The Radiant Dragon Ainharthar's Fluster
Hudson looked down at his body with a dazed expression.
Why am I here?
This was unmistakably Pangenia. Yet only moments ago he had been on Earth, tangled in the succession struggles of the British royal family and living through one hectic day after another. Then, without warning, light seemed to pour down over his head and Randolph’s voice reached him.
Come to the gate of the Tower of the War God, Randolph had said.
Hudson had logged into Pangenia at once and headed straight for the Tower of the War God. He treated the summons like a divine revelation and obeyed without the slightest hesitation.
He knew exactly what this phenomenon was.
This is a Divine Word. The kind of direct communion with a god that is permitted only to popes and saintesses!
Had Randolph finally attained godhood? Looking back over the man’s life, it would not have been strange at all. And if this truly was a Divine Word, then the one who heard that voice stood closest to the god himself.
Lord Randolph places absolute trust in me.
His heart pounded. He had always considered himself the man’s right hand, but now he had confirmation straight from the source. To Hudson, this was the greatest blessing imaginable.
“Ahh!”
Hudson trembled from head to toe. The moment the certainty settled, a wave of emotion crashed over him. The pride of standing closest to Randolph felt ready to punch through the atmosphere itself.
This is no time to stand around. I have to grow stronger—harder!
He forced his racing heart to calm. No matter how high Randolph climbed, Hudson had not yet caught up. If he wanted to remain useful at the man’s side, he could not afford complacency. The postponement of his wedding to Serengeti had thrown him into brief confusion, yet even that lost time now felt like an unforgivable waste.
I will inherit the British throne and expand our power in Pangenia.
He would build strength no one in either world could ignore. Every minute, every second counted.
“Lady Auryll.”
“……?”
Auryll turned a vacant stare on him, her thoughts still clearly unsorted. Yet she was one of Randolph’s strongest assets. He could not simply leave her idle.
“You will need to go somewhere with Isaac and Valte for a short while.”
“Why should I listen to you?”
Her expression cooled at once. She was an elf, and she still despised humans.
Hudson merely shrugged.
“Because it will help Lord Randolph.”
“…….”
A flicker of hesitation crossed her face. The only person she followed was Randolph. She had never once thought about actively doing something for him. She fixed Hudson with a look that said, Go on, keep talking.
She really is looking at me like I’m a cockroach.
Hudson swallowed a dry laugh. Isabella had been cold enough to rank among the frostiest people he knew, yet she at least treated him as human. Auryll did not even grant him that courtesy.
He cleared his throat and continued.
“The Ruins City of Rundela. You will need to protect it for a time as Lord Randolph’s proxy.”
“As Lord Randolph’s proxy?”
“Yes. In the capacity of the Fifth Lord, Randolph.”
“Fifth Lord……? What is that?”
Auryll tilted her head. Ah—she still did not know that Randolph held the title of Fifth Lord. She would learn soon enough.
Rundela is a critical stronghold.
Master was dead, and the city had no owner. Hudson had expected Randolph to head there immediately, but the man was simply too busy. For now the players were all occupied fending off invasions, which was fortunate, yet if Rundela were left unattended someone would eventually seize it by force.
Players are not the only problem. The kingdoms are moving as well.
The recent official dispatch that had reached Marquis Weiser also weighed on his mind.
By royal command: Conscript and muster still more soldiers.
The King of Balan had issued the same order to all thirteen cities at once. Marquis Weiser, as a vassal of the kingdom, had no choice but to obey.
They are fretting over the Iron Kingdom’s expansion.
King Friedrich of the Iron Kingdom had begun waging war with reckless abandon. The nearby Balan Kingdom could not help but feel the pressure. The problem was that the Ruins City of Rundela lay right between them.
There is no reason not to occupy a city without a master.
They at least had to pretend it still had an owner—before the Iron Kingdom’s claws stretched any farther.
King Friedrich… the Iron-Blooded Monarch…
Hudson doubted the man would truly touch the Balan Kingdom, yet the recent political climate felt ominous. Preparations were essential. Stabilizing Rundela and fortifying the Labyrinth City would be the only way to weather the coming chaos. A city of the Fifth Lord under the White King’s protection would not be something Friedrich could casually attack.
Moreover, chaos of this scale always birthed enormous opportunity. Opportunity belonged only to those who prepared. And Hudson had no intention of letting it slip away.
Everything for Lord Randolph.
He clenched his fist tightly.
The Radiant Dragon Ainharthar was confident.
He would bestow a trial severe enough that the humiliation he had suffered would be something he could laugh off afterward.
—My trial consists of three parts. Overcome them all, and you shall stand upon the path to a New Leap.
A New Leap. Those who conquered his trials received a powerful grace. Entirely new functions would be added, granting them a completely different quality of power. Yet the number who actually succeeded was vanishingly small; most despaired and gave up.
