Deja vu.
That was the feeling Marcus awoke to as his eyes stared at the ceiling of his room.
The morning sun's glow, mixed with that earthy scent of cold rain, reached his nose.
A translucent screen hovered above his face as though it had been waiting for his eyes to open.
"Ah," Marcus winced slightly as he tried to move his hands from underneath his blanket.
He could feel a cold coming.
From the way the rain beat him last night, he was kind of expecting it.
Finally bringing his hands to rub his eyes, scenes of last night's aftermath flashed in his mind.
Despite how strong his flames were and how far they had spread in the forest, they were easily put out by the downpour of rain.
Not long after, Mercidin had returned with their back-ups.
But they were already too late.
Seeing the destruction that had taken place and the smoke filling the air, they realized that the battle was anything but easy.
But after seeing how Brown and Caleb were beaten up, they couldn't help but wonder who or what they had fought.
Before Marcus could give an order, he received a notification.
[+450 Achievement Points.]
This notification was so unexpected that upon seeing it, he almost jumped with joy.
If he hadn't been exhausted, Marcus truly would have jumped with excitement…
Removing his hands from his eyes, he smiled lightly and looked at the translucent screen.
[Name: Marcus Sirdi.]
[Age: 24.]
[Level: 1 (Mage)]
[Race: Human.]
[Mana: 193.]
[Achievement Points: 450]
[Arcane Knowledge Learned (Lv1). Advanced Technological Knowledge Learned (Lv1). Body Modification Knowledge Locked. Futuristic technological Knowledge Locked.]
[Redo: 2.]
[Days Left: 6 months (179 days)]
…
Marcus peeped at his Days Left, but that only lasted a second and he ignored it.
Just as he had been doing for quite a while.
I wouldn't be dying so easily. He smiled.
Seeing his Achievement Points and Redo points widened the smile on his face.
After what they faced last night, he was already grateful that he didn't have to spend a precious redo point.
In return… Marcus began wondering what he should do with his achievement points.
Whether to increase the level of his Arcane Knowledge or Advanced Technological Knowledge.
But he soon dismissed the idea of increasing his Arcane Knowledge.
After last night, one thing was glaringly clear.
He lacked proficiency.
Even though he had somewhat practiced the fire breath spell he cast last night, he hadn't done so to completion.
Moreover, while casting the fire breath spell, Marcus could sense that at least forty percent of his mana went to waste.
Once again, this solidified his previous notion of not increasing his Arcane Knowledge level until he was proficient with the spells in his head.
This will require me to build a private training hall for myself.
He thought.
Pushing that thought to the side, Marcus began wondering what cult had found its way into Agard.
Apart from the Faceless tag he saw on the formation's information from his inspection, and also the fact that the stronger men had faceless masks on, there was nothing else he could use to identify them.
They followed a being called Faceless, whom he was sure of, but he had never heard of any cult like this.
In Ulha's history of cults, this was a new addition as far as he knew.
Marcus had sent Lesley with a letter to deliver to the Royal Council last night, informing them of the presence of a devilish cult.
This was all he could do.
Attempting to investigate such cults with his pitiful powers and few knights would be suicidal for him.
Just a low-tier devilish mutant had made them struggle so much last night, if they provoked that cult too much and they summoned something more powerful…
Marcus shook his head lightly, pushing the thought away.
They would leave things as they were for now.
At least, no one, including this cult, would be able to guess that they were defeated by Marcus and his knights.
To the general public, he would maintain some levels of weakness, just until he's grown enough.
He had already instructed his men to act like nothing had happened last night, and they were to tell no one about it.
What should I get with my points this time?
Marcus thought.
He could very much afford to increase his level in Advanced Technological Knowledge, and unlike Arcane Knowledge, Marcus didn't need proficiency.
He wasn't planning on being perfect in this aspect, rather, he wanted to raise followers who would achieve proficiency for him.
He couldn't do everything himself.
Secondly, Marcus readjusted his plans once again. He had thought that no one would truly be bold enough to attack him in Agard yet, however, last night had moved his heart.
