Tian Yi Hui (4)
"That's right. What Kaiser did just now was on my orders. It was my test—the bare minimum check to become captain. And you passed."
"..."
I didn't say a word. To be precise, no words came out.
Just as your brain freezes and speech fails when you're gripped by overwhelming fear, the same happens when you behold something too beautiful. Her face, beaming with that radiant smile, outshone any artwork hanging in the corridor.
"I'm appointing you as captain of the Jin Gang Regiment. In the name of Haven's monarch, Balderic."
The phrase "in the name of Balderic" carried absolute command authority in Haven.
Glancing around, I could see clear dissatisfaction with Balderic's decision on the faces of the others.
But no one dared challenge a declaration made in her name.
"Well then... With the headache of the Jin Gang Regiment captain settled, and the Bai Ling Regiment and Yin Yue Regiment absent on missions, shall we begin the Tian Yi Hui?"
Her gaze shifted to Kaiser.
"You had a rough time because of me, Kaiser."
At her words, Kaiser lightly shook his head.
"It's fine. It was something I endorsed. If anything, I should apologize— I ended up smashing the door."
You endorsed it?!
That's why Kaiser was testing me among all the captains? He put himself forward for it.
Even that casual attack was probably his idea.
Sensing my stare, Kaiser looked my way and flashed a brilliant smile.
Why's he grinning like that all of a sudden? He's not plotting revenge for me sending him flying, is he?
Even as suspicions about Kaiser swirled in my mind, Balderic continued conversing with the other captains.
"Ellis, you seem a bit taller?"
"Ehehe, unnie's gotten even prettier too!"
I'd imagined a meeting deciding the fate of the world, but it felt deflating—like old friends catching up on everyday chit-chat.
After exchanging pleasantries and inquiries with the other captains, Balderic finally broached the main agenda of the Tian Yi Hui.
"Alright, the first item was recruiting a captain for the Jin Gang Regiment, but sorry—I decided that one on my own. Still, as you all saw, his strength is enough to send Kaiser flying, and he withstood my presence without flinching, so his mental fortitude is solid too. No objections, right?"
So that overwhelming pressure back then was her presence.
Presence was often thought of as something exclusive to dragons.
But in truth, it was a technique that crushed the opponent's mind with racial intimidation. Even humans could wield it if they honed their mental strength to the extreme.
"Now that you're one of us, why don't you tell us your name directly?"
"Astra."
Having risen to captain, as long as no major issues cropped up, I'd dodged immediate danger.
But I couldn't lower my guard yet.
It would take time to build true trust with the other captains.
"Astra, we welcome you to Haven, but first, could you address the other captains' curiosities?"
Balderic's gaze turned to the captain of the Zi Yan Regiment, where dissatisfaction burned the brightest.
Azellia fixed Balderic with her sharp eyes for a moment before shifting them to me.
"What's your purpose here? Someone like you could live however you wanted, anywhere."
"Kain told me there'd be plenty of interesting things if I came to Haven. That piqued my interest."
"And you're saying becoming a Haven captain is just for kicks?"
"Yes. Is that a problem?"
"A problem? Of course it is."
Azellia's cold red eyes pierced me menacingly.
"A captain's seat isn't for someone who takes it on a whim like that. Balderic, Astra shouldn't be captain. He's a dangerous one who might betray Haven on a whim!"
"Azellia, enough. Astra sitting as captain of Jin Gang is already decided. Even you know you can't overturn my decisions."
At Balderic's calm but firm voice, Azellia bit her lip and clenched her fist.
Anger still smoldered in her red eyes, but she held back further protests.
What did I even do to make her show such open dislike right off the bat?
The other captains' hostility had melted away like spring snow with Balderic's declaration, but Azellia stood apart.
Her cold animosity seemed to thicken even more.
She was a familiar face from the game's lore, but I knew next to nothing about her.
Just that she was a dark elf who fought by possessing spirits in her body. What she liked or hated, why she eyed me with such wariness—it was all a mystery.
"I have a question too. Are you human?"
A heavy voice rumbled.
It was Ryujin, captain of the Lü Shu Regiment.
Doesn't it look obvious?
"Yes, Ryujin. Human, just like you."
"To think there's another human powerhouse like this—a blessing indeed. We should get along well, Astra."
