Chương 2: The Worst System Imaginable

By the time the two of them made it back to his room, the kid had already brought up a fresh bowl of porridge. Hale downed the entire thing, finally feeling a bit of warmth returning to his body, though his mind remained a chaotic mess. He sat there, staring blankly ahead like a puppet that had its strings cut. The facts were clear: either he had definitively traveled to another world, or he was experiencing severe schizophrenia after being pulled from that river. Honestly, both options sounded equally terrible.

To make matters worse, the body he had hijacked belonged to a defeated, utterly broken villain who, by the looks of it, had already been possessed by a transmigrator once before. Thinking of this, Hale realized there was one crucial thing he hadn't tested yet. He called out in his mind: [System]. Instantly, a translucent blue screen materialized, floating in the air right before his eyes. As expected, you couldn't have an isekai story without a system.

Redemption System Subject: Hale Wallace Stats Quest List Item Shop The moment he focused on [Quest List], the text on the screen shifted. Active Quests Main Quest: Reduce Karma Points to 0 Description: Earn Merit points by performing good deeds. Every Merit point earned will deduct an equal amount of Karma.

Reward: [Locked] Time Remaining: 42, 449 hours Quest: Rescue Emma from the Ice Seal Reward: -1, 000 Karma Penalty for Delay: Lifespan will be deducted proportionally to the time Emma remains frozen since the quest's activation. If Emma dies, 10 years of lifespan will be deducted. Lifespan Already Deducted: 46 days Quest: Reclaim the Title of Prince of the Kingdom of Berula Reward: -1, 000 Karma Penalty for Delay: All the deducted Karma points received prior to completing this mission will be halved.

Among the three active quests on the list, the first thing that caught his eye was that line about his deducted lifespan. He hadn't even done anything yet, and he'd already lost a month and a half of his life? Did this system not see that his current body was already on its last legs, practically half-dead? Sitting nearby, Maddie noticed Hale staring silently into thin air and asked, "Master? Is something wrong?" Hale turned to her.

"Who is Emma?" Maddie shook her head.

"I've never heard that name before."

"Then what about the Kingdom of Berula... earlier you said I was a traitor to Berula. What was I before that?"

"You were the Second Prince of the Royal Family of Berula."

"A prince who chose to betray his own country? Why?"

"You never told me the reason directly. But according to public rumors, you plotted to murder both your father and brother, and indirectly caused your sister's death."

"..." The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. After pulling a stunt like that, is there even a snowball's chance in hell of reclaiming a princely title? This quest is straight-up impossible! Hale decided to check his [Stats] next. He needed to know exactly how much Karma he was saddled with. Name Hale Wallace Race Human Hit Points 670/1, 240 Mana Points 3, 240/3, 240 Karma 9, 999, 950 Merit 0 Physical Skills Swordmanship (Lv. 75) Archery (Lv. 36) Magic Skills Fire Manipulation Skills Fire Balls (Lv. 160) Explosion Hand (Lv. 140) Fire Storm (Lv. 97) Fire Wall (Lv. 100) Water Manipulation Skills Water Bullets (Lv. 92) Water Whip (Lv. 135) Ice Spikes (Lv. 80) Ice Seal (Lv. Max) Earth Manipulation Skills Earth Wall (Lv. 195) Earth Spikes (Lv. 65) Earth Splitting (Lv. 105) Air Manipulation Skills · Sky Walk (Lv. 210) · Wind Scythes (Lv. 180) · Cyclones (Lv. 200) Lightning Strike (Lv. 140) Undead Army (Lv. 288) Telekinesis (Lv. 86) Illusion (Lv. 45) The good news was, he had a ton of abilities that sounded incredibly badass just from their names. The bad news was, his current Karma score was sitting at nearly ten million. How many good deeds does a guy have to do to wipe out ten million points of bad karma? By the time I finish, I'll probably achieve full-on spiritual enlightenment! But there was a silver lining: the quest to reduce his Karma didn't come with any immediate penalty; it just had a countdown clock.

This implied that if he failed to beat the deadline, the worst that could happen was missing out on whatever that locked reward was. On the flip side, the sub-quests below looked much more urgent. The quest to rescue Emma, which penalized him by chipping away at his actual lifespan, was clearly the top priority. Then again, looking at it from another angle, if that locked reward turned out to be something like a ticket back to his old world, then the lifespan of this broken body wouldn't matter anyway.

Hale tapped on the final option, the [Item Shop], only to be greeted by a prompt. The Item Shop is currently locked. Earn your first 100 Merit points to unlock this feature. Seeing Hale staring blankly into space and wildly flailing his fingers in the air, the boy sitting nearby shot a skeptical look at Maddie.

"What's he doing? Did he lose his mind along with his memories? Is he mentally challenged now?" Maddie glared at the boy warningly, making him instantly hunker down. Hale turned to her.

"Hey, tell me everything you know about... me." Maddie thought it over for a moment before speaking.

"I've only been with you for the past two years, starting from when you became a General in the Seki military. Most of what I know about your past comes from rumors, though you did tell me a few truths yourself. So, I'll tell you what I know..." And so, Maddie began her tale. Hale Wallace was the Second Prince of the Kingdom of Berula. He had an older brother who was five years his senior, and a twin sister. Currently, the King, the Queen, and First Prince Kurt Wallace were all still alive.

His sister, Alisa Wallace, had passed away in a battle against Seki three years ago. Both Hale and his sister Alisa were known as prodigies among Mages. At this point, Maddie paused to explain the demographic makeup of this world. Roughly ten percent of the human population were "Blessed Ones," a term used to differentiate them from ordinary people without special abilities. The Blessed Ones were further divided into three categories: Warriors, Mages, and Elites.

Warriors possessed extraordinary physical capabilities. Their muscular strength and reflexes far exceeded those of normal humans, and they made up the largest group among the Blessed. Mages were capable of using magic, manipulating and controlling the natural elements. Elites possessed unique mental magics. They could have superhuman intelligence, foresee the future, or read minds. Most of the major inventions in this world were credited to Elites.

They were incredibly rare, typically making up only one in every hundred Blessed Ones. In Berula, both Mages and Warriors of age could enlist in the Garette Military Academy, a rule that applied to both nobility and royalty. Hale and his sister had entered the academy when they turned sixteen. However, after just one year, Hale Wallace was expelled for a severe breach of school regulations. A year later, war broke out between Berula and Seki. The general representing Berula was Crown Prince Kurt Wallace.

Hale and Alisa had joined the campaign to gain combat experience. But as the conflict reached a critical juncture, it was discovered that Hale had been secretly leaking classified military intelligence to Seki. The motive was believed to be a plot by Hale Wallace to usurp the position of Crown Prince. Yet, the one who died in that battle wasn't Prince Kurt, but Princess Alisa. To make matters worse, Hale was later caught systematically poisoning the King's food over a long period.

With a rap sheet that long, Hale Wallace was sentenced to life imprisonment in the deepest dungeon. However, after a year behind bars, he managed to break out. He aligned himself with Seki and quickly climbed the ranks to become a high-ranking commander, largely thanks to his forbidden magic: the Undead Army. Since becoming a Seki General, Hale had repeatedly led forces to provoke both Berula and Ember—another neighboring country.

It wasn't until this past winter, during a massive clash with Berula, that he was finally brought down by Sword Master Elias Leasser, Berula's top General. Hale's frown deepened the more he listened. The previous guy who transmigrated had left behind an absolute clusterfuck of a mess. And now, this Redemption System wanted him to pay for sins he didn't even commit, all while stuck in a body that couldn't possibly get any worse? Why the hell should he do it?