Chapter Eleven: In Depth

“Forging a divine soul within, gathering supernatural power without?!” Lando’s mind was filled with questions.

“That’s right. The life force at the Grand Knight level can accomplish things far beyond a commoner’s imagination. At this stage, a warrior can awaken and cultivate the extraordinary bloodline within themselves—that’s what’s meant by gathering supernatural power without. As for forging a divine soul within, I’m not sure; that’s a secret among the great nobles of the kingdom. Once that’s achieved, one becomes a Knight of the Realm. And just now, you reminded me very much of a Knight of the Realm I once witnessed in battle.”

Seeing the baron’s excitement grow more intense, Lando, having received the answers he sought, took his leave without further delay.

This time, the baron offered no resistance, watching Lando’s departing figure, lost in thought.

No longer suppressing the power of the Primal Giant Ape (Blue), Lando stretched lazily, feeling his body and mind completely liberated.

“Perhaps I never should have tried to play the fool from the start—clearly, that role doesn’t suit me. Experience-based thinking can be deadly!”

At this moment, Lando exuded a tremendous aura of oppression. Anyone passing near him felt their chest tighten, as if some unseen weight pressed them down, making them physically shrink before him.

He paid no mind to the awestruck and wary gazes behind him. Striding to the checkpoint, he called out in a clear voice, “I am Grand Knight Lando, heading out on a mission—open the gate!”

A stir ran through the guards, but they opened the gate at once. Though this wasn’t strictly according to protocol, Lando’s word carried weight. His reputation preceded him: the most outstanding of the northern generation, a young Grand Knight. To put it bluntly, even if he were fleeing battle, no one would dare accuse him.

He skirted the main battlefield, making for the depths of the snowy forest at speed. Suddenly, Lando halted, casting one last glance at the radiant sphere beneath the necromantic sky—a place sealed by the cloaked man and the kingdom’s master mages. Without another moment’s hesitation, he vanished into the snowy woods.

...

Boom!

A colossal tree snapped in two with a single blow. Several barbarian warriors were smashed apart, their faces frozen in disbelief even in death.

Sensing that one of the younger warriors held a soul worth extracting, Lando did so without hesitation. He had confirmed his theory at the very start of the war, and by now, this had become routine.

He disassembled it, watching as his soul essence increased by 2,303 points, though he had no intention of using it immediately. It couldn’t raise his soul level, and merely enhancing his soul’s quality was of little use at present.

He’d also tried channeling it into the Grand Knight profession; aside from replenishing consumed life energy, it did nothing to advance his class. Perhaps this was because he didn’t yet understand the path beyond Grand Knight.

He pulled the metal orb from his pocket and infused it with a trace of life energy. The orb glowed white, faintly pointing in a specific direction.

By now, Lando had spent a full day and night deep in the snowy forest. At first, the orb could only vaguely indicate a direction, and each use pointed somewhere slightly different. Now, however, it pointed clearly toward one place—he knew he was drawing near his destination.

Along the way, more barbarian warriors appeared, and at times he even encountered wandering undead.

Time was running short. Lacking any stealth abilities, Lando had left more traces than he would have liked, despite his caution. This recent ambush, for example—though he crushed his foes, he’d needed to use greater force for a swift victory, making rather a commotion.

After slipping past the tight cordon, Lando arrived outside a cave. Even without the orb’s guidance, he knew he’d reached his goal—the deathly energy seeping from the cave’s depths radiated a palpable sense of foreboding.

As Lando considered how best to tackle this “dungeon”—

“Um…hello.”

What?!

He leapt back, spun around, life force surging out to shield him, the Primal Giant Ape’s aura flickering at his back—a seamless sequence of defensive maneuvers.

The speaker, a girl as beautiful as an elf, stood there awkwardly, seemingly unsure what to do in the face of his reaction.

Only then did Lando notice her. Unmoved by her innocent expression, he asked in a deep voice, “Who are you?”

The girl quickly collected herself. “My name is Alice Diallo. You can call me Alice. Senior Carter sent me. He told me to wait for you here.”

“Wait for me? Mr. Carter was so sure I’d come?”

“Not exactly. He asked me to assist you, but if you hadn’t shown up, I wouldn’t have needed to act.”

“Oh? Is that so.” Lando found Carter’s attitude rather odd.

“What was that just now? That thing outside your body—it’s kind of like the totem warriors I’ve seen in other worlds,” Alice asked with curiosity.

“…Other worlds?!” Lando instantly caught on to the phrase that piqued his interest.

“Hmm? Other what?” Alice blinked, tilting her head with a look of innocent confusion.

“You just said ‘other worlds,’ didn’t you?” Lando pressed, his voice growing firm.

Alice only blinked, tilting her head as if she had no idea what he meant.

“Fine, then. Tell me, how exactly are you going to help me?” Lando let the matter drop. Though he didn’t fully trust the girl who had appeared so suddenly, he saw no harm in hearing her out.

“There are only a few death cultists left in the cave, plus a single death walker construct—that one’s a real problem. It’s a creation on par with a Second Stage entity. Didn’t Senior Carter give you a golem? When the time comes, release it—I’ll help it hold off the death walker, and you go destroy the ritual array. How about that? Simple, right?”

Listening to this plan—so simple as to be crude—Lando was speechless. This was a plan? Wasn’t this just charging straight in?

“And your purpose? You and Mr. Carter aren’t from our world, are you? Why are you doing all this?”

“To you, our actions may seem inexplicable, but please believe—we are good people!” Alice looked at him with sincere earnestness.

Watching her serious expression, Lando’s lips twitched, at a loss for how to respond.

There was no time for further hesitation—the longer he delayed, the more likely he’d be surrounded and killed.

“Very well, let’s get moving. Do you need to prepare anything?”

“Nope, just waiting for you.” Alice replied cheerfully.

Lando drew the Wind Demon Sword he’d chosen from the treasure vault and led the charge toward the cave, Alice close behind.

The darkness of the cave posed no obstacle to them.

Unleashing the talents of the Primal Giant Ape (Blue), Lando now possessed combat power rivaling a Knight of the Realm. Neither death cultists nor the undead could withstand him.

Until a massive figure blocked their way.

Three meters tall, its skin a ghostly gray-white, its eyes gleaming crimson in the cave’s darkness. Even at a distance, the oppressive aura it radiated made Lando’s heart tremble.

“A death walker construct?!”