Swordmeister of Rome

Sian was eating with Stiel. The streets of Akulan were famous for having a lot of good restaurants. People filled the streets even when it wasn't Lagaope season.

Sian looked at the island as he ate the baked clams.

"Why won't the fireworks come out?"

"You must have really looked forward to it."

"I can't deny it."

He was really looking forward to it as the booklet said it was spectacular. However, it seemed like it wasn't today. Sian then stopped and looked toward the pedestal above the hill. He heard there were a few days until pedestal would stop. But all the Exar that was being sent down was now being reflected out.

And the waves coming out from it had stopped.

"So this…"

Lamran was impressed. This crown was the artifact that facilitated the existence of <Lagaopora> after all these years. Lamran grabbed the crown and placed it on his head.

Nothing happened.

He then remembered what the mystery man said to him.

<If you get hands on the artifact, let it drink your blood. Only a descendant of Lagaope can use it. You need to prove that you are the descendant.>

He was scared of the mystery man for knowing so many details about the crown, but it would surely grant him so much power that he wouldn't need to worry about it anymore. He then took off the crown and touched it with his still bleeding finger.

The crown turned red, then changed back to its original color.

At that moment, the flow of Exar into the crown stopped.

The waves that moved out from the crown, to the pillar, and to the sea also stopped.

'Hm…?'

The mystery man did not tell him this. The room was left with only silence. Lamran became uncomfortable and turned to Lilia. If this decision was dangerous, Lilia would've sensed it. But she looked tired, not scared. Lamran became relieved.

It was an outcome that even mystery man did not have knowledge of. Lamran then felt at ease when he realized that the mystery man wasn't so powerful after all. He turned to the crown to put it on his head again.

Then an amazing thing happened.

His senses expanded.

Actually, he could feel every living being's senses with his brain.

"Ugh…"

It gave him a headache, but he got used to it. It seemed that the crown had narrowed its power so that Lamran could withstand it. If a powerful being used it, the crown would be more powerful.

However, that did not matter.

The power belonged to him now.

He couldn't feel the humans, but he could feel every sense that the other living things felt. It was as if he could hear as they did and see as they did.

He could see the food that the fish were seeing and the taste of crops that the Kukurans were eating.

He also felt the rage of the Lorun-Taches that were charging into the room. Thousands of Lorun-Taches were now rushing toward the room once the pillar stopped working.

Lamran wasn't worried.

His power to control now exceeded that of their queen. It was as if his power was made for this artifact.

It was a good chance for him to test out his power.

Lamran issued an order through his head. No, that wasn't right. These Lorun-Taches were another <Lamran>. Thousands of Lorun-Taches, or Lamrans, began attacking the other Lorun-Taches that Lamran could not control.

A few of them came out in front of Lamran and Lilia while thousands of them erupted in a fight.

"…What's going on?!"

Lilia jumped up and took out her dagger.

"It's okay, Lilia."

Lamran spoke and the Lorun-Taches began piling on each other and laid themselves flat in front of Lilia, telling her to hop on. Lilia turned to Lamran.

He was walking to her with a crown that was glowing red.

"Let's get out of here. We can get out easily now."

Lamran was now using the Lorun-Taches to open his way through the ground.

He was delighted. No one could stop him now.

Now he could become like the man who was once his companion who put him in despair.

Lamran was so happy as he moved out of the cave with Lilia.

Then he became curious.

This power was beyond imagination. But why did the mystery man let him take such power?

He did make him promise one thing. To help him when needed.

It was going to be fulfilled, but Lamran became curious and he asked what the man would do if he was betrayed. Then the mystery man gave his answer.

He began mumbling something and told Lamran to repeat after him. That way, they could not turn their backs on each other. Lamran accepted it, but he became curious about another thing.

What was that pillar for? And how did it maintain <Lagaopora>?

Lamran decided to let that question go unanswered. The mystery man reassured to him that nothing would happen. Lamran questioned every other thing he said, but he didn't question the man's last statement.

It wasn't going to do anything and if it harmed no one, he was right to take away this crown.

He was, after all, the descendant of Lagaope, a rightful owner of this crown.

He was reborn.

-Nearby seacoast of Margaran-

Something was approaching Margaran from the sea. It looked very slow, but the actual speed was very fast. The only reason why it looked slow as because it was too large.

<Bakuron>

Meant 'Deepsea Island' in ancient words.

It was the name of the monster approaching Margaran. It was a bit of an exaggeration for it to be called an island, but it was so huge that it fit the name well. It was infamous back a few hundred years ago, but no one knew its name anymore.

This monster gained its fame after killing the Grand Bander that tried to open up the sea route through the Kiara Sea. The only reason why it was forgotten was because it didn't cause any problems during those few hundred years.

The <Bakuron> didn't think much. This deepsea Harijan only had one thing in its brain. <Leave anything up above the water and swallow everything that travels beneath it.>

It was a simple order, but the effect was powerful. The Bakuron did not remember when its brain was filled with the order, but it needed to follow it. For hundreds of years, it kept eating everything beneath the surface.

After continuous work, no monsters entered its territory. The Bakuron had no enemy that could kill it. As the new season started, the order that made it protect the water weakened, but another order invaded its mind.

<Go back to the starting point of the route.>

It followed the instruction. It was what the monster did continuously for the past hundreds of years. Once it returned to the starting point, the first order began to fill its mind again and the rest of it was rinse and repeat.

But something was different this time.

No more orders were coming to it.

With no orders, its instinct began to fill its mind.

<Hungry.>

It was an instinct that had always been blocked off by the order.

Luckily, the starting point of the route it always traveled to had an abundant number of small food. They were above sea level so he couldn't eat them before, but there was no order to stop it from doing it this time.

Thus, the Bakuron began traveling toward the city.

They were small, but there were a lot of them.

The Bakuron was hundreds of years old, so even it could walk on land now.

The monster was quickly moving toward the beach.