Several thousand miles away, beyond the Darknar Forest, at the edge of a cliff overlooking the raging Red River, the wind was cold, and the night was dark. However, the multitude of stars and the full moon dispelled most of the darkness.
Two figures moved at incredible speed toward the cliff, coming to an abrupt halt at its edge. "Should we jump?" one of the two female figures asked the other in a fluster, frantically staring at the bottom of the cliff and over her shoulder.
"Do we have a choice? It's either the water or him. I'd rather take my chances with the river."
"But..."
She didn't wait to hear a reply. Without hesitation, she jumped off the cliff. The other female hesitated for only a second, pursing her lips as if to complain, but ultimately decided against it. She, too, leaped into the untamed waters below.
The cliff returned to its previous calm—but only for a short while. Three other figures appeared in the distance, dashing toward the cliff at the same insane speed as the previous figures. They also came to a stop at the edge, looking down at the raging waters. Among them were two men and a woman. The larger, well-built man asked, his tone that of a trained soldier awaiting orders:
"Should we jump after them?"
"No need. If they survive the jump, the current will carry them toward the more dangerous region of the Darknar Forest. If the monsters don't finish them, a demon scout will," said the slimly built man with a long face and an expressionless demeanor. He had short silver hair, dark skin, and long, pointed ears. After staring at the waters below for a moment, his bright golden eyes dimmed to a dark brown. He turned to his companions and said, "Let's return before we're discovered."
"Alright."
The other two nodded slightly and turned to follow him. The woman, who wore a silver mask, glanced back at the river below the cliff. Stupid, she thought before turning away to follow her team.
Along the Red River, near the Darknar Forest...
Two figures could be seen swimming against the now-docile current, struggling to reach the shore. They crawled out of the water, their movements weak and labored. Each step was harder than the last, but they managed to make their way to a large rock by the riverbank to rest. They were clearly exhausted, panting heavily.
Fighting against the river's current was hard enough, but avoiding the dangerous monsters in the water had taken a toll on them.
The first to exit the river had raven-black hair that reached her neck, light green eyes, and a thin face. Her nose and eyes were well-proportioned, and her cherry-red lips—thin but full—complemented her dark skin and long, pointed ears. Even wet and covered in dirt, her beauty was undeniable.
"Are you alright, Liz? How's the leg?" she asked, turning to her companion with concern.
"I'm fine. My leg's not broken. I just twisted it a little during the landing," Liz replied with a faint but charming smile. She was pale, her fair skin almost as white as snow, but her dazzling blue eyes glistened with life. Her soft facial features and long blonde hair, tied in a ponytail for ease of movement, made her strikingly beautiful, even in her current state. The Red River wasn't known for being clean, so both women were covered in dirt. Perhaps that was why monsters liked it—or maybe it was a result of their hard struggle.
Both women wore dark-colored, easy-to-move-in clothing, now filthy and hard to distinguish. "Don't worry, Rain. I won't slow us down."
"That's not what I'm worried about, and you don't need to stand yet. I'm sure they won't follow us this far, but we can't stay here for long," Rain said, holding Liz's shoulders to stop her from standing. She looked around, then pursed her lips and continued, "I think we can rest here for a while. The strong monsters in the forest won't approach the Red River. Anyone who does, I can handle easily. Once we rest for a few hours, we should head down the river to the Demon King's fallen castle. As long as we don't get spotted by scouts when sneaking in, we can rest and recover there for a month or two before seeking refuge with the Daki tribe in the eastern borders."
After saying that, Rain stood up slowly. "Wait here a bit. I'll get some dry wood we can use to start a fire. After all, I'm not a demon like you. I don't have as much resistance, and I can't see at night without magic." Rain smiled, not waiting for a response, and walked toward the forest in search of dry wood.
Liz couldn't interrupt her friend, who had already started rambling. She simply smiled and said in a low but sweet voice, "Alright, be careful." Rain didn't stop or turn around, merely waving her hand to indicate she had heard. She soon disappeared into the woods.
Liz was left alone with her thoughts and the pain in her leg. She had downplayed her injury when she jumped after Rain. While her leg wasn't broken, she was sure it was fractured. If she were human, the impact would have killed her. Neither she nor Rain could use wind magic well enough to break their fall, and flying would have made them easy targets. Besides, they were already out of mana and couldn't attempt anything else.
Even though all the high-level demons and the five families are fighting over who will become the next Demon King, they still send scouts to monitor the castle to prevent any one of them from doing something desperate and stupid. We need to be careful. This might actually be the less dangerous plan, Liz thought as she waited for Rain to return. This region was mostly abandoned, but several key locations were claimed by powerhouses in the Demon Continent. If they were caught by one on their way, they wouldn't get off easily.
Meanwhile, in the Demon King's Castle...
Astrology magic was a technique that used the stars alongside one's mana, complemented by a corresponding magic circle, to perform tasks such as divination, fortune-telling, and more. It could also be used to calculate the date by detecting the planet's rotation, picking up on the wavelengths of every living organism that formed a conscious network of information. This network could also determine one's location and even the time.
