Chapter 02: Alliance

There were many species in the Demon World.

There were the draconians who inherited the essence of the great dragon species, the succubi and incubi, the vampires who lusted after blood and souls, the sura who could be called the strongest combat species and the fallen fairies that were called dark elves.

There would be no end if they were listed one by one.

Even though there were as many species as grains of sand, some of them had specifically demonstrated their strength.

The lycanthropes were a tough species. They were born with strong vitality and showed remarkable ability to resist time. Additionally, those with the blood of the wild were ruthless, persistent and excellent hunters.

The lycanthropes were breathing harshly.

Their appearances varied and they could pass off as wolves, tigers, and so on.

They weren’t breathing hard because they were exhausted. It was to control the wild blood that had awakened.

The smell of the Red Lightning tribe’s blood stimulated the lycanthropes. Some lost control and bit the bodies of the orcs.

Among the lycanthropes, there was one who was different.

It was a female with dark blue hair tied up and bloodied black leather armour.

Caitlin Moonlight.

The eighth princess and lycanthrope was controlling her breathing with closed eyes.

As a half lycanthrope and half sura, she was unlike the other lycanthropes. However, none of the lycanthropes dared to ignore her.

After breathing for a long time, Caitlin finally opened her eyes. She sniffed as she looked around and frowned.

‘I missed him.’

She succeeded in smashing Kaichin’s army but she missed killing Kaichin and Kaidum.

‘It can’t be helped.’

It was a melee and they were cowards who didn’t fight properly.

‘Yes, it can’t be helped.’

She tried to convince herself but it didn’t work. In the end, Caitlin kicked furiously at the ground.

“Princess.”

Caitlin turned around as someone called out to her.

“Seira.”

Caitlin’s direct subordinate, the lycanthrope Seira, bowed. As a leopard lycanthrope, her golden hair was dyed red with the blood of enemies. Regardless, she was a stable subordinate.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Caitlin asked with a gentle smile.

“I’m fine, thank you for worrying. I have an urgent matter to report.”

“Huh? Report?”

The battle was already over, so Caitlin didn’t know what needed to be reported. Seira took one step closer to Caitlin.

“Kaichin is dead. Kaidum, who was with him, also died.”

It was good news but Caitlin used raised an eyebrow instead of feeling jubilant.

“Who caught him?”

They had run away just after the battle started. Were there soldiers tracking them after they left the battlefield?

In response to Caitlin’s question, Seira coughed with an uncomfortable expression and replied,

“Prince Shutra.”

“Huh?”

Caitlin let out a sound reflexively. Shutra’s name had suddenly come out.

Seira understood Caitlin’s heart, so she continued with an awkward smile.

“Prince Shutra caught Kaichin and Kaidum. He personally took down Kaidum.”

Caitlin just stared blankly instead of replying. Seira understood her master’s confusion.

‘I thought the same.’

However, it was true.

The Ninth Prince Shutra Ignus.

The weakest prince had caught Kaichin and Kaidum and he achieved the best merits in today’s battle.

&

He received rewards for catching the enemy.

He had gained three levels and learnt the new skill, Telekinesis.

It was obviously a good thing. However, In-gong couldn’t be comforted easily.

‘What is it?’

That white woman he saw during the battle.

She wore white clothes and had a golden crown on her head. One of her eyes was red and the other blue. The woman had been unrealistically beautiful.

‘No, rather than being beautiful…she felt different?’

Anyway, it was clear that she wasn’t an ordinary person.

But who was she? She was someone who hadn’t appear in Knight Saga.

‘Is she an important person who normally appears in moments of crisis?’

Maybe she was the one who had brought In-gong into this world.

‘Punishment, obedience, governance.’

The words he’d heard from the woman surfaced in his head again.

In-gong activated both the status window and skills window. Both of them surfaced in front of him.

[Secondary Occupation: Conquest Knight Lv1] [Conquer Lv1] [Below the King’s Flag Lv1)

The deactivated skill Conquest became Lv1 but like Protagonist Correction, he wasn’t able to raise the level with skill points.

‘Conquest. Conquest Knight.’

It was a skill and occupation that hadn’t existed in Knight Saga.

‘Below the King’s Flag is a buff skill… The power of conquest is the power of a king? Is that why the white woman is wearing a crown?’

In-gong worried about it for a while before sighing, then concluded it neatly.

‘Ah, I don’t know. If she is really important, I’ll see her again later.’

He wouldn’t get any answers, so there was no point struggling alone. The information he had was too lacking in the first place.

‘If I go to the library, there might be stories related to this.’

The library in the Demon King’s Palace was managed by an elder lich. It contained a lot of information, so there might be something related to a Conquest Knight there.

‘In order to take advantage of that, I need to be strong.’

It was a ridiculous rule in the Demon King’s Palace and the Demon World.

Those who didn’t reach a certain level of strength couldn’t use some facilities in the palace and in the towns. A few more levels were required to use the magic laboratories or the blacksmiths.

The library needed a very high level. Even Zephyr hadn’t been able to use the library in the early parts of the game.

‘It is good for now.’

He was already level eight. It wasn’t even half of Carack’s level but it was significant since he had just barely stepped into this world.

‘Come to think of it.’

In-gong had killed an orc with his own hands. However, he didn’t feel any surge of emotions.

‘Uh, shouldn’t I have a trauma by now?’

Was In-gong a psychopath? No, there was no way. Anyway, it was in a battle and if he didn’t kill the orc, his allies would have died.

‘And it was an orc.’

He felt sorry towards Carack but he couldn’t think of orcs as people yet. Their appearance was too different.

“Prince.”

“Huh?”

In-gong raised his head after hearing Carack’s call. Carack looked at In-gong like he was crazy and pointed down the hill.

“Someone is coming.”

“What?”

He asked but there was no reply. In-gong checked to see who was coming from the bottom of the hill.

‘Caitlin?’

He didn’t have time to observe more closely. Caitlin quickly climbed the hill and moved next to In-gong.

“Are you okay? Are you injured anywhere?”

Caitlin asked while looking at In-gong’s bloody clothes. Her voice was full of worry.

“You… No, is Noona okay?”

In-gong was more concerned about Caitlin. In-gong only had a little bit of blood on his clothes but Caitlin seemed like she had bathed in blood. Her blue hair was dyed dark from the blood.

Caitlin shrugged at In-gong’s question and said,

“It isn’t my blood.”

‘Wah, I never thought I would actually hear that line.’

Caitlin took one step closer to In-gong while he was admiring her. She stared straight at In-gong and asked,

“What happened?”

“I will explain what happened.”

In-gong summarised his experiences, making it as short as possible. During the reconnaissance, he had found a small path and an entrance to a cave. As he moved along the cave, he had arrived at the exit and encountered Kaichin’s party.

‘I will leave out the part about finding dwarf weapons.’

In-gong glanced nervously at his inventory button before looking back at Caitlin.

‘How will she respond?’

Caitlin had been the confident one in yesterday’s meeting. Maybe she had been kind to him because Shutra was too weak to be a threat.

However, now, Shutra, In-gong, had gotten the highest merit. He had also taken down one of the enemies with his own hands.

How would Caitlin respond?

Would she be wary? Would she treat him unkindly like Zephyr?

“Amazing.”

“Huh?”

“It is really amazing. You have made yourself distinguished!”

It wasn’t what he’d expected. Caitlin laughed brightly. Her face was so pretty that it was the first time In-gong understood the phrase, ‘flower bud blooming’. He completely forgot that Caitlin was bloody.

Caitlin was different from yesterday. It was like she was truly delighted that her little brother had gotten some merits.

‘Kuk, I should be purified.’

In-gong felt bad for thinking dark thoughts.

‘Zephyr aimed for someone like this? Indeed, Zephyr.’

It was Zephyr who removed all threats by killing his siblings. It would be harder to be friendly to someone like that.

Anyway, In-gong had a question answered when he saw Caitlin laughing. She was similar but different from the white woman. They were both pretty, but Caitlin seemed like a person while the white woman hadn’t.

“You are much stronger than I thought. Cool, you’re trustworthy.”

Caitlin patted In-gong’s shoulder. At that light touch, In-gong had another thought.

‘Didn’t I awaken Telekinesis after being hit by it?’

Unfortunately, In-gong didn’t have any priests who knew how to use divine power. Neither did he have magicians who knew mana or aura users around.

However, now, Caitlin was in front of him.

“Noona, I have a request.”

“Huh? A request? What is it?”

She grinned like she was pleased to receive the request. In-gong said as naturally as possible.

