A Hero Reborn in Darkness
“Huh?”
Carpe blinked in surprise as he read the alert window.
He reflexively opened his inventory, where a red soul stone was humming and vibrating intensely.
-Whoa. So that's how it works? Nah, thinking about it, this makes total sense. They probably designed the quest this way from the start.
The soul stone could only store souls from beings at or below Carpe's level.
But that only applied if he was the one doing the hunting.
A soul's voluntary binding—with 100% success rate—could happen regardless of the target's level.
Gillian's soul wishes to bind itself to you.
Do you accept?
No room for hesitation there.
Carpe nodded, and a bluish aura rose from Gillian's body, seeping into the soul stone. The whole process took less than five seconds.
“Successor, we are truly grateful. Thanks to you, General Gillian can now rest in peace.”
The first prince approached with reddened eyes and said as much.
Since he made no mention of the blue aura, it seemed the soul-binding effect was visible only to Carpe.
“Successor? Is something the matter...?”
“Oh, well, kinda, but not really...”
Carpe glanced around.
The guards and civilians alike were openly weeping, mourning Gillian's death.
Announcing that he could be revived would undoubtedly bring joy to everyone.
But.
Bzzz! Bzzz!
Just as Carpe opened his mouth to tell the first prince the truth, the soul stone began vibrating wildly.
'Don't you dare say a word!'
Carpe could've sworn the stone was telling him that.
“Successor?”
“N-no, it's nothing. Just my imagination. Everything's fine.”
“Very well. Then we'll recover the general's body and head to the capital.”
After that, everything proceeded smoothly.
The revolutionary forces joined the border guards and marched on the capital without resistance. Drek, who had been managing a small group of revolutionaries inside the city, flung the gates wide open.
“Woooaaah!”
“Drive out the tyrant! End the oppression!”
And with that, the revolution was over.
The overwhelming numbers of revolutionaries crushed the capital garrison's will to fight. Once they learned the revolution's leader was the first prince, they surrendered outright.
By the time they reached the royal castle, word arrived that the queen had subdued everyone connected to the prime minister—a shock that nearly floored them all.
Only Carpe and Drek, who knew the truth, exchanged wry chuckles.
* * *
Four people occupied the reception room where Carpe now sat.
First Prince Royusten Ramark and Elenoa Hillskain, now the former queen.
And Carpe and Drek.
Drek held a fairly large box in his hands.
“This is...?”
“Indeed, Successor. The relic containing the Dark Knight Lindor. Please accept it.”
Carpe took the box from Drek and carefully opened it.
Inside lay a small dark knight doll.
“Then let's begin.”
Carpe pulled the soul stone from his inventory.
Everyone gathered here was present precisely for this momentous occasion.
Despite the mountain of tasks left in the revolution's aftermath, they'd insisted on sharing this moment.
Excluding the imprisoned former king, this was every major figure in Ramark.
Kiiing!
As the red soul poured into the doll, a brilliant light filled the room.
When it faded, a two-meter-tall knight in obsidian armor stood there.
Thud!
Without a word, the death knight dropped to one knee before Carpe.
“This is... the Dark Knight Lindor! What a magnificent figure.”
“Records state Lindor rivaled the top two in combat prowess among the Magic King's relics. Even from appearance alone, you can feel his aura.”
Everyone in the room gasped in admiration at the death knight's imposing presence.
It was so dignified that even Cheonma—the guy who constantly griped about “shitty graphics”—would have to nod in approval.
“But with Lindor's soul gone, shouldn't we give him a new name? Successor, have you thought of one?”
“A name? Obviously Gillian.”
Twitch.
The death knight's body gave the slightest twitch at the name.
It was blatant enough that anyone paying close attention would've noticed—but unfortunately for him, no one else was looking.
They were all staring at Carpe with utter reverence.
“Uh... did I mess up or something?”
“Mess up? Nonsense!”
Carpe had just said the first name that came to mind.
Call him anything but Gillian?
But the others saw profound meaning in it.
“To bestow the name of Lord Gillian upon the founding emperor's legacy... It's the highest honor imaginable.”
“...A truly, truly splendid choice, Successor. We never dreamed you'd honor us so deeply.”
“...”
They were naming a legendary hero after their Gillian!
Of course they were moved.
Even the seemingly stoic former queen turned away, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.
Royusten Ramark's affinity has greatly increased!
Elenoa Hillskain's affinity has greatly increased!
'...What is this vibe? Feels like I'd be branded a traitor if I said the soul stone actually belongs to Gillian.'
-Beats me. Do whatever.
The first prince and Drek launched into effusive praise of Arkram right there.
Honestly, Carpe couldn't make heads or tails of it.
