What is the concept of the divinities regarding good and evil?
This duality that has existed since the beginning of everything.
Can we quantify evil and judge that one evil is more acceptable than another? Is it just to endure one evil in order to eradicate another?
The hero is supposed to maintain the balance of the world, chosen by the goddess Araneas, he is the one who will lead humanity to victory.
The hero of this era is the most powerful, but also the vilest!
He is named Iróas, Chreíos Ischyrós, the last human of the hero's lineage.
A story like those one reads in novels begins.
"I hope you will follow attentively. I lend you my eyes to follow this world, and I pour my spirit upon you to write and spread this story across the worlds."
The birth of an aberrant existence, and the sin of beings endowed with intelligence.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, you may address me by the pseudonym:
Narrator Behind the Curtain."
"Why? Because it's cool, of course!"
Just like those moments around a fire, when some people would tell stories.
"A good story might start with 'Once upon a time'; it is a story after all."
"Once upon a time: …"
Notification:
The Fort of Carmin is being attacked by a wave of monsters, help repel the monsters.
Threat Level: C
Reward:
1 power of the Egregore Additional bonuses
One of the biggest problems in a medieval world was surely the circulation of information. Even though magic and many fantasy elements existed, the latency in transmitting information was largely responsible for many issues that could have been solved if the information had arrived on time.
In this sense, the hero had something very useful in his possession.
"Oh great hero Iroas, the king summons you to the palace for an urgent matter."
The hero was in his office, contemplating the status window that only he could see, when he was interrupted by his clerk, who was responsible for the royal missive.
A sadistic smile spread across his face; he had already expected the summons after seeing the status window.
The system was definitely something useful, as most important information related to the progression of the world quest was updated instantly.
"This quest comes at the perfect time."
While he muttered, he quietly observed the person who had delivered the message; this person was a fervent supporter of the hero.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
For this world, the hero had absolutely no sense of priorities.
He slowly prepared himself, dressed in light armor, and took a carriage to the castle.
He traveled through the domain he administered, at least on paper; the domain resembled those of England in the 90s, but much less developed. In any case, it could be said that it was the beginning of a modern era.
After leaving the domain, he entered a new world, and the transition was quite surprising. One really felt as though they had traveled back in time.
"We're here, Sir Chreíos."
After leaving the hero's domain, the carriage finally arrived at the royal palace.
"Good."
The castle itself was a sight to behold; after all, this kind of structure symbolized the grandeur of a kingdom, and appearances were important.
The hero got out of the vehicle to enter the palace. After crossing a long corridor, he finally reached a door guarded by two knights.
Once inside the castle, the hero and the man accompanying him reached the Audience Hall.
Guard Status 1
Name: Din
Race: Human
Age: 28
Class: Knight
Level: 15
Mana: E 15/20
Strength: B 7/20
Skills: Military fencing, mana, aura.
Status: Anxious, Admirative
Guard Status 2
Name: Stan
Race: Human ↓
Age: 30
Class: Knight, Spy
Level: 25
Mana: D 2/20
Strength: B 10/20
Dark energy: E/2
Skills: Military fencing, metamorphosis, illusion, sleep, magic, aura.
Status: Worried, anxious
Through the system, the hero had the basic information about the people in front of him, and most importantly, their levels, which the system classified on a scale from E to A for the most common ones.
There was a huge difference between each class.
The two guards saw Chreíos. His character might not have been well known internally, but he was an important personality, so much so that his mere presence made anyone who wasn't used to it nervous. He also had the habit of not deactivating one of his intrinsic hero skills.
They carefully avoided his gaze and announced his arrival.
"The hero Chreíos Ischyrós Iroas has arrived!"
The doors opened, and two rows of knights were aligned in the Audience Hall. Knights in full armor, black as jet, with helmets concealing their faces, even their eyes hidden, giving them an imposing air.
The hero didn't feel the need to check the status of these knights in full black armor; after all, they knew the context behind it.
The hero walked across the reddish carpet, ignoring everything around him, until he stopped before the king's throne.
Ministers stood on either side, below the royal throne.
The hero's clerk knelt before the king, which was not the case for the latter.
"Then I was told you wanted to see me?"
Without any formality, the hero got straight to the point.
"..."
