“Don’t become a cultist in your next life.”
I pulled the sword out of the leader’s body with a calm expression.
“As expected, fighting a Knight with just the Faceless Mask is stretching it.”
In this world, practitioners were ranked in six different levels.
Natal, pawn, knight, bishop, rook, and king.
Natal was the level of normal people. They could not use mana, or barely use a bit of it. 99.9% of the world’s humans were at this level.
After that, came the pawns.
The name doesn’t sound pleasant, but reaching this level was the first real step into becoming a practitioner.
In chess, a pawn can checkmate a king. Likewise, only by becoming a pawn can someone have a chance to injure a king-level powerhouse.
The chance is minuscule, but it exists.
On the other hand, normal humans can never injure a king. Even if the king stays quiet and allows himself to be attacked, he won’t receive any injury.
Only one person in one thousand can become a pawn. This is the biggest barrier to becoming a practitioner.
But it did not mean it was easy after this.
Only one in twenty pawns manage to become knights. In other words, for every twenty thousand people, there is only one knight.
It shows how rare they are.
And just as they are rare, they are formidable.
The weakest knight is as strong as several average pawns. As for normal humans? You need dozens of them to take down a knight.
Unfortunately, I’m one of these average humans.
Due to my weak body and sickly constitution, I found it hard to accumulate mana in my body. Right now, my mana is around the middle stages of the natal realm.
In normal circumstances, someone like me should be unable to face and defeat a knight.
The reason I can is mainly because of the cursed object I’m wearing.
Faceless Mask.
It has the ability to change the appearance of the wearer at will, but this change is not an illusion, it’s real.
In other words, if I change my muscular mass with the mask, my muscles will really become stronger.
This ability is not without limitations, but it allows me to bring my physical specs to the level of a pawn.
Of course, it was not enough to face a knight.
The reason the leader of the cultist was stronger than me was not due to any poison. Once I knew of the poison's existence and how it worked, it was not hard to develop the right countermeasures.
He was just stronger than me, that simple.
Without the mask, just the first clash would have been enough for him to injure me gravely.
But the mask changed everything.
Cursed objects are that strong. They can allow a normal person to battle someone several levels stronger.
But just like they are strong, they are dangerous.
In exchange for that strength, they always try to harm their owner.
Moreover, cursed objects become stronger as you use them. Even if you can resist the side effects at the start, they will slowly become stronger, until they overwhelm you.
Only a handful of people dare to use cursed objects. Most people try to get as far as them as possible.
I would have liked to do that too.
Unfortunately, I don’t have many other options.
I felt the butterfly-shaped accessory shake at that moment.
[Is it done, Linsley?]
“Yeah, I just killed their leader.”
[How was it? Are you injured? How many cursed objects did you use?]
“Just the mask. He was really weak to be a knight. I thought I would have to use the cape as well at the very least.”
[That is good.] Erika sounded visibly relieved. [It’s better if you use them as little as possible.]
I agreed with her. The side-effects of the other cursed objects are nothing to scoff at.
The Faceless Mask can be considered one of the tamest ones.
“How were things on your side?” I asked.
[No good.] Erika sighed in disappointment. [I tried to follow their communications to their so-called apostle, but he noticed something off and cut them off as soon as they connected. I failed to locate him. Sorry.]
“It’s alright. I was not expecting much, anyway.”
The so-called apostle must be at the bishop level at the very least. The means of a powerhouse in this realm are not to be underestimated.
[However, I discovered something.]
“What?”
[They may know the location of an Outsider.]
My expression hardened.
“Are you sure?”
[In one of their communications, they mentioned a prophet. They were excited because it was about to recover its powers.]
“… Do you know where it is?”
[Unfortunately, I did not manage to find that much.]
“Try to find him as soon as possible. We can’t allow it to recover.”
[I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything.]
“Just do your best. If you fail to find it this week, I’ll make a prediction.”
Erika fell silent for a brief instant.
[… No need, I’ll find it. I promise you.]
This time, it was me who fell silent.
Erika was one of the only two people who knew about my predictions and the price I paid for them. She was aware that making a prediction was dangerous for me.
After several seconds, I let out a soft chuckle.
“Thank you.”
[I owe you a lot. This is the least I can do.]
I smiled wryly.
I wanted to tell her that there was no need to repay me.
However, the words got stuck in my throat.
This world is at the edge of destruction. Powerful ‘Outsiders’ are watching it greedily, infiltrating through the gaps while trying to weaken the world barrier for a full-scale invasion.
And I know that they will eventually succeed.
Seven years later, this world will be shattered, killing billions of people.
The means I have to stop it are limited. Among them, Erika’s abilities are one of the most valuable.
I can’t afford to lose her support.
If I must appeal to her gratitude to achieve that, I’ll gladly do it.
I must save the world.
And I’m prepared to sacrifice a lot for it.
***
Hello.
This chapter marks the end of the prologue. I hope you like it.
I know that there must be a lot of questions, such as, why doesn't he reveal that the world will be destroyed? His father is a powerful noble, so he could go with the king, show his ability to see the future and reveal the fate of the world.
I can only say, it's not that simple. The MC can't just reveal that he can see the future, and the reason will be revealed later.
