Somewhere in the Light Kingdom.
A mysterious man covered in a full-body hooded cloak tailed Liam and the Light King unnoticed, lurking somewhere in the paradisiacal garden to gain information.
After the Light King explained to Liam about the Light Kingdom's crisis, he sent Liam to a private Paragon Knight bed-chamber, suggesting that he could rest while waiting for the Knight Commander to return whom he had called to aid Liam prepare him to enlist for the upcoming Mana Beast hunt.
After the system notified Liam about the King Paragus' quest, the translucent screen had vanished in front of his face and Liam began to pace around the palatial Paragon Knight bedroom.
The four-poster bed which has beddings that matched the regal clothing of King Paragus was somehow inviting.
However, he wasn't a tourist in the heavenly place called the Light Kingdom but an agent sent by the Dark Lord himself to investigate.
So Liam couldn't afford to enjoy it, especially not without Selene Fay by his side.
Although King Paragus sincerely treated him as a temporary Paragon Knight, including other players on the
Liam's face crumpled, pondering when was the last time he had some decent sleep.
Ever since he became a detective, his life instantly became like that.
On top of that, the myriad amount of people he had killed would immediately hunt him once he closed his eyes.
To think that not even this heavenly place could cut him some slack to have a peaceful sleep reflected how massive the burden he was carrying in his life.
'World's Greatest Hero, my ass!' Liam's forehead puckered.
Liam lifted his hands and began to trace the imaginary beard below his chin with his right hand as he tilted his head in thought.
With his brief encounter with King Paragus, he couldn't pick up any valuable information that can give him leads.
He couldn't even stroll around without prior knowledge about the nuts and bolts of the Light Kingdom.
And to aggravate things, they smartly kept him in a good-looking spacious room as if they were taking temporary Paragon Knights or simply players like him as prisoners.
Of course, if the Light King was truly trying to hide something from Dark Lord Atrox, he would be surely meticulous about it.
Creak...
In the middle of trying to figure things out, the wooden door to the bed-chamber slowly swung open.
"Player Ronin," King Paragus strode inside, his long regal clothing trailing after him.
Liam had realized he was not alone now.
A creature in full body armor trudged behind the Light King with a
It would be safe for him to assume that it was the Knight that the Light King had called to return.
"Theon, this is the player I have told you about. I took a liking to this particular player because I felt he was fitted here in our kingdom."
Liam laughed inwardly at hearing the Light King's statement.
"Ronin, I would like you to meet Theon, my best dutiful knight here in the Light Kingdom," both Liam and the Paragon Knight Commander named Theon lowered their heads, greeting each other respectfully after the Light King introduced them to each other.
Instantly and for some unknown reason, the air inside the good-looking spacious room became heavy when Liam's eyes met the Paragon Knight Commander's gaze as if World War III would happen any moment.
"I hope you are up for a bloody battle. Killing a single Mana Beast is not a simple task, especially for a player who couldn't master the Cultivation Scroll but has the audacity to ask for a quest already," The Paragon Knight Commander clasped his hands behind his body, looking down on the new enlisted Paragon Knight in the Kingdom.
Liam held his ground despite not choosing yet from the Cultivation shit the Paragon Knight Commander was talking about.
Although Liam knew nothing about him, the same truth applied to the latter.
This Paragon Knight Commander did not know what he was capable of.
He had chased down several types of beasts back on Earth.
The only difference was in this world the beasts weren't metaphorical at all.
"It's my pleasure meeting the Paragon Knight Commander in my respective room. I do not wish to impose but this esteemed guest is a fast learner. Even though my words mean nothing now, I would prefer it if you treat me fairly until I gained a chance to prove myself. You'll know soon, I'll walk my talk."
Despite not liking how his Commander behaved, King Paragus let Liam respond by himself.
He shifted his gaze from Liam to Theon, smiling like a proud dad after he heard the player's response.
'He didn't back down from the challenge. He's either dumb or hiding something,' thought Theon.
"Then, let us not waste more time than we already have, shall we?"
King Paragus lifted his right hand, opening his palms facing outward, and began to gently move his hands in a circular motion.
