Chapter 6

"Congratulations, Clement! You have drawn a surprise gift pack. Would you like to use it now?" the system asked.

"Yes." Clement chose without hesitation.

"Congratulations, Clement! You have received a Physique Enhancement Pill, an Essence Nourishing Pill, and the Witchcraft (Beginner) skill."

The system's surprise gift pack turned out to be unexpectedly generous, offering three items in total. Clement took a closer look at the descriptions.

The Physique Enhancement Pill was used to improve one's physical body, while the Essence Nourishing Pill could strengthen a person's body constitution. Meanwhile, the Witchcraft skill was a form of secret art from the Seymour Mountains that could be used to both harm and save a person's life.

"You're incredible, System!" Clement exclaimed before immediately consuming the two pills.

Half an hour later, there was a loud bang.

Clement's eyes gleamed as he caressed the shallow dent left on the table when his fist slammed against it.

The two pills were truly remarkable. He could sense that his body now contained internal force, a type of force commonly used for martial arts.

"System, apart from internal force, do things like spiritual energy and primordial energy exist in this world?"

"As you are currently within the lesser martial realm, internal force is the only one available here."

"I see."

Clement tapped away again and received the Witchcraft skill. In the blink of an eye, his mind was flooded with knowledge related to curses and dark alchemy.

"So, this is the mysterious witchcraft from the Seymour Mountains!"

In his past life, Clement had heard about such witchcraft before, but being a nobody, he'd never witnessed it in action.

"My physique rating should've gone up by now, right?"

He checked his stats.

"Host: Clement Lakeworth

"Physique: 100"

"Combat: 60"

"Luck: 21"

"Villain Points: 400"

"Skillset: Loyalty Check (Beginner), Witchcraft (Beginner)"

"It's too bad. Although my physique rating is pretty decent, my combat power is quite low," Clement commented with a sigh as he took in his stats.

Since he hadn't mastered any sort of combat techniques, all he had was internal force. Nevertheless, there was an unexpected bonus. Following the increase in his strength, his luck had increased by one as well!

There was a knock on the door, and soon, Royce rushed into the villa.

"Clem!"

"Have you found the information I asked for?" Clement asked, his eyes glinting sharply.

He knew that if he wanted to become more powerful, he would need to keep Ethan down.

"I have," Royce replied with a nod. "Clem, Ethan is most likely the bodyguard to Elise Hanover, the CEO of Celestia Pharmaceuticals. It seems like he's proficient in medicine, too."

"A bodyguard?" Clement repeated with a frown. "What did he do before becoming a bodyguard?"

"I couldn't find anything on that. It almost feels like he appeared in Grusoire out of nowhere," Royce answered as he scratched his head with a look of doubt.

"I went to the city's records office and checked everything, but all I could find on him was information following his arrival in Gruisoire. I couldn't find anything about him before that."

"That's not a surprise. So, he's the formidable bodyguard of a female CEO with a cold personality," Clement mused while tapping his fingers on the table. "He's incredibly strong and only recently left the countryside before coming to the city. He doesn't have any powerful factions under his command yet.

"Based on this information, Ethan is most likely an ordinary man who received some kind of mysterious legacy or a genius doctor who has emerged from the countryside."

After making a stab at guessing who Ethan could be, Clement let out a long exhale.

While it was certainly a challenge to deal with a Chosen One who was the genius doctor type, it was still a lot better than having to deal with a returning war hero or kingpin of the criminal underworld.

In these genius doctor tropes, the Chosen Ones would always start from nothing. Despite being incredibly skilled at both martial arts and medicine, they weren't completely infallible.

If Clement had to deal with the other types of Chosen Ones who were not only physically strong but also had prominent social standings and wielded a great deal of power as well, then he would have to be resigned to his doom.

"What are you talking about, Clem? What's this about a Chosen One and a war hero?"

As such novels and tropes didn't exist in this world, Royce was staring at Clement with a look of bewilderment.

"Don't worry about that," Clement replied.

He paused briefly in thought before scribbling out the names of various venomous creatures, such as toads and vipers. Since he now possessed the skill of witchcraft, he was going to try his hand at using it.

Who knew when it might come in handy?

"Go get all these for me."

"Huh? A king cobra, a harlequin toad, and a black widow spider?"

After reading out the names of these venomous creatures, Royce looked even more clueless. "Why do you want these, Clem?"

"Don't ask unnecessary questions. I have a use for them, of course," Clement said with a smile. "Also, I asked you to find me a lawyer. Did you get one?"

"I did. He's a well-known budding lawyer in Grusoire," Royce replied before voicing even more of his confusion. "Clem, if you want to deal with a mere bodyguard like Ethan, all you have to do is send a few thugs into the lockup to get rid of him. Why bother hiring a lawyer?"

"Quiet. Bring the lawyer to me and then get what I asked for. Get on with it," Clement urged with a kick. "There's something off about Ethan. He can't be dealt with through regular methods."

"Alright, then."

While Royce wasn't sure why Clement was being this careful with a nobody like Ethan, he was still Clement's dutiful lackey who carried out Clement's orders without fail.

…

Jeffrey Lloyd, a young man in a black suit, came into the study and introduced himself to Clement. "Mr. Lakeworth, my name is Jeffrey Lloyd. I'm a top lawyer with the law firm Kirkland & Partners."

A renowned lawyer like Jeffrey would never even have looked at Clement in his past life, but Jeffrey was now treating him with such respect. That made him feel incredibly satisfied.

Getting straight to the point, Clement asked, "You know about the situation with Ethan Hunter, right?"

"I do," Jeffrey replied before opening up his briefcase. "Here's the lawsuit and supporting evidence that I've drafted, Mr. Lakeworth."

"Good."

Clement skimmed the document, which included photos of Ethan attacking his bodyguards and of them after they'd been hospitalized.

"I have a question," Clement said. "Based on his current charges, how long of a sentence will he get?"

"Well, the incident started because of you, Mr. Lakeworth," Jeffrey said before glancing at Clement. He didn't think it would be right for him to bring up that Clement had verbally harassed Ruth first. "Therefore, Ethan's actions only count as excessive self-defense.

"With the evidence we have right now, he would most likely receive three to five years of prison time."

"Excellent."

Clement's eyes glinted. He would certainly be able to do some serious damage to Ethan's luck if he got Ethan locked up in prison for five years.

"Do your best to make sure he receives a five-year sentence! I'll pay top dollar for your service."

"Understood, Mr. Lakeworth," Jeffrey said with a fawning smile. "I'm willing to forgo the fee, Mr. Lakeworth. In return, please allow me to make a rather bold request."

"Oh?"

"I wish to be of service to you, Mr. Lakeworth. I'd like to become your personal lawyer."

In other words, Jeffrey wanted to latch onto Clement and the Lakeworth family by extension. Once Clement took over the family business, Jeffrey would also become the main counsel for Lakeworth Group!

Chortling, Clement replied, "Sure."

As it turned out, a villain would have his fair share of lackeys, too.

"From now on, you work for me."

"Thank you, Mr. Lakeworth!" Jeffrey answered, feeling extremely excited.

"Remember that everything must be handled by the book and in accordance with the law. Do not make any attempts to abuse what influence or authority we might have," Clement warned.

He didn't want to suffer a backlash.

Just then, Clement's phone started buzzing. After picking it up to see who was calling, he was taken aback.

Unexpectedly, the caller was…