Laws of the Hunt

by lilipadd

For offline purposes only :)

5. I am strong

The Pope definitely said that Dragons had gone extinct about 300 years ago.

Cale's gaze turned toward the direction of the conversation. Quite a lot of people were already looking at the person who mentioned Dragon.

That person pretended not to notice their gazes, or maybe he was simply enjoying the attention, as he continued to speak.

"Ahem. Ahem. You know that my nephew works at the Imperial Palace!"

"That nephew that works as a low-ranking official?"

"Yeah! I heard from him."

The person put a lot of emphasis on his voice.

"That is what he said. He said that the first Imperial Prince is with a Dragon."

"…Didn't Dragons go extinct?"

Cale moved toward the direction of the conversation in a way that made it not noticeable as to what he was doing.

"No. He definitely said that it was a Dragon. My nephew said that he saw it in his Royal Highness's palace."

"Really?"

The person vigorously nodded his head and spoke with certainty as the other person asked with disbelief.

"Really! He definitely said that a cool black Dragon-nim that is overflowing with dignity is by his Royal Highness's side!"

'Is there really a Dragon by the first Imperial Prince's side?'

Cale heard Raon's confused voice as his expression stiffened.

– Hmm? A cool black Dragon overflowing with dignity? That's me! Human, that makes no sense! I am always on your side!

Cale ignored Raon's comments. He could feel the mood around the two conversing people change.

"Ahem. Hem."

The person who mentioned the Dragon looked around before slowly walking out of the plaza with an awkward look on his face.

The person he was chatting with looked around as well before also leaving.

However, the things that they mentioned started to spread like wildfire once they left.

"My goodness, that's unbelievable. A Dragon?!"

"Do you think that it is real?"

"A lot of this test is going to be public for us to see! We will be able to learn whether it is true or not when the time comes!"

Shock, astonishment, and suspicion filled the hearts of the people in the plaza.

"If an extinct Dragon really did appear, I would want the first Imperial Prince to become the Imperial Crown Prince even if he isn't the strongest necromancer."

"No. I heard that the first Imperial Prince's necromancer abilities are quite great as well. Furthermore, I heard that one of the three people assisting him is the Huayans family's first young lady."

'Huayans? The Black Bloods household? The first young lady of that family is going to participate with the first Imperial Prince?'

"Mm. The House of Huayans hasn't determined an heir yet either, right?"

"That's right."

New information was coming at Cale from all directions.

"Anyways, if that Dragon is real, I hope that the Dragons could watch over this land again!"

"I know, right?! The start of the erosion had to do with Dragons, so a Dragon coming back would certainly return this world to its original state!"

People were starting to be filled with hope and expectations.

All sorts of conversations reached Cale's ears. The people around him quickly started to move as well.

This information about the Dragon would probably soon spread throughout the capital and beyond.

'The situation is turning quite odd.'

Cale heard a cold voice as he was about to get deep into thought.

"How interesting."

It was Eruhaben.

It was then that Cale realized that the ancient Dragon's mood seemed quite unhappy.

'It makes sense, since the Black Bloods definitely played a role in the extinction of the Dragons.'

There was no way Eruhaben would feel good when someone from the Black Bloods household was with the first Imperial Prince while an extinct Dragon was supposedly with them as well when the Black Bloods were responsible for their deaths.

Eruhaben was a Dragon who cherished his fellow Dragons quite a bit.

"I will escort you to the notice board for now."

The group followed Durst and soon arrived at the notice board.

"Hmm."

Recruitment

The title was simple.

However, there was a lot of important information on the large notice board that it was full of text.

Qualification: A person with a necromancer's abilities

The qualifications were simple.

This test will have a total of three stages.

Each stage will require the use of a necromancer's abilities as a foundation, while the different stages will focus on courage, determination, and harmony respectively.

"They are informing people about more than I expected."

"It does seem that way, Eruhaben-nim."

Cale agreed with Eruhaben and recorded the contents in his mind. Someone gently pulled at Cale's sleeve at that moment.

Cale turned his gaze.

"The moment you prove your qualifications and become a candidate, you will receive protection and authority as an Imperial heir until the end of the test."

Mary was holding onto his sleeve while calmly speaking.

Cale had never seen Mary acting like this. She continued to speak in her GPS-like voice.

"You will live in the Imperial Palace starting from the moment you become a candidate. You will have your own palace and your helpers may accompany you."

Cale quietly listened before asking.

"And the reason you are saying these things is?"

"There will be a lot of benefits toward our plan if I become a candidate."

Mary was right.

They would get the authority to enter the Imperial Palace if she became a candidate and it would become much easier to investigate the Imperial Palace and the Black Blood's household through that authority. Furthermore, they would run into people from the House of Huayans and gather information since there is at least one candidate's helper from that family.

Mary looked at Cale after seeing no response from him. His dark brown eyes looked indifferent, but they were not cold.

"Do you want to do it?"

Cale asked just that question and Mary answered.

"I am curious. I am curious about other necromancers."

"Hmm."

Cale thought about it for a moment.

'This place is not our world.'

That was why his plan was to avoid any dangerous situations for Mary and the others and return after quietly destroying the Black Bloods, but…

'I can run away if it gets dangerous.'

– Human, it looks like Mary wants to do it! If she tries and thinks she can't do it anymore, we can run away and smack them in the back later!

His friends, who already anticipated his response, said something else.

'If that's the case…'

"Okay. Let's do that then."

Cale spoke to the old priest.

"Where are they doing the recruiting?"

"Apparently the entrance of the Imperial Palace."

Eruhaben answered immediately as if he had been waiting for this question. This was the first time Eruhaben acted like this, making Cale realize once again that the news about the extinction of the Dragons had made Eruhaben quite angry. Furthermore, he wanted to see this newly appeared Dragon.

Cale gave a simple explanation for what they would do from here.

"Let's go back and ask the others about their opinions and then make our move."

In the secret evacuation area provided by the church… This was actually a regular two-story building in the residential district.

Cale looked around at the others.

"I'm fine with it if Mary is okay with it."

Choi Han seemed to be fine with it. Shawn had already shown a firm agreement to Mary's plan, but…

"You have to stop right away if it becomes dangerous."

He could not hide his concern. The Vampire Jezna did not say anything while On and Hong went to Mary's side with Raon and cheered her on.

"Mary, I'm sure that you will be the strongest! Let's destroy it all!"

"Our youngest is right, nya! We just have to destroy everything, nya!"

"…You just need to do all you can and give it your best, nya."

Cale last made eye contact with Sui Khan. He nodded his head while in his Black Hawk form.

"It is a decent plan."

"How was it?"

Sui Khan, On, Hong, and Choi Han looked at Cale after hearing his question. Sui Khan motioned with his eyes to Choi Han, who started to speak.

"The Black Bloods. We went near the House of Huayans, but… The security around it was quite thorough, as expected. There were also numerous black magic devices all around."

"It was the same while looking at it from the sky. I tried to get close to the Estate, but there was a transparent dead mana barrier all around it."

Sui Khan added on.

"Of course, I can infiltrate it if you want."

"It is the same for me, Cale-nim."

Choi Han quickly added on.

"It'll just be a bit complicated."

Cale nodded his head.

The important thing right now was that they could infiltrate it if they wanted to do so.

"Oh esteemed purifier. Then, are we going to go register as a candidate?"

The only outsider who had been quietly listening… The old priest Durst cautiously asked Cale.

"Tomorrow is the last day for the candidate registration, so, if you have made up your mind, I believe that it would be better to go register today and not have to rush tomorrow."

The group looked toward Durst. Only Cale was looking up as if he was deep in thought. Cale thought for a moment before opening his mouth.

"They say that anybody with necromancer powers could register as a candidate, but…"

'But?'

Durst waited for Cale to continue to speak.

"It would still be good to have an identity from this world she could use."

"Ah! That is true, sir. You need to record basic information when registering."

"Right?"

Cale smiled and stared at Durst.

"Excuse me?"

Durst asked with confusion.

"Ah."

"Mm, good idea."

Sui Khan and Eruhaben commented in low voices as if they had realized something.

Cale spoke to Durst, who still looked confused.

"Do you have any children?"

"…No?"

"I know this might be a touchy subject, but how long has it been since your kingdom perished?"

'Ah.'

The old priest smiled as if he understood and responded.

"It has been a little more than 100 years since it perished. Furthermore, I am the last of the bloodline. In addition, neither my identity nor affiliation have never been revealed outside of the church."

The old man looked toward Mary.

"It is fine to have a granddaughter under my name."

Mary immediately responded.

"That sounds great, grandfather."

Cale chuckled at Mary, who responded nonchalantly in a GPS-like voice and got up from the couch.

"Let's go. Time to go to the Imperial Palace entrance."

The Imperial Palace that was located at the center of the Iska Empire's capital. There was an area next to the main entrance that was usually empty but played an important role for a short period of time every so often.

"There's only one day left of the recruitment."

It was the registration office for the test to determine the Imperial heir.

The pillars, roof, and floor were made of marble and this four-sided area had no walls.

"Who else would there be?"

Two administrators were seated there chatting with each other.

"Hmm. Who knows?"

The first administrator who spoke looked toward a pile of bones on one side. The other administrator also followed his gaze before opening his mouth again.

"The real deals registered early as soon as the recruitment notice went up. Most people who show up now are going to be scammers or fakes."

"Either that or ones with the qualification but their powers being extremely weak."

"That's right. They'll probably find it difficult to even control one or two of those bones. Shouldn't you have heard about this from your father?"

"He didn't tell me too much about it."

The recruitment in the past to determine the current Emperor… The administrator's father had been the one recruiting for that test in the past.

"It's probably better not to register if they don't have strong abilities. They only have one life after all."

"That is true."

He nodded his head at his friend's comment.

'Usually the necromancer abilities are weak if they don't use the secret method that has been passed down through the Iska Imperial Palace for generations.'

