From that day on, I started training the redhead for several hours each day. She would wake up in the morning, have breakfast, and then I would throw her off the cart for half an hour so she could run alongside it. After that, I would stop by the roadside and train her until noon. After lunch, Mia usually climbed onto the cart’s roof and slept there until sunset, after which she would return inside and sleep until morning. By the time we reached the gates of Matan, Mia could easily perform the first three consecutive steps. Even with just a small part of the technique, she had become a truly formidable opponent in her class.


    I showed the guards the golden badge of the Vangan Adventurers’ Guild, and they let us into the city. I immediately directed the cart to my teacher’s house. I wondered how he was doing.


    I scanned the entire city, trying to find his aura. To my surprise, I found nothing. Strange. With the strength of a Battle Ancestor, he shouldn’t have been able to hide it from me. That was only possible in two cases: first—my teacher had removed the seals restraining him and returned to the level of a God of War, and second—he wasn’t in the city.


    Feeling a strange sense of unease, I urged the monster forward to reach the house as quickly as possible.


    My unease wasn’t unfounded—several blocks away, I noticed a massive stone cube where my teacher’s courtyard should have been. What the hell was going on here? Indeed, a perfectly cubic stone slab lay on the plot, covered in runes unfamiliar to me. It seemed to have been placed there with care because not only were the surrounding buildings untouched, but even the gate was half-intact.


    Mia peeked at me from the cart.


    “ Something wrong?”


    “Damn right, something’s wrong. This is my teacher’s house.”


    She thought for a moment.


    “This stone?”


    “No, the stone crushed the house.”


    I took the reins and directed the cart toward Tot and Sui’s estate. Their gates were opened by a frightened servant.


    “Excuse me, my name is Aney. I’m a friend of young master Tot and lady Sui. Can they see me now?”


    “Wait here.”


    The servant shut the gate and left. A few minutes later, he returned and swung them open. I handed him the reins, and Mia and I headed toward the main house.


    I hugged Tot, who came out to meet us on the porch.


    “Hey, brother! How are you? How’s your sister?”


    I glanced at his right hand, which was now a high-quality mechanical prosthetic.


    “Hey, brother! You’re finally back!”


    He pulled a letter from his storage and handed it to me.


    “This is from the Kruk. Don’t worry about that.” Tot nodded toward the stone cube.


    “What the hell even happened here? Oh, by the way, this is Mia, my friend. You can speak freely in front of her”.


    “Alright, let’s go inside and talk there.”


    We headed to the sitting room.


    “About two years ago, in the middle of the night, your teacher knocked on my window and gave me this letter for you. He said everything was fine. But the next morning, a God of War appeared in Matan, searching for him, and it all ended with that boulder on your teacher’s house.”


    I see. Such behavior—destroying houses out of rage—meant something personal. Raven, what the hell did you get yourself into? I hope you’re alive. One God of War wouldn’t be enough to corner and kill you.


    “Did that happen then?” I asked, pointing at his hand.


    Tot glanced at his prosthetic.


    }Oh, no, that’s a completely different story.”


    “Tot, tell me the truth.”


    “I am telling you the truth.”


    “I can always ask Sui. Unlike you, she trusts me.”


    “I do trust you, Aney! Just promise me you’ll keep your cool and not start a massacre like at the tournament.”


    “I’m as calm as that rock over there!” I waved toward the boulder blocking the view from the window.


    “It was Burgun.”


    “Who the hell is Burgun? Never heard of him.”


    “Remember that blond guy from the Craftsmen’s Guild?”


    I recalled the spear fight. I remembered not only that bastard’s face but also his aura. Unlike my teacher, the blond was in the city, about ten kilometers away from me.


    “What? This happened because of that fight? I’ll rip that bastard’s head off right now!”


    “Stop, Aney, that incident has nothing to do with this!”


    “Alright, I’m listening.”


    “After your teacher disappeared, Burgun started courting Sui. At first, he behaved properly, but the longer it went on, the more aggressive he became. Sui avoided him as best she could, never reciprocating his advances.”


    I started boiling again. What a bastard.


    “One day, he sent so-called “matchmakers” to take my sister. Sui managed to escape, but my father, our guards, and I tried to hold them off. And… my father died, and I lost my arm.”


    “Where’s Sui now?”


    “Don’t worry, she’s fine. She’s in the magic academy, where Burgun can’t reach her. But you understand—she can’t leave.”


    “And what does the royal court or the church say?”


