[Entering the game]
[You were an orphan since childhood, adopted by the Church. You have a talent for raising horses.]
[You became an honorable groom.]
Silas was taken aback.
Is this damn game cursing him for forgetting his roots?
But is it possible he's still a groom? Even with the current Pope's sister-in-law in his arms, his first wife the Nun and his second wife the Empress discussing state affairs in the Royal Palace. And the head of the Freemasonry outside.
[Day 1]
[Two copper coins were thrown in front of you. A Church nun extended a foot wrapped in white silk, looking down on you and demanding you lick it.]
Ah?
Two copper coins?!
[You were enraged.]
[In a fit of rage, you tied the nun and the horse together. Afterward, while planning to escape, you remembered your identity as a player.]
[Your mission is to investigate anomalies in the town.]
[You returned to the stable and questioned the nun about any strange recent events.]
[She stammered for a long time before telling you. The strange thing is that you'd rather not lick and instead resist and tie her up.]
[...]
[As night fell, you swaggered into the Church's interior. Combining your previous experiences, you felt you should investigate the Church first.]
[However, after searching for a long time, you didn't find any anomalies.]
[You just felt the Church's Knight Order was guarding very strictly, seeming to be waiting for something.]
[Through hypnosis, you learned that a weirdo known as the 'Church Killer', who exclusively kills Church members, recently fled to the vicinity of this town. It seems they have already committed over a dozen bloody murders.]
Silas felt this must be the new target.
A Church Killer?
Interesting.
[You planned to wander around the town for new clues, but everything outside was normal.]
[You did, however, discover that the head of the monastery was suspected of human trafficking with slave traders.]
[As it grew late, you temporarily returned to the monastery's dormitory to sleep.]
[Midnight]
[Half asleep, you heard a sound. You smelled blood.]
[Opening your eyes, you found a figure wearing a helmet and a robe right in front of you.]
[It had already raised the short sword in its hand.]
[You instinctively tried to dodge.]
[But its speed was extremely fast. You dodged the vital spots, but your shoulder was stabbed, piercing right through your bone.]
[It showed no surprise that you dodged.]
[It very decisively continued to strike.]
[You simply didn't have time to make a more effective reaction. It seemed to notice your tenacious vitality. It delivered several consecutive stabs to your heart, and finally, one more to your head, leaving only after confirming you had lost all vitality.]
[You died.]
[This simulation has ended.]
[...]
Seeing this large block of text appear directly, Silas was dumbfounded.
No way.
Didn't even have time to say a single word?
Was he that weak?
He immersed his consciousness to experience it.
Hiss.
Every strike from this guy went straight for the vitals, very methodical. And very cautious, with a very clear objective.
This speed of swinging the blade, the clean and neat slashing of tendons... a habitual offender.
And definitely not normal human strength.
He was truly careless. Although his instincts flared up, he didn't immediately treat her as a difficult opponent. After all, it was the target he was looking for.
It had been a long time since he met someone who just came up and bit him like Miss Nun back then.
In a sense, this could be considered a 'speedrun'?
No excuses, he just got too comfortable. Slacked off.
Damn it.
[You chose to simulate again.]
[You were an orphan since childhood, adopted by the Church, and became a candidate to be the head of the monastery.]
Still the Church?
Fine.
[Day 1, you became a full employee. The person handling the handover told you he couldn't take it anymore; until the higher-ups sent someone, whoever wanted to be the head could be it. He didn't want to die.]
[It seems, before you took office, the monastery had already gone through seven heads, and apart from the one in front of you, the previous six were all dead.]
Seems the time was pushed back a bit?
[Now, you are the highest-ranking person in the monastery.]
[The nun who previously threw two copper coins at you and demanded you lick her foot has become your direct subordinate. She seems to have just arrived at the monastery not long ago and doesn't know much.]
[But she still extended her foot to you and indicated she didn't need money. You could play with it as you wished.]
[You told her to go feed the horses.]
[Approaching dusk, you stayed alone in the monastery hall. Outside was the Knight Order, but they were not under your command. They seemed to have been dispatched from a monastery further away.]
[It seemed the existence of the 'Church Killer' was what terrified them so much.]
