A few seconds earlier...
Sophie was looking at Finn with a smile because she was happy that someone like him had become her boyfriend.
She didn't know how he knew where Fae was, but she didn't ask because she believed that he would tell her everything in due time, and she was just glad that Fae was okay.
Looking at Finn's wet hair that covered his tired face, Sophie suddenly received a system message that she had never seen before.
No gods were really interested in her because she mostly spent her time keeping her and Finn's guild together, so she didn't have time to show her combat prowess.
But being in the number one guild, she had already heard rumors about gods contacting some of her subordinates about becoming champions.
Sophie didn't really feel envious of these players, but she did wonder if Finn had a powerful god behind him that was with him 24/7 and if that god was a female.
Reading the message, her eyes widened in surprise.
[Goddess of Stars, Asteria, a goddess that stands at the pinnacle of all gods and is one of the five strongest gods, is offering you a championship under her guidance.]
[This is an important choice because you can only be a champion of one god for your entire life.]
[Will you accept and become the Champion of Stars?]
[Yes] [No]
Sophie stared blankly at the messages in front of her, not knowing what to do. This was all too sudden for her.
No gods were ever interested in her, and now she was suddenly being asked by one of the strongest gods to become her champion.
Finn saw that she was in trouble, so he put Fae into Erelith's arms and went to help Sophie.
"You should accept."
Placing his hand on her shoulder, he smiled at her.
"Huh? Can you see my messages?"
Sophie was shocked that Finn saw the system messages that were supposed to be visible only to her.
"Nope. But I know the goddess that is talking to you, and I told her that she should pick you."
He chuckled, but that made Sophie narrow her eyes and furrow her eyebrows.
"So, it was you…"
To be completely honest, Sophie was a little disappointed because it meant that the championship wasn't offered to her because of her efforts but because she was Finn's girlfriend.
Finn understood why she was upset, but he had seen her fight in the puzzle dungeon, and he also knew how strong and smart she was, so he believed that Asteria would thank him in the future for recommending Sophie.
But Sophie didn't see it this way and felt a little betrayed.
She liked rewards, but only when she truly deserved them, not when she was just given them for free.
"…I don't want to accept this."
"HUH?!"
Finn was bewildered because he knew what the other players would do to be in Sophie's shoes, but she was here rejecting this great opportunity.
Sophie then looked up at the sky and opened her mouth.
"Goddess, you can hear me, right?"
[Goddess of Stars, Asteria, is listening carefully to your words.]
A system message appeared before Sophie, responding to her.
"You only want me as your champion because of Finn, right? You would actually rather pick someone else, right?"
[Goddess of Stars, Asteria, remains silent but doesn't deny your statements.]
Sophie nodded, and a smile appeared on her face.
"I don't want to reject you, but I also don't want to accept you."
[Goddess of Stars, Asteria, is confused by your statement.]
"I will show you that I am worthy of you, and after that, I will ask you if you want me as your champion again!"
Sophie then turned to look at Finn, who was confused because to him it looked like she was talking to herself as he couldn't see Sophie's system messages.
"Is there a difficult dungeon on this continent where I can show my strength?"
And as soon as she turned around, she immediately asked Finn about a dungeon where she could show Asteria her strength.
"Hahaha! Do you think I am a walking encyclopedia, Sophie?"
Finn just laughed when he heard her question.
"Yes."
"…"
But Finn's laugh got stuck in his throat as he raised both of his eyebrows.
He then asked Loki to show him all his memories of dungeons that were discovered in the past, but because the Elvish continent was pretty off-limits, he only managed to remember two.
"There is a D-rank dungeon, and it is pretty hard. There is also a C-rank, but I think-"
"The second one."
Sophie stopped Finn without a moment's hesitation.
"…Sophie. This dungeon is really difficult. The rank isn't just for show, so I think that you should just pick the easier one."
He tried to talk her out of it, but Sophie was hell-bent on going to the most difficult dungeon Finn knew of.
"You will go with me, right? You will protect my life, right?"
Finn looked at Sophie with a stunned expression, but then he burst into laughter.
"Pffft! Hahaha!"
After some time, he stopped laughing at how he thought that Sophie had some sort of genius plan, but she was just blindly believing in him.
Looking at Sophie with a confident smile, Finn opened his mouth.
"Of course, Sophie. I will make sure that you won't die before me, and as long as I am alive, I will protect you with my life."
Since she was his girlfriend and the love of his life that he had already decided to lay his life down for, Finn had no problem going to the dungeon with her, but there was a slight problem with it.
Meanwhile, Sophie smiled and looked at the sky with a determined face.
"I will enter this dungeon and show you that I am worthy of you."
[Goddess of Stars, Asteria, likes your attitude and looks forward to your performance.]
"Sophie."
Interrupting her conversation with Asteria, Finn looked at Sophie.
"I can guess what you plan to do from what you have said, and I will never stop you from doing what you like, but if you really do want to go attempt this dungeon, then we need to prepare ourselves."
"I know."
She looked at Finn and nodded, but he shook his head in return.