    “Absolutely nothing. What’s the life of some craftsman guild leader to them? Dust…”


    “Is Burgun’s family important in the city?”


    “Yes, his father is the head of the Alchemists’ Guild.”


    I thought tensely. Mia, enraged by what she heard, shot me a fiery glare, as if daring me to let this slide.


    “Does Burgun have sisters??


    ?Why do you need to know??


    “Just tell me, I’ll explain later.”


    “Yes, about three years ago, their family had a daughter.”


    I smirked. I had a plan.


    “Tot, I have a request.”


    “Speak, I’ll help however I can.”


    “Since my teacher’s house is a bit uninhabitable, help Mia and me buy a nearby estate with a good training ground and hire servants for household chores.”


    I pulled out a pouch with ten thousand gold coins and handed it to the girl.


    “Aney, you can stay with me, there’s no need…”


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    “Mia, it’s time for you to go, I want to sleep in my own house tonight!”


    “Yes, sir! It will be done, sir!”


    She grabbed Tot by the elbow and dragged him outside. I followed them out and pinpointed that the blond bastard was at home.


    Sorry, teacher, but you would have definitely approved of my actions.


    “Aney, where are you going?” I heard panic in the guy’s voice.


    “To propose!”


    I leaped into the air.


    The head of the Alchemists’ Guild had quite a nice estate. Maybe I should confiscate it? No, nonsense, I came here to cause destruction, so there will be destruction.


    With an aura strike, I shattered the main building’s doors into splinters and stepped inside. A few guards rushed at me, but I sent them flying almost gently.


    “The entire family of the guild head, to me! Immediately!” I roared so loudly that roof tiles crumbled, and window panes shattered.


    No one in the mansion could have missed that, nor would they dare disobey.


    First to arrive were the head of the guild and his son. Damn, the kid was an exact copy of his father.


    “Sir,” the head’s voice trembled, “I don’t know how I might have offended you, but please, forgive me!”


    “Oh, dear father-in-law, what offense could there be between family members? So, where is my bride? Or was my request too quiet?”


    At that moment, Burgun finally recognized me. A yellow, foul-smelling trickle ran down his pants, quickly forming a dark stain on the red carpet. The guild head noticed it.


    “Father-in-law? Bride? Sir, I don’t understand, I have a daughter, but she’s only three years old—far too young for marriage!”


    “Dear father-in-law, that’s not a problem,” I stepped up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, making the guild head collapse to his knees. “You know, a man must raise his wife properly. So I decided to take care of it in advance. I’ll take your daughter and raise her myself. And I’ll do it so thoroughly, so meticulously, that she will personally gut your entire vile family like rotten fish! How do you like that prospect, dear father-in-law?”


    “Sir, why are you doing this to my family? Please explain!”


    “Why? Oh, no reason, just decided to get married suddenly… Though, actually, there is one reason. Your eldest brat, I believe, has already figured it out. Am I right, Burgun?”


    The shaggy bastard remained silent—perhaps he’d lost his voice from fear? Or his mind?


    “Sir!” the guild head tried to grab my hand. “If my foolish son has done something, I will compensate for it, just tell me!”


    “Compensate, you say?” I grabbed him by the hair and lifted him so that our eyes were level. “Your bastard killed my girl’s father and crippled her brother just because he wanted to toy with her! So tell me, you wretch, how will you compensate for that? Bring me your daughter. She is now my wife!”


    I dropped him and shouted again:


    “If the entire guild head’s family is not here this very moment, I will kill everyone in this mansion!”


    A minute later, a woman arrived with a three-year-old girl. I checked their auras to make sure they weren’t trying to switch the child.


    “Oh, my wife is quite adorable. Strange to see such a flower in a nest of vermin.”


    I approached the woman, shoved her aside, and took the girl into my arms.


    “Hello, little one! What’s your name?”


    “Osia!” she babbled.


    “Give me back my daughter!” the woman suddenly shrieked.


    “Your daughter? Dear mother-in-law, she is my wife now, so you can go to hell!”


    “Gram! Do something!” she started yelling at the guild head. “Who is this man, and why is he taking our daughter?!”


    “Dear, it’s because of Burgun.”


    He quickly explained what their son had done.


    “Hey, fools, don’t pretend you didn’t know when even the lowest beggar in Matan knows this story! You lying vermin disgust me. I’m leaving!”


    I turned toward the exit, but the girl’s mother grabbed onto me.


    “Please, sir, she’s just an innocent child! Punish us, but don’t take her! I will do whatever you say!”


    “Anything?” I pretended to hesitate.


