Amelia the Level Zero Hero

Arthur didn’t know Jax all that well. As a former Lich King who lived thousands of years ago, the bartender knew very little about the current landscape of Vacuos. Certainly, he heard rumors— hushed whispers being exchanged— because of his job. When people drank too much, their lips grew loose, and they’d often spill a secret or two. Especially [Traders].

So there were some things that Arthur knew about in some detail. Such as the progress of the war between the Astrad Kingdom and the Kingdom of Kal. Currently, things were in a tight deadlock between the two. But that hadn’t been the case for most of the war.

The Kingdom of Kal was winning. They had claimed more than a quarter of the Astrad Kingdom’s lands, and they were cutting a line straight to the Capital City of Astral. Knowing this, the Astrad Kingdom had poured all their forces to halt the Kingdom of Kal’s advance. And from what Arthur knew right now, it was temporarily working.

But it seemed like that wouldn’t be the case forever. That was why he wanted to intervene. That was why he wanted to become strong enough to be able to act.

He knew exactly the dangers the Kallistus Kal posed to the world. The Astrad Kingdom was currently the only thing standing in the [Hero King]’s path of destruction from spreading to the rest of Vacuos. After all, that was the Voidgod’s will.

It was the one desire of the Fal-Deus.

Arthur had seen it himself. The loathing that the Voidgod felt towards Vacuos.

And that was why the former Lich King wanted to stop it. That was why he wasn’t sitting around to let it happen— to let Amelia be the one to intervene and save the day. Because she wasn’t going to do anything about the [Hero King]. She was tired of being a hero, and she wanted to simply relax and enjoy herself, running her restaurant without much trouble.

While Arthur didn’t blame her, he wasn’t going to let Kallistus Kal continue his path of destruction any longer either.

After all, there was always the grim possibility— the small chance that existed— for Amelia to act too late. Or even worse, she could always fail to stop the [Hero King] once he was fully overtaken by the Voidgod. And Arthur wasn’t going to take that chance. That was why he stood here, in the forest right outside of Wolfwater, standing before an elf.

Arthur steeled himself as he faced the man opposite of him. The two of them were vaguely familiar with each other. They spoke from time to time, but it was mostly on matters related to work. The other man’s name was Jax— Arthur knew that much— and he was known as the Forsaken Archer.

He was supposedly an S-ranked adventurer, but from what Arthur had seen, that couldn’t have been the case. Even if what Arthur had seen of Jax typically wasn’t much. Because most of the time, it had been Jax challenging Amelia to a duel on multiple occasions— despite always losing, showing the same tenacity as always.

However, the speed Jax always displayed— the power he imposed— all of this made Arthur suspicious of the elf’s true strength.

That was why Arthur had accepted this offer to spar. Because he was curious. He wanted to see if this was truly going to help him. While he no longer possessed the magicks he once did as a Lich King, he now had access to the powers of the Void.

He was still greatly inexperienced with it. But he knew he could become stronger. And perhaps Jax could give him the push he needed to fully master his newfound powers.

Especially considering Jax’s reputation…

Once again, as a bartender, Arthur heard lots of stories. Which meant he had heard the occasional rumors about Jax. And apparently, the Forsaken Archer had built up quite the negative reputation throughout the years, carrying quite a lot of… cruel acts, to say the least.

But Arthur was prepared for this. He steeled himself as Jax raised a bow. The two of them stood across from each other in a clearing of trees.

“So I heard you’re able to regenerate from most injuries, huh?” the elf asked, twiddling an arrow as he spoke. “Because you’ve been… touched by the Void?”

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Arthur scratched the back of his head. “Well, that’s not exactly the case. But you are correct, I do have the power of the Void.”

Jax raised a curious brow at that. “That’s interesting. Because, you see, everyone I have run into so far who is able to harness the Void’s essence has tried to kill me. Because they have all belonged to the Sect of the Abyssal Thorns, and they’ve found that I’ve gotten in their way.”