As a hero, he enjoyed a special status; he was treated on par with royalty, even more so. His status as an invocation from another world meant that the etiquette of this world did not apply to him. However, at this stage, he made no effort to conform, which was a blatant lack of respect in everyone's eyes.
"Great hero, it's true I called upon you. We have an emergency that we would like you to prioritize."
The king, who had allowed the hero's summoning ritual, had to tolerate a few eccentricities from the hero, for the greater good.
The ministers, offended by the hero's behavior, didn't attempt to correct him. He had become far too powerful.
"Pardon!?"
Chreíos kept his condescending tone, sure of his superiority. As a political asset, he had become indispensable and intended to take full advantage of the situation.
Status
Name: Lance Ixac Celestial
Race: Human
Age: 59
Status: King, Descendant of the Divine Chosen ↓
Level: 30
Class: Knight Mage
Mana: B 5/20
Strength: C 2/20
Skills: Royal Presence, Divine Edge, Military Fencing, Royal Fencing, Elemental Authority, Magic, Intention, Resistance to Intention, Aura.
Status: Cautious, Anxious
The king possessed a decent level, even though it wasn't in his favor; the hero avoided making too many waves.
"The Fort of Carmin is besieged by a wave of monsters. We need your presence on site. After all, it is one of the strategic points of our kingdom, and we cannot afford to lose it, not in this situation."
"Why are you acting like this, Majesty!?"
"...Pardon?" The king was surprised by Chreíos' remark, not understanding where he was going with it, but he quickly regained his composure, and his change of expression went unnoticed.
"Am I not the hero meant to protect the people?" The hero made exaggerated gestures, as if playing a role; everything was unfolding as he desired.
"Then you didn't need to summon me here if the situation is so urgent."
One of a hero's greatest strengths is his image, and Chreíos was diligent in maintaining his. The king understood very well the meaning behind these words.
"This is the procedure. We cannot send you to the front without information or an escort. Sir hero, I understand your desire to help the people. For each of your actions, you will be rewarded accordingly."
"You are too kind, Majesty."
"Very well, we will prepare a unit of knights for this mission."
"It won't be necessary. The knights already there and I are more than enough. If I went with other knights, we'd waste time, and I believe the people at Fort Carmin are in a complicated situation. I'll go first, and then send a support and supply unit after me."
"What consideration!" The ministers seemed a little less on edge, facing a more reasonable Chreíos.
"The knight you've entrusted to me, present here, I'd like him to watch my back this time!"
"It's my honor," the clerk replied without hesitation.
The king paid close attention to Chreíos' entourage. The image of the kneeling knight before him came to mind. When the hero was summoned, this knight had been tasked with seeing to the hero's needs.
Now he planned to get rid of him? The king had a rather crude view of the situation. It was publicly known that the hero's clerk had had some issues with him initially, but over time, the hero proved his strength, and the clerk's disdain turned into admiration, forming a pseudo-relationship of trust.
But the king was not fooled; he felt that he had just lost another pawn in the hero's hands.
"Do as you please. I hope he will be part of the hero's team that you will soon gather."
It was truly sarcastic from the king, but also a way to test the waters. Chreíos understood it without a word and turned to leave.
"That's enough, I'm off!"
The clerk bowed to the king and followed Chreíos.
~sigh
As he watched the hero leave the room, the king leaned deeply back into his throne, his face darkened.
The king ordered everyone to leave, leaving him alone with the prime minister in the room.
The knight order he had dispatched also left the room but was not far away; after all, this was no ordinary order.
"We've deceived everyone to gain a politically double-edged power," the king was deeply immersed in these thoughts.
The summoning ritual was supposed to be carried out in collaboration with all the kingdoms of the world to prevent some powers from taking all the glory. But the Celestial Kingdom was in a bad situation. To remedy this, the king had decided to alienate all the other kingdoms and summon the hero, a political tool, a symbol, a deterrent weapon.
'And now this weapon has become uncontrollable.'
Even if all the kingdoms wanted to turn away from Celestial, they couldn't, given the current situation. After weighing the pros and cons, the king had made his choice.
But now, he wondered if it had been a mistake.
"Majesty!?" The prime minister slightly approached the throne to inquire about the king's condition.
"Yes, I'm fine. Prepare compensation for Gedrick Maxwel's family. He died bravely alongside the hero."
"Is that so?"
The king didn't respond.
"It will be done."