[You’ve gained the amount of EXP necessary to level up!]

‘Would you like to Level up?’

Roy replied with a big fat No!

Leveling up would improve his basic stats, which would make it harder for him to earn the world’s approval and gain the swordsmanship skills of the protagonist.

…

There were many servants inside the Manor, but they weren’t anywhere near as strong and shrewd as the ones in the garden.

When he had entered the Gold-making Factory, also known as Badulf’s garden, Roy felt many eyes on him, looking to see if something about him had changed.

He had an idea as to why and under whose orders they were spying on him.

He didn’t confront them as he had a feeling that they could easily wipe the floor with him.

Since he didn’t have a way to deal with them, he ignored them.

And because of them, he had disguised his every murder of innocent little creatures as an unfortunate accident.

…

Roy caught the sight of a few gardeners hurriedly writing a word or two in their notebook after he intentionally fell on the ground to kill ants.

His expression crumbled.

‘They are like scums fanning the flame in a forest to force a trapped man to either jump off a cliff or get licked by the tongues of fire. It’s safe to say that they will relay the news about me tripping on a smooth road to their masters and the people of the county before the day ends. Gracefully walking is the most basic etiquette among nobles. But I even failed at that. Thinking that I am 16 and still hadn’t learned to walk properly like a member of the upper society, my people will take me as a great failure. My reputation in the empire will take another hit, causing it to plunge even further.’

His face didn’t darken too much.

He was already infamous in the empire for being a stupid fool.

Gaining a bit more dirt on his reputation wouldn’t be too hurtful.

He had a thing to say about the white-eyed wolves, though.

‘They are a scummier version of paparazzi, and they are out to get dirt on poor little me.’

…

Most of them weren’t familiar with Roy.

‘Why does that guy seems familiar to me? Where had I seen him before? Ah, I remember seeing him following behind Victoria like a servant. He also is in a few dozens of my memories.’

However, he still noticed a few familiar faces among them, such as the man leaning on the tree seventeen steps away from him and taking notes.

He was someone he had seen around Victoria Badulf many times.

He also remembered seeing that middle-aged man popping up in his surroundings many times in the past whenever he stepped out of the room.

This person started spying on him a few days after his mother died.

He connected the dots and came to a sudden realization that all the suffering he had endured so far was caused by Victoria, his evil witch of a stepmother.

‘He must have been spying on me ever since I was a child under the orders of Victoria, my two-faced Stepmother.’

He was a hard-working man. Roy had to give that to him!

Right then, a stray memory propelled itself to the front of his mind like a rocket.

Bomb!

Roy’s vision blurred for a moment before clearing up.

But in that single second, he had seen and felt more than what he could explain in a minute.

The memory was about the Old Roy catching sight of Victoria’s maids giving pouches of silver to the servants and the kitchen master many times.

Each time that happened, the way they treated him would become worse than normal.

While they didn’t harm him physically, they ignored him and his every call, treating him like he was thin air and didn’t exist.

What utter horror!

The way they mentally tortured the child-like Old Roy was worse than beating up a person.

Tsk!

Roy clicked his tongue.

‘I must say, she’s a true bitch to me. The dirty little actions the Kitchen Master and the servants had taken against me so far are also instigated by her.

He got a better understanding of Victoria, who had royal blood running in her veins.

‘She is a hypocrite putting up a fake front for the masses, spreading the news about how good she is to me, her stepson, to gain PR while torturing me behind closed doors using underhanded means. The old Roy was really blind to think she was good to him just because she smiled at him a few times. It is so obvious that she loathes me to the very core. But why is it that she hate me so much as to make my life miserable than it already is? Maybe it’s because I didn’t pop out of her hole, lol! She is worse than my other stepmother, Leila. She is indifferent to me, but at least I don’t remember her plotting against me.’

Roy had no doubt about them being servants of Victoria. Count Badulf had little to no interest in him and was indifferent to his life and death. He didn’t care about the well-being of this son of his, leaving that task up to Roy’s two stepmothers. Leila was as indifferent to him as Badulf. Hence, the young man didn’t doubt that the people spying on him were only Victoria’s followers.

But he felt a bit pained knowing the Count didn’t care about the fact that this wife of his had little to no respect for his youngest son’s privacy.

What a useless father!

Was he really his blood?!

…

Who said money doesn’t hang on trees like leaves? Come & get slapped!

Gaining a skill for doing something anyone in his shoes would do made Roy further understand the System’s greatness.

Unlike the people of this world, he could gain skills out of thin air.

Roy’s golden finger was impressive, unmatched by any other thing in existence.

Without the help of treasure like soul shards, runes, and so on, the only other way for one to gain a skill was to keep repeating an offensive, defensive, or auxiliary action until they earned the world’s approval.

Such events hadn’t happened more than a few thousand times in the Far West, even though it had a large population numbering a few billion.

