"I heard that your daughter Alice was born without the ability to see, is that true?"
When Orlax spoke these words, the Grand Duke's face wrinkled, and traces of sadness and regret began to appear on his features.
"That is true, Your Majesty. Unfortunately, my daughter was born blind and cannot see. This is my greatest failure as a father—I could not cure her or help her see the world again."
When Armanthor said this, he looked at the boy sitting before him with a strange expression, questioning the reason for asking about his daughter.
"Well then, Grand Duke, if I told you that I could make your daughter see again, would you believe me?"
Upon hearing these words, Armanthor stood up from his chair, his face filled with anger.
"Please, Your Majesty, do not joke with me about this. I have tried every possible way to cure my daughter, and every attempt ended in failure and disappointment. So, do not say such things. Even if you are the Emperor, I will not allow such nonsense."
"Sit down and calm yourself, Grand Duke. I did not say these words in jest—I am serious. I have a way to make your daughter see again."
Orlax gestured for Armanthor to sit so he could continue speaking.
After settling back onto the couch, Armanthor still looked unconvinced, anger still visible on his face, but there was also a hint of hope.
"If you truly can make my daughter see again, what do you gain from it?"
"As expected of you—in exchange for helping your daughter, I ask that you allow me to marry her. And do not worry, even if I fail, I will still marry her, because I never break my promises."
Armanthor calmed down upon hearing these words, taking a few minutes to think, analyzing the boy sitting before him. Finally, a faint smile appeared on his lips, and he looked at Orlax with a hint of admiration.
"You are quite cunning, despite your young age. This way, you secure the Grand Duke's support even if you fail—you benefit either way."
"That is correct. But you benefit too, Grand Duke. Even if I fail, your daughter will be the Emperor's wife and will spend the rest of her life free from worries."
Orlax raised his lips slightly, looking at the Grand Duke with admiration for uncovering his little plan.
"Very well, as you said, we both stand to gain from this deal. So, I agree. But now, I speak not as the Grand Duke, but as a father—if you harm my daughter in any way, this father will do everything in his power to avenge her."
A deadly aura filled the small office, and cracks began to appear everywhere, as if affirming that the man before Orlax was one of the strongest in the world.
"You have my word—I swear I will cherish her with all my heart and never let her be sad. I will visit you in three days; is that acceptable?"
As Orlax spoke, he activated [Emperor's Presence] to confirm his sincerity and ensure he was taken seriously.
Both men withdrew their auras, looking at each other with admiration, and Armanthor apologized before leaving the office.
Orlax looked at the blue screen before him and lifted his lips slightly.
[Loyalty: 60]
'When Armanthor entered the room, his loyalty was only 20. It seems I left a good impression on him.'
Then, as he looked at another blue screen before him, his expression darkened slightly.
[Time until the curse activates: 01:06:35]
Orlax's curse activated once a month. When triggered, he would lose his mind completely, slaughtering everything before him. The curse would not subside until six hours had passed. To prevent harming innocent people, he would go to a distant forest filled with monsters each month.
While pondering a solution for his curse, another blue screen appeared before him.
[To remove the curse, spend 100 statistic points]
"It looks like my problem will be solved soon."
In the game, statistic points did not indicate a person's strength but rather their potential. The maximum limit was 100 points, so Orlax was considered a monster for having over 95 points in every stat.
'Even though I haven't reached my full potential yet, I am still incredibly strong. In a few years, I will reach my peak strength, and then, perhaps no one will be able to defeat me.'
"Alright, to remove the curse, I need statistic points—so I must level up."
"In the game, there were several places to level up, all of them good. But there was one place where, even after defeating the boss, you could not obtain the hidden prize."
Lost in his thoughts, Alex entered the room, placed a cup of tea and some sweets, and stood by his side, awaiting orders.
"Alex, prepare a sword, battle clothes, and some food, then wait for me at the palace gate."
"Understood, Your Majesty."
