As the ultimate villain, his stats were quite impressive, with a value comparable to the very first player to hit Challenger in S6. Su Shu browsed his attributes. Alvin's current panel was already on par with some of the weaker Servants in a Holy Grail War.
Although... he also knew that in the Type-Moon world, stat panels were mostly for show. Noble Phantasms and cheat skills were what truly decided victory. In a real fight, everyone just spammed beam attacks and caused gas explosions.
Still, such a panel was already ridiculously powerful, especially considering—Su Shu was only an eight-year-old boy. As a humanoid young dragon, he could already lift cauldrons and shatter stone with his fists. Even renowned knights would exclaim in shock upon seeing him: "He's eight years old?!"
Under the blessing of the "Ultimate Lifeform" talent, his phantasmal bloodline had literally given him the strength of a bear, the eyes of an eagle, the speed of a leopard, and the ears of a wolf—and not by the standard of ordinary beasts, but by the magical beasts of the Age of Gods. The most superior traits of various species were gathered in one body. If he wanted, he could even grow a pair of wings.
Without any arduous training, practice, or study, he would continuously grow stronger just by breathing. This was the superiority of being the ultimate lifeform—every second of every minute, he was advancing towards a state called perfection. As he aged, Su Shu still had vast room for improvement. He was, in the truest sense of the word, full of potential. By the time he reached adulthood, he would surely become a stat monster with A-rank Strength and Agility, perhaps even four A+ stats.
However, compared to all the other luxurious skills... one entry on his panel seemed a bit out of place.
`Luck: E`
"Tsk," Su Shu looked at the glaring entry. "To think I have E-rank Luck..."
"Is this a hint that I'm suited to be a Lancer?"
He had to admit, the System really understood villains. If you had good luck, you wouldn't be the villain; you'd be the protagonist.
With that thought, the silver-haired youth looked down at the vast training grounds below the castle. Although swordsmanship was more in line with his Eastern aesthetic, was the System hinting he should learn to use a spear?
As he pondered this, a tall figure appeared behind him. Along with the old man's gentle voice, a rough hand, covered in scars and calluses, rested lightly on the youth's shoulder.
"Alvin, you seem distracted."
"Father."
Su Shu didn't need to turn around to know it was his father, Vortigern. Yet, even with senses as sharp as a jackal's, he hadn't noticed Vortigern's approach at all. Their power levels were clearly not on the same plane.
He turned to face the powerfully built old man. He was met with the gentle smile on Vortigern's face. If one ignored his immense stature, the Vile King who struck fear into countless hearts looked, at this moment, like nothing more than an ordinary, kind, elderly neighbor.
If an outsider were to see this scene, no one would believe that the affable old man was the demonic dragon that made the entire Isle of Britain tremble. Only in front of his son did the universally condemned Vile King sheathe all his sharp edges.
Su Shu gave a slight bow to his silver-haired father. "I was looking at the scenery outside."
"Is something on your mind?"
"I've encountered a small bottleneck in my magical studies," Su Shu said frankly. "And Lady Morgan seems to be distancing herself from me."
"Your cousin is just like that. You'll have to be patient with her," the old man chuckled. "Tomorrow is your eighth birthday. Is there any gift you desire? As long as it exists on this Isle of Britain, just ask. Your father will even pluck the stars from the sky for you."
The old man spoke these grandiose words with a gentle face, his tone deceptively casual. Plucking the stars sounded like an exaggeration, but Su Shu knew Vortigern could actually do it.
The notoriously brutal Vile King had held the central city of Londinium for nearly a decade. With Britain's most dazzling jewel in his grasp, the nation's capital had fallen to barbarian rebels, a great shame for the Celts. Condemned by thousands, cursed by tens of thousands... the denunciations against Vortigern were endless. Yet for all the cursing, not a single lord or knight had dared to actually challenge him in all these years. His fearsome reputation was self-evident.
Beyond that, something else bothered Su Shu. He didn't know what motivated this aging king to risk universal condemnation and an eternally infamous reputation just to bring in barbarians and usurp his own brother's throne. Uther was no match for Vortigern. If Vortigern was truly a vile king hungry for power, why wait until he was old and frail to rebel?
Having spent years with him, Su Shu could naturally see that Vortigern, the so-called demonic dragon, had no greed for power whatsoever. He was not tempted by beauty, wealth, or authority. Despite leading an army of foreign tribes, he maintained strict military discipline. It seemed he was more focused on driving the Celts away than conquering their cities. He had no interest in bloodthirsty slaughter; the word "brutal" didn't truly fit him. Nor did he seem motivated by revenge.
...So, what was he fighting for?
Unfortunately, whether he hinted at it or asked directly, Su Shu had posed this question many times. Vortigern never answered, only smiling and ruffling his hair.
"You'll understand when you grow up, Alvin."
*Will time provide the answer...?*
Time... there was nothing crueler in this world. Even the light-devouring demonic dragon was subject to the erosion of the long river of time, stained with the decay of old age.
