Chapter 220
Chapter 220
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 220
>Chapter Title: The Trial of the Great Lion King
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There are three major powers in the Empire.
The Imperial Knights, the Magic Tower, and the Knight Citadel.
These three organizations prop up the Empire while maintaining the balance of power.
Each one possesses three of the Seven Rivers on their own, and the Imperial family—with one serving as Captain of the Imperial Knights—is the strongest...
“Even just looking at the Magic Tower, they’ve got six. You can’t ignore that.”
“The Knight Citadel has five too.”
“Considering the First Prince’s personality, if the balance were off, it’d be outright dictatorship.”
“The Magic Tower and Knight Citadel aren’t without their Seven Rivers either...”
It was possible only because the Magic Tower and Knight Citadel outnumbered them overwhelmingly.
Of course, this just meant a balance was struck—the Imperial family’s authority and influence were still far greater.
The point was that even an emperor oblivious to the heights of heaven couldn’t ignore the positions of the Magic Tower and Knight Citadel.
That was why users flocked there.
“If you catch their eye just right, it’s a total life-changer.”
“That’s why the guilds are chasing them down like mad.”
“It’s hard to get recognized, but once you do, any guild gives you a free pass.”
“Even the Top 10 Guilds can’t touch you if you’re directly under the Magic Tower or Knight Citadel.”
From faction-exclusive quests and facilities perfect for testing abilities to rock-solid connections.
There was no reason not to join.
Especially considering the traits of god-tier classes, which made playing without a faction’s protection incredibly tough.
The Imperial family wasn’t a place users could just join on a whim, so for those who didn’t fit with guilds, the Magic Tower and Knight Citadel were the perfect alternatives.
And among them, the Magic Tower was especially popular.
“You can get a skill if you join the Magic Tower, right?”
“They guarantee an attribute skill. Why wouldn’t you go for that?”
“Stick around for two months and get a guaranteed hero-grade attribute skill? Damn, that’s sweet!”
Unlike melee classes less reliant on attributes, mages prized skills matching their primary element above all else.
On top of that, the Magic Tower’s lottery ticket was a hero-grade skill!
And not random—a guaranteed one. It was impossible for it not to be popular.
Murmur murmur—
The Red Magic Tower.
This place, in eternal rivalry with the Blue Magic Tower, was no different.
Whoosh—
Boom!
“Nice! Over half completion!”
“Wonder what skill I’ll get.”
“Since I focused on Fireball, maybe something based on that.”
Countless fire-attribute mage users came here, doing odd jobs while honing their magic.
They were literally “honing” their magic.
Thanks to the Magic Tower’s unique system.
[Complete your own unique magic.]
[Completion: 51%]
A system available only to users who entered the Magic Tower, granting them a kind of signature magic.
Unlike other magic skills from lotteries, this was about completing one’s truly personal magic.
It was everyone’s dream, so regardless of performance, it was captivating.
“That guy’s got fire coming out his feet. What’s he even gonna use that for?”
“Fire... flower extinguisher? What the hell? Oh wow, that dude’s shooting fire from his eyes! Wait, no!? That guy’s trying to drink fire?”
“Oh, don’t freak out. They’re Koreans.”
“Koreans? Man, Korean thinking is always so damn unique.”
“It’s fresh, sure, but sometimes it goes too far. You gotta go for simple and destructive.”
Some conjured flames on their soles.
Others fired eyeball beams of fire.
And some inhaled the flames.
Alongside all sorts of bizarre, innovative magic, others honed orthodox spells.
“...Have you seen such idiots? Throwing away a guaranteed hero-grade for romance?”
“You gotta pull the highest-efficiency skill possible!”
“That’s why they’re romantics... Give ‘em a chance and they blow it, tsk tsk.”
“Romantics? What do profit-maximizers know? Magic is romance, you punks!”
“You guys get romance?”
Romance or efficiency.
They stood at that crossroads, endlessly rejecting each other while pursuing their own paths.
“Ah, I want my skill already.”
“Hold on a bit. You’re at 81% at least. I’m still at 30%. Ugh, gonna take at least a month and a half.”
“That’s why I said hit the Magic Tower first when we got to the Empire. It’s free even without joining, so you gotta grab it.”
But the biggest group by far?
Romantic or efficient, whatever—just get the skill quick and bounce.
They’d only dropped by to snag a signature skill.
