Luckily this idiot went the same way that he came from when I was searching for the prince. If not for that I wouldn't have a chance to find him again. Now he even brought me to the Dark Guild's base. At least one of them if there are multiple. Maybe I should reward him? Nah.
I enter the iron door the useful suspicious guy just entered. Unlike him, I use a more forceful way of opening the door though.
""!!""
There are a bunch of third-rate villains are standing around, shocked at my entrance. Never mind they are grabbing all kinds of weapons. The Heavenly weapons set I got had most basic basics covered but there wasn't a katana and these guys also have a lot of weapons I have never seen in action before. I should really get more variety for myself. At least to play around if nothing else.
In this situation I should put on my most beautiful business smile, right? Ah, right I have a mask on, should I put away the lower piece? No, whatever if I smile like a professional the feeling should come across with my words!
"I just came to talk, no need to be so on edge!"
<You acquired the [Menacing] skill>
<[Menacing] fused into the [Social Mastery] skill>
No one can see it but I swear this was a beautiful business smile!
"W-what do you want?"
One of the third-rate villains steps up, he makes me think that he is almost not a third-rate. Almost. Not really. Seems like anyone with skills is out right now.
"This doesn't seem to be your main base?"
These guys are behaving weirdly, shouldn't people from the underground be fiercer if some random guy suddenly came into their base?
I try appraising the one that just talked.
| Name | Ardwin |
| Occupation | Thief |
| Race |
"HEY! GET THIS BASTARD!"
He definitely reacted to my appraisal! I also felt some kind of rejection of my skill when he shouted. This means the appraisal skill can indeed be noticed, that would mean I wasn't appraised so far. 1 For those who forgot, suspicion arose due to the Ape only reacting after the appraisal Unless I need some kind of skill for that to work. The appraisal can also be canceled, so I need one or maybe 2 skills related to this...
I can easily evade their attacks, it's a bit annoying to pay attention to all these different weapon types but their coordination isn't the best, most seem to be used to only be working alone. But the environment isn't the best to use a katana, should I just use a weapon I'm more used to? Hand-to-hand combat is also fine, but--
"This bastard isn't normal, quickly some of you run and inform the boss while we keep him here!"
I just felt it, no if he didn't talk right after I probably wouldn't have noticed this feeling. Something was off like the tiniest breeze passing by when there shouldn't be any windows open. No, it was more akin to a single strand of hair falling down. But now I felt it two or three times in quick succession. Ah, I need to kill everyone to be sure.
* * *
I could quickly clear 3 bases, but I'm not sure if their main base in the capital was among them. I did my best to leave no evidence behind, at least none that points towards me. This is the first time I killed someone... In the novels I read people started throwing up and had all kinds of thoughts, I don't really feel any different...? Maybe I'm a defect. Not feeling anything about this is somehow making me feel worse than if I felt at least a little change...
I should quickly visit the king and return to my usual life. Besides some uproar in the higher society, there shouldn't be too much effect on the normal folk right?
Umm, I am sure that this is the castle. But why are they fighting here too? It's already so late in the afternoon, can't they give me a rest?!
I swiftly enter the castle while stealthily supporting the knights I pass by and looking for a face I could know. Truly I don't have too many acquaintances here but maybe lady luck is on my side.
Wandering around in the castle I found the gate to the throne room. As I enter the throne room, I can see that... The attackers have no chance. From the looks of it, there was a meeting here when they got attacked. I can see the king along with his knights and mages push back the enemies. On the side a bunch of rich people, probably nobles, stand while in a slight panic. Katharina is also there, standing next to her are a young girl and a man about the same age as Katharina. Those must be the third princess and the third prince.
According to my knowledge the first princess was married, the second prince is traveling to gain experience and only the second and third princess and the third prince are staying in the castle right now. The first prince is also in the capital but he is staying in his villa, but he was turned into an idiot by me so he is not important anymore.
I wonder why they attacked right now, is it because of the princess? But that doesn't make sense either. It seems like I'm missing crucial information. Well, since things are going well here, I don't really need to help out. The attackers are trying to run away now but it's hard on them. Poor bastards.
"Don't let any of them escape! Find out who send them and finish them all!"
The King orders after killing the last guy that was still here.
