Arnold came to the middle of the city to meet up with Vetis. The entire city was now in shambles. Buildings were falling apart and roads were devastated… This wasn't just the fault of the monsters but the adventurers as well. Especially the magic guild. But Elora also played a big part in wiping out most of the monsters.
That was his goal, right?
This means that he avoided having millions of people die due to the mistakes of the Academy, right?
Though Arnold told himself that, he couldn't help but feel bitter.
Was he a hypocrite? Definitely. He felt bad about what he did but would do it again if it was necessary.
He had seen his fair share of suffering in the game but nothing felt quite as real as what he was looking at right now.
There were mostly corpses of humans littering the ground.
The monsters that were summoned by Vetis turned into ash when Arnold removed their cores. He would have to drop the cores off at the border wall to provide evidence.
"I don't understand why it was necessary to display that amount of power." A voice suddenly came from behind Arnold while he was collecting cores.
Arnold replied without looking back:
"The reason why I did that is because I want to become more involved with matters with the Guild. To do that I have to show how capable I am of their trust. I have proven more than once that I am more powerful than an S-class adventurer. You saw me kill that Hydra and Frost Giant, right?"
"Indeed. It was a splendid display of your power."
A-class wasn't enough. He had to aim much higher if he wanted high-class secrets and subjugations from the Guild.
"How did you manage to summon this many monsters? It's ridiculous how there were more monsters than people before in this city."
"I tamed the majority of them with magic items. Though not all of them were my own since many outsiders wandered with the horde. The humans came up with a brilliant idea to corner all the monsters and defeat them. If I had known about this plan beforehand then I could've come up with a countermeasure. However, everything worked out just as we planned."
"I see."
Arnold took out his hologram card. A number was reflected on the screen.
Level 49.
He managed to level up so many times but didn't manage to reach level 50 yet.
His XP wasn't even ten percent filled.
The Hydra he killed gave him a whopping 40000 Experience Points. He managed to kill the Frost Giant as well which gave him roughly half of the Hydra's XP.
Arnold noticed Vetis staring at him silently so he put the card away.
He looked around and asked, "What will happen to the monsters that you summoned that are outside the empire's lands?"
To make it all look like a random monster horde, Vetis made the monsters travel to each major nation. Though the empire got the worst of it.
"The Theocracy sent their inquisitors to deal with the monster horde that was heading towards the Holy Kingdom. I am unsure what the other nations are planning on doing… Is it alright for me to assume it is a mission well done?"
Arnold nodded to which Vetis smirked.
"I like that expression of yours."
"Huh?" Arnold touched his face.
What made Vetis like his expression if he had none to speak of?
"You were the one who destroyed these people's lives, their city. Yet you're indifferent to what happened. Not a shred of remorse or regret. People lost their homes, families and others lost their lives. The few who hid in the city were either crushed or obliterated by that powerful magic your companion and the magic guild members used. I'm starting to question who's the real enemy."
"These people should be grateful to have offered up their lives to save millions. I'm not sorry for what I did," he said bluntly, "So, have you found any survivors?"
"I have demons looking for any survivors but I can't seem to find anything other than corpses. I'm not talking about the monsters. There were hundreds of people who lost their lives even before all this. Is there anything else that will require my services, milord?"
Arnold shook his head, "Your job is done now, Vetis. On another note, you're clear to proceed mining the crystals and selling them to potential buyers. Remember that you don't trust merchants to sell the stuff."
"Of course. Although, those crystals must be handled by someone you can trust. I don't think you would want us doing the sales alone?"
"Hm…"
He would've suggested it even if Vetis didn't bring it up.
"Victoria will be the one supervising the sales of the crystals. Tell her that she has my full permission." Arnold said after thinking about it for awhile.
"I understand," Vetis bowed.
'Well, that was easy. I thought he'd try to talk me into reconsidering it. She's just a little maid, after all.'
"If I may be so bold to ask, what are you planning on doing now?"
