Examiner Purung was a ruthless figure—at least where kings were concerned.
Among the five examiners, Purung was the most difficult, and even the other examiners could not understand the way Purung operated.
“Is Purung’s evaluation of kings truly appropriate?”
“Purung tries to refuse to acknowledge them even when he judges them qualified, because of the hatred and contempt he holds for the king he once served.”
“I hear Purung alone must even obtain Lord Ares’s permission before stripping a king of his qualifications.”
“Hoh? If examiners are the ones conducting the evaluations, then why?”
If the examiners had evaluated soone and ruled them unfit, that should have been the end of it.
The fact that there was an additional layer of review ant there was sothing questionable about Purung’s evaluations.
The other examiners, however, did not particularly care.
Even so, with Ares intervening, the examinations proceeded without issue.
And then ca the day when the examiners gathered once a year to offer prayers to Ares.
A sword descended in a flood of light and fell before Purung, leaving the other examiners aghast.
The Sword of Judgnt.
It was a Mythic sword granted by Ares to one person alone.
Any examiner could wield the Sword of Judgnt.
But only a chosen examiner could receive it.
And because the Sword of Judgnt carried imnse symbolic weight, the other examiners could not understand it.
After the bestowal of the Sword of Judgnt was complete, the examiners questioned the god.
“We do not understand, Lord Ares. We are examiners chosen by Your own hand. But Purung is rely one who volunteered, is he not?”
In the minds of the examiners, being chosen and volunteering were not the sa thing.
Ares’s will was made known to them.
It was that one who sought only kings worthy of the title, as Purung did, had grasped that very qualification himself.
And the examiners learned one truth.
“The one who receives the Sword of Judgnt must live forever as an examiner.”
For all eternity.
That was the trial endured by one worthy of wielding the Sword of Judgnt.
The other examiners had not wanted it.
An eternal life was suffering.
And as Purung reached out and caught the falling Sword of Judgnt, Purung understood.
[The Sword of Judgnt is special.]
[When the finest king you recognize appears, the Sword of Judgnt will respond.]
The Sword of Judgnt was not rely an object that made one stronger.
The mont Purung took hold of it, Purung understood.
[The king acknowledged by the sword will obtain what he most needs.]
Once an examination ended, an examiner had to grant sothing fitting.
That was the law of the world called Ares.
And examiners judged not only those who had already beco kings, but also those who would beco kings.
Purung had never once, not a single ti, t a king who satisfied Purung.
Before becoming an examiner—
If you want one that badly, then I will go find one myself.
Those words once spoken to Purung’s people lingered like fate.
After dozens of examinations, Purung had co to understand sothing.
Forgive .
This was what Purung wished to say to the people still waiting, and to the soldiers of the Ironclad Corps.
There is no such king in this land.
Because not once had the Sword of Judgnt—or Purung—ever encountered such a king.
And now, in the present—
the Sword of Judgnt reacted whenever judgnt began.
And sothing that had never once happened until now was happening.
[The Sword of Judgnt resonates.]
What...?
Purung’s pupils widened at the trendous resonance.
The profound principle of Heaven-Slaying, the art said to pierce even the sky, was crashing down.
KWA-RRRRRRUMBLE—!
[An arrow that generates 3,900% additional attack power annihilates all enemies within a 40-ter radius!!]
The shriek of that power rushing in a straight line, powerful enough to pierce the sky itself, left Purung shaken.
I can’t dodge it.
Choosing to block instead, Purung used the power dwelling in the Sword of Judgnt to weaken the oncoming force of Heaven-Slaying.
“Judgnt.”
KWA-RRRRK—
Dozens of strands of sword energy erupted in midair and tore apart the profound principle of Heaven-Slaying.
The force that remained, not wholly canceled, swallowed Purung.
“KRAAAAGH!”
A wave of agony struck.
A powerhouse who had reached Legend while serving the Overlord.
A Transcendent who had surpassed his limits by wielding the Sword of Judgnt.
And yet this was the first ti Purung had felt pain in the middle of an examination.
Purung was bewildered.
Let us begin evaluating you.
The battle had begun with those words from Ben, the king called Azure Heaven.
