No matter how explosive Baek Yu-Seol’s growth had been, it was impossible for him to defeat a risk level 9 dark mage like the Dark Knight at this point in time.

In Aether World Online, even veteran players - those who played through multiple runs and created several characters to speedrun the story - couldn’t defeat the Dark Knight without first graduating from Stella Academy.

While Baek Yu-Seol’s growth rate far surpassed that of any player from the game, some things simply weren’t possible.

’But I should be able to escape.’

Baek Yu-Seol’s greatest strength lay in his exceptional mobility. His consecutive Flash allowed for such incredible speed that even the Dark Mage King would struggle to keep up.

In other words, no matter who his opponent was, Baek Yu-Seol could at least guarantee his own survival if he decided to flee.

While cautiously planning his escape, a chilling voice emerged from the Dark Knight’s mouth.

"Baek Yu-Seol."

Hearing his name, Baek Yu-Seol flinched in surprise. He hadn’t expected the Dark Knight to know him by name.

"What?"

"I always wanted to see your face at least once, but I didn’t think it would be here, at a time like this."

What?

The tone was strange. Contrary to Baek Yu-Seol’s expectations of immediate hostility and overwhelming rage, the Dark Knight’s voice carried a composed, restrained undertone.

’What’s going on?’

With a cautious curiosity, Baek Yu-Seol decided to probe further.

"I, on the other hand, find this time and place quite fitting. After all, I wanted to see your face as well."

Perhaps the response didn’t sit well with the Dark Knight. After a brief pause, the dark mage landed heavily on the ground with a thunderous thud!

The corpse of the dark mage the Dark Knight had been holding was crushed as it hit the ground, crumpling like discarded trash. The remaining dark mages, witnessing the scene, turned and fled without hesitation.

Now, in the ruins of the fortress, only Baek Yu-Seol and the Dark Knight remained.

But the Dark Knight didn’t immediately attack. Instead, he looked around deliberately before snapping his fingers.

Snap!

Whoosh!

"Argh!"

"Ack!"

A translucent dark magic surged from the ground, skewering all the dark mages in its path. Any that managed to evade were quickly tracked down and impaled as well.

It was as if the Dark Knight was determined to eliminate all witnesses.

By this point, Baek Yu-Seol, with his sharp intuition, began to piece together the Dark Knight’s intentions.

’...Could it be that this guy doesn’t want anyone else to know what’s happening here?’

The Dark Knight was a dark mage, and the inhabitants of this fortress were also dark mages.

While Baek Yu-Seol hadn’t thought much of the fact that one dark mage was attacking others, upon closer consideration, it was indeed suspicious.

Why would he go out of his way to massacre his own kind?

"Speak."

The Dark Knight seemingly decided that prolonging the conversation any further was pointless. He released a small but threatening wave of energy and asked in an intimidating tone.

"How did you know I would come here?"

At this point, Baek Yu-Seol was certain.

’Yup. He’s really feeling guilty about all this mess he’s made.’

In other words, if Baek Yu-Seol went around spreading rumors like, "Hey everyone! the Dark Knight is out here killing his fellow dark mages!" it would cause him significant trouble.

’This is an unexpected jackpot, huh?’

Suppressing the urge to smirk, Baek Yu-Seol calmly replied.

"Why should I answer you?"

"...Are you proposing a trade in the human way?"

"Exactly. No human can guarantee a secret will stay 100% secure. Not even me, I can’t guarantee I won’t suddenly spill the beans one day. Makes you nervous, doesn’t it?"

Baek Yu-Seol subtly maneuvered the conversation in his favor, demanding a suitable reward for his cooperation.

"And if I don’t feel like trading the human way?"

He had anticipated such resistance.

"Are you confident you can kill me here and now without fail?"

No dark mage had ever managed to kill Baek Yu-Seol.

Even though the Dark Knight was a risk level 9, the strongest among the dark mages, Baek Yu-Seol had become a force that could not be easily ignored.

’A mage who uses Flash.’

Baek Yu-Seol, the first mage in history to perfectly implement magic that folded space for instantaneous movement.

To be honest, the Dark Knight didn’t think he would lose in a fight against Baek Yu-Seol.

However, he couldn’t predict what kind of tricks Baek Yu-Seol might use to escape. That uncertainty made it impossible for him to act recklessly.

Otherwise, the Dark Knight would have attacked him the moment he saw him, there would have been no need for this bothersome conversation.

Fully aware of these facts, Baek Yu-Seol decided it was safe to act more confidently now.

"Actually, I already know what reward I want from you."

"What is it?"

"The next challenger to the Dark Mage King, I’m curious about that person."

The Dark Knight hesitated for a moment before finally opening his mouth.

"You mean the Dark Mage Cult Master, Hui-Ryeon?"

"Ha, don’t even think about bluffing."

Baek Yu-Seol tilted his head with a casual expression, causing the Dark Knight to fall into a sudden silence.

The silence stretched on for so long that Baek Yu-Seol started to feel impatient.

’What’s taking him so long to think?’

