I leveled up. It's the second time now, yet I haven't chosen any upgrades. When I called upon my status boxes, these words appeared:

Blessing of the Killing Star has risen to Level 5

Choose your upgrade:

- Poison Resistance Level 1

- Paralysis Resistance Level 1

- Improved Kinetic Vision Level 2

Blessing of the Killing Star has risen to Level 6

Choose your upgrade:

- Poison Resistance Level 1

- Vampire Plague Level 1

- Necromancy Level 1

Poison resistance came up twice. Does this mean that previous skills could reappear? Could the vampiric strength and regeneration I abandoned ages ago reappear again? And then there's necromancy. Apparently, the system wants to pair me with undead skills at all costs. I dread the day when all of my upgrades would imitate undead. However, since the choices here are all separate entities, I could simply skip the upgrades! I was tempted to choose poison and paralysis resistance. We never know when we could get poisoned.

"I should pick necromancy and poison resistance," I whispered to myself as I lounged around in my mansion. Yesterday was tiring, but since I broke the jammer, communication has been restored. Father, John Sark, the king, and Duke Bron could finally converse and plan for the resupply.

Blessing of the Killing Star (Level 6)

- Fearless

- Intimidation

- Improved Strength

- Improved Agility

- Beast Instinct

- Dark Magic

- Kinetic Vision Level 1

- Stealth/Camouflage Level 2

- Necromancy Level 1

- Poison Resistance Level 1

I would probably regret this as improved kinetic vision seemed enticing. But I was able to dodge a bullet even though it was at Level 1, so there was no need for me to upgrade it any further. I am against anything that would change my physique, such as vampire skills. However, necromancy was simply a magic skill that could be turned off and on. I could simply not use it if I didn't need it, unlike vampire skills, which might demand blood periodically.

I delved into the Royal Academy library months ago to explore skill descriptions. I discovered there was a skill that could alter one's physique, such as people growing cat ears and claiming improved hearing. There were even skills like beastification that would transform individuals into talking animals without them changing back to humans. Of course, such skills were not inherited by descendants and were thus very rare. That's why I was vehemently against acquiring vampire skills.

The first thing the king asked about was his son, Prince Ludwin. Upon learning his son was safe, he breathed a sigh of relief. He then inquired about military aid, and Count Shadowstep provided an explanation. Afterward, he requested some alone time with his child.

"Damn it! Those guards! Who recruited those assholes!" Prince Ludwin cursed as he barged out from the call room with His Majesty.

"What's the matter, Your Highness?" I asked.

"Well, those guards we sent to retrieve the goods and messengers apparently lied again when reporting. They claimed that Count Shadowstep was imprisoning us so His Majesty would send reinforcements faster," Gladeus explained. I rolled my eyes in disbelief.

"The problem is, we can't solely blame this on all royal guards. Many of them risked their lives here at the fort, after all," I sighed, choosing to let the matter slide.

"Now that communication is back online, His Majesty will be able to assist you more efficiently. I suppose we could return home in the meantime? The reinforcements will arrive in three days, they said," Thor suggested.

"By the way, this is supposed to be top-secret information, but we know how the enemies employed the monsters now," Gladeus said, winking at the prince. I did my best to act surprised. It must have been the information I gathered at their HQ.

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"Ah, yes. My father planned to divulge the information to the count and John Sark this evening. So, basically, they had control of a spawner and trained those monsters to attack us. It was similar to how a hunter trains their hunting dogs," Prince Ludwin explained.

"Destroying the spawner will put an end to Elderan's invasion once and for all. I wonder how Count Shadowstep plans their counter-invasion. He was quite famous as a strategist when your grandfather was a hero," Gladeus smirked.

"My father said only two or three thousand people were trying to invade us. We will win this war easily. No need to worry, Eli. You can count on the empire to save Shadowsteps," Prince Ludwin smiled, puffing out his chest.

"Oh, great. If this war is no longer a concern for us, let's all return to the Royal Academy. We have tests to catch!" I skipped merrily.

"Yeah, sure. Let's go," Prince Ludwin agreed.

"After the communication and the information about the spawner were in their hands, the empire went silent. I thought for sure there would be a commission to destroy the spawner," R25B said the night before my departure. I was sitting by the window, gazing at the moon.

"They needed some merit. I can't take all the credit. The Royal Guards messed up several times in a row. The prince was very angry with them," I whispered.

