It was the dead of night and Ryan was sipping wine with the King and Queen of Valmere. They had broken out the good bottle from an elven extract of some sort and were actually having a good time. Now that his position was clear, they expressed their absolute fascination with the world he came from.

  “Truly? A female warrior that’s stronger than the others?”

  “Maybe the Chieftain Tyrant is stronger but that’s because he has a cheat skill. Without it, pretty much everyone agrees that the Passive Tyrant is the strongest.”

  The Queen delighted in hearing about how there was a woman who could punch greater than any man. She hit her husband’s shoulder with the back of her hand.

  “, I told you that we can be as capable as any man.”

  Theskar rolled his eyes. “If I recall, it was you that said an all-female knight guard would be too distracting for the other knights.”

  The two continued to bicker away, talking comfortably around Ryan now that they saw him in a different light… and possibly because of the very strong wine.

  Queen Perinete laughed. “Tell me, is this Passive Tyrant an outlier or are there others like her?”

  “Oh there’s loads of women that like to go into melee. There’s role models like Seffara the Sapphire…” Ryan trailed off, remembering how Seffara was stuck in The Realm and he had no idea what that was about, he shook his head. “There’s plenty of women that are stronger than men. Realm upgrades puts pretty much everyone on an even physical footing by the third realm. The rest is just having the right role models.”

  “Is something the matter?”

  “Sorry just thinking of some stuff regarding the Witch Tyrant. Maybe either of you will have suggestions.”

  As much as Queen Perinete was both scandalized and delighted by the fairer race being able to go toe to toe with the men. She was far, far more interested in a mastermind of a witch. Of someone who manipulated the world from the shadows and bore no insult from the commoners.

  “I cannot imagine how an ascended being like that could lost face to someone like you. No offense.”

  “None taken. The story is absolutely crazy.”

  Ryan smiled, this one was something he was getting used to. Something he was enjoying. Telling his tale to others with both flair and no embellishments. After all, there was nothing crazier than the truth.

  “Well, it started when an orc walked into a restaurant I worked at.”

  …

  Multiple times during the story, Perinete had to check with Theskar to see if Ryan was telling the truth. Although it was less at his own feats and more about the power levels that dragonslayers and the Tyrants held. The idea of perfect illusions that could fool all of your senses and a skill that brought back the dead at their full power sounded fantastical, even to them.

  Even King Theskar shook his head.

  “It is hard to imagine a world where hundreds of ascended beings fly around and everything is still stable.”

  Their kingdom did have stories of people in the tenth realm, calling them ascendants. It was just that it was more of a once in a thousand year occurrence. Possibly more legend than facts.

  “Tyrants once again.” Ryan raised a cup. “They did a purge after their ascension and their threat keeps everyone in line. One dragonslayer went crazy on Earth and a lot of the countries ended up signing an agreement to allow Tyrants on their land if a dragonslayer does go wild.”

  Queen Perinete seemed a little confused. “Why do these Tyrants not simply sweep this ? From what I can tell, they seem more than powerful enough to take over it as they wish.”

  “There’s two main arguments.” Ryan elaborated. “One is that, as strong as they are, they can’t stop nukes from being launched. Sorry, consider nukes like an area wide tenth realm spell. Earth has thousands and thousands of those, enough to destroy every city multiple times over. The other argument, and the one I’m more in favor of, is that there’s just no point.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “The Realm is nearly ten times bigger than Earth. There’s more land there than what anyone knows what to do with. There’s just no point in taking over a planet that might not appreciate it when they’ve got nothing to offer you.”

  Queen Perinete countered. “The control over who gets the Trial enhancements would surely be a big boon.”

  That was indeed true and Ryan couldn’t come up with a good argument in the moment.

  Meanwhile, King Theskar was thoughtful. For the first time since Ryan had met him, he offered his own perspective.

  “Or perhaps the competition is worth keeping. An uneasy nation keeps the population in check, reliant on a stronger power to guide them.”

  The King paused to let the words settle in, then continued.

  “You said that humans, dwarves, elves and orcs live in harmony in The Realm? That would be a monumental task, one I would have difficulty in managing, unless of course–”

  “You gave them a common enemy.” Ryan finished the sentence for Theskar. “”

  Queen Perinete frowned. “That is quite a common tactic. , has it not occurred to you until now?”

  “No, everybody thinks the Tyrants are just people that mind their own business and draw lines that others don’t cross. They don’t normally go out and make public statements or force people to do things, it's just a natural thing that popped up...”

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  Ryan trailed off as he started to think.

  The more he thought the worse it got. Ryan leaned back, staring up at the ornate ceiling.

  “Just how much of my life has been crafted by the Witch Tyrant?”

  Perinete swirled her wine. “She seems like a fearsome ruler. Yet you still believe you can go up against her?”

  Ryan was still staring at the ceiling. “Someone has to, she’s gone crazy and the other Tyrants aren’t stepping up to stop her. Friends or maybe they can’t stop her.” Ryan muttered, still in his thoughts. “That hex in the sky… I don’t know what it was but I felt it in my soul. Even before finding out that she was ready to genocide an entire race of people. She’s truly just one step away from setting the world on fire.”

  Ryan lowered his head to stare at Theskar. He wanted to ask his question but he also wanted to understand this seemingly impossible yet respectable figure in front of him. The dutiful one that stayed true to the Trial System despite its failure to hold onto its side of the bargain.

  “Enough about me and my world. King Theskar, you promised to give me your thoughts, tell me why. Why do you still work as you do? After all this time and all the iterations of the Trial System, why do you work so faithfully without fail?”

  The King swirled his goblet of wine, staring into the spinning red drink. “How much do you know about what we Kings and Queens of the fifth Trial remember?”

