Chapter 35: The Night

What the fuck did I get myself into? Caelan didn’t say anything. He simply stood there while his eyes gazed at the dozens of people kneeling in front of him.

He can’t believe what was happening in his life.

Caelan slowly looked toward Eveline. She was staring at the scene with her mouth slightly parted open.

He looked toward the driver and saw that the poor man looked even worse.

"L-Lord?" the driver muttered with horror in hie eyes. He slowly glanced at Caelan.

"Don’t look at me too," Caelan immediately replied. "I don’t fucking know either."

"Caelan..." Eveline slowly moved closer to him. "Why are they calling you that?"

He just shook his head. The figures in front remained completely still. None of them raised their heads or spoke to answer. They simply remained on one knee, patiently waiting for Caelan to give them an order.

Caelan stared at them. Were they seriously waiting for him?

[Ding!]

The familiar sound suddenly rang inside his head.

Oh, thank fuck. For once, Caelan was actually relieved to hear it. He needed some explanation.

[Additional information regarding acquired Title is available.]

[Title: Lord of the Night]

[The Lord of the Night is the recognized authority over an organization known as the Night.]

[The Night - A secret organization operating throughout Aurelith. Its members specialize in gathering information, tracking targets, covert operations, and assassination.]

Assassination? Caelan’s expression slowly changed as he read those details.

[The Night is governed through the Covenant.]

[Covenant- A bond willingly accepted by members upon formally entering the organization. It is originally created to protect the identities of members, prevent betrayal, and allow orders to be passed securely throughout the Night.]

[The previous Lord possessed the ability: Mind Control.]

That’s their lord? Caelan immediately looked toward the body of the man he had killed earlier. He found the man too weak to be the lord of an organization as big as this. But, oh well, his ability was really his asset.

[However, the previous Lord used Mind Control through the Covenant, transforming the bond between members into a method of control. Because of it the members bound by the Covenant became increasingly subject to his commands.]

Now that he have learned that, he kinda pitied those people. But that doesn’t mean he regretted his actions earlier.

[The death of the previous Lord has released all existing members from his Mind Control. Now, they swore their deep loyalty to the Host.]

Caelan looked toward the people kneeling before him once again.

Wait... Does that mean he was their Lord simply because he had Mind Control now?

As soon as that question entered his mind, another notification appeared.

[You are partially correct, Host.]

Caelan raised an eyebrow.

[Authority over the Night is transferred upon the defeat of its previous Lord. The Host defeated the previous Lord and has therefore fulfilled the primary requirement to inherit his authority.]

[However, the Host has also acquired the previous Lord’s Mind Control ability.]

[Due to Mind Control being connected to the Covenant, the Host has inherited the previous Lord’s control over its members.]

Caelan’s expression slowly changed.

So basically, everything he did, from killing the leader to copying his ability, caused it.

Doesn’t that mean I can control all of them?

[Correct. The Host has complete authority over members. They still have their own free will, but commands issued through the Covenant cannot be refused.]

What the fuck? His eyes slowly widened at that.

He had only just learned how to use Mind Control a few minutes ago. Even then, he could barely control three people without feeling like his head was going to split apart.

But now the System was telling him he could control all of these people freely?

That’s fucked up. That was all he could say.

[Organization Status]

— — —

Name: The Night

Leader: Caelan Veyr

Total Members: 48

Branches: 3

Territory: None

Organization Funds: 12,580 Coins

— — —

As soon as Caelan saw the number of members, he couldn’t help but be speechless.

"Caelan..." However, Eveline’s voice pulled him back to reality.

"What?"

"You’ve been staring into the air for almost a minute."

"Oh," Caelan looked around when he realized that he had been staring at the system for a couple of minutes now. He didn’t realize that everyone was just waiting for him to answer.

"I was just... shocked."

"Shocked?" Eveline repeated.

"Can you blame me?"

Eveline couldn’t really argue with that. She still had no idea what was happening either.

A few minutes ago, they were being attacked by eight people. Now, dozens more had appeared from the forest and were suddenly kneeling in front of Caelan while calling him their Lord.

Nothing about this situation made sense anymore. However, Eveline quickly remembered something much more important.

"Wait." She turned toward Caelan again. "How are your injuries?"

"My injuries?" The moment those words left her mouth, Caelan suddenly became aware of his entire body.

"Ah..." Caelan’s expression immediately twisted as a sharp pain ran through his side.

Now that the adrenaline was beginning to disappear, every injury he had received during the fight was now saying hi at the exact same time.

His back hurt from being thrown against the carriage. His arms were covered in cuts, and his muscles were aching.

"Caelan?" Eveline immediately noticed something was wrong.

"I’m..." Caelan tried to answer, but his voice suddenly sounded much weaker than he expected.

"Caelan!" Eveline’s eyes became wide open as Caelan’s knees suddenly weakened. She quickly grabbed his arm before he could fall, but Caelan could barely feel himself anymore.

His surroundings were starting to blur too.

The trees around became nothing more than dark shapes in his vision, and the dozens of kneeling figures in front of him began blending together.

"Hey! Stay awake!" Eveline shouted.

Caelan blinked several times, trying to clear his vision. But it didn’t work. He could hear Eveline saying something beside him, but her voice was beginning to sound farther and farther away.

Fuck... Was he seriously going to pass out now? After surviving all of that?

Caelan forced his eyes open one last time. The members of the Night were still there, waiting for him.

He didn’t know whether becoming their Lord was a good thing or another massive problem the System had just dumped onto him. But right now, he didn’t have the strength to care.

He only needed one thing from them.

"S-save us..."

The figures immediately raised their heads at his words, watching Caelan as he struggled to keep himself standing.

"And..."

"Lead us to the city."