“Please hit me with a little bit of your aura.”

It didn’t take long for Caitlin’s expression to change.

“My little brother is a pervert! My little brother is a pervert!”

Caitlin shouted toward Chris from the middle of the tent. It was loud enough to be heard from outside the tent as In-gong waved his hands frantically.

“I-is that possible?”

He had certainly made a mistake. He asked her to hit him with her aura; it was certainly a strange request.

However, a pervert? Shurta was a young man who was only 14 years old. Moreover, In-gong didn’t enjoy those types of hobbies.

“I thought you were respectful but…”

In-gong didn’t know why and Chris just clicked his tongue, seeming to enjoy teasing In-gong. Caitlin alternated between looking at Chris and In-gong and muttered,

“Pervert…”

Her eyes were looking at her younger brother but they had changed a little bit. The misunderstanding seemed to have deepened during the time they washed up. In-gong groaned and opened his eyes wide.

“I told you the reason why!”

Of course, he hadn’t explain everything but they didn’t seem to believe in his innocence. Although Chris and Caitlin had heard quite a bit of the story, the two of them were still teasing him like this.

He had always been interested in Aura. So, he explained to Chris and Caitlin that he just wanted to feel the aura directly with his body.

Chris wiped the teasing smirk from his face. He placed his arm around In-gong and said seriously,

“Hmm, although it doesn’t seem like an impossible story… I’ve never heard of someone awakening Aura like that.”

Aura was life force.

Therefore, all creatures living on the Assenba Continent had the possibility of having a small or large aura.

The most common way to awaken an aura was through training.

If they repeated an action a thousand times a day, there might be an ‘oh!’ moment. This was indeed the most universal and reasonable way to awaken it.

Of course, there were individual differences between species.

The lycanthropes were overflowing with vitality, so they were capable of awakening it easily. On the other hand, the orcs were a tough warrior species but the odds of them awakening an aura was low.

Caitlin and Chris had both awakened an aura despite being in the mid-teens. It was an amazing feat despite it being the racial characteristic of lycanthropes.

They were talented but had to work very hard to achieve it. Shutra hadn’t seen an aura before, so it wasn’t unusual that he wanted to feel it.

Caitlin and Chris thought about it with a serious expression before asking In-gong.

“Is it possibly because you are a gandharva?”

Gandharva. Shutra’s mother and the 5th queen was from the Ignus tribe.

Gandharva had a great talent for ‘sensing’ things. It didn’t matter if it was the wind or a power flowing in the atmosphere.

Chris thought it was a good story and stared at In-gong with curious eyes. In-gong laughed awkwardly and said.

“Uh…well, that might be the case. I just want to feel it for a little bit.”

“You want to feel…”

Chris’ eyes became a little bit mischievous. He squeezed In-gong’s tired shoulders while Caitlin kept an eye on Chris. Chris chuckled at the expressions on his younger siblings’ faces.

“Okay, let me do it. I’ll be polite.”

He raised a big fist filled with aura. It seemed like In-gong would die if he was hit by it.

“Ah, no! I would prefer Noona rather than Hyung…”

In-gong frantically looked at Caitlin. Chris also glanced at Caitlin with joy filled eyes and she sighed.

“I understand. I will try it.”

Caitlin stood in front of In-gong and swept a glance over his body. It seemed like she was worrying about where to hit.

“Uh, how about your shoulder or your arm?”

In-gong turned and showed her his shoulder. Despite levelling up, he still felt like it would be a hard and painful blow.

Caitlin nodded with a grim expression and lifted her right hand. Unlike Chris, the blue aura around Caitlin’s hand felt cold.

“Should I do it now?”

“Yes.”

In-gong was tense but Caitlin was even more nervous. Rather than hitting In-gong, Caitlin touched his shoulder gently.

“Is that it?”

There was nothing. Nevertheless, it wasn’t a simple contact.

In-gong laughed to reassure Caitlin and said,

“No, a little bit harder.”

“This much?”

Caitlin hit In-gong’s shoulder with the palm of her hand. He sensed something but it was subtle.

“A little bit more!”

At In-gong’s shout, Caitlin turned toward Chris with a restless expression. In-gong didn’t know why but he enjoyed it a little bit. It was because Caitlin’s restless face was so cute.

‘No, now isn’t the time for something like this. Regain your spirit, your spirit.’

In-gong shook his head and urged Caitlin.

“Properly!”

Chris nodded toward Caitlin’s unspoken question. She closed her eyes and struck In-gong’s arm.

“Keok!”

In-gong cried out and fell to the ground. He was hit in the arm but his whole body was sore.

“Shutra?”

“Hey! Are you okay?”

Caitlin and Chris approached with surprise. He had screamed so loudly it could be heard outside the tent.

In-gong endured the pain and nodded. He was literally in tears but there was an achievement.

[You have learnt Aura Lv1.]

“Huhut.”

Aura Lv1. However, he felt sick as the new power spread deep inside his body.

“Hey! Hey! Are you really okay?”

Chris’ voice seemed somewhat distant. Why was he losing consciousness from being hit in the arm? Was it due to awakening the aura?

“Shutra!”

In-gong smiled with satisfaction as Caitlin’s cries faded away. He had fainted.

&

In-gong was in the dark.

His eyes weren’t open, so it wasn’t strange that his vision was dark.

There were people gathered in this space. He was able to see them easily despite the darkness around him.

He saw a woman with white hair wearing a golden crown. It was the woman dressed in white that he had seen before.

The woman wasn’t alone. It was blurry but there were three more people with her.

There was a woman with reddish blonde hair and a fire-like, red aura around her body.

There was a skinny man dressed in black clothes that made him almost indistinguishable from the surrounding darkness.

The last man was wearing a blue cloak and a skull-shaped helmet.

In-gong wanted to look at the three people more closely. However, he couldn’t reach them.

The white woman turned in his direction. Her red and blue eyes stared at In-gong and he woke up.

“Are you okay?”

“Hiiik!”

In-gong stared straight into the face of an orc when he woke up. He tried to move his body away as much as possible.

“Pant, pant…what a surprise.”

It was shocking to suddenly go from looking at a beauty to an orc.

The orc who he saw was Carack. Carack stared at In-gong and sighed with relief.

“Did you have a bad dream?”

“Uh, that is…”

In-gong made a confused sound. He obviously had a dream but couldn’t remember the contents. They were all just blurry images.

“Well, it was just a dream. By the way, why did you ask the princess to hit you? The princess has been restless.”

In-gong checked the time before answering. It had only been approximately five hours, so a day hadn’t passed yet. He knew it was dark without needing to go outside.

‘Was she really worried?’

He recalled Caitlin’s face from just before he fainted. Her face was cute when she was confused.

“Prince?”

“Ah, no. It is nothing.”

Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about this. In-gong leaned against the wall in a sitting position. He ignored Carack’s suspicious gaze and held out his palms.

“Wait a minute.”

He closed his eyes and focused his senses. He was able to sense the new energy in his body without difficulty.

“Ohh, I sense it.”

This was Aura. It was only level one, but he still had Aura!

In-gong’s eyes shone while Carack’s eyes widened.

“I can feel something.”

“Aura. I asked Caitlin noona to hit me with her aura so that I could feel it.”

“Huh? Then you’ve awakened Aura by feeling it?”

Carack was dumbfounded. In-gong quickly dismissed it with his hands.

“No, that’s not it. It is hard to explain.”

It really was difficult to explain.

Carack bit his lip, like he was thinking, before nodding.

“I understand. Anyway, I am glad that you are safe. Congratulations on awakening Aura.”

“Yes, you should also celebrate. Killing Kaichin is a big achievement.”

‘By the way, what about the reward for the merits?’

In the game, a prince who achieved great merit would receive compensation from the Demon King’s Palace. Things like getting an increase in monthly living expenses, receiving good items or receiving permission to access various facilities in the Demon King’s Palace.

‘Should I ask for Carack?’

Carack had originally been a local warrior.

‘Yes, I shouldn’t separate from him. That boat had already sailed after I gave him the axe.’

So be it. He might even give him another dwarf weapon later on.

While In-gong was nodding to himself, Carack stared at him with a strange look. He looked around for a while before saying in a cautious tone,

“That- In fact, I wanted to ask you something.”

“What do you want to ask?”

“Well, there was something strange when we were fighting. All of a sudden, power suddenly burst into my body? Besides… Um…”

“What is it?”

“That… It is strange but I felt loyalty toward Prince? The emotion was like a burning flame.”

Below the King’s Flag.

A king could give power to his followers by drawing out hidden power from them.

