Piles of dirt around him clumped together, turned into metal, and then clung to the Protagonist’s body.

It was different from when the Host used it.

Back then, it was at most like wearing crude stone Armor.

But now, a jet-black heavy Armor appeared, as if crafted by an Artisan.

It looked much sturdier.

Most importantly, it was light.

He felt a slight sense of weight, but it was still very light.

His defense had increased.

The mana consumed to use the Ring was also small.

It was only enough to cast Ice Bolt three or four times.

There was a problem though.

Maintaining the armor consumed a lot of mana.

Three minutes was the limit.

Considering the amount of mana accumulated during that time, it was too much.

But it had advantages proportional to its severity.

The casting speed of magic became incredibly fast.

It seemed to be three times faster than usual.

While wearing the Black Armor, the flow of mana seemed to accelerate.

Instead of mana being consumed at an incredible rate, he became stronger for a short time.

It was an incredible ring.

It meant he had gained another means to use in times of mortal danger.

Thinking of it as an extra life, the money didn’t feel wasted.

Amelin looked at the Black Armor and said that a magic ring of this caliber would be worth enough to buy an entire castle.

He expressed his gratitude.

It was an item he would have overlooked if it weren’t for her.

Thanks to her, he acquired it.

Amelin didn’t make a big deal out of it.

She and the protagonist were not so shallow as to be obsessed with profit.

The protagonist also gave her some red herbs.

If it had been someone else, he would have demanded payment, but he didn’t.

Amelin was the protagonist’s woman.

Giving to her was not a waste at all.

In terms of the benefits brought, hers were also significant.

The ring had immeasurable value.

Even after visiting the Count, his routine remained the same.

After waking up in the morning, he would go to the magic shop with Amelin.

He then devoted himself to training until sunset, and finally worked on infusing Cold Energy into the Magic Stone.

Once that task was finished, he would return to the inn and fall asleep.

He also practiced Breathing Technique.

It wasn’t over just by consuming the Herbs.

It required a process to fully make the mana contained within them the Protagonist’s own.

The process was the same, but it was different from before.

He was more diligent.

This was because of the news that the Orcs were coming.

Perhaps because of that, he could feel his skills improving.

Now he could skillfully use Ice Bolt.

There was no longer a need to use the Water Ball he had been using all this time.

He suddenly realized he had used it for a very long time.

It felt like he had taken a step towards becoming the Mage the Old Man in his dream spoke of.

Since he had entered Ice Magic and learned proper offensive Magic, it wasn’t wrong to say that.

He still had a long way to go.

He was told that he would only be a proper Mage once he reached a proficient level in Ice Magic.

By the Old Man’s standards, one had to be an Advanced Mage to be considered a proper Mage.

He decided to take it steadily.

The Protagonist had only recently moved past being a Low-level Mage.

Aiming higher than that was greed.

As time passed, he also closely observed the situation unfolding within the Castle.

Training was important, but keeping an eye on the surrounding trends was also extremely important.

The Count’s army was defeated and returned.

The Protagonist knew because he was summoned, but there were others who didn’t know.

No, most people were like that.

How they would react was important.

The Count ordered the soldiers to keep silent, but it didn’t last long.

As the stories slowly leaked out, more and more people became anxious.

Those who were quick-witted packed their belongings into carts and evacuated.

They didn’t know where they were going.

They might have planned to hide in the nearby mountains and endure for a while.

If it was nothing serious, they would return.

It was possible they were fleeing directly south to the Capital City.

Anyway, the situation was not good.

It was unfolding exactly as Charlotte had feared.

Rumors slowly circulated within the castle.

It didn’t even take a day for those rumors to be confirmed as true.

The people within the castle were stirred up.

Now, everyone who needed to know, knew.

There was nothing to be done.

Many soldiers had returned.

It was impossible to silence all of them.

Even without explicit words, it was hard not to notice due to the hushed atmosphere.

Every morning, walking down the streets, people could be seen pulling carts and trying to leave through the City Gate.

Carts lined up in front of the City Gate, undergoing inspection as if a trade caravan was departing.

The exodus had begun.

As more people left than expected, even those who were initially calm began to wonder if they should also seek refuge.

