Level 0 Master

"Your Highness… Your Highness…"

Sungjin laughed while Rittier cried out. His laughter looked like a predator satisfied with the prey in his mouth.

"How can you laugh in this situation!"

"Well because victory is still in our hands."

"Wh… what? What are you talking about! It's all over now!"

"I told you. I easily expected your actions. Which means it was not difficult for me to predict this plot."

"Even if you predicted that, it is too late now!"

"Au contraire. I was waiting for this timing."

"What?"

Rittier was confused for a moment. What timing Sungjin was waiting for.

Now Rittier was dead, and his death brought an absolute disadvantage to the situation. What could Sungjin possibly wait for? If he had had his secret tactic for victory and predicted this situation, wouldn't it make more sense if Sungjin told the tactic to the princess?

If not, wouldn't he have escaped earlier to tell the princess the truth and take over command earlier?

Why was Sungjin waiting for this timing?

"What arrogance! That doesn't make any sense! How can you possibly rescue the princess now?"

"What would you do if you could do something?"

"Huh! If you can really rescue her from this situation, I would give you my life!"

"I don't need your life, just follow my command from now on."

"Sure. If you do, I will serve you after the princess! Only if you make it!"

"Good. Now, it is time to win," said Sungjin with a diabolic smile on his face. That made Rittier wonder if maybe something was going on.

Maybe this level 0 alien from another world had some kind of power other than Heroic Power, and he had transcendental power to control the battle outside of the battlefield?

Even the highest level heroes don't have such power.

Only God could do that, or a Devil, probably.

Now, Rittier was reminded that Sungjin's name was the "Devil Commander."

Finally, Sungjin shared his secret tactic.

That was… to give Ereka a letter.

"Good game. Ah, I don't comprehend. Game over. Let's use this one from now on," said Sungjin as he started to relax in a chair in the waiting room.

"Nonsense! That thing can't bring victory to the princess!"

"Stupidity is not a sin. But just shut up and watch."

"What…! Nonsense!"

But in the next moment, Rittier realized something.

"Is it something like an S-level grimoire or a wipe-out item? Is it? But if it is such a strong spell, it will need a massive amount of crystals! I don't think the princess can hold out for that long."

"Tsk. Ahh. Okay. If you want to talk, keep talking. I guess rubbish comments can be a spice of the game."

Sungjin took his seat calmly, showing he didn't care anymore.

* * *

Using the blessings of God, the Valkyrie healed Ereka's body and replenished the Heroic Power that was consumed during the battle.

Now, what should I do?

She knew she had to be back out for the fight, but the hopeless situation made her face sad.

First, I need to activate some items using my crystals…

[New unique item is ready to be activated.] The Valkyrie spoke mysteriously.

"What are you talking about? Show me the list."

She spotted a unique item on the list.

[A letter from Sungjin: 1 crystal needed to activate.]

A letter?

In principle, the items on the list were basic items. If not unique, all the regular items of Valhalla could be activated on the battlefield as long as enough crystals were used. She realized this only after she was defeated by Sungjin, who activated a hunting trap and oil.

For unique items, if a person entered the waiting room holding the item, the item holder could activate the item.

But it was strange to have a letter as a unique item, and not a wipe-out item.

When did this letter come in?

Only 1 crystal was needed for the activation. The Valkyrie made a judgment that this was quite worthless, but Sungjin's name was on it.

"Activate."

Maybe… Maybe… this letter can give us hope.

In this situation, not even a legendary item or a wipe-out item on the list would help them though.

Knowing it was meaningless, still, Ereka had hope. She couldn't give up this last bit of hope.

Ereka started to read the letter slowly with shaky hands.

"Have you despaired in this 2:3 battle? Don't worry and trust me. I will make you win."

Sungjin's confident tone already had Rittier's death in the count.

She read the letter more rapidly, and then, her hand stopped shaking.

This is… Sungjin's secret tactic…

It was almost like Sungjin was holding her hand and telling her not to worry. In this moment of despair, Sungjin's every word gave her hope and saved her.

It was a revelation rather than just words, a revelation from a savior.

Will this work like this? No, this will surely work…!

Half of her was worried, and she had doubts about the revelation, but half of her also wanted to follow it.

"Trust me."

Ereka felt Sungjin holding her hand and leading her forward. Hope lightened up the direction he pointed to in this moment of darkness. She found hope in following his lead. He who predicted all situations would surely lead her to victory. He was her only hope and savior.

"I trust you," she murmured and put the letter back into her pocket.

It was Ereka who asked for his help. Then now, it was her duty to trust him and follow.

