Level 0 Master

Chapter 19 - Vol.1 - Episode 19

There was half a face of a child on the ground. The young and fragile face looked like it was still screaming from the fear and terror of the moment.

"This pisses me off as well."

This was a problem above a pro gamer or an Arc Master. He was furious as a human being.

When he saw people who won with fouls or bribery, that angered him because they were dishonoring the sport. This made him swear that he would win against them with his ability. But… using the lives of children made him furious beyond simple anger.

I'm sorry, said Sungjin to the dead children.

"Do whatever you please. It is more challenging and awesome to win against such an enemy."

He shouldn't have said that.

He knew that Riad was a tyrant who sacrificed people to the magical sword. So he decided to fight next to Ereka. But now, he saw this scene…

Hahaha. Okay, this is a nasty feeling far beyond the incident with the Ministry of Gender Equality.

Children were not binary data in a computer. He couldn't reload human life.

They were miserably abused and scattered under his feet.

He just realized the kind of victory he could bring by defeating the three knights and saving the people. And he also realized what kind of darkness would be coming if he couldn't.

I promise. I can't revive you guys, but at least, I will take down the Blood Ruler to stop her from doing this again.

"But…!"

"Yes. A ruler has to manage their anger more rationally. I was naive. I need to grow up. That anger made me lose my reason."

Sungjin lightly held Ereka's shoulder.

"I don't mind that."

"Sungjin."

"I will cover you for this mistake. Trust me."

Sungjin smiled softly.

He articulated the importance of this plan multiple times, but the princess ruined it.

If he was a normal person, he would have been angry that his plan was ruined. It would be less annoying if a computer project prepared for a few months had been deleted by accident, but this was not a project; it was a war that they had to fight with their lives.

But he smiled to tell the princess to stop blaming herself. He was a man who could embrace the princess of a kingdom.

"Would it be possible?"

"Trust me and wait," Sungjin promised.

"Hey. Let's bury the children. And then I will work on an attack strategy. Stop beating yourself up."

"Yes. Princess. Sniff... wah... I will… I will help you! So… so… we will… we will..."

Jenna tried to stop her tears and lifted up her tail.

"Yes, Sungjin. Jenna… thank you."

Ereka stood up with tears in her eyes.

They collected the pieces of the bodies and buried them. The Blood Ruler's ultimate skill destroyed most of them; she didn't even leave enough pieces to collect.

Sungjin started to think about the Blood Ruler, Riad.

Her strategy to kill a few dozen children to provoke Ereka was clearly valid and excellent.

She killed only a few dozen children in order to have the upper hand in a battle that could change the destiny of the country.

She deserved the credit.

And so...

I will defeat you...

He was able to become a world champion fighting fair and square. But what about becoming an Arc Master?

Yeah. Now, I know.

In this world, the prize of victory had nothing on the sports on earth. He needed a much bigger vision to become an Arc Master.

Many people's lives were at stake.

His first fight was to stop the Blood Ruler. And now, he could see what needed to be his next step and the goals for his next fights.

His opponents were not a simple team. His prize was not just a trophy and money.

Now I know.

We all want victory, but the path he wanted to walk was far from the path of the Blood Ruler.

He wanted to win because he was competitive. And then, he wanted to preserve Ereka's smile since she had abandoned her happiness as a girl in order to devote her life to her people.

Now, there was one more reason. He wanted to defeat Riad. Ereka had to be the ruler. That had to be the first step of building his legend.

So it was okay if he couldn't use his strategies for a defensive battle. He didn't care that the Blood Ruler's ultimate skill had absolute power.

He set a goal, and he would achieve it.

* * *

From that day, Sungjin started to work on new strategies. Ereka looked at him and started to pray.

Sungjin...

Every time she called him, Sungjin smiled and told her to trust him, but she knew.

Sungjin didn't need this much time when he fought against me or against the three knights.

When he promised to win against the Blood Ruler, it didn't take this long to come up with a plan. He had already had a plan, and he was adding up additional tactics. But this time was different. He said he would come up with something, but he hasn't yet.

