Chapter 3 - Chapter 1: Entry #2
"Dushu. It is a little late but here is breakfast.”
As soon as he stepped out of the tent, Carack was sitting at a foldable table with food on it.
In-gong looked around as he approached Carack’s table. There were dozens of tents lined up on a vacant lot the size of an elementary school playground.
'Is this a garrison base in the mountains?’
The blue sky surrounded him. In-gong sat at the table and examined the food. There was a piece of bread on a plate as well as vegetables and meat stew.
'Shutra, he is a prince right?’
He had a moment of doubt but it only lasted for a second. It would have been strange if this campsite was celebrating.
In-gong took a bite of the stew as a test. The taste was ordinary but the important thing wasn’t the taste. In-gong was convinced.
‘It is real.’
Touch, vision, smell, hearing and even taste, everything around him was shouting that it was real.
“Hoo.”
He couldn’t stop sighing. In-gong took a deep breath to calm down and asked Carack, who was staring at the distant mountains.
"Carack, what year is it now?”
Carack frowned at the somewhat awkward question. He asked In-gong a question instead of answering.
"Did you have a fever last night?”
In-gong quickly nodded at the question.
"Yes, my head was hurting when I woke up. My memories are confused.”
In-gong thought it was a ridiculous story but decided to push it confidently. He still had many questions.
‘No, why is an orc treating a prince like this?’
Even if he was a prince, Shutra was known as the Yan Baihu of Knight Saga. He had little power, weak magic power, no friends, no prospects, no subordinates and no chance of becoming the heir.
‘He was ignored. Even the country ignored him.’
Moreover, Carack was an orc. Knight Saga’s orcs were powerhouses and wouldn’t follow a weak prince.
Yet, this orc didn’t ignore him. His character itself was just a little rough.
In-gong couldn’t ignore the relationship between Carack and Shutra. Carack frowned as he searched through his memories.
"Yes, it is currently Year 512 and we are on the edge of the Jishuka Mountains. Prince, you came here for some practical experience. We just met yesterday.”
"Practical experience? Is there a war going on right now?”
Carack’s expression changed at In-gong’s question. Unlike before, he was looking at In-gong with seriously worried eyes.
"That fever, was it really serious?”
"Just answer me."
In-gong knew that he seemed strange. He was acting like a patient with amnesia.
Luckily, orcs were simple, so Carack continued talking after a moment.
"The Red Lightning orc tribe is causing chaos in the area. They think they can get away with it because they are acting on the outskirts. Anyway, an army was sent to the centre and another prince and princess came along. I became in charge of Prince.”
"Then where is the other prince and princess?”
"They were each given command of one unit. Prince Chris is in that area while Princess Caitlin is over there.”
Chris and Caitlin.
The Demon King’s seventh and eighth children. They were the children of the 4th queen, Elaine Moonlight - queen of the lycanthropes.
‘They gave me a hard time when I was playing Zephyr.’
Their forces weren’t that strong by themselves but the lycanthropes were tricky to deal with. In particular, Chris and Caitlin were uniquely strong among the lycanthropes.
‘They are still young.’
He didn’t know their exact ages but he was younger than Caitlin and Zephyr. Chris was only a few years older than Caitlin.
"Your meal seems to be finished, so I can start the training again.”
Carack said, after looking at the plate of stew. In-gong had been eating breakfast while listening to the explanation and he reached the word ‘training.’
“Training?”
It was natural to be affected. This seemed like a realistic game but this situation wasn’t a game.
‘Surely, I don’t have to spar with an orc?’
Carack’s arm muscles were almost the size of Shutra’s waist. It was obvious he would break his bones when sparring with a monster like that.
Carack clicked his tongue as In-gong’s complexion worsened.
“Don’t worry. I know how great Prince is. It will be like yesterday. I am well aware that Prince doesn’t have much physical strength. Oh, I won’t be as hard on you due to the fever.”
He looked In-gong up and down and decided on a course. A simple training course circled the vacant lot where the tents were set up.
After hearing that, In-gong sighed with relief and stood up. It wasn’t a bad proposition since he needed time to sort out his thoughts.
In-gong started to jog lightly.
'Caitlin and Chris. Is their situation the same as it was in Knight Saga?’
