âSo what you mean is⌠the current king of Elrika Kingdom, is a servant of Chalian?â
âYes, Ian. And he isnât even a âhumanâ.â
âWhat is he if not a human? An undead or asmodian?â
Ian asked Remus with a surprised look.
âYes. He is an Asmodian. No, precisely he is a magical beast.â
ââŚ?â
âThe identity of the guy who is seated on the throne is almost exactly like a âdoppelgangerâ.â
A new quest from Remus, the quest âPuppet of Elrika Kingdomâ.
The content of the quest was simple.
By hiding behind the strength of Elrika, defeat the fake king and then place the real king, Remus on the throne.
There was only one precondition.
No one should be known that the king had been replaced.
The quest was to return the Elrika Kingdom to the rightful King, by replacing the one placed by Lich King.
And not to let the Lich King notice.
Ian was flustered and was scratching the back of his neck.
âI donât know, it isnât easy to infiltrate the domain of Rataphel, how am I supposed to do that to the castle? Besides I need to take him alongâŚâ
Ian looked at Remus who had a comfortable face and sighed.
If he would use the manner similar to the one when infiltrated the Rataphel domain, then it wouldnât be so impossible.
But rather than taking the difficulty and risk, it looked better to take some time and push in with the troops.
Ian complained to Remus.
âThis is the secret book?â
âOf course.â
âThe helpful assistant that was bound to help me with this secret book?â
Remus still responded to Ian with the same confident look.
âSurely, I canât help but be sure. If I take back the throne without the Lich King not noticing, then it will be bloodless battle for the Lotus Kingdom.â
âNo, it isnât that⌠itâs too unrealistic to sneak in and kill in the doppelganger and then to put you in place. I think it will be more difficult than taking the whole war.â
Only then did Remus understood the dissatisfaction of Ianâs and opened his mouth,
âOh, it is right to worry about.â
âIsnât it a bit too carefree?â
âI need to be carefree. From what I know, your abilities are too great for the task.â
ââŚ?â
Ian stared at Remus with a ridiculous expression.
Remus took a moment to speak.
âThere is a secret passage to the castle in the northwest.â
âSecret⌠passage?â
Remus nodded his head and answered.
âYes, secret passage. It is a path that only I know about.â
âOh ho?â
Ianâs eyes were shining.
Because if there was a secret passage like Remus had mentioned, then the quest would be much easier than imagined.
âThat was why the difficulty wasnât greater than S?â
Of course, the difficulty of an S didnât mean easy, but until recently, only triple SSS grade quests have been in progress, and so the current quest seemed easier.
However, listening to the story of the secret passage, the level of difficulty seemed appropriate.
âBut what did he mean when he said my abilities were too great for the task?â
A question arose about what Remus had said.
And that question was solved quickly.
* * *
Swoosh-!
The sound of a stream water flowing.
To feel the waterâs pressure, Jinsung was down in the bathtub.
âUhm, paradiseâŚâ
The new house that he had moved in a few months ago was his favorite in many ways.
Because it was a newly-built apartment, itâs comfort wasnât comparable with the other ones.
The bathroom, in particular, was truly unparalleled.
The freshwater flowed to Jinsung who only used the shower in his other home, this was like a feeling of going to the hot spring for every bath.
Soaking in hot water and lying still was nothing less than heaven.
âAhm!â
An intense yawn came out of Ianâs mouth.
But in the meantime, the mind of Jinsung was filled with Kailan.
âIâll have to head to the Elrika castle once I log in. This time I donât even have a party so I need to move right away.â
With his eyes closed, Jinsung recalled the conversation he had with Remus before logging out.
âPhoenix⌠you say? That is a very interesting thing.â
The defenders on the side of the Lotus were the God Dragon âKarceusâ and the Griffin âPinâ.
Likewise, each of the other kingdoms had more than one patron.
The same was the case for the Elrika Kingdom.
âThe Guardian deity of our Elrika Kingdom is the legendary beast Phoenix.â
The guardian of the Elrika Kingdom was a beast Ian hadnât seen yet.
With the flames that would never be extinguished till its heart still beats, the legendary beast âimmortalâ one, was the guardian of the Elrika kingdom.
According to Remus, the phoenix was the one which guarded the secret passage.
At the end of the secret passage, one giant tree stood tall, and in the tree was a nest of Phoenix.
âHuh. Do we have to kill him to get there?â
âIt doesnât have to be like that. To kill a phoenix, that is something that one canât do. The guy in the giant tree is probably a little younger than a year old.â
âYeah? Then what am I supposed to do?â
âYou need to get the heart of it.â
âThe heartâŚ?â
Ian who reminded the conversation with Remus began to organize the contents one after the other.
