The stories of the absolute monarchs who had once lorded over the world were spreading among the users.

And the users who heard them took delight in them.

Because their names rang louder than those of the monarchs leading the current age, and because each one of them was so distinctive.

Saint King Harun.

The king who had united the continent in war and commanded the mightiest retainers.

Overlord Baroque.

The strongest man alive, who had once wiped out a hundred-thousand-man scouting force by himself through sheer overwhelming strength.

Tyrant Jebar.

The madman who alone commanded an undead army numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

And lastly—

The Story King, who lived alone in a distant, unknown land, guarding it to the very end.

The users were thrilled.

Damn... Yi Sun-sin and Tyrant Jebar still exist!It was because two of the great figures of the Ares world, men who felt like historical figures, were still actually alive.

Then isn’t it possible the Saint King and the Overlord are somewhere out there too?Someone asked that.

The users clicked their tongues.

If that were true, they said, those two would have shown up somewhere long ago.

But there was one person who held the opposite view.

Where are you bastards?

That person was Tyrant Jebar.

Jebar.

Once, he had invaded the Atlas of Saint King Harun and been struck with awe.

Because Harun had gathered every retainer on the continent and fought against the millions-strong undead horde surging toward him.

And Tyrant Jebar had had a perfectly valid reason for targeting him too.

It sounds like it’d be fun to turn you into a Death Knight.

He already possessed several legendary Death Knights.

But if he could turn someone as powerful as an absolute monarch into a Death Knight, it would surely become a Transcendent Death Knight.

And also—

The same goes for you too, Overlord.

A Death Knight that had reached the level of the Overlord.

He could not even imagine it.

The power it would wield as the successor to his own strength as the Tyrant.

But the Overlord had vanished after his son died, and Saint King Harun had died together with Atlas after turning the Dragon Balladra into a Bone Dragon.

No.

He had disappeared for a while.

If it were you, I think you might have found some way to awaken again.

And that was also why he was searching for the dragon—

for Balladra.

Because that creature’s strength would be the same as forging either Overlord Baroque or Saint King Harun into a Transcendent Death Knight.

And now—

Without even letting Valon know, Jebar had hidden spies inside Atlas as well.

It was to chase down information on Saint King Harun.

But something was strange.

The information he received—

it was all trivial nonsense.

What Hyunsoo had eaten today.

How Takashi had once again made the blacksmiths cry today with his whole “three bowls of soup-and-rice a day” routine.

And also—

I didn’t know a Turtle Ship was being forged. How is that even possible?

Tyrant Jebar was more flustered than he had been at any point in his hundreds of years of life.

He was hearing things, and yet—

he heard nothing.

He was seeing things, and yet—

he saw nothing.

He thought carefully about the reason.

If they’d known I was looking in, they should have stopped him. But the people of Atlas still haven’t realized it after all this time.

His eyes sank into calm silence.

“......”

And then, for the first time in decades, goosebumps rose along his back.

Did they already know? That I was looking in? Did they keep the one looking in right inside their grasp and control me instead!?

Who could possibly make that happen?

“...H-hahahahahahahahak!”

Jebar burst into mad laughter.

“Asura Kabel!”

That whelp who carried the name Hell King.

Jebar laughed like a lunatic.

Because it was the first time anyone had flustered him and played with him like this.

And so, as Jebar peered into Atlas through a crystal orb, he did something amusing.

He sent a few crows staying in Atlas toward Kabel.

And then—

......Kabel.

With quiet eyes, he met the crows’ gaze.

Then he walked forward at ease, and in the next moment, fifty Black Hawks appeared and began chasing the crows away or killing them.

“......”

Those birds, which had originally belonged to the Parion Empire, had now become the beings protecting Atlas’s skies and its information.

With that, the eyes that had been watching Atlas vanished completely.

But Jebar roared with laughter.

“KHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAK!”

There was one thing he had never managed to find for a very long time.

No—in truth, he had never even intended to look for it.

But today, because of a man named Kabel, he said:

“I’ve found it.”

His eyes blazed with greed.

“You will have to succeed me.”

It was none other than his successor.

He dreamed of it.

He wanted him to become Tyrant Kabel.

*****

Hyunsoo worked with Nell to sort out the current situation.

