Before long, the sun had descended from its place above the skies and the moon immediately took over, hanging itself marvelously above the Light Kingdom and bathing the entire infrastructures with its eerie reddish glow.
Tap... Tap... Tap...
A shoe's successive tapping echoed inside the room he had previously been in.
It was from inside a Paragon Knight cabin in the Light Kingdom's palace where Liam was designated to stay.
While he was sitting on the bed, pondering, a white towel with elegant fabric was folded neatly on top of the bed beside him.
On top of the towel was a set of imperial clothing from the palace, which Liam easily recognized to be his temporary sleeping apparel.
Although he was itching to rid himself of the stench and dirt that had accumulated on his skin, Liam thoughtfully evaluated the recent intense confrontation between the Light King and the Dark Lord.
The Confrontation of the Millennium he personally witnessed.
The brief clash between the two sovereigns that compelled both kingdoms to prepare for war offered no additional clues regarding Princess Celestia's death.
Instead of acquiring any hints, what Liam witnessed was a grieving father and husband confronting each other with both of them speculating because of their shortcomings, blaming one another for the Princess's infelicitous death.
But who was really at fault, though?
Both parties weren't fully trusting each other.
'Continue your mission, Ronin. They are hiding something.'
The Dark Lord's parting message resonated in Liam's head.
He knew firsthand how both the Dark Lord and the Light King were feeling.
It wasn't an amiable emotion to lose someone precious to you.
No matter how preoccupied he has been, Liam did not forget about his grief, too.
Losing Selene left a big hole in Liam's entire being since they were one since the day they got married.
Now that she was nowhere to be found in the
And for some reason, although deaths were common in the cases they handled together, Christian's death imparted inexplicable pain and lessons to him as well.
Moving past the pain was difficult, but doable with time.
Time could heal anything, right?
However, Liam knew that even then, he would never be complete without Selene.
At that instance, Liam stopped tapping his foot, shifting his stress on the more pressing matters.
Solving Princess Celestia's death was at the top of his priority list.
If he failed to accomplish the Mana Beast quest from King Paragus, his goal in gathering enough information on how the Princess had died would all be in vain and his efforts would have gone to waste.
No, failure wasn't even an option on the
He would stay on the same floor as long as the Light King or the Dark Lord couldn't deem him worthy to pass the quests he was given.
Sometimes,
Besides, he knew he could track where the Mana Beats went by using
'Should I accomplish at least one of the tasks I was given and ditch the other one indiscriminately? Dark or Light doesn't matter to me now, does it?'
'No, no, no, there is no honor in betraying your master. I am Atrox's Dark Knight before I met Paragus. Besides, I should know first-hand what Atrox was feeling. It's not about solely the quest anymore. It's my way of helping a person I can reasonably relate to.' Liam nodded his head a few times to conclude his thoughts.
In order for his investigation to move forward, it was imperative for Liam to gain respect from the Light Kingdom to give him authority to maneuver freely.
Succeeding in his quest to locate the Mana Beasts' Lair would grant him not only the Light Kingdom's trust but a chance to join the Paragon Knights' higher positions, such as a Captain.
That would give him enough time to look for Selene unhurriedly before going to the
Via thought command, Liam summoned the system.
**Ding!**
[Hello Ronin! =)]
The system's mechanical voice greeted Liam, the translucent blue screen instantaneously appearing in front of him right after.
Accessing the map feature, Liam drummed his fingers against his thighs.
[Generating Floor Map please wait...]
[Floor Map Generated!]
Liam's eyes squinted!
He had the full map of the entire first floor laid before him.
A green dot was blinking rapidly inside the blueprint-like version of the Light Kingdom, displaying Liam's current location.
The division between the two Kingdoms was accompanied by the vast terrain surrounding each realm.
A flicker of a memory from what he had seen using the
'Who's that Paragon Knight Commander, anyway? Because they are keeping the situation secret to avoid panic, the death of other Paragon Knights was confidential as well. I need to look for that Paragon Knight Commander here in the Light Kingdom since he was there when it happened.'
Upon scrutinizing what he had seen, Liam was able to narrow down the possible spots on the map where the vicious Mana Beasts were hiding.
Instead of utilizing the strenuous skill every time, he could just check those areas personally.
'Tsk, tsk. That was not so hard after all, eh?' Liam proudly thought.
