The voice echoing from the abyss was low yet clear.
‘Had Kreutzvalt arrived?’
‘Or was it someone else?’
There was no way to be certain, but what was clear was the overwhelming presence that easily dominated this abyss.
“So you were here.”
A voice ringing beneath the celestial light.
The radiant halo obscured the face, but the massive presence that effortlessly crossed the abyssal space was unmistakable.
That being looked down at Hio and spoke.
A faint hope.
Just the appearance twisted the space, and the dazzling procession of light brightened the surroundings.
“You shall go to Arilleia.”
No, this was a miraculous light visible only to Hio’s eyes.
A miracle made purely of magic power.
“I will free the poor child who was bound for a thousand years.”
The ‘Mana Perception Prodigy Trait’ surged from the depths of his chest.
The very trait etched into his soul trembled with excitement.
What the presence before him now revealed was the ultimate act achievable with magic power.
[Awaken the sleeping dragon.]
With a single light gesture, the abyssal eye warped.
Take its power.
Two swift swings and the space distorted again.
“You are still but a weak child of Riphue.”
It was a brief yet intense encounter.
If you travel endlessly westward from the Imperial Capital Imenia, you will come to the port city of Lugo.
Mentioning Lugo, the port city, meant you had reached the edge of the continent.
Reaching the continent’s end meant stepping into a place shrouded in mystery.
A place that every creature who walks on two feet longs for.
It was feared because it was unknown, mysterious because it was feared, and because of its mystery, it was attempted to be conquered—but even after thousands of years, it remained unattainable.
It was called the sea.
Among the vast and vague seas, the Western Sea connected to Lugo was especially mysterious.
Because storms raged there all year round.
Therefore, the routes connected to Lugo were quite limited.
If one’s curiosity drove them beyond the designated path, storms would immediately strike.
If they pushed through those expecting the worst, then their whereabouts would become impossible to find.
The price of curiosity was a shipwreck. A body tossed through the air by fierce storms.
Yet, surprisingly few died in those storms.
Most returned alive, bewildered yet joyful—calling it divine luck.
They swore never to venture into that stormy sea out of curiosity again.
Among those survivors, a very few came back hollowed out.
Because they had seen it.
The true master of the stormy sea.
A darkened sky.
Waves taller than several meters.
Violent winds and torrential rain so strong they could barely open their eyes.
And in the midst of that, a bolt of lightning struck suddenly.
Above the distant sea appeared a colossal figure.
“A dragon, a dragon……”
A dragon that called the storm and ruled the sea.
It was a Sea Dragon.
“Tch, tch… completely lost their minds.”
Of course, no one paid any attention to such words. It was just considered a lingering trauma from barely surviving.
‘Where in the world would dragons or sea dragons exist?’
Such stories were for children who still retained their innocence.
But innocence sometimes sees the essence more intuitively than any complex gaze could.
Everyone longs for innocence yet often mocks and dismisses what is pure.
Even when pure truths are whispered, people scoff.
For example:
“There are elves living on the unknown island of Arilleia.”
Or:
[Dragons exist.]
Such rumors are not believed.
Thus, rather simple truths can remain hidden in the complex world for a very long time.
Dragons are alive.
Unbelievable as it may be, it was a definite truth.
Deep within Arilleia.
Sleeping for a thousand years.
A kingdom surrounded on all sides by the sea.
The Kingdom of Arilleia was famous for refusing to interact with other countries on the continent.
And it was a kingdom that couldn’t interact anyway.
Because no sea route to Arilleia was open.
The waters were unstable, storms broke out at every opportunity, and Arilleia itself forbade outsiders from entering.
As a result, no country even tried to open trade routes anymore.
Well, they had never seen Arilleia anyway, so giving up was easy.
The storm-surrounded kingdom of Arilleia.
From afar, it could only be seen as a dark, gloomy, and somewhat unfortunate-looking kingdom.
But if one braved the storm and reached Arilleia, the story changed completely.
For nearly a thousand years, no one but their own people could enter, and that place was a land perfectly blended with nature’s blessings.
Unlike the cloudy sea all year round, the island’s sky was clear.
Next to tall buildings, gigantic trees grew to similar heights.
Natural passageways existed between the buildings and trees, and the people passing through looked a little unusual.
Some looked ordinary, like continental humans, but most had ears that were sharply pointed and protruding.
Still, no one found this odd.
This was the veiled kingdom, Arilleia.
“Disagreements have persisted for days now.”
In the capital of Arilleia.
Or rather, from a human perspective, the capital.
To be exact, the interior of a massive tree that seemed to touch the sky in the very center of the island.
The great tree visible from everywhere on the island was the heart of Arilleia, where those who governed and represented the kingdom had gathered and continued their conference for days.
“The signs of destruction have become unmistakably clear. I believe it is time to act.”
Among those gathered around the wooden round table was a human with rounded ears—representing the human opinion.
Opposite him sat an elf, a member of the race known as Elves, with pointed ears.
“We must not forget our mission. We must endure and wait.”
The ratio of the two races sitting around the table was about seven to three.
Seven elves to three humans.
The humans’ apparent ages varied widely—from youths and children to wrinkled old men.
But the elves all appeared young regardless of age.
They wore translucent sky-colored robes over their linen clothes, and atop their heads rested wreaths woven from grass.
Elves, the main ethnic group of Arilleia, did not experience aging and lived beautifully until their predetermined lifespan ended, then returned to nature.
“But merely enduring and guarding will not resolve anything. We must move before it is too late. Arilleia is strong.”
