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A few hours passed since I woke up. The shock of this world\'s timeline eventually settled in.

\'This was what the figure meant.\'

The price I had to pay for bringing the pink chicken along was to be reincarnated into this doomed timeline.

It was later revealed in the novel that this timeline – the 1st timeline – was supposed to have a guaranteed bad end. Even if Jae-sung hadn\'t been betrayed he would\'ve still failed.

Adding insult to injury, it is impossible to win the final battle without failing once. Without Jae-sung\'s regression, everything was as good as dead.

I sighed involuntarily while recalling the reason behind it.

"Haaah…"

"Is something the matter, young master?"

"No"

Smiling brightly, Yula continued to help me dress up for the event. Tonight, there was a ball taking place to celebrate the end of the Rite of Passage. I would also be going there.

"Young master, can I ask you a question?"

"Mhm"

"Do you remember anything about the person who harmed you?"

The atmosphere changed slightly.

I felt goosebumps at the sudden eerie atmosphere. Thanks to my <Reader> attribute I was sensitive to the emotional state of others, and at this moment, Yula was hungry for blood.

Her question was weird. Was she angry because their king\'s vessel was harmed?

\'She isn\'t faking her wrath. But I\'m sure there was a Daemon following me in the forest. Normally, Daemons work together so Yula should know what happened in the forest. Is the Daemon who was watching over me working alone?\'

I thought about it but my answer was already set.

"No, I couldn\'t see their faces."

As soon as I woke up, Jae-sung left saying he would bring others and I should explain what happened in the forest after that.

Surprisingly, he was genuinely worried about me. Even knowing that I was the cause of the event in the forest, he was treating me as if I was the victim not the perpetrator.

I felt a bit out of the loop.

Why was he behaving like that? Where was Lumine? Why was I alone with Yula?

In the end, I needed to meet the chicken to get some answers.

"Was this also made by them?" asked Yula while barely suppressing her trembling voice.

Her cold fingers slid down my back, tracing something on my bare skin. I could see what that something was when she placed mirrors in a position that made my back visible to me.

It was an incomplete black pattern.

At first glance, it looked like scribbles of a child. But I knew what it was. A Lion\'s Visage. After six more times, the pattern would be completed and it would become the face of a lion.

It was the Mark of Pride.

I was stumped as to what it was, or how it was related to me. 

Nevertheless, I was determined to reach the crux of this matter.

There were more things, beside this mark, I recieved while I was in the forest.

\'Status\'

I muttered in my mind.

\'Open system logs\'

➤[ You have leveled up ]

➤[ You have leveled up ]

➤[ You have leveled up ]

➤[ MANA (+5) ]

➤[ AGI (+10) ]

➤[ DEF (+15) ]

➤[ All free stats distributed ]

It was the backlog of the level-ups and stats points Jae-sung spent after reaching level 53 – he leveled up thrice since the time we fought.

But this wasn\'t important. It was my stat logs in my soul book.

⟪ +0.5 Magic Power ⟫

⟪ +1.0 Physique ⟫

⟪ +1.5 Physique ⟫

My stats increased while I was unconscious. Normally, I would think it was my body growing while recovering but…

\'I\'m getting a portion of stats from Jae-sung.\'

I was sure of it.

Also, if my hypothesis was correct, whenever Jae-sung would use free stat points to strengthen himself in the future, it would also increase my stats.

I became an AFK farmer. With this, I was making profit without even lifting a finger.

It was a cheat level power.

And this wasn\'t all.

⟪ +24 Kill Points ⟫

Waking up, I found that I had gained 24 Kill Points in sleep.

I didn\'t have any summons outside except for the ones in summoner cards. So, it wasn\'t me who farmed these kill points.

There were two possibilities.

It was Jae-sung. Because I was loosely connected with him through the system.

Or, it was Setsuna. After all, our lives were connected through the soul bond.

However, this was the first time I was receiving Kill Points like this. It was a little unthinkable that Setsuna didn\'t kill even one monster, in the forest or before she met me.

It meant these Kill Points came from Jae-sung. He must\'ve killed monsters to level up faster.

\'Jae-sung\'s kills are also being counted by the crown.\'

At first, I had been a bit salty as I couldn\'t enter the Port according to my plan. However, these benefits compensated me more than enough for the delay!

"You can leave." I spoke in a monotone, emotionless voice to Yula.

Maybe, it was my imagination but after receiving the Mark of Pride my demeanor became more rigid and aloof.

Before this, I wouldn\'t have been bothered if the room was a bit dirty. Yet now, even a speck of dust was causing me annoyance.

"That… young master…."

Yula wanted to stay with me like she had been doing for the past week. Though, my thoughts were the exact opposite.

I repeated in a colder tone than before.

"Leave"

She flinched and tears gathered in the corner of her eyes.

Times like these would make me doubt if she really didn\'t care for me. Maybe, her doting wasn\'t fake and her affectionate actions towards me were her actual feelings.

But I knew better. Yula was a Daemon. She had no reason to be attached to someone who was a vessel for their king.

Cluck—!

Eventually, she left the room with a downcast expression.

I sighed lightly and focused on the reason why I sent Yula away.

\'Inventory.\'

A golden screen appeared before me. It was divided into grids and there were images of items inside some of the boxes formed by the grids.

It was Jae-sung\'s inventory. I could also being it up similar to the inventory.

But the important part came later.

\'Can I use the inventory?\'

Inventory was different from status in the sense that inventory was a window to a different space.

I cannot interfere with the system. I can\'t use free stat points, his skills, or accept or decline the quests.

Yet I get a portion of strengthening from the free stats.

The rules weren\'t clear but I got a basic understanding. I can\'t interact with the system.

However, the system can interact with me.

What about the inventory then?

Inventory didn\'t need interference from mine or system\'s side. It was a window that connected two different spaces.

\'Let\'s find out!\'

I tapped on the first item in the inventory.

➤[ Piece of Eden ]

Suddenly, a mechanical orb made of gears and shafts appeared out of thin air.

A sense of exhilaration surged within me as I firmly held the object in my hands.

I could use the inventory!

Like a hawk searching for prey, my eyes locked on the stamina potions, mana potions, and other items in the inventory.

Hehehe

If I knew killing Jae-sung gave such luscious benefits, I would\'ve done it sooner.

It\'s not like he can die, anyway.

\'It\'s beautiful.\'

I held the item in my hand carefully.

The first Piece of Eden was the reward Jae-sung gets in the novel from the quest of slaying the Griffin.

It was an invaluable treasure capable of creating a mini dimension with an inhabitable environment.

In the later part of the novel, when the Base worlds were destroyed by the 10 Great Apocalypses, the dimensions created from the pieces of Eden were the reason why civilization didn\'t perish.

Though, it would take Jae-sung a few years to understand the purpose of a Piece of Eden.

Knock—! Knock—! Knock—!

A voice came from the other side of the door.

"Sir Sol, may I come in?"

"Enter"

Jae-sung entered the room with a determined expression.

My nerves tensed seeing his changed countenance. He was about to do something big.