The Iron Sovereign

The military helicopter's ceiling was 7,000 meters. Jinhyuk leapt from that height with his arms and legs flung wide, and the glittering nightscape unfurled beneath him. He let out a breath of wonder. It was a feast for the eyes.

Easy. Piece of cake.

Maybe it was because he'd already jumped from even higher. Today, he was far more at ease.

He pulled out the Yoddle Compass and checked the direction and distance to Windsor Castle. That fortress just swimming into view — that was Windsor. He leaned his weight toward it.

Two tasks awaited him once he slipped inside. Find Berid's sword hidden in the castle's depths, and rescue Queen Elysia. After that, he would head to the predetermined location, rendezvous with Olivia, and the operation would be over.

Windsor Castle was coming into clearer focus. Jinhyuk opened his mouth.

"Kancho, deploy!"

"Deploying!"

Vice-Captain of the Yoddle Rangers, Kancho, streaked past him in a blur. Scout Kancho's mission was simple: disable any detection devices that might be waiting before Jinhyuk touched down.

Go get 'em, Kancho.

As the castle drew closer, he activated Stealth. Someone might still catch him with the naked eye — better to be careful early.

He fell for a long while. Then a glittering light winked from a corner of Windsor Castle. Scout Kancho's signal.

He locked in his landing trajectory and lightened himself with Hermes' Shoes. His body suddenly floated upward.

Thud!

Jinhyuk adapted to the new weight in an instant and stuck a perfect landing.

Clap clap clap clap clap clap. Kancho, who'd been watching from the side, applauded like a seal.

"That's our Supreme Commander, sir! Outstanding landing, sir! Five hundred out of a hundred, sir!"

Standing at attention, Kancho pointed with a stubby little finger.

"It's an old castle that looks like it could collapse any second, but the security's first-rate, sir. Laser sensors, weight-triggered sirens — they've got the whole package, sir."

Kancho emptied his pockets. Bits and pieces of some device tumbled out in a clatter.

"I yanked all the critical components, so they won't be working, sir."

"Good. Excellent work, Vice-Captain Kancho. What's the watch looking like?"

"A whole lot of them, sir. Armed guards alone number over two hundred, sir."

"Ah, shit."

Hard to call that a normal garrison. These were probably the troops Prince Widrik had scraped together from every direction, just as Olivia had said.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Let's find the sword first."

"Yes, sir!"

He crouched against a corner wall and pulled out the floor plan of Windsor Castle. A chamber that sat a long way down from ground level. Chances were high that no one had ever found it.

"Let's go."

Cloaked in Stealth, Kancho and Jinhyuk moved forward side by side.

It hadn't earned its status as Britain's representative castle for nothing. Larger and more magnificent than Conwy Castle, Windsor filled the eye as they walked toward the spot marked on the floor plan.

"What on earth is going on? Over two hundred people came into the castle today alone."

"I don't know. They don't look like ordinary people... Do you think it's connected to why Her Majesty collapsed?"

"Whatever it is, I just hope it ends soon. There's been so much grim news lately."

Pressed tight against the wall, they waited for the people to pass. Not everyone in Windsor Castle belonged to Widrik. Most of them still had no idea what was actually going on. Even if something unexpected happened, he would have to pick his targets carefully.

After walking a good while longer, they arrived at the marked location.

"Hmm."

Jinhyuk rubbed his chin.

"A fountain."

"A fountain, sir."

"It's full of water."

"Full of water, sir."

What the floor plan pointed to was the main ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fountain inside Windsor Castle. After a quick sweep of the surroundings, he quietly slipped into the water.

In the old days, he would have surfaced in under a minute. But with his stats climbing, his cardiovascular endurance had skyrocketed — he could stay under for quite a while now.

Bubbling inward, he found the pattern he'd seen earlier carved into the fountain floor. Several small protrusions jutted up between the markings. He pressed them in the sequence shown on the floor plan.

Rrrumble.

Oh-ho.

With a faint tremor, the fountain floor began to move. He quickly Manifested Darc. If all the fountain water drained into the opening space, they would have a problem. A few hand ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gestures later, Darc understood instantly and ringed the area with ice.

The floor opened at just the right moment, revealing a subterranean staircase hidden for ages. Fountain water, trapped inside the ice, trickled down along the steps.

"Hooo."

Jinhyuk took a deep breath and gave a thumbs-up to the thoroughly soaked Darc. Manifesting him straight into the water like that — from the perspective of someone who'd been resting peacefully, it was basically a bucket of ice water to the face.

Water dripping from his clothes, Darc shrugged.

"I kept the chill as low as I could, but that fountain's going to freeze over before long."

"I'll be out before then. Even at night, people would notice that pretty fast."

"Call me if you need me again."

Darc gave a casual wave and dismissed his Manifestation. Cool as ever, that guy.

"Let's go, Kancho!"

"Ready to move out, sir!"

