(8-3F - Atalos Royal Palace Throne Room)
The doors to the throne room were made of hard metal, intricately carved with scenes of Crevon's founding. As they swung open, a gust of cool, magically regulated air hit Klein and Dokja. The room was vast, lined with pillars of gold and iron.
The knights were all dressed in [Lv.7 Atalos Platinum Armor], provided to them by the Royal Knights. Even the knights had a better equipment than Dokja and Klein.
At the far end sat a woman on a throne that looked less like a seat and more like a weapon.
Empress Araha Von Atalos Diana.
She was no longer just a Queen.
The aura radiating from her was sharp and ambitious, a monarch who had tasted absolute power and wanted more.
Standing near her were figures that made the air heavy.
Yuhael, Crevon's best elementalist, leaned against a pillar, spirits of fire and wind dancing around her fingers. Near her stood one more person.
This girl gave off a highly noble feeling, and that was self-evident, after all she was part of the British royal family. Rachel Elizabeth Louise, the Commander of the Royal Guards, stood stoically at the foot of the dais, her hand resting on her rapier. Her blue eyes were cold and focused.
And beside the Empress stood a giant of a man with a halberd.
Klein's eyes widened slightly.
He recognized the armor, the posture, the sheer legendary weight.
Lü Bu.
The "Treacherous Hero" from the legends of the Foodaholic Empire. To see a figure from Earth's history standing here was surreal.
Kim Dokja's eyes flashed gold.
[Character List]
[Name: Araha Von Atalos Diana]
...
[Name: Rachel Elizabeth Louise]
...
[Name: Lü Bu]
...
He scanned their windows, absorbing the data.
Then, he focused on Tomer, who was standing to the side, looking impatient.
[Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Stage 2]
Click.
He didn't need to struggle.
The thoughts flowed into him naturally, clearer than ever before.
'Is it because of my new Modifier?' he wondered. 'Maybe it lets me witness the internal monologue more easily.'
["I told him. I specifically told him to get rid of that black coat. Does he want to offend her?"]
Dokja blinked.
He looked at his own coat, which was now a deep, shifting charcoal gray.
Then he remembered. Tomer had mentioned it once in passing.
Empress Araha hates the color black.
'Ah,' Dokja thought, wincing internally. 'My apologies, Your Majesty. Fashion is a cruel mistress. I also have zero idea why it turned black out of a sudden.'
"Welcome," Araha spoke, her voice cutting through the silence. "The guests of the Ironblood Duchess. I trust your preparations were successful?"
"They were," Klein replied, bowing slightly with a gentleman's grace. "We thank you for your hospitality."
"Good," Araha nodded. "Because we need you ready. The war has escalated."
She gestured, and a holographic map appeared in the air.
"The Apocrypha has engaged the Devils Alliance. It was a massacre. We crushed them. Half of the twenty Devils are dead."
"Twenty..." Dokja muttered.
"But the cost was high," Araha continued, her expression darkening. "Baal has descended fully. The border between Realms thinned faster than anticipated, because of Black Lotus powers, allowing him to bypass the restrictions. And when we tried to retreat..." She looked at Klein. "One of the leaders of the Corruption Alliance intervened. To protect the retreat, Arianna stayed behind."
Klein froze.
The name hit him like a physical blow.
Arianna.
The Angel of Concealment.
The servant of the Evernight Goddess.
"Is she..." Klein asked, his voice steady but strained.
"Her state is Unknown," the Empress said. "We lost contact."
Klein felt a wave of profound sadness.
He clenched his gloved hand.
'Unknown...'
He realized, with terrifying clarity, that he was still too weak.
To survive the gaze of an Outer Deity, to save an Angel like Arianna, he needed to be a King of Angels(at least). He needed to be The Fool.
'Protect her,' he silently prayed, drawing a symbol of Evernight on the chest with his fingers, 'Praise the Lady!'
"We have some time before the border breaks completely," Araha said, dismissing the map. "Use it well. Familiarize yourselves with your new powers."
They left the throne room in silence.
"Wait." A voice called out from behind them.
It was Rachel.
She walked up to them, her blue eyes scanning their faces.
She was beautiful, stoic, and radiated a quiet intelligence. She had a sense of royalty they felt from Araha.
"I heard," Rachel said. "You are Hajin-ssi's new companions."
Dokja and Klein exchanged a glance.
"Yes," Dokja said.
"Where is he?" Rachel asked directly. "He is in the Tower, isn't he? Why didn't he come?"
Klein and Dokja looked at each other again.
The air grew awkward.
"He is... busy," Klein lied smoothly. "With work. Very important work."
"Yes," Dokja added.
Rachel stared at them for a second, then let out a short, incredulous laugh.
"Of course he is," she shook her head, looking more resigned than angry. "He's always like that. Disappearing when it matters, doing everything alone." She looked offended, but there was a fondness in her tone that made Dokja raise an eyebrow.
'Romance?' Dokja wondered. 'Or just comrades who survived hell together?'
"Well," Rachel sighed. "Tell him I said hello. If he ever decides to show his face."
She turned to leave.
"Wait," Klein called out. "Miss Rachel. You are a Player, correct?"
"Yes."
