Chapter 54

From early morning, Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly gripped the secret letter from his mother.

---

On this day, from early morning, I was leveling up in the pavilion in the garden.

The pavilion is in an open area of the garden, away from the mansion.

There, I was having mock battles with Zoe serving by my side.

With Apopis newly added, I made Apopis fight the other four.

We linked with the armor ring and materialized to fight.

Among the five, Apopis is about the fourth strongest.

Since awakening, Bahamut has been leading the pack.

The power relationship between the former top, Leviathan, and Bahamut has completely reversed, with Bahamut winning nine out of ten times.

The third strongest is Behemoth, the fourth is Apopis, and the last is Fuwawa.

However, the top two stand out, and there isn't much difference among the bottom three.

With one more addition, the number of battle combinations has increased significantly.

As the number of combinations increases, the content and outcomes of the battles explode.

It's so interesting that I've been doing mock battles all morning.

By evening, the rate of level increase had visibly slowed compared to the morning.

---

Name: Noah Ararat

Minister of Justice

Gender: Male

Level: 15/∞

HP: C + E Fire: E + A

MP: E + E Water: C + S

Strength: C + A Wind: E + F

Stamina: D + E Earth: E + D

Intelligence: E + D Light: E + C

Spirit: E + D Dark: E + C

Speed: E + E

Dexterity: E + D

Luck: E + D

---

I looked at the status that is always visible in the corner of my vision.

My level had increased from 10 to 15, and my HP, strength, and water attribute had become C.

However, this was only due to my own power.

"Zoe, check my status."

"Yes, sir."

I ordered Zoe, who had been standing by, to cast a spell.

---

Name: Noah Ararat

Minister of Justice

Gender: Male

Level: 15/∞

HP: B Fire: S

MP: D Water: SSS

Strength: SSS Wind: E

Stamina: C Earth: C

Intelligence: C Light: B

Spirit: C Dark: B

Speed: D

Dexterity: C

Luck: C

---

The status with the "+" correction, as seen by others, appeared thanks to Zoe's spell.

"Wow, Master, you've become so strong again..."

"Yes."

This is the result of adding Ararat to my territory.

The A from Ararat was added, making my strength SSS.

The others have also increased steadily.

My own abilities and the "+" from my subordinates combined to make me stronger.

With strength at SSS, if I'm careful, I might be able to fight as well as in my strongest mode.

While I was looking at my abilities and thinking about various things, Zoe was still in awe.

"What's wrong, why do you look so surprised?"

"Well, being level 15 means you're in the top 5% of all imperial citizens."

"... Oh, that's right."

Actually, it is.

Raising levels is incredibly difficult.

In the ancient civilization that once flourished, there was something called "healing magic."

Unbelievably, this magic could heal human injuries in less than a day.

Thanks to this healing magic, people back then could fight to their heart's content and raise their levels.

Now, as can be seen from the fact that the royal family's first battle is very cautious and involves "raising" monster nests, raising levels is extremely difficult.

Moreover, nearly half of humanity has a maximum level of less than 10.

I, for example, had a maximum level of 8 in my previous life.

"To be level 15 at such a young age... Master is really amazing..."

Zoe continued to be amazed by my level 15.

☆

That night, while I was doing research in the study, Don knocked and entered.

"Good, you're still here, Your Highness."

"I was just about to return to the inner garden... What's wrong?"

"Then it's really good. I can't enter once you return to the inner garden."

Don sighed in relief and placed a box on my desk.

"This was sent."

"Is it Fuwawa's box?"

"Yes."

Don nodded, looking at the box with a serious face.

"From what you told me, if this is sent properly, it means there's a proper report."

"Yes."

Fuwawa's box.

A box made using Fuwawa's power, which can only be opened by me once it's locked.

I distributed these to various officials and functionaries so they could report directly to me or make secret reports.

Incidentally, if someone shows this off as a badge of honor, it will immediately self-destruct.

This box was sent locked.

I carefully touched the box and tried to open it—

"Hmm?"

"What's wrong?"

"Something's off."

"Huh?"

"This... something is off."

The "something is off" is not a guess or intuition.

---

Name: Noah Ararat

Minister of Justice

Gender: Male

Level: 15/∞

HP: C + E Fire: E

MP: E + E Water: C

Strength: C + A Wind: E

Stamina: D + E Earth: E

Intelligence: E + D Light: E

Spirit: E + D Dark: E

Speed: E + E

Dexterity: E + D

Luck: E + D

---

The moment I touched the box, all the "+" attributes in my status were gone.

Gaining "+" from items is common, but losing them is a first.

I carefully opened the box.

Inside was a fist-sized stone and a letter.

I read the letter—my brow furrowed.

"What does it say?"

"This stone is a meteorite, and apparently, the impact of its fall naturally formed the characters 'natural' and 'wise' on its surface."

"Ah..."

Don furrowed his brow and smiled wryly.

I picked up the stone and examined it.

The surface of the stone clearly had the character for "wise" from "Wise Prince" carved into it.

"A common trick. People find something like this naturally and present it as an auspicious omen to curry favor. It's impossible for such things to form naturally."

"..."

"However, as expected of Your Highness. You knew something was off the moment you touched the box."

I ignored Don's words and stared at the meteorite.

I knew something was off the moment I touched the box—my status decreased.

It was enough to make me realize it was a trick and that I needed to add new functions to Fuwawa's box.

I thought for a moment and then drew Leviathan.

Swinging the water magic sword, I cleaved the meteorite in half—suddenly.

Something flew out of the meteorite.

"Whoa!"

The thing that flew out expanded, and Don was knocked into the wall.

It gradually took shape—becoming a writhing, mottled tentacle.

A truly indescribable and ominous tentacle.

The tentacle began to thrash about.

It pierced the floor and swept away the walls.

In no time, it had half-destroyed the study, and the starry sky was visible through the dust and debris.

"Your Highness!"

"Stay back!"

I shouted at Don, who was trying to come towards me, and readied Leviathan.

I struck the tentacle, which was increasing in volume as it destroyed things, with a warning blow.

"It's not working."

The tentacle's movements didn't slow down; it only twitched slightly and continued to destroy.

In no time, the study was almost completely destroyed.

With nothing left to destroy, the tentacle writhed and came towards me.

"Huff!"

I charged at the advancing tip and struck it with Leviathan.

"It's tough— but!"

The blade didn't completely fail to cut.

I struck with one hand and then readied it with both hands, putting more force into it.

I ripped the tentacle in half from the middle, creating a straight cut.

One of the tentacles, which looked like tangled threads, was severed and fell to the floor, twitching before it stopped moving.

The strike worked!

I closed in on the tentacle with Leviathan.

As soon as I got close, I swung Leviathan wildly, striking the tentacle.

It was tough, but not as tough as Apopis.

I mercilessly cut the tentacle with the blue magic sword.

In about three minutes, I had reduced the tentacle, which had grown and half-destroyed the study, to pieces.

"Is this the end?"

I remained on guard with Leviathan, wary of any survivors.

I sent out a warning strike, but there was no response, so I sheathed Leviathan.

"Are you okay?"

"..."

"Don?"

"Huh? Ah, yes. I'm fine. Your sword skills are amazing. You took down that monster in an instant."

"More importantly, catch the person who sent this box and get them to talk."

"Right!"

Don, who had been stunned by the intense battle, hurriedly ran out.