Origin World's relic grades are broadly divided into Normal, Rare, Unique, and Legendary.
Artifacts are the same, but unlike relics—which are ancient—these are made in the modern era, so don't expect them to match the power of relics... or so the setting guide says.
Well, with such a massive performance gap, that's inevitable.
If anything, artifacts are like standard gear you can buy from village shops or NPCs, while relics are the rare drops you have to hunt down by exploring and conquering dungeons and ruins.
In the game, they're categorized by the same grades, but as rounds progressed, almost no one kept using artifacts.
Once you could acquire the necessary relics on time, there was no reason to stick with outdated artifacts.
Of course, not all artifacts are useless. A few have performance good enough to last until the ending... but they're either hard to get or ridiculously expensive, so hardly anyone used them.
"Hmm..."
The Legendary-grade relic, Sacred Guardian Fortress, looked disappointingly plain for its rank.
A thin chain necklace with no flashy gems or elaborate carvings or decorations.
Even wearing it around my neck, I couldn't feel any particular change.
But now that I had it equipped, my mental resistance must have skyrocketed.
"..."
Wait a minute. With this, couldn't I clear that dungeon?
The capital of the dukedom, Terabaon, was up north anyway, not too far from the Worm Mountains... Guess I should head there soon.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The world of Origin World is anything but peaceful or safe.
Monsters that attack humans at every opportunity, demons manipulating those monsters from the shadows to drive humanity to extinction, and the Demon Gods ruling over both monsters and demons, aiming to conquer the entire planet.
On top of that, black mages who worship the Demon Gods, bandits and thieves that always pop up when crossing mountains or fields, wars between humans, and so on...
To survive in this world, a minimum level of combat ability to protect yourself is essential.
You have to stay alive first before you can lead the protagonist to any ending, right?
But in Starnassila Alzen's body, I had zero intention of doing any training or workouts, so all I had left was gear power.
That said, I had no plans to snatch endgame-level gear.
I wasn't about to steal the protagonist's fateful encounters that are key to defeating the Demon God.
So the relics I'd grab were decent enough to use but ambiguous for the long haul.
"Hm..."
To do that, I'd need to conquer some dungeons... Going alone would be fine, but bringing Vivian along didn't sound bad either.
Our little sister was one of the "basic heroines," so building rapport with her could let me influence the protagonist through her.
...Actually, to be honest, that was the only method I could think of right now.
Because I didn't know the protagonist's name, personality, or values.
Not even the setting guide had that info.
Probably because the protagonist was a playable character.
Players named them and their personality and values shifted based on player choices and tendencies.
Instead of crafting some convoluted support plan for an unknown variable, it made more sense to leverage our definitively connected little sister.
The only concern was that Vivian's conquest difficulty was "Very Easy"... Hm... She might get too smitten with the protagonist and ignore me.
In the worst case, she could drop out as a heroine... but let's not think about that if possible.
I wasn't even planning to succeed this round anyway.
At least dozens, maybe hundreds of times.
Probably only after that many regressions would I glimpse the ending path.
I needed to steel myself and stay relaxed to keep my sanity.
After the Duke's family survives, observe the future as much as possible, remember it, and find the efficient, rational path.
"Hoo..."
It's daunting. Anyway, right now, the priority is preparing for a dungeon conquest trip to boost my gear.
I don't need to pack much, and I can probably sweet-talk Vivian... The issue is whether the rest of the family will allow it.
Gulp.
"Phew... Alright. Time to go."
"Master Alzen. Are you heading out?"
"Huh? Oh... yeah."
"I'll follow you."
I led Murel—who bowed lightly and fell in behind—with staggering steps toward the Family Head's office.
Anyone else might complain, but Urtega would approve without fuss.
He raised his kids with near-total neglect and valued experience highly.
And if Urtega approved, the rest of the family wouldn't object much.
"Starnassila Alzen. Attend the social gathering."
"What? No thanks."
I reflexively refused the order that flew at me the moment I saw his face.
"..."
"What's with the sudden social gathering? You know I haven't gone to those in ages. You think I'd start now?"
"...It's necessary. I'll explain."
"Nah, forget it. It's probably some annoying, tedious political mess. More importantly, Father, I wanna go on a trip."
"A trip? Now?"
"I kinda need to. Oh, I'll take Vivian with me."
"Why bring Vivian?"
"Uh... to get closer? You'll allow it, right? Cool, that's settled."
"Stop. You insolent brat."
As I unilaterally declared and turned to leave the office, an angry voice grabbed my ankle.
"No trips. Alzen. Do you even know your current situation?"
"Weird rumors about me spreading? I don't care about that."
"Care. It's causing a huge uproar. Do you know how many nobles, adventurers, and others want to see your face? Invitations to socials and banquets are piling up. You can't go anywhere until we've handled them all."
"No way, why should I..."
"Because you brought it on yourself."
I laughed in disbelief.
"Father, do you realize how shameless that sounds?"
"Yes. I do."
"Ugh, I bust my ass saving the Duke's family, and now you want me to work too... I'm useful, so you'll milk me dry? This is so unfair..."
