Nerva was considered a nerd in his youth. He liked to read books just as much as he exercised. He possessed a calm, beautiful, and kind heart and was excellent at everything he did. Because of that, he drew the envy and jealousy of the other Battle God prospects training alongside him.

Even though Nerva was kind and good-natured, everyone still tried to harass him just because he was good at everything. And the same thing happened on that day. One of the trainees raised his leg and tripped Nerva, who was quietly reading his book. Another trainee threw an egg at him as if he found the confused Nerva funny.

Nerva grew furious when he saw the egg trickling down his forehead. “You! What are you guys doing…”

But several eggs rained down on him before he could even finish his words. It was as if they had been waiting for him. Now covered with raw eggs, Nerva could not understand why the other trainees did this to him. He could only look at them blankly while thinking sadly,

The trainees stopped throwing eggs when they suddenly realized that a man had appeared before Nerva. The man glared coldly at them and said, “Do you want me to break your legs?”

“...N– No.”

“Sorry, Brod.”

Brod, just like Nerva, also excelled in everything. No, he was even more outstanding than Nerva. However, his character and attitude were utterly different from Nerva's. If Nerva were the typical nerd, Brod would be the type of person who could not stomach seeing injustice and would crush it if he witnessed one.

“Let me see you doing this again, and I won’t let you go.”

Everyone ran away after hearing Brod’s bluff. Once they disappeared, Brod and Nerva went to the showers to wash.

“Hey.”

When Brod was about to leave after washing up, he heard Nerva call him from behind.

Nerva, in a roundabout way, said, “Someday… Someday, I will also save you when you’re in danger.”

That day, Nerva made a vow to Brod, who was smiling at him. From that day forth, the two became close friends.

***

Nerva, whose left arm was now missing, slowly approached Duke Vlad.

Brod’s eyes widened when he saw Nerva’s back going further away. He shouted, “Nerva! Nerva! NERVAAAAAAA!!!”

Brod was furious. It did not matter what he would do; even if Nerva died for his sake, he would never forgive him. And even if he died, Brod would make sure to chase him down in hell and torment him. He was sure that Nerva knew this. So, why was he doing this?

Nerva did not answer. He continued to walk toward Duke Vlad, recalling his memories and the vow he had made in the showers.

“Your– Your Majesty… Why are you attacking me?” Vlad stuttered as he hurriedly tried to stop the bleeding from the severe injury inflicted on the back of his head. At the same time, he was confused and dumbfounded. He was sure that Nerva was drunk, but there were no signs of intoxication on his face at all.

Nerva was a powerhouse that was comparable to Brod and Duke Vlad. He did not become the emperor of the Luvien Empire and the Battle God’s Sword for nothing.

“Wiping out all of the Beyond the Heavens Empire members for your sake, Your Majesty…”

“How long are you going to continue with this act?” Nerva said coldly as he looked deeply at Duke Vlad.

Nerva witnessed Duke Vlad’s fingers moving as thousands of Disses fell from the sky. He already harbored doubts about Duke Vlad, which was why he could see it. He knew full well that Duke Vlad could not use any magic. Even the Swords of the Gods were confused when they saw Duke Vlad use magic.

But Duke Vlad continued with his act. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Everything that I’m doing is for your sake, Your Majesty.”

With those words, Nerva said, “My beloved faithful vassal, Duke Vlad. As the emperor of the Luvien Empire, I command you to offer your neck to me.”

If he were Nerva’s faithful servant, he would give his neck to his emperor without any doubt. Was it unreasonable? Yes. The relationship between an emperor and his vassal could be this unreasonable.

Nerva continued to walk toward Vlad. When he reached him, he stopped and swung his sword at Vlad’s neck without hesitation.

Then, Duke Vlad cackled. “It seems like I have to change my plans.”

A blast of electric current surged from Duke Vlad’s left hand, which he used to block Nerva’s sword.

Nerva moved his sword and cut Duke Vlad’s back.

Meanwhile, the confused Swords of the Gods only understood the situation when they saw Duke Vlad attack Nerva.

“Protect His Majesty!”

“Hurry! Move!”

“That’s treason!”

No, perhaps it could not be considered as treason.

Duke Vlad’s body was engulfed in flames.

When the flames disappeared, what appeared was a completely different face from Duke Vlad. The Magic Swordsman Arumbe, who was in the form of an old man, appeared in front of everyone.

The most significant reason why Brod suffered severe injuries from Arumbe was because he had been careless. Nevertheless, his level was still astonishingly high. But Nerva did not even flinch or shrink in front of him. Of course, he was at a significant disadvantage, especially since he had lost an arm. But this did not change that he was the emperor of the most substantial empire.

Five Hellfires shot out of Arumbe’s fingertips. However, Nerva took two simple steps to avoid them and split the rest with his sword. The only reason why Nerva lost his left arm from the Hellfire earlier was because he saved Brod. But now that he did not need to protect someone? The rate at which Arumbe cast his Hellfires could not keep up with his movements. If Brod had been hailed as the in the past, then Nerva would have been the This was because his swordsmanship was closely related to and took on the form of a hawk.

“Plade Swordsmanship. Chapter 3.”

The Luvien Empire’s Emperor rarely jumped on the frontlines. However, that would not change the fact that he was one of the NPCs at the highest position in the current era.

“Hunting Prey.”

A sword light stretched out from Nerva’s sword and instantly pierced through Arumbe’s chest. It was as fast and as strong as a hawk.

Arumbe’s face grew ugly when Nerva narrowed the distance between them, putting pressure on him like no other.

