My Kingdom Building Done Right!

The sky gave me freedom.

The land gave me shelter.

And after traveling, I soon found a place I could call home.

There was plenty of prey and no one who could threaten my existence.

In here, I alone am King.

I alone am supreme.

The next three years passed unfruitfully until that fateful day.

A day... when I first tasted defeat at the hands of humans.

Among them was a young man who hadn’t even undergone his coming-of-age ceremony.

He was also weaker than his peers. And yet, he remained standing, holding a banner in his hand.

He didn’t let go even when his entire body was shaking. I could even sense fear oozing from his body.

Of course, he posed no threat to me.

The real threat was the barbarians who had come to fight. It should have been an easy battle, but it was not.

They fought desperately.

They fought like cornered beasts.

And against all odds, they managed to wound me.

Thinking back to that day, I realized I might have been too overconfident in my strength. No one had been able to threaten me in the Grimjaw Mountain, so I must have grown complacent and thought I was invincible.

However, my defeat reminded me that overconfidence was a slow, insidious killer.

A painful reminder that even I, who stood at the top, could fall at any time. For this reason, I started paying close attention not to the people who defeated me, but to the young man who stood against me despite the fear in his eyes.

Even when I was recovering from my injuries, my gaze was drawn toward him.

Originally, I planned to attack their tribe once I had fully recovered from my injuries, allowing me to have my vengeance.

But out of nowhere, the young man sought me out and offered a peace offering.

"If you help us face off against the Black Wolf Tribe, I will heal your injuries and make you stronger. That is what my Master asked me to convey to you."

The grimoire, who went by the name Daedalus, had come to find me one day to deliver that message.

At first, I intended to reject their proposal. I didn’t need anyone’s pity.

But when the grimoire said that the Black Wolf Tribe would without a doubt massacre every member of the Alborin Tribe, including the young man whom I personally wanted to rip to pieces, I felt annoyed.

Only I had the right to kill him.

Only I had the right to make him suffer.

Only I had the right to enact vengeance upon the Alborin Tribe.

And so, I agreed. But this time, I no longer underestimated the enemy.

The Black Wolf Tribe, which was led by a man named Arlo, was stronger than the Alborin Tribe. When their chieftain transformed into a werewolf, a part of me wished to just watch the battle unfold from afar.

I wanted to see how that young man would face off against such a powerful beast.

"Stone Pillar Uppercut!"

I watched as a pillar of stone emerged from the ground, smashing against the Werewolf’s jaw and sending him flying.

For a brief moment, I imagined the same thing happening to me. Because of that, I had another realization. This weak human had gotten "slightly" stronger and was now capable of violence.

I was mildly amused. At least now I didn’t need to feel bad after I killed him. After all, he was no longer a weak and defenseless person who couldn’t defend himself from someone like me.

In order to honor our agreement, I personally dealt with the Werewolf, ensuring that he would no longer threaten the young man I had decided to kill one day.

However, I didn’t get the chance to do that.

Why?

Because Leone Frontera, that weak human, seemed to have been born under an unlucky star.

Trouble found him even when he didn’t do anything.

First, it was the Black Wolf Tribe.

Then, it was the Bloodtusk Tribe.

Then, the Ravage Tribe.

Then after that, the Darkmane Tribe.

And finally, the Monster King.

Even I was baffled, wondering how a single person could attract so much misfortune just by simply existing.

And to my greater annoyance, I couldn’t help but admit that I was starting to like this human child who seemed to be walking the path of a King.

The same path I had taken.

However, deep inside, I understood my limitations.

I wasn’t meant to be a King.

Nor was I born to become a Monster King.

After accepting this fact, I decided to change my approach.

Since I couldn’t become a King... then why not help someone become one?

And so, I decided to extend my hand to this unfortunate human child, who had begun trekking the path covered in blood and thorns.

Though with every battle I fought alongside him and the Aslan Tribe, I started to realize my limitations.

Sure, I was still stronger than most of their warriors, but that was it. I had reached my limit.

I hit a wall I couldn’t break through. The battle against the Orc Champion made this reality painfully clear.

This was the end of the line.

There was no turning back.

While I was feeling depressed and anxious, someone appeared before me. It was none other than the Raptor Sovereign, Boris.

This annoying lizard kept challenging me, wanting to compete for the title as the strongest monster in Grimjaw Mountain.

What a childish approach. Did it think someone as noble as I would be taunted by its barbaric behavior?

"Come down and fight me, you big chicken!"

That was the taunt that Boris would usually shout at me whenever it roared toward the mountain.

It had the audacity to call me a chicken?

I had planned to ignore its taunts at first, but it continued to taunt me every day as if it had nothing better to do.

"I’ve seen chickens fly higher than you!"

"You’ve been sitting there for so long, the moss is starting to recognize you."

"Come on! I’ll even let you have the first hit, Astravor!"

"Don’t worry! I won’t hit you too hard. I know old birds have brittle bones!"

The shameless reptile even began bringing prey to the foot of my mountain.

After devouring them in front of me, it would look up and shout.

"Thanks for guarding my lunch! I hunted this all by myself! What did you catch today? A nice breeze?"

Every single day.

Without fail.

Rain or shine.

That reptile would appear beneath my mountain just to annoy me.

Then, one day, I reached the limit of my patience. I picked up a random rock and threw it at its head.

A moment later, Boris roared back in anger and shouted, "Come down and fight me, you coward!"

