《Primordial Sage: Plight of Immortality》


 1 – Burrying Your Parents

    The sound of wind blew furiously over the roofs of the simple cottages in the unnamed village as it brought with it unbearable coldness, even though spring had already begun. Most people would rather hide in the warmth of their homes, but only a few had the choice in this matter.


    Poor serfs in the village needed to make the most of their days to make a living. They didn''t have time to seek entertainment or take care of their body and health. Cultivating crops, taking care of livestock, collecting firewood for the cold nights, and much more work awaited them every day.


    Yet one of the fields in the village was left alone. The cottage next to it was empty too. The reason for it was that its inhabitants were at the edge of the village near the forest, digging a large and deep hole. There were three of them, one younger than the other. They were taking turns digging with the sole rusty shovel they had while trying to hide their sorrow.


    The oldest one, looking no older than fifteen, pushed the shovel deep into the ground and took a big chunk of dirt which he then put down on a pile of dirt right next to the hole. He was doing it until he got tired. Then he handed over the shovel to a second oldest child who looked like he was in his early teens.


    For such a young child, this labor was difficult, but he persevered as he knew this needed to be done before sunset or something bad would happen. As he sweated, he heard the high-pitched voice of the youngest of the three asking him:


    "Big brother Olen, should I continue instead? You seem to be tired already." He seemed concerned about him.


    "Nonsense, Little Stone, look at yourself. The shovel is even bigger than you!" Evan, the oldest of the three, scolded his younger brother, while scowling at him.


    Little Stone looked into the eyes of his oldest brother and then he averted his eyes while mumbling to himself: "It''s not like we will live for long if I always do nothing..."


    ''Sigh...''


    Both Evan and Olen sighed as their saddened eyes lay on two ''objects'' covered in old and dirty cloth. They knew that Little Stone was right as this and the next years would be cruel to them.


    After all, they just became orphans. This year had one of the cruelest winters in the last decade or two. Count in the fact that the northern birds who usually did not migrate during winter did so this year and brought with them some nasty disease that made many of the villagers succumb to death.


    Their parents were among them. The disease, now called ''Bird''s Perdition,'' weakened their bodies so much that they simply couldn''t withstand the cold winter.


    Because of that, three brothers now needed to do everything to survive. That''s why even the youngest, Little Stone, who just lived through his 8th winter, needed to contribute as his older brothers could barely support themselves, let alone him.


    Fortunately, Little Stone was always the tough one. That''s also where his nickname came from. No matter how much he tired himself, the next day he was fresh. No matter where he got the abrasion, the next day it healed. His parents called it a miracle but most of the villagers were hostile to him believing he was either cursed or a monster in human skin.


    "All right, Little Stone, I will let you shovel a little, but don''t overdo it.¡±


    ¡°Even if you feel fine the next day, who knows if you will be in good health in the next decade. That''s why most children started to help their family after their 10th winter or even later if the family was well-off. On the other hand, you are not old enough to even get your name yet..." lamented Evan as he nodded to Olen who reluctantly gave the shovel to his nameless brother.


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    There was a reason why the village they lived in didn''t name their young children until a certain age. The mortality was always high among the children so their parents stopped naming them until their 9th winter.


    Of course, most of the villagers believe that number nine was one of the magical and even ominous numbers. At the same time, they believed that names had power and if you name someone before the 9th winter then the child and their entire family would be cursed. Whether myth or reality, no one dared test fate.


    As Little Stone took the big shovel from Olen''s hands, he got nearer to the hole and started digging. It was arduous work for him but he lived through the worst. Although he didn''t say that to anyone there was one day during this winter when he got sick and felt extremely weakened. The cold and pain he felt were so unbearable he wasn''t able to sleep at night.


    As he was always clever he thought in fright that he maybe caught the disease that villagers talked about recently. He didn''t want to infect others and as such he got up from the ''bed,'' made of cloth and straw where his brothers laid down curled up together to keep warm and went to the little barn to sleep with the livestock to keep warm as he knew that it wouldn''t be affected by the disease.


    Surprisingly, the next day he felt fine once again and wondered if he had just a fever or something. Even fever was dangerous without any medicine but not nearly enough as Bird''s Perdition. His parents scolded him but he felt really happy at that time.


    .........


    After some time passed.


    As they rotated themselves and continued digging, the sun got to the highest point and then descended to the west. When they finally dug a hole big enough to place their parents, they went to them. Olen and Evan took their father''s body and slowly put him in his place. The same then for their mother''s body.


    They looked at their parents for the last time muttering a prayer and then started to bury them with the dirt they dug out. This kind of funeral was most common as most serfs did not have time or energy for something bigger. Only those that were wealthy could afford the privilege of cremation as they believed to aid the dead''s spirit to more easily leave out of the body and begin its journey to the afterlife. The fear of the undead was another reason.


    The brothers have never seen any undead and they didn''t plan to either, so they hurried as they knew that there was a chance of the corpse of their deceased parents rising during the night. Then they took some heavy and big stones and put them on the grave they just made.


    Unfortunately, this simple burial didn''t lower the chance to zero supposedly. That is why they used heavier stones so the undead wouldn''t be able to get out.


    Once they finished, tired and dirty they got home. Unfortunately, they couldn''t just go to sleep. While they fed all of their livestock in the morning most of them needed frequent feeding throughout the day. Such as dairy cow to support their milk production and young animals who needed nutrition to grow. As they neglected them today they needed to feed them at least in the evening before the sunset.


    "I will go get the water. Meanwhile, Olen should go feed the livestock. Little Stone, you should get rid of your hair. They look like if you rolled together with the pigs in the mud..." Evan laughed as he tried to lighten the mood even if it was very forced.


    But since both his brothers were very young he succeeded as Olen sniggered at his younger brother while Little Stone started pouting.


    As they parted their ways, Little Stone took a small iron dagger and started cutting his hair that fell to his thighs. They were extremely dirty as they got in the way during digging. But he didn''t care as he efficiently finished his new haircut. It was uneven and looked bad overall but as he knew his hair would be well back in the morning so he felt indifferent to it.


    His hair grew so quickly that even if he cut it every day it would still reach the same length in half a day. The same went with his nails which would also grow quickly compared to normal even if not as much as his hair. He''d need to cut his hair so often that his family no longer bothered to supervise him during it even though he was a little child using a dagger.


    That is one of the reasons why many villagers were hostile to him, they felt as if the beast inside the boy awakened every time they saw it. His hair looks like fur to them and his nails are like claws if he didn''t cut them regularly. The cherry on top was Little Stone''s blood-deep red eyes that looked as if they belonged to a bloodthirsty beast.


    The only positive thing Little Stone saw in all of this is that his hair looked better than anyone else as he didn''t need to wash them but cutting them is enough. On the other hand, nails were only annoying to him while his eyes were useful only for scaring children of other serfs who tried to bully him over the years.


    The boy sighed as he threw his hair aside and went to lie down on their ''bed'' made out of straws piled on the ground.

 2 – Trying to Survive

    When Little Stone woke up the next day it was still dark outside. He rubbed his eyes and got up from bed. His brothers were still sleeping as they were too tired from yesterday. Yet the only thing Little Stone felt at the moment was hunger.


    They didn''t eat yesterday as they were too tired for that. Unfortunately, even during normal days, there was not much to eat and they usually ate only once or twice a day. Their reserves for the winter are almost used up and now they must produce new food. As they are serfs they can''t go hunting without permission and even if they did they don''t know how. If worst comes to worst they will need to slaughter their livestock to eat.


    There is a need to mention that they own only 5 chickens, 1 rooster, 2 sheep, 1 lamb, and one dairy cow. For one serf it is quite good but if they slaughter even one of the livestock that they are not meant to use for meat, their future will be even more bleak. Some of the villagers already slaughtered their livestock to survive but that is only a short-term solution. Now their only hope their harvest this year will be abundant or they will die next winter.


    The problem is that the weather has been getting worse and worse in recent years and brothers noticed it too. That is why they keep fasting hoping that during spring they will be able to produce enough food.


    Unfortunately, the soil in the fields hasn''t thaw yet and is still frozen which means they still can''t cultivate it.


    So the only solution would be bartering with others to get some food. The village doesn''t use the currency of the kingdom they were part of as they are in such a remote place that the currency doesn''t have a way to flow in this place. Merchants seldom visit this place and tax collectors visit this place only once a decade where they take taxes in the form of crops, livestock, or even human labor if certain households cannot pay the taxes.


    Brothers had a surplus of clothes and clothing, that their mother created with the sheep''s wool and had them saved up for worse times so they could exchange it during times like this. Though as mentioned before their family isn''t welcomed very much among the locals so they always suffer a loss in those exchanges.


    However, 3 winters ago the village got a new inhabitant who seemed to be from far south. They didn''t know why would such an old lady travel to this place but they knew that here she was the most well-off person. She was a herbalist who was very skilled in her job. She even managed to create a kind of medicine that managed to reduce symptoms of the ''Bird''s Perdition'' this year. Otherwise, most likely entire village would disappear.


    She was very kind and sold the medicine at a reasonable price that everyone could buy. Even 3 brothers bought the medicine from her although it was unfortunately not enough to save their parents.


    Moreover, she wasn''t hostile to the Little Stone. She even said he is special but not uncommon as people like him are numerous in the South. The old lady liked to tell stories about the place she came from. It sounded so fantastic many villagers loved to hear these stories as it was one of the few entertainments they could have here.


    Of course, the most important reason why many come to her often is that she is willing to give tips regarding herbs. They may not care about learning medicine but getting to know that the weed they always threw away was edible and nutritious was information that could change their life and death.


    As such many villagers send their children to exchange their goods with her so she can teach them something new. Unfortunately, not every child appreciates this kind of opportunity. Some do not have the maturity or education to understand the weight of the situation and adults usually work the entire day so the family can survive. That is the reason most of them only learned the bare minimum.


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    Fortunately or unfortunately Little Stone had always spent time with his family as everyone else disregarded him and that made him a little reclusive and much less communicative than other children his age.


    When he found out that she didn''t dislike him and was willing to talk to him his joy was unmeasurable. He started to visit her regularly almost every day and listened to her stories while learning herbalism from her. She was the one who ignited his adventurous spirit and his thirst to learn new things. Things even came to the point that he started to see her as his grandma.


    Little Stone reminisced about it and knew it would be a good idea to visit her today as he wanted to escape reality at least for one day. As he was mature for his age he fully understood what was happening around him all the time and ironically that''s what took a toll on his young mind the most.


    As he waited in silence the sun slowly started to shine its first rays of light at the village. The roosters of all villagers started to crow starting off the new day.


    Second to wake up after ''Little Stone'' was Evan as he yawned, rubbed his eyes, and got up immediately while greeting his youngest brother. "Good morning"


    "Good morning big bro," said ''Little Stone'' then he looked at Olen.


    Olen was still in the ''bed'' rolling not wanting to get up as his entire body was sore.


    "Damn that cock. I swear I will roast him one day..." mumbled Olen as he rubbed his eyes.


    "Say what you want Olen but be aware that if you try something with our livestock I will kick your ass," Evan said as he squinted his eyes at Olen.


    "Come on, big bro. I was just mumbling nonsense." Olen rolled his eyes.


    "Well then, let''s not waste our time and get to work. Before that, we will eat breakfast. Unfortunately, it won''t be much." said Evan as he disregarded Olen''s response.


    Meanwhile ''Little Stone'' quietly watched them while sitting on a wooden chair. He waited for them during the time they slept until they woke up. Even if he wanted to do something he couldn''t see in the dark.


    When they were all seated at the table, Evan brought a big bowl with porridge and three wooden spoons. As they ate from the same bowl, Evan said:


    "Little Stone are you going to the old Meddie''s house today? I know you probably want to go out after yesterday so don''t forget to take some clothes to exchange for some dried herbs. Our food stock is thinning. She will surely not refuse you as she can get those herbs easily and most of the exchanged clothes we gave her last time she presented to other villagers. I don''t understand her passion for others but since she wants to supply others then why not? Unfortunately, even with the surplus of our clothes we had there is almost nothing left already... That''s why learning herbalism is so important. Do you understand ''Little Stone'' ?"


    "Yes, big brother." said ''Little Stone'' as he finished eating not content. He was still hungry. In truth, he didn''t remember when or even if he was ever full in his short life.


    Olen who listened only half-heartedly as he was still sleepy also finished the food while patting his tummy.


    "Then I go. I will come back as soon as I can," said Little Stone as he hopped down from the chair, dressed with the help of Evan, then took the clothing and left for the hut at the end of the village closer to the forest.


    While he went slowly the world around him was already lively as other villagers started to work too. Little Stone didn''t look around much as he knew they would glare at him more when he did so and hurried up.


    Ten minutes later when he got to the edge of the village he saw her house. It was much better than the cottages of other people and had the same quality as the village head''s house. The walls were made from stone and the roof was made from clay tiles. The little but cozy house even had a chimney that even knew had the smoke coming out of it.


    She had very much firewood as many of the villagers used it to exchange for something. Old Meddie was an herbalist and as as such she often needed to boil all kinds of herbs together. For that, a fire was needed. So the more firewood she gets the more medicine the entire village can use in the future. It is a win-win situation for everyone.


    As ''Little Stone'' got close to the house he started banging the door a little and said in a loud voice:


    "Granny Meddie, it''s me Stone, can I get inside ?"


    Then he waited until he heard a low but kind voice: "Come in my child..."

 3 – Granny Meddie

    When Little Stone slowly opened the wooden door, hot air blew out of the house, bringing with itself a thick smell of medicine. As he was already used to it, ''Little Stone'' quickly entered and then closed the doors.


    There he saw a very old lady sitting in her rocking chair waiting before the big cauldron that was hung in the fireplace. In her hands was an old wooden grinder she used to grind some herbs but she slowly put it on the table as Little Stone entered her house she turned her saddened eyes at the little kid.


    "I''ve already heard the news... I am so sorry, my child. It must have been hard for you right ?"


    Little Stone looked at her quietly. His pupils were a little dilated as they trembled. The emotions he felt finally burst out. Slowly, he came over to the table to put away the clothes and then went to her and hugged her waist.


    "I miss them..." whispered the boy as his crimson eyes watered a little while his head buried in the old lady''s bosom.


    The old Meddie sighed as she saw the boy. She had seen this many times before. As quite an accomplished herbalist she needed to have mental fortitude for this. But as she got older her mind couldn''t bear the cruelty of the world anymore. So she went to retire in this remote place where nobody would know and bother her where she didn''t have to see the faces of despair ever again.


    Unfortunately even in this little village tragedy is not as rare as she would desire. It may not see the blood of war or the real wilderness beyond the civilizations but they suffer all the same. That is one of the reasons why they even respect someone like her who would be probably labeled as a witch in peaceful times. Their survival instinct won over their superstitions.


    "Boy, did you know that there are many who believe in reincarnation on this and every other continent in this world ?" she asked while still hugging him.


    "N-no? What is reincarnation ?" asked ''Little Stone'' confusedly.


    "It is believed that there is something that resides deep in our bodies called soul. That is the essence of our very existence that is made out of our memories, personality, spirit, emotions, and many other things. The soul is eternal so even while death may be the end of their path in this life it also opens the door to begin the new one free of the burdens of this life. That is the reincarnation." smiled a little Heddie as she saw his curiosity.


    "Wha-? No way is that real? I thought that all of this was in my mind and not soul" The boy opened his eyes wide as he touched his head to emphasize his argument.


    "Mind is nothing more than an extension of your soul, silly."


    "I see. Then what is the continent you talked about? Are they also far in the south ?" asked ''Little Stone'' who finally got his mind off the sad topic and instead on something he loved.


    Old Heddie chuckled a little as she explained.


    "Continent is on where we stand right now. It is the earth under our feet that makes the ground and is surrounded by the sea I told you about last time. From what I know the one that we are on is one of the smaller ones called Azen. This village is in the northern part of this continent. Most people don''t believe that there exist places other than Azen and think this is the center of the world. That is why the word is almost unused nowadays and..."


    ........


    Time passed by quickly.


    Little Stone sat on the fur that was on the ground and continued to ask about all kinds of things while Old Meddie answered and both had a very good time.


    After a while, Granny finished her talk and stopped. She smiled at the excited child and said:


    "Well, that is enough about daydreaming. It is good to have a head full of adventures and fun but we must also stay firmly on the ground and not lose our head in the skies. Didn''t you bring the clothes for an important reason ?"


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    "Oh right... I forgot" exclaimed Little Stone as he took those clothes from the table. "Do you want to exchange clothing for some dried herbs ?" he asked uncertainly.


    After all, they sold her clothes during this winter already and one person cannot use so much of it. Unfortunately for the brothers, there is no choice but to try it.


    "But of course." smiled Meddie as she continued." Lately, I burned up holes in the clothes I use the most so I plan to patch them up with your cloth. Moreover, many villagers need them very much so I plan to give some of it to them."


    "Hmmph.. Those crooks need it so much yet refuse to buy directly from us. They are stupid..." sulked Little Stone.


    Because of Little Stone the entire family was always more or less shunned. Even his parents when his mother gave birth to him were horrified at the beginning. They thought their children may be possessed by some spirit of an animal that passed away recently in the nearby forest. It was kind of a miracle they chose to keep and love him despite that.


    This kind of life experience not only made Little Stone more mature but also much more broad-minded. Every time he thinks about how those villagers choose to believe something without a second thought it makes him imagine if he was born ''normal'' he would be the same as them once he grows up. He refuses to be someone like them! He wants to live with a clear mind to see the world as it is. Ever since this thought passed through his mind he started to question everything. This began to intensify when Meddie came to the village and showed him what the world beyond the village was really like.


    "He he, don''t be like that, silly. It is human nature to fear the unknown. The more so here where you are cut off from civilization. Actually, since they didn''t try to lynch you or your family it isn''t that bad. There are many more radical places in the world." explained Meddie to him. Little Stone''s eyes lit up when he heard about other ''places'' but old Meddie interrupted his thoughts:


    "No, I won''t talk about this, dear. You are too young for this. Moreover, we have work to do! Since you are here you will help me with brewing the paste that is in the cauldron. Recently I got a black toe infection and it hurts so I can''t stand really well on the feet. So I wanted to make this paste to heal it. I will give leftovers to others as they can be used on all kinds of infections and inflammations. You will be stirring it up as now came the perfect time for it. Meanwhile, I will tell you about new edible herbs I found out about and then teach you something new." Meddie talked as she beckoned him to take the stirring spoon and start to stir the brew in a cauldron.


    Little Stone came to the cauldron that was in the fireplace. The fireplace was spacious so there was no problem when he took the spoon and started to mix all those cooked ingredients inside. It quite looked like the soup their family once had when they celebrated the abundant harvest. As he thought so he almost touched the hot cauldron accidentally. When old Meddie saw this she sighed and warned him.