The power of the Fire Storm appeared and wrapped around Arumbe’s sword. The rampant fiery energy tried to drag Nerva as it danced on the blade of his sword. But when the fiery energy was about to drag him in, something pecked and tore Arumbe’s neck.

“Cast Hunting.”

Dozens of hawks flew out of Nerva’s sword and soared to the skies.

“Kree-eee-eear!” The dozens of hawks screeched loudly as they circled in the sky.

And then, they shot toward Arumbe before he could even drag Nerva to his side.

The entire world was left in shock, their breaths reeling as they witnessed the dignity and majesty of a true emperor.

But contrary to everyone’s hope, there was a frown on Nerva’s face. He thought,

Meanwhile, Arumbe had created several shields to defend against the dozens of hawks that shot toward him from Nerva’s Cast Hunting.And Arumbe? He was extremely furious. He shouted, “Trash!”

Arumbe had been waiting for a long time for Helenia’s complete revival. He thought he could become one of the gods in the new world with the mad Battle God firmly held at his hands. This was why he could stomach staying in the shell of Duke Vlad for a very long time.

But now? All of his plans had gone awry. He had to kill everyone here to allow Helenia to descend completely.

An enormous magic circle appeared with a swing of Arumbe’s sword. The magic circle was so vast that it included the fallen and gasping Brod. This magic circle was the Magic Field. Once the Magic Field has been cast, a mage’s casting time would be reduced in half while his magical damage would increase by 1.5x. Since the one that cast the Magic Field was none other than Helenia’s disciple, the effects were much more shocking.

Hundreds of magical attacks flew toward Nerva. Their speed, size, and number were far more significant than before.

This was what Nerva’s gut was telling him.

“Hawk’s Plight.”

Nerva’s steps were light, but he moved at a fast speed. This movement allowed him to escape from the onslaught of the magical attacks. However, he still failed to evade some magical attacks. This was because they were the type of magic that would hit their target no matter what.

“Ugh!” Nerva groaned when he was hit with a powerful explosion. But instead of going away, he turned around and looked at Brod.

He could see that Brod was also receiving the brunt of the attacks. Perhaps Brod might die anytime soon. Just when Nerva thought that he had to kill Arumbe quickly, Arumbe appeared behind Nerva and stabbed him in his chest after weaving through the explosions.

“Urk!” Nerva groaned as he staggered on his feet and vomited a mouthful of blood.

Of course, Arumbe did not miss the opportunity and stabbed Nerva continuously with his sword imbued with lightning magic.

“Keuaaaaaaack!” screams were ripped out of Nerva’s mouth. He suffered severe and irreparable damage from the attack. The worst part? The power of lightning put him in a stunned state.

After inflicting severe damage on Nerva and Brod, Arumbe moved to finish this battle. He summoned tens of thousands of fireballs all around him. The fireballs glittered and sparkled like fireflies flying in the dead of the night.

The sight was extremely shocking. This was Arumbe’s innate ingenuity that even Helenia coveted. He could cast countless Explosion magic, keep them still, and only allow them to explode at his will. If all of them exploded at the same time, they would be able to exert power that was comparable to Helenia’s Meteor or Hellfire. However, these suppressed fireballs should remain neutral for ten seconds.

Magic spread out from Arumbe’s fingertips as he raised his hand and cast a Fire Wall that enclosed the area around them. With this, no one could interrupt him for ten seconds.

Arumbe pointed his finger at Nerva, who was finally released from his stunned state and was about to move.

“Bang– Bang, bang, bang, bang.”

Nerva was sent rolling on the ground and coughing up blood.

This countdown would also signal the triumphant arrival of Arumbe’s shards to Helenia’s embrace. Now that all the troublesome and annoying ones were gone, things would be easier for Arumbe.

“Fufufufufufufufufu…!” Arumbe, the old mage, cackled. He was a human but wanted to become a god and stand by Helenia.

But there was one thing that Arumbe should not have overlooked. He was only wary of Nerva and Brod because they were the strongest out of everyone present.

A whisper was heard from the fortress's entrance saying, “Transcendence.”

Everyone received a restriction wherein they could not receive any whenever they were around Helenia’s Fragments. Of course, this was the only power that she had restricted. But Transcendence was an entirely different concept from buffs.

Transcendence was a skill that allowed Minhyuk to absorb the amount of damage that he had received and give him a burst of power in one go. The amount of transcendence that he could gather would depend on the level and strength of the enemy, and it could give him a buff equivalent to buffs given by God-grade dishes once triggered.

And these were the notifications that rang in Minhyuk’s ears when he tried to activate the skill:

Black energy blasted and engulfed Minhyuk’s entire body as he left the entrance to the fortress. As if Alexander was waiting for this moment, he swiftly summoned his Weapon Corps to fill the gap that Minhyuk had left behind. Alexander only had a few minutes to fill in this gap. And this was only made possible because the Swords of the Gods jumped into the fray.

But the notifications did not end there.

Minhyuk, who had not used any defensive skill even in the face of danger, quickly triggered his Absolute Defense, which would last for seven seconds. He had been saving his defensive skills just in case the owner of the mysterious footprints arrived, and he arrived.

Minhyuk took out a potion while running.

Arumbe, who caught sight of Minhyuk trying to get past his Fire Wall, shot dozens of magical attacks at Minhyuk. Among those magical attacks was Hellfire. However, none of the attacks that he sent inflicted any damage on Minhyuk.

Arumbe looked at Minhyuk in doubt while continuing the countdown in his head.

However, a mage's most significant disadvantage was that the attack would fail if their casting were interrupted.

“Sword of Frenzy.”

Minhyuk’s sword went straight through Arumbe’s chest. At the same time, the notifications from the potion that he drank rang in his ears.

The time to level up like crazy had arrived.