Only yesterday, Wilt had been troubled by difficulties digesting his Monster Pathway Potion.
He had decided to digest his Swindler and Cryptologist Potions first, never expecting a turning point to come today.
"I don't have to act as a Monster in the countryside or some sparsely populated place. I can do it in Tingen City too."
"As the saying goes, hell is empty, and the devils are all here."
Wilt looked at the workers in the street, then turned his gaze farther east. Factories stood in rows there, with enormous chimneys rising from the ground, spewing black, poisonous smoke straight into the sky.
"The East Borough is the poorest place, and the place with the most suffering. I should act as a Monster here, while delivering those who suffer to accumulate Merit."
Wilt first released the vengeful spirit he had just confined inside his body using a Dancer Pathway ability. Then a ray of golden light entered her body, restoring her mind.
Wilt asked, "What's your name?"
"Hailiye," the spirit answered. "My name is Hailiye Walker."
The question Wilt had been about to ask died on his lips. He looked around, then bent down by the corner of a wall to pick up the wallet he had just thrown away.
This time, Wilt found information about the wallet's owner in the outermost compartment. It was an expensive card bearing a name in gold lettering: "Sir Deville."
Wilt: "..."
Wilt understood everything now. He had actually stumbled upon the scene of Hailiye's death from the original story.
So he skipped questions like why Hailiye hated Sir Deville and spoke directly to her spirit:
"I can help you fulfill your wish and take revenge on the factory owner, Sir Deville. I can also make sure your parents receive enough compensation for your death that your family won't have to worry about food or clothing for most of their lives."
"But you have to listen to me, lend me your power, and not act on your own."
"Afterward, I'll deliver you and send you into the cycle of reincarnation, so you can be born into a good family in your next life."
"What do you think of this deal?"
Hailiye nodded. "All right, I agree."
Whoosh! Hailiye entered Wilt's body again.
Just as Wilt was about to chase after Sir Deville, the shadow beneath him suddenly shifted. Wilt immediately tensed and stepped back, drawing a dagger at the same time.
But the next second, Madam D emerged from the shadow.
She said to Wilt, "Lanevus is carrying out your plan, but Earl Corodo has asked to see you..."
"He couldn't find you, so I came to let you know."
Wilt put away his dagger and nodded. "I see. I'll return to the hotel right away."
"So what exactly happened?" Wilt asked Lanevus, who sat across from him.
"The plan only started a couple of days ago, and I already have to make an appearance. This isn't what I expected."
Doesn't the protagonist always appear last? Why do I have to go on when it's barely begun?
Wilt looked at Lanevus hesitantly. "You didn't deliberately engineer this, did you?"
"Absolutely not!" Lanevus hurriedly denied it.
"It was Earl Corodo. He was too impatient, so he insisted on meeting you."
"But from that, we can tell Earl Corodo must be short of money. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so impatient."
Tingen City, Earl Corodo's residence, study.
Earl Corodo asked solemnly, "You are Wilt Mirage?"
"Yes, Earl. It's a pleasure to meet you."
A faint smile appeared on Earl Corodo's face.
"There's no need to be so reserved. Mirage and I went through life and death together, and I owe him an immense debt. Though you aren't his biological child, you are still the Mirage family's only legitimate heir in this generation."
"So make yourself at home and relax. As for how to address me, just call me uncle."
Wilt pretended to look pleased, then asked hesitantly, "Earl, wouldn't that be improper?"
"According to the Loen Kingdom...
"What's improper about it?" Earl Corodo cut Wilt off.
"We both came from military backgrounds and fought our way through the battlefield. Why would we care about such things?"
Wilt fell silent for a moment, then ventured, "Uncle... Uncle Corodo."
"Good!" Corodo's face lit up. "Just for calling me uncle, I'll make sure to help you through this difficulty!"
Wilt managed a look of pleasant surprise at the right moment. "Really?"
"Of course. Would I lie to someone of your generation?" With that, Earl Corodo's expression grew reminiscent.
"But could you first tell me about your father and the details of that gold mine?"
Wilt knew Earl Corodo's test had come. He nodded solemnly, then spoke slowly. "My father was Baron Mirage's younger brother. Back then, Baron Mirage went to the Southern Continent to fight in the war, while my father chose to leave the Loen Kingdom and settle in the Rorsted Archipelago."
"My mother met him in the Rorsted Archipelago, and I was born soon afterward."
"My parents used the money Baron Mirage sent them to acquire some property. When I was four, a plague struck, and they both died, one after the other."
"Then Baron Mirage sent me a letter saying he hoped I would return to Loen and be adopted as his child, so I could rightfully inherit his title later."
Wilt shook his head and said with a sigh:
"But before anything could be done, Baron Mirage passed away."
"Under the kingdom's laws, a collateral blood relative who wishes to inherit a title awarded for military merit must also have served on the battlefield for five years."
"So I had to go to the Southern Continent and join the army at sixteen. Until then, I could only scrape by on what my parents had left me."
"By chance, I picked up a Beyonder Characteristic and ate it, becoming a Beyonder."
"This Beyonder Ability lets me tell which things around me are valuable and which are important. It was thanks to it that I discovered the gold mine."
"After that, I went to war. When I returned, I used my money to buy the island, intending to start mining after I inherited the title. But I never expected the governor's office to find out, and then this happened..."
"Now that I have nowhere else to turn, I can only ask you for help, Uncle Corodo. I hope you can help me through this difficulty."
After listening, Earl Corodo sighed.
"Alas, what a poor child. You've been through so much at such a young age."
"Don't worry. No matter what, I'll help you."
"They won't take that gold mine away!"