Saint

The cultist branch was seized in an instant.

No trace of the cultists remained in the gloomy underground.

I had cleaned out not only the research director, but every member under him as well.

I had spilled a considerable amount of blood, so I felt no sympathy for them.

‘There weren’t many of them who even looked human...’

Perhaps because they had been exposed to demonic energy for so long, every member had a grotesque appearance.

Some had body parts that were abnormally large or small, while tentacles writhed all over others.

A few had even fused together and crawled around like beasts.

Honestly, they were every bit as disgusting as most mutants.

‘Would anyone really want to worship the evil god badly enough to become like that?’

I had that thought, but soon shook my head.

Devotion to a cult was much like mental contamination.

Once you set foot on that path, you could never escape.

‘In the end, it was what they chose.’

I cast aside my stray thoughts and got back to work.

The director’s office was splattered with blood and bits of flesh.

I was searching the spacious room inch by inch.

‘End.’

A special item obtainable only here.

It was one of the reasons I had attacked this place in the first place.

‘The White Knight.’

The one responsible for the plague among the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

The most representative apostle, and the boss monster of the evil god faction.

And the End was the medium that manifested him.

If I didn’t recover it here, the cultists would use it as they pleased.

‘More precisely, right after the final exams of the first semester of second year.’

The White Knight would descend upon the academy.

And countless people would die.

‘The second calamity, the White Night.’

An event that could lead to a bad ending if things went wrong.

But if I recovered the End here, I could change many possible futures.

‘The evil god’s apostles... Sacrifices are sacrifices, but they can’t manifest without their respective Ends.’

In other words, I might be able to skip the second calamity altogether.

Not only that, I also had a way to use an apostle myself.

Normally, unless you belonged to the evil god’s faction, the End was classified as an unusable item.

‘But.’

I had a side route.

A bug.

In the system’s language, it was called “Glitch (錯落).”

It could break through any “unusable” designation.

‘So just show up already.’

I had already planned exactly what I would use it for.

I wiped the sweat trickling down my face and searched the tightly packed rows of desks.

“Huff, huff...”

How had I gotten winded from moving around so little?

At times like this, this body was inconvenient.

A trash body with an overall stat rank of E.

‘A body that can’t even beat a single goblin without bugs...’

I couldn’t blame anyone else.

I was the one who had set the difficulty this way in my previous life, after all.

Ding-!

[Difficulty: Impossible]

-You are challenging the highest difficulty.

[Additional Option: Hellscape (地獄道)]

-All spawned monsters remain in a berserk state.

-The difficulty of all hostile factions that appear increases by 300%.

-All of the player’s basic stats are fixed at E rank.

Every stat fixed at E rank.

It meant I could forget about raising my stats.

‘It is a shame.’

So far, I had struggled through hardship by making use of bugs.

But relying solely on bugs also meant that situations where I hit a wall cropped up from time to time.

When my inadequate stamina held me back like now, or my low Agility stat made me react too slowly, I was forced to feel the absence of basic stats keenly.

‘The Red Knight and Professor Glinbert, too... They weren’t opponents I could subdue with bugs.’

They weren’t the only ones.

I could encounter any number of enemies in the future against whom bugs wouldn’t work.

But I couldn’t dig a trap every time or drag in another bug.

“Phew...”

Bugs were powerful abilities.

If I could just add a few stats to that, they would produce much better synergy...

There were also a truckload of bugs I couldn’t use because my body simply couldn’t keep up.

“Sheesh... What’s the point of grumbling about something I can’t change?”

I spat out my sigh like a wad of phlegm.

While searching the laboratory, I discovered a safe hidden in a corner.

A safe set apart in an isolated spot.

“Is this it?”

Without hesitation, I swung my scythe.

Kaang-!

“Ignition. Spike.”

Pwoom-!

Rather than bouncing back, the scythe stood at a sharp angle and dug in.

I twisted it inside and tore the safe’s lid right off.

“Hngh...!”

Krrk, krrrkk-!

The inside of the safe was laid bare.

For something so large, it contained very little.

There was only a single dust-covered ancient book inside.

“Bingo.”

I picked up the book sitting there by itself.