Yet, without much trouble, he could gain a skill because of just being suspicious of the people hanging around in the same place as him.

He dared not ask for more.

But what did this new skill do?

He checked it out casually, and his eyes thinned to the size of needles.

What an utterly amazing skill!

It allowed him to gauge a few too many details about objects or people.

The requirement was that they needed to be in his line of sight.

He used it on Amelia to test it out.

NAME: Amelia Violet

Age: Twenty years and eight months old

Health: 4

Mana: 100

Strength: 5

Stamina: 8

Agility: 5

Perception: 6

Endurance: 10

Physical Defense: 2%

Magical Damage Negation: 1%

She is the strong-headed maid of a useless and weak fatty who lacks the strength to protect the only person who truly cares for him from injustice.

Because of redirecting many kinds of harm aimed at her young master her way and working hard for years, she has become strong. She is a woman, but her strength is no less than an average man. Her endurance and stamina are double that of a male. And even mages lack the right to scoff at her perception.

She has the Innate Magic Body. She was born with a fully Opened Magic Gate, meaning Mana in her surrounding could follow into her Mana Pool from the day she opened her eyes. She is ignorant to the fact that she has the potential of a legendary mage and can learn spells.

She has low self-esteem, and shows sacrificial behavior when it comes to her young master.

She applies excessive effort into serving her young master, all so that he wouldn’t abandon her.

+2

As expected, the perception skill took a step towards the next level.

2/100

If he used it a 50 or so time, it would level up!

But he needed to change his target.

He wouldn’t gain any experience for his skill of he used it again on the same target that hadn’t undergone changes, after all.

Roy shouldn’t be able to gauge the mentality of others at the current level of his skill.

The reason Amelia personality was vivid to him was because she was fiercely loyal to him, had never hid anything from him, and was very close to him.

Thanks to it, he understood that she was paranoid about being abandoned by him and would really give up her life for his sake.

‘But I will never let such a day come,’ Roy vowed.

He was truly surprised to find out that she had the Innate Magic Body. She had a 100% of becoming a mage. Not to mention, she had an affinity with all the elements. If she was properly trained, she would exceed the foolish little girl who had renounced being his fiancee and become a Archmage at a much faster than her.

He was like a pile of dung while his maid was like a real piece of gem.

Sadly, because the pile of dung was blocking the gem from seeing the light of day, it was impossible for others to realize Amelia’s worth.

And Roy was glad no one did.

They might take unfair advantage of her, but he will help her realize her true potential without asking for anything in return.

….

While walking in the garden, Roy realized that the manor of Count Badulf was really huge.

It looked crude and occupied less space than the royal place in his memories, but it was grander than any other noble house in the Empire, only falling a few steps short of matching the duke’s palaces in terms of size and style.

It was a double-story structure, had no less than 25 corridors, more than 30 rooms, and several dozens of servants to take care of it.

But it only showcased a hint of the count’s extravagant lifestyle and the tip of his mountain of wealth.

It was in the center of a huge garden full of rare fruit trees, many beehives, and anthills.

The gardeners controlled the outbreak of bees and ants using means beyond what could be said ordinary.

As per what Roy saw, the people tending to the trees were either elves or humans containing a part of the elven bloodline.

Only these types of people had an affinity with both the elements of water and plant and could interact with nature.

They gave off an oppressive feeling to Roy, making him feel like an ant among humans.

All of them were mages, and while some were just beginners, they were beings capable of performing magic!

‘What a ridiculous sight. I had never imagined seeing mages working hard to take care of a garden. They disdain doing menial tasks. Yet, here they are, doing the work of a gardener.’

It wasn’t without a reason that Roy was surprised. Mages doing the menial task was something unheard of, but such a sight was vivid in the garden that the count was paying them a hefty sum for their services. The pay must be so good that they didn’t mind tending to the count’s garden.

They had the magic to make vegetation flourish. They could also communicate with magic trees, helping them feel happy by communicating with them and telling them a story, watering them when they are thirsty, and feeding them when they are hungry at the right time. Such actions help them grow at a far faster rate than anywhere else in the Empire. The count had an eye for talent, and such mages were the best type of people to take care of his garden in which he only grew rare consumables.

…

[You’ve taken 30 steps. You get +0.3, +0.9 stamina, 1.2 endurance.]

[You’ve taken 50 steps.]

[You’ve gained +0.2 strength, +0.6 stamina, 0.9 endurance.]

[You’ve taken 100 steps.]

[Your strength has increased to 4 points.]

[Your stamina has increased to 3 points.]

[Your endurance has increased to 3.5 points.]

[You’ve gained the skill, Walking!]

Walking (Passive):- Increase your balance by 50% (makes it harder for you to fall)

Roy Only had one thing to say.

Ridiculous!

Make it two!

Absolutely Ridiculous!