[The nun came to invite you to her room to catch up. She wanted to apologize to you in person, tell you more about the Church, and assist you in being a good head. Using a skill, you discovered she was dressed very scantily underneath; perhaps, she really intended to apologize with her body.]
[If you went to her room, perhaps you wouldn't have to confront the 'Church Killer' head-on.]
[If you didn't go and stayed in the monastery, you would most likely still encounter the target.]
[You decided...]
[Important Choice Triggered]
[Option 1: Just go to the nun's place and catch up.]
[Option 2: Just be stubborn, just sit in the seat where five heads died and wait.]
[Engage in Free Simulation]
Isn't it just five dead?
The former head was still alive and well; if she wanted him to be the sixth, it depended on whether she really had the capability.
As for catching up...
What's there to catch up on? This nun wasn't that nun; they weren't familiar.
[You chose Option 2]
"..."
Silas just sat alone in the head's office.
Logically speaking, with five people dead, it could be considered a haunted house.
He didn't think about anything else, preparing his tentacles in advance. Staring at the windows, the door, everywhere someone might enter.
No matter where they appeared from, he went over how to quickly control the opponent in his head several times.
But where was the person?
After waiting for a few hours, Silas felt the knights outside were dozing off. Not a single sound.
Not coming today?
Silas glanced at the documents on the desk; it should be called a list.
The former head didn't hide it at all; the list for human trafficking was just blatantly laid out there.
Wait a minute.
During the day, the former head trembled and said he was quitting, returning to his hometown today... could it be she went looking for the old head?
Smash.
Just as Silas was about to go out, the window was broken by a heavy object. A round thing wrapped in a cloth sack rolled to the corner, dragging a long trail of blood.
Inside was the head of the former head, eyes wide open, having died with a remaining grievance. Blood was still seeping from the neck.
Alright, now Silas didn't need to go looking for the old head.
Whoosh!
A figure wearing a helmet also followed through the window, a short sword aiming straight for Silas's heart.
[You have used the skill * Hypnosis Expert]
[The target has a special constitution and extremely abnormal mental stats; ineffective.]
[You have used the skill * Swordsmanship Expert]
[...]
Silas used everything he could.
It was truly strange; this was the first time he felt he couldn't close the gap in swordsmanship. The hands opposite him were covered in calluses.
He also used X-ray vision.
[Intelligence: The opponent has firm willpower and no obvious weaknesses. But if killed, will die; you can try to kill them.]
Good intelligence. What a "if killed, will die."
Using X-ray vision, he could see her chest was bound tightly with a large roll of bandages. Outside, there was another layer of iron plating. That's why he couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman.
"Come on."
Silas raised the tentacle he had prepared long ago, simultaneously magnifying it by 1.5 times.
He didn't believe it this time; could she still easily slaughter him?
"Hehe, no wonder you dared to wait here. You're dead."
The woman wearing a helmet raised the ghastly white short sword. Her tone was cold. She charged over almost at the same time she spoke.
"..."
To be honest, Silas didn't think there was anything that could one-shot him. Unless it was someone who could use magic again.
But now he saw it.
The moment her words fell, after a few exchanges, the helmet was right in front of his eyes. He could see those cold eyes through the slit.
[You were decapitated. You died.]
[This simulation has ended.]
[You may choose to load save to before the current plot, or simulate again.]
[...]
Silas patted his sister-in-law's plump, warm butt beside him.
It was still warm. Not much time had passed in reality; after all, it was really too fast.
Is that speed something a human should have? He had to use 'Acceleration' just to barely keep up.
And Silas felt that no matter how he wanted to attack, it seemed to be seen through. That guy's sword would bizarrely change its path. Instinctive anticipation?
This time it really wasn't carelessness. He really couldn't beat her.
Like with Miss Nun back then, did he have to coax and deceive her?
No.
Miss Nun would at least talk a bit, and he had her sister as an entry point. This target only had killing in her eyes.
Change identity...
That wouldn't work either; it was precisely because of this identity that he could encounter her so quickly. Who knows how long it would be delayed if he changed.
Try again.
He would stick with this head identity to the end; he didn't believe he couldn't survive.