The absolute monarch, called the first and immortal king, was Ravigion III. Following his reign over Rafdonia for thousands of years and after his death, the New World king launched numerous policies to shake off the deep-rooted vestiges of his predecessor. The most representative case was the modification of the calendar.
To more comfortably calculate the labyrinth cycle, a month of thirty days was set and the thirteenth month was created to house the remaining days. Additionally, the maze cycle was changed to thirty-five days by updating the portal. Of course, this caused controversy among scholars. They claimed that it was impractical to waste five days a year. However, the New World King firmly held a major festival every thirteenth month and won over the public, and the controversy calmed down as the years passed.
The name of the era also changed twice. At first it was named after the king's real name, but due to its long and difficult pronunciation, the public called the king by a nickname that the royal family began to use as well: New World.
On the 154th day of the New World, May 2, the seven pillars of fire that sprang from each Dimension Square covered the sky of Rafdonia. It was a disaster that would be recorded in the history books for a long time.
***
«Maldite sea».
Holding on to something, I lifted my body with difficulty. Then I left the room with the crutches resting next to my bed. Oh, these damn stairs.
«Bjorn! You should have called me if you were awake, why do you suffer alone?» Missha was cooking on the first floor when she found me and helped me.
Now I really felt like a patient. I guess it was. They told me I would have to recover for a month. His arms and legs still felt weak.
«Come, sit down. This is your first meal since you went out, right? I have prepared one for the first time in a long time». As Missha went to get Ainar, I took a moment to catch my breath with a spoon in my hand.
Three days had passed.
Three days had passed since that day. Of course, it barely seemed real. The first day we returned, all the survivors were dragged to the palace to testify what happened inside the labyrinth. Afterwards, I slept the whole time.
Bastard locos.
He still felt chills when he remembered the moment when the columns of fire exploded. And to think they were trying to rob us while we were away. I never dreamed that they would place a trap in the center of the square where the portal opened, and in the seven squares.
What is really going to happen now?
The damage suffered by those of us who emerged from the labyrinth normally was minimal, but the Third Royal Guard and numerous large clans were largely annihilated. Of course, there were survivors among them as well. Some whose portals formed on the outskirts of the square retreated as soon as the magic circles were lit and managed to save themselves with luck, maybe a hundred? That was the total of the seven places. It was a bit ironic.
«A great commander is not someone who makes the perfect decisions. He is someone who takes what is necessary».
Those who made the necessary choice were all dead, and those left behind fought sleeplessly for days and survived. Our positions changed overnight. If I had accepted that guy's offer then and left without my companions, what would have happened?
«I would be dead». Those words left my mouth without me realizing it.
I heard Missha's voice from behind me. «Hm? What did you say?»
«Nothing. Where is Ainar?»
«I patted him on the back, but he still doesn't move».
«She must have been very tired.»
«Yeah. I'll serve her once she wakes up later. »
Wow, she must have been tired too. While the two of us were just sleeping, Missha woke up several times to serve us food and help us focus only on sleeping. He even found crutches from somewhere in the meantime. She was a companion I could trust in many ways.
"¿Por qué no comes?"
Staring at Missha, I came to my senses and put the spoon in my mouth. The taste seemed to announce the end of a hard day.
«...What are you going to do with Erwen?» missha asked when the meal was almost over. After the first day's investigation, Erwen took her sister's body to the sacred fairy land.
«I don't know. He said he would visit us after the funeral, so I plan to talk more about it then».
«Hmm, is that right?» Showing a lukewarm reaction, that's what Missha said. «Why don't we take her home?»
That? Was he probing me? Or saying no in advance? Many thoughts crossed my mind in a split second, but his tone didn't point to that at all. «What do you mean by that?»
«Well... Did you say he lived with his sister? It will be difficult for it to stay there. But I'm too worried that she lives alone».
«¿Y?»
«It's a shame we can't get into the maze like six people, but I think we should take care of her until she recovers.».
True, he had forgotten that Missha was like that. Her intention was laudable, which made me want to make fun of her. «Didn't you hate fairies?»
«Eek, who do you take me for? Spit out the food that has cost me so much to prepare. Spit it all out!» Missha growled as she looked me up and down. It was a strange feeling. A moment ago, I felt like my heart was overwhelmed by all kinds of thoughts. «Why are you laughing? My nerves are getting on».
