Chapter 52: Lunatic (1)
My pristine white hair is now wet, tangled in sticky blood and flesh.
The thick scent of blood permeates my lungs.
With that, I slowly raise my head and walk over towards the woman.
Luna.
The youngest of the three swordsmen, the blade of the current me. {1}
No, there is a woman who makes me wonder if even the future me will dare to touch her.
Someone who will later have a direct impact on the main story.
I look up at her and ask in a voice that couldn't be calmer.
[Talent 'Master of Acting' is activating].
"Are trials a rite of passage?"
* * *
Dense silence falls over an altar set up on a grassy path.
The forest exudes an air of seclusion.
As I was enduring the red moonlight that only rises here I ask her.
Am I worth something now?
To you, to this organization. Am I useful enough?
The answer was what I expected.
"Yes, you are. You've passed the test. No, you've passed it with flying colors."
Luna nodded her head in affirmation.
The tension in my body seemed to ease a bit. After all, I had somehow survived this monster-infested place.
Even if you have the right stats and talents, you only have one life, and how you use it is up to you.
Earlier, I had taken a gamble of sorts.
'The problem is, I hid it all under the table. Hah… I'm going to get a lot of flack from Zitri when I get back.'
Zitri is strangely inclined to emphasize this disciplinary aspect.
Hajiya, I've made a few mistakes, but of course she's allowed to do that. It's all because she's worried about me.
'When I get back, I'm going to make her another cup of tea. Normal this time.'
As I nodded in agreement, Luna spoke in admiration.
"You fought the enemy for the longest time of anyone who's ever gone through the Trial of the Moonlight, and you won. I suppose that's proof that you deserve it."
I nodded.
Of course there were many stronger men than me. But none of them had the genius and prodigy traits I had, and none of them had the exact stats I had.
Now that I thought about it, I could feel the dreaded difficulty again.
Luna looked strangely excited, but she kept it together as best she could.
"Welcome to the Lunatic Order, and while it would be customary to run a background check on you, yes… you're a material of House Reinhafer. I'm sure we won't need to do that."
"I'm glad to hear that."
I sincerely thought so.
Right now, I need to play both the hero and the villain in the main story.
In order to do so, I needed to be recognized as a member of the Lunatics and get the items I wanted quickly.
'This is the moment when the Dark House comes to my aid.' {2}
After being greeted with fear and disdain on a daily basis, it was an oddly uplifting feeling to receive a different assessment.
At the time of the immediate entrance examinations, Echidna of the Holy House and Penelope, the Princess, had thought of me as almost a pathogen.
'Of course, considering the dark times, the confrontation between the Divine Houses, and the wars that took place during the establishment of the country, it's not unreasonable….'
In any case, it was the work of an ancestor, a Knox ancestor whose face I had never even seen. I don't think it's fair to look at me with such contempt when it has nothing to do with me.
I tried to be polite for a scoundrel.
"Thank you for the compliment."
Luna nodded, apparently satisfied with my answer.
"Listen, newcomer. There are five ranks in the Lunatic Order, not counting the captain and vice-captain. Since you're new, we'll start with the third rank."
"I understand."
Luna narrowed her eyes a little at my answer.
She doesn't seem to be convinced that I'm willing to start at the bottom.
Of course, coming from such an authoritarian family, she was expecting me to blurt out that I wanted to start at the top.
It's pretty obvious that if I did that to a group of discipline-oriented Lunatics, it wouldn't go over well.
As it turns out, everyone with the title of swordsman or sage in this game is always on guard.
Not only that.
'Raising your standing in Lunatic is a no-brainer, as long as you can maneuver the intertwining events between the main story and the subplots.'
It's not that I don't want to be high on the list, either.
The Lunatics are basically a meritocracy, and higher ranks mean greater status, artifacts, and more.
Plus, since it's a black market by nature, you get access to the black market without paying any fees. It's a win-win in many ways.
'But I also don't want to get too much attention prematurely.'
What is my primary goal anyway?
I need to survive and make a living, and enter the main story.
Play the villain as well as possible in order to keep the story on track.
…plus the protagonist role, which makes four in total.
It seems like I'm doing more and more.
But it's not something I can control.
For now, let's focus on what we can do.
It's for the best.
"However."
Just as I was thinking, Luna spoke up.
The way she spoke made me listen.
"We can't treat someone who just set a new record in our Lunatic Trials like a rookie. Normally, we'd give the third-tier Lunatic Apprentice uniforms to our members, but... you're going to be given the full outfit right away."
Lunatic's outfit.
What kind of windfall is this?
'Does Luck 10 work in this way?'
I think to myself, rejoicing.
