Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

While holding onto Joshua, Alaric asked the young messenger in a cold voice. “Who did it? Who killed His Excellency?”

Amari Anton was the one who officiated his wedding. They weren’t exactly close, but Alaric greatly respected the bishop.

The young messenger looked at him and was shocked when he recognized his identity.

“Your Highness!”

Seeing Alaric’s grave expression, the young man quickly calmed down and gathered his thoughts.

“I don’t know the specifics, but from what I have been told, it was done by a group of heretics. I heard that His Excellency died from a powerful curse.”

“A curse?” Alaric suddenly recalled Liam.

Liam also died from a curse-type ability.

Alaric frowned. He had a feeling that it was done by the same group of people.

“I think I have an idea of who the culprits are, but I need to inform my father about this.”

He looked at the devastated clergy and said. “Father Joshua, I will head home first. If you get any news about this matter, please send someone to inform me. House Silversword will help the church with the investigation.”

Joshua nodded despondently. “Thank you, Lord Venerable. I will keep you updated.”

Alaric’s group didn’t linger at the church. They stepped out of the sacred space and entered the carriage. All of them had gloomy faces except Nivis.

“Alaric…” Hershey grabbed his hand with a forlorn expression.

Alaric squeezed her hand. “Everything will be fine. Trust me.”

“Mn.”

Suddenly, a notification popped up in front of him.

___

Mission: Find the Culprit

Mission Difficulty: Normal

Bishop Amari Anton spread the teachings of Aru in Veronica, but a group of heretics were offended by his actions. On his way back to Astania, the bishop’s entourage was attacked. The bishop and all his guards were killed.

Find the culprit and make them pay for their crimes!

Rewards: 500 Battle Points, 15 EXP, 5 Stat Points

Penalty for failure: Your good relationship with the church will decline.

___

Alaric took a deep breath and closed the system screen. Even without the mission, he wouldn’t rest until he found the culprits behind the bishop’s death.

Upon returning home, Alaric headed straight to his father’s study to inform him about the news.

“What?! Have you confirmed the news?” Lucas was shocked.

Alaric shook his head. “No, but it should be reliable since I heard it from someone in the church.”

Lucas rubbed his temples. They just got home from Harune, but another problem had come up.

“What do you want to do?” He looked at his son. He could tell from Alaric’s face that he was thinking of getting involved.

With a cold look, Alaric replied. “His Excellency officiated my wedding. I cannot let the culprits get away without consequences. They must be punished!”

His aura fluctuated as he muttered those words.

Lucas stared deeply at him and nodded. “Alright. You have my support, but we must keep this news to ourselves. We cannot let the public know about this without the church’s approval.”

“I know. I already told everyone to keep quiet.” Alaric understood his father’s worries.

If news about the bishop’s passing were to spread to the public, it would definitely cause a wave of panic.

“Then we should visit Veronica and discuss this issue with their empress,” Lucas suggested.

“This happened in her territory so it’s only right to get her involved.” He added.

Alaric nodded in agreement. He had the same thoughts as his father.

Getting the empress involved would make the investigations easier.

The relationship between Astania and Veronica became strained after the war with Harune. If the empress refused to cooperate, it would only intensify the tension between the two nations.

“I will arrange a meeting with their empress. You can go there once we get her confirmation.”

It would be rude to visit the empress without an appointment so they had to set up the meeting to avoid misunderstandings.

“I will wait.” Alaric lowered his head and left.

After he left, Lucas stood up from his seat and walked to the window with a deep sigh.

“When can I even get some rest?” He mumbled helplessly.

…

The death of the bishop weighed heavily on Alaric’s mind, but he didn’t let this affect his mood. He made sure that he would interact with his family and friends. He also didn’t skip his training to maintain his discipline.

This went on for the next seven days.

A week later…

Alaric had just completed his daily mission. He was drenched in sweat. He opened the system screen to check his recent progress

Alaric Silversword [Mythical Knight] EXP: 5 —> 255/10000

Potential: SSS

Traits: Swordsmanship (L), Ruthless Slaughterer (SS), Shield Mastery (SS), Supreme Regeneration (S), Horseback Riding (A), Close Combat (A), Sixth Sense (A), Appraisal (B), Hunting (C), Tracking (C), Monster Affinity (C), Mana Gathering (C), Archery (D)

Strength: 1100

Stamina: 1100

Agility: 1100

Vitality: 1100

Endurance: 1100

Mana: 1100

Battle Points: 50 —> 2550

Stat Points: 3 —> 153

(Requirements for the next advancement: 10000 EXP, 1500 in all attributes, and 100000 Battle Points)

He decided to keep his stat points for later use.

I will allocate them if necessary.

With current stats, he was almost invincible so he didn’t find it urgent to distribute the stat points he had collected.

At this moment, he saw Aldrin running towards him.

“Lord Venerable!”

Aldrin stopped in front of him and said. “His Lordship is waiting for you in his study.”

Hearing this, Alaric furrowed his eyebrows.

Did we finally receive a confirmation from Veronica’s side?

Thinking about this, he nodded. “Alright. I will be there shortly.”

Alaric took off his training gear. He then wiped off his sweat before he entered the mansion.

When he arrived at his father’s office, he saw that Sherwin and Bastian were there.

The two greeted him respectfully, while Lucas motioned for him to sit.

“The empress has given her approval,” Lucas spoke as soon as Alaric had taken his seat.

“When do I leave?” Alaric asked.

“As soon as possible,” Lucas replied.

“The empress seemed to be furious when she heard the news. From the looks of it, this heretic group is also a nuisance on her side.” He added.