“...Right, Successor?!”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Totally. Spot on.”
“Haha! As expected of the Successor. May glory ever shine upon your path.”
The mood made spilling the truth impossible, so Carpe just nodded along.
“...”
Meanwhile, Gillian remained silent.
Carpe worried something might be wrong, but...
“This way.”
“...”
Clank. Clank.
Gillian obeyed Carpe's simple command without issue. Aside from not speaking, he seemed fine.
“Hmm. Does the third relic normally not talk?”
“No, my lord. Lindor was taciturn, but he could speak.”
“Yeah, that's right, Master. He'd say something maybe once a month.”
“...It's not like there's a month-long language cooldown or anything, right?”
“Not at all. Hmm. Since it's not the original soul stone, it might just take time to adjust to the body.”
“Ah, could be.”
“Time will sort it out. No need to worry.”
As Carpe inspected the dark knight, the first prince and Drek finished their Arkram praises and approached.
“Haha, we were rude interrupting your dolls' reunion.”
“We'll take our leave. Call if you need anything.”
“Thank you again for granting Grandfather such a glorious end.”
With that, the three departed. Carpe saw them off and flopped onto the sofa.
“Phew. Finally over.”
-Yeah. One hell of a draining storyline.
It had been a longer journey than expected.
He'd come to Ramark lightheartedly just for the third relic, only to get swept into a national quest.
“Still, it was fun. Learned a ton too.”
His time with Gillian had elevated Carpe to a new level.
Not just raw levels and stats, but combat using technique.
“What an amazing teacher...”
<Umhot hot! Even with my thick skin, praising me to my face is embarrassing!>
“Eh?”
-Huh?
A voice echoed in the air.
Not from vocal cords, but magically produced.
Carpe and Cheonma's gazes snapped to Gillian.
<Hm? Why stare like that?>
Gillian asked as if it were the most natural thing.
“You can talk?”
<Of course. Didn't realize it myself, but this body syncs perfectly with my soul. No awkwardness at all.>
“Then why stay quiet earlier...?”
<Pfft. Obvious what would've happened if I'd spoken. 'General! Grandfather!' Cue the waterworks. And crucially...>
Gillian thumped his breastplate with a huge fist. Thud thud! Like he was fed up.
me to be free too. Think about it—160 years! I've served this nation long enough. When do I get to live? How long do I play babysitter?!>
“...That's the reason?”
<Exactly. Anyway, I'm retired now. For my second life, I wanna tag along on your adventures. You know how much I dreamed of that in my youth? If not for this weak kingdom...>
Gillian vented at length to Carpe.
As a national pillar and great general, he'd bottled it up—but clearly, a lot had built up.
“Still, shouldn't we tell some people the truth? Especially family, like the queen?”
Carpe thought the former queen deserved to know, but Gillian shook his head.
<Nah. She's not so fragile she'll crumble knowing I'm 'dead.' If they learn I'm alive, they'll lean on me again. No growth that way.>
Gillian insisted leaving like this was best for everyone.
-...Sounds reasonable, but it's just 'I'm retired, time to goof off,' right?
“That's what I heard too.”
<Umhot hot! Guilty as charged. Anyway, Carpe... Hm, no. You're my lord now, so that name doesn't fit.>
“Call me whatever's comfy.”
<Can't do that. Titles matter more than you think. A vassal calling his king casually? What would others say?>
“A most wise perspective. General Gillian's insight is unparalleled, as expected.”
Tina nodded vigorously in agreement.
Some knightly bond, apparently.
<'Master' is too bland, 'lord' overlaps... How about Lord?>
“Eek. Too grandiose?”
<Not really? Hm. Then it's Majesty or Highness...>
“...Lord sounds perfect now. Please, something normal.”
<Umhot hot! Lords get shy over trifles! Don't worry—formal in public, friendly otherwise. Oh, one more thing?>
“What?”
<What's that pesky ghost floating by you? Kinda annoying. Mind if I exorcise it?>
-...Knew it. Wondered why I couldn't speak up.
Cheonma gave a bitter laugh.
Season 4 of “pesky ghost” treatment. He'd reached the point of not even bothering to react.
<Don't fret, Lord. I learned anti-spirit arts for times like this...>
-A death knight doing exorcisms?! You lunatic! Kyaaack!!
But Gillian's next words forced even him to yell.
Carpe stifled a chuckle at the scene, and an alert popped up.
You have perfectly cleared 'The Magic King's Third Relic.'
'Dark Knight Gillian' is now bound to the player.
Affinity between player and Dark Knight Gillian is fixed at maximum.
You have earned massive contribution points from this quest. Exchange them for rewards via specific NPCs.
The 10-Star Player's Lucky Draw