"Like I said, I'm going to the Sky God Dungeon. Your master told me that there's something of value inside that dungeon. I'm not sure how she knows or if she's even telling the truth but that item is something that will change my life completely once I find it."
As in being recognized by the MMA as a true martial artist and being able to control a pure martial skill. As mentioned before, few in that organization could use pure martial skills taught to their people for generations. Those people are usually in high positions.
Everyone there will hold Arnold in high regard. He might even gain some followers hoping to practice the martial skill even if they don't learn it in its purest form.
This would be a step to him creating his own organization using his Guild as a pretext.
"I thought you wanted me to do all this because no one should ever enter that dungeon but I see now that you have two reasons for what you ordered us to do."
The first reason was to protect the people. The second one was just a selfish wish of his which was to go to the dungeon on his own.
"But isn't it counterproductive for you to go to a dungeon that you warned others against? All my hard work would be for naught. What if the worst case scenario you mentioned is ignited by your own actions?"
"…."
Arnold looked at Vetis silently.
'This guy is getting on my nerves with his questions now.'
Vetis shrugged seeing that Arnold didn't want to answer him, "I will ask no further questions. Please take this." he took out a magic bag from his storage ring.
"A magic bag? What's inside?"
"I am unsure because I haven't opened it yet. Lunaria gave this to me in a hurry before I teleported here."
Arnold noticed how high its quality was. He took out his hologram card and peeked at the magic bag through it.
The hologram card could be used to scan or appraise something or someone(just like he scanned Nait). This was called the [Naked Delve].
· S-rank Magic Bag from the [Hermit Sage Collection]
· Item currently inside – Healing Potions[×20], Undead Horn[1](S class Item), Cloak of Invisibility(A), Anything Exchange Box(S).
Arnold's eyes widened looking at the items inside.
"So that item allows you to appraise an item as well? If such a useful item exists then humans with appraisal skills will become obsolete."
"Why are you giving me this?" Arnold rummaged inside and pulled out a Healing Potion.
As expected, it was the highest grade potion that existed in the game. It was one of the potions he managed to obtain in Star Fantasy in bulk. He was considering travelling to the World Tree Forest to get ingredients to make these but that didn't seem necessary for the time being.
Only the richest of the rich could afford to buy these potions since even one could sell for thousands of gold. The potions' contents never rots away and it maintained its effect no matter the conditions it goes through.
The problem with making these potions is that you could only find the ingredients in the World Tree Forest. Humans were restricted from going to that forest so the only way to obtain the ingredients was through a black market where criminals would steal the herbs and plants from the forest.
'I'll have Lauran teleport me back to my city when I come back. I want to see what else she brought.'
"These items are really high class..."
"The magic tools and other items Lunaria brought are from our vault. It had filled up too much with the magic items we've gathered over the years. We finally managed to find a good way to distribute them. The highest rank items we have are two Beyond Star Artifacts. My Master has one while Lilith has the other."
'As I thought.'
There were hundreds of thousands of Star-Class Items in this world yet only less than ten Beyond Star class Items existed.
The reason it wasn't common for people to have Star-Class Items was the fact that all of them were from ancient civilizations while everything from E to S-class items were created by humans.
Semi-star-, Star-, and Beyond Star-Class Items were forged by divine races from different worlds and dimensions.
Ruins and relic tombs were gateways to these worlds so those kinds of items can only be found inside them.
Gods left this world thousands of years ago. They left their creations all over the world as well, waiting to be found.
Luke's current sword was a very valuable weapon and it could beat any heirloom weapon any noble household had. Fire Lily didn't count since it was pre-awakened, thus it was unable to be classified as a Semi-Star sword.
'There are less relic tombs on this continent than there are dungeons. The other relic tombs are out there somewhere waiting to be explored. I need to get my hands on all of them.'
Arnold now knew the users who had two of the only ten Beyond Star Items in the world. It didn't come off as a surprise that Selia had two. She was a monster who had lived for a long time so she had a lot of time to look for the artifacts.
