"Solomon?" After his initial shock, Arthur simply sighed. He had already accepted that his fate was intertwined with this person. However, the question was how. He looked at the shard in his hand as he remembered the last request by the man.
'If this is the same Solomon I met in the trial, then I must give him this shard. The only reason he helped me at that time was that I looked like someone he knew.'
'I thought he was mistaken,' Arthur stood up and teleported toward the roof of the fortress. 'But there's no doubt about it now. The reason Solomon helped me is that he met me before. It was never a question of who or where, but when.'
The dawn broke through the horizon as the monsters and wildlife woke up from their slumbers. As he stood there watching the light seep through the mountains, Arthur had a million questions in his mind.
'If Solomon didn't help me, I would have never helped him. If I don't find him now, then I'll be dead in the trial. If I don't find him, what will happen to me? Am I going to cease existing as the timeline change, or would life keep going in a different timeline?'
The matters of Time were always paradoxical. However, Arthur wasn't going to let chance decide his fate. If finding Solomon was the way to guarantee that he'd survive the trial, he would do it.'
Now that he thought about it, everything began with Solomon. He gave Arthur the dagger that allowed him to kill the Dark Queen. He was the reason Arthur became the breaker of the trial. If not for Solomon, then the trial would have never been broken.
'What would have happened then?' Arthur took out the dagger and held it in front of him. 'How would I survive if I haven't broken the trial? Would I have met Kira who tended for my wounds? Would I have met Miko and worked together with her?'
Questions. Questions. Questions. Arthur was sick of them, he needed answers. The only way for him to guarantee that time won't undo him was to seek Solomon.
Solomon Avera.
Arthur repeated the name in his mind, engraving it deeply. He tightened his grip around the shard as he remembered another fact.
'That wasn't our world.' Arthur realized. 'The man had come to this land after teleporting out of the dungeon. He had arrived on Earth from Alka.
Arthur's face was grim as he remembered what he saw in that world. There were people there, not only monsters. There were halflings, humans that were mixed with other races. Furthermore, there were dangers far stronger than the monster they had on Earth.
'Does Jizo want to leave them there?' Arthur wondered to himself. After all, the True World was simply Earth and Alka merging. That's what the Enders wanted, what the seven families wanted, but not what Jizo wanted.
Jizo said that if that era returns, it would mean death for humanity. He has chosen to give up on the people of Alka for these people to survive.
He was choosing the lesser of two evils.
[It's always the lesser of two evils.]
The words appeared in front of him and Arthur laughed dryly as he shook his head.
"You can't expect me to make a choice."
[You will have to.]
"You can't tell me what to do." Arthur frowned. "I'm in no position to determine whether the people out there a hopeless cause or not."
[The world is dying. The creatures of the nothingness are stronger than anyone can handle. Even with your runes, with this legacy, it's hopeless. Choose the lesser evil.]
"I said," Arthur gritted his teeth. "Don't tell me what to do!"
The words disappeared as Arthur felt frustration build up inside of him. He clenched his fist until his nails dug through his flesh.
'Why was I given this choice? I never asked for this.' He couldn't choose between the two evils. In the end, whatever he does, it would still be evil. He always believed he was doing the right thing.
'Haha,' Arthur laughed bitterly at his thoughts. 'The right thing? What is right and wrong in the face of oblivion? It's either to cease existing or survive.'
'I will survive. If everything is determined by fate, then I will write my own. I'll dig using every strength I have to choose for myself.'
***
Arthur's level kept rising from 31 until it became 35 before the time for Jerano arrived. By the time he stopped his mindless leveling, he had 26 Legacy Points and 16 Stats points. His stats and skills also saw a huge leap.
For a week, he didn't sleep. He used mana to keep himself awake and to keep hunting. The only thing that stopped him from getting even stronger was time and the lack of monsters to hunt.
