As they rushed out towards the main gate, the subordinates of Valder, who were outside, looked at them with bewildered expressions.

“What’s going on?”

As they approached, Ruela quickly hid behind Kite. Although she was still disguised in Ralph’s clothes, there was a risk of being exposed when seen up close.

“It’s nothing. Why are you setting up camp in front of my mansion?”

“The Ferros mansion’s property doesn’t extend to the main road. So, whether we stand here or not, it’s none of the Duke’s concern.”

Trying to respond to what Kite was about to say, Ruela pulled him aside and whispered, “Go inside.”

“Inside where?”

“Inside the main gate.”

At Ruela’s request, Kite stopped wrestling and turned to go inside. However, as if his body collided with an invisible wall, he bounced back.

“Why is this happening?”

After confirming, Ruela quickly turned on the screen and entered Kite’s name in the access registration window.

“Try going in again.”

Ruela, standing close to Kite, whispered something strange. The subordinates of Valder, finding it peculiar, approached even closer.

Ruela turned around, pulling Kite, and entered inside. Then, she gestured for the others to come in, shaking her hand as if to signal them to enter.

“Why didn’t it work earlier?”

Kite looked at Ruela, his head tilted in confusion.
“I didn’t register anyone else because I wanted to test it out with Kite first. Now that I’ve confirmed it works well, let’s tell Xenon’s brother to come in too. We should explain about this system.”

“I’ll take him in.”

As Mitchell volunteered and stepped outside, they headed back to the mansion.

“Is it true that outsiders can’t enter? Nothing seems different.”

Hazen looked around, expressing confusion.

“Originally, there’s no external change. The concern is that the strength of this defense system varies based on my magic power and skill level. Of course, attacks from ordinary individuals without magic can be completely blocked, but as I mentioned before…”

“It means it can’t block the attacks of someone with magic power.”

Kite nodded as if he understood.

“Yes. If my magic power isn’t stronger than the attacker’s, it will be easily penetrated. To enhance the mansion’s defense, I must level up.”

“Got it. You mentioned that it can’t block attacks from someone with high magic power, but in fact, this ability alone is truly remarkable. When we were away, we were worried about the safety of the mansion residents, but now it’s become one of the safest places.”

“Exactly. When we engage in a serious battle with Duke Kuran, we’ll have to evacuate the mansion residents. Now, it’s one of the safest places to be.”
Agreeing with Kite’s words, Hazen took a deep breath, feeling the gentle breeze under the blue sky.

“It’s not frustrating at all. How can this be?”

“Now that we’re not feeling confined, let’s have lunch and then go for training. There’s not much time left until the 30th.”

In response to Raphael’s shout, everyone jumped inside. Watching them, Kite spoke to Ruela.

“Just hunting animals and completing quests like now is too slow for leveling up. Isn’t there another way?”

“To enter Duke Kuran’s hideout, you need a key.”

“A key? Can’t we just meet him? We’re living in the royal city, so we can storm in when we’re ready.”

“His appearance in the royal city won’t be his true form. According to the announcement, we have to defeat Duke Kuran hiding in the hideout. Otherwise, even if the royal city is the hideout, without the key, we might not be able to access where Duke Kuran is.”

“How many keys do we need?”

“The basic requirement is seven, but since we have to defeat the mid-boss, hidden named bosses will occasionally appear to find out who the mid-boss is.”

Kite’s face darkened.

“There’s too much to do.”

“In reality, it’s not absolutely necessary to defeat him by July 30. Judging by the reactions, it seems unrealistic for other players to conquer Duke Kuran on that day.”
“But we have to be the first to kill him. If we relax and let others defeat the Duke first…”

Kite couldn’t finish his sentence.

Though he pretended to be okay, Ruela’s words were a tremendous shock.

Why did this happen? Was it because of his selfishness, simply wanting to use a healer to easily win against Duke Kuran in a fight? Did this situation occur because he thought lightly of others’ lives?

The more he reflected, the more disillusioned he became with his selfishness, and the fact that there were only about two months left until the day when Ruela’s life would be decided weighed heavily on his mind.

Could he really save Ruela’s life without sacrificing anyone?

It was something he knew he had to do, but it felt too grim. Previously, as a superhuman with less than 1% of the total population’s abilities, he was confident in his capabilities for everything, thinking he could easily defeat Duke Kuran. His concern was solely on how to conquer Kuran with minimal damage.