"Alzen. It's just dealing with visiting nobles or attending socials or banquets. That's not 'work.' Real work is what I'm doing right now."
With that, Urtega pointed to the mountain of documents stacked on his massive desk.
Hm, he does look swamped.
"Or do you want to take my job? Then I'll handle yours."
"That's... Haah, anyway, I refuse. Refuse. I hate that crap."
"No, you will do it. This is an order from the Family Head."
"..."
At his firm tone, I chugged the liquor straight from the bottle.
Until I was wasted.
If he restricted me with Family Head authority, I'd counter with the only refusal method a wastrel like me had.
Or rather, that was my only way to resist.
A sad, powerless wretch with no strength or authority.
"Phew... Brothers, Father... you're all so frustrating and annoying. Ah, I said no, no! How many times do I have to say it?!"
Massive alcohol scrambled my brain, stripping away reason. Judgment and self-control evaporated like mist in seconds.
Ziiip, pop!
I unzipped and whipped out my dick.
"...What are you—"
"Eat piss! Kyahahahaha!!"
Immediately, a straight shot of yellow liquid arced toward Urtega's face.
Splash!
He could've dodged easily, but he took it head-on.
Chills ran down my spine at the sight.
Thrilling excitement boiled over, endorphins and happy hormones delivering taboo ecstasy rivaling drugs.
"Kyahahaha! Now do you get my answer!? Still no!? Then piss splash! Eheheheheh!!"
I wildly shook my aim up, down, left, right, spraying urine evenly over the desk papers and surrounding bookshelves.
Until the room reeked of thick piss stench.
"Hoo... Refreshing."
Shake shake shake!
I neatly shook off my dick, tucked it away, and locked eyes with the urine-soaked Urtega.
He was eerily still.
Eyes open, focused on me, yet motionless like a corpse.
"Hm, Father."
"...Speak."
But his voice dripped with inhuman rage, making my body hair stand on end.
"...I'm your son, even if I look like this."
"I know."
"Born to the one you love, your precious child. Blood of your blood."
"Yes."
"Plus, didn't I rack up some major merits this time?"
"Acknowledged."
"So, what..."
I sheepishly scratched my head, drained the bottle dry, and deeply inhaled from my cigar.
Last puff before death—my fingers trembled.
"Hooo... Yeah, whatever... As long as I'm breathing, no complaints."
"Commendable and brave. So be it."
The next instant, a fist pulverized my nose bridge—I didn't even see it coming.
That kicked off a savage beating that even stray dogs on death row would pity.
Right up to the brink of death.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
I can confidently say this world outshines the modern era by hundreds of times in healing and recovery.
Full-body fractures, muscle tears, organ ruptures.
If you've personally experienced turning what could pass for slime goo into a functional human in just two weeks, anyone would agree.
Gulp!
"Phaah... Aaah, booze after two weeks hits different."
"...Master Alzen. The priest said to avoid alcohol..."
"Hey now. Not you too, Murel? It's fine. I won't die."
"Haah..."
Murel sighed at my cheeky reply.
Sighing openly—astonishing progress from two weeks ago.
She'd been rigid and mechanical, emotionless like a doll. But nursing me these past two weeks softened her up; now she openly showed feelings.
Was nursing that rough?
Nah. Probably her true personality emerging.
I'd only asked for booze... though I did bitch a bit in the process... Could that be it?
"Master Alzen. Starting today, your guests will be visiting."
"For real? Damn duke. He's forcing it through. Beat me half to death, now he wants to wring his son dry... Mmph. Mmph?!"
Murel calmly clamped my mouth shut, flashed a sultry smile, and fed me fruit with her other hand.
"...Murel. You're getting cheeky. Plugging my mouth and all. That okay?"
"Is that so? I wouldn't know."
"..."
Should I like this or not... Actually, getting mad at her attitude felt iffy.
Her direct superior was Urtega, not me.
She followed my orders mostly, but her top priority was always him.
"Mm... Fine, whatever. Do as you like."
"Thank you, Master Alzen."
I eyed her soft, sweet voice, then sipped booze and lit my cigar.
Whoosh!
Sudden huge flames startled me.
"...?"
Feels like my mana reserves inside have increased... Imagination?
No, not imagination.
At least triple... no, five times more.
Still, like going from one millet seed to five.
Why the sudden mana boost?
I rummaged through the mental setting guide, but no matching info.
Did I awaken unknowingly while nearly dying?
"Hoo... So, Murel. When's the first guest?"
"In three hours."
"Yeah? Guess I'll nap till then."
"Master Alzen. How about maintaining some dignity and decorum for receiving guests?"
"Huh?"
I blankly met her gaze, then looked down at myself.
Thick bandages everywhere—not guest-ready.
"...So what? Whatever state I'm in, if they come, they come. If they bitch, tell 'em to fuck off."
"Master Alzen."
"Murel. You want piss too?"
"..."
"Even overlooking has limits. Don't cross the line."
"Understood. My apologies, Master Alzen."
I sighed at her quiet retreat and chugged more booze.
A few hours later, the guest who came to see me was a lavish, obese pig who screamed corrupt noble at first glance.