00:00radiated killing intent the girl's expression would shift as she instinctively sought to shield
00:04the man beside her whereas a child of that age would typically be the one seeking protection
00:08later that day he chanced upon the pink-haired prince ba on the street and was invited to join
00:12him on a treasure hunt through the antique district the protagonist protagonist's halo effect kicked in
00:16and he soon managed to purchase a magical grimoire for the price of just three asterisk in asterisk
00:20of gold and an original copy at that its true market value was easily in the four-figure range
00:25of gold coins prince ba was baffled as to how he had discovered its true worth the secret lay in
00:29the fact that whenever the protagonist touched the book he felt his affinity for the element of wind
00:33inexplicably increase any item capable of boosting his innate attributes was by definition an object
00:38possessing a consciousness of its own he pointed his demonic sword at the grimoire only to inadvertently
00:43unleash the malevolent spirit that had been sealed within it although the combat sequences are somewhat
00:47rough around the edges they are perfectly enjoyable if you simply switch off your brain and go with the
00:52flow after witnessing the protagonist effortlessly dispatch an evil spirit an antique shop owner
00:56steps forward to bestow upon him a powerful cheat a mysterious ring he possesses legend has it that
01:01the ring reveals its true form only when it encounters its rightful master the owner had previously suspected
01:06it might be mere junk indeed he had discarded it several times yet it would inexplicably find its way
01:10back to him suddenly right there in the shop the ring liquefies and transforms into a suit of armor
01:15enveloping the protagonist boosting all his basic attributes the eighth prince whose magical sword had
01:20already proven its worth proactively offers to foot the bill treating it as a gift for the protagonist
01:24after all first came a magical sword and now a magical suit of armor his younger brother is
01:28clearly no ordinary man however no sooner had the protagonist stepped out of the carriage than he
01:33was ambushed by the bald-headed ruffian from earlier the ring instinctively sprang to its master's
01:37defense manifesting as a protective shield the eighth prince was once again left astounded never
01:42imagining that his brother would so quickly master the use of the green shadow armor as for the bald ruffian
01:47having dared to lay hands on a prince his inevitable fate went without saying the protagonist had intended to
01:52reassure the singer that he need no longer live in fear instead he arrived just in time to find the
01:56once again being harassed by that obnoxious man he was compelled to intervene driving the two
02:01troublemakers away he then urged the shop owner to prevent such dangerous incidents from occurring in
02:06the future the owner however found himself in a difficult position he too had to make a living and
02:10in reality his shop survived solely on the patronage of customers just like that obnoxious man wealthy and
02:15capricious the protagonist decided that if that was the case he would simply buy out the entire shop on the
02:20spot
02:20offering the owner a price he simply could not refuse his sole requirement of the singer was this
02:24continue to hone your voice for one day he would arrange for you to perform before the king himself
02:28am ham calm and composed he leisurely ate his breakfast he then stated the purpose of his visit
02:33why had the payment not been made he lay down a strict rule if they dared utter a single word
02:38that a child
02:38could not understand they were to keep their mouths shut upon hearing this the official
02:42wen yang instantly changed his demeanor he explained that a massive flood had struck that region the previous year
02:47in his great benevolence his majesty had granted a one-year tax exemption thereby allowing the local
02:51authorities to utilize those funds scene the flood relief office the male lead confronts the official
02:56in charge are you toying with me he points out that while the decision to suspend tax collection during
03:01the floods may stem from his majesty's benevolence the fundamental reality is that taxes asterisk cannot
03:06asterisk be collected anyway the official intimidated scrambles to find another excuse it's not that we refuse to
03:11release the funds it's simply that we have no money left his majesty has commissioned a new summer
03:16retreat project since it is a place intended for the emperor's personal use to put
03:19it bluntly we were required to construct an entire town a secondary palace which has completely drained the national
03:24treasury the male lead cuts him off an act that constitutes high treason and demands refusing to fund flood control
03:30measures while diverting the money to build a secondary palace instead are you trying to make father appear to be
03:34a tyrant in
03:35the eyes of his own subjects only then does the official realize his blunder he hurriedly offers a groveling apology
03:40begging the
03:41male lead not to misunderstand in the end the male lead delivers an ultimatum either you release the
03:46funds immediately and honestly or i will go directly to father this forces the official to bow his head in
03:51submission and promise to expedite the allocation as soon as possible however no sooner had the male lead
03:56seen the governor out than an imperial edict arrived summoning him to an audience with the emperor the emperor
04:01had already been apprised of the incident that had just transpired and commended the male lead for handling the
04:06situation with great competence the male lead was surprised how could father have known so quickly
04:10little did he realize that the emperor possessed his own extensive intelligence network in these times
04:15there is no shortage of smooth talking schemers and an even greater abundance of sycophants and flatterers
04:20for a mere six-year-old boy to be able to outmaneuver such seasoned veterans of the bureaucracy was in
04:24itself a remarkable feat gazing at the demonic sword sheathed the male lead's waist the emperor marveled that
04:29the boy had truly managed to master it or throughout history that demonic blade had earned itself a truly infamous
04:34reputation the male lead could certainly understand why had he not intervened in the nick of time during
04:39the previous incident everyone present in the imperial hall might well have perished to further
04:43hone the male lead's swordsmanship the emperor had specially enlisted the empire's greatest swordsman
04:47to serve as his tutor unexpectedly the moment the swordsman arrived he requested an immediate sparring
04:52match with a male lead assuring the emperor not to worry this session was merely to assess the boy's
04:57aptitude the emperor was easily persuaded left with no choice the male lead drew his sword yet as the demonic
