Level 0 Master

Before the door to the central, Sungjin turned back to look at his teammates once more. “Should we?”

“Yes.”

“Of course.”

“I’m ready.”

Their various replies came back to him.

Was glory waiting for them? Or devastation?

Others would have grown nervous at the upcoming fight against a Kaiser who could grant a position to rule the world, but the girls had no hesitation. The were leaving everything up to Sungjin.

The nobles cheered their figures heading toward a new challenge with fervour. Most were cheering so that they wouldn’t fall out of favor with Sungjin when he returned, but some were cheering from the bottom of their hearts.

* * *

Sungjin stood before the final obstacle in his path to becoming a Kaiser.

The temple of gold shone brightly. The patterns on the walls were evenly placed to the exact mathematical degree.

The Kaiser of gold. He was a legend, just like the Kaiser of white silver. The Kaiser of gold was an existence who had conquered the continent for the first time. Too much time had passed since the time of his reign that nothing remained, but there was some evidence.

He wanted to be the “strongest” and therefore became the “strongest” ruler, but apparently his reign came to an end after challenging a god, even though he was the strongest.

“The Golden Kaiser...” Before the door, Sungjin smiled. His smile was an excited one, like one of an evil mastermind after having found a new plaything.

What kind of challenge awaits me?

Was he like the Kaiser of white silver? Or perhaps even stronger?

Gaining the position of a Kaiser was what would follow a victory, but if the Kaiser was an opponent he could wage everything against, he would be satisfied.

He stood in the middle of the temple. He was unexpectedly an old man clutching a walking stick and wearing a simple robe, unlike his legend of being the strongest ruler. “Welcome.” He was an old man with white hair. His long beard was also white. However, his eyes reflected his years and showed his wisdom. “I’ve heard that a thousand years is given to those who became a Kaiser?”

Eustasia’s eyes glinted in suspicion as she observed the old man.

Ereka gave her assumptions. “Hm. Are you the guide instead of the Kaiser of Gold?”

The old man smiled calmly. “There’s no need to worry. I am the Kaiser of Gold.”

“Ah! I’m sorry. You’re just... different from the legends.”

The old man simply smiled at Ereka’s apology. “Sometimes outer appearance disguise what truly is. Don’t blame yourself. Even I have a hard time figuring out the true faces of others in my old age.”

If they hadn’t been told that he was the Kaiser of Gold, they would have thought he was a friendly neighborhood grandpa. To those who had been expecting a suppressing charisma, it was almost disappointing.

But Sungjin didn’t let his guard down, nor was he disappointed. He could instinctively grasp that his opponent was a person with observation and leisure.

“I had something to research even after my thousand years were over.”

“Ah, I see.”

The old man looked at Sungjin. “Are you the one who wishes to become the third Kaiser?”

“Yes.”

Their eyes met. Sungjin’s eyes were ablaze with competitive spirit and exuded a fierce challenging air. The old man’s eyes, which never wavered, simply pushed it away with tranquil immobility.

Fire against water. No, it was akin to an explosive volcano and a calm sea.

“There’s plenty of time, so why don’t we talk before our fight?”

“Fine.”

“Then let me prepare you a seat.”

A desk and chair appeared before the old man, and the two sat down, facing each other.

Sungjin’s women stood behind him and watched with curious eyes. A wise man who had become a Kaiser, and a ruler who would become a Kaiser. What kind of conversation will they have?

“I should make my introduction. Haha. I knew that I was called the Kaiser of Gold, but my true name is Antherer.”

“A person who answers?”

“Haha. My name might mean that, but to be honest, I’m more of a person who seeks out the answers instead of answering others.”

“I see. What’s the question?”

To anyone else, they looked as if they were having a leisurely conversation before the fight for the world, but Sungjin knew their fight had already started.

A conversation went both ways, therefore allowing both to observe each other: each other’s specs, each other’s skills. Items.

That was not everything one’s ability.

The other’s imagination. Thoughts, personality, preferences. Mind, wishes, goals.

Those were the things they needed to understand in order to achieve a victory.

“I wanted to know a lot of things.” Antherer gently closed his eyes. “How the stars shine. What the world is made of. Why fish can only live in the water.”

“Ha. You’re a scholar.”

“You could say that.”

Sungjin’s teammates talked amongst themselves behind Sungjin.

“It seems like the first Kaiser wasn’t an ambitious man but a scholar.”

At Ereka’s words, Eustasia tightened her grip on her scabbard and smiled. “Perhaps? But can’t we think of his desire to understand the world even after conquering it as a small ambition?”

“Kuk, I see.”

At Zakiya’s agreement, Rachel tilted her head. “Huh? Is understanding the world such a big deal?”

Meanwhile, Antherer and Sungjin’s conversation continued.

“While researching the logic of this world, I found that researching with several people is easier than doing it alone.”