    “Yes, yes, sir, anything you say!”


    “Alright. Bring me the ones who attacked my girl’s family! You have one minute. Time starts now.”


    I must admit, she handled it faster. In less than a minute, five High-Rank Martial Masters stood before me. I didn’t know if they were truly the ones, but the looks they gave Burgun were quite telling.


    I turned the little one in my arms so she could only see my shoulder and sealed her hearing with my aura. Then I pointed at the five men:


    “Do you know why you are about to die?”


    I wasn’t interested in their answer, so I lowered my finger and crushed them like rotten tomatoes.


    Burgun’s mother collapsed onto her rear.


    “I did what you asked, now give me back my daughter!”


    “What? Did you think that was all? That simple? That the lackeys would die, but you wouldn’t? Are you completely stupid?”


    “Sir, what else do you want?”


    I pulled a dagger from my storage and threw it onto the floor.


    “Right now, you will slit your bastard’s throat, and the guild head will cut off his own right arm at the elbow. Then justice will be served, and I will leave, harming no one else.”


    “Master…”


    “Immediately!” I barked.


    Osia started crying, but that only worked in my favor. The woman, as if in a trance, grabbed the dagger with her pale fingers and advanced toward her son.


    “No, mother! No, I’m your son too! Mother, stop!” He couldn’t even flinch, bound by my aura.


    The guild master tried to stop her, but she shoved him aside and plunged the dagger into Burgun’s chest. He let out a choking sound, collapsing onto his back on the floor.


    “I said cut his throat, you fool!”


    For a moment, she glanced at me with wild eyes, then grabbed the dagger again and started sawing off her own son’s head.


    “Enough! Give the dagger to your husband. It’s his turn!”


    Sitting on the floor, she handed the bloodied dagger to Gram.


    “Do it! Cut! It’s your fault!” She screamed at him. “You let him do whatever he wanted, hiding behind his status! Cuuuuut!”


    Pale-faced, Gram took the weapon and, after a few seconds of hesitation, cleanly severed his right arm at the elbow.


    “We have fulfilled your conditions, master!” He said, clutching his veins with his left hand.


    “Fine, I won’t touch anyone else here.”


    I walked toward the exit with the girl in my arms.


    “Where are you taking her? You promised not to take our daughter.” Her mother asked weakly.


    “I’ll leave her by the fence. I don’t want her to see you like this, you wretches…”


    Just as I had said, I set the little one down near the gate and removed the aura plugs from her ears.


    “Well, goodbye, Osia. Good luck to you!”


    “Bye-bye!”


    Such a polite child. Strange that she was born into a family like that. I waved at her and leaped into the air, heading toward Tot’s home.


    Since he and Mia weren’t home yet, I tracked their auras and followed them.


    “You sure know how to waste money!”


    I startled Mia by sneaking up on her from behind.


    “Oh! Master! It was only two thousand!”


    She gestured around. The estate was truly luxurious.


    “So, when’s the wedding?” She decided to tease me.


    “Oh, sorry, but it’ll have to be canceled. I had a little… falling out with my father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law.”


    “Aney!” Tot paled. “You didn’t… wipe out the whole family…?”


    “No, fool! Just that wretch Burgun. And even then, it wasn’t me who killed him, but my mother-in-law.”


    “God, Aney, what did you do there…”


    “You wouldn’t believe it. It turned into a full-blown family drama worthy of the royal opera! I think rumors will spread through the city soon, and then you’ll hear everything for yourself.”


    “Thank you, Aney!”


    “Enough of that. Right now, you and Mia should leave. I left some traces of my aura there, so today or tomorrow, I might get some uninvited guests. I don’t want you caught up in it. Mia, you’ll stay with Tot for a few days. Understood?”


    “Yes, master! As you command, master!” She bared her teeth in a grin.


    Why was she so cheerful? Was she mocking me? And that tone…


    “Aney, I think you shouldn’t wait for them either. Get out of the city!”


    Tot was genuinely worried about me.


    “You really think so?” I released all my power, though carefully enough not to harm them.


    “Oh, master!” Mia bent slightly and smacked Tot on the back of the head. “My master is a High-Rank Battle Ancestor. Who here could possibly harm him?!”


    I retracted my aura.


    “Battle Ancestor? Aney, you keep surprising me!”


    “Alright, enough already. You two need to get going.”


    Finally pushing them out onto the street, I closed the gate and sat on the porch of my new home, spreading my aura generously so my visitors wouldn’t have to search too long to find me.