âBehind the giant tree is a door to the castle. But it is blocked by strong bonds. And to open those bonds, the flame bead is needed.â
âFlame bead? What is that?â
âThe red beads are something that a Phoenix can make once a lifetime.â
âHmâŚ?â
âThe Phoenix presents the Flame Beads only to the master that he accepts worthy.â
âThe master of the phoenix, is it you the king of the Erika Kingdom?â
âMy phoenix isnât in the world. Chalian had already destroyed it.â
âThat⌠so. Then the guy who is in the secret passageâŚ?â
The Phoenix which Remus had raised was already taken down by the hands of Chalian.
But the egg, which remained in its nest, woke up while Remus was caught.
In order to be recognized as a master of the Phoenix, a non-summoner had to meet eyes with itâright after he breaks through the egg.
However, the guy in the nest woke up alone, so the only one who gets acceptance from him can be the one who can tame and summon him.
âSo⌠You told me not a difficult task for my ability.â
âYeah. To be precise, youâre an excellent summoner. You are a summoner who tamed a God Dragon, I believe that a Phoenix can be tamed.â
âThat, wellâŚâ
The secret passage to the Elrika Castle, was in fact created by Remus when he ever came across an emergency to escape.
Because of this, only Remus who had the flame beads could only pass the barrier.
Of course, when the phoenix, which Remus owned had disappearedâthe flame beads were already lost, which was why he couldnât pass through the enchantment which he designed.
âIf you defeat the phoenix, the enchantment can be forced to open.â
âHow?â
âIf the heart is taken and broke, then it is possible.â
ââŚâ
âBut if that happens, the guards who defend the castle will notice such intrusion.â
âIâll have to tame the Phoenix.â
Swooah-!
Summing up all his thoughts, Jinsung rose from the bathtub.
He wasnât sure if the rank of the Phoenix was legendary or myth, but meeting the one with the title âGod Birdâ was a chance he wasnât willing to meet.
A familiar voice came for Jinsung from the living room, as he was about to enter the capsule room after getting dressed.
âJinsung-ah, eat your food and then play.â
For ten years with his parents, it seemed like a nagging pain.
But now it was a voice that could never be seen as nagging.
âHuhu, okay Harin-ah. Whatâs the menu?â
Because the food made by Harin was enough to put off the game.
* * *
The entrance of the secret passage that Remus constructed in a place that was easy to enter.
The location itself was inside the Elrika kingdom, but the portal connected to the entrance was connected to the adjacent kingdom, âPaulus Kingdomâ.
The Paulus Kingdom wasnât a territory that was hostile towards Lotus, which made it easy for Ian to locate the location of the portal.
âSurely after the Lich King episode gets done, the next was going to the Paulus kingdom.â
As soon as the footstep fell on the ground after the episode, he was going to declare the war on Paulus kingdom right away, but now, the Paulus kingdom wasnât in a bad relationship with Lotus.
Kaemik territoryâa small baron land located outside the Paulus kingdom.
Remus, who took Ian to a small hut outside the estate, spoke to him.
âInside the secret passage, a lot of powerful monsters will come at you.â
At the unexpected turn of events from Remus, Ian was a bit shocked.
âUh? To a secret passage made for evacuation. Why would you release the monster?â
Remus replied like it was a needed thing to be done.
âIf one had the flame bead, no monsters in the aisle would attack.â
âHmâŚ?â
âThe monsters in the passage area are all the monsters with flame attribute. Monsters with flame attributes donât attack the phoenix.â
Ian was interested in it.
âOh, yeah?â
âNot entirely precise, but unless it was a higher-ranking one than the phoenix.â
âThen they will be aware of the âflame beadâ item from the âPhoenixâ?â
âIâm not entirely sure, wonât it be like that?â
âWell.â
âBut that doesnât mean that if you have the flame bead then you wonât be attacked at all.â
âHuh? What is that supposed to mean?â
âEven having the Flame bead in possession, it will be hostile if it is attacked first.â
âAh, that is understandable.â
Ian wasnât paying much attention to the flame bead.
He was only interested in the summon called âPhoenixâ.
After listening to the explanation given by Remus about the âflame beadâ, it didnât seem like just another ordinary item.
âThis, is this an item that would be incredibly useful when entering a dungeon of flame attribute?â
High-level dungeon which hasnât been discovered yet, obviously composed of flame attribute monsters over the level of 400.
If the flame bead was in possession in those places, hunting in those dungeons would be peaceful.
This would have a great impact on the dungeonâs difficulty than anyone could expect.
âNice, whatâs the secret dungeon, should I see it for myself?â
When he opened the door, a small portal with a burning red color opened.
The eyes of Ian and Remus met each other, and Remus opened his mouth after a nod.
âYou can enter the portal. You go in and then Iâll follow you.â
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As soon as Remus was done, Ian stepped forward without hesitation, and the portal sucked in Ian right after.
A line of system message emerged in Ianâs view, which temporarily turned black.