Kaelus stood in the secluded chamber of Grolnuk's Armory, still reeling from the contents of the Stoutbeard journal. The full, terrifying truth of the world had been unveiled, but it brought with it an unsettling realization.
Grolnuk watched him, then spoke, "In fact, there are picture books circulating about the story of a team of heroes who killed the dragon."
The statement struck Kaelus. He remembered the worn picture book the cashier had lent him—a tale of a hero and his party slaying a fearsome dragon. He had dismissed it as a simple fantasy, but now he understood it was a sanitized version of the truth. The story claimed the Hero slew the Dragon, but the reality, as recorded in the journal, was that the Players were the far more fearsome threat.
He also recalled the Mage Emperor's grim words during their first private chat: "The last dungeon raid in that territory was a millennium ago. That party was led by the first Mage Emperor, a genuine 9-Star High-Rank mage... after that, the party never returned." Kaelus now connected the dots: the true identity of the hero in the journal was the First Mage Emperor. The party wasn't defeated by a dungeon or a monster; they were overwhelmed by the Players from Atlas Continent. Even a 9-Star High-Rank Mage was no match for an immortal invasion force.
"Kaelus," Grolnuk suddenly proposed, interrupting his thoughts. "I want to add the mana nullification crystal onto the Viridian Sword."
Kaelus's eyes widened. It was a brilliant idea. "That would be an immense upgrade," he agreed.
"And," Grolnuk continued, his dwarf's love for forging shining, "with the amount of S+ materials you've brought me, I will create a new Artifact Armor for you, using the Armored Scorpion shell fragments as the main materials."
Kaelus thanked Grolnuk profusely. The dwarf waved his hand. "It is nothing. Besides, you need to fulfill the Stoutbeard ancestor's true wish: to get revenge on the 'Players' who killed their entire party."
Kaelus nodded, the word 'revenge' heavy with irony. He knew the true threat of the Players because he, in his past life, was one of them. It had been 15 years since he was reincarnated in this world, and the Players must have grown even stronger than they were a millennium ago.
But then, a sudden realization hit him: the timeline didn't add up. The Players existed a millennium ago, yet the game Aethos Ascendant was only released three years before his death. The contradiction in the timeline was a mystery he desperately needed to solve.
Kaelus decided he needed to use the information to prepare the continent.
"Mr. Grolnuk," Kaelus said, his voice lowering with gravity, "I will be frank with you. This world is changing, and the recent happenings in the Eastern Territory are due to something directly connected to your ancestor's journal. The recent changes—the monster surges and new dungeons—are due to the dragon's barrier being gone." He carefully avoided revealing his own identity. "If I have to guess, something happened to the dragon in the deepest part of the cave that caused the barrier to deactivate. The situation is far more urgent than anyone realizes. The monsters are only part of the problem. With the dragon guardian gone, the so-called 'Players' may invade our continent again."
"I have a request for you. I will not reveal your identity as an artificer, but I must record the important details in your ancestor's journal and reveal them to the Mage Emperor."
Grolnuk considered this, stroking his thick beard. "I already fulfilled the long-time wish of my ancestor to create an artifact with the Verdant Dragon's scale as the core. So, I guess there is no problem with revealing the contents of the journal to the Mage Emperor. I think the Mage Emperor may also protect me, not just as an artificer, but as the descendant of a Hero's party member."
"It is settled then. Thank you, Mr. Grolnuk, for this information."
"As long as you always bring me materials to practice with," Grolnuk grumbled good-naturedly. "I also want to raise the rank of your 6-star mid-rank Viridian Sword so it may help you more. You brought too many valuable materials here: the S+ rank Armored Scorpion shell fragments are for your new artifact armor, and the S+ Crystal Wyvern's mana nullification crystal will be engraved on your sword. Now, give me more mana stones. A fist size will suffice."
Kaelus didn't hesitate. He activated the Dragon's Void in front of Grolnuk and dramatically pulled out five massive mana stones.
Grolnuk was utterly surprised by the skill and the sheer size of the stones. "So that's how you store your massive mana stones! I am amazed at that skill. You are too special, Kaelus; it might be the reason why the Verdant Dragon's reverse scale chose you as the wielder of that sword artifact."
