Chapter 23: Roble Holy Kingdom (1)
They will die here.
Everyone present thought so—and they were not wrong. Four men and women stood there, each with a different yet similar expression.
Some looked resigned, others seemed ready to lose their sanity in rage, while a few calmly accepted their fate. But even so, one emotion they all shared was sorrow—sorrow that they had been betrayed.
A fox-like man was the first to speak. Among the four, one had proposed a way for at least one of them to survive. It was true—there was a method. Only one of them could live, but there was a chance. Dying meaninglessly together might be worse than letting one live on.
Yet… would that truly be salvation? No one knew. It was an untested, uncertain experiment—but faced with death, they chose to erase their fear.
The problem was, who among them would live?
An elf-like woman turned to one of the men. The blood-stained man still wore the look of someone crushed by betrayal.
His expression was sorrowful, but not devoid of reason—or perhaps he was only pretending to remain calm. She couldn't tell.
He had always been passionate and impulsive, yet in decisive moments, he acted without hesitation and made rational judgments. His only weakness was his compassion. But it was precisely that kindness that made everyone follow their leader.
Their choice was unanimous.
Even if they acted selfishly to save themselves, they couldn't defeat the thing outside—that monster known as a "player." The only one who might stand a chance, the only one who could protect humanity, was obvious.
The man refused, saying it was impossible. He insisted there must be a way for them all to live. But it was already too late.
Everything was too late. And so his comrades entrusted everything to him. That was their faith in him, their love for him, their admiration for him—and their complete belief that he would carry their will forward. Even if it meant losing everything they were, even if it meant their very existence in this world would be forgotten.
And the man who accepted all of that—
....
Kaiser quietly opened his eyes.
It felt like he had just dreamed of something long ago. People said that dreams fade the moment one wakes, and Kaiser was no different from humans in that regard. He glanced down at the faint weight on his legs—Arche, fast asleep, using his lap as a pillow. Her breathing was deep and steady, the sound of exhaustion. He might have pushed her too far.
Still, the results were good. He himself had grown strong in a similar way—fighting a rival worthy of being called his nemesis, winning through wounds, blood, and depleted mana.
When humans reach their limits, they can exert power beyond what's normally possible. It's precisely because it's the limit that such strength manifests. To make that strength one's normal state, the brain must be deceived into believing that such extreme conditions are ordinary.
That's why it's best to train in an atmosphere like a battlefield. Of course, rest was also necessary—without proper balance, the body would break.
The sunlight was warm. He gazed at the rising sun. As its light spread, shadows stretched long across the earth. Mist drifted down from mountains so high they seemed to merge with the heavens. The moon still hung faintly in the brightening sky—a sight not rare, yet always strangely beautiful.
Kaiser gently stroked Arche's hair.
She had talent, diligence, and the self-awareness to view herself objectively. But that wasn't why he had chosen her.
No, Kaiser—the strong—had once been momentarily overwhelmed by the gaze of Arche—the weak. That impression had lingered in him ever since. Because he couldn't forget that feeling, he had taken her as his disciple.
The morning sun touched her face. Arche frowned faintly at the brightness, then slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes were red and swollen, clearly still fatigued. Kaiser smiled and flicked his fingers—the redness faded instantly. Arche blinked up at him blankly, clearly still half-asleep.
Still, to think she managed to take down even an elder lich, weak or not…
It had been another long, drawn-out battle, but she'd done it. Once again, Kaiser found himself impressed by her mental fortitude.
Did she stay calm because she trusted that he would save her if necessary? Or because she understood that losing her composure would mean certain death? Either way, it was admirable.
"Kaiser-sama… s-sniff… how long was I asleep?"
"You fainted. The moment you defeated the elder lich, you collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut."
It was more than relief—it was the simple fact that her body had reached its limit. For a magic caster to fight that long was pure self-destruction. Some might call this training, others might call it torture. But it couldn't be helped.
Ordinary methods only produced ordinary strength. If you wanted extraordinary strength, you had to choose extraordinary means. And if you sought something beyond that—something inhuman—then you needed methods just as abnormal.
Among those, even changing one's race could be considered an option. Humans were, by nature, a weak species.
