Fritz opened his eyes, as he felt like he was falling through the darkness. It confused him. All he did was merely drink the strange concoction that Cecilia created, and instead of falling to the floor or being paralyzed in pain, his vision changed.
He was intrigued by the visions he was seeing, as he fell through a dark void.
Memories?
They were fragmented visions...of him. It must be his. First, he watched as a black-haired man cradled him, while another black-haired woman smiled at him. Then, as his cries came out, the visions changed.
He saw vast farm fields, then a vast workshop filled with laborers toiling for his father.
Then, he saw a young girl, her silver hair almost hiding her face, yet he could see a tiny smile on it. She pulled his hands, almost as an invitation. Within seconds, he was running with her on a field of flowers.
A wide smile graced his face, as he watched the peaceful, innocent memories in front of him.
He continued falling through the darkness, and the visions only continued to appear. He saw the way he trained, the way he practiced magic with his old friends, and the way he fiercely defended that same silver-haired girl at the academy from her bullies, as they grew old and studied together.
The stream of memories began to tug his soul.
Cecilia? Marie? Even Ludolph?
Fritz felt his heart welling up, tightening as he watched the work they did together. The way they huddled together to plan for something big—a Kingdom rejuvenated into a golden age, was almost something out of a tale of heroes.
Soon, his visions darkened. As the last of his memories appeared in the darkness, all he saw was blurry. It was a darkened room, and a single woman was staring at him, her amethyst eyes filled with tears, her face and white clothes drenched in blood.
She was holding her sword with trembling hands.
He stopped falling, sucked into the scene presented to him.
Fritz found himself chained in that same dark room, as she frantically reached out and held him, her magic providing both light and comfort from his heinous injuries. Then, his chains gave way, and he fell into her arms.
By the time it was over, the heavy weight that had settled in his chest was replaced by a strange bliss that comforted him.
While he didn’t fully understand what had happened from the fragments of his memories, he knew he felt the same overwhelming rage he went through when the Empress killed him. That same hatred evaporated in the ether. A bright light consumed him, and there was nothing but bliss.
Bliss. Comforting bliss. Something that he would have wanted to be in for all eternity. Perhaps, he could even rest for once.
But it was suddenly broken.
“Hey! Fritz!” someone called out, a slight hint of panic in his tone. “Fritz! What even—?”
He stopped, as he noticed that Fritz finally woke up.
“I feel,” Fritz looked at the ceiling of their carriage, his body still feeling like he was on cloud nine. “Nice…wait, did she just drug me?!”
“You probably shouldn’t have drunk both of them at the same time,” Ludolph chastised. “See, this is what happens when you’re way too cocky!”
“To be fair, all she said was that I should take it when things are safe,” Fritz said, as he tried to straighten himself. “Gah, that was quite the experience nonetheless. I saw…things…”
“Things?”
“Yeah,” Fritz nursed his temples, a tinge of confusion surging through his mind. Did he just see the old Fritz’s memories? Then why didn’t he remember any useful details? He had no answer. “I don’t know, I was falling into this dark void or something.”
“That doesn’t make much sense to me,” Ludolph said. “You fainted for nearly ten minutes. I first thought you were fine because you seemed like you were peacefully sleeping, but then I noticed I couldn’t wake you up.”
“I imagine if I had a bed I would just sleep peacefully until morning in that case,” Fritz facepalmed. “Yeah, she must have placed some sleeping agents on that thing. I felt a bit of pain in my body when I drank it after all…”
“Hmm, permanent boosting elixirs tend to do that,” Ludolph said. “The strongest ones are said to cause intense pain in one’s body while it improves it. But you didn’t seem to be suffering even the slightest hint of pain…”
“So on top of being a light mage, she’s a good alchemist too, that she can create elixirs that change you without hurting you?” Fritz asked. “Damn…now I wonder what she just did to me.”
Fritz decided to quickly check his stats. Immediately, a light blue screen appeared in front of his vision




Class: Suppressor
Level: 48/70
Tier: II
Attributes:
HP: E (100%)
MP: E + (100%)
MR: E +
STR: E +
SPD: E +
DEF: E
RES: E




Fritz’s eyes widened as he stared at his new stats.
W-what?
A complete jump from Tier I level thirty-nine to…Tier II level forty-eight! It was unimaginable. No elixir that was designed to permanently reshape your body could simply bypass what would be worth months and months of training and grit.
