How a Two-Life Scoundrel Lives - Chapter 20
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Chapter 20】
‘I need to crush them thoroughly.’
It’s common sense to stomp on yellow sprouts before they grow any further.
Carlisle knew all too well what kind of influence the Hector and Gunter brothers would have on House Sigmund, so he decided to take this opportunity to establish discipline firmly.
“You, you bastard!”
Gunter growled at Carlisle while blood streamed from his nose.
“Your words are quite short for speaking to your older brother?”
“Don’t talk like you’re my brother!”
Gunter lunged at Carlisle.
Thwack!
Carlisle’s fist exploded into Gunter’s solar plexus.
“Huh-eoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoek!”
Gunter let out a long gasp.
“Kkeok, kkeoeoek, kkeoeoeoeoeek!”
Gunter clutched his solar plexus, unable to even breathe.
Crack!
Carlisle grabbed Gunter’s hair and slammed him straight into the ground.
Thud!
Gunter trembled like a frog hit by a stone.
“Gu, Gunter! Kkeuk!”
Hector, who had finally come to his senses, cried out for his fallen brother.
“Carlisle, you bastard…”
Grab!
“What did you say?”
Carlisle grabbed Hector’s throat and asked.
“I can’t hear you. Say it again.”
“Kek, kkeheuk!”
“What?”
“Kkeok, kkeoek!”
“I said I can’t hear you.”
Hector trembled with rage at Carlisle.
‘You, you bastard… you have to let go for me to say anything… Kkeuk!!!’
He was told to speak again, so he should say something, but Carlisle was gripping his throat so tightly that he couldn’t utter a single word.
“Why aren’t you talking?”
“Kkeoek, kek kek, kek!”
“You have no manners. Your cousin is asking you a question.”
“Kkeheoeek!”
Just before Hector was about to faint.
Smack!
Carlisle’s slap struck Hector’s cheek hard.
“Aak!”
Thud!
“Heoek, heoeek!”
Just as Hector let out a single scream and fell backward, gasping for breath.
“This… this…!!!”
Gunter, who had belatedly regained consciousness, growled at Carlisle and moved his hand toward his waist.
Stomp!
“Aaaaak!”
Gunter screamed as Carlisle stepped on his wrist.
“You weren’t thinking of drawing a knife on your cousin, were you.”
“Euaaak!”
“You wouldn’t do that. Right?”
As a result of Carlisle applying more pressure to the foot stepping on Gunter’s wrist.
Crack!
Gunter’s wrist bent grotesquely, and white bone fragments pierced through the flesh.
“If, if mother finds out, she won’t let this slide…”
“Will you be able to tell her?”
“…?”
“Dead men tell no tales.”
“Su, surely not.”
Shing!
The tip of Carlisle’s sword stopped right in front of Gunter’s nose.
“Cra, crazy bastard!”
Hector was startled out of his wits seeing that scene.
“You! If you do that, you’ll really die! Do you think you’ll be safe after killing us?”
“I don’t mind.”
“What?!”
“I’d be killing two people before dying, so wouldn’t that be advantageous for me?”
Carlisle answered with an expressionless face.
Chill!
Hector was completely terrified by Carlisle’s appearance.
‘He’s completely lost his mind?!’
Hector became genuinely afraid of Carlisle.
That expressionless face and attitude of having nothing to lose wasn’t the Carlisle he knew.
In the past, even when he foamed at the mouth and resisted, he would become docile when overpowered by force…
‘Should, should I run away?’
But Hector couldn’t bring himself to abandon his twin brother Gunter and flee.
“Put down your sword and come kneel.”
“What?!”
“Should I put a hole in your brother’s face?”
When Carlisle’s sword tip poked Gunter’s nose bridge, blood began flowing freely.
“Al, alright! I understand! I’ll do it!”
“Your words are a bit short.”
“…I understand.”
In the end, Hector unbuckled the sword from his waist and went to kneel in front of Carlisle.
If he didn’t, it seemed like Carlisle would really kill Gunter.
* * *
Smack, smack!
Cheerful sounds echoed through the secluded back alley.
Smack!
“Kek!”
Smack!
“Aak!”
Without saying a word, Carlisle alternately slapped Hector and Gunter.
“We, we were wrong! Brother! Aaak!”
“Bro, my arm hurts so mu— Agh!”
Though Hector and Gunter cried and pleaded desperately, Carlisle didn’t even bat an eye.