This kind of magic wasn't rare, but using it effectively was another matter. Most mages could only tell the time with it. Calculating the date was more difficult but didn't require special skills—just knowledge of the corresponding magic circle. Unlike other forms of magic, astrology required the circle to be perfectly visualized. As long as one could do that and wasn't completely inept, even someone as magically weak as Tyler could use it.
As for divination, it took someone truly special to receive any meaningful feedback.
After being dumbfounded for a while, Tyler took deep breaths and calmed down. After all, this was better than drowning—a fate he had been certain awaited him. He walked back into the room and sat on the sofa. The night was cold, but it didn't bother him much. Perhaps he was used to the cold, or maybe he had developed better resistance.
Hmm, what am I supposed to do now? I've been in a coma for a thousand years, and I'm sure all my former friends are probably dead by now, right? I don't even want to go back to the Human Continent. Those assholes used me and my team as cannon fodder, and when we got captured, they didn't even bother rescuing us—they just started bombarding the place. He furrowed his brows, reminded of something truly unpleasant. I guess I'll stay the night here and head somewhere else by morning. It might be too dangerous to stay at the Demon King's Castle since I'm not aware of the situation in this era.
"Umm, maybe I should go to the Elf Continent?"
No, that's probably a bad idea. They don't really like humans much. They don't care for other races and remained neutral during the war. Tyler stood up and paced back and forth. I don't know if that's changed in the last thousand years, but it's better not to take chances. Damn it, with that logic, no continent might be safe. And with my level, I might not even make it out of the Demon Continent alive.
He sat back down, massaging his temples. I should try finding a weapon first, and maybe some supplies. Even though I've been awake for almost seven hours, I'm not hungry at all. But that might just be a side effect of sleeping so long—or maybe it's more accurate to call it a coma, since I hit my head on the way down. Tyler frowned as he got up to explore the other areas of the castle. It was better to find anything useful while he still had energy.
But as soon as he took a step forward, he noticed something. There was another door in the room—next to the bathroom door.
The room was large, but Tyler had carefully observed it when he first entered. There had only been one other door: the bathroom. The balcony had its own set of doors, which looked nothing like the others. When he had entered, the first thing he saw was the massive bed positioned at the far end of the room, directly opposite the door. To the right was a desk, a small empty bookshelf, and the balcony entrance. Opposite that was the bathroom door. Now, however, there were two doors. When did... is my memory still messed up?
Tyler was stumped at first, but then he remembered where he was. That's right. Not having something strange happen in the Demon King's chambers would be the truly weird part. After coming to this conclusion, he decided not to investigate the new door. After all, that's how most horror movies take a dark turn.
Tyler headed for the door leading to the hallway. He had only taken a few steps when a cold breeze sent a chill down his spine.
Thump, thump, thump...
His heart beat faster and louder.
Step, step, step...
Each step felt heavier as he approached the hallway door. He took one more step, then glanced back at the strange door that had appeared out of nowhere. It was tightly shut, as if nothing had happened. Was it all in my head? He couldn't figure out what was going on. He didn't feel any malice or danger from the door. The only reason he wanted to leave was that this was the Demon King's chambers—though his intuition wasn't exactly reliable to begin with.
Turning his attention back to the hallway door, he felt a sudden sense of danger. It was an innate fear creeping into his core.
He had an alarming feeling that opening this door would have terrifying consequences. What's going on here? Why is leaving a more dangerous choice? Tyler was confused. He didn't know if this was some kind of deceitful spell or if he should trust his instincts. After all, he had been drifting in and out of consciousness for a thousand years. He hadn't trained during that time, so maybe his senses were crossed from disuse.
After a few seconds of deliberation, he decided to study the strange door first. He took a couple of steps and didn't feel the pressure he had before, so he continued until he reached the strange wooden door. It looked almost identical to the others but had what he assumed were magic runes inscribed on it.
Tyler began examining the door, but apart from the runes, he didn't notice anything unusual. Hmm, it might just be a secret room where the Demon King kept his most prized possessions. Did he use a concealment spell? If so, why can't I leave? Is it part of the spell? Tyler came to this conclusion based on his limited knowledge of magic. He hadn't studied much, but he had once had a Tier 3 secret mage as a party member.
Secret mages were generally skilled at concealment spells, so he had seen a few in his time as an adventurer. After some deliberation, Tyler decided to open the door. It wasn't carelessness—he simply thought it might be the only place in the castle that hadn't been raided. This could be his only chance to find a weapon, so he wouldn't have to wander the Demon Continent unarmed.
He placed his hands on the doorknob, turned it, and pushed.
Creak...
Tyler stood in front of the strange door, now open, and peered inside with vigilance. What he saw wasn't a weapon or any sign of danger.
The room was a library—a massive hall filled with rows and rows of tall shelves, each packed with books and scrolls of kinds he had never seen before. The strange part was that, unlike the rest of the castle, there wasn't a single speck of dust in the room. It was pristine, as clean as the day it was built.
This was not what Tyler had expected. This was no ordinary library.
This was a Magic Library.