A man interrupts me.
"I'm… Duff... a… member… of Lunatic."
"Nox von Reinhafer."
I recognized the face.
'Duff the Stutterer.' He's one of Lunatic's leading figures.
He handed me a jet-black robe.
"Take…ah…this…is…the…uniform…worn…only…by…the… hallowed…ones…of…Lunatic...…."
[Acquired the equipment].
[You have acquired 'Conquest of the Lunatic Order'].
[Displays information about the acquired item].
__________________
[Basic Info]
Name: Lunatic Conquest
Category: Equipment
Rank: Medium
Attributes: -.
Stats: +1 Willpower
Wear Restrictions: Formal members of the Lunatic Order.
Special Effects: You gain the special skill [Moonlight Oath]. Members of the Order can identify each other by the sigils on their robes.
*The robe is woven from the threads of a Shadow Spider. Nullifies all abnormalities of the Light Property class.
__________________
'Good, the artifact's effects are as I remember them. I didn't think I'd be able to get an official robe before I even entered the main story, but… things couldn't be better so far.'
I immediately checked the details of the passive skill.
[Active Skill]
Name: Moonlight Oath
Rank: High
Attributes: -.
Effect: Can only be activated while wearing [Conquest of the Lunatic Order], causing your robes to emit a brilliant moonlight sigil.
It is only recognizable to members of the same Lunatic Order, making it invisible to others.
*Additional option – When night falls after 18:00 game time, the player's damage is increased by 1.2x.
In a nutshell, the artifact is basically a way for members to communicate with each other.
For a rogue group called Lunatic to survive on such a barren continent, hiding their identity was paramount.
No matter how skilled you are, you need to make connections and move as discreetly as possible to grow your power, because that is the most important virtue of the underworld.
"That's why Lunatic has adopted this method.
Keeping their identities as closely concealed as they are now, they'll infiltrate each of the major groups so that they only know each other's information.
This would make it easier to steal information from any organization, which would naturally give them an even greater advantage in growing their numbers.
But for now, we're more interested in the performance of the artifact itself.
'A passive skill that increases your damage by 1.2x at night. This will come in handy in many battles later on.'
It's a skill that will help me in combat in many ways.
Even if it wasn't so, my maximum stat was only 30, and I was in a life-limited life where I could only raise my Physique up to 15.
Any item that increases my stats by a percentage should be welcomed with open arms.
"Thank you."
I thanked her, from the bottom of my heart.
Lunatic's Conquest was never the prize item at this point.
Even if Luna is a bottom-line performer, the value of this robe is ridiculous based on its cost alone.
A few hundred gold, at the very least.
If I sold everything I'm wearing right now, I'd get less than 30 gold. I didn't invest in it because I didn't think it was that risky in the first place.
"Plus. I had some money to spend in the Chasers area, so I had no choice but to save as much as possible on my gear….'
I didn't realize there would be no protagonist.
Paracelsus was an enemy I had to fight in the Hidden Route, but I never thought I'd have to save Eleanor.
I thought, 'Well, I'll look on the bright side.'
Anyway, that got me into Lunatic early.
Not only that, but I got a usable robe.
A crisis turned into an opportunity.
Luna spoke in a flat voice.
"Newcomer. You've shown great determination in this ordeal, and I wish I could applaud you for your efforts.
But... the future is more important, and if you fail to fulfill your duties, you won't last long in Lunatic."
"I'll take that to heart."
"And take this, it will be quite helpful on your mission."
This time, I saw a mask handed to me by Luna herself.
[You have acquired the equipment].
[You have acquired the 'Moon Shadow'].
'Finally!'
I couldn't help but cheer.
This item was the biggest reason I came here.
'[Moon Shadow].'
This item is an artifact that can create an alter ego of the wearer. It's also a high-level artifact, and can only be obtained by passing the Lunatic's Test as a player.
Not even the other tiers have it. It's only for the player.
'I covet this artifact for one reason and one reason only.'
A protagonist and a villain.
They will inevitably meet at some point.
And if one is not there?
Either you suspect the protagonist of being the villain, or you suspect the villain of being the protagonist. One or the other will happen.
I've said it before.
I've said in the past that the protagonist and the villain are only a glance away.
That's why I decided to get a mask.
[Moon Shadow].
As the name suggests, it was an artifact that created a shadow of the user.
I opened the system window for more information.
__________________
[Basic Info]
Name: Moon Shadow
Category: Equipment
Rank: High
Attributes: -.
Stats: –
Wear Restrictions: –
Special Effects: Temporarily creates a copy of the user. It automatically mimics the player's appearance and can only exert half the power of the main body.