“I can assure you, I have no malintent to anyone in Wolfwater or even Vacuos,” Arthur said placatingly. He almost thought that the elf had called him out here because of a suspicion that he could be evil. But—

“I know that,” Jax scoffed. “I simply wish to know more about your origins. After all, it’s quite mysterious how you suddenly were given this power, is it not?”

“Well… perhaps I could explain it to you in more detail some other time. For now, how about we focus on the reason why you called me here.” Arthur shook his head as he took on a wide stance.

He was prepared for a duel— and he was ready for it to get bloody. He didn’t think Jax would hold back. After all, why would the Forsaken Archer show kindness in a sparring session against someone who could regenerate from all their wounds?

And the elf just smirked. “You’re too hasty. But fine, let us begin. I can’t lie and say I’m not excited either.”

For a moment, neither of them moved. Arthur’s eyes flickered, turning purple. Electricity crackled at his fingertips as he stared at his sparring partner. The elf took a step to the side as he placed his arrow on his bow.

“Don’t forget— don’t hold back,” Jax said with a grin.

“Didn’t plan on it.”

And Arthur pointed, unleashing a streak of purple lightning at the elf. Perhaps the former Lich King was being excessive. This was simply a sparring session between the two of them. There had been no reason for him to send such a powerful attack at the start of the fight.

But he knew he was weak as he currently was, and he was trying to release some of his frustrations here. So he watched as the sky flashed, sending down his attack at his opponent. The ground was ripped apart as the nearby trees were lit ablaze.

Arthur raised a hand, watching as the blast cleared, leaving behind a smoking crater that was larger than a house. Blinking, he stared at where Jax had been standing, before looking a hundred feet to the right where Jax was now standing.

“Too slow,” the elf said. “Try again.”

Arthur gritted his teeth and raised both his hands. This time, his entire body crackled with electricity as his eyes glinted with a purple light. He rose to the sky as he clapped, and several lightning bolts came crashing down to the elf.

This time, for certain, Arthur was sure he struck his target. But as the smoke cleared, and he saw nothing waiting there, he heard a voice coming from behind him.

“Once again, too slow.”

Arthur blinked and spun around. But the elf grabbed the former Lich King before slamming him to the ground. Groaning, Arthur lay there as he stared at a glinting arrow aimed at his face. Jax grinned triumphantly, and Arthur expected the arrow to be loosed to finish the job.

But Jax just drew back and lowered the bow. “Nice try.”

“I… what?” Arthur looked up with round eyes, his confusion evident on his face.

And the elf simply continued, “Your attacks are powerful. But they are far too slow. They would never hit any competent enemy in battle. What you have in strength, you lack in experience.”

Arthur rose to his feet as he stared at the elf in confusion. Many had said that Jax was a bloodthirsty psychopath who loved nothing more than the thrill of battle and seeing the blood of his enemies. And yet, Jax hadn’t even harmed the former Lich King.

The most damage Arthur received was from being slammed to the ground. He was completely flummoxed by this.

“You’re not going to win any battles from strength alone,” Jax said, not realizing the confusion that was going through Arthur’s mind. “If you wish to truly get stronger—”

But the elf couldn’t finish as a distant voice echoed. Both men looked up into the sky, watching as a shadowed figure shot through the crowds, accompanied by a terrified scream.

“...what was that?” Arthur rubbed his eyes, trying to make out what he was seeing.

Jax furrowed his brows. “That’s Amelia. She’s probably heading off to do something boring. Let’s resume our sparring session.”

“But that was also… Edlyn?” the former Lich King asked.

In response, the elf shrugged. “Who knows what they’re doing. Come on, get back to your feet.”

“Right.”

—--

It took some persuasion. But I managed to convince Edlyn to accept my offer— to see her family again. She was hesitant. Apprehensive, even. Because she knew exactly how I was going to transport her to her hometown.

I had to promise her that I would go slow. And I made that promise just about ten times before she finally agreed, her desire to see her family again winning out. But now, as I soared through the air with her…

I was pretty sure that she regretted her decision, because she passed out.

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