New Identity
Observation Tower, upper level.
"A—A great flood! A flood of monsters has begun!"
It was the scream of High Priest Bamilo, who had been watching over the hunting grounds.
Beside him, High Priest Grace's jaw dropped open.
"Oh no! Why now, of all times!"
The two old priests bit their lips as one and turned toward Erec Kaid.
"We—we must stop the ritual immediately, Vice Commander!"
"This time, we'll dispatch a rescue unit right away!"
Unlike before, the two seemed to have reached some agreement.
But the vice commander of the Revolutionary Army merely shook his head.
"I mean no disrespect, High Priests, but my answer remains the same."
"Erec!"
"Vice Commander!"
"By our rules and traditions, once the Crimson Wind begins, we cannot interfere."
The two priests exploded in fury at that, but Erec Kaid only turned away with a mysterious smile.
"Besides… it seems none of the children will die or even be injured this time. So there's no need to worry."
"…!"
"…?"
The priests' expressions shifted—each in a very different way.
Bamilo Dimark looked relieved, while Grace Miller's face was filled with confusion.
So that's what he meant…
"Hahaha…"
Vice Commander Kaid let out a booming laugh and turned again toward the pitch-black hunting grounds below.
Kuuung! Kwaaang!
Massive explosions scorched the forest—impossible to believe they were caused by children.
The priests watching from behind could only gape in shock.
Indeed, their expressions carried subtle differences.
'…This hour's going to feel pretty long.'
With a quiet chuckle, Erec Kaid sank back into his chair.
At the same time—
'Shan Aledro.'
The one who had created this strange situation and time…
Erec felt an overwhelming urge to meet him as soon as possible.
"…Ahem."
He had to exert great effort to suppress that excitement.
***
Eve and I were flying around like maniacs—shooting arrows and throwing daggers as we hunted down the monsters.
As my level increased, I gained more skill points, which meant I could immediately unlock and use whatever skill I needed on the spot.
When I ran out of arrows, I quickly learned Intermediate Magic Arrow and kept shooting.
When I picked up some daggers, I unlocked Beginner Throwing Technique to hurl them effectively.
But among all those skills, the most useful one turned out to be Rope Throw.
Once you hooked a monster with it, you could either break its neck, yank it close, or slice it—plenty of options, very convenient indeed.
'I learned quite a bit about combat methods today.'
And I also realized many areas where I was still lacking.
Thus, time in the hunt passed like the wind.
***
[Event "Monster Flood" has ended.]
With the death of an orc shaman somewhere in the distance, the Ultra Wave came to an end.
"Chiiik?"
"Grrk? Grurrrrk?"
Freed from mind control, the monsters panicked and fled back to their lairs.
At that moment, my level was…
'29!'
Hell yeah!
It was an explosive level-up spree—starting from 14, I'd climbed fifteen whole levels!
Level 29 was also a sweet spot personally.
If I'd reached 31, the Blessing of the Ancient Guardians would have expired.
And since I still wanted to make full use of that blessing, this was perfect.
'Everything worked out beautifully. Hehehe.'
As I was basking in satisfaction, another system message appeared.
[Blessing "Pacifist's Hope" has expired.]
The experience-boosting buff that had let me level up like crazy had finally said goodbye.
'I loved you…'
Of course, I'd used that buff to the fullest, but greed knows no limits.
'Another chance like this will come someday.'
Thinking so, I headed back toward the cabin.
The place was a total wreck—monster corpses piled everywhere, the barricades shattered to pieces.
"Whew…"
I calmed my excitement and jumped down from my shield.
"I—I almost died."
After roughly tossing the bound priestess to the ground, Eve flopped down and hugged the earth, rolling around.
"Mmm… I can smell the dirt. I didn't know it was so precious…"
"…All I smell is smoke. Stop lying on the filthy ground and get up!"
"Shut up! How could you make me ride that thing for an entire hour? You could've just stopped by the cabin for one minute!"
"What are you talking about? Every second counted—why would I?"
"Selfish jerk!"
"…."
Unbelievable.
She talked like that, but she'd been firing arrows nonstop from my back the whole time.
So yeah—she probably leveled up once too.
'Such a tsundere.'
Clicking my tongue at Eve sprawled on the ground, I dismissed the Balancer of Flames.
Then, another message popped up.
[Mini-game "Flame Surfing" has ended.]
[You achieved an exceptional score in the mini-game. Reward granted.]
A mini-game reward.
It was separate from the quest "Savior of the Sons"—a prize purely for my fiery surfing performance.
'Claim reward.'
Something heavy dropped into my hand.
What I received was a fairly large golden key.
***
[One-use item]
A magical key leading to a labyrinth where special items can be obtained. Leveling up is impossible inside, but there is no risk of harm. Be fearless and challenge it boldly!
Just as described—using the key would transport the player into a maze, where they'd search for items.
The catch was that you couldn't check what the items were until you left.
In other words, after all the effort, the result depended entirely on luck.
So I wasn't particularly thrilled.
'If I had a title related to item appraisal, this could be handy.'
For example—
'Eye of Gold or Master of Perception maybe?'
Anyway, that wasn't important right now.
I could always enter later once I obtained such a title.
