As I settled into the chair, the blonde haired man began to speak, his voice smooth and measured.
"My name is Leon Cromwell. The branch head of Marith explorer's association." He paused, his eyes locking onto mine as he searched for any telltale signs of emotion.
Leon continued, his voice steady and calm. "I'm aware that you came face to face with an unpleasant situation in one of our portals." I nodded, acknowledging his words.
"Allow me to apologize for that," he said, his tone sincere, accompanied by a slight bow of his head.
I accepted his apology with a simple "Ok. Apology accepted," but my curiosity was piqued. "But still doesn't explain why I'm here," I added, my eyes narrowing slightly.
Leon's expression remained neutral, but his eyes seemed to gleam with a hint of interest.
He opened the drawer on his desk, pulled out a folder, and closed the drawer with a soft thud.
Then, he dropped the folder onto the table, sliding it across to me. "Please, take a look," he said, his eyes gesturing for me to open it.
I lifted the cover, and a set of pictures spilled out. Yeah, pictures.
In this world, cameras were back, and the only things that were really missing were the Internet, smartphones, and planes.
As I flipped through the photos, my eyes widened in horror at the grotesque images that stared back at me.
The same type of monster I had fought, with its black fluid-like body and eyes scattered all over its form like a macabre constellation, seemed to shift and contort into different shapes and forms.
Some pictures showed it as humanoid, its body twisted into a parody of human form, while others depicted it as animalistic, its body morphing into grotesque, nightmarish creatures.
But it was the backgrounds that truly chilled me to the bone. Blood flowed like a river, dripping and pooling on the ground like a sickening, crimson waterfall.
Dead bodies lay strewn about, their limbs twisted and torn, like ragdolls discarded by a malevolent child.
In some pictures, the monsters were actively feeding on the bodies, their eyes glowing with an otherworldly hunger.
I looked up at Leon, my eyes wide with horror at what I was seeing.
"Wha-", I began to ask, but Leon interrupted me, his voice low and serious.
"We don't know what they are," he said, his eyes grim. "The first sighting of them was about ten years ago in a black-grade portal." He paused, collecting his thoughts before continuing.
I signaled him to go on, my curiosity and fear warring for dominance.
"We don't know much about them," Leon said, "except that they're impervious to physical attacks. Only skills, mainly magic elemental skills, work on them."
Leon's words painted a grim picture, his voice low and serious. "We've tried dissecting the ones that were managed to be killed, but their bodies dissolved as soon as we took a part of it."
The image of the creature's body melting away like a dark, malevolent mist sent a shiver down my spine.
I muttered a curse under my breath, the word escaping my lips like a hissed warning.
"Fuck."
The implications were dire. There were more of those creatures out there, lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike.
I had suspected as much, but the confirmation was still a gut punch.
As I processed the information, a thought crept into my mind, unwelcome but undeniable.
Knight type system holders, with their reliance on physical strength and combat skills, were utterly useless against these monsters.
Unless, of course, they were a demi-god. But for mere mortals, even those with high levels, it was a losing battle.
Leon's eyes seemed to bore into my soul, as if he could see the thoughts racing through my mind.
"Exactly," he said, his voice dripping with a sense of inevitability. "Knight type system holders are useless against those things."
The words hung in the air like a death sentence, a stark reminder of the limitations of our power.
I nodded slowly, my mind racing with the implications. "I see," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
I asked the next question, my voice laced with a sense of trepidation. "What's the range of their levels?"
Leon's response was like a cold splash of water, his words sending a shiver down my spine. "Level 3 - 7," he said, his voice flat and emotionless.
I nodded my head, the information sinking in like a stone in a dark, still pond.
I let out a deep breath, the air escaping my lips in a slow, measured hiss.
Huuuu. Ok, relax, I told myself, trying to calm the storm brewing in my mind.
But it was hard to shake off the feeling of unease that had settled in the pit of my stomach.
An unidentified species, completely immune to physical attacks, had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
And not just one or two, but a whole horde of them, their numbers seemingly increasing.
The implications were staggering. If these creatures were immune to physical attacks, that meant that the usual rules of combat didn't apply.
No amount of sword-wielding or martial arts expertise could take them down. It was like trying to fight a ghost.
And to make matters worse, Leon dropped another bombshell. "Oh, by the way, you can't mention this to anyone," he said, his voice low and serious.
I raised an eyebrow in confusion, my mind racing with questions: Huh?
"Why shouldn't I?" I asked, although I wasn't planning on saying anything originally anyway.
I mean, if you told the whole world that an unidentified species immune to physical attacks were roaming around, destroying whatever they wanted, chaos would ensue.
Panic would set in, and people would start running around like headless chickens.
The governments would try to step in, but they would be powerless against these creatures. It would be a disaster of epic proportions.
I looked at Leon, my eyes searching for answers. But his expression was grim, his eyes serious. He and I both knew that this was a secret that had to be kept, at least for now.
But I was still curious why exactly he asked me to do something so obvious.
I leaned forward, my eyes narrowing as I pressed Leon for an answer. "You haven't answered my question," I said, my voice firm but controlled.
"Why shouldn't I say anything?" The words hung in the air like a challenge, daring Leon to reveal the truth.
Leon's expression remained calm.
"Because you aren't even supposed to know about it," he said, his voice low and mysterious.
I felt a surge of confusion, my mind racing with questions. Why was he telling me?
Why had he dragged me into this secret world of unidentified creatures and hidden dangers? I opened my mouth to ask, but Leon seemed to read my mind.
"Because you're the first person to survive an impromptu attack against that beast despite being of lower rank than it," he said, his eyes locked onto mine like a hawk zeroing in on its prey.
The words hung in the air, a stark reminder of the incredible odds I had faced and overcome.
Leon's words dripped with a hint of dry amusement, his eyes glinting with a knowing spark.
"And since you're a royal, I figured it wouldn't hurt to let you into the loop," he added, his tone casual, but the weight of his words anything but.
I let out a deep sigh, the sound escaping my lips like a deflating balloon: Haaa.
My mind was reeling, trying to process the sheer scope of the secret Leon had just shared.
"I'm guessing the emperor knows?" I asked, my voice tinged with a hint of resignation.
Leon nodded, his expression serious. "Yes. His majesty is fully aware. So are the dukes, the council, the explorer's association heads, the elven clans, the beast King, as well as the dwarven King," he said, the list of names dropping like a litany of power and influence.
I murmured a simple "I see," my mind racing with the implications. Basically, all the big guns of the alliance were aware of these monsters, and had chosen to keep it a secret.
No wonder he told me not to say anything. If word got out that he told me about this, his head would go flying.
But then again the alliance would already assume I know about these monsters seeing as I've faced one so maybe they wouldn't execute him but still, he'd most likely be in trouble.
My curiosity got the better of me, and I asked, "What about the Djinn? Are they aware?" Leon's expression turned thoughtful, his eyes narrowing as he considered the question.
"We're not completely sure, but from our reports, those things have never appeared on the Dark continent, so we believe that it may have something to do with them," Leon responded, his voice laced with a hint of uncertainty.
I let out another deep sigh, the sound echoing through the room like a mournful cry.
Haaa.
Resting my head on the chair, I felt the weight of the world bearing down on me.
These things, whatever they were, were impossibly strong, and were immune to any physical attacks, making any knight-type system holder below the demigod rank powerless against them.
And to make matters worse, they were never mentioned in the game, leaving me with no idea what they were, or if they were a massive problem or not.
Haaaa. Looks like just chilling in this world was going to be difficult.