“The sea was the quickest route for the largest number of troops to come from the Chinese continent. But now that the sea route has been cut off, the Parion Empire army can no longer send large numbers across, so they’re no longer a major threat to Goyad. They’ll probably enter a ceasefire soon. Oh, and what about the Story King?”

“Kkoko safely escorted him back to where he belonged. Also, the Atlas invasion prohibition pact will end soon, and we don’t know how ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) many troops might come, so we’ll need to prepare.”

Nell smiled faintly as she looked at Hyunsoo.

Because there was a sense of ease on his face now.

And Nell had been surprised the day before too.

Nell and Kabel had both urged Hyunsoo to wipe out Lord’s army.

To leave no future trouble behind, and use him to grow even further.

But Hyunsoo had offered the opposite view.

He’s a man who gathered an army of that size in only one year. Rather than settling for a little loot and growth, wouldn’t it be better to plan for the future?

It had been a reasonable point.

Rather than focusing on growth, Hyunsoo had chosen to plant the idea of I let you live in Lord’s mind and leave the road to an alliance open.

And Hyunsoo felt it too.

Everything had become more comfortable, and that was what had made such a thought possible.

And even if Lord had charged at him like a madman, he had been confident he could still win.

It was the composure of the strong.

And because of that, this had happened.

[Lord: ...I have a mouth lighter than a feather. But if I brought good materials to a talented blacksmith, and that blacksmith took pity on me and forged me a weapon, I feel like my mouth might become heavier than a thousand pounds.]

[Hyunsoo: You’re really circling around to ask me to craft you an item.]

[Lord: ^^]

[Hyunsoo: If you get good materials, come see me later.] 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Because Lord possessed Transcendent Lord’s Eye, he had learned Hyunsoo’s current state.

The important thing was that nobody else knew it, and that he had agreed to keep it secret.

And from that exchange too, it was clear that Lord’s anger had vanished.

So for the time being, they had breathing room.

And Hyunsoo was focusing on one thing.

[You have obtained Dragon’s Mine, a Legendary mine.]

Dragon’s Mine.

“Goyad is said to have possessed this Dragon’s Mine for hundreds of years, but never mined it. That’s probably nothing more than part of the game’s setting. What’s really happening is that a new piece of content called Dragon’s Mine has just opened.”

New content.

And anything that bore the name Legendary always brought excitement.

And true to the name Dragon’s Mine, the mineral there might well be connected to dragons.

“Dragons are the origin of magic. There might be minerals imbued with power that can raise Magic Attack or Magic Defense to absurd levels.”

And Hyunsoo thought about it.

If he made armor or weapons of that type, then at the very least, against skills and magic, they could wield invincible power.

“And since I’m now the owner of the mine, if minerals like that really exist, I could have them crafted for the soldiers and create artifacts that can stand against the strongest skills and magic.”

Even as he said it, Hyunsoo felt his own chest tremble.

He could not even guess how much those wearing such artifacts would grow.

And so, now that he had room to breathe, Hyunsoo immediately rose to his feet.

“I need to go to Dragon’s Mine. I don’t know what kind of danger might be inside, so I’ll go alone first.”

Hyunsoo was preparing for the worst.

And because he had become the owner, he could warp straight to the mine.

[You have entered Dragon’s Mine.]

Step by step, Hyunsoo carefully began moving deeper into the mine.

He knew nothing about what lay inside this mine itself.

And no idea what kind of threats might be waiting there.

As he advanced slowly, Hyunsoo was soon startled.

[Dragon Guardian appears!]

A massive dark knight—

or rather, something like a giant statue—stood blocking the path deeper into the mine with its arms folded.

[Dragon Guardian Lv.514]

And when Hyunsoo saw the level of this Dragon Guardian—

the guardian of the mine—

he had no choice but to swallow dryly.

[Please proceed with a quest from the Dragon Guardian.]

[If you complete the quest, you can obtain information about the mine.]

At that, Hyunsoo realized he did not necessarily have to fight this absurd thing called the Dragon Guardian.

A dragon really is a dragon. To command something like this—or did it create it?

Hyunsoo quietly waited for the quest to trigger.

Then—

WHOOOOOOM—!

THOOOOOOOOM—!