In-gong answered with a smile.

“That’s right. I enhanced your power.”

“Ohh? Nevertheless, Prince is also a prince!”

“Yes, so serve me well.”

“I understand.”

Carack grinned and nodded. He was happy but his face still looked quite fierce.

‘Should Carack just be my subordinate? He fought well today.’

His first subordinate wasn’t a beautiful succubus or dark elf but beggers couldn’t be choosers.

“By the way, can I hear about the progress of today’s battle? I haven’t heard from Caitlin or Chris.”

He wasn’t able to hear any important news due to the conversation about Aura.

Carack nodded and explained with clenched fists.

“Prince Chris and Princess Caitlin have destroyed Kaichin’s position. We killed Kaichin and Kaidum. It was a sweeping victory thanks to us! We succeeded in taking over a military headquarters.”

In-gong cocked his head for a moment after hearing the story.

“Wait a minute, military headquarters?”

“H-have you forgotten this as well?”

Carack asked with wide eyes. In-gong frowned.

“Wasn’t it only Chris, Caitlin and I who came to quell the Red Lightning tribe?”

“That is impossible. The Red Lightning tribe isn’t lacking troops.”

This made a lot of sense. Including Carack, Shutra only had 31 troops. Caitlin had dozens more soldiers than Shutra. However, if they combined their troops with Chris, it would only reach up to 400.

There was a military headquarters. Chris, Caitlin and In-gong didn’t have enough troops to take it over.

“Who took the military headquarters?”

In-gong asked quickly. He felt an ominous premonition.

Carack scratched the back of his head and replied.

“General Vandal.”

The ogre Vandal that was the match of 100 warriors.

He was the one closest to Zephyr.

From the tip of his head to his toes, he was four metres tall. His body was one of the largest among the ogres and he had a power that surpassed even the giants.

Among Zephyr’s followers, just his physical attack power could be considered the strongest.

In-gong swallowed his saliva as he was reminded of Vandal’s specs and appearance. When he was playing Zephyr, he really liked having Vandal as a subordinate.

‘I have to go against Vandal using Carack?’

In-gong compared them involuntarily. It was clear that Carack was no match for Vandal.

Vandal the ogre warrior – an ogre that could face 100 enemies alone. Wasn’t he equivalent to Zhang Fei in the Three Kingdoms?

‘By the way… is there a reason to think like this?’

Right now, it was Year 512. However, Vandal hadn’t become Zephyr’s subordinate until Year 515.

In other words, Vandal wasn’t Zephyr’s yet.

‘Isn’t this an opportunity?’

He could obtain Vandal as a subordinate. This meant more than getting his hands on Vandal. It meant that Zephyr’s power would be weakened!

In-gong swallowed with excitement involuntarily. As his increase in level caused a rise in intelligence, he started remembering more things.

Vandal liked royal gifts. The female ogres that Vandal liked. Vandal’s specialties.

And the most important condition to obtaining Vandal!

In-gong sighed for a long moment. Vandal’s condition was to defeat him in a one-on-one fight.

His desire to serve a strong ruler was one of his primary character traits.

‘Just…keep an eye on him.’

Anyway, Vandal wouldn’t become Zephyr’s subordinate until Year 515. There was still enough time.

“Prince?”

Carack called out to In-gong with an anxious expression. He had become excited then sad all on his own, so it was natural for Carack to be confused.

“Ah, I was wondering about General Vandal. How many troops does he have?”

Carack replied sincerely to In-gong’s question.

“He has a total of 3,000 people. While we hit the bottom, he knocked over the top of the Red Lightning tribe.”

In-gong pictured it in his head. The main army of the Red Lightning tribe was in a different place.

‘Then we detoured around the enemy.’

Their battlefields were in different places. so he wouldn’t meet Vandal for a while.

‘Yes, I will concentrate on Caitlin.’

Chris and Caitlin were more important than Vandal at the moment.

“I’m glad that you are okay. Rest well.”

Carack laughed and got up to leave. In-gong nodded, then he suddenly reached out to grab the leaving Carack.

“Carack!”

“What is it?

Carack asked and In-gong rubbed his belly.

“I am hungry. Give me rice.”

He hadn’t eaten anything since lunch.

Carack nodded and left.

&

Once the next morning arrived, In-gong was facing Caitlin. As expected, he ended up meeting with the two people.

“Don’t do that again.”

Caitlin’s face was hard. It was almost as cold as the time Zephyr caught Caitlin.

Chris just laughed and said,

“You shocked Caitlin yesterday. Don’t you know I would have been beaten to death if you died?”

“Oppa.”

Caitlin glared at him and Chris shut his mouth. However, his eyes were still full of playfulness.

It was especially obvious when he looked between In-gong and Caitlin. Fortunately, even though she had a cold face like she had when facing Zephyr, Caitlin’s eyes were worried. In-gong was pleasantly surprised and held back his laughter.

“Hmm, hmm. I’m okay and thanks to that, didn’t I awaken?”

After In-gong’s words, the two people didn’t respond immediately. Caitlin blinked at his words while Chris got up blankly from his seat.

“Perhaps?”

Chris didn’t say anything else. He walked in front of In-gong and placed a big hand on In-gong’s wrist.

A red aura covered Chris’ hands. At that moment, In-gong felt the aura inside his body reacting.

“This child, did you really?”

Chris was shocked. His eyes showed that he couldn’t believe it.

“Did you really just awaken Aura?”

He muttered again like it was absurd. In-gong thought it was quite funny and answered with a small smile.

“No, feeling Aura directly was important.”

He felt it. It was right that he awakened after being hit but he couldn’t possible say it directly like that.

“Hah, oh my god. What is this guy? Was he someone who hid his claws?”

Shutra’s nickname was Prince of Scraps. Shutra was a sickly prince who was less skilled than an ordinary Villager A.

However, at present, he just woke up Aura with his own power? Moreover, he did it after experiencing a real Aura once?

“Shutra, can you activate your aura? I will help you.”

Caitlin regained herself and said to In-gong. There was a little bit of excitement in her voice.

‘Activate my aura? Is she talking about the Aura system?’

It didn’t end after awakening Aura.

Feeling Aura was just the first step. In fact, this was no different from before Aura was awakened. It was just preparation for developing Aura.

Activating Aura was the second step.

It was often called the step where Internal Strength type Aura was utilized.

There were many applications of the Internal Strength Aura system but the basics were the same. It was to make the circulation of Aura in the body faster and stronger. The use of Internal Strength Aura greatly improved physical abilities. Caitlin’s slender arms were capable of a lot of force thanks to Internal Strength Aura.

The third step was to externally release Aura.

Aura would literally drain out of the body. Once this stage was reached, weapons could be covered with Aura or it could be shot out like energy. It was commonly referred to as an aura blade in games and manga.

Finally, the last step was the embodiment of Aura. The power of the soul would be symbolized through Aura.

This was the ultimate stage of Aura and humans called it the Heavenly Sword.

Anyhow, In-gong was merely at the first step of awakening Aura.

Yet, she wanted him to try and activate it now?

“Hey, that is too hard. How is he supposed to activate Aura when he just got it yesterday? He would have to be a genius to do that.”

Chris shook his head like it was ridiculous but Caitlin was unmovable.

“Just try it once.”

Then she grasped In-gong’s hand lightly. In-gong blinked with surprise at the light touch.

Usually strong warriors had calluses on their hands but Caitlin didn’t have any. In-gong was surprised but he had the perspective of a pre-university student who had just graduated high school, so he was just surprised by the softness.

‘It feels good.’

His face turned red. Fortunately, Caitlin was focused on In-gong’s hands instead of his face.

“I’ll start. Just follow me.”

Caitlin took a deep breath and closed her eyes. In-gong thought, ‘Long eyelashes!’ While he was thinking, a blue aura covered him slowly.

It was being guided and In-gong made his aura mimic the movements.

It might have been possible if In-gong really was a genius who awakened Aura after experiencing it. However, In-gong wasn’t such a genius.

After closing his eyes and trying to concentrate, In-gong finally changed his mind and glanced up.

Chris was staring at Caitlin while Caitlin was concentrating with her eyes closed.

‘I’d like to surprise them.’

It wasn’t just that. Right now, Aura was a necessary skill for In-gong. There were no room for slow growth, so he used the skill points.

[Aura Lv2]

In-gong used the system to increase the level of Aura. At that moment, Caitlin opened her eyes. She noticed something about In-gong.

In-gong’s aura was active. He followed Caitlin and started his own lively movements.

