Chapter 1: The Underworld

A young man woke up from his sleep with a headache. Shortly after, he realized what was happening and grabbed his backpack. The young man, named Edward Artifician Jonerdi, was an adventurer for a local TV show in his area. He opened the door to his room and, unexpectedly, a man immediately punched him until he fainted.

When Edward woke up again, he found himself on a green hill with a blue sky above. From a distance, he saw a castle with a strange shape and decided to approach it. Suddenly, a stone flew toward him. Without realizing it, a weapon appeared in his hand, and he shot a glowing ball that made the stone fall. Before it hit the ground, someone jumped and landed safely.

???: Welcome to the world of the demigods. The Underworld!

Edward: Who are you?! (Unconsciously preparing a weapon in his hand)

???: You must be the new demigod, judging by your weapon and equipment!

When Edward looked at the weapon in his hand, he panicked because he noticed his whole body was covered in sun symbols. He asked again.

Edward: What is your name?!

The Welcomer: You can call me “The Welcomer.” From my name, you should know why I am here.

Edward: Why am I here?

The Welcomer: Maybe because you died, or you were cursed.

Edward: Does that mean… I’m dead?

The Welcomer: Not yet, at least not completely dead. Come, let me guide you.

Edward: Where to?

The Welcomer: Just follow me, and you’ll find out.

Edward followed the Welcomer, though he felt strange about it. As they wandered around the place, Edward occasionally glanced to the side and noticed some women looking at him strangely. But Edward didn't care and focused on one thing—a large castle on the horizon with a majestic tower.

The Welcomer took Edward to the castle to meet the ruler of that place. When the throne room door was clearly visible, the Welcomer left Edward, saying:

“I can only take you this far. When you meet the king, know that he will grant you honor, rank, and wealth. Also, make sure you read the law book of the Underworld. The book is in the royal library, on the seventh shelf, eighth row, the 42nd book from the right. Just ask Tropelfur, the librarian.”

“For what reason should I read it? I'd rather not read it,” Edward muttered.

Inside the throne room, Edward saw an old man sitting on a golden throne adorned with silver gems and dozens of sparkling jewels.

“Is that the King of the Underworld? Emperor Shifitu?”

The Emperor smiled cheerfully at Edward’s presence but also changed his name to “Edward.” Edward felt strange and immediately rushed out of the throne room. Before leaving, a royal minister told Edward to go to the knights’ district and choose a dormitory.

The next day, Edward chose Dormitory 14, the newest dormitory with the fewest rooms compared to the others. It was there that he met his fellow knights. Edward, as a young knight, was welcomed warmly by them. They even volunteered to train Edward on how to control his Light Element, though the light element was a new type throughout the Underworld.

A few months later, the district commander, Commander Bako, gathered all the knights to assemble at Lancelot Hall, the largest hall in the entire Underworld. Emperor Shifitu ascended the stage and gave a speech about the threat from the Kingdom of Rumu from the Upper World. Their forces were seeking the Kwarta Diamond in the Underworld as a resource for the entire nation of Rumu, which was on the brink of economic collapse.

At the same time, the Kwarta Diamond was the heart of the Underworld, and without its presence, the entire Underworld would face catastrophe and misery. The King of Rumu did not care and sent his troops to Mazaniyah Lake, which was said to be the only entrance for humans to the beautiful and rich underground world.

Due to the Kingdom of Rumu’s stubbornness, all the knights of the Underworld, including Edward, were gathered by Emperor Shifitu and ordered to halt the advance of Rumu's forces and to eradicate those who came near Mazaniyah Lake. We set out at night, silently killing the Rumu troops with caution. By sunrise, only a few Rumu soldiers remained alive, and the knights under Emperor Shifitu's command easily won the battle.

After the battle, the knights returned to the Underworld and were ordered to rest, including Edward. As Edward was about to enter his room, a servant accidentally bumped into him, causing both of them to fall.

Edward’s fellow knights, who witnessed this, wanted to scold and kill the servant, but Edward raised his hand to stop them. The servant immediately stood up, bowed, and said, “Sorry.” After saying that, the servant quickly walked away.

For some reason, Edward thought the servant liked him. Being single himself, he couldn't help but feel the same way. It was a strange feeling for him, and he remained silent, watching the fox-masked servant leave.

Edward harbored a desire to meet her again, even if just once or twice more. His hopes faded because all the servants were instructed to conceal their faces and identities except among fellow servants.

That night, Edward thought about how to meet her again, determined not to sleep until he found a way.

The next morning, Edward woke up earlier and left his room to visit the other knights' rooms. First, he went to the room of Bioksius, a knight of the leaf element and a nature researcher. He went there to ask about the nature of light, which Bioksius answered at length.

Bioksius loved talking and sharing what he knew about any topic being discussed. He was more suited to be a lecturer than a knight, given his weak and frail body.

After finishing with Bioksius, Edward went to Asra and Zain’s room to ask for their help.

Asra was a cold and dignified water-element knight in his thirties. Though he seemed arrogant, only a few people had ever experienced his gentle heart.

His dignity came from his expertise in close-range combat, which surpassed his element’s power, making him lethal even when the enemy shot Jekalia stone-reflected light at him.

Meanwhile, Zain was a young leaf-element knight who loved reading and was skilled in deciphering languages—from foreign languages, sign language, to encoded scripts created by others.

After talking with them, Edward went to Commander Bako’s office and asked him to gather the servants. When Bako asked why he needed to gather all the servants, Edward simply replied that a servant had been disrespectful to him, and he wanted to kill them.

That afternoon, after the sun passed its peak, millions of servants had gathered in the hall. Edward, Asra, Bioksius, and Zain stood on the stage, admiring the number of servants in the knights’ district.

Edward looked at Zain, who then asked the entire hall which servant had bumped into Edward. After waiting for a long time, Edward began to lose hope and finally gave up on finding the servant and went back to his room.