“...?”

Something happened that had nothing to do with the notification.

The Dragon Guardian suddenly lifted a gigantic greatsword and aimed it at Hyunsoo.

[The Guardian reacts to the title Dragon Slayer.]

[One who has slain a dragon cannot enter Dragon’s Mine.]

It was a title he had gained in the past after hunting the Bone Dragon.

Damn it...! So as useful as the Dragon Slayer title is for me, it’s just as hostile to anything related to dragons!

Hyunsoo felt wronged.

This Dragon Slayer title.

When faced with a real dragon, all of his abilities would rise dramatically.

The problem was that no true dragon had yet appeared in this land, which made it a “useless” title for now.

And yet a title like that now imposed a restriction on him.

At the same time—

[Slayer’s Adversary]

[The Dragon Guardian exerts greater power specifically against Dragon Slayers.]

[Against Dragon Slayers, all stats increase by 15%.]

[Total HP increases by 10%.]

[Defense increases by 15%.]

The Dragon Guardian’s greatsword came crashing down.

Hyunsoo raised Sword for the One Who Follows the King and blocked it.

CLAAAAANG—!

The moment Hyunsoo was knocked back, the Guardian did not let him escape and came down on him again like a flash of light.

KABOOOOOM—!

[You have taken a Critical Hit.]

[You have taken 193,131 damage.]

[HP falls below 85%.]

Hyunsoo was too shocked to speak at the insane amount of damage.

And he understood why Dragon’s Mine had only opened now.

Usually, when content like this opened, the calculation behind it was something like this:

Understand the strategy, work through it step by step, and clear it later.

But Hyunsoo had been mistaken.

He had assumed that because Dragon’s Mine had opened, he must already be qualified to clear it himself.

RUMBLE—, KWAKWAKABOOOM—!

He’s fast!

In the face of those lightning-fast chained attacks, Hyunsoo thought for a moment.

Should I give up?

Level 514. Honestly, it was still an enemy worth trying against.

The problem was that because of Dragon Slayer, this thing was roughly fifteen percent stronger specifically against Hyunsoo.

In other words, at this very moment, the damage it was putting out against him alone was approaching the level of a level-550 opponent.

For a moment Hyunsoo considered running.

Then he corrected himself.

I got complacent today...!

By facing this Guardian, he had learned something new.

Lee Sejin of Pureum had once said:

Ares’s content is infinite, and there can never be an absolutely strong user.

Now Hyunsoo understood the reality of those words.

Because this place called Ares was still crawling with truly powerful beings none of them knew about yet.

I’ve realized how pathetic that complacency was.

And that was exactly why—

I need to leap even higher.

Hyunsoo changed his mind.

“Can’t go in? There’s no such thing. I’ll force my way in if I have to!”

The value of Dragon’s Mine would be astronomical.

And when he thought of the minerals that could come from a single mine, they could be worth hundreds of millions, even billions.

“Pet Summon.”

Hyunsoo summoned the pets capable of battle so he could borrow all of his pets’ strength as well.

And in the instant they appeared like flashes of light—

Hyunsoo began to face a certain truth.

That truth—

[A new story begins.]

KyooKyoo’s eyes began to darken into black.

“Kyoo?”

[The mine recognizes KyooKyoo’s existence.]

[Dragon’s Mine was a mine created in the past by the Dragon Balladra.]

[You have found the owner of the mine!]

DING!

[The energy flowing from the Dragon Guardian is trying to taint KyooKyoo into Absolute Evil!]

[Defeat the Dragon Guardian within 20 minutes.]

[If you fail to do so, KyooKyoo will become Absolute Evil and leave you.]

[If you clear it, you become the new owner of Dragon’s Mine!]

Hyunsoo panicked.

KyooKyoo might act playful and pretend to be cool, but it had already become precious to him.

The idea that such a being would suddenly become Absolute Evil and leave his side—

he could not allow it.

CRUSH—!

Gripping Sword for the One Who Follows the King with all his strength, Hyunsoo swung it at the Dragon Guardian with everything he had.

“KyooKyoo is going to leave me? No. That won’t happen.”

[Longing activates!]

[2% activation!]

A violent, swirling force erupted from the Guardian’s head in a furious explosion.