«I'm just grateful.»
«...Ugh, otra vez de la nada». Missha diverts the annoying look and gulló su agua.
I watched her in silence. The truth is that, except for the ears on the top of his head and tail, he looked like a normal human being. His short red hair had grown a little since we met. He had a sharp nose and eyes tilted slightly upward. You could tell she was simple and kind just by exchanging a few words, but when I saw her face for the first time I thought she would be quarrelsome and chic.
Late, I realized that the atmosphere was calm. An awkward silence persisted in the kitchen for some reason.
«Um...» It was the moment Missha parted her lips.
Toc, toc.
We heard a knock on the front door.
«I'll see».
«...Okay, I'll clean the table.»
Walking with crutches and opening the front door, I saw a familiar person standing there. «Kyle Pevrosk.»
«Haha, good to see you. Did you rest well?»
«I fell asleep as soon as I arrived and I just woke up».
«So you have time for a brief conversation?».
«Of course. Pass».
When I stepped aside, Kyle walked in. He then exchanged greetings with Missha, who was cleaning the table.
«¡Oh! ¿Sr. Kyle?»
«I'm sorry, Miss Karlstein. It seems that I have interrupted an intimate moment».
«¡Eek, no bromees! Él y yo no somos así ».
«Hmm, right? Excuse me then». Kyle apologized like he didn't really know.
Missha glanced at me, then turned around and started doing housework. And so, we sat on the sofa in the living room.
«I wanted to come pick you up earlier, but as you know, I had a lot of work to do».
«I understand. After what happened...»
«Sí, to...»
There was an awkward silence as he mentioned that incident. Soon, Missha left the cookies she had bought earlier on the couch table and returned to her room so we could talk comfortably.
«Oh, this is from Lanemouth Bakery».
«Oh yeah? It must be a famous place».
The atmosphere was lively thanks to that. Then I spoke more comfortably. «If you have time, I want to hear it from the beginning.»
«I have plenty of time until my next appointment, but what do you mean by the beginning?»
«Fallen scholar. What happened to that old man?»
It was news I was curious about but hadn't had a chance to hear. By the time I woke up it was almost time for the seventh day to end, and I even spent that day taking care of Erwen, not to mention what happened after returning to the city. Dimension Square that day was literally a melting pot of chaos.
«Oh, that...» Kyle bit into a cookie and started talking.
There were a few things he couldn't understand since it was a battle between wizards, but the gist was simple: he lost one on one. Before he could even use Awakening, which he had been preparing for years, he found himself cornered by an overwhelming sequence of spells. Activating a spell in an incomplete state, he took some damage.
«I thought that with all my efforts I had managed to catch up with him, but it was all my mistake. No, on the contrary, the gap seems to be larger than before».
Kyle was facing a wall he could never cross no matter what. What was even more humiliating was that he was still surviving.
«...He said my talent was a waste. Isn't it funny? He wasn't even his rival. If he hadn't intended to forgive me, he probably wouldn't have left even that much damage». When he finished speaking, Kyle's face was gloomy.
«It must have been a difficult topic to talk about, thanks for telling me».
«I thought you should know that too. After that event, you could become their target».
Ugh, so this man thinks so too.
«Due to this incident, the palace has raised the level of danger of the Fallen Scholar another notch, just below the commander. To be honest, as someone who has faced him, I think it's worth aligning him on the same level as a commander... But no matter how many times he says it, everyone else thinks differently.»
«They won't know until they experience it themselves».
This was a mage who could pierce my mana resistance, which was set with great difficulty, with a regular hit. How many of these monsters could there be in the world? If we happened to find ourselves in the labyrinth under normal conditions, we would not be able to avoid annihilation in a matter of minutes.
«Anyway, that's why I wanted to tell you to be careful».
Hmm, but personality-wise, I don't think he'll bother coming looking for me out of revenge. Unlike Clown.
«What happened to Corpse Collector?»
«There is no news yet. I heard he took a critical hit from you before he left, but he's probably still alive.»
«...Ya veo.»
At least Clown was better off, because this time he lost an army of thousands of corpses. It would take him an immense amount of time to get that back, so at least he had time to level up.
«So how many survivors are there?»
«Do you mean the ones who set up the portal?»
«Of course. I think I heard about a hundred people survived».
