Chapter 6: Image

"Sir Aegon, I concede."

August knew that he had exposed a weakness himself. Otherwise, given their magic, the battle could have lasted much longer, and it would have taken Aegon considerable effort to defeat him without killing him.

Ignoring August, Aegon checked his interface, and the notification sound immediately came:

[Defeated "Magic King" August, gained 1,155,000 experience points.]

[Lv.79 → Lv.80]

[Next level required experience: 231,685/10,000,000]

Aegon quickly made a judgment.

'Defeating an opponent also grants experience. This simplifies things. It seems that Heine and Juliet couldn't gain experience before because they are essentially weapons.'

If the fight continued, August could indeed keep fighting. His magic wasn't infinite, but it was vast enough to be described as boundless.

However, as he mentioned before, continuing the fight was pointless. He couldn't break through Aegon's defense, and as a mage, his beams of light could only wash Aegon without causing damage. The battle made him feel helpless.

Seeing that Aegon had no intention of continuing, August's body flashed with white light, and he changed back into the cloak bearing the Albares Empire's insignia. After casting a healing spell on himself to adjust his breathing, he approached Aegon, who had returned to human form.

August's instant magic replication allowed him to learn all the ability-based magic of the Eastern Continent, including Dragon Slayer Magic. However, the drawback was that with equal magic power, his attack power was not as high as a true Dragon Slayer Mage.

Of course, he hadn't used Dragon Slayer Magic against Aegon during the fight; he wasn't that reckless.

August confirmed once more, "Sir Aegon, is that enough?"

Aegon nodded, "Yes, if there's nothing else, you may leave. Come find me here when you have the results."

August bowed, "Thank you, Sir Aegon."

---

Before August left, Aegon had him fight again, trying to exploit a glitch.

Unfortunately, it didn't work.

'It seems you can't keep exploiting the same person for experience. Well, I'll try again when August returns.'

Leaving with a head full of questions, August thought, "Is it really fun to beat me up twice?"

"I'm a bit bored..." Irene was still in seclusion, practicing transformation magic, and Aegon felt a bit aimless. He suddenly realized that since arriving in Earthland, he had been flying around and hadn't properly explored the cities.

Aegon gestured, "Let's go, let's take a walk outside."

Heine and Juliet looked at each other, a bit tense.

Finally, Heine made a decision, taking a deep breath and nodding seriously, as if facing death. "Let's go!"

Seeing their expressions, Aegon's mouth twitched, 'What kind of scenarios are you two imagining?'

The gates of Akyros City were wide open, with not a single guard in sight. People came and went, the ten-zhang-wide street bustling with traffic. The buildings along the street resembled the Renaissance architectural style, the shops were thriving, and the streets were crowded with people dressed in various styles, some wielding swords and others carrying magic wands.

The conversations of the people on the street reached Aegon's ears intermittently, making him feel the diversity of the world again.

"Did you hear? Under General Val Yishit's leadership, the Albares Empire's territory has expanded again!"

"I passed the Albares Empire army's assessment!!!"

"My magic has slightly improved, shall we spar?"

"Sure! I recently found a treasure sword!"

Their words and actions reminded Aegon that he was in a different world.

Heine and Juliet initially thought Aegon wanted to take advantage of Irene's seclusion to engage in activities like slaughter and plunder...

But they soon realized they were overthinking it. When he said "take a walk," he meant just that.

At dinner, Heine and Juliet served various meats to him.

Aegon casually thanked them.

Seeing Aegon thanking her and Juliet, Heine's eyes flashed with shock.

Noticing their rapid breathing and strange expressions, Aegon was curious, "What's wrong?"

Juliet stammered, "Um... you actually... thanked us?"

"Thanking is strange?"

Aegon's face remained unchanged, but he inwardly complained, 'Isn't thanking just basic manners for anyone... Oh right, this is the Empire.'

Juliet quickly shook her head, waving her hands, "No, no! Not strange at all!"

Juliet clenched her small fists and said fiercely, showing her small fangs:

"Next time anyone says Lord Aegon is cruel and violent, I'll twist their head off and use it as a ball!"

"No need to go that far."

After dinner, Heine and Juliet led him to a suite, each pushing open a door:

"Lady Irene instructed that you stay here."

A sandalwood incense was burning, its light smoke curling, the scent lingering around the nose. There was a soft couch with a sky-blue bedspread, draped with pink veils.

Smelling Irene's scent, Aegon turned to Heine, "Is this her room?"

"Yes."

Aegon accepted it calmly.

Although there was a bed in the room, Irene hadn't actually slept there. The strongest scent was at the window.

Though he hadn't seen it himself, Aegon could already imagine the scene: sitting quietly by the window, her crimson pupils gazing out, her pink lips lightly pursed, Irene contemplating how to solve her side effects.

Heine, with her hands folded in front of her, looking like a housekeeper, asked, "Lord Aegon, would you like a bath? I can take you there."

"No need, I'll let you know when I need it."

---

Two weeks after practicing transformation magic, Irene's closed door opened, and exhaustion immediately overwhelmed her.

Despite her fatigue, Irene felt an indescribable excitement. Looking at the room, her feelings were mixed, indescribable.

When Irene came out, Aegon, who was still sleeping, sensed it immediately.

When he came out of the room, Heine and Juliet kept serving her food,

One dish after another, and she was devouring it without any care for her image, savoring her taste buds that had returned.

Aegon observed Irene, "It seems, the queen's image has collapsed."

Holding a chicken leg in one hand and chewing on steak, Irene suddenly realized Aegon was still there. She blinked, stunned, even forgetting to swallow, her face turning red.

Aegon raised an eyebrow, "But, it does feel more real, and even like this, you're very beautiful."

Hearing Aegon's words, a strange light flashed in Irene's eyes. After a second of eye contact with Aegon, she chose to ignore him and continued attacking the food in her hands and in front of her.

The taste of food, she hadn't experienced it for too long...

After eating her fill, wiping her lips with a handkerchief, Irene restored her composure, elegance, and grace.