Proof of Strength

Since neither Azrael nor his knights would budge on their opinions, using the teleportation circle immediately was clearly out of the question.

In the end, the biggest victim of this dispute was neither Azrael, nor the knights, nor me, but the Lord of this region. Despite the group appearing without any notice of an overnight stay, the Lord could not afford to mistreat the Fourth Prince and his knights. He had to run around in a pitiful display of effort, doing everything in his power to play the host.

“I have told you multiple times that he is a person who can be trusted.”

“Even if the Knight Commander says so, the teleportation circle here is a secret among secrets. Even the Lord does not know its exact location, so how can we reveal it to someone whose identity is unknown?”

“Do you see me as someone who trusts others out of mere favoritism?”

This… nutritional-less and useless argument continued even after the evening dinner had ended. Why is the conversation going in circles like this? If this is a game, they should act like it and give me a quest like, [I don’t know what kind of guy you are, so go hunt a hundred monsters and bring back fifty horns], or, [I will acknowledge you if you deliver this item to So-and-so in the next village and return!].

A deep sense of ‘reality hit’ washed over me—why do I have to drag out my time like this just to spectate a squabble between NPCs?

Now I understand why users of Knights of Dark Ages kill NPCs so often. When I hadn’t played the game deeply, I wondered if everyone playing it was a psychopath, but as they say, you truly don’t know until you’ve stood in those shoes.

I missed the NPCs from my side, who would hand over annoying tasks quickly and simply via a quest window while making light, pleasant conversation.

“Azrael, he has proven nothing, so why do you trust him so?”

“I said I am indebted to him. Is there anything more he needs to prove?”

“Humans are not one-dimensional, are they? Even a wicked criminal is bound to have someone who owes them a favor.”

“Did you just compare my friend to a wicked criminal?”

“It was just a simple example!”

I listened to this stagnant conversation again, and again, and again, until I finally opened my mouth to ask.

“I don’t know why I have to prove anything to you, but if I must, what should I prove and how? Strength? Unfortunately, I don’t have a status here that I can present.”

As I, who had been listening quietly the whole time, finally spoke, a ripple spread among the knights. The knights wavered, unable to produce a clear consensus among themselves. In truth, there was no way for me to perfectly prove my identity in this situation.

What they really wanted wasn’t so much for me not to use the teleportation circle, but rather for me not to be part of their itinerary. If it were just the circle, we could travel by other means. However, neither Azrael nor the knights suggested any other method. I didn’t know the specifics, but given their circumstances which they couldn’t share with me, it seemed they could not travel by any means other than the teleportation circle.

If that’s the case, what can I do? I have to prove myself.

“Friend of the Knight Commander, which path do you walk?”

After much discussion, this was what the knights asked me. I looked up at Azrael, wondering what on earth that meant. Azrael shrugged and answered.

“They are asking if you walk the path of a swordsman or a mage.”

“Ah…. Are you going to change the content of the test depending on the profession?”

“Likely so.”

“Any test is fine with me. As long as it doesn’t involve killing people.”

Though there are slight differences in control ability between professions, I didn’t cultivate my character so poorly that I would have to make excuses against knights with about eight thousand health. As I answered casually, a red-haired knight—I believe his name was Simon—spoke through gritted teeth.

“Are you looking down on the elite of the First Knight Order? You appear to be a mage or a priest, but what will you do if we demand you pick up a sword?”

“Aren’t you guys the ones looking down on me too much? So, I just need to hold a sword? Who is going to face me?”

The red-haired knight looked around as if asking for his comrades’ consensus, then stepped forward as if to volunteer. Health 8,230. Will he be okay?

I’m not confident I won’t kill him. I frowned slightly.

“Do you have a problem with your opponent?”

“It’s not a problem, but…. What if you get hurt or die?”

“I am not so unskilled that I cannot control my own strength.”

Ah, well, I’m sorry for being so ‘unskilled’ that I can’t control mine.

“If you are truly worried, you can entrust your crystal to the Knight Commander. I am doing the same.”

At those words, I was reminded once again that this is just a game, and the person standing before me is an AI, not a human.

“……Right. Then, shall we go have a duel?”

As I drew a rapier from my inventory, my outfit naturally changed into white riding gear. I had never found this shimmering pure white to be an eyesore while playing the game, but walking around in white clothes among this group of black armor, it couldn’t have been more distracting.

The training grounds were quite a bit narrower than I expected. Muttering that I should seal all skills that might affect the surroundings, I placed a ring with a shield skill on Azrael’s finger.

Just in case I accidentally caused him harm.

The knight standing opposite me for the duel had taken off his armor and was only holding a sword, perhaps conscious of my light riding attire. This riding gear likely had higher defense than that armor, but I stood facing him without pointing that out.

The young knight did not seem to doubt his own victory.

Well, that makes sense. It is no easy task to become an elite knight of the kingdom’s First Knight Order at a young year. No matter how good the stamina of the youth is, in this era of eternal war that feels like it will never end, one cannot become a knight higher than the seasoned veterans who have achieved massive feats without exceptional skill.

His only miscalculation was that I was neither an NPC of this game nor a user of this game.

“Then, let the duel begin.”

With the start of the duel, the two swords crossed as if sliding against each other. The blades clashed, producing a sharp metallic sound.

“…….”

“Does anyone have an objection?”

As if it were only natural, the duel ended in a single exchange. Before his sword could even be aimed at me, my blade was touching his throat.

The training grounds were shrouded in silence.

“If anyone has a complaint, come out now. I hate wasting time on such arguments. I’d like matters to be kept short and simple.”

The young knights glared at me fiercely. They looked as if they might draw their swords, unable to accept the result. The veteran knights watched me with sunken eyes. Glances filled with deep suspicion were directed toward me.

I scanned them slowly with my eyes and then shifted my gaze slowly to Azrael. He watched my movements without a word, and when our eyes met, he turned his gaze to the knights.

“Anyone with an objection, speak now. If not, bury it in your hearts. One who babbles behind backs about a matter already settled is no knight.”

“But….”

“Your worries are all groundless. Just as I was, I am the only person he knows in this world. We do not even know how long he will stay here. What reason would he have to betray a friend?”

“Your Highness, however.”

The knights looked at me as if I were a devil who had seduced a good child due to Azrael’s firm attitude, but Azrael hid me behind his back with a small movement and spoke to the knights.

“Do you trust me so little?”

What more words were needed?

The situation ended just like that.

I cannot log out.

After the duel ended and I entered my assigned room, the first thing I checked was the logout function. Even though several events that should have lifted the logout restriction had occurred, the function remained inactive.

I clicked the logout button irritably until I grew tired of my own efforts and sprawled out on the bed.

If I can’t log out, they should at least let me talk to my friends. When I opened the friend list in annoyance, no one was logged in—no, wait, what? Someone was ‘Online.’ Squinting at the friend list, the ‘Online’ indicator was clearly attached next to someone’s name.

But…, is this… an error?

The person’s nickname was completely garbled with broken text; there wasn’t a single character I could read properly. Far from reading it, I couldn’t even tell if the nickname was written in Korean or some other foreign language.

Is this an intentional effect, or has a bug occurred?

Cold sweat ran down my spine. A sudden, strange thought occurred to me.

What if I accidentally connected to a collaboration event that is still under development?

I had seen countless news stories about VR game players losing consciousness for unknown reasons while playing and failing to wake up. What if that has happened to me?

If I’m going to die anyway, it would be nice to see my favorite character’s face one last time, but I didn’t want to die this soon.

It was while I was repeating these ominous assumptions. There was a knock at the door.