    "Be careful to not burn yourself. Focus on the stirring and don''t let your mind wander. You are always like this. I know that since small wounds and burns disappear in no time for you you are careless but this mindset of yours will make you suffer the consequences in the future."


    Old Meddie knew it wasn''t exactly fair to say that since she was the one who taught him all kinds of things at such a young age but she knew that this bad habit of his must be solved. Nobody knows where his gift''s limit lies and the moment when he learns it will be too late.


    Of course, the other reason is that she wanted him to teach the herbalism and some cooking sooner the better. The three brothers need it urgently but the two older brothers Evan and Olen do the hardest work momentally and don''t have the time or capacity to learn new things.


    So the burden naturally came on Little Stone who is at an age where he shouldn''t get close to the fire and rather play with other kids. Obviously, old Heddie didn''t make him learn this so soon on a whim. She personally thought that Little Stone was enough mature for this. His only problem is his constant daydreaming. But as he will continue to work on this he will learn to focus.


    The other problem was her own age. She is already 84 years old. For normal humans in this era, it was really splendid. The reason for this was her knowledge of herbalism and she managed to keep herself healthy. Back then when she started to teach him she didn''t know if she would have time later to teach him everything. She actually didn''t need to do that but she wanted as she thought of him as her grandson and wanted to leave some of her legacy before she passed away. Thankfully Little Stone was a really smart and diligent boy who got a solid foundation during those two years. Now he just needs experience.


    She came here for retirement as she already knew her body had gone out. Moreover, she chose this kind of place instead of some warm house in the south as she knew that some troubled times had come and herbalists like her no matter the age are needed everywhere. And she would not be able to keep her piece. While she liked to heal people, she disliked to do it in some meaningless place where life was light as a feather which was common in the south where the heart of the kingdom lay.

 4 – Herbalism

    "So recently I found out that Fandrea herb that is poisonous has roots that can be eaten. This herb is quite common here so it should be able to alleviate some of the food problems. I also found out that Syleria herb which is also poisonous is actually deadly only when you cook it. When raw it may bring little discomfort for the people with weaker immunity. That''s all." explained Heddie to the little boy who was stirring up the brew for quite some time.


    "If you knew already then why didn''t you tell us sooner ?" said Little Stone who turned his head at the granny.


    "Turn around and focus," said Granny Meddie strictly as she scolded him. Then she continued. "In the south, there are no records of the herbs growing here as they don''t grow there. This place is too forlorn for most people and there is nothing valuable so they do not bother about this place. That means that I had to personally find out what properties those herbs have."


    Boy opened his eyes wide as he again turned at her with opened agape. Soon he turned back before she could scold him but the wonder in his eyes didn''t dim. Seeing this Granny Meddie sighed and then smiled a little.


    "Foundation for herbalism and any other specialization which deals with herbs are knowledge of herbs that the ancestors accumulated. But the world is vast and knowledge of the old is often lost. People can''t just rely on the books to learn all those things. They must understand the nature of the herbs to make real progress in their work.


    The first people also didn''t know what herbs had which traits. So they experimented. And succeeded. That is what herbalism is about ''Stone'' don''t forget that. Of course, this is something you would need to dedicate your life to to be able to do something meaningful. Just look at me. Over 7 decades and yet it took me so long to analyze these kinds of common herbs."


    Old Heddie smiled ruefully as she looked at her wrinkled hand. Boy didn''t turn around this time. He didn''t understand most of what she talked about but knew that she was feeling downcast so he whispered in a low voice:


    "But for me you are amazing..."


    This made the old woman''s eyes turn into crescents. "You are really sweet, my child. I bet you will be popular with girls in the future."


    ''Little Stone'' didn''t understand what she meant by it but knew it was a compliment so he cheerfully smiled. Then silence took over the room. Time flew by as the boy continuously stirred the brew until his hands were like jelly. Then the change finally came.


    "Well dear that''s enough. Now take this powder inside of the grinder and toss it inside. Once you do that take this bucket of water," Old Meddie nodded at the bucket not far from the fireplace," and continuously pour water into the cauldron in small doses."


    Little Stone was finally free from the stirring so he was happy to do so. He went slowly to the table, took the grinder, and went back to the cauldron. Once he got close to the cauldron he flipped over the grinder and let the powder fall in.


    The moment the powder touched the brew it started sizzling and started to emit smell. After a split second, the mass of the entire brew started to shrink as if it was evaporating. Little Stone was so surprised that he stiffened for a moment.


    "Don''t wait for it to evaporate! You need to pour the water, boy." said the old Meddie urgently to the surprised Stone.


    Little Stone awakened from his stupor after hearing the yell and bent over for the water. He took the ladle, scooped up water, and took it above the cauldron. Then he flipped it over from great height. Old Meddie looked as if she wanted something to say but it was too late.


    *Sizzle*


    "Ahh"


    The brew splashed and burned Little Stone''s hand who yelped a little in surprise. He didn''t expect it would splash at him so much.


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    "Don''t flip the ladle so high in the air. You need to do it from a lesser height. Does it hurt a lot? Forget the brew, I can do a new one later. Come here I will give you the ointment on the burnt."


    Little Stone was surprised for a moment but then he calmed down. To him this is nothing. He looked at his hand where the burnt was and saw how it was already wriggling, slowly trying to heal itself. It is not super quick but it was enough to see it with eyes. Then he looked at old Meddie and said:


    "Don''t worry, granny. It just took me off guard. It is just a little burnt that is already disappearing. This time I won''t make the mistake." said Little Stone while waving the ladle excitedly to emphasize his point.


    "These kids nowadays..." signed old Meddie as she waved her hand showing that the boy can do whatever he wants.


    Boy chuckled cheerfully and he resumed the water a little faster as the brew almost evaporated. This continued until there was no water in the bucket.


    In the end, the brew evaporated and what was left was only some kind of smelly mush. It had a deep green color and was still gurgled. Then old Meddie took her cane and slowly stood up.


    "Good job, Stone. You were really wonderful. Now leave the rest to me."


    She stood up and with a limp got to the fireplace. Then she took off the entire cauldron from the fire and placed it on the stone platform next to the table. Then she took some vials and poured their content inside while stirring the wooden spoon. Once she finished, instead of watery mush there was a kind of pale green paste. After that, she scooped a portion and placed it into a ceramic jar.


    "Here. This is a reward for you. You and your brothers are bound to get hurt or get some rash as you work. It will be good for you to have some in supply. Of course, take this box too. Inside are the herbs to eat. It should be enough for a week for you three. Even more, if you mix it with the rest of your stocked food. So don''t just eat it all and instead try to pick up some Fandreas and Sylerias. They grow abundantly in the spring even when is winter such as this. Just don''t forget what did I taught you about them." said tired Meddie.


    The sun just got to the highest point when they ended. Now old Meddie can rest as she can just wait for someone to come and buy some medicine. Meanwhile ''Little Stone'' who got his loot said goodbye to her and went back to his house.


    ''I should be more careful from now on. I can''t let granny be worried about me all the time.'' pondered Little Stone.


    He wasn''t new to herbalism as he learned from her the entire 3 years. But he still didn''t have a quarter of her patience. He wondered if he would someday also be as good as her or even better to help his brothers.


    When he finally got home nobody was there. Little Stone didn''t find it weird as Evan and Olen worked outside. So Little Stone went to the place where they saved their valued things and put there the jar and box. Then went outside and decided to collect the herbs old Meddie recommended.


    Those herbs were ignored for years and taken as weeds but now when they can be eaten, Little Stone wants to take the opportunity to take the most he can when other villagers still don''t know. Those herbs were everywhere and even in the village, there were numerous amounts of them.


    ''If not those greedy guys would collect everything.'' thought Little Stone who was bending to take those herbs. He didn''t take only those herbs but also one called Elera herb. This herb is also poisonous but not lethal. Villagers try to eat it when they starve but usually, they get bedridden for the next 3 to 4 days when they can''t do anything.


    The reason why he collects them too is because he is aware that he is not normal. He simply could take risks others couldn''t and so he did. When he found out about this herb and knew it was not lethal he tried to eat it. And he just felt bad for a few minutes. Nothing more. That means that it is another source of food in an emergency. At least for him.


    ........


    In the evening.


    He passed the entire village to the northern part while collecting all three types of herbs and was humming during this time. The other villagers already stopped working as the lack of light started to impede their work. As Little Stone saw this he looked at the sky and realized that it started to get dark.


    As he saw that the sun slowly went down he chose to go back. His steps were loud as he quickly strode through the village which seemed unnaturally silent...


    The path was long as he was literally at a different edge of a village than his house so by the time he was halfway home it was already completely dark. Or not.


    The full moon shined at the village with its bright crimson color. When Little Stone looked at it he was mesmerized for a moment. But... At the same time, he felt somewhat ominous. His heart throbbed painfully and he felt something was wrong.


    *Owooooooooooooo*


    He heard the noise. It sounded like a wolf''s howl but... It was much louder. So much so that the boy felt the vibrations even though they sounded from far away. One thing the boy was sure about was that normal wolves didn''t sound like that. The fear of the unknown gripped his heart and he started to run to his house. Even though it could be just howls from the distance by some wild animals he didn''t care.


    He just wanted to go home to see his brothers.

 5 – Nightmare

    The village which at that moment was bathed in crimson light was getting more and more loud. The past silence was replaced by a wailing livestock that felt the danger and villagers who went to sleep woke up and were bewildered by what was going on.


    Meanwhile, Little Stone who was far from his house ran as fast as he could. He didn''t know what kind of being was howling like this. It was horrifying. It definitively wasn''t just some wolf. Those howls sounded as if they were from the deepest hell. At least that was what Little Stone felt.


    The howls and wailing got louder and louder as the boy ran through the village until he heard another sound.


    *Baaam*


    A horrible rumble rang out as he saw the house on the right side of him explode. The splinters flew apart from it and everything in the vicinity was demolished. The livestock next to it suffered the most as they died a horrible death. Only a few barely survived and wailed in agony. The visual and auditory impact was so great on the little boy that he fell on his bottom. Stiffened he looked at the place where the house was. There should still be people in that ''house''... His pupils trembled. But his trance soon ended when he saw the movement behind the rumbles.


    After a few very long seconds he finally saw...


    A huge shadow. It moved so quickly that he didn''t catch the details. It went after the sound of the dying cows lying helplessly there. The shadow came over them. Then their wail sounded once more, this time much louder until no sound came out afterward.


    As the shadow stopped moving Little Stone saw it much more clearly. It really was a wolf. Somewhat. It was much bigger. Even twice as big as the village cottages, its fur so dark that it would not be visible during normal nights and only its harrowing red eyes would be seen. What made it truly apart from normal wolves though were its long and sharp vertebrae protrusions on its mutilated back which looked as if the bony spikes grew up through its flesh and front ''arms'' which were similar to those of humans. They were covered in fur and had claws as long as daggers. It looked grotesque as the shadow sat down on its rear while taking the corpse of the cow into its hand. It looked at it with its eyes full of hunger. Then its hand got closer to its maw full of rows of sharp teeth.


    Immediately after it chewed the head of the cow with crunch and swallowed it.


    While the monster ate the livestock Little Stone started to crawl away. He didn''t run. He didn''t have the courage for that. Nausea which the boy felt was unmeasurable as the vomit came to his mouth which he then swallowed albeit unwillingly back. The fear that ''it'' would notice him was too big for that.


    ''NO NO NO What is that THING? Why is it here? I need to run.. I don''t want...'' Little Stone felt fear as never before. He felt like crying but at the same time, the shock made him forget it. ''I need to get home... But... If this thing wants it can easily destroy our cottage same as Old Salem''s cottage... What should I do...''


    The village was in total chaos. The screams, wails, and howling came out of every direction. It was obvious that the creature before him wasn''t the only one and that there were more of them that invaded the village. Little Stone felt disoriented as he hid in the bush and looked around himself unsure what to do. He was so scared that he couldn''t even cry from the shock he felt.


    ''Why is this happening ?'' thought the boy who was trying to sneak to his house as he felt that with his brothers this situation would be manageable. But then he heard the shrill noise. The noise was in the direction where the Old Meddie lived.


    Little Stone''s eyes dilated. He knew that the granny couldn''t be on her feet without the cane and that she couldn''t run if needed. ''I need to warn her. No, I need to help her hide or they will find her.'' thought in determination little boy as he sneaked towards her house.


    Stolen story; please report.


    It took him some time until he got there. Fortunately, it seemed that the house was intact. When he sighed in relief he went to her door and violently knocked.


    "Granny, It''s me! I will go in!" then he went to open the door. What he didn''t expect though was that the smell of herbs that always welcomed him in was replaced by a wave of terrible stench of rot and iron. When he fully opened the door he didn''t see the granny but the same creatures as the one he had seen before. The only difference where that these are only as big as dogs. The rotten smell seemed to come out of them. Some parts of their body were opened and festered. It was a horrendous sight.


    But what was even worse was that when they turned to look at him he saw them holding something down as they chewed on it. Little Stone didn''t want to believe it. He couldn''t.


    As they chewed on old Meddie their jaws were full of raw meat and blood that poured on the ground. And the smile... They looked as if they were creepily smiling as they were eating her.


    The boy stiffened as he looked at it. He wanted to run but he couldn''t. As the monsters took notice of him they were prepared to pounce on him. But then he heard the hoarse yell.


    "Run! Please just run..." It was old Meddie who lay on the floor in her blood. They didn''t kill her. It seemed they wanted to eat her alive.


    When the boy came to his senses the creatures seemed to be irritated by her yelling. It seemed to spoil their mood. So one of them stomped on her head.


    *Crunch*


    The head imploded as if it were just fruit. The bits of the skull and brain matter scattered across the ground. It took just a split second.


    Little Stone horrified yelped as his eyes watered and he turned around to run. But that was a mistake as one of the creatures took the opportunity and plunged on him. The boy didn''t have even a chance to retaliate until it bit him in the shoulder. It could''ve bitten into the neck as a normal animal to end the life of its prey but it seemed that it didn''t want to.


    The boy was knocked on the ground and felt pain, so much pain that he never felt before. He didn''t even have the breath to yell at that moment. He didn''t know what to do and just instinctively tried to pry off the beast as he started to resist. Then he heard the weird howling similar to cackling from the back. The other creatures thought that he was more attractive prey for them since the other one wasn''t ''moving'' anymore so it put its eyes on him.


    He started panicking. If the other one gets to him he won''t get any chance to escape. So he chose to take out the iron dagger he always had by himself. It is not sharp enough to cut the tough fur and flesh but if he attacks the eyes... It would be possible.


    Normally that wouldn''t be plausible but as the beast was chewing on him its face was close enough to pull it off.


    He slowly took out the dagger and turned his head with difficulty at the beast while he trembled in pain and fear.


    There was no time for thinking about what he was gonna do. There was just a will to live. To survive.


    "Hah" yelled the boy as plunged the danger at it. Unfortunately, he couldn''t leverage his body well in the position so it was weak. Moreover, he didn''t hit the eye. He missed by little but it was enough to provoke the beast. It growled at him and then lifted one of its ''hands'' and grabbed at his head. "Haa" Before it could reach his head he plunged the dagger again. This time deep into its eye.


    The monster squealed but started to spasm but then after a while, it slumped down on the boy. The boy was spent but he knew that he needed to run as the others were behind him. He mustered all his power to roll the beast off him and then quickly crawled towards the door.


    The other beasts were outraged by their companion''s death so they howled at him as they pounced. But Little Stone managed to get to the doors, getting out and closing them before they caught up. As the doors needed to be pulled from the inside to be opened the beasts seemed to didn''t know how to open them. They didn''t have the intellect for that.


    But that would just hinder them for mere seconds. Little Stone didn''t wait for them and started to limp his way to his cottage. His shoulder was completely ripped and it felt as if his entire ribcage cracked from the weight of the beast. It would be a miracle for an adult to survive something like that. And impossible for a child of his age. Boy didn''t think about it as he didn''t have the time or capacity for that. His mind was in total chaos but he knew he couldn''t stay here. So he quickly went to his destination while trying to be as stealthy as he could.


    What he didn''t take into consideration was that his blood would reveal his position under normal circumstances.


    Fortunately or unfortunately there was so much carnage everywhere around that his smell just merged with his surroundings.


    But... While his blood didn''t smell different from normal blood to normal beings it was still special. Full of vitality. Something irresistible for most creatures...

 6 – Eaten Alive

    After a while when Little Stone was really sure there was no monster around his tense nerves eased and the adrenaline faded away as his body weakly to the ground.


    *Bleeegh*


    This time he couldn''t hold back as the intense urge to vomit finally won over. His gastric fluids poured on the ground as he kneeled with his upper body leaning towards the ground supported by his hands. He stayed in the same position for a while heavily breathing as he felt weakened. From his mouth dripped saliva mixed with vomit and tears streamed from his eyes as he thought about what happened.


    ''Why...'' the entire situation was ridiculous. Some monsters without any reason came to this barren village and started to slaughter them. They didn''t seem to be hungry. Just full of malice and baleful pleasure.


    ''They killed grandma. Those monsters...'' The more the boy thought about it the more sad and angry he was. But when he heard another howling from the distance he immediately tried to stand up. He needs to meet up with Evan and Olen as soon as possible.


    After taking a deep breath Little Stone stood straight as he slowly started to go. This time he breathed much better as the pain faded a little. His shoulder which bleeded before already closed up. But Little Stone didn''t notice as he was worried for his brothers.


    On the way, he passed the place where they yesterday buried their parents. But he was mortified when he saw that there was just a big empty hole. There were just bits of blood-soaked dirt...


    He felt numb. All of it was just too much for him so his mind shut off. On the way to his house, he saw yet much more atrocities that he won''t be able to ever forget. The village ruins, some of which were on fire, accompanied him during his race towards his home. The fire which was under the moonshine of the crimson full moon seemed to turn completely blood red making the scene look even more disturbing. Since the weather was still very bad this spring, many villagers who had chimneys made fires to warm up their houses a little before going to sleep.


    But when ''they'' destroyed those houses some of the sparks caused the big fire.


    Everything was on fire, the screams of the villagers who were eaten alive while their children cried more and more hysterically echoed throughout the village. The creatures with their creepy smile were everywhere eating everything that moved. The boy''s eyes dimmed. Before he thought about how to survive but now he didn''t see any hope. No one in the village could fight off those monsters...


    When he finally got to the edge of the village he was in tears again. Everything was destroyed. The stable was in ruins and empty. The livestock likely devoured. The same goes for the cottage and his brothers...


    Little Stone looked around and when he didn''t see anyone he finally came to his devastated home and tried to get in. The place was destroyed but not completely collapsed. There was still little hope even if small. He would call out to his brothers but he feared that would attract those monsters. So he could only try to quietly whisper their names. "Brother. Brother Evan. Olen!" He dragged all the rubble away despite his injuries. His nails tore off when he did that but he already didn''t feel that. The only thing on his mind was to drag all of this rubble.