As if in response, the Sword of Judgnt shook even more violently.
Purung had said it with his own mouth:
that both the sword and Purung judged a king’s personal ties.
Then Purung saw the character engraved on the bow nad Heavenslaying Bow.
Hyun.
The only information Purung had been given was that this king was a blacksmith.
Not whether he was an excellent blacksmith, not whether he was a Master Blacksmith.
Only now did Purung understand.
The one who had elevated the king nad Antro beyond the bounds of kingship—
was Hyun.
“So that was it!?”
Purung beca certain. They were not Hyun’s friends.
“Kings form ties out of necessity!”
Kings were creatures who threw away the lives of thousands, tens of thousands, if it ant their kingdoms would flourish further and they themselves would grow stronger.
The king Purung had once served had been like that.
So had many of the kings Purung had t.
Most of them.
They had grown stronger and greater by feeding on the blood of their people, their knights, and their soldiers.
Among them—
there had even been °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° kings who, out of jealousy for a knight’s talent, falsely accused him and purged him.
Kings were selfish.
Most kings were born with gold in their mouths and had no idea how to understand the hearts of the weak.
And yet—
KRAAANG!
The instant Purung’s sword clashed against the blade of the massive, broad-shouldered man—
KRRRRRSH—
the air froze, and an imnse chill spread along Purung’s hand.
And even that sword bore the mark of Hyun.
Purung’s suspicion had been right.
These kings, and Hyun King as well, had ford ties out of necessity.
The man nad Barad, their blades locked together, spoke.
“Strip him of his qualifications? Then strip mine away first!”
He ant every word.
And the Sword of Judgnt resonated even louder.
It’s true?
At tis, the Sword of Judgnt distinguished truth from falsehood.
It had to. Otherwise, how could it know whether the king before it was genuine or false?
And now the Sword of Judgnt declared that there was not even the slightest lie in Barad’s words.
Sword King.
The inheritor of the sword line carried down since ages past.
A prodigy born into a royal line that had existed before the examiners themselves appeared in the age of chaos.
And that peerless genius sincerely cherished and loved Hyun.
KWA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LAANG!
But—
Purung, who had reached the rank of a Transcendent through Legend and the influence of the Sword of Judgnt, recovered at once.
“Judgnt.”
KWA-RRRRRRUMBLE—!
A massive buff that raised all stats by 20% and increased all skill levels by 3.
By the power of Judgnt placed within the sword by Lord Ares, a storm of wind roared forth, declaring that a king like Barad could not break Purung’s montum.
PUK!
One strike.
PUUUK!
Two strikes.
PU-PU-PU-PU-PU, PU-PU-PU-PUUK!
Blades collided in midair over and over, and blood spilled from the mouth of the Sword King in a great rush.
But Barad did not retreat.
“Why won’t you fall back? I don’t want to kill you!”
At that question, a voice ca from behind Purung.
“Hoho. Who would retreat when a friend is in danger!”
At the old man’s words, Purung rejected them outright.
Purung had seen it too many tis.
Those who called themselves friends would cast that word aside for greed, and at tis make use of it for their own ends.
“Extre Spear.”
The profound principle of the spear drove into Purung’s back and nearly bent Purung’s body in half.
“Kgh!”
After the pained groan, Purung saw Barad standing there in a body covered in blood, clutching his shoulder.
Right in front of Purung stood Antro, drawing his bowstring.
And above them stood the old man with his spear lowered.
Purung spoke.
“...I have seen them. Tyrants who beca kings and then changed, drunk on power. n who once claid to care for their people but stole from them, treated the life of a maid as worthless, and raised endless taxes to make their kingdoms prosper while chasing still greater power.”
“The people at the edges of their kingdoms starved to death, crying for even a single grain of rice from their kings. But though their granaries overflowed, they lied that ‘everyone is suffering’ and let their people die. And you believe Hyun will be different? Kings—you of all people know best how those who ascend the throne change!”
KRAAANG!
Purung knocked away the spear descending from above, and the old man laughed.
“Hoho. That may happen, yes.”
KWAJAAAK!
Before the Sword King’s swordsmanship could fully unfold, Purung thrust his sword into Barad’s abdon.