They had no intention of actually joining the Magic Tower.
“I know joining has perks... but man, it’s brutal. Ain’t grad school.”
“You’d have to ditch your guild to become a disciple of the Tower Lord or something...”
“Ugh, last time I saw, they had ‘em doing all sorts of chores and cracking down on discipline?”
“Do I gotta deal with military-style discipline in a game? Nah, that’s a pass.”
For those reasons, among the Magic Tower’s affiliated NPCs, users, and short-term visitors.
The place was as hectic as ever, befitting a Magic Tower drawing crowds.
While the Magic Tower fretted over overcrowding, another place grappled with the polar opposite problem...
“Ugh, shoulda never picked melee. What a nightmare.”
“Tell me about it... Mages get protected safely in raids while tossing skills, and now they’re sucking honey at the Magic Tower too.”
“Man up, yeah? Knights gotta lead the charge with spirit. Tsk tsk.”
Hayden Citadel, one of the Empire’s five great Knight Citadels.
Like the others, it was dead quiet today as well.
And in that fly-blown emptiness rang heavy strikes on ironwood dummies and the blood and sweat of sparring trainees.
Boom! Crunch!
Crack.
“Get up! You think you’ll become a knight with that?!”
“How long do you plan to rest? Twenty seconds is plenty. Back in line!”
“Damn it...”
“Wasting my three months of endurance...”
Then came the swordsmanship instructor and Hayden Knight Order’s Vice Captain, Avir, bellowing at users who’d collapsed mid-spar.
A knight who wielded advanced Aura, boasting monstrous strength worthy of his rank.
His stellar knightly spirit made this place worlds apart from the Magic Tower’s vibe.
“No true gain comes without blood and sweat.”
“You think lying there solves everything? Rest all you want after you’re dead. Then you won’t be able to rise even if you wanted to.”
“Strive! Refine yourselves! Seize what you desire!”
“Apostles, with such feeble spirits, you’ll never belong to our Knight Citadel. We’re not so desperate for talent that we’d hold onto quitters. If you’ve got gripes, get lost!”
Unlike the Magic Tower, which prized recruiting talent above all, the Knight Citadel valued effort stained in blood and sweat.
A tradition that might seem downright archaic.
Naturally, signature skills were hard to come by too.
“Ugh! Why the hell did I come to a Knight Citadel?”
“Knight Citadel? Why go somewhere that barely gives signature skills?”
“Minimum six months, worst case over a year of grinding—who’s got time? Only masochists go.”
“But the signature skills you do get have efficiency way above their grade.”
“Well... and there’s that ‘method’ too.”
“Pfft, no one seriously tries that.”
That structure inevitably cut user traffic to a trickle, so those who did come hoped to join the Knight Order, not a guild.
But even that was too grueling, and the initial fire in their eyes had long faded.
‘...Three months. Just hold out three months.’
‘Gonna tough it out till the next promotion exam. Who knows, maybe I’ll rank up and escape this hell.’
‘Perpetual trainee life sucks.’
They endured just because quitting felt like a waste. Or they pinned hopes on the upcoming promotion exam.
Waiting only for that final lifeline to drop.
Naturally, those half-hearted ones dropped out fast, leaving Knight Citadels perpetually short on users.
It was during such a hellish training session today.
“Hey, what’s Kaiser up to these days?”
“Yeah, he’s been quiet since clashing with Hero Guild.”
“Heard he’s wandering the Empire chatting up NPCs? Another quest maybe?”
As trainees, their daily grind was hacking at ironwood dummies all day.
Morning: dummies. Lunch: sparring and beatings from instructors. Evening: more dummies.
It was mind-numbingly boring, so even they who never gossiped much latched onto Kaiser as the perfect topic.
He’d made such a flashy Empire debut, after all.
What they were most curious about was his next move.
“Right after arriving, he wrecked Leon in a reinforcement war, crippled Hero Guild... What’s next?”
“Insane moves. If that’s his opener, next up’s gotta be the Top 10 Guilds, right?”
“Kaiser’s got that King Citadel vibe.”
“Pfft, even Kaiser wouldn’t take on the Top 10 Guilds, dude.”
Having lit up the Empire stage so spectacularly upon arrival, whatever came next wouldn’t seem outlandish.
Maybe that’s why?
The guesses spanned a wild range.