__________________
"I'll put it to good use."
"Good. It'll be quite helpful in the mission."
Luna didn't seem to mind giving me a high-grade piece of equipment.
That was a good thing for me.
"I'll see you on your first mission. Spunky rookie."
"Until then."
I replied, feeling the blue light engulf me.
A faint smile flickered across Luna's otherwise expressionless face.
For the briefest of moments, I felt the world go black, then return.
"I take it you've taken care of your business?"
"Yes."
I returned to the tavern.
Waiting for me there was none other than Keiron.
The man who guards the [Bugbear Brewery]. {3}
He's not one to interfere with customers coming and going unless it's a big deal, so I expected him to disappear quickly.
But he looked at me for a moment and gave me a curious smile.
I feigned discomfort and said.
"Is there something you want to talk to me about?"
"You're being unfair."
"What do you mean?"
"We're supposed to know each other's names. But I haven't heard your name yet."
Keiron smiles slyly.
His words make me wonder why.
A similar smile almost tugged at the corners of my mouth.
The reason was simple.
Keiron. He runs the [Bugbear Brewery], and as far as I know, he never asks for anyone's name.
When I told him my name in the game he always replied. "F*ck off, I don't want to hear the name of a guy who's about to die."
But there was one situation where he would talk to me.
The only time he would speak to me was when I was a full member of the Order and wearing its regalia.
I looked him in the eye and coldly replied.
"Nox von Reinhaber. Is that the end of our business?"
"Very well, then I suppose you should get going. I've heard that keeping up with the academy's schedule is quite a challenge, so… well, it shouldn't be too hard for you."
* * *
[Moon Shadow] and [Lunatic's Conquest].
Aside from that, there was one thing I had overlooked in my quest to get something useful.
It was… the maid.
"Young Master, are you listening to me? I've told you many times, you should stay away from anything dangerous. I know your family has a bad reputation, but that's something you can work on in the future…."
"I'm not listening."
My tone was stern, but I was almost pleading.
Zitri, now awake, was bugging me with more intelligent eyes than usual. I know it's the right thing to do, but…
She's too sincere, it's a problem.
"So… no matter how you slice it, being an unauthorized outcast on your first day at a prestigious academy like Eldain...."
"Ah, rather than that. How were you today? I thought you had a maid lesson."
I hastily changed the subject.
I have to survive this somehow…!
Ten more minutes of nagging like this and I'll be dead.
Maybe even shorten my life.
I can't let that happen.
Zitri opened his eyes sheepishly, then sighed heavily as if he understood my intentions.
"Well, it's always been the same for me," she said.
"You mean you've been bullied."
I immediately interpreted what she was saying.
It doesn't seem to be that bad yet, but this is a school that is half noble. Not surprisingly, the maids are mostly from noble families.
Although Jitri had once been a noble, fallen nobles were treated worse than commoners.
I thought there would be bullying. It seems I was right.
"If there's a problem… no. It's not your fault."
"I'm pretty stubborn, just like you. I didn't even realize it."
Zitri sounded naturally virtuous, but if something were to happen to her soon, I needed to deal with it somehow.
A character who joined my faction anyway. I'm a stickler for taking care of my units.
"Here, take this, and if you have any problems, open this compartment."
I said, handing something to Zitri.
Zitri scratched her head.
"This is…?"
"Only open it if you're in trouble. It's a very reasonable solution to any situation."
Zitri looked at the small clasped amulet I held out to her. There's something inside, but you can't see it.
It's specially enchanted.
It was a timing artifact that could only be used once.
"…I see, I'll take care of it."
"Good. Don't hesitate to use it in a dangerous situation. Do you understand?"
"Yes."
With that thought, I organized the items I had acquired and the future curriculum accordingly. Then, just as I was about to go to bed.
I suddenly received a status message.
[You have succeeded in entering Eldain Academy].
[You have cleared the first main story].
[You can check the likability of each registered unit at....]
It was a message that made my eyes widen.
I immediately straightened up and thought to myself.
I immediately straightened up and thought to myself, 'Finally, I've managed to open up my favorability rating. This should make things a little easier from here on out, because it's nice to know what the other units think of me in advance.'
I nodded in satisfaction.
I heard an unexpected sound from the system, like a celestial force.
[An error has occurred!]
[Your request to display likeability has been denied!]
...?
Before my embarrassment was over, the voice continued.
[A new letter has arrived in your mailbox].
[Do you want to check it?]
{1} : 지금의 나로는 – jigeum-ui naloneun , can be removed – thought that phrase made sense
{2} : reference to his family's presence within the underworld
{3} : I'll be keeping it as this from now on
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone