"We express our regrets over the extensive damage inflicted on the Ghetto Region and the Empireʼs Peacekeeping Forces due to the sudden monster attacks..."
The official account spread across the entire continent in an instant through the News Bulletin.
The large-scale monster outbreak was treated as an anomalous event, resulting in casualties for the Ghetto Region and the Imperial Garrison. The announcement stated that numerous missing persons had occurred while attempting to contain it.
Among those missing were Morgan Buffon, the legion commander of the Empire; Abel
Draker, who had received the Guardian Knight Seat of the Draker Family; and William Siemens, the heir of the Siemens Family.
Kali Draker, who had received an alliance proposal from the Zoin Tribe in the Ghetto Region, formally recognized the independence of the Western Allied Forces composed of the Zoin Tribe and Beastmen, and pledged her support.
Kali also announced that she had dispatched a Knight Order to subjugate the monsters and safely "protect" the isolated Imperial Garrison.
Among those under protection were Second Prince Leonardo Crawley Constantinus and Daria Calvi, a knight of the Inmagung.
The Empire was demanding the handover of the two individuals, but due to the regional lockdown measures enacted because of the rampant Mutated Red Flower Disease, external access and handover were being refused.
Zeke read through the contents of the News Bulletin and smirked.
"Self-inflicted, I suppose."
If the Empire had seized the Autonomous District and dealt with Zeke and the Black Sword Knight Order, they would undoubtedly have issued a similar bulletin.
Zeke passed the News Bulletin to Daria Calvi, who was sitting across from him.
"Ease up on the expression. I personally brought breakfast all the way here."
In front of Daria was an imperial-style breakfast consisting of eggs, bacon, properly toasted bread, and stewed beans.
The fortress previously occupied by the Imperial Garrison was now under the management of the Black Sword Knight Order.
Daria Calvi, along with Second Prince Leo, was essentially under house arrest within the fortress.
Daria glared at Zeke and said,
"How long do you plan to keep us confined here?"
Zeke took a sip of the properly brewed tea and replied,
"I told you. Once the examination for the Mutated Red Flower Disease is complete, Iʼll let you go."
At those words, Daria shot up from her seat as if she could no longer hold back.
"Cut the nonsense with your impossible excuses! Do you think you can bind the great Imperial Army with such drivel? The heinous crimes of you Drakers, who manipulated the truth through dirty means, will be exposed to the entire continent!"
Zeke looked at Daria and said,
"Didnʼt we show you all the evidence that it was the Empireʼs doing, not ours? I think itʼs too clear-cut to deny."
Daria momentarily lost her words at Zekeʼs response.
Even to her, the evidence Zeke had brought was overwhelmingly clear proof of the Empireʼs atrocities.
Her mind, loyal to the Empire for so long, refused to accept it, but her head acknowledged that Zeke spoke the truth.
Zeke offered a cup of brewed tea to Daria.
"Why donʼt you calm down and have some tea?"
Daria bit her lip tightly before plopping back down in her seat.
She then gulped down the tea Zeke offered in one go and slammed the cup down.
As if she had made some resolve, she gripped her fork and knife and began devouring the prepared breakfast ferociously.
Zeke watched her and said,
"Donʼt think of it too badly. In the current situation, if we just send everyone here back to the Empire, the Consuls will surely dump all the blame on you all. Daria Calvi, you might get off with just dismissal, but the knights of the Inmagung, being commonerborn, could end up with their heads on the block right away."
Dariaʼs hand trembled slightly as she speared a piece of bacon with her fork.
Knowing the Empireʼs ways, she was well aware that Zekeʼs words were entirely plausible.
Zeke finished his tea and slowly rose from his seat.
"Whether itʼs the prince or you, Daria Calvi, Iʼll send you back to the Empire when the time comes. But deciding whether to return or stay here will be up to you." Daria looked up and glared at Zeke.
"Are you trying to sway me to the Draker side?"
"That would be ideal. Of course, your choice matters."
"If I say I want to return to the Empire, youʼll let me go? Even though itʼs obvious Iʼd bolster their forces again? Ridiculous."
"Bolstering the Empireʼs forces... I wonder if thatʼs really possible. I know you have many enemies within the Empire. Do you think you can maintain your current position upon return? Even if you rely on Duke Crevanʼs protection, youʼre not his official heir. Unless you ascend to Black Knight rank on your own power, I doubt the Empire will wait that long."