    *Cough cough*


    "Stone? Is that you... ?"


    When he heard the familiar voice he finally woke up from his stupor and felt the joy swell in his heart.


    "Yeah, it is me, brother! Are you alright ?" asked hurriedly Little Stone.


    "No. It hurts. I think... I think my entire arm is pierced by the wood. I can''t move. Ugh... Olen is there probably unconscious..." Evan sighed as he felt the pain in his right arm. " Listen, little brother. You need to run. You won''t be able to get us out of here. Go hide" Evan said as he felt tears in his eyes. He was the oldest brother but still just a 15-year-old boy. He feared the death as everyone else.


    "NO! I won''t leave you guys. Just give me a moment and I will get you out of this.."


    "Stupid! We are here much safer than you outside! That is the only reason why are we still alive despite them destroying the house. Just go and hide. Everything will be-"


    *Crunch* *Hooowl*


    At the opposite side of the cottage stood straight one of the monsters. But this one was different. It was bigger much bigger. It was minimally four times taller than the original cottage. The bony protrudes were much longer and covered most of its body. On its head the two biggest protrusions had many branches similar to the antlers of the deer making it seem even bigger. But what was the scariest was its face. It was much more expressive as it smiled at ''Little Stone''. Its teeth were growing out of its mouth even when it had closed its maw and its eyes full of mirth looked deeply into the boy who lay on the ground.


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    One of its ''hands'' leaned on the rubble as it looked at the boy. The entire construction was only half destroyed before collapsed.


    "Aaaahh"


    Olen whose legs were just crushed woke up as he started to yell in pain.


    Evan who could not see what was happening and got his hand pierced even deeper started panicking. Then he turned towards his youngest brother and yelled...


    "Run Little Stone! "


    Unfortunately this time he didn''t have the chance to escape. The creature creepily smiled as it agilely stretched the second ''hand'' and grabbed at the Little Stone before he could do anything. It took him into its hand and held him.


    Unfortunately, it couldn''t control its strength and broke a lot of the boy''s bones. The boy was dying...


    ''I don''t want it to end like this. Why..Why.. Why..'' the boy cried cursing this cruel world as he closed his eyes expecting death.


    But no death came to him. When he opened his eyes he saw the monster looking at him with pleasure in its eyes. Then it slowly grabbed at the rubble and uncovered the two bodies that were under.


    "N-no no! Please no!" the boy tried to yell but only a small voice came out of him.


    "Olen!"


    The monster slowly took Olen who was again unconscious from the excessive pain in his legs. It took him to its opened maw and then... It swallowed him whole.


    "Nooo" Little Stone didn''t have any tears after today already and just wailed hoarsely.


    The monster seeing him like that cackled sounding like a devil from the deepest hell as it enjoyed the despair on the boy''s face. It then went for Evan who still couldn''t move.


    "You monster! You disgusting creature from the hell! Give me back my brother! Yo-" as Evan who seemed to be completely lost yelled at the monster who slowly took him to his mouth and... tore off his upper torso. Then it chewed it with ravish as its mouth curled up into its disgusting smile. After a while, it swallowed and tossed the rest of the body inside its mouth.


    Little Stone who was witness to it all already was dead inside. He lost everything and he couldn''t do anything. Everything hurt and he just wanted the relief and his deserved rest.


    The monster after all of that finally laid its eyes on the boy it was holding. Its blood-red eyes looked at him as if looking into his soul. Then it little by little brought him near its opened maw. Unfortunately, when it seemed that the monster would chew his head off and end his suffering it chose to take him entirely into its mouth not wanting to waste even a drop of his delicate blood.


    Little Stone who lay in its mouth soaked with the saliva of the beast only awaited his death. The smell so disgusting wafting out of its mouth covered his entire being as its tongue flipped him in its jaw.


    Then it happened. The flesh around him tightened as the tide-like saliva brought him into the hole made of flesh. As he slid through the gullet the boy felt extreme heat that surrounded him and after initial squeezing, he got into free fall...


    The place he got to was worse than the hell. He fell into the gastric liquid that immediately destroyed all of his remnant-torn clothes together with his hair and started to dissolve. His skin started to get itchy and the small amount he got into his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth started to slowly destroy all of his soft tissue in those areas. It hurt. It hurt him so much but not as much as the sight before him.


    Mountains of corpses slowly breaking up into juice he floated in got into his sight. Among them, there were all kinds of wildlife creatures, livestock from the village, and villagers themselves. And of course his brothers. He saw the chewed-up upper body of Even slowly sinking in still with opened eyes.


    On the other hand, he didn''t see Olen at first but instead heard him. He was swallowed like him so he was still alive whimpering in pain and despair.


    *Sniff*


    "Ugh... I want to go home. I don''t like it. I don''t like it here... I want to see mom and dad. And Evan and Stonn...."


    Olen was muttering himself but it seemed as if the gastric juice got to his mouth slowly corroding his vocal cords. His body which lost the energy to swim started also slowly sink, his body already half dissolved.


    When Little Stone saw his brothers in this state he started to cry again despite his lack of tears. Instead, he started to cry tears of blood. His eyes started to lose sight, he already lost his hearing and felt something else in his ear dissolving making him disoriented and unable to know where he was up and down, making him drown.


    But Little Stone didn''t sense only the despair this time. NO. He felt rage bubbling inside him. As he was sinking in that hellhole his body dissolving he the hate. Hate towards the monsters that invaded the village. Towards the monsters that killed the grandma and hurt him. Towards the monster that ate his brothers and himself. And... towards the so-called fate or any other higher power that made him end like this.


    Little Stone couldn''t think about anything else. The only thing he still felt was pain and his wrath which seemed eternal as the end didn''t seem to come. He couldn''t see, hear, or even breathe. His inner ear dissolved making him lose any resemblance of balance he had.


    He could only slowly lift his hand. The only part of his body which can still move. He grabbed towards the sky in hate, disgust, and deep wrath. He wanted to live. He wanted to survive. HE WANTED REVENGE.


    As he thought this his hand whose bones were already visible started to heal rapidly as if responding to his emotions. He still didn''t know but the gift he was born with was much stronger than his granny or anyone other thought. He won''t die so simply.


    And he definitively won''t forget. Ever.


    End Of The Prologue

 7 – 3 Years Later

    First Volume - Northern Tribes


    The wind blew through the crowns of trees blanketed in the heavy snow, while all sorts of birds started to sing as the sun was rising from the horizon. Wild animals were living their life as they frolicked in the forest covered in snow and frost or were either hibernating or looking for food which was sparse in those icy lands.


    Time passed, the sun rose and animals hiding and sleeping during the night finally chose to go out to get food.


    Inside a forest, there was one big lake surrounded by small grassy land where many animals of different races come across each other as they come here for the water to drink.


    The same routine was chosen by a pack of the deers and does that came to the lake to drink the water too. As the lake was frozen every morning they stomped on the ice with their hooves to crack it. Then they finally could drink the fresh and cold water.


    Many smaller rodents and birds exploited this as they came later to drink after the deer left. But this time, unfortunately, they will never have the chance to.


    *CRACK*


    The noise of the fallen trees beyond the lake plane was loud and scared most of the animals. The noise was quickly closing in on the place of the lake as weird howling sounded out. The herd of deer started to run too but it was too late as the uprooted tree was hurled at them. The tree crashed into them and most of them got crushed. Finally, the shadows hidden behind the trees came out.


    They were kind of wolves with bony protrusions on their body and distinct humanoid-like bodies. When they saw those dead animals they smiled creepily and went to them and started to feast on them. Some of them choose to go to the lake to drink. For that, they swung their claws and big holes opened up in the ice as the water splashed everywhere. Then they plunged their head into those holes to drink in big gulps.


    That was especially true for one of the biggest ones in the group. He drank so much that the water in the lake visibly decreased. He looked majestic albeit in a sinister way. Unfortunately, lately, it was feeling the deep feeling of weakness from the inside of it. Its whimpers have been heard many times during the latest years.


    It seemed that it ate something bad that it couldn''t digest and now it was inside of its body. In the beginning, it didn''t notice it but as more and more time passed it started to feel something was amiss. It felt irritated and weak after all that time of suffering. When its discomfort reached its peak it tried to puke it out to get rid of it.


    Unfortunately, it got stuck. It seemed that it was bigger than the gullet of the being. But then how did it swallow it?


    As time passed it felt more and more weak and had to eat more food that it seemed to lack despite eating the same amount. It tried to eat all kinds of wild herbs with all kinds of uses to ease pain but it only treated the symptoms and not the root cause. It started to eat dirt and rocks since it instinctively felt that eating it could help it to solve its digestive problem but unfortunately unsuccessfully.


    In the end, the monster couldn''t do anything to solve it so it could only live with it. Initially one of the strongest in the group its power started to decline and its position in the pack was endangered but despite all this, it was still doing well. Because of its gigantic height and weight and those majestic deer-like antlers on its head, it could defend itself despite its weakness.


    But lately, the pain intensified as if something sharp was piercing it from the inside and it was harder to keep up with its pack. Even now it is extremely tiring as the pain is irregular and could happen anytime draining it mentally.


    After a long time, the monster finally satisfied its thirst and went to the empty place where the grass grew and lay down. It tried to find the most comfortable position and then finally closed its eyes to rest before the pack set off again...


    Several hours later.


    *Swoosh*


    Piercing noises of air being cut sounded out in the forest which was directed at the sleeping beast. Then its ears moved little and its crimson eyes opened instantly. Unfortunately, it was too late and the sources of sound already got too close and hit it right after.


    *Hoowl*


    Beast was enraged. In its fur-covered skin were embedded tens of the crude arrows made of the wood or bones.


    One of them hits its eye immediately loses its luster and starts to fill with blood. When it looked around itself it saw that on the plane around the lake and the trees were those small and bald creatures wearing furs of different species holding things in their hands. The creature''s face immediately got twisted. It was a group of approximately four dozen humans, beings that the creature loathed and feared the most. Unfortunately, it was outmatched as its kins were gone. It looked like it slept while all of them already left. It was probably because of its weakness making its sleep deeper than usual.


    The creature squinted its one eye at those humans and scrutinized them with wariness. After a while, it relaxed as the creepy smile it had when it hunted prey showed up. Those humans, albeit better than the weakest of them that it ate, are not as intimidating as the ones in the South. They were so thin that even their bones were visible. The things in their hands didn''t have the luster as the ones in the south had. The aura they emitted was inferior too. They looked like lesser beings compared to them.


    Albeit that was the case the creature was still wary as it felt distinct danger. Humans on the other hand watched it too with rapt attention and mad passion. Then the one with the cleanest fur and bird feather crown on his head yelled at his comrades.


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    "The devil has come to our lands! We need to eradicate it before it infests the soil of our ancestors! Those evil creatures that don''t believe in our savior and don''t deserve his mercy, let them be our new sacrifice to get the goodwill of our lord!"


    "Yeaaah let''s kill it!"


    "Let''s sacrifice it, chief!"


    "Hahahahah"


    All of those humans started to yell and shout their war cries as they looked at the beast. They lifted their weapons which were mainly made from wood, stones, or bones, and started to run toward it.


    The chief who ended his speech took out his two weapons respectively the bone spear from the unknown creature and the jagged knife that was one of the few iron weapons in their entire clan. He shouted out his war cry too as he went towards the being.


    There were no tactics in their attack, only violence. Those who attacked with long-range attacks attacked first and then close combatants swarmed the beast. They attacked like mad dogs and didn''t care about the safety of their comrades or even themselves.


    When the beast saw those insignificant beings attack it instead of cowering it grew furious. But then it smirked as does always and waited as they got closer. It bent its hind legs a little and tensed its muscles while watching them. It got hit several times by arrows, javelins, and rocks but it withstood it and patiently waited. Then...


    *Swish*


    It pounced at them and swung its front paws diagonally into a bloody cross before it. The result was the mangled flesh of a minimum dozen of the aborigines of this forest. Some were split in half while others were in several pieces. Very few who got hit by the creature survived.


    The one aborigine whose intestines hung down its stomach lay on the snowy land as the creature''s gaze landed on it. It then crouched, opened its maw, and swallowed the man whole. Then it took the mangled flesh of the other aborigines in its hand and started chewing at it while creepily smirking at the remaining ones.


    Fortunately or unfortunately those aborigines were not intimidated as they attacked again. This time the chief took the creature head-on as others started to circumvent it to attack from the sides and behind. On the other hand, archers could start to attack again as there were gaps between the aborigines after many deaths.


    They were furious that the beast actually dared to swallow and taint several of them despite that their bodies should without exception belong to their lord the saviour!


    "You will pay, beast." the chief growled as the beast pounced at him and swung one of its arms. Chief was quick in response as he hurled his spear and leaped towards the side.


    Despite the aborigines'' seemingly sickly bodies, their strength was abnormal. The creature ran right into the spear that embedded itself deeply in its stomach. It whimpered but before it could recover something flashed from its side and it felt extreme pain from its right arm.


    *Splash*


    When it turned around it saw that some of its fingers were gone while the wound extended towards its entire forearm. The culprit behind it was obviously the chief of the group with his jagged dagger. Unfortunately for the creature, it couldn''t have its revenge as attacks from others began to take a toll on its body. If it was in its peak state it wouldn''t be any problem. But now when it was at its lowest its reflexes and strength were weak and it was helpless.


    The monster took the shaft of the spear and took it out of its stomach as it hurled it somewhere to the lake turned around and ran towards the densest place of aborigines. Before most of them could react it attacked them again and managed to swallow several of them before it ran away.


    "NO! We can''t let it run away! This abominable monster took what property of our lord! We must retrieve their bodies and let them sacrifice!" When the chief yelled only a few went after it. More than two dozen of them were dead while some of them missed their limbs or had most of their bones broken.


    When it really seemed that the monster would run away the aborigines heard the loud whimper of the beast as it lost balance and fell to the ground its inertia making its fall drastic as it crashed into the trees in front of it completely demolishing them. A few of the branches and big splinters penetrated its fur little and it got wounded even more albeit superficially.


    The monster once again felt the prickling pain in its stomach and at this time it seemed fatal. Before the monster could properly stand up the aborigines saw the opportunity and didn''t miss it. They lunged at it and started to hurl one attack after another on the deplorable beast that couldn''t muster any strength to defend itself. Each attack dug deep into the beast''s flesh covering its body with horrible wounds. The monster roared in pain but could not do anything as the aborigines attacked with ferocity.


    When it finally lay down helplessly on the ground only weakly breathing the chief slowly came to its head and profoundly looked into its eye with mad passion declaring:


    "Let your body be enough to satisfy our lord and get his forgiveness as that is the only thing you are worthy of." Then he stabbed towards the unwilling eye bringing the dagger as deep as it could into its skull. When the hilt hit the fur he stopped and slowly took the dagger out.


    The beast was dead.


    Aborigines started to cheer as they lifted their weapons above their head and started to yell and praise their lord.


    "My lord brought us the victory."


    "With this sacrifice, our newborn children will be healthy minimally for three winters ha ha ha."


    "Our lord is so generous.."


    As they celebrated their chief coughed and started to tell in a loud voice.


    "Before we take this beast to our village we must free our brothers from this devil''s mouth lest they get tainted too much! We cannot let that allow us as we must present them to our lord! The same is true for our dead comrades that lie on the ground! Go retrieve as many of them as you can! The more our lord gets the more happy he will be and the more we will be happy!"


    "Yeaah" others cheered as they started to work. Some went to take baskets and started to take the mangled flesh of their comrades from the ground while others started to flip the creature on its back to reveal its belly. The creatures weighed many tons but those seemingly underfed aborigines managed to move it after a while. They were much stronger than they looked.


    Chief watched them until they completely flipped it. After they were done he came closer to it and patted its belly. Then he violently stabbed his jagged dagger into its innards. He put pressure on it so it was deep enough and started to cut horizontally to make the hole bigger. As the knife was jagged the flesh was sawed easily and in no time the monster''s innards were seen. Other aborigines opened up the bloody wound and the chief took from one of them a wooden spear which he then stabbed into the stomach of the beast. After that, he immediately retreated.


    It was as if dam broked. The spear was immediately corroded under the gastric juice that flowed and the small hole in the stomach started to flush out more and more gastric juice. It started to corrode the other innards of the monster yet the aborigines were impassive.


    When the flow finally stopped their chief took his dagger again and this time he made a much bigger hole. This time he didn''t manage to get out safely and got burned a little on his feet and arms but he withstood it with grimace and stepped aside.


    Aborigines watched with expressions that told they were not doing this for the first time and watched the contents of the monster''s stomach. From the stomach started to flow all kinds of bones and corpses which didn''t melt yet including their comrades. But what did they not expect was...


    That one of the ''corpses'' was still moving.

 8 – Demonic Child

    As the content of the stomach completely spilled out on the ground they saw flesh and corpses of their comrades. When they wanted to celebrate their successful endeavor they noticed something else.


    It was another humanoid corpse that was much smaller than a normal human. It was half melted but it didn''t rot so it seemed that it was not in the stomach for so long...


    "What is this creature? Some kind of dwarf? Maybe that so-called halflin- Huh?! It moved!" as the chief observed the ''corpses'' he saw that it started to convulse. When he retreated together with his scared clan members who thought it was some undead creature he saw the creature having a heavy coughing fit. Immediately after it started to vomit ''water'' from its lungs as saliva, blood, and vomit came out of it.


    What was the most bizarre though was that the skin and muscles, which were melted in most parts of its body, that made some bones visible, started to visibly heal. It was a slow but gradual transformation where fiber after fiber of each muscle grew on the mutilated body and on them started to grow the skin now completely pale as that of a newborn. Slowly but surely body of a human child boy appeared before their eyes. It seemed slightly muscular yet looked even more underfed than the aborigines before it and looked to be in its teens.


    When he finally regenerated, his bald head, which didn''t have even strand of a hair, started to sprout like weed after rain. The silky deep dark hair revealed itself after a few minutes falling to the buttocks of the boy.


    "What is this demonic child ?! This is blasphemy..." muttered the chief while looking at the boy.


    When the boy heard some voices for the first time in a long while he looked into its direction. But he still didn''t see anything. On the other hand, aborigines saw his empty eye pockets as if looking deep into their souls. Little by little they became bloodied as they got filled with blood and some liquid slowly forming the shape of the eyeballs.


    After another few seconds, those liquids solidified, and eyes with bloody pupils similar to the monster they just killed showed up looking deeply at the aborigines. There was no fear in them nor anger or pain. There was no visible emotion beyond the gaze when he looked around himself. Unfortunately, before he could enjoy his newfound freedom...