Although everybody emphasized the fairness of this test with this open recruitment, the administrator thought that this test was quite unfair from the start.

"The sun is setting. The day will be over soon."

The sky had turned red and the sun was setting.

The administrator looked up at the sky at his friend's comment before starting to smile.

"I'm glad that we can see such a sky."

"I know, right? It is difficult to tell day and night apart in the eroded areas."

"That's right."

The administrator mumbled with his heart full of hope.

"I pray that this generation's Imperial Crown Prince will also be someone who can maintain the sky above Iska."

"I'm sure of it. You know about it too! A Dragon has appeared! I'm already looking forward to the Iska that the First Imperial Prince will create!"

The administrator scowled.

"Bad! Come on dude! You can't come to a conclusion about the results already!"

"I know that, but… It would be great if his Royal Highness, who has a Dragon with him, wins. Furthermore, the First Imperial Prince was the only person who used all of the bones! His powers are quite strong as well."

"But we still don't know how the results-"

The administrator was about to respond when he stopped talking.

"Someone's coming."

Four people wearing robes were walking toward them with the sunset behind them.

"Hmm. I feel like this one is going to be a fake."

His friend hatefully mumbled, but the administrator observed the approaching people and got up to greet them.

'…Three pretty tall people. And one short person walking as if they are protected by those three people.'

The shortest of the group, the person at the center, stepped forward as the administrator had that thought. The other three followed behind that person.

"Damn, I thought that we might get to leave early. Ah, the people who show up hiding everything about themselves like this are always scammers."

His friend grumbled and got up.

However, the administrator didn't hear him. For some reason, he had a different feeling about these people coming toward them under the red sunset.

"Welcome."

He greeted them respectfully and started to speak to the person in front of him who was fully covered by a robe.

"…Are you here to register?"

The robed person reached out their hand once he asked that question.

'Mm!'

The administrator flinched after looking at the hand. The hand was covered in black lines. The moment he realized that this candidate had more black lines compared to the others…

Boom-!

Black threads spread out from the hand and the marble ground started to shake.

"Huh, huh-?"

His friend gasped as if he had blanked out, but the administrator, who was looking right at the robed person, slowly turned his head toward the pointed direction of the robed individual's hand.

"Ah."

He gasped.

The pile of bones that were gathered to prove a candidate's necromancer abilities…

All of those bones moved.

"…A Dragon."

The white bones took the shape of a Dragon and floated up into the air.

The administrator, who seemed completely absorbed while looking at this, quickly snapped out of it and looked at the person who caused this.

Shhh.

Mary took off her hood.

Her face was covered in black lines. Her purple eyes were sparkling brightly through the black lines.

– Human! Good Mary is so smart that she knows how to suppress the competition before it even begins!

Cale listened to Raon's voice in his head as he looked at Mary.

She finally opened her mouth and her mechanical, but not cold, voice flowed out.

"I am here to register as a candidate."

---

The moment Mary made the large white skeleton dragon…

"…!"

"…What is it, your Royal Highness?"

The First Imperial Prince, who was at the First Palace, suddenly jumped up and headed toward the window.

"…What is it? Something is weird."

"Excuse me? Is there an issue in the document, your Royal Highness?"

The Second Imperial Princess, who was in the Fifth Palace, looked down at her arm. Her arm was full of goosebumps. She too got up from her seat.

"What the hell? Is there a new candidate? No- this-"

"Hyung-nim? Why are you suddenly out of it?"

"…Was the Emperor planning on using his powers today?"

"Excuse me? Why would the Emperor use his powers when he is just in the Emperor Palace?"

The muscular man with disheveled hair in the Ninth Palace put down his glass.

"…I need to head outside."

"Hyung-nim! We can't head out of the palace right now anyway. Please stay here and don't cause any issues."

"No. I need to check this out."

'Yes. I definitely need to see what is going on.'

The administrator in charge of recruitment tried his best to understand what he was seeing right now.

The traces of glory for someone who survived dead mana.

Furthermore, the black threads coming out of her fingertips…

Finally, the dragon made of white bones that was flying above her.

"Ah, ah-"

The administrator barely managed to snap out of it, unlike his friend who was still in a daze. No, he didn't manage to completely snap out of it either.

His heart was shaking.

'…It's different! It's different!'

This woman in front of him was different.

Although the First Imperial Prince also used all of the bones to make a monster, it wasn't as grand as this dragon.

'Flying skeleton monsters are quite difficult to handle. Furthermore, she doesn't seem to be struggling at all!'

The administrator subconsciously spoke with honorifics toward Mary, but he did not realize it.

Instead, he picked up a pen with his shaking hands.

"M, ma'am, may I ask your name?"

"Heni Wishrop."

'Wishrop?'

The administrator hesitated as he sort of recognized the name when his friend started to mumble.

"The perished-"

'Ah! The perished kingdom of Wishrop! Could it be?'

The administrator's eyes headed toward Mary. The woman with purple eyes calmly spoke with a look of indifference on her face.

"I carry the blood of the royal family of Wishrop and do not have a middle name yet."

– Human! Heni Wishrop, the name Heni is so pretty! Isn't Mary's name so pretty? I came up with it! I got it from Henituse!

Cale did not react at all to Raon's comments.

'The Hunters might know the name, Mary. Necromancer Mary is quite easy information for them to distinguish. Although nobody has really seen your appearance, it is probably better to use a fake name.'

Her name became Heni Wishrop at Raon's suggestion and Mary's acceptance.

"Umm, I truly apologize for this ma'am, but may I see something to verify your identity?"

The administrator seemed quite wary of angering Mary as he cautiously asked. Cale smiled underneath the hood as he watched the administrator's demeanor.

'Mary really did leave a strong first impression.'

– Human! Our Mary is so cool!

'I agree.'

Cale agreed with Raon internally.

"Here is the crest of the Wishrop royal family."

Mary pulled a ring out of a pocket in her robe and handed it over.

"It is fine if you verify it."

The administrator had a handkerchief over both hands as he quickly received the ring respectfully.

'If this crest is real-!'

Although it was not at the level of the Iska Empire's Imperial family, this woman would have quite a bit of legitimacy as well.

There were many people until now from perished kingdoms and even ones that still existed who tried to register for this Imperial Crown Prince candidate test.

'Most of them were half-assed or people with reckless dreams.'

However, this Heni Wishrop in front of him, even without her identity, her skills alone were enough to make him think about the most likely Imperial Crown Prince candidate, the First Imperial Prince.

'No. She might even be stronger than his Royal Highness.'

The administrator felt himself getting calmer for some odd reason. Of course, it was not that the shaking had stopped.

"Verify it carefully."

"O, okay."

He handed the ring to his friend and his friend kept peeking at Mary as he got up. He headed toward the back and took out a book and a special device. The administrator quickly explained to Mary.

"Ma'am, it will probably take some time to verify as we do not remember the crest of Wishrop. We will just use a magic device to confirm that the crest was not manipulated. Please accept my sincerest apology."

"It is fine."

"Yes, ma'am, then in that case-"

The administrator asked her about her age, residence, and other basic information. Mary answered as she had discussed with Durst in advance.

"Okay, here is the last part, ma'am."

The administrator looked toward the three robed individuals standing behind Mary.

"It is crucial that three helpers join you in this test. Will it be these three people?"

"Yes. They are my-"

Mary hesitated for a moment before responding.

"My faithful subordinates."

Shhh.

The three of them removed their hoods.

'Mm.'

The administrator gulped while looking at the three people who either had masks covering half of their faces from the nose up or a mask covering their full face.

He felt some overwhelming auras coming from them.

'Something, they give off a different kind of atmosphere. The three of them all have the same hair color… Are they siblings?'

All three of them had thick brown hair and green eyes.

The person at the center stepped forward, bowed toward Mary, and addressed the administrator.

"Sir, we were informed that it was not essential to reveal the identities of the helpers."

"That is correct."

The First Imperial Prince had revealed that two of his helpers were a Dragon and the first young lady of the House of Huayans, but he had hidden the identity of the third.

Similarly, the public reveal of helpers was up to the individual.

This was a part of the test as well.

They could reveal their hand to make it so that nobody dared to challenge them, or… Hide their cards to keep an ace up their sleeve that could potentially turn a situation around.

"I choose not to reveal their identities."

"As you wish, your highness."

The man standing in front of Mary responded with respect. He truly looked like someone who was serving the only heir to a perished kingdom.

He had that much elegance while giving off a mysterious sense of pressure.

– Human, it is funny seeing you acting like that!

Of course, it was just Cale, who was so good at acting like a loyal confidant.

– How entertaining.

Cale also ignored Eruhaben's comment as well.

Peek.

He peeked to the side. Choi Han slightly nodded his head.

Eruhaben, Choi Han and Cale…

They were Mary's three helpers and Raon was following them while invisible as a source of communication.

"Your candidate registration has finished."

"It was simple."

"We confirmed the most important thing."

The administrator answered much calmer than before and asked cautiously.

"But-"

"What is it, sir?"

Cale stepped in on Mary's behalf as the loyal vassal that he is and the administrator peeked up at the sky as he answered.

"Umm, when will you be releasing the bones-"

"Ah."

Mary let out a short gasp and moved her hand. She moved it just a tiny bit.

Chhhhhh–!

The dragon made of white bones spread its wings and shot up into the air.

"Aigoo!"

The administrator's friend flinched in shock, but could not help but look at the skeleton dragon in a daze.

The white skeleton dragon that shot up as if it was going to pierce the sky stopped at some point and spread its wings.

Probably everybody in the area saw what happened.

This naturally included the people in the Imperial Palace.

"These are good bones."

Mary calmly evaluated them and waved her hand.

Chhhhhhh–!

The white dragon's body that was floating in the air, the skeletons that made it, instantly broke apart.

They then descended to the ground.

