As Arthur's fingers curled around the hilt of the Emperor's Sword, a surge of primordial heat flooded his veins. It wasn't the searing, destructive fire of the Draconians, but the steady, inexorable warmth of a rising sun.
A golden-red interface forcibly expanded across his vision, a change from the standard blue windows of the game.
[The Ego of Haicyen Saharan has synchronized with your soul!]
[Temporary Authority Granted: 'Legacy of the First Emperor'.]
[Your Level has been temporarily boosted by +100!]
[Current Level: 272]
[The 'Undefeated King's Swordsmanship' has resonated with the Sovereign's Will!]
[Skill Evolution: 60,000 Army Swordsmanship to 90,000 Army Swordsmanship unlocked!]
Arthur felt his perception stretch. The world slowed. The frantic movements of the six Level 300+ Half-Draconians, which had previously been a blur of lethal scales and fire, now looked like walk in the park.
"You... what have you done, human?" Jad roared, his voice trembling despite his bravado. The pressure of Haicyen's presence was forcing the Draconians to their knees, but their pride—the pride of Bunhelier's blood—pushed them to fight the divine weight.
"A temporary trick! You are still the same whelp. You are still meat for our claws!"
Arthur didn't answer with words. He stepped forward.
The stone beneath his boot didn't just crack; it turned to dust. He raised the Emperor's Sword, and the shadows of the cave fled to the corners. Behind him, the spectral silhouettes of Haicyen Saharan and Madra stood like twin pillars of judgment.
"I told you," Arthur said, his voice overlapping with a thousand echoes of the past. "There will be no more of your kind."
The six Draconians lunged simultaneously, a coordinated strike of fire and steel. Jad led the charge, his claws wreathed in blue dragon-flame, while Gut swung an axe heavy enough to split a mountain peak.
Arthur's eyes, now swirling with golden rings, tracked every trajectory. He didn't swing the sword wildly. He pivoted on his heel, the movement so fluid it looked like a ripple in a pond.
"60,000 Army, Eclipse Sword"
The blade didn't strike one target. It struck the air. A vacuum of red energy exploded outward, a circular wave of force that met the Draconians' charge head-on. The collision sounded like two tectonic plates grinding together. The blue flames were swallowed by the red aura.
Gut's claws shattered. The massive warrior gasped as the shards of his own claw were driven into his chest by the sheer atmospheric pressure of Arthur's swing.
[Critical Hit!]
[You have dealt 91,490,200 damage!]
[The Half-Draconian 'Gut' has been slain.]
"One," Arthur counted.
He vanished. Using the enhanced agility of a Level 272 player combined with the Sovereign's authority, he appeared behind the two casters in the rear. They tried to invoke Nidhogg's name, but the mana in the room belonged to the Sun now.
"90,000 Army, Sky-Piercing sword"
A vertical line of light bisected the chamber. It was too fast for the human eye—or the Draconian eye—to follow. The two casters didn't even have time to scream before their bodies were split perfectly in half, the wounds cauterized instantly by the heat of the strike.
[Critical Hit!]
[You have dealt 91,290,800 damage!]
[You have dealt 89,760,200 damage!]
[The Half-Draconian 'Hop' has been slain.]
[The Half-Draconian 'Keg' has been slain!.]
"Two. Three."
Jad let out a guttural howl of rage. "DIE! JUST DIE!" He unleashed a Dragon's Breath at point-blank range, a concentrated beam of white-hot destruction.
Arthur didn't dodge. He held the Emperor's Sword horizontally, the blade glowing with the combined resentment of Madra and the majesty of Haicyen.
"The Undefeated King never retreated," Arthur muttered, the lore of the skills flowing into his mind as if he had practiced them for centuries. "And the Emperor never bowed."
He walked through the flame. The dragon-fire parted around him, unable to touch the 'True Sun.' He reached Jad, who was wide-eyed and gasping, his lungs empty of breath.
Arthur's hand blurred.
"70,000 Army, Decapitation Sword"
Jad's head spun into the darkness of the cave ceiling.
[Critical Hit!]
[You have dealt 90,490,200 damage!]
[The Half-Draconian 'Jad' has been slain.]
"Four."
The remaining two Draconians turned to flee, their instinct for survival finally overriding their arrogance. But the Cave of the End had become a closed loop. Arthur pointed the sword toward the tunnel entrance.
"80,000 Army, Fallen rain sword"
A thousand needles of red light erupted from the sword's tip, arching through the air like a localized meteor shower. They didn't just pierce the fleeing warriors; they erased them. Where the Draconians stood, only glowing embers remained.
[Critical Hit!]
[You have dealt 88,430,900 damage!]
[You have dealt 89,761,100 damage!]
[The Half-Draconian 'San' has been slain.]
[The Half-Draconian 'Ted' has been slain.]
"Five. Six."
Arthur stood in the center of the silent tomb, his chest heaving. The red light of the sword dimmed, returning to a steady, rhythmic pulse.
The system began to scream in his ears. It wasn't the usual congratulatory chime; it was the sound of the world's gears shifting.
[Hidden Quest: 'Prove Your Worth - SSS' has been cleared!]
[The First Emperor Haicyen Saharan acknowledges your willpower.]
[The Ghost of Madra bestows his silent blessing upon the new edge.]
[Calculation of Rewards...]
[You have become the chosen successor of Haicyen Saharan!]
[Class Change: Prince of the Eternal Sun (Legendary)]
Suddenly, Arthur felt an agonizing emptiness. The power he had just wielded—the Level 272 stats, the 90,000 Army Swordsmanship—was ripped away. His body felt frail, brittle, and small.
