Level 0 Master

Soon after, Sungjin took everyone to find Zakiya.

She was sitting in the shadowed corner of the room Sungjin had told her to stay in. She was looking at a bird under the sunlight—a beautiful and seductive scene.

People wondered what was in the mystery beauty's mind. No one was sure if she really wanted to follow Sungjin because Sungjin was the strongest player or if she was just following the Golden Wise King's order and falsely surrendering. Some thought maybe she was hesitating, although she had already surrendered.

"Thank you for coming, Master Sungjin."

"Before I decide which position I will allocate you, I need to check your abilities. Let's go to the temple."

"Sure. I will let you check everything about me."

They headed to the temple right away. Zakiya requested to show her status to the Valkyrie.

[Updating status.

Name: Zakiya

Class: Assassin

Level: 7]

Level 7. She had a high level to be Kapitle's closest ally, and her class, the assassin, was different from the knight Ereka, the archer Eustasia, the supporter Rachel, and the wizard Jenna.

An assassin. Ereka remembered the revelation from the goddess. The goddess said that when Sungjin makes deep connections with girls from different classes… and Zakiya was the first high-level assassin to join the team. Ereka thought maybe the appearance of Zakiya was creating a bigger picture, although she wasn't sure if Zakiya could be trusted. The worst case scenario was that Zakiya would betray them at the critical moment, just like Kuga had.

[Skills:

―Effects:

Ruin of Silence: Effect―momentarily block the air around the enemy to damage them and keep them in silence to slow down the activation of their skill by disabling verbal ability.

Wondering Dessert: Effect―damage the enemy and make the enemy lose sense of direction to slow down their movement.

Mirage: Effect―teleport to the target position in close range and distort the space around the target position. Reactivate the skill within five seconds to come back to the original position.

The ultimate skill, The Kaleidoscope of Heaven: Effect―manipulate light and sound to create an imaginary scene. The scene doesn't damage the enemy, but even if the enemy realizes it is an imaginary scene, the scene doesn't disappear.]

The Kaleidoscope of Heaven. "Haha." Sungjin laughed with joy.

Others thought it was not a very useful skill because her ultimate skill couldn't damage the enemy, but Sungjin thought differently. Manipulate light and sound to control information—that could be an ultimate secret weapon to maximize his plans and tactics. On top of that, he found her skills very useful because she could target a single enemy and neutralize and damage it.

If she joins my team, she could be a great added value.

The great black priest Pangnilin, who was able to kill the enemy regardless of its level of power, was a great assassin, but Zakiya was a great assassin in a different way. Sungjin looked at Zakiya with sharp eyes. She was a sexy witch of illusion with a curvy body. As a commander, he wanted to take her in his team to win battles, and as a guy, he wanted her body.

"How do you like me?" Zakiya asked Sungjin, showing her cleavage.

"Oh, I really like your skills." Ereka for defense. Eustasia for long-range attack. Jenna for broader area attack. Rachel for healing and support. If he could have Zakiya for illusion and assassination, he would be able to play with more plans and tactics on the battlefield. "Join the training today. I will train you."

It was a great deal for a suspicious exile. He had offered her a position in his direct team. With her skills, Zakiya was worth such an offer, but her allegiance was not clear. However, Sungjin was a great leader who could take such a dangerous new person under his command.

"That is more than I expected. You are a strong spirit." Zakiya bowed down and told Sungjin that she was impressed by his decision. "I will support you with my best."

"Sure. When we defeat Kapitle, if you perform meritorious deeds, I will reward you handsomely."

"I will try my best to keep up with your training."

Sungjin took Zakiya as a member of his team. His decision looked a bit risky, but he made it clear that, spy or not, he would handle her in his own ways. And, if she was truthful, it was a great opportunity to enhance his team's power.

Chapter 5

Sungjin called the four priests of Rupellion for a meeting.

"Did you want to see us, Master Sungjin?" After Sungjin merged the Holy Nation Rupellion, the four priests of Rupellion served Sungjin as their master.

"All of you are aware that Kapitle is planning to attack Essendale, correct?"

"Yes, Master."

"The war has already begun, so I called you to give you a few tasks."

"Your wish is our command." The four priests bowed politely.

"I will lead the team to defend Essendale, but I want you guys to be our opponent in the mock battle."

"Our pleasure." The four priests were polite to take his command. Although Sungjin was a new force in this world, they were more obedient to Sungjin than to any other heroes. It could be from the power of religion.

"Good. I will give you other tasks after the mock battle."

"Yes, Master."

The mock battle started as Sungjin ordered. It was a battle of Ereka, Eustasia, Rachel, Jenna, and Zakiya against the four priests and the crusader commendatores. Both sides were very strong and well-trained, so the fight was expected to be a difficult one.

Sungjin ordered them to start the training with the mock battle and started to think about things. The coming fight would define the winning side of the war between the two kingdoms. This is an important fight.

He opened the map. First, the land of Essendale that the Golden Wise King would attack was at stake. Second, the fight would define the winning side of the war. Winning the battle would make the heroes stay with him, but losing the battle would make the heroes change their side. Last but not least… Zakiya was at stake.

Sungjin didn't think it had been a complete lie when Zakiya had told him that she would devote her everything to him, because it was the nature of humans to want to be on the winning side, but she was not sure which side was the winning side yet. Winning the first battle must be the first task to convince her to join him, but just winning wouldn't be enough to convince her. I should dominate the fight to make her stand by my side. That wouldn't be a pure love, but that would at least conquer the heart of the beauty who pursues power.

But if Kapitle won, she would think that Sungjin wouldn't be enough to go back to after going to the Golden Wise King with her spy tasks. He had to show his power if he wanted to convince her that being on his side would be better for her future.