    "Our lord guided us to kill the monster that procreated this devil''s spawn. We must dispose of this atrocity." said calmly chief of the clan and then hurled the spear at the human boy.


    The spear pierced the boy right through the chest before he could react. Aborigines didn''t expect this anticlimactic ending. The boy was impaled on the body of now dead monster and could not do anything as he still was weakened. On the other hand, while he was impaled he wasn''t dying any soon time too.


    "What kind of demon is this ?" aborigines were horrified. He wasn''t dying but instead writhed himself while being impaled.


    "Don''t give in to the fear comrades! It is just the temptation of the devil! If we can''t kill it then we will capture it and do life sacrificial ritual for our lord!" shouted the chief with conviction as he came closer to the wriggling boy as he slashed at his tendons in the legs and arms to impede his movements.


    "Aahh" this time boy screamed in pain. It didn''t pass out as it had big pain tolerance but ever since it emerged from the monster''s stomach it was bewildered, disoriented, and didn''t have any chance to form any kind of formulated thoughts before being incapitated.


    Unfortunately for the chief, the limbs started to slowly regenerate so he didn''t have any other choice than tying the devil''s spawn with the rope they brought with themselves. He didn''t want to touch him as he feared that it would somehow infect him with its evilness. The only reason he was willing to touch it and bind it was because of their Grand Shaman''s blessing.


    When he was done binding the devil''s spawn to the thick branch they took from the forest he tried to knock off the boy but it seemed impossible as the boy''s grit was really that of the devil. Chief feared to try anything else lest the devil would do something to him so they set off immediately only taking their dead comrade''s bodies and letting the big monster off as it would be too hard to move. Especially when they had much more important sacrifice.


    Two of the aborigines took in their hands one of the ends of the branch put it on their shoulders and carried the boy who was bound to it together with others disappeared in the thick forest leaving behind themselves only carnage and the bodies of several unlucky animals and the body of the monster who was the cause of this entire event...


    Stone was confused. Everything happened too quickly for him to process.


    ''What is happening? I think... Did I see light? Did I get out? But why did the pain not stop...'' the Stone who was the entire time impassive confused. His mind was completely foggy after living more than 3 years in that hellhole.


    When he finally saw those aborigines he felt little joy for seeing living humans for the first time in a very long time. He heard them yelling something but didn''t understand. For a while, he wasn''t sure if he just forgot his mother language or if it was a different one.


    Unfortunately, before he realized that those aborigines were hostile it was too late. He was pierced and so shocked he couldn''t even feel pain for the moment. Now bound to some big branch that aborigines held they carried him to the unknown place of those humans which were so much similar to him. What was worth noting though was that their skin was much rudder than normal humans despite being in this snowy land. They were much skinier as if they didn''t eat for weeks and their tools and weapons were obsolete even in the village boy lived in.


    ''Ugh...'' headache came to him when remembering what happened to his village and the anger that dissipated after years of clogged mind started to reignite once again.


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    The wounds that were inflicted by the biggest guy which seemed to be the leader started to heal even faster as the boy felt the anger while he looked around. They carried him through the pine tree''s forest during the twilight as the sun slowly fell down behind the horizon. When he saw the happy people who he thought as some backwater aborigines he felt anger and sadness even bigger than before.


    ''Why is life so unfair?! What did I do to them to deserve this?! I hate this!'' as he thought so he started to wriggle once more.


    Unfortunately, before he could do anything he was slashed by the biggest guy in the chest. He did so with considerable distance where only the tip of the dagger slashed him but it was enough to make a long and jagged wound. It hurt so bad that a few tears threatened to fall from his eyes. Although he got very good pain resistance after years of suffering, this was a pain so different from the one he felt before that he couldn''t control himself.


    Thankfully his willpower made him swallow another scream as he was determined to get away from them. The pain completely woke him up from his groggy state and he realized in what condition he was.


    He was surrounded by dozens of armed people who looked menacing despite their skinny stature. They just carried him through some well-trodden path deep in the dense forest. It seemed that this path was used often as they navigated through it as if the absence of light didn''t bother them.


    It looked like he needed to be quick and use the element of surprise if he wanted to get out of there. He didn''t know where they wanted to take him but knew it would not be anything good for him. He felt anger towards them as the hostility for them grew in his heart.


    Stone''s mindset blinded by anger was completely different now as he wanted revenge against anything that hurt him. The monster that ate him and his brothers unfortunately died at the hands of these brutes so he couldn''t do anything to it. He felt relief but also frustration from this. The only solace was that it was probably his doing that the monster died as he was the one who used the sharp edges of the decomposed bones to pierce the monster''s stomach from the inside. It was mainly to get out until he realized he couldn''t pierce it completely. Then he just pierced it so the monster felt at least a fraction of his pain.


    This endeavor started a few months ago when Stone finally found the strength to do something else than hold onto something or try to eat some of the corpses to not die out of hunger and thirst. Despite being disgusted and saddened by the fact he needs to eat raw rotten meat he does it anyway albeit with difficulty. When he first realized that he wouldn''t die from digestion some months already passed after the incident and his will to survive intensified so he did whatever it took to live. After some time he felt little difference. His body which was melted and regenerated in cycle felt much stronger than before. The process even accelerated when the monster ate all kinds of plants that then melted in the acidic juice. Stone felt like it was similar to the ''herbal bath'' the granny Meddie talked about once albeit much more painful and horrifying. At this point, the boy realized the ''real'' power of his gift. As long as he survives he would one day get out. It was painful and it was tiring but he persisted.


    And it paid off when the monster finally breathed its last breath today. In the end, he survived this nightmare. He was permanently scarred on his soul but he was alive. And Stone won''t let this opportunity pass despite being mentally tired after all of his experiences and the endless regeneration.


    As such Stone threw side eye at his hands which were tied with the crude yet effective rope which was thick as two thumbs beside each other. He thought that if he tried he would be able to break the rope with his newfound strength but it would probably take a considerable part of the time. Considering he would use the raw power the aborigines would find out soon after thwarting his attempt.


    So instead he looked at his fingers. Respectively his nails. His nails same as the hair were growing much faster than that of the average person. Back then it was just a bother but it was essential for his survival during those three years. Thanks to his nails that grew more and more hard he got to stick them in the other contents of the stomach to keep himself afloat. Every time he felt he couldn''t hold on he would try to get out of the acid even if for just a moment and when he needed to eat he used mostly his nails to slice the meat. The human''s nails are usually curved so they are not very sharp but with all the whetting with hard objects and biting those nails into the right form Stone did manage to turn them into lethal weapons. Fortunately while now they are not that long their sharp tip was still there as he made sure of it.


    As long as he curls his fingers right, and grows consciously the nails a little then he will be able to break the rope without anyone noticing. During the years he noticed that that he can influence his growth of hair and nails little as he pleases so he is confident he can do it. And as it can be seen with his wrath influencing the speed of his recovery Stone believes he would be able to control the entire power of his gift in the future.


    During the Stone''s contemplation, the Aborigines carried him deep into the forest. Before there were no signs of human activity as they were far from their clan but now he could see more and more signs of their doings along the way. He saw some stakes on which were stabbed skulls... Some were those of animals like deer, boars, and bears but some were the same as those of humans.


    When Stone saw this he was disgusted. Those guys were really nasty! He was even more in a hurry when he saw all kinds of corpses hanging on the trees as they took him towards the village which he could already see in the distance. He knew he didn''t have much time so he hurried as he concentrated on his nails.


    Those started to slowly grow until they reached the right length. Stone cheered in his mind as he sawed the rope while being on guard. Unfortunately, while this method was quite inconspicuous it took much longer than he expected. When he sawed the rope enough to keep it together but easily tore when needed he was already at the gates of the ominous village. So Stone had to wait to get the opportunity to get away while looking around vigilantly.


    The aborigines who were at the crude wooden wall which was more appropriate to say fense started yelling something in their language and opened the gate. They slowly entered the village as many Aborigines were around jumping and cheering. The biggest guy who Stone thought was their leader started to point at Stone and was saying something. Other aborigines started to be even more loud and some started to throw things at him while others sprinted god knows where. After a while aborigines moved out of their way and the party went towards the direction leading deeper into the village. The sun already set and the dark permeated most of the forest but this village was full of light.


    Everywhere were lit fires while the warm winds brought with them the rotten smell of dead bodies. Stone was already used to it but the disparity between the fresh air that he was able to get after so long and this stale, rancid smell made his stomach churn.


    Aborigines didn''t waste time as they went to the center of the village where there was a big village square. Only two cottages were surrounding it while one looked much better than the other. Right in the middle of the square was some kind of monolith surrounded by three long totems that had skulls on them. Under it was a very dirty and bloodied altar platform...

 9 – Sacrifice

    When Stone saw this he knew it was bad. VERY bad. Just as he thought about what to do he saw the biggest guy with the jagged dagger going into the more luxurious cottage while looking submissive without his previous majesty. It looks like those Aborigines won''t waste any time resting. That was very bad news for Stone. This was the only opportunity he got to escape so he chose to act.


    *Snap*


    He tore the rope which bound his body and sprung up into the action. He slashed the closest person in the face who then started to scream as he held his face with his hands, blood leaking from behind his fingers... The aborigines were surprised at the sudden attack and scared for some reason but they acted quickly, lifted their weapons, and attacked him.


    Stone unfortunately didn''t know how to fight and was still a small eleven-year-old boy so the only way to survive was to run away. As he jumped to the side avoiding the enemy attacks he got up and wanted to run...


    But he realized he couldn''t! His legs were wobbly and he felt so unnatural when trying to walk let alone run. But when you think about it it was understandable. Even though it was gastric juice he was in all those years it was still a liquid. When he was in it for a prolonged time his muscles for used walking got weaker and his coordination got worse. And that was fatal for him.


    He fell onto the ground and tried to get up again. He pushed himself to the side to dodge the horde of fanatic Aborigines and got on his feet. But then he heard the sound from the luxurious cottage and looked in it''s direction. The leader of theirs was beside a bald aborigine who looked to be around his 60s. His half-naked body was covered by strange dark red paintings and the fur of the bear. He was also skinny but the muscles he had while small looked as strong as stones. He was holding a cane which had all kinds of bone ornaments on it making a noise every time he moved.


    Then the leader who was probably the chief of the village and its shaman slowly emerged out of the cottage''s door and looked at the Stone. Shaman looked at him for a moment and then said something. The aborigines around him yelled in response and lunged at the boy with renewed vigor.


    Stone defended fiercely but being outnumbered with his numerous disadvantages got him to his knees soon. The shaman started slowly chanting something as aborigines that didn''t guard Stone nodded and ran somewhere.


    Others slowly held Stone up with their spear and guided him to the stone altar. Stone was in a panic and didn''t know what to do.


    He was too tired to do anything at all. He wasn''t able to get rest for so long as every slip brought him closer to death in that nightmarish environment. Now he got outside but there was no respite for him. Stone helplessly slumped on the ground hearing aborigines screaming around as he breathed heavily, cold sweat covering his still naked body. In the end, the chief who watched it all took a new and stronger rope and threw it as a lasso at Stone.


    The darting rope flew and circled right around Stone''s neck like a noose. Then chief started to pull Stone towards the altar without any consideration.


    Even before this Stone couldn''t do anything but now when he couldn''t breathe he felt the same as when he was in the stomach of that creature. Completely powerless. Fortunately, he was already used to not breathing for longer periods as there was usually no air in the stomach of the monster making his survival a miracle. The only reason there was little air a few times a day was the monster''s irregular eating and drinking habits disrupting the coordination between breathing and swallowing. Same when the monster was in fights or ran for a longer time.


    Thus although Stone hated it he could endure the situation without much panic.


    When was Stone dragged to the altar he got bloodied and brushed on his entire body while mud and soil got into his wounds. But that was nothing for Stone. He lifted his head and started to look around. What he saw was the full square of aborigines loudly cheering and booing. The aborigines from before had on their shoulders one big stake while others brought firewood.


    The sacrifice may begin.


    Stone saw a shaman coming closer to him with some kind of basin full of crimson liquid. When he got a step away from him he submerged his hand into it. Then he started to chant some unintelligible words while splashing droplets of the liquid on Stone. After a while he stopped, submerged his hand again, and this time he used it as paint. He started to paint on the body of the boy all kinds of weird symbols while still chanting. Then he continued with his face. When the hand reached Stone''s cheek he felt a deep smell of metallic odor. The crimson liquid was obviously the blood.


    Shaman finally finished the painting on Stone and retreated together with the basin. Then aborigines who held the wooden stake came to the altar, raised it, took some large stones to support it, and surrounded it with firewood making a huge pyre. After that, all of them looked at the Stone creepily.


    Stone felt goosebumps and his premonition ringed. When the chief climbed the stake and took some long and big iron nails which he nailed at the top and started binding the other end of the rope which circled Stone''s neck. As he bound the boy he slowly pulled the rope until Stone was right under the stake. But he didn''t stop until Stone was suspended feet above the ground. He held onto the stake with his hands and legs with his remaining strength to keep breathing. Then chief jumped down from the several meters stake. Aborigines cheered once again. Several of them took meter-long rusty iron nails and came closer to him while one of them gave one to the chief too.


    Immediately after they turned to Stone and approached him. One of them screamed and thrust the nail at the helpless boy like a spear.


    "#@%!!" screamed the aborigine at Stone who didn''t understand anything as he felt a sharp pain on his thigh.


    Stone who had embedded a rustic nail inside of himself couldn''t hold himself anymore and let go of the stake.


    When he fell there was a muffled crack heard. It looked like his neck cracked a little which brought him even more pain as he slowly suffocated. With the rope holding him up in the air, aborigines had an easier time nailing the boy on the stake, which was their intention from the beginning.


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    "Ugh..." he could only groan as more Aborigines started to thrust at him while looking happy. After his fall chief approached him and with caution and disgust got hold of him close to the stake to help his clansmen pierce him deeper.


    Of course, they didn''t do this only for fun. Mostly. What was their main reason to pierce his limbs and body was to restrict him. When the tips of the nails pierced through the body they were then hammered with stone hammers lodged into the stake so that the boy couldn''t free himself. Later after the ritual, they will retrieve them in the ash.


    Instead of just tying him with ropes they used this cruel method to be sure he really won''t be able to get away. All of this excessive caution was because of the fear of the devil''s spawn who they thought Stone was. Stone''s inhuman regeneration was obvious to everyone present during the hunt and that is why the chief alerted their shaman to take care of it. In this, the normal rituals and sacrifices won''t be suitable as they thought that Stone simply wouldn''t die during them. And it is mostly the truth. Thus the execution by burning seemed to be the best choice. They believed that by burning him they would release the devil from within the body but the blood painting would restrict him.


    Next, they immobilized him with their Blood rods to make sure he wouldn''t be able to get out while trying to not touch him during the process. During the entire day, there were only three Aborigines who had bodily contact with him.


    The only one who dared to touch him was the chief who got a blessing through the Shaman of their Lord and the Shaman himself who was their Lord''s chosen one. Of course, only a shaman would be able to touch devils without any consideration as only he has endless adoration of their Lord. So the chief touched him only when absolutely necessary lest the devil will do some tricks. Nobody else could touch him as they didn''t want to be ''tainted''. They only held him through binds or their weapons. The only exception was the wounded aborigine whom Stone attacked.


    But aborigines wouldn''t let such stain inside their village and risk infestation of devils... That aborigine will reach their Lord together with the devil''s spawn. Shaman already drained his blood and used him to do the rites on Stone after all...


    Unfortunately for Stone, this wasn''t the end. Shaman who only watched the entire time moved again. He took the torch from the clansman and came towards the four corners surrounding the altar where lamps resided. He once again chanted as he lifted them one after another.


    When he finished he reached the middle where the altar with the pillar was. He looked deeply into the agonizing eyes of Stone and threw the torch towards the firewood under him this time in silence. He slowly took out some things from his pockets and started to throw them into the small fire he created. There were herbs, bones, some powders, and even insects.


    The fire grew little by little and started to encroach the stake where Stone was bound. Clansmen clamored and the shaman once again retreated. This time everyone was at the square done with their work. Now they just needed to watch. Some during this time chose to throw things at the devil''s spawn while yelling insults towards the boy while others just watched or prayed to their lord.


    Stone whose mind was already numbed started to feel pain in his legs as he saw only smoke around himself. Now even if he could breathe something it would be smoke and not even a bit of air. In a few seconds, the pain intensified in no time as the fire had grown to his thighs.


    Stone limply hung on the stake as the fire consumed his flesh while still not being able to breathe as the knot around his neck didn''t allow him to. He just lay there for some time feeling hopeless.


    He felt so despondent at that time that his mind almost broke. When he thought he was finally from the worst nightmare he only got into another. Before he was eaten alive and now he is being burned at the stake as some kind of sacrifice to the dubious god or gods. He felt so sad. He lost everything and yet still keeps losing. He already doesn''t remember how his family members looked or how granny''s voice sounded. He forgot memories of most of his life since his mind made him so to forget the sadness. But now... He felt the sadness again. And the wrath that came with it. Not the one he felt as they carried him to the village. But the one much more primal. The one that makes him crave the blood of all those backwater bastards who can only solve all their problems with mindless sacrifices! The one that made him want to kill to destroy despite never killing in his life. And so he screamed.


    Screamed so much, despite the knot around his neck made it almost impossible to make a noise, that the smoke around his swirled a little.


    Aborigines who saw this got scared a little but at this time shaman spoke for the first time instead of just chanting.


    "No worry, little lambs. This is normal. Now that the devi''s spawn got through the ritual, his expulsion to the Lord is imminent! Now let us watch as this evil writhes under the fires of heaven-"


    *Aaaarggh*


    Stone screamed once again. His muscles tightened and started to jerk. While the nails were crude they were embedded too deep inside and were lodged in the very solid stake. So if he wanted to free himself he needed to be more ruthless to himself.


    *Crack*


    As he wriggled he felt some bones cracking from the strenuous labor. Unfortunately, the nails were too hard to break and the flames got to his waist roasting him alive.


    Stone wanted to scream in pain but couldn''t. He jerked so much that he really looked as if he was possessed by the devil himself. He tried to free his left hand where the nail didn''t hit the bone and started tugging at it with his full force. When he saw his arm''s muscles torn a little he grimaced and jerked again. He did that until...


    *Riip*


    "Agh" a muffled scream sounded as Stone''s left arm which was second ago attached to the stake separated from it as it was almost torn off. He gritted his teeth as he angrily looked at the aborigines who were watching this with horror in their eyes. Unfortunately, they could not do anything as getting into the fire would be fatal for normal humans and they were too startled to run to get their bows and slingshots. But even with them, they would not be able to do anything...


    Stone used his free hand to free his neck first as he felt he would pass out otherwise. Thankfully now that the coarse rope''s fibers were degraded by the extreme heat, with Stone''s strength he managed to rip it off. Now that he could breathe a little he could muster more strength as he started to free his right hand. Unfortunately smoke from the fire made him just cough when he tried to breathe deeply.