"…It won't be a one-day preparation where we go buy some food and then run inside the dungeon. Now that you promised to show yourself off in front of a powerful goddess, you need to get stronger."
Sophie stayed silent and waited for Finn to continue talking because he was always the one with ideas as to what to do next.
"Don't look at me like that... Even I don't know anyone who is proficient in wielding a spear, so I don't know how to train you."
Finn had Loki teaching him his sword technique, but Loki had already told Finn that he didn't know how to use a spear, so there was no way for him to give tips to Sophie.
Realizing the problem, Sophie looked down, a little saddened because she hadn't planned this far.
She knew how powerful Finn was, so she thought they could just go into any dungeon they wanted and clear it instantly, but the difficulty spiked a lot as the ranks of the dungeon rose, so even Finn knew that they would die trying to clear it.
"I might be able to help."
Erelith, who had overheard their conversation, walked up to them with Fae in his arms and Lusha by his side.
"You know how to wield a spear?"
Looking at the sword tied to Erelith's waist, Finn's eyebrows rose in surprise.
"No. Not me, but I know someone who can."
"Really?"
Finn was surprised to hear that because he didn't remember elves having a spear-wielding warrior.
"Yes. The best spear user in all of the Elvish continent, and when she was in her prime, she was celebrated as the best in the world."
Erelith's gaze radiated pride as he remembered the memories of his past.
"She? …Wait. You don't mean Valindra the Fearless, right!? The previous Elvish queen that is said to have defeated thousands of men all alone and even when she had wounds all over her body, she remained proudly smiling!"
Finn remembered reading about Valindra, and he always wanted to meet her because there were a lot of heroic tales written about her, but she had never appeared in the game before.
"She would be happy that someone still remembers her. Yes. Valindra is my mother, and she is the previous queen who passed the crown to me thirty years ago."
Smiling, Erelith nodded with a nostalgic expression.
"Why haven't we met her yet?"
Sophie joined in on the conversation.
She wondered about Valindra because if she was as strong as Finn had said, Sophie didn't understand why she was hiding.
"…"
Erelith didn't answer as great sadness flashed across his eyes.
"Let's go back first. Fae still needs to be treated."
Lusha quickly jumped into the conversation, and everybody nodded.
---
When everyone arrived in the palace, Fae was immediately sent to the palace's medical quarters, and Lusha went with her.
Finn dried himself off and changed into clean clothes because his old ones smelled of river water.
After that, Erelith met up with Finn and Sophie because he said he wanted to show them something.
---
Erelith was currently walking with Sophie and Finn to the deepest part of the palace.
This part of the palace was heavily guarded, and walking through the hallway, they soon saw a beautifully decorated, huge white gate.
It had pictures of trees on it, and there were multiple gems embedded into it. Tens of soldiers wearing silver armor with gold decorations stood guard at the gate.
When the guards saw Erelith, they all saluted and let him walk through.
Pushing the majestic gate open, Finn and Sophie looked inside the room.
There were multiple trees and plants growing, birds that were singing in those trees, and small creatures running around.
The air was fresh, and looking around, Finn could only describe the room as a different world that existed inside the palace. It was isolated from the outside world, but it was incredibly beautiful.
In the middle of the room was an ice coffin standing up, and inside was a gorgeous elf with long silver hair.
The woman was completely naked, so Finn could see how curvy her body was and how she had the proportions of a goddess.
This elf, who was so alluring that she could charm anyone she smiled at, had a pitiful expression on her face.
If anyone were to see her, they would feel the need to hear her out and help her.
The coffin she was sleeping in had vines growing around it, and on top of the coffin was a beautiful white flower that only made the elf inside even more irresistible.
Erelith looked at the female elf inside the coffin with sad eyes and turned to look at the stunned Finn and Sophie, who were shocked to see the frozen elf.
"This is Valindra, and she is my mother. You haven't met her because she is in no state to move around or greet visitors."
Erelith then looked down, trying his best to hold in the tears that were on the verge of leaving his eyes.
"She went to sleep when I became the king, so she hadn't even met Fae yet."
Finn looked at Erelith, trying to say something, but Erelith smiled and started talking before Finn could even say a single word.
"You want to ask how it happened, right? How is it possible that such a powerful elf that could destroy armies all by herself became stuck asleep inside a block of ice? Well…"
Erelith's smile faded away, and he blankly looked at the coffin that held his mother.
"I will answer your questions with a story..."
He then walked over to a patch of green grass that had bright yellow flowers growing around it.
"Let me tell you the tale of Valindra the fearless. How she gave our continent hope and lost everything in the process."
Sitting down, Erelith gestured for Finn and Sophie to also sit down.
Thinking where to start first, Erelith then opened his mouth.
"…Our continent wasn't always peaceful. There used to be a tyrant sitting on the throne."
His expression turned into a disgusted one as he continued talking.
"He was my grandfather, and his name was Morrsath."
But a smile soon took its place, and this expression vanished.
"And on one sunny day, a miracle happened when one of his wives gave birth to a beautiful girl, whom she named Valindra…"