Ian was delighted as he asked.

Oh, is it someone you also know, Bbakbbak?

At Ians question, Bbakbbak nodded his head as he replied.

I know them well. However, Selamus is not the name of a person.

Then?

Bbakbbaks words continued.

It is the name of one of the neutral tribes of the ancient central continent.

Ian, who thought about it for a moment, asked again.

Are they like The desert warriors?

This time, Kaizar replied.

Thats right, Lord guy. If the name of the tribe of desert warriors that are helping the Kaimon Empire right now is Magellan, then you can think of it as another desert tribe called Selamus existed before as well.

!

Ians two eyes rounded.

Since if he could earn an artifact that was similar to the Mark of Magellan from the Altar of Selamus, it would be an incredible help.

Ian opened his mouth again.

Then, is there nothing like the Mark of Selamus or something like that?

Kaizar, who figured out what Ian was thinking of, smirked as he replied.

Huhu, unfortunately, theres probably nothing like that. Since its known that the people of Selamus were exterminated a long time ago.

Ian licked his lips.

Tsk, it was good until that. But, why are you saying that its a place that I will be interested in?

Since even though there may not be an artifact that brings the strength of a neutral tribe like the Mark of Magellan, you may be able to find other artifacts with different abilities.

At Kaizars words, Ian nodded his head as he thought to himself.

But then again, if its a place that Im the first discoverer of, at least there will probably be some kind of first discoverers reward.

And Bbakbbak made an additional remark.

The content of it was enough to tempt Ian.

And amongst the powerful neutral tribes that ruled over the ancient central continent, the Selamus tribe was the only tribe that was composed of Summoners.

Ians head turned towards Bbakbbak.

What, really?

And he slightly glared at Kaizar.

Retainer, why didnt you tell me such important information?

However, Kaizar just shrugged his shoulders.

* * *

Alright, from now on, youre on your own now! People who want to remain at the front and fight head-on with the Kaimon Empire Army can go to the barracks over there and sign up to become a mercenary, and if thats not the case, it would be best to entrust your body in a domain affiliated with the empire.

At the words of the chief knight of the imperial family, the party that stood in a line began to disperse here and there.

They were the reinforcements of the Luspel Empire that departed from the eastern continent and arrived at the central continent.

And the users of the Luspel Empire that came over to the central continent by joining the line of reinforcements also began to move busily.

Hoo-hoot, finally, entry into the central continent!

Canoel[1], who left the party, wore a pleased expression as he looked around at his surroundings.

Keu, such a romantic desert. I heard that the monsters of the central continent give that much EXP, so then does that mean I just have mass-leveling left?

Canoel grinned as he turned his head towards the red drake that followed his side.

Yongyong, you also like it here, right?

The drake was Yongyong, who could be considered a duplicate of Canoels spirit.

Keu-reu-reu-reu-!

The drake nodded its head with a happy expression, and while petting the drakes head, Canoel mumbled.

Hmm, but I have no information related to the hunting grounds here Do I have to log out and look around the community first?

However, just then, from Canoels field of vision, two men walked out as they shared a conversation.

Canoel listened carefully to the two peoples conversation.

This was because he felt like he could obtain the information he needed from them.

What are you going to do now? Are you going to sign up as a mercenary and fight on the front lines?

Why are you saying such stupid things? Were losing every battle against Kaimon right now, so participating in the battle at the front lines is an act of suicide.

Still, I heard that the reward was really good, so its not bad to participate.

You dont know what youre talking about. In the beginning it may have been like that, but as weve been pushed back too much, apparently you dont get a lot of rewards either.

While listening to the two peoples conversation, Canoel nodded his head internally.

Hmm I did hear that we were losing in the war, but it looks like the situation is much more serious than expected.

The conversation between the two men continued.

Hmm Really?

Im telling you, thats the case.

Then what are you going to do?

Im thinking of going to a giant guilds domain thats in the back and save there before hunting nearby.

Oh-ho, that sounds pretty good as well. But I want to go visit the Pyro Domain once. Lets stop there before we go.

Pyro Domain? Ah, you must be talking about the Lotus Guilds domain. I also want to go there, but that might be a little dangerous.

Why?

The Kaimon Empire Army has probably seized most of the bases that are around it by now. It will be okay if were lucky and dont run into the Empire Army But if we run into them, well end up instantly suffering a terrible death.

Hmm Is that so?

Canoel, who was listening to the two peoples conversation, began to move his feet.

It was because he had decided on his destination.

Thats right, how could I have forgotten that! I came all the way to the central continent, so I cant just not go to meet my idol!

The idol that Canoel was talking about was none other than Ian.

After Canoel watched a couple of Ians combat videos on YouCast, he had become a complete fan of Ian.

Ians combat abilities, where he was able to rule over the battleground while managing his Familiars quite freely, was his idea of a perfect utopia.

Alright, then it looks like I just need to find out where the Pyro Domain is now!

After discovering a Knight user that was walking towards him from the front, Canoel approached him with quick footsteps.

Different from the other users, whose appearances were clean as they just arrived at the central continent, his armour was completely covered in sand.

