Chapter 943

By the time Siegfried returned to the Proatine Kingdom after clearing the Death’s Carnival dungeon...

“Have you called for me, my lord?”

Chae Hyung-Seok stood before Baroque after being called to his presence.

‘

Damn it...’

He had a bad feeling about this meeting.

His failure to complete the quest that Baroque had given to him during the invasion of the Eternal Forest had been weighing heavily on his mind. On top of that, there was also the terrorist attack incident when he was turned into a ghoul by Siegfried.

And it was only natural that he would feel this way...

Why?

It was all because Chae Hyung-Seok respected Baroque and was grateful to him.

If Baroque hadn't extended a hand to him, Chae Hyung-Seok couldn’t even begin to imagine how far his life would have spiraled out of control. His life was already miserable when the demon found him, but it would have gotten even worse if he hadn't met Baroque.

“Hyungseokius.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Why do you look so defeated?”

“Pardon me...?”

“Stand up straight and proud.”

“...!”

“What kind of face is that? You are my most trusted vassal, my right hand. How can you stand before me looking so dejected?”

“M-My lord... But I...”

Chae Hyung-Seok was completely stunned when Baroque comforted him rather than lashing out at him.

‘

This... This isn’t like him...’

he thought.

The Baroque he knew cherished those with talents, but he absolutely despised those who had failed him. At times, his temper would flare like an inferno, and he had no problem punishing his subordinates with harsh punishments.

Thus, this was a response that was very uncharacteristic of Baroque.

Chae Hyung-Seok had braced himself for a verbal beating, but instead, Baroque was... being gentle?

“Hyungseokius.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“You look utterly pitiful.”

“Yes... my lord...”

Chae Hyung-Seok hung his head low.

It was no wonder Baroque had pointed it out, as Chae Hyung-Seok was in terrible shape. Siegfried had ripped out all of his hair, and the scorching burns on his scalp left his head covered in charred scars.

But that was not even the worst part...

Chae Hyung-Seok had lost the most important part of a man’s body, causing him to walk funny.

“Hyungseokius,” Baroque called out once more. Then, he asked, “Do you know of the legend that exists within the Demon Realm?”

“A legend...?”

There was no way Chae Hyung-Seok would know what Baroque was talking about, as he was not from the Demon Realm in the first place.

“There is an old legend in our world... It says that those who are bald and impotent will become incredibly powerful,” Baroque said in a solemn voice.

“W-What...?! T-That is absurd!” Chae Hyung-Seok exclaimed, his eyes wide open and about to pop out from their sockets.

“It is not, Hyungseokius.”

“How could that possibly be true, my lord?”

“There exists a mystical fruit in the demon realm.”

“What kind of fruit?”

“A fruit so potent that... consuming it burns away all your hair and renders you permanently impotent.”

“Pardon me...?”

“But in exchange, you will gain power beyond your wildest imaginations.”

“T-That is...!”

“Take it,” Baroque said, holding out a purple fruit. Then, he added, “It’s called the Transcendent Demonic Fruit.”

“...”

“You have already lost your hair and your manhood. Eating this will only make you stronger with no downsides.”

“The Transcendent Demonic Fruit...” Chae Hyung-Seok muttered in sheer disbelief.

Then, he flashed his Rune of Insight to check the fruit’s description.

[Transcendent Demonic Fruit]

[A rare fruit said to grow only in the depths of the Demon Realm.]

[It contains immense demonic energy, but those who eat it will suffer irreversible loss of hair and sexual function.]

[Type: Fruit]

[Rating: Legendary]

[Consumption Requirement: Demon Race]

[Effects: +50 Level, +10 All Skills Level, +15% Stats]

‘

T-This is insane!’

Chae Hyung-Seok gasped inwardly in shock.

The fruit provided an immense bonus in exchange for taking away one’s hair and sexual function, but he was already bald and impotent, so there was basically no drawback for him.

Of course, the word "irreversible" was a bit concerning, but...

‘

There’s no way this game will last ten more years, right?’