These were people whose hearts had already been swayed once after seeing the returned soldiers.

Watching people flee, fear grew like a flame.

Terror was spreading.

As a hostile atmosphere fully enveloped the castle, a Blockade Order was issued.

This prevented those inside the castle from leaving.

The Count had to stop those who were leaving.

The longer things went on like this, the worse the situation became.

It seemed that even if he forcibly blocked them, as long as people didn’t run away, the atmosphere wouldn’t get worse.

He even saw a group protesting in front of the City Gate.

But after they were all suppressed, the atmosphere changed.

People accepted the situation of being unable to leave the Castle.

Then, surprisingly, many people felt relieved.

This was because the realization that they had no choice but to fight, now that they were trapped in the Castle, had set in.

The signs of unrest also subsided.

It was a relief.

Still, there were people who left.

There were people who bribed the Guard Soldiers and escaped during the night.

It was a small number.

It didn’t matter much.

He breathed heavily in the inn room.

Charlotte was lying next to him.

Occasionally, he was with her too.

That’s how it was on days when Amelin went to learn Magic from the Old Man.

When the Protagonist was meditating to tame the energy of the Herbs, she would come and forcibly drag him to her room.

The Protagonist won the first time, but lost every time after that.

Perhaps because she had trained physically, her stamina was incomparable.

After her first experience, the woman seemed to have let loose.

He felt no guilt.

It was going to be discovered anyway.

At first, he naturally refused.

With Amelin checking every day, there was no way the Protagonist wouldn’t be caught.

But at Charlotte’s words that she had permission, he gave up resisting.

It seemed there was some kind of agreement between the two women.

The Protagonist knew nothing about it.

He had been sold without even knowing it himself.

There was no one at the inn during the day.

He didn’t care about being watched.

When he finished his work and left the room, the girl was in the hallway.

Her face was red.

“I-I’ll clean the room.”

It seemed like she was pressing against the door or the wall, eavesdropping.

He scratched his cheek.

The Innkeeper seemed to know but pretended not to.

There was no way he couldn’t know.

Feeling his face flush, he left the inn.

He was a little embarrassed.

Still, it had become less frequent a few days ago.

Charlotte often went to the Lord’s Castle for strategy meetings with the Nobles.

It seemed the Orcs were only a few days away, so they had to prepare for battle.

He recalled her regretfully touching his thigh.

Charlotte touching the Protagonist’s thigh was a signal to go to the room.

Perhaps because of that, now he felt afraid if her hand moved further down.

He had to quickly become the Castle Lord.

Rael started drinking milk with every meal.

This was because he had heard that drinking it consistently would make him grow faster.

He was the one being tormented now, but when he became an adult, the Protagonist would punish him.

He also rummaged through herb books at the Magic Shop.

I’m looking to see if there are any good herbs for night work.

Fortunately, there were a few.

No, not just herbs, but if you include monster materials, there were dozens.

There was also a recipe for an elixir made by appropriately blending them.

It seemed the Old Man had also seriously contemplated night work.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so much related information.

I was sitting in a corner reading a book when Amelin approached me.

“Gasp.”

I hastily closed the book I was reading.

“What are you reading so intently?”

“It’s nothing much.”

Amelin’s gaze lingered on the book’s cover.

The book was titled “How to Become the King of the Night”.

I hugged the book with both arms.

Amelin looked at me as if I were cute.

My face turned red.

I moved to another spot.

The old man was creating a golem out of dirt.

“Are you getting the hang of it now?”

“Thanks to what you showed me, I’m getting the hang of it. Though I still fail at magic often.”

The old man smiled.

He was now able to create low-level golems. He had grown a lot since then.

Amelin had also improved a lot.

It was evident that her mana had increased significantly.

However, it seemed it would take some time for her to learn intermediate magic.

Still, it was amazing.

Not long ago, all she could do was start a fire.

Now, she was at the level of a proper low-level mage.

Even that counted as good progress.

On the other hand, all the protagonist could do was use ice bolt.

“How about the magic staff?”

“Magic staff?”

The process of injecting Cold Energy into the Magic Stone is complete, isn’t it?

It’ll only take a few more days.

