"There is no need to thank , sir," said Robert with a smile. "I am happy to offer my services to the one man capable of saving us. I want to offer my services until the end."
"I appreciate it," said Arthur with a smile as he placed a hand on the table. "Can you et in Runera after I leave this tower?"
"I can, of course," said Robert with a nod as he placed a hand over his heart. "I want to et the princess again, too. She has sealed herself on Earth to ensure that she gets to et you on this birthday, right after your mories rge."
"She has been waiting for on Earth for the past one hundred fifty years…" muttered Arthur with emotions, his fist clenching hard enough to beco pale. "I want to et her now, but I cannot leave this tower before I defeat the man behind it."
"There is one more thing regarding that," said Robert as he slapped his forehead. "The man behind this tower is called the Immortal Sage, right? That na was familiar, so I researched it. There are ruins with that na on Earth."
"I rember Yurirl and Nera ntioning it," said Arthur with a frown as he nodded. "During the Runes Apprentices Cup, I t Yurirl who told that he saw my face in the mories of soone. The Immortal Sage gave him the diary of King Solomon, and Yurirl glimpsed my face in his mories."
"Then, the Immortal Sage knows about King Solomon and the alternate tiline," mumbled Robert with a frown, before shaking his head. "Even as I piece together these clues, I cannot figure out his identity."
"There is no need to do that, since I will et him soon," said Arthur with a smile. "He has lured to this place through nasty ans, so I cannot forgive him. However, I must admit that he made et Azkahar."
"His judgnt remains yours to decide," said Robert with a sigh. "I took too much of your ti, sir. Please take care on your journey, and we shall et once again when the ti is right."
Arthur rose from his chair, shook the outstretched hand, and paused. Robert was confused as he watched Arthur look at him for a few seconds, lips pressed firmly. "You have my infinite gratitude for this knowledge, Robert. No one demanded that you dedicate your life to this, so gratitude is too little to offer."
"Those words are more than enough, sir, and serving you after learning of your achievents is also a great reward," said Robert as he held Arthur's hand with his other one. "Until the ti is right."
"Until the ti is right."
Arthur replied with a smile, and the two parted ways. Then, he turned away and walked out from the cabin. After taking a few steps on the barren cliff, space began twisting behind him. Arthur looked back and found the small house fading away before disappearing completely.
Eight figures landed behind him. Arthur stared at the emptiness where the house used to be and smiled. Then, he turned toward his team, who were standing there and waiting for him. As he walked back to them, seven of them bowed, Lian being the exception.
"We have cleared the monsters, my king," said Seraphine with utmost respect, sothing that has appeared after Arthur awakened and allowed her to et her sister. "There is a bridge that leads us to the Trial of Heroes."
"You did well, everyone," said Arthur with a smile as he nodded at them. "It has been almost a day since we promised Dorian, so that ans we have just two more. One for the trial, and the other to conquer this tower."
"We will follow until the end," said Ramiel as he raised his head. "Give us your commands, my king."
"I need nothing at the mont, but you should pass the trial as well," said Arthur with a shake of his head. "Although this tower will not pose a challenge, the gods are waiting for a chance to descend with their armies. We must protect the tower and its residents against them."
"Yes, sir!"
Lian then summoned his wyvern, letting them all ride on its back. The draconic creature flapped its wings and soared, causing the cliff to crumble a little. Arthur sat atop the creature as his eyes focused into the distance, looking at the giant bridge of trials.
Many challengers clustered around the trial of heroes, which had fog cloaking its base. The giant monunt was bigger than any mountain around them, like a grand wall that led to heaven. As the fog got denser the closer that the bridge got, the wyvern began losing its sense of direction.
"You can land," commanded Arthur, and Lian directed the wyvern toward the ground. As the monster landed, the challengers scread in surprise.
"A monster entered the fog! How is this possible?" shouted a female challenger as she unsheathed her weapon. "We already reached the trial, so why can monsters still attack us?"
"Run away! It's a wyvern!"
"An S-classed monster! Run!"
The challengers scattered with fear as Lian snickered with a smug face. His pride was evident that the challengers feared his tad monster, but Arthur jumped straight away to reassure him, killing his joy.
"This is just a tad monster, dear friends," said Arthur with a smile as he patted the wyvern, and it humd with a satisfied expression. "Are you here to challenge the fourth floor?"
"You an the Trial of Heroes?" muttered the woman with surprise as she sheathed her weapon, staring at the wyvern with caution. "We have been taking shelter in this fog as we hone our skills. The trial is hellish, and we cannot return once we enter."
"Can you guide us toward the bridge in this fog?" asked Arthur with a smile, and seeing how polite he is, the woman did not refuse. His eight henchn followed suit to land on the ground, their faces threatening the crowd.
The woman led them toward the bridge, where the fog was dense and impossible to see through. At the beginning of the bridge was a giant white gate, made from the sa granite as the monunt.
"If soone wishes to enter the trial, they must push this gate open," said the woman as she pointed with her finger. "That gate weighs at least a thousand tons. Soone would need two hundred in stat points just to enter this trial."
"I see," muttered Arthur with a nod. "I don't want to brag, but I made a promise to conquer this tower in two more days. I have to cut to the chase in these matters."
"What are you talking about?" muttered the woman as Arthur walked toward the gate. The rest of the crowd watched while snickering after hearing his foolish words. Then, they waited for his failure. "Don't underestimate its weight, lad! This gate is…"
Boom!
The entire world shook as the gate burst open, slamming onto the bridge. Arthur had pushed it with minimal effort, sending it flying. The eight behind him laughed as the tall Waiga shot so remarks to those who laughed earlier.
"You dare underestimate our king? He will beat you all with a finger! Shoo! Shoo! Don't show your faces around here anymore!"
"Sarohan, be nice," said Arthur as he walked through the gate, which had a small handprint imprinted on it. "These challengers have kept the monsters at bay for a long ti. Furthermore, I sense no malice from them."
"Ah, I see! Good luck surviving the next two days, then!" said Sarohan as he switched in an instant. The crowd watched with agape mouths as the eight walked in with leisure. None of them hurried to pass, unlike all those before them.
"This gate would close as soon as soone passes through it because they use their entire strength to push it open! If two hundred stat points could push it open, then how much is required to do as he did?" muttered the woman with a pale face.
As they walked into the fog, Sarohan asked Arthur the sa question. After all, Arthur did kill almost a million ogres earlier. His reward points should have been in the millions, at least. Arthur paused as he pulled out his stats screen and raised two fingers toward Sarohan.
"Two hundred strength points?" muttered Sarohan with shock, not believing Arthur. However, Seraphine slapped his head as she corrected him.
"Two thousand, idiot!" said the demon with a grin. Arthur did not say anything as the rest followed. "This tower is going to be a breeze."
"It was never designed to be a challenge for ," said Arthur as he raised his head toward the sky. "It was ant to enable to hear the voices of the departing souls ahead. This bridge… has killed many challengers before. Be careful, everyone."
As the rest heard his words, they raised their guard. The bridge let out a rumbling sound as the eight walked across it. After a few seconds, a granite statue jumped from the fog, slashing at them with unprecedented speed.
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