"How do you navigate the floors so efficiently? The Waiting Room method is... slow."
Rachel paused.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a glass sphere.
Inside, colors swirled like a contained nebula.
"With this," she said, tossing it to Klein.
===
[Crystal Stella]
—A navigation tool for high-ranking Players. Allows a party to teleport instantly to any previously visited floor.
===
"It's much more convenient," Rachel said. "Consider it a gift for... well, for putting up with him." She walked away, her cape fluttering.
"Thank you," Klein whispered.
Tomer escorted them back to her estate. The mood was heavy, but there was business to finish. "You haven't opened them yet," Tomer said, pointing to the boxes they still carried. "Hajin's gifts."
Tomer snorted in displeasure.
"He bragged about it so much, I'm also quite intrigued… So..?"
They stood in the garden.
Klein placed the Red Box on a stone table.
Dokja placed the Blue Box beside it.
"Right," Dokja said. "Time to see what our sugar daddy left us."
They opened the lids.
FLASH.
A blinding pillar of gold and white light erupted from the boxes, lighting up the gray sky of Crevon.
[System Alert]
[You are one of the few who has witnessed the peak of 'Young Dwarf's Dexterity'.]
[A new Story is being recorded!]
[You acquired a new story: 'Those Who Ride the Bus of Fate']
[Rank: Legendary]
[Description: A story about two helpless protagonists who were boosted, geared, and carried by a single, overworked Author. The Star Will acknowledges your status as 'Nepo Babies'.]
"Nepo babies..." Dokja muttered, his eye twitching. "I'm going to hit him."
But he looked into his box.
Inside was a set of glowing crystals.
[Beyonder Characteristics: Error Pathway (Sequence 9 - 4)]
[Bag of Supplementary Ingredients (Labeled and Sorted)]
[Advancement Ritual List (Handwritten by 'Extra7')]
And a ring.
It was simple, silver, but etched with runes that seemed to shift when you looked at them.
===
[Lv.14 Ring of the Monkey King]
○ Four-colored Enchant of Spirit Power
— The ring is infused with High-level enchantments and Spirit Power. It was made by the greatest jewelsmith in the world. Amplifies chaos-attribute skills and transformation abilities.
*Note: If broken unleashes the power of the Monkey King.
===
"He really prepared everything," Dokja whispered, feeling the weight of the items.
Klein looked into his box.
There was a single piece of paper.
[Recipe: Sequence 1 - Attendant of Mysteries]
Klein felt a jolt of shock.
Hajin had extracted the Sequence 1 characteristic from the Curtain. But he hadn't included the characteristic itself in the box.
'Even Hajin couldn't expect me to digest the potion so fast…'
And then, there was the artifact.
It was a cane.
It was made of a dark, polished wood that felt like bone. The handle was silver, shaped like a hand grasping a sphere. It was beautiful, elegant, and radiated a terrifying aura of death.
Klein felt as if it was alive. An ominous feeling of the Sealed artifact.
Klein couldn't help it. He grabbed it.
[Player Encyclopedia]
===
[Sealed Artifact: Lv. 13 Cane of the Depraved Monarch]
[Description:A Transcendent-grade sealed artifact forged from high-grade materials, sealed with the corpse and Giant Stories of the 9th Demon King, Paimon.
The cane contains a psyche fragment and Beyonder Characteristics of Mocoxidos, forcibly restrained through a multi-layer seal of Giant Stories.
When power unleashed allows to wield Paimon's authorities.
Even dormant, it exerts a faint rotting presence over its surroundings.]
[Creator: 'Extra7']
[Composition: High-grade Spirit Wood, Refined Orichalcum, Body of the 9th Demon King]
[Core Material: Sequence 3 – Left Hand of Decay]
[Inherited Lore: 9th Demon King Paimon]
[Modifier: The Monarch of Waning Eternities]
[Imprinted Giant Stories:]
— The Kingdom That Rotted in a Single Night
— The Emperor Who Refused to Die
[Abilities:]
○ Left Hand of Decay
— Any onlooker who sees the cane (or the "hand" it projects) freezes. Their thoughts decay. Their body rots. Damage is transferred even through clones/projections.
○ Environment Decay
— Withers the surrounding environment and decomposes incoming attacks.
○ Projectile Launch
— Can shoot waves of "Decay" with the force of a steam cannon. (Warning: The seal protects the cane, not the user. Do not hit yourself.)
[Side Effect:]
— The user's thought speed and reaction time gradually slow, imitating early-stage decay.
Long-term exposure may cause:
— memory smearing
— delayed perception
— emotional numbness
*Note: Users are advised to maintain periodic mental purification.
===
"Level 13..." Tomer whistled, looking at the cane with envy. "Lv.10 items are rare enough to start wars in this Tower. And he gave you a Lv.13? I should have asked for a sword."
Klein held the cane. The slight sluggishness in his thoughts was noticeable, but his Clown control compensated for it. It was a weapon of mass destruction disguised as a gentleman's accessory.
"It is... adequate," Klein said, suppressing a smile.
Suddenly, the empty boxes hummed. Beams of light shot out from them, merging in the air to form a holographic screen. Text began to type itself out, rapid and urgent.
[Sender: Extra7]