Chae Hyung-Seok figured that before his hair or other parts could regrow, the BNW servers would probably shut down first. BNW’s popularity would most likely wane in the next ten years, and the game would be considered outdated by then.

“Hyungseokius.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Do you wish to grow stronger?”

“Yes, I do wish to become stronger.”

“Then eat it.”

“If I eat this... I will become stronger...” Chae Hyung-Seok muttered under his breath.

“What are you hesitating for, Hyungseokius? You have nothing to lose anymore.”

“Yes, my lord,” Chae Hyung-Seok said, taking the fruit from Baroque’s hand. Then, he added, “I will eat this and become stronger.”

With those words, he brought the Transcendent Demonic Fruit to his mouth and took a bite.

Crunch!

The fruit’s flesh burst open, and its juices flowed down Chae Hyung-Seok’s throat.

Then, a powerful burst of demonic energy erupted from him.

Whoooooosh!

“

G-Ghhhk...! Ghuuuuh! GAAAAAAAH!”

Chae Hyung-Seok screamed in agony.

***

After clearing the Northern Great Rift, Tae-Sung logged out from the game and took some much-needed rest in the real world. This was an overdue rest, as he had been grinding through the Death’s Carnival dungeon for the past few days, sleeping just enough to stay alive.

The next morning...

“

Ugh...

Should I just sleep more?”

Even though Tae-Sung had already opened his eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to leave his bed. He wanted to sleep just a bit longer or at least lounge around in his bed.

Unfortunately, that was not an option, as his schedule for the day was packed.

He had to manage his neglected social media accounts and update his fans. He also needed to take photos wearing the luxury brands he was sponsored with, or else, he would not be paid as per their sponsorship contract.

But that was not the end of his to-do list for the day...

He had interviews scheduled with journalists, a charity event for underprivileged children, and a skincare appointment with a dermatologist, which was an essential part of his self-care routine at this point.

In other words, even though this was a so-called rest, he couldn't rest at all.

‘

There’s no choice. I gotta do what I gotta do,’

Tae-Sung thought.

He honestly wanted nothing more than to just laze around, but he pushed through the urge and got up. Sure, playing games all day sounded great, but his life in the real world would crumble in the long run.

He would grow weaker physically and become mentally drained, which would eventually affect his health. Thus, no matter how much he wanted to just do nothing and play games all day, he forced himself to maintain a balanced life.

One day, he would no longer be able to play games, and he would have to reintegrate into society.

‘

Let’s start with a quick workout.’

Determined, Tae-Sung headed down to the gym and began his day with weight training alongside his personal trainer.

‘

Yeah. I gotta keep moving to stay fit.’

However, his resolve would come crumbling less than just five minutes from entering the gym.

“Hello, Tae-Sung! Long time no see! You haven’t trained legs in a while, right? You've been out for two weeks, so I bet your squat numbers dropped a lot. Time to get those kilograms back up!”

“What?”

“Come on, man! A real man trains his legs! Leg day is non-negotiable!”

Of all things, his first workout in two weeks had to be leg day.

‘

I... I should’ve just stayed home,’

Tae-Sung thought, deeply regretting his decision to be diligent and come to the gym.

***

On that same evening...

‘

Ah, I’ll just do the quest and log out for today...’

After wrapping up his day, Siegfried logged into the game for a bit.

He cleared the Death’s Carnival dungeon and obtained an Epic Quest called Crossroad of Destiny. He wanted to take a break from the game for a few days, but curiosity was eating at him, making it difficult to sleep at night without checking the quest out first.

Thus, he called for Ninetail, the director of the intelligence department, and set off to meet Michele.

The reason for bringing Ninetail along was simple. They were about to discuss classified documents from the Marchioni Empire, and the director of intelligence being present was a no-brainer when dealing with such matters.

Late that night...

“Hello, Your Majesty,” Michele greeted.

He was still hard at work despite it already being quite late.

Michele was the official number two of the kingdom only in title.

