Chapter 86: Protector

Noah, her face full of fatigue, patted her chest and handed the decree to Ian in a dignified voice.  

“Well, Ian Clark! Here, obey His Majesty’s orders!”  

“Alright. What’s this about?”  

“I don’t know either.”  

Although she had come as the emperor’s envoy, Noah herself had no idea what was written in the decree. It was impossible to secretly open a letter from the emperor, so she went directly to Ian to find out its contents.  

Ian took the edict, his expression hardening as he read the decree.  

[Ian Clark, under the name of the Emperor, we grant you unlimited support—Investigate and seal all tunnels across the nation.]  

‘…How am I supposed to do all that?’  

Frankly, it was absurd. He was just one person, and the discovery of tunnels had always been more a matter of chance than deliberate effort.  

Investigate and seal tunnels that no one had ever found before? Was that even reasonable?  

Yet, rejecting an imperial decree was out of the question. In a monarchy, disobeying an order from the emperor was simply unthinkable.  

His gaze shifted to the unidentified woman still watching him from above, her wide eyes fixed on him as she sat atop the massive eagle.  

‘Alright, let’s get to it.’  

With a crisp motion, Ian folded the letter and tucked it into his chest. Then, he gestured toward the woman looking down at him from the sky.  

Seeing his gesture, the woman quickly descended to the ground with the massive eagle.  

“What’s going on?”  

“That one over there—what’s your name?”  

“…I am Countess Korn Hartmann of the imperial court.”  

“Countess Korn, I am conscripting you effective immediately.”  

“What? What do you mean—?”  

“Direct your questions to His Majesty the Emperor.”  

With that, Ian took out the decree bearing the emperor’s seal. The inscription, which guaranteed unlimited support under imperial command, caught Korn’s eye.  

“—Understood.”  

“Good.”  

As Korn bowed her head in compliance, Ian turned toward Lancia with a reassuring smile.  

He had put in a considerable amount of effort, but now it was time to leave. He only had a day to prepare.  

‘There’s no helping it.’  

A true strategist never focuses on just one area. If he only dug a single well, eventually, it would run dry.  

“…Ian, are you leaving?”  

“Yeah. Well—I’ll see you next time we get the chance.”  

“I’d love to follow you, but….”  

She wasn’t an academy cadet. She was the heir to a duchy and a high-ranking official of the state. Leaving her estate was not an option.  

Besides, the 4-star summon under her command was a crucial line of defense for her territory. If she left, there would be a dangerous gap in security.  

“Lancia, protect this place. That way, I won’t have to worry about what’s behind me.”  

“Yeah, don’t worry.”  

After a brief exchange, Ian climbed onto Korn’s summon. As they ascended, he turned to her.  

“Let’s head over there first.”  

“Understood.”  

Korn stroked her summon gently, and with that, Ian, Noah, and the summon took to the skies.  

Lancia watched them disappear into the horizon, her gaze lingering on Ian as he faded from view.  

***

A Few Hours Later…  

Whooosh—!  

Like a mythical beast capable of flying 90,000 li in a single day, Korn’s massive eagle soared high into the sky and reached their destination in an instant.  

“Where are we?”  

“This is where one of the tunnels was discovered.”  

Korn furrowed her brows as she scanned the collapsed mountain range, unable to make sense of what had happened here.  

Leaving her to her thoughts, Ian leapt down from the massive eagle and landed on solid ground.  

“Empress.”  

[Summoner, may I speak now?]  

“Go ahead.”  

[You fell because of us.]  

Ian scratched his head at that. It was true, but…  

‘Wait, they actually know that?’  

If they were aware, shouldn’t they have warned him beforehand?  

“It’s fine now. And from now on, use your power more sparingly.”  

He had emergency rations from Ariel’s estate—rice balls. A surprising sight in a Western-style fantasy world, but considering the game was made by Koreans, it made sense.  

“Alright then….”  

At his call, Empress materialized instantly, her presence commanding. She narrowed her eyes at Ian, clearly concerned.  

“Why did you summon me so suddenly? Are you about to fall again?”  

“Not this time.”  

He pointed at the tunnel entrance.  

“Can you investigate how far this tunnel stretches?”  

“Hmm… It’s not impossible. If I trace it from above….”  

“Good. Do it.”  

Since Korn’s summon allowed them to move quickly, they had an advantage.  

With a nod, Empress cast a spell, sending magical energy surging into the tunnel’s depths.  

Meanwhile, Ian turned to Noah.  

“Noah, do you know how to read a map?”  

“Huh? Yeah!”  

“Good. Draw a straight line along the route we’re following.”  

“Got it!”  

With Noah mapping their path, Ian gave Korn the signal to take off.  

The massive eagle, a creature capable of flying at supersonic speeds, soared into the sky.  

Flying at such an extreme pace would normally subject its passengers to immense air resistance and gravitational forces, but Korn’s summon provided a stable ride.  

After nearly twelve hours of flight, Ian had a rough estimate of the tunnel’s reach.  

“This is insane….”  