“Heard he’s in and out of Babylon—scouting a chance to join for real?”
“There’s an open spot in the Top 100 Guilds. Maybe he’s starting his own?”
“Or what if he’s aiming for the Imperial family or Magic Tower?”
“Why Magic Tower? He’s no mage.”
“Oh right. Or maybe he’s clearing the main quest. Now that he’s in the Empire, going hard on quests?”
“That one’s plausible... Hey, your sword’s about to snap. Go swap it.”
“Yeah, okay.”
That’s when it happened.
As one swapped his worn blade, a silent listener suddenly chimed in.
“Or maybe not.”
All eyes turned to him, and he said with a serious face.
“He always does the unexpected. Could drop by our Knight Citadel.”
“...Lunatic.”
“You’re nuts too. Why would Kaiser come here? What’s he lacking?”
“Hey, Kaiser’s got no faction. They call him Allmaster, but he’s melee-based at heart. Not impossible.”
“Nah, even so, that’s a stretch. What, you want him to show up here and hack dummies with us all day?”
Of course, the user’s words were dismissed instantly.
As everyone laughed it off as a joke.
“Right? Heh. If that’s true, I’ll call you bro...”
“Huh?!”
“Crazy...! Jackpot!”
“...What the hell?”
Commotion from behind drowned him out.
With so few people, any raised voice echoed loud.
Frowning, he and his crew turned, and...
“Gasp...!?”
“No way, that’s him, right?”
“...Looks like it? Wait, this is real?”
Soon they reacted the same as everyone else.
No, even more intensely.
“K-Kaiser...?”
“Kaiser’s at the Knight Citadel!”
Because Kaiser himself had appeared at Hayden Knight Citadel right then.
* * *
Murmur murmur—
‘Ugh, so noisy.’
Do-hyun sighed amid the stares and whispers surrounding him.
‘That’s why I had no plans to hit the Magic Tower or Knight Citadel for a while.’
Signature skill?
Intriguing enough that he’d get one someday, but not right now.
It was a skill he could grab anytime.
For now, he wanted to focus on growth, let the attention die down, level up some, then come back.
If the Magic Tower was like that, the Knight Citadel needed no explanation.
‘Word is you gotta sink half a year here minimum.’
And that was the bare minimum.
Do-hyun wasn’t crazy enough to waste that time on one skill.
Better to chip away at the main quest even a fingernail’s worth more.
But life rarely goes to plan.
Magic Tower or Knight Citadel.
The main quest forced him to pick one, and Do-hyun chose the Knight Citadel.
Anyone hearing that might call it surprising.
‘The Magic Tower’s faster than the Knight Citadel.’
Forget just the signature skill—Magic Tower was quicker in every way.
Its Tower Lords were all talent fiends.
‘But it still takes months.’
Relative to the Knight Citadel, sure—but procedures meant time either way.
That time was precious to Do-hyun. That was why he came here.
No other option for that “method.”
“Hmm, like a celebrity. Training halt for now. Ah, keep hitting the dummies.”
“...Yes, sir.”
That’s when swordsmanship instructor Avir spotted Do-hyun, stopped training, approached, and offered a hand.
“Pleased to meet you. What’s your name?”
“Kaiser.”
Clasping hands, Do-hyun checked the name above his head.
[Avir]
Blood-red bordering on black.
Plus the monstrous power transmitted through his grip.
A true powerhouse, as befitted Vice Captain of one of the five great Knight Citadels. Reason users, crazy as they were, stayed quiet.
‘Incredible presence, my lord. Quite the expert.’
‘Ugh... I hate heavy auras like this.’
‘Lizard lizard.’
Even Charlie and Jihad, now somewhat grown, were impressed.
Avir released the grip and asked.
“So, Kaiser. What brings you here? Want to train?”
“No.”
Do-hyun shook his head firmly.
Avir’s brow twitched at the hesitation-free refusal, but Do-hyun pressed on undeterred.
“I wish to take the trial of the Great Lion King.”
“...What?”
Avir’s brow furrowed tighter, stiffening.
And that wasn’t all.
“Crazy bastard...!”
“Whoa.”
“No way... he’s taking that?!”
“...I didn’t mishear, right? This real?”
Users’ shocked voices rose openly behind his furrowed brow.
It couldn’t be helped.
No one had passed the Great Lion King’s trial in half a year.