Chapter 12: Rosacis

Vilan picked it up and looked closely, only to realize it was actually a slender Metal Pen?

The tip was so sharp that Vilan even felt like it was a metal engraving tool.

So this was the mysterious treasure those people were talking about?

What was so mysterious about it?

With confusion, Vilan carefully sensed the structure inside the pen.

He wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t looked.

The internal construction was as precise as a piece of equipment.

He could even feel that as long as he channeled magic power into it, it would function again.

“Interesting.”

Vilan became intrigued as well.

He set the Map aside and began fiddling with the Metal Pen.

As he injected magic, the entire pen lit up with a silver glow.

While he was still wondering what it did, an urge to write something quickly surged in his mind.

“Time.”

Vilan subconsciously drew an Arcane Spell.

With the support of the Metal Pen, his writing speed instantly increased.

Normally, it would take him about two seconds to draw an Arcane Spell.

With the Metal Pen, one second was enough.

Feeling the acceleration of time within his body, Vilan estimated that the boost had increased by a full 1/5.

That was a significant enhancement.

“Whoa, this is an Arcanist’s artifact!”

“With this, fighting becomes so much easier.”

Vilan stopped supplying magic.

Other than consuming a bit more internal magic, there were no significant drawbacks.

He had always considered how to solve the problem of slow casting speed as an Arcanist.

He didn’t expect that a single pen would greatly accelerate his casting.

“What’s the principle behind this?”

He studied the Metal Pen carefully, but in the end, gained no further insight.

Vilan could only attribute it to the internal structure.

He thought that maybe in the future, he could ask a teacher at the Academy to see if there were items with even higher boosts.

Putting the Metal Pen in his pocket, he unfolded the Map.

A large green dot was marked on it.

Combining it with the surrounding locations, Vilan deduced this was where he was.

According to the Map, there were three nearby towns or villages.

Heading eastward, there were two giant symbols side by side.

If nothing else, one of them must be an Ancient Divine Ruins.

For exploration, he decided to move in that direction.

With the Map closed, he felt he had a goal in mind.

Vilan walked out of the small house and heard the sounds of fighting outside.

He thought that in the early stages of the Trial, except for those extremely powerful and confident individuals, most people would avoid fighting to preserve themselves.

Unless it was like what Vilan did earlier to seize resources.

He remembered that a senior once said that an ordinary village would generally contain four to five items.

He didn’t consider the Map as an item, but the Metal Pen counted as one.

So, in this ruin alone, there should still be at least three items remaining.

Vilan walked slowly toward the source of the fighting.

“Boom…”

Just as he took a step, the sound of a fire explosion echoed.

Feeling the magic within, Vilan sensed that the fighters were probably not weak.

He became more interested in watching and hurried forward.

Even as he approached, he could feel more people gathering nearby.

It seemed the scale of the fight wouldn’t be small.

But that was the nature of the Trial.

If a fight became too loud, it would inevitably attract countless new students lurking in the shadows.

By then, escaping would be difficult.

“Heh… A Three-Star Greatsword Master?”

“Terrifying indeed.”

“This talent… No wonder you’re considered a genius in Kajielel for years.”

“But since you’re up against me, Sarin, today, you’ve met your match.”

Muscles bulged all over his body, and the man over two meters tall spoke excitedly.

He swung his greatsword and slashed heavily at the young man before him.

The youth wore silver armor.

A red dragon pattern adorned his crimson cape.

He smiled as well, raised his blade, and met Sarin’s strike head-on without flinching.

“Not bad.”

“You live up to your uncle’s Blood Lion Legion’s reputation.”

The blades collided, producing a deep, resonant sound, strike after strike.

Flames erupted from the youth, exploding as the blades clashed.

Vilan’s gaze fell on the youth.

Combining it with what Sarin had said earlier, he already knew who the youth was.

It was the prince of the country he wanted revenge against—Gasoco Doro.

As for Sarin, although Vilan didn’t know him, he had heard of the Blood Lion Legion.

If he mentioned his uncle, then he was likely the legendary nephew of the Blood Lion General.

Vilan had nothing to do with the people of the Kerrit Kingdom.

Vilan was silent for a long time, feeling conflicted inside.

He held a grudge against Gasoco’s country and wanted revenge, but he also didn’t want to make things difficult for the youth before him.

He clenched his fist, hesitated for a moment, then released it.

No, he couldn’t take revenge here—it would be meaningless.

The one who plotted against the Succubus couldn’t be this brat.

He wouldn’t be avenging the true culprit and would gain nothing for himself.

He couldn’t achieve revenge alone.

He needed to suppress his hatred, not only avoid offending Gasoco but become allies, use him to infiltrate their Kingdom, find the mastermind who plotted against the Banshee Clan, and then repay the blood debt with blood.

But looking at this guy still made Vilan inexplicably annoyed.

He gave up on watching and continued searching for resources nearby.

Just as well—those guys were attracting attention, so he could explore in peace.

However, things didn’t go as he hoped.

He found nothing useful in the ruins or houses he searched, only seeing many Fragments that he couldn’t pick up.

Just as Vilan sighed, deciding to look elsewhere, another sound of fighting came from not far away.

Although Vilan was already less interested—since the fight between Gasoco and Sarin, the sounds of battle had been constant here—he still decided to take a look.

It was on his route east, anyway.

Unlike the other fights, what drew Vilan this time wasn’t the combat noise but screams.

