SSS-Knight in a Hero World

Felix played with the paper's edges, bending them and feeling their smooth texture, instead of listening to the speaker reporting on the events of the previous operation.

To Felix, words would never match the realism of experiencing the operation itself—he was there, after all, and he was the one who participated in the final hours.

A few months ago, there was a sudden surge of Jörmungandr's vile spawns that came from the northern part of the continent.

They beelined southward, ravaging entire kingdoms, but the kingdoms didn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

The most strategically valuable target was the 3rd World Tree belonging to the elves. It was one of their three largest capitals.

Housing the majority of the elven population and families was one of its purposes, but its most important aspect was its environmental nature.

A World Tree passively emits large amounts of essence—pure essence at that. And the elves made great use of it through training new warriors, technology, and even breeding stronger elves.

The second most valuable asset belonging to the Alliance against the Serpent was a farm field.

Well… a farm field the size of multiple kingdoms combined, that is.

Since it was close to the 3rd World Tree, and perhaps even the 2nd, its land was extremely fertile and could supply the entire planet for nearly a year using only a quarter of the year's harvest—assuming the harvest had 100% efficiency.

The operation to defend these key points was a success, however, half of the 3rd World Tree was destroyed by the spawns of Jörmungandr.

And most importantly to Felix, he lost many of his friends on that ultimate day.

So, he was in a terrible mood, even more so when the speaker began meticulously analyzing the aftereffects.

Felix would've torn his ears out if he really wanted to.

"The spawns of Jörmungandr have ceased their activities for now. We shouldn't be disturbed for a couple of months," the reporter finished.

Everyone clapped and cheered inside the room.

Felix silently clicked his tongue and started weakly clapping.

"Quit being so gloomy," his teacher called out from beside him, giving Felix's feet a playful kick.

Felix furrowed his brows, pulling his foot back and glaring at Yaromech. "Stop acting like a child," he said. "There are nearly twenty important kings and nobles here."

Yaromech just shrugged, shaking his head. "So what? We did all the work. Why should I have to respect them—"

Kick!

Alaric, who was beside Yaromech, decided to kick his old comrade's feet as well.

"I taught your student how to act like a proper knight, and you dare demolish the sturdy bricks I've laid?" Alaric said, with an unpleasant face, although that face was usually his resting face.

But Yaromech knew when Alaric was truly angry. "I only asked you to teach him combat techniques, so to put it in short…" Yaromech held his breath and glared at Alaric.

"I didn't ask," he taunted, but he was serious about his statement.

Thanks to the cheering inside the room, Yaromech and his comrade could bicker as loudly as they could without embarrassing themselves.

Ignore them… I don't know them… Felix stood up slightly, so it looked like he was still sitting, then he grabbed the underside of his chair and moved away a tiny bit.

At least now, he became calmer thanks to the unconventional personality of his teacher.

There were 20 knights under Felix's command that day, all almost as strong as him. But only eight survived.

Felix thought about the bright side—at least he managed to save a handful, compared to a total wipeout of his group, perhaps including himself.

After the mission, he sent them off on a one-week vacation to the southern side of the continent.

If I'm not wrong with the timing, they should be enjoying the beaches by now… Felix rubbed his chin. The thought of his underlings feeling relaxed also made him relax.

And he smiled because of that thought.

Only a little bit.

After a short while, following another closing speech by the speaker, all the people inside began to prepare for their departure.

Felix picked up his sword, which was resting on the side of his chair, and was about to set off.

"Where are you going?" his teacher asked.

"I'm going to meditate. I'm close to ascending the next layer. I might pull it off today," Felix replied.

"Me too," Alaric said.

"Huh? Well, tag me in!" Yaromech was also about to head off with them, but he was stopped by Alaric.

"No thanks. Being with you actively degrades my essence layer to the 9th level," Alaric sneered.

"Well said, teacher…" Felix agreed.

After that, the two left Yaromech to dust.

Felix placed his hand on the exit door's handle and pulled on it, however, his hand was suddenly pushed away when the door opened outward toward him.

Stepping back, Felix saw an out-of-breath man.

Felix recognized the man as one of the working mages responsible for intelligence across the continent.

The two locked eyes, and the mage's eyes widened.

"Sir Felix, I've been looking for you! Something bad happened!" he announced.

Almost immediately, Felix grew wary, even his two teachers and the high-ranking figures in the room had their eyes fixed on the mage.

"What is it?" Felix asked.

"The knights under your command have been assassinated!"

What? Felix froze. It was difficult to digest what he had just heard.

He swallowed, then spoke in a heavy tone. "Did you find the culprit?"

The mage nodded. "There were some knights stationed near the house your comrades stayed. They managed to catch the assassin in time… He's been transported here already using a teleporter relay."

The mage turned toward the empty hallway. "He's currently cuffed there. I'll let him enter now. I think it's best that you, Sir Felix, handle this."

Felix nodded calmly, hiding the rage building within him.

He was thankful that he himself got to handle this. As a knight, he was responsible for upholding the creed, which included the fair treatment of prisoners.

But in this case, Felix didn't mind at all being judge, jury, and executioner.

After a few seconds, a bloodied and cloaked figure was thrown in front of Felix by two guards who appeared at the door.

The figure struggled to rise but eventually kneeled.

Felix also kneeled to be level with the assassin, then grabbed the cloak and slowly lifted it.

I'll see for myself if this person is the real degenerate who assassinated my comrades.

