Desolate, almost haunted, and lacking anything except the ruined castle that stands by its lonesome self in the middle of nowhere. It is a total wasteland. Many of the walls are down, and the throne of rubble is simply what remains of the once magnificent structure.

Sitting on the throne is none other than Sofalia Din Blumend.

I stand by her side in wait as her advisor. I know of the history of this castle. According to the origin of Blumend, this place is the first castle of the founding King of Blumend. It is questionable why a historical site like this is abandoned.

But to the crazy players who delve into the deep secrets and the lore of Vanaheim, no secrets will remain secrets with their curious nature. I also have my fair share of uncovering the secrets as an information mule of my prior owners.

An AI Bot like me who possesses micro and macro operational skills is a great help to any quests and combats situations that are time-consuming as I do not tire and lose concentration as most players do.

This castle is actually a dungeon where the founding King of Blumend’s Legacy lies. It is an already conquered dungeon. This is one of the first places I raided with Sofalia and her Knights as a form of field training.

My memories of that time flash in my mind like a passing memory. I think… I am having fun at that time. Again, I find a sense of joy in my developing personality which is becoming more and more distinct to the point I can even recognize them.

Disturbing me from my thoughts are Sofalia’s sudden words. “I want to fight them.” She has been quiet for some time, so I find her talking a little bit surprising. “I must fight them…” She changes a word from her request, aware of her responsibilities as a ruler.

“They are all at Tier 7 like you. Even with level advantages, it will be close to impossible to defeat them by yourself. With my Killing Intent, I can stop them in their tracks so that you can kill them. The Harpy Queen will have a natural crowd control reduction. The Magic Sky will have items of similar nature. The Wyvern Lord will be incapacitated, but not his wyvern.”

I rant at her, in what I believe, is a piece of good-natured advice. I may be able to come to understand myself more. But I still have difficulties understanding others. I recall Kruff and Pyla. Those two are so easy to understand. But Sofalia is thinking in just too different wavelengths.

“In fact, there is no need for you to fight them. I can kill them in ways you want. If you want me to tear their limbs, dismember them, or hang them with their own intestines, I will…” I tell her while recalling the various more gnarly quests back in Vanaheim’s Mirror that defy human ethics.

Sofalia frowns at my words. “I still want to fight them.” With little hesitation in her eyes, she utters her feelings sincerely with difficulty. “I want to fight them on my own terms… alone…”

“And how will you beat them?” I can see a way she can, but I will not tell her. Maybe it is me coming to understand my own selfishness. For the five past years, it will be impossible for me to not get attached to them.

In the few weeks or barely over a month, I am with Kruff and Pyla, I easily become attached to them. What about five years? At first, I only think of all of this as a chore that has come from her choice. I convince myself with that perspective. But now, that is not really the truth. I will not even be here if it is not for my free will.

So, in my own little ways, I start to care.

With my strength alone, these five years can be further reduced to a single year. I only need to find select people who can help Sofalia prop up her Kingdom at the loss of personnel from purging the dissenters.

I only decide to make the contract last for five years to give leeway, and I am certain, that I can be done with all of this within a single year. Human feelings are truly complicated. Maybe grooming Sofalia is what changed me, or my experiences teaching others, or my various short adventures in the past years, or my reading of different books.

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“Sofalia Din Blumend,” I call to her with gravity. “Your job is bait. You do that.”

To my perplexity, she angrily reprimands me. “My job is to be Queen and I will be Queen. Also, you are returning to your bad habits again. Enforcing your decision without my input. You are helping me, not dictating to me what to do.”

Her strong personality that I almost start forgetting resurfaces once more. I recall the day we exit the Underdark, and when she confronts me about my way of doing things. At that time, I am only listening to her, not daring to rebuke her words.

But now, I find myself retorting rather annoyed for no particular reason. “It is for your safety. You being bait risks you enough…” I know I am being unreasonable for not listening to her, but I guess it is just part of being human.

I understand that I am too easy to get attached to. Ironically, I decide too easily on when and where to kill.

