### Chapter: 245
Explosion in the Royal Palace.
Thanks to that explosion, the palace was in chaos for a while.
It was such a powerful blast that even people outside could feel it, grabbing everyone’s attention.
Perhaps that’s why, even as a guest, Kraush had to leave the palace as if he was being kicked out.
No matter how much he was the emperor’s benefactor, he was still from the Holy Royal Family.
If he stuck around for longer, it could lead to a national crisis.
Maybe Abella was aiming for this.
She could be trying to prevent Kraush from staying too long in the royal palace.
“Is there some sort of secret left in the palace?”
There was a possibility.
This was something to hint to Sigrid later.
“The emperor declared that he would definitely hunt down whoever did this to you.”
Dalphion made a firm declaration to Kraush.
Looking at it this way, it wasn’t entirely bad news.
The Empire had fully marked Ixion as an enemy.
Of course, it was only natural for them to want to kill the emperor’s benefactor since it didn’t align with their goals.
If they had a hand with Ixion, it meant they had some intel on him.
That fact helped significantly in their pursuit.
As a result, the emperor himself, Dalphion Junon, decided to take action personally to hunt them down.
The Poison King had a grudge against Ixion’s group due to an incident in the past.
This provided enough justification for revenge.
It wouldn’t be resolved overnight, but at least Ixion would definitely be put on a tighter leash now.
In addition, Kraush asked Dalphion to investigate Abella, who had been gunning for him.
Dalflion willingly accepted Kraush’s request.
“By the way, didn’t you mention once that your skill is different?”
Before leaving the royal palace, Kraush wanted to get the answers to the mysteries that Dalphion had previously shared with him.
“Does this mean that the skill you have isn’t based on divine power?”
“Yes, it was the first time I heard something like that.”
The Black Hood was not created based on divine power.
From the moment he heard that, Kraush had been full of questions.
Since Dalphion had promised, he decided to share what he knew about it.
“Your skill is currently flowing out like the true power of your body.”
That was something Kraush never expected to hear.
“You mean the skill is emanating like the natural power of my body?
Doesn’t that mean it’s his own power rather than something borrowed from a god?
“…Is that even possible?”
“I can only judge to that extent. At least, that’s how it appears to my eyes.”
Kraush recalled the time he met that unnamed god.
He had only exchanged words with her.
What in the world did she do to cause this?
“Perhaps the god you signed a contract with transformed you to fit your body?”
“Transformed you say?”
“Yeah, skills can influence a person more than one would think.”
Kraush had heard something like that at least once somewhere.
Skills indeed reveal a completely new realm.
But could it be that possessing such skills could diminish the vessel of the person?
The evidence for that was Charlotte, who had risen to the top with just a sword.
Her absurdly outstanding swordsmanship was a factor, but also, people noted how she hadn’t obtained a skill until now.
Thus, this idea held some credibility coming from Dalphion.
Of course, considering that, having a skill was still generally better.
Charlotte’s case was simply unique.
Even geniuses found it to be more advantageous to possess skills most of the time.
“Since it influences the vessel, it must weigh heavily on the person itself. Thus, it’s likely your god modified it so your vessel wouldn’t be burdened.”
Kraush looked down at his hands.
He didn’t feel any different when using Black Hood, not in a significant way.
While it didn’t feel tangible, it wasn’t a bad sign.
Less impact on the vessel meant increased potential for growth.
“Whatever the god is, they must think quite highly of you.”
Kraush recalled the nameless god he’d met that day.
He wasn’t sure if she truly cared for him since she hadn’t even told him her name.
But at the very least, it was true that her influence made the path a bit easier.
At that moment, another figure came to Kraush’s mind.
“Limit, huh.”
One day, Arthur had mumbled that while looking down at his own hands.
That day was when the empire fell because they couldn’t stop the greatest evil.
Arthur’s expression then had been one of resignation, as if he had witnessed the limit of his abilities.
It was as if he realized he couldn’t grow any stronger.
Kraush still recalled the despair that had glistened in Arthur’s eyes.
“Maybe Arthur already knew his limit.”
After all, it was a reincarnation skill.
With such a skill granted to him, Arthur’s burden on his vessel must have been much heavier.
Thanks to the reincarnation, he could confront destruction.
But perhaps it was the same reincarnation that prevented him from stopping it.
As Kraush reached that thought, he raised his head.
“Then what about Arthur now?”
Kraush had never seen the real Arthur.
There was a suspicious figure known as fake Arthur, but Kraush couldn’t confirm anything about him yet.
Did the current Arthur possess a reincarnation skill, or not?
That was a fact he couldn’t pin down.
But if Arthur doesn’t have the reincarnation skill…
Wouldn’t this reincarnated Arthur be able to show the limits of the talent he possessed?
“Am I just overthinking?”
Kraush thought it was far-fetched to assume that this version of Arthur would help prevent destruction like he did.
So, he dropped that train of thought and bowed his head to Dalphion.
“Thank you for informing me.”
“Compared to what you’ve done, this is hardly anything.”
After all, Kraush had treated the emperor’s illness.
“I’ll see you next time.”
