Chapter 102: Unexpected Spoiler (2)

What? Ending Spoiler?

Lloyd’s eyes widened at the unthinkable message. He had to read the skill window twice, word by word because it was utterly unbelievable.

It’s real.

The system didn’t lie. Lloyd had already benefited from the likeability and RP system multiple times. He organized his thoughts with aplomb. The ending spoiler. The name itself already somewhat told Lloyd what it was about.

Okay. I’m in the novel right now. But my actions have altered many parts of the story. And this system shows me how the story has changed down the road. Just the skill I needed.”

Come to think of it, it indeed was the case. The Frontera barony should have already crumbled and gone under if things happened, according to the novel. The baron couple, Lloyd, and Julian were supposed to die tragically. But none of them did, and the family remained strong. Their debt was cleared, and his estate was thriving…

It’s the same for Javier.

According to the novel, he should still be wandering around and not yet become a high-level sword expert or completed the Asrahan Core Technique yet. But now…

He’s a sword master. And not enough with that, he’s obtained the triple circle in the Asrahan Core Technique and freely uses mana blasts whenever he wants.

His growth was sped up by a few years. At this rate, it was a question of how much stronger he would be. Who knew? He could become more powerful than in the original story when he became a grandmaster with hexa circles.

Anyway, my stay of a year and a half has changed a lot of things. It’s my doing. It’s a good thing, but I can’t say it comes without any negatives.”

There obviously was a serious downside, and it was that the future was becoming more unpredictable.

It’s because of me whose actions constantly affect this world, ultimately changing the turn of events in this world. That’s why the story keeps differing from the novel.”

Just like so, the events would follow a course different from the original story. And it would keep diverging more and more as time went on.

Case in point. This event.

The assassination attempt of the queen. This incident should have taken place two and a half years later based on the novel, but it happened this early on. And the cause behind the treason was yet to be revealed. Lloyd racked his brain, but nothing particularly stood out. That was the problem.

This simply means that the relative upper hand I had in this world is slowly slipping out of my grasp.

Since Lloyd read the novel, he had access to the information the other didn’t. He enjoyed the exclusive, superior access to information. To the people in this world, he was almost a prophet. But once the events in this world veered off from the novel more and more…

It’ll be impossible to make predictions or anything.

His biggest weapon, which was the information, would be lost. And thinking about it troubled him.

Just when things were going for the worse, this skill came up at a perfect time, letting me look at the future.

Lloyd read the message on the skill window once again.

Ding Dong.

[Skill Name: Ending Spoiler.]

[Skill Class: ???]

[Required CP: 20 (1st)]

[You can take a peek at the portion of the ending scene that will unfold in this story by spending some of the CP. It may be a happy or sad ending.]

I knew it.

It was exactly as he had expected.

Okay, let’s give it a try.

The ending that was waiting ahead. His heart raced expectantly at the thought of looking at it.

Please. Please. I hope I’m growing old, enjoying the best of life.

A life lacking nothing. A marriage that was a match made in heaven. One son and one daughter. Two dogs and a cat. Thinking about what to eat for dinner and the summer vacation. Those would be the biggest concern in his life. Lloyd wished that such an ending would appear, where he would grow old with much ease and peace.

And if there are any, it’ll give me just a hint of the stumbling block that prevents me from living such a life.

Lloyd thought that he might find the element that prevented him from living the best of his life. If he did, it would be instantly removed, he said to himself. Lloyd rolled his eyes and selected the “Activate” button below the skill window.

Click.

[Would you like to use the Ending Spoiler?]

[Required CP: 20 (1st)]

[Current CP: 22]

[YES / NO]

Of course, it’s a yes.

Ding Dong.

[Ending Spoiler has been activated.]

[You have used 20 CP.]

[Current RP: 2]

Messages related to the skill usage appeared, and right after that…

Crackle…! Time around him stopped. The wind, flying insects, and falling leaves hung in the air.

