Throughout the ruined city of **Nikas**, Suho's skeleton army scoured every street and corridor.
Some unearthed piles of gold buried beneath collapsed towers.
Others uncovered old research scrolls, shattered artifacts, magic stone,even blueprints of inventions ,whose purpose no one could guess.
Several dragged back relics that floated mid-air, humming faintly with forgotten magic.
By Suho's order, everything was gathered in the plaza at the city's center—a mountain of treasures stripped from a civilization long dead.
---
Meanwhile, inside the great castle, Suho walked through the dim corridor with **Veno**, **Miho**, **Hogwords**, and the **Skeleton Dragon**.
Their footsteps echoed against cracked marble until they reached a massive gate of black stone.
No matter how they pushed, it would not move.
Even the dragon and its respawned copies strained uselessly against it.
Then Veno stepped forward.
He raised his sword, aura condensing along its edge until the blade glowed blood-red and swelled into the size of a greatsword.
Suho stared, eyes wide.
> *Aura… can do that?*
Veno plunged the blade into the door's central slot like a key and poured his energy inside.
Crimson light crawled across the surface—ancient runes awakening for the first time in centuries.
The ground trembled.
With a low groan, the doors began to open.
---
Beyond lay a vast throne hall.
Rows of empty seats lined the walls, all facing a single throne at the far end.
Near it rested relics untouched by time—
A **sword pulsing with red light**.
A **blade crackling with lightning**.
A **staff of flawless crystal**, radiating pure mana.
The air itself vibrated as a new system message appeared before Suho's eyes:
> [Quest Appeared — *The Chosen One*]
> [Prove Yourself Worthy]
>
> 1. Demonstrate your most powerful magic.
> 2. Show your greatest swordsmanship.
> Rank: L
> Reward: One of the King's Relics.
> Failure: Death by the King's Hand.
A translucent figure formed upon the throne—a **spirit** wrapped in royal aura.
The **King of Nikas** had awakened.
Suho met his eyes.
A crushing pressure slammed into him, driving him to one knee.
His body screamed in pain under the weight of power.
---
### *Elsewhere — Another Tutorial*
The **Regressor** stood in the same hall of his own world's version of the city, also facing the spectral king.
He felt the same divine pressure—but instead of falling, he released his inner energy in a white burst that split the air.
The blue lightning sword at the King's side shimmered, then floated toward him.
When he grasped it, a storm of electricity engulfed his body.
> [Hidden Class Available — Lightning Sword Master.]
> [Change Class?]
He accepted without hesitation.
> [Class Changed Successfully.]
> [Skill: Lightning Art (Inherited).]
A message from his patron flashed.
> *(Constellation — Fighting Demon — is pleased with his player.)*
> *(Constellation — Fighting Demon — has issued a Quest: Survive Before the Master of the Ocean.)*
> *(Reward:Skill: Lightning Art (Inherited). Failure: Death.)*
The regressor smiled through the sparks.
> "At last… my path continues."
---
### *Back in Suho's World*
Suho still knelt beneath the crushing aura.
He clenched his fists and forced himself upright.
> "I… won't give up."
Aura exploded from him—wild, unstable, mixed with light and darkness.
Every sealed power inside him burst open: **holy power**, **aura**, and **magic**, all resonating together.
A tidal wave of crimson energy surged across the hall.
> [Warning — Player in Critical Condition.]
> [Power exceeds talent limitations.]
> [Player entering Berserk state.]
Suho screamed as his body convulsed.
The aura around him turned blood-red, twisting violently out of control.
The King flicked his wrist.
A wave of royal pressure struck Suho, hurling him against a pillar.
He hit the stone hard, rubble collapsing around him.
The King lifted his hand again for the final strike—
—but Veno stepped between them.
He raised his sword once more, aura flaring like a beacon.
The blade expanded into a greatsword of red flame.
Then, with his free hand, he gathered a second aura—this one glowing **lightning blue**.
The King froze.
Their eyes met.
They began to speak—not in words Suho could understand, but in an ancient tongue, the forgotten language of Nikas.
Their voices echoed through the hall, resonant and mournful.
At last the King lowered his hand, looking toward the shattered stones with sorrow.
---
But the calm lasted only a heartbeat.
A surge of **crimson energy** erupted from behind Veno.
The debris began to rise, floating in the air.
At its center, Suho stood—eyes glowing red, body wrapped in chaotic power.
The King turned slowly.
Even the skeletons stepped back, awe filling their hollow eyes.
When their gazes met, the King saw something—something he hadn't seen in centuries.
Not strength. Not confidence.
But a will that refused to break.
It was faint, trembling, yet unyielding.
A desperate instinct clawing for life, a stubbornness born from the fear of death.
And beneath it all, a heavy shadow—helplessness, carved deep within Suho's eyes.
The King glimpsed the truth hidden behind that fragile human shell.
He wasn't fighting for glory.
He was fighting because he couldn't afford to lose.
That single heartbeat of recognition changed everything.
The air grew heavier. The crimson light intensified.
"So you, too… refuse to kneel before fate."
The crimson storm raged louder, pressing down on everything in the hall.
Then—
silence.
All the energy vanished at once.
Suho remained standing, but motionless—
unconscious, frozen in place like a statue.
The King whispered one final phrase in that lost language.
His figure dissolved into shimmering motes of light and faded into the air.
Only the system remained to speak.
> [Conditions Met.]
> [Skill Obtained — *Berserk (Legendary)*]
> [Analyzing… Player lacks control over Berserk Power.]
> [Safety Measures Engaged.]
> [Updating Skill Rank…]
> [*Berserk (Legendary)* → *Berserk (F)*]
> [Effect: Temporarily increases all capacities. Warning: User's mind may be corrupted.]
> [Alert: Player lacks any Mental Protection Skill.]
Suho stood silent beneath the broken ceiling, surrounded by light and dust.
The throne hall was still—only the echo of the King's last words lingered, like a promise yet to be understood.
---
⚡ **End of Chapter 17**
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