Barad caught the blade with his bare hand and smiled.
“Even so, it’s fine.”
Purung twisted aside to avoid the arrow flying in and slashed his wrist, sending blood spraying from Antro.
“Then we will rebuke him and stop him from walking that road.”
The Sword of Judgnt revealed the truth.
“......”
They were saying it.
That even if Hyun strayed, even if he grew greedier, even if he did sothing reckless, it would be all right.
Because the three of them would stand firm and hold the line around him.
“......”
Purung’s sword lowered.
Purung abandoned the fight.
And when Purung did, the three kings lowered their weapons as well, while the old man Ben, who had declared he would evaluate Purung, smiled.
With a bitter smile, Purung asked,
“And how did your evaluation of go?”
Ben answered,
“Hoho, not bad.”
“...I see.”
Purung let out a small, dry laugh.
Purung understood now.
The mont they had heard the words examiner and personal ties, they had deliberately chosen to clash with Purung.
They had shown off their power on purpose, to make it known that those ties were far greater than Purung imagined.
“And what did you think of the king’s ties after seeing them?”
“...I believe this is the first ti I have ever seen a king with ties such as these. Still, what you did was unnecessary.”
“Unnecessary?”
Ben, Barad, and Antro all looked puzzled.
“I only possess the most basic information about a king. The mont I reach the entrance to a kingdom, this sword shows all of the high-ranked ties that king has built in an instant.”
“...?”
Ben heard that and collapsed backward.
“No, you should have said that beforehand!”
“You attacked out of nowhere.”
“Then why did you keep stabbing like that? Can’t you see I’m bleeding all over here?”
Drip, drip—
“...You stabbed first.”
“Good grief, this examiner’s going to kill a king!”
“Weren’t you the one trying to shoot between the eyes first?”
The four of them looked at one another and laughed, and then Ben got to his feet.
“We’ll be riding the carriage in. You can walk.”
“...No, wait. You’re cutting off just like that?”
Ben rely smiled bitterly and asked,
“What do you an when you say you can see all the ties a king has built at once?”
“When an examiner reaches the entrance of a kingdom, those who possess high-ranked ties with that king appear in a welcoming illusion together with the king.”
“In an illusion? So not in their real bodies?”
“That’s right.”
“Then we’ll be there too.”
“I imagine so.”
The carriage left just like that, abandoning Purung behind.
In truth, this was the mont Purung liked best.
The examiners called it the King’s Welco.
The King’s Welco.
Those who had protected that king and, in system terms, built their Affinity with him to MAX stood alongside the king before the kingdom, greeting the examiner in the form of an illusion.
And there was one case in which even soone with a tie of very high rank would not appear before an examiner during the King’s Welco.
That was when the person in question already had ties to the examiner.
Examiners were beings like sacred spirits.
Forgotten now by ordinary humans, they were like ssengers sent down by a god.
And this was Ares’s consideration for them, knowing that the examiners themselves would not welco being reunited with people from the days when they had still lived as ordinary mortals.
The reason Purung liked this mont most was because it revealed the kings’ true faces.
Most kings had no more than two or three figures standing with them.
In truth, Ben, Barad, and Antro would likely have been no different before eting Hyun.
Then Purung rembered what Ben had said before the carriage departed.
What in the world was that supposed to an?
Ben had said exactly this:
“Hoho, what kind of undergarnts are you wearing? They ought to breathe well.”
Only then did Purung understand.
That old man...
Purung was soone who respected everyone’s tastes.
He’s a pervert.
To think he still could not abandon such perverse tastes at that age?
A truly regrettable old man.
Before long, Purung arrived at the entrance to the nation of Hyun.
[The King’s Welco begins.]
Purung closed Purung’s eyes and waited for the King’s Welco ford from thousands of motes of light.
When Purung opened them again, the king who had co to greet Purung would be standing there.
anwhile—
[You are falling into Extre Trance.]
[The stat Will activates.]
[You will not grow tired!!]
After discarding and redrawing dozens of crafting thods, Hyunsoo finally stood before a single finished blueprint and beca certain.
The greatest hamr will be born.
That hamr would be recorded in history and passed down.
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