Quint

Biodata

Power Progression

Recorded Attributes

Values shown when Lister inspects Quint before their duel 12.

Appearance

Quint is nearly 1.9 meters tall, with a strong, muscular build and an aristocratic bearing 12.

• Hair: Short and blond at his first appearance. After later wearing it long, he has it cut short again by the time Lister establishes the Merrick Civilization government 12 203.
• Facial features: High-bridged nose and deep-set eyes 12.
• Formal clothing: A purple robe with dense gold embroidery across the chest 12.
• Battle attire: Full silver-white heavy armor and a helmet, worn with a sword and greatshield 15 17.
• Later appearance: During the succession war, he looks exhausted and has small scars near the corners of his eyes, but appears more resolute and mature 82.
• Administrative clothing: Later wears silk everyday attire in a Galactic Federation style 208.

Personality

Quint initially treats Lister as a prospective subordinate rather than an equal. Confident that his higher professional tier guarantees victory, he offers leniency in exchange for submission and reacts angrily when rejected. His defeat forces him to recognize Lister’s superior strength; afterward, he speaks more steadily and abandons his openly condescending manner 13 15 17 19.

He is ambitious, calculating, and capable of concealing resentment. Years of keeping a low profile in the ducal castle have taught him to regain his composure quickly. Even under Kailina’s insults, he maintains a polite smile until she leaves, then vents his anger in private 14 25.

His pragmatism allows him to cooperate with someone he still dislikes. Neither public humiliation nor his removal to a border territory persuades him to abandon the dukedom. After failing to recruit both Lister and Kailina as followers, he concludes that political promises alone cannot replace personal strength when dealing with professionals 19 20 25.

By the succession war, Quint has grown more cautious about relying on old promises without shared interests. Witnessing Lister kill the rival heirs with a single slash shakes his fixation on the ducal title and impresses on him that individual strength is the foundation of power 83 85.

His appetite for political responsibility persists as his horizons expand. He eagerly accepts the chance to govern the Merrick Civilization and later enjoys administering the affairs of multiple galaxies, despite the workload 203 262 300.

Abilities & Skills

Eternal Shield

A C-grade, rare defensive skill recorded at LV2 12.

• Blocks frontal attacks for three seconds.
• Absorbs 381–461 damage at the inspected level.
• Damage absorption increases with the stamina attribute.

Shield of Will

A C-grade, rare counterattack skill recorded at LV2. It counters received damage based on the enemy’s strength 12.

• Forms part of the Will Family’s emphasis on defense and counterattacks 15 16.
• Lister recognizes its activation, withdraws his attack, and moves behind Quint before the counter can trigger 16.

Will Sword Technique

A D-grade, high-quality sword skill recorded at LV4 12.

• Deals 271–291 damage.
• Inflicts laceration and additional bleeding damage.
• Quint’s offensive swordsmanship is weaker than his shield techniques; Lister repeatedly evades his thrusts during their duel 15.

Will Breathing Technique

An ungraded passive skill recorded at LV1, granting +1 stamina 12.

• Quint has practiced it for years but considers its results inferior to those of other skills 20 31.
• He teaches Lister its breathing formula and training method, using sustained shield-holding practice 30.
• He agrees to pass it on while refusing to disclose the Will Family’s rare shield inheritance 20.

Intelligence Gathering and Political Maneuvering

Quint investigates Lister’s activities and knows about Anna’s relationship with Ruisi before Lister attempts to inform him 13.

• Uses the apparent romantic dispute as cover for his father’s action against the Merick Family 13.
• Supplies Lister with the identities, classes, and ranks of the three professionals accompanying him south 22.
• Draws Kailina toward a prepared ambush by revealing the turquoise-associated crystal coveted for her breakthrough 25.
• Summons the major powers of Merrick Planet and gives them three days to pledge allegiance to the new government 203.
• Oversees government administration, recruitment, diplomacy, and preparations for intergalactic teleportation infrastructure. Lister also recognizes his talent for command and logistics 208 300 327.

Equipment & Items

• Silver-white heavy armor: Includes a tier-three chest piece that helps limit the damage inflicted during Lister’s nonlethal attacks 15 17.
• Greatshield: Carried in his left hand and central to his defensive fighting style; Lister disarms him and pins it beneath his foot 15 16.
• Longsword: Carried in his right hand; knocked away by Lister’s Iai Slash 15 16.
• Horsetail sleeping potion antidote: Gives Lister a bottle after delivering the drugged Anna and Ruisi 19.
• Agas ginkgo wine: Receives fewer than ten bottles among King Hughes’s rewards and gives all of them to Lister 88.

