Prince Magnus is rushing down the hall angrily while stomping his feet.
Prince Magnus(angrily)-"This is unbelievable! My father disrespected me, himself, and our entire kingdom! Why was he just doing everything that old man asked!? That old man may have knocked me out but that's just because he caught me off guard. I'm sure if I was more prepared, I could take him down easily!"
King Reginald III-"Magnus come here"
Magnus stops walking as his father King Reginald III walks up to him.
Prince Magnus-"Is that so called meeting over?"
King Reginald III-"Yes it is"
Prince Magnus-"And what happened to those criminals?"
King Reginald III-"Sir Atlas had them be pardoned"
Prince Magnus-"You're doing everything that old man tells you. You're the king of this land why are you doing anything he asks of you!? It's utterly shameful!"
King Reginald III -"(sigh) As a king you must keep up good relations and Sir Atlas is one of those people you must have good relations with"
Prince Magnus-"Why? Could you loose access to the guild without him? Is that really worth placing such shame upon yourself?"
King Reginald III-"Yes"
Prince Magnus-"You're even stronger than I am. You should be the one forcing him to do your bidding not the other way around"
King Reginald III-"(sigh) Do you know what demon lords are son?"
Prince Magnus-"Huh? Well yeah I know what demon lords are. Demon lords are powerful beings who appear once every one thousand years"
King Reginald III-"Nine hundred years ago there was a powerful demon lord. He possessed dark magic and his power was far superior to ours"
A flashback begins showing imagery of the demon lord and his army all as dark silhouettes.
King Reginald III-"That demon lord ruled over a military nation with one of the strongest armies in history. The commanders in that army were strong enough to conquer small kingdoms on their own"
The flashback shows kingdoms on fire with the demon lord and his army charging forward.
King Reginald III-"For years the army marched on conquering more and more land with no kingdoms being able to stop them, that was until one day..."
A tall and muscular human man appears with long white hair standing in front of the demon lord's army.
King Reginald III-"One day, a single man stood up against the entirety of the demon lord's unstoppable army"
The demon lord's army falls with every single soldier defeated and the demon lord being held up by the man.
King Reginald III-"And the next day... the entire army had fallen. The demon lord and all of his subordinates were defeated by one man in the span of a single day"
The flashback ends.
Prince Magnus-"Are you trying to tell me?"
King Reginald III-"Yes, that man was Sir Atlas the man who founded the adventurers guild"
Prince Magnus-"You're saying he's over nine hundred years old, even most elves don't live that long"
King Reginald III-"That man is somebody you don't want to mess with, not just his power, but nearly everything about him defies all logic. If he wanted to he could flatten our entire kingdom in minutes and not a single person here could stop him"
Prince Magnus-"So because of his power you let him just walk all over you, don't you have dignity"
King Reginald III-"It pains me to do everything that he wants, but there are many things more important than your dignity. If it were up to me, I would have thrown those three criminals in the dungeon. In truth I have no idea what he's planning, we're just along for the ride"
King Reginald III turns away from Prince Magnus to begin walking away.
King Reginald III-"It isn't until you become king, that you realize just how little power you really have"
King Reginald III continues waking down the hallway while Prince Magnus remains standing.
Prince Magnus-"My father truly has lost his sense of pride. If that old man is really as strong as he says he is I'll simply become stronger. Now that I know who the strongest in the world is, I just have to become stronger than them and I'll finally be a true god and nobody will ever disrespect me again"
Prince Magnus then also walks down the hallway but turns and goes down a different direction than his father. Atlas is walking away from the castle to return to the guild but Julius flies after him.
Julius-"Sir Atlas, please reconsider"
Atlas-"Hmm? Oh yes the glowing dot, what is it you want me to, reconsider?"
Julius-"About Damion"
Atlas-"Damion?"
Julius-"Damion is the curseborn"
Atlas-"Oh I see, I'm afraid I can't"
Julius-"But it isn't fair"
Atlas-"Isn't fair? I would consider me allowing you three to get off the hook and not being thrown in prison for fighting the prince and the soldiers is pretty fair to you on my part"
Julius-"But-"
Atlas-"I understand that you are trying to do what is right. I respect that I truly do as a matter of fact we need more of that in this world."
Julius-"So is that why you had us be pardoned?"
Atlas-"Yes, but also for another reason"
Julius-"What other reason?"