Maybe I should let myself be seen by him now? I'm not sure if this is the right timing though. I just wanted to quickly get my so-called rewards and go away.
My opinion so far, the mc mocked n complained about the original mc, but so far i think this mc is no better than the original mc,,,, he is just the usual good for nothing japanese mc who wasted his cheats n potential,,,the only reason he is ahead of the original mc is because he knew the story not because he is more competent...sorry if my comment sounds unpleasant, just stating my opinion so far
Can you elaborate? I believe that he acted very reasonably so far.
The cheats are nerfed a lot compared to the original but he still moves in a way that is most efficient while also prioritizing safety.
He uses all the resources available to him.
Magic is much harder to use here so yeah, he can't do everything with it yet. But he experiments a lot to find out how things work in this world, which is necessary if you want to work efficiently and not get in unwanted danger, which also means that he doesn't rely on Deus Ex Machina to solve all his problems.
Now for the story:
So far, the only things that he definitely knows are the location of the gate, the house, the convenience store event, and that the princess gets somehow attacked. The "original story" in this novel is also not 100% the same as with the light novel, but the world in the story also changed a lot when he entered. That was already hinted but things will be a lot clearer later on. Other than those 4 things, he needs to find out everything himself, most of his "knowledge power" is knowing basic tropes that all readers know.
No worries, you just gave your opinion. It's not like you suddenly cursed at me or gave me an unreasonable 1-star review saying something like "sh*t MC wants to f*ck girls! DISGUSTING!" after ignoring the tags and genres.
That would've hurt me. 
@GodlessEmperor how to say..."oh look the boss is level100, let's spend some time to get lv150 because that is the max level, let's get the Myth rated lv150 equipment even though Rare rated lv100 equipment is already enough for the boss, let's get all the skills and max out their levels even though many of them are not needed right now, let's explore all hidden areas n quests to get the secrets...etc"
He gave off that kind of vibe...that is fine if it is a game but real life needs you to be quick, prepare what you need n get going to your goal...there is no time to over-prepare....the enemy is stronger than you? Dont waste time training, the gap can be bridged by equipment, bare minimum skils, tactics such as luring the enemy to the barier so that you can attack from inside the barrier, using consumables, and maybe forming party
Of course it is not as simple like that but u get what im trying to say...he is inefficient like noob gamer who dont know what he wants and what to do despite all the walkthrough in front of him...is that make any sense?
@Domon Ok, I get what you mean now. Maybe I can clear some things up.
- Unlike in a game, it hurts when he gets injured. So why would he want to fight someone who can injure him?
- Unlike in a game, he can actually die and only has 1 life.
- He doesn't have access to stronger gear. It was mentioned that the outer regions (where the goblins live) are already ultra-dangerous, so he can assume that he wouldn't be able to get gear for level 500 mobs.
- The skills that are not necessary still make the necessary skills stronger because of "the hidden multiplier".
- Why do you have to be quick in real life? If you hurry too much and get in a dangerous situation everything is over. It's not like the world is getting destroyed next week lol.
- Killing 100 level 300s definitely gets you stronger than killing one level 500, without any of the dangers. (Depending on your level.) Unless you need something specific from the strong mob there is no reason to fight something that can kill you. (Well due to having to find each monster it gets less and less efficient fighting weak ones so obviously as he can easily fight stronger ones the monsters, he fights will become stronger)
- Luring strong monsters won't work. Is the monster too strong to fight? Then how will you lure it for minutes or even tens of minutes? Is it weak enough to lure it all the way? Why not just kill it then? Would be much faster.
- Consumables... He is working on that one, at least on later chapters.
- Party... He is working on this too, at least on later chapters.
Actually, many things you mentioned get addressed around chapters 30-40(?)
"Despite all the walkthrough"
I mentioned it somewhere already, I think, but he keeps forgetting about the novel more and more. Or rather he is getting to a point where he is no longer aware that he is in a novel. If I didn't mention it yet... Umm, spoiler tag saves me lol. My 3 brain cells have a hard time remembering what happened and when it happened
Hope that helps understand my thought process in making things go this way a bit.
I'm not saying that I'm 100% correct in what I do/How I do things. But I give my best to put thought and reason behind most of what I write here.