Caitlin was startled and her mouth dropped open. It was evident that she wanted to praise him but that wasn’t the end of her surprise.

‘It still isn’t enough to be used in battle. I would be a fool to close my eyes now.’

He used his remaining skill points.

[Aura Lv3]

A pale white light glowed from where Caitlin and In-gong’s hands were joined. Caitlin’s face froze while Chris’ eyes widened from where he was watching on the sidelines.

“G-genius?”

Wasn’t he a person who had just awakened Aura yesterday? Now, he had reached the basics of release?

Of course, In-gong hadn’t completely mastered Internal Strength Aura despite reaching the third step.

The second and third steps were virtually parallel steps. Moreover, In-gong was only at the basics for both stages.

However, even that was abnormal. Despite the racial characteristics of a lycanthrope, a good teacher and abundant talent, even Chris needed a year to reach this stage.

“Amazing.”

Caitlin declared. She stared at In-gong with sparkling eyes and laughed brightly.

“Really amazing!”

‘Kuk, I feel cleansed.’

Her sunny smile stabbed at In-gong’s conscience. In-gong sneaked a peek at Chris. He was so shocked that it was like he lost his soul.

‘Should I feel sorry?’

However, it was a good thing.

In-gong looked back towards Caitlin and a manly smile appeared.

In-gong hadn’t increased Aura just to surprise Chris and Caitlin.

Right now, Aura had more uses than Telekinesis.

Aura had the effect of raising his overall physical abilities.

It wasn’t comparable to natural athletic exercise but it was halfway there.  Even having low experience in the technique was enough to give him an excellent physical performance.

It was the same for fighting. Without this technique, a faster and stronger person was likely to win.

‘Telekinesis takes practice. Moreover, it was difficult to exert a threatening power from the beginning.’

He didn’t want to throw it away but he wouldn’t invest resources in it yet.

In-gong had been saving the additional stat points and skill points since his first level up. There were two reasons for this.

Firstly, he didn’t know what ability would be most efficient to invest points in.

Secondly, there were many requirements if the next level was a high level. Therefore, it would more efficient to gather the points and use them when needed.

It was a common idea for a gamer.

However, In-gong revised his plan after experiencing a battle.

Skill points? He would use them. It was more important to survive than to grow at peak efficiency. He needed to grow to live.

However, he decided to leave some of the additional points. It would be saved for when he found a skill he wanted, like Aura.

‘Although, I shouldn’t be too choosy.’

He had some freedom due to Carack and his men. If In-gong had to survive alone, he would have gone with endurance and durability type skills without hesitation.

“Isn’t this a terrific talent? It is amazing that there hasn’t been any rumours.”

Chris spoke in a voice mixed with admiration and his eyes were shining with a strong curiosity.

“Sometimes, talent may bloom late.”

Caitlin said from next to him. In-gong didn’t know why but she had a proud expression. It was like she was thinking, ‘my brother is so good!’

‘But I am also Chris’ younger brother.’

In-gong laughed while gazing at Chris. Chris was overflowing with interest and kept on nodding.

“A waste. Really a waste. I want to be your teacher.”

There were a number of responses that could come out when facing something like this but there were two big ones.

One was jealousy while the other was a favourable impression.

They would like to raise him. They would want to make a genius and he wouldn’t be left to rot.

Fortunately, both Caitlin and Chris seemed to be the latter type.

‘However, it will be hard.’

The relationship between the children of the queens and concubines were fairly complicated. Chris and Caitlin being friendly with In-gong was an entirely different matter from becoming his subordinates. Additionally, this involved teaching him Aura.

Many people couldn’t compete with the lycanthropes due to Aura, so this was a sensitive thing to do.

It was upsetting but In-gong had to give up. However, Chris wasn’t dissuaded.

“Hey, Shutra.”

Chris said, flinging his arms around In-gong. Then speaking in a low voice like he was telling a secret,

“Can I teach you? Although it will only be limited to this expedition.”

Chris, prince of the lycanthropes, would teach him Aura directly.

Based on In-gong’s position, it was a really welcome offer but In-gong thought about it once again before accepting it.

‘Right now, what should I do?’

The children of the Demon King didn’t just fight each other. Of course, there were alliances called factions.

There were many factors in determining a faction but the biggest part was the relationship between mothers.

Whether the children liked each other or not, the children whose mothers were in a good relationship or alliance belonged to the same faction. On the other hand, no matter how much the children got along, those with mothers who hated each other would always be enemies. It was like Romeo and Juliet.

Knight Saga began in Year 513 which was one year from now. However, In-gong knew the composition of the factions among the children.

‘There are only three children without factions.’

One was Shutra and the other two were Chris and Caitlin.

Chris and Caitlin always played with each other. Meanwhile, Shutra was always alone because none of the factions wanted him.

‘If I think of it in another manner, can’t I secure Chris and Caitlin for my faction?’

His mother’s family was weak but In-gong had talent. His talent was brimming over. It wasn’t necessarily useless – this was Chris’ judgement of the situation.

It wasn’t bad for In-gong. Right now, he needed powerful allies he could rely on.

If there was one problem, it was the secret of Caitlin’s birth.

It was a story that was really cool to talk about. However, it was a big problem – he might get caught up in the children complaining about Chris and Caitlin.

‘No. I won’t let that happen.’

In-gong turned toward Caitlin.

“Noona, what do you think?”

“It is a good idea.”

Caitlin nodded with a serious expression.

Chris said with a long face,

“It is better to learn from me than from Caitlin. When it comes to Aura, I am better in terms of delicate handling. No, just learn from both of us. Caitlin, is that okay?”

“Yes, it is okay. Noona will teach you well.”

Caitlin responded quickly as she stared straight at In-gong. Her eyes were full of motivation.

“Thank you, I’ll ask you to look after me well.”

‘Okay, then let’s talk about work now.”

Chris grinned and headed towards the neglected battlefield map on the table.

Chris explained the whole situation in a way that was easy to understand. Thanks to the battlefield map, the movements of General Vandal and the main army were clearly visible.

“The battlefield is advantageous this time. We are winning. However, if we keep marching this way, we will reach the base of the Red Lightning tribe. There will be a lot of resistance.”

Perhaps, there would be a big fight.

“Shutra, can you make a map of the cave?”

Chris glanced at In-gong with anticipation. Thanks to the cave, Kaichin had been able to be caught. Perhaps, it could be utilized more. Both Caitlin and Chris stared at In-gong.

In-gong wanted to meet their expectations but his answer could only be ‘no.’

‘I have the mini-map!’

He would be able to draw a map if he used the mini-map.

‘Thinking about it, won’t I be able to draw it?’

He could just look at the mini-map.

“Um, wait a minute. I will draw it now.”

“Huh?”

Chris made a disbelieving sound. Rather than replying, In-gong looked at Caitlin instead.

“Just a moment. Noona, can I borrow pen and paper?”

“Uh, wait a minute.”

Caitlin nodded with a little bit of surprise. In-gong smiled and started to draw the mini-map on a large piece of paper. In addition to the cave, In-gong drew what he scouted yesterday.

At first, Caitlin and Chris just watched without any expectations but their eyes soon changed. The road itself was simple but the map was so detailed.

Once In-gong finished drawing the map, Chris alternated between looking at the map and In-gong.

“You, are you really a genius?”

“It is because the road is simple.”

In-gong answered bluntly. Rather than announcing the existence of the mini-map, it was better to pretend that he had a good head.

“Shutra has a good brain.”

Caitlin nodded with admiration. This time, there was a little bit of envy mixed in.

In-gong just laughed and pointed to the map.

“Anyway…I only explored up to here.”

The last time, he had just moved forward and hadn’t pay much attention to the mini-map. However, he now noticed a path leading to another place.

Considering the passage in the mountain and the direction it was taking, it was likely that it would continue close to the Red Lightning tribe’s camp.

“This cave, I think we should explore it a little more properly.”

Chris declared and In-gong nodded.

“Kaidum said it was the first time he used it. Kaichin hadn’t known about the passage at all.”

Even within the Red Lightning tribe, not many of them knew about the cave. Maybe Kaidum was the last one.

Moreover, there was one important fact.

“They don’t know that we have found the cave.”

So, they could take advantage of this. They could stab the enemy in the back.

Chris smiled at In-gong. A lycanthrope’s smile – it was the smile of a hunter.

After leaving Caitlin’s tent, In-gong walked with Carack and talked with him.

Carack nodded at the rough explanation like it was expected.

“Well, then it is another reconnaissance mission.”

“It is a little bit rushed but it will begin today. It should be kept secret from others.”

