After some gentle – yet insistent – urging on Simon's part, Katarina reluctantly invested six Points into Vitality, bringing hers up to 15. While he still wanted her to choose for herself, this was insurance for when she inevitably made a mistake. Sky-high Dexterity would amount to nothing if she perished from a single misjudged motion.

  Although he didn't quite know how to answer when she asked what Vitality would even do for her. Simon's increased HP had let him survive gruesome injuries inflicted by the Ravenous Wanderer, yet that was partially due to Transmigrator's Body keeping him going. Katarina didn't have Traits. He wasn't sure how a bootleg version of the gods' stat system would affect a native Valtian.

  Katarina also decided to hold the rest of her Unspent Points in reserve, declining to choose a Class Advancement. She wanted a few days to think things over.

  Simon disagreed. Leaving points unspent could result in tragedy. If their group was ambushed, she wouldn't have time to empower herself further before the attack began.

  Still, he didn't press the issue. Katarina would only function as a proper beta tester if she made her own decisions – and mistakes.

  When they returned to their carriage and set out again, Katarina adjusted the Navigation Crystal to take them to a Waystation located roughly two days out. "Waystations utilize long-distance teleportation to allow travel between the Severed Isles," she explained. "You saw the map, and how our territories are split across the ocean. We cannot journey from Springwater to Caelryn solely by land."

  "What about by boat?"

  "Duke Helmund has forbade the construction of seafaring vessels. I haven't a clue as to why."

  Another detail to file away and examine later after acquiring more information. "Alright. Then this Waystation will teleport us directly to Caelryn City?"

  "Not directly, but close. We'll need to pay a toll." She glanced around the carriage. "With our ill-gotten gains, that shouldn't be a hindrance – unlike when my father and I passed through."

  Simon leaned forward. "How many Waystations are there?" A bit of fervor leaked into his voice. "Are they all connected? Can we use them to teleport anywhere in the Severed Isles?" Cutting down on travel time would make his plans much easier to fulfill.

  "The exact number eludes me, but there's at least two to three Waystations on each Isle. All connected. The toll price is determined by your intended destination. If you have the money for it, you can go anywhere."

  "Out of curiosity, why did you and Gerold pick this area to teleport to?"

  "Was the cheapest. Couldn't afford anywhere else." Her face morphed into a complicated expression. "Perhaps that should've been the first sign that we were making a mistake. You get what you pay for, and people aren't often stockpiling coin to journey to Springwater Village."

  Sensing that Katarina was trending towards a bout of self-recrimination, Simon smoothly changed topics to something more lighthearted. "So – Duke Helmund. How do we kill him?"

  She sputtered. "Isn't that your job to figure out?

  "Yes, but you know more about the man than me. How powerful is he, and in what ways? You described him before as being an existence akin to a god. Have you seen him fight in-person?"

  "Few have," she said, her lips pursed. "Enemies of Helmund don't live for long after he sets his sight on them."

  "Is it possible that his supposed strength is inflated by hearsay? Could be propaganda to ensure that people don't challenge him."

  Katarina took a second to give the theory thought.

  "Unlikely," she concluded. "I may not have met the Duke, but I have seen his son, the 'esteemed' Lord Piers Helmund. That vile pissant visits Caelryn City on occasion. He is arrogant, odious, insufferable...and the most powerful warrior I've ever laid eyes upon."

  A shiver passed through her. "You know how children sometimes purposely break their toys, because they're too young to understand that not everything can be fixed? That's what Piers Helmund is like with people. If he enjoys your company, he might invite you to a round of drinks, take you adventuring, shower you with praise. But the second you draw his ire...or even if just grows bored of you..."

  She lowered her gaze. "To him, we are playthings, meant to be used and discarded. And why wouldn't we be? The only man powerful enough to stop him is his father, who openly approves of Piers 'indulging in merriment'."

  Simon hesitated as a troubling thought came to him. "How big is the Helmund family? Who's there aside from the Duke and Piers?"

  "It's just them. Maybe the Duke once had a consort – Piers spawned from somewhere – but she is either long gone or long dead."

  "Good. And how old is Piers?"

  "Older than you or I, yet less than thirty years of age." She stared at him. "Why ask?"

  "Was worried that there'd be a whole extended family of superpowered maniacs to deal with. Two, though?" Simon nodded. "I can handle two. Piers will even serve as a valuable point of reference. If I can slay the son, then the father shouldn't be too far out of reach."

  He adopted an innocent smile. "And if Piers was younger than us – a teenager, as opposed to a manchild – I would've had reservations about straight-up killing him. It's encouraging to know that I won't be burdened with a guilty conscience."