Kyle sighed at my words. «There are 103 to be exact, although I don't know if they can be considered alive».
«What do you mean?»
Once again, Kyle used professional magician jargon to explain this and that. In short, it was like that.
«So, it was a unique spell imbued with black magic, so not even the divine power treatment worked properly?».
«That's right. Now they are all unconscious. When they will wake up... no, it is not clear whether they will wake up or not».
«That's a hellish situation».
After the survivors topic, we had a conversation about that incident. What was happening? As a high-ranking member of the palace, Kyle told me everything he knew openly.
«At first, we were confused too. How did you prepare a spell that requires several months of preparation so that it barely works in the square in a day?». This was the question all the explorers asked themselves that day, including me. The answer was really simple. «It turned out that a magic circle was drawn in the sewer to avoid prying eyes».
Like people who lived in a tunnel, they worked from below.
«Our research found that the barrier at Noark is unchanged. That means these guys have a way to get outside, or labor that was eliminated beforehand».
I laughed awkwardly at his hypothesis. It was probably the labor that was taken out beforehand.
For example... Amelia.
A Noark spy had infiltrated the city. Until now, it was ambiguous to call her strictly an enemy. I had thought that his hatred was only directed towards the royal family and not towards me.
But now it would be correct to consider her an enemy.
That woman would continue working under Noark. And if I were unlucky, I might end up losing my life because of it, unless I joined Noark's side.
«So let's get to the main topic.»
«¿El main theme?»
«Currently, the situation in the city is not good, because a large number of the important figures who maintained the city are dead. At this rate, the economy will collapse first».
This was what I expected too. The explorers were miners who collected resources from the maze. The knights could be strong, but they were not even remotely explorers in this regard. The high-ranking scouts were all dead, well, apart from some big clans that had been boycotting. There were still high-ranking explorers who didn't feel safe even after ID tags were introduced, but the real problem lay elsewhere.
«Those people probably won't get back into the maze. That is, until they are convinced that the maze is safe».
An unsafe maze was a funny expression, but understandable. The number of survivors of this cycle was less than 2,000. Who would want to extract mana stones in this situation?
«...It's inevitable. Until now, identification tags and the Third Royal Guard had reassured explorers, but the reality has been exposed.»
The knights who swore to protect us from Noark were reduced to opening portals with large clans. Leaving behind ten thousand scouts, they fled.
«I'm embarrassed to say this, but someone said during the meeting that it would have been better if there were no survivors.».
I laughed bitterly at Kyle's words. The longer I lived it, the more I thought this was a cruel world.
Well, that won't change because I complain.
«So now I have to keep an eye on the Fallen Scholar, the Corpse Collector, and the palace?».
«Haha, of course not». Kyle waved at my half-joking concern. «You may not know this because you have only been home, but you have become a very important figure for the palace».
« ... A detail ».
«Even right now, stories about you are spreading from the survivors who traveled with us that day. In a few more days, there will be no one left who doesn't know who you are. After all, you are the rising star who alone left the Corpse Collector in that state!».
«...Please don't spread rumors that I did it on my own anywhere.»
«You are a humble guy.»
No, it's not about being humble, it's really overwhelming.
Being just a good guy who worked harder than anyone else on the front lines was enough, but this reputation was hard for me to bear. The one fighting on his own was actually Clown. Even while fighting our team, that guy was pushing back the main team made up of veteran scouts with an army of corpses.
Thinking about it like that, he is truly a monster.
I ordered the thoughts that passed briefly and returned to the main topic. «And what does that have to do with the palace? Explorers of my level would be widespread there».
«But few as iconic as you».
«I don't know what you mean».
«There was a growing distrust of the palace as it was. It is clear that this incident will become a catalyst. The king has judged it this way: if you become its core, it could lead to a higher fir-»
Damn sea.
«...Hey? Why do you look like that?»
I answered honestly: «For some reason, all I've heard is that they're going to get rid of me.». This was my 100% sincerity.
Whether or not he knew my concerns, Kyle chuckled. «Don't worry about anything. The palace's approach to you has already been decided at the meeting».
Decided? Oh, is that why you said I don't have to be careful?
«Stop beating around the bush and tell me. Now I see that's why you came today in the first place».
When I insisted, Kyle smiled as if he were the most pleased. «Congratulations. You will soon receive a very, very, very large reward».
The king had decided to give me a carrot.