Chapter 14: I will survive!

Chapter 14: I will survive!As soon as Lathel uttered those words, everyone was stunned. Yet, none dared to speak up; all eyes were on Lathel, waiting for his explanation. Lathel sighed and continued, "First, the people of our Kingdom are suffering from natural disasters, and I must focus our efforts on saving them. Currently, the nobles of the Kingdom have joined together, but even that is not enough to save those who are enduring the disaster." "That’s why I... can only save the treasury, gathering all resources to rescue the citizens of our Kingdom first." "But don’t worry, even without me, there will still be others to help you—especially the Church. They have always upheld the doctrine of spreading love and compassion to everyone. I believe the Church will surely come to your aid." "Besides, I can’t remain in the Kingdom because someone has challenged me, wanting to destroy my happiness. I don’t wish to name that person, as I don’t want to affect his life or his family." "After today, I must go to Carol Magic Academy to prepare for a duel with that person. If I don’t return... you must all live well." After speaking, Lathel sighed deeply, his face filled with guilt, as if he couldn’t hold back his tears. He immediately took Selvia’s hand and entered the carriage, leaving the scene. Only after he had gone did the people slowly regain their senses. "The Prince... he..." "Damn it! That bastard Lucien, it must be because of him." "That’s right, it’s because of him that the Prince has to leave the Kingdom and go to the Magic Academy." "Huhuhu... Without the Prince, how will we survive in the coming days?" "Let’s try going to the Church. The Prince said the Church is a place that spreads love and compassion. They’ll surely help us." "Yes, if no one comes to distribute food in the next few days, we’ll go to the Church." Inside the carriage, Selvia held Lathel tightly in her arms, gently patting his back. ’My man is so compassionate.’ Selvia thought to herself, seeing how Lathel couldn’t bear the disappointed gazes of the refugees, so he could only leave quickly. ’I’m sorry, Lathel, I... I’m so useless.’ Selvia bit her lip, trying not to let her tears fall, her hand still gently stroking his back. ’If only I were stronger, I... I could surely help him more.’ But Lathel was different. He was simply resting his head on Selvia’s soft bosom and enjoying it. ’Ah! I really want to thank you, ’old Lathel’. Thanks to what you did before, I can use this mask to carry out my plan so easily.’ Lathel thought to himself. At this moment, Lathel also noticed Selvia’s body trembling as if she were crying, and he smiled with satisfaction. ’Success. One arrow, many targets.’ Lathel smiled inwardly. That’s right, today, every one of his goals had been achieved. He had sowed discord among the people, the nobles, the Vortan family, and the Church. The conflict between them was developing too slowly, so he wanted to accelerate the process—as quickly as possible. Ideally, it would happen so fast that neither Lucien nor Viviane would have time to prepare before the bubble of tension that Lathel had created exploded. At the same time, he had also made Selvia feel guilty and self-blaming. Although he didn’t want to use this method, he couldn’t let Selvia remain a useless flower vase forever. In the future, his enemies would only grow more numerous, and so would the women in his harem—he couldn’t always be there to protect them all. That’s why he wanted every woman in his harem to be capable of defending herself. Selvia was too kindhearted, which was both her strength and her greatest weakness. If she wasn’t strong enough, her kindness might one day put her in grave danger. ’Sorry, Selvia. I really love you, but... I have to do this, so that you and I can be together longer.’ That’s right, Lathel had to push Selvia, help her develop a real desire to become an Awakened. That way, her lifespan would increase considerably. After all, she possessed an S-rank talent; if that power was never unlocked, it would be too great a waste. Lathel rested his head on Selvia’s lap, as if he were sleeping, but in reality, he was looking at his system interface. At that moment, his attention was drawn to his current rank. [????️Rank: Initiate (Level 1) – Middle Stage.] ’Initiate? Level 1? Middle Stage?’ Lathel searched the memories of the "old Lathel" and realized what his current level meant. This world of Magic and Sword was full of abilities, supernatural talents, and various forms of magic. However, since ancient times, Sages and those who ruled the world had established a unified rank system to measure everyone’s strength. Whether you were an Awakened, a Mage, or a Knight... you all followed that same rank system. That system consisted of 10 ranks, with the lowest being Rank 1 – Initiate, and the highest, Rank 10 – Mythic. Each rank was divided into several minor stages. But regardless of who you were, the ultimate goal for everyone was to reach Rank 10 – Mythic. At that level, humans were nearly gods themselves, so people often called it by another name—Demi God. ’Maybe because I awakened the S-rank Spatial Talent and the Perfect Human talent, my rank instantly increased to Level 1 – Middle Stage.’ Even so, as an Initiate – Middle Stage, he still had no combat skills or abilities. "System, open the Shop interface," Lathel commanded inwardly. ???? [Shop interface opened.] Immediately, a panel appeared in his mind. At that moment, there weren’t many items in the System’s shop; after searching for a while, his eyes landed on a particular card displayed inside. ... Name: Melee Mastery Card – Beginner Price: 10,000,000 EXP Description: After use, you will become proficient in basic melee combat techniques and be able to skillfully wield several common types of weapons. \*Note: Beginner-level melee mastery is on par with a warrior who has ten years of real combat experience. ... Lathel’s eyes lit up as he read the information. (10 million EXP, huh? With Selvia’s current EXP generation speed, I’ll have to wait a few more days.) Lathel wasn’t in a rush; after all, he wouldn’t be facing any real danger in the near future. What caught his attention was... even at the beginner level, this skill card granted him the experience of a warrior with ten years of battle-hardened expertise. What would a mid-level, advanced, or even higher-tier card be like? At that thought, Lathel felt an immense sense of satisfaction. Just lying here and leveling up—why risk his life venturing into dangerous places to seek out fortunes? ’Ah! I wonder how Lucien is doing right now. I really want to see his situation after using the ’Comet Card’ on him. Hope he doesn’t die too quickly, hahaha...’ ... While Lathel could literally level up just by resting his head on a beauty’s lap, Lucien was having a far less fortunate time. "Damn it! What the hell is happening?" Lucien grumbled as he ran, cursing under his breath. Krit! Krit! Krit! Behind him, a horde of short, green-skinned Goblins brandishing all kinds of weapons chased after him. Lucien honestly wanted to cry. Ever since he entered this forest, he had encountered nothing but bad luck. First, as soon as he entered Blackskull Forest, he was ambushed by a bear—his horse was killed by that beast. He didn’t lose hope, pressed on deeper on foot, only to run into a pack of one-horned rabbits. Even though they were just rabbits, in this world they were dangerous enough to threaten ordinary people. Despite having undergone some training, Lucien was still injured when he faced an entire herd of rabbits. He was lucky to escape. But then, when he finally found a place to rest, he was discovered by a band of Goblins who immediately began chasing him—and hadn’t stopped since. "Damn it!" Lucien gritted his teeth and cursed. "Even the God of Luck wants nothing to do with me, huh?" He kept cursing as he ran, when suddenly, a sheer cliff appeared in front of him. The cliff was over a hundred meters tall. Even if he could climb it, there was no way he could escape the Goblins’ pursuit. "Damn it! Am I going to die here?" Lucien gritted his teeth, his eyes turning red. He stopped running, drew his greatsword from his back, and shouted, "You bastards! I will survive! I will return and take my revenge!"