Also, just because there were so many Star-Class Items didn't mean that they were easy to acquire.
As mentioned above, they could only be obtained from relic tombs and ancient ruins. These places weren't easy to gain access to since they were in places that were usually impossible to reach.
One relic tomb that Arnold knew of was located at the deepest parts of the Great Ridge. No one knew how deep though since the player who went that deep never disclosed that information. They only said that valuable weapons and magic items were down there.
There were many other relic tombs and ruins that Arnold knew of but he didn't see them as important at the moment since he wasn't strong enough to explore any of them on his own. Yet.
Some of them had level requirements as well which decreased his choices. Many relic tombs required players or NPCs to be at least level 80 to pass.
'Creations of gods aren't meant to be easy to get, after all.'
"Hey, Vetis…"
"Yes?"
"I want a Star-Class Item once I get back." Arnold casually threw that at Vetis.
"…"
Vetis' expression contorted into a deep frown for the first time since Arnold had met him.
"…The magic items in Master's Inventory is not my property so I cannot provide them to you."
"Tell your master I want one, Vetis. If she has a reason why she can't do it then I'm willing to listen." Arnold slung the bag filled with the fake dungeon cores over his shoulders.
'I have to go find Elora before I leave. I can't disappear without saying anything again. She will really leave me if I don't go.'
"I will tell her, although I can't make any promises."
Vetis said with a smile that seemed forced.
Arnold was treading on dangerous grounds to be demanding stuff like this. But he was going to financially support their nation for decades so they should give him whatever he wants.
Well, not everything he wants. There had to be limits after all. Even he knew that. But only he and Selia could decide those limits if they reach an agreement in the future.
"I'll get going then." Arnold turned around and began walking.
"Yes, please be safe on your journey."
"—UWAAAAH!"
A sudden yell startled the two of them, prompting Arnold to take out his sword.
One of the collapsed buildings suddenly moved and fell over. A huge monster was coming towards them.
No, it was actually chasing someone who was running in their direction.
It was a boy. A boy Arnold knew.
'Nait…?'
Nait ran in horror as he looked back at the monster that was chasing him. Vetis put up his hand to stop it from advancing but the monster didn't seem to listen.
Noticing this, Vetis' arm began increasing in size as fur grew around it. He swung his giant arm once, striking the monster.
The monster's body was mutilated from the chest up; it fell onto the ground.
The boy, Nait ran straight into Arnold's chest and fell down due to the speed he was running.
"Uwaah!?" the boy screamed as he flew back.
Arnold couldn't move.
He looked down at the boy as the hand gripping his sword tightened.
When did Nait get here?
Why was he here?
Was he here when Arnold first met up with Vetis?
Did he hear everything Arnold was talking about with Vetis?
Arnold noticed that Nait was looking up at him.
The eyes that would always look at him with admiration was now looking at him with fear.
Nait's eyes were shaking uncontrollably. The bottom of his pants were slowly being stained by his urine.
"I-I won't tell anyone anything! P-Please spare me, sir Nova! No, Lord Nova!"
Nait prostrated on the ground near Arnold boots.
That was enough for him to know…
Nait heard everything.
◇Earlier that day◇
"Oh, no! They began already!?" Nait exclaimed when he saw a white cloud hovering above Nuaria city.
He was tasked with helping Teresa and the others with carrying shopping bags.
Nait and the other hunters were supposed to leave the city once they were done with shopping since Claudia and the others managed to arrive here safely.
But Nait wanted to see how Nova fought which was why he left their side.
He knew it was dangerous to go to the city that was basically a warzone but he couldn't help it. Surely it was fine to catch at least a glimpse at his hero fighting, right?
Also, this would be his first time seeing an actual monster subjugation.
Nait wanted to become an adventurer so he was eager to see how strong the high-class adventurers were. He could become one of them someday.
Nait ran past the fleeing citizens who were going to the shelters to hide while the invasion of monsters was underway.
'Won't monsters attack the people if there isn't anyone guarding them?'
