, he would give me the opportunity to ‘taste’ the Silver Dawn Knights as well.

‘What an arrogant bastard.’

Not putting any restrictions on me while asking me to do such a thing, and thinking that I would naturally follow his orders out of lust, was incredibly arrogant.

Even in the game, there was an option to immediately reveal this proposal to the Knight Commander, so his hopeless personality could be considered officially recognized by the developers.

‘Well, I won’t do that, though.’

However, to kill the lord, I had to keep it a secret from everyone for now. This was because if I revealed the plan as it was, he would simply be expelled from the region and that would be the end of it.

Moreover, after being expelled in that way, he would hold a grudge against the protagonist and persistently obstruct quests related to the story.

You have to experience it firsthand to know how disgusting it feels when that happens. A truly indescribable feeling of frustration washes over you.

“Are you alright?!”

As I left the mansion, Iris, who had been leaning against the wall and waiting for me with an anxious expression, ran straight towards me. Judging by the urgency on her face, she seemed to have been quite worried about me.

“As you can see, I’m fine.”

“Really, are you sure?”

“Of course. He tried to pry something out of me with his questions, but I just told him to ask you. After a few repetitions, he gave up.”

“Well done. Yes, you did really well. Did he threaten to expel you from the Knights?”

“If he did, I wouldn’t be standing here so calmly.”

“Thank goodness… Thank goodness.”

Iris let out a sigh of relief, “Haa.” It seemed she had been tormented by that lord quite a bit.

“Let’s head back to the Knights’ headquarters for now.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Even while riding back to the lodging, Iris continued to worry about me. Her expression revealed everything she had endured from that lord so far.

It’ll be a worry she won’t have to bear anymore in about two weeks, at most.

‘So this is the Ability Confirmation Orb.’

The next day after meeting the lord, I was standing in front of the Ability Confirmation Orb, following Iris. Beside it, Rize and Erika were making excited expressions.

Just like in the game, it was a sky-blue orb the size of a human head, placed on a red cushion. It was a magical tool that, when you touched its surface, would convert the target’s physical abilities into objective numerical values.

Even in the game, there was no explanation of who made this. It was simply said that a prominent archmage from the past created it, and all the ones currently in circulation were exact replicas of the original.

Since I already knew how to use the orb, I placed my hand on its surface without hesitation. The orb blinked, and a blue light scanned my body. Soon, numbers appeared on the orb.

『Level』 4（+3）

『HP』 1

『Mana』 1

『Faith』 1

『Stamina』 1

『Skill』 1

『Strength』 1

『Magic Power』 1

『Divine Power』 1

『Endurance』 1

“…….”

Although I had expected it to some extent, seeing with my own two eyes the magnificent stats, all showing 1 except for my level, which had increased by 3 from the experience gained by defeating the Human Butcher, made me feel complicated.

If I had chosen a different Past Deed, I would have started at least at level 10.

The other three had similar reactions. Not only Rize, who was naturally lively, but even Erika and Iris were staring at the orb with wide eyes.

“Newbie, how… how did you withstand my attack?”

The first to recover from the shock was Rize.

“Seeing all your stats at 1 in reality is even more shocking. With such a huge difference in stats, you should have lost no matter how skilled you were. You should have been knocked back when our swords first clashed.”

“That’s right.”

“What do you mean ‘that’s right’? You weren’t knocked back! How did you do it?”

Even if you ask me how I did it, I don’t know. It was possible in the game, so it’s possible here too, but how can I explain such a thing?

Saying “It worked in the game, so…” would make me sound crazy. It would be the perfect thing to say to get labeled as a lunatic.

In Brightest Darkness 4, no matter how large the stat difference, as long as you don’t miss the deflect timing, the Battle Fatigue gauge will never break. And I simply never missed a deflect.

Naturally, I was able to exchange blows with Rize regardless of the stat difference.

‘I’m not sure. Can I teach those three deflecting and parrying?’

The concept of perfectly timed deflects and parries doesn’t exist for NPCs in the first place. It was a player-exclusive ability. Even I couldn’t explain it theoretically.

Of course, if I could teach them, I would want to, but being able to use it and being able to teach it are two completely different things.

‘Come to think of it, I need to allocate my stat points.’

Looking at the splendid display of 1s, I suddenly came to my senses. The number +3 displayed next to my level. That was the number of times I could increase my stats.

However, I couldn’t allocate my stats because I was conscious of the gazes around me. If it was revealed that my stats increased just by me flicking my fingers a few times, this place would be turned upside down.

In the game, I could check and increase my character’s stats and skills at any time by pressing Esc, but not now. I tried shouting “Status Window” just in case, but nothing happened.

That meant I absolutely needed this Ability Confirmation Orb to allocate my stats. It felt like I was reliving the Brightest Darkness 1 experience.

But I refused to experience that inconvenient feeling again.

“……!”

Suddenly, Iris flinched as if she sensed something and turned her head sharply.

“Claudia has returned.”

“Oh? Really?”

“Yes. She’s almost at the main gate of the castle. I think I need to go out and see her.”

Before I could even ask how she knew Claudia had returned, Iris hurried outside, and Erika followed.

Rize seemed to want to stick by my side until the end, trying to pull my hand and take me with her, but I forced her to go ahead, saying I would follow soon.

And after confirming that there was no one around, I allocated all my stat points to ‘Divine Power’ and quickly chased after the three.