He was the Minister of State, which basically made him the Prime Minister, but even he was not spared from working overtime.

“What brings Your Majesty here at this hour? And with Director Ninetail at that?” Michele asked.

“I need to discuss something with you,” Siegfried replied.

“

Hmm?

”

At Siegfried’s words, Michele set aside the documents that he had been reviewing and revealed a grim face before asking, “This does not seem like any ordinary matter, is it?”

“You’re right.”

“What is it?”

“Yes, what is this about?” Ninetail chimed in.

Siegfried did not answer right away. Instead, he took out the secret documents of the Marchioni Empire and placed them before the two.

“What do you make of this?” Siegfried asked.

Michele and Ninetail examined the papers.

“These... appear to be confidential documents.”

“And they’re encrypted...”

Both spoke at the same time.

“Exactly,” Siegfried said with a nod. Then, he finally began to explain, “I think I should start from the beginning, how I got my hands on these in the first place.”

With those words, he recounted everything about how he obtained the secret documents of the Marchioni Empire during the Death’s Carnival dungeon raid.

After hearing his story—

“Oh my god...”

“Did I just... hear correctly?”

—Both Michele and Ninetail were visibly shocked and shaken.

“This is why I called you two. I need your opinions on what to do with this,” Siegfried said in a serious voice.

Without hesitation, Ninetail spoke first, “Honestly? We should just burn them.”

“I agree,” Michele added.

The two seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

They knew full well what would happen if they got caught holding onto these documents; the Marchioni Empire would definitely not take such a breach in information lightly.

“Keeping them would only bring disaster. This isn’t something our kingdom can afford to handle.”

“Exactly. Our kingdom can be razed to the ground just because we are in possession of them.”

Siegfried listened to their reasoning and pondered for a moment before responding, “So... we really just burn them? These are really valuable, you know?”

At that, both Michele and Ninetail hesitated.

They were quick to suggest destroying them, but making the final call was not as easy, as they knew the value of these documents.

“This is...” Michele muttered, biting his lower lip. Then, he sighed and continued, “In the end, this is a matter for Your Majesty to decide. But if you are asking for my personal opinion... I will still recommend that you burn them immediately.”

“Same here.”

Despite everything, their advice remained the same, which was to get rid of the documents.

Still, the final decision was in Siegfried's hands.

‘

What should I do...?’

he deliberated.

It was then.

Ding!

A notification popped up in front of his eyes.

[Alert: Make your choice!]

[Crossroad of Destiny]

[Choose one of the following paths.]

[Paths]

- Path of the Supreme King (Learn More)

- Path of the Loyal Vassal (Learn More)

- Path of the Wise King (Learn More)

[Warning: Your choice will determine the course of your destiny and completely change your life.]

Three choices were given, and Siegfried decided to examine the options one by one.

[Path of the Supreme King]

[A king needs to have both overwhelming power and charisma in times of chaos.]

[Use the Marchioni Empire’s secret documents to strengthen the kingdom’s military might and walk the martial path!]

[However, taking this path could shatter trust with the Marchioni Empire, potentially leading the entire kingdom to the brink of destruction.]

[Path of the Loyal Vassal]

[The Proatine Kingdom is a vassal state of the Marchioni Empire.]

[As a loyal subject, present these secret documents to Emperor Stuttgart and explain the situation.]

[In return, Emperor Stuttgart

might

bestow upon you a grand reward for your loyalty.]

[However, there is also a chance that Emperor Stuttgart might start suspecting you.]

[Path of the Wise King]

[A true ruler prioritizes the safety and well-being of his people above all else.]

[Burn the classified documents to eliminate any potential risks before they can harm the kingdom.]

‘

What should I do...?’

Siegfried pondered.

Each option had its own merit, so there was no easy answer.

“

Hmm...

” Siegfried deliberated over his decision.

Michele and Ninetail remained silent, giving him the time he needed to make his decision.

After nearly an hour, Siegfried turned to them and resolutely said, “All right. I’ve made my choice.