I Became a Level -99 Vicious Lord

“Qasim, can you help me drop people off at the nearest port city?”

“Yes!”

Qasim was thrilled that Otto had given him a mission.

Of course, he was a little disappointed that it wasn’t a dangerous special operation.

But that didn’t mean it wasn’t important.

As Otto had shown so much care for the people held captive by the pirates, it was a huge responsibility to bring them home safely.

Qasim, who hadn’t had a chance to make a real mark in his career due to various mishaps, was delighted to be given the task by Otto himself.

“Please just trust and leave it to me!”

Qasim replied in a resounding voice.

“Kkagg, Kkagg!”

[Khamak], who had now grown to the size of a goose, also cried out as if he were being entrusted.

“Alright.”

“Your command, I’ll carry them out.”

With that, Qasim boarded the ship that Otto had given him and departed from the Fleet of the Kingdom of Lota.

“Tsk tsk.”

Kairos clicked his tongue as he watched Qasim’s ship sail away.

“That guy’s got some spunk. Hahaha.”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

Otto tilted his head as Kairos suddenly spoke up.

“Who are you talking about? Qasim?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“That guy’s face is like that.”

“Do you also read faces?”

Otto looked incredulous that Kairos, a former mercenary-emperor-cult leader, could now also know how to read physiognomy.

‘But is there a concept of physiognomy in this world?’¹

In any case.

“There’s nothing I can’t do!”

“So you can read faces, huh?”

“Didn’t I tell you? In my early years, when I served as a monk, I studied faces quite extensively.”

“Oh~”

Otto stared at Kairos again.

It was quite a shock to hear that Kairos had done something called <studying>.

“What’s wrong with Qasim’s face?”

“That guy’s face…”

Kairos replied, gazing at Qasim’s departing ship.

“He’s a wolf who fell out of the pack.”

“Huh?”

“He’s always been a lone wolf. No matter what group he’s in, he’s always likely to drift away.”

“R… Really?”

“He’s got a grayish tinge to his eyes, so it’s difficult for him to stand out from the crowd. Meanwhile, his fate is tough, and he wouldn’t be able to get away with it if he wanted to. Still….”

Kairos frowned, trying to recall Qasim’s face.

“One who is meant to leave the pack will leave. There are many connections that reach far and wide. The wolf that left the pack is destined to form its own pack. Anyway, he seems like a unique person”

“Are you saying that Qasim is going independent, forming his own faction?”

“How could I know that? It’s just what I read from the face.”

“Are you certain you can actually read faces?”

Otto was honestly a bit skeptical.

After all, there was a Korean proverb that said, “Face reading is science…”

“Then you should see my face.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Someone like you isn’t worth reading the face of.”

“What about me!”

“Do you even know the saying ‘revealing one’s destiny’? If you pry into someone’s fate like yours without knowing, bad luck will come, that’s what it means.”

“What? Bad luck? For real!”

Otto lunged at Kairos.

“Hoo! You wanna play, huh? Good! Come at me!”

Kairos drew his mace and faced Otto.

“What, you draw your weapon? Sure, let’s have a match.”

“Hahaha, cheeky brat, come on then, have at it!”

And with that, Otto and Kairos exchanged blows of sword and mace on the deck as they discussed the physiognomy of Qasim and forged their relationship.

The result is….

“Ugh!”

Otto was beaten, as expected.

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Otto spent most of his days fighting Kairos on the way to [Claw Island].

“This place is empty!”

*Smack!*

“Huff!”

Repeatedly, Otto would get knocked to the ground, but he would charge at Kairos and dive in over and over again.

The reason was simple.

Kairos was a man who had once wielded power that could encompass the entire continent.

Despite the fact that he hadn’t regained his former strength, Kairos was a force to be reckoned with in terms of sheer power.

Since Kairos was one of the few beings who could compare to Elise, there was no better opponent to train against.

“Ugh!”

The battered Otto struggled to his feet.

“Again… another round.”

“Hoo.”

Kairos’ eyes gleamed with interest.

“Are you saying you’re going to come again after getting that beaten up?”

“Not yet, Hold on. I can…. Grrr.”

Otto gritted his teeth.

‘I can’t use the excuse that I’m busy to put off my training. I have to train whenever I can. Otherwise, I’ll let Elise down.’

‘Disappoint Elise?’

The thought gave him goosebumps!

It was horrible to think about.

But the reason Otto was gritting his teeth and training like this wasn’t just because of Elise.

‘I need to be strong, for the coming world war.’

Knowing all too well the horrors of what was to come, Otto couldn’t afford to neglect his personal training just because he was busy.

“Why don’t you stop being a brat and get some rest today, Pansy? Even a wooden sword will hurt you if you are constantly hit with it.”

“Shut up, continue.”

Despite Kairos’ urging, Otto pushed himself to his feet and straightened his form.

‘It’s worth a shot, I thought I saw an opening. Focus, I’ll have to concentrate.’

Gathering his bearings, he exchanged blows with Kairos again.

*Clang!* *Wham!* *Clang!* *CLANG!*

As Otto’s and Kairos’ weapons clashed with each other, trading blows.

*Smack!*

Otto’s sword struck Kairos in the pelvis.

“……!”

Kairos’ stance collapsed slightly.

*Thrust!*

Otto’s sword grazed the underside of Kairos’ chin from the bottom up.