There were quite a lot of bones such that it looked as if hail or a magic attack was about to descend.

The bones quickly fell toward the ground around the entrance of the Imperial Palace.

"…!"

The administrator saw the bones stop immediately as Mary reached her hand out.

Mary waved her hand one more time as if she was conducting an orchestra and the bones almost danced around and gently landed back to their original location as if they were never charging down like an attack.

– …Wow… Human, Mary is so cool!

'She has quite the showmanship.'

Cale was looking at Mary as if this was unexpected when Raon spoke again.

– Human! Mary must have taken a lot of notes on how you do things!

'…I don't think so.'

Cale was feeling iffy about the situation and it only became worse when Mary looked at him and smiled.

"Okay then."

Both administrators got up and bowed respectfully.

"Welcome to the Imperial Palace, candidate-nim."

Creeeeeak-!

The entrance to the Imperial Palace opened and allowed Mary, Cale, and the others to enter.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Vincent and I am from the Imperial Knights Brigade. I have been assigned to guide you."

The administrators escorted Cale's group to the knight standing by the entrance and the knight immediately moved toward where they would be staying.

"Nice to meet you, Sir Vincent."

– Human, why are you suddenly acting so friendly?

Cale ignored Raon's comment and spoke to Sir Vincent in a friendly manner.

"Sir Vincent, where in the Imperial Palace will we be staying?"

"There is an area to the north of the Imperial Palace where numerous small villa-like palaces are gathered together."

It was a place with multiple palaces that were extremely small compared to the Imperial Crown Prince Palace or the Emperor's Palace.

That was where the candidates and their helpers were to reside.

"There are attendants and maids in charge of each palace so there should be no issues while you reside there. You can ask the Chief of Staff at each palace if you have any questions."

The knight responded quite thoroughly despite his tone being gruff. However, he couldn't help but constantly peek toward Mary.

He was one of the people who had seen Mary's dragon.

"Ah."

He then made eye contact with one of her subordinates. It was the person who was speaking in a friendly tone to him.

The knight quickly snapped out of it and continued to speak.

"You will be staying at Palace Nineteen."

"We must be the nineteenth candidate then."

"…That's right, sir."

'Hmm. There are more candidates than I expected.'

They were picking out the powerless fakes at the Imperial Palace entrance.

'And I heard that the way to become a necromancer was only passed down through the Imperial family.'

According to the information Cale got from Durst, the number of Imperial family members, including the collateral line, participating as a candidate numbered eight.

That meant that the other 11, including Mary, were outsiders.

Each of those 11 people had become necromancers in their own way.

'…Well, it makes sense to have this kind of number since it only happens once every few decades and not every three or five years.'

This might even be less than the last test.

'Oh esteemed purifier, the ages of the candidates are quite varied. Furthermore-'

Durst had added on.

'Furthermore, anybody who truly wants to take the test are people who are ready to put their lives on the line.'

These people had joined the test for the position of Emperor even in the face of death.

Cale could understand the atmosphere of this test based on Durst's explanation.

That might have been the reason that…

"…It is over here. This is called the Garden of the Stars."

There were approximately thirty small but extremely beautiful and luxurious-looking palaces surrounding a large and splendid garden at the center.

"This is unexpected."

Eruhaben mumbled in a low voice while Choi Han moved to stand behind Mary. Cale stood next to Mary as if to assist her.

"Your highness. It looks like quite a lot of people want to greet you."

Mary looked at how one corner of Cale's lips had twisted up before taking a step forward.

Her eyes observed some of the people who had come out of the different palaces.

'They're the same.'

The man with a bottle in his hand…

The woman leaning against a pillar peeking at Mary…

The woman seated in the garden and drinking tea while looking in their direction…

'They're the same as me.'

They all had black lines on their faces and bodies just like Mary.

Their ages, hair colors, and eye colors were all different, but they all had that in common.

Wariness, curiosity, a desire to scope out the competition… Mary looked at the people sending different gazes at her, stopped talking, and closed her mouth.

She then barely managed to say one thing.

"…They're the same."

'There are a lot of people here who are the same as me.'

"I see."

Mary turned her head after hearing a calm voice. Cale nodded his head with a stoic gaze and continued to speak.

"It seems to be exactly as you said, your highness."

"That is correct."

"They're the same."

Eruhaben and Choi Han answered one after the other as well.

– Mary! Are you okay?

Raon asked in a gentle tone.

Mary realized something else that was the same about them.

'All of their gazes are the same.'

Cale, Choi Han, and Eruhaben… Although the three of their gazes were different, all of their gazes were cheering her on and showed full faith in her abilities.

She couldn't see the invisible Raon, but hearing his voice was enough for her to feel that Raon felt the same way.

"It is the same here as well."

"…?"

Her friends looked at her in confusion, but Mary just smiled and took another step toward the Garden of the Stars.

"Ah, please let me escort you."

The knight headed toward Palace Nineteen.

Mary followed behind him while Cale followed next to her and stealthily observed the area.

– Human! There are many people in addition to the candidates who are looking at us!

As Raon mentioned, there were quite a lot of candidates and their subordinates observing Mary.

Some were in the garden while others were inside the palaces, peeking out the windows.

'Hmm.'

Cale didn't know whether they were like this simply because of the appearance of the nineteenth competitor or because of the white dragon that shot up into the air at the entrance of the Imperial Palace.

However, he at least recorded the appearances of the people he could see.

He could compare their appearances with the information Durst gave him later.

'…The Second Imperial Princess.'

The Second Imperial Princess, who was second after the First Imperial Prince as the candidates most likely to win, brushed her arm as she openly stared at Mary.

"Mm."

Cale then noticed Choi Han and Eruhaben looking toward a direction and heard footsteps.

Tap. Tap.

"Your Royal Highness!"

'The First Imperial Prince?'

Cale could see someone quickly walking over with an attendant at his side.

'It's him.'

First Imperial Prince Sanders.

Age 25 this year. He was evaluated to be very skilled in his necromancer abilities while also skilled in sword art-

'The person who brought a Dragon as his helper.'

The corners of Cale's lips curled up a bit.

'It's for a different reason, but this guy is your typical prince too.'

If Alberu Crossman was the typical kind prince, then Sanders, potentially because of his healthy physique or his stiff face, gave the vibe of a typical prince overflowing with intimidation.

Tap.

First Imperial Prince Sanders stopped walking.

He stopped in front of Mary.

He and Mary were only about ten steps away from each other.

A mysterious tension surrounded the Garden of the Stars. The fact that everybody's gazes were focused on this place could be felt even without looking.

The air was so heavy that it was incomparable to when Mary had arrived. This was all because of the First Imperial Prince.

Choi Han estimated his distance to Sanders and put his hand on his scabbard when an emotionless Sanders glared at Mary with a piercing gaze and started to speak.

"What is it that you made earlier? Answer my question."

Choi Han observed the First Imperial Prince, who was speaking informally to Mary and asked his question as if it was a demand, and then at Mary, before turning to Cale thinking that he needed to step in.

'Hmm?'

He saw that the corners of Cale's lips twisted up even more, as if he found this to be amusing.

Mary responded to First Imperial Prince Sanders at the same time.

"I don't want to answer you, First Imperial Prince."

"Mmph."

Cale heard the ancient Dragon gasp as if to hold back his laughter and Raon's bright voice at the same time.

– Human! Good Mary even tells people that she doesn't want to answer them!

Cale recalled what he had said to Mary before they came to the Imperial Palace.

'Mary. If you ever don't know what you should do, just do what the other side is doing.'

'Do I just need to keep doing that?'

'Yeah. I'll take care of the rest.'

'I understand, young master-nim.'

Cale had felt this many times before, but Mary was quite good at understanding him.

---

Silence descended upon the Garden of the Stars. It was very short. It was only for a few seconds.

That instant of silence was broken by the attendant, who was rushing to follow behind the First Imperial Prince.

"How dare you! Do you know who this is?! How dare you say something so ludicrous-"

"It is the rules."

Of course, it was Cale who cut that attendant off. He turned away from the attendant and observed the surroundings.

"All candidates are equal as soon as they become registered for the test."

His gaze turned back toward the attendant.

"Isn't this a sacred test not just for the Empire, but for the entire Xiaolen? My liege has acted fitting for such a test. What is the problem?"

"You, you-!"

The attendant's face turned red.

It was obvious that this new candidate in front of him was not a part of the Imperial family. However, she was acting so pompous in front of the Imperial family and the First Imperial Prince at that!

However, the attendant could not say anything. The green eyes that were visible through the mask were indifferent and cold. It made him unable to easily talk to this person.

Cale looked right at the attendant as he continued to speak.

"My liege carries on the blood of the Wishrop royal family."

"Ah."

Some people around them gasped. Cale's lips, which were visible underneath the mask, gently curled up. However, his eyes that were not smiling were still looking at the attendant.

"Show your respect to my liege."

The attendant closed his mouth tightly.

'How dare a shitty royal from a perished kingdom without any power…!'

Some of the royal families of kingdoms that had lost their territories were smart and joined other kingdoms. However, there were many who chose to remain in their kingdoms until the end and met their demise.

'I heard most of Wishrop died that way. She's just a royal from such a stupid place!'

Her status as a royal was just a shell.

She probably had no power, money, nor anything since they had lost their base.

However, the attendant did not show his true feelings. He was not that stupid.

Instead, he put a calm expression on his face and stood behind the First Imperial Prince. Of course, he did not apologize to Mary.

'All candidates are equal? What bullshit. There are still different levels here.'

Furthermore, this was a battlefield. It was a place where you had to use all sorts of methods to get what you want.

That was why he had to give all sorts of bribes to be stationed in the First Palace with the First Imperial Prince. Serving the First Imperial Prince was an investment for his future.

The attendant peeked toward the First Imperial Prince.

"…."

