How a Second Life Knight Lives

2. First Collision

“Status window.”

The translucent status window appeared softly before my eyes, dispelling my worry that it might have disappeared.

And when I touched the X-shaped symbol in the upper right corner, it gradually became transparent and then disappeared.

“Status window.”

It appeared again.

It wasn’t a mistake or a hallucination.

Damn it. It’s a status window!

If I had this yesterday, I could guarantee that I wouldn’t have lost my head!

Oh, no, maybe not?

Even if I had a status window, I wouldn’t suddenly become invincible, so that’s a different story, right? Maybe?

There were some unavoidable circumstances that led to my beheading.

First of all, we were outnumbered. Our justification was weak.

Considering that, I think we fought well, but in this chaos, a noble defeat means nothing.

…How many of those who followed me managed to escape?

My blood slowly cooled.

My excited heart calmed down.

Only then could I slowly examine the status window.

At the top, there is a name, and below that, abilities are displayed as numbers.

Below that, special abilities or characteristics are described,

and finally, there are links to open things like a minimap or inventory.

It was a format of a status window commonly encountered when playing games on Earth. Of course, it wasn’t unfamiliar to me. Games were the entertainment of our generation.

Moreover, since I occasionally read web novels, I knew well what a status window meant.

In games, it might just objectively show a character’s abilities, but in web novels, a status window is not just a representation of a character’s state.

It is a setting where the author grants the protagonist of the web novel a cheat key.

Without a status window, the protagonist of a web novel must be prepared to struggle.

Just as I did in my past life.

But now, a status window has been given to me.

I don’t know why it was given. I don’t think I’ll ever know the reason.

But even if I don’t know the reason, I can use the status window.

Yeah. That’s enough.

If I want too much, they might bring down a ‘trial’ to balance things out.

Even now, a sensation somewhere in my soul was advising me to restrain myself.

I looked closely at the status window.

[Human: William Burroughs]

Alright. It seems like I don’t have any secrets about my birth. William of the Burroughs family. Simple. If something like a dragon hybrid had come out, I might have cursed. Calling it a cripple that doesn’t live up to its lineage.

[Strength: MAX]

[Intelligence: NORMAL]

[Mana: UNDECIDED]

I paused for a moment.

Good strength and average intelligence, so I guess I am a knight, but mana?

I’ve never felt anything like mana before.

So is that why it’s still undecided?

And it’s not expressed in numbers?

Then the meanings of MAX and NORMAL must be important?

This is too ambiguous.

I lowered my gaze.

[Title: LOCKED]

[Blessing: LOCKED]

[Skill: LOCKED]

Right. I can understand this. Since it’s the beginning, it’s normal for everything to be locked. I didn’t spend any money, so there’s no special treatment. OK. I can understand that.

I suppressed my feelings of disappointment and rationalized it to myself. And with a bit of expectation, I looked further down.

[Minimap] [LOCKED] [LOCKED] [LOCKED]

Bingo!

One came out.

“I have nothing to say. This is just a game. If I press this minimap, does a map of the surroundings come out? It seems like it would be helpful when traveling. During war, it would be a real cheat code.”

I reached out and touched the [Minimap].

Another translucent window popped up. It showed a simplified map of the surroundings with me at the center.

It was a map where everything around was revealed without any handicap like places I hadn’t been to being covered.

“Awesome. This makes it possible to do so much more.”

For example, leading the battle where my subordinates and I were crushed to victory.

I couldn’t help but recall the battle I experienced just a few days ago.

If I had a proper map, or at least the assistance of a local, I wouldn’t have been ambushed so easily.

If the enemy appeared on the minimap, a counterattack would have been possible.

That would have been really amazing.

“But what is this?”

At some point, a red dot had appeared on the minimap.

Ah! The red dot. The color red that signals danger.

I could roughly understand what it meant.

In this world, blood is also red.

Still, I needed to confirm if what I understood was correct.

In the forest, darkness falls without warning.

As the sun disappears between the trees, it gets darker, and soon, you can’t see an inch ahead.

I had already lit a campfire and tied two horses nearby.

One was a riding horse, and the other was a packhorse.

All my possessions were loaded on the packhorse.

Clothes, food supplies, some spices, weapons, utensils, and a few books.

In cash terms, it was quite a large amount, but most of the value was in the weapons, so I was practically penniless.

I couldn’t sell the longsword or armor I needed to use.