  Ryan shook his head. “I know you guys remember things from each iteration of the Trial System. You don’t remember any of the Trials of the current iteration but you remember the others.”

  “Indeed. I do not always feel the weight of those years but the memories come when they’re needed. When Trialists enter the Trial and I am assessing what needs to be done. My past attempts come together and show me both failures and triumphs. Only then do I begin to feel the years,

  King Theskar stopped swirling his wine and stared right at Ryan. For a moment Theskar was ancient. His aura deepened into a darker shade of gold, a firm will that could not be broken, not even by a tyrant.

  The ancient King stared into Ryan’s eyes as the world rippled for a moment.

  Words were spoken as images, emotions, sight sound, as if the world itself changed to show him what King Theskar was.

  “

  The concept was so complicated and multilayered that it made his mind go blank. It was entrancingly beautiful and oh so bright. Even he felt like his will was a candle before this. His own class and the concepts that he had gathered felt insubstantial and incomplete compared to this ancient being that had withstood the test of time…

  And had forged a path unlike any other.

  Teaching, guidance and pride. A will to pass on his lessons to everyone and push them further. Complicated but a single whole.

  Then King Theskar dropped his goblet of wine, his head drooping as his eyes went blank.

  Ryan stood up, hurrying to go catch the falling King. There hadn’t been a need, his wife was there to catch him and hold him tight. Concern, pride and love in her eyes as she held him up. She smiled warmly at the king that was regaining his consciousness.

  “He never cheats on me, does he?”

  “No. Never. Adventurers do have a list of royal bosses that are willing to—well… anyway you and your king never come up on that list.”

  “And of course we don’t.”

  Now the look of love had spilled over to a look that indicated that would happen if Ryan were to leave the room right now. Unfortunately for Queen Perinete, he had a few more things to ask of King Theskar.

  He waited, sipping away at the wine.

  When King Theskar finally came to, he shook his head. “Apologies, that was the first I have attempted that.”

  “No worries, I heard it happens a lot to Kings over the age of a thousand. Nothing to be embarrassed about.”

  King Theskar chuckled and shook his head. “Now, is there something you wish to ask of me?”

  “One of them ties into the other but…” Ryan trailed off, now doubting whether he even wanted to ask.

  “You hesitate to speak your mind, now?”

  “I don’t want to be the one that breaks your resolve.”

  King Theskar heard those words as an insult and rose to the challenge.

  “You need at least another thousand more years if you believe you can shake my resolve with words, .”

  Ryan smiled sadly. “The Manager has said that most of the worlds that the Trial System touches end up being destroyed, your guidance is likely gone into dust.”

  The King was silent for a moment, though seemingly undeterred by the reveal. His aura was as proud as ever.

  “Most kingdoms rise and fall to dust to rise again anew. Tell me, what of the remaining worlds?”

  Ryan blinked, his mind going back to his second meeting with the Manager. The entity had stated that the fate of most worlds touched by the Trial System was to be burned down.

  Not once had Ryan thought about the few that remained.

  What were those surviving civilizations doing now? Were they taken into the fold of greater civilizations? What if they managed to repel them and had grown into an independent force?

  “I hadn’t thought about it.”

  The King seemed to want to move the conversation along. “What is the true question that has been troubling you?”

  Ryan took a breath. “I’ve been thinking about the rise and fall of civilizations. Trying to make sure Valmere is as ready as could be for what’s to come. It’s been an eye-opening experience, trying to direct a kingdom. But a problem still sticks out for me that I don’t know how to solve. Having benevolent ageless Tyrants as rulers sounds good on paper, but what happens when they lose their mind? How does a civilization safeguard against overwhelming ascendants that nobody can stop?”

  It was the question that haunted his mind. The image of his perfect world crumbling down every time he came to this problem. For there seemed to be no answer.

  The Witch Tyrant an invariable and undeniable, if pragmatic force of good.

  If someone like her could fall and ruin the world, then it could happen to anybody.

  The King, once again, did not answer immediately, though once again, he seemed untroubled by the question. Rather, he simply looked amused. Hope surged in Ryan’s chest as he waited for the answer from King Theskar.

  “Why, the solution is right in front of me.”

  And hope was sequentially crushed by the answer.

  Ryan rolled his eyes and sighed. “I’m not some goddamn hero. Even then, let’s say I rise above the Tyrants, who’s going to stop me? What happens if I lose my mind because someone close to me dies?”

  Theskar’s eyes twinkled in amusement. Though now the hope had turned to frustration. Ryan still listened, for this was someone he truly respected.

  “The answer is one and the same. I believe you will figure it out. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have my wife to attend to.”

  The King suddenly took his wife in an embrace and began kissing her. Perinete’s eyes went wide in surprise, flickered over to Ryan, then decided that she was fine with him watching and returned the kiss.

  Ryan stood up, slamming the table to get the couple’s attention. “Hey! We’re not done here.”

  They kept kissing, When they finally broke it off, . King Theskar raised an eyebrow.

  “Feel free to stay and watch, now that we are familiar, I believe my Queen might not even object to your voyeurism."

  Queen Perinete stared up and down at Ryan and giggled, her palm over her mouth in scandalized delight.

  “How could we possibly refuse a foreign prince the privilege of observing proper courtly customs?”

  Then they went back to kissing, undeterred by his presence. Hands reaching around to undo each others’ clothes, the couple no longer able to keep their hands off each other. Apparently four days of being unable to consummate their love meant that they no longer cared about having an observer.

  Actually, he was almost certain that his presence was turning them on instead.

  It was Ryan’s turn to be scandalized.

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