He pulled a luminescent stone from his inventory — a flashlight substitute — and, lighting the pitch-black stairs, they began to descend carefully. A place hidden since ancient times. There was no telling what might be waiting down here. He didn't slack on Presence Detection, either.

"I feel like Indiana Jones."

"Jones? I know that one, sir! That's the lotion, right?"

"That's Johnson's Baby Lotion. Indiana Jones is an adventurer."

"Are we adventurers too, sir?"

"That's right. We're the first ones to set foot in a place nobody's ever entered — and more importantly, we're going after treasure."

"Ooooh! I'm so excited, sir!"

A smile full of anticipation tugged at Jinhyuk's lips as well. Adventure and treasure. How could his heart not race?

This is going smoothly.

At the bottom of the stairs, several branching paths appeared. A hidden ancient site, through and through. It would almost have been a letdown if there weren't a maze or some traps.

Of course, they were in the middle of an operation, so they didn't bother wandering. Unlike some movie hero sweating through every wrong turn, Jinhyuk and Kancho found the path instantly with the Yoddle Compass.

"That's kinda lame, sir."

"We're just outstanding adventurers."

It was all thanks to the Yoddle Compass, but still.

How long did they walk, following the compass? The path ended, and a small door appeared directly ahead. Jinhyuk opened it without hesitation.

"Oh!"

He let out a low gasp of wonder. An ancient stone chamber, perfectly preserved — untouched by human hands. And there, resting against the far wall, it sat. The sword of Berid Windsor of the Black Knights.

The moment he took a step, a cheerful alarm chimed.

A faint hologram unfurled around him. The figure that appeared was the man he'd seen before — Aman Windsor, founder of the British royal line and Berid's disciple. He looked far more aged than last time. Quite a while must have passed since Berid's departure.

Aman gazed at the sword for a long time, then walked toward the wall.

The hologram Aman turned his head and looked toward where Jinhyuk stood.

With those final words, the hologram scattered. Seira, who had been waiting for Jinhyuk's call, Manifested. She examined the sword hanging on the wall.

"There is no doubt. This is Berid's blade."

A connecting point between two worlds that seemed completely separate, utterly unrelated. He'd seen this kind of thing more than once, but this time a strange swell of emotion rose in his chest. This wasn't just a simple connection. This was the British royal dynasty — and the man who had made that dynasty possible had been a member of the Black Knights.

This is interesting. Genuinely.

Jinhyuk smiled. The world expanding ever outward since his awakening. The fact that what the world knew wasn't the whole story made his heart pound. How much more would he see and hear from here on?

"Master."

A silence settled as each of them sat with their own thoughts. Then Seira looked at Jinhyuk and smiled. He didn't need to ask what it meant. That sword belongs to you, Master. Go on and take it.

Jinhyuk nodded, approached, and reached out his hand.

Holy.

Considering it was a level 75 item, the raw attack power wasn't all that high. But the unique skill was outrageous. The ability to control the weapons of slain enemies. The longer a fight dragged on and the more foes he cut down, the stronger his fighting power would grow.

Seira, standing beside him, quietly gazed at the silver blade.

"At the start of a battle, Berid was a knight who barely stood out. But by the time the fighting drew to a close, every eye had no choice but to look at him."

It was still vivid in her mind — the thousands of weapons packed densely around Berid.

"Among the enemy, they used to say this: if you want to kill Berid, the Iron Sovereign, you have to kill him when the battle begins. Miss that window, and he becomes something you can never kill."

The Iron Sovereign. Just hearing the epithet made his heart race.

That's so damn cool.

With a satisfied smile, he quickly registered Peracan in Weapon Collecting.

The slot that had held Slicer's Pillar, which he'd returned last time. Peracan slid into that space, and from now on, no matter which weapon he used to cut down an enemy, Iron Brand's effect would trigger.

I want to try this out already.

He was already looking forward to the next tower climb.

That said, a question still lingered. The British royal family had only been using the Windsor surname for less than two hundred years. Even though the founding king had been Aman Windsor, why had the surname vanished in the middle?

Jinhyuk turned it over in his mind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for a moment, then shrugged. He was in the middle of an operation. There were more important things right now. He'd ask Sophia or someone from the royal family later.

"There's no treasure..."

When had she Manifested? Momo, the little glutton, came trudging over, looking thoroughly dejected.

"It's fine. We got the sword, didn't we?"

Unlike Momo, Jinhyuk wasn't disappointed in the slightest. For a swordsman like him, there was no greater treasure than this. It was also a weapon that would turn the world upside down if it ever went public.

"Nnngh."

He stretched long and loose, then rolled his neck this way and that. Berid Windsor's sword — the first purpose of this visit — was in his hands. Thanks to that, he felt thoroughly at peace. Only one thing left.

"Let's go."

Smiling, Jinhyuk started walking. Time to rescue Her Majesty the Queen.