If so, they would become problems in the future. What events would happen soon in Knight Saga?
For reference, Knight Saga started in Year 513. It was currently Year 512, so there would be five years left until the ‘Day of the Massacre’ took place in Year 517.
'Now that I am living as Shutra... What should I do next?’
Firstly, run away and hide.
Secondly, work hard to become close to Zephyr.
Thirdly, work hard to oppose Zephyr.
Needless to say, he dismissed the first two options. Zephyr killed his enemies and allies unconditionally on the Day of the Massacre. He found and killed the ones hiding and tortured the siblings who supported him.
There was only one choice remaining.
'Pant pant. By the way, my stamina is so low.’
He had only completed a few laps but was already breathing heavily. Even if he was the Yan Baihu of Knight Saga, wasn’t this too terrible? He couldn’t face Zephyr with this body.
It was at that moment.
[Your level has risen.]
There was a ringing sound, a woman’s voice was heard and his body was surrounded by white light.
"Eh eh eh?”
In-gong blinked his eyes with bemusement. His breath calmed down and strength returned to his legs.
"Prince? What type of magic is that?”
Carack asked with a startled expression.
"Wait, wait a minute.”
In-gong raised his hand to stop Carack and looked at himself.
‘I will check it once.’
It was absurd that he had levelled up through running but that wasn’t the important part.
In other words, it was possible for him to level up. If so, what had changed?
In-gong hurriedly activated his status window.
[Name: Shutra Ignus]
[Age: 14]
[Species: Gandharva]
[Occupation: Protagonist]
[Uniqueness: Prince/ Conquest Knight]
[Level: 2]
Strength: 7
Intelligence: 7
Agility: 7
Talent: 7
Persistence: 7
Durability: 7
Mental Power: 7
Magic Power: 7
Charm: 7
Extra points: 2
‘Heok! All my stats were raised by two?’
His stats were still shabby but that didn’t matter.
‘How much will my stats rise with the next level up? Isn’t this a scam?’
It was like a fraudulent job in Knight Saga.
‘Skills, let’s look at the skill window.’
In-gong’s hands trembled as he opened the skills window.
[Conquest Lv -]
[Protagonist Correction Lv 1]
They were skills that he didn’t know. Moreover, the skill Conquest was deactivated for some reason.
‘If Protagonist Correction is what I think it is... Is this right?’
It seemed like a passive skill but unfortunately, there wasn’t any explanation.
'And what is Conquest? Ah, that reminds me...'
The uniqueness stated that he was a prince and Conquest Knight. Conquest was obviously a skill related with Conquest Knight.
‘My level rose. It also seems like I can use skills.’
It wasn’t just that. He hadn’t thought about it but features like the mini-map were still active. The finishing strike was the inventory feature.
In-gong instantly picked something up.
‘Store.’
He mumbled in reaction. The item in his hand disappeared and appeared in the inventory.
[Stone]
“A success! It worked!"
In-gong formed a fist and cheered.
"Prince?"
Carack called out but In-gong didn’t pay attention to him.
He wasn’t just excited about the inventory feature.
Shutra was definitely the worst prince but what would happen if he kept levelling up?
The mini-map and inventory features were also amazing. Depending on the way they were used, truly magical things could happen.
There was one more important fact.
‘My knowledge.’
There was no guarantee that all the events that occurred in Knight Saga would happen. Even if they didn’t, there was something that wouldn’t disappear.
Information.
Who and where. The locations of items. The secrets of his competitors. He knew the Human World as well as the Demon World.
‘I can, I can do it!’
He could oppose Zephyr. No, it was possible to become the Demon King!
'Yes, it is better to go back. But if I can’t, then isn’t it better to move forward?’
His thoughts were running wild but they weren’t wrong.
He had no idea how he came to this world or how to return. Therefore, he needed to find a way to survive.
“Uh...Prince? Are you okay?”
Carack asked with a confused expression once again. In-gong nodded absentmindedly and Carack narrowed his eyes.
“You- there is something different. All of a sudden, you have eyes filled with burning ambition. ”
Maybe he had become too excited.
Thanks to Carack, In-gong regained his spirit.
‘It is still too early. I need more information.
In-gong looked at Carack and asked something that could solve a number of questions instantly.
“Carack, what level are you?”