A series of girls’ cries rang out, making it hard to imagine what was happening.

“Dolly-senpai!”

“You bastard, we already said we don’t have any Fragments on us!”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Why?”

“HAHAHAHA!”

The moment Vilan approached, loud laughter rang out.

A man covered his eyes, laughing madly at the sky like one of the Four Mad Kings.

Vilan’s first impression was that he was mentally unstable.

“My favorite thing is the pleasure of defeating cute girls like you.”

“Do you understand that feeling?”

“Watching you fall into despair as I crush you is pure joy!”

“Even though you’re dressed like a village girl, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

“Be grateful—I’ll leave you for last.”

“And I won’t let you be defeated so easily…”

“In here, suffering a fatal wound means you’re out, so I’ll torture you first, then…”

The man laughed perversely.

Vilan admitted, his mind was indeed twisted—a total pervert.

If it weren’t necessary, Vilan really didn’t want to get involved.

But seeing such a scumbag, he couldn’t hold back.

“Ah! Pervert, get away… Is anyone there, help…”

The girl screamed in fear.

Vilan paused when he saw her.

Wasn’t she a heroine?

“Don’t worry. Even if you scream yourself hoarse…”

The man didn’t finish.

A burst of starlight instantly enveloped him.

The beautiful, concentrated assault left the girl frozen.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Vilan stepped forward, patted the girl’s shoulder, his youthful face filled with cold arrogance.

Facing these weaklings, he had every right to be confident.

The girl looked up and saw Vilan’s exquisite and melancholic face.

Her heart pounded wildly in an instant.

“You…”

She started to speak, but in the next moment, the man who had been struck let out a weak sound.

He had just relaxed his guard and didn’t expect to be ambushed.

“Damn it, who ruined my fun!”

“Huh, not dead?”

Vilan was a bit surprised.

This guy was tougher than expected.

He pulled out the Metal Pen and cast another Arcane Spell.

“Shriek.”

“Strike.”

A mental shriek rang out, instantly disorienting the man.

Immediately after, a storm of starlight rained down, the silver-blue lights streaming like meteors, pummeling the man.

This time, Vilan deliberately increased the damage to ensure he was defeated.

When the dust settled, the man had turned into two complete Certificates, which floated into Vilan’s body.

Vilan stared at the “Certificate,” deep in thought.

Come to think of it, whether Fragments or complete Certificates, they were just energy—not real physical objects.

“Thank you for saving me.”

The girl spoke nervously.

Vilan turned and saw a hint of wariness in her eyes.

Her pink hair fell over her shoulders, and her youthful face was filled with sweetness and fragility.

Vilan recognized her at a glance.

This was Rosasys—the weakest yet most hardworking heroine in Selesette’s harem.

Other heroines were either princesses or the strongest in their clans, with various bloodlines.

Only Rosasys was an ordinary commoner girl who grew alongside the heroine through hard work.

She was also one of the only girls in Selesette’s harem whose values were normal and whose orientation was straight from the start.

A classic pure-hearted sweet girl.

The storyline between Selesette and her had left Vilan feeling overwhelmed by sweetness—though after Selesette’s harem grew, she paid less attention to Rosasys.

That’s why Vilan liked this girl.

Vilan gently ruffled Rosasys’s hair.

“It’s fine.”

“Seeing a pervert like that, how could I just let him do as he pleased?”

Hearing this, Rosasys became less wary and grew a little fonder of Vilan.

A hint of shyness flickered in her pink eyes as she spoke softly.

“Um, please don’t keep patting my head.”

“Alright.”

Vilan chuckled softly and withdrew his hand.

Rosasys really was adorable—he couldn’t help himself.

“Are you a Collector?”

Vilan asked.

Upon hearing this, Rosasys answered tearfully.

“Yes… Because of that bad guy just now, all the other sisters were eliminated.”

“Would you like to come with me? I’ll protect you.”

Vilan crouched down and helped Rosasys wipe away her tears.

Come to think of it, this little girl was the same age as him—both sixteen.

They were peers.

“Really? But… I can’t do anything, and I’m weak. I’ll only drag you down…”

Rosasys hung her head.

“You won’t. I’m a Hunter.”

“Eh?”

Rosasys’s small face instantly froze, then panic filled her eyes.

She thought Vilan was teasing her and would kill her after all.

“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.”

Sensing her concerns, Vilan explained.

“Hunters don’t always have to kill Collectors.”

“We can work together.”

“Work together?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll protect you, and you collect Fragments.”

“We’ll split them together, how about it?”

Vilan suggested, leaving Rosasys stunned.

She hadn’t thought of such a possibility.

If so, with Vilan’s protection, maybe she could really enter the Academy.

“Thank you, you’re such a good person!”

Rosasys was instantly moved, filled with gratitude toward Vilan.

She had always dreamed of entering the Academy, as it was her mother’s dying wish.

Raised by her grandmother, she was always bullied and laughed at by others.

On her way to the Academy, she encountered countless bad people.

After all her struggles, she realized her strength wasn’t enough to get in.

She never imagined someone as kind as Vilan would help her.

“It’s nothing.”

Vilan smiled faintly.

How could he not have selfish motives?

But his only selfishness was Rosasys herself.

“Um, my name is Rosasys. May I ask your name?”

Rosasys blushed, her voice becoming timid.

“Vilan.”