Chapter 222
Caron's report was neat and systematic.
The appearance of one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Volkan.
The emergence of the undead and the start of the battle.
Volkan's power to turn our allies into the undead.
The failure to raise Legion Commander Crowley.
The appearance of the Bone Dragon and Lucia's feats up to that point.
I paid close attention to Caron's words.
In my 18 years of gaming, this was the first time a hidden piece had been activated, and each aspect felt novel and exciting.
'Exciting!'
Before I became the person known as Zero, I was a hardcore gamer who loved this game.
I couldn't help but find Caron's report thrilling.
Especially when I heard about Lucia defeating the Bone Dragon, I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
'Without a holy power potion, it's impossible to defeat the Bone Dragon. Could it be... that Lucia has a Sacred Sword?'
Caron revealed quite a bit of information, but there was also quite a bit he kept hidden.
Notably, he concealed the involvement of Adonis and the existence of the Sacred Sword.
Initially, he said it was Douglas, not Adonis, who had joined them.
Apparently, Douglas, who was 'playing dead' for some reason, had briefly helped out.
Of course, knowing that Douglas and Adonis are the same person, this didn't pose any real issue for me.
"...and that's what happened."
Caron concluded his report.
I licked my lips in frustration.
They had failed to capture Volkan after all.
'I had held a faint hope based on a mere inference from the system window...'
They faced a situation where they had to stake everything on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but, ultimately, they missed capturing Volkan.
'I wonder if I should have provided more information about Volkan beforehand?'
A thought briefly crossed my mind.
But it quickly vanished.
'How would I know about Volkan's powers and mysteries? There's no way to explain that.'
It was absurd to think that I, a mere fifteen-year-old, could fully comprehend the powers and capabilities of Volkan.
No sooner would we capture Volkan than they would imprison me.
They would probably start torturing me, questioning whether I was really friends with the Four Heavenly Kings.
Caron’s meticulous care (?) would ensure I was tortured until the continent was destroyed.
Would I forsake the future for immediate gains?
As a veteran gamer, that was something I absolutely shouldn't do.
'More importantly, the Volkan I know is the Volkan of the future.'
I had no idea what skills and level he currently possessed or how many of his six mysteries he had secured in the future he already had.
'I guess I should respond now.'
Caron was staring intently at me.
Although I had only been lost in thought for about 15 seconds, facing Caron meant I had to be cautious, very cautious.
"Undead... troublesome creatures have appeared."
"You would drop dead in shock if you saw one."
Perhaps Caron didn't appreciate my calm demeanor.
"I see it's the second time."
"What are you talking about?"
"The Creator of Madness. You missed him then, and you’ve missed again now. Isn't that a bit incompetent?"
Caron staggered as if he had been struck by an arrow.
"Oh, that reminds me, I didn't explain the situation to you properly at that time. Let me tell you more about it."
Caron began to mutter an explanation about the past situation.
Well, it was none of my concern now.
Calculating the new variables was more important.
'Successfully cutting off Volkan's left arm...'
It was not a bad harvest.
This game was structured in such a way that losing a part of the body would significantly reduce one’s stats.
Losing an arm could mean a loss of about 10-15% of total stats.
That’s a significant figure.
It was a substantial loss for any character, but for Volkan, it meant something different because...
'Volkan has a trait that increases his total mana every day.'
Volkan alone could handle tens of thousands of undead, truly showcasing the power of a one-man legion.
Smashing through the continual waves of undead and reducing Volkan’s magic power to less than half was the key strategy and an essential precondition that had to be met.
'That’s easier said than done, though.'
Volkan, already formidable with his traits, was also armed with various artifacts and mysteries in the future.
Despite shattering the undead repeatedly, his magic power seemed inexhaustible.
If our attacks slowed, there was a chance he could even recover.
It felt like trying to scoop out the ocean with a shovel.
'But now the size of that ocean has been reduced by 10-15%? That's a significant harvest.'
While it was regrettable that he couldn't kill Volkan, Caron must have tried his best.
What can one do? Embracing even the incompetent is the duty of a true veteran gamer.
Still muttering, I addressed Caron.
"Keke, I see. I've listened well. Very capable indeed. You truly are Professor Caron."
"..."
Thwack!
What came back was a sharp smack from Caron.
Even when praised, he hits. Truly a strange man.
Or perhaps, he’s a pervert who feels joy in striking children?
Maybe even the worst kind of pervert who hits cute children first and asks questions later!
Why doesn’t he hit Luna? Well, of course. Compared to Luna...
‘I’m cuter.’
Thwack!
Suddenly, Caron's fist flew past and hit my head again.
"Keke, why hit me again? I didn’t even say anything."
"...The fist moved on its own. Is this your doing?"
"How could that be? It clearly seemed like an act of Professor Caron’s will."
"Well then, let it be so."
"...?"
No intention of apologizing, then? Typical of a child abuser. His thoughts are indeed unique.
Anyway, enough with the jokes.