"It is my honor to wield this artifact, and the information you revealed means I haven't yet unlocked the full potential of this sword," Kaelus noted. "The Plant Element of this sword hasn't yet manifested. I'm just using it to hold my original Wind Element. I need to at least activate its original element for me to grow stronger. The Players are the real threat to us."
"Based on my ancestor's journal, they are immortals," Grolnuk mused. "I wonder what can truly kill them."
They can respawn after they died, their stats fall as a penalty, Kaelus thought, remembering the game mechanics. He knew that wouldn't be enough to truly eliminate them.
"Nothing, Mr. Grolnuk," Kaelus said, shaking his head. "I guess I will leave you my Viridian Sword and Knight's Cape now."
"Come back here in two days," Grolnuk promised with a confident grin. "I bet you will be surprised."
Kaelus left the armory and headed straight for the Dragon's Fury Guild Hall. He found the Obsidian Phalanx fully prepared, their backpacks neatly packed, waiting for him.
"Where have you been, Kaelus?" Zane asked. "We've been waiting for you. We are going to our training area."
"I visited my friend," Kaelus replied. "Also, I have something for you, Sylva." He handed her the pieces of paper on which he had hastily rewritten the crucial details of Grolnuk's ancestor's journal.
Sylva sat down immediately and scanned the document. Her eyes widened with every passing line. "Kaelus, this is a very important piece of information. We need to contact the Mage Emperor right away."
"I think it needs to wait, Sylva," Zane interjected. "I don't know how important that is, but we only have two days to prepare for the expedition the Mage Emperor gave us."
"Okay, fine," Sylva conceded, folding the papers carefully. "I think it can wait. We can meet the Emperor anyway before we leave for this mission."
"Kaelus, you need to pack up also," Zane commanded. "In fifteen minutes, we will depart to the old training area. Also, Vara, we need supplies for this mission."
"Got it," Vara replied, vanishing to gather logistics.
"I'll help you pack, Kaelus," Zathis offered.
After Kaelus packed, the team departed for the newly constructed rest houses near their old training area. That night, everyone gathered in the meeting hall, including Aethon.
Sylva read the journal details aloud, the weight of the words filling the room: the three worlds (Terra, Mythos, Atlas), the threat of the Players, the existence of the dragon barrier in the cave, and its eventual disappearance.
"This is too much information to digest," Aethon murmured, rubbing his temples.
"So it means the dragon residing in the deepest part of the Eastern Territory is missing or already dead?" Kaelan asked.
"Correct," Sylva confirmed. "The dragon barrier will only activate when there's a dragon there. The Magic Court's scout report confirms the barrier deactivated just four months ago."
"The dragon might be killed by the Players on the Atlas continent," Zane suggested.
"That's possible, or maybe the dragon left somewhere," Sylva mused.
Kaelus feigned ignorance. "I think the first one is more likely. Also, I suspect once the Mythos Continent sensed that the dragon in the cave is gone, maybe they sent another dragon to the cave to reactivate the barrier."
"That means the other continent might also be affected by the sudden disappearance of the dragon barrier," Sylva said, connecting the continental instability.
"Still, I can't believe there's another continent besides ours," Vara noted. "Also, it's my first time to hear our continent has a name."
"Terra, the Land of Mortals," Sylva repeated grimly. "We are classified as mortals by the Divine Spirits. Given the characteristics of the so-called 'Players,' I guess we are the only species that is mortal to them."
Aethon cleared his throat, steering the focus. "Anyways, Kaelus—the Wyvern's core and the Scorpion's core are given to you. You are a 4-star high-rank mage, and you failed to upgrade your Wind to Sound Element, so based on that, you cannot be considered a 5-star mage. Once you integrate one of those cores, you can jump to ranks and directly reach a 6-Star Mage. But in the entire history of mages, no one has attempted to jump ranks. It's always a process of climbing one rank to another. Are you confident that you will be successful? You might destroy the training hall like last time."
"Kaelus's skills already surpassed us, even though the majority of us are 7-star mages," Zathis argued, supportive. "I think he will be successful."
"Let's just hope it will be successful this time," Zane chuckled. "By the way, Kaelus, where is your sword?"
"I will tell you after two days," Kaelus replied. "In the meantime, I will use a wooden sword in our training tomorrow."
"After the previous mission, I don't know now how to teach you," Zane remarked, eliciting a burst of laughter from the group, effectively ending the solemn meeting.