Atlas-"I see a lot of potential in you, I can tell that you have the ability to become incredibly powerful. People who are kind, want to do the right thing and have a lot of power to back it up. It's those people that I try to bring out more and more. In fact that's the reason I founded the guild"
Julius-"So you created the guild, so that you could meet good and powerful people"
Atlas-"Yes, the guild is all about helping people on their quests and being powerful allows you to move up the ranks. It's the perfect tool to help improve this world with more people like me"
Julius-"I see, I'm incredibly thankful for you saving me and my friends. But Damion he, he has nobody else, nothing in life to look forward to. I know that he can fit into your model. He's powerful, kind, and I'm certain he has a lot of potential to grow stronger to help others"
Atlas-"Being a curseborn I'm certain he has the potential to grow stronger. It's the using that power to help others that I question"
Julius-"You haven't met him yet, if you could give him a chance you would understand that he's a good person"
Atlas-"Even if he's a good person now, that doesn't mean he'll be a good person later"
Julius-"I'll be there for him, I'll be his friend and provide him with support. With a life like that I'm certain he will only grow to be more kind"
Atlas-"Do you know why dark magic is so frowned upon?"
Julius-"Yes, it's because dark magic has the power to destroy souls correct?"
Atlas-"That's one reason. Do you know the other reason?"
Julius-"The other reason? No, I don't"
Atlas-"The other reason is that it corrupts"
Julius-"It, corrupts?"
Atlas-"Dark magic corrupts the own users mind and soul. The more dark magic a person has the more darkness that will overtake their soul turning them cruel, vile, bitter, or as most would say, evil. Even if he may be good now, he will continue to grow stronger and will become evil. Being surrounded with kindness and caring it still won't work out"
Julius-"How can you be certain?"
Atlas-"I've tried before. Rescued young curseborns from cults to try to raise them to be better people and powerful fighters but it's always the same. The more power they gain, the more kindness they loose"
Julius-"But if I don't help him what are they going to do, kill him?"
Atlas-"They won't kill him. Execution is outlawed even for the most heinous criminals. A law created by myself a long time ago"
Julius-"You created that law?"
Atlas-"Yes, see when a person dies their soul gets reincarnated. If that person had a kind soul, their new life they will also be kind, but if that person had an evil soul they will likely be evil again."
Julius-"That's not true. A person's upbringing has drastic changes on who they become. A person who was bad in a previous life can become a good kind person in their next life if their surrounded by happiness"
Atlas-"That's true, but say someone was just a thief who never really caused anyone much harm. When they reincarnate they can become a charitable person who gives to others if they were raised well. But say they were a horrible person, a heinous criminal who deserves to be executed for the many terrible crimes they committed. When that person reincarnates they will be bad again, even if they were raised well. It is only the most evil people who would be executed anyway"
Julius-"Unless the people in power of that kingdom would also execute people for mild things"
Atlas-"Yes, that too"
Julius-"Are you really certain, that there is no way that I can prove Damion's innocence to you?"
Atlas-"(sigh)"
Atlas in his head-"Letting a curseborn run free isn't a good idea, but this glowing dot here, his potential is incredible"
Atlas has a passive skill active at all times that allows him to see not just a person's current power but also the power that they have the potential to reach. This is represented by two auras, one green aura that represents a person's current power, and a larger blue aura surrounding the green aura that represents a persons potential.
Atlas in his head-"Not only does my skill measure the amount of mana, but also the practicality of that mana, the variety and unique properties of their skills that they have now and the skills that they will have later. And as for this small glowing dot"
Julius is floating in front of Atlas with a green aura about the size of a small shed. But Julius's blue aura representing his potential spreads beyond the walls of the entire kingdom.
Atlas in his head-"I don't see potential of this level often, every time that I have they go on to become S rank members of my guild. Even compared to them this one's potential is incredible"
Atlas-"Tell me, just how strong do you plan to become?"
Julius-"What?"
Atlas-"What is your goal?" How far do you intend to push the limits of your power"
Julius-"I-"
Voice-"I plan to make you as powerful as you can be"
Julius-"I, plan to become as powerful as I can be"
Atlas-"Can you promise me that you will reach the maximum of your strength, that you'll use this strength to protect all those who are good"
Julius-"Yes, I can. And I do"
Atlas-"Very well, I suppose I could take some time to investigate this curseborn"
Julius-"Thank you so much sir"
Julius floats down to the ground and then floats back up to imitate a bowing motion. He then flies back to Adam and Elise with Atlas following behind.
Atlas in his head-"I guess I'll see where this goes. It's important that I gather as many good and powerful people as possible. After all, I don't know if I alone will be able to stop whats coming in the distant future"
The end of chapter 37.