“Isn’t that too little? Considering the mission that has lasted a thousand years, acting prematurely is…”
The conflict of opinions wasn’t simply between humans and elves.
Divisions existed even within the elves and among the humans.
The changes appearing in Arilleia were so chaotic.
“That is definitely the Abyssal sign recorded in the chronicles.”
It was the Abyss Gate that had appeared in Arilleia.
A pitch-black entrance like an endless abyss had suddenly appeared a few days ago.
This phenomenon wasn’t limited to Arilleia but had emerged all across the continent.
Hio and Daphne, as they cleared the 50th floor of the Abyss Dungeon, had caused Abyss gates to appear everywhere—not just in the Hill of Hell but all around.
Compared to the game, this marked the true beginning of the mid-game.
It was natural for Bingijas to receive messages.
「Abyss – The 50th floor has been cleared.」
「Entrance gates for Abyss conquest are appearing worldwide.」
「The difficulty of conquest will increase significantly.」
Those who had played Ventail, the Bingijas, found many oddities.
Skipping from the 10th floor directly to the 50th floor.
No messages appeared about failure or completion even after the conquest time had long passed.
Only after Daphne and Jijoncheonma appeared two weeks later did those messages show up.
Of course, only a handful of Bingijas knew this.
Regardless, the Arilleians, who had no Bingijas and no knowledge of these facts, could only be confused.
“If we have no information, we must enter to obtain it.”
“Such reckless sacrifice. Our mission is to guard, not to pioneer.”
“To guard, we must advance, must we not?”
“If we fall, even guarding will become impossible.”
Not all elves thought alike, nor were all humans of the same mindset.
So the opinions remained divided, and the stalemate continued for days.
Not even the noblest elf could reach an easy conclusion, nor could the most devoted human declare certainty.
In the midst of this, someone suddenly raised a hand.
A small hand, struggling on short legs that barely touched the ground, raised confidently.
A girl with light green hair—Freya.
In the conference hall where only important decision-makers of Arilleia gathered.
Freya attended boldly.
Such authority was naturally hers.
“I have something to say! (・W)>”
Her hand raised high, emerald eyes full of confidence.
The Mutins behind her flickered with uneasy eyes, but Freya ignored them and scribbled words with her other hand.
‘I’ve called someone to help!’
The words appeared clearly in the air by the power of an Artifact, visible to all in the room.
It was Freya’s thought.
“If it’s someone to help… you mean from within Arilleia?”
An elderly man with wrinkles beside her asked with a kind smile, and Freya shook her head vigorously.
“No! Hio uncle is from the Empire! -() {”
“I see…”
The elderly man smiled awkwardly, troubled over how to respond.
Taking his place, an elf opposite spoke in a gentle voice to Freya.
“But Freya, no matter who you are, you cannot simply bring in an outsider.”
The reason was simple.
“That depends solely on his judgment.”
Elves always valued respect and harmony, but they rarely addressed others with overt honorifics.
Only those worthy of the elves’ respect received such treatment.
The ‘him’ spoken of was a human respected by all elves.
No, anyone living in Arilleia who knew the mission respected and gladly bowed before him.
“Lord Regarda will not grant permission.”
Called the ruler of the Western Sea from the outside world.
Or the Guardian of Arilleia.
Regarda Ovierre.
Rankers considered him among the world’s strongest, alongside Vitalianus and Atawolf.
But little was known about this mysterious figure.
“No one may set foot in Arilleia without his permission.”
And Regarda’s approval had never been granted to an outsider since he received his mission.
His conviction was so noble and deep that no one dared to penetrate it.
For a full thousand years.
“But if it’s Hio uncle, maybe it’s possible? (‘0’)”
Freya wrote confidently without any doubt.
Naturally so.
The girl who had formed a half-complete 1 Circle in an age where magic was lost knew.
His magic power that moved more brilliantly than anything else in the world.
The ecstasy of the magic being perfected with precision.
No one else could see or understand, but this little girl did.
A magician is, by nature, a being who calls forth miracles.
And she knew who the last magician remaining in this world was.
In this meeting where nothing could be guaranteed, only Freya wrote with conviction.
“I called for help, so Hio uncle will definitely come! ”
Pure simplicity cutting through a complicated problem.
“O”
Yet the others’ reactions could only be negative.
After all, the one in question was Regarda Ovierre.
“Let’s continue the meeting for now.”
At such a response, Freya’s cheeks puffed out fiercely, but she sweated and pretended not to notice.
Uncle! Help! Help! (,, >ᄆ<)!
***
Checking the message again, Hio let out a hollow laugh.
“What kind of cheap Artifact is this…”
With Freya’s message, the Whispering Stone’s role was done.
There was no time even to reply.
“I told you, didn’t I? In my time, this was considered nothing but a cheap trinket.”
Nodding at Furnel’s words, Hio pocketed the Whispering Stone.
“Well, I was heading to Arilleia anyway.”
Hio slowly rose to his feet.
Kraang!
Lightning struck nearby and thunder rolled.
The storm blew fiercely, and the waves surged skyward uncontrollably.
In the middle of the sea thick with dark clouds.
“This is brutal, truly brutal.”
The brief rest on an unnamed uninhabited island before entering the full Arilleia sea had ended.
[Skill – ‘Summon Phantom Steed’ activated.]
The portal to the spiritual realm opened, and the Phantom Steed appeared once more.
Mounted on the ghostly horse, dazzling like a divine beast thanks to its trait effect, his gaze turned to the stormy sea.
“What secrets are you hiding… Let’s find out.”
A mysterious island still curled up in secrets—not only in the game but even now.
“To Arilleia.”