Ding-!

[You have acquired the unusable item “The White Knight’s End.”]

Furube Yurayura secured.

When I opened the book just in case, I found nothing but lines of grotesque writing.

It was not written in a form an ordinary person could read.

‘I’ll examine it closely later.’

I tucked the ancient book inside my robe.

That finished everything I had to do in the laboratory.

I massaged my stiff shoulder and left the director’s office.

Ding-!

Then, out of nowhere, a mechanical chime rang out.

When I brought up the screen, a notification saying the quest had been completed appeared.

[You have cleared the sub-quest!]

-Title: Make Absolutely Sure It’s Finished!

-Content: Capture the mole hiding within Lanne & Grandia Academy.

[With incredible ingenuity, you have apprehended the mole!]

-A reward will be provided. Click to confirm.

“Oh.”

The quest that had been on standby was marked complete.

The academy staff must have finished the detention procedures.

Grateful for their swift work, I clicked the screen as the status window instructed.

‘This reward was clearly marked as a clue about ■■■.’

I tilted my head.

A mosaic of letters.

It had definitely appeared in my information window as well.

――――

[Status Window]

Name: Victor

Title: The Collector of Glitches

Equipped Items: Mask of the Evil God, Robe of the Evil God, Very Secret Tie

Active Set Effect: The World Seen by ■■■.

.

.

Titles Owned: The Collector of Glitches, Saint, Executioner

――――

It was the first time I had seen letters become mosaicked like that.

It was something I had never encountered even while playing the original work.

Did it mean that I still didn’t know everything about this world?

Ding-!

My extended finger pressed firmly against the screen.

Immediately afterward, the message twisted grotesquely.

[ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERROR] [ERR͉̩͈͖̣̟͇̩̳͎̫̬̈́͒̀̀̉̀̄͑͑O̝̤̘̟̝̭̜͉̿̽͋͗̂R̝̮͙̬̙͎̮̮͖̦̀͒̉͛̃̎̃]̝̜̖͉͖̭͇͈̤̓̈̄̉̇̑̒ [̖̖̠̟̟̊̓̿̋̈̆̒E̤̤͉̤̗͚̬̯̰̅͗̿͊R̭͉̰̣͙̣̦̳̬̓̄̀̏̌͊̽̀̋͊R͎̣͚͍̋͂̈́̑̃͐̀Ọ̙̞̩̭͇̘͕͎͈̒̿͑̓͋͌R͓̘̯͔̞̋̑̂̂]͙̪̘̯͕̒͌̂̍̀̑̂ [͉̫̖̱̗̳̟͔͓͐̂̂͗́E̲͓̲̭̤͓̥̪̥̠͈̠̍̆̋̍͆͆̇̉̈̚R̙̯̰̗̭͗́͐̊͌̐͐̚R̥͍̮̖͙̘͚̯̥͈͗̃̔̉̾̌̍̆̑̉Ȍ̜̭͉̪̱̯̥͐͌̈́̒͂͆̆̉R͖͎̠̭͖̦͇̟̈̂͒̔̒̉̎̀͒̾́]̗̦̟̰͇̘̞̰̭͌͊͂̎̈̄ [͚̮̥̱̣̄̋̓̅͐̒͗̚È̬̱͙̯͈̈̿̎͑̓̀̾̓͗̅R̳͉͚̤͋̅͌͌̒͗̚R̘̙̣̥̭̥̣̳̘̪̥͛͐̓̈͌͑̽̋̄̀̈Ò͔̟̮̟̣̘̤̘̦̒̀͌̈̿́̅̂̇̈R̮͓͔̠͑̈́̓͋̂]̤̳̮͇̰̲̥̬̊̀̓̾̽͊̐̎̀̀ [͖̫͚̜̉̊̏̐͑̑̍̐͛E̘̦̳̞̮͉̞̓̒̈̍̐͊̚R̗͖̪̰̖̝͓̗̯̫̓̓́̂̀̔R̙̲͖͎͎̞̣̠̦̖͚͐́̃̊̐͂̓̈́̎̂̀Õ̱̫̞̣̦̮̤͎̥̇̓̽͐ͅR̰͚̬̘͓͙̯͓̘͇̥̥͑̔̂͛̀̓̔̐̎̑̀͑]̙̗̣̗͎̮͚̠̖̱̟̀̍̎͌͋̀̆ [̝̯̩̬̣̫͍͍̝̎͛͂͌̉E̳͕̖͇̥͈̪͚̿̇̓̚R̗̫̞̰̩̜͔̭͍̱͎͊͋͑͋͊̔̏̀͌̑Ŕ̦̫͈͚̒̀̊͒Ȯ͇̬̭̖͓̥͈̎̏̒R͚̲̝̤̘̙͈͇̆͆̆̃͒̅̐̐]͎̭͍͙͔̩̙̥̖̝̎̅̑̉̓̿ [͍͔̜̖͉̫̊̔̀͛̏ͅE̯͔̜͎̦̰͕̠̞̭͈͕̎̊͆̏Ř̰̲̰͎̠͇̫͙͕̫͙̌̓͗̏R͔̥̖̬̖͓̰͚̭̉̐̍̄̔̆̽͂ͅO̰͉̝̞̳̤̬̬͈͚̗͂̈́̾̈͒̄͐͌̓̊̍̏R̫͙͇̲̘̬̜͒̈́̒̿̐́̅̈́̑̆̎]̦̲̟̭̀̌̃͊̏̒́ [̫̳̦̙̞̪̖̠̩̠̿́̉̃͆ͅẸ̤͖̖̈̀̿͊̊̒͋̅̅́̏̐R̪̤̳̟͎̤̐̑̓͂́̋̎̉͂ͅR͕͓̮͉͓̲͓͈̳͈̘̀̀̄͌̎͋O̗̩̥͎̝̝̟̭̔́̍̂̒͐ͅṚ̩̱͉͌̂͑̊̓͊̆̈]̜͈̜̦̫͈̣̪̠̗͙̩̽̽̔̐͂̿͌̄͐ [͈̯̲̣̦͇͍̰͇̳̯͒̇̿̉̀̑̃E̱̭̱͕̘͓͖̘͉͊̇̓͒̓́̏͋̂ͅR̤̥̩̣̪̯̫̟̖̙͐̌̆̅̐ͅR͔͚̗͕̈́͋̃̿̚O̲̤͓̭̫̫̩̍́̏̓͋͑̔̀͋R̳͉͍̮̥͕͊́́́̀͂̄̄̔]͇̮͕̠̰̣̙̳̮̱̬͐̈̌͗͆͆̅͒̇̾

“······?!”

The screen had turned pitch-black.

I flinched at the unexpected spasm.

“······.”

The screen flickered for a long while before turning off.

When I turned the status window back on, it had returned to normal.

As if the bizarre display just now had been nothing more than a momentary hallucination.

‘······What was that.’

The clue about ■■■.

All the system had offered were several incomprehensible questions.

I stood blankly in the hallway, staring at the status window.

‘What was it trying to tell me?’

It told me to remember.

Remember what?

Those incomprehensible questions?

Or something I had forgotten?

Even after pondering it quietly, no answer came back.

‘This is strange.’

A groan slipped between my lips.

An odd sense of unease remained.

However, I couldn’t keep worrying about it forever.

Carmilla, who had gone ahead to check the survivors, would be waiting for me.

‘I’ll think about this... slowly.’

I calmed myself and resumed walking.

Just then, the status window chimed once more.

Ding-!

[Tip. Activate the title “Saint.”]

It was telling me to activate the title [Saint].

It was the title I had obtained after destroying the “human ranch” established by the vampires of the New Kingdom last time.

Unlike my other titles, however, no benefit for activating it was displayed.

I had actually left it active for several days, but hadn’t noticed anything different.

So I figured it merely gave me a signboard, and normally went around with only [The Collector of Glitches] activated.

Since I could equip only one title at a time.

‘Saint...?’

Though puzzled, I followed the system’s advice for the time being.

Surely it wouldn’t tell me something meaningless.

“Hmm...”

But this time, too, nothing changed.

The only addition was [Title: Saint] in the status window.