He really wanted to get the Magic Staff quickly.

Perhaps because it was the only way the Protagonist could immediately become stronger, he grew even more impatient.

Magic Staff…

You just asked me that!

The Old Man yelled.

He added that there was still time, so he shouldn’t be impatient.

Rael looked dejected.

The Old Man was right.

There was no way the Protagonist could get it any faster just by acting like this anyway.

He calmed himself down and waited patiently.

It was only a matter of a few days.

If he just waited that long, he would be able to hold a new Magic Staff in his hand.

He was looking forward to it.

The staff he was currently using only enhanced low-level Magic.

Mid-level Magic wasn’t strengthened.

It made casting Magic a little more convenient, but that was all.

He hoped the New Staff would also enhance mid-level Magic.

He felt like he’d be satisfied if it just increased the number of Ice Bolts by one more.

It was possible that an unexpectedly good staff might appear.

It could have additional effects besides just enhancement.

He thought it would be great if it had an effect that sped up the flow of mana, like the Ring’s Black Armor.

The biggest drawback of a Mage was the long casting time for spells.

During that time, they were quite vulnerable, and if interrupted, the spell would also be broken.

It would be good if the spell casting time could be reduced even a little.

But the Orcs didn’t wait for the staff to be completed.

As the sun rose overhead, I sprang up at the sound of bells ringing in my ears.

Ding-dong-ding-dong-!!

“It seems the Orcs have invaded.”

“Orcs? Didn’t you say there were still some left?”

“It seems they’ve arrived early.”

The Old Man hastily left.

His disciples were with him.

He is the Count’s Vassal.

Since war had broken out, he had to go to the Count.

Rael also came outside.

The streets were a mess.

Pedestrians seemed frantic, scrambling to escape.

Amidst the chaos, Guard Soldiers were shouting and gathering people.

It was wartime conscription.

Able-bodied men of the castle had a duty to fight.

I also saw a man who tried to sneak away but was caught by the scruff of his neck.

The Castle’s Soldiers were seen rushing towards the City Wall.

“Lord Rael!”

Charlotte was among them.

“There you are. Can you follow me? I need your strength.”

Charlotte was fully armed.

Knights were behind her.

Their gathering, being well-armed, was very reassuring.

Knights were bloodthirsty machines who did not fear the spear-knives of ordinary Soldiers.

The axes of the Orcs were no exception.

“Before that, can I take the Golem?”

“Of course. I’d rather ask that of you.”

The Soldier Lodging where the Golem was located was nearby.

I activated the Golem for the first time in a while.

It moved properly.

I had left it alone for some time as there was no need to fight, but now it was its turn to exert its power again.

“Where should I go?”

“I’ve decided to command the Western Faction City Wall, so let’s go that way. Be careful not to bump into people and fall over.”

I followed Charlotte and the Knights towards the City Wall.

There were many fleeing pedestrians.

But there was no chance of bumping into anyone.

As the large Golem, whose steps made the ground tremble, walked forward, people scattered, startled, screaming about a Gnoll.

In front of the City Gate, the Regular Army and Mercenaries were gathered in formation.

In front of them was a Knight who appeared to be the Commander.

For a Knight, his decorations were quite flamboyant.

He wore a Cloak on his back, and his Helmet even had feathers.

Charlotte subtly informed me that he was one of the intermediate Knights under the Count.

There were six intermediate Knights under the Count.

Now there were five.

One had become a Warrior in the previous battle.

The Commander in front of me seemed to be quickly relaying troops and instructions, and organizing the units.

If those gathered were the Regular Army, he would only need to summon the Captains and issue orders, and it would be done.

However, there were many Mercenaries, so it took time to divide and deploy the forces.

“Sir Franz.”

“Sir Charlotte. You’ve arrived at a good time.”

The Knight asked them to take charge of one side of the City Wall together.

The city wall was incredibly long.

It was difficult for the Commander to survey the battlefield alone.

“Are the troops deployed?”

“Almost finished.”

“Then I will take the empty spots.”

“Wait a moment.”

The moment Charlotte took a step, Franz stopped her.

“I only need one person.”

“One person?”

“The Revelation in the back needs a Mage.”