Chapter 12 : Invisible Shadows

In this world, there are many ways to classify power levels, but broadly, there are these categories:
Warriors who rely on physical combat skills.

Mages who rely on magical power.

Clerics who rely on divine power.

Spellcasters who rely on elemental magic.

Beyond these, there are also those who are inherently “bestowed with a name.”

The first three categories basically cover the cultivation paths for most people, though these are, of course, the righteous paths.

There are also many evil cultivators, but those can be set aside for now.

In the initial stages, the division of ranks is not that complex, merely divided into beginner, low-tier, and mid-tier, with each tier further split into upper, middle, and lower.

In other words, these upper, middle, and lower simply represent different designations within their respective tiers.

Only after breaking through mid-tier upper does one truly glimpse the world of powerful individuals.

In fact, the beginner stage is also called the foundational stage, while above advanced is the extraordinary stage, and even further above is the transcendent domain stage, which surpasses human intellect.

For example, Schiller is at the low-tier upper level, which is a hopelessly bad level of strength…

However, most people never manage to break through the beginner stage and reach low-tier lower in their entire lives. Schiller, on the other hand, had access to rare resources of the noble class since childhood, which laid his foundation.

However, the complexity of the ranking system lies in how realistic this world is.

‘Mages can’t fight in close combat? Swordsmen can definitely not use magic?’

No, no, no, in this world, anything is possible.

In fact, most people are born with magic.

This means that the orc you see wielding a big club might actually be better at magic, and the delicate girl holding a staff might actually have bigger chest muscles than you.

Above this, there’s also the existence of “Bestowed Names.” These are companion magics granted by gods to individuals. A companion magic is not just one type of magic, but a category of magic.

For example, Sheryl’s companion magic is ice magic. When she’s in a deeply cold place or at night, she can even fight across levels.

This is the terrifying aspect of companion magic.

And the protagonist’s overpowered aspect lies in the fact that her companion magic is too much of a cheat, coupled with her boundless magic and physical strength, making her a truly terrifying existence.

And precisely because of this, the protagonist’s enemies become even more persistent.

The so-called evil path refers to those who worship Demon Gods. They gain a Demon God’s acquired “Bestowed Name” by paying certain prices. Although the usage time is limited, it can greatly influence the battle situation.

And he, clearly, did not have that…

No, Schiller’s memory told him that this guy also had a “Bestowed Name,” and this magic…

However, this thing wasn’t useful for now.

Being low-tier offered Schiller no sense of security at all. It was like facing the three kidnappers; he was completely helpless, only able to act as a meat shield to buy time for Sheryl.

However, these were merely low-tier opponents. If he were to face a true expert, he probably wouldn’t even have a chance to get close.

In the original work, Sheryl’s rank had already reached the level of a Grand Magus at the beginning.

However, that was only the beginning for the advanced world.

Schiller propped his head up, then wrote a fourth point after the third.

Fourth, find the protagonist early.

Because Schiller didn’t know where the protagonist was.

In the original work, there were only a few mentions of the protagonist’s identity, only stating that she came from an orphanage, but she was the only survivor due to war.

And it was this protagonist, regarded as a commoner, who harbored a dislike for this world. It was only through her daily interactions with the heroines around her that she gradually rediscovered the happiness of being human.

However, there was such a setting in the original work.

She was a woman blessed by two gods. Once a heroine with whom she had a deep bond died, she would turn into a Demon God.

No, it wasn’t something as simple as possession; the immense cheat power allowed her to even kill gods. She simply killed the Demon God, then mercilessly destroyed the world.

With the protagonist being such an overpowered individual, Schiller decided to give up on military might. Not to mention surpassing her, he shouldn’t even think about catching up to her.

However, if he could find the protagonist early, he could use his noble status to support her.

And then become the man behind the protagonist… using her power to open a Yuri harem (hers).

‘What did you say, gigolo? That’s too ugly a term! This is strategy.’

“If the hard way doesn’t work, then the soft way it is!” he declared.

…

Meanwhile, in the suburbs.

Dancing flames illuminated two shaken faces—the kidnappers who had narrowly escaped into the forest.

“Do you think we’ll be held accountable?”

“No, no way. Besides, as soon as it’s dawn, we’ll flee across the border. Then no one will find us…”

His words were cut off halfway. His long-honed survival instincts made him quickly dive to the ground. In an instant, the tree behind him was riddled with countless small holes, as if pierced by needles.