"I trust Sungjin with my all and all of my kingdom."

The battle proceeded.

* * *

In the waiting room, Rittier looked at Sungjin.

"The letter with your tactic was what you were talking about? I'm sure it was pre-written."

"Oh, yeah. I wrote it before bed last night."

"Ugh. That is useless! Now I'm dead, and everything is rapidly changing. Tactical command has to be adapted to the circumstances for every unexpected factor for every moment. A pre-written plan is useless now that I'm dead!"

"I think I mentioned that I already predicted everything."

"Stop lying! If so, you would have told her your plan earlier! Now without me, our military power is down, and the princess is wounded due to her inward agitation. This is the worst timing possible to share your tactic."

"No, this is the perfect timing."

"But how!"

Sungjin was relaxed while Rittier was crying out loud. Rittier was reasonable, and his words made sense. It almost seemed like Sungjin was being arrogant.

But…

"Neither you nor the princess are good actors. It has to look real to make the enemy believe it. You died to give them vanity, and the princess showed her despair to let them believe in their victory. Now, this is the perfect timing for my plan to work."

"Wh… what?"

Rittier felt his blood freeze with surprise.

He had ignored Sungjin and devised his own plan. It had been a radical act from Sungjin's point of view, but Sungjin used that radical act to hide Rittier's weakness of being a bad actor to throw the enemies off their guard?

If he really predicted until that stage, then that was already surprising.

But it was beyond surprise to use Rittier's radicality act against him. That was truly out of the box thinking.

Who is this guy in front of me? Is he a real genius?

But…

"Even if… even if that is true, now I am dead, their military power is incomparably stronger than us. Isn't the price too high to try to take them off guard? What is the point of your deception? Now we can't win!"

Rittier was right.

Sungjin may have created a psychological weakness, but without enough force, it was impossible to attack that weakness. The idea was clearly innovative, yet it was just meaningless when the idea was not going to lead them to victory.

Sungjin smiled back to that ordinary question coming from an ordinary person.

"Just watch how this will lead us to victory."

That overly confident smile gave Rittier the creeps. There was no way to upset the situation.

But… what if… he really leads us to victory…

Sungjin predicted Rittier's radical actions to use it against him, and what if Sungjin could really change this disadvantageous situation…?

What would it mean if Sungjin's intelligence was beyond the genius of humans? Sungjin would be a devil.

Then Rittier realized something. This man, Sungjin, was either a madman or just a satanic worshipper being that was beyond comprehension.

The result of this battle would give him the answer.

In the meantime, the battle was taking place on the top lane. The fight was close; as soon as Firgrine was thrown off his guard for a second, Jenna threw the light ball.

"Yaaap!"

"Ugh."

When Firgrine was hit by the light ball and tumbled back, Jenna took that chance and struck the ground with her hammer.

"Thunder Ground Power!"

Firgrine's laugh was insidious.

"Hahaha. Got you!"

"What?"

While she tilted her tail, chains started to surround her. At the same time, the Meteor Pendulum at the end of the chain flew toward Jenna's head to crush it.

"Ahhh?!"

The meteor pendulum struck Jenna. Jenna's force dropped in a second, and her robe got torn up. With a few more blows, she was about to be hurt directly.

"Ahhhhhhhh ugh!"

Jenna turned into a bolt of lightning with a scream and ran towards the back. This was a spell called "A Thousand Breakthroughs," and it allowed one to change into a bolt of lightning for rapid movement or to attack, escape and chase.

Unlike the name, it was more useful to retreat though.

"Whew."

Thinking she made it out, her knife tail dropped in relief.

"Not so fast!" Firgrine shouted and jumped into the range of the turret.

He was so sure of himself. He had already collected enough crystals to upgrade his defense items, so the attack of the turret couldn't hurt him. And the level 4 wizard used her escaping skill, so it would take a heartbeat to kill her.

He was so sure he could kill her.

"Ahhhhhhh?!"

Jenna screamed and ran away to the forest, abandoning the turret. Her tail pointed upwards, screaming to her to run away.

"I am coming for you."

Firgrine followed Jenna.

I killed Rittier, so if I kill her too, most of the credit will come to me!

Then the beautiful body of the princess would be his.

What is the best way to take her virginity? Abruptly? Or after torturing her for a long time?

Just the imagination excited Firgrine. Killing Jenna would mean having the princess.

"Ahhhhhh! Help me! Ahhhhhhh!"

Screaming out loud, Jenna ran across the forest toward the bottom lane where Ereka was.

"Rittier! Help me!" Jenna cried out loud for help.

And to answer that… a strong wind raided Jenna.