Ha. This is a double task that tests my power in a battle against my final enemy to unify the continent. He laughed joyfully. It was a fight that he couldn't and wouldn't avoid. Now that he had a beautiful team member as a bootie, it was just a better thing for him.

The only problem was that the power of the Golden Wise King Kapitle was still shrouded in darkness. Kapitle was an awaken hero like Pederian, who didn't show his ultimate skill to anyone. It was tricky to figure out the best plan to use to fight against a strong opponent with unknown power. But this is a battle that I need to win.

The biggest difference between Kapitle and Sungjin was their level, but their level didn't simply mean the difference in their personal power. For the heroes of this world, Kapitle was a strong opponent who was obviously strong, but they accepted Sungjin's strength only because he kept winning, not because they thought Sungjin was truly strong. Moreover, Kapitle was cruel to the extras while very generous to the heroes. Kapitle provided massive wealth and power to his heroes. Sungjin was the opposite. Sungjin's kingdom was a great place for the extras but not the heroes. The heroes didn't rebel only because they couldn't fight against Sungjin.

If I lose this one, the heroes will migrate to the other side. It was the first battle but it was not a battle he could lose. The battle had begun before they had entered the battlefield. The first act was by Kapitle. He declared that he would lead the battle and demonstrated his extremely strong "destructive skill" to his people. It was his way to tell his people that he had a strong power, so they didn't need to worry about the fight, and it was his way to warn the heroes on Sungjin's side to change sides before the battle.

It's not only Zakiya. I'm sure there are spies in my camp. Sungjin knew there would be people who would sell information to Kapitle on his plans and devices that he prepared for the battlefield. There was no way to stop them all. Anyways, Kapitle was not the only one with spies in the enemy's camp.

Sungjin checked the information on Kapitle's skill that he got from his spy. The destructive power is the same level as the Holy Pope's ultimate skill God Hand before Pederian became Avatar.

When Pederian had become an awaken Avatar, that was cheating, so Sungjin calculated that Kapitle must be an enemy with a similar level of power to Pedrian before he had cheated. But I defeated Pedrian, there's no reason I can't defeat Kapitle.

Although he didn't know much about Kapitle's skill, which must be his hidden card, Kapitle didn't know Sungjin's plan, either.

Should I respond to his threat in my own way?

Now, Sungjin was the strong power, commanding Rupellion and the four kingdoms. He had more cards now compared to the day when Ereka summoned him to this world.

And he also had Zakiya, a double-edged poisonous rose in his team.

That night, Zakiya lightly kicked a mirror in her room. The mirror showed a veil made of water, and behind the veil was the silhouette of the Golden Wise King.

"Did you approach the lion?"

"Yes. As you commanded, I provoked him and told him to try and have me."

"Haha. Your beauty can be fatal for a young guy," said Kapitle with a laugh.

"Of course, he is still suspicious, but he said he will take me under his wing for now to convince me to join him."

"Well done."

"And if he wins the first battle, I told him I will give him everything."

"Hmm."

"Haha. If he is a guy who can't even win the first battle, I don't have to be here as a spy. And if he wins the first battle, you will need my help, right?"

"Sure, that's a good idea. To provoke him, I think that would be enough."

"Thank you for understanding." Zakiya politely bowed to Kapitle.

The mirror blurred again. Zakiya looked up and smiled dangerously and seductively. Hmm, the Golden Wise King is really good at reading people's minds and manipulating them.

It was Sungjin's stupidity that he didn't suspect that she could be a spy sent by Kapitle, but Kapitle's plan to make Sungjin want to take her was clearly effective. The only question was how far Sungjin could go with the poison called Zakiya.

I was expecting more from the great conqueror. The Sungjin she had met was an innocent boy who couldn't even take a woman he desired. She didn't understand how he had come this far.

It was the Golden Wise King who made all this possible.

She thought maybe he was hiding some great power that she was yet to witness. I hope the latter is the case. That would make this more interesting. I can't wait to see the first fight.

Chapter 6

The battle day came quickly.

The battlefield was in Essendale for a five-on-five fight. It was one of five routes where both Sungjin and Kapitle could attack each other. According to the rules of this world, they couldn't just attack anywhere on the enemy's territory; they could only attack the front line near the border. That was why Sungjin had built a strong defensive line on the territory, because if Kapitle won the territory, the territory behind the defensive line had a weak defensive line, which would make it difficult for Sungjin to defend his kingdom, and Sungjin had no choice but to stop Kapitle.

Five members he selected stood in front of him. "You all remember the plan, right?"

"Yes."

"Of course."

They all answered, and Sungjin nodded in satisfaction.

"As we all know, we don't know much about the ultimate skill of Kapitle, but at least we have a clue how strong his ultimate power could be." It would be a skill as strong as God Hand of the Holy Pope. "We can deal with it. Stick to the plan."

"Yes."

"Yes, Master."

While everyone was answering Sungjin, Zakiya asked Sungjin with an ambiguous smile, "What if I betray you? Are you sure you want me to be here for such an important fight?" Her question sounded both like a curious question and a threat, but Sungjin laughed as if it was nothing to worry about.

"Doesn't matter. Betray me, if you would like to. You will be the one who will regret it if you do so." With or without you, I will win.

Zakiya bowed down to Sungjin's confidence. "Hehe, sure. Win this war. If you do so, I will follow you." Her words were sweet but didn't sound sincere enough for him to trust them, but that really didn't matter to Sungjin. Her thoughts didn't matter to him—that was the nature of a business relationship. Even if they didn't share the same vision and goal, if they had a common interest, they could be partners as long as the interest lasted. If he couldn't handle such a partner, he surely couldn't conquer the continent.

This would be a test to prove himself by winning the battle with an unknown force in his team.