Chapter 63
A sigh escaped Rodwell the mont he returned upstairs alone.
He'd lost three swords and a shield that had been enshrined in the warehouse.
These were items he hadn't even used himself, choosing instead to rely admire them.
“I have no face to show the previous captains.”
“This is an ergency. They'll forgive you.”
Joshua looked satisfied.
“Why don't you liberate all the items in the warehouse instead?”
“Absolutely not.”
Rodwell answered firmly.
He hadn't forgotten the people who'd betrayed the order and deserted.
So of the equipnt they used were possessions of the knights.
Even if they weren't on the sa level as the treasures in the warehouse, they were high-quality goods.
“They're my subordinates, but they're hard guys to trust. In fact, several people already left following Lucille.”
“Isn't the reason they wanted to go to the city?”
“It ans they wanted to go all the more because Lucille headed there.”
Joshua shrugged his shoulders at the response that sounded like a complaint.
“I hope the radishes are being grown successfully the next ti I co to the tower.”
“Does that an you're only coming back in a month?”
“Yes.”
“What a heartless bastard. Can't you visit a bit more often and keep company?”
“I'll think about it.”
Rodwell dropped his head with a disappointed expression.
In the past, he would've talked about this and that with Lucille.
She was gone now, too.
He'd hoped for so sympathy from the boy, but Joshua brushed it off as if it were soone else's business.
“Can't I co visit you?”
“I don't feel like revealing my location yet.”
“I suppose there's sothing you shouldn't show ?”
“Don't even try to guess. And don't send soone to tail , either.”
“How scary.”
Rodwell waved his hands at Joshua's inorganic voice.
There was no way the boy would break his stubbornness.
Rodwell knew through experience that it was better to give up in such a case.
“I kept my promise. If you have anything to discuss, co to my office anyti.”
“I'll do that.”
Rodwell vanished up the stairs.
Joshua turned around and checked the expressions of his group mbers.
Their faces were excited, like children who'd received Christmas presents.
“Don't take the swords out here. It'll be troubleso if the knights set their eyes on them.”
“I-I know that much.”
Leonard quickly averted his gaze from the sword.
The other two boys followed suit.
Since they were knight apprentices, it was only natural for them to be interested in swords.
Joshua simply wanted them to be cautious.
The better an item was, the more vicious people there were trying to get their hands on it.
The tower was no exception.
In fact, there would be those trying to snatch them away by exploiting their familiarity.
“Am I going with you too?”
Tania approached and asked.
She was clutching the cloak he'd picked out for her like a treasure.
“You stay here.”
“Still?”
She showed her dislike by making a grumbling sound.
“Life here will be more comfortable than the farm. It's cold there, and there are many bugs.”
“I don't care!”
“What about your lessons with Luizella? Dangerous things might happen if you travel back and forth between the farm and the tower.”
“Th-That is.”
“I also need soone to keep an eye on the atmosphere in the tower for a while. Lady Lucille is gone. The survivors have work to do now, and I want to know what kind of changes this leads to.”
“Fine. I'll do it!”
Tania had been emitting a cold aura, but she soon dropped her head.
She didn't want to go so far as to act like a spoiled child just to stay together.
She knew she shouldn't lower her charm by letting her emotions take over.
Slowly.
Human hearts were things that drifted further away if one beca too impatient.
“You don't have to worry. I plan to stop by several tis. You can co visit the farm several tis, too.”
Joshua lightly stroked her head.
She smiled happily.
That was the end of the situation within the tower.
Judging by the boys' expressions, Joshua felt they would surely make a mistake if left alone, so he quickly set off on the way back to the farm.
“Thank you.”
* * *
It happened not long after they exited the main gate.
Soone offered a word of thanks toward them.
It was an old man with age spots scattered across his face.
Joshua looked around.
The only people the old man's gaze was fixed upon were himself and the boys.
“I heard you're the one who brought the seeds. On behalf of the survivors, I thank you. Thanks to you, we weren't abandoned by the knights, and a path has opened for us to survive by working ourselves.”
People near the old man were bowing their waists and working hard on the sowing.
It seed to be the spot they'd marked as the field for planting radishes.
Joshua fell into thought while watching the people sweating pleasantly.
They couldn't survive on radishes alone.
One day, people would fall ill or collapse from nutritional imbalance.
When that ti ca, they would change.
The eyes that looked at him as a benefactor would turn cold and turn away.
Human emotions were that fragile.
