Will of the Unyielding [LitRPG Apocalypse • Progression]

A rush of cold wind slapped Nova in the face, snapping him back to his senses.

He'd been staring at his Status for several minutes, but he couldn't make heads or tails of what was happening. With a shrug, he said, "I don't feel any different from before, but if my Status says I came into contact with death, then it must be true, though I have no idea when it happened, nor what I'm supposed to do with this information. Should I ask around in this world?"

After a moment of thought, he shook his head slightly. "The system almost failed to update itself because this world is so weak. I doubt they know anything about concepts. Now that I think about it, no one has questioned my identity since I arrived even after I came out of nowhere and slayed third stage knights in the arena. That must mean either the people here are forgetful, or it's been so long since they were cast into this place that even their history records have turned to dust."

He chuckled and stood up. "If I want to find out what this is, then I have no choice but to leave this place." Nova patted the dust from his clothes, lifted Dreadscape from the ground, and stored it away.

'Before thinking about matters too far away from me, I should focus on the ones at hand. I have two options now: hunt the tiger and get the bone tempering liquid which, according to Letto's description, should boost my strength quite a bit, or rally the three kingdoms right here and now. But if I choose the latter, I'll have to meet their rulers and explain the situation. Some will obviously oppose me, and then…'

He stopped at that thought, paused for a moment, and muttered, "Never mind. I really only have one option. The tiger it is."

Casting one last glance at the battlefield where the ground was slowly going from a bright red to pitch black, he turned away and left with a single thought in mind, 'Will the travelers find this place before or after the kingdoms or the Empire clean up the mess? For their sanity, I hope it's after.'

It was in both the Empire's and the kingdoms' best interests to erase all traces of the battle before rumors could spread. The former would lose face if word got out that the mighty Empire had lost thousands its soldiers in a war against the kingdoms, while the latter feared the inevitable retribution of an embarrassed Empire.

Since the battlefield lay on the border between Blackridge and Lotra, it didn't take Nova long to reach the Central Forest. But once there, he frowned.

He slowly walked closer to the perimeter, his eyes darting left and right as he thought, 'Why are there so many people gathered here?'

Nova narrowed his gaze, quickly identifying who they were.

'Knights and mages. Not only that, they are also nobles. There's no way so many of them would gather here without reason. I just need to find out why.'

Right outside the forest, dozens of people, divided into many small groups, chatted. Most of them were middle-aged or elderly men dressed in expensive armors and clothing, but, as if by prior agreement, each had one or two young men, seemingly in their late teens to early twenties, following them.

As Nova approached, he perked up his ears and began eavesdropping on their conversations.

"To think the royal family would share such a precious secret with us. I still can't believe we've had the chance to strengthen ourselves so much, right under our noses, just by drinking a sip of liquid. I wish I were twenty years younger, just so I could participate in this event."

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"I agree, but why would they only let the young ones participate? Don't they understand there's no chance for them to handle that bloody tiger? What if something happens to them?"

"That's precisely why we're here. Don't tell me you're scared of that kitten. The only reason nobody bothered with it for so long is because there was nothing to gain. Now there is. If that kitty tries anything funny, today will be its last day."

Many of the knights and mages chuckled at those words, echoing the sentiment, while the young men and women's eyes sharpened with conviction. Nobody wanted to lose the competition to retrieve the legendary bone tempering liquid and let another of their generation gain the upper hand.

As the nobles' taunting grew, and even the youths began to chime in, Nova stood there dumbfounded.

'Have they lost their minds? Are they really treating that demon of tiger like some kind of pet to test their young talents?' He glanced again at the speakers and almost face-palmed right then. From what he could see, most of the people gathered were third and fourth stage knights and high-grade mages, none above the seventh stage.

'If they send their youths in, those young ones will die. If they refuse to act, they'll still suffer the consequences. I had wanted a quick fight with the tiger, but now I'll just wait and reap whatever benefits come from these nobles—'

Nova's eyes widened as realization hit him.

'Nobles from Lotra... How's my luck so damn good? If I get all of them to owe me their lives, I'll be able to run the kingdom smoothly and take that dumb king off the throne. I won't even need to hold a meeting or follow their procedures. With this many nobles on my side, anyone who opposes me will only be painting a target on themselves for these people to pounce on.'

If earlier he'd wanted to gain only a few benefits, now he planned to swallow them whole.

Nova took a few steps back and watched silently as the tension in the air brewed into excitement.

The small groups began closing in on one another, their chatter grew louder with each passing minute. Some youths stepped up to mock their peers, but one in particular stood out.

A lean young man with a shaved head strode into the middle of the group and said, "Everyone, you'd better stay away from the forest. If I see any of you there, I'll kill you. This is my one and only warning, don't say I didn't warn you."

The young man's words caused an uproar among both his peers and their elders. The former didn't say much, in fact, some only frowned while others shivered slightly. Very few shouted back, but their cries lacked any conviction.

Seeing this, the elders narrowed their eyes and turned toward the bald man.

"Maelor! If you dare touch my niece, not even your family will stop me from tearing you apart."

"Young man, you shouldn't say such things to your peers, this is a friendly competition, and nobody wants blood spilled."

"So overbearing. But if you actually go through with what you said, you won't see tomorrow."

Maelor, head held high, listened to every comment without batting an eye before saying, "This might be a friendly competition, but how do you expect me to stop the edge of my sword from cutting? I want that liquid, and I'll get it. If your people don't want to die, they should help me retrieve it and I'll let them live. Isn't it fair that the strongest gets the reward?"

A middle-aged man wearing the same clothes as Maelor hastily stepped forward, bowed slightly to the crowd, and said, "Please excuse him, he's always had poor manners at social gatherings. I promise he won't kill any of your young talents; just let it go this once."

"Uncle?"

His uncle turned to him and snapped, keeping his voice low so only Maelor could hear, "Brat, what do you take our family for, royalty? If you keep causing trouble none of us will leave this place alive. Can't you see how many other families of our level are here?"

Maelor tried to answer, but his uncle grabbed his arm and gave him a threatening look that shut him up.

Turning to the crowd, the uncle gave another apologetic look and said, "I'll personally discipline him. There's no need to worry any further, and don't take his earlier words seriously."

Without waiting for the knights and mages to respond, he quickly scurried off, dragging Maelor to a secluded corner.

The nobles were left speechless, the chain of events unfolding too quickly for them to keep up. When they finally came to their senses, they sneered and mocked Maelor in front of their young ones, encouraging them to learn from today's events and act the same way as them in the future if they ever encountered someone like him.

Standing far away, Nova heard everything and couldn't help but mutter, "Why did that person intervene? I wanted to see how the situation would play out with Maelor standing against dozens of nobles..."

At that moment, an elderly man with a staff taller than himself stepped forward from the crowd.