Level Up Legacy

On the first of November, shortly after midnight, the world heard a message from one of its most controversial characters. Some loved him, and others feared him, but most hated him because of the belief that he was an anarchist who brought chaos where he went.

Those awake heard his message loud and clear, while those asleep heard it in a dream, meeting the man himself. It was a response to an earlier statement by one of the strongest superpowers in the world, Runera.

Everyone has witnessed the intense hostility Runera showed against Ilios, which has just begun to recover from its tragedy. Thus, their hearts shook when the reply came from the man in question.

“My name is Arthur Silvera,” started the voice with a simple introduction. “I am the man who you heard lies about. Some of them glorified me, while others villainized me. Regardless of who I am, everyone will have different opinions. However, I do… not… care. I will keep marching forward to reclaim what is mine and enforce my justice.”

The voice stopped there, allowing his words to be processed by the world. It was shocking for a single man to address the entire population since some of these men were hidden deep in unmapped lands or dangerous dungeons.

Everyone worldwide stopped what they were doing to listen to the voice that boomed in their minds. It was not intimidating or threatening but apathetic and charismatic.

“Runera has declared war against me, accusing me of threatening their envoy. I merely gave them a choice of giving me back what is mine, but the rulers have refused. Those who steal what is mine will meet tragic ends. I will now march toward Runera, ensuring those rulers do not bring the city I created to ruins. Those who will stand alongside it… will be crushed.”

The message ended there with a simple threat, but one that sent chills down their spines. It was not the fact that this voice spoke into their heads that scared them but how capable its owner was of executing what he promised.

This was Arthur Silvera.

The man who defeated two calamities and an empyrean rank. Those who stood at the summit of the world could not but gaze down on his ascendence to their ranks. They had yet to move, but Arthur Silvera was the one coming from them.

This was the era of his ascent to power.

The world could not sleep after the message ended and could not eat in peace. This was the second time war had started between two powers since Ilios attacked the Yalveran Union. It caused unease around the globe, and many said that Arthur Silvera was a new conqueror.

The Era of Conquerors was a time that happened almost half a millennium ago. It was when wars were still waged for land, and many smaller kingdoms united under one. This was the case for the Yalveran Union too. However, after that came a long peace that lasted for countless years.

The last world war ended five hundred years ago, bringing the world to ruins. It took five hundred years for the world to rebuild its civilizations and count its losses after the end of that era. If not for the overbearing powers of the Seven Conquerors, the world would remain scattered.

Their current era was known as the Era of Awakeners. Most of the general population has obtained abilities that used to be given to only a select few, making them dragons among men. This era reached its peak when the dungeons appeared three hundred years ago, amplifying the mana in the world.

Before the Era of Conquerors was Modern Earth, which had few awakeners fighting for supremacy in the shadows. These sequential events created the current world of magic and technology, where some nations retained their old civilizations, and some changed according to their rulers.

This was also why some nations used technology more than others, and some used magic and runes more. These variations came from the previous eras and their conquerors.

Thus, the term conqueror was not given to any random warlord who wanted to invade others. It was given to someone who could conquer the world if left alone. Therefore, once the first person called Arthur a conqueror, it instilled fear into the world.

Many disapproved of Arthur and his actions in different parts of the world. One such person was the Genius Swordsman, Yurirl. Inside the tall building shaped like a blade, Yurirl was inside one room of its hilt.

“You should have joined his guilt to shut him up,” said a man in white robes inside a dojo. His hair was thin, and his eyes were smiling, but they held sharp light. Yurirl did not respond to the man. “Do not ignore your master, Yurirl!”

“Yes, Master.”

“Yes, my ass! Answer me!” the old man slammed his fist on the wood with mock anger, but Yurirl kept reading the newspaper. These days, the newspapers were filled with pictures of Arthur Silvera. “I am talking to you!”

“Yes, Master.”

“Insolent brat…!” the old man huffed and gave up. He sat back down before wincing as he grabbed his shoulder blade, which lacked an arm. Yurirl jumped from his seat to aid his master, thinking it was another fit of his curse. “Hehe, got your attention now!”

“…you are one carefree old man,” said Yurirl with a sigh before sitting back down and opening his newspaper. “This involves my hometown, so be quiet.”

“Oh, right,” said the old man with surprise. “I remember how you received a call from a childhood friend a month ago. Are they alright?”

“They died.”

“…sigh.”

“However, he fulfilled his promise,” said Yurirl with a smile as he placed the newspaper on the ground. “I never thought that he would succeed before I did or even lose his life before I lost mine. Life works in mysterious ways.”

“It does,” the old master said before glancing at him curiously. “What sort of promise did he fulfill, I wonder?” he probed.

“Killing the Light Emperor,” said Yurirl with the same smile. The old master had a coughing fit because of what he heard, and he even fell back while rolling on the ground. Yurirl did not get up this time.

“You stinky brat! Your childhood friend was Lyle Mantra!” said the old man, pointing at Yurirl. “If anyone knew that you are related to those rebels, those old geezers would place my guild under a microscope!”

“You are stronger than them, right?” asked Yurirl, making the old man think deeply. “I cannot wait to meet the men who make the One-Armed Asura falter.”

“None of them made me falter, stinky brat!” said the old man with a huff. “I have never fought any of them because such a battle would split the world apart! I cannot have that stain my reputation!”

“Boosting is unseemly, Master,” said Yurirl as he rose from the ground and walked toward the nearest weapons rack. The old man flared up again and called him names, but Yurirl did not listen and picked two training swords.

Then, he threw one sword toward his master as he took his stance. His master was still sitting on the ground as the sword spun in the air before landing in his hand. The moment that it did, the atmosphere inside the training hall changed.

Yurirl was in his best form and stance, but he knew he had lost the moment his master grabbed the sword’s hilt. His noisy master disappeared and was replaced by a demon from hell, who did not waste any time before rushing toward his opponent.

A gale of wind blew through the dojo, and Yurirl did not move a muscle. However, his wooden sword exploded to pieces and fell from his hand while his master appeared behind him.

“Is that all you are capable of, princess?” asked the old master with a grin as he placed the sword over his shoulder. “I was just testing if your ability could defeat me now, but you have already lost.”

Yurirl smiled as he stared at the sword in his hands. This was his seven thousand eight hundred sixty-third loss against his master. All of them ended similarly, with him being utterly helpless.

“It cannot be helped since I am fighting the One-Armed Asura,” said Yurirl as he walked toward the weapons rack again to pick another sword. “I am called the greatest swordsman, but that is a lie.”

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Yurirl did not say a thing and raised his new sword. Although he was the youngest grandmaster swordsman, in front of his master, he was just an ant. As the two were about to go at it another time, someone entered the dojo.

“Guild Master, a letter arrived from Runera,” said the guild member as he bowed. One-Armed Asura sighed and turned toward his underling. “The city of runes has requested your aid in the upcoming war.”