History

Position Within the Will Family

Quint grows up with little public visibility. According to unconfirmed rumors reported by Butler Anke, his mother was a castle maid, he is his father’s least-favored son, and he stands last among the ducal heirs. Anke also reports that Quint alone has never accompanied the duke to major ceremonies 7.

Despite this reputation, Chen Xinhe recognizes his name as that of the future Duke Will III. The discrepancy leads Lister to question whether Quint’s apparent obscurity conceals a larger political plan 2 7.

Quint later recalls receiving no fatherly love from Will II and facing estrangement and attempts on his life after reaching adulthood 84.

Duel with Lister Merick

The duel initially appears to concern Anna, but Quint privately admits that he never loved her and already knew about Ruisi. Its real purpose is to serve Duke Will II’s campaign against the old professional families, beginning with the declining Merick Family 13.

On the eve of the duel, Quint secretly enters the Merick estate by climbing its wall. He reveals his father’s intentions and offers to spare Lister serious injury if Lister becomes his follower. His original plan had been to seriously wound Lister or sever an arm to satisfy the duke. Lister refuses submission 12 13.

During the public duel, Lister evades Quint’s attacks, knocks away his sword with the Merick Iai Slash, and bypasses his shield counter. After losing his shield, Quint is left unable to retaliate. Lister gives him an opportunity to stop, and Quint finally recognizes that his opponent’s actual strength far exceeds his own 15 16 17.

Partnership and Departure South

The following day, Quint brings Lister a chest containing the bound, drugged Anna and Ruisi, who attempted to flee during the duel. He presents them as part of honoring its outcome. Lister declines to decide Anna’s punishment and leaves her with Quint. Lister suspects a connection to her future identity as the Ghost Bride, but that transformation is not shown 18 19.

Quint then reveals his appointment as Baron of Rai Territory, where Lister has been ordered to exterminate the Ghost-Eyed Giants. Both recognize that the powerful professionals accompanying Quint can be used against Lister. Rather than cooperate with his father, Quint seeks support from Lister and the seven great professional families for his own bid for the dukedom 19.

Lister accepts a partnership—not service as Quint’s follower—in exchange for the Will Breathing Technique. Quint agrees to teach it after they deal with Kailina 19 20.

Removing His Father’s Agents

While staying at the Renekton Family’s old castle, Quint warns Lister about Kailina, Lius, and Ante. His letter urges Lister to contact Count Connor within three months and states that the three will not act immediately 22.

Quint initially hopes to recruit Kailina, but her contempt ends that possibility. He instead directs her toward the turquoise-associated crystal in Rai Territory and alerts Lister to her movements. Lister and his allies subsequently kill all three professionals 25 26 27 28.

Turquoise Mine Agreement

Afterward, Quint fulfills his promise by guiding Lister through the Will Breathing Technique. He remains puzzled by Lister’s interest in a skill he considers mediocre 30 31.

When the discovered turquoise vein proves to be large, Quint joins Lister and Count Connor in agreeing to hand it over to the Kingdom of Lucian. He cannot approach the royal family himself without bypassing—and openly antagonizing—his father, so Lister is chosen as their representative. Quint remains behind to continue mining 31 32.

Quint later accepts Lister’s gifts and a three-percentage-point share of the mine. The allies’ combined ten-percent stake is divided into four percentage points for Lister and three each for Quint and Count Connor. His struggle for the ducal title remains unresolved when Lister departs for Great Chu 43.

Succession War and Accession

When Lister returns to Weier Main City, Quint’s newly recruited troops and the Seven Great Families are fighting the duke’s forces. Quint explains that Will II targeted him after discovering the turquoise vein in his territory and facing pressure to supply 2,000 Class Holders for the kingdom’s war. After the duke had Lawson Conner killed, Count Connor killed Will II, precipitating the succession conflict 82.

Quint is relieved when Lister reaffirms his promise to help him obtain the dukedom. He warns Lister that his elder brother Morey is a powerful fourth-tier shield warrior who has nearly killed Count Connor 83.

Lister devastates the opposing army and kills Morey and the other four rival heirs with one Iai Slash. He declines Quint and Count Connor’s offer of the ducal title, leaving Quint to deal with the survivors. Count Connor agrees to help Quint secure the title and persuade the Seven Great Families to contribute Class Holders 85.