It was decided that the cave would be kept a secret from Caitlin and Chris’ troops. It was unlikely that the orcs, especially the Red Lightning tribe, would actively engage in espionage activities but there was still a chance.

The faster the passage in the cave was explored, the better it would be. Depending on where the passage in the cave connected to, the whole operation might change in the future.

Carack didn’t ask why and only nodded.

“Ah, I did some work while Prince was inside. I have recruited some troops today.”

“Recruited troops?”

Carack laughed at In-gong’s question.

“We received a lot of damage.”

The fight against Kaichin was a melee. It had been a one-sided fight until Carack killed Kaichin, so there were those who were seriously injured and died.

In-gong swallowed his saliva. It wasn’t because the damage was greater than he thought. Even if he was concerned with Aura, it was surprising that he hadn’t considered the deaths of the orcs until now.

‘Yes, a person is dead. People. It isn’t a game.’

In a game, the lives of the soldiers were just numbers. If he had enough resources, he could increase or decrease the numbers.

However, this wasn’t a game and each of them had their own lives.

After a moment, In-gong took a deep breath. It was unreasonable to pamper each soldier but he shouldn’t think of them casually like he had done previously. If he only thought of people as numbers, then he would be disqualified as a human.

In-gong controlled his heart and looked toward Carack again. Carack’s eyes were asking, ‘what are you thinking about this time?’

In-gong just shrugged.

“So, are the recruits coming?”

“Rather than that… Didn’t we used to have 30 troops? This has been increased to 50 people. It will take time for them to reach our base, so the numbers will be supplemented from Prince Chris’ camp.”

“Ohh?”

The troops had almost been doubled?

“It is due to Prince’s merits.”

Carack said pleasantly. In fact, In-gong was quite familiar with this situation.

Achievements would be rewarded. That was the basic formula of Knight Saga.

In-gong had distinguished himself by killing Kaichin and Kaidum as well as finding the cave. It was natural for rewards to be received.

‘In the first place, Shutra only received 30 orcs because he had no merits in the past.’

Despite all of them being children of the Demon King, Chris and Caitlin received two times more orcs than Shutra and even had their lycanthropes.

The reason was simple.

Chris and Caitlin had distinguished themselves as children of the Demon King.

‘Well, I will build up my merits from now on.’

It was the power of infinite positivity and he would make it so.

In-gong formed a tight fist to express his resolve and asked Carack.

“Then did Carack receive anything separate?”

Although it was In-gong’s merit, Carack was technically the one who killed Kaichin. Carack laughed and tapped on his chest at In-gong’s question.

“I got a reward. And I received it from Prince.”

Carack proudly lifted the dwarf axe that In-gong gave him.

“I’m glad you like it.”

‘I still have the items I packed for later. Should I bring out an armour?’

He had decided to carry on with Carack, so he should invest in him. It would be better for In-gong if Carack became stronger.

After having a chat with Carack and returning to the base, In-gong headed toward the cave with his newly joined forces.

&

The road to the cave was smooth. In the first place, it was close to Shutra’s base. It was also under Chris and Caitlin’s sphere of influence, thanks to Kaichin’s defeat.

‘A prince normally rides separately on a horse.’

Just like last time, In-gong walked next to Carack. Usually in games and movies, soldiers walked while nobility were on horseback.

‘That reminds me of something. Chris and Caitlin also seem to be walking around. Is it because they are lycanthropes?’

He used to ride on horses when playing Zephyr. It wasn’t an ordinary horse but a phantom steed that could fly in the sky.

‘I will use it later.’

In-gong, who had been thinking about the past (?), suddenly stopped walking. There were two people in black robes standing in the middle of the road.

“Caitlin noona?”

“Shush.”

Caitlin raised a finger to her lips and gestured for In-gong to come closer. In-gong approached Caitlin while Carack stayed behind. He saw that the other person standing there was Caitlin’s aide, Seira, who he had already met at the meeting.

In-gong nodded in response to Seira’s greeting bow and asked Caitlin.

“What is happening all of a sudden? Why are you wearing robes?”

Normally, she wore a blue cloak but at present, she was completely covered by a robe. Caitlin spoke in a low voice.

“I will secretly follow you on this reconnaissance mission. It is in case something serious happens.”

He could understand what was going on but he didn’t know why she was joining in secret. In-gong scratched his head and asked,

“Uh… so, you joined unofficially?”

Although she joined In-gong’s reconnaissance mission, it was a secret to the outside world. In other words, she wasn’t here.

Caitlin nodded.

“Yes. I will only move if it becomes really dangerous. This is because they should be Shutra’s merits.”

In-gong now approximately understood the situation.

They still didn’t know how much the Red Lightning tribe knew about the cave. So, Caitlin was accompanying him in case there was danger.

However, if Caitlin was involved, the merits of the reconnaissance mission might become hers. So, she joined unofficially.

‘It is true that it is a burden – I am a victim of results-focused education.’

It was reasonable to say that treatment was different depending on merits but it was a huge burden for young children.

‘Then that means she wants to give me a push?’

It could be interpreted in several different ways.

One, she wanted to make Shutra more useful by increasing his merits. Two, she wanted to make sure that she became friendlier with Shutra.

‘Chris may not know that Caitlin is doing this.’

It was clear that she came to help with a pure heart.

‘What type of star was I born under? No, not all children in this world are plotting.’

In-gong nodded as he was convinced and smiled brightly at Caitlin.

“I understand. Thank you, Noona.”

“Yes.”

Caitlin responded by pulling down her hood and moved to the front of the unit with Seira. Unlike Caitlin, Seira seemed a little bit dissatisfied with the present situation.

‘She should be.’

It was a situation where her master had come to serve another prince for free. It wasn’t something she would do for Chris.

Once In-gong returned to his position, Carack asked him.

“Is it okay for Princess to join?”

“Uh, just don’t think about it and proceed with the operation normally.”

Caitlin followed so quietly that Carack no longer looked back.

How much time passed?

In-gong found that other pathway inside the cave that he had described to Chris and Caitlin.

The only difference with the passage was that it led in a different direction. In-gong searched various empty rooms in the passage and frowned as he looked at the mini-map.

“All the rooms are empty.”

He was expected an arsenal covered in dust but there were no treasures in the room.

However, Carack didn’t seem surprised as he explained.

“Wouldn’t people take their valuables when moving? The dwarves would have taken all of it when they migrated.”

“Then what about the weapons yesterday?”

“I guess they weren’t that valuable.”

This was perfect logic. In-gong was speechless as he stared at Carack.

‘This guy, is he a genius among orcs?’

He felt strange but it was good for In-gong if his subordinate was competent. In-gong was convinced of this and looked behind him. Caitlin was almost invisible in the cave due to the dark robe she was wearing.

‘Next time, should I ask her to beat me with magic?’

It was a sudden thought but when thinking about Caitlin and Aura, he was suddenly reminded of magic and divine power.

‘Will she call me a pervert again if I ask her to help me with magic the same way she did Aura?’

In-gong laughed bitterly as he was reminded of Caitlin’s reaction, then he tilted his head.

‘What will happen if I’m hit by magic? Would it awaken? Will I be able to learn magic at all?’

He wanted to experiment. After returning from the reconnaissance mission, he would ask Caitlin to hit him with whatever magic she had.

‘Kuhuhu! Magic, magic.’

In-gong had a lively smile at the thought of being hit by Caitlin. Then In-gong looked up with a frown and Carack had the same reaction.

“Prince.”

Carack raised his axe and said in a low voice. In-gong nodded. The mini-map was showing red dots that meant enemies.

In-gong’s party’s was currently located at a place where two passages joined to create a space. He had seen it a few times and it was often a type of living space or room.

The ceiling was high and the space was wide enough to accommodate all 50 orcs.

The monsters seemed to pour out of the passages connected to the room and the mini-map quickly became red.

While everyone was pulling out their weapons, In-gong, who was looking around, suddenly shouted loudly.

“Rock spiders! Close your eyes!”

At In-gong’s shout, Carack and most of the orcs covered their eyes. Some of them couldn’t react because it was so sudden but he couldn’t wait. Instead of shouting again, In-gong closed his eyes tightly and threw something.

There was the sound of glass breaking as light filled the room. In-gong immediately opened his eyes and screamed,

“Open your eyes and attack! Be careful of their paralysis poison!”

He frowned due to the glare but was able to see in front of him. There were grey spiders the size of humans all over the place.

Rock spiders. They were monsters that often appeared in places like dungeons and caves. Dozens of them always gathered at once and they had a strong paralysis poison, so it was hard to fight them.