Growing irritated, Baek Yu-Seol crossed his arms and began tapping his fingers. Finally, the Dark Knight lifted his head and met his gaze.

The crimson glow emanating from his helmeted eyes seemed more ominous than before.

"How much... do you know?"

"Nothing at all."

It was the truth. He truly didn’t know.

But to the Dark Knight, it seemed those words carried a different meaning:

’I know most of it, so I want to hear an honest answer from you.’

This misunderstanding was possible only because Baek Yu-Seol had always left such a stormy impression with his actions.

It wasn’t unreasonable to believe that if it were Baek Yu-Seol, he might truly know this much.

In the end, the Dark Knight, after much deliberation, had no choice but to reveal a secret with his own mouth.

"The next challenger to the Dark Mage King... that person is closer to the truth of the world than anyone else."

"The truth of the world, huh? And how am I supposed to believe that?"

"That’s..."

After a brief three-second pause, the Dark Knight responded.

"Because the Twelve Divine Moons, Fawn Prevernal Moon, believed to be an incarnation of the Progenitor Mage, is said to protect the Dark Mage Cult Leader."

’What?’

Baek Yu-Seol almost blurted out his confusion aloud.

’An incarnation of the Progenitor Mage?’

This was something he had never heard of before.

Fawn Prevernal Moon, an incarnation of the Progenitor Mage?

’What nonsense is that?’

Judging from Fawn Prevernal Moon’s past actions, that made no sense whatsoever. Fawn Prevernal Moon was closer to a force that sought to destroy this world.

The Progenitor Mage, on the other hand, was a great mage who had spread magic across Aether World for the benefit of all. Why would they do something like this?

’Isn’t this some kind of misunderstanding?’

But then again, it wasn’t just anyone who had said this, it was the Dark Knight, someone with immense authority and weight in the world of the dark mages.

Had it been some nobody, Baek Yu-Seol wouldn’t have believed a word of it, but hearing it from the Dark Knight made it hard to dismiss.

’And... he referred to the Dark Magic Cult Master as "that person"?’

The Dark Knight served the Dark Mage King, so he should naturally feel uneasy about this new challenger.

There was no reason for him to show respect by calling Hui-Ryeon, the Dark Magic Cult Master, ’that person.’

’Does that mean... could it be...’

Finally, Baek Yu-Seol realized what misunderstanding the Dark Knight had about him.

’Does he think I already know he’s aligned himself with the Dark Magic Cult Master?’

He had no idea.

Up until now, Baek Yu-Seol had assumed the Dark Knight was still the loyal right hand of the Dark Mage King.

"Is that enough of an answer?"

Breaking the silence, the Dark Knight asked. Baek Yu-Seol shook his head and added another question.

"No. I’m curious about you too."

"Speak."

"At the end of this war... whose side will you stand on?"

In other words, Baek Yu-Seol was outright asking who the Dark Knight planned to betray in the end.

Of course, even for someone like the Dark Knight, that wasn’t an easy question to answer outright. After a long pause, he met Baek Yu-Seol’s gaze and replied calmly.

"I will stand with the one who creates a better world for the dark mages."

"How vague."

It seemed unlikely that Baek Yu-Seol would get a more direct answer.

Still, just learning about Fawn Prevernal Moon’s involvement had been significant. the Dark Knight himself also seemed uncertain about his own position.

"That’s enough of an answer for now. I’ll make you a promise. I’ll say I saw nothing here today. This fortress? I’ll take the blame for destroying it. If anyone hears Baek Yu-Seol did it, they’ll believe it."

"...How can I be sure you won’t reveal this secret?"

There was no guarantee.

There was no way to draft a magical contract with a dark mage.

So, Baek Yu-Seol boldly patted his chest and declared.

"Trust me. Even if it’s the enemy’s secret, I always keep my promises. I swear to take this secret to the grave."

His confident tone and demeanor caused the Dark Knight to pause. After locking eyes with Baek Yu-Seol for a moment, he sighed and nodded reluctantly.

After all, even if the Dark Knight couldn’t bring himself to trust Baek Yu-Seol, there was little he could do about it now.

"I will trust your honor."

With that, the Dark Knight shot into the air like a rocket and disappeared.

Watching him leave, Baek Yu-Seol couldn’t hold back the itch in his mouth.

’What should I do?’

He wanted to tell everyone.

The way the Dark Knight was so desperate to keep this a secret made Baek Yu-Seol want to announce it to the entire neighborhood... even to the foreign in-laws next door.

’Hello, everyone! Guess what? the Dark Knight...!’

Of course, if he did that, the Dark Knight might lose his temper and rampage, potentially storming into Stella in a frenzy. So it was better not to, but the unbearable urge to spill the secret was torturous.

’Ah, darn. I should’ve asked about the Green Core too...’

Regret came too late.

Since he had the Dark Knight at a disadvantage, he could’ve pressed for more information. But the opportunity was gone now.

As he mulled over his frustration, his eyes caught sight of a space in the distance, a hidden city, presumably inhabited by tens of thousands of dark mages.

That settled it. Baek Yu-Seol’s next destination was decided.

’Well, time to get back to work.’