“Why don't you give them a wave?”
Leo said Joshua should respond.
Joshua caught a glimpse of ambition in the boy's expression, as if he'd beco a hero.
He couldn't help but give a bitter smile.
This wasn't the mindset their group should aim for.
“Leo, it's better not to get the wrong idea.”
A voice cold enough to stiffen the atmosphere flowed from Joshua's mouth.
Leonard's body froze on the spot.
“We aren't helping them. We're using them. Rember this difference clearly.”
Goodwill doesn't ask for a reward.
No matter what reaction cos back from the other party, one shouldn't be obsessed with it.
Even if that's later evaluated as hypocrisy.
The boy didn't have the patience to endure that.
Therefore, Joshua intended to teach him the way not to get hurt.
“……I understand.”
Leonard took a deep breath.
His stopped footsteps moved again, and his gaze moved away from the old man.
Joshua didn't know if the boy understood his aning, but it was clear he'd felt sothing.
After finishing the unfitting sentint, they walked toward the path being stained by the sunset.
His cald mind began to chase the elents necessary for survival once again.
'If I use [Growth], I can move up the harvest ti. I should co by next ti.'
* * *
It was that night.
It was the ti when Leonard and the other boys were all asleep.
Joshua entered an empty abandoned house near the farm alone.
Thud!
The object he placed on the floor with a dull sound was the orb he'd brought from the warehouse.
Rodwell seed to have no idea what it truly was.
A familiar.
Inside this, a creature that made a contract with a mage was breathing.
It was a treasure found by Gareth, the first captain of the Starlight Knights, after surviving a life-threatening crisis.
It was an egg whose species would change depending on the user's mana.
“This is the most expensive item that was in the warehouse.”
If Rodwell had known the true identity of this orb, he would've regretted it deeply.
Selling this egg on the black market would be enough to buy more than ten swords like the ones Joshua gave the boys.
That's how rare a familiar following a mage was in this world.
“If my guess is right, the creature born from this egg will probably be a dragon.”
When Tania hatched it, a phoenix was born.
When Adela hatched it, a wolf was born.
This was deeply related to the first familiar their ancestors had contracted.
The first head of the Pallarion family also had a familiar.
A dragon.
While playing this ga, Joshua had encountered the existence of dragons a few tis.
Though he'd never seen one in person.
Traces of dragons remained throughout the ga.
“Now it's ti to see it with my own eyes.”
He pulled out a dagger and held it to his finger.
He made a light cut and let a drop of blood fall onto the orb.
Blood was the dium to call forth the familiar.
Zap!
The reaction was imdiate.
Sothing squird and began to break the shell.
A small crack spread left and right and eventually split completely.
Joshua tightened his brows.
A creature born exactly as expected.
Black scales that looked like they'd absorbed the night sky and claws shaped like hooks.
Wings made of bone rather than feathers.
Slitted pupils like a cat's burned yellow as if gold were inside them.
It was a magnificent and elegant sight.
However, its size was very different from what he'd imagined.
Its actions weren't very reliable either.
It walked on four legs and licked its body like a cat.
“For now, things are going according to plan, but.”
He used [Analyze] while pointing his staff at the dragon.
[Dark Dragon - Hatchling]
Potential - S
Unique Skills - Giantization. Breath. Divine Grace. Soul Resonance. Polymorph.
A potential of S was the highest grade in the ga.
Furthermore, Divine Grace was one of the top unique skills among passives.
A creature with Divine Grace is not infected by zombie attacks.
It was an authority where the blood flowing in the body refused to mix with anything else.
It was holiness itself.
“But why is it black?”
The word holy usually brought white to mind.
Black didn't seem to fit.
[Clever] pointed out that his thinking was narrow-minded.
It added that it wouldn't be strange for a dragon's blood to possess any kind of uniqueness.
Joshua slowly reached out his hand.
Then, the dragon slowly approached and rubbed its body against him as if it recognized its parent.
“Can you shoot fire?”
The dragon puffed out its chest and exhaled a few tis.
It looked like a testing posture.
Kuak! Kuak!
The bastard growled as if he weren't satisfied with the results.
“I guess you need practice. [Analyze] clearly showed Breath.”
The dragon made a motion as if nodding its head.
It wasn't an illusion.
The bastard understood his words.
“If you work hard under , I'll feed you well, but if you're below expectations, I might discard you.”
These might've been too harsh words for a newborn creature.
Even so, he warned it.
