Under the gentle moonlight illuminating the dark night, the three companions carefully closed the door behind them, hoisting their backpacks onto their shoulders.

Leaving only faint traces behind, the room, once lively, fell into a tranquil silence.

Handing three silver coins to the innkeeper, Keyal stepped outside into the cold night air, breathing it in deeply before exhaling.

“...”

He was exhausted. Really, utterly exhausted.

Rubbing his stiff muscles, he tried to ease the tension that had built up in his body.

Not that it helped much.

“Master… are you alright?”

Elena, wearing a necklace of an unfamiliar gemstone, looked at him with a concerned expression, reaching out a timid hand.

“Dad… are you okay?”

Rivera, clinging to his back, folded her hands and tilted her head with a polite concern.

“I’m… fine. Just a little stiff, that’s all.”

Keyal smiled, struggling to maintain his composure, his dark eyes shadowed and tired.

He looked more like a walking corpse than a man, his fatigue so evident it was hard to believe he was even still standing.

Though he wasn’t sick or injured, he was clearly sleep-deprived.

He rubbed his eyes.

He pinched his skin.

He slapped his cheeks in an effort to stay awake, swaying from the sheer lack of sleep.

Well, it was true.

Pretending to sleep, only to wake up to fight, then sleep a bit and get up to fight again…

After repeating this with Elena and Rivera dozens of times, by the time he looked outside the window, the sun was already rising.

‘God… I’m so damn tired…’

---

Their next destination was a kingdom, so they’d first have to cross the empire’s southern border.

Why the kingdom and not the empire?

…The reason was simple.

“Status window.”

At Keyal Klein’s command, a familiar notification sound echoed around them.

[!]

Elena and Rivera watched silently as a screen filled with information materialized in front of him, making them pause.

Keyal waved it off, as if to say it was nothing important.

Only then did the two women sit back down, their curiosity momentarily satisfied.

=====

**Quest**

Form an adventurer party and search for the missing heroes. [2/5]

Re-establish the guild *Edric* with the missing heroes. [0/1]

=====

**Status Window**

**Name:** Keyal Klein  
**Race:** Half-demon  
**Age:** 24  
**Title:** Commander  
**Adventurer Rank:** Grade 1 -> Grade 2 [Pending]

=====

**Skills**

Return: Grade A-  
Arrogant Demeanor: Grade C-  
Command: Grade S-  
System Correction: Grade A+  
Demonic Legion: A+  
Demonic Traits: A-  
Dark Energy: B-  
Demon’s Eye: F-  
Chains of Constraint: F-

=====

**Attributes**

Strength: 21  
Endurance: 19  
Agility: 20  
Regeneration: 20 +2  
Mana: 10  
Dark Force: 20 +10  

=====

**Party Members’ Status**

[The *Elf Queen* trusts you.]

[The *Golden Dragon* trusts you.]

=====

‘Nothing unusual so far…’

The important part came right after this, though.

=====

[!]

**Royal Quest**

Head south to the beastman kingdom of *Solum*.

[!]

Seek out the spirit conjurer of Solum.

A reward will be given upon success.

No penalty for failure.

Do you accept the quest? [Y/N]

=====

‘Hmm…’

Keyal pursed his lips, momentarily taken aback by a quest with no harsh penalty.

The system that usually seemed dead set on throwing death threats his way was surprisingly lenient this time.

On top of that, it even offered a reward.

Maybe it was because they’d pushed him so hard that the system finally feared he might collapse.

Shaking his head, Keyal reached out and tapped the accept button.

*Beep!*

The familiar notification sound echoed around them once again.

As he clicked accept, the status window vanished into thin air.

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Keyal noticed Elena and Rivera watching him with odd expressions.

“…”

His face reddened. It felt like he’d been caught red-handed sneaking a peek at a children’s show at seventeen.

The wave of embarrassment was overwhelming, especially as both women turned their heads politely, pretending they hadn’t seen anything.

‘…Damn, that’s unfair.’

He’d momentarily forgotten that the status window wasn’t visible to anyone else but him.

