Level 0 Master

Chapter 133: Vol. 6 Ep. 1

Epilogue

The conqueror of the continent. The man who had defeated the generation’s legendary Kaiser of white silver. The new legend, who had started at level 0 and had climbed to the top. An emperor who was like a young lion. These were the things the people of Valhalla thought about Sungjin.

With absolute power, he was a king who had the riches and women fitting his station. Other continents were on guard due to the blessing of four hundred years of life he had received.

There were a total of four continents in Valhalla. Although there was some trade going on between the continents, they didn’t bother about each other, because they were incapable of waging war against one another. Whoever their opponent was, it didn’t matter as long as their trade continued.

All they felt after hearing that Sungjin had unified the continent was curiosity. How great is this man to have unified a continent?

But that wasn’t the main focus of their curiosity. They knew that four hundred years of power and youth would have been bestowed on the person who united the continent, so it would be common sense for the ruler to “prepare” within those four hundred years and attack the Kaiser with better stats, rather than attack the Kaiser only to fail when he had so much to supervise as the ruler of a continent. That was why they thought that, no matter who Sungjin was, they would not be impacted.

The extent of Sungjin’s popularity was a handful of women wishing for a night with him. That was their logic, but Sungin had exceeded their expectations. He headed straight for the central region after uniting the continent. Like a young king who wouldn’t deny a hoard of women… he kept running toward the next challenge, and there… he defeated the first guardian and relic of the past: the Kaiser of white silver, and his soul.

The news had spread rapidly across the world.

Is this… the birth of a third Kaiser?

No one knows. He still has to defeat the Kaiser of Gold, after all.

But if he can defeat one, then the other…

It may be possible for him to defeat the other Kaiser, too.

When Sungjin defeated the last Kaiser… he would become the Kaiser who would rule the entire world, not just a continent. In other words, Sungjin would become their ruler, and that was where their interest lay.

Information was gathered from the corners of the southern world in order to understand what kind of a ruler he was, and they all entered a preparation phase for how best to greet Sungjin just in case he became emperor, and soon after, laughably, clothes and objects that could possibly suit Sungjin’s tastes were rapidly sold at high prices in the market.

***

Meanwhile, Sungjin, who had become the man who called forth storms… was looking silently out his window. He looked peaceful sitting on a comfortable chair and gazing down at the sight below, but that was just his outer appearance; inside, his thoughts clashed.

It’s not enough.

Sungjin closed and opened his fist. His hands were tingling. He was filled to the brim with competitive spirit. He had returned to his continent for a break after the fight against the Kaiser of white silver, but he still wanted to continue fighting.

It’s not enough.

He wanted to fight a stronger enemy. He wanted to use his increased strength. He wanted to reach higher.

His thirst was overflowing. A thirst for battling against stronger enemies overpowered his basic needs of sleeping and eating.

He had toed the line between life and death during his several violent conquests of various enemies. He had become the ruler of the continent, and all that remained was half a step toward becoming the ruler of this world.

But it still wasn’t enough.

Ha, I suppose this is my true self. Sungjin smiled.

He wasn’t in denial or in a state of self-assessment. It was just an observation that “he was what he was.”

Ordinary people wouldn’t have even tried. Even the most ambitious person would have been satisfied with what Sungjin had.

Critically speaking, leaving behind four hundred years of life and the position of a conqueror of a continent would be a great loss if he were to vie for a higher level and lose.

But he wasn’t satisfied. He wanted a better fight against a stronger opponent, even if he knew the dangers.

The reason?

To protect the people of the continent?

Was it for such a “grand purpose?” Or perhaps it was for the power he could have in the seat of an Arc Master? For fame and legacy? If not that then… to have an amazing victory against a stronger opponent? Or… was it for the power that would come after a victory?

Well, I suppose it’s not just for one thing.

He wanted to fight some more, and he had a definite thirst within him for a better competition, and that thirst had only grown upon his arrival in Valhalla, like the way a person’s thirst increases even after drinking seawater.