Nait noticed that there weren't any knights like the ones they saw a few days ago after coming to the gate.
"Hey, kid!" Nait was suddenly grabbed when he was about to run towards a flight of stairs so that he could go up the wall.
He looked up and saw an adventurer glaring at him, "What the hell are you doing!? Civilians shouldn't be near the battleground. Can't you see that even the people who live near the walls are evacuating?"
The adventurer pointed to the fleeing citizens, "You should follow them."
"B-But I'm looking for my mommy, sir! We lost sight of each other after the mob of people crossed the gate yesterday!" Nait quickly came up with a reason for his being here.
"Shit…" The man bit his lower lip, "Alright. Stay here, I'll call the others to help me search for—"
Nait had already vanished while the man was occupied with his thoughts.
◇
Nait managed to find a hole in the border wall that he could fit through. Going up the stairs was a bad idea since he was almost caught by that guard earlier.
A boom suddenly sounded as massive pillars of flames rose from the ground at an alarming speed.
"Eek, why is it so hot?" he flinched when he felt the rise in temperature, "Amazing…"
He said as he saw a wall of flames that definitely wiped out a lot of monsters. It wasn't any ordinary spell since it could devastate such a large area. He couldn't tell the magnitude since he was so far away but he could feel the heat.
'Adventurers are really strong…'
But he knew that no one was as strong as Nova.
Now that Nait thought about Nova, how will he look for him?
The city was crawling with monsters out to kill people. Nait took out his dagger and a vial of poison. The purple liquid was a strong toxin that could shut down one's body in mere minutes. He had been using poison as his main form of attack ever since he became a hunter of his village.
Hopefully there won't be a monster that can survive the poison otherwise Nait would be dead.
Nait had been running for a while now. He wasn't very good at tracking so he headed towards any sounds of battle.
A sudden boom startled him as he was running down a street.
It came from the border wall. A portion of the wall was collapsing for some reason.
A powerful gust suddenly went over his head. Nait tried to see what it was but the thing that flew by was much too fast.
A boom, followed by a loud roar echoed. Nait looked in the direction where it came from.
The Hydra, which was one of the three S-class monsters lost all three of its heads in an instant. One of the other giant monsters' head was sliced right off. It fell on the city gates, crushing a large portion of the inner wall.
Its body collapsed.
The last monster was bombarded with magic spells from the Magic Guild and by other adventurers. The monster fell down.
All three S-class monsters were slain.
But was the swordsman who cut down one of the Frost Giants and the Hydra really Nova?
Nait ran without thinking too much about it. The sounds of battle was still heard as he ran but he didn't care about the other battles.
He just wanted to see how Nova fights.
Nait had tried to register himself as a porter at many branches before. This was because he wanted to be Misteltein's porter for all their quests and subjugations. He could learn to become a better swordsman from watching Nova this way.
Every branch told him that he was way too young. He was only 10 years old and would turn 11 in a month's time. The minimum age required was 12 for some reason.
Nait was angry but he understood that it was for the best. The good thing though was that he could hone his skills as a swordsman. He would first learn to use a dagger then go on to use swords. He tried using spears but it was just not for him at all.
One needed to be physically strong to be able to use a spear since most spear users do the thrust-stab-slash manoeuvre. The physical power of a spear user travels through the stick of the spear and is the strongest at the tip.
Nait had skinny limbs so he could never do something like that.
If he could watch how Nova fights then he could learn Nova's attack patterns.
Someone told him that "It's better to learn from the techniques and moves of a professional than to learn from a textbook". Your growth will be stunted if all you rely on is a textbook.
Teachers were also necessary but most of them used textbook methods to teach their students as well. It was rare to find a teacher who could teach others the things they learned on their own without relying on copy and transfer methods.
"Eh?" Nait was just about to run past a destroyed district when he noticed two individuals standing in the middle of the destruction.
This seemed to be the Plaza of the city. They were in a circular-like area. Most of the buildings surrounding the area were still standing. It provided adequate coverage.
