After everything that happened today, he laid in his bed thinking. He wasn't worried about his ranking—he was thinking about how he would leave his mark on the world. He felt stuck. Trapped.
Then, the same thing appeared—just like when he first landed in Camelot:
[System Notification]
Skill: Domain of the King
Create a battlefield shaped by him—filled with replica swords.
Sylas can summon and wield any sword he has seen or touched.
Each replica can only be used once—after a single attack, it shatters.
Enemy buffs are suppressed inside the domain.
Duration: 60 seconds (Base Form)
Scales with Excalibur's Rank.
Passive Skill: Absolute Sword Sense
Capable of drawing out 200%+ of any weapon's potential.
New Status: Excalibur Seal Broken
Mana Output: E (matches Excalibur's current rank)
Combat Rank: E
Overload Scaling: Active
Power increases as Excalibur evolves.
Next Rank: D
Requirement: 50 Soul Core Fragments
He looked at it for a while. He still didn't understand how it was supposed to help him reach his goal.
He wondered…
"Maybe I can rank up Excalibur."
"System… Where can I get Soul Core Fragments?"
[System Notification]
Query Detected: "Where can I get Soul Core Fragments?"
Answer:
Soul Core Fragments are obtained by defeating monsters.
"Any kind of monsters?"
[System Notification]
"Any kind of monste—"
…
[System Unresponsive]
He sighed.
"That was no help…"
Now he felt really stuck. He closed his eyes, trying not to think about it—for now.
Moments later, he snapped his eyes open. He sat up, then walked toward the door and locked it.
"How long are you going to hide?"
His voice was calm and cold.
The room was quiet. Not a single sound. But he could hear him breathing. His heart was racing. He was panicking.
Then he turned toward the direction, his eyes glowing bright crimson red.
"Are you done hiding?"
Instantly, he moved—fast.
Whoosh—
He shot around the room. Left wall. Ceiling. Behind him. But Sylas's eyes never left him.
"…You done showing off?"
From the shadows, he struck—aiming for Sylas's throat from the right side.
Before he could reach him, Sylas caught his wrist mid-strike.
Silence.
He twisted the arm, snapping it like a twig. The assassin dropped his dagger, but Sylas caught it.
The assassin's eyes widened—he didn't expect to be caught, especially by an E rank. It was too late. Sylas grabbed his body, slammed him against the wall, and plunged the dagger into his heart—pinning his lifeless body onto the wall.
"Pathetic."
He walked away… and went back to sleep.
As usual, he was woken up by a knock on the door. And like always, he got up and saw Elizabeth.
"What is it?" he asked.
"The king is here, and he wants to talk to you."
Like always, she stuttered her words. He could tell she was nervous.
"Go set up a table, and I'll meet him there."
He wasn't surprised. He knew something like this would happen, especially after how he behaved yesterday.
The king was waiting for him, sipping from a glass of tea. Sylas walked toward him, his back straight, head high.
"How can I help you, Father?"
His father stood up. His expression looked serious, like he came to resolve something important.
"A conversation between two kings." He looked at one of the maids. "Bring me my chess set."
Then he turned back.
"Let's play a match while we talk."
He gave him a soft smile. They both sat down and started to set up the pieces on the board.
"What you did yesterday was disrespectful."
The king made the first move.
"To you, yes. But to me, what I did was well deserved."
Sylas moved his pawn.
"You are going to apologize to him and the queen."
The king moved.
"Incorrect, Father. If anything, they should be apologizing to me—for how they treated me."
He made a simple move.
"It doesn't matter. In this world, power is everything. He is a candidate for the throne."
He moved his knight.
Sylas didn't respond. He just moved his queen into the open.
"What kind of move is that, child? Are you mocking me?"
"No, Father. It was a misplay. But let's continue."
He moved after his queen was taken.
The king moved his pawn, taking one of Sylas's pawns.
"So tell me, Father… what makes a king a king?"
He moved his bishop.
Still looking at the board, "Power."
He played aggressively, like a conqueror, while Sylas stayed calm and collected.
"Checkmate," the king muttered.
He pointed at the king piece.
"The king is by far the weakest piece in the game, yet it's the most valuable."
Then he used his pawn to block it.
"Yet people are willing to sacrifice themselves for him."
He looked at his father in the eye.
"It's not because he is powerful," he paused, "it's because they swore loyalty to him."
Another piece died trying to protect the king.
"A king without his people is just a man with a crown."
His father went silent. No one spoke. They just played.
Sylas moved to attack. His pawns charged. His knight guarded. His bishops crossed the board.
Over time, his father started to shake as he moved each piece—like he was rethinking every move. He'd pick up a piece and set it back down. Sweat started to form.
Sylas stayed calm. He picked up his rook… and placed it down.
The room fell completely silent.
The king's eyes widened, filled with disbelief. He picked up his king. He looked around.
His hand shook uncontrollably—
Then, a scream rang out from upstairs.
He already knew why.
The king ran, thinking someone was in danger. Sylas followed.
Once they made it up there, one of the maids pointed at the lifeless body on the wall. She was trembling.
Right then, Elaine came up with her sword in hand. She walked to the man and unmasked him.
Sylas turned to his father with a sharp gaze.
"Next time that witch does something as foul as this," he tilted his head, "I will take her head with her son's hands."
The king knew who sent the man to kill Sylas.
He turned to him.
"I'm sorry. I'll make sure this never happens again."
Sylas softened his gaze.
"Thank you."
Elaine, watching it all play out, couldn't speak. She had never seen her father lower his head.
Sylas turned to the maid.
"Okay then. Clean this mess up. I have to sleep tonight."
The soldiers carried the man's body away.
Elizabeth was still waiting outside with his sword. As they walked out…
They all walked in silence. No one spoke.
While passing by the chessboard, Elaine glanced at it.
"Oh, black played really well… but white seemed like it was always thinking ahead."
She turned toward them.
"Who was white?"
No one answered.
"Elaine, come with me," the king said.
They walked out, and Sylas sat down and sipped his tea while Elizabeth stood beside him.
After a while, Elaine burst through the door and wrapped her arms around him, picking him off the ground and kissing him all over his face.
"What the hell are you doing, sister?"
She looked at him with a big smile.
"Father chose you as one of the candidates for the throne."
"Hard pass. Tell him I'm not interested."
Like the news meant nothing.
"What?"
She froze, then started shaking him.
"Are you crazy? This is a lifetime opportunity."
She kept going.
"Now you can go to the best school with all the top-tier people!"
That got his attention.
"Is Luis going to be there?"
"Yes," she answered.
"Then I'll participate. But Elizabeth will join me."
Those words made Elizabeth tense. She had her head down, not knowing what to say. It was like she wanted to curl up into a ball.
"Why?" Elaine asked.
"A king needs his most trusted knight with him."
As those words sank in, Elizabeth's posture changed. She held her head high—like she had finally been seen.
"Fine. I'll talk to Father then," Elaine muttered as she walked away.
Elizabeth stared at Sylas.
"I won't be any help. I'm only a C rank."
"Don't worry. I'll make you strong enough to bring fear to nations."
She looked at him like he'd gone crazy.
"How?"
He smirked.
"You'll see soon enough."