The expansion of the magical system during the sequel was so impressive that it left everyone speechless, as it presented a completely different outlook for the world.
Originally, Ryan planned to prepare himself during the 50-year gap between the two, so that he would be ready for whatever was coming. But he died, and was not given time to prepare.
Now he has to start from scratch. Unfortunately for him, the protagonist is his enemy (and his brother).
For a brief moment, Ryan was stunned. Processing the information was one thing; trying to do something with everything he knew was another.
Now he wasn't as carefree as the first time, because he had failed before.
What if he failed again? Now he was facing an entirely different threat.
On his first attempt, at least he could preview his path. But now he couldn't. The threats were becoming more powerful, and his forces were nil.
Even his brother wanted him dead... Would he fail again?
A cold breeze coming in through the window woke him from his pessimistic thoughts, and he frowned. He clenched his hands under the sheets.
'This time I won't fail,' he assured himself.
But he didn't want to become a Hunter's Path Walker again.
'Should I try the Path of the Alchemist? The Puppeteer might also be a good option...' he considered.
He completely ruled out the Path of the Martial Warrior because they are generally affiliated with the kingdom. His father commands them, and he is not his father's favorite.
'Although the biggest problem is not which Path I want to try, but finding a way to get the attention of that Path so that it will choose me.' While he was deep in thought, the door to his room opened again.
This time, a young, muscular man carrying a sword at his waist and other smaller weapons rushed in.
"Ryan!"
Seeing him, Ryan smiled. "Max, thanks for coming." He tried to get up, but Ryan quickly moved to stop him.
"Don't get up. You must still be hurt. Does anything hurt? Do you need any medicine? You were in terrible shape!"
"I'm fine." Ryan patted his hand. "Don't worry so much about me. I'll be fine after I move around a bit."
"Are you sure you can move? Lord Brandon told me you weren't feeling very well." Max watched him slowly stand up and then stretch.
"I am." He smiled. "That aside. What did you find out?" He asked.
Although Max had not been instructed to look for anything, he knew what he meant, so he immediately became serious.
"We have several suspicions. It could have been a Minister."
"A Minister? An alchemist? That poison..."
Max frowned. "Do you know what poison they used?" Confused, he tilted his head. He didn't remember Ryan being good with poisons.
Ryan quickly realized his mistake, so he shook his head.
"I don't know. I just thought it might have been, since they're specialists in using poisons."
"Oh. Is that so?" Max nodded. "I see."
He put his hand on his waist, and the small weapons there shook. A rag appeared in his hand.
On top of the rag were several daggers.
"Those are..."
"Yes." Max nodded. "Our suspicions are pointing to Minister Martin. We found these daggers hidden in his room, and the poison on the daggers is the same as on your body. Although we don't know how it got there, you had no wounds."
Ryan grabbed one of the daggers, deep in thought.
There were several things. First, he remembered having a wound on his chest, and it was very deep, so that answered the question of how the poison got into him.
The question was, how did that wound heal? It was deep enough to take months to heal.
Something must have healed it, and that was the question. What healed it?
Then suddenly, he had a headache and dropped the dagger to steady himself.
"Ryan! What's wrong?" Concerned, Max quickly held him up.
A series of visions flashed before his eyes at that moment.
The moment in the basement. He had been taken there against his will, but by whom?
The last thing he saw was someone stabbing him in the chest with a dagger that poisoned him as he was thrown there. His last visions were of himself falling to the ground.
A storage belt, some weapons...
Not much else.
Then his mind cleared again.
He shook his head to indicate that she shouldn't worry.
"I'm fine. I just felt like I remembered something."
Max stared at him for a full minute before sighing.
Perhaps his master... had not yet recovered from the poison. So he put the things away and made up his mind.
"I swear I'll find that bastard. Don't worry too much and get well soon. We'll have to leave soon," he said.
"Leave? Where to?" Perplexed, Ryan looked up. Since when had he decided he had to go somewhere?
He didn't remember being Max's servant and having him make decisions for him, did he? He didn't think the story had changed that way...
"Hm? Haven't they told you? The King issued an edict a while ago!" he said excitedly. He had a habit of shouting when he was in a good mood.
Although Ryan was annoyed by the shouting, he said nothing; in his memory, that was just how he was.
Instead, he was perplexed by what he heard. "My father? Is it something about me?" he asked.