And probably… no, almost certainly...

Sungjin was good, but this was not a situation where he could find an answer.

You haven't seen it with your eyes, Sungjin.

Even though you are good, this time will be impossible.

The Blood Ruler was way too strong.

When she looked down to the training room, Jenna has dozed off with her hammer on the floor. Her tail started to sway up and down.

"Hmm… Sungjin Oppa, pat me."

"Jenna. Go to bed."

"Oh, Princess! Not yet! I want to practice more!"

Jenna woke up and grabbed her hammer.

"Don't try too hard. Kids need sleep to grow taller."

"Oh, really?"

Jenna's tail stood up but then started to shake.

"I'm fine! I can grow later. I want to practice more."

Ereka couldn't stop her, although she knew that Jenna always wanted to get taller.

"Jenna… take your time… if you get sick… that will be a bigger problem."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Ereka let it go, knowing that Jenna was trying to sound positive. She also knew that Rittier was practicing harder than usual.

I can't make you do this impossible task.

They needed to become stronger. But there was no hero who would want to come to their side. There was only one way.

She called Rittier and Jenna.

"I've got something to tell you."

Rittier and Jenna held their breath, knowing that Ereka was truly serious. The room was so quiet; they could hear their own heartbeats.

"I will tell Sungjin how to finish the forbidden ritual."

"Please don't!"

"Princess!"

"I will let Sungjin decide if we need to proceed with that."

"But Your Highness… that ritual… that ritual...!"

Rittier's hands shook.

"No. Princess!"

Jenna held Ereka's leg, and her tail shook rapidly.

"Yes. This is our last resort. I never wanted to use it, but I made a mistake."

"It was a mistake for sure! But Sungjin said he could cover for it!"

"Did you really think that will be possible?"

No one answered.

"Even so, it is the ruler's duty to stand on the front lines and give her life to save her people."

She decided to become a ruler, not a girl.

"But..."

"So I will tell him that he can have power by using me as a sacrifice."

That was how you finished the forbidden ritual—summoning a demi-devil from the Other World and sacrificing a v.i.r.g.i.n to use for power.

The sacrifice had a double meaning: a sacrifice in bed to satisfy the demi-devil, but also a sacrifice to make the demi-devil stronger.

The former had to sacrifice the v.i.r.g.i.n.i.t.y. The latter had to sacrifice their life.

If Ereka undertook her fate as a sacrifice and killed herself, all her power would go to Sungjin. Although Sungjin left all his power back on earth, with the ritual, he would level up.

That would awaken a much stronger energy mixed with in his own power.

The legend said that a demi-devil from the Other World had a unique class; it had other regular powers like all the classes—knight, warrior, assassin, wizard, supporter.

"But..."

"What I want to ask you is to take care of Sungjin when I'm gone. Don't blame him for my death."

"But..."

"He is such a nice person, so he will suffer from my death. But if you help him to rule as king, that will be a way to save me, which will be much better than dying as a prisoner and losing my rightful rulership."

Ereka showed a beautiful smile that only a person who gave up everything could show. Her smile was sad, emotional and beautiful.

"Your… Highness...."

"Princess..."

"I will let him take over after me. He is a strong, charming, and nice person, so he will do much better than what I'm doing."

"That is not true! Everyone admires you, Your Highness!" said Rittier, but Ereka shook her head slowly.

"They appreciate me trying, but they don't acknowledge what I've done."

"Princess."

"Okay? Take care of them when I'm gone. Promise me."

They stayed in silence. Ereka begged with her eyes for them to promise her.

"Yes... Your Highness..."

Rittier took the order.

He wanted to stop her, but he couldn't.

"Oh… oh… but I don't want you to!"

Jenna ran out crying.

"Jenna!"

Ereka followed her.

A loud noise came from Sungjin's room as Jenna ran into his arms.

"Sungjin Oppa! Oppa! Stop the princess! Save her..."