"Eve, get up."
I tossed the key into my inventory and called out to her.
"Ah, whyyy…"
Completely drained, Eve waved her hand lazily as if too tired to care.
But in the very next moment—
"…!"
Even she had to spring up to her feet.
"Eve! Eve's back!"
"You made it back alive, sis!"
"Thank goodness! We thought you were dead…"
Children appeared from somewhere—
especially the girls, who rushed in and surrounded her.
Taking advantage of that moment, I discreetly used the Balancer of Flames to cover the battered priestess's body, hiding her from view.
"Uh…"
Eve, still dazed from the hour-long, intense battle, blinked slowly.
Only now did she seem to grasp what had happened, her gaze sweeping over the children before her.
With trembling hands and a quivering voice, she called out each familiar face.
"Laura! Maylin! Gabi! Are you all right? No one's hurt?"
"Yeah, we're fine!"
A beat later, Elaine Holt appeared and smacked Eve on the back of the head.
"Hey! Do you have any idea how worried you made us?!"
But when she heard that everyone was safe, Eve exhaled in relief and hugged her best friend tightly.
"I'm fine too! See? Still alive and kicking!"
…Alive, my ass.
If I hadn't changed course to come back for her, Eve Wyler would already be a cold corpse.
Maybe she remembered that, because when our eyes met, she flinched slightly.
And then—
"Huh?"
I froze for a second.
"…"
"…"
The children's gazes—hot, sharp, and piercing—were all suddenly aimed at me.
"What? What's with those looks?"
Feeling uneasy, I glanced around and spotted Kals and Tyrbaen awkwardly standing among the crowd, so I quickly raised a hand.
"H-hey, Brother Kal! Sister En!"
I hoped they'd help smooth out this ominous situation.
"…Ahem."
But the two of them just exchanged an even more ominous cough and quietly turned away.
"What the hell?"
I instinctively stepped back a few paces—
and then the kids swarmed.
"Who are you, really?"
"Are you actually a prince of the Empire? That pig prince?"
"Then how did you know this was going to happen?"
"Tell us!"
…Crap!
Their flood of questions was worse than the Ultra Wave itself.
"N-No! It's not like that!"
What even was this situation?
"H-Hey, you two! Don't just stand there—help me out!"
I desperately called for Kals and Tyrbaen, but they only scratched their heads awkwardly before vanishing into the crowd.
This—this was not how I wanted my identity exposed.
'Damn it, did this happen because I wasn't around?'
Breaking out in a cold sweat, I realized how bad this had gotten.
"But wait, when you think about it—he's not fat at all, right?"
"Yeah, that 'pig prince' nickname was supposed to belong to the Third Prince…"
"He's actually totally ripped! Way different from the rumors! Hey, can I, uh, touch?"
"Wow, look at her—so bold! Are you gonna dump your boyfriend for him?"
The girls burst into laughter, but I wasn't having fun in the slightest.
The boys, on the other hand, looked at me with wary curiosity that made my skin crawl.
"So you're really not gonna explain? We deserve to know something."
"It kinda looks like you had something to do with that monster flood just now. Didn't you?"
Should I run for it?
Even Eve looked helpless, unable to find any way to step in.
And right then—
"Shan Aledro!"
A deep, commanding voice pierced through the crowd like a shaft of light.
"And Eve Regal…"
Everyone turned at once toward that familiar, dignified tone.
An old man had appeared out of nowhere, inspecting the collapsed barricade.
The face beneath his hood was one no one here could possibly mistake.
"Whoa! It's Lord Kaid!"
"The Vice Commander himself! What brings you here, sir?"
Returning their enthusiastic greetings with a gentle wave, Erec Kaid lifted his gaze—
and looked straight at me.
"Shan Aledro, Eve Regal. Those are your names, aren't they?"
"…"
I stared blankly at the wrinkled face smiling at me—
'Ah!'
A second too late, I caught the old man's hidden meaning.
'He's… helping me cover!'
Then thank the gods!
I nodded quickly.
"Of course. I don't know what kind of strange rumors are going around, but my name's definitely Shan Aledro!"
Then I shot a look at Eve.
She looked confused, but quickly caught on and nodded along.
"Hahaha…"
The Vice Commander of the Revolutionary Army chuckled softly.
"Good. Then we'll leave it at that."
The children were left speechless.
After all, when the Vice Commander himself declared my identity outright,
none of them could question it any further.
Whatever came later, for now at least—I could finally breathe.
"Despite the sudden emergency, you all responded admirably. I just came to offer my encouragement, so don't mind me—carry on with your duties."
At the Archmage's kind smile, the children slowly dispersed, returning to their tasks.
But I saw the exact moment that warmth vanished from his face.
His gaze fell upon Ervia Watts—
the priest from the Kishiris Cathedral who had orchestrated this disaster—lying unconscious on the ground.
Erec Kaid's expression turned colder than anyone's.
"…You two, may I borrow you for a moment?"
At those words, I smiled faintly.
My personal leveling spree was over.
Now it was time to settle the quest.
READ MORE CHAPTERS ON KOFI: https://ko-fi.com/ripper1920
AND ON PAYHIP : https://payhip.com/Beastnovels