“Ugh!”

Kairos groaned in pain.

“I got it.”

A smile tugged at the corners of Otto’s mouth.

All those beatings he’d taken over the past few days had been worth it, as he’d managed to find Kairos’s weak spot.

[Alert: The Skill Proficiency of <Invincible Swordsmanship> has increased!]

Indeed, a faint notification popped up, proving that Otto’s swordsmanship had been improving.

‘But why does the status window keep fading? It makes me nervous.’

And then.

“Ugh. How dare you nick me in the chin.”

Kairos growled at Otto, while rubbing his chin.

“Are you ready to get your ass kicked tenfold, Pansy?”

“No~”

“What?”

“I’m done fighting because I won.”

“You shameless bastard, do you mean that because you won at the last minute, that’s the end of it!”

“Don’t you know that the last one to laugh is the final winner, hehehe!”

Otto threw down his wooden sword with a flick, then flopped down on the sunbed installed on the deck.

“Phew. The weather is great.”

Was it because it felt good to win?

There wasn’t a spot on my body that didn’t ache, but he was humming instead of grunting in pain.

“Are you that happy?”

Camille smirked and handed Otto a drink with lime and sweet syrup.

“Of course it’s good, I’ve been beaten up for several days.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Camille nodded as if he knew.

“You’ve lost 298 times and won only once, so it’s natural that you’d be happy, if it were an actual fight….”

“Hey.”

Otto growled.

“Do you really have to mention that to make it stick?”

“Not really.”

“Shut up, okay?”

Otto glared at Camille, as if daring him to say one more word, then closed his eyes, savoring the lime-scented drink.

“Your Highness.”

“Why. What. Not again. Are you going to tell me how many blows I got this time?”

“Do you really want me to tell you?”

“You want to get a pay cut?”

“I’m sorry.”

“So what do you have to say?”

“Why don’t you spar with me?”

Camille was dissatisfied with the fact that Otto was only sparring with Kairos.

That was because their swordsmanship skills were nearly equal, making them a good match for each other.

“That’s because you’re the kind of person who can become stronger on your own.”

“Huh…? What do you mean, there is no one who can become stronger on their own?”

“Why isn’t there someone like that? Hahaha.”

Otto gave Camille a quizzical look, as if to imply something like that was crazy, and then closed his eyes again.

Perhaps because they had been traveling south for so long, the weather had gradually gotten warmer, so the sun was shining comfortably.

‘There’s someone else for you. It’s not me. You’ll meet them soon enough. Don’t be so impatient.’

Otto didn’t bother to say what was on his mind.

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“Are you okay?”

Camille approached Kairos and spoke to him.

Since Otto hadn’t sparred with him in days, he figured he’d ask Kairos for a duel.

“You think I’m not going to be okay because I got hit with a wooden sword, damn it!”

… even as he said this, Kairos was clearly on edge.

Apparently, Otto’s mean, nasty, and dirty tactics had worked.

As if to prove Otto’s point about the last laugh being the last winner.

“Look at this, Pansy. With only a few days of training, I can’t believe you managed to score a hit on me. A genius is a genius after all. I thought it would take him at least a month.”

“Sir, may I request a duel, I would like to duel you as well.”

Camille asked Kairos politely.

“Do you wish to be beaten as well?”

“Who would want to get beaten?”

“Then?”

“Your Majesty is growing stronger by the day, and if that’s the case, I must grow stronger as well. At this rate, I won’t be protecting him, he’ll be protecting me, and I don’t want to be an incompetent knight who is a burden to my lord.”

“Hahaha! That attitude is fanciful, but the little bastard is a genius. You’ll be hard pressed to keep up with him.”

“But I can’t give up. If I can protect him, that’s all that matters to me.”

“That’s what knights are for.”

Kairos’ eyes flicked to Camille, as if he didn’t like what he saw.

But judging by the tiny smile on his lips, he didn’t really disapprove of Camille.

“Come, I’ll duel with you. In return, you must brace yourself.”

“Thank you for your kindness.”

Camille smiled and brought out a wooden sword.

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A few days later.

“Your Majesty, I see a claw island over there.”

A heavily bandaged Camille reported to Otto.

“Really? Urgh.”

Otto, also covered in bandages, replied with a grunt.

During the journey to “Crab Island,” both Otto and Kairos had no respite, as they were subjected to daily beatings from Kairos.

That meant that both Otto and Camille were dedicated to their training.

“Ah, there it is. I see it.”

“Shall we proceed with the landing?”

“No.'”

Otto said in a strong tone.

“Stand by. Hold, no matter what. Don’t let anyone on the island, ever. Not even near the white sandy beach.”

“Is it a dangerous place?”

“Why would such a nice island remain uninhabited?”

“Ah.”

Only then did Camille understand Otto’s warning.

[Claw Island] is not only a strategically important island, but also a golden opportunity for a maritime base.

Nevertheless, it remains uninhabited despite this.

“For now, there are pirates that we have locked up.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Number them, starting with the worst, and bring them on deck.”

“Understood.”

Camille did as he was told, though he had no idea why Otto would give such orders.

One thing was certain, however.

The pirates would never see the light of day.

Why?

Because whenever Otto’s cold, chilling look crossed his face, a bloodbath was bound to ensue…

** ** **

TL/N:

1. the supposed art of judging character from facial characteristics.