05:02blade vibrated in his grasp the male lead executed a lightning fast strike for in that very instant he
05:07had received a sudden infusion of swordsmanship techniques inherited from the blade's countless
05:11past masters with just two or three swift movements he sent the swordsman's blade flying from his grasp
05:16the swordsman humbled acknowledged that he had nothing left to teach the boy although the male lead's
05:20physical speed and strength were still those of a child the fact that he could disarm a master using pure
05:24technique alone proved that his swordsmanship had already reached a truly transcendent level seizing upon this
05:28opportune moment the emperor bestowed a great honor upon the male lead he appointed him the chief
05:33examiner for this year's knight selection trials the so-called knight selection is in essence a martial
05:38arts civil service examination the sole avenue for those dedicated to the martial arts to rise above
05:42their station through sheer personal strength the most powerful warriors selected from every corner of
05:47the realm converge upon the imperial capital to engage in a life and death struggle the ultimate victor is
05:52bestowed the title of knight thereby achieving a monumental leap in social class a knight's very first
05:56assignment is to serve as a subordinate to the examiners themselves a role in which the protagonist's
06:01own abilities are destined to grow even more formidable however the protagonist wishes to make a
06:05specific request that the regional preliminary rounds be abolished and that the entire selection
06:09process be conducted exclusively within the imperial capital ensuring that no exceptional talent remains
06:14hidden like a pearl buried in the dust when he confided this plan to his personal witch however he
06:19detected a note of resignation in her response as it turned out people from his own home village also
06:23aspired to participate yet due to the village's impoverished state the costs of travel and
06:27lodging posed an insurmountable hurdle prices in the imperial capital were exorbitant even if the
06:32entire village pooled every last resource they could barely scrape together enough funds to support a
06:36single candidate consequently the chosen individual would be forced to shoulder the hopes and dreams of
06:41the entire village with a decisive wave of his hand the protagonist declared that he would
06:45personally resolve this issue no potential talent should be lost simply due to financial constraints
06:49he instructed his butler to purchase every vacant property available in the imperial capital
06:53subsequently he visited the merchant guild to meet with byron byron displaying remarkable tact and
06:58understanding offer to supply all provisions and ingredients required for the duration of the
07:03selection process at a financial loss the protagonist well aware that merchants are driven solely by
07:07profit knew that byron must surely be seeking something in return byron readily admitted as much
07:12concurrently with a knight selection the imperial palace would be holding its own recruitment examination for
07:17retainers and he hoped the protagonist could provide him with advanced insight into the specific criteria
07:22or preferences for admission the protagonist understood byron's objective to place his own
07:26people within the palace walls after all having eyes and ears inside the palace made gathering
07:30intelligence far more efficient moreover should one of his candidates catch the emperor's eye it would
07:34represent a meteoric rise to power a true one step ascent to the heavens the protagonist agreed to assist
07:39promising to put in a good word provided of course that the candidate in question was a young woman whom
07:44he
07:44genuinely admired he emphasized this stipulation repeatedly she had to be a girl for whom he held
07:49sincere personal appreciation catching the subtle nuance in the protagonist's words byron gave his
07:54assurance that he would select a young woman who would be entirely to his liking he also expressed a
07:58specific hope that the candidate emerging from his guild's signature program might be assigned to the
08:02household of the third prince the protagonist agreed to take her under his wing a decision that in turn led
08:07to a
08:08further enhancement of his own innate abilities yet unexpectedly one of his attribute ratings specifically his
08:13affinity for the water element suddenly dropped by one rank from an f rating this
08:17indicated that a sudden crisis had erupted within his coastal fiefdom he
08:20immediately hastened to the imperial palace to seek an audience with the
08:24emperor although the emperor had merely sent the ominous asterisk precursors
08:27asterisk of trouble the protagonist was absolutely certain that the calamity had
08:31already struck sure enough a messenger soon arrived with a report a rebellion had broken out within the
08:35protagonist's territory based on the specific degree to which his attributes had been
08:39diminished the protagonist deduced that it was likely only a small-scale insurrection
08:43the emperor then provided the definitive confirmation according to the reports the
08:47rebel force numbers approximately 5000 the emperor asked the protagonist if he intended to lead the
08:52punitive expedition personally the protagonist politely declined explaining that he was unable to do so
08:57after all he was still young and had never experienced actual combat consequently he lacked the
09:01authority to command the respect of the troops any of his older imperial brothers would be a more
09:05suitable choice the emperor acknowledged the validity of the protagonist's assessment and
09:09asked him to recommend a candidate the protagonist suggested his fourth brother given the scale of
09:14the rebellion a direct military suppression was deemed the most effective strategy and his cautious
09:18fourth imperial brother was certain to handle the matter with competence however just as he was
09:22setting out alongside his fourth brother his demonic sword suddenly reacted the protagonist
09:26immediately ordered the convoy to halt he realized that asterisk he asterisk was the intended target
09:31to avoid endangering his imperial brother he voluntarily stepped out of his carriage
09:35yet no sooner had he disembarked than he was struck by a magical attack utilizing water elemental magic
09:40fortunately the divine artifact he had recently acquired automatically activated to protect its
09:45master since the attackers were also practitioners of water magic it became clear that they were members
09:49of the rebel army from the territory in question regrettably for them they were unaware that the
09:53protagonist possessed such formidable cheat-like abilities within a mere few moves he had neutralized
09:58them all his fourth brother was astonished to learn that the rebel army consisted prime
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