His competitive spirit had grown after crossing the boundary of life and death several times. If he returned to Earth at this moment, would he be able to enjoy the gaming world through a monitor screen?

Probably not.

He wanted to fight the Kaiser of Gold right now. That was why his hands were tingling.

I’ve become stronger after absorbing the souls. He could feel it.

He had trapped the souls of those who had turned into evil spirits inside himself after having been trapped in the battlefield, but he had also been adversely affected by doing that. His blood boiled, and his thirst grew.

I’m being affected.

His darkness, which had originally been within him, had been stimulated.

I should wait.

Like ruining the ingredients of a dish when the cooking was rushed, when a fight was hurried, victory would be frustrated.

A victory wasn’t simply on the battlefield. Preparing for everything before a victory was a part of the victory, too: the preparation that allowed a strategy to occur, and the strategy that would later lead the battlefield to an advantageous state, regardless of the opponent’s power, and the politics and diplomatic relations that supported such an endeavour. That was all a part of a “battle.”

Of course, the fight against the Kiser of gold didn’t demand that much. There’s no reason for politics and foreign relations to intervene. But he still needed to prepare and raise his and his teammates’ potential. He needed that preparation if he planned on winning.

He had confirmed that a Kaiser wasn’t a laughable opponent through his fight with the Kaiser of white silver. Varka had been a strong opponent that he had learned from. Rather than a swiftly confirmed victory, it had been a shaky one.

Although I have improved through the fight with the Kaiser of white silver… He knew the Kaiser of Gold wasn’t going to be an easy opponent, either, and if he lost, many people would be hurt.

The peace of the southern continents and the lives of the people within were in reality being protected by a dictator by the name of Sungjin. It was the opposite political climate to the one he had wished for, but that was the truth. If he disappeared, it wouldn’t take less than ten years for the world to revert back to how it was before. Fighting was his own greed, but he had to win. Only then would he be able to, before the greater cause of changing the world for the people, take responsibility for the results that had been brought about by his own greed.

And to do so, I would have to train them even more.

At the very least, he had to teach them what he had learned through his fight with the Kaiser of white silver before the next fight. He couldn’t rush this.

Ha, I suppose I have to hold back.

There were times when one had to be rough and fast, and times when one had to take cautious steps and bide for time.

The problem was his teammates’ training speed.

Sungjin looked at his teammates, who were training outside, through his window: Ereka, Jenna, Eustasia, Rachel, Zakiya, Sooryun. Everyone was trying their best. There was nothing to be dissatisfied with; rather, he should be grateful for their efforts to try to best his opponents with him.

That was what his thoughts were telling him, and that was what his heart was telling him, but at the same time…

That’s the limit of what they can do, even after training them.

He could tell them the theory. He could also tell them the finer details of techniques. But he couldn’t teach them everything he had learned from instant calculations. He also couldn’t teach them battle techniques that only those with his brain could perform.

And asking them to do the things he had learned on the battlefield by simply ordering them wasn’t possible. It was the same as a flying eagle teaching chickens how to fly. He was frustrated, but at the same time, helpless.

I should be satisfied with the results of this training.

When he was equipped with the girls’ power, he became stronger. His skill also made that possible. Even if it was for a brief while, the special ability granted to him by exchanging his stats with the girls was infinite in its usages.

It also represented their difference in strength. For the skill to be used much more effectively in his hands rather than when the girls used it meant that the girls weren’t bringing out the skill’s full potential.

Sigh. It’s really helpless.

Blaming his hard-working teammates wasn’t something a leader should do. A leader has to be able to accept his teammates’ shortcomings and lead them all into victory.

I should cover my teammates’ weaknesses, Sungjin vowed.

But…

Behind him, his shadow flickered for a brief moment, revealing a huge figure of a person with twelve wings.

It was the shadow of the ruler of rulers from hell.