Book 1 Chapter 282

"If King Giant Gias has truly appeared, wouldn't it be dangerous to proceed with the practical training for the second-year students of the Hero Academy right now?" Mel said with a worried voice.

The commanders of Tartarus's army are terrifying monsters in themselves, but even more threatening are the demon armies led by these commanders. If a commander moved, it's highly probable that the army following him also moved.

"You don't need to worry about that. Even if he did move, the probability of him moving his own army is extremely low."

"Why is that?"

"Gias only moves his army when he's going to war."

During the Age of Calamity.

Leo participated in countless wars against Tartarus. Wars against demons were commonplace in the Age of Calamity. However, in all those wars, the occasions where they encountered the Giant King's army were few and far between, only countable on one's fingers.

"If a creature of that size moves, he's bound to be discovered by people. Because of that, he needs to move cautiously. Naturally, he has to be cautious about moving his army as well."

Leo narrowed his eyes.

"Of course, his disposition might have changed over the past 5000 years… but the fact that he has never left his name in history suggests that his disposition remains unchanged."

Mel nodded at Leo's words.

"Even so, it's best to be vigilant. Mel, can you monitor Mount Eldien?"

At his words, Mel bent his knee and slightly bowed his head.

"As you command, Lord Leo."

***

In the tavern, the dwarves of Tarkham were drinking and chatting merrily.

Tarkham has many layers. Starting from blacksmiths who forge weapons, to merchants, and miners who work in the mines. And then there are the warriors who hunt monsters.

However, being at the very edge of the dwarf territory, they rarely saw other races. Therefore, all the dwarves looked at those entering the tavern with curious eyes.

Thud!

"Oof!"

Kal, who was leading the way into the tavern, bumped his head on the low doorway.

"Are, are you alright?"

"Pathetic!"

Eirien hurried towards Kal in surprise, and Driana burst into laughter at the sight of Kal. Eirien raised his magic and placed his hand on Kal's forehead. Driana also took out some ointment from her pouch.

"Apply this. The swelling will subside quickly."

"Th, thank you."

Kal applied the ointment Driana gave him to his forehead.

Luna and Are muttered, looking at the subtly low ceiling and small furniture.

"It feels like a dwarf city."

"It's different from Dwaronia?"

Dwaronia's buildings were not significantly different from buildings of other races. Seeing the two girls expressing their doubts, Driana laughed heartily.

"Dwaronia is a city frequented by many other races, so there are many buildings adapted to the standards of other races, which is why it's not noticeable. It's a city that is a true collection of art where various cultures converge."

"That has nothing to do with art," Luna interjected, but Driana didn't listen.

"But Tarkham is a complete dwarf city. Since other races rarely come here, everything is tailored for dwarves."

As she said this, Driana went to an empty seat and sat down. Although the desk and chair were subtly small, they felt like the perfect size when Driana sat down. Of course, when the rest of the party sat down, they looked quite comical.

"The spoons and forks are small too," Eirien said, amazed.

"Only the drinking mugs are large," Kal muttered, looking at the mugs the dwarves were drinking from.

In the meantime, a server approached, took their order, and left. They ordered some food and waited. During this time, the eyes of the dwarves in the tavern were fixed on the party.

Other races are rare in Tarkham. And when those other races are students from the famous Hero Academy, it's even more natural for them to attract attention. It was during this time that the dwarves were murmuring and looking at the party with curious eyes.

"Is it my turn to step up?" Kal, puffed up with pride, stood up from his seat.

"I'm going to go and hear some rumors." Confidently, Kal approached a dwarf who was enjoying his drink alone.

"Hello?"

"Wow~ Human. Judging by your clothes, you're a Lumen student, right? Why has a human hero candidate like you come to a place like this?"

A dwarf who looked like a miner started a conversation, and Kal replied in a friendly manner.

"I came for a mission practice. I heard that a giant monster appeared in Tarkham recently!"

"It did! But that's a false rumor! Where is such a giant monster?"

Seeing the dwarf laughing heartily, Kal smirked.

"Still, there must be plenty of rumors, right? Please tell me a story. I'll buy you a beer."

"Oh ho! You're a cooperative friend! Alright!"

Seemingly pleased with Kal's sociability, the dwarf readily told him about the rumors.

Seeing that, Eirien exclaimed, "As expected, Kal is amazing!"

"I can do that too," Luna replied sullenly.

Seeing her, Driana said, "Don't young ladies from prestigious elf families like you not do well at this sort of thing?"

"Hmph. Just watch. I'll do it properly." Angered, Luna stood up and approached other dwarves.

"Excuse me. I'm a student dispatched from Seirun due to rumors about a giant monster. Can you tell me about it? If you do, I'll buy all your drinks today."

"Go away. We're not so destitute that we need to be bought drinks."

Luna returned with a shocked expression.

"Wh, why did I fail?"

"From what I see, your attitude was too authoritative. The other party was offended." Driana's remark flustered Luna.

"How was my attitude authoritative? In elf society, everyone tells us things kindly like this!"

