Chapter 63: Rank Conversion

The temple’s interrogator… terrifying.

His eyes are utterly devoid of life.

Apparently, after interrogating Berg, the assassin, he got him to confess in no time. I didn’t witness it, nor did I want to.

“That man is an assassin named Berg. He’s a member of the dark organization Basilisk’s Fang,” said Lord Dardale, his expression severe.

It sounded like an extremely dangerous organization.

“Toma-sama, Basilisk’s Fang is a massive criminal organization with bases not just in the Kuldia Kingdom but in many other nations as well. Unfortunately, many nobles in our kingdom also make use of their services.”

This was worse than I imagined.

“Were you able to identify who hired him to assassinate me?”
“Unfortunately, no. Basilisk’s Fang separates its operations into distinct departments—one for taking contracts and another for carrying out assassinations. The request would have passed through several layers before reaching Berg.”

Lord Dardale added, “However…”

“It doesn’t seem to have been Viscount Fayatt.”
“How can you tell?”
“The reward for this assassination was substantial. Given that the viscount’s assets have been seized, it would be difficult for him to move such large sums of money.”
“…Lightstar, then?”
“That would be the most reasonable conclusion.”
“Lightstar tried to have me killed before. They really don’t know when to quit.”
“We are continuing to encircle the Lightstar family. For now, we will investigate their associates rather than relying solely on information from the assassin.”

It seemed that Lightstar was either unaware of the temple and my grandfather's efforts or recklessly confident. If they knew, they wouldn’t act in ways that risked exposing themselves.

Two months later, I heard that several Basilisk’s Fang bases were destroyed. The Royal Knights had reportedly carried out the raids, though it’s likely that my grandfather and the temple were involved behind the scenes.

After the interrogation, I was allowed to test something on Berg—my level 5 Conversion skill, which can alter a target’s rank.

Berg’s rank was B. I attempted to drop it directly to the lowest rank, F, but the skill didn’t activate.

When I tried reducing it by one rank to C, the skill succeeded.

“Ugh…”

I felt a massive drain on my mana—15,000 points vanished in an instant.

Changing someone’s rank fundamentally alters their life; perhaps that’s why it consumes so much mana.

Upon inspection, Berg’s rank had indeed dropped to C. His blessing, Dark Swordsman, had changed to the basic Swordsman, and his skills Dark Swordsmanship and Shadow Movement were gone, replaced by a simple Swordsmanship.

His life force, stamina, and mana had all decreased as well. It became clear that rank downgrades significantly affect overall abilities.

Next, I attempted to lower his rank to D, which succeeded and consumed another 15,000 mana points.

Testing further, I found that a two-rank downgrade consumed 30,000 mana points, the same as downgrading by one rank twice. The cost was consistent at 15,000 mana per rank.

When I finally reduced Berg to the lowest rank, F, his blessing changed to Villager, and all his skills disappeared. His abilities were drastically diminished.

This Rank Conversion skill is truly within the realm of godhood…

“Toma-sama, please reconsider.”

Lord Dardale was trying to dissuade me from exploring dungeons.

He was likely worried about another assassination attempt.

“Even if it’s dangerous, this is something I must do. I appreciate your concern, Lord Dardale, but I ask for your understanding.”

Deuro-sama himself had advised me to explore the Alilac Dungeon. I couldn’t ignore that.

Besides, the previous assassin was relatively low level. If a stronger one came after me, it would be even more dangerous. To protect myself and those around me, I needed to grow stronger.

Overriding Lord Dardale’s objections, I set out for the Alilac Dungeon, accompanied by Captain Suzanna and four temple knights. With them close by, it seemed unlikely that assassins would strike.

The first floor of the Alilac Dungeon was home to Little Armor, a one-meter-tall animated suit of armor, and Skeletons, which were reanimated human bones.

“Hah!”

Ben’s blow shattered a Skeleton into pieces.

While the bones themselves weren’t valuable, sometimes small gemstones could be found inside their skulls. Unfortunately, the Skeleton Ben defeated didn’t have one. A pity.

“By the light of the great god Rytloyd, I offer my prayers. Light Arrow!”

A radiant arrow struck a Little Armor, causing holy light to burst out from within.

This reaction occurred only against undead enemies, such as Skeletons and Little Armor, and not against monsters like Slimes or Little Buffalo.

“If we remain cautious, the monsters on this floor shouldn’t pose a problem.”

The Alilac Dungeon was an old dungeon, and its lower levels had already been thoroughly explored. With the help of existing maps, we easily progressed to the second floor.

The second, third, and fourth floors were similarly uneventful.

Upon reaching the fifth floor, we encountered a boss room.

The massive double metal doors to the boss room were open, allowing us to enter. If they had been closed, it would have meant someone else was already fighting inside.

We were fortunate—the room was unoccupied.

As we entered, the doors closed automatically behind us.

At the center of the circular, dome-shaped room—50 meters in diameter and 10 meters high at its peak—a dark mist began to form. The mist coalesced into a figure: a headless knight clad in armor, mounted on a similarly headless horse.

“That’s a Battle Mail,” Suzanna warned. “Be wary of its spear.”
“Leave it to me!” Ben replied confidently.

The horse was about the size of a pony, and the armor wasn’t particularly large. However, its spear was razor-sharp and could inflict a temporary debuff that weakened the victim’s abilities.

Despite lacking a head, the horse let out a shrill neigh and charged.

Ben braced himself and met the spear head-on with his shield.

“Take this!”

Ben absorbed the force of the charge, sliding back about a meter.

“As expected of a boss, but that’s all you’ve got!”

Swinging his morning star, Ben struck, but the horse leapt back with surprising agility.

“Tch, it’s faster than it looks.”

The boss was clearly a cut above the usual dungeon monsters, but it wasn’t as fast as the monsters on the 15th floor of the Ashud Dungeon.

Drawing my Lightning Bow, I aimed and fired.

The arrow struck the armor’s chest, producing a thunderous roar and a flash of lightning.

The bow’s lightning enhancement consumed additional mana—15 points per shot compared to 5 for a regular arrow. However, the effect was worth it: the Battle Mail was paralyzed.

“Finish it off!”
“Got it!”
“By the light of the great god Rytloyd, I offer my prayers. Light Javelin!”

With concentrated attacks on the immobilized Battle Mail, we swiftly defeated it.

The fight ended in an overwhelming victory, with plenty of strength to spare.