My Level Zero System

If it was already deduced that Horon and Horan were people who lacked self-confidence and lived on the false praise of others, it was not difficult for Kain to deduce that this was due to the influence of their previous living environment, something that had been deeply engraved in the minds of these two even when they were adults.

This is the effect of childhood trauma.

As for the fact that both of them were descendants of a noble family, this was inferred by Kain based on two things.

First, it is about the magical talent of these two twin brothers.

It's not that rare for Magus to become Adventurers, but most of them are so untalented that they only make a few short steps before returning to the path of ordinary Adventurers. Being able to show off their talents among them, or even become a "Magus", proves that their talent isn't too bad.

To be able to cultivate such a talent, the possibility that these two brothers were originally nobles is the most likely possibility.

Of course, that's just the "most likely possibility", not a solid conclusion. It's entirely possible that these twin brothers are talented because they themselves have quite a bit of talent, not necessarily because they're both nobles.

But if we reason like that, a contradiction will arise.

Could a normal family cause two children with magical talent to become self-conscious and bullied to the point of psychological trauma?

Of course not.

To be able to get such people into such a situation, they must be placed in a situation where there are many individuals more talented than them, and at the same time there is a high level of competition. And nothing is more suitable than a noble family.

At that time, the so-called "talent" of these two twins suddenly became mediocre, and their superior siblings were considered the "real talents". Living and being shaped by such an environment since childhood caused them to grow up with a strong inferiority complex, to the point that after growing up, they had to depend on the praise of others.

And in that environment, fierce competition is also a factor. In a "normal" noble family, every child from birth is put under pressure called "the battle for the right of inheritance". This is an extremely cruel war, where the intimacy between people of the same blood can also become blurred. In this war, being squeezed to the point of psychological trauma is not something that is too difficult to happen.

Thus, the personality of liking to trample on the weaker is completely understandable. This is not a pure enjoyment of pleasure, but a typical emotional transference.

And this may also partly explain why the twins have been so crazy about expanding their power. This may be a lack of security due to the legacy of past succession struggles, supplemented by the pleasure of holding power in one's hands.

And there was one core thing that Kain did not forget, which was that all of the above were just what he had deduced from fragments of information. The rest was pure speculation.

So, he only brought out what he was most certain of and communicated it vaguely. This would cause the twin brothers Horon and Horan to endure the invisible pressure of having the glamorous facade they had built up for so long exposed.

For people like this who are strong on the outside but weak on the inside, being exposed is the worst thing.

They can suppress all the bad reputation for the time being thanks to the prestige they have built, but internal gossip is inevitable.

There will be unspoken discussions, whispers that they don't know about, maybe they're talking about them, maybe they're not. But their ingrained self-consciousness will instinctively assume that the whispers are exposing them.

All of the above is like a thorn in their back, and they cannot bear it.

For that reason, Kain's provocation looked like he was rushing to his death from the outside, but as long as he controlled his words, the side being controlled would turn into the twin brothers Horon and Horan.

"So then... is there anything else I need to say? And I'm not sure what I'll say..."

"You! Stop!"

The twins' expressions changed, hastily stopping Kain's next words.

They never expected that a normal robbery and murder case would turn into a matter of whether they could maintain their reputation or not.

"What...do you want?"

Continue your saga on empire

"Didn't I tell you, get out of the way."

Kain's cold, emotionless voice rang out, seemingly not taking it as a big deal.

The two Magus' faces darkened, but there was nothing they could do except to move aside, creating a path to the outside.

And so Kain led the Adventurers and the carriage out, much to the amazement of both sides.

The Adventurers were so terrified that they were speechless, but they still felt extremely excited.

Words are sometimes sharper than swords.

With their level of understanding, they could not fully understand the philosophy behind this saying. But at this moment, they saw concrete proof.

Three sentences, pushed back a whole group of ferocious people, even forcing them to give way themselves to let them move.

They envisioned countless scenarios, but most of them involved Kain repelling his enemies with magic.

There is no situation where "negotiation" works.

But he did it.

Now, their eyes when witnessing Kain's steady back were not simply filled with awe for the power he held, respect for the kindness he showed, but also admiration for someone who used words as a weapon.

After walking a sufficient distance, Kain turned to face the Adventurer group.

"Let's split up from here."

"Sir, aren't we... safe?"

"Safe? It might be so if you weren't with me."

They were indeed safe, for all the hatred had been transferred to Kain.

Horon and Horan weren't so desperate for money that they resorted to robbery. What they enjoyed was the feeling of pushing their victims into desperate situations and watching them struggle. But no amount of pleasure could compare to hatred and fear.