Not only did Baron Savani try to take revenge, but an unknown cult tried to claim his life.
This pushed him to put a little bit more emphasis on growing his overall strength, which includes that of his knights.
He even considered recruiting apprentices and seeing if some of the people could awaken and become knights.
Something that I can easily get my hands on and it has to be cheap…
Marcus started to think of what he could do to improve his overall strength.
Thinking back to last night, he wondered if there was anything that could have been done that would have made killing the devilish mutant easier.
Apart from the weaknesses shown to him by the system, was there really anything that they could have done to the beast to harm it?
Marcus didn't believe that the devilish mutant would only succumb to its weaknesses before it could be killed.
Its weaknesses were just that, weaknesses.
If they were powerful enough, even blunt force might have killed the beast.
Blunt force…
The knights' weapons couldn't cut through the devilish mutant's skin.
An idea quickly popped into Marcus's mind.
Items or weapons are also considered a part of an army's strength. The Imperial Army has its own exclusive formulas for purifying and creating weapons. Is it possible for me to find the same on my system?
Marcus liked this idea very much. He quickly began searching through the system.
But after a while, he found nothing he could use.
"Do I have to upgrade my knowledge level to attain what I need?"
This was a rough guess, with no reliable reason as to why, however, Marcus didn't want to give up on this idea of his so easily.
I have a lot of points, I won't miss a hundred.
With that thought in mind, Marcus decided to upgrade his Advanced Technological Knowledge.
Suddenly, waves of information, far more technical and diverse from what he received from his level 1 knowledge, filled his head.
The process was painful, as though the back of his skull was being hammered.
Drops of perspiration began forming on his body despite the somewhat chilly weather.
After a few minutes had passed, the process came to an end.
[Advanced Technological Knowledge (Lv2)].
Marcus could tell that he had a plethora of information buzzing about in his brain. It was so much that he almost didn't know where to start.
He began sorting it out bit by bit before searching for formulas for purifying iron and blueprints for weapons.
This time, he was met with quite a number of options to pick from.
A glint of light shone in his eyes. "Hahaha, life truly can be easy with understanding."
Knock knock!
Marcus raised his head and looked at his door.
"Milord, it's me, Evita."
"Come in."
Evita walked in with a tray carrying freshly baked bread and beef soup. The same meal that everyone had had this morning.
The only difference was that Marcus had a few apples added to his tray.
"Your breakfast, Milord." Evita smiled as she placed the tray on the bedside table.
"Thank you, Evita," Marcus said lightly.
Until he smelled the aroma of beef soup, he didn't even realize that he was starving.
Seeing Marcus's complexion, Evita took it upon herself to express her thoughts.
"Milord, Knight Joshua said that you've been working way too hard these last few days. And that you might have overdone it yesterday." She paused to look at Marcus's reaction.
"Hmm, I don't think I'm working hard enough yet though." Marcus chuckled.
"No, you've been doing too much since you recovered." Evita frowned, almost speaking with a stern tone. "Milord, you were sick for an extended period. And from the moment of your recovery, you've been spending most of your time in your office or going about places. It has only been a bit over a week since you recovered."
Marcus was a bit stunned by this maid's outburst, but he wasn't offended despite her tone.
"I'm fine, Evita." Marcus waved his hand and immediately he winced.
He had forgotten that his muscles hadn't fully recovered from last night's trifles.
"No you're not, Milord. Look at your neck, it's very red! You might have caught a cold and…"
Evita caught herself crossing a line and she quickly closed her mouth. "Apologies Lord Viscount, I got… carried away."
Of course, my neck is red. What do you think would happen after spewing as much fire as I did last night?
Marcus resisted the urge to roll his eyes and masked it with a smile as he looked at his maid.
"No apology is needed. I appreciate your concerns about my well-being and I will take them to heart. If it puts you at ease, I won't be leaving my bed until the afternoon." Marcus reassured her.
It's not like I can leave so easily. My legs hurt too. A little more sleep and I would get better.
Evita blushed and lowered her gaze, clearly embarrassed that she had spoken so boldly. "Thank you, Milord."
With that, she left the room…