The First Imperial Prince was famous for having a poker face. It was rare for the man who was always cold and didn't speak much to come to find someone, and it was far rarer for him to speak to someone first.

The First Imperial Prince remained silent while looking at the nineteenth candidate, Mary.

"…."

Mary remained silent as he remained silent. She looked at him with a stoic gaze as he looked at her with a stoic gaze.

Mary was acting like this as she was following Cale's suggestion.

"…."

The First Imperial Prince scowled and turned around after seeing his face reflected in the purple eyes that were looking right into his own.

"Y, your Royal Highness?"

He then went back to his palace.

People were looking at the First Imperial Prince, but Mary had no more interest as he was not looking at her anymore and looked at the knight guiding them.

There were some people who were observing Mary's actions.

"Ah, yes, I'll escort you right away!"

Sir Vincent, who was frozen in place for a moment, bowed even more respectfully toward Mary than before and started to walk.

Cale's group followed behind him.

Click.

The people looking out the windows slowly closed them.

Some of the people who were watching started to quickly move somewhere.

"This is Palace Nineteen."

"Nice to meet you. I am the Chief of Staff and attendant of Palace Nineteen."

The knight finished his escort and Cale's group followed this attendant who called himself the Chief of Staff and disappeared into Palace Nineteen, which was the same size and shape as the other palaces around it.

There were people who watched them all the way until they disappeared within it.

There were five people to be more specific.

Three of them started to move somewhere while the remaining two looked at each other.

Unlike the first three people, these two both had black lines on their faces just like Mary.

"Hmph."

The Second Imperial Princess looked away from the person and walked into her palace. She mumbled in a quiet voice that only she could hear.

"I'm certain that that power…"

She could tell because she also had necromancer powers. That large power that suddenly appeared and shot up toward the sky…

"Damn it! There's another monster in addition to the First Imperial Prince?!"

A fire was visible in the Second Imperial Princess's eyes. She brushed her arm that had goosebumps and talked to herself as if to firm her resolve.

"…I still won't lose."

The Second Imperial Princess's mind started to move quickly.

And the person who was last remaining in the garden…

"Kekeke-!"

"Hyung-nim, are you not going inside?"

The man with disheveled hair brought the bottle to his lips and ignored his subordinate's question.

He took a gulp and moved the bottle away before wiping the dripping alcohol from his mouth with the back of his hand.

"How entertaining."

Although they were all equal candidates, nobody else had been able to treat the members of the Imperial family like that.

Even he could not talk informally back to the First Imperial Prince even if the First Imperial Prince spoke that way to him.

"What? She doesn't want to answer him? Kahahahahah!"

The nineteenth candidate did not respond even after the First Imperial Prince ordered her to do so.

"…And she was strong."

The power he felt at the entrance of the Imperial Palace…

"It was definitely enough to make the First Imperial Prince move."

He nonchalantly threw the bottle at his subordinate.

"Hyu, hyung-nim! How can you suddenly throw it like that?!"

The subordinate tactfully caught the bottle before grumbling toward the man with the disheveled hair. However, the subordinate then closed his mouth.

The man with disheveled hair was now heading back to his palace… His eyes looked extremely cold.

One day later…

There were no more people who registered as a candidate on the last day of recruitment.

Heni Wishrop.

Mary, the nineteenth candidate, was the last, making this test have a total of nineteen participants.

As soon as that was revealed, the Chief of Staff of the nineteen palaces handed a white invitation with a golden leaf to their guests, the current masters of their respective palaces.

A small feast and celebration have been prepared for tomorrow in addition to meeting with his Majesty. We ask for your participation.

Furthermore, please keep in mind that the schedule and contents of the first test will be revealed at the end of the celebration.

As the dark night headed toward midnight…

Click.

Cale stealthily opened the bedroom window.

Shaa–

A breeze with a black shadow blew into the bedroom through the window.

"Were you not noticed?"

The black shadow leisurely landed on the table as Cale asked.

"The Black Hawk tribe has a good relationship with the night."

Sui Khan folded both of his wings as he calmly asked.

"How is it here?"

Cale shook the invitation he received from Mary as if he was fanning himself with it as he responded.

"There are no magic or black magic devices, at least in Palace Nineteen."

Mary then spoke in her GPS-like voice.

"The people working at the palace are still only keeping an eye on us; they have not done any sort of investigation."

"However, they may try to get our information at any moment to help the Imperial family."

Eruhaben calmly commented while drinking wine. He looked toward Cale and asked.

"Where's Choi Han?"

"He is investigating the Garden of the Stars with Raon, Eruhaben-nim."

"I see."

Eruhaben answered as if he didn't care much about it.

"There is nobody here who is stronger than us, so there should be nothing getting in their way."

Cale placed the invitation on the table.

"The strong person will probably be here."

Eruhaben showed his agreement through silence. Mary looked at Cale as she spoke.

"I will go."

"Of course."

Cale gave a short response before turning toward Sui Khan.

"How was it?"

The Black Hawk's eyes curled up like half moons.

Cale could hear the results of the tasks he left for the others outside the Imperial Palace and Sui Khan added on after his report ended.

"The Emperor's instructor is said to always be by the Emperor's side."

"Then-"

Cale looked toward the Emperor Palace where the celebration would take place.

If that was the case…

"I guess we will see the patriarch of the House of Huayans tomorrow."

The Black Bloods.

'I'll see one of the leaders of the Hunters.'

The corners of Cale's lips curled up.

In a large palace outside the Garden of the Stars…

That place had turned into a splendid celebration hall for today.

The sun had already set outside but the beautiful jewels, flowers, and soft silk that decorated the palace made it look as beautiful as the garden of angels.

"The twelfth candidate, Larof-nim is now entering!"

The candidates who might take the position of Imperial Crown Prince in the future were starting to enter the palace one by one with their subordinates.

"They are wearing all sorts of things in an assortment of different colors. Don't you think so, noonim?"

The Second Imperial Princess did not respond to the Fourth Imperial Prince's question.

'Hmph. Acting so damn haughty. That doesn't change the fact that your mom was a damn maid.'

The Fourth Imperial Prince was annoyed at the Second Imperial Princess's haughty attitude, but he did not let it show as he looked around.

'Tsk. It shows how they lack class.'

The members of the Imperial family were all wearing outfits suitable for such a celebration but the other candidates were wearing all sorts of things.

Of course, the Chiefs of Staff had told their respective candidates that this celebration did not have a dress code and they had not mentioned it in advance so that it wouldn't matter what they wore, but…

'But it still shows their level.'

The Fourth Imperial Prince snorted. The Second Imperial Princess was looking at him with a stoic gaze but he did not notice it.

Instead, he looked at the black lines on the candidates as he thought to himself.

'It'll end up being a battle between the members of the Imperial family. The collateral line is weak this generation, so it'll be a battle between the members of the main line.'

'I'll definitely, definitely defeat the First Imperial Prince and make the throne mine.'

As the Fourth Imperial Prince had that thought…

"The nineteenth candidate, Heni Wishrop-nim is now entering!"

They heard the Chief of Staff's shout and the Fourth Imperial Prince noticed all of the candidates turning to look at the door.

The Fourth Imperial Prince's subordinate came over and stealthily whispered in his ear.

"It is that person."

The Fourth Imperial Prince glared at the door.

'…Hmph!'

The story about the white bone dragon that rose above the entrance of the Imperial Palace had spread like wildfire throughout the capital in the last two days.

That made the other candidates increase their wariness of Heni Wishrop.

The Fourth Imperial Prince, who had only sent his subordinate when she appeared at the garden, had come to a conclusion after hearing about her actions.

'A stupid girl who doesn't know who is up high and who is down low! There is nothing as good as the Imperial family's necromancer method. I'm sure that the white bone dragon was nothing much than just a bundle of bones.'

The Fourth Imperial Prince snorted one more time after watching Heni Wishrop walk in.

'A robe?'

She and her subordinates were all wearing robes. Furthermore, her subordinates were wearing masks that covered over half of their faces.

'They're just the descendants of the perished kingdom's vassals most likely.'

The Fourth Imperial Prince scowled and turned around.

"Hmm?"

He noticed that the Second Imperial Princess was looking at Heni Wishrop with a piercing gaze.

'What the hell?'

He became even more annoyed.

But she was not the only one looking at Mary like that. Most of the candidates were either openly looking at or peeking glances at Heni Wishrop.

At that time…

"The first candidate, Sanders-nim is now entering!"

The Imperial family members had to forgo their family name to join this test. It was in the name of fairness.

Tap. Tap.

The footsteps of the First Imperial Prince and the people following him echoed through the hall along with the quiet sound of music.

'Is the Dragon here?'

The Dragon that was said to be with the First Imperial Prince… Cale was curious about that being. He had not found any traces of a Dragon at the Garden of the Stars no matter how much he searched.

Of course, he couldn't know everything as he did not infiltrate the other palaces in fear of getting caught. But he could at least tell that the Dragon was not within those palaces.

Cale turned his gaze toward the First Imperial Prince.

'Hmm?'

He then flinched after hearing a voice in his mind.

– Human! That black haired person does seem to be a Dragon!

'What?'

A woman with black hair was following behind First Imperial Prince Sanders. Everybody was whispering as to whether she was a Dragon.

– That black hair lady is a Dragon! I am getting that kind of feeling!

Pat.

Cale was about to turn his head after feeling a hand gently touch his arm but stopped moving and started listening once he heard that person whisper to him.

"51 percent certain."

Eruhaben did not explain, but it was enough for Cale to understand.

The ancient Dragon was saying that the black-haired woman was more likely than not a Dragon. Cale wondered why he wasn't one hundred percent certain, but if that Dragon was real-

'It's a real Dragon? Is it a Dragon cooperating with the Black Bloods and the Hunters?'

Eruhaben added on in an odd voice as Cale's mind started to get complicated.

"It does not seem to be normal."

'The Dragon is not normal?'

