Chapter 51

Chapter 4 Eyelid (24)

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The professor decided to sort out the current situation before thinking about what to do next.

- Gangjanggeiba: No fucking way! You have to come out right now and turn off the game!

- Professor: It's okay, it's okay. I'm almost done, I just need to tidy up a bit.

- Gangjanggeiba: Hey! Something weird has gotten into your head! When someone talks to you, listen!

The professor sighed deeply and cleared the chaotic chat window from his view.

"I wish I could, but what can I do when my throat is so dry...."

Besides, it would be a shame to give up and leave after coming this far. This isn't a safe place. If I log out here, it will automatically proceed, and who knows what will happen. Debts must be paid.

After the professor finished organizing the wizards, including Isaac, he took a short break. Meanwhile, the thief guild members who had been drawing the attention of the Tobrun forces at the west gate arrived at the magic tower. Carrying large waterproof wooden boxes as they had discussed beforehand, the guild members seemed somewhat taken aback by the long purple pillars embedded in the tower and the chaotic interior, but as befitting members of Laxasha's guild, they quickly regained their composure and began their specialty: stealing.

As the tower was ransacked, the stripped-down wizards watched with despair as their belongings were plundered. Suddenly, the sound of clanking armor and hoofbeats began to echo from outside.

"They're finally here."

In the distance, the knights of Tobrun were crossing the city with red faces.

One of the thieves who had been tearing up the carpet on the floor of the tower hurriedly approached Laxasha.

"Master, the Tobrun forces are surrounding the tower. If we leave now, it won't be too late. Should we take them with us?"

"Hmm.... I wonder? What should we do....?"

Laxasha passed the question directly to the professor.

"We can't leave, anyway. They came on horseback, and there are probably infantry surrounding us like a pack of dogs behind them."

"Then, should we prepare for defense?"

"Ah... no? Just keep doing what you're doing. Be thorough."

"....What?"

"Ah, anyway, they can't get in. Let's see.... Laxasha, do I still look like a monster?"

"Hmm, I guess? By my standards, you look pretty decent?"

"Ugh!"

This girl really gets to me. She just blurts things out without any consideration.

The professor turned to a thief standing nearby and pointed to his face, and the thief nodded in agreement. Well, if I look like a monster, that's fine. This tattered appearance might be more threatening than a normal one.

With his stamina somewhat recovered, the professor stood up and approached the naked wizards.

The wizards, who had been watching the increasingly tidy magic tower with resentment, tensed up as the scarred Mute approached them.

"Let's see.... Who looks good....?"

"Y-you monster! Not only did you murder Lord Isaac, but you're trying to kill us too! Once the tower master returns, you'll be.... You'll be!"

The old wizard, trembling with fear, glared at the professor and shouted. Hmm, a fine spirit. If there were more wizards like this, the war against Mute would be much easier.

"Lord Isaac? Oh, the baron was the tower's torturer? I see. I thought he seemed a bit off for a tower master. But... didn't you see strange things coming out of Isaac's neck? Or how he was treating humans?"

"Y-you monsters! You must have planted something in Lord Isaac's body! You villains! You beasts, and the despicable thieves who collaborate with you for money, will face divine retribution!"

The professor, about to say something, remembered that the wizard was a wizard and immediately gave up, turning his head to another wizard. Trying to persuade an old wizard who is a mix of stubbornness and arrogance is like debating with a rock on the street.

'Hmm.... A noble would be better for a hostage, right? There are quite a few nobles among the wizards. Let's see who looks noble....'

Shiver, shiver, shiver....

Ah, found one.

"Hey, you."

"Wh-what, me?"

"Yeah, you. Your skin is so pale and smooth, and your hands have no calluses...."

"No, no! I'm not tasty! Please, please!"

"Hmm?"

He was trying to say that the wizard looked like a noble, but the wizard seemed to misunderstand and started trembling in fear. At that moment, the old wizard who had first spoken to the professor rushed forward, blocking his path while still bound.

Crash!

"No! You can't eat these promising young people! What kind of nonsense is this!! If you want to harm someone, take me! Take me! This is Othman Baudelaire! I have blue blood and fear no death! Take me! Take me!!"

"Othman, Master....!"

"Ugh! For us, to such an extent!"

The wizards were putting on a melodramatic scene in front of the professor. I'd like to watch, but I'm sorry, I need one wizard urgently.

"Blue blood... Are you a noble?"

"U-um? Yes!"

Oh, a noble with a considerable status, it seems!

Thud!

"Great! You're the one I choose!"

"U-uh, aaaaah!"

The professor, who had been holding the old wizard under his arm, grabbed the rope binding him with one hand and extended him outside. The old wizard's body dangled precariously in the air.

"Aaaaah! U-uh, aaaaah!"

"Our demand is simple! If you don't withdraw your forces from the tower's property immediately, we will drop a wizard every five minutes from now on. You know what will happen to a weak wizard who can't use mana when they fall from this height, right?"

Ding-!

[Characteristic - 'Honorable Soul' is assessing the situation.]

The professor, who had been threatening the knight, grinned, revealing his teeth, as the 'Honorable Soul' warning appeared with a red alert, just like last time with Laxasha.

Yeah, I knew this would trigger at this point.

After being thoroughly beaten by Laxasha last time, he had learned a bit about this characteristic through the chat window. Fortunately, it was a characteristic that had been somewhat mastered, making it easy to find a solution.

The 'Honorable Soul' characteristic usually appears in characters with a knightly lineage, but the effects can vary widely even with the same name.

'Knights have all sorts of personalities.'

Typically, it follows the code of the family's knights, but the problem was that this professor character had lost his family before he could learn anything from them.

'The character's consciousness follows the knightly code, but he doesn't know what it is.'

So, the professor's sense of chivalry had settled into a default, old-fashioned medieval knight's demeanor, which he had only heard about in storybooks.

The best female knight in the country, and the game's ultimate goal is to kill the Mute queen, yet no violence against women is allowed. What a contradiction.

'Can't hit a lady? What about a wasteland lady with a shotgun in each hand? You might put down your fists and even your knives.'

Fortunately, the solution was very simple. Since the chivalric code hadn't been established, it was fixed at this default value. To change it, he just needed to establish a chivalric code. Of course, whether it would be a classic knight who protects ladies and upholds honor, or a taxi driver who swears at everything that annoys him and lives his way, was up to him.

'What a great opportunity. The 'Honorable Soul' characteristic influences play style, so being able to change it at will is huge. The basic effect of [Knight Character's Favor +] is just a bonus.'

The guide said that to change an already established chivalric code, he would need to persuade the character who established it, but a crying child who had run out of a lost family would never stand a chance against the professor's silver tongue.

'So, these wizards of the magic tower are like corrupt lords who suck the blood of the common people to fill their bellies. They are extreme sadists who regularly waterboard young apprentices in the tower, and they are like cancerous lumps in the kingdom, trying to spread Mute among humans through their research.'

Tick, tick, tick-

Ding-!

[Characteristic 'Honorable Soul' has completed its assessment: /Corrupt wizards! Enemies of the kingdom! They deserve to be hanged! To defend such villains! These knights are serving the wrong master!/ Judgment - Passed]

This shows that characteristics derived from character history can be somewhat controlled, as Speed Wagon explained. Always grateful, Speed Wagon!

Shake, shake-

"Aaaaah! U-uh, aaaaah!"

"Hehehe! If the situation is set up well, I can do this kind of thing anytime!"

The professor shook the old wizard hanging from his fingertips and smiled wickedly.

***