episode_0089

Fortunately, when I left exile, the party members were still continuing their investigation.

Lily is probably holed up in the study right now, and Adele seems to be exploring the relics.

When I checked, it seemed like Camilla was the only one walking aimlessly through the hallway. After all, compared to those two, Camilla had nothing to gain from this mansion.

All she can do when she loses interest is wander around aimlessly and pretend to investigate.

“Hmm, what? Why are they together?”

Camilla, who discovered us, asks with a puzzled look on her face.

Yuris calmly dismissed the question.

“I met you on the way here. How is your exploration going?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. Unlike the time of Chunghoeseong, there’s nothing particularly noteworthy about this mansion···. So I left the fact-finding to Adele and just wandered around.”

“Well, then shall we prepare some food together? Camilla is good at cooking, isn’t she?”

“I guess so. That’s a good idea.”

Yulis naturally clung to that side. Now all that was left was to have a light meal and rest before heading back.

Since I didn’t really have anything to investigate other than the place of exile, I decided to just help her cook.

Anyway, it seemed like it would take quite some time for Lily to pack the books.

Fortunately, they didn’t say anything about helping. My role was to prepare the materials.

Because it was a difficult role to play, but also the simplest role.

And honestly, I’m only good at dismantling things, but not at cooking.

‘Status window.’

I took a moment to check my condition while preparing the ingredients.

As I replay the system in my head, a status window filled with letters appears before my eyes.

———-

Name: Luke

Lv: 85

[Skill]

Magic Control Lv8, Bright Ryu Swordsmanship Lv.6, Battle Focus Lv.7, Multicasting Lv6, Pain Resistance Lv9, Poison Resistance Lv 10, Blood Flow Acceleration Lv5, Pain Memory Lv6, Blood Power Replacement Lv5, Blood Absorption Lv5, Fireball Lv5, Unbreakable Lv2, Poison Master Lv2, Martial Arts LvMAX, Puppet LvMAX, Pain Imprint Lv4, Blood Flow Control Lv4, Hardening Lv3, Electrocution Lv3, Mana Barrier Lv5······

———-

The first thing that caught my eye was the level. It was a whopping 85.

Now, compared to the Empire’s strongest man, McGuff, there is only a two-level difference. Of course, that two-level difference is very large.

I have now entered the ranks of the strongest.

‘In the game, this level is usually reached after defeating the third Heavenly King···.’

As the difficulty level increased, the growth rate also increased significantly. The combination of skills acquired was also quite good.

Good. My self-harming black magic build is growing steadily. Now I just need to learn a few more skills and I can evolve into a perfect form.

It’s still strong enough, but there are still a few more spells you can obtain.

But no matter what anyone says, this was the biggest harvest of the year.

Puppet LvMAX.

This is the power of the puppet master. With this, he has two powers.

By gaining just one, I would have gained two fraudulent powers.

Power isn’t power for nothing. I had a special move that allowed me to win against stronger opponents.

In fact, wasn’t the puppet master eventually caught thanks to the solitude summoned by loyalty?

Of course, there were other ways to catch it, but thanks to that, my power also became stronger. Even though I used up my lifespan.

“Oh, by the way, I heard it from Lily.”

“Huh?”

As I was thinking like that, Yuris spoke to me from the side.

Camilla must have stopped by for a moment while she was making the stew. She continued speaking while peeling the carrots that were lying next to her.

“You ended up using up your lifespan this time too···?”

It was a seemingly indifferent question, but it was something I absolutely could not ignore.

I nodded with a slightly complicated expression.

“···Yes.”

“Hoo···.”

After hearing my answer, she sighed deeply. Then she asked again with a worried look on her face.

“How many years have you been using it?”

“Not much time has passed. Maybe 10 years?”

“No, not the one I used this time. I mean the total amount.”

“Hmm···.”

Yeah, how many years have I been using it?

I didn’t remember it very well because I wrote it so infrequently. However, once I recalled it, I was able to calculate it quickly.