Ironic to the Light King's gentle movements, a violent gust enveloped the room.
"Accck!!!"
Liam closed his eyes in retaliation, shielding his eyes from getting attacked by the blowing a gale that suddenly swept the bed-chamber like a storm while the two other people in the room nonchalantly stood in their place.
He could almost hear it whistling, piercing through his clothes that had now partly clung to his body.
When it had finally receded, Liam gradually opened his eyes, and the deformed green leaves from the surrounding otherworldly trees were the first thing that came to his attention.
The Light King was nowhere to be seen!
It was only him and Theon, standing in the middle of a vast forest.
"I hope for your success, Ronin," King Paragus' voice echoed, his voice only a whisper passing by like the wind from earlier.
It disappeared in an instant, leaving Liam a little perplexed.
He knew illogical things would keep happening one after another since he came in the
Things such as that should not have stunned him any longer or else it might become the cause of his death in the future.
He was no longer on Earth!
He needed to widen his imagination instead of thinking people were dumb for stating illogical things in his perspective.
In this unknown world where he was, everything seemed to be possible.
"King Paragus is right. We must no longer waste any more time. Come, player." Theon's voice was like that of thunder, it was loud and deep.
It slightly annoyed Liam that the Paragon Knight Commander was still treating him like a pushover.
Liam politely followed behind Theon.
After checking where they were in the
And as one would go deeper, the path would only keep on getting darker until no light can pass through to maintain their surroundings visible to the eyes.
"Have you always been around here, Theon?" Liam friendly asked.
If Liam wanted to get on to something by now, he thought he might start with an innocent conversation with Theon.
Theon was a Paragon Knight Commander, the second-highest position from the King, he must know something.
But Liam did not want to raise his hopes high.
Theon did not seem like the kind of individual who was open to this kind of thing.
Clank, clank, clank...
Theon's metal armor was the only sound that Liam could hear as the Paragon Knight Commander left his question unanswered.
"If you meant to ask if I have been here long enough, random player, yes. Yes, I have. King Paragus has been kind to me and his subjects could also attest to that."
Liam made a mental note of what Theon had said.
It seemed he was already defending the Light King for something Liam had yet to accuse the Light King of.
Things might not be truly what they appeared to be.
"I had experienced his kindness firsthand, even though it's just in that instance. Forgive me if I sounded like I was implying anything. I am still adjusting to this world. I hope you could be patient with my curiosity."
Theon angled his head to glance at Liam, his monstrous eyes assessed Liam briefly.
"I am not someone who possessed a vast amount of patience. But as long as you can keep your questions to a minimum and do not cross a certain line, you and I wouldn't have a problem," Theon boldly replied.
"Good to know. I am curious about something though."
"Since you seemed new, go ahead and ask your questions, player. I will try my best to answer them."
Liam was not entirely sure if this trick would work.
It often had back on Earth.
But the world he was in right now was extremely different.
However, he would not know the answer if he wouldn't dare to try, right?
Besides, he has the curiosity card.
He could always go back to that if he ever failed to pull anything out of what he was about to say.
"Well, I have heard that King Paragus has a lovely daughter," because of this Theon came to a halt.
He turned towards Liam, his monstrous eyes narrowing as he placed his undivided attention on him.
Exactly like earlier, the air promptly became thicker as if a storm was brewing.
Liam immediately raised his hands in defense.
"I know, I know. She's married. I'm only curious about what she looked like. I have heard that she's really beautiful. I mean, who wouldn't want to meet such beauty, am I right?"
However, the air revolving around Liam was comparable to the atmosphere of a naughty kid, abolishing Theon's rage.
Theon expelled an exasperated sigh before he answered back, "Know your place, Player. Questions regarding the Princess are prohibited."
"Alright, alright. Forgive this temporary knight's misbehavior," Liam waved his hands and laughed it off.
'Prohibited, huh?! How long do you think you can hide the truth from the Earth's greatest detective?' Liam thought.
As soon as Theon continued walking forward, a lionhearted individual grinned like a maniac at his back.