What is a Desperado?
Neither Ikki nor Shizuku, nor even the princess Stella, had ever heard of a so-called 'Desperado'. Only Arisuin Nagi chose to remain silent, not saying a single word.
"This is a realm that ordinary people cannot touch at all. It's only natural that you haven't heard of it, so I'll explain it simply."
A Desperado is a special realm for Blazers. Only the truly powerful can reach it; it is an existence that has transcended fate.
The concept of the 'Desperado' realm somewhat overturned the worldviews of the few present, because it was completely different from the existing Blazer system.
"Magic power is determined from birth"—that is a Blazer. But "a Desperado's magic power will continue to grow."
And the top powers in the current world all possess strategic weapons like Desperados. Even in the current Far East, there are several Desperados.
After hearing this, Ikki Kurogane and his sister Shizuku were completely stunned. This was a new system they had never encountered, bringing them immense shock.
But on the other side, Stella had already lowered her head, making it impossible to see her expression.
Until a spark of fire ignited beside Stella, the crimson girl then raised her head and looked at Jingliu and Skirk with an incredibly serious expression.
"Teacher Jingliu, Teacher Skirk... are you Desperados from the Alliance?"
"No, we have no connection to the Alliance, nor do we have any connection to other factions. We represent only ourselves."
Facing Stella's inquiry, Jingliu gave a direct negative answer. They were beings from outside the world. Although they were temporarily residing in the Far East, they had not joined any faction.
Not even as figureheads, because Nango Torajiro truly didn't dare to bring trouble to these two powerful beings; otherwise, he might end up playing with fire and getting burned.
"In that case, do you know... why the Alliance hasn't made the secret of the 'Desperado' public?"
The Vermillion Kingdom, as one of the member states related to the Alliance, had actually never heard of a realm like 'Desperado'. What did that imply?
The Alliance was deceiving most countries, allowing only a few to monopolize Desperado technology!
This was a major diplomatic incident. If not handled properly, it could very likely cause turmoil throughout the world!
"I know."
"Why? Please, you must tell me!"
The Vermillion Kingdom was not large, but that didn't mean Stella was a useless princess. On the contrary, this princess was unprecedentedly strong and hoped her country could become better and better.
So, upon learning that the world still hid a realm like 'Desperado', Stella felt truly angry and disappointed with the Alliance...
"Because the path of a Desperado is more difficult than anyone can imagine."
"Stella, where do you think your talent stands among the Blazers of the world?"
"Definitely at the top!"
Although Stella was proud, she also had a clear understanding of her own strength. If even she, a Quadruple-A Knight, wasn't at the top, were there any strong knights left in the world?
"That is the reason."
"When even an A-Rank Knight like you hasn't become a Desperado, how could those Blazers with even worse talent have a chance?"
The realm of a Desperado is unreachable for 99.9% of the people in the world. Even an existence as powerful as Stella had never known the truth of the Desperado until now.
If it weren't for Jingliu, she probably wouldn't have learned all this until the future in the original story.
"Try to think about it. If everyone in the world knew about the Desperado realm, what would those with ill intentions do?"
"They would probably... gather children from all over the world and then train them in the most cruel ways, right?"
The person who picked up Jingliu's words was Stella herself. Although she was a bit dense in some areas, she was still a princess of a nation and certainly had frequent contact with politics.
So Stella quickly figured out the beginning and end of the matter, and her expression subsequently turned sour. She understood why the Alliance would hide the matter of the 'Desperado', but now an even greater doubt lay before her.
"Teachers... since only those who have reached the Desperado realm can know its secrets, why are you telling us this?"
"Do you want to... train us in that kind of way?"
Stella had just said it: some people might use inhumane methods to cultivate Desperados at all costs. If this were true, were Jingliu and Skirk among them?
"In our view, the key factor in becoming a Desperado is not talent, but 'will'."
"Without a strong will, even if one's training far exceeds that of ordinary people, it's impossible to become a Desperado."
Jingliu's words made everyone breathe a sigh of relief, but her next words made them tense up again.
"But you are different. Unlike most people in the world, you possess rare talent. With a certain amount of training, the probability of becoming a Desperado will greatly increase..."
"Do you... have such thoughts?"
Looking at the four students before them, Jingliu and Skirk spoke these words at the same time, plunging the four opposite them into silence.
"Teacher, may I ask a few questions?"
Kurogane Shizuku raised her small hand at this moment, her expression becoming cautious.
"No problem, ask away."
"Why do you want to train us into Desperados? We shouldn't know each other at all, right? What exactly is your purpose for doing this?"
Purpose?
Naturally, it was to complete the system's mission!
But such an answer could not be spoken by either Jingliu or Skirk; they could only use other reasons to stall.
Thinking of this, Jingliu's expression instantly became melancholy, and the surrounding temperature began to drop.
"Perhaps it's because... I want to fulfill someone's wish?"
This sentence was partly true and partly false; even a lie-detecting ability couldn't fully distinguish it, only knowing that Jingliu was hiding something.
But exactly what it was remained unknown.
Just from her appearance, Jingliu looked as if she had lost someone important, her entire demeanor changing.
No matter how one looked at it, she seemed like someone who wanted to fulfill a last wish...
"..."
"In that case, we agree."
"Although we don't know your true thoughts, Teacher, we indeed need to reach the realm of a Desperado!"
"Not just for ourselves, but for the people standing beside us!"
Only by becoming a Desperado does one possess the power to change fate.
Stella was like this.
Ikki was like this.
Shizuku was like this.
Even Arisuin Nagi was like this.
Only those who have truly experienced it long to change everything; such people's willpower will not be weak.
And they were equivalent to holding an admission ticket to the "Desperado" realm!
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