It was time to get serious.
Volkan's stats had dropped significantly, and revealing the existence of the Four Heavenly Kings on the continent was a major achievement.
And the losses.
"How many have died?"
"...Five."
Caron named each one.
It was no secret. The Empire would soon announce their deaths anyway.
‘Edwin was part of the expedition. I’ll have to give up on the mysteries of the East.’
I erased the related hidden pieces from my mind.
The quest initially started because of Edwin's extensive network, and he had to personally guide it.
With Edwin dead, it became impossible.
I also cleared my mind of episodes related to him.
The same was true for the other four.
‘The only consolation is that aside from Edwin, the others had minor roles.’
It seemed unlikely that their deaths would lead to significant changes in the story.
We continued to exchange various pieces of information and tidied up.
As a result, the most urgent thing to ascertain now was...
"It’s confirmed that the Four Heavenly Kings exist."
"Keke, I agree."
The Creator of Madness, Lucius Black.
??? Lizbeth.
The Maestro of the Battlefield, Volkan.
???
With three confirmed, the existence of the fourth was a given.
They were known among the black mages as the Four Heavenly Kings, after all.
"The unidentified woman, Lizbeth, is also a problem, but the identity of the remaining one of the Four Heavenly Kings... It’s urgent that we uncover who that is."
Caron was deep in thought, likely because he had no information on them.
Of course, I fully understood his identity.
‘Red King, Broken.’
The strongest of the Four Heavenly Kings and an entity I myself did not wish to encounter.
Neither Elester, Caron, Lucia, Adonis, nor anyone else.
‘No one can defeat him.’
An entity that cannot be beaten one-on-one. That’s the man known as Broken, the last of the Four Heavenly Kings, the ‘Red King.’
‘That reminds me...’
I couldn’t help but frown.
I realized that the story had changed.
It wasn’t just about chopping off one of Volkan’s arms, but that the existence of the Four Heavenly Kings had been revealed too early.
‘Broken is a character who goes around assassinating skilled individuals one by one.’
Adonis is also one of his victims.
Broken realizes Adonis’s existence and Adonis meets his end after Chapter 4.
‘But now, in the early part of Chapter 2, Adonis has already demonstrated his skills in the fight against Volkan.’
Naturally, Volkan would have reported this to Broken.
Broken, having the name Adonis on his hit list, was now likely to be more active than ever, given that the existence of the Four Heavenly Kings had been unwittingly exposed.
'What if Adonis is killed before Chapter 4?'
That would be disastrous.
Immediate action was needed.
I quickly thought through my options.
"...Magic. It’s likely a being with strong offensive capabilities."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because it needs to differ from the powers held by the other Heavenly Kings."
The abilities granted by the legion commanders to the black mages.
It wouldn’t make sense for all to be the same. Demons, those creatures of ‘fun,’ wouldn’t grant uniform powers.
"While it's not certain, Lucius Black is likely to have powers related to demon research and physical strength."
"...I agree. Demons are not entities that can be managed by simply merging with a body. He must possess a strong physique."
"Lizbeth probably has abilities related to demon breeding or enchantment, maybe deals, with about a 60% likelihood."
"You're talking about Bineus. Indeed, a demon that obeys human commands precisely is rare. The term ‘mother’ also points to that."
"Volkan’s powers would be related to bones and handling souls."
"Right. Then the remaining power among those identified for the black mages could be..."
Curses, summoning, binding, enchantment, etc.
"Among them, the magical category with high lethality. You think it's likely that the being possesses such power."
"That’s correct."
"However, it could also be a different power. The power Volkan holds was unseen before."
"Who knows? It could be an entity that literally embodies the essence of black magic, capable of handling all these."
Caron fell into thought.
It was about a minute later when he spoke again.
"That’s not just logical reasoning."
"Keke, correct. But it's always necessary to assume the worst scenario. There is some evidence to support it."
"You have evidence?"
"Have there not been incidents of sudden deaths among skilled individuals in other kingdoms?"
Caron's eyes lit up.
Honestly, this was a gamble, trusting in Caron and the rat-like information gathering abilities.
'They’ve also reliably secured information from other kingdoms. As expected of the rats.'
There were two reasons for Caron's excitement.
That such incidents had indeed occurred. And...
"Keke, are you amazed? That I know such information too?"
That I possessed information they had struggled to obtain.
So, it was natural for Caron to be surprised.
But it was still too early for him to be truly astonished.
"There have also been sudden deaths in the Empire recently."
"Such numbers are usual. Illness is just that."
"What if we include the number of missing people?"
"...Missing?"
"Skilled individuals of 6 stars or higher who suddenly disappeared, or those whose families say went into training and can’t be located. Ah, those individuals wouldn’t even be classified as missing. If we count them, how many would there be?"
Caron had no immediate response.
He likely didn’t have related information at hand.
"...Just wait here for a moment."
Caron disappeared out the window.
Hmm, perhaps tonight will be a sleepless one.
--TL Notes--
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