Even just by looking at him, he could sense that he was a user that had been in the central continent for a long time already.

Excuse me, sorry, but could I ask you something?

Yes, go ahead.

Its nothing much, but I was wondering if you knew which direction you had to go in order to go to the Pyro Domain by any chance.

At Canoels words, the man, who had looked over his appearance, wore a puzzled expression as he asked back.

The Pyro Domain? Youre talking about the Domain of the Lotus Guild, right?

Yes. Thats right.

Hmm Your level is too low

The mans gaze was on Canoels ID and level.

Summoner Canoel Lv 100

As Canoel, who was taken aback, hesitated, the mans words continued.

Well, still, youve equipped yourself completely with top-class gear. As long as youve got some control, I think youll be able to manage getting there.

To Canoel, who was the heir of SH Electronics in real life, his lv 100 top-class gear was basically the price of gum to him, and it may be obvious, but he had plastered every part on him with just the top-class items.

Canoel smiled brightly as he opened his mouth.

Ah, what a relief. My control is actually not that bad, so, huhu.

The man, who smirked, pointed in the direction with his finger as he began explaining.

Go straight out that way

Seu-reu-reuk-.

What, what the-?

Ian, who was walking, became flustered after seeing the sand underneath his feet move.

Kaizar, are you sure were able to go this way?

Kaizar nodded his head as he replied with an expression like it was no big deal.

Yes. Why would I lie to you?

Kaizar, who finished speaking, walked forward with big strides.

And shortly after, Ians two eyes couldnt help but widen.

Swaaah-!

That was because the sand blew up into a vortex-like shape as it sucked in Kaizar.

And Kaizar vanished completely from his spot.

The expression that he sunk into the ground was a little more accurate.

Huk!

While Ian was taken aback, Bbakbbak, who was next to him, opened his mouth.

Owner, I feel Kaizars strength from inside there. I think thats the entrance of the altar that Kaizar was talking about.

You, you think so?

Because the scene where he was swallowed by the sand was quite shocking, his feet didnt move easily, but Ian slowly began to move.

Its not like theres a weird desert monster underneath and Ill end up getting eaten or something, right?

And before Ian could even take five steps

Aaack-!

Along with a single cry, Ians body was sucked into the desert sand.

And Paulean and Celia, who followed behind him, also moved their feet.

Seu-seu-seuk-.

Shortly after, the pile of sand that had swallowed the whole party, returned to its calm state as if nothing had happened.

The Altar of Selamus, which holds the history of ancient summoning, has been discovered for the first time.

Your Fame has increased by 10 thousand.

All combat abilities have permanently increased by 10.

Your Leadership and Affinity have permanently increased by 50 each.

Along with the sound of the system messages that rang out one after another, Ian fell into the dark, secret cave.

Thud-.

Due to a fall in a defenseless state, your Vitality has been decreased by 175.

Ian, who plummeted onto the ground after being completely covered in sand, grumbled to himself.

Ah, this, does it have to be this mentally disorganizing and inhospitable?

However, aside from his complaining mouth, he was all smiles.

Since the reward that he received as the first discoverer was better than what he expected.

Its a gift from the gods! I dont know about anything else, but increased Leadership and Affinity alone are already like honey.

Once the whole party gathered after a moment, Ian began to move his feet again.

Kaizar, is this place that altar that you were talking about?

At Ians question, Kaizar nodded his head without hesitation.

Thats right. This is also a place that I found by chance while wandering the battleground back then.

With Kaizar at the head, the party slowly began to walk towards the inside, and the dark, secret cave began to brighten little by little.

Hmm, it definitely does look like there will be something in there

However, just then, an unwelcoming system message popped up.

This is a sealed underground area with limited oxygen.

Your movements have been slowed by 10%, and 0.1% of your maximum Vitality will be decreased per second.

Your Vitality has been reduced by 127.

Ian frowned.

What the hell, you could even die through lack of oxygen?

If 0.1% of his Vitality was reduced per second, then it meant that his Vitality would be completely depleted in about 17 minutes.

Of course, he could endure it through Vitality recovery items or skills, but because everybodys Vitality was reduced, there was no mistake that it was an incredibly fussy circumstance.

Kaizar laughed at Ian.

You lack training. I dont receive any damage with just this much oxygen.

And amongst the party members, only Kaizar was fine.

Ian shook his head.

As expected, a monster.

As they slowly entered while managing their Vitalities, the secret cave widened little by little.

And shortly after, an open space appeared in front of the partys eyes, and in the middle of it, a giant, golden bronze statue stood.

The statue looked like a monster serpent that was flying up into the air as if it was ascending, and in front of that an elder with a giant greatsword on his back.

Ian asked Kaizar with a puzzled expression.

Retainer, do you know that elder?

Kaizar nodded his head.

Of course, I know him.

Kaizar, who paused for a moment to take a breath, grinned as he slowly opened his mouth.

You could say hes the only elderly still alive after facing me with a sword.

[1] Canoel is the son of a wealthy family and heir of SH Electronics, who spends a ton of money in-game without really researching how to properly play the game.