What is this…

Just when he thought so, Lloyd saw a space about five steps ahead of him tumble. It tumbled and flashed a light until it cracked, opening a round and white passageway.

A portal?

It looked like one. He struggled to look into the bright white inside. But it waved and fluctuated as though it was motioning at him to come. It reminded him of a pond filled with freshly squeezed milk.

Would it be all right to go there?

Lloyd was doubtful for a second, but he reminded himself that the system was always right. He decided to trust it, took a step, and held out his hand.

Slosh. His fingertip produced a concentric circle on the surface, and it grew larger until it pulled his hand. Softly and gently, Lloyd walked inside, and finally, a blinding light radiated in front of him.

Fwoosh! Lloyd wondered if he blinked and opened his eyes or if a new landscape appeared in front of him. If so, what was the pool of blood on the ground he was seeing?

What is this…

Lloyd tried to open his eyes wide, but his body remained still against his will. He willed to do so, but his body forced him to furrow his brows. Moreover, against his will, Lloyd started to talk to himself.

“At that time… I should have come back as soon as possible.”

As soon as possible? I should have come back?

The voice dripped with regret. Lloyd wondered what he was saying and what situation he found himself in. His mouth moved once again.

“If so, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Another round of regret-filled voices. And his head slowly lifted, at last, allowing Lloyd a better look at his surroundings. The entire village was in ruins. The houses and woods were nibbled, and corpses lay everywhere. Crows flew around, drooling. The scene expanded to be etched in his mind so deeply that it would appear in his nightmares.

What is this… What the?

Lloyd asked himself why he was seeing this landscape in the ending spoiler. He was thinking so when the familiar ground came into his view. The path that cut across the ashen village straightened. It was a road of about 190 feet in width. The middle part was higher than the corners, and each side was closely covered with flat rocks that were about 2 feet. The corners of the road were installed with a waterway that was 1.6 feet wide and 0.6 feet in depth. And the waterways were externally wrapped with 10-feet wide pedestrian walks on both sides. Lloyd closely studied it because it looked familiar. Soon, he learned what it was. Via Appia, the ancient Roman road. Ppodong had painstakingly dug the ground, and the civil engineers had smoothened them out. People cocked their heads in wonder, and at times, threw a gaze of wonder. Regardless, they dug, smoothened, and constructed until the job was done and brought a host of praises from people. Lloyd wondered why those people who praised him then were lying on the ground. The bar owner seemed to have died on the ground while trying to run away. The civil engineers had been engulfed. And so many more. This place was…

This is the Frontera barony? This?

Shiver. Chills ran down his spine. He couldn’t believe it. Just then…”

Whiiing…. An eerie noise blared in the distant sky. Lloyd looked up, and a dark cloud was blanketing the sky, coming fast in his direction. No, it wasn’t a cloud as water particles didn’t have eyes and wings.

“Master Lloyd, we should go. Now.”

Someone spoke in front of him. Javier’s back. Even he was soon enveloped in darkness. The sky was gone with the gray cloud, and so was the sun. The darkness engulfed his surroundings. Tens of thousands of sets of arthropod eyes came near. Their wings sounded like a storm.

“…!”

Javier shouted something for the last time, but it was buried under the noise.

Fwoosh! A ray of light smeared the sky in front of Lloyd. And he clamped his eyes shut by reflex.

“…”

Chirp. Chirp. Amid the night wind that brushed against his skin, bugs chirped and cheered peacefully. Lloyd opened his eyes as he heard those noises. The view of the palace’s backyard appeared. There were no ruined estates or lying corpses. Lloyd grabbed both of his knees.

“Whew…”

Beads of sweat streaked down his forehead, and there were goosebumps all over his skin. And he clenched his teeth as the muscles tightened in his face.

“What did I just see?”

The system did say that it was a spoiler for the ending, which granted him a sneak peek at the ending should the current course of events continue.

This is my ending if I continue moving forward this way?

The barony paid off the debt at last. Only a life of peace and cushiness awaited him. All he needed was to go back to the barony.