The tunnels dug by the demons spanned most of the human realm, resembling a vast network of ant burrows. It was shocking—almost unthinkable—that they had only just discovered their existence.

“Judging by the size… this wasn’t made in just a day or two.”  

Ian recalled the land worms he had hunted before. Although they were large, the tunnels were too wide for a single land worm to have created them.  

That could only mean one thing—there were multiple demons, or at least creatures similar to land worms, lurking underground.  

“Can we even stop this?”  

The earth was not humanity’s domain. In a world without precision instruments, detecting movement underground was nearly impossible.  

To do so required divine power, not human capabilities.  

“… It’s still too soon.”  

Ian glanced at Noah. He wasn’t sure if now was the right time to involve her, but without her help, humanity was doomed.  

“Noah.”  

“What?” she asked.  

“If… If I had to risk my life for everyone, what would you do?”  

“Risk your life? All of a sudden?”  

Noah tilted her head at the unexpected question. But when she realized that “everyone” included both Ian and herself, she smiled softly.  

“Of course! If I can protect you, Ian, I’d risk my life without hesitation!”  

“Is that so?”  

Ian smiled at her response before shifting his gaze to Korn. He then pointed toward a particular spot.  

Korn frowned. “…There’s nothing there.”  

“I know.”  

Ian simply nodded, and Korn sighed, shaking her head at the odd remark. Still, she moved carefully across the roof, heading toward the location Ian had indicated.  

To the polar west of the continent—the highest mountain range.  

***

Since the emergence of the summoning system, creatures and heroes from across the world had become summoned beings.  

– Slightly stronger mutant beasts were classified as 1-star. 

– 2-star summons were those who had left their mark in history.

– 3-star summons were individuals born with a special lineage or those who had accomplished extraordinary feats.  

– 4-star summons included spirit creatures that had surpassed humans, half-dragons, and Terraman.  

– And those called gods… were 5-star beings.  

Ian turned to Noah. “Listen, Noah. We’re going to meet a god now.”  

“…A god?”  

“Yes, a god.”  

5-star summons were transcendent beings, capable of slaying not just high-class demons but even noble-class demons single-handedly.  

Of course, they couldn’t defeat a Demon King alone, so they weren’t truly omnipotent. However, in their natural state, they were powerful enough to be called gods.  

Some of these beings had rejected the constraints of the summoning system and still lived freely in the world.  

“If we’re heading west… Are we looking for the White Tiger?”  

“Oh? You know about him?”  

“That’s just basic common sense,” Noah replied.  

Korn scoffed as if that much should have been obvious. Finding her attitude less than endearing, Ian turned back to Noah.  

She seemed uneasy about meeting a god, but everything depended on her.  

After all, she was the chosen one—the protagonist of another world, beloved by divine beings of all kinds.  

‘In the game, there was a scene where the Protector helped.’  

During a crisis event in the game, the protagonist had suffered defeat, and humanity had been on the brink of destruction. That was when the Protector had intervened.  

At that moment, they were classified as 5-star summons, but once the scene ended, they returned to their role as Protectors.  

The purpose of that event had been obvious—it was meant to show off the power of 5-star summons and encourage players to spend money on gacha rolls.  

And, well, the tactic had worked. Ian himself had fallen for it, spending hundreds of thousands of won and shedding tears of regret.  

“Don’t be nervous,” he reassured Noah.  

“But… it’s a god!?” she stammered. “I was already terrified when I met His Majesty the Emperor… What am I even supposed to say to a god?”  

Noah still seemed shaken by her past meeting with the Emperor, as if it had been a traumatic experience.  

Ian felt a little guilty about sending her there. But what choice did they have? It wasn’t as if they could simply ignore the tunnels.  

“We’ve arrived… but where’s the White Tiger?” Korn asked.  

“Tsk, tsk, you’ve been locked up in the court for too long. No wonder you don’t know.”  

“…You sound like you do.”  

“Of course I do,” Ian replied smugly. “Korn, tell me—how do you summon a god?”  

“Through prayer?”  

“Wrong.”  

Gods didn’t answer prayers.  

From ancient times, there had only been two ways to summon them—sacrifice and provocation.  

Unfortunately, they didn’t have an offering to make.  

“Then… Empress?” Ian suggested.  

“…Summoner, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she warned.  

“I just want to say hello!”  

“Are you out of your mind?!”  

Despite the protests, Ian commanded Empress to activate her Origin Art. At the tip of her staff, powerful mana began to gather.  

“It’s fine. We have Noah.”  

“What does she have to do with this?!”  

“Noah? She’s cute.”  

If anything, this was a variation of the classic “use the cute girl as bait” strategy.  

And honestly, it wasn’t entirely wrong—Noah would seem harmless and endearing to them.  

“Fire.”  

“I don’t know why I listen to you…”  

Empress sighed but complied. She released the charged magic in a single, concentrated beam.  

The light tore through the mountain range, its power shaking the heavens.  

And then—  

Rumble…  

Between the ruptured peaks, a pair of colossal eyes opened.