“Who’s there!” The other man didn’t bother helping his companion up, quickly drew his sword, and stared intently into the deep shadows.

“Just a maid… that’s all.”

Celia, dressed in a maid’s uniform, slowly emerged from the shadows, her blue hair fluttering in the air.

“Oh my, it’s quite impressive you managed to dodge that…” she said playfully.

“You are?” A trace of doubt flickered in the man’s eyes.

Before he could finish his sentence, Celia’s figure appeared in front of him, and the explosive force of an impact came from his chest.

“Ugh!” The man stumbled to the ground, looking at the maid before him in disbelief.

‘Fast! Too fast!’

He was by no means weak, yet he hadn’t even seen her movements. The power of that instant made him wonder if his internal organs had been shattered.

Moreover, he hadn’t been able to sense her “aura” at all from beginning to end.

That ice maiden was certainly terrifying, but that was merely a “difference in magical power.” Now, they were experiencing a more fundamental disparity.

‘They couldn’t win. Such an enemy was absolutely unbeatable.’

“I’ve never seen such a strong maid… Tell me, what do you want?” The man on the ground dusted off his clothes, then spoke to her as calmly as possible.

Perhaps this maid was also a pawn of “that Lord.”

“What do I want…” Celia repeated the phrase in her mouth. “Then, regarding the silver-haired girl you let go today…” Her tone was flat but held strong displeasure.

“Are you sent by that Lord to demand an explanation? But the woman seems to have a Bestowed Name, and the man… is a weakling.” The man seemed relieved, sighing as he was about to continue, but found he couldn’t open his mouth.

A flash of a certain thread glimmered past.

No, he couldn’t open his mouth anymore.

He stared down in shock, seeing an extremely fine red line appear across his neck. Immediately after, his vision spun—he saw his headless body slowly collapse.

“Who allowed you to insult young master with that mouth?”

“Eek!” The other man, witnessing that moment, covered his mouth and continuously backed away.

“Don’t be scared… Oh, you probably don’t know me yet.”

Celia smiled at the man. Then, immense magical power swirled around her body. After the magic subsided, she had completely transformed into a different appearance.

Silver-white hair and crimson eyes were fixed intently on the man.

Her eyes were bloodshot, her face no longer held the maid’s composure, replaced instead by a kind of frenzied expression.

“You, you are!”

Celia, as if oblivious to his reaction, continued to speak, “Regrettable… so regrettable.” She took a step closer to the man.

“I clearly told you to kill that woman immediately after catching her, but you, you wanted to have your cake and eat it too! You wanted to extort more with her?! Why couldn’t you kill her! Why did you let the young master fall into danger! Why did you let him get hurt?!” She growled frantically, her silver hair wildly dancing.

“Why!” She even let out a somewhat frantic sound.

The man stared in terror at the scene before him. He trembled and raised his sword. This sight was so abnormal that it prevented him from even thinking.

“The one who stabbed young master… was it you?” She looked at the man with eyes devoid of any warmth.

“No, I will absolutely not allow it, absolutely not forgive, absolutely not let go…” Her voice was a low murmur, like a dream, but her eyes became increasingly frenzied. “Ah… I really… really want to go back to him now.”

“Ah, I can’t hold it anymore.”

“Already…”

“I can’t hold it anymore!”

The instant her words fell, Celia’s figure vanished from where she stood!

The kidnapper’s pupils contracted sharply. His survival instinct made him instinctively try to raise his sword to block—

“Thwack!”

A muffled sound of flesh tearing echoed.

“Scum.” She softly uttered two words.

“Ugh…” The light in the kidnapper’s eyes completely extinguished.

Celia pulled her hand back, allowing the corpse to slump to the ground. She shook the warm blood from her hand, the frenzied, twisted expression on her face receding like a tide, transforming back into her gentle and docile appearance.

And her silver hair also returned to a sky-blue color, as if the tide had receded.

“I need to clean this up quickly… It wouldn’t be good if Young Master wakes up and finds me gone.” She murmured softly to herself, as if she had just performed a trivial household chore.

Azure magic surged forth once more, completely devouring and annihilating the two corpses and the bloodstains on the ground, leaving no trace.

After doing all this, Celia looked up in the direction of the Viscount’s mansion, a smile that was almost devout, mixed with obsession and tenderness, appearing on her face.

“Ah, you save everyone, no matter who they are… But precisely because of that, I must…”

Her figure silently disappeared into the night..