    As aborigines watched this they wanted to do something but couldn''t. Chief watched this and came to the shaman to beseech him.


    "Grand Tamala! Please stop this blasphemy! If we let him be he will be able to escape! Our clansmen won''t be able to hold him, they are too tired for that after today''s hunt!"


    "All things happen due to reason. This is just another trial made by our Lord... The devil''s spawn is obviously not so easily subdued. So the only solution is.." A shaman also known as Grand Tamala lifted his hand with his cane and opened his mouth. But then...


    *Swish*


    *Swish*


    *Swish*


    Several arrows emerged from the darkness beyond the village and aimed at the aborigines. Several of them killed their target while some wounded others. Aborigines who were too occupied by the boy wriggling for his life were too late to respond to the ambush and were disoriented. The chief who saw this quickly covered the shaman as he looked at the arrows and then shouted at others.


    "Cover up! It''s an ambush from the Bakur tribe!"

 10 – Bakur Tribe

    Stone realized the uproar among the crazy clansmen as he looked around and saw that they were being ambushed. But he wasn''t too happy as he didn''t know who the other side was and if they would attack him or not. Anyway, there was a chance that stray arrows hit him too so he hurried.


    Unfortunately, his legs which had been submerged in the fire for some time already were completely charred black so much that it lessened even the pain a lot as his nerves got damaged. That would be very hard to regenerate. He would very much like to just pass out here but he already learned by life lesson that passing out from pain will lead only to more pain in the future so he gritted his teeth and continued in what he was doing.


    ........


    Meanwhile, the enemies stopped to fire the arrows and dashed from the forest towards the aborigines. They were men of huge stature and bodies full of muscles. Most of them wore only furs around their loins and had few war paintings on their exposed body parts. Some of them rode on the big Arctic wolves who came as quickly as ghosts and lunged immediately at the closest ignorant enemies.


    Moreover, most of them wielded metal weapons like axes, hammers, and maces, and only a minority of them wielded spears, sabers, and slingshots. Their advantage was obvious as they demolished the village and sowed chaos in the surroundings.


    Inhabitants of this village ran around like headless chickens running to get weapons as everything happened too quickly. That was until the chief didn''t rein them in as he threw several bone spears toward the closest enemy.


    Several hit but most of the enemies withstood it with their powerful constitution. Chief didn''t waste time-fighting and turned toward one of the men and commanded:


    "Red Hish, take a few men and cover Grand Shaman in retreat! Rest of us, take your weapons! We will fight off those Frozen dullards and show them the might of our Lord!"


    Others cheered and others hastily took their weapons and for the first time in this ambush clashed with the enemy in full force.


    Stone didn''t care about this as he finally freed his right hand. This took him too much time as the nail was pierced between his Elbow and Radius bones making it harder to get out. Instead of completely breaking his bones which could be even fatal in this chaotic situation he chooses to loosen the nail from the stake completely. It just took longer. The fire got dangerous as normal people would be already dead for a while.


    ''I can''t continue like this. I need to overthrow the stake.'' thought Stone who bit his lower lip. When he looked towards his torso and legs he realized that it would be too late by the time. Even for him. Who knows where was the real limit of his gift?


    Fortunately, the stake wasn''t attached to the altar as it was only raised and wedged between several very big rocks. So as long as he accumulates enough power he should be able to overthrow it.


    Stone took one of the nails he freed himself out of and wedged it between the stake on which he was crucified and the rock that supported it. When he did so and was sure it was firmly in place, he started to pull at the nail. He mustered all the power he could in his awkward position and pulled.


    Nothing. Stone breathed heavily as he was breathless. Unfortunately, the thing he breathed in was smoke. Stone coughed frantically as he could not do anything. In the first place most people who are sentenced to be burnt mostly pass out soon after the smoke is big enough as they breathe it in. Stone also felt the pain of suffocation but he knew that he could continue even without breathing for a while. He calmed down and continued to pull at the nail. This time steadily.


    The rock didn''t budge at the beginning but as time progressed it moved a little. And that was all Stone needed. When the rock finally moved, the stake that depended on it started to sway together with Stone. After a few seconds, the stake started to fall slowly as Stone tried to direct it a little so it wouldn''t fall with him underneath.


    *Thud*


    When the stake finally fell with a loud dull impact on the ground at the side of the pyre. Stone groaned as he hit his head on the impact and felt a severe headache. But that didn''t stop him from taking several deep sips of the fresh air. He also felt like he broke a bone or two but he didn''t care. The fact he could breathe air again and that his lower half didn''t burn anymore was more than enough to make him euphoric.


    Now he only needs to take those damn nails out of his body and he will be completely free!


    Unfortunately, all of the stress and exertion got to him. Ever since he got out of that monster, instead of deserving rest, he only got another fight for survival and a different kind of pain. Now that he escaped the immediate danger and didn''t see anyone come to him, his body betrayed him and he slowly passed out...


    "Damn it, damn it, damn it! You bastards knew we will have the sacrifice today, right you damn cowards! No wonder the light of the Lord doesn''t shine on you bitches!" spewed the chief in quick succession as he defended against one of the ambushers who seemed to be at least strong if not stronger than the chief of aborigines.


    "Ha ha, halt your stupid bullshit Triston. I don''t care about your lord or whatever that only takes from you and never gives. The fact that you look like a third of me speaks for itself, haha... Also, you call us cowards yet it was the tribes of your glorious lord who ambushed any other tribes. You are just stupid." laughed vigorously the warrior with auburn hair and beard. He was over two meters tall and fought with two axes with ease as he made fun of Triston the chief of the aborigines.


    Triston gritted his teeth as he hastily defended against all swings of the raging warrior who fought against him.


    "Shut up! Our great Lord gave us so much you can''t even imagine! Doesn''t the fact I can fight against you even if I can''t beat you?! This all doesn''t change anything, Derges. The sacrifice was already done. Our Lord won''t leave us after handing him the devil''s spawn we found! Even if our clan falls today there are still many more who will avenge us in the name of our great Lord!"


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    "Devil''s spawn ?!" exclaimed loudly Degres as he looked towards the stake. He squinted his eyes a little and saw a humanoid figure. But what was specular was that the figure didn''t let fate decide its fate. When he saw the stake fall he widened his eyes and then started to laugh hysterically.


    "This is what you call, sacrifice? A few seconds of not looking and the guy already escaped!" as he laughed he attacked Triston with even more fervor while Triston became bewildered as he heard the sound and Degres''s taunts.


    He wanted to look but unlike the axe warrior, he didn''t have the composure for that. Only after a while when Degres did a heavy diagonal swing did Triston find an opportunity to get away from him and look towards the altar. When he saw the place ruined, his face turned ugly. Then he suddenly screamed loudly.


    "Retreat! All men abandon the village! Burn it all down together with invaders! Don''t let them taste the fruits of victory!" He screamed so loudly that the sound was heard in every corner of the village. All aborigines who still fought looked towards the source and then started to systematically retreat. During the retreat, they had to take the brunt of the enemies pursuing them as they ran towards the darkness of the forest.


    "Attack, attack! Kill them before those fuckers escape into the forest!" yelled Degres as he threw one of his axes towards Triston. Triston who saw this evaded but only partially. The axe only scratched his arm but the wound was significant. Then Triston for the last time looked towards the altar and Degres with hate and immediately dived into the forest.


    Degres didn''t chase after him as he knew how slippery Triston and all his clan members could really be. Instead, he watched with interest the stake which was supposedly a devil''s spawn. But when he looked closely it disappointed and disgusted.


    He wasn''t disgusted at the boy crucified at the stake he had just seen. But at those fuckers who crucified him there. They talk about devils and whatnot but in the end, they want to sacrifice just a mere child.


    The child to speak of was beyond the saving. The entire body was pierced throughout with iron nails, his lower body part was burnt crisp and his head was severely injured as it looked as if the skull caved. The fact the boy still didn''t die and was able to stay awake for so long...


    ''Wait a minute...'' Degres realized something.''How come he is still alive?! As Degres looked at the boy who still breathed he widened his eyes once again.


    "Is this really devil''s spawn?" muttered the warrior as he watched the ordeal.


    Meanwhile, others finished their chase and came to their chief to report. Some of them had to go extinguish the fire the aborigines created else the entire forest would catch on fire. They were more considerable towards nature than those crazy bastards.


    "Chief! We managed to kill most of them but some escaped! Among them was their shaman Tantala too! Unfortunately, most of the loot got destroyed too so we didn''t get too much from this..." the tribe member reported dejectedly.


    "You guys did a good job. We didn''t come here to loot but just kill. Those guys and their so-called lord are more and more dangerous to other tribes lately so we must destroy them before they destroy us." sighed Degres. But then he turned around and said.


    "But while most loot got burned I found something more interesting," he said and pointed towards the stake on the ground. When others saw the boy''s devastated body they were horrified. But when they saw that the boy was still alive as he slowly breathed and that his body was slowly regenerating they were even more so.


    "What is that?! That is in no way a human right?" as the tribe members murmured to themselves they heard the clear voice of the elderly.


    "No, he is human. Human child to be exact. Small boy with a big gift. There is nothing more or nothing less." when they heard the voice they all turned towards the source and greeted respectfully.


    "Greetings, Great Shaman" all of the present warriors greeted the old man, who seemed to be the shaman of their tribe as they wondered why he got here.


    The old man was tall and walked straight despite his advanced age. His muscles didn''t deteriorate with time as they happen normally and while not as big as others they were sculpted to perfection and painted with the same paintings as Degres. He went nimbly towards the group as his bare feet felt the soil underneath and his common wooden cane didn''t even hit the ground.


    "At ease, I am not here for the pleasantries." said the old man who didn''t even look at them. He looked at the boy lying amidst the carnage nailed on stake and yet sleeping as if nothing happened. His eyes showed intrigue but also little pity. Nobody deserved to live through this at his age.


    "Grand Kaoran! What are you doing here? Shouldn''t you guard our encampment until we arrive ?" asked Degres in annoyance.


    "No need to get angry lil Res. The young ones are already tough and are ready to surpass your generation, hehe." the old man smiled in amusement. " Wind told me... There was something that happened in the forest. Something unprecedented. When I came to the place where the wind guided me I realized there was the lake where those guys from Hearas clan hunted the today''s sacrifice. Looks like this little one is the sacrifice. But there was something bigger. Something more dangerous than local fauna. I found killed wildlife crushed to death. I also have seen the place where the monster probably fought with Hearas clan members. But while the blood track says the monster died in that place... There was nobody. And now that I see the weird boy that doesn''t fit in the story I really want to know what happened." pointed the cane at the little boy.


    "Don''t tell me that this kid is the monster transformed into a human ?" asked Degres as he looked cautiously at the boy.


    "I already said that the boy is just a normal human. Do you really think that I wouldn''t recognize it at first glance? If it was that capable then it could kill us all as easily as breathing." sighed the shaman while slowly going towards the still-sleeping child. Then he crouched and scrutinized the boy. Then he looked at the wounds closely. He knew that before doing anything they needed to take down those nails. So he tried their tightness with his hand. As he was still quite strong the nail actually budged a little but he doesn''t have the strength to completely take them out.


    "Degres come to help me! I need those nails out to help him recover."


    "But what if there is chance, shouldn''t we then be more careful?!" said Degres exasperatedly yet he still came to help the old man.


    "He isn''t some monster. The boy was probably born with some kind of supernatural regeneration. It is nothing too rare since people like ''us'' were always born. By my deduction, the monster was also somewhat special and survived. After all, I wouldn''t be notified if it was a normal animal. On the other hand boy... I think that the truth will be much more ugly than our fantasies so let''s stop now. We need to help him." said Kaoran as he pulled at the nails together with Degres.


    Time passed as they took down the last nail and watched with amazement the steady regeneration of the boy.


    "Hmm, the regeneration doesn''t seem to be consistent. Before he regenerated more quickly," said Degres with confusion as he held his chin.


    "Obviously. There is a prize to pay as nothing in this world is for free. The gift gave him the ability to regenerate but that doesn''t mean it will heal him from nothing. There is an equivalent exchange in everything. Maybe only some beings above can think about breaking this law but us mere mortals can only abide by it." stated Kaoran who seemed to be a little forlorn after what he said. Then he took the boy into his hands and waited for others who tried to get some loot from the destroyed village. Once everyone reunited once again they vanquished all the fires in the village and vanished into the darkness of the night.

 11 – Grand Shaman Kaoran

    Birds flew over the frozen tundra and observed from above the plains which spread out the camp of one of the tribes living in those lands. It was in the middle of the day and the people in the camp were very busy. Except for one.


    "Ugh..." there was heard a sound of groaning from one of the tents in that big encampment. It was the biggest tent there with all kinds of decorations. It was made from several furs of rare animals and was filled with the smell of herbs.


    Inside it in the simple bed made of several furs piled on themselves laid a boy namely Stone who seemed to have the best sleep in his life. But now there was this uncomfortable feeling he felt in his sleep. Something was missing.


    It was something that hunted him for the last years without respite.


    It was the pain.


    Yes, he was so used to the pain that when he was finally free from it he felt it was unnatural. He was rolling all over the bed sweating as he groaned until he didn''t wake up.


    When he finally opened his eyes and saw the ''roof'' above his head and felt the bed under him he thought for a moment he was in his cottage where he, his brothers, and parents lived. Unfortunately, it was just an illusion.


    When he turned around he realized it wasn''t any cottage made from wood but a tent made of furs.


    There was all kind of occultist things around with herbs hung from above being dried. Bones of all kinds were scattered on small wooden tables and colorful feathers of birds were decorating everything inside.


    Suddenly he heard footsteps from the outside of the tent. Then the fur got uncovered and the daylight shined on the interior of the tent. It was immediately blocked by the outline of the man who just got in.


    "Oh? Are you finally awake? You slept over 9 days already." the voice of a very old man with a distinct accent was heard. As Stone looked at him he saw the man holding a wooden bowl. He was really tall and stood straight despite his age. His body is covered by all kinds of war paintings and his hair is covered by feathers. His face was wrinkled but the eyes shined brightly as they watched the boy who tried to sit from his lying position.


    "Where am I? Who are you, what am I doing here, and what happened ?" Stone who was confused suddenly asked several questions consecutively at the old man.


    "Easy, little buddy. Your body is still weak. Just lie down and let me explain. Hehe." said Kaoran, the shaman of the Bakur tribe who had taken care of the boy since the day they ambushed the Hearas clan.


    "Here let me feed you. This is the medicine soup I made. I was feeding you with it the entire time. You can''t eat normal food yet as you are too malnourished and would just barf it out." said Kaoran as he sat beside Stone and used the wooden spoon to scoop the soup. Then he directed it to the boy''s mouth.


    Stone looked at him hesitantly. He didn''t know if to trust this guy. But it is true that he didn''t have good food for years. He starved. Only firm willpower made him not pounce at the bowl right now. Moreover, even if the food was poisoned he would probably survive, right?


    As he convinced himself that everything was fine he opened his mouth and let the spoon inside his mouth.


    "Good boy. I know what you are probably thinking and you don''t need to fear since I don''t wish you harm. My name is Kaoran and I am a shaman of the Bakur tribe and you are in its camp in my tent right now. We don''t stay in the same place for too long as we are nomads and travel a lot. Right now though we are at the southern part of the Frozen Valus Tundra right at the border of it and the Wintercast Forest." said the old man as he patiently fed the boy.


    Stone who listened wore a confused expression as he never heard about those places. Kaoran who saw this smiled and explained.


    I knew you wouldn''t know. The wind says you are not local so I tried the luck with Vanaras language. And I was right." Kaoran showed his toothy grin despite some of them missing. " This isn''t Vanaras kingdom but the far North that they call Frost Barbarian Plains. I don''t know how did you get here but it must have been a long path, hehe...


    Shock. That was what Stone felt as he opened his mouth wide. He didn''t know what was happening all this time but how the heck did he get so far from his home?


    Well if it can be called a home... As Stone started to be gloomy from the thought, the old man asked a question while he gave him another spoonful of soup.


    "Boy, what is your name ?"


    " I... You can call me a Stone. That is what they called back then.." said Stone grimly.


    The old man pondered for a moment. "Stone? That isn''t really a name, right? I guess it is a nickname targeting your endurance, right haha? Well... You didn''t get the name or something? From what I know there are some poor regions where children don''t get the names until certain ages because of the children''s mortality or because of local superstitions. Is that it? Well, that is actually a good omen here in these lands. The names are potent and just getting any name is stupid and dangerous. Or at least that is what is believed here. In our tribe, you need some merit here to get yourself a potent name. The merit that comes with time. Most people here either use their childhood nicknames like you, their warrior nicknames they claim during fights, or names similar to their True names. Usually with its syllables in different order since the name can be used for curses. I am the latter even though I actually don''t care that much, heh."


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    "The names... Are potent? And now that I think about it what do you mean by winds whispering that I am not local ?" It would be an understatement to say Stone was just a little confused. His head was full of all kinds of theories and ideas as he looked intently at Kaoran who laid the empty bowl on the table next to them.


    "Oh well... I have a gift. A gift to hear the voices of the wind. It is no different from the gift you were born with.


    Just a different ability. That is all." smiled little the old man.


    When Stone heard that the man knew about his condition he grew wary as he crawled a little back while eying Kaoran with suspicion and a little distrust.


    "Don''t worry. I don''t judge or want to harm you or use you. Our tribe is not so foolish as those demented Haeras clansmen. Your gift is rare. But without your strong mind, you wouldn''t have survived by now probably. You were born as a natural warrior and maybe even something more noble. Our tribe would be only happy to develop your potential to its limit but does not need to exploit it. We are natural warriors as well and each man of ours can match three men of the Valaras kingdom!" said the old man with a hint of pride in his voice.


    When Stone heard this he visibly calmed down. Now that he finished the food, Kaoran stood up and took back the bowl from the table. As he slowly went towards the fur opening he said a few things.


    "Since you were unconscious nine days we stayed here for longer than expected but now we will need to leave. It is quite lucky for you to wake up now. There will be a snowstorm soon at this place and we need to move the sooner the better. I know you just woke up and are still disoriented and weakened but you need to choose if you will come with us or go your path. Going with us would be for the best for you as this place is really dangerous. Be it animals, weather, or even people. There is death at every corner. Even with your gift, it would be hard to live here without any survival skills. It would be a live of misery with your gift otherwise. On the other hand, going with us means you will be able to recover, get food and rest. But... We are the tribe of warriors. We live with weapons in our hands, we fight, we hunt and we die with weapons in our hands. Were you going with us means you start to live like us once you fully recover. Repay what you have with blood on your hands and train until you become a true warrior. That''s the way of the Bakurs"


    After all of this was said, Kaoran who spoke so passionately seemed to be younger by a few decades. When he finished he sighed and said the last thing.