  This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

  Surprise flared in Katarina's gaze, but only for an instant. "That makes sense. Albeit in a morbid, twisted fashion."

  "When you're planning to assassinate people, everything sounds morbid. On that note – what else can you tell me about the nobility of the Severed Isles? How strong are they? After I've increased my Level, it could be worthwhile to pay some of them a visit. Like a trial run for Piers and the Duke."

  She paused. "Simon, much as I am loath to defend those who would spit on me without a second thought...not everyone with high status is deserving of such violent retribution."

  Sin Scry will be the judge of that. "I'll pick my targets carefully," he assured, gesturing for her to continue. "Still need info. How many major noble families are there?"

  "Ten? I think?" She frowned. "The number changes according to Duke Helmund's whims. Perhaps the nobles themselves are privy to secrets that we know not, but from my perspective, families are elevated and demoted seemingly at random."

  "Are any of them as strong as Helmund? Or at least comparable?"

  "Not remotely. Even the most powerful among them would fall to Piers in combat – let alone his father."

  Simon considered that. "So Piers, at less than thirty years old, is already stronger than the patriarch and matriarch of every noble family in the Severed Isles."

  "He possesses an extraordinary affinity for mana," Katarina grumbled. "Probably endured harsh training as well, but so have others, and they are all woefully beneath him. It is as people say: Sweat and effort is laudable, yet talent and birthright are prosperous."

  The Valtian adage made Simon's skin crawl. He couldn't even deny it, as the only reason he was in a position to challenge Helmund and Piers was due to gifts from a higher power.

  Have to change things. Someday, I'll turn that proverb into a lie.

  "Is lineage important for mana affinity?" he inquired. "If two people with high affinity have a child, does that child have a better chance of being as strong as them?"

  "Yes. From what I've heard, the noble families are strict about co-mingling amongst each other to maintain purity of blood."

  Hopefully not too strict. Simon had seen pictures of Earth noble families that practiced inbreeding. While similar deficiencies might make it easier to overthrow the Valtian nobility, the notion was...off-putting.

  "In fact," Katarina said, "there's been some gossip as to who Piers' mother could be. Helmund wouldn't have produced an heir with any less but the best 'breeding stock' in the nation."

  Disgust snaked across her face. "He's been associated with the disappearance of several noble women over the decades. The rumors are unfounded...yet given Helmund's character, the idea is all too believable."

  Simon stared at her in muted astonishment. "Good grief. Is there a single person in the Severed Isles who doesn't hate Helmund?"

  "Piers."

  "Besides him. You know, If I had more time, I bet I could incite a revolution within the nobility. I doubt the Duke could handle an army of high-affinity soldiers coming for his neck. Helmund may be extremely powerful, but he isn't outright invincible."

  He couldn't be. The gods of Good wouldn't have sent their champion on an impossible mission – if only because transmigrating was a costly endeavor, and their efforts would be better-spent elsewhere. One way or another, Helmund had to be mortal.

  Katarina shook her head. "Duke Helmund grants wealth and prestige to the major and minor noble families. They won't upset the status quo. Especially when it would result in their deaths."

  Something about that gave Simon pause. "What do you mean?"

  The woman averted her eyes. "Happened decades ago. Before I was born." She looked through the carriage window, gazing out into the distance. "There was an invasion from Ashora, the western nation beyond the sea. It's old history now, but everyone who speaks of it is in agreement: without Duke Helmund on the front lines, the Severed Isles would have succumbed to Demons."

  "...Demons?"

  "Ashora is ruled by them. Its noble families are comprised entirely of Demons, with an all-powerful Queen sitting at the top. They wrested control of the nation some centuries prior. These days, to be a human in Ashora is to be enslaved by pitiless abominations."

  She raised both eyebrows, sending him a sideways glance. "There's a reason we are told to fear your kind."

  Simon grimaced. "Right."

  Which meant that if he – an apparent Demon – started making waves, parallels would be drawn. No one wanted their country to become the next Ashora. He would be rejected by the nobility and commonfolk alike, viewed as a conspirator seeking to undermine them from within.

  And even if he succeeded in taking control without inspiring the people to rebel against him, that would just open the Severed Isles to invasion from foreign nations. Duke Helmund's overwhelming power was like a Warding barrier shielding the Isles. He'd made himself too big to fail.

  A replacement was necessary. However, it would take time for Simon to raise his Level up to...whatever Helmund's was. If he killed the Duke too early, without being strong enough to supplant his role, then millions would suffer.

  If he killed him too late, everyone died regardless.

  The transmigrator closed his eyes. He sat back, breathed deep, and calmed his nerves.

  One thing at a time.