With that, Kraush’s meeting with Dalphion came to an end.
On the road back to Rahern Academy.
Of course, Sigrid was riding in the carriage with Kraush.
She needed to return to Rahern Academy as well.
“Wow, I thought something big had happened yesterday. I feel like I lost out on something from being surprised.”
Sigrid was the first to rush over when she heard about the commotion of the explosion.
It happened not long after Kraush exited his room, so she was the closest.
She could have easily been caught in it, but fortunately, her guard, Sera, protected her.
Afterward, Sigrid, who had rushed into the room, slumped down when she saw a perfectly fine Kraush.
She was worried that something might have gone wrong with Kraush.
“What a worrywart. Do I really look like I’m the type to die anywhere?”
“Not until you’re on the brink of death, I’m sure.”
You couldn’t deny that.
As Kraush fell silent, Sigrid crossed her arms, letting out a sigh.
“You should think about the people around you who worry more than you do.”
There were quite a few people looking out for Kraush.
He definitely needed to be a bit more cautious.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Kraush wasn’t one to wantonly throw his life away.
It’s just that he had to tread paths that often led to danger unknowingly.
“We have arrived at the teleport point of Shiraan.”
Just then, Sera, who was driving the carriage, spoke up.
They had arrived at the teleport point to head back to Rahern Academy.
Kraush draped his robe around himself and stepped out of the carriage with Sigrid.
“I can’t believe I had to leave in such a hurry because of that explosion. I didn’t even get to use the White Dragon King.”
Unfortunately, it seemed he’d have to wait until he returned to Rahern Academy to use it again.
As Kraush thought this, he stepped into the teleport point with Sigrid.
[ Kraush! ]
Suddenly, he heard Crimson Garden’s voice.
As he expressed confusion at the shout, Kraush instinctively wrapped himself around Sigrid and activated Excel.
[ Get out of there right now! ]
As the voice of Crimson Garden rang out again, Kraush was already throwing Sigrid outside.
“Gah!”
Sigrid, realizing she had been addressed too late, collided with Sera, who was approaching the door.
Right before Kraush was about to throw his hand out to escape through the door.
A pitch-black light erupted from the entire teleport point.
Boom!
Then a booming noise echoed throughout the entire city.
The massive sound drew everyone’s attention, and soon they witnessed something unbelievable.
The teleport point, which had appeared perfectly fine a moment ago, was entirely vanished.
Only empty land with the remains of a building remained.
In front of it, Sigrid sat dazedly on the ground, staring blankly at what used to be the building.
“…Kraush?”
The main character of the name she muttered, was missing from this place.
*
Kraush felt a violent shock throughout his body.
At the same time, a sensation of rolling around on the ground surged through him.
“Extreme!”
Just then, Kraush jolted his eyes open.
He realized he was rolling down a slope.
The mudslide was limitless and slippery.
[ Get a grip! ]
He heard the urgent voice of Crimson Garden.
Her crow wasn’t in sight, but it seemed she was watching from some other means.
Kraush pulled out Rain Thunder Prime and plunged it deep into the slope.
Due to the mud, it didn’t stick well, but at least it reduced his slipping somewhat.
In the meantime, Kraush quickly scanned his surroundings.
What had just happened was a forced teleportation.
And there was only one person behind this mess.
“Ixion.”
They had definitely set up a trap.
It was simply too careless to have a teleport point managed directly by the imperial palace.
“These guys had collaborators beyond the emperor and the Holy Royal Family.”
Confirming the existence of collaborators meant that the trap had indeed been laid out.
“Damn it.”
That was the situation Kraush found himself in.
He managed to get to his feet, standing on the slippery muddy slope.
It was pouring rain overhead.
Hence, the slope was even slippier.
And soon, Kraush realized this place was a slope spiraling downward.
It was reminiscent of an antlion pit.
Thump!
At that realization, Kraush’s instincts kicked in.
Rumble!
Together with that instinct, something emerged from the bottom of the slope, breaking through its end.
It turned out to be an antlion, just as Kraush had thought.
“What the hell!”
But there was one major problem—the damn thing was massive.
A huge antlion, the size of a building, was climbing up towards Kraush.
Upon seeing it, Kraush grabbed his sword, Rain Thunder Prime.
Then he immediately ignited black flames on the sword and swooshed it.
Annihilation Erosion!
First Form: Eruption!
As the flames shot forth, they consumed the antlion entirely.
“Gyaaah!”
The antlion screamed as it was engulfed in flames.
Amid that, Kraush jumped up, landing right on top of the antlion’s head.
Then seizing the moment while it was in pain, he kicked off and shot into the air.
“Excel!”
Accelerated by his activated Excel, Kraush swiftly reached the flat land beyond the slope.
As he dodged the rain, Kraush lifted his head and paused.
Before him stood towering trees rising endlessly into the sky.
Each tree was so massive that it reminded him of the World Tree.
Simultaneously, shrubs expanded upwards, reaching overhead.
The moment Kraush caught sight of this scene, he realized where he was.
One of the kingdoms—a Jeblam Kingdom.
The Forest of Giants.
A realm of sheer enormity, a world of World Erosion lay before him.
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