---

"Is the black-haired person the Dragon-nim?"

"Probably."

Cale heard some whispers behind him. They were not whispering quietly like Cale's group. They seemed to be trying their best to suppress their voices but were too excited and envious to do it right.

However, Cale didn't have time to pay attention to other people's reactions.

'There is over fifty percent chance that this Dragon is real and it doesn't seem to be normal?'

It was at that moment.

– Cale.

Eruhaben spoke into his mind instead of out loud. It meant that he needed to be that careful about it.

– Mana does not go around that being.

That 'being' Eruhaben was talking about was the black-haired woman.

– Nonetheless, that being has strong mana. However, she's worse at hiding herself even more than Raon. It's as if-

Eruhaben hesitated for a moment before finishing.

– It's as if she is raw. It is as if she has never learned how to handle mana nor ever practiced it properly.

The ancient Dragon's currently green eyes were looking into the black-haired woman's black eyes.

– Something is weird. A Dragon should naturally know how to handle mana.

That was true.

When Cale first rescued Raon, Raon had learned how to control mana on his own despite never learning about it.

– Human! Something, something makes me think she is a Dragon!

Instead of confirming that she was a Dragon over and over, Raon kept repeating that he thinks that she is a Dragon.

'So basically-'

Cale organized his thoughts.

'It is likely that the black-haired woman is a Dragon but her condition is different from regular Dragons?'

That should be enough to record in his mind for now.

'Hmm?'

It was at that moment.

"…."

The woman walking behind Sanders, the woman they believed to be a Dragon, stopped walking. The woman with radiant blonde hair next to her immediately grabbed the Dragon's arm.

"What is wrong, ma'am?"

Cale knew the blondie's identity.

'She is the first young lady of the House of Huayans.'

The Huayans were the house of the Emperor's instructor. They were the Black Bloods. She was the future matriarch of that family. She was almost guaranteed to be a Hunter.

"…It's nothing."

The black-haired woman looked forward and shook her head.

'Did she recognize Raon and Eruhaben-nim? Did she figure something out?'

Cale was tense for a moment, but the woman did not look toward Raon or Eruhaben. She just shook her head as if something was weird. However, she removed that confused look from her face and spoke calmly.

"I think my senses are a bit sensitive because I am a bit tired."

'Hooo.'

Cale looked at the black-haired woman with an odd gaze.

"Little kid."

He heard Eruhaben's voice at that moment.

The little kid. That was his way of calling out to Raon while avoiding questions from other people.

"You stay a bit away for now."

Eruhaben then shared his thoughts in Cale's mind.

– If that being is a Dragon and that weird state is because of some constraints by the Hunters… The Emperor's instructor, who will show up soon… The patriarch might be quite skilled.

He was saying that it would be better to have Raon leave for now just to be safe. Cale nodded his head right away.

Eruhaben seemed to be trying to convince Raon.

"…Yes. I know that you are strong, but… Stay outside for now."

Boom–!

They heard a quiet booming of a drum.

The orchestra stopped playing.

It was telling everybody to compose themselves as the Emperor was headed over.

Cale was looking at the three people by the First Imperial Prince's side. He looked at the black-haired woman, the first young lady, and the person hiding under a robe before he heard Raon's grumbling voice.

– Human, I am heading out because goldie gramps told me to get out! I'm not angry! I'm really not angry!

'Okay. Okay.'

Cale slightly nodded his head. He then added on in a whisper. He was speaking extremely quietly.

"Go and see if anything was installed at home. Or if someone goes through our stuff."

– Oh! I got it, human! I'll go do that!

"Moderately. If it gets d-"

– I got it, I'll run away if it gets dangerous!

Raon, who now had something to do, said that he was leaving multiple times before leaving through the open terrace window and flying over to Palace Nineteen.

"Haaaaaaaa."

The ancient Dragon sighed. However, Cale could see Eruhaben's gaze turning cold.

Boom-

"His Majesty, the light of Iska, is now gracing us with his presence!"

There was an energetic shout and a beautiful melody started to play.

Everybody showed respect as their palace's Chief of Staff taught them.

On the Emperor's path from the door to the throne… The candidates were having some stealthy mental warfare as they lined up along that path.

Cale's group moved back on purpose and bowed their heads.

They could not raise their heads until the Emperor told them to do so.

Tap. Tap.

They heard the noise of a cane and the Emperor appeared.

Shh. Shh.

They heard some cloth dragging behind him.

How much time must have passed…

"Raise your heads."

The Emperor, who was standing in front of the throne, looked down from above the steps as he gave the command. Cale slowly raised his head.

This was the person in Xiaolen with the strongest necromancer abilities.

His face that was full of black lines and his clear blue eyes were looking down at the candidates.

'Hmm?'

Cale felt a hand slightly clenching his sleeve.

'Mary?'

Mary's eyes were shaking while looking at the Emperor. He wanted to ask her what was going on, but this was not the situation to do that.

Instead, he looked toward the person who was at a step lower than the Emperor and standing off to the side like he was the Emperor's shadow.

'The patriarch.'

This was the current Emperor's instructor and the patriarch of the House of Huayans.

'They said his name is Wallot.'

Wallot Huayans.

He was gently smiling while wearing a white mage robe.

This man with half-white hair who was past his mid-years and headed toward his elder years…

'They said that he is the first young lady's grandfather. He's most likely a Hunter too.'

The corners of Cale's lips curled up.

'It's been a while since I've been in this kind of situation.'

The Emperor, the patriarch… The First Imperial Prince, the black-haired woman, and even the first young lady. Nobody recognized Cale nor paid any attention to him.

Of course, there were some people who were paying attention to Mary, but the Emperor and the patriarch did not even glance at Mary. They were simply looking down at everyone.

– How entertaining.

Cale heard Eruhaben's voice in his mind.

– That patriarch is strong. I can't fathom his strength. Same with the Emperor. They do not seem to be below me.

That meant that they were as strong as the ancient Dragon, if not stronger.

This was the first evaluation the ancient Dragon had given since they entered this world.

Cale finally felt as if he could understand why Mary's eyes had been shaking while looking at the Emperor.

"Mm."

Cale then saw Choi Han groaning as he slightly turned his head toward him.

The patriarch and Emperor were so strong that even the ancient Dragon, who had the most experience out of their group, could not fathom their strength.

This was clearly not a good situation.

– …Cale, are you worried?

Eruhaben asked with concern after seeing the scowl on Cale's face.

However, Cale did not have the proper mindset to respond to the ancient Dragon.

– Cale. That Emperor…

The Fire of Destruction. The cheapskate was suddenly talking to him.

– He seems close to death.

'…Huh?'

Cale observed the Emperor. The middle-aged Emperor was full of dignity and looked full of life. Of course, he was limping and leaning on a cane.

'Only the current Emperor survived the last test, but one of his legs was injured during the test.'

According to priest Durst's information, this injury was from decades ago but the Emperor had been healthy without any reasons to be injured since then.

'But he is dying?'

– You know, I've seen quite a lot of people dying from being poisoned by dead mana. How do I explain this…

The cheapskate rambled as if it was difficult to explain.

– Although the Emperor has black lines like Mary… Doesn't it feel a bit like those lines are not as clear and are dying the skin around it? It's kind of like paint spreading. Pay specific attention to his wrists inside the sleeves.

Cale looked toward the Emperor's sleeves.

'…It really is like that.'

He looked at the wrist that was slightly visible through the sleeve to see that the black lines were dying the skin like a water drop fallen onto parchment.

"Hmm?"

The Emperor then naturally used his other hand to push down his sleeve to cover the wrist.

'…But he didn't look at me.'

It didn't seem like he did that after sensing Cale's gaze.

– Mm. That's symptoms of addiction from overdosing on dead mana.

Cale could not understand it.

Mary had consumed a lot of dead mana as well, but she had never shown signs of addiction from overdose.

'She's probably overloaded before though.'

Similar to how overusing mana leads to being overloaded, necromancers overusing dead mana should end up overloaded.

– …That's right. This is definitely an addiction symptom from overdose. I know it is.

The cheapskate was silent for a bit before mumbling in a somber voice.

– …Not many humans have seen more people die from dead mana than I have.

However, he started to speak energetically again.

– Why is he showing addiction symptoms from overdosing on dead mana when he is a necromancer? Dead mana shouldn't be poisonous for them?

– That is weird.

The Super Rock, who had not said anything for a bit, chimed in as well.

– There are two possibilities.

The cheapskate continued in a serious tone. Cale was stealthily observing the Emperor's complexion without being noticed as this happened.

"…I do not know which of you will end up succeeding my position, but this is a test to determine the one who will have that honor. I hope that all of you will give everything you have."

The current Emperor was giving the opening remarks for this event.

He wasn't saying anything important that Cale needed to remember.

In fact, he had to pay more attention to the cheapskate's voice.

– The first possibility is that this Emperor is not a necromancer. The second possibility is that there is some kind of dead mana that can even lead necromancers to addiction.

The cheapskate continued in a cold voice.

– Either way, he will die in the next six months since he has those symptoms.

The Emperor spoke again.

"May glory be bestowed on you all."

The cheapskate commented.

– He's probably aware of it as well. He should know that he is dying.

The Emperor was finishing his remarks.

"There will be a celebration for the victors after the first test. I hope that I can see you again at that time."

That was the end of his remarks.

Cale could see the patriarch of the Black Bloods approaching the Emperor. He whispered something to the Emperor, who faintly smiled and nodded his head.

The patriarch motioned to the Chief of Staff, the Emperor said a few things to the Chief of Staff, and then got up.

"You youngsters should enjoy this in peace. I will make my leave."

The Emperor smiled quite happily before gently speaking to the candidates.

Anybody could tell that the Emperor was telling them that he was leaving so that they could be at peace.

"Hmm? Are you going to leave as well, instructor-nim?"

"Yes, your Majesty."