She cried her eyes out in his arms. She grabbed him thinking there was no one else she could trust.

"What's wrong?"

"Jenna, stop it."

Ereka tried to stop Jenna.

"But the princess… the princess!"

"Rittier. Take Jenna away."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Rittier took Jenna away.

"No! Sungjin Oppa, Oppa. Save my princess...!"

Rittier dragged Jenna out while she was struggling and shaking her tail.

Ereka asked for Sungjin's forgiveness.

"I'm sorry for this fuss this early in the morning."

"It's okay. But tell me what this is about."

Sungjin's expression calmed down. He already knew half of the story deduced by Jenna's words.

"Yes. I wanted to tell you something. Actually… there is an ending part to the summoning ritual that was used to bring you here."

"The ending..."

They kept it from him until now, which meant that it was not good news. Sungjin understood right away.

"I decided to become a sacrifice and sacrifice myself to give you all my power."

He was right. It was not good news.

"The legend says that the Outlander will get a unique class called the 7th unique class, so the strength is way over the normal range. That will give us a better chance against the Blood Ruler."

"So you want to kill yourself?"

"If you think that is the only way, I will. And I told everyone that you would take over the kingdom. Please consider it."

Sungjin's brain started to calculate the benefits of Ereka's offer.

The 7th class. There were unknown factors, but it was stronger than what he was now. He would have his own power to command others—and the kingdom.

That was useful. That was very useful. It would be useful even after this battle.

But...

"No need."

Sungjin cut her off.

"Please consider it as a last resort."

"I said I don't need it. End of discussion."

"But the Blood Ruler is too strong. If we don't make it, people will suffer. This is a fight we can't lose."

"I agree. We can't let her win."

For those kids that they buried.

"So we need to consider my sacrifice as our last resort."

"No. I can't."

"Sungjin..."

Ereka sighed at Sungjin's strong rejection.

She wasn't happy at possibly dying. She didn't really want to become a ruler. She had to sacrifice herself to fight against the Blood Ruler.

But she had no regrets, and if he could understand that, he would understand this sacrifice she was trying to make.

"I know you want an honorable victory. But as a ruler, this is my decision to protect what I believe in. It is not you that is sacrificing me, it is me taking responsibility for my mistake. I want you to understand that."

Ereka sincerely told Sungjin with her hands on her heart.

"I know, while I was burying the children, I promised myself to protect people from that greedy evil force as well."

"Thank you."

"But still, I don't need your method."

Sungjin shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Because you are on the top of the list."

That's why he refused her offer without hesitation. As soon as he heard the solution, he understood the necessity of it and how useful it could be.

But he didn't want it.

War required sacrifices, especially when the enemy was much stronger. That was reality, the cold truth.

But he didn't want that logic of power to abuse others.

Moreover, he didn't want the girl he wanted to protect the most, the girl who was trying her best, to be sacrificed.

So he would beat up reality with his power.

"I want to support your dreams as a ruler, but I also want to protect your happiness as a girl."

Killing a girl that he wanted to protect in order to win was not a victory to his liking.

"What? What… what..."

"I'd rather you want to be a girl who cheers me up than a holy martyr."

He wanted to protect her as a girl and as a ruler, not one thing or the other. He wanted to embrace all of her and protect her.

Experiencing the abuse of greed and power once was enough. He didn't want her to experience it again. And it wouldn't be a pleasant experience to see the girl that he wanted to protect experience that in front of him.

He didn't need it.

"Bu… but..."

Ereka blushed. Her heart was pounding, and she couldn't look into his eyes.

"I want you to live."

Sungjin's words echoed in her head.

"It's not… abuse… it's my choice… you don't need to try to protect me..."

"Are you going to sacrifice yourself when the enemy is weak? No, right? If you don't need to, what do you want to do? Answer me."

"I… I…"

Ereka wanted to tell him what she was thinking.

I want to happily live with you for a long time.

I will be happy if he enjoys my food.

I will be happy if we go on picnics.