Then I Really Am Sorry

Of course Linton understood class quests.

They were a mechanism exclusive to hidden classes, only capable of being triggered under specific circumstances.

For example, the swordsman's hidden advancement, Blood Demon God of the Empire, could only access bloodthirsty berserk power when facing the brink of life and death. The mage's hidden class, Demonic Scholar, required painstaking personal research and the use of various elements to create an entirely new form of magic.

Though the process was difficult, those skills were all absolutely overpowered, their strength breaking through the ceiling imposed by numerical limits.

In his previous life, Linton had exhausted himself just to obtain a hidden class. Searching for the trigger conditions of this unfamiliar class's hidden skill quest had drained him even further.

He had finally triggered the quest, only to be forced into changing classes right after completing it, before he could even enjoy it properly.

"Looks like I got lucky this time. It was probably guaranteed."

Linton casually muttered before studying Iris, whom the game system called a "Perfect Creation."

She was a very beautiful girl.

Even though her golden hair no longer shone and her skin had lost all color, the very concept of "beauty" seemed forever fixed upon her.

"Calling her a puppet does fit."

After examining her for a moment, Linton withdrew his gaze and began preparing to create the puppet.

After discovering his innate skill shortly after crossing over, Linton had begun gathering the materials needed to make a puppet. However, his lack of combat strength, coupled with his unwillingness to dig up other people's ancestral graves, meant he had collected few high-grade materials. But that difficulty no longer mattered now.

Perfection meant there was no need for any other impurities.

Taking a deep breath, Linton spread his arms again, relaxed his body, and allowed an indescribable force to lift him from the ground.

Necromancy Art: Puppet Creation

The next second, pure black slowly flowed from beneath his feet and spread in every direction. It suddenly surged upward, connected together, and formed countless dark chains that swallowed the light of the magical luminous pearls on the walls whole. Some of them nimbly burrowed into Iris's body through the top of her skull, then spread across every patch of exposed pale skin, becoming tattoos—or perhaps some kind of profound, mysterious runes.

The remaining chains crisscrossed around Iris's body in layers, forming an intricate and eerie formation. They then turned into a pool of filthy water and seeped underground, seemingly attempting to establish some special connection with an abyss somewhere. Each time they trembled, the runes on Iris's body brightened a little, blinking like fireflies on a summer night within that dark space where even moonlight could not penetrate.

In that world of darkness, time seemed to have no meaning. Linton had no idea how long the forbidden ritual had lasted. Only when he felt as though his soul had become bound to someone else's by the same soft thread did he stop chanting and slowly open his eyes.

Puppet Iris (Epic)

"Why is it only epic-grade?"

Linton frowned slightly.

Although it was his first time, he felt he had executed the skill perfectly. Compared to those guys who could not even find the right place, he had already given it everything he had.

"Am I missing something?"

He reread the skill description and quest description, but he still could not figure it out.

Could the class quest he had finally managed to trigger get stuck here for who knew how long?

"Perfect Puppet, Perfect Puppet..."

Just as Linton repeatedly chewed over those words, the girl he had summoned gently floated down the stairs.

Linton looked at her, and a flash of realization suddenly crossed his mind.

He swiftly mobilized more brain cells than he had ever used on a math problem and successfully caught hold of it.

"A puppet... A puppet only becomes a person when it can emotionally communicate. Otherwise, it's just an empty marionette like this."

"Who exactly is he?"

As Covai slowly climbed the stairs, countless thoughts surfaced in his mind. After going in circles, they ultimately returned to his original conclusion.

"None of the other possibilities seem realistic. It still makes the most sense that he's from the church."

Covai knew the term Offering Gold very well.

The Kingdom of Blossoms was a country with a god. That was an undeniable fact.

Thus, whenever most people of this land experienced any emotion that brought them joy, they would offer words of praise to the Lord of Blossoms and express their gratitude.

Words were one form of gratitude, and offering money to the churches that worshiped the Lord of Blossoms was another.

That was Offering Gold.

However, ordinary people did not commonly use that term, which was why Covai had instinctively assumed the Man in Black came from the church.

Moreover, when he had pursued Hailan before, he had once gone with her to the town church to pray. The priest he saw there wore a plain black standard robe. The man downstairs merely had an additional hood, which could be explained as a difference in uniform style.

Covai recalled Hom saying that the man could guide Iris along the Knights Order's path forward. The church and the Knights Order of Blossoms were originally part of the same lineage, both established by the Lord of Blossoms. The only difference was that one advocated spreading His gospel, while the other was responsible for protecting the kingdom He had created. They could not be separated even if one tried.

With so much information, Covai had nearly confirmed the man's identity.

"He must be from the church, and his status must be high!" Covai thought for a moment before temporarily dismissing the latter conclusion. "Not necessarily. With Hom's brains, some low-ranking priest might have tricked him after saying a few words."

However, the moment he saw the neatly arranged bundles on the desk in Hom's study, he tossed that thought aside.

"My God! So much cash, and a huge amount of jewelry, even several plots of land! Together, this is nearly four-fifths of the Lizer family's assets. Converted into gold coins, it must be at least a million!!"

"And if I remember correctly, all of this should belong to Hailan. Does he think he can use it however he wants just because he's her husband? Idiot!!"

Covai calmed himself slightly.

"Still, for that idiot Hom to take out so much property, that man must have displayed something special. Otherwise, not even a dirt pig would sell his home just to exchange it for a promise concerning his daughter."

"Heh. They're assets you can't use, but I can. All I have to do is expose how Hom deceived him, have Hailan transfer these assets to me, then hand them over to him. I could even add a little extra. Wouldn't that make him my backer?"

Covai felt his idea had great potential.

Since the man was willing to accept personal Offering Gold, there was no reason he would refuse an even larger amount.

Besides, he had promised not to care about Covai's crimes. That meant he was not a righteous, law-abiding person. He would have no psychological barrier to accepting the man who killed a dog as his dog.

"Iris is dead, so be it. A new star that never managed to rise cannot compare to a towering tree that has already reached the heavens."

"Then I really am sorry."

A somewhat familiar, cool voice came from behind Covai, making his entire body feel as though it had fallen into an icy abyss in an instant.