Point-of-View: Landis Dianus

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"Well...that was quite an unfortunate incident," I sighed wistfully, as I leaned back in my throne.

"You were right, your majesty...they really did target the tournament, as you had predicted," Responded Aries with a grimace.

"Yes, that’s why we held the tournament outside the capital this time. Since more Commoners were in attendance, and therefore less Noble casualties than there would have been if we held it here in the capital, there’ll be less outrage and backlash from the Nobility who are against me. Unfortunately, I had hoped to capture them, but they had someone with the Teleportation Skill," I mused thoughtfully.

She had been against this strategy, but it was necessary...there was the option of canceling the tournament, of course, but then it would have been a lot more difficult to flush out these rebels. True Nobility, eh...what a joke, especially if they’re being led by who I’m assuming their leader is.

"I believe that I may have an idea of who it was that teleported away after giving us that warning," She replied after a brief pause.

"Oh? Well, go on, then...who was it?"

"Well, if I’m not mistaken, he is a former Lieutenant of the Knight Order, he was ousted during my purge of our ranks. One of the Knights who surrounded him got a partial glance at his face, and reported that it looked like he had burnt skin. It is likely Tayn Regerelle, who has been missing for a few months now," She informed me.

"Tayn Regerelle...ah, I remember, from the incident where a Frost Dragon was released near Kieph Town, right?" I recalled in fascination.

"Yes, your majesty, the very same."

"I imagine that this True Nobility group must consist of mostly disgruntled, former Knights. There will likely be many Nobles who sympathize with their cause...which means that we need to eliminate this group as soon as possible," I surmised with a sigh.

What a nuisance...and just as everything was going so well, too.

"I agree, your majesty, I shall mobilize the Knights. This group will likely target the Commoner towns and villages, and perhaps even us Knights...they may target you as well," She remarked with a frown.

"We may need to consider using the Demon Lucifer...against power like that, it won’t matter how many members there are in this group. However, using her comes with its own sets of risks. This is quite the annoying obstacle."

"If I may ask, your majesty...what exactly is your goal? You have openly lent your support to my proposals for bettering our nation, despite the pushback from so many of the Noble families. And yet, well...," She trailed off hesitantly.

Ah, she’s probably realized that I do not truly care about equality between Nobles and Commoners. She’s right about that...other than the factors that benefit me, I’m indifferent to the situation. Yes, my true objective, that’s what she wants to know...well, it is quite simple, really.

Uniting the people of this nation, it’s simply a means to an end, just a necessary step towards my real goal. Humans are, ultimately, fragile creatures...we live for a short period of time and then we die, eventually forgotten.

I desire to leave a mark in history, one so significant that it will never be forgotten. That’s why I’ve helped her achieve her goal, because it will help me do just that.

Zircon and Agate have destroyed most of the walls between Nobles and Commoners, and to most people, it likely seems like I am following in their footsteps. I’ve wielded my influence to prompt similar change in Onyx as well, which was quite easy as they already had laws that prompted slightly better treatment of Commoners than we had.

So, four of the five nations in the Dark Continent have taken or are taking steps towards improving the lives of their Commoners. Hematite has always been the most harsh nation towards Commoners, and their Nobles enjoy the most lavish lives and abundant luxury of any nation in the Dark Continent.

Which means that they are the least likely one to make such a change...but with the other four nations changing so drastically, it’s only natural that their Commoners would begin desiring similar change for themselves.

And as a result of that desire going unfulfilled, Hematite is on the verge of civil war right now. I’ve purposely leaked that bit of information into the Dead Zone, and it is quite likely to reach the Light Continent before long.

If Hematite falls to the Light Continent, Onyx will be next...unless we in Obsidian join forces with them and fight back against the Light Continent aggressors. I can use that as leverage to gain authority over Onyx and Hematite...after that, with the majority of the Dark Continent under my influence, I can easily take control of Zircon and Agate as well.

And with the combined forces of all five nations, conquering the Light Continent will be quite a feasible undertaking. I shall take control of the entire world, and I am not opposed to anything that will get me to that goal.

Knights alone are not enough of a fighting force for such a grand endeavor...that’s why I want the affection of the Commoners. There are far more Adventurers than there are Knights...and I want them all for my army.

It would not be impossible to accomplish that through force, but getting them to do so willingly would be far more effective. Of course, I will not admit all of that to anyone, they would likely think that I’m insane. So for my response...

"My goal...I wonder, what could it be? Well, you will find out soon enough, Commander, there’s no need to be so impatient. But I will assure you of this much...I do genuinely desire unifying the people of our nation," I informed her with a smile...

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Point-of-View: Larrk Stryker

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"It’s too bad...but I guess this is it, I’ve got nothing more to gain by eating Monsters," I sighed wistfully.

"Isn’t that a good thing, though? I mean, you were trying to gain the maximum possible benefit from eating Monsters, and you’ve all but done that now. So, mission accomplished, right?" Pointed out Prysm with a raised eyebrow.

Today’s the 8th of Martius, 2020, I’m nineteen now, twenty this year, and today was my last day in the Labyrinth, at least for quite a while.

"Yeah, I suppose so. Yeah...this is a good thing. Not gonna lie, I probably did go a bit crazy down there," I grinned sheepishly.

"I’m sorry, a bit? No, you were full on insane, man. Like, seriously, it was like you were possessed or something, you’d sometimes have this creepy, deranged look in your eyes, you literally-...," She began with a frown.

"Okay, okay, I get it, sheesh! Well, the timing works out...we’re supposed to move out soon, right? Since the Knights are closing in on our trail and all," I sighed warily. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Oh, you’ve actually been paying attention to the things we’ve been telling you. I didn’t think you were listening," She scoffed in response.

"To be fair, I’m usually super tired after I’m done with the Labyrinth for the day, so-..."

"Yeah, but you were down there almost every single day! And you’d be sleeping for most of the time that you were out of it!" She pointed out in exasperation.

"Alright, I get it. You’re still an annoying brat, I see," I muttered dryly.

"Wha-...hey! Stop calling me a brat! I’m sixteen now, almost seventeen, I’m not a kid anymore! And I certainly don’t look like a kid either!" She protested indignantly, puffing out her chest, her boobs jiggling a bit as she did.

Yeah, she suddenly hit a drastic growth spurt a couple of years ago. That babyface she had is now, admittedly, a genuinely pretty and attractive face, and she’s gotten pretty curvy too.

"Just because you’ve gotten kinda hot and stuff doesn’t change the fact that you’re still a brat to me," I smirked teasingly, as I patted her head.

"Hmph, I’ll ignore the second half of what you said and just take the compliment," She smirked back at me...okay, that was kinda sexy, not gonna lie.

Well, anyway...yeah, I suppose I did go a bit stir-crazy and obsessed down in the Labyrinth. Except for a few breaks here and there, like when I went to rank up to Diamond a while ago, I’ve been spending most of my time down there.

Yeah, that probably wasn’t great, mental health wise. I haven’t really gone out all that much, I’ve been mostly resting whenever outside the Labyrinth. From what I’ve heard from the others, there’s been a lot of changes in the nation lately...it might be fun to go see just how much things have changed...

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