Just in case, I turned the status window off and on again, but it remained the same.

‘It probably isn’t completely meaningless.’

My finger tapped the blameless mask.

The messages had been especially baffling today.

Apparently, this was not a question I could solve right away.

Keeping the title active for now, I crossed the long hallway.

‘I should finish this quest first...’

The status window’s advice.

I learned what it meant only thirty minutes later.

***

While I searched the director’s office, I had asked Carmilla to handle the isolation ward.

The isolation ward was where the test subjects were locked up one by one.

People who had been kidnapped by the cultists and subjected to horrific things.

There was nothing I could do for those who were already dead, but I wanted to look after the survivors at least.

“Victor. These are all the survivors who remain. Fortunately, they either haven’t been experimented on yet or have only endured basic torture. There are exactly twenty of them.”

“There aren’t any others?”

“There are about ten more... but their conditions are abnormal. Some have already begun to mutate, while others are unconscious, perhaps because their minds have broken.”

“I’ll examine them as well. I might be able to help them, as I did last time.”

“Indeed... You even reversed ghoulification, so demonic energy should be no different. For now, I’ve left all the survivors in the isolation ward. As you asked, I told them we came to rescue them as members of the Slayers.”

Twenty survivors.

Another ten test subjects contaminated by demonic energy.

I had delivered the message to the survivors through Carmilla.

We reassured them in much the same way as we had at the [Human Ranch] last time.

The Slayers, Garurik and Manur, had made another appearance in the process.

Carmilla stood there with a red mask covering her face.

“Good work.”

“It was nothing.”

I lightly patted the girl’s head.

Perhaps I had grown accustomed to this sort of physical affection.

Carmilla didn’t push me away and quietly accepted the touch.

Silver hair slipped through my fingertips, and her head bobbed along with my stroking hand.

“I’ll take it from here.”

I passed Carmilla and approached the isolation ward.

It was called an isolation ward, but it was little more than a somewhat spacious cage.

A woman with a haggard appearance stood inside.

Her eyes were rimmed red from crying so much.

“I’ll get you out in a moment.”

I spread my palm wide.

“Ignition. Saw.”

Squirm, squirm-.

The pitch-black glove transformed into the shape of a saw.

I sawed through it several times, tearing apart the thick bars.

“Come out. Garurik, deputy commander of the Slayers, has come to rescue you.”

“Sob, hngh... Th-thank you. Thank you...”

The woman finally burst into tears and approached.

She took the hand I offered and cautiously stepped outside the cage.

I was about to entrust the rescued woman to Carmilla when—

Ding-!

The status window chimed busily today.

But the content this time was truly shocking.

[You have saved another person’s life!]

[Your altruism and devotion shine brightly.]

[The special ability of the activated title “Saint” has been triggered.]

At the same time, radiance coiled around me.

Even through my flashing vision, the status window’s message continued updating.

In particular, sentences were lining up one after another in the title field.

――――

[Status Window]

Name: Victor

Title: Saint

Equipped Items: Mask of the Evil God, Robe of the Evil God

Active Set Effect: The World Seen by ■■■.

.

.

[Saint]

-> Good Karma points accumulate for every life you save.

-> Good Karma points can be used to improve the user’s basic stats.

(This title’s special ability takes priority over other restrictions within the system.)

――――

‘What...?’

The screen flashed past in a blur.

Immediately afterward, a message appeared before my eyes.

[Good Karma points will be used automatically.]

-The rank of the basic stat “Stamina” will increase.

-50 of the 50 Good Karma points acquired will be consumed.

Ding-!

[Basic Stats]

Stamina: E -> E+

Strength: E

Agility: E

Mana Sensitivity: E

Ding-!

[The basic stat “Stamina” has increased from E rank to E+ rank.]

[Remaining Good Karma points: 0p]

“······What is this?”

I could only stare blankly down at the screen.

The rank had improved on its own, changing in the blink of an eye.

‘My basic stats...’

A body with an overall rank of E.

A setting that fixed my basic stats at the minimum.

No matter how much I trained, the rank never increased at all.

‘That was bypassed...?’

I stared at it, dazed.

The title of Saint stamped beneath my profile.