Yaromech carefully observed his student's actions, while the rest of the people watched with curiosity.

Assassinating a knight was practically treason against the Alliance. Whoever this person was, they were surely dead on arrival according to law.

Felix fully lifted the hood—and what he saw unnerved him.

The prince of the 3rd World Tree.

Everyone in the room immediately recognized him. It was an unbelievable sight.

It was no wonder the mage had left promptly after leaving the assassin in the room, a sensitive case like this could only be handled by high-ranking officials.

Spat!

Felix flinched slightly.

"I've finally met you, Felix! The bastard who allowed the spawns of Jörmungandr to take the lives of my family and burn my home… Now I've fulfilled my revenge!" the prince shouted.

Everyone began whispering among themselves, except for Yaromech, Alaric, and a few other knights, who continued observing silently.

. . .

Felix stood and drew his blade, causing the room to immediately fall silent.

Raising his sword, he spoke in a clear voice. "According to the laws of the Alliance against the Evil Serpent, treason is punishable by death."

Once he said those words, the room erupted into whispers again, but it didn't bother Felix in the slightest.

He was about to behead the traitor, but to his surprise, a voice stopped him from behind.

Turning, he saw the source, the Elf King of the 2nd World Tree. He raised a hand toward Felix. "W-wait! Sir Felix, I'd like to call for a longer trial." He pleaded, it was clear to everyone that he was nervous.

"Traitors and backstabbers don't need trials. What they need is suitable punishment—

"We'll accept the trial proposal," Yaromech interjected, walking toward his student and dragging him into the hallway.

Alaric sighed and followed, bowing to the leaders before closing the door behind him.

"What the hell are you doing!" Felix shouted.

"Calm down," Yaromech said, placing his hands on Felix's shoulders.

But Felix shrugged them off instantly. "You can't be serious! That elf's a traitor!" he shouted, his voice shaking with anger.

Despite Felix's reasons, Yaromech could tell exactly what was truly driving his student. Felix's dead comrades.

"Were you seriously thinking of beheading an elven royalty in front of an elf king? The humans and elves can't go to war, not when Jörmungandr will appear soon," his teacher reasoned.

Grab!

In a flash, Felix grabbed Yaromech by the collar. "We sacrificed a lot for this mission! You're going to let that bastard live?!" He said, his voice was now hoarse, almost breaking.

Yaromech twitched. "Think about the bigger picture—

Felix cut him off immediately, tears starting to stream from his eyes. "All my knights are dead! If those elves are still pissed after we saved them, then we should've let the World Tree burn!"

"Let's see if a dead elf would be more grateful than a living one—

Punch!

Yaromech could no longer tolerate his student's rant. He punched Felix squarely in the face.

Felix staggered backward, nearly falling, but Yaromech caught him by the collar. Instead of pulling him back, he delivered another punch to his cheek.

Then, gritting his teeth, Yaromech grabbed Felix by both sides of the collar and kneed him in the stomach.

Alaric watched silently, arms crossed, as his comrade beat his student senselessly.

The commotion had drawn a small crowd.

"A knight must never kill to satiate their desires!"

Punch!

"A knight must always be honorable!"

Kick!

Yaromech struck Felix's nose one last time, drawing blood. He pulled the student close, looking him straight in the eyes. "If you say that shit in front of me again, send yourself straight to that Serpent!"

Then he pushed him away.

Felix remained silent, staring down before glaring at his teacher. He began unbuckling the belt supporting his sword, and storming off after.

The hallway remained quiet for a moment, before whispers began circulating about Yaromech.

Order essence gaze

"As you all were." Yaromech commanded.

The people froze, then obediently walked away.

Once his student was gone, Yaromech slumped against the edge of the hallway, covering his face and letting out a long grunt.

Alaric leaned against the wall nearby, arms crossed, observing his comrade.

"I can't believe I just did that," Yaromech muttered, muffled by his hands.

"You did the right thing. Felix was this close…" Alaric pinched his index finger and thumb, leaving only a small gap. "…to becoming a follower of Jörmungandr."

Yaromech lowered his hands and rested his head against the wall. "I guess that's the end of his career…"

"It's not," Alaric replied.

Yaromech looked up, confused.

Alaric covered his mouth briefly, looking away. "Felix is emotional, yes. I trained him to be docile when you were away, but that was the wrong choice. Despite that, he has the mental qualities of a true knight…"

He looked back at Yaromech. "Rest assured. Your student won't fall that easily."

***

I could easily use my anger to artificially boost my strength… Ferris thought desperately, trying to close in on Evening and deny her the range to shoot.

But that's how losers think!

In an instant, Ferris grabbed a fire extinguisher from one of the food trucks and hurled it at Evening, who was maintaining her distance.

Essence blade.

An invisible slash erupted from Ferris's sword, intercepting the fire extinguisher mid-air. In the ensuing blast, Evening's vision was momentarily obscured by a thick cloud of white smoke.

Seizing the opening, Ferris delivered a sharp punch to her nose.

As expected, punching was far more satisfying than using a sword!

For a fleeting moment, Ferris allowed himself to indulge.

The smoke cleared. For the first time, Evening wasn't smiling.

Blood stained her lips as she hurled her head forward to look at Ferris. Then, just as quickly, she smiled again. Ferris noted the stark contrast of her bloodied skin against her white teeth.

"That hurt a lot, cowboy!"