However, that only applied when it was a frontal attack. They had a fatal weakness and it was light. They lived in the darkness, so if they were exposed to light, they couldn’t move or would faint.

‘It is worth preparing this!’

He hadn’t encountered any monsters in the last cave reconnaissance but he had prepared supplies for fighting in caves just in case.

‘It is better to get things when you can!’

Of course, there were no such items containing flash magic in Shutra’s base. Everything he prepared was what Chris had received. There had been no guarantee he would meet any monsters in the cave but after the rock spiders came out, he was glad he’d prepared things.

‘Rock spiders hunt in groups and a group must always have a boss!’

He was sure of it because that was always the case in a game!

‘Boss, let’s find the boss!’

The rock spider boss was two to three times the size of an ordinary rock spider. In-gong confirmed the presence of the largest dot in the passage on the mini-map. Indeed, there was a fairly large red dot among the small ones.

“Carack! Follow me! The boss!”

Instead of pulling out a sword, he picked up a torch the orcs had dropped nearby. The biggest weakness of the rock spider was light and the next one was fire.

“I understand!”

Carack cried out loudly. He did the opposite of In-gong’s order and ran in front of In-gong instead of behind. The ends justified the means if it allowed them to find the boss.

Carack wielded his large axe at the rock spiders. In-gong ran along Carack’s path and took out something again.

“One more time! Close your eyes!”

He wanted to place the rock spider boss in a stunned state. Rather than gazing at the big, wriggling legs, In-gong closed his eyes and threw a bottle that had a flash effect.

The light seemed more intense to In-gong because it exploded in a narrow passage. Of course, In-gong couldn’t see with his eyes closed.

In-gong counted up to three before happily opening his eyes.

‘It is more like a king crab than a spider.’

The rock spider, that was much bigger than a human, was stunned and had its stomach exposed. Without even needing a command from In-gong, Carack rushed forward and swung his axe.

Kakang!

Once the axe collided with the stomach, it sounded like metal being hit. Carack was confused by the hard shell that was beyond imagination. However, In-gong lifted his torch.

“Carack! It is weak to fire!”

However, the torch broke once the rock spider boss was hit with it. What was this? Carack’s axe bounced off the shell? The torch broke when it was hit?

‘Should I try Aura?’

When he thought about it, he had to try it. In-gong concentrated and activated Aura. It was at that moment.

“Shutra! Your sword!”

Caitlin’s voice was heard from the rear. Whether it was magic or Caitlin’s voice, In-gong quickly jumped back and pulled the sword hanging from his waist.

“Burning Blade!”

Sparks flew as Caitlin shouted. It was clearly magic that gave a fire attribute.

“Ohhh?”

Magic, magic!

‘Then can I learn Burning Blade?’

In-gong imagined the scene of Caitlin aiming a knife of fire at him and quickly shook his head.

‘I can’t be hit with a fire sword!’

In-gong stabbed the stomach of the rock spider boss with the sword. In-gong was sweating as he demonstrated the strength of Aura Lv3. The shell was weakened by Carack’s axe and the sparks, so In-gong’s sword dug into the rock spider boss’ stomach.

“Oratsshya!”

In-gong moved his sword and disembowelled it. As Carack’s axe struck its bared body, the legs of the rock spider boss twitched.

‘Wah! Awesome!’

In-gong swung his sword vigorously and struck the head of the rock spider boss with his sword.

“Keek!”

The movements of the rock spider boss’ legs became more bizarre and disturbing. Carack grabbed the legs while In-gong pulled out the sword lodged in its head.

“Shutra! A little bit more!”

Caitlin ran to his side and cheered him on instead of attacking the rock spider boss. It seemed like she intended to let In-gong catch it by himself.

“Yes! Noona!”

Having someone cheer him on from the sidelines gave him more strength. He swung his sword again at the rock spider boss’ head.

There were no screams this time. The wriggling legs stopped moving.

It was a sight that convinced In-gong the boss was dead.

[Your level has risen.]

Even though Carack had helped him, In-gong’s strikes were the most significant. Moreover, the rock spiders weren’t monsters that he could catch, originally. It was natural to receive a lot of experience.

‘Ohh, level nine!’

In-gong was delighted and tried to check his status window and skill window. However, Caitlin was a little bit faster.

“Shutra? Are you okay?”

Both worry and surprise could be seen on her face. In-gong understood why after a moment. It was due to the light generated from his level up.

“Ah, yes. I’m okay. That- the light is similar to a blessing. It sometimes happens. Isn’t that right, Carack?”

“Yes. I’ve seen it a few times.”

Carack agreed with his words but it was still a problem. What was the blessing? Why did these lights occur and what were the effects? There weren’t just one or two things that he had to deal with.

Thankfully, Caitlin said one word that resolved everything.

“Gandharva?”

“Yes, gandharva.”

In fact, gandharva didn’t have this characteristic but he used it as an excuse. Among the many species, gandharva was a minority. And In-gong- no, Shutra was a mix of sura and gandharva. It was a result of that.

“Thank you for the magic assistance. It was great.”

Her assistance was really helpful and timely. Caitlin shook her head with a bright expression.

“It is thanks to Shutra. I just used the magic that Shutra said.”

“Huh? Haven’t you fought rock spiders before?”

“Today is the first time.”

‘Huh, then did she give me the magic because she heard me shouting at Carack?’

Although it was somewhat obvious, he couldn’t help but feel admiration for the actions.

“Have you fought these guys before? To be honest, I was a little surprised.”

Caitlin repeated the question at In-gong.

“Eh… I just read about it before in a book.”

He had only fought against them in the game but he did read about it in a book. He saw them for the first time in an Internet strategy guide. When looking at it broadly, it was correct that he’d read it in a book.

“Noona, let’s talk about this later. I need to sort out my troops.”

“Yes.”

Caitlin nodded and placed the hood back over her head. The flames disappeared from his sword and In-gong headed back to the main party with Carack.

The orcs rested around the perimetre while In-gong, Caitlin, Carack and Seira gathered in a circle in the middle.

“It might be too early to judge but the Red Lightning tribe doesn’t seem to be using this passage.”

After hearing Carack’s words, In-gong asked,

“Is it because a lot of monsters came out?”

“Yes, if they use it, there wouldn’t be many rock spiders.

The rock spiders had poured out from every direction in the cave. Orcs weren’t small worms, so it was hard to imagine the rock spiders leaving them alone.

‘By the way, is Carack really a genius among the orcs?’

In-gong stared at Carack with admiration while Seira, who had been watching quietly, spoke up.

“Isn’t it possible that the Red Lightning tribe are controlling the monsters? That is a possibility, so we should stay on guard.”

Seira displayed caution despite how young she looked and sounded.

In-gong was confused because he hadn’t thought about that, so he asked Carack.

“Carack, is there anyone who has that ability in the Red Lightning tribe?”

Was there an occupation with the ability to control monsters?

Carack immediately responded to In-gong’s question like there was no need to think.

“How can I know that?”

It was reasonable that Carack wouldn’t know about the enemy.

In-gong stared at Carack with a sour expression before shifting his gaze to Seira. However, Caitlin was the one who spoke instead of Seira.

“The possibility is low. If they had such abilities, they would be controlling the monsters in the battlefield, instead of the cave. Isn’t that right, Seira?”

“Yes, Caitlin.”

Based on her reply, it seemed like she had already thought that way.

‘No, then why did she ask me about it? A quarrel? Or is it to keep me in check? She wants to keep me in check?’

However, it gave him a chance to review a possibility he hadn’t thought about before. In-gong calmed down his excitement and said to everyone,

“Well, okay. Then let’s check this location for a while. Carack, give me the bag.”

“Understood.”

Carack handed him a small bag tied to his back. In-gong placed his hand in the bag, activated his inventory and pulled out blank paper, a map and writing instruments.

‘It is too complicated to explain the inventory to Caitlin.’

He might explain it someday but not right now.

“Huh? Those things were inside the bag?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

In-gong lied and spread out the map while Carack stayed silent. It was a large map showing the mountain and swamp where the cave was located.

‘The scale of this map and the mini-map…’

When he focused, the cave couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. In-gong drew the mountain on a blank piece of paper. It didn’t take a long time because the map was laid out next to it.

Caitlin watched In-gong and asked.

“Are you trying to draw the map?”

“Yes, if I draw a map of the cave and the mountain then we can tell where our current location is.”

Caitlin nodded at In-gong’s words but Seira and Carack made a strange sound.

