"So, what do you think of him? The First Prince?"
The woman finally asked after being lost in thought for a while.
"His mind was extraordinary, to say the least. I have no idea how he got the information about our clan. It's beyond my limited intelligence."
Jegal Geon answered, and the woman put her hand on her forehead.
'I know, right? Where did the leak come from?'
She also wondered about that.
Could it be that another of the four martial clans deliberately leaked the information?
She asked the next question that intrigued her.
"How about his martial arts? They say he's quite skilled for a prince, and it seems to be true. I couldn't figure him out at all."
"Actually, neither could I."
Jegal Geon replied with an embarrassed expression.
The woman looked surprised.
"You couldn't? You're one of the best martial artists in our clan, except for father. How could you not gauge his level?"
"It's true. He clearly had the aura of a martial expert in his bones and movements, but his exact realm was obscured like by a fog."
Jegal Geon fell silent for a moment, then cautiously concluded.
"I'm not sure, but he might be a master who reached the Heart Realm."
"…"
This time, the woman was speechless.
The way the easterners divided the stages of martial artists was different from the western continent.
If they said someone reached the Heart Realm in the east, it meant they were a Transcendent in the west!
They were the top martial artists in the eastern continent, and this brat prince who just turned twenty was one of them?
But she soon accepted it.
She always considered the worst-case scenario, which was her greatest strength.
"If you say so, I'll have to take it into account."
The man who was assisting her now was one of the strongest martial artists in her clan, except for her father and some elders. There was little chance that he was wrong.
"I've never seen anyone who could fool my eyes like that, except for father."
But another question popped up in her head.
'Even if he's such a martial artist, why does he want to see the Azure Dragon's Breath?'
The Panacea Scroll was a treasure that was no different from their clan's lifeline.
No matter how skilled a martial artist was, they couldn't steal it by just glancing at it a few times.
'Could it be that he really wants to study the players under the pretext of asking for it?'
Jegal Hwayoung, the eldest daughter of the Jegal clan and a renowned beauty in her clan, who was overseeing their clan's migration plan to the western continent, couldn't help but tilt her head.
…
"Your Highness, did anything happen?"
"They were more polite than I expected. Nothing happened. They just said they would appreciate my cooperation."
Eurius returned to his residence and thought about the people of the Azure Dragon clan (Cheongryong) who were probably racking their brains by now.
He came up with this plan after he got some information about 'The Player's Legacy'.
'I need to clear quests to raise my achievements. And the only clue I have is the legacy.'
'Open help.'
[Help – The Player's Legacy: Opening Lee Cheongmun.]
[Lee Cheongmun: A player who was proficient in all weapons and unarmed combat. Among his four special martial arts skills, he called them 'The Four Death Arts'. Your achievements will increase every time you collect one of the Death Arts.]
[The Four Death Arts: Azure Dragon's Breath (Not Acquired), ???, ???, ???]
'The secret of the players and the way to become stronger are all tied to my achievements.'
He was still lacking in power compared to the strongest people on the continent. He was working hard, but the fastest way was to follow the [System]'s guide.
'They'll have to accept it if they have any sense.'
Of course, he wasn't a genius who could master one of the Death Arts, the Azure Dragon's Breath, as soon as he got it. But he had something to believe in!
[Help – Traits, Skills: Players can acquire skills or traits written in the legacy immediately. However, if proficiency is required, you need to train.]
That's right! The players' characteristic was that they could store the contents of the legacy as soon as they got it. They could learn it slowly.
'All they have to do is show me, and they can watch me while I look at it. They won't refuse such a condition!'
He threw out the bait.
Now he just had to wait for them to contact him.
And he had a task to accomplish in order to achieve the condition he offered.
He had to reach the northern mountains and meet Nuada.
'I wonder if I can subdue Nuada.'
Nuada, the king of the northern mountains.
As far as Eurius knew, he was the most talented martial artist he had ever seen, except for Beatrix.
He was probably in his prime now and must be unifying the northern forces.
That's why Eurius trained desperately to reach the Transcendent Realm. He had to either subdue him in one go or at least earn his respect.
'I need to become stronger!'
Collecting Lee Cheongmun's legacy would open a new path for him.
Meanwhile.
"The First Prince has just arrived in Stefan."
When Wallace heard the news, he quickly made an excuse that he had urgent business in the upper echelon and headed south.
And when Eurius finished his business with the Azure Dragon clan and was preparing to head north, Wallace was in a city that was a contact point with the southern desert kingdom.
