A System That Beats Death

A melodious yet sorrowful voice then sounded from behind him.

"B-b-brother, is that you?", she said in a quivering tone before releasing him from her embrace.

Brother? Atlas thought in confusion. The original identity lived in a secluded hamlet far away from the Capital. How could he have a sibling from the Capital?

Maybe that sibling was the reason that a few random assailants would travel to the middle of nowhere just to kill a bunch of commoners. That could also explain why Da Lan was there but since they tortured the original identity, Atlas thought that was very unlikely.

He hesitated before finally responding. Turning to face her, he then stated, "And you are?"

When Shen turned around, the girl's eyes lit up in joy. Then she heard the response and she slightly frowned.

She then quickly addressed General Lanye, "It would be better if I took care of my brother while you two enjoyed your reunion"

Before Da Lan could reply, she already hurried off with an iron grip on Shen's hand. When he confirmed that they had already left, he turned to his daughter with a melancholic expression.

____

"Why is such a threat still alive?", the Emperor exclaimed in a fit of rage.

"General Lanye or the Crown Prince?"

"General Lanye, of course! Do you think that feeble Crown Prince can do anything without him? The people view him as a great hero. Not only does he have the power to overthrow this empire, but the people would even support it"

The Crown Prince was merely here because the Great General wanted to taunt him with the thought of a rightful usurpation.

"Sends assassins immediately. The best possible"

_____

[C-Rank Quest:

Objective: Become Princess Riri's Guard

Reward: Speed C and 2000 Points]

Atlas was a bit overwhelmed by the boons granted by C-Rank Quests. One had given him Combustion while the other had given him the Spacial Ring. And now a third C-Rank Quest promised another power-up. They weren't even that difficult to complete yet the rewards were this immense. Already at the level of monstrous strength, he was anticipating B-Rank and A-Rank Quests to be on the scale of epic adventures. Even if they were extremely dangerous, he would not complain as great risk would even great reward especially, since he had already been rewarded greatly despite minimal risk.

"Do you still not remember anything, brother?", Riri asked at a loss.

Atlas shook his head again to her dismay.

"Not even the promise?", she asked in a tiny whisper, not intending for him to hear.

Atlas then responded with, "I have informed you numerous times that I am not who you believe me to be. If there are any lingering doubts, then only time will tell"

"Then can you stay here instead of at the General's?", she asked with a pleading look.

Atlas nodded in a hesitant manner to her relief. Remembering that it was already late into the afternoon, she then invited him to an early dinner.

Unbeknownst to her, he agreed in order to enact his duties as a bodyguard. Supposing that he was to be her bodyguard, her survival would be tantamount to the completion of the quest. Other than protection, tasting for poison should also be necessary as frail royalty could die due to many engineered reasons. Fortunately, he had Poison Immunity A from all the deaths and poison ingested in the past.

Sitting down at the table, Atlas calmly surveyed the furnishings. It was similar to the previous world's but even more oriental in design. This indicated that this world was either more developed than the last or that the family he used as comparison was not wealthy enough. He then caught the subtle scent of a poison he knew.

As the servant carrying the tray of food was about to place it on the table, he felt an object with a sharp edge against his throat.

Atlas had already examined the surrounding facilities. They were adequate for a nobleman's daughter but they were not fit for an imperial princess. Especially when considering she was the only imperial princess. Clearly, there was some unspoken dissonance between the Princess and the Emperor.

[Skill Intimidation Activated]

"And what do you think you're doing?", Atlas stoically stated as if he was mildly curious instead of intending to execute someone for treason.

A palpable yet unseen aura of trepidation that could evoke primal fear began to envelope the surroundings as he slowly spoke. It was not strong enough to affect the body physically, but it was effective enough to shatter a confident mind.

The servant then stuttered and sputtered in panic.

Despite not being the target of the stoic and chilling gaze, Shen still gave her goosebumps as she felt the endless suspicion and intense blood l.u.s.t exuding from him. This confirmed to her that he could not be her brother as one of his prominent traits was his expressive emotions when provoked.

Out of nowhere, an indignant granny then screamed, "Alert the guards! Someone has the audacity to bring weapons into the Princess' residence!"

Jolted by this Riri and the servant both fell out of their stupor.

"What's wrong, Shen?", Riri asked tentatively.

"I'm just interested in why this dish smells odd", Shen replied in a leisurely manner.

He then looked at the servant and said with a smile, "Care to explain?"

The servant then glared at him. He had nearly thought his cover was blown. However, the poison used was virtually odorless which reassured him.

"Insulting an Imperial chef is a grave crime here. You are just too uncultured to recognize the significance of such a dish", the servant merely replied.

"The reason being?", Atlas asked.

"To insult an Imperial chef is to insult the Emperor's tongue", he responded aggressively.

The guards then arrived to the servant's relief. Before he could escape though, an iron grip seized his shoulder and a nonchalant voice stated, "Since an Imperial chef's dish is so highly regarded, I am inviting all of you to partake".