I studied Ryujin closely.
With his white hair and beard, he looked like a hermit master straight out of a wuxia novel.
The only human captain besides Ellis, and the younger brother of the current Lunaria Emperor—a legendary swordsman once called the Sword Emperor.
But another epithet flashed through my mind.
Blood Sword.
That name carried no light weight.
On his way from abandoning the Lunaria Empire for Haven, he'd personally slaughtered his own subordinate knights.
The pursuing knights and the small kingdoms supporting them had all turned into seas of blood.
He'd earned the title Blood Sword at the end of that blood-soaked journey.
"I have no intention of getting chummy with you."
My words came out cold.
Drawing a line like this was safer for my survival than cozying up to him.
"Hohoho, that's harsh for fellow humans."
Balderic swiftly lightened the heavy mood.
"Well, captains don't need to be best friends."
She smiled brightly, scanning the captains who hadn't spoken yet.
"Anyone who still has questions can ask later in person... Now, onto the second agenda of the Tian Yi Hui."
Balderic's expression turned grave in an instant.
"The Lunaria Empire's been dabbling in making chimeras."
"Hah, as expected. Humans are weak yet cunning—that's why I can't stand the race."
Azellia's icy voice cut across the chamber.
Her red eyes flicked toward me once more.
At first, her hostility puzzled me, but now it was clear.
She just hated me for being human.
This isn't racial discrimination—it's speciesism. Humans get no love... Wait, isn't Balderic human too?
As heavy silence fell,
a childish voice rang out.
"Hing, does elf unnie hate Ellis?"
Looking over, Ellis's clear eyes were welling up with tears.
"Huh? Oh, no! Of course I like our Ellis!"
Azellia, who had been so aloof moments ago, flailed her hands in panic, suddenly like a different person, soothing Ellis.
Didn't you just say you hate humans? What's with the double standard?
As I swallowed my rising frustration,
Ellis's innocent voice chimed in.
"Really?"
Her starry, crystalline eyes sparkled.
Before that pure gaze, Azellia was utterly transformed.
The hostility she'd shown me was gone, replaced by a warm smile.
"Then~ Ellis definitely isn't human."
Yeah, Ellis is 100% human.
A deep sigh escaped me unbidden.
Hate them and they're human; like them and they're not... What kind of absurd logic is this?
But jumping in now wouldn't help.
The other captains exchanged knowing looks like longtime friends, continuing their talk.
Amid them, I felt like a total outsider.
Not that I want to butt in.
In the end, unable to speak up, the Tian Yi Hui wrapped up. Only after receiving the schedule ahead did I finally return to my room.
The moment I shut the door, the taut string of tension inside me snapped.
Today had been one endless ordeal of stress.
"Hoo~"
I collapsed onto the bed, staring at the ceiling with a hollow laugh.
Haven's shield, captain of Jin Gang...
Just a day ago, I was your average South Korean scraping by day to day. Now, suddenly a captain?
What would my parents think—would they be thrilled I'd made it big?
Haven's domain splits into nine vast territories centered around the Lord's Castle.
Each captain governs the one matching their abilities and disposition, becoming its absolute ruler.
And now... I'd become lord of the mountainous region—one of them.
Can I... really pull this off?
The captains' faces from the Tian Yi Hui replayed in my mind.
The cold ruthlessness in their eyes, treating human lives like flies, their selfish focus on self-preservation.
My fingertips trembled faintly.
Could I become a ruthless lord like them?
Could I even fake it?
"No..."
I muttered without thinking.
"I don't need to follow their ideology. I can just... do what I want. Here, I'm the king."
Yeah. Here, I'm the king now.
In my territory, no one will dare question my actions.
But cold reality soon crashed in.
Without real power, lounging around like that... I'd lose my head in no time.
This was the Age of Legend. No fairy-tale world with guaranteed happy endings.
A brutal game world where death lurked at every turn.
In a place where only the strongest survived, without true power...
The captain's seat would become my grave.
I need to get stronger.
I clenched my fist.
"Stronger than a captain—five-character level."
My quiet murmur sank into the darkness.
In the moonlit room, I stared at the ceiling, thoughts churning endlessly.
Countless possibilities and dangers crisscrossed in my head.