Level Up Legacy

“It would have made more sense for you to kill me rather than throw away the life you had for a man you never met,” said Arthur to the pondering Zonas Mantra. The old man gave him a thin smile before looking at him.

“At that time, you were just a kid. Even if I didn’t know you were the outsider, I would never kill a kid, even if they can grow to be a threat. I’m not that kind of man.”

“Some would argue that you are too prideful,” Arthur chuckled. “I, however, like this. I would trust a man like you a hundred folds more than the cunning emperor and ‘wise’ emperor.”

“Mother said my father was too prideful to run, but now I have learned the truth. Is this pride that I carry a delusion I had about the man I admired?”

“Pride is this land’s sin, so I doubt it’s nothing but a delusion,” said Arthur before he took out a communication device and handed it to Zonas. “This can connect to Lyle and Layla.”

“…you met that unruly brat too?” laughed Zonas as he received this device. “What am I supposed to tell them?”

“It’s the opposite. I want them to convince you to leave this place and fight against the emperor with us. You don’t need to worry about the consequences of fighting Lyle now, right? He is already the Knights Commander.”

“I heard,” muttered Zonas with a smile, but it soon disappeared. He turned toward Arthur and placed the artifact on the ground. “Tell me, outsider. Does violence bring change? I thought that all I had to do was kill the emperor, but his strength saved us from countless calamities before.”

“He is the true calamity, Previous Knights Commander,” Arthur pointed at the device. “Lyle would explain how he witnessed firsthand the emperor trying to steal the lifeforce of its citizens.”

Zonas didn’t look surprised, only glancing at the device and then back at Arthur. In his eyes, Arthur saw the knowledge about the emperor’s plan and the real reason behind his imprisonment.

“You fought against the emperor,” said Arthur with surprise. “You knew about this but chose not to rise against him.”

“After I stumbled on one of his bases by accident, I confronted the emperor, and he said it was to fend off an incoming calamity. He was talking about a boy, no older than eighteen, far in the north.”

“Then, he gave you the mission to kill me, which you refused.”

“I realized that the emperor was the same as his father, a corrupt man. Lyle and I worked to grow the rebellion over the years, but it was far from enough to fight against Osian the Invincible. Thus, I had no choice but to be locked away for Lyle to bide his time.”

“There is no time to bide,” said Arthur with rage. “The emperor is stealing life from this land, and you are sitting here waiting to be executed. Even if you couldn’t win, then you could have fought.”

“I chose to wait for the person that the emperor fears the most,” said Zonas before he gave Arthur the artifact. “There won’t be a need to convince me, outsider. I was waiting for your arrival, and you didn’t disappoint.”

“…the executions will be in three days. I will ensure that once we are on the stand, all prisoners will be freed. The rebels will be there, and the commoners will follow a saint I chose. At that time, we can behead the emperor without a problem.”

“I can hold back the emperor together with Lyle, but Osian has never been defeated.”

“He is called the invincible because he has yet to meet me,” said Arthur as he held his forearm. “Even if I have to sacrifice a few things, I will bring this dark empire to the ground.”

“There is one more enemy we need to be careful about, outsider,” said Zonas with fear. “You have already met them in the Runes Apprentices Cup. Those… creatures. In our fight, I lost because of them, with no chance to fight back.”

“Those things are the bane of humans, but I am existence itself,” said Arthur with confidence that moved Zonas. The old man stared at him in awe before smiling. “Don’t worry about that.”

“Then, what are you going to do next?” asked Zonas with interest.

“Many people here have been arrested without a just cause, and I can make them join the fight. The emperor has overreached his authority and created many enemies, which will be his downfall.”

Zonas Mantra nodded, and Arthur stood up to leave. He left the artifact on the ground if the old man wanted to talk to his children.

“I’ll come back later because I want to ask you about a certain swordsman,” said Arthur as he stood by the door. Zonas stared at him with confusion. “His name is Yurirl of the Sword.”

Zonas Mantra stared at him with shock and nostalgia before slowly nodding. Arthur then left the cell and started the next step of his plan inside this place.

Arthur walked around the prison unhindered and using the memories he obtained from George Larson. He had a place to stay on the uppermost floor, which looked like a pavilion. However, he didn’t go there. Instead, he returned to the record room and made a list of the cells he had to visit.

First, he started with the strongest demi-rankers. Zonas Mantra was the only person at the Astra rank, but even if there were others, there were no records of them. As for the deme-rankers, Arthur had to choose those scheduled to be executed and whose crime was against the emperor, not innocents.

Good Vs. Evil.

Arthur had to make that choice. The first deme-ranker that Arthur visited was broken, as he didn’t reply to anything that Arthur said. Of course, he made sure to wipe their memories after his visit.

Each floor had several people on his list, so Arthur got busy. Some of them agreed to fight alongside him, and he made a spiritual contract with them. As for those who asked for money, Arthur simply erased their memories.

Soon, Arthur gathered over a hundred in a day. It was a tiring job, but he needed to be there to use his Art of Submission. After gathering the strongest, he decided to leave the weaker ones until the execution day. At that time, they wouldn’t have a choice but to fight.

***

Lyle stood atop the giant tree, with the researcher staring at the battles below with shock. It was akin to a movie where machines fought against nature. Humans, with their technologies and lasers, attacked the tree monsters led by a young man, and the latter tried to fight for their home.

“Who is this man?” asked the old researcher, but Lyle didn’t tell him. It was his first time seeing Oren Silvera in person, and he never expected Arthur to have such a terrifying younger brother. Being a swordsman, he knew that the sword Oren wielded was abnormal.

“At this rate, there wouldn’t be a need for us to intervene. Every sword strike from this man’s sword disabled several fighters, not to mention those spirits,” said Lyle.

Oren was not fighting alone. There were short creatures that looked like children fighting alongside him. Trees listened to their commands and attacked like the embodiment of this forest’s rage.

“You might be useless to me, old man,” said Lyle to the researcher, making him flinch. “How about we negotiate your life again? What other use do you have?”

“There are over a dozen of these bases! Destroying only one wouldn’t yield any result,” said the old researcher as he backed away from Lyle. “I can still be of use!”

“Might be, but we lack the resources to strike all the bases,” said Lyle as he watched the fight reach its climax. “We might as well ask him for help since he seems hellbent on destroying it.”

After a few minutes, the fight was over, and Oren Silvera stood atop the fallen rabbles of the base. The tree monsters took a lot of damage, but in the end, they won thanks to the help they got from this young man.

Lyle jumped down from the tree, leaving the old researcher behind. He landed at the base of the rabbles, making Oren Silvera raise his sword again. However, Lyle raised his hands in surrender.

“I’m not an enemy. I can be your ally. I work with your brother, Arthur Silvera, as a part of the rebellion,” said Lyle under Oren’s blood-covered eyes. In the end, Oren lowered his sword. “You fought bravely.”

“Bravery wasn’t enough,” said Oren as if he was dissatisfied. “The tree spirits have lost half of their members. We lost, but so did the enemy. This is what war does.”

Lyle had a hallucination where he saw Zonas Mantra in the young man before him, but he shook his head. Although he was young, Oren Silvera might be more mature than he is.