V53C9P1 – Hero rescuing the world

“K-hmm.”

Weed was preoccupied in the corner of the dungeon.

“Van Hawk. What do you think?”

“About what?”

“Forget it, my fault for asking a skeleton like you. You’re an empty skull head.”

“…..”

Weed tried to organize his thoughts while sewing the artisan’s rainbow silk, but it did not go how he wanted.

“Torido, how about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Nevermind I cannot trust the decisions of a vampire like you. Other than sucking blood, what else would you ever think about?,?”

“…..”

Van Hawk and Torido.

They were the undead unfortunate enough to be continually scolded by Weed.

“*Sigh* How should I go about this?”

Weed crafted armor with blacksmith materials, and sewed new clothes in order to gather his thoughts. Despite his efforts, his concerns were not resolved so easily.

“Castle Evaluk…”

He had been hunting excitedly due to the recent increase of monsters, but now there was only a day left until Kaybern’s attack on castle Evaluk.

“Realistically, there is no way to stop him.”

He could not round up an estimate of Kaybern with just having gone through one short instance of battle.

The castle was under the attention of countless users.

If Weed were to wait bravely at the castle and face Kaybern, that would be a perfectly meaningless death!

“If the Hermes guild helps out, and the users of the entire Versailles continent were to unite… Even then, the chances are slim. Quest log.”

<

The True warrior.

There are countless achievements that you have attained thus far.

You have defeated the immortal legion and travelled from one end of the world to the other.

You travelled back to the past of the Versailles continent, defeated the Ambinu cult and reached the pinnacle of the arcane sculptural technique.

You are the most famous throughout the continent and succeeded in the most dangerous commissions.

From the city’s drunk to the young ones living in mountain villages, there isn’t a single person that does not know of you as the sculptor, adventurer and warrior Weed.

Poets created lyrics out of your adventures and sing them in the streets.

Now, the dark dragon Kaybern swore its ruthless vengeance and plunged the continent into danger.

This is the time for you to step up.

To save the continent, and defeat the dark dragon.

First, you must gather information.

Before you valiantly draw your sword, you must get a deeper understanding of the dark dragon Kaybern.

Difficulty : S

Reward : Leads into the decision of the warrior.

Quest requirement : Hero rescuing the world

Highest adventure honor.

>

“The only hope I have is this quest.”

He had received the quest from Kaybern’s rise while Weed was active as an adventurer and warrior. As the emperor of the Arpen empire he must stop Kaybern, but he was feeling the pressure before it even began.

“If I proceed with this quest, I will have to confront Kaybern in the end….”

Weed had pushed himself through many impractical quests, but each had its kindling of hope. He somehow desperately stopped the immortal legion and the Embinyu cult, but hards.h.i.+ps just kept coming.

“Anyhow, I should take a look from castle Evaluk given the situation.”

He hadn’t a hint of thought of placing himself in any serious danger.

“Yellowy.”

“Mooooooo.”

Yellowy rolled its innocent eyes and stared at him.

It grew consistently as the carrier following Weed around the hunting grounds. It became abnormally stronger and became bulkier in equal proportion.

“You stay here. I have a feeling Kaybern is going to make a meal out of you.”

“Thanks. Moooo.”

“Knight Serville. You rest too.”

“I understand, Master.”

He gave the human form sculptural creatures and also Yellowy some rest.

The non-human ones like Goldman and crocodile Nile were chosen to tag along.

“Van Hawk, Torido.”

They were subordinates that followed him anywhere.

“Why do you call us? Master.”

“I am here.”

Weed spread his voice with authority.

“You guys have always been loyal. Come with me.”

***

Castle Evaluk of Kallamore.

“Everyone gather your things and leave! There is no time!”

Lord Dain was evacuating the citizens and users.

Many lords were appointed in the Arpen empire, but castle Evaluk was one that was scheduled to be invaded by Kaybern.

Not one desired to be lord of castle Evaluk, and Dain surrendered by quitting the Hermes guild and maintained her lord position.

She broke away from the Hermes guild without any regrets after witnessing Lapei causing this entire incident with Kaybern.

“Take whatever you can carry. If there is no owners.h.i.+p, whoever is closest is the owner.”

“Can I take the things inside the castle?”

“Yeah. Of course! You can take them all.”

Dain chose evacuation over confrontation.

As she mindlessly scrambled around in the streets for the citizens, knight users approached her on their horses.

“Though we lack in skill, we would like to help. As users from Kalamor, we cannot overlook this situation.”

“We do not need fighters.”

Dain was popular because she was exemplary even under the Haven empire Age. Along with the rumors of her being Weed’s comrade, people that criticized her past were rare.

“It is ridiculous to go against Kaybern. Choose life over a meaningless death.”

“Are you going to let this castle and city go to waste?”

Castle Evaluk had taken many stages of development and flourished more than the capital of the Kalamor region.

Dain directly overlooked the castle and had an attachment for every building, but she wasn’t about to obsess over them foolishly.

“What’s not meant to be cannot be. Just because the city is destroyed, it does not mean that their lives end here. The continent is s.p.a.cious, and they could return in the future and repair it.”

“But, what if it gets destroyed again by Kaybern?”

“We still have to live on. I learned to not give up until the very end. Life is precious like a gem which is why I do not want senseless sacrifice.”

Dain’s speech and actions were covered live through the broadcast and left a deep impression on the viewers.

Her honor as the lord of castle Evaluk was renowned, but this broadcast worldwide displayed her true worth of character.

