A wasteland stretched endlessly—ashen soil, withered trees, and scattered ruins beneath a gray sky.
Not a breath of life remained, only silence.
A gate ripped open in the air and hurled Amadeus into the ground before vanishing without a trace.
He groaned, scratching his head.
"Jax, you little shit… I'll make sure you pay for this."
Lifting his gaze, Amadeus quickly recognized where he had landed.
"The Barren Land… So this is the starting area".
" If the desert is only a boundary, then the green land must be the final goal."
A golden panel shimmered into existence before his eyes.
[ Welcome to The Sovereign Trial ]
The panel shifted.
[ Main Mission ]
[ Unknown Evil ]
/ This world is controlled by an unknown human who uses its people as tools.
Goal:
/ Find and defeat the Unknown Evil
Reward:
/ Citadel Entrance Pass
Amadeus arched an eyebrow.
"An 'Unknown Evil,' huh? No target, no location. Great."
He smirked.
"If I had to guess, the bastard's in the green land ".
Suddenly, a voice echoed.
"I agree with you on that."
Amadeus spun around, jumping back several steps away.
But there was nothing—only a floating crown gleaming faintly in the air.
His eye twitched.
"…Am i losing my mind or Did that crown just talk?"
The Crown's voice carried a playful tone.
"I'm not sure if you're losing your mind, but yes, I can talk."
Amadeus exhaled.
"Well… after everything I've seen, I guess a talking crown isn't that strange."
He stepped closer.
"So what do you want?"
The Crown sounded offended.
"Is that any way to speak to your companion?"
"Companion?"
The Crown.
"Of course! I'm your most trusted partner who will follow you through this journey."
Amadeus turned away, waving dismissively.
"I don't need a companion."
I already have enough voices in my head. I don't need another one.
The Crown chuckled.
"Suit yourself. But don't come crying when you can't use the system properly."
Ignoring it, Amadeus focused his mind on the golden panel.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Sweat rolled down his forehead as the Crown was watching.
"What's wrong, Mr. 'I Don't Need a Companion'? ".
Grinding his teeth, Amadeus finally extended his hand.
"Fine. Let's start over. I'm Amadeus."
The Crown tilted slightly
" You do realize I don't have hands?"
Amadeus fought the urge to hurl it off a cliff.
"It's called a handshake. That's how partnerships usually begin."
The Crown hummed, then brightened.
"Very well! I accept. But I don't have a name,".
" so… can give me one."
Amadeus didn't think for a second before he said.
"Crown."
The Crown froze.
"…What kind of name is that?!"
Amadeus indifferent look silenced his protests.
After a long pause, he sighed.
"Fine. My name shall be Crown."
Its voice then grew serious.
"Now, let's begin."
A searing pain lanced through his head.
Information flooded his mind—commands, instructions, the way to operate the system.
He clenched his jaw until it ended.
Amadeus, tried to use the System.
Open
The golden panel appeared.
Close
It vanished.
Amadeus' eye twitched as he looked at Crown.
" earlier nothing happened. Why?"
Crown.
"Because thinking isn't enough. You need to understand what you're thinking about."
Amadeus.
"You could've told me this from the start."
Crown.
"And miss my chance to convince you to become my companion? "
" No way."
Amadeus sighed and pulled up his Stats.
[ STATS ]
HP - lv 0
STM - lv 0
Mana - lv 0
STR - lv 0
AGI - lv 0
INT - lv 0
Amadeus.
"…Zero? In everything?"
Is it because this body was just created?
Crown whistled.
"That's… really bad. You're weaker than an average human."
Amadeus.
"Thanks for the reminder."
Amadeus frowned.
I'll need Essence to raise my stats. But at this level, even killing something weak is a risk.
Crown said cheerfully.
"Don't worry, You still have your SIGN."
Right—the SIGN. A gift Axel gave each new Sovereign to help them start.
Amadeus activated it.
A golden aura enveloped his body, accompanied by agony like drills piercing his bones. When it subsided, a new panel appeared.
[ SIGN Infused ]
[ SIGN: Undying ]
/ Stage 1 Trait : Survivor
Surviving battles will increase stats.
2- Skill : Locked
3 - Skill : Locked
.
.
Amadeus muttered.
" Undying? "
Useful, but dangerous.
To gain Stats, he needed to survive battles.
And survival wasn't guaranteed at level zero.
he noted.
"It says survive, not win, and those are two different things."
Crown chuckled.
"I'm sure you'll manage."
Amadeus ignored him and checked his skills.
[ None ]
He fell silent, deep in thought.
For a long moment, even the voices in his head were quiet.
Then Crown sighed.
" I didn't want to use this yet, but it seems we have no choice."
Amadeus narrowed his eyes.
"What are you talking about?"
A dark aura of red and black spilled from Crown, wrapping around Amadeus.
"Omega's gift."
Once the Dark aura vanished.
A red panel materialized.
[ Welcome Back ]
[ Monarch OMEGA ]
The panel changed.
[ Retrieving progress ]
Hundreds of red panels burst into existence.
[ skills unlocked ]
[ Vault Unclocked ]
[ Stats skyrocketing ]
[ End Bringer Title Unlocked ]
Amadeus.
" What… what is all this?"
Crown.
"The legacy of Omega. Everything he collected throughout his life is now yours "
Staring at the endless panels, Amadeus whispered
"How is this possible?"
Crown.
"Because Omega fused his Monarch Crown with O's Sovereign Crown."
" That fusion created me—the one Crown that holds both systems."
Amadeus smiled.
"With this much power, nothing can stop me—"
Suddenly, every panel flashed the same word.
[ ERROR ] [ ERROR ] [ ERROR ] [ ERROR ] [ ERROR ] [ ERROR ]
[ ERROR ] [ ERROR ] [ ERROR ] [ ERROR ] [ ERROR ] [ ERROR ]
The word repeated, filling the air with red.
Amadeus.
"What's happening?!"
Crown replied calmly as the panels vanished one by one
"Simple, Nothing in this world comes easy. And shortcuts don't exist."
Only one panel remained.
[ Due to the User's current condition, Nexus will recalibrate your power ]
Time passed in silence.
[ Recalibration complete ]
[ All progress locked ]
Amadeus froze.
" You're joking."
[ To unlock, User must increase his overall level ]
He let out a bitter laugh.
"Why am I not surprised?"
He looked at Crown, sighed heavily, and Said.
" So, what now?"
To Be Continued.