"That's because you are a student of Seirun. Furthermore, dwarves and elves generally have a bad relationship. Your Seirun credentials won't work here."

"Ugh!"

Just as Luna was shrinking her shoulders, Are chuckled with a "Hohot hum!" and crossed his arms.

"As expected, a proud elf young lady can't do this! Watch how I do it!"

Seeing the boastful Are, Luna wore an expression of resentment. Are confidently walked up to three dwarf mercenaries.

"Hello! Handsome gentlemen! I have a question!"

"What! Gentlemen?!"

"We're women!"

"You damned cat!"

"Unyak?!"

The dwarf mercenaries, who were drunk, were enraged by Are's words and lunged at him. Shocked, Are apologized profusely and returned with a tearful face.

"They're clearly women, but you called them gentlemen? You idiot."

"Truly idiotic!"

"Don't call me an idiotttt!"

Luna and Driana's words made Are shout with a blushing face.

"I, I'll try this time."

"Eirien. What's this? You're being proactive about something like this." Luna asked with a surprised face, and Eirien said with a tense voice, "I, I've actually wanted to try something like this!"

With her eyes sparkling, Eirien approached an old dwarf.

"I'm worried," Luna muttered.

However, Eirien returned after having a pleasant conversation with the old dwarf.

"Eirien! You're doing great! So? Did you hear anything?"

"Yes! I heard lots of new stories about Lord Dwenno!"

Luna let out a deep sigh, watching Eirien, who was as happy as a child who had been told stories by their grandfather, having lost her original purpose.

"You, you're Driana, right? You try too."

"Why should I waste my energy when Dezpair Man is doing so well?" Driana shrugged.

It was a perfectly valid point.

At that moment, Leo returned to the tavern and sat down, saying, "Were you having fun?"

"We're not playing! We're gathering information!" Luna glared at Leo.

Meanwhile, Kal approached with a beaming smile.

"I'm back! Leo, you were already here?"

"Judging by your face, it seems you had a satisfactory outcome."

"Hmph, naturally."

"Wow! That's amazing, Kal. We all failed!" Eirien exclaimed.

Seeing that, Kal wore a slightly displeased expression.

"No, there's no reason to fail when you can just ask…"

"Here, here! So, what kind of story did you hear!"

"Right! Tell us quickly!" Luna and Are urgently changed the subject.

Seeing them, Kal cleared his throat and said, "First of all, it seems the guards on duty at the time weren't the only ones who saw the monster."

"What?"

"Many people within the city saw the monster. It seems most of them were drunkards late at night."

Hearing Kal's words, Eirien instinctively flinched, seeming a little scared.

"If there are so many witnesses, isn't it really a monster? Like the Giant King, a commander of Tartarus?"

"No. It won't be the Giant King." Luna shook her head.

"I don't know how huge the Giant King is, but anyway, if he's called the Giant King, he must be incredibly large, right? If a monster that size uses spatial magic, there's bound to be a magical fluctuation left behind. But it was said that the monster disappeared in the blink of an eye."

Luna crossed her arms.

"Perhaps they all saw an illusion?"

Driana nodded at Luna's words.

"That makes sense."

"What happened to the drunkards who saw the monster afterwards?"

"They sobered up, but they seemed to have dismissed it as a momentary hallucination because it disappeared from their sight in an instant."

"What's the condition of the guards who witnessed it from the city wall?"

At Leo's question, Kal crossed his arms.

"They've all gone mad and are in the hospital."

"Madness, that's a symptom of seeing a high-ranking demon."

"Can we find out about that hospital?"

"It's difficult now. I'll find out by tomorrow morning."

"Thank you." Leo nodded.

'First, it's important to determine whether the Giant King really came to Mount Eldien or not. If they went mad from the fear of seeing the Giant King, his dark magic might still faintly remain. If he truly moved… there must be a reason for him to move. If it's something that warrants him moving directly…'

Leo's eyes narrowed.

'It must be something that will overturn the current balance.'

***

Thump-! Thump-!

Deep in the night, the earth trembled.

A giant monster that seemed to touch the sky was moving.

Thump-!

The Giant King, Gias, stopped his steps and looked up at the sky.

What was floating in the sky was not the pure white moon. It was a terrifyingly crimson moon.

Looking at the moon, the monster opened its mouth.

Grroooaaarrr!

A fearsome roar echoed in all directions.

A look of exhilaration appeared in Gias's eyes.

The crimson moon he saw for the first time in 5000 years was enough to make Gias feel exhilarated.

How long has it been since he'd experienced such unrestrained freedom!

The era when that crimson moon rose in the night sky was their era.

An era where they didn't have to hide!

An era when this world was theirs!

Even though he had returned to that era, Gias was not satisfied.

Such freedom in this fake world is not true freedom.

"I miss it! Our era!"

He cried out, thinking of the hateful beings who had usurped their era.

"This time, I will surely have my revenge on you."

His mouth twisted grotesquely.

"Wait for me, God's Blacksmith."