    "We will set off by noon. You have a few hours to think about it so don''t choose recklessly. I will visit you again by then." then Kaoran left the tent.


    Stone who heard all of this just dumbly looked at the place where Kaoran left from. It took him several minutes to collect himself and start to think about his future.


    "My future.." sighed Stone as he thought about his wretched life. He lost everything. Everyone. He doesn''t have a place to return to and doesn''t have any goals in his life. He just... exists. Nothing else. But if there is something that binds him to this world it would be...


    ''Those bastards..'' thought the scowling Stone as he bit his finger unconsciously. He thought about all those Hearas aborigines who almost burned him alive. He didn''t do anything to them yet they hurt him. He wanted them to pay. Of course, his hatred towards them still pales in comparison with the wretched being that attacked his village but unfortunately, it should be already dead.


    ''Wait a minute.'' Suddenly Stone realized something. ''I don''t remember any other corpses of those monsters when those guys killed it. Does that mean that other monsters are still alive ?'' thought Stone. Even though that one was dead there were still many more. For example, those that killed Granny Meddie...


    Unfortunately, when he thought about those monsters he felt weak and shaking, his stomach churned as he felt the instinctive fear. It was the first time he really thought about that incident in depth and it felt horrible. He thought he would want to kill them and to take revenge just like on those aborigines but... He just felt small and weak. He feared those monsters. The incident had a severe adverse effect on him.


    ''But... I don''t want to be so weak. So much that everyone could harm me.'' When Stone about it that way while he still didn''t have any life goal he did have something for now. Goal. A goal was to get stronger... Even without thinking about those monsters and aborigines if he wanted to live a worthwhile life ever again he needed power. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be able to live like a normal person ever again. Not when he knows the cruelty of this world.


    He won''t think about revenge or something like that. He isn''t prepared for that. Physically or mentally. So for now it is the future he will look at. He won''t look behind as the pain and fear will pull him down into hell once again and will look only forward until he is fully prepared to face it.


    Stone clenched his fists, resolve visible in his eyes. Now that he had a goal albeit one that is too abstract he can at least choose from the two choices Kaoran gave him. He slowly tried to get up. His body was weakened despite being healthy thanks to his gift so it was strenuous. There wasn''t anything to steady himself with as beside him was only a low table so he needed to get up himself. Now, that he wasn''t filled with adrenalin just like when he tried to escape those aborigines, it was much harder. After all, he didn''t stand properly for three years. Thankfully he still used his legs for other purposes inside but some muscles still got weakened and he wasn''t used to using them.


    When he finally stood straight his legs wobbled a little but he stood firm. His muscles were still miniscule but the nine days when he slept allowed him to recover at least a little so he could at least walk albeit unsteadily. The finger that bled already healed and he was now ready to go outside. He didn''t want to wait for Kaoran as he didn''t want to rest.


    Stone strode step by step in a very slow fashion as he got before the furs. Then he uncovered them and came out into the daylight.

 12 – Recovery

    The first thing Stone felt when going out was the sharp light. He squinted his eyes as the light stung them. The next thing was the horrible cold. Before he didn''t notice it as he was too disoriented but now he realized that the cold here is much worse than the winter in the south. It was freezing. And the high snow piled up on the ground also didn''t help. Moreover, he didn''t have proper clothing. Right now he wore some makeshift furs to cover his body since he was butt naked before.


    When his eyes finally got used to the light he saw the place he was in. It was plain covered with several tents with people going around with their business. The tent he came from was one of the biggest showing that Kaoran''s position as shaman was really revered.


    What he noticed next were the wolves. Big wolves. His body froze at the sight of them as they reminded him of those monsters. These wolves were in fact Bakur''s tribe companions they tamed. They are strong, have big endurance, and are loyal. Many of them rode on them or used them for transportation of goods.


    As he stood there looking at them some of the people also noticed him and few stopped what they were doing and scrutinized him from afar. When Stone saw this he felt uncomfortable so despite his unease he passed around those wolves and started looking for Kaoran. He wanted to ask someone but didn''t have the courage. It has been so long since he talked to someone that he is now completely unsocial and has social anxiety. Suddenly one barbarian shouted at him something but when Stone heard it he was confused as the barbarian said something that Stone didn''t understand.


    ''Wait they don''t talk Vanaras language? What do I do if I can''t even understand what they say?'' By the time Stone realized that they talked in different languages the barbarian already lost interest and went to do his things. Stone felt frustrated as he needed to wander. Maybe he should wait for Kaoran? But he didn''t want to wait anymore as he lay down for over 9 days and felt anxious.


    "Oh Stone, What are you doing outside? Did you already choose what you want to do? You could have waited inside. You barely walk." suddenly he heard another voice from afar. When he turned towards it he saw Kaoran who was together with several other barbarians. He then said something in his mother language to them and everyone except the biggest one left. Then they went towards the boy. When they got closer they already heard his answer.


    "Yes, I already decided. I want to go with you and get stronger. I abhor that feeling of helplessness I feel." said Stone who looked into Kaoran''s eyes with an expressionless face. But the glimmer of determination wasn''t left unnoticed by the two barbarians.


    "Ha Ha, Kid you look promising!" Boisterous laughter was heard from the man besides Kaoran who spoke in Vanaras language too. Unfortunately, his accent was so thick that Stone almost didn''t understand.


    "Don''t scare the child, you dumbass. He isn''t used to retards like you yet." Kaoran threw a side eye at the man and snorted with a mischievous smile.


    "Hah?! Old geezer do you think..."


    *Boink*


    Immediately after a man tried to bicker with Kaoran he got hit on the head with a cane.


    "Don''t whine and behave! Little Stone even though this guy doesn''t look like it, he is the chief of this tribe. His name is Degres. He is the only one except me who can speak the Vanaras so if you need something you need to talk to me or him. Although it is essential to learn Theras language if you want to live in Frozen Valus Tundra." Said Kaoran with a calm smile.


    Degres who stared at him resentfully then turned back at Stone and said seriously.


    "Since you already choose to go with us We will do our best to nurture you. I saw what those maniacs did to you and your willpower to survive which I commend and respect. So once this old geezer helps you to recover and put on the track your twisted foundation, I will start to train you and make you into a warrior of our tribe! Now then since this is solved we can set off a few hours early. It wouldn''t be funny if that snowstorm really caught up to us."


    After Degres''s speech, he turned towards Kaoran and told him they were setting off. Stone who heard all of this felt the fervor of Degres'' words and felt a little fire ignite inside of his heart. Maybe his future will be much brighter than his past if he follows this tribe... That was what Stone thought at that time...


    ........


    Five days later.


    Time passed as they traveled towards their next destination. The place that held their encampment a few days ago was now ravaged by a snowstorm. Unfortunately, it seemed that the snowstorm was stronger than estimated and would catch up to them in a few days at their pace. That means they had to hurry up their entire travel.


    For Stone, it was really tedious as he wasn''t used to such a trek. Fortunately, he didn''t need to go by his legs or ride on those accursed wolves. He rode together with Kaoran on a very big Musk Ox. It was several meters tall and over 5 meters long. It was tamed by Kaoran and used as a pack animal. Furthermore, despite carrying so much burden it can still easily hold many people on its back. Right now Kaoran is sitting on it together with Stone who seemed a little sick from all that shaking.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "Hehe, it takes time to get used to this. Back then I couldn''t keep my stomach under control and barfed often when riding the animals on long journeys. You on the other hand handle this much better!" Said Kaoran to the sick boy as he cast a side-long gaze at him while still watching the situation before them.


    "Yeah. So lucky... Ugh.." Answered Stone sarcastically with an expressionless face while slowly eating the dried meat. Thanks to his gift and Kaoran''s careful nursing Stone already felt much better than a few days ago and can finally eat solid food without barfing it out. His skinny body which looked like that of a mummy already regained a few kilos since the body took the nourishment from all those herbs and food Kaoran provided to regenerate to the peak state.


    "Ha ha don''t worry, soon we will have to stop for rest. At that time your stomach will calm down a little," said Kaoran as kneaded his long beard.


    "As if I get a rest," grumbled Stone as he looked around watching the wild animals in the distance.


    "Don''t be like that. You need that rehabilitation. You can''t even walk without stumbling. I don''t know how did your legs get to this state but this isn''t something that will solve itself despite that gift of yours. You will thank us once you will be running like a deer. And it isn''t that far in the future."


    "Sigh... I know it is just hard to get used to this all." sighed Stone as he finished eating and then lay down to rest a little before their stop.


    ........


    Soon After.


    "Well, it looks like this is where we will stop this time. It is good there is a river since we can restock our supplies of water. Unfortunately, we can''t stay for long for everyone to bathe or wash the clothing as we need to leave at dawn." explained Kaoran to the Stone who listened. He nodded and went down from Musk Ox on the ground.


    When he felt the snow under his feet and the cold wind he shuddered a little. He stretched a little as his body muscles hurt after the long travel.


    "All right, go visit Degres. He won''t be busy for long as always. Then he will help you to move that rigid body of yours." smiled mischievously Kaoran as he took out a tobacco pipe which he lithed right after taking a puff. Then he ignored Stone as he started murmuring something for himself.


    *Sigh*


    Stone sighed and slowly went towards his destination. His walk was uneventful as he didn''t try to socialize since there was a language barrier and others also didn''t come to him. But even if he could he wouldn''t try anyway.


    While he talked with Kaoran and Degres it was usually only when it came to important things. Else he was just daydreaming and his heart was closed. He didn''t want any more contact with others than he already had.


    As he went he observed barbarians who started to build the tents while others started to create campfire for the food. Not only the adults but also their children helped from a tender age. They always helped with butchering or gathering firewood. And once they reach a certain age they will start hunting and fighting too. Stone who joined the Bakur tribe is no exception and he is expected to do the same once he recovers fully.


    Stone wasn''t any more special in the minds of the tribe members than the other children. After all, some kids were also adopted in the same fashion as him and also suffered in this cruel world. Some of them are already adults and some already died in battles. Bakur tribe is very open-minded when it comes to this. The only difference between Stone and adopted kids is that he suffered simply too much for the human mind to take. And of course because of his magical regeneration. Thanks to that he is the only kid who got the attention of two of the highest positions in the tribe.


    When he finally got to the place Degres stood he saw him barking some orders to others. So Stone patiently waited until he finished.


    Degres who already noticed him turned to him and smiled as he said in his deep voice:


    "Well, time is tight so let''s start, shall we? Let''s start with a little stretching."


    Then he started to stretch his entire body from head to toe while Stone who watched him imitated him. The stretching routine was always different to make muscles more flexible so he needed to pay attention.


    The stretching took almost 10 minutes until Degres finished. Then he came to the Stone and started to teach him all kinds of exercises designated to grow all body muscles, how to keep a straight posture, how to walk properly and keep the balance, how to properly breathe during physical exertion, etc.


    All of that was to rehabilitate Stone''s body which despite having insane regeneration, degraded by the time. His foundation was completely destroyed and without this help even if he could live without it just fine, it would make many things much more difficult for him and even limit his progress and potential in some of the activities. That is why Kaoran and Degres chose to do this as soon as possible. Of course, this rehabilitation wouldn''t even even one-tenth as successful weren''t it for Stone''s inhuman regeneration which allowed him to recover from the state that is unrecoverable for most normal people.


    As of now, those are really basic exercises but Degres was excited as he can teach the boy something new almost every day since his body can easily regenerate all damaged muscles without side effects. This is why he actually gained several kilos worth of muscles in just a few days. Furthermore, while Stone isn''t educated or experienced in life he isn''t stupid and can learn those exercises easily.


    "At this pace, I think we will be able to start with the real training in at most 2 months! This is really unbelievable!" laughed Degres as he watched the boy lying helplessly in the snow sweating like a pig.


    "Real training ?" Stone threw a side eye at Degres as he heard something silly. He probably just misheard though...


    "Well for today it is enough. Don''t lie on the ground like that or you will get sick. Well, you probably don''t need to fear being sick but it is a bad habit to make right?"


    Stone who heard this started to get himself up. His entire body ached as every one of his muscles were used to the limit. His entire body was exhausted and he felt he would fall soon if he didn''t go to sleep. But unlike the pain and exhaustion he felt in the past this kind of ache and exhaustion was actually kind of exhilarating for Stone. He never felt like this. It felt really great when you gave your everything and then just got to sleep to only wake up with a feeling of endless energy!

 13 – Arrival

    2 Months Later.


    "Soon we will reach The Kennera Lake where we will be staying for a few years. That means your real training will also start. You already recovered from the malnourishment and the muscle atrophy so Degres plans to full time teach you. Although your foundation is still a little off it is getting better. Your body is already two times stronger than that of a child of the same age which is admirable but not uncommon. The most important part is to learn how to use that strength efficiently. You are now just slightly better than our toddlers when it comes to moving the body right ha ha!" Kaoran laughed as he made fun of Stone who looked at him with a deadpan expression. Kaoran felt slightly awkward seeing that but he chose to ignore it and continued.


    *Cough*


    "Furthermore, from my examination of you, I found out that one of the reasons why your body foundation is damaged is because of the absurd amount of undigested herbal essence stored inside of you! I don''t know what you did that you absorbed so much of it but your body is full of that. Unfortunately, many herbs have conflict with themselves and cause problems inside of your body. Without your regeneration, it would be a serious problem.


    But even with this it only solves symptoms and not the source of the problem. So during the way I recently concocted this medicinal paste for you. It is made from Fetav herb which will help you to absorb all of that essence. It won''t be a problem for you then as long as you absorb it all." concluded Kaoran.


    "Huh..? Isn''t Fetav a poisonous herb which causes extreme pain ?" asked Stone who squinted his eyes as he looked at the old man.


    Kaoran was surprised. He didn''t know that the boy would know about this kind of herb at such a tender age. He thought that Stone wasn''t knowledgeable about herbs since he was full of their unabsorbed essences that conflicted with each other. No one knowledgeable would do that.


    What he didn''t know is that Stone didn''t eat any of those herbs but the monster that ate him did. All animals, this monster included, instinctively eat herbs with strong essences even if they are normally carnivorous. Those herbs usually help them to grow more optimally and bring them many other benefits like heightened immunity or regeneration.


    This monster was the same and actually ate even more herbs than others of its kind. That was since Stone''s existence was tormenting it from inside that it tried to eat all kinds of herbs, even poisonous, to get rid of the problem.


    The herbs in the following manner melted and were then washed away into the small intestine where it was digested. But not all of the essence got there as some were absorbed by Stone whose pores, skin, muscles, bones, and other body parts were constantly stimulated by gastric juice making it easier for essence to seep in.


    That is also the same reason for Stone''s extraordinary strength. His body was melted and regenerated in cycles for years making him much stronger. Actually not only his muscle power but all other body parts too. His organs which were melted through Stone''s mouth were strengthened, his bones, joints, tendons, eyes, tongue, inner ears, the olfactory receptors inside the nose, etc.


    All of that was refined making his entire body much stronger and tougher. His five senses should be also much stronger than a normal person''s. The reason why he still didn''t realize it was because of his malnourishment and muscle atrophy which despite the body refinement still happened as the lack of nourishment and use of some muscles was still a big problem.


    Now he can already feel the strength of his body but it still isn''t the peak of its potential since the herbal essence inside him is wreaking havoc.


    "Yes, that herb is poisonous but not lethal. The pain will stimulate your body to absorb all that essence properly and make some of the conflicting ones merge perfectly," explained Kaoran and then asked. "How do you know about that herb? That herb is rare and not known that much."


    "Oh well I studied herbology when I was smaller" shrugged Stone.


    "What?! Why didn''t you tell me? This is great! There are not many people here in Valas who know their ways with herbs. And those who know are usually old farts like me who are shamans of their tribes." Kaoran was ranting with excitement.


    "You didn''t ask." said curtly Stone. But he couldn''t hide the flash of sadness covering his eyes. Herbalism reminded him of his childhood.


    Kaoran inwardly sighed when he saw Stone like this. During those two months he spent with him, Kaoran came to know him much more in-depth. He knew that Stone was a good boy but the experiences changed even the most benevolent. He saw how the boy was almost burned to death, alive only thanks to his gift. But Kaoran doesn''t think this is all there is to Stone. How did he get here to Valas from Vanaras kingdom? And why was it the same day those weird unnatural monsters came? Kaoran had some theories but no conclusion. Clearly, he didn''t plan to ask Stone as this trauma seems to be too deep. The fact he didn''t turn into a maniac similar to the Hearas clan is already a miracle. Who knows if there was already a seed of madness inside his small head?


    "Well in that case how about you continue to learn under me? I can''t say that I am a full-fledged master herbalist like those who dedicate their life to it but I am damn sure I am one of the best, hehe. Furthermore, herbology is the only thing Shamans can do. If you choose to learn the shamanic path I will be able to teach profound ways of spirits, divination, rituals, medicine, and many more things! Are you interested ?" asked Kaoran as he fondled his beard while waiting for the answer.


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    Stone was dumbfounded. He didn''t expect that a simple question about the herb could make the conversation turn in this direction. While he was conflicted he also felt a rush of excitement. Ever since he met old Meddie all those years ago he found out about his passion for learning new things, hearing about mysteries, magic, and whatnot. He was already learning the Theras language and his progress was really astounding. He took a few seconds to decide before saying with slight excitement in his eyes:


    "Yes, I am interested."


    "Hehe, in that case, I am delighted. Once you absorb all that herb essence you will start training with Degres in the first half of the day and learn with me the second one. It is decided." Kaoran clapped delightfully as he laughed not caring that the chief of the tribe who was really looking forward to this training would have the time for it cut in half.


    ........


    Slowly but surely they got closer and closer to their destination. The journey was long and arduous for Stone who wasn''t used to this but he enjoyed the peace of mind he got now. What he doesn''t know is that the bubble of peace will burst once he starts training in earnest and starts hunting to get his own food.


    But for now, he enjoyed the fresh wind as he looked forward at the hidden valley where he would live from now on. The valley was covered by snow even more than the plain outside but it seemed that it started to melt to a certain extent. Many old trees were growing here with nature looking untouched. He even saw a frozen waterfall and river in the distance slowly melting As he looked he noticed one thing that was a little off.


    "Old man, where is the lake you talked about ?" asked confused Stone. Kaoran looked back at him as he laughed happily.


    "Who said the lake will be outside to be seen haha?" Kaoran laughed as this confusion was happening every time the tribe came here again." Do you see that waterfall? Behind it is a very deep cave. If you go till the end you will find the Kennera lake! Amazing right? Furthermore, this lake isn''t just a normal one you can see anywhere else. It is full of Cold Energy which remains here after every cycle of Grand Northern Icebergs melting little by little." concluded Kaoran.