"Shouldn't they fall back?"
The sounds of battle wasn't as intense as it was earlier so Nait assumed that the subjugation was over. There was really no need for them to remain scattered anymore.
Nait remembered how he ran past some adventurers earlier who were heading back.
Though not on the level of an assassin or spy, Nait could erase his presence fairly easily unless someone was looking at him directly. He had used this to hide from monsters countless times and succeeded 9 out of 10 times. He was always saved the times when he didn't succeed.
This helped him hide from all the adventurers he crossed paths with.
"Are there more monsters here that they need to take care of?" Nait murmured as he neared the two people who were discussing something.
'Eh?'
One of them looked familiar.
'Sir Nova!? But who is that other man?'
There was a mature gentleman dressed in a luxurious suit who wore glasses standing next to Nova.
Nait was now in earshot distance as he picked up their conversation.
"—You were the one who destroyed these people's lives, their city. Yet you're indifferent to what happened. People lost their homes, families and many died—"
Nait's face blanked when he heard what the unknown man said to Nova.
'What does he mean...?'
Nait thought he heard wrong. He continued listening.
"These people should be grateful to have offered up their lives to save millions. I'm not sorry for what I did—"
'Not... sorry for what he did...?'
'Sir Nova is the cause of all this?'
'T-That can't be, right?'
Nait just heard it out of Nova's mouth so how could he have misheard?
Why?
Why?
Why did the man he grew to admire so much actually turn out to be a villain who committed atrocities? Nait thought he finally found someone he could look up to when Nova saved his village. He was so strong and brave that everyone was drawn to his charisma.
Nait's father or any of his brothers weren't admirable people so Nait could never look up to them. His mother was a good person at least but he was looking for a father figure. Someone he could aspire to be.
Wasn't that what you did when you have a role model? Well, now Nait knew that it was only his imagination that he saw Nova as such.
'I have to get out of here… and tell everyone…'
He was able to find Nova fairly easily since most of the buildings were destroyed.
He was excited to be able to watch Nova fight.
Nait was able to gaze upon his Hero.
Nait knew that Nova wasn't actually a hero. He was only someone who was powerful so the title was something he gave to Nova after being saved.
Even if Nova was the one who saved their lives, that was all a lie he conjured up. Was it to gain the love of the people? Was that for his personal gain?
Nait backed away slowly so that the two of them couldn't notice him.
However, he felt something hard hit his back.
Startled by this, Nait slowly turned around his head and looked up.
A bloodcurdling scream erupted out of his throat when he saw a monster looking down at him.
Nait unintentionally ran forward...
◇Present◇
Nait's entire body was shivering uncontrollably. He didn't know what else to do besides prostrate and kiss Nova's boots, stained by the guts and blood of monsters.
"I-I will never tell anyone what I heard! Never, ever!"
Thinking Nova didn't hear him, Nait repeated the same thing.
"E-Eh?"
Nova suddenly backed away, which startled Nait. Nait slowly looked up.
"Eeeeek!!!" he scurried away when he saw Nova's dead eyes and that distorted expression on his face.
"What should we do about this boy? He is now the third person to know about this plan of yours."
Plan?
What plan?
'Ah...' Nait looked around.
The city was completely destroyed. Corpses littered the street. The monsters killed mercilessly. Not just women or the elderly but children as well.
Why did Nova do such a thing and pretend to save everyone?
'Oh... that's right...'
He always had a purpose. Just like back in the village. He only saved the village because it would've gained him recognition in the empire. He was able become fairly influential because of his deeds.
Then his reason for killing this many people and manipulating the people into thinking he was helping them had to be something twisted and dark. Why else would he murder this many people and cause such distraught around the continent?
Did other nations have to suffer like this for this man's plans?
"Nait..."
Nova ignored the other man and slowly walked towards Nait.
Fearing for his life, Nait shut his eyes tight and covered his head with his arms.
His body was unable to do anything like run away.