Hah... I have never felt so good in my life.

After I dealt with the annoying lizard, it felt like all the frustrations bubbling inside me vanished completely.

I never knew stones had this kind of healing effect on the mind and body.

Because of this, I would often fly to find the best rocks scattered around the mountain.

They had to be the perfect size and weight. Just thinking about how annoyed Boris would get after I tossed a rock at its head made me inexplicably happy.

Before I knew it, I had already managed to build a sizable pile of rocks. Whenever I felt frustrated, I would simply "destress" by throwing a rock at the annoying lizard before it could even start taunting me.

"No good," I thought. "I could get addicted to this."

Boris’ roars that were filled with injustice, frustration, and fury were the medicine that cured my depression.

There was even a time when Leone flew up the mountain just to ask me to stop bullying Boris.

I refused, of course. Why would I stop?

I was finding happiness in bullying the annoying reptile, who didn’t know when to stop challenging me.

Those days were the best.

I thought they would continue forever.

But I was wrong.

Leone once told me about the fairy tales he read when he was young, and how some of them didn’t have a good ending.

I thought that was perfectly normal.

Some stories didn’t need to have a happy ending. The cycle of life was a constant cycle of death and rebirth.

The hunter would one day also become the hunted.

After all, that was the natural order of things.

Still.. I wished those happy days would last just a little longer.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

Someone... dared... to get in the way of my happiness.

And that was none other than the Monster King.

The very same existence I had once aspired to become.

Though when I saw Troy fight against it using everything he had, it had awakened a part of me that I had long forgotten.

When I saw Leone ride Arion to rescue the Chieftain of the Darkmane Tribe, I found myself following behind him.

This was a person whom I was helping to become a King.

How could I possibly allow him to die this early?

I didn’t know if a miracle had happened, but we were able to rescue Troy successfully. I then followed behind the young man as we made our retreat back to the safety of Grimjaw Mountain.

Then again, against a Bronze Dragon, the walls of the Aslan Tribe had little to no effect against it.

And then, I felt it.

The stench of death.

I was very familiar with it. After all, this scent had been following me through the years.

Back when I hunted for prey and took their lives.

Back when I felt their lives slowly slip away from their bodies.

"Prepare for battle!" Leone shouted. "Aslan Tribe... Kill!"

"""Kill!"""

The greatest threat on the battlefield was the Monster King, so I decided to fight alongside everyone to keep it at bay.

I knew that I... no... "We" were hopelessly outmatched.

So what?

If I were to die in battle, I would at least die on my own terms.

My life might have been shorter compared to other Gryphons, but I had found a reason to live a life worth living.

I had found a reason to live a life worth dying for.

And then, at the corner of my eye, I saw the young man charge toward the Ogre Warlord in an attempt to catch its attention to save one of his vassals.

"Come here, you ugly brute!" Leone shouted.

Then, sensing that great danger would befall ‌this child of misfortune, I found myself descending from the sky in preparation for an attack.

I left the fight against the Monster King without a second thought and shifted my attention toward the Ogre Warlord.

I used my strongest attack, clawing its face without any intention of holding back.

However, the Ogre Warlord was simply too strong.

My attack, which would have immediately killed lesser monsters, was not enough to deal a killing blow.

Since I gave everything in that attack, I wasn’t able to retreat right away.

That was a mistake.

I knew then and there that I could no longer turn back.

Before I knew it, the Ogre Warlord had punched the side of my body. It was a punch so strong that I felt my bones and organs being crushed by a single blow.

The pain was so intense that I wasn’t able to take control of my body.

The next thing I knew, I had already slammed to the ground, with my legs stomped on.

I was in so much pain that I could no longer think properly.

Then it happened.

The Ogre Warlord kicked me, and soon my world descended into darkness.

But before my vision and senses left me completely, I heard someone call out my name.

"Astravoooooooooor!" Leone roared.

Yes...

My name was Astravor.

A name I had chosen for myself.

And only one person called out to me in that manner.

Leone Frontera.

The pitiful human child, who couldn’t even take a break.

’It’s quite unfortunate... but... I would not be there to see you... become a King.’

After saying those words inside my heart, my world was claimed by darkness.

What a funny life.

I believed strength was all that mattered.

I believed a King stood above everyone else.

But somewhere along the way...

Without realizing it...

I had gained comrades.

I found a home.

I found people worth protecting.

Even that annoying lizard...

I wonder...

Would Boris cry when he hears that I am gone?

Probably not...

That shameless lizard would probably laugh first.

"Serves you right, you oversized chicken!"

Then...

Perhaps...

It would become quiet.

Perhaps it would no longer have anyone to challenge for the title of the strongest monster in the mountain.

I wished I could have thrown one more rock at its head for old times’ sake.

As for Leone...

I didn’t need to worry about him.

He had the Aslan Tribe.

His vassals would protect him in my stead.

Still, I wish I could have told him something.

I wished I had the chance to tell him that "They"... no... "We" chose to follow him not just because we had acknowledged him as our leader.

Rather, it was because...

He made us believe that tomorrow was worth fighting for.

So don’t stop.

No matter how painful the road becomes...

No matter how many friends you lose...

No matter how bloody the road you take...

Keep walking.

Become...

The King...

That I never could.

As I felt the cold embrace of death... I realized something.

I did not fear it.

Because I knew...

When I opened my eyes again...

The sky would still be watching over him.

And somewhere above that endless sky...

I would be watching him too.

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