    "Cold Energy? What''s that? I have never heard about it." Stone was curious as he never heard of that.


    "Silly boy, this world is too big and there are so many things you, me, or any other person in this world have never seen or knew about. It is really a wonder how many things are unknown to us. The ancestors of the Bakur Tribe found out about Kennera Lake thousands of years ago and ever since we always travel here when the coldness is at a bearable level and leave when it becomes unbearable creating a cycle of us traveling here every few years. As for your question, it is what it is called. The energy with a trait of coldness. This energy is very unique as natural cold is just a lack of heat. We found many uses for it ever since we found this lake. The most important is using it to reinforce our metals which made them better than others in Valas and to refine our bodies with it. It makes us tougher, has a much higher resistance to cold, and much more! We will use it after a few days, together with other kids who will baptize themselves, to help you absorb the herb essence since the Cold Energy will also stimulate your body." Kaoran finished talking about Cold Energy and changed the subject.


    "Now we need to settle in the valley. Since we needed to get away from that snowstorm we didn''t have the time to procure more of the clothes and your own tent. Now we have the time and you will need them so I will buy some from others. It shouldn''t be a problem."


    "Wait, since you could buy it since the beginning why wait until now?" asked Stone who was uncomfortable and itchy from wearing the same fur for 2 months.


    "Well, we were escaping from the snowstorm. It was hectic and as for the tent, it was better to be with me for the time being. Being alone will just eat you away. But now that you are already better and you will start the ''real'' training the only thing you will do in the tent is sleep ha ha!" concluded Kaoran. What he said was half truth half lie. It was really hectic at that time and Stone also didn''t need the tent for himself as being alone after that horrible experience would just break him. Furthermore, he was already used to living in an even smaller place with many more people so he didn''t mind. On the other hand, the clothes were easy to get as many women of the tribe had spare clothes for their children. Even if it wouldn''t suit Stone perfectly it would be fine for the current him.


    The real reason for Kaoran or even Degres not getting him new clothes was... They simply forgot. Kaoran already isn''t the youngest around and isn''t as attentive as he was once. Degres on the other hand wasn''t one to be known as attentive despite being much younger than Kaoran. He was the responsible leader but else he was just a battle junkie. But the most important reason was that Stone was simply too quiet and didn''t complain about anything.


    He never was very outspoken and it took him time to get used to the people. They simply didn''t think about his clothes problem as they too were used to wearing clothes for even much longer time back in the past. After all, even they experienced very bad times. Wars, arson, theft, and other things were the norm in this world. Stone not complaining meant that his mind was strong enough and they did not need to think about it.


    "All right then." Stone who didn''t know about anything of this just nodded as he watched the valley with rapt attention. They finally got to its center. Others already got off from their wolfs and started to lay a camp. This time it wasn''t just a temporary one though as they would stay here for a long time. There are even some abandoned cottages from years ago that are just a little unmaintained and some of their roofs collapsed from the amount of the snow but little repairing would solve this problem.


    Still, most of the tribe members used their tents as the cottages were usually for those in a higher hierarchy like Degres and Kaoran. Still, this time the tents are pitched carefully in good places since they won''t dismantle them in a long time.


    Stone was curious as he started to help Kaoran pitch his tent despite him taking most of his things into one of the cottages. It seemed to be farther from other cottages but in truth it was right in the center of the valley. Other shelters made a kind of circular formation around it from a considerable distance. It also looked the best implying that it belongs to the highest standing member of the tribe. A Grand Shaman.

 14 – Settlement

    Kaoran who saw Stone''s confused face smiled as he explained.


    "While the cottage is better than a tent, it is too small for me who practices the shamanistic ways. All the materials, rituals, and other things take a space. Place that those cottages don''t provide. Those cottages were mostly built for comfort rather than anything else. Unfortunately for you, that means that you will need to use another smaller tent. Else I would just give you this one."


    Stone nodded as he looked at the tent and then at the cottage. He understood that the cottage was for those important so he didn''t ask. But in his eyes seemed to be little longing.


    "Hehe, all children in the tribe sleep in the tents even when we settle here. Too much comfort threatens discipline which is very important for members of our tribe. Only by merit, you will gain recognition and benefits. So train hard Stone as your effort will mirror your future."


    When Stone heard that he wasn''t much excited about it but took the words to his heart.


    Then after Kaoran moved all of his daily use items into the cottage he, together with Stone, started to move things to the tent. As mentioned before they were esoteric and magical tools used for all kinds of rituals and stored materials. It took quite a while as there were so many things and a lot of them needed to be stored in a specific way. It was wonder how Kaoran''s mount, which Stone found out was named Dor, managed to carry all that stuff.


    After an hour they finally managed to get things done. The last thing Kaoran unloaded from its back was the gigantic cylindrical object covered in furs. It was over three meters long and half a meter in diameter making it look like the stake Stone was crucified on. That made Stone instinctively repulsed despite knowing that it must be something completely different.


    On the other hand, Musk Ox''s burden was finally relieved and it made happy grunts. It turned towards its master and affectionately leaned towards Kaoran''s free hand who patted it with a smile. Then it turned towards the frozen woods and slowly went away. It wouldn''t need to carry things for a long time and could enjoy itself here.


    Kaoran always let it do whatever it wanted in this valley. Soon it disappeared into the woods as Shaman and the little boy watched it not knowing when they would see it once again...


    Stone stared at him with inquisitive eyes. Kaoran sighed and said." Dor always goes his own path when we get here. It was always like this. After all, he is not that much of a pet but a partner of mine. When there is no need for him then there is also no need to hold him here.."


    Kaoran sighed once again but smiled after a second as held the object with both hands now."Well then, that''s off our backs. Now for the most important part." then he started to take off the furs covering the object.


    Once it was fully revealed Stone realized that it was really a log! But not a normal one, unprocessed. This one was decorated with all kinds of paintings and carvings depicting animals and furious human faces. The most distinctive part though was the tip which was carved into the shape of the head of an eagle. It looked very old but gave off the aura of might.


    Stone was looking at it with intrigue. This wasn''t just some carved wood. Kaoran who saw this smiled with pride and smugly explained:


    "This is Totem! It''s the core of our tribe and it is the lifeline tool of the shamans. Every shaman has at least one of his Totems! This one has been passed from one shaman to another for 7 generations in this tribe. It has many abilities and it is a symbol of this tribe. Now watch."


    Kaoran who talked with his chin high, went to the Totem and took it on his shoulder. Despite his age, he didn''t seem to have any problem whatsoever with carrying it at all.


    He then went a little further away from his cottage to the open space. There, already prepared, were other tribe members watching the shaman carrying the totem toward the small stone pedestal. Kaoran stepped on it and then started to angle the Totem towards the hole in the center of the pedestal. The hole and Totem perfectly fit together when it was connected.


    Others cheered when they saw the Totem in its right place. Now when the Totem was standing upright it looked really awe-inspiring. But that wasn''t the end.


    Kaoron who kneeled before the Totem started to chant unintelligible words. Stone who was already surprised waited for more surprises. Others waited too.


    Soon the winds started blowing. But it wasn''t the biting and aggressive winter wind. But the gentle one with a hint of warmth. The wind blew around the Totem and spread out towards the entire territory of the tribe.


    When it finally got to the edges where there were already no shelters it stopped. Instead, it started to rotate in a cupola shape and looked like a transparent wall.


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    Kaoran stood up with a smile on his face as he dusted his knees. Then with a loud voice, he told the crowd:


    " The boundary was set up! Now settle down properly and prepare everything as the baptism will be in the next few days! Disperse!"


    After Kaoran ended, the crowd who was still in a good mood scattered and everyone went to their things. There were many things to do. They will live here for the next few years after all.


    ......


    After this event, Kaoran quickly procured a secondhand tent and three sets of clothing for Stone. The quality of those was much better than he had until now so Stone was really satisfied. Every set was covered in grey fur and was really warm and the way how it was sewed made it much easier to move around with it.


    Stone was eager to dress up right when he got it but Kaoran stopped him. So he stared at the old man questioningly.


    "What, do you want to dirty the clothes the moment I give them to you ?" Kaoran cast a side-eye at him and then said.


    "Half of your current weight is just filth on your body. I recommend washing up before dressing this up. For now, using wet cloths will make do since the rivulet flowing through this valley is still frozen. Once the ice melts and preparations are done you and the other kids will wash up in it before the baptism. It was a part of the ceremony since the beginning. After all, we can''t just dirty the lake where the baptism takes place ha ha...


    Stone nodded at Kaoran''s explanation. He didn''t mind to wash himself since he felt uncomfortable being dirty. He was always more demanding of cleanliness than others of his status. The comfort of his clean hair every time he cut them off made him awake how much being unclean can be... disgusting. Others didn''t care that much since they never even had a bath. Everyone in the village usually used the wet cloths once in a while. Maybe except for Granny Meddie who was from the South.


    After that, he stopped talking and went to help him to gather snow in the iron casket which was afterwards put on the fire to turn it into hot water. Then they unpacked Stone''s new tent and pitched it next to the Kaoran''s. Stone will be officially nominated as Kaoran''s student so it made sense he will be in the same place as him.


    When they were done Stone looked at his tent with satisfaction but when he saw the tent next to it his face soured immediately. His tent wasn''t bad but when it was compared to the one next to it, it made his heart itch.


    Of course, he doesn''t care that much since having his own tent is a miracle in itself. It could be said that it is the most valuable thing he has right now. The only other things he has are the clothes he just got and the ones he was wearing at the moment...


    When he realized how much Kaoran and Degres done for him he was really moved in his heart. His eyes trembled a bit until he closed them for a moment. Right now he is a beneficiary of the clan but after a few years, he will pay off this debt with interest.


    Stone opened his eyes with determination.


    The water they left on fire was already hot so he went to take it down carefully. Kaoran soon left afterwards as he had other responsibilities so Stone was alone at that time.


    He took the water and one set of new clothes and took them in an inconspicuous place under one of the trees where he started wiping himself. The hot water was comfortable on his skin and the warmth reached his cold bones.


    By the time he finished and dressed in his new clothes, the sun was already setting. He quickly came towards the Kaoran''s cottage where he left the casket and then entered the tent.


    At the moment tent was empty with only two sets of the clothing he got. He didn''t care about that as he lay down in a comfortable position. He chose to try the meditation that Kaoran taught him during the travel. Unfortunately, it was hard to learn it during movement so he could only try when they stopped. Thus his proficiency wasn''t all that great so he needed to learn the most he could in these few days as Kaoran said it would be important for the baptism.


    Other children learned it from an early age while adopted ones learned it the moment they got into the tribe. This kind of meditation was the most basic one there existed but it was proved that any other kind of meditation didn''t work during the baptism and could endanger the user during it. On the other hand, this basic one worked since it was only a passive kind of meditation. That is why it is collectively called Basic Passive Meditation.


    In the end Bakur tribe was a tribe of warriors and not monks so they simply stuck with this easiest and most practical method even during their daily lives. This kind of meditation helped during recovery, made better sleep, and cleared the head when needed making it popular in the tribe.


    There were still a few people who used more advanced ones in the tribe but those were far in between.


    Furthermore, those were usually the strongest and wisest in the tribe.


    Like a Kaoran for example.


    In the end, despite its simplicity, it was practical and useful in a lot of situations so Stone didn''t complain and tried it every evening even if he wasn''t successful.


    "Sigh.."


    In the end, Stone stopped after an hour of meditation and started to contemplate his bottleneck.


    He already passed the basic threshold for the baptism which was the simple ability to relax completely all of your muscles and clear your head so he wasn''t worried.


    But he recently found out that when it comes to the deeper meditation he has problems. Stone didn''t confront Kaoran about it yet as he wasn''t sure how hard it was but he was pretty sure that it wasn''t that hard. It was just that there was something. missing.


    And after a lot of thinking he thought he found the problem.


    It was simply a lack of talent.


    Talent for spiritual and mystery. He doesn''t know what to call it but he is pretty sure. His material side got the talent while the spiritual one got nothing. No. This kind of basic meditation which should be easy for everyone was hard for him. It is not like he got nothing. He actually lost even more. He was an empty shell.


    It wasn''t that big of the deal since when Stone thought about it there were probably very few people with this kind of talent in the world. But now when Kaoran thought about turning him into his disciple he had his worries.


    What if he can''t meet Kaoran''s expectations?


    Will he be angry?


    Would he give up on him?


    It made Stone anxious. He wanted to believe that Kaoran was a good person who would help him. But would he if he wasn''t useful?


    The meditation whose purpose was to clear the mind instead turned Stone''s mind into a mess. In the end, he finally fell asleep with difficulties way past the middle of the night.

 15 – Ceremony

    In the next few days, both Kaoran and Degres were busy and didn''t have much free time so Stone used most of the time to meditate as if to have a glimpse of inspiration to make a breakthrough. Yet it was for naught and he didn''t sense anything. He doesn''t even know ''what'' he should feel.


    Unfortunately, that is something only for him to find out.


    The only good thing was that he was able thanks to this experience have a longer deep meditation as he had long, unirupted training for those few days.


    But time passed, all tribe members settled down properly in the valley and all the preparations for the baptism were done.


    The day when the ceremony will start has come.


    It was scheduled to be in the evening but Stone was sharp even before the rise of the sun that day.Since all conditions for the ceremony have been met it means that the ice in the rivulet already melted and he could go take the bath as per the tradition.


    As mentioned before it was part of the ceremony in the tribe to not taint the lake. Other kids who were not baptized by the lake yet will also bathe today so Stone woke up early to use the rivulet first as he didn''t really want to meet others.


    Once he found it he went by the flow of the water. The rivulet was also a good source of water for the tribesmen here so the bathing was done down the stream farther from the camp.


    Once he stopped he was blankly looking at the flowing water.


    He has never had a bath ever before. Even back in the village, he didn''t have the opportunity to bathe like this since there was no river around. There was just well so they washed with wet clothes once a time.


    After a while, he finally took off his clothes and went towards the water. But when he came closer to the water he stiffened as he feared to touch it. In the end, while he never bathed in ''water'' he was bathing in different kinds of liquid. The liquid caused him several traumas over the years. One of them was a mild fear of water.


    The fear of pain was the least it reminded him of. But after taking a few deep breaths he thankfully managed to overcome it somehow. The reason for that was that instead of his eyes which he closed he focused on hearing, smelling, and tasting the water. He slowly entered the stream butt naked while listening to the calming sound of flowing water and the surroundings that had the scent of fresh water and nature in the air. The reason he focused on those senses so much was for the other trauma he got. His disgust to vomit.


    Or in this case, it wasn''t vomit as it was still in the stomach with him. The smell, the taste, the hearing of bubbling and cries of those still alive... He was absolutely horrified from imagining it. That is why this rivulet was so calming to him if he didn''t look at it.


    He continued going into the rivulet and the next thing he felt was the extreme coldness that made him stiffen once again this time for a different reason. After he got used he went to the deepest part. It was only to his waist so there was no chance for him to drown so he just submerged himself. The cold sensation was chilling but then it started to be comfortable as he started to scrub off the grime.


    You would expect more grime on Stone who didn''t bathe and was in a very dirty environment the entire time but in truth, the only grim on him was from the time he almost got sacrificed to the time he was with the tribe. Why? Well, simply every time his skin got destroyed only the clean pale skin would regrow before he got out.


    Once Stone finished he just lay there calming his mind and resting. After who knows how long there was sound from the distance so Stone knew it was time to leave. He came out, dried himself up, clothed himself with new clothing, and left in another direction from the sound.


    ........


    The same day in the evening.


    The ceremony began. In the center of the camp, there was a gathering of small children who hadn''t been baptized in the last time the tribe was here. They were either too young or weren''t even born back then. The youngest here were around ten years old and the oldest were only around fifteen years old, all waiting for the Grand Shaman to make his speech.


    Stone who was also among the kids stood alone farther from others. He was feeling uncomfortable as some looked at him with strange gazes but he persisted as he waited for Kaoran''s speech. He was a little excited as today would be the day when most of the problems, his body accumulated, would be and he would be finally free of burden.


    The time passed and the children slowly became nervous as they waited. Their parents are in the distance looking at them with concern, joy, pride, or even sternness. It seemed that this baptism would have much more impact on one''s future than Stone thought.


    Suddenly steps with tapping sounds were heard from the distance. The person wasn''t seen through the dense mist, which was created when the weather finally became a little warmer but was recognized immediately. Children who became already impatient started to whisper for themselves as the excitement in their eyes was visible.


    Kaoran who finally came to the crowd came before them. He looked at every child here as his face radiated seriousness. When his gaze stopped on Stone for a second his mouth twitched a little into a small smile before he continued. When he finished he nodded to himself, took a deep breath, and started his speech.


    *Cough*


    "My children, the future of our tribe. As you already know today is the day that will change your future forever. Every generation of the Bakur Tribe uses this baptism of Kennera''s Cold Energy to become proud warriors, to become something more. Every generation has access to stronger Cold Energy for unknown reasons and has better genetics thanks to their baptized ancestors. Our tribe grows with every generation. And now it is your turn.


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    Everyone here will get the chance to stay in Kennera Lake for however long they manage to. Since the process is very painful and can be hurtful to the body after a longer period it is important to know when to stop. I believe that you were already informed about this. But as long as you can manage you shouldn''t give up as there is only one chance. The energy is not limitless so only after a big merit you could have a second chance. What I want to say with this is simple. Be prudent and gain the most out of this as your future depends on it. We are a warrior tribe who has many enemies so we can''t allow for weakness to invade ourselves! For the Bakur Tribe!" yelled Kaoran at the end. And he was met with a passionate crowd.


    "For the Bakur Tribe!" echoed throughout the camp as every child and adult joined in the chant.


    Only Stone wasn''t very enthusiastic. But despite that, he chanted too. In his native village, he cared for very few people. Actually, outside of the family, it was only Granny Meddie he cared for. On the other hand here Stone wasn''t indifferent only to Kaoran and Degres who showered him with affection albeit a little weird. Others he still didn''t know enough to care about.


    So Stone never felt the feeling of patriotism. And now when he expressionlessly watched others he concluded that he wasn''t the person who would feel those feelings without any strong reason.


    After a few seconds of cheering the crowd became silent once again when they saw that Kaoran wanted to speak again.


    "Let''s not waste the time. It is already dark so we need to hurry. Follow me and don''t squeeze each other! There will be a place for everyone." After saying this he left towards the waterfall.


    Children went after him while most of the adults stayed. Only a few others followed as they uniformly guided the kids. They went slowly through the entire valley since the waterfall was farther from the camp. It was also the source of the rivulet in which Stoned bathed that day.


    The path, which seemed to be reclaimed by nature after years of not using it, was filled once again with youthful energy as the energetic children were excited. But despite that, they were obedient as they revered their shaman and also feared losing the opportunity to go through baptism.