“Even without regard to equipment and ingredients used?”

“Yes. I’ve come to conquer the world because it was necessary for my research.” Antherer stated confidently that he had done so for his research.

“There must have been some resistance.”

“There was, but knowledge is power.”

“Ha. You’re right, that’s obvious.”

“What about you. Why did you come here?”

“Me? Because there’s a fight.” Sungjin smiled.

“A fight.”

“Yes.”

“Haha. Challenge and competition. That’s your happiness. Like my research.”

“Yes,” Sungjin admitted coolly. There was no grand reason to his actions. Challenging, fighting, winning. That was his true self. Even now, his blood boiled before his enemy.

Antherer looked at such attitude quietly. “Is that all? There’s no other reason?”

“Well, I also have a goal to change this world after attaining it.”

“A goal. Haha. I see. Frankly, from here I’ve observed how the southern continents have changed.”

“How is that possible?”

“Relax. I didn’t see the details of your fights, but I did see how you’ve changed the country. Were you planning to rule the world and save the people from their limitations?”

“I won’t deny that.” Sungjin nodded.

“A demon who desires fights and challenges. A savior who comes to save the people. Which is your true self?”

“Didn’t I already give you an answer?”

Saving the people was a goal in and of itself, but even if this world had been an ideal one, he still would have set out in search of challenges for the fight itself.

Antherer smiled widely. “I’ve come to understand many things at this age. Namely, that a human’s true self appears when they are at a crisis.”

“Think whatever you want.”

“Huhu. Think of it as an old man’s prejudice. Where did I leave off? Oh, yes. A thousand years after conquering the world. Within those thousand years, I wished to learn more. Having the world in my hands allowed much progress in my research.”

“And you couldn’t be satisfied with a thousand years, so you challenged the gods?”

“Yes, there was that reason, but the main reason was to find the answer to the question I had a thousand years ago.”

“The question?” What was the answer this wise man couldn’t find? Sungjin smiled. “You couldn’t find the answer, and therefore lost against the gods.” He was defeated not because of the gods, but because he couldn’t find the answer. That was the history Sungjin saw through his words.

Antherer agreed. “Yes, you’re right. A power that can go against the gods. I couldn’t figure that out.”

Ultimately, Antherer was a person from Valhalla. That was why he had researched the world’s largest question over a thousand years.

“I’m sure you must have found an answer of your own.”

“You’re right. It was grand, but not the right one.”

“Leave it to me. I can find you the answer you couldn’t find. Sungjin raised his thumbs and pointed towards himself.

“Hahahahaha. Can you do that?”

“Of course.” He could do what the previous two Kaisers could not.

At Sungjin’s overconfident statement, the wise man stroked his beard. “Then you should be able to find what was wrong about my answer.”

“Try me.”

“Haha. I already have a body that cannot change. If there is a possibility, you’d be the one to find it, fine. If my successor can find the answer, I’d be happy.”

“Then will you step away?”

The wise man shook his head. “I would like to, but the god’s region isn’t reachable by your spirit alone. It is my understanding that you need more experience.”

“Ha, is that so.” Sungjin smiled in happiness. The Kaiser of gold was a formidable foe. It would be disappointing not to face him.

“That’s why I will hand over the question to you, and in return, give you the experience you need and everything I have.”

“That’s nice of you, but don’t go easy on me.”

“Don’t worry. If you can’t overcome me, there’s no possibility that you’ll find the answer. I have nothing to lose if you are still unable to win after I give you everything I to learn from.”

“Fine. Then should we start?”

“Huhu. You’re an impatient one. There’s a lot to talk about. But yes, I shouldn’t take too much of my successor’s time. Let’s begin.”

With that, the scenery around the Kaiser of gold wavered and changed.

It was a library.

The ceiling was so high that it was painful to look at. It was wide enough for a city to fit in it.

Aside from saying that it was huge, there were no other words to express it.

Flying robots flew around the library to look after the books. There were computers between the shelves.

Robots.

The scenery of magic and technology intertwining made a strange atmosphere.

“Do you like my capital?”

“Ha. Your entire capital is a library?”

“Since gathering knowledge was my life’s achievement.”

“It’s an amazing sight.” The sight was created from the Kaiser of gold’s longtime achievements.

“Thank you for the praise. Then let us really begin.” The Kaiser of Gold raised his staff and clicked it against the ground. When he did so, bookshelves rose up from the ground and split Sungjin and his teammates apart.

“A divider?” Eustasia slashed at the divider with her sword, but the divider was surrounded by an invisible barrier, and her sword bounced away.

“An investigation is done by dissection.”

The Kaiser of gold’s avatars appeared before each of the members.

Doubles.

Each one of them anticipated their one-on-one fight and prepared themselves.

There was no more time to slash against the bookshelves.