First Step

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Nemesis Index (NI): 14.7% (Minor Threat)

World Rejection: Dormant

—

No change in these two cursed stats. Is it because they aren’t important characters?

…yeah, who am I kidding? Even in this world, people in District 15 are nothing more than walking corpses.

The Outbreak—a monster tsunami that strikes every ten years—will crash down here in six months, and District 15 will be the very first to be wiped out.

Havel and Leon’s family will be among the casualties. Though it’s remembered as the darkest disaster in human history, the moment when humanity nearly perished for good, Leon turned that trauma into fuel—his drive to grow far stronger than anyone expected.

District 15 would eventually be reclaimed. Humanity would even expand, gaining five new districts.

All thanks to Leon.

But Leon is dead. And now, there’s only me.

Good luck with that.

Footsteps echoed down the cell corridor. Three pairs. For a prison, they did keep things surprisingly tight.

Even if the inmates here were the worst of the worst, none of them were stupid enough to cross the warden.

Edward Connors. A level 43 veteran Conqueror. Famous—or rather infamous—for his recklessness, the kind that almost always cost the lives of at least ten subordinates in every Expansion Wave.

And now, there he stood. With him came the military police officer who’d escorted me here, and… a girl.

Shoulder-length blonde hair. Fine clothes, natural makeup. A golden pendant resting at her throat. Her eyes pierced straight through me.

“You have a visitor, Maggaelheis,” Edward Connors said, voice as cold as ever. His hair all white now, loomed nearly two meters tall and spoke with a vibrato that made his words rumble.

The girl beside him, however, seemed wholly unfazed. “You may leave us now, gentlemen,” she said. Authority lacing every word.

Edward’s gaze flicked to her, blank and heavy. “You have thirty minutes, Ms. Maggaelheis.”

“Ten minutes will be plenty,” she shot back.

Edward gave a single nod before leaving with the escort.

The girl’s stare burned into me. In this dim cell, her blue irises brimmed with disgust and rejection. “Why am I not surprised.”

“Well, hello to you too, Sis.” I didn’t move from the wooden hanging cot I called a bed, simply meeting her glare.

Anna Maggaelheis. Twenty-one. One of the rare cases where a noblewoman—yes, a woman—rose to become a Conqueror.

She’d joined two Expansion Waves and returned as a level 15 Conqueror. Rumor said she had helped bring down the monster known as [Lyon Roar] just last year.

That feat made her the favorite successor of the family, even in a world that still placed men above women as rightful heirs.

“What did you do?” she demanded.

“I killed someone, duh. What, did our dear Edward forget to mention something so trivial?”

“You? Kill?” Anna scoffed, letting out a sharp, humorless laugh. “I doubt you could even lift a knife with that fragile body of yours.”

“You’d be surprised what a cornered rat can do.”

Her eyes narrowed dangerously. “So this is self-defense? Is that what you’re trying to claim?”

“And what, ruin your perfect chance at inheriting the family estate? Relax, sis. That won’t happen. I’ll plead guilty, become a criminal beyond redemption, and relinquish all rights to succession.”

Anna’s eyes widened. “I didn’t—” She bit her lip, halting before she outright denied the ambition she’d chased since the very day Havel was born. “What do you really want? Isn’t becoming heir your greatest dream?”

“Politics is too complicated, when you think about it. I was never cut out for it.” I shrugged.

“Hah—”

“Besides, seeing you return from the Borderlands with all those heroic stories gave me… a sort of inspiration.”

Her gaze sharpened. “You want to start a fight?”

I snorted. “No. I admiring you. So I want us to have a better relationship.”

The frown on Anna’s brow deepened.

“Which is why I want to follow in your footsteps. I want to become a Conqueror.”

At last, Anna’s eyes flew wide. She now understood what I was really saying.

“You mean to tell me… you killed someone just for that? You took an innocent life just for that?”

“Yup. Just for that.”

---

“…based on the forensic evidence and the defendant’s confession: the defendant and victim engaged in a violent altercation that ended with the victim’s death. The defendant was the only party wielding a lethal weapon capable of inflicting fatal injuries. Thus, the defendant is suspected of committing premeditated murder, whether intentional or not.

“As such, the defendant will face a sentence of ten years’ imprisonment, a fine of ten million ions, and forfeiture of all noble rights and inheritance.”

The gavel came down with a crack. Behind me, I could sense the courtroom’s discontent—most seemed to think my punishment was too light.

Just as the judge began to rise, ending the session…

I cut in. “Your Honor.” I raised my hand. “I request Amnesty.”

The reaction was instant—gasps, jeers, outrage bursting from all sides.

“Shameless!”

“Amnesty? Of course. Nobles always wriggle out of punishment.”

“This world is rotten. Where’s the justice in this?”

Thump! Thump!

“Silence!” the judge roared into his microphone.

The voices tapered down, first into grumbles, then into silence.

The judge exhaled, fixing his gaze on me. “Defendant. Do you fully understand what you’re saying? Requesting Amnesty means surrendering body and soul for the Kingdom without recompense. In exchange for release, you’ll be sent as one of our Conquerors. But any achievements you make will never be recognized. Your name will never be recorded in history.”

Exaggerated, sure. The truth wasn’t quite that bad.

Even if our deeds went unsung, they weren’t unrewarded. Survive the Expansion Waves, and you’d earn your equal share alongside the volunteers.

And besides… with this cursed [Nemesis Index], history would remember me regardless—even if only in black ink.

“I understand. And I accept.”

The judge exchanged glances with his two deputies, then sighed. “As decreed under Royal Law No. 36, every citizen over the age of eighteen charged with criminal activity has the right to request Amnesty in exchange for prison time.”

The audience muttered and growled in protest, but the decision stood.

“…they shall serve faithfully, dedicating themselves to humanity’s cause and future glory. Therefore… Defendant Havel Maggaelheis.

“…your request is granted.”