"This way…"
A person wearing a black hood led him to a basement of a building.
'What a gloomy place.'
Wallace thought that they really set the mood for assassins and grumbled inwardly.
It wasn't his first time here. His main source of income for his Ryan Trading Guild was trade with the southern desert kingdom, and naturally, he heard some secret information from them as well.
An assassination group that could kill anyone for a price!
The southern powerhouses called them the Assassination Guild.
Count Wallace had received their help quite a bit to rise to his position.
But as he gained more power, he didn't need to use such means as much, and coming here meant that he was really desperate.
"Long time no see."
There was only one person sitting in the dark room, wearing a dark hood as well.
"…"
Count Wallace sat down and greeted him lightly, but the other person didn't move at all.
When he felt awkward, the hooded person finally opened his mouth.
"Who is your target?"
His voice was always like a snake hissing, disgusting.
Count Wallace shuddered inwardly as he answered.
"Kill the first prince of the empire."
"…"
The hooded man closed his mouth for a moment, as if thinking, then replied with a rustling sound.
"The target is top-class."
This assassination guild had two criteria for determining the price of a request.
The first was the status of the target. The first prince of the empire was undoubtedly among the top-class.
And the hooded man asked the second question.
"What is the level?"
The level referred to the target's escort force and the target's own strength.
At this point, Wallace pondered for a while.
'Count Carlos said he was about the level of a royal guard knight.'
Royal guard knights were among the top-ranked warriors in the empire. They were at least in the third stage of the super-entry level.
But how high would the level of the prince, who was only twenty years old, be among them?
Wallace, who had been gauging Eurius's strength for a while, decided to invest a little more.
"The escort force consists of northern knights, but due to the nature of their mission to develop the north, they won't always be with him. And as for the prince's strength level…"
Wallace cautiously continued, thinking that it was unlikely but possible.
"Assume it's master-class and send enough people. Just in case."
Wallace had to cut off Eurius's life this time. That's why he offered a large amount of money.
The hooded man answered without hesitation this time.
"Then it's first-class."
Even though he was told to assume that the target had a master-class strength and was escorted by elite knights of the empire, the hooded man judged it as first-class.
'Then who would qualify for top-class?'
He had actually asked that once out of curiosity.
"Heh, then are those who get top-class levels superhumans or something?"
No matter how much they flew or crawled, could they assassinate the strongest ones on the continent?
Wallace joked, but the reaction of the other party was surprisingly cold.
A flash of murderous intent in his eyes shot at Wallace.
"Nothing is impossible for our Assassin's Guild."
"Ah, I see…"
Wallace felt such a terrifying aura for the first time, except for Wilhelm Grand Duke's anger.
'They are really unpleasant people.'
But their performance was too solid.
Wallace had never seen any of his designated targets alive within the period they casually spat out.
"Well, then, top-class target and first-class level…"
The hooded man wrote down a simple amount on a piece of paper and handed it over.
Wallace expected it, but he couldn't help but feel bitter when he saw the amount.
At this rate, even he, who was one of the richest men in the empire, would have to pull out from above and even spend some of his personal assets.
'But if they can assassinate the first prince of the empire, this much is worth paying.'
"The money will be in by the deadline."
"We'll move as soon as it's confirmed. The deadline is six months."
It took a long time to get from the southern desert to the northern part of the empire.
And since there was a strict escort attached to the target, they had to consider the moment when their guard was thin, so they had to think about that time as well.
"I'll rest assured if you do it. Then I'll go back."
Wallace wanted to get out of this gloomy place as soon as possible.
The hooded man didn't seem to care about that at all, and looked at the note with the assassination target written on it for a moment.
'First prince of the empire, Urius.'
In fact, a top-class target and a first-class level were rare even by his guild's standards.
'The day of prophecy is not far away, and such a good request came in. The Dark God has blessed us.'
This was a request that required direct action from above.
Soon after, the hooded man began to write a report to send to his superiors.
And in Stefan, finally came the day when Eurius left for the northern front.
"I wish I could go with you, Your Highness, but I have too much work to do here."
"You'll catch a cold if you go to a colder place than here at your age? Haha!"
Eurius laughed off Marius's worries and held his hand.
"Don't worry too much. You know I've lived up to your expectations all this time, right?"
"Of course."
'Expectations, you've exceeded them.'
Marius looked at him with pride.
After finishing the greetings, Eurius gave the order to depart. The destination was finally the northern front, Valdes Fortress.
There he had to start the real power grab in the north.