@GodlessEmperor i thought the equips in the house are already the best in that world??? is that not the case??? level1 noob with best equips can probably power level by hunting mid range enemies upward even without fancy skills...
As for why you must be quick...i thought it should be obvious but your asking why reminded me that people are different...for me if i got all those things i wont be able to stay still until i reach a point where growing stronger requires a lot of work, then i will do whatever i want without worrying about anything because at that point no one around me can oppose me n i will sure as hell stay away from those that can,,,at least until i get the drive to once again grind my level...i mean what is the point having all those things if you dont use them to grow quickly? living n growing at normal pace can be done by everyone, no need for all those treasures
If the mc is normy who just want ordinary life i can understand the slow growth but he obviously the kind who wants to grow quickly n use that power to guaratee that he can do whatev he wants
Old man: "Hey kiddo this here is a lapi with software that will allow you to launch nuke missiles to any target...if you want to get rid of your enemies n get what you want, use it"
Mc: "Hmm this will be useful...nuke are powerful but im lacking experience, i will familiarize myself with this by nuking a dog in the neighborhood that bit me in the past"
He has the ability to skip-level kill...he has what it takes to grow quickly (assuming the equips in the house is indeed the best in the world) but he still go at snail pace
Familiarizing yourself n understanding your power are important steps i agree, the foothold, the foundation is important...but if u can do so while killing dragons why do so while kiiling slimes
Ah im only saying this for the sake of replying to you, there is no other meaning, just saying
@Domon I learned how to quote! Maybe!
i thought the equips in the house are already the best in that world??? is that not the case??? level1 noob with best equips can probably power level by hunting mid range enemies upward even without fancy skills...
No, they were made by the sage for Quality of Life. He was strong enough to not need strong equipment. Sure, for most people and someone at level 1 they are strong, but the equipment is more focused on "never breaks" etc. Everything the sage made was made to be used forever. Weapons are consumable, but his aren't. But unless you are a god-like being you might want equipment that is focused on enhancing your not so god-like stats instead of focusing on not needing maintenance.
As for why you must be quick...i thought it should be obvious but your asking why reminded me that people are different...for me if i got all those things i wont be able to stay still until i reach a point where growing stronger requires a lot of work, then i will do whatever i want without worrying about anything because at that point no one around me can oppose me n i will sure as hell stay away from those that can,,,at least until i get the drive to once again grind my level...i mean what is the point having all those things if you dont use them to grow quickly? living n growing at normal pace can be done by everyone, no need for all those treasures
Again, he is the quickest he can be, I think.
If the mc is normy who just want ordinary life i can understand the slow growth but he obviously the kind who wants to grow quickly n use that power to guaratee that he can do whatev he wants
Humans are complicated. Does he want a normal life? yes and no. Does he want to become strong quickly? He already achieved that but more doesn't hurt and he obviously likes seeing the numbers go up more.
Old man: "Hey kiddo this here is a lapi with software that will allow you to launch nuke missiles to any target...if you want to get rid of your enemies n get what you want, use it"
Mc: "Hmm this will be useful...nuke are powerful but im lacking experience, i will familiarize myself with this by nuking a dog in the neighborhood that bit me in the past"
But the notebook doesn't give him any information. How often can he use it? Does it have lag? How to calculate the position where it lands? If you use it without knowing how exactly it works you can easily die by your own hands from misuse.
If you receive an op sword, would you just use it? What if it is cursed and slowly saps away your life? What if its power is limited to 20 seconds per day? Knowledge is power. Just running somewhere without understanding your power is suicide. "Understand yourself before you try to understand your enemy"
The MC doesn't magically get knowledge about how the world and his powers work because of no reason, he has to work for it and get there.
It's just that most MCs are ret*rds that act without thinking, for example, the "low MP = headache" trope. Why don't they try to use all their MP once and see if that has any effects on their body? If they run out of MP during a fight they WILL die. (They won't because of plot armor, but would you as a human rely on plot armor?)
Hopefully I used the quotes correctly or this might have the ugliest formatting ever
@GodlessEmperor Why would someone else's idiocy hurt you? I mean: aside from neurologically, since stupidity appears to be contagious.
@Cheetachaser Someone else's idiody?
@GodlessEmperor I checked, I spelled idiocy correctly.