"Exactly 300 years ago, when the Demon King appeared, five heroes appeared as well. They tried to defeat him… but they failed.
One by one, they were killed.
However… one of them managed to return—barely alive, on the verge of death.
And before he died… he said this."
He flipped the page of the book and continued.
"One day, in the distant future, millions of people wearing the same clothes will appear all across the world… out of nowhere.
And those people—if trained properly—will have the power to defeat the Demon King and bring peace to our world."
"Of course, since those were the words of a hero, we believed him," he continued.
"And we have held onto those words until this very day.
However… that was all he said.
He did not tell us how many would appear, where they would appear, or when.
With that, he sat back down beside the king.
The king, without standing, slowly cleared his throat.
Then he finally spoke—his voice deep and threatening.
"Now… visitors."
"First, allow me to introduce myself."
"I am Vexor Thornil, king of the capital, Sylvaris, of the Kingdom of Arcanis."
"Thank you all for your patience."
"Sadly, we were not able to save all of you from the Droven."
"Droven?" one of the players asked, confused.
"HEY—SHUT UP WHILE HIS GRACE IS SPEAKING!" one of the knights shouted.
The king slowly turned his head toward the knight.
The knight froze.
For a few seconds, he didn't move.
Then—
Without hesitation—
He drew his sword and cut off his own left arm.
The entire room froze.
Blood spilled across the floor as he picked up his severed arm—
…and quietly walked out.
"Now, excuse my knight," the king said calmly.
"He should not speak to our visitors in such a manner."
He continued as if nothing had happened.
"The Droven… is the green creature you saw outside the capital."
Everyone was still frozen.
No one moved. No one spoke.
Yet the king continued casually.
Even the knights didn't react.
As if this were normal.
"Now, visitors… or should I say heroes?"
"The ones who will save our world."
"Starting tomorrow, your training will begin."
"Both mental and physical training."
"You will become stronger… far stronger than you are now."
"Now, you may all leave."
The knights will show you your rooms.
The players slowly started to move again, turning to leave—
I leaned closer to Zareth and whispered.
"Hey… don't you think something's off?"
"What do you mean?" he whispered back.
I glanced toward the king.
"Look at him… the way he doesn't care about anyone."
"He made that knight cut off his own arm… just with a look."
"Imagine what he could do to us."
Zareth's eyes widened.
His expression turned serious.
He nodded.
Then—
He stepped forward.
"YOU REALLY EXPECT US TO JUST OBEY YOU?!"
The entire room turned toward him.
Even the king looked directly at him.
The knights froze in shock.
"Hey, Zareth—what are you doing?!" Draven said nervously.
"You expect us to believe everything you just said?" Zareth continued.
"You bring us here to save your world… and then what?"
"What happens to us after that?"
The king's expression hardened.
…Looks like no one has ever spoken against him before. Interesting.
"What will happen to you?" the king replied calmly.
"You will be honored as heroes."
"I will support you fully."
"You will have fame… wealth… and power."
Zareth slowly went quiet, thinking for a moment. Not wanting to draw any more attention or cause trouble, he calmed himself down.
He nodded.
Then turned back and returned to us.
With that, the king stood and left, followed by the two men beside him—likely commanders.
Afterward, the knights guided us to a separate section of the castle.
A place only for us—the players.
Or as he called us… heroes.
There were areas to eat, sleep, train…
Even a place to study.
Each of us was given our own room.
…This place is huge.
Night fell.
Everyone returned to their rooms, exhausted.
As I lay in bed, I could still hear it—
People crying.
Some are begging to go home.
But no one could leave.
Not the game.
Not the capital.
Outside… only monsters waited.
Defeat the Demon King… Is that how this game ends…?
—— —
After a deep sleep, the sun shone through the window into my room, waking me up.
"Looks like I woke up early."
I stood up and got myself ready.
After a while, I sat on the bed, just waiting.
Knock, knock.
I stood up and went to open the room's door.
A knight…?
"Good morning, Hero. Happy to see you up so soon. Please be in the training hall in 20 minutes."
He said it with a serious expression, then left.
These knights seem like robots… They must be afraid of that king… And honestly, how could they not be? He does look scary… Now then… the main part. The training hall…