The Crown Prince Who Raises Alt Characters

#Chapter 114 Magic Sword Forte (16) - Puppet Theater "S-Sir Magic Sword. A strange Quest has appeared!" With a voice filled with anxiety and unease, Fina explained at length the contents of the quest she had confirmed. Hero's Path. Temporary storage units. Subjugation. This time for sure. Upon hearing those contents that blatantly exuded ominousness and unrest, Forte fell into momentary silence. The quest itself was problematic in many ways, but an equally shocking situation had occurred. '...The connection with the main body has been severed.' Crown Prince Alondre. He could no longer sense that other self that had always existed in connection with Forte. It was like a TRPG character being separated from its player, or an actor and their role splitting apart from each other in a movie. Though Forte felt momentarily confused by this state that seemed to disturb his very identity, he soon regained his composure. This was possible because the Crown Prince, learning from the role breakdown during his time as adventurer Bern, had somewhat separated the egos of the main body and clone by partially limiting the clone's memories. After solidifying his identity as Magic Sword Forte, he quietly contemplated the current situation. 'Sky Academy's laws have become stronger. If Sky Academy's domain was originally open-type, it has now changed to closed-type.' Open elevator and closed elevator. Online and offline. Any analogy would do. What mattered was that in the current situation, the connection with the Crown Prince could not be restored. Then what would be the penalty for that? 'As time passes, the me that exists here will gradually collapse.' Though he didn't receive any separate supply of mana or such, the connection with the main body itself served to stabilize Forte as a clone. With that gone, as time passed, Forte would gradually weaken and eventually reach extinction. 《First, it would be best to reunite with Kailron on the lower floors. There's a way to overcome any situation. So maintain your composure.》 Without informing Fina of this fact, Forte calmly continued giving instructions. He judged that informing Fina of his crisis in the current state would only incite confusion. "Yes!" Perhaps she felt reassured by Forte's firm voice. Composure returned to Fina's anxious face, and she ran down the stairs with quick pattering steps. Fortunately, Kailron was more or less safe. "F-Fina. What happened? What about that demon?" "I defeated it! By the way, didn't you receive any strange quests?" "If you mean quests, are you referring to this one called 'Attendant's Path'?" 【Quest: Attendant's Path】 【Clear condition: Complete the hero's quest】 【Time limit: Unlimited】 【Reward: Survival】 【Special note 1: You have been exempted from the role of 'temporary storage unit' as the hero's attendant.】 【Special note 2: Serve the hero devotedly and assist in quest completion.】 【Special note 3: If you refuse the hero's commands, your attendant qualification will be revoked.】 If Forte had been human, he would have frowned. Because according to the quest Kailron had revealed, this situation was becoming even more blatant. He had been exempted from temporary storage as the hero's attendant. That meant, in other words, if he hadn't been an attendant, he would have been assigned the role of temporary storage. Fina must have realized that meaning as well, as her eyes trembled. "S-Sir Magic Sword.. Perhaps, this 'temporary storage unit' thing..." 《It probably refers to the other students. Perhaps even all the graduates.》 "That's ridiculous!" Fina's scream was justified. To subjugate temporary storage units and recover resources. Considering that 'subjugation' designated by ordinary quests was another word for killing, it essentially meant to kill more than half the students and recover resources. After briefly falling into thought, Forte spoke in a voice everyone could hear. 《Divana. Come out. You've already been discovered by the System anyway.》 "...Tsk." Along with the sound of tongue clicking, the female demon revealed herself from Kailron's accessory. She had a displeased expression as if she didn't like this situation, but perhaps because the memory of being beaten by Forte was still vivid, she spoke with a strangely respectful attitude. "Is there something you wish to request?" 《It would be good if you could check the state outside the Tower. Going down to the 1st floor ourselves would be a severe waste of time.》 "Understood." Without a single question or complaint, Divana concealed herself as if melting into the shadows. And some time later. "Total annihilation." With just one word, Divana summarized the external situation. "Whether on the streets or inside buildings, all personnel within the academy have collapsed unconscious. Even the faculty are the same." "No, how could... There are several 6th Rank powerhouses among the professors, aren't there? And there should be many incredible powerhouses among the seniors too?" Kailron muttered as if he couldn't believe it. As he said, Sky Academy's faculty belonged to a level that was unusually high. They possessed multiple 6th Rank individuals, who would be rare to find even one of in small to medium-sized countries, and among the students, those who deliberately delayed graduation to focus on growth were quite numerous - people who could represent a faction if they were outside. That's why Sky Academy, despite being just an educational institution, could negotiate on equal terms with various central nations, and if they hadn't possessed such military power in the first place, the demons wouldn't have been scheming so secretly in hiding like this. But to hear that all those numerous powerhouses were subdued in an instant was unbelievable. However, from Forte's perspective, this was only natural. 《If they had obtained that strength purely through their own power, they wouldn't have been easily neutralized. But the power that those here obtained was originally given by the System. Even the professors are no exception. Only graduates of this place can become professors. Fundamentally speaking, they're all students too.》 