– Castle Evaluk is nowhere near the level of castle Aren, but for her to give it up it takes great courage.

– It seems to be a difficult decision. Wouldn’t she be regretful?

– She isn’t going to make a rash decision. She is wise.

– Giving away everything in the castle is quite impressive.

– Lord Dain was very popular among the users to begin with. Even when she was a.s.sociated under the Hermes guild.

Even the broadcast hosts praised her as a wonderful individual.

“Everyone, escape. Quickly!”

Dain rushed the evacuation in person and led all the soldiers, users and civilians.

Vault doors with war supplies and food were wide open, and she had contacted several major merchant a.s.sociations in advance.

“Please lend me your horses and wagons. The northern bulls will be even better as they can carry more.”

“Who is going to fund this loan?”

“There is no money. Instead, take all the items without owners.h.i.+p in the lord castle. Take as much as you want before Kaybern gets here.”

The merchants pounded away at their calculators and deemed that this was a profitable transaction.

Castle Evaluk was prosperous ever since the pioneer days of Royal Road.

Countless artwork and jewelry decorated the city and thus, there were many items to collect.

“Alright. The deal is good.”

A golden opportunity for the merchants.

Even for the novice merchants that just started, this was the chance to collect loot worth thousands of gold.

Users from regions near Kalamor all swarmed in and loaded hefty in their bags and wagons.

In a few days, the picturesque castle Evaluk was uncovered entirely, leaving just the structural frames.

Marble stones and rare lumber were ripped away, as well as steel joint frames were all taken out.

“I’m a bit sad for these buildings…”

“Better than being destroyed by Kaybern. Let’s uproot the whole thing.”

The stone landmarks that were the basis of the city’s scenery were disa.s.sembled and loaded onto wagons as expensive construction materials.

“Hurry. Come!”

Dain and the volunteering users were a.s.sisting the migration.

All the doors of castle Evaluk were open, allowing the users to leave the castle freely.

***

“Hmm. She made a wise decision.”

Weed stared down at castle Evaluk from a mountain afar.

5 sculptural creatures followed Weed, some of them being Goldman, Bahamorg and the high elf Eltin.

“Shouldn’t we get closer? Growl.”

“It’s fine. This is just the right distance.”

“We won’t be able to get a clear view of the dragon from here.”

“That is what I aimed for. He shouldn’t not even spot us.”

Weed used the sculptural transformation technique and turned into a short-legged dwarf.

‘Kaybern’s rage is directed at humans. He didn’t touch the dwarves near his lair so it will be safe this way.’

Kaybern would not kill him as long as he stays in dwarf form and does not get on his nerves.

That was the reason why he brought the non-human sculptural creatures.

Though he couldn’t bring Yellowy because he was a tasty beef regardless of race.

“I need to gather as much information on Kaybern as possible.”

Bahamorg who overheard Weed talking to himself spoke in sincerity.

“Such courage… Is he trying to hunt down the dragon?”

“No. Wouldn’t you need to know about your enemy so you can avoid them?”

He had an S rank quest at his disposal, but he was up against a dragon this time. He couldn’t rely his back solely on the quest.

‘Even if I proceed with this quest… I need to figure out how much of a force I need to muster to fight. It’s too much to fight alone and I need to mobilize a large number of users. If it fails, the damage will be severe.’

He cannot afford to risk everything on a battle with no chance of winning.

He needed to a.s.sess if he had the odds, even if it meant pulling up a few tricks.

‘He despises humans and uses dark magic at free will. I’d say magic won’t work with him, but does he really have no weakness?’

He planned to a.s.sess everything from the very beginning.

If he were to observe Kaybern’s battle more closely, he would be able to grasp his exact abilities.

Weed waited as he sewed, and when it came to daytime, Kaybern flew towards castle Evaluk.

– Humans. Disappear without a trace!

Kaybern’s first greeting was a breath spewed from afar!

Refined corrosive breath struck castle Evaluk.

The castle gates that were barely hanging melted away instantly, and the central walls crumbled with a loud bang.

Kaybern’s breath seeped into the towns, corrupted the buildings and erected fire.

Castle Evaluk was now on high flames!

– Peris.h.!.+

Kaybern raised fire magic against the castle and the city.

Users that failed to flee in time trying to fulfill their greed for fortune died out.

Dain who stayed behind wis.h.i.+ng to share the same fate as the lord of castle Evaluk also lost her life.

– Kuuraahhh!

Kaybern flew across the sky and continued pouring magic spells on castle Evaluk.

He desired to wipe out everything so that one would not be able to make anything out of the remains.

Weed hid between a tree and a rock, watching the entire scene.

“Hmm. Extremely aggressive. He looks to be blinded by rage…”

“Is rage its weakness? Growl?”

“That is bad news. When weak fools are overwhelmed by rage, they reveal openings. However, strong guys become even more powerful.”

Users that were in proximity of castle Evaluk also lost their lives to the raining fire from the sky. The broadcast stations were conducting live coverage, and posts were rapidly being uploaded on online discussion boards of Royal Road.

– Kaybern is completely crus.h.i.+ng the city.

– He had his way with castle Aren just like that. So it can never be revisited. It was pleasant to watch back then, but for the hope of Kalamor to be ruined like that.

– Ah… I bought a house and farm in castle Evaluk. I planted melons and blueberries and I was just waiting for the harvest. Sad.

Castle Evaluk.

Users with an affection for the Versailles continent all observed pitifully.

(To be continued…)