Liam allowed himself a little victory smile before making the system's screen disappear from his view.
The satisfaction of his recent discovery left Liam having more energy than necessary.
His body was tingling at the thrill of accomplishing the quest briskly.
He was at a point of excitement that sleep was not even possible, and he knew he needed to make use of that energy before it became a spoil.
Liam knew that once he disclosed the location of the Mana Beasts, it was game over: mission accomplished.
And he was not about to do that yet.
Unless he completely knew the puzzle surrounding the Princess's death, Liam will keep his mouth shut and hide his triumphant discovery with the help of the strenuous skill the
Until he unveiled the truth, Liam would have to play by the rules of the Light Kingdom.
From henceforth forwards, he had to be extra careful.
He couldn't afford a slip of the tongue to anyone.
He would think of the consequences of his actions if he gets caught later.
Right now, his primary focus should be to delay finishing the quest.
Pleased with the plans he has so far, Liam got on his feet.
If he was not hyped at the moment, he would have taken that opportunity to get some much-needed rest.
But Liam was not about to dispel the idea that would allow him to move around the Light Kingdom according to his will.
With his current status as a temporary Paragon Knight of the Light Kingdom, Liam wasn't so free to move around and investigate properly.
All that he could afford to do was a mere observation.
And that was simply far from being enough!
For a moment, Liam hesitated.
Certainly, the Light King was in a better state by now.
The fierce collision between Lord Atrox and King Paragus had left Liam uncertain if it was the right time to approach the Light King and lay down the proposal he was thinking of.
'I wouldn't know unless I dare to try, right?'
Courage was not the absence of fear.
Liam remembered that saying from somewhere and he allowed himself to embrace it.
Taking his chances, Liam went out of the bed-chamber and risked himself coming back to the ruined Light King's chamber.
Despite the cozy atmosphere surrounding him, the deafening silence trailing after Liam made the hairs on his skin stand.
Step... step... step...
Liam's footsteps were the only sound he could hear.
An extensive amount of relief flooded Liam when he found that King Paragus was still inside the throne room.
The aftermath of the battle with Lord Atrox remained untouched.
However, the Light King was not alone.
It appeared that he was engaged in a deep discussion with Theon and the rest of the Paragon Knight Captains.
The talk came to a sudden halt upon Liam's entrance.
"Ronin," King Paragus called out.
His voice was mild.
The previous viciousness was no longer present around the Light King.
Liam cleared his throat, paying his respects at his approach.
"Please excuse me for my sudden intrusion, Milord. But I have a proposal to make."
King Paragus gave Liam's words a thought.
The Paragon Knight Captains and Theon all stared at Liam suspiciously.
"You have piqued my interest, Ronin. Let us hear the rest of this proposal."
Liam raised his chin, leveling his gaze with the Light King.
"Kindly allow this servant of yours to become one of your esteemed Paragon Knight Captains. This way, I could be of better service to you, Milord. I know you know full well that I am an intelligent individual. I wouldn't be so bold about this if I can't keep up with the responsibilities the position has. Give me one full week and I'll find the Mana Beasts' Lair these gentlemen in front of me couldn't find even after a month."
"Foolish Player! How dare you request such a thing!" One of the Paragon Knight Captain growled like a stupid dog.
Others who shared the same sentiment followed it.
All the Paragon Knight Captains were at the Colorful Stage of Nascent Warrior Cultivation Level.
They earned their position by working hard for it so it wasn't hard to picture those kinds of reactions from them since the individual who was asking wasn't even at the Light Stage of Nascent Warrior Cultivation Level.
Liam's proposal effortlessly created a ruckus amongst the gathered Paragon Knight Captains.
"He was joking, Milord. Don't even bother to think about it. How dare a temporary Paragon Knight look down on me?!" Theon exclaimed.
Liam glared back at Theon and the Paragon Knight Captains.
The intense aura surrounding him wasn't Mana, but everyone in the chamber felt it.
Bloodlust!
"Milord, why don't you let me battle one of your Captains so I can prove my might?" suggested Liam.
"Don't be so angry about the kid, my co-captains. The kid just doesn't know his place. Let me be the one to put him where he belongs." The strongest of the Paragon Knight Captains let everyone know about his opinion after he approached Liam.
"Hahahaha! I think that settles the conversation then," Liam smirked after his words as if the Paragon Knight Captain was amusing.