“Prince, haven’t you walked with me so far?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Carack watched as In-gong drew lines slowly. It was a lot easier than the last time he drew a map in front of Caitlin and Chris due to the ‘Map Reading’ skill.

At first, Seira stared blankly but then her eyes gradually turned to disbelief. She thought he was just drawing the map roughly but it was too accurate.

“Did you remember the path all the way up to here? No, how is this possible even if you memorize it…?”

It wasn’t simply memorizing. That fact that the passage coincided with the shape of the mountain meant that he knew the exact direction and length of the passage.

Was this possible for a person? Did he had a compass in his head?

“I told you that Shutra is amazing.”

Caitlin spoke on In-gong’s behalf, boasting proudly in an odd tone.

In-gong laughed because it was quite cute, then went back to focusing on drawing the map again. Then after approximately five minutes? In-gong had completed the map up to their present location and put down the writing instrument.

“We’ve come approximately half-way.”

In-gong had moved near to the centre of the mountain. No matter what direction they travelled, they would have to move the same distance in order to leave.

“Seira, is this the place where the Red Lightning tribe is supposed to be?”

“Yes, Princess.”

Caitlin picked up a stone and placed it on the map.

“The passage will open near that area.”

If there was an exit behind the base of the Red Lightning tribe, they could plan an operation to strike. Some troops would lure the Red Lightning tribe while the ones moving through the cave would occupy the base.

“Uhh, but won’t it take a long time to move through the passage? We can only pack enough for a day.”

Carack asked with an anxious face. The shape of the passage in the cave changed quite often.

Despite moving for a long time, they had only reached the middle of the passage in the cave. However, there were five passages connected to this area. It was unknown how many days it would take to go through this cave.

“Well, once Caitlin noona finds the passage linked with the cave, we can return. So, there is no need to worry.”

“Ah, is that so? Then should we go through this passage?”

Carack pointed to one of the passages on In-gong’s map. It was the passage with the shortest line towards the base of the Red Lightning tribe.

“Yes, we will most likely have to go through a swamp.”

As expected, Carack was smart.

In-gong nodded then pretended to place the map in the bag while storing it in his inventory and spoke to Caitlin.

“Then Noona, we should depart. We can rest somewhere else.”

The rock spider corpses didn’t smell strangely but he couldn’t ignore the possibility of other monsters coming.

“Yes, I’ll be in the rear like before.”

Caitlin nodded, wore the hood again and moved with Seira.

“We are leaving. Set off.”

“Understood.”

Carack ordered the orcs in a loud voice. It didn’t take a long time for them to depart.

&

Fortunately, the passage they took had a simple structure. In-gong stretched out a hand and touched the air as he walked with Carack.

‘If I use it a lot, the skills will increase.’

There were generally two methods to increase skill levels in Knight Saga.

One, investing skill points to instantly raise the level.

Two, just use it often and the skill level would naturally increase.

It was obvious but the second option took longer than expected. There weren’t enough skill points.

‘There is a third method that isn’t common.’

It didn’t involve the amount of experience or skill points. There was nothing certain about it. If he experienced a certain event or reached a certain level, the level would automatically rise.

As In-gong walked, he classified skills into four categories.

One, important skills that were worth investing skill points in. Aura and Telekinesis belonged here.

Two, there were those he would use in order to naturally increase the level. Skills like Map Reading that weren’t worth investing skill points in belonged here.

Three, there were the skills that In-gong couldn’t increase. Skills related to the Conquest Knight, such as Below the King’s Flag and the mysterious Protagonist Correction, belonged here.

Of course, there were four categories. The last one contained things like Basic Swordsmanship.

‘Uhh, should I invest the points earned this time into Aura again?’

Or Telekinesis?

‘I would like to learn swordsmanship and martial arts.’

Although he didn’t want to invest skill points into Basic Swordsmanship, the story was different when it came to powerful martial arts.

Zephyr’s sword technique, Heavenly King Sword, sounded strong just by hearing the name. There was also Locke’s Warrior’s Sword.

The names of several martial arts techniques flashed through his mind.

‘What should I pick up?’

In fact, there were many hidden techniques in Knight Saga. They could be attained by clearing special events, defeating powerful monsters or by purchasing them from a treasure trader.

‘Okay, I will focus on the things I can do.’

In-gong organized his thoughts and activated Aura. He thought about investing skill points but there was no time to do that.

“Prince.”

As soon as he activated Aura, Carack called out to him. In-gong deactivated Aura with a little bit of distress and looked around for Carack.

“What?”

“There is something over here.”

Carack pointed to a small room off the passage where the interior could be seen because there was no door.

In-gong stopped the troops and entered the room with Carack. It was a square-shaped room, approximately seven metres on each side.

There was nothing special on the ceiling or walls but the floor was different. There were complex patterns engraved inside a large circle.

“Town Portal?”

“Huh? You know what it is?”

Carack asked after In-gong muttered reflexively. In-gong responded moderately with a lowered posture.

“No, I just guessed.”

He wasn’t sure. No matter how he looked, it was similar to the magic circles that were town portals in the game.

‘It must be a dwarf version.’

He never saw them as Zephyr but he had seen it a few times when playing as Locke.

‘Will it work if magic power is injected?’

He looked around and found a crystal ball in the middle of the circle where someone could insert magic power.

“What’s going on?”

It was Caitlin and Seira. In-gong replied,

“That. It seems like a town portal. Doesn’t it, Noona?”

Caitlin seemed confused by In-gong’s question.

“Seira?”

“It is highly likely.”

“Indeed.”

Her cheeks turned slightly red. In-gong looked around the magic circle and asked,

“Where does it go?”

“It looks like a dwarf circle… It should go near here.”

While Seira was replying, Carack called out to In-gong from one side of the room.

“Prince, letters… There are pictures that look like letters.”

In-gong went over and saw letters that weren’t commonly used in the Demon World. Caitlin spoke from next to In-gong and Carack.

“They are dwarf characters.”

“Ohh, as expected of Princess. Can you read dwarf characters?”

Carack asked with great admiration. In-gong also watched Caitlin with anticipation in his eyes.

Caitlin frowned and spoke in a timid voice,

“Uh…Seira?”

She couldn’t read it. In-gong suppressed his urge to smile and glanced at Seira but Seira also looked confused.

“Uh… Well… They are dwarf characters.”

“Who doesn’t know that? Princess just said it.”

Carack stared at Seira like she was ridiculous. Seira just looked elsewhere and didn’t reply.

‘Well, it can’t be helped.’

The dwarves had left hundreds of years ago. It was amazing that Caitlin and Seira even recognized that they were dwarf characters.

“Carack, it is natural. I mean this is… Jishuka Mountain’s Portal Two. It is connected with Portal Three. Eh?”

In-gong spoke unwittingly and Carack, Caitlin and Seira stared at him.

At the time, In-gong heard a clear voice in his head.

[Dwarf Characters Lv1 has been learnt.]

He didn’t know it at first. Just like Carack, he had thought of them as pictures.

However, when he tried to read the characters, he could.

‘What the, what is this? I can learn characters and languages like this?’

Of course, it was only level one, so it was likely he couldn’t interpret complex documents. However, just having the ability to decipher text by looking at it was really enormous.

‘Doesn’t that mean I don’t need to worry about foreign languages now? Isn’t that right?’

He had the ability to learn what he saw! Then he wouldn’t have to go through a lot of difficulty!

While In-gong was busy screaming inwardly, Carack, Caitlin and Seira were staring at him blankly.

Carack spoke first,

“Uh…Prince. Can you read this?”

Why would he say that he couldn’t read it when they already heard him?

Anyhow, In-gong returned to reality thanks to Carack and nodded.

“Uh, yes. Just a little bit.”

“Amazing.”

Caitlin – her golden eyes shone like a morning star.

Moreover, it wasn’t just Caitlin.

“I am impressed by Prince Shutra’s broad knowledge.”

Seira was also clearly impressed.

‘What the? Is it that rare for someone to know dwarf characters?’

The dwarves still lived, so it wasn’t an ancient language.

‘I just need to say that I took a book and taught myself.’

Carack switched the topic while In-gong was thinking.

“Then Prince, what does this say?”

Caitlin and Seira’s eyes turned back to the writing. Thanks to Carack, their somewhat uncomfortable gazes shifted from In-gong to the characters.

“Wait a minute.”

It was only level one, so his reading comprehension wasn’t that fast. There were some words that had cryptic meanings.

‘Is this explaining how to use it?’

In-gong read it three times before pointing to a character that had a metal plate protruding from below it.