Kaiser smiled calmly and drew a thick book from the air, handing it to Arche. She blinked, taking it blankly. The book was clearly old.
There had once been a name inscribed at the end, but most of it had been worn away—only the first letter, "E," remained.
Arche opened it and skimmed the contents. It was a detailed compilation of tiered magic—the methods of learning, the steps of training, and even notes on each spell's dangers and peculiarities. She had never seen anything like it before.
When she looked up in surprise, Kaiser was smiling gently.
"It's a book my old comrade wrote whenever she learned new magic," he explained. "She wanted to leave something for the future. I can't teach you magic myself, so I want you to study and grow using that book."
"Th-thank you… so much… Th-then, what are we doing next?"
"Let's see," Kaiser said, standing and stretching slightly. "For now… let's head to the Roble Holy Kingdom."
"Huh? But getting there will take quite a while."
Kaiser chuckled softly.
"We already moved through a teleport gate while you were asleep. Normally, the training you just went through would've been what we did on the way to the Roble Holy Kingdom. So take it as a compliment—your growth rate is impressive. Or maybe… Arche is just stronger than I expected."
He spoke with a hint of pride, and perhaps because she sensed that, Arche's cheeks flushed faintly.
Being praised by someone she deeply respected was always a joy.
The Roble Holy Kingdom was known for its frequent battles against demi-humans. In that sense, there was no better place to gain real combat experience. Most of the adventurers' requests here involved subjugating demi-humans; even if there hadn't been a major war recently, that didn't mean one would never break out again.
"Kaiser-sama, have you been to the Roble Holy Kingdom before?"
"A long time ago," he replied. "So long, in fact, that I doubt anyone I knew back then is still alive. Enough time has passed for every one of them to die of old age."
Arche looked quietly at him.
Since childhood, she had heard many stories from Kaiser, so among the people of this age, she knew him relatively well. Yet there were still countless things she didn't know. How could one possibly understand someone who had lived for centuries? It was difficult enough to truly know someone even after twenty years.
Absentmindedly, she took off the Ring of Growth that still adorned her finger. Instantly, she felt mana swirl violently around her body—startled, she hurriedly put it back on. Her mana capacity had clearly increased. Could this really happen in just one night?
Indeed, she had faced death countless times in that one night, but still—it was unbelievable. Perhaps this was the ring's effect.
"Kaiser-sama, did you ever use this Ring of Growth yourself?"
"Hm? …No," he said, smiling faintly. "I obtained that ring around two hundred years ago. By then, I was already 'Kaiser,' the so-called Guardian of Humanity."
"Do you even have any worthy opponents left now? It seems hard to imagine anyone could even match you."
"The world is vast," Kaiser replied calmly. "And this is something you must remember, Arche—no matter how strong you become, never let your guard down. Always assume your opponent has a way to kill you. The moment you start believing you're special, you'll die as easily as anyone else."
"I-I'll keep that in mind."
Kaiser gently patted her head.
"We could go straight to the Roble Holy Kingdom, but… maybe we'll take a little detour."
"You're not lost, are you?"
"I can teleport to Roble anytime, so no problem."
Arche wasn't entirely convinced, but she followed him anyway.
"There's a hidden demi-human base up ahead," Kaiser said casually. "My fighting aura picked it up."
"I see… wait—you don't mean…"
"Since we've found it, we might as well deal with it."
The very fact that such a base existed nearby meant they were likely preparing to invade the Roble Holy Kingdom. Better to cut the weed before it spread. As an adventurer in Roble, Arche would have to take on missions like this regularly anyway.
Kaiser smiled at her, noticing the color draining from her face.
Calm down… calm down, she told herself.
It's fine—her mana had recovered, and thanks to the Ring of Growth, her fatigue was fading faster than usual. That meant she could fight. Kaiser wouldn't send her against something she couldn't possibly win against.
She steadied herself, gripping the Sage's Rosario for focus. If she used its chant correctly, victory was within reach. It wasn't impossible. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself—
"The chant of the Sage's Rosario is forbidden," Kaiser said calmly.
An utterly unthinkable condition.
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