The patriarch slowly moved behind the Emperor.

"You're not even going to say anything to them?"

The Emperor mischievously commented, making the patriarch with half-white hair smile faintly as well.

His slightly cold demeanor became a bit softer.

"Is there a need to speak to them right now, your Majesty?"

However, his gaze was cold. That cold gaze observed the hall before he gave a short remark.

"May you all survive."

Silence filled the hall.

"Hahahaha! My goodness, instructor-nim, you're even worse than me."

The Emperor laughed out loud as he walked out of the hall. The candidates bowed again and the patriarch was smiling gently as he walked out behind the Emperor.

The Chief of Staff moved forward once the two of them left and addressed the crowd.

"The details of the first test will be revealed at the end of this celebration, so please enjoy yourselves until then. The palace you are in right now and the rear garden outside… You may freely use any of the areas here, esteemed candidates!"

The Chief of Staff bowed respectfully.

"Now then, may you have a relaxing time."

The Chief of Staff motioned and the orchestra started to play some cheerful music.

"Haaaaaaaa."

"…His aura truly is different."

The candidates and their helpers slowly started to loosen up and speak.

Cale also approached Mary.

"Would you like some refreshments, my liege?"

He was faithful to his duties. Choi Han approached Cale.

"Should I get you some meat, sir?"

Cale frowned.

'Haaa, you should be serving Mary, not me!'

Since Choi Han couldn't act to save his life, Cale had simply told Choi Han to do whatever was easiest for him.

"We need to serve our liege first."

Cale gently smiled under the mask and responded to Choi Han.

Eruhaben was already standing behind Mary's back like a guard knight.

"My liege."

Cale motioned toward the terrace with his eyes to Mary. It was better to stealthily discuss her reaction from earlier and the information he had gathered.

However, it was not easy to do that.

"You must be the faaaaamous Heni Wishrop."

Cale frowned while looking at the person approaching them.

'Who the hell is this typical trash-like bastard?'

Mary turned toward the sound of the voice. The Fourth Imperial Prince was approaching them.

Anybody could tell that the Fourth Imperial Prince, who had a cheeky smile on his face and was holding a wine glass as he was inspecting Mary from head to toe, was trying to start something with Mary.

Cale felt that way as well.

'I guess we don't need to pay any attention to him.'

Cale immediately stopped caring.

"Who are you?"

"…What? You… asked who I am?"

'Mary will take care of him on her own.'

"Yes. Who are you?"

"…Did you just speak informally-"

"All candidates are equal. Anyway, who are you?"

"…How could you not know who I-"

"Should I know who you are?"

"…!"

'As expected, none of these bastards who show up like this have strong mental fortitudes.'

Cale calmly nodded his head before stopping.

"Wow! All of the famous people are here!"

A man with disheveled hair approached Mary and the Fourth Imperial Prince.

Cale knew this person.

'Zero, the man with mercenary origins.'

He was number one on the list of mysterious individuals given by Durst and the church, while his abilities were said to be one of the highest of the candidates.

"This area seems quite interesting. Can I join in as well?"

Another person approached them.

'The Second Imperial Princess as well-'

Although her necromancer abilities were ranked fifth among the Imperial family, she was said to be quite skilled in other areas.

'…What the hell, why is everybody coming here?'

Cale's expression slowly became unsettled.

The three people gathered around Mary.

But that wasn't the end.

'We need to go exchange information at the terrace though?'

Regardless of that thought going through Cale's mind…

Tap. Tap.

The man who was standing aloof with a stoic expression on his face without engaging in conversation with anybody… The First Imperial Prince was approaching with his gaze focused on Mary.

'Why are you all doing this-'

Cale first moved Choi Han, who was standing next to Mary, behind him since Choi Han's acting sucked. He then moved in front of Mary.

It was at that moment.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—!

They heard a loud explosion.

'An explosion?'

Anybody would be able to tell that this was an explosion. Cale looked out the terrace window.

A fire was shooting up from a distant palace.

Wiiiiiiiiing- Wiiiiiiing-

An alarm started to ring and someone urgently rushed over to the Fourth Imperial Prince and whispered in his ear. However, everybody around them could hear what he said.

"The Agents of Destruction have attacked the Imperial Palace walls!"

'Agents of Destruction?'

Cale recalled some information Durst had given him.

'There is an organization that believes that they can go to a new world if they destroy this one. They are called the Agents of Destruction.'

'Wow.'

Cale sighed internally.

'Man, this world has so many issues too.'

---

The Fourth Imperial Prince sighed after noticing that everybody around them heard what his subordinate had said.

"The walls of the Imperial Palace?"

He pointed outside the terrace window.

"But it looks like a palace is blowing up over there?"

Cale's eyes clouded over.

'He's completely different?'

The bastard, who looked like the typical trash prince just moments ago, was calm right now. In fact, he seemed cold-hearted. Cale realized that everybody other than the Second Imperial Princess and the First Imperial Prince were looking at the Fourth Imperial Prince.

'I guess the Imperial family already knew that the Fourth Imperial Prince was like this.'

The subordinate saw the Fourth Imperial Prince's gaze, took a deep breath, and responded calmer than before.

"I am uncertain about the current situation as I came over as soon as I heard the news, your Royal Highness."

The Second Imperial Princess turned toward the Chief of Staff.

"Mr. Chief of Staff, what is going on?"

Cale could finally get a proper look at the Chief of Staff. He had no time to thoroughly observe the Chief of Staff as he had been focused on the Emperor and the patriarch of the Black Bloods.

'Mm.

This person isn't a joke either.'

"Please don't worry, your Royal Highness."

The Chief of Staff's eyes curled up in a smile so that his eyes could not be seen.

Although there was an explosion inside the palace…

"All you need to do is enjoy the celebration."

He was completely calm.

"They will not be able to get any farther inside."

He seemed certain that these so-called Agents of Destruction would never be able to leave a dent in the Imperial Palace.

He seemed certain that this issue would be over soon.

'But will it?'

Cale recalled some information the old priest gave him.

'They started to appear approximately 30 years ago but they were not a major force at the time and definitely did not deserve the name, Agents of Destruction.

However, they started to get bigger at some point and started to attack the surviving areas to follow their conviction.'

'They like to especially target the Empire and attack it.'

'Our church thought at first that there might be some sort of connection between the Agents of Destruction and the Empire. We suspected that the Empire had created such an organization in order to control people and the continent, but…'

'The Agents of Destruction have attacked the Empire the most since about five years ago.'

Cale had thought that a world like this was bound to have a group that believed that a new world would arrive once this world was destroyed. In fact, it would be weird if such a group did not exist.

Cale had asked for some more detailed information as he believed that the Agents of Destruction could end up being a variable in their task.

'…We have heard that the Empire managed to capture some members of the Agents of Destruction. However, that information was never released to the public.'

'Furthermore, we have still not learned who the leader of the group is or where their headquarters may be.'

'That is why the Empire and the remaining kingdoms have allied together and sent people throughout the continent to find the leader of the Agents of Destruction.'

Cale looked at Durst, wondering how they managed to get so much information. Durst smiled and responded.

There is a petty official working in the Empire's administrative offices and an attendant in the palace who are members of the church.'

Durst had added on.

'They will help you out, oh esteemed purifier.'

The Imperial Palace was not completely enemy territory for Cale's group.

However, Cale was surprised at the Church of the Fire of Purification's abilities that were greater than he had expected.

'It's amazing that there is someone who is willing to remain in the enemy lair despite the church being designated as a cult and its members targeted.'

'…It is a method for our survival.'

The fact that the church had a secret safe house in the Empire had Cale believing that the church could be quite helpful to him.

Cale did not ask Durst for more details as Durst still had a lot to say.

It had not been time yet.

"We will resume the celebration."

The conductor picked up his baton at the Chief of Staff's comment.

The music would soon start again.

"I don't think you can do that."

The man with disheveled hair looked toward the Chief of Staff and commented.

"I don't think you can stay true to your words about them not getting any farther in."

The man with disheveled hair pointed outside as the Chief of Staff raised his eyebrow.

"Mm."

Choi Han let out a short groan and moved in front of Cale while Eruhaben stood next to Mary.

At the same time…

Baaaaaaaaaang-!

Baaaaang—!

Baaaaaang—!

They heard continuous explosions getting closer and closer.

It was as if the explosions were approaching them.

And they would be right about that.

The explosions were happening in a straight line, getting closer toward the palace they were in.

Aaaaaaah-!

Aaaaaaaaah!

They then started to hear people screaming.

The people were not screaming because of the explosions.

"How is this possible?! A mutant monster made it all the way here?!"

"How did that monster make it into the palace?!"

Some of the people watching from inside the palace were commenting almost as if they were screaming.

'Oh esteemed purifier.

Humans are not the only ones who managed to survive in this changing world.

Animals and monsters survived as well.

There are two kinds of them.

They either live on the small amounts of land that are still livable like the humans, or-'

The only thing threatening humans was not the ground that had changed because of dead mana.

'Their bodies changed to ones that can adjust to this new world.'

There were animals or monsters that had adjusted to dead mana for the past 300 years and changed in the process.

A large monster covered in black mud was slowly headed toward the palace.

Boom-!

Boom, boom!

The monster seemed to be at least three times Cale's height in size.

There were ten of those monsters.

"How is it that these monsters that should be outside the Empire-?!"

"…Is it okay not to do anything?"

'I know, right? I wonder what we should do.'

Cale was a bit cold-hearted.

'This isn't our world and my friends have to be safe.'

Furthermore, the Imperial Palace… They need to know the abilities of their enemies.

"Did the Imperial Guards start to move?"

As Cale was about to pay attention to the Fourth Imperial Prince's cold voice…

"Crap."

Cale turned his head after hearing someone swear in a low voice and managed to see the Second Imperial Princess run out of the palace with a scowl on her face.

"Your Royal Highness!"