After organizing his thoughts, Orlax headed to the palace gate and found Alex waiting, empty-handed.
Alex saluted him and handed him a small bag.
"I have prepared everything you asked for in this bag, and I added a few things that might be useful."
"Well done, Alex. Thank you."
"It is my duty."
"I will be gone for two days. If anyone comes looking for me, tell them I am not available."
"Understood, Your Majesty. I wish you a safe journey."
"Thank you. I'll see you in two days."
Orlax reached into the bag to check its contents, and information flowed into his mind instantly, showing him a list of the items inside.
'This is useful.'
After changing his clothes, he took out his phone, marked his destination based on memory, and left the palace.
The leveling-up location was about 300 kilometers from the capital, and the journey normally took seven hours.
'In the game, the place was located east of Atrimus Forest, so I will need to search for a while.'
Orlax decided to run to the location to test his physical abilities, making the trip faster.
After securing the bag on his back, he took a deep breath and started running at full speed.
Swoosh!
His incredible speed generated a wave of air wherever he passed, moving like light itself. The city gate guards didn't even notice him leaving.
'I'm insanely fast! I feel like I can run even faster if I strengthen my body with mana.'
Orlax marveled at his speed while running, enjoying the refreshing sensation.
After about half an hour, he reached Atrimus Forest.
'So I was running at 600 km per hour? That's crazy!'
As soon as his feet touched the forest ground, he felt several eyes watching him from afar.
'Three third-tier monsters.'
Sensing their aura, he confidently walked, ready for them to attack at any moment.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a black panther-like beast lunged at him, ready to kill, but it stopped in midair as if floating.
[Control Magic Activated]
"So this is magic—it looks incredible! It feels like I have an invisible hand I can move at will."
After testing the magic's limits, he lifted the black panther higher off the ground. Then, applying more pressure, he forced the panther into agony.
Auuu!
Ignoring its cries, he increased the force until the panther vomited blood and its eyes bled. He continued until the beast stopped moving, triggering a notification.
[You have slain a third-tier beast]
[XP gained: 1000]
[Level up]
[Level up]
[Level up]
After three level-up notifications, the message stopped, and Orlax focused his gaze on the side, where another blue screen appeared.
Name: Orlax Tirshtain
Age: 14
Level: 4 [600/300] EXP
Health: 100% (Feeling energetic)
Mana: 100%
Aura: 100%
Attributes:
-Strength: 98 (Affects physical power overall)
-Speed: 99 (Affects movement speed and reaction speed)
-Wisdom: 95 (Affects mana control, aura management, and response speed)
-Intelligence: 98 (Affects mana capacity, aura levels, and overall intelligence)
-Endurance 96 (Affects stamina and defense)
-Charm: 99 (Affects appearance and aura)
(The average person has a score of 5 in each attribute.)
Stat points: 15
Status: Active, Healthy, Cursed
Personality Traits:
[Pride]
[Emperor]
[Cold-blooded]
[patience]
[Loyalty]
[Cleanliness]
[Genius]
Skills:
-Sword Skills: Level 7
-Fire Magic: Level 7
-Earth Magic: Level 4
-Water Magic: Level 4
-Control Magic: Level 6
-Hand Combat: Level 5
-Cooking: Level 7 (Max)
-Cleaning: Level 2
Unique Abilities:
-Emperor Presence
- Hyper Focus
-Loyalty Scale
Skill points:3
'Now I have 15 stat points and 3 skill points. Orlax is already incredibly strong—what would happen if I added more? How powerful would I become then?'
"Alright, let's try increasing strength by one point."
As he concentrated on his strength stats, a message appeared, crushing his hope of exploiting the system.
[Stats cannot be used on yourself]
[Stats can only be used on others]
[Skill points cannot be used on yourself]
[Skill points can only be used on others]
"Why can't I use them on myself? That's strange. Not that it's a real problem, but it seems the system wants me to focus on strengthening others rather than becoming the sole powerhouse."
'I will think about this later. For now, let me go claim my reward.'