Two days before the exam, Arthur returned to the fortress. He opened his legacy as he sat down, trying to study the Etherealized-Attack rune but its progress barely reached 69%.
Luckily, his strength has increased again because of absorbing the monsters' essence.
[Scholar Guardian's Legacy]
[Level: 35 (11%)]
[Legacy Points: 26]
[Stats Points: 16]
[Strength: 193]
[Agility: 189]
[Stamina: 179]
[Perception: 171]
[Mana: 259/259]
[Abilities: Beginner Runes Wordsmith (58%), Useable Runes: 22]
[Skills: Lesser-Mana Breathing Skill (F – 65%), Poison Strike (F – 39%), Camouflage (F – 26%), Earth Manipulation (E – 39%), Bladeless Wind Storm (D – 12%), Shadow Space (D – 0%), Monster Claws (D – 32%), Iron Skin (D – 11%), Goblin's Bond (Unique – 89%)]
[Arts: The Art of Creation – Part One]
Other than his stats, which has seen an increase due to his absorb rune, one of his skills has evolved. Instead of the Bladeless Wind Slash, it has evolved into Bladeless Wind Storm.
Now, he can summon a storm of slashes to fight on his behalf. Even though it was merely an increase of strength and number of slashes, it was still powerful.
It was especially useful against weak monsters and for clearing the forest or obstacles. However, Arthur wanted the rune that was behind the skill. Sadly, he'd have to evolve them more to get it.
Jerano's exam was in two days and he needed to return to the capital for Master Ronin to introduce him as his friend's bastard child. After all that happened, Arthur wanted more time to get stronger but his legacy quest hovered over his neck like an executioner.
[Legacy Quest: Find the Key before the Enders.]
He knew that if the Enders obtain this Key, then the world will see a lot of unrest. Even without the legacy, he didn't want those foul beings to obtain what they want.
Arthur returned to his room and changed his clothes before he was about to leave toward the capital. Unexpectedly, someone stopped him.
"I wish to accompany you, my lord." Li talked to him for the first time since his breakthrough. Arthur sighed and waved his hand.
"Please don't call me that." Arthur implored. "You can't come with me this time; you'll be found even if they were blind."
"I'll hide in a nearby place."
"I would much prefer if you protect the fortress while I was gone. I'm counting on you."
Li paused at Arthur's words and stopped asking to tag along. After bidding him farewell, Arthur headed toward the teleportation circle near the forest where he found another unexpected person.
"What do you need of me, Miss Hua?" Arthur asked with a smile. Their relationship has improved after Hua stopped trying to get into his pants. He didn't know if she was always like that or if she had feelings for him, but he was glad it stopped.
"A little farewell gift, here." Hua handed him a thick book. "Just in case you get bored from studying, read this as you think of me."
Arthur took the book and found that it was a novel. He nodded and kept the book and asked if there was something else.
"Well," Hua appeared by his side and pulled him by the neck, her mouth breathed into Arthur's ear. "Make sure to save yourself for me."
"You…" Arthur took a step back but Hua simply laughed and walked away. Her laughter echoed throughout the forest and Arthur simply sighed. "And here I thought that she changed." He kept the book in his subspace before teleporting into the capital.
When he arrived at the mansion, he found that Reece and Master Ronin were already there. Seeing his new appearance, Master Ronin nodded with a smile.
"A true nobleman."
"That's insulting," Arthur answered with a laugh. "Greetings, master." He bowed.
"I doubt I'm that much of a master to you anymore. I don't teach you much."
"If not for you, I would still have trouble controlling my mana. I still use your teachings."
"I didn't get to teach you any Arts with how things were." Master Ronin was dissatisfied. "Anyway, here's your ID." He handed Arthur a stack of files. "Reece has your luggage."
"Oh," Arthur took the files with a smile. "Is this my real name?"
"Yes, get used to it," Master Ronin nodded. Arthur engraved the name into his mind. This would be his new identity for a while.
Alexei Linan.