“Noona, can you insert a little bit of magic power here? My magic power is clumsy.”

He didn’t know how to use it at all. However, he couldn’t ask her to hit him with magic power at this time.

“Understood.”

Caitlin nodded and inserted magic power into the metal plate. A blue light then shone between the engraved characters and a 3D hologram consisting of blue lines appeared in front of In-gong.

“Jishuka Mountain Range.”

Like Carack said, it was a 3D hologram with a bird’s eye view of the Jishuka Mountains. In-gong read the letters that appeared with the bird’s eye view and pointed to different areas.

“We are here. The Portal Three is over here.”

Portal Three was in another mountain but there was something strange about the response. Seira’s face turned excited.

“Does that mean there is a dwarf cave there?”

“Uh, why?”

In-gong was surprised by Seira’s words and Carack who was familiar with In-gong quickly said,

“Prince, in front of that mountain is the Red Lightning tribe’s main force. This mountain is right behind them!”

In-gong was able to understand now. Seira asked again,

“Prince, is this still working despite being degraded?”

“Perhaps?”

In-gong looked at the letters that came up near the bird’s eye view. The letters showed that the portal was lacking magic power but no other problems.

Only magic power was required to operate the portal. It meant the passage to the rear of the Red Lightning tribe could be used.

“Princess.”

Seira called out to Caitlin. Her voice and eyes were mixed with various emotions.

Caitlin sent Seira a stern look and shook her head slowly. She then placed her hand on In-gong’s shoulders and declared,

“Shutra, this is your merit. I’m not officially here.”

Seira sighed but Caitlin never looked back.

In-gong was able to guess the reason why she was sad.

The strategic value of the dwarf portal was very significant. It was evident that a huge reward would be given to the first discoverer.

However, Caitlin had declared she wasn’t here and kept her promise.

“Noona, just…”

“It is your merit. You would have reached here even if I wasn’t present. You also figured out its usage. I don’t want to be a liar. Don’t you remember what I said in the first place?”

It wasn’t just a courtesy. Caitlin had truly come along to protect him.

In-gong nodded eventually.

“I understand, Noona. Thank you.”

Caitlin laughed and covered herself with the hood again. Seira had a severe frown on her face but followed her master’s actions.

“Shutra, let’s return to Chris oppa once we have confirmed that the portal is working. A more serious investigation into this cave is needed.”

They had to inform that main army of the existence of the portal and secure it as soon as possible. In-gong already had a lot of merits, so there was no big difference if Chris and Caitlin’s troops were committed to protecting it.

“Okay, then please do it again here.”

In-gong pointed to the crystal ball in the centre of the magic circle.

Caitlin nodded and touched the crystal ball, immediately inserting magic power.

&

It was already late at night when In-gong returned to the base. In spite of that fact, In-gong and Caitlin immediately headed to Chris’ tent.

“Oppa will be really surprised.”

Those were the only words Caitlin said and they made Chris shift his gaze to In-gong.

“Hey, what is it?”

“I’ll explain it.”

In-gong coughed and spread his map of the cave on the desk. Although it was unfinished and only drawn to the middle, Chris immediately found the value of the map.

“We can hit Kairam from behind.”

Kairam was Kaichin’s brother and the leader of the Red Lightning army currently confronting Chris.

Chris looked at Caitlin with surprise. Caitlin slowly smiled and shook her head.

“What? Is there something else?”

“There is.”

Caitlin remained silent again. This time, Chris looked at In-gong and In-gong explained everything that happened in the cave.

Chris was surprised by the talk about the portal.

He was confused about the part where In-gong could read dwarf characters and became expressionless after hearing that the portal was connected to the back of the Red Lightning tribe.

“Uh, Oppa?”

Caitlin asked cautiously as Chris’ reaction was different from what she had expected. Chris just stared at In-gong.

“You, what is your identity?”

“Eh?”

This time, In-gong was the one who panicked. Did he realize something strange about Shutra?

While In-gong was licking his lips and wondering about what to say, Chris suddenly burst into laughter. He spread his arms wide and embraced In-gong.

“Wow, this is a blessing! A blessing!”

It was like finding a vein of gold.

Caitlin sighed with relief after seeing Chris’ excitement and In-gong was the same.

“Okay, okay. The dwarves did something this cute in the Jishuka Mountains? We will use it a lot.”

It wasn’t just this battle. The use of these passages and portals could completely change the value of the Jishuka Mountains.

‘He is different from Caitlin.’

It wasn’t simply because he was two years older.

Chris was real royalty. He was an ambitious person and thought about more than what was in front of him. He had faced Chris and Caitlin when playing Zephyr but their natures were different. Caitlin was a powerful warrior and Chris was the king of the lycanthropes.

In-gong realized that Chris wasn’t as pure as Caitlin. His eyes saw In-gong’s value.

“Shutra, what do you want?”

“What do I want?”

“Yes, your wish. You will be rewarded by the Demon King’s Palace for your merits but I also want to give you a prize as your brother and captain.”

Chris, Caitlin and In-gong were children of the Demon King but Chris was the one in charge of the troops. It wasn’t strange for Chris to say that he would give a reward.

‘But…’

In-gong took a deep breath. In-gong might be mistaken but Chris was probably trying to grab hold of In-gong right now. It was different from when Chris said that he would teach Aura.

‘Come into my faction. Join me.’

Depending on what In-gong asked, his relationship with Chris might change.

“Is it okay even if it is a little unreasonable?”

In-gong’s words were somewhat provocative but Chris just smiled.

“Ho? A little unreasonable? What are you asking for?”

He could ask for a competent subordinate or he could ask for an item that couldn’t be handled by the current Shutra.

However, In-gong chose something completely different.

“Teach me Divine Beast Authority.”

“Shutra?”

Caitlin was shocked.

It was receiving. It was a powerful technique passed down through the royal family of the lycanthropes.

Even among the lycanthropes, only the royal family and the people closest to them could learn it. Therefore, it was a very symbolic technique.

How could they teach such a technique to In-gong?

‘Anyway, I have to go forward with Chris and Caitlin.’

There were three major factions in the Demon King’s Palace.

First Prince Baikal Ragnaros’ faction, Second Prince Zephyr Ragnaros’ faction and Fourth Princess Anastasia Nekrion’s faction.

Of course, he couldn’t enter Zephyr’s faction. Baikal’s faction was impossible because the gandharva were enemies with his mother’s family. The only possible one was Anastasia’s faction but it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that she was a woman as bad as Zephyr.

‘I’d rather create my own faction.’

In that sense, Chris and Caitlin were quite decent selections.

Caitlin’s birth secret could be called their biggest weakness. It would be good if he could somehow control that part.

Furthermore, today, Caitlin’s attitude in the dwarf cave had moved In-gong’s heart. Caitlin was a reliable person.

It wasn’t only because of the symbolism that In-gong chose Divine Beast Authority.

‘I can get subordinates later. Weapons are too good for my current level and ability.’

However, techniques were different. Moreover, Divine Beast Authority was a S ranked martial arts technique.

Inside Knight Saga, SS ranked martial arts and sword techniques were undisputedly recognized. S ranked techniques were virtually top class and Zephyr’s Heavenly King Sword was in this category.

That alone gave it value.

Chris stared at In-gong seriously before laughing. He shrugged slightly and said,

“Divine Beast Authority. Yes, it isn’t too bad. Up to a certain level, it is easy to disguise it as Beast Authority.”

Beast Authority – it was a martial arts technique that lycanthropes learnt if they entered the army.

In-gong knew what it meant to be taught the Divine Beast Authority. From the outset, it was something that he had never learnt.

“As of now… I can’t teach past the vision section. Is that still okay?”

“It is okay.”

He could find clues to learn it later. Even if he didn’t know, he could learn it by increasing the skill level. The important thing was to learn Divine Beast Authority Lv1.

“Okay, this is interesting. Interesting. Just like Aura, Caitlin and I will teach you.”

Chris glanced towards Caitlin while speaking and she nodded with a somewhat ambiguous expression. It seemed like she was somewhat confused.

“Shutra.”

Chris reached out like he wanted to shake hands with In-gong. There was a mischievous smile on his face but his eyes contained a different light.

“In addition to Caitlin, can I also think about you as my younger sibling?”

The words were quite meaningful.

In-gong breathed out once and grabbed Chris’ hand. He shook it lightly.

“Of course.”

Then a clear voice rang in his head.

[An alliance with Chris Moonlight/Caitlin Moonlight has been formed.] [Alliance Status: An ordinary alliance.]

In-gong grinned as he grabbed the hands in front of him.