---

The kingdom of Solum, the only stronghold on the southern continent swarming with monsters, was known as the continent’s sole military state.

Recently, however, disturbing rumors had begun circulating about this military kingdom.

A mysterious figure, claiming the title of Spirit Conjurer, was said to be pulling the strings behind the scenes, having overthrown the royal power.

It was rumored that this figure used the king as nothing more than a puppet to conceal his identity, ruthlessly manipulating the kingdom’s resources to achieve his own ends.

“I heard that this Spirit Conjurer always wears a hood and never reveals his face to anyone.”

Elena clasped her hands, creating a small kingdom in her palms. With spirit magic, she animated the model kingdom and its citizens.

“A mysterious figure who controls the king… Hmm.”

Elena had likely gathered much information about the natural world during Keyal’s absence.

“I’m not too sure about the details, but… perhaps it’s good I heard about it?”

Better to have some information than none. Keyal nodded subtly, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Seeing this, the elf smiled brightly, holding her cheek and swaying a little in delight.

No one knew the true identity of the Spirit Conjurer ruling the kingdom. Not even the beastman royalty or citizens were aware of who he really was.

…It was a setup Keyal had definitely heard before.

“So, are all the remaining beastmen still in the kingdom?”

“Oh no. I heard some of them sought refuge in neighboring lands. The only remaining beastmen should be the current king, Leopold VII, and his immediate family.”

Hearing this, Keyal halted for a moment.

“...”

“Is something wrong, Master?”

Keyal’s face twisted slightly.

Now it was clear why the status window had directed him to the kingdom and why it had presented such a seemingly simple task.

Being told to find the Spirit Conjurer at this time was effectively a subtle command to confront the person who had seized control of the kingdom.

‘Ha… should have known.’

---

In a collapsing building on a twisting, tilting floor, dozens of armored figures struggled to support the crumbling structure, shielding a woman who sat near the edge.

“You bastard…!!”

In the gaping ceiling, a large clock tower loomed, held up by a male panther beastman with a sleek brown-striped tail, shouting at a cloaked figure in black.

“Hurry! Get the princess to safety…!”

A new beastman, covered in dirt, gestured to his subordinates, pointing at a white tiger who sat trembling and teary-eyed.

But none dared to move.

Whether it was due to the sheer weight of the atmosphere, or because of the identity of the princess’s attacker—no one could tell.

But one thing was certain.

“…”

The cloaked figure in front of them appeared to be very angry. Despite the mask obscuring their face, everyone present could instinctively sense the killing intent radiating from them.

*Shhk*

“Graaah…!!”

The body of a cat beastman, standing idly by, was severed from head to torso. Blood sprayed, and he died instantly, not even able to resist.

A comrade had died before their very eyes, yet no one dared approach the figure.

All they could do was bear witness to his death. Some even lowered their weapons, surrendering all hope of resistance.

A raspy breath filled the silence, as if the cloaked figure’s aura was scratching at their throats like a feral beast.

*Step, step*

Slowly, they approached the princess, crouching before her.

Lowering their gaze, they grabbed her chin, lifting her face.

It was as if they were forcing her to look at them, demanding she confess her sins.

“Huh… hick…”

The young princess, face streaked with tears and snot, could only cry. She looked far too young to be a royal princess.

“We… had an agreement, didn’t we?”

The figure’s voice, cold and feminine, echoed in the princess’s ear. She felt claws pressing into her jaw, hinting that they could tighten at any moment.

*Tap tap*

The figure tapped their finger on the ground, as if to accuse the trembling white tiger.

“See, if you’d just brought it in time, things would have been fine. Why didn’t you listen, Princess?”

“…Hick…”

The tiger’s tears streamed down her face as the figure flicked a finger, her words cutting off abruptly.

“Why? Did you want to die? Or… did my words not sound like words to you?”

---

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. Either way, I intended to kill you once you were no longer useful.”

With those words, the claws holding the princess’s chin sharpened.

The princess’s eyes widened in terror, unable to even scream, as the intense killing intent paralyzed her.

It was as if she was silently begging, asking for one last chance to live.

…But, of course, no mercy would be shown.