Ten years trying to level up before becoming a warrior, twenty years fighting the King of Chung, and now ten years spent summoning Solitude.

In total···.

“··· 40 years.”

It is the time it takes for a human being to be born and reach middle age. It is a very long time that cannot be simply measured in numbers. I have put all of that into the power of sacrifice.

I didn’t realize it because I had been ignoring it for so long, but I had already lost quite a bit of time.

“Oh my god···.”

When Yuris heard that, he looked shocked. Then he looked at me with a pitiful look and said.

“Warrior, I know it can’t be helped, but··· please try not to use the lifespan from now on.”

“It’s not as easy as it sounds···.”

“Sir, when you use up your lifespan, you don’t just die at some point.”

She spoke to me questioningly. Before I could answer, she continued.

“It’s obvious that something will go wrong with your body first either way. Before I went back to the past, the warrior… coughed a lot after sacrificing some of his life. It must have been because his organs were damaged or his immunity was low or something like that.”

That was also something I had never heard before. That is, there are signs that the body is deteriorating.

Well, it was strange that he died suddenly when his lifespan was almost over.

Come to think of it, there was a feeling like the grim reaper’s scythe passing by every time I gave up my life.

It was like tearing apart the soul itself. It was the perfect condition for physical and mental disharmony to occur.

I’ve been through that so many times that it’s no wonder my body feels so distant.

Startled, I quickly looked around my body. I used my slightly recovered mana to check my organs and bones.

Fortunately, nothing has broken down yet.

As the level goes up, the body itself becomes stronger, so no abnormalities occur to the body for around 40 years.

The question arose naturally.

‘So how many years do I have left to live?’

At the time I was possessed, this body was in its 20s. I don’t know the exact age, but I just assumed it was 20 as a minimum.

Then, in the 20 years of my life that I have lived, and the 40 years of my life that I have devoted, I have already spent a total of 60 years of my life.

So what’s left? How much life do I have left?

Still, he was a warrior in name only. A human with the best body and energy. It was clear that he would at least have a longer lifespan than other people.

Also, the world’s powerful people tend to live relatively long lives.

Now, that gentleman Jess Cuban, whose mana circle is broken, is well over 100 years old, and McGuff is still in his 60s, but still looking very healthy.

That is, my lifespan may have increased to a certain extent because I am at a high level.

In that case, if we assume the minimum lifespan to be 100 years, the lifespan that can be comfortably used in the future is probably…

’40 years.’

And the Four Heavenly Kings still have half of their remaining life left, and even the Demon King is still alive. Even if there is still more life left to use, it is still tough. Maybe even less…

My face hardened for a moment as I thought about the future. Still, I tried to look calm and answered her.

“Yes, well··· I’ll be careful in the future.”

I guess I’ll have to try harder. If what she said was true, maybe it was a good thing there were signs.

At least I got some kind of warning before I died of natural causes.

By then, I might have been able to observe my body and infer how long I would have left to live.

By the time I finished thinking like that, the investigation of the party members was also nearing its end.

Lily walks in, carrying a book in both hands. She must have a subspace bag, but it looks like she wants to show it off because she’s carrying it in both hands.

On the other hand, Adele, behind her, was walking with feeble steps.

“Look at this! There are so many magic books! In Chunghoe Castle, there were only strange novels and books on black magic······. It looks like this puppet master is a magician. Hehe, I should go back and read it quickly.”

“You must have made some money. There wasn’t much money here. I got a few expensive-looking paintings and some old wines… but that’s it. Paintings owned by the Four Heavenly Kings. The nobles would love them.”

“Everyone’s here. First, fill your stomachs.”

So we had a light meal and fell asleep in the puppet master’s mansion.

As expected of a mansion, there were plenty of places to sleep.

It was quite an experience to sleep on a luxurious bed in the depths of the Demon World.

“Then let’s go back slowly.”

“Haa··· It’ll take a while to get back.”

After completing our investigation and maintenance, we packed our bags the next day and headed to the empire.

I sighed quietly.

“After···.”

Now it was time to deal with people again.