Chapter 222

Chapter 222

Arthur didn’t know Jax all that well. As a former Lich King who lived thousands of years ago, the bartender knew very little about the current landscape of Vacuos. Certainly, he heard rumors— hushed whispers being exchanged— because of his job. When people drank too much, their lips grew loose, and they’d often spill a secret or two. Especially [Traders].

So there were some things that Arthur knew about in some detail. Such as the progress of the war between the Astrad Kingdom and the Kingdom of Kal. Currently, things were in a tight deadlock between the two. But that hadn’t been the case for most of the war.

The Kingdom of Kal was winning. They had claimed more than a quarter of the Astrad Kingdom’s lands, and they were cutting a line straight to the Capital City of Astral. Knowing this, the Astrad Kingdom had poured all their forces to halt the Kingdom of Kal’s advance. And from what Arthur knew right now, it was temporarily working.

But it seemed like that wouldn’t be the case forever. That was why he wanted to intervene. That was why he wanted to become strong enough to be able to act.

He knew exactly the dangers the Kallistus Kal posed to the world. The Astrad Kingdom was currently the only thing standing in the [Hero King]’s path of destruction from spreading to the rest of Vacuos. After all, that was the Voidgod’s will.

It was the one desire of the Fal-Deus.

Arthur had seen it himself. The loathing that the Voidgod felt towards Vacuos.

And that was why the former Lich King wanted to stop it. That was why he wasn’t sitting around to let it happen— to let Amelia be the one to intervene and save the day. Because she wasn’t going to do anything about the [Hero King]. She was tired of being a hero, and she wanted to simply relax and enjoy herself, running her restaurant without much trouble.

While Arthur didn’t blame her, he wasn’t going to let Kallistus Kal continue his path of destruction any longer either.

After all, there was always the grim possibility— the small chance that existed— for Amelia to act too late. Or even worse, she could always fail to stop the [Hero King] once he was fully overtaken by the Voidgod. And Arthur wasn’t going to take that chance. That was why he stood here, in the forest right outside of Wolfwater, standing before an elf.

Arthur steeled himself as he faced the man opposite of him. The two of them were vaguely familiar with each other. They spoke from time to time, but it was mostly on matters related to work. The other man’s name was Jax— Arthur knew that much— and he was known as the Forsaken Archer.

He was supposedly an S-ranked adventurer, but from what Arthur had seen, that couldn’t have been the case. Even if what Arthur had seen of Jax typically wasn’t much. Because most of the time, it had been Jax challenging Amelia to a duel on multiple occasions— despite always losing, showing the same tenacity as always.

However, the speed Jax always displayed— the power he imposed— all of this made Arthur suspicious of the elf’s true strength.

That was why Arthur had accepted this offer to spar. Because he was curious. He wanted to see if this was truly going to help him. While he no longer possessed the magicks he once did as a Lich King, he now had access to the powers of the Void.

He was still greatly inexperienced with it. But he knew he could become stronger. And perhaps Jax could give him the push he needed to fully master his newfound powers.

Especially considering Jax’s reputation...

Once again, as a bartender, Arthur heard lots of stories. Which meant he had heard the occasional rumors about Jax. And apparently, the Forsaken Archer had built up quite the negative reputation throughout the years, carrying quite a lot of... cruel acts, to say the least.

But Arthur was prepared for this. He steeled himself as Jax raised a bow. The two of them stood across from each other in a clearing of trees.

“Once again, too slow.”

Arthur blinked and spun around. But the elf grabbed the former Lich King before slamming him to the ground. Groaning, Arthur lay there as he stared at a glinting arrow aimed at his face. Jax grinned triumphantly, and Arthur expected the arrow to be loosed to finish the job.

But Jax just drew back and lowered the bow. “Nice try.”

“I... what?” Arthur looked up with round eyes, his confusion evident on his face.

And the elf simply continued, “Your attacks are powerful. But they are far too slow. They would never hit any competent enemy in battle. What you have in strength, you lack in experience.”

Arthur rose to his feet as he stared at the elf in confusion. Many had said that Jax was a bloodthirsty psychopath who loved nothing more than the thrill of battle and seeing the blood of his enemies. And yet, Jax hadn’t even harmed the former Lich King.

The most damage Arthur received was from being slammed to the ground. He was completely flummoxed by this.

“You’re not going to win any battles from strength alone,” Jax said, not realizing the confusion that was going through Arthur’s mind. “If you wish to truly get stronger—”

But the elf couldn’t finish as a distant voice echoed. Both men looked up into the sky, watching as a shadowed figure shot through the crowds, accompanied by a terrified scream.

“...what was that?” Arthur rubbed his eyes, trying to make out what he was seeing.

Jax furrowed his brows. “That’s Amelia. She’s probably heading off to do something boring. Let’s resume our sparring session.”

“But that was also... Edlyn?” the former Lich King asked.

In response, the elf shrugged. “Who knows what they’re doing. Come on, get back to your feet.”

“Right.”

—--

It took some persuasion. But I managed to convince Edlyn to accept my offer— to see her family again. She was hesitant. Apprehensive, even. Because she knew exactly how I was going to transport her to her hometown.

I had to promise her that I would go slow. And I made that promise just about ten times before she finally agreed, her desire to see her family again winning out. But now, as I soared through the air with her...

I was pretty sure that she regretted her decision, because she passed out.