Quint and the families restore order in the duchy. After Quint brings 2,000 Class Holders to Bode for the war, King Hughes recognizes him as Duke Will III and grants him rewards 86 88.

Later Dealings with Lister

At the rebuilt Merick Castle, Quint explains that Count Yodi has accused Lister of helping Great Chu attack Lucian. Hughes has also reopened the investigation into the stolen royal treasury potions, and Lister’s departure for Great Chu has made him a suspect. Quint asks Lister not to kill Hughes before the war ends, fearing the newly unified empire could lose its ability to fight or collapse 109.

Speaker of the Merrick Civilization

After two years apart, Quint reunites with Lister in the Duchy of Merrick. Recognizing how contact with the Galactic Federation has changed their world, he correctly guesses that Lister intends to establish a government. He accepts the position of speaker, urges Count Connor to accept the deputy speaker’s post, and quickly summons the planet’s major powers to pledge allegiance 203.

Quint takes charge of extensive government work. Lister instructs him to recruit promising talent from life-bearing planets and accelerate negotiations with the Arcane Civilization to support Merrick’s bid for level-three status 208.

Before Merrick’s election to the Galactic Federation House of Representatives, Quint travels to Akzi Planet to meet the Senate’s new deputy speaker, Wang Yue. He discovers that she is also Berry, a representative of the Leviathan Civilization. Wang Yue takes him to meet Senator Teya Milande, whose nomination leads to both Quint and Wang Yue being elected to the House. Their seats bring the Merrick Civilization expanded permissions and benefits 226 242 243.

Lister later places Quint and Wang Yue in charge of Federation Government matters during his seclusion. Following a blockade, the Federation promotes Merrick to a level-four civilization; Quint continues working through the resulting administrative demands 255 261 262.

Expanding Federation Responsibilities

Quint informs Lister that the Glimmer and Arcane Civilizations have joined Merrick’s secret plan against the Witchcraft and Beta Civilizations. He resents the limited influence Merrick has enjoyed compared with the older level-four powers 276.

As Merrick’s sphere expands, Quint oversees affairs involving the Babylon and Divine Rise galaxies and other allied Hegemon galaxies. He directs teams working on an intergalactic teleportation array and alerts Lister when Kavin Dill encounters the Star Machine Civilization at the Ancient Machine Kingdom ruins 300.

By the Emerald Royal Court’s invasion, Quint is an administrative leader of the Machine-Slaying Federation. Lister orders him to open all teleportation arrays free of charge and organize the emergency evacuation of ordinary citizens to outer galaxies 327.

Relationships

• Duke Will II — Father and political obstacle. Uses Quint in schemes against the Merick Family, while Quint seeks an independent support base for the succession. Quint later describes a childhood without fatherly affection and attempts on his life after adulthood 13 19 84.
• Lister Merick — Duel opponent turned equal partner. Quint acknowledges his defeat and exchanges the Will Breathing Technique for cooperation against Kailina. Lister later helps him secure the dukedom and appoints him speaker of the Merrick Civilization 17 19 20 85 203.
• Count Connor — Political backer and partner in the turquoise mine settlement. Initially questions whether Quint might be infiltrating the seven families on his father’s behalf; he later supports Quint’s succession and serves as deputy speaker under him 24 31 43 85 203.
• Kailina — His father’s assigned escort, whom Quint also regards as a possible watcher. Her hostility convinces him to abandon recruitment and help arrange her elimination 19 25.
• Anna — Apparent romantic interest used as cover for the duel. Quint holds her in contempt, intercepts her escape with Ruisi, and accepts responsibility for dealing with her afterward 13 19.
• Ruisi — Anna’s lover; captured alongside her after their attempted elopement 19.
• Morey Will — Quint’s elder brother and rival for the dukedom. A powerful shield warrior, he is killed by Lister during the succession war 83 85.
• King Hughes — Recognizes Quint as Duke Will III after he supplies 2,000 Class Holders. Quint later asks Lister to spare Hughes until the war is over 88 109.
• Wang Yue / Berry — Merrick’s deputy speaker and Quint’s fellow representative in the Galactic Federation House. She helps him navigate the election and advises him on supporting Teya’s choices in votes 242 243.

Notable Quotes

“Ha! Do I look like someone who'd give up competing for the dukedom now?” 19

“As for the duel, I lost because I wasn't as skilled as you! Although I still don't like you, I know you're a smart man too.” 19

“As speaker, I'll always act from the perspective of the Merrick Civilization and do everything I can to develop our civilization!” 203