I decide both the content and the number of the trials.
The harder the trial, the greater the reward, but to send this peculiar fellow packing for certain, three trials seemed necessary.
Shall we start lightly?
He recalled the trial that had just failed—the one most 1-star Transcendents could not clear—and opened his mouth.
—Swing this sword one hundred times in succession.
He produced a blade the size of a modest beast, one even ordinary giants struggled to wield. Simply swinging it a hundred times was not enough. The swings had to be continuous, without rest, or the trial was failed.
“…….”
The challenger merely stared at the sword for a long moment. Had the sight of it cowed him?
—Giving up is also a wise choice.
Ainharthar let out a mocking laugh. He had thought the man peculiar, yet perhaps that had been mere fancy.
The challenger did not give up. He approached the sword slowly, gripped it, and—
“Hup!”
—lifted it with a rough exhalation.
Whoooosh!
He swung.
Oh-ho.
So he could manage this much? He looked strained, yet he was clearly above the level of a 1-star Transcendent.
“Huff! Huff! Huuuff!”
Sweat poured down as the challenger completed one hundred swings.
To think he would actually succeed.
—The first trial is passed. Not bad.
But it was only the beginning. Only one trial had been cleared. The remaining two would simply be raised in difficulty.
Roughly 2-star Transcendent level, then?
Judging by the way he swung the sword, that seemed about right. He had not cleared it with ease, so he was probably a somewhat lacking 2-star. The appearance of a 2-star Transcendent in this nest was unusual, yet it did not matter.
I have trials prepared for the 2-star level as well.
They had always existed—and he had prepared them at the highest difficulty.
Fwoooosh!
Thousands upon thousands of flames rose behind Ainharthar.
—Without using any skills, equipment, or tools, evade them all with pure ability alone.
Naturally, not a single hit was allowed. The challenger’s eyes trembled. In his already exhausted state, dodging every last flame was impossible.
This is the end.
Still, Ainharthar was curious how many the man could avoid. He unleashed the countless flames in simultaneous barrages.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOM!
Explosions thundered without pause. Instinctively using a defensive skill or tool would mean instant failure. At first the challenger barely slipped past the flames, yet even that would soon become too much.
Ainharthar watched the man’s movements with expectant eyes.
Hm?
Something was wrong. The challenger was dodging every single flame by the width of a sheet of paper.
……What?
He had struggled just to swing the sword a hundred times. Even for a 2-star Transcendent, completely avoiding this assault was like plucking stars from the sky—something that usually required dozens of attempts. Yet on the very first try the man was scraping through by the narrowest of margins.
So he was not merely a 2-star Transcendent?
—Hmm. You were hiding your true strength, it seems.
Well now. This fellow was thoroughly cunning. He had pretended to struggle, pretended it was difficult, and coasted through the first two trials. Had he cleared the first one easily, Ainharthar would have immediately thrown the hardest trial at him. The man had clearly acted as though he knew exactly what would happen, carefully raising the difficulty step by step.
Fine. I admit I was fooled by your performance.
Ainharthar nodded. Ordinarily he would have seen through it at once, yet this was a being he could not observe. Knowing that observation was impossible, the man had turned the fact against him.
A refreshing sort of fellow.
For a moment Ainharthar almost felt as though he himself were the challenger.
Still, this is as far as you go.
No matter what, the final trial would be beyond him. The third and last trial—one he had rarely used, and one that only a single person in all history had ever passed—would certainly send this peculiar man packing.
—The final trial is to attack me. Wound me, and you pass.
He generously declared that he would accept the attack. Yet wounding him was impossible. Even a 3-star Transcendent or higher would fail. The Radiant Dragon Ainharthar possessed absolute immunity to every form of attack. Even Ruin itself had been unable to kill him.
There is only one kind of attack that can harm me.
It was not elemental. Neither physical, spiritual, nor transcendent force could touch him. That was the power of a Guardian. And among all Guardians, Ainharthar’s condition was especially exacting.
The sole requirement to injure him:
Only one who has achieved countless great feats can wound me.
A great one. Without mythic accomplishments spanning every field, even the fiercest assault would leave not a single scratch. That was why Ruin itself had failed to kill him—Ruin had never achieved feats great enough to end his life.
Come, then. Attack me.
The Radiant Dragon Ainharthar offered his body with full confidence.
The challenger lifted the enormous sword—
Puaaaak!
“Ngh……?!”
Ainharthar let out a groan of pure agony, his face contorted in shock.
And for good reason.
Chwaaaaaak!
……Blood fountained outward and his entrails spilled free.
Ainharthar stared at the challenger with a deathly pale face.
……I nearly died.
Had he not healed the wound at once, he truly would have perished. He had been wounded before, yet never once had he felt the terror of death so keenly.
He looked at the challenger in utter bewilderment—at the human who was smiling down at him as if in mockery.
Just what in the world is this creature?!