So, if someone gave me a weapon, I would gladly exchange it for money. That’s why I was staring intently at the minimap.

It seemed like this red dot would give me a weapon. Something like a sword or an axe.

The red dot followed my movements. And after I settled down and lit the campfire, it stopped moving.

It was probably planning to attack when I was half-asleep around dawn. No matter how cautious I was, it was difficult to stay awake all night on guard.

That’s why it’s rare for people to travel alone. Traveling alone means you’re either a clueless fool or a veteran confident in their skills.

So, what did that red dot think of me?

A rookie.

Trained as a knight but not very skilled, and still inexperienced in battle.

A young guy who barely left the manor except to visit the lord’s castle, not knowing what traveling really was.

That’s the normal way to think.

The original William lived like that.

But I had gone through hell and even returned.

The red dot didn’t know that.

So, it was bound to be careless.

That’s why I decided to visit a bit earlier rather than waiting until dawn.

That way, I could leave early in the morning. The destination of my journey, Kalmar, was quite a distance away.

I donned light leather armor and equipped myself with a dagger, a short sword, and a throwing axe. I made sure to wrap them in cloth to prevent the sound of metal clashing.

In a forest devoid of people, the sound of metal travels farther than one might think. It’s an unfamiliar sound in the forest, making it more noticeable. Therefore, those who have experienced battles in the forest tend to prepare thoroughly.

I left the campfire when the full moon was high and headed towards the red dot. Although the full moon was out, the forest was just as dark as ever, unlike the open plains. Thus, even a small light could be seen from afar.

I slowly approached the small light.

Two were sleeping, and two were carelessly chatting away.

They were all familiar faces.

The village chief and his direct subordinates.

I waited quietly in the forest.

One by one. One by one.

That was how I planned to handle it.

And my patience was rewarded.

“Where are you going?”

“Just going to take a leak.”

“Hey, go far away. Don’t stink up the place.”

“Ah, damn. It’s too dark to see.”

A few steps further into the forest from the campfire, and the darkness swallows the light. You can hear the sound of someone peeing, but you can’t see the person.

So the man by the campfire didn’t see him.

I approached the man who was peeing from behind, covered his mouth, and twisted his neck. It was a clean move, giving him no chance to resist.

Then I carefully laid the limp body on the ground. We had exchanged greetings just yesterday, but I felt nothing.

It was only natural.

Although it was yesterday, to me, yesterday was five years ago. Besides, he was one of those who had followed me to do something about me. It would have been strange if I had hesitated.

The first button was properly fastened.

One by one.

And now, the next one.

I picked up the hand axe and walked towards the campfire.

The man by the campfire heard the sound of his temporarily absent companion returning. He looked up, intending to make a sarcastic remark to his bored companion, but saw something flying right in front of his face.

He didn’t even feel the pain properly.

Thud!

Before he could react to the flying axe, his forehead shattered, and he fell backward. He collapsed into the campfire, causing a loud noise.

“What the…?”

“What is it?”

The two who had been sleeping woke up quickly, as if they had been in a light sleep. They still had dazed expressions as they were returning from sleep to reality. But as soon as they saw the person collapsed over the campfire, they jumped up as if they had touched a hot iron plate.

However, they should have looked behind them, not at the person collapsed over the campfire. I rushed at them with a short sword in hand.

I stabbed one of the standing men in the back, pulled out the sword, and stabbed again. They didn’t even realize there was someone behind them until I swung at the other one.

“Ugh.”

The man who was stabbed through the back and chest fell forward. He tried to say something, but the blood flowing from his mouth stopped him. He trembled in pain, but no one paid attention to him.

My sword had torn through both of his lungs, and he was drowning in his own blood.

“Ah… my arm!”

The last man was the village chief. The sword I swung at him struck his shoulder.

The sword, with the force of a giant’s swing, shattered his shoulder and severed his arm.

The village chief seemed to be in such a panic that he couldn’t even feel the pain. He reached out for his arm.

At that moment, I appeared in front of the village chief.

The village chief froze in the position of reaching out for his arm.

“William… how?”

“How? Chief, that’s not important. What’s important to you is that you’re going to die here, isn’t it?”

“Spare me. Please.”

“Why should I leave any future trouble?”

“If you spare me, I’ll tell you about your father. It’s related to Baron Ash.”

I stabbed my sword into the ground in front of his hand.

“Really? Then let’s hear how much your life is worth.”