"I see. The Royal Guards were caught stealing directly before the prince. That put their loyalty into question, huh?" R25B said. "There's going to be an execution of three traitorous Royal Guards in four days. Is it because of that?"

"Yes. Prince Ludwin banished them to look for supplies, but they went home instead. It was impossible for them to take the supplies back. Even if they met the messenger somehow, they were only three people. They would have been killed by the other party," I surmised.

"Well, they'll be dead in three days anyway."

"Hmm? Are you sure? I thought they would be pardoned after some penalty, just like the Royal Guard who raped one of my villagers."

"No. R661 in the capital says so. It will be a public execution. Some nobles, possibly the families of those three Royal Guards, went to R661 directly at your villa. They wanted Leon or R661 to persuade you to persuade the prince to show leniency."

"You know I can't do that, right?"

"You could, if you wanted. If you begged the prince and wove some sweet words, you could probably lighten their punishment."

"Why?"

"Exactly. You don't want to. That's the difference. People have this sort of impression of you. Be careful when you arrive at the capital. By the way, R663 has some letters for you. Don't think much of it. Consider it some of his easy, mundane job, just like what you did previously. He needed money, unlike you. See you. Hahaha."

Not even an hour later, Narwhal, aka R663, snuck into my mansion and arrived before me. I was amazed he was able to sneak around without a skill. Apparently, he had studied the guards' behavior and rotation the last time he was here.

"R25B said you have a letter for me?"

"First of all, it was a commission by R25B, and I was just delivering a letter to you. Okay? I have no intention of enacting anything written on it," R663 said.

"Alright," I nodded. He then gave me the letter, and when I opened it, an insulting death threat followed.

"We desire for you to forgive Mark, Lucas, and Bob. This letter asks for a bargain. If you comply, please negotiate with Prince Ludwin for the release of the empire soldier. If not, we shall use Reapers again in a more forceful manner."

Such was the letter given to me. I tilted my head at the wording before it occurred to me that this was a threatening letter. They wanted to hire Reapers to kill me.

"They sure beat around the bush, huh? Why not just say, 'Ask Prince Ludwin to release our traitorous family, and you may live?' Hey, R25B."

"Yes? Has the letter reached you? It was a twenty-point mission, so I asked R663 to deliver it to you. Consider it his reward."

"Will the Reapers go for my life?"

"Well, it is highly unlikely. But we are in a difficult position since you are also a noble. If they specifically ask to kill Elidranthia, we have to post the commission. Some unwary or naive Reapers might take it. But I trust you have no problem with that?" I already had two encounters with Reapers. One was when they accepted the noble kill commission, and the other was when I tried to kill Baron Kharn. If those were the normal skill levels of reapers, I could manage. I could not resist if someone like R4 were after me, though.

"There are other nobles who became Reapers, right? How do you deal with them?"

"We do have nobles who became Reapers, but they are mostly harmless in their political life. So, not many want their life. Like the seventh son of a count or countryside baron. But you have made some enemies as Elidranthia. Moreover, you seem to be very close to the second prince and thus are seen as a threat. The closest one we have in your situation was when a second son of a viscount, who is a Reaper, reaped a lot of war merit in the Western Front and thus reaped a lot of jealousy among their peers and thus wanted reapers to reap his soul." R25B tried to make a bad pun. But I ignored him.

"What happened to him?"

"We earned a lot of gold and simply faked his killing. It was fortunate he was not attached to his family or nobility. After we gave him a new identity, he worked full-time as our Reaper. By the way, my colleague said that he was laughing because he was assigned for his own killing. He earned 1,000 points." I see. I grinned as I imagined someone hiring R666 to kill Elidranthia.

"I see. But I heard I have a bounty in Elderan for 1,000 gold." I was reminded of my encounter with that wind agent.

"That was a bounty against R666. We don't assassinate our own guild members except if they break the rules. That's why nobody knows each other's names. If they put a bounty on R666, we could simply hand them a random corpse marked as R666. I don't think the organization was willing to kill you. Or even fake killing you as Elidranthia. You are too valuable as a Reaper and a noble. It was hard to get insider information, and you will be in a perfect position in several years. Maybe we will consider it if your bounty as Elidranthia reached 100,000 points? You will be able to live in a rural village in peace and become an occasional assassin. Not that you need it. We also have other jobs for retirees, especially for mages. Making a Reaper card, for example."

"Not yet. I have something to do," I answered him. The invitation was enticing. However, Eli's soul inside me refused it vehemently. As the anger and hatred surged, I was reminded to find who killed my grandparents and mother.