I spent that morning in the garden gazebo, grinding my level.
It was an open-air gazebo located in a clearing a short distance from the main estate.
There, with Zoe waiting upon me, I ran mock battles.
With Apophis as our newest addition, I pitted it against the other four.
Linking all five to the Ring of Armor, I manifested them to clash against one another.
Among the five, Apophis was about fourth in terms of strength.
Ever since its awakening, Bahamut had taken an uncontested lead at the top.
The balance of power between it and Leviathan—who had fallen from the top spot—was completely inverted. It reached the point where Bahamut would win nine times out of ten.
Third was Behemoth, fourth was Apophis, and last was Huwawa.
However, while the top two were leagues ahead, there was no significant gap separating the bottom three—that was the current state of affairs.
Adding just one more combatant created far more battle combinations.
And with more combinations, the variety of scenarios and outcomes exploded.
Finding that thoroughly entertaining, I kept the mock battles going from morning onward.
By evening, the pace at which my level rose had visibly slowed compared to the start of the day.
―――――――――――― Name: Noah Ararat Imperial Prince Minister of Justice Gender: Male Level: 15 / ∞
HP: C + E Fire: E + A MP: E + E Water: C + S Strength: C + A Wind: E + F Stamina: D + E Earth: E + D Intelligence: E + D Light: E + C Spirit: E + D Darkness: E + C Speed: E + E Dexterity: E + D Luck: E + D ―――――――――――
I glanced at the status display resting permanently in the corner of my vision.
My level had climbed from 10 to 15, bringing my HP, Strength, and Water attribute to C.
However, that was with my own power alone.
"Zoe, status check."
"Right away, Master."
I gave the order to Zoe, who had been standing by at my side the entire time, and had her cast the spell on me.
―――――――――――― Name: Noah Ararat Imperial Prince Minister of Justice Gender: Male Level: 15 / ∞
HP: B Fire: S MP: D Water: SSS Strength: SSS Wind: E Stamina: C Earth: C Intelligence: C Light: B Spirit: C Darkness: B Speed: D Dexterity: C Luck: C ―――――――――――
Zoe's magic brought up my apparent status, stacking all the "+" modifiers on top of my base stats.
"A-As expected of you, Master. You've grown remarkably stronger once again..."
"Yeah."
This was the result of adding Ararat to my fiefs.
With the A from Ararat stacked on top, my Strength had reached SSS.
The rest were steadily rising as well.
My baseline abilities combined with the "+" modifiers from my subordinates.
Together, they made me satisfyingly powerful.
With SSS Strength, so long as I remained careful, I might be able to fight roughly on par with how I performed in my strongest mode.
While I reviewed my stats and weighed my thoughts, Zoe remained frozen in awe beside me.
"What is it? Why the shocked face?"
"O-Of course I'm shocked! After all, isn't Level 15 said to put someone in the top five percent of all imperial citizens?"
"...Ah, that's true."
In fact, it was.
Raising one's level was exceptionally difficult.
In the ancient civilization that had once prospered, there existed something known as "recovery magic."
Incredibly, that magic was said to be capable of healing a human's injuries in under a day.
Thanks to the presence of that recovery magic, humans back then could fight to their heart's content and push their levels higher.
Nowadays, as demonstrated by how cautiously an imperial royal's first campaign had to be orchestrated—even going so far as to "cultivate" monster nests beforehand—leveling up was an agonizingly arduous process.
Furthermore, it was an established fact that nearly half of humanity had a maximum level under 10.
For that matter, my own maximum level in my previous life had only been 8.
"To reach Level 15 at such a young age... Master, you truly are incredible..."
Zoe continued to marvel endlessly over my Level 15 status.
☆
That night, as I was looking through documents in my study, Don knocked and entered.
"Thank goodness you are still here, Your Highness."
"I was just thinking it was about time to head back to the inner court, but... what's the matter?"
"Then it is truly fortunate! Once you retire to the inner court, I cannot enter, after all."
Relieved, Don placed a box on my desk.
"This was delivered for you."
"Huwawa's Box?"
"Yes."
Don nodded, eyeing the container with a solemn expression.
"From what Your Highness explained, if this is delivered through the proper channels, it signifies an important report."
"Indeed."
Huwawa's Box.
It was a container crafted using Huwawa's power; once locked, no one other than me could open it.
