[You killed Fragmentum Creature x114514. Your combat experience has increased.]
[Due to your methods, your progress on the Path of [Preservation] is obstructed.]
[The source power of the Path contradicts your philosophy, as your will is gradually deviating from the Path—]
[Your progress on the Path has stagnated.]
Ron looked at the text on the light screen, feeling a bit irritable.
This was already the best-conditioned simulation run he had ever started. Because he had the full support of Seele—the Emperor he had personally trained—in this simulation, his personal attributes had grown across the board and were farmed to incredible heights.
Whether it was military command, strategy, or personal combat power, he had reached a peak that ordinary people could hardly hope to achieve.
No matter how he thought about it, this run should have been a satisfying match of massive wins.
But this smooth sailing began to sour the moment the Jarilo-VI First Empire was established...
Because his behavior had deviated from the core philosophy of Preservation itself.
As a Pathstrider of [Preservation], although Ron had never betrayed the will of Preservation in this simulation, as the Shadow of Belobog, he was effectively the blade through which Seele exercised her will.
There was simply too much filth in Belobog. Seele wanted to cut away these burdens that slowed the Empire's progress, and Ron followed her will, sweeping away all internal obstacles within the Empire.
But unexpectedly, this attracted rejection from the Path of [Preservation] itself... Such behavior was repulsive to the will of the Path.
The result was that no matter how much time Ron spent grinding monsters, even if he led the Wildfire Guards and Silvermane Guards to clear out every Fragmentum creature within several thousand meters of Belobog and beat back the Fragmentum itself, his level still could not increase.
Every time he entered the Fragmentum to grind, the simulation would pop up with [The philosophy of the Path contradicts your will] after he finished.
Moreover, the more he supported Seele in the simulation, and the more he helped her cut away the Empire's dead weight, the more he would be rejected by the [Preservation] Path itself.
Ron looked at the light screen with some helplessness, where new notes had already popped up:
[Because of the error during the Stellaron containment, you discovered that the entire world is gradually warming.]
[Drifting snow has become a rare sight in Belobog, and the humanoid ice sculptures inside the Fragmentum outside the city let out a slight tremor.]
[You know that besides the Stellaron, the great enemy that Jarilo-VI must face is about to awaken from the ice.]
[You led the Wildfire Guards and Silvermane Guards tirelessly, day and night, searching for the frozen Anti-Matter Legion within the Fragmentum outside the city.]
[Many Voidrangers were defeated by you before they could completely thaw, turning into dust of anti-matter.]
[However, the frozen Anti-Matter Legion is as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, spread across the entire planet... You cannot annihilate the entire Anti-Matter Legion on this planet.]
[Coincidentally, a storm is brewing within Belobog City. Someone is spreading news about the Anti-Matter Legion, claiming that the Empire does not care about the people and will be powerless to solve the threat when the Legion arrives, suggesting it is time for a new leader to take power.]
[You led the Wildfire Guards to immediately silence the noise in the city. You discovered a new instigator behind these rumors... The Masked Fools are watching from the shadows, adding fresh fuel to the stage for their drama.]
[Because you once again defied the philosophy of Preservation, the [Preservation] Path itself has rejected you.]
[The Path's rejection of you grows increasingly intense, and a trace of hesitation regarding your philosophy of salvation arises in your heart... Perhaps, you can still walk a new path?]
[Please choose—]
[1. Support Seele.
Seele's choices are not wrong, and you are proud of her achievements... The Empire is walking on the correct path, and there is no need to turn to a new direction temporarily.]
[2. Establish a New Ruler.
The lamentations of the people have awakened your conscience. You feel that Seele is too cold-blooded and has gone astray... The future the Empire needs is not a future like this. Perhaps the previous Supreme Guardian, Bronya, can bring a new turn of events for the Empire.]
Looking at the two options popping up on the screen, Ron was speechless for a moment.
"You want me to install a new ruler? Are you kidding me!"
He rubbed his temples helplessly. If he chose Option 2—stopping his support for Seele's methods, severely refuting her cold-blooded acts, and dragging Bronya out to take the throne—the suppression originating from the Path would probably disappear the next second.
He would still be able to act as a Pathstrider of [Preservation], sprinting along the Path while enjoying the gaze of the Aeon.
But why should he stop supporting Seele?
Although Seele's methods were indeed cold-blooded, it had to be said that they were sufficiently efficient... He certainly couldn't learn from this bunch of feeble and incompetent Supreme Guardians of Belobog, could he?
Over seven hundred years, other than letting Belobog fall into further disrepair, they had raised a large pile of parasites feeding on the people... What exactly had the Supreme Guardians guarded?
Seele had been on stage for less than a year. Although the people's lives were a bit harder, and the nobles and wealthy merchants had all been hanged from streetlamps, it had to be said that the future was truly bright—
Even the Stellaron had been successfully contained by Seele. She was already the best leader Ron had seen in the simulation...
At least she was far better than Bronya.
However, the drawback of choosing Seele was also extremely obvious. Right now, the [Preservation] Path was only rejecting him, but this rejection had already halted the possibility of him continuing to advance on the Path. If he continued to support Seele, what would the result be?
He feared the [Preservation] Path would no longer be open to Ron.
He would lose the ability to utilize all Imaginary Energy from the Path, losing nearly all of his power.
"Although it feels like if I go on like this, I'll likely be completely abandoned by the [Preservation] Path, but..."
Ron hesitated for a moment, but eventually chose the first option.
So what if he was abandoned by the Path?
Even if this was just a game, Ron was unwilling to compromise his bottom line for the sake of a little bit of strength.
He would only walk the path he felt was correct... In Ron's view, the Path was nothing more than a useful tool.
A tool used to achieve the goals in his heart—a tool is always just a tool; it cannot change his thoughts.
He was going to protect this Seele!
The selection box on the light screen faded, and new plot text emerged on it:
[Seele's governance is the only dawn in the apocalypse. You are full of trust in Seele and continue to maintain your support for her.]
[Because of your support for Seele, you are severely rejected by the [Preservation] Path.]
[However, because of your trait [Gaze of the Amber Lord (Gold)], you have not been completely abandoned by the Path. You are merely stuck in place, unable to move forward within the Path.]
[Under the Aeon's protection, you still have one chance for trial and error.]
A trait pop-up window jumped out on the screen:
[You have obtained the trait: Crossroads (Grey)]
[Crossroads: You are advancing within the Path, but you have arrived at a fork in the road because you deviated from the Path's philosophy.
Will you walk back to the original road, or walk toward the fork covered in thick fog that no one has ever walked before?
You are attempting to make your answer.]
I wasn't completely abandoned, just level-capped, huh... As expected of the Amber Lord.
Facing this result, Ron breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, as long as he had his current power, Ron was confident he could lead Belobog toward the dawn.
Even if... he couldn't achieve the most perfect ending.
As Ron thought this, new text began to emerge on the light screen:
[Time passes day by day, and the temperature rises bit by bit—]
[The Anti-Matter Legion has finally awakened from the ice.]
[This group of ancient warriors, reforged in the smelting furnace of war, have once again taken up the power of [Destruction], igniting a blazing fire on this planet that has been cold for seven hundred years...]
[The war from hundreds of years ago has today lifted its cold veil to the people of Belobog.]
[[Destruction] is about to destroy the Empire's dawn.]