Daria couldnʼt refute Zekeʼs words at all.
"How does he know all this?"
Zeke Draker was not just talented as a knight.
He had the insight to read the complex political landscape of the Empire at a glance and delve deep into its intricacies.
Such a person was exceedingly rare.
Zeke looked at Daria and said,
"You still have plenty of time, so think it over slowly. The knights of the Inmagung— theyʼre good comrades youʼve been with for a long time, arenʼt they?" As he closed the door and left, Daria clenched her fists, trembling. "...Damn it."
Not a single word from Zeke was wrong.
If they returned to the Empire as defeated commanders now, she would be dismissed on the pretext of failing to protect the prince, and the Inmagung knights would surely be executed as examples or thrown into prison.
The weakening of the Empireʼs forces was of no concern in the Consulsʼ power struggles.
All they cared about was maintaining their own private armies.
"Zeke Draker..."
Dariaʼs face was filled with worry.
*
"Sheʼs almost swayed."
Zeke visited Daria every morning and said similar things.
At first, she had firmly refused, but as she recognized her own situation, she was gradually wavering under Zekeʼs words.
Daria Calvi had a steadfast personality that valued her comrades. She knew better than anyone that returning to the Empire meant she couldnʼt protect them, so she had no choice but to agonize.
Zeke planned to recruit Daria to form a mounted archer unit.
Combining her mounted archers with Claireʼs archer unit would undoubtedly provide solid rear support on the battlefield.
"For now, Iʼll have to wait a bit."
In the afternoon, he needed to meet with Second Prince Leo.
Unlike his conversations with Daria, which aimed at persuasion, with the Second Prince, Zeke steered the dialogue to gauge the current state of the Empire.
Above all, he needed to learn about the emperorʼs condition.
"Dismissing him as just an old man obsessed with immortality feels off—thereʼs more
to it."
In his past life, the emperor had clung to the throne without dying, devoting all his efforts to finding the Elder Dragon Relic.
Because Zekeʼs regression had altered history, the emperorʼs situation had changed as well, so it was necessary to examine what results that change had brought.
Before meeting Leo, Zeke confirmed he had some time left and returned to his room.
He took out the Ring of Solomon from his Inventory.
He had sealed a portion of the Harbinger of Blood and Madnessʼs origin, but unlike with the High-Rank Nightmare Demon Pan, he couldnʼt wield its Authority.
"Does it have to be completely sealed to use the Authority?"
It was regrettable, but in conclusion, sealing the power of the Harbinger of Blood and Madness had dealt a significant blow to the Siemens and Narak factions by denying them that strength.
He put the ring back and sat in a chair, opening the System Window. "Hmm."
Zeke pondered as he looked at the System Window.
For several days, he had been wrestling with the System Window.
The reason was the reward from the Special Random Box obtained after absorbing the Colossus Engineʼs body.
"A Skillbook. Who wouldʼve thought something like that would come out." It was a new System function he had acquired.
He could purchase recorded Active Skills using Karma Points and sell his owned skills to gain Karma Points—this was the "Skillbook."
For days, while staying in the camp, Zeke had racked his brain researching how to find and combine new skills.
Referencing the Draconic Tongue Magic combination formulas from Nirvana, he aimed to create skills useful in combat.
Zeke checked his Status Window alongside the skill list.