[Warning: To forge the foundation of a Legend, your previous path must be erased.]
[Your Level has been reset to 1.]
[Quest Completion Bonus: +10 Levels granted.]
[Current Level: 10]
Then, the World Message triggered. It wasn't just for Arthur; it was for every player, every NPC, and every monarch across the continent.
The sky outside the cave, across the entire world of Satisfy, turned a deep, bruised crimson for a fleeting moment as a voice boomed from the heavens.
[The Flagbearer who bears the Legacy of the Empire has awakened as a Legend!]
[He will be the one to challenge the Absolute over the future of the Empire. A pilgrim walking on the path of Ascendancy.]
[The Absolute who carries the Sun feels the presence of someone who can threaten his existence. Word will spread wide in the Empire. No one is allowed to entertain thoughts of usurping the Throne of a Sun.]
[He promises to himself to crush this bud and maintain the dying torch for the future generation.]
[The Flagbearer has grasped the decadent status of the Sun and promises himself that he will ignite this torch with his own willpower.]
[The Imperial House feels their existence is threatened. The Nobles of the Empire feel the crisis of a New Genesis. The Commoners and Slaves could feel a new Star rising over the horizons, blazing with Valor—someone to bring a Brave New World.]
[The Flagbearer proclaims himself as the Saharan Successor. His Will is the Red Emperor's Will.]
[Those questioning the will of the Emperor shall be judged!]
The silence that followed was deafening. Arthur slumped against the cold stone wall, the Emperor's Sword—now an Ego Sword containing the lingering consciousness of Haicyen and Madra—clattered to the floor beside him.
He could hear them. Two voices, one commanding and stern, the other weary and sharp, arguing within his head.
«The Empire has become a disgrace, Haicyen,» Madra's voice echoed in Arthur's mind. «Look at what your children have done. As soon as the competition appeared, they sent knights to snuff that bud, they don't care about your approval or whatsoever.»
«Silence, Undefeated King,» Haicyen's voice rumbled like thunder. «This is his trial. The boy has the steel. He will be the one to burn away the rot. But he is weak... so very weak right now.»
"I can hear you both," Arthur croaked, coughing up a bit of blood. "And I agree. I'm Level 10. I'm a Legendary Class with the HP of a wet paper towel."
He checked his status window. His heart sank.
[Current Status: The Saharan Empire is tracking your location.]
[Proximity of First Imperial Tracker: 15 Kilometers.]
"Fifteen kilometers..." Arthur gritted his teeth. "The Red Knights. They're coming to kill the 'Unknown Prince' before I can even equip a decent pair of boots."
He looked at the exit of the cave. The moon was high, but the mountain was crawling with movement. The sound of hoofbeats—not the clatter of wood and iron, but the rhythmic thrum of horses enchanted with high-tier magic—was getting louder.
A massive shadow suddenly eclipsed the moonlight at the cave's mouth. Arthur reached for his sword, but stopped.
The Gryphon King, the Level 450 Field Boss of the Gravelmark Mountains, landed with a heavy thud. Its golden feathers shimmered with frost, and its eyes, large and intelligent, locked onto the Emperor's Sword in Arthur's hand.
It didn't shriek. It didn't attack. It lowered its massive, hooked beak until it was inches from Arthur's face.
[The sky remembers the True Sun,] the Gryphon spoke, its voice a telepathic rumble that shook Arthur's lungs. [Descendant of the Red Emperor, the imperial family send their hounds. I can smell the stench of the Red Knights on the wind. They come to snuff out the dawn.]
The creature lowered its wing, forming a feathered ramp. [Ride, and I shall carry you beyond their reach... for a price.]
Arthur looked at the distance. He could see it now—a streak of crimson light tearing through the forest below. A lead Red Knight, likely a Neo Red Knight or an elite follower, was moving so fast the friction was igniting the leaves in his wake.
"What price?" Arthur asked, dragging his exhausted body onto the Gryphon's back.
[A promise. When you sit on the throne of Titan, the Gravelmark Mountains shall belong to the sky again. No humans. No lizards. Only the wind. We are tired of your Empire's 'Great Hunt.']
Arthur gripped the Gryphon's mane, feeling the raw power of the beast. "Deal. If I survive to take that throne, the mountains are yours. Now, take me to the border of the Eternal Kingdom. Get me out of this Empire!"
The Gryphon King let out a piercing cry that challenged the stars. With a single, mighty beat of its wings, it took flight.
As they ascended, Arthur looked back. The Red Knight had reached the cave entrance, his crimson armor glowing with a murderous aura. The Knight looked up, his face hidden behind a tattered visor, watching the shadow of the Gryphon disappear into the clouds.
Arthur leaned against the Gryphon's neck, his vision blurring as the fatigue of the 100-level boost finally took its toll. He was Level 10. He had no gold. He had a world-class bounty on his head.
But as he looked at the Emperor's Sword, he saw his once sapphire blue eyes turned into red rubies, a reminder of Saharan Red Energy hidden inside, in his own reflection.
'Keep chasing, you puppets,' he thought. 'I've lost my levels. I've lost my stats. But I've left with something that no other of 2 billion satisfy player could have, the Right to the Throne of the biggest and strongest Empire.'
[You have successfully escaped the Imperial Tracker!]
[The Saharan Empire is now in a 'State of Emergency' regarding the 'Unknown Prince'.]
[The world prepares for the return of the Sun.]