In other words, Sky Academy's students, in exchange for receiving tremendous growth assistance, were essentially collared by the academy itself. Originally, there was no one to pull that collar, so it would have been all benefits, but now for some reason the System was going berserk. "Wait a minute. Then what about the people in the dungeons? What if they lost consciousness during combat!" At Fina's words, Divana shook her head. "That's fine. The monsters have also stopped their activities in the same way." 《Based on the quest content, what this academy wants is for you to kill other students and recover resources from them. They wouldn't let resources be wasted on monsters or such.》 Fina's face became complicated. It was good that people weren't immediately dying to monsters, but the intention behind it was definitely not good. 《Contractor. Let me ask first, do you have any intention of carrying out the quest?》 "Absolutely not!" Fina denied it with a firmness unthinkable from her usual hesitant manner of speaking. Her attitude was as if it wasn't even worth considering. 《Then we'll have no choice but to negotiate with the academy.》 "Negotiate? With whom? Everyone's asleep." 《There is someone to negotiate with. It would be stranger if the System itself had no consciousness while issuing such quests. Contractor, the other party probably considers you most important, so try making a demand.》 Fina seemed a bit flustered, but soon nodded and shouted with all her might. "System! I can't carry out a Quest like this! Please cancel it!" The response came immediately. 【Upon progressing the subjugation of 'temporary storage units' to 50%, hero Fina Valestia will reach the highest level of 6th Rank.】 【This is a realm far higher than Fina Valestia's original spec of lower 4th rank, and even higher than the middle-lower 6th Rank she currently possesses due to special equipment corrections. It is a realm that would be difficult for Fina Valestia to reach even in a lifetime of normal growth.】 "I don't need such things!" 【Negative. Fina Valestia must reach that rank and carry out the linked quest.】 "I refuse!" 【Negative. Fina Valestia must reach that rank and carry out the linked quest.】 "I said I refuse!?" 【Negative. Fina Valestia must reach that rank and carry out the linked quest.】 At the reaction like facing a wall, even Fina, who was basically timid by nature, seemed to have her blood pressure rise as her voice grew louder and louder. She questioned argumentatively. "What exactly is this linked quest in the first place? Why do I have to kill people? What kind of hero is that?" Did that question hit the core? 【Confirmed insufficient understanding of the current situation by Fina Valestia.】 【Initiating simulation for proper understanding improvement.】 ─The world turned upside down. *** Long, long ago. Two countries were waging a fierce war. The motive for the war was trivial. If the parties who started the fight had been neighborhood uncles, it would have ended with some shouting and a bit of fistfighting. However, they were not neighborhood uncles but high-ranking officials who ruled countries, and so that fight escalated into a war that tormented countless people. This was a very regrettable matter, but it was still somehow a manageable tragedy. That is, until the country that was beginning to lose the war committed the foolish act of sacrificing their own citizens to summon the 'Demon King.' The Demon King's power was truly mighty. Like pressing a tilted scale with a finger to flip it the other way, the Demon King overturned the tide of war all too easily. The country that thought victory was at hand collapsed before the Demon King's mighty power and cruelty, and the country that summoned the Demon King seized victory. However, they would not get to indulge in the intoxication of victory. Because the Demon King who led the victory simply turned his blade and stabbed those who had summoned him. (E/N: To be fair anyone forcibly summoned has the right to kill their summoners) The two countries that had been fighting each other perished together, and in the center of the continent, the Demon King was released with a free body. Blood formed rivers. Tears created lakes. Corpses piled up like mountains. Wailing filled the sky. Many people suffered, raged, and harbored fear and despair. And then, a certain hero raised his sword. From the country that was first destroyed by the Demon King's hand, he threw himself into battle without regard for his own safety and fought against the Demon King's army. The hero's courage was dazzling, but the enemies were far too mighty. Feeling the limits of fighting alone, the hero decided to seek out a sage said to be living in seclusion in the forest. In front of the sage's house, the hero shouted. "Hello! Is anyone there... huh?" Fina blinked her eyes. It was to understand what the scene that had unfolded before her eyes until just moments ago was, and what the words that had just leaked from her own mouth meant. However, before she could understand the situation, someone burst out from the cabin in front of her. Bang! "What? Who are you to make such a racket at someone else's house?!" It was a man with a very irritable impression. His appearance and attire seemed to perfectly embody the image of 'an eccentric wizard living alone in the forest.' When Fina faced those glaring eyes and froze speechlessly, the man distorted his expression even more and said: "If you have no business, get lost!!" Bang!! The sound of the door slamming shut reverberated thunderously around them. At that performance that seemed to stab at a person's timidity like a knife, Fina felt instinctive fear and her legs trembled. And moments later, the scenery distorted. Feeling the limits of fighting alone, the hero decided to seek out a sage said to be living in seclusion in the forest. In front of the sage's house, the hero shouted. "Hello! Is anyone there... no, no!" At the repeating situation, Fina quickly covered her own mouth. However, as if that didn't matter, the door opened with a clatter again and the man with the eccentric impression burst out and snapped. "What? Who are you to make such a racket at someone else's house?!" "Uh, no, well." "If you have business, speak up! Don't hem and haw!!" "W-well, you see..." Unlike Fina, whose eyes were slowly beginning to well up with tears, Forte was almost finished roughly grasping what kind of situation this was. There were many things to say about various matters, but first, one thing. 《Contractor. That thing before your eyes is a puppet. The main body is elsewhere.》