As soon as Riezel opened his eyes, he saw that he was surrounded by a sea of stars.
It was a boundless sea of stars, endlessly vast and impossibly beautiful, with flowers, trees, mountains, and rivers that held all the beauty one would find on a planet, which made it feel strangely magical.
Standing in the middle of this sea of stars, Riezel felt rather at ease and even had a thought: if utopia really existed in this world, then it was probably this place, right?
Just as this kind of thought crossed his mind, Riezel noticed the beautiful scene before his eyes suddenly shifted.
It stopped being beautiful.
It stopped feeling peaceful.
A terrifying storm suddenly swept through the place, like a winter blizzard descending from the sky.
Before long, the flowers withered, the trees shriveled, the mountains transformed into snow-covered peaks, and the rivers froze solid, turning what had once looked like a utopia, a paradise, into a desolate, apocalyptic wasteland.
Seeing this scene, Riezel’s peaceful mood dropped straight to rock bottom, crashing into a horrible state of gloom.
Right then, a voice drifted into Riezel’s ears.
"There’s no such thing as utopia in this world. I don’t need it either."
It was a voice as cold as ice, and the moment Riezel heard it, he spotted a figure.
Just like him, the figure stood in the heart of the storm, wrapped in the freezing wind. Her pitch-black gown fluttered wildly, and her hair, white as powdered snow, was lifted by the cold air.
"You long for a place like this?"
With her back still facing Riezel, the figure, who was none other than Morgan, the queen who ruled over winter, asked.
Riezel stared at Morgan in silence for a long, long time, until he finally responded.
"Who wouldn’t want the world around them to be a little better?"
He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world, but Morgan, known as the Queen of Winter, just scoffed at his answer.
"Humans definitely think that way, but fairies don’t."
"Maybe some fairies do, but I don’t."
"And if I don’t, then you sure as well don’t either."
"Because you’re Riezel Brynhart. A man who loves adventure, thrills, and intense battles—someone who’d throw himself into a deathtrap just for the rush."
"What you crave isn’t utopia, but a playground where you can chase after freedom."
As Morgan said this, she turned to face Riezel.
At this moment, she wasn’t wearing her thorned crown and wasn’t even holding her black spear, so she was, quite literally, completely unguarded in front of Riezel.
Her face was still as breathtaking and alluring as ever, like a goddess straight out of paradise, or maybe a witch who had crawled out of hell—tempting beyond belief and just as dangerous.
In the next moment, Morgan, high and mighty as she was, walked toward Riezel.
No, it wasn’t just that she walked up to him—this goddess-and-witch-like queen actually snuggled right into his arms and then gently stroked his face while looking up at him with a dazzling smile.
"You and I are the same. We both rejected our own worlds and chose someone else’s."
"I’m not going to say I can give you the dream playground you’ve always wanted, but whatever I have, you’ll have as well."
"Faerie Britain belongs to me, and that means it belongs to you too."
Morgan’s tempting voice lingered in Riezel’s ears before she leaned in closer and whispered softly.
"Let’s rule this island with terror together, my dearest husband."
As these words fell, Morgan’s lips met Riezel’s.
*Buzz!*
In that instant, the winter-ravaged world lit up, and a twin-spear-shaped magic circle appeared on the earth below.
Just like that, at the very center of this world, the man and woman locked in a kiss melted into one, no longer separate beings but a single whole.
===
"!!!"
Riezel suddenly jolted awake as if woken from a nightmare.
He sat up abruptly, instinctively clutching his spinning head, closed his eyes, and tried to calm his rapidly pounding heart.
"What the hell was that just now...?"
Riezel muttered under his breath like he was groaning, his head a mess as if it had been filled with glue.
Just as he started to settle down and the dizziness in his head eased up a bit, a voice suddenly reached his ears—one that felt both familiar and strange.
"You’re awake?"
At the sound of this voice, Riezel froze, his hand halfway down from his head.
He remembered what had happened before he lost consciousness and also realized the kind of situation he was probably in now. He stayed silent for a long moment, then, as if he had braced himself mentally, he lowered his hand and opened his eyes.
As soon as he did, he saw where he currently was.
It was a grand hall, a hall that had the solemnity of a temple and the stern atmosphere of a palace, just like the audience chamber of a king—at least, this was the vibe it gave off.
In fact, it was indeed that kind of place.
Proof was that the space wasn’t filled with decorations or furniture, but only a single, clearly expensive-looking throne placed at the far end.
Riezel was currently lying on this very throne, using it like a bed.
More importantly, he wasn’t alone here.
Right in front of him stood a woman known as the Queen of Winter—the very same person who had just appeared in his dream—now wearing a crown of thorns and holding a black spear in her hand.
"Looks like you had a nice dream, my dear husband."
Morgan, the queen who had ruled all of Faerie Britain for two thousand years, stared straight at Riezel and spoke calmly.
"...Nice dream?" Riezel stayed quiet for a while, then continued with a mocking tone. "I’d rather call it a nightmare."
"I know..." Morgan replied without a hint of change in her expression. "Stubbornness is a trait all men share. Even you’re no exception."