Max nodded quickly and took out the scroll.
"Lord Brandon will lead an expedition to the recently discovered ruins of Sunken Mountain in two days. It is said that there is something impressive there, so the King has ordered us to mobilize to support him."
Then, Ryan felt his body tremble. His face darkened, and for a moment, he felt fear upon hearing this.
The Ruins of the Sunken Mountain!
"Did he order me to mobilize as well?" he asked, surprised, emphasizing the "me."
The Ruins of the Sunken Mountain are a dangerous place for non-walkers like him. Sending Max didn't make sense either. What was his father really thinking?
"Yes. In fact, he asked you to report to him tomorrow morning. He wants to see you; he must be worried about you." Max nodded.
That made him think carefully, and it didn't take him long to realize what was happening.
'Did Brandon change history?' he thought.
As someone with one of the Paths nicknamed "Extraordinary," Brandon can slightly edit or rewrite the lines of destiny in a certain place or plot. It's not for nothing that it's called the Path of the Author.
Now, he wasn't sure how much Brandon could affect his father, since the latter is a full-fledged Divine. His power shouldn't be able to interfere with the decisions of someone so powerful.
'Unless he's stronger than I thought.'
Which would be much more dangerous for him.
He was slightly concerned, but suddenly he remembered something and his eyes lit up. The dark look disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place.
'Did I arrive just in time for this moment?'
Excited, he nodded immediately.
"All right. Then I'll get ready." He replied quickly, not wanting to miss this great opportunity.
Although Max was confused by his sudden change of mood, he nodded.
"All right then, Ryan. I'll shop in town to prepare us, since Lord Brandon said it would be dangerous. See you in a while, Ryan!" Max left the room, quite excited, and ran to town.
Meanwhile, Ryan thought he needed to prepare himself as well. But for something else, different from Max.
The Ruins of the Sunken Mountain, discovered at the beginning of the novel, is a place that hides the secrets to obtaining one of the Hidden Paths.
Like the Path of the Author, this Hidden Path chooses its bearer based on who is most capable.
And it's... impressive.
'The Path of the Devourer. If I remember correctly, in the novel, it was Max who obtained that path. And two points of view were needed because it was so impressive to see it on screen. At that time, he became Brandon's subordinate, but this time, I won't allow it,' he thought, determined.
But he also had to be careful. The Ruins of the Sunken Mountain are too dangerous a place. In the novel, only Brandon and Max survived out of the 34 people who entered; among those who died, several had Brandon's strength.
Furthermore, he now faced a very big problem. His first life in this world must have altered events, and his sudden entry into a body that should be dead, even more so.
If you add all that to Brandon's power, things would get complicated. Many plots would not turn out as he remembers them, so he had to be careful and prepare for many different situations.
And the biggest problem with this is that he wasn't a Walker, like Brandon and his subordinates. Max, his subordinate, wasn't a Walker either, although he was talented and the legitimate winner of the Devourer's Path, according to the story.
Facing an ancient ruin of that level without being a Walker is easier said than done. And he didn't just have to face it, he had to win!
'I'm sorry, Max. But if I want to change my destiny, I'll have to steal what belongs to you. Don't worry, if you're loyal to me, I'll treat you well.' He made up his mind.
In this life, he wouldn't let some bastard steal what belonged to him again. If Max proved himself loyal, he would accept him and see if he was truly an ally.
If not, unfortunately, he wouldn't let it go. He had been naive before, and that's why he died.
That's why he was now determined to win with all his strength, even if he had to face Max or his brother. He had the advantage of knowing that this ruin led to a hidden path, and even more, he had the advantage of knowledge.
In his mind, he quickly began to work out what he needed to do to prepare, forgetting about the idea of obtaining the Path of the Alchemist or the Puppeteer. There was no way those paths could compare to the Path of the Devourer.
He would need poisoned weapons, poisonous potions, etc...
"I'll have to react to the rest. I have no other choice," he thought.
It was dangerous, but now he had an advantage. He had money.
As the Ninth Prince of the Kingdom of Evigheden, money was the last thing he lacked. At the very least, he had the resources to prepare himself, which was a drastic change from his first life in this world.
Without hesitation, he dressed in clothes he found in his closet that weren't too flashy, put on a bearskin coat, since it's very cold in Evigheden, and went out into the city.
At some point, guards joined him. He couldn't help it. A prince can't walk alone in the city.