I had distributed them to several magistrates and officials so they could report directly to me, or even submit confidential tip-offs.
Incidentally, it was also built so that if anyone treated it as a badge of honor and showed it off to others, it would instantly self-destruct.
And now, one had arrived securely locked.
I reached out carefully and prepared to open it—
"Hm?"
"Is something the matter?"
"Something's wrong."
"Pardon?"
"This... something isn't right."
Saying something was wrong wasn't mere conjecture or a gut feeling.
―――――――――――― Name: Noah Ararat Imperial Prince Minister of Justice Gender: Male Level: 15 / ∞
HP: C + E Fire: E MP: E + E Water: C Strength: C + A Wind: E Stamina: D + E Earth: E Intelligence: E + D Light: E Spirit: E + D Darkness: E Speed: E + E Dexterity: E + D Luck: E + D ―――――――――――
The moment my fingers brushed the box, every single "+" modifier attached to my attributes vanished from my status.
Acquiring items and gaining "+" modifiers had happened frequently up to this point, but this was the first time they had ever dropped.
With great caution, I opened the box.
Inside lay a fist-sized stone and a letter.
I read the letter—and immediately knit my brows.
"What does it say?"
"Apparently, this is a meteorite, and the impact from when it fell 'naturally' carved the character for 'Wise' onto its surface."
"Ah..."
Don winced, offering a wry smile.
I picked up the stone and examined it.
Etched plainly across its face was the character for "Wise," as in the Wise Imperial Prince.
"A rather classic trick. Some sycophant trying to flatter you by presenting it as an auspicious omen, claiming it occurred naturally. As if such a thing could ever form on its own."
"..."
"Still, as expected of Your Highness. To have realized it the instant you picked up the box."
Letting Don's words wash over me, I kept my eyes fixed on the meteorite.
I had known the moment I picked up the box—the sudden drop in my stats.
It was shocking enough to blow away trivial concerns about flattery or having to add new safeguards to Huwawa's Box in the future.
After a brief pause, I drew Leviathan.
I swung the Magic Sword of Water to cleave the meteorite cleanly in two horizontally—and in that exact instant...
Something burst forth from within.
"Whoa!"
The emerging mass expanded violently, blasting Don backward and slamming him into the wall.
It gradually took shape—coiling and undulating into a squirming, mottled tentacle.
It was a monstrosity that radiated both an indescribable foulness and an ominous dread.
The tentacle went on a rampage.
It gouged out the floor and smashed through the walls.
In the blink of an eye, my administrative study was half-destroyed.
Past the billowing cloud of dust kicked up by the wreckage, the night sky and stars lay exposed.
"Your Highness!"
"Stay back!"
Barking at Don as he tried to scramble toward me, I leveled Leviathan.
The tentacle swelled in mass with every bit of destruction it wrought, so I hit it with Intimidation first.
"No effect, huh."
There was no sign of its movements slowing in the slightest; after a mere twitch, it resumed tearing through the room.
In no time at all, the study was reduced to near-total ruins.
And having run out of things to smash, the writhing tentacle turned and surged straight for me.
"Hah!"
I met its charge with Leviathan, slashing into its incoming tip.
"Tough—but not enough!"
Not tough enough to turn my blade.
Having landed the first strike with one hand, I gripped the hilt with both and drove all my strength into it.
I carved straight down the center of the tentacle in a clean vertical line.
One section of the mass, resembling a tangled clump of yarn, was severed cleanly; it dropped to the floor, convulsed once, and went still.
Slashing attacks worked!
Poised with Leviathan, I closed the distance.
The moment I slipped inside what would correspond to its chest, I unleashed a relentless tempest of slashes.
It was dense, but nowhere near as durable as Apophis.
With the water-blue magic sword, I hacked the mass apart without mercy.
In roughly three minutes, I had diced the giant, room-shattering tentacle into countless ribbons of flesh.
"...Is that the end of it?"
Keeping Leviathan raised, I remained vigilant for any surviving fragments.
I cast Intimidation outward as a precaution, but sensing no response, I finally sheathed the blade.
"Are you all right?"
"..."
"Don?"
"Eh? A-Ah, yes. I am unharmed. Your Highness's swordsmanship is truly magnificent... To dispatch such an abominable creature in an instant..."
"More importantly, capture whoever sent this box and interrogate them."
"Right away!"
Snapping out of his daze from the fierce battle, Don rushed frantically out the door.