Death, Devotion, Dissonance

Chapter 107 - King Seth

The letter from the king was much longer than the previous notes, and although Evin didn't want to have any treasonous thoughts, frankly, it got a bit boring near the middle of it. Perhaps it had something to do with the polite and clean way the king wrote his sentences.

As for the contents, king Seth spoke of the darker side of the kingdom's history and how it didn't just turn a blind eye towards unethical experiments, but even actively funded them without the citizens knowing about it.

He explained that it's an inevitable choice, considering that the other races and countries are always trying to find new methods of finding an edge over the others. This was especially true for the Southerners, who find a new technology or method to win the war with each passing year. Three years ago, they've completely revolutionized the did battle by inventing trenches, and this year, they've thought to attach Talismans of Explosions on Myrmis to deal massive damage in skirmishes outside the Gray Field. 

The king then mentioned that it's becoming harder and harder to fight justly and cleanly. If the enemies are willing to commit sins to win the war, they should also be willing to do so. 'The kingdom would not shy away from staining its hands with sins and it would not punish its citizens who only wish the best for it. Every research proposal submitted through the proper channels shall fall into my hands and every one of them will receive either an approval to continue, or a polite reminder to stop. Some might even receive support from the government depending on the plausibility of their idea.'

The Voice interpreted these words as the king giving his silent approval to mages who want to be a bit more extreme with their ideas. It was sure that the king wanted to write to the students to at least keep a low profile if they were thinking of doing something dodgy, but of course, he couldn't be so frank. The king still had to maintain some class.

Then, the king spoke a bit about the late king. 

[My father was a great man, but he was someone that saw the world in black and white. There were people that supported him in his goals and then enemies. If you designated yourself as his enemy, then you simply had to wait for his force to come upon you. Reasoning and history didn't matter to him.

He mercilessly kills any noble who was known to violate the laws, saying that nobles should be the first ones to uphold the laws of the country. This brought upon an kingdom that was completely free of corruption, but it also transformed the country into something that only catered to him, essentially turning it into a dictatorship.]

King Seth began to explain this was the reason Heim Morton had to be executed later on in his life. Because he refused to do things the exact way the king wanted it to, calling the king's method inefficient and childishly ambitious. For better or worse, the professor was not someone who minced his words. 

The late king used to like this trait of the professor, but at that time, the late king was becoming old and spiteful. Due to the pain in his aging body, his mood was becoming more and more impatient, leading to a rather violent ending to the association. It was easy for king Roland to paint the man in a negative light, to convince everyone that Morton was someone who deserved death.

The official statements of the execution only revealed the atrocities that Morton committed, not even mentioning his contributions to the kingdom. The fact that the 4th grades that were sent to Morton's experiments were all death-row criminals arranged by the king himself was completely erased and many history books at the time were forced to have their content changed. 

King Seth very clearly conveyed that he wasn't going to treat his subjects like this. He admired the late king's vision of letting the nobles and the commoners receive the same opportunities, and wholeheartedly continued its legacy, but he would never do it at the cost of his citizens. 

When the letter reached this point, the Voice interrupted, saying that every king gets similar thoughts at the beginning of their rein, except that they eventually succumbed to the dark side and become corrupt.

In any case, the king wrapped up his speech about the kingdom's history and continued on to what the Laboratories had in store for Evin next – the Type 11. 

[Once again, congratulations on successfully overcoming the various trials you've faced on the Island. But from now on, there will not be any safety nets that you can fall on. But there won't be any hidden instructors waiting in the dark to save you, and there won't be any commands inside the golems to prevent them from killing you. If you want to turn back, then now would be the time. Since you made it this far, your leader will definitely be considered for the position of Helm. There's no need to worry about this leading you to fail the test.

But, if you still wish to take on the next challenge, regardless of the dangers, then make sure you're in top shape. You will only have two fights from now on: the Type 11 and the Type 12 if you make it past the other.

I can help you with is to tell you about the golems beforehand, so you have a better chance of winning.]

After this, the letter described the general information on the Type 11, and also its weaknesses. Like Evin predicted, the Type 11 was made in the shape of a human, which was, for whatever reason, crucial in having it cast magic. But aside from this new ability, it was the same as the Type 10. 

About its weaknesses, the main one was its inability to leave the room it was confined in, which left Evin with the choice of running away if the fight became too hard. But one thing that Evin found interesting was that the golem's spells could always be blocked by ketricite. 

The letter didn't include anything about the Type 12, but it did mention something very interesting. 

[You must've guessed that there's a Type 13 from the reports, but... let's just say that even High-Mages would not be able to deal with Type 13.

Regardless, good luck on your fight.]