"Ahhhhhh?! Nart!?"

"You are a fool to be snatched up like this."

Twin blades within the wind were piercing Jenna's neck. This was a moment of life or death, and the secret tactic Sungjin had was meaningless for the violence she was facing.

"A Thousand Breakthroughs!"

The cooldown time was up, and Jenna was able to stay alive by using her speed spell, but she was far from safety.

The knight of wind and the knight of fire were chasing her. There was no chance for her, even if it was 1:1. The security of the turret was useless.

But she had to fight against two. Once she was caught, that would be it.

The young girl ran for her life, and her chasers were laughing at her.

She wouldn't have known that she was running towards despair and not toward hope. There were no reinforcements, it was just a trap. They were hunting her like a rabbit. The only thing that was stopping them now was the competition between the two knights.

The question was, who would get her?

At the same time, Ereka couldn't find peace of mind while fighting against Angrasil on the bottom lane.

"Ugh."

With her fighting spirit gone, Ereka was not able to return Angrasil's attack properly. She made narrow escapes from the ice spear attacks. Every time, she tried to concentrate her Heroic Power to protect herself only to miss the perfect timing to attack and instead received small wounds.

Ice covered her body to slow down her movements. The next moment, as soon as Ereka had reached her limit and lost control of her body, the ice spear stabbed her deep in her thigh.

Her blood spurted just to be frozen and hit the ground.

"Ice Flower!"

A few dozen ice spears raised up from the ground. There was no escape from the flower shaped spears.

Ereka jumped and pushed down the spears with her shield to retreat, but it was not enough. She was getting more wounds.

"Ha ha ha ha…"

"Poor thing. Why don't you let me kill you? I will be gentle compared to the other two."

"I don't trust you… and I haven't given up yet… I will… be back."

Ereka stepped back and hid within a bush. This was to create more distance in case the enemy jumped within the turret's range. In other words, the balance between her and the enemy was extremely unfavorable to make her have to use this last bit of distance.

* * *

In the waiting room.

Rittier lost his words and kept watching the battle in silence.

Your Highness…

Sungjin confidently handed the letter with his secret tactic for nothing. However great the tactic was, what mattered the most was your level. In this absolute imbalance, a quick gimmick from an extra class was useless.

At least, I wish I were there…

Even if Sungjin had a brilliant tactic, there was no one who could execute the tactic. Sungjin's plan for victory was in his head. It was just an illusion.

Your Highness…

* * *

Out of breath, Jenna rushed to the bottom turret. Her fluttering tail lost its rhythm.

"Princess… Princess…"

There was no answer, and her chasers, Nart and Firgrine, appeared instead. Angrasil greeted them. The three knights of fire, wind, and water fiercely stared at the poor girl.

"The princess?"

"Just recalled to her base."

The short conversation revealed everything.

"What?"

Jenna realized that now, her last hope was gone. Her tail shuddered, and she slowly stepped back with her body shivering.

"Haha. Ok."

Unlike Jenna, the three knights smiled cruelly.

Jenna still had the turret, but all the enemies were here. One baby wizard was not a problem for the three of them.

The only question was, who would kill her?

There was no need to talk. They all needed an achievement from this battle in order to level up. A higher level meant more power, status, wealth, and honor, and in this battle, there was a beauty on the top of all that.

The knight of fire started his attack without hesitation.

"Molting Sentence!"

Like a poisonous snake, magma chains surrounded Jenna.

Every single tiny spark contained heat that could burn down the earth.

The knight of the wind quickly joined in.

"Hurricane Blade!"

Swirling double hurricanes started to stab her young, tender body without mercy. Thirty-three magic sword joined in on the attack.

A fast death would have been merciful. One enemy would have been enough for inevitable death, but it was two—no, it was three.

"Frozen Rain!"

Using his spear as a lever, Angrasil jumped up into the sky. A dozen spears appeared on the right and left of the perfectly aimed ice spear.

All twelve of them were exactly the same as the original. They all had the same power as the spear Angrasil was holding.

Ice spears rained down on Jenna at the same time. One magical spear was able to break down a rampart, but there were twelve of them.

That meant nothing but death, but the more fearful thing was coming—Angrasil himself became a spear to join in on the attack. The thirteenth spear dealt by Angrasil was the ultimate magical spear that could break down ramparts with multiple layers.

The simultaneous attacks of three knights' ultimates were over the top to kill one tiny kid.

The weak had no choice but to surrender and to take the violence. This kid was nothing in front of these powerful knights on high.

Jenna shrunk and covered her eyes with her hands. It was a desperate flight from her hopeless reality.