He didn't want to engage in the an behavior of changing his attitude during a disadvantageous situation.
Blackie jumped up happily.
He smiled brightly despite the threat that he might be discarded.
“If you're thinking of surviving by getting attached to you, that won't work.”
Sohow, Joshua felt drained.
Dealing with the bastard felt like looking into his own weak parts.
“It would've been easier if you were a machine that didn't have a heart.”
He pointed his staff at the bastard and cast [Growth].
There was no change.
Dragons were creatures known to live for a thousand years.
Even fast-forwarding fifteen days wasn't enough to escape infancy.
“It would've been much easier if you could fly and sweep away zombies with fire.”
Despite his cold words, the bastard continued to smile.
Joshua observed him blankly.
An innocent face that wanted human touch like a country puppy.
It was a sight that made him feel as if he'd be buried in guilt for finding fault.
“Do you want to try transforming with Polymorph?”
Dragons were creatures that could transform into humans.
The bastard's body flashed.
A cute little girl who looked about six or seven appeared.
Was it a female in terms of gender?
“Can't you transform differently? For example, a full-grown adult.”
The dragon strongly denied it.
Joshua thought it was a transformation art with many limits.
“Got it. You must walk around in this form usually so you don't receive unnecessary attention.”
The dragon nodded.
“We'll look into the other parts step by step later, so go play elsewhere.”
The dragon moved away from him.
Joshua silently continued with the next task.
The next item he'd brought from the warehouse.
It was a scripture from a certain religious group.
For any other character, it would've been a bundle of paper only good for kindling.
But for Joshua Pallarion, it was an item more valuable than a famous sword or armor.
The leveling up of Originality.
He began to flip through the book using [Speed Reading].
The pages that turned rhythmically reached the last page in less than thirty minutes.
He put all the content into his head.
It was a combination of [Clever] and [Speed Reading].
In terms of the ability to read, no human could defeat him.
[Originality has increased to LV3.]
[Obtained spell Kyrie.]
[Obtained spell Holy Water Production.]
[Obtained spell Sanctuary.]
[Holy Power increases to 3,000.]
[The connection with God becos stronger.]
The god in the scripture obtained from Triden Village advocated for harmony.
That everyone should join forces and live together.
In the scripture he read this ti, it was compassion.
To pity others, to give what one has, and to live together.
It claid that one should have humanity.
“That's sothing only a god could say.”
It was an ancient book filled only with ideal sentences.
Joshua, living in a hellish world, even felt a sense of loathing.
He'd seen hideous humans.
He'd suffered, watched, and sotis acted exactly like them himself.
Wasn't he lucky enough not to have fallen into cynicism?
[Patience] comforted him.
[Patience] had played a major role in keeping him from going crazy.
“……Hmm.”
Joshua looked around.
By reading the third scripture, he'd ford connections with three different gods.
He thought he might be struck by divine punishnt.
He watched the situation for a few minutes.
The abandoned house was quiet and empty, just as it was when he first entered.
“Was it a needless worry.”
If nothing happened, that was enough.
[Na: Joshua Pallarion]
[5th Grade(18) - Novice]
[Potential - Ancestral Heritage (Divine). Master of Acquisition. Speed Reading.]
[Personality Traits - (Steady Nerves) (Cool) (Clever) (Patience) (Loner) (Nocturnal)]
[Acquired Traits - Leadership (Mid) Eloquence (Mid) Charisma (Mid) Fla Resistance (Low)]
[Coins Held - 120]
[Inventory - 2 slots open]
[Originality LV3 - Holy Magic]
[Spells Held - Shield. Purification. Kyrie. Flash. Serenity. Growth. Bless (Strength Enhancent). Holy Water Production. Sanctuary.]
[Health: 70]
[Strength: 50]
[Agility: 35]
[Mana: 450]
[Divine Power: (3,000)]
He also confird the changes in his abilities.
He postponed checking what each magic was until later.
Joshua signaled to the dragon playing in the corner.
The bastard ran over in a single bound.
He was quick-witted.
“You'll need a na.”
His personality traits suggested several nas.
He ignored them all.
He wanted to decide this child's na himself.
Unlike him, he busily worked his brain on a task that wasn't related to survival.
The moon was beautiful tonight.
The full moon, packed tight, was visible beyond the window.
In a desolate space full of abandoned houses and wilderness, only that shone brilliantly.
“Your na is Luna.”
Luna looked satisfied.
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