"My liege!"

Her three helpers ran after her as well.

It was at that moment.

"That monster."

Mary opened her mouth.

Cale and Mary made eye contact.

She warily observed Cale's gaze but calmly commented.

"I want to see that monster. I also hear some screams."

"Pffft." Cale nodded his head.

'Yes, just watching won't let us properly understand this world.'

"As you wish, my liege."

Cale responded respectfully, following proper etiquette and the group soon followed behind the Second Imperial Princess.

"What the hell? Do we need to do something as well?"

"Ah, damn it. Can we sit back and do nothing when two have already gone?"

"Boss, what are you going to do?"

Cale heard some whispers behind them but nobody stopped the group. Peek. Cale looked back to confirm that the Chief of Staff was quietly chatting with his subordinate.

He too looked quite shocked.

"Hey, hey, let's go together!"

The man with disheveled hair followed behind Cale's group.

"Ah, hyung-nim!"

"You're driving me nuts. Please let us know if you are going to start moving!"

His subordinates followed behind him as well. However, the man with disheveled hair… The former mercenary Zero, who was a mysterious individual, followed behind Cale's group without even looking back.

Zero smiled brightly when Cale looked at him and then looked forward.

'Why did he follow us?'

Zero looked forward and mumbled, as if he was talking to himself, as Cale had that thought.

"Hmm. Are the Agents of Destruction really responsible for today's chaos?"

It sounded as if he knew this was not something done by the Agents of Destruction.

One corner of Cale's lips curled up.

Mary asked at that moment.

"Do you know?"

"Aw. How the hell would I know that?"

Zero used to be a mercenary in the past. The ninth candidate responded slyly as if he knew nothing about it, but anybody could see that he looked suspicious.

'…What an interesting bastard.'

Cale's smile became thicker.

However, his gaze was cold as they headed toward the monster because of the injured people being carried away.

"Your Royal Highness! Please step back!"

The Second Imperial Princess ignored her subordinate's comments and looked around.

"Grrrrrrr-!"

They were large monsters walking on two legs while growling like wolves.

They were covered in black mud and every step they took splattered some of it on the ground.

'The ground is rotting.'

The ground became dyed black wherever the black mud landed.

This black mud monster was difficult for regular people to fight because of the mud that was full of dead mana.

"Where are the black mages?"

That was why they needed black mages.

"Your Royal Highness!"

Some of the knights who were defending against the approaching monsters rejoiced before speaking.

"I believe that they headed toward the walls because the explosion happened there to start, your Royal Highness!"

"The First Black Knights Brigade should be here soon! The Fifth Black Magic Battalion should be here soon as well!"

The Second Imperial Princess looked around.

The chain explosion had destroyed a palace, the nearby buildings, and the surrounding streets.

"Ugh…."

"S, save-"

The casualties from the explosions… The soldiers protecting and moving them to safety… The regular knights of the Imperial Palace who could not go up against dead mana…

'How the heck did these monsters make it into the Imperial Palace?!

Teleportation magic?

Is it possible to move monsters with that?'

"Fuck!"

She didn't know what happened before this.

Either way… Right now!

'Until the First Black Knights Brigade and the Fifth Black Magic Battalion get here-

I need to tie these monsters down!

We must definitely not kill these monsters!'

The real reason that these black mud monsters were dangerous…

The real reason that the core knights of the Imperial Palace could not even tie these monsters down and hinder them despite not having immunity to dead mana…

There was only one reason.

'These monsters explode the moment they die.'

The dead mana in the black mud will be released and scorch the area at the same time.

This was the reason the soldiers were quickly moving the casualties from the area.

"…Ten black mud monsters at once?! They usually only move in packs of two or three! Your Royal Highness, we need to gather at least three Black Magic Battalions!"

Her subordinate looked at the look on the Second Imperial Princess's face and quickly commented as if to stop her.

"This is a Grade 1 danger monster, your Royal Highness! You cannot overdo it with the test right in front of you! We definitely cannot have you getting injured!"

"Do you think that I do not know that?"

A fire was visible in the Second Imperial Princess's eyes. The subordinate shut his mouth and she looked around.

'I'm not strong enough!'

She could only stop two monsters max on her own. That was already enough for people to say that she was amazing, but…

'It's useless since there are ten of them!'

'It doesn't matter.

I still have to do it.'

The Second Imperial Princess heard a voice behind her as she made up her mind.

"What needs to be done, your Royal Highness?"

The Second Imperial Princess, who had only looked forward at the approaching monsters, turned her head.

"Ah."

She looked into a pair of purple eyes. She also saw the three subordinates behind her person.

Heni Wishrop.

'She can speak respectfully too?'

The Second Imperial Princess questioned that until she recalled something.

The white bone dragon that had risen above the entrance of the Imperial Palace…

"…We need to tie them down so that they cannot explode. We must make sure not to kill them."

Mary pulled a small pouch out of her pocket.

It was a compact spatial pocket bag that Raon had given her.

Mary looked at the Second Imperial Princess and the approaching Zero and then started to speak.

"Can we do it together?"

The Second Imperial Princess tilted her head.

'Isn't that obvious?'

"Yes…?"

"Hooooo. Should I help as well?"

As the two of them responded…

It was the moment that Mary made up her mind to use her necromancer powers with others who had the same power for the first time.

"Grrrrrrr-!"

"Grrrrrr-!"

The black mud monsters approached even closer. The knights were still unable to approach them.

There were still too many injured people who had not managed to escape yet.

The Second Imperial Princess gulped.

"I don't know if the three of us are enough to contain them."

She heard a relaxed voice respond.

"We can."

'What?'

As the Second Imperial Princess flinched at Mary's extremely simple response…

"It's simple."

Mary opened her pouch.

"Isn't the problem that the monsters are here?"

The Second Imperial Princess nodded her head with a confused look on her face once Mary looked at her.

"…Yes?"

"We also cannot kill them."

"…Yes?"

They could not kill the monsters.

But the problem was that the monsters were here.

Then the answer was simple.

"Then we just need to lift them up and move them."

Zero looked at Mary in disbelief.

"These large monsters? Ten of them at that? The three of us can do that?"

"Yes. Yes we can."

They just needed to make something big that was stronger than these monsters and use it to lift the monsters to an appropriate area.

Mary flipped the pouch she had opened.

Chhhhhhh–!

Numerous white bones poured out of the pouch.

Zero's eyes opened wide at the number of bones and looked at Mary who extended her hand toward the monsters.

– Mary, Cale wanted me to tell you not to overdo it. I'm sure you probably want to shake your head since the bastard who doesn't look after himself is saying that, but… I feel the same way.

Mary smiled at Cale, who was looking at her, while listening to Eruhaben's voice echo in her mind.

Her hand moved.

Black threads flowed out of her fingertips and the white bones soon started to move.

Boom-!

A skeleton monster that was much larger than these large monsters that were close to 3 meters in height appeared and the monster extended its wings and flew up into the air.

"…Bone Dragon."

Zero saw the white bone dragon he had only heard about.

He was not the only one.

The other candidates, who were finally making their way over and the ones who remained in the celebration palace to watch…

The other people in and around the palace…

Everybody saw Mary's white dragon.

The rumors about the nineteenth candidate were true.

---

Dragons that went extinct about 300 years ago…

Most people had only seen Dragons in pictures. They had heard the legend-like stories of the Dragons' overbearing powers.

People had imagined… They had imagined how a real Dragon would be like.

"…Ha!"

Zero felt chills in his arms.

The power that had shot up around the entrance of the Imperial Palace a few days ago…

The person responsible for it was said to have created a white-bone dragon.

Zero looked up at the sky.

"…It's amazing."

Although it was only bones, this almost ten meter long bone dragon gave off the feeling that it was a real dragon.

It was doing that despite not being real.

'It is not hard to simply make a large skeleton monster.'

But how similar it was to a living creature…

The amount of control in it and the endless supply of power from the main body… A necromancer's power made the bones seem as if they were alive.

That was why the necromancers were called the Sovereigns of the Dead.

They were the only ones capable of making the remains of the dead move once again.

That glorious power…

"…You-"

Zero turned his gaze to look at the person who created this large Bone Dragon.

'Heni Wishrop.'

Zero recalled her name in his mind as he asked.

"You- are strong?"

Zero then saw Heni Wishrop's purple eyes turn to look at him.

She calmly spoke as if she was saying something completely obvious.

"I am strong."

Her tone didn't have any feeling of doubt or bluffing. Her tone was completely certain.

She was showing full belief in her own abilities.

Furthermore, her subordinates behind her were looking at her with indifferent gazes as if this was obvious.

"Ha!"

'How entertaining.'

"Ha, hahaha-!"

'This test truly is entertaining. And it will probably continue to be entertaining.'

"Grrrrrrr-!"

However, he could not remain in his thoughts.

The black mud monsters started roaring after seeing the white bone dragon. It sounded as if something annoying had appeared.

"…Let's quickly take care of them."

The Second Imperial Princess must have snapped back from being dazed by the bone dragon as she spoke for the first time in a long while and pulled up her sleeves.

'Oh.'

Cale could see a white whip that was wrapped around her arm. That whip was made of multiple equal-sized small bone pieces.

The whip was very thin. It meant that the bone pieces were very small. They were each only the size of a fingernail.

However, they were wrapped all over her arm. He could not see the end of it from just the part of her arm that was revealed.

The old priest had said the following.

'Necromancers have many ways of fighting. Some use the orthodox methods but there are others who change it to meet their strengths.'

The Second Imperial Princess swung her arm the moment the black threads that came out of her hand touched the whip.

Chhhhhhhhh-!

The endless thin whip gathered together with the black threads and floated up into the air.

The Second Imperial Princess looked toward Mary as she spoke.

"I will capture them, so please grab them and move them!"

She then addressed Zero.

"You corral the other monsters to one location so that they don't scatter."