[Senior Administrator Status Window]
Name: Zeke Draker
Class: Immortal (Unique Grade)
Titles: One Blessed by the Ancient Dragon, Heir of Terakan Draker, Successor of the
Sword Saint, Knight of Radiant Light, Blessing of the War God, Conqueror of the Tower, Successor of the Hero King, Glory of the Sea God, Grace of the Divine Beast, Blessing of the Archmage, Blessing of the Fairies
Authorities: Dragon Species Domination, Decay, Fortuity, Shadow Domination,
Charisma, Rewind, Freezing, Flame
Constitutions: Body of the War God, Immunity to All Poisons, Sword-Soul Body, Dragon Divine Body
System Functions: Inventory (1,000 Slots) / Mini-Map / Portal Travel (1 Companion) /
Intermediate Quest Book / Skill Shortcut Slots / Potion Shortcut Slots / Item Crafting / Defense Mode
Passive Skills: Healing Factor / Indomitable Will / Infinite Stamina / War Godʼs Senses / Limit Break
Special Skills: Elemental Sword [SS-Grade (Expert)] / Infinite Sword Art [SS-Grade
(Novice)] / Soul Confinement Technique [A-Grade (Novice)] / Full Power Technique [S-
Grade (Expert)] / Sacred Radiance Technique [S+-Grade (Novice)] / Colossus-Hunting Art [A-Grade (Expert)]
Active Skills: Lightning [A-Grade (Novice)], Lionʼs Roar [A-Grade (Expert)], Mana
Reflection [A-Grade (Expert)] / Area Buff [A-Grade (Expert)] / Stealth [A-Grade
(Novice)] / Curse Reflection [A-Grade (Expert)] / Blade of Purification [A-Grade
(Expert)] / Communion [A-Grade (Novice)] / Blood Eye [S-Grade (Expert)] / Amphibious [B-Grade (Novice)]
Dragon Race Skills (Tier 4 Unlocked): Absorption (Novice) / Word Magic (Expert) /
Dragonʼs Breath (Expert) / Dragon Warrior (Expert+) / Dragonʼs Wings (Novice) / Dragon Species Summon (Novice)
Owned Karma Points: 27,856
Compared to when he first opened the Status Window, he had acquired many more abilities.
"I gained quite a bit of Karma from the large-scale Magical Beast hunt."
Zeke debated whether to use this Karma to reorganize his Active Skills and create new combinations, or to prioritize unlocking Tier 5 Dragon Race Skills.
"Unlocking Tier 5 requires 8,000 points, and even with a 20% reduction from the Dragon Divine Body, itʼs still 6,400. Adding skill unlocks would use up almost all my Karma..."
Dragon Race Skills required a lot of Karma Points, but they were powerful in return.
The issue was the scale of Spiritual Power they demanded.
From Tier 3 onward, the amount of Spiritual Power needed was so vast that even Zeke, with a dragon heart, struggled to sustain it.
For the Dragon Species Summon from Tier 4, the Spiritual Power drain to maintain the summon was so immense that he couldnʼt use it properly.
"At first, I tried summoning the Tyrant with this skill, but it was impossible to handle." Without fully unleashing Bahamutʼs heart, these skills were hard to wield effectively.
Even if he unlocked Tier 5 Dragon Race Skills, if he couldnʼt use them properly, it would be as good as not having them.
After much deliberation, Zeke decided to spend the Karma Points on Active Skill combinations.
He would cull unnecessary skills and compose only those useful in combat to prepare for interpersonal battles.
With the Empireʼs forces likely to move in earnest like in the Ghetto incident, he would face more knights and mages.
Zeke first disposed of the Amphibious skill, which he rarely used.
"I can handle that with potions, so sell it off."
To gauge the trade value, he sold the Amphibious skill for 1,500 points.
From the Skillbookʼs contents, unlike items, the difference between purchase and sale prices for skills wasnʼt too great.
"Only Bloodline Abilities or ancient artifacts can absorb skills, but low-level attack magics arenʼt preserved in artifacts, making linked combinations impossible."
After returning from Nirvana, Zeke realized that absorbing general magic items didnʼt register them as skills just because they contained magic.
Only ancient artifacts could be absorbed into skills, but there were almost no artifacts left with the low-circle magics needed for combinations.
However, the Skillbook had skills with effects similar to basic magics, allowing him to create linked combinations.
Referencing the Draconic Tongue Magic linked skill chart from Xeros, Zeke created combinations tailored to his Lightning skill.
"Done."
It was a combination of water-element magic that synergized well with lightningelement spells.
"A water bomb for a Waterball effect, confusion for the Confusion effect, friction reduction for the Grease effect, and linking with the Lightning skill should replicate the Draconic Tongue Magic effect Xeros showed."
Just as Zeke finished reorganizing and purchased the skills with Karma Points, A new message window appeared.
[Skill purchase successful from the Skillbook.]
[A new category 'Linked Combo Skillʼ has been unlocked.]
[You can compose and save up to 5 skill combinations in slots, allowing use of Linked
Combo Skills with a command word alone.]