He just remained silent, not saying a single word, only continuing to slap them across the face…
Thanks to this, the Hector and Gunter brothers’ faces swelled up to easily three times their normal size, as if they’d been stung by a swarm of bees.
“If you buzz around like little flies in front of me one more time, I’ll really kill you then. Got it?”
Nod nod!
“If you tell anyone about what happened today, I’ll kill you too.”
Nod nod!
“From now on, live quietly like dead mice. At least in front of me.”
Nod nod!
Seeing the Hector and Gunter brothers nodding their heads up and down while trembling with fear, Carlisle figured this was enough.
He couldn’t intimidate them any further, and beating them up more seemed like a waste of time.
“Eat this and quietly get lost.”
Carlisle tossed a potion bottle to the Hector and Gunter brothers with a thud.
“Split it in half. Then you’ll be fine.”
Carlisle left those words behind and leisurely walked out of the back alley.
“…”
“…”
The Hector and Gunter brothers stared blankly at Carlisle’s retreating figure for a while.
“That… was that really the Carlisle we knew?”
“I-I don’t know. I’m scared… Urgh!”
Gunter stopped mid-sentence and clutched his broken arm in pain.
“Let me see. Ugh. It’s pretty bad.”
“Will it heal?”
“We’ll have to try the potion that Carlisle… no, that big brother Carlisle gave us. But I think we need to set the bone first?”
“What…?”
“We need to push the bone back in place first. If it heals like this, you might never be able to use your arm again.”
“…”
“I’ll set it when I count to three.”
“G-gently please.”
“One, two…”
Crack!
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh—!!!”
Gunter’s scream echoed loudly throughout the narrow alley.
* * *
Carlisle chuckled at the faint scream he could hear from far away.
‘If I’ve done this much, they should be quiet from now on.’
In Carlisle’s view, the Hector and Gunter brothers were definitely scared out of their wits.
At least for the time being, he could expect them to stay quiet like dead mice without tattling to their parents.
Of course, he didn’t know when they might act up again without manners…
About 2 hours later.
‘Should I give up for today and head back?’
Carlisle thought he should give up searching for residual thoughts today and return home.
He had wandered around various places until late at night, but hadn’t found even a trace of residual thoughts.
‘I’m a bit thirsty. I should buy something to drink before going in.’
With that thought, Carlisle exited the alley and headed toward the plaza.
When he almost reached the plaza.
Ding!
A status window appeared.
[Alert: Traces left by The Dead in the world have been detected.]
[Alert: Residual thoughts remain somewhere nearby.]
[Alert: Traces left by The Dead in the world have been detected.]
[Alert: Residual thoughts remain somewhere nearby.]
[Alert: Traces left by The Dead in the world have been detected.]
[Alert: Residual thoughts remain somewhere nearby.]
[Alert: Traces left by The Dead in the world have been detected.]
[Alert: Residual thoughts remain somewhere nearby.]
[Alert: Traces left by The Dead in the world have been detected.]
[Alert: Residual thoughts remain somewhere nearby.]
‘Huh?’
Carlisle’s eyes narrowed at this completely unexpected discovery.
Not in some specific location, but residual thoughts could remain in a place with such heavy foot traffic…
‘Where could it be?’
Carlisle concentrated his mind and walked around the plaza to detect the residual thoughts.
“It’s, it’s the Young Master!”
“Gasp!”
“Let’s go quickly.”
The territory residents passing through the plaza spotted Carlisle and scattered in all directions.
Then the plaza area, which had been bustling with people despite the late hour, became completely empty in the blink of an eye.
‘Being a scoundrel really is convenient.’
Carlisle thought this as he continued searching for residual thoughts.
And the place where he found the residual thoughts was none other than…
Whoooooosh!
‘The fountain?’
The large fountain located in the central plaza.
He felt strong residual thoughts from that fountain decorated with a statue of the First Head of House Sigmund.
[Alert: Residual thoughts have been discovered.]
[Alert: Reading the traces left by The Dead in the world.]
[Alert: Residual thoughts have been discovered.]
[Alert: Reading the traces left by The Dead in the world.]
[Alert: Residual thoughts have been discovered.]
[Alert: Reading the traces left by The Dead in the world.]
[Alert: Residual thoughts have been discovered.]
[Alert: Reading the traces left by The Dead in the world.]
[Alert: Residual thoughts have been discovered.]
[Alert: Reading the traces left by The Dead in the world.]
Soon, the memories of The Dead lingering in the fountain—or more precisely, ‘The Dead’—unfolded before Carlisle’s eyes.
It wasn’t just one person’s memories.