Vortigern Pendragon. This man was very old. The wrinkles on his face, the scars on his arms, his graying temples, his turbid eyes... All these traces left by the years betrayed the滄桑 of the old man's life, yet the power dormant in his powerful frame was still as deep as an abyss.
Facing this aged king, Su Shu felt as if he were facing a towering mountain, unable to even conceive of shaking it.
*"A man as solid as the earth itself."*
This was Su Shu's assessment of Vortigern.
And in response to his father's question, the silver-haired youth just shook his head.
"I have no gift that I desire," Su Shu paused, then said, "but I have a few presumptuous ideas that I would like to ask for your permission."
"Speak freely."
"I want to go outside and see the world. And I want to learn martial arts."
The words fell. The old man fell into a brief silence. After ruffling his son's hair, Vortigern finally looked out the window and spoke slowly.
"Before, your body was not yet fully grown. Martial training could have easily injured your bones and muscles. At your current age, you have a suitable physique. I have no objection to this. But Alvin, you want to go outside..."
The Vile King's voice trailed off like a dying ember. But Su Shu already understood what his father wanted to say.
His identity was far too sensitive.
"Son of the Vile King Vortigern"—if this identity were accidentally exposed, it would immediately attract a swarm of knights to hunt him down. The chivalric spirit of one-on-one duels was one thing, but when facing a demonic entity like the White Dragon, no one would bother with such courtesies. Vortigern couldn't protect him every second of the day, and sending an army to escort him would be far too conspicuous.
Therefore, for eight years, Su Shu had never stepped outside the castle.
"I'm sorry for never letting you go out. This is my fault as a father."
A boy with a lively nature was being confined to a high tower. Even knowing it was a necessary measure to protect him, Vortigern couldn't help but feel guilty as a father. Thus, despite the danger, he did not immediately refuse Su Shu's request.
"You have everything you could want here at home. Why do you suddenly want to go out?" The old man wanted to hear his son's reasons.
Hearing this, the silver-haired youth turned his gaze to the land basking under the brilliant sun. His sight did not linger on the magnificent city of Londinium but passed over the high city walls, toward the distant horizon.
The sun hung high, and all things grew. The world still seemed to be thriving. Just like the clear, cloudless sky, the youth's heart could not be bound by anything.
"How can one truly understand a country without having measured its lands with one's own feet?" Su Shu said softly. "I want to travel, simply because I want to see the face of Britain with my own eyes."
*Ah, Britain, beloved by the Age of Gods...*
Even though it was facing the decline of True Aether, the mana in this land was still incredibly rich. It was like a thieving mouse falling into a vat of oil. For a modern magus like Su Shu, who relied on his own Od, the high concentration of mana in the air was almost decadent.
The Age of Gods, overflowing with True Aether, was right before his eyes! The distribution of Britain's Phantasmal Species, the characteristics of its plants and magical beasts, the truth behind the decline of the Age of Gods... there were so many subjects Su Shu wanted to research! The various ideas in his mind could not be realized while confined to a high tower. He had no access to the sights and materials of the Age of Gods at the Clock Tower. It would be a criminal waste not to investigate and research this rare opportunity!
Another reason was that if his awakened system was a piece-of-junk troll, then the rewards at the end of the simulation couldn't be relied upon. Just as Su Shu had told El-Melloi II, his true philosophy was that he never pinned his hopes on the ethereal.
Thus, like a waterlogged sponge, Su Shu greedily studied everything unknown. The power of this body might be nothing more than a fleeting dream, but the knowledge and experience gained in the simulation were real and tangible.
It wasn't as a magus, but as a human being, that he felt this heartfelt impulse to explore the mysterious unknown.
*Intellect.*
That was the one thing no one could take away, the one thing that truly belonged to him.
Watching the silver-haired youth gaze out the window, somewhat lost in thought, the look of hope in his eyes made Vortigern's expression turn distant. As the Vile King, he could easily distinguish sincerity from falsehood in a person's words. And because of that, Vortigern knew—Alvin was serious.
*To truly understand this country... is it?*
He, the Vile King, had never once thought of understanding this country. A ruler governs the nation. The matter of the Age of Gods' decline had consumed all his energy. He was so focused on the will of heaven that he had become blind to the land beneath his feet. The Vile King was still a king, yet in the end... his resolve as a king was less than that of a child.
...*How shameful.*
Faced with the youth's resonant answer, Vortigern was somewhat stunned. Alvin's excellence far exceeded his expectations. But if his son was to walk this beheading block of a path to protect Britain, what was he, the father, to do?
*...An old man with one foot in the grave shouldn't stand in the way. Let the young man choose for himself.*
"If you wish to go out, then go, Alvin. I trust you will act with discretion." The old man closed his turbid, iron-gray eyes. "But before that, you must diligently learn the means to protect yourself. Know that when a person dies, it is like a lamp being extinguished. Only by staying alive is anything possible. Only by understanding the value of life can one possess the determination to abandon everything."
"Go and learn—learn how to survive with all your might..."
"This is the first lesson I give you as your father."
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