"Hooooo. The Second Imperial Princess seems to know about my strength?"

"Hmph."

The Second Imperial Princess simply ignored Zero as if he was saying something obvious.

"Pwahahahah-!"

Zero laughed out loud as he moved forward.

"I will do as the Imperial Princess asked. Only this time though, because I saw something precious as well."

Zero pulled something out of his pocket.

'The handle of a sword?'

Choi Han saw that the sword in Zero's hand did not have a blade. He was just holding the handle.

"Alright, monsters! Don't run around wildly and gather together!"

Ooooooooong—!

The black threads that came out of Zero's hand crawled up the handle and created a blade.

The blade made of black threads turned into a blade as large as the large handle.

– He uses that kind of method.

Cale listened to Eruhaben's assessment as he looked at Mary.

Chhhhhhhhh!

"Grrrrrr-!"

As the black mud monsters hesitated because of Zero's blade that was filled with dead mana…

Chhhhhhh–!

"Grrrrrrr-!"

The Second Imperial Princess surrounded the mud monsters with her whip. The whip formed something resembling a fence.

'She's watching everything.'

Mary was watching Zero and the Second Imperial Princess fight the monsters. She seemed to be learning.

– Looks like Mary is learning something new again. This is what is so scary about that child. It is also the reason she is so strong.

As Eruhaben mentioned, Mary was getting stronger once again in this place. Cale could be completely certain while watching her.

'Mary will grow even stronger during this test. I'm sure of it.'

Ooooooong—

The white bone dragon started to move.

The existence floating in the air leisurely descended and…

"Grrrrrr!"

Snatched up some black mud monsters.

It had one monster in each claw.

It also had one between its sharp teeth.

"…What amazing strength."

Even as Zero was swinging his sword, he could not help but gasp in admiration at the power of the bone dragon that allowed it to pick up three monsters that were close to three meters tall at once, no, the power of the necromancer controlling that bone dragon.

"…How is this-?!'

The Second Imperial Princess's pupils were shaking, but she still watched without missing anything.

'She shouldn't know the proper method of developing her necromancer abilities because she is not a part of the Imperial family. How does she have such strength?'

Mary did not have the Iska Imperial family's necromancer secret method.

However, in the Desert of Death that is one of the Forbidden Regions… As the only necromancer to carry on the legacy of the last necromancer who died there, Mary had learned a lot of things.

"Where should I move them?"

Mary calmly asked the Second Imperial Princess.

The Second Imperial Princess looked with disbelief at Mary, who was asking so calmly despite using such strength, and responded.

"…There is a forest on the east side of the Imperial Palace. Nobody should be there so we can move them there for now. As for the rest-"

It was at that moment.

Mary turned around.

The ancient Dragon and Choi Han were already looking there.

– Cale.

Cale also turned around after hearing the cheapskate's voice.

The Second Imperial Princess stopped talking as well.

"There is no need, your Royal Highness. I will take care of it."

"…Duke-nim."

The House of Huayans. The Black Bloods were the family that had been the Emperor's instructor for generations and held the title of Duke.

Cale looked at the patriarch who was coming over with the black mages and Knights Brigade.

'Half of the Knights Brigade is filled with Dark Elves.'

He had been confused because he had not seen Dark Elves or other darkness attribute races despite hearing about how they held a lot of authority in this world.

But about half of the Knights Brigade consisted of Dark Elves.

'I'm sure Vampires and other races are around the Imperial Palace as well.'

As for the people wearing mage robes…

'They must be black mages.'

The patriarch gently smiled at the Second Imperial Princess before raising his head to look at Mary's bone dragon.

"How amazing."

His gaze turned toward Mary.

"Heni Wishrop-nim."

Cale's eyebrows slightly twitched under the mask.

'He already knows her name.'

The patriarch was already aware of Mary's name.

"Could you please throw those monsters into the air?"

"I can, sir."

"That sounds great. Please throw them as high as possible."

The patriarch asked in a relaxed and gentle tone.

The leaders of the Knights Brigade and Black Magic Battalion moved next to Zero and the Second Imperial Princess to take over their roles.

Mary looked at the patriarch for a moment before waving her hand in the air.

Flap-

The bone dragon flapped its wings, and…

Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-

The dragon cut through the air and flew up.

Once it flew up a bit…

"Grrrrrr!"

"Grrrrrr-!"

It threw the three monsters into the air.

"That was wonderful."

The patriarch responded calmly before taking a step forward.

He then gently stomped his foot.

Boom-!

The ground shook.

Cale saw Eruhaben's gaze sink down.

– …It's coming.

The cheapskate mumbled as if he sensed something too.

Cale felt it as well.

'It's coming.'

That was the only thing he could think to express this feeling.

From the ground and the sky…

Something was coming from all directions.

– It's dead mana.

Cale could see a white light gathering with the patriarch at the center as Eruhaben said that.

'That is white magic-!'

This was black magic because it used dead mana, but it was called white magic because it had a holy white light.

It was the power mentioned by the youngest young lady of the Duke's House of Orsena.

Shaaaaaaaaaaaa-

The gathered power turned into arrows and shot up into the air.

They moved past the white-bone dragon and struck the black mud monsters.

Shaaaaaaaaaaaa-

There was no explosion.

"Mm."

Choi Han groaned.

The monsters disappeared as if they had turned to dust the moment the arrows touched them.

They died immediately without even being able to self-destruct. It happened without any noise.

Even though they were simply struck by arrows…

– Dead mana is a power with death in it. Those monsters disappeared in the presence of overwhelming death.

Eruhaben's voice was calm but cold as he spoke into Cale's mind.

– He's strong.

Eruhaben assessed the patriarch's abilities before looking at Cale.

'Hmm?'

The corners of Cale's lips were oddly twitching.

The cheapskate grumbled in his mind.

– Either way, it is a power that uses dead mana as its foundation. Let's burn it up.

Rather than being suppressed by the enemy's strength, the cheapskate seemed quite filled with a desire to fight.

That meant that it was worth trying.

– For some reason, just using a small amount of power in this world releases a significant amount.

As the cheapskate mentioned, Cale had felt the same thing when he fixed the Wall of Purification.

– If you do it properly and use only the Fire of Destruction without using any other ancient powers…

The Super Rock, who had not said anything for a bit, finished the sentence.

– It's worth trying.

'Is that so?'

Cale knew very well that this was not the full extent of the patriarch's power. However, he could at least fathom how strong this person was.

'…Let's learn some more first.'

About this world, the Black Bloods household… And the Imperial family.

"Our esteemed candidates may return now. I will take responsibility and take care of things here."

The patriarch gently told them to leave and Cale's group returned to Palace Nineteen without saying anything else.

The celebration was unable to continue now.

Palace Nine.

"Hyung-nim."

"Heni Wishrop. Gather all the information you can about that person."

Zero's subordinate made sure that nobody was in the room and approached him to stealthily whisper.

"Should I deliver the information outside as well?"

"…Go ahead."

Zero nodded his head and looked at his subordinate with a cold gaze.

"And watch your mouth."

"Yes, hyung-nim."

Zero opened the window while watching his subordinate depart.

The celebration had fizzled out and the nineteen palaces all had their lights on.

"Hmph. I guess everybody will be busy."

Zero smirked.

Tap.

He closed the open window.

He had no reason to show himself to his competitors.

A few moments later…

– Human! There were a total of Eleven people who stealthily went out of the palaces! Palace Nine, Palace One, Palace Two…

Raon shared all of the information he gathered while flying up in the air to Cale.

As it got close to midnight…

Chhh-

A hawk cut through the darkness and entered Cale's bedroom.

The black Hawk made eye contact with Cale and his red eyes squinted as he asked.

"Cale, don't you want to hear about the Imperial Palace's wall incident?"

Information from both outside and inside was being delivered to Cale's hands.

Naturally, he was sharing that information with his friends.

"Cale-nim, what do you plan on doing?"

Cale looked down at the luxurious parchment in his hand after hearing Choi Han's question.

'Due to the unexpected incident, we must deliver the contents of the test this way.'

Palace Nineteen's Chief of Staff's voice echoed in his ear.

First test: harmony.

Courage, harmony, and determination. The first of the three tests was harmony.

The task given for the harmony test will require teams to solve a problem.

Plop.

Mary handed a small note to Cale.

It was a note that was stealthily delivered to Palace Nineteen.

Come under me.

Cale looked at Mary as he asked.

"You said that the Fourth Imperial Prince's attendant sent it?"

"Yes, young master-nim."

"What do you want to do?"

"This person is funny."

Cale nodded his head while looking at Mary's reaction.

'The Fourth Imperial Prince is not even an opponent for Mary.'

Cale asked.

"Who else contacted you?"

Multiple places had stealthily contacted Palace Nineteen since the content of the test was delivered.

They had no choice.

Each team will consist of three candidates and their helpers and everybody will be going to the western edge village of the Empire.

Edge village.

It was not a name for a specific place.

The Pope had told Cale's group about edge villages.

'All of the lands in this world are being eroded by dead mana.'

'The human territory that is the boundary is usually called an edge village.'

'It is quite dangerous because of mutant monsters, animals, and dead mana, but it is also somewhere that humanity must defend.'

Eruhaben started to speak.

"It looks like it will be quite dangerous from the start."

"So the candidates probably want to make teams with strong people."

"That's right. They need to survive through it after all."

The cheapskate kept talking to Cale ever since he confirmed the information about the test.

– Let's burn up all of the dead mana, hmm? We will purify it! Purification!

Cale just ignored him and started to think about the eighteen people that the church sent information about through Sui Khan. It was the information about the rest of the candidates other than Mary.

Tomorrow morning, the candidates would all head to the edge village.

The sun was up in the sky.

In the center of the Garden of the Stars… The Chief of Staff started to speak to the candidates in this beautiful garden.

"In the next hour… Please select your teams and submit your list."