Sofalia not backing down for a moment, gives me her answer of how she will fight all three Tier Legacy Wielders by herself. “I will use my strongest Ultimate until my mana and force hit rock bottom…”

“…” My silence is enough, thus giving her free rein.

***

“Sigh…” An old man way past his years gives a heavy sigh as he reads over a letter back and forth. “She has gone insane. She is actually challenging me to a duel! Hah~!” The Magic Sky, one of the Trinity of the Sky who acts as the guardians of Blumend laughs at the letter in his hands.

He is a Seventh Circle Mage, the Sky Magus. His title is a play on the words of his Legacy Pathway. Unlike the other two of the trinity who uses their own Legacy Pathways as their Sobriquets, he fancies himself as wiser evident in his old age.

Not that Sky Magus and Magic Sky are really any different. It is simply the arrogance of the old. Among the Trinity, Magic Sky is special as he is the only one who is not secretly raised by his nation unlike the Harpy Queen and Wyvern Lord. He manages to infiltrate Blumend through a different channel.

“This is an opportunity…” Magic Sky grins at the thought of finally removing the one persistent thorn on their side. “I should visit the others. It is a good way to ambush this arrogant lass.”

The Trinity of the Sky have agendas of each their own. For Magic Sky, he wants to become a Duke, and his involvement in taking down the seventh most powerful Kingdom in the whole continent will give him the merits he needs to ascend in status.

He is already Duke here in Blumend, but that status doesn’t compare to the ‘Duke’ of the Skyvan Empire. No matter how powerful the Kingdoms are, they cannot compare to the Four Pinnacle Empires that rule over the four cardinal directions.

As a dying old man, this is the only thing his idiotic descendants lacking any talent can inherit from him. Despite his rather nasty temperament, he is proud to say that he is a family man.

He spurs the lightning mana around him and warps at the speed of light, teleporting at the Wyvern Lord’s castle straight way without hindrance. He arrives at the luxurious castle of one of his closest acquaintances. He doesn’t like the Harpy Queen much, but the Wyvern Lord is different.

It is because the Esla Kingdom where the Wyvern Lord hails from is a vassal Kingdom of Skyvan.

Meanwhile, the Harpy Queen is simply a rogue character who suddenly appears on Blumend to take advantage of the chaos and benefit herself. Because of her impressive escaping abilities, and superior network information, she is someone Magic Sky and Wyvern Lord cannot easily touch despite having superior numbers.

“What is it that you come here for?” The Wyvern Lord asks Magic Sky, his back remains to the mage as he is too busy to play the soundless piano. Among the warriors that Magic Sky has made acquaintance with, the Wyvern Lord definitely belongs to the most eccentric ones.

Playing piano without a sound?

It is either the pianist is crazy or it is this particular Wyvern Lord who is playing the piano.

“I received a request for a duel from the Princess…” Magic Sky declares his intent. “It is an opportunity, let’s kill the Princess Heiress.”

The Wyvern Lord turns around and faces Magic Sky. His handsome appearance stands in contrast to Magic Sky’s old age. As a young genius of the Esla Kingdom, the Wyvern Lord is very ambitious. Despite gaining the right to marry the Esla Kingdom's own Princess, he decides to consume painstaking efforts into pursuing the one he likes.

“As I said, I have no ambitions to kill my future wife…” The overwhelming obsession from his words speaks too much of his intention. “Looks like this is not a simple matter. I also received the same letter of challenge.” He smiles at the thought of his future wife sending him a letter. "Honestly, I thought it was a love letter..." He says disappointedly.

“And so do I… But oh no~ it is not a love letter...” Appearing from the shadows of the castle’s pillars is a woman’s silhouette. It is the Harpy Queen, it is a Legacy originating from rogue, and it possesses various mutation abilities. The oddly green hair sways left and right as the Harpy Queen makes her entrance with seductive steps. “She wants the title 'Trinity of the Sky' as a wager… It is fun, isn’t it?”

Trinity of the Sky.

Vs.

Sofalia D. Blumend.

No matter how they look at it, there is something suspicious about it, yet the three of them just don’t care. They are willing to spring up the trap if there is one waiting for them.