The disbelief in his eyes continued as he moved on from his stat attributes to his magic and skills.




Shadow Magic II (6/10): You have the affinity to use shadow magic. Spells under shadow magic mainly involve giving debuffs on your opponents. At the moment, most spells you use will be very weak.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
SPECIAL SKILLS (3/3):
[ULTRA RARE] Arcane Suppression II (3/6) [SHADOW]: You can channel all of your mana to entangle and disrupt mana around you. Once charged, a jamming pulse will be fired from your body. The effect radius is very low, the disruption time is very short, and the mana usage per charge relative to your capacity is very high.
[COMMON] Great Silence II (3/6) [SHADOW]: With a snap of your fingers, you can remove both the hearing and vision of those around you. The radius of effect is very low, its effects on those around you are very weak, and the mana usage relative to your capacity is very high.
[COMMON] Targeted Depletion II (3/6) [SHADOW]: This skill allows you to deplete your target’s mana. You absorb very little of this mana, and the depletion rate you may inflict is very weak.




Her elixirs truly pushed me from a weak Tier I guy to Tier II. Close to Tier III even. She didn’t just make me ascend from Tier I to Tier II, I think I can easily scale the wall and reach Tier III in a month or two.
The disbelief in his eyes finally turned into a triumphant grin.
This partnership with her…it sure is truly useful.
“You look pleased over there,” Ludolph pointed out as he narrowed his eyes. “You’re checking your stats?”
“Yep,” Fritz nodded, satisfied with the easy results. “All I have to say, two thousand marks and a skilled alchemist sure can create a lot of wonderful things.”
“...She used you as a guinea pig in that case,” Ludolph finally laughed. “I know whatever that is, it’s probably experimental.”
“Bah, I’m grateful, and I doubt she would have tried harming me, after all, removing all pain seems like an unnecessary extra, but she added it anyway,” Fritz smiled as he looked to the side. “Now, things should get a little bit easier than what I was expecting. I’ll take it.”
Thank you so much, Cecilia.
Fritz lit up his pipe again, his morale to finish this mission rejuvenated near its maximum extent. That, and those memories, while it was vague, and he was already starting to forget many of its details…
It still made him want to finish this job for her even more.
+++
It took them nearly another day before they finally arrived in southwestern Orellia, specifically, the Duchy of Wiese, controlled by none other than the leader of the Orellian Royal Guard: Duchess Alexandra von Wiese.
She led the same organization that Marie’s Palace Guard detachment belonged to.
When they arrived at one of the border towns, immediately, members of the Celean Church’s inquisition checked in on them when they stopped at the town’s gate, their holy knights all regarding Fritz and Ludolph with much suspicion.
Yet, surprisingly—Fritz finally felt at home. This reminded him of old Orellia. It even reminded him of all places in the continent, the Empire included. There were now overly preachy priests and knights, peasants and serfs toiling in the farms, and towns riddled by poverty and destitution.
The knights checking in on them pushed hard, clearly intending to harass Fritz and Ludolph, at least, until Fritz showed them the seal of the Royal Messenger and the Decree Bureau with his official documents. That immediately opened the gates to the town, and their carriage, alongside the wagons of Ludolph’s men, moved forward.
Fritz relaxed on his seat as they moved through the town, the people all barely regarding the sole bright carriage on the streets. Ludolph on the other hand frowned as he looked at the people around town, clearly disturbed.
“Such a shame the Duchess and her ilk still refuse to implement Cecilia’s reforms,” Ludolph shook his head, as they passed by a bakery, the lines on it long, and the prices plastered on it high. “No wonder so many peasants are trying to flee to the crownlands.”
“Good,” Fritz said, as he silently read his notes. “The more the free peasants flee to the crownlands, the more they’ll fill the new job openings Cecilia’s industries are creating in the cities. If you think about it, her opponents will simply lose access to labor, while we gain it.”
“Tsk, Cecilia will be disappointed in you if she hears you speaking that way,” Ludolph shook his head. “These reforms aren’t meant to only strengthen the lands of House Orellia. It’s supposed to be for all of Orellia’s people.”
“I know, but the lords of the country are going to be acting like lords over their fiefdoms as always,” Fritz reasoned. “It is what it is, at least, until we crush their power over their lands.”