"Then would you mind telling me..." Riezel replied flatly. "Why does Her Majesty the High Queen bring such a stubborn man like me to this place? Shouldn’t I be waking up in a prison cell or some torture chamber instead?"
"Oh? So that’s your thing?" Morgan immediately flashed a seductive smile, like a spider luring in prey. "If that’s what you’re into, I can always satisfy you in the bridal chamber. I’ve never done it before, but I have a feeling I’d be pretty good at it."
Riezel was certain—this queen was talking about something dirty, something only adults understood.
"Nah, I’ll pass on that." Riezel stared directly at Morgan, dropping all pretense. "What did you do to me?"
He was obviously talking about what had happened in Salisbury.
Whether it was the so-called ’Garden’ that Riezel had never heard of, or that thing called ’Stake’, both went far beyond what he knew about the original Morgan, which left him genuinely surprised.
It was only natural, since neither the personally tailored Garden for him nor that inexplicable Stake was something Riezel had ever heard of in the original work.
However, terms like ’Mirror’, ’Tower’, ’Coffin’, and other kinds of ’Garden’ that Morgan had mentioned were things Riezel did know.
They were all grand magecrafts Morgan had gradually developed, studied, and mastered over thousands of years as the Queen of the Fairy Kingdom—each one had astonishing effects.
Even from Riezel’s perspective, someone who possessed over a thousand kinds of magic, the power and function of those grand magecrafts were downright extraordinary.
Morgan, unlike many other fairies in the Fairy Kingdom, focused on magecraft as her main form of combat.
She was a magus and an extremely skilled one at that.
If Morgan ever stepped foot on the Akasha Continent, just the might of her grand magecrafts like Mirror, Tower, Garden, and Coffin, without even considering her other capabilities, would easily qualify her as a Tactical-Class Magician or even a Strategic-Class Magician.
Someone like Nibald, who could go toe-to-toe with a Sword Saint, would probably be nothing more than a slightly stronger insect in her eyes.
In other words, Morgan was absurdly powerful—no doubt about that.
Even the so-called strongest Fairy Knight, Lancelot, might not be able to defeat her—or rather, she probably couldn’t.
Riezel understood this well, which was exactly why he wanted to meet this queen and fight her.
Now, however, things seemed to have gone way off script and slipped out of his control.
Riezel placed a hand over his chest, even undid his clothes, and looked at his torso, noticing that the magic circle shaped like crossed spears had vanished.
Even so, he didn’t think that thing had been a one-time deal, because he could feel something—he could feel a connection between him and Morgan, who now stood right in front of him.
It was a bond, one even tighter, firmer, stronger, and deeper than an attendant contract.
Having this kind of connection, Riezel felt like the beautiful queen before him truly belonged to him, as if he could do whatever he wanted with her.
More importantly, she had just called him her husband.
He honestly felt baffled by this situation, but at the same time, the bond between them stirred something that made it feel... oddly fitting.
As Riezel was lost in thought, he suddenly felt a heat flaring across his back.
’What...?’
Riezel felt a jolt in his heart but pushed down the thought that had suddenly surfaced, along with the heat on his back, and continued staring straight at Morgan.
"What did you do to me?" Riezel asked with a serious expression.
In response, Morgan simply looked quietly at him before speaking.
"I planted the mark of ’Stake’ on you. You can think of it as a kind of divine protection."
Hearing this, Riezel didn’t even pause before snapping back.
"Just divine protection?"
Riezel’s voice was surprisingly calm, like he wasn’t worried at all about anything being wrong with his body.
"Of course, it’s just divine protection." Morgan’s eyes flickered slightly as if she admired his calm reaction. "It’s a special kind of divine protection. You should be able to understand, right? If it wasn’t something beneficial to you, it wouldn’t have any effect on you at all."
Morgan’s words made Riezel narrow his eyes again.
"You... seem to know me pretty well..."
"And you know me pretty well too, don’t you?" Morgan shot back.
"Yes, before... but I don’t know you now." Riezel said bluntly.
"That’s fine." Morgan’s lips curled into a faint smile. "You’ll know eventually."
As soon as she finished saying this, she walked over and sat down beside Riezel, making him immediately frown.
He couldn’t help it because the distance between them was way too close.
Even though the throne was huge, like a luxurious king-sized bed with plenty of space, Morgan sat right next to him without hesitation, as if that spot had belonged to her all along.
Strangely enough, because of that inexplicable connection between them, Riezel didn’t even feel uncomfortable about it—in fact, he had this weird urge to wrap his arm around her, which annoyed him.
One should remember that the feeling of being guided by some unknown force instead of his own will was something Riezel, who cherished his freedom, deeply resisted. If there hadn’t still been a ton of unanswered questions, he honestly would’ve just gotten up and walked away right then.
Just then, Morgan spoke softly.
"No matter what, you’re my husband—a fact that’s not going to change."
"Our wedding will be held a month from now, right here, in front of this throne."
"Before that, you can move around freely in this place, but you can’t leave Camelot."