I can’t believe that tumbledown village is my barony.

Lloyd couldn’t believe it. What kind of joke was this? The question blurted out of him on its own. But Lloyd shook his head.

No, it can’t be a lie.

Lloyd was on the crest of a wave because of the likeability and RP system. But if he chose to turn a blind eye and avoid taking action because he saw something negative…

What I just saw can really happen.

So, Lloyd needed to take some kind of action, no matter how small that was. Even if the system lied to him, coming up with a plan didn’t harm him. Right now, he needed to prevent the ending he just saw. The first step he had to take? Analysis.

Okay. Let’s look back at what I just saw.

Lloyd breathed in and out first, trying to collect his pounding heart. His eyes slowly recovered calmness.

First, the location. It was the Frontera barony, for sure. The Via Appia in the rubbles is the proof.”

But what about the time period?

Near future.

The voice in the ending scene wasn’t much different from the voice right now, and it only meant that he hadn’t grown old. The same went for Javier. He was young and youthful, just like now.

The clothes. Javier and I still had the same travel clothes we wore to the palace when we came here.

So, perhaps, whatever happens, it was to take place around the time they go back to the barony. Lloyd was convinced that it was so.

And now, the reason behind the disaster.

Lloyd recalled the sight of his ending spoiler. The dark clouds that carpeted the sky. Tens and thousands of arthropod eyes. The stormy wings. Lloyd saw clearly what they were. Hundreds and thousands of giant locusts that were two feet long.

Dammit. First was the financial crisis, and it’s a violent crisis next?

Lloyd had busted his gut making money for the last year and a half, finally paying the debt in the barony. And now, he was forced to deal with a violent crisis even without being able to enjoy peace for a moment. Lloyd bitterly thought it was unfair. It was as though he had tightened his belt to overcome a great recession, and now, a war broke out right after.

No way I’m going to lose my dream life so easily!

The barony was the land of milk and honey that promised him a cushy life. It was his lifelong insurance, savings, and pension. Lloyd couldn’t let it slip out of his grasp so easily as he could see what was going to happen if he did. The queen would express condolence and call for him because he had nowhere to go, and eventually, he would become her loyal subject. No, her loyal summon partner. Toil for the rest of his life, much like his time in the military when he became an enslaved summon partner for the administrative officer. No. Never! Lloyd bolted up.

Come to think of it, what I said earlier bothers me the most.

He told himself there that he needed to get back to the barony sooner at that time. “At that time” may have meant now. Lloyd’s walk quickened. He gave no care that it was late at night. He rushed into the palace, and though he was stopped by the Order of Thornbush, he didn’t care. After all, he had saved the queen. He was immediately let in after he identified himself.

“I have come to discuss a matter of urgency with Her Majesty.”

Perhaps it was his voice laden with anxiousness. Lloyd was immediately led to her office.

“Come in.”

The queen shot an answer even before he could explain the matter to her. The door opened, and he saw the queen sitting on the edge of the desk piled with papers. She looked like she was going over the investigative reports on the assassination. Filled with fatigue and tiredness, she gazed at Lloyd.

“Lloyd Frontera. What brings you here at this late hour?”

Her gaze seemed to ask whether he learned anything important about the assassination attempt. Lloyd removed every trace of a smile off his face and replaced it with a grave and serious one. Right now, he needed to go back to the fiefdom. But he mustn’t force it upon her with urgency and go back so precipitously. It would only bring trouble.

So I need assistance. The best kind of support I can receive in this situation.

And the right amount of fishing was necessary to acquire the necessary assistance. Thinking such, Lloyd spoke in a nervous voice.

“Your Majesty, I, Lloyd Frontera, dare report to Her Highness that the Cremona region and its eastern borders, including the Frontera barony, will wind up in a catastrophe of fire that wreaks havoc in the land.”

“What did you say?”

Lloyd cocked his head to the side. Her brows were slightly wrinkled. The bait was thrown, and it was a success. Convinced of such, Lloyd opened his mouth.