Their convoy eventually exited the border town, before continuing through the quaint countryside. It took hours of further travel, and they had to stop at another town by noon to eat and buy a few extra provisions for themselves.
By afternoon, they finally reached their target. It was the estate of House Wiese, the controller of these lands. It was a natural starting point to inquire about the state of the supply agreements between the merchant houses of Wiese and the Rolentz Corporation.
They managed to easily gain permission to enter the main territory of House Wiese, and they drove through their plantations and farmland, before reaching the opulent castle of their family.
They parked their vehicles near the main gate, before being greeted by the knights and retainers on horseback who served the Duchess. Ludolph and Fritz talked to them briefly about allowing Ludolph’s men into the castle, but it was quickly rebuked.
“Mr. Rolentz,” one of the knights, named Sir Henry Nessel, spoke, the forty-year-old man frowning as he pulled the reins of his horse. “The fact that the Queen saw it fit to bring members of the Army is already…quite questionable for us.”
“They’re personal guards for us,” Fritz said, his smile as pleasant as ever. “The countryside’s teeming with bandits for some reason. We even got attacked before.”
“Attacked?” The knight frowned. “In our lands?”
“I’m not placing blame on anyone, all I’m saying is that security is simply a necessity,” Fritz explained, and Ludolph nodded. “If these honest men who serve the Kingdom are too unreliable in your view to be allowed into your lord’s castle, then, would it at least be permissible to let them reside in the nearby town for tonight?”
“Hmm…” the knight then nodded thoughtfully. “I don’t see any problems that might arise from that. Sure, do go on.”
“Well, you heard him,” Fritz turned to Ludolph. “Tell your men to go to town.”
“Aight,” Ludolph turned to the waiting crossbowmen behind them. The leader of the platoon they dragged here, Lieutenant Roman Letzel, walked forward in attention. “Lieutenant Letzel, get your men to the town and enjoy the night. Just don’t spend too much, and keep alert.”
The officer behind Fritz and Ludolph saluted with a confident smile.
“Crystal, captain,” the soldier lowered his salute. “I’ll keep the nut heads in order. Just make sure to signal me if something happens.”
“Of course,” Ludolph nodded.
“And make sure not to make any ruckus,” Sir Henry warned. “That’s all. You two, let’s move. Duchess Wiese must be growing impatient already.”
“That so?” Fritz asked. “Well, we are equally impatient about the missing deliveries, Sir Henry. I hope your lady has answers to the questions sent here by the Queen.”
“I’m sure she has answers prepared already,” the knight replied, his eyes narrowed. “Anyhow, follow me.”
With a gesture to their driver, Fritz and Ludolph went back to their carriage, as it finally entered the castle.
Fritz pulled out his pipe, filling it with tobacco, before lighting it up on fire with a friction match—just another special item produced by Rolentz Corporation’s newly built factories.
He needed it to calm his nerves a bit, a habit he had been used to since he became an assassin.
Right, the first scene of the show should begin soon. Fritz inhaled a generous amount of smoke, before exhaling it. Time to do my best again, and show Cecilia some good results.
He owed her a big debt after all.
Soon, the two walked through the great halls of the Duchess’ castle, escorted heavily by her knights and retainers. Maids and other servants lined up the sides of the great hall, as the two proceeded to enter a massive dining room. Inside was a long table, and on its furthest end, was a single woman.
Fritz and Ludolph both eloquently bowed, and then Fritz stepped forward, his posture and cadence cool and steady.
“Your Grace, Duchess of Wiese, it is I, Fritz Rolentz, the Head of the Decree Bureau. I thank you for the warm welcome,” he paused for a bit. “With me here is Captain Ludolph Widmer, my partner for today. Together, we are here to represent the Army, the Rolentz Corporation, and of course—Her Royal Majesty.”
“Welcome then, esteemed guests. There was no need to reintroduce yourselves, I know the two of you quite well,” the thirty-eight-year-old woman stood up, her ashen grey hair, a mark of House Wiese’s familial connection with House Orellia, was the first to take Fritz’s attention.
A smile appeared on Duchess von Wiese's red lips, her blue eyes giving a glint of amusement.
“I see that the Royal Messenger himself is back, hmm?”
“A temporary hiatus in the civil service won’t stop me from improving the Kingdom, Your Grace,” Fritz replied. “So let’s talk about policy, shall we?”