Upon hearing this, Riezel took a slow breath, like he was adjusting his mood before speaking up.
"You think I’ll listen to you?"
At Riezel’s question, Morgan seemed even calmer than him when she answered.
"You will... because this is the first ’condition’ I’m giving you."
"Condition?"
Riezel caught this word and had a feeling it was important—at least for him and Morgan, it meant something weighty.
"What do you mean?"
Riezel went ahead and asked, but unfortunately, Morgan gave the same reply as before.
"You’ll understand eventually."
Leaving him with these words, Morgan smoothly reached out her hand and gently caressed Riezel’s cheek—her movement was natural as if it had always been that way.
Riezel wanted to pull away, but his body didn’t match his thoughts, as it didn’t resist Morgan’s touch at all.
"Just one more month and we’ll officially be husband and wife."
Morgan stared into Riezel’s eyes, where emotions and desires swirled—feelings Riezel could not fully understand.
However, he could, at the very least, sense some possessiveness in her gaze.
"No matter what, this time, there’s no way I’m letting you slip out of my hands. Better be ready for that."
After making this declaration, Morgan vanished from the throne, as if giving Riezel time to gather his thoughts, and left the place.
In an instant, the vast and grand throne room was left with Riezel alone.
"Who’s the ruler of this country, anyway?"
Sitting on the throne, Riezel muttered—whether it was sarcasm or self-mockery, even he couldn’t tell. At the same time, he was quite surprised that Morgan would actually leave the throne, even letting someone stay here alone.
"Isn’t she worried something might happen?"
As someone who knew the original work, Riezel understood exactly what this throne meant to Faerie Britain, and just how important it was.
With that in mind, he turned his head to look behind him and saw that the wall at the far end of the throne room, behind the throne itself, had completely vanished.
In other words, from where he sat, he could now see the outside.
"Whatever. Not my problem..."
Riezel let out a sigh, then took out Loki’s blood and began updating his status.
He couldn’t help it, since his back felt way too hot, which meant that something must have changed with the Falna engraved there.
Sure enough, the freshly updated status confirmed it for Riezel.
...
Riezel Brynhart
Level 7
STR: H122 → F355
END: H117 → F367
DEX: G205 → E484
AGI: G219 → E491
MAG: F330 → D555
Lightweight: C → B
Swordsman: C
Mage: E → D
Battle Adept: F → E
Fast Attack: G → F
Magic Chant: I → H
...
MAGIC
Almighty
- Memorization magic.
- Activates specific magic based on memory.
- Magic’s power is determined by ’MAG’.
- Valid only for confirmed magic.
...
SKILL
Fool’s Obsession
- Greatly increases growth speed.
- Greatly increases growth limit.
- The deeper the obsession, the stronger the effect.
- The effect is significantly enhanced in dangerous situations.
Endless
- Grants the highest-rank development ability: ’Healing Power.’
- Grants the highest-rank development ability: ’Spirit Healing.’
- Grants the highest-rank development ability: ’Abnormal Resistance.’
- Improves obtained development abilities.
Self Redemption
- Immune to physical interference.
- Immune to mental interference.
- Can independently update status by consuming the corresponding god’s blood.
- Can accept and enhance the effects of friendly buffs.
Pioneer of the Sun
- Becomes a spiritual being.
- Doubles the effects of light and heat magic.
- Provides resistance to light, heat, frost, and darkness powers.
- Deals special damage to evil entities.
Stake of Oath
- Fairy’s divine protection.
- Power exceeds the normal limit when fighting alongside a specific individual.
- Power becomes ineffective when fighting against that specific individual as an enemy.
- Able to exchange powers and conditions with that specific individual.
- Inheritance occurs immediately upon meeting the condition of ’death.’
...
Looking at the newly updated status, Riezel couldn’t help but fall silent.
No doubt, this time’s status update was far better than the last one, given how the total basic ability proficiency had increased by over 1000, which was no surprise. What was more important was that nearly all the development abilities had been promoted, which was something to celebrate.
If Riezel’s current development ability ranks were revealed to the gods and people of the world of Danmachi, it would surely shock both gods and mortals alike.
It was only natural.
Even Ottar only had one development ability at the highest rank of E, while Riezel had several development abilities that had already surpassed E-rank, with his first acquired development ability, Lightweight, even reaching B-rank—only two ranks away from the highest S-rank—which was astonishing.
From the time of the last status update until now, only a few days had passed, yet Riezel’s status had improved much more than in the earlier update.
Perhaps it was thanks to the fierce battle with Lancelot, Gawain, and Woodwose?
Needless to say, that battle, even for the current Riezel, had been extremely dangerous. It must have triggered the effects of Fool’s Obsession to the greatest extent, so after surviving that peril, his growth speed had significantly increased.
Of course, none of that was the most important thing.
Even though Riezel was quite satisfied with his growth this time, with decent improvements in both his basic ability proficiency and development abilities, the rest of the progress seemed insignificant compared to the newly emerged skill.
"Stake of Oath?"
Riezel furrowed his brow once again.