What would it matter? Nova was faster than an arrow shot from an enchanted bow.
Nait saw Nova shoot towards those S-class monsters like a shooting star in mere seconds.
How far could a boy like him run before being killed?
Contrary to what he was fearing for, Nova only stroked his head. His expression was also back to normal now.
He said in a gentle voice, "I never meant to do this. I just had no choice."
Nait slowly looked up as he wiped his tears.
He could see Nova smiling at him.
Nova's smile was so pure and innocent that it increased the handsomeness of his face. Nait always dreamt of becoming that handsome if he couldn't be as strong as Nova.
At least he would have a chance with Claudia.
"Remember two days ago when I saved you? I did it because I didn't want you and the others to get hurt," Nova took Nait's hands and lifted him off the ground, "Especially you."
"M-Me...?"
Nait didn't realize how his body had stopped trembling as he was drawn in by Nova's gentle voice.
"Yes, you're a very special boy. I saw how special you are the first time I met you in that cave. The others were looking at the demons in fear but you were different. I was able to see that again when I met up with all of you on that highway."
Nova was slowly pulling Nait towards himself. His left hand was holding onto Nait's shoulder with a firm grip.
Nait was now gazing up at Nova with shaking pupils.
He was special?
How?
Nait was just a weak boy with dreams too large for himself to achieve.
People with the blessings of gods who could stand against evil. That was who he wanted to become.
But Nait learned that heroes aren't just those people blessed by gods.
Heroes were people who were powerful. They could defeat evils that only they could fight against.
Yet he could become one of them despite how weak he was now?
"You want to become a hero, right?"
Nait nodded mechanically.
"You can become one. All the signs are there. It's just so subtle that no one else other than myself can see it. As a hero, you want to do what's right. That is, exploiting evil and delivering justice. Doing good by eliminating evil. But Nait," there was strange glint in Nova's eyes as he called out to Nait. His voice was also cold, "…there are people in this world who do bad things so that they can get the same results as those heroes you all love so much."
The sound of flesh being pierced echoed across the remains of the district.
"Oh my." the gentleman behind Nova looked at them with a smirk.
Nait didn't know where it came from since his attention was solely focused on Nova.
Nait could also become a hero. If Nova said so then it must be true.
'Eh...? Why does it feel so warm in my tummy?'
Nait looked down.
Nova was pulling out his hand from Nait's stomach.
There was a white energy surrounding his hand. It made a blade shape around his hand, almost like his hand was a sword.
The smell of iron filled Nait's nostrils.
"Eh... Eh..?" Nait suddenly lost strength as he fell down, his guts staining the ground crimson.
"IT HURTS!! IT HURTS!!! OW! AUGHU! KEGUH!"
Nait felt the unbearable pain fill his entire body only a second after he realized what happened. He tried to keep his organs from falling out by holding his hands on his stomach.
He looked at the blood that kept falling on his hands as his vision was shaking.
Nait just realized that the person he admired and loved had hurt him.
He couldn't keep his body crouched anymore so Nait fell down on his right side. He creakily moved his body to look up at the sky.
But he saw Nova's cold eyes staring down at him instead.
'Miss Claudia... I won't be able to tell her how much I love her… I don't want to die… It feels so lonely… Please let me live…' Nait's lifeless eyes shed tears as he tried to reach his hand up towards the sky.
"Mgghhhh…. Kuggghh…" Nait coughed up blood; it felt like his throat was struggling to allow oxygen through. His blood felt like it was a thick paste as it came out of his throat.
Why did Nova do this to him?
Why...
Why!!!??
His question was answered by Nova's following words:
"I'm sorry, boy. It's not time for the world to know that Arnold von Berkley committed treason against the empire, no matter how justifiable my actions may be."
...Arnold... von Berkley...?
That was the last thing Nait heard when his eyes lost their light completely and he stopped breathing. His arm which was stretching and reaching up to the sky—trying to grab at even the faintest hope of survival—fell down as well.