– Please protect my husband so he can return safely from the battlefield.
– Please protect my husband so he can return safely from the battlefield.
– Please make my mother’s illness heal quickly.
– Please make my mother’s illness heal quickly.
– Please help us have a good harvest this year.
– Please help this year bring a good harvest.
The memories of people who had made wishes at this fountain for hundreds of years.
The strong desires of people desperately wishing for something had accumulated layer upon layer, forming one massive residual thought.
Ding!
[Notification: You have read a residual thought.]
[Notification: You can absorb the residual thought.]
[Notification: You have read a residual thought.]
[Notification: You can absorb the residual thought.]
[Notification: You have read a residual thought.]
[Notification: You can absorb the residual thought.]
[Notification: You have read a residual thought.]
[Notification: You can absorb the residual thought.]
[Notification: You have read a residual thought.]
[Notification: You can absorb the residual thought.]
‘This is troublesome right now.’
Carlisle, returning to reality, looked around and felt perplexed.
Even though people were gradually avoiding the area, it was impossible for this vast central plaza to be completely empty of even a single ant.
To absorb the fountain’s residual thoughts right now, there were simply too many watching eyes.
‘Can’t be helped. I’ll have to wait.’
Carlisle decided to sit on the fountain and wait until deep into the night.
This world was a place where very few people wandered outside after 9 PM, so if he waited just a few hours, he would be able to absorb the residual thoughts without anyone noticing.
Eventually, as night deepened, the people coming and going through the plaza disappeared one by one, and the massive plaza became completely empty.
Only the lamplighters occasionally wandered around to check the condition of the street lamps installed throughout the streets.
‘Perfect.’
As soon as Carlisle confirmed the area was deserted, he reached his hand toward the fountain.
[Notification: You have absorbed a residual thought!]
[Notification: You have acquired the skill 【Desperate Wish】!]
[Notification: You have absorbed a residual thought!]
[Notification: You have acquired the skill 【Desperate Wish】!]
[Notification: You have absorbed a residual thought!]
[Notification: You have acquired the skill 【Desperate Wish】!]
[Notification: You have absorbed a residual thought!]
[Notification: You have acquired the skill 【Desperate Wish】!]
[Notification: You have absorbed a residual thought!]
[Notification: You have acquired the skill 【Desperate Wish】!]
[Desperate One’s Wish]
[Desperate One’s Wish]
Category: Prayer
Skill Level: 1
Duration: 60 seconds
Effects:
– Luck +150%
– Critical Hit Rate +15%
[Desperate One’s Wish]
Category: Prayer
Skill Level: 1
Duration: 60 seconds
Effects:
– Luck +150%
– Critical Hit Rate +15%
[Desperate One’s Wish]
Category: Prayer
Skill Level: 1
Duration: 60 seconds
Effects:
– Luck +150%
– Critical Hit Rate +15%
[Desperate One’s Wish]
Category: Prayer
Skill Level: 1
Duration: 60 seconds
Effects:
– Luck +150%
– Critical Hit Rate +15%
[Desperate One’s Wish]
Category: Prayer
Skill Level: 1
Duration: 60 seconds
Effects:
– Luck +150%
– Critical Hit Rate +15%
‘Excellent.’
Carlisle was satisfied with the effects of [Desperate Wish].
[Luck] and [Critical Hit Rate] were extremely rare stats that were very difficult to obtain even in the game.
Among the thousands of items available, there were fewer than ten items that definitively increased luck and critical hit rate.
So having a skill that increased both simultaneously and definitively was very encouraging.
Moreover, if these were the level 1 values, how useful would it become as the level increased in the future…
‘I’m glad I took a look around. It was worthwhile.’
Carlisle nodded with satisfaction and turned his steps toward the direction of the Inner Castle.
* * *
After that, Carlisle found no more residual thoughts and continued training his swordsmanship while preparing to go to the battlefield.
Several months passed this way, and the time for Carlisle to depart for the battlefield approached.
“Do I really have to wear this? It’s so uncomfortable.”
Carlisle grumbled as he put on his formal dress, or rather, the military dress uniform of the Dekaron Army.
“Young Master, the commissioning ceremony is…”
“I know, it’s an important ritual.”
If one were to name the most important event of House Sigmund, it would be none other than the [Commissioning Ceremony].
The commissioning ceremony was a ritual declaring one’s commitment to fulfill the responsibilities and duties of a noble by serving in the military as a member of House Sigmund, so it was regarded as very important.
But the reason the commissioning ceremony was considered even more special was because of [succession].
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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