    After a while while they went farther and farther from the camp they suddenly bumped into some kind of invisible film. It was easily recognizable since once they passed through it the temperature plummeted. While most children were surprised, some tried to touch the invisible film as if they felt it while the oldest children were calm since they saw it several times in their lives already.


    Stone wondered what happened and why some were trying to touch the ''air'' until he heard Kaoran saying with a toothy smile.


    "That''s the boundary from the Totem! The older ones already know but the Totem keeps the camp safe from the outside weather and danger. Now we got outside of it and need to continue. Now hurry up!" then he turned around and left. Young children panicked and hurried after him.


    Stone who heard this was sulky. The fact that he didn''t even realize that the boundary was there was another indicator of his poor talent. The only way he realized something was wrong was the change of temperature. But while he was in a bad mood the time would not stop because of him so he still went after Kaoran with others in a hurry.


    Soon they finally came to the waterfall they saw that the entire waterfall was fully frozen! The waterfall was showing no signs of melting, the ice was still and solid looking like an indestructible wall. The small lake under it was also still frozen, only a little rivulet going under the ice. Once everything melts the little rivulet will turn into a deep river connecting to the one Stone bathed in the morning.


    They got before the lake and watched adults taking their axes, hammers, ice saws, and other tools while going on the lake''s ice. They came right before the waterfall and started to climb it up! They used the tools to slowly climb the ice while being careful. The most common way was to use an axe with a sharp tip at the other side to hold on.


    They were very careful as being careless could be lethal. They needed to chip the ice piece by piece but had to be careful to not collapse the entire waterfall since the mass alone could be dangerous once it fell down. It happened several times in the past generations so they were already prepared but still being careful doesn''t hurt.


    Actually, the ice in this place was much more colder and sturdier than the natural one outside of the valley. That means that the chance of it suddenly collapsing was much smaller.


    Of course, they didn''t have a death wish. When the collapse became for the first time it was suggested by many to wait for the ice to melt before going in. The problem was that the Cold Energy would dissipate by that time and there would be almost no benefit for the children. So they needed to risk it.


    Because their tribe depended on it.


    The best and safest way to solve this was to systematically dismantle this waterfall from the top. There was no need to fear that the ice from the river above would lose its support and collapse as the ice here was so solid that it never happened until it melted.


    Since the baptism usually takes several days then once they take down the entire waterfall they seal it once again with the chunks of the ice they throw down from the waterfall. Those chunks are then processed with ice saws into cubes and stacked together to seal the cave. Then it is watered and in a few minutes, the ice wall is complete. The rest of the ice is cleared away. All of this is to maintain the temperature in the cave in the same way as the igloo.


    But in this case, it is to keep the old inside! In the cave is the Kennera Lake with cold energy and obviously it has a much lower temperature than outside despite still ongoing winter.


    For the same reason they can''t wait for the waterfall to melt nor can they destroy the waterfall before the preparations for the baptism are done.


    The ice chunks fell once in a while from the height at the empty place at the side. The trembles caused by it scared some children a little as they backed as far as they could from that place. But as for any other incidents, there were none. Tribesmen were already experienced and knew how to cut the ice effectively while making sure it wouldn''t suddenly collapse.


    Throwing it down is also down with care as there are few adults down there yelling for the workers above when to throw it at the designated place so the chance that some accidents happen was minimal.


    When they finally finished the entire cave was exposed and the wall above was without any ice while on the left side of the cave was a ''mountain'' of the ice. Then adults who had big bags on their backs took them down and threw them through the narrow entrance of the cave. Inside it were supplies like food, water, furs, and torches.


    Since they will stay there for a long time everything can happen.


    "Now then, I will go first, just follow after me. One after another carefully without squeezing each other or causing problems."


    Kaoran said as he slowly went through the hole. He was the only adult who would go inside as that was his job. In the blink of an eye he disappeared from children''s eyes and the only thing they saw in the hole was darkness.


    "You can go now. Be careful and good luck." said the other adults as they watched the children who started to squeeze inside. Some were scared some excited.


    Stone who didn''t want to squeeze with them waited until he was the last one. He looked around at the adults who were also looking at him waiting for him to enter.


    And so he did. He entered the ice lake''s surface, which surprisingly didn''t break from all that shaking, and held his balance to not fall. Then he slowly ventured inside the darkness...

 16 - Kennera Lake

    The moment Stone got into the cave he only saw kids getting worked up seeing the entrance of the cave while Kaoran stood there with an ignited torch in his hand. There is still light from the outside but once they get deeper the torch will be the only source of the light they will have. Fortunately, Kaoran had few spare ones so there was no need to fear getting lost in the dark unless they separated from him. The lack of light and the fact that the cave was narrow and moist made many children uncomfortable as they looked around. Only a few waited for Kaoran''s next instruction.


    "Well then, this was the last one if I count right." Kaoran counted the kids if there were all of them. Then he continued." Follow me closely and never distance yourself from me. There are some branch paths in this cave. Actually, the cave wasn''t completely explored even now thousands of years after discovering it. So getting lost here isn''t what would you like to do..." said Kaoran grimly to make the children, who started to be more rowdy, be more obedient. And it fulfilled its mission.


    Children stopped to make a fuss and became silent. They didn''t want to get lost here. The older ones already knew the atrocities this world contained and were prepared to fall one day in battle as that is the highest glory and honor in their tribe. But the imagination that their life would end so soon and here in the darkness slowly draining the life from them... That was just terrifying. On the other hand, younger ones had simpler thoughts. They just feared to be alone in the darkness.


    When Kaoran saw everyone was waiting for him he nodded to himself and ventured into the tunnel which led to Kennera Lake. Children went behind him in line close to each other so they wouldn''t lose someone along the way. The tunnel was moist as water dripped from the ceiling on walls and ground and was very narrow making the path more uncomfortable. Also during the few minutes Kaoran passed there were over five new paths already which were promptly ignored by him.


    Stone was going last which Kaoran approved of since he thought Stone was sensible. So Stone could go leisurely while looking around. All those walls weren''t plain but instead were always covered in some crystals or plants adapted to living here. Some walls had kind of blue veins passing them looking intriguing. Stone who always had a curious spirit was enjoying this as a tour causing a lot of his nervousness to disappear.


    Kaoran went slowly so the children could follow him and see properly since he had the only torch here. He also controlled every few minutes if there were all of them. After all, there is always one child who doesn''t go with the crowd. Literally.


    "Urchin! What did I say? Do you think I won''t beat you up ?" shouted Kaoran at the one kid who lingered behind all the kids watching with curiosity the walls around and the other paths branching out of the main one.


    The kid named urchin was just as his nickname indicated. The little rascal who always gets up to mischief in the tribe. He was already fourteen years old yet he was still the same.


    Urchin who heard Kaoran turned towards him with a slightly annoyed expression as he groaned.


    "Come on, old man. It is not like I can get lost when you can be seen from a distance with your torch. I just don''t understand why the other parts are not explored. What if there were actually something even better than that lake? Hmm ?" the more Urchin thought about it the more excited he became when thinking about it.


    *Sigh*


    "Now is not the time for this. If you want to explore the other paths in a cave you need to wait to grow up or gain permission from all elders, me included. Right now we need to go or else if the Cold Energy dissipates it will be your share that will be cut off." Kaoran said this and then continued towards the lake. He didn''t watch Urchin anymore as he already warned him. He is already old enough to choose what is good for him.


    "Tch. No fun." Urchin shrugged as he rolled his eyes but went with the others obediently. He may be a troublemaker but usually, it was only about trivial things. He would never really go against his elders. He is a free-spirited troublemaker but the filial one indeed!


    After this incident, there were no other incidents. Kaoran managed to guide all of them through the labyrinth of tunnels full of puddles, in some parts walls greatly narrowed while in others the ceiling rapidly descended. It was no wonder that other adults didn''t want to come here. As most of the tribemen, even women, are actually mass of muscles it would be a hassle to come through these tunnels. The only fortune is that the shaman namely Kaoran was small in frame and was perfect for this despite also being quite muscular for his age.


    When Stone saw this he wondered who guides the children when the shaman is also big in frame. Or maybe that is one of the criteria to become one?


    As he thought so suddenly the walls around them opened up and they entered a very big domed cave. It was illuminated by weird crystals hanging in the center of the ceiling so Stone and others saw everything inside. There was only a little space for them to stay on as most of the space was filled with a beautiful lake of the same color as the crystals.


    It was a very calming scenery and the only sound was the water drops dripping from the crystals on the ceiling. When Stone looked properly at these he realized that those were not crystals but just ice formations or maybe even the condensed Cold Energy Kaoran talked about.


    Stone only thought so since he didn''t really know what normal crystals are supposed to look like. He only heard about them from Granny Meddie. That thought made Stone melancholic once again and he felt a pang in his heart.


    Meanwhile, other children were visibly dazzled by the cave''s appearance and were hyped up. Some of the bolder ones already started to strip as they prepared to submerge into the lake.


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    Kaoran who saw this chuckled and then said quickly before the kids would recklessly jump in.


    "Listen up, from now on all of it is on you. There is only one chance for everyone so once you sink in try to withstand the Cold Energy and the pain it will bring. The best method for absorbing the energy is for your body to relax and your mind to be clear through the meditation you learned in childhood. That way your efficiency will be many times higher. Of course, in this state, it can become dangerous so be careful." Kaoran looked deeply into each of their eyes and continued." I will be able to take you out once you won''t be able to continue but still, the only one you can always depend on is you. Try to not sink too deep and try to be conscious enough to understand what is happening around you."


    Then Kaoran talked a little more about safety as this event could turn fatal real quick. After a while, he finally ended when most children were already impatient. "That is all there is to it. Now let us begin. There are 44 of you but there could arise some problems if you all go at the same time since the lake isn''t big enough so you will go 11 at a time. Every time someone gets out I will send another one."


    Afterward, everything happened quickly as the children waited for their shaman''s orders. Then Kaoran chose the first batch who then submerged into that glacial water. Most of them were already stripped so they could go inside faster. Even a few who still waited started to take off their clothes. Both boys and girls without any care for the opposite sex. Of course, some of the older ones who already started to get interested in the opposite sex looked at their peers who were just as god made them.


    Kaoran who saw this shook his head but ignored it. They would get colder sooner if they do this but fortunately for them the baptism doesn''t take long and this won''t affect them at all.


    Of course, not everyone is that impatient and some waited with their clothes on as they looked at their eager peers with little mockery or pity.


    ''Why would you strip yourself in this cold? Is it not enough for you that a few minutes later you will be in water which is probably colder than ice ?'' thought the youngsters.


    Stone was obviously among them. He doesn''t feel the excitement as much as others so he can control his emotions just fine. Although...


    ''I wonder how I will feel after this baptism.'' He still had his expectations as he waited.


    After a while, some children started to emerge from the water. Some just took another deep breath to sink yet again while others went towards the land. Unfortunately despite Shaman''s warning, there were still ones dazed as they absorbed the energy. So Kaoran who watched them closely interfered once he judged that those kids won''t make it out otherwise.


    He did take off only some accessories that were on his body and then jumped into the lake. Shaman was one exception that came to the lake where he could come and leave whenever he wanted. Obviously choosing a shaman was very important for the Bakur tribe. Even more so than choosing their leader.


    Kaoran who sinked quickly swam towards the kids who seemed to lose consciousness and took them out.


    In the end, he woke up those kids and heavily reprimanded them for not following his warning. They seemed to be very pale as they could have died there and wouldn''t be able to do anything.


    Stone who watched all of this wondered why Kaoran did all of this. It seemed like a hassle. Can''t he just tie them up with rope which he will then pull when something happens? But then he looked at the clothes the shaman wore. They seemed to be stiff and not as malleable as before.


    ''That is probably because of the cold. Well, obviously they would have already thought of this...'' thought so Stone with ridicule at himself.


    Within a few minutes, seven out of 11 children already got out. Meanwhile, Kaoran chose the other seven children who went inside. Then he did check those who got out. Most of them were in a semi-conscious state as their body was still adapting to the energy. It will take them several days before they will turn normal and at that time most of them will be at least twice as strong!


    The temperature in the cave which was noticeably lower than outside was really beneficial for them as sudden changes in temperature could create some unwanted side-effects. That is one of the reasons why they let the children recover in the cave despite the end of their baptism.


    Things were calm for a while.


    Most of the children talked with suppressed murmurs with their friends or family members while Stone, the newest one of the tribe, was daydreaming.


    He was watching the cave and its structure. He saw how the ice of the waterfall fell off outside and wondered how this place hadn''t collapsed yet. It seems like this happened every time the weather got hotter ever since thousands of years ago. And that is not considering the time before the Bakur tribe found it. The normal cave would collapse by this time a hundred times. Of course, the Cold Energy could be the reason for this but Stone didn''t know why but he thought otherwise.


    ''There must be another secret or something.'' as he was lost in thought suddenly most of the children were already after baptism. Six were still inside and three, himself included, still waited, and now was their time.


    What was worth mentioning was the fact that some of those children were there for a much longer time. The main example is the Urchin who has been there ever since the first batch!


    That means that once he gets out his power will be much higher than others! Some of the children were envious while others were happy that their tribe had a genius who would turn out to be a strong warrior in the future.


    Stone slowly stripped off and went towards the lake under the eyes of others.


    He heard all kinds of whispers from those who were already baptized and now rested on the ground. Only a few were not able to have a conversation since they were still recovering. They were whispering about his fair and pale skin devoid of any scars and being extremely smooth. Those who already noticed his smooth hair back then sneered in mockery.


    "I heard about this from my mother. Aren''t people like that in the South? Those so-called aristocrats and what-not who can''t do anything and need dozens of servants to do their bidding so they stay with smooth skin. He is just like the princesses of those lands ha ha ha. I wonder why would the tribe take in someone useless like this." most of them giggled as they misunderstood Stone''s background since his body devoid of any blemishes was actually because of his gift.


    But Stone didn''t care. He came towards the Kaoran who handed him with a smile the paste made from the poisonous herb.


    "It has the best effect when you smear it on the body but since you will go into the water it would be washed away. That is why you should swallow it.


    "Understood," said Stone as he took the paste in the bottle and immediately gulped it down. The children around were curious as they watched him getting something they did not get.


    Stone didn''t feel any different but he knew that was normal as it takes time to take effect. He then went towards the lake.


    "Don''t forget to once in a while get to the surface to breathe. I know you can survive for a long time but it won''t be beneficial for your health to not do so."


    Stone, who was already at the edge of the lake, looked at Kaoran who nodded at him with a smile and then slowly entered the water...

 17 – Absorbing Herbal Essence

    At first, he put his feet first into the icy water to test it.


    *Shh*


    The cold biting sensation was horrid. It was worse than even the worst winter he lived through. The cold was invading him slowly through his feet to his legs. It managed to penetrate easily to his bones and still progressed up towards his body.


    Stone took a deep breath to calm down and gradually submerged himself deeper and deeper into the lake. Once he submerged half of his body in the water he waited for a moment for his stiff body to adapt to the cold. After that, he pushed himself towards the center of the lake where the water wasn''t shallow.


    Originally he, as the commoner, didn''t know how to swim. But for survival, he had to adapt. He certainly isn''t as good as the children of the north who learned how to swim from tender ages but it was enough to not get drowned.


    When he finally floated on the water right in the center, Stone for the last time looked around taking in all of the scenery, and then took another deep breath. This time it was to take the most air to the lungs.


    Immediately after Stone sank in. He had closed his eyes when he fully submerged himself but in the end, he opened them to see the situation around him. Unfortunately, his eyes which he had opened were invaded by the Cold Energy second after and were a little damaged but right after that they healed.


    The only reason for Stone to do that was his confidence in his gift. Other children were very careful to not expose their weak parts.


    What he saw around himself was hard to describe. The water itself seemed to be a little luminescent thanks to the energy flowing around and shined with light blue light. It was glamorous and beautiful. Stone never saw anything like this.


    In his surroundings, he didn''t see any other kids as he tried to be farthest from them during this baptism. The water itself was a little luminescent but it was still dark deeper in the water so Stone didn''t see much.


    That was until he saw little lights floating in the water showing up once in a while and then disappearing right after. Those lights were easily spotted in the water as they were much brighter. Those stars-like shining particles had a color of deep blue and they were much more resplendent than the water around and Stone''s intuition told him that this was something better than the ''normal'' water around him.


    Kaoran didn''t mention this. Well, maybe he didn''t even know about it as he mentioned to keep your eyes closed since they were easy to be damaged. But then again he wasn''t someone who relied on his natural sight alone. Maybe there was something more to it or Kaoran had reason to not talk about it.


    Stone wanted to explore it a little more but unfortunately, his body wasn''t in the state to swim under the water right now. His body was cold and stiff and the efficiency of absorbing the energy was horrendous during the time he was underwater so far.


    Thus he chose to close his eyes for the time being and focus on the meditation Kaoran taught him. He still wasn''t completely proficient in it but it will have to suffice.


    With closed eyes Stone slowly relaxed his body, letting his limbs freely flow in the water. He focused only on himself forgetting everything surrounding him. He did that despite Kaoran''s warning to be careful as in this state it was easy to drown.


    Of course, Stone can''t fall that deep in meditation even if he wants to. Other children were taught meditating for a long time while he learned it only recently. Even other children adopted by the tribe had more time as they were taken way before Stone.


    Kaoran thought about this obviously. He knew that Stone would strive for the best as he noticed the boy''s mindset twisted by the bad experiences he went through. In a normal situation, it would be for the best to talk him out of it lest his greediness would fetch him nothing. Or worse kill him.


    But obviously Kaoran and Stone knew that this wasn''t a normal situation as Stone wasn''t a normal boy. He wouldn''t die that easily by drowning.


    That means that even if something bad happens, Kaoran will have time to intervene! Normally the time lag between the kids starting to drown and him noticing could be fatal as drowning was a silent killer. If it weren''t for his spiritual sight and instead he actually depended on his natural sight he wouldn''t even imagine how many more children''s graves would be.


    On the other hand, Stone doesn''t need to care about this. Even if Kaoran had delayed response when rescuing him there was no way he would die immediately. Of course that was Kaoran''s deduction after seeing him survive even burning at the stake but even then he wouldn''t risk it just with this. In truth, he took little of Stone''s blood when he was in the coma and did some experiments to get the gist of the regeneration he has. Once Kaoran starts to teach him the shamanistic ways he plans to tell him about it and the danger of letting someone sample his blood.


    But still for the Stone the most important factor for now was not his regeneration but the pain tolerance he gained! After all the more energy you absorb the more it will hurt. Very few didn''t feel pain. And even those who felt it when their body reached the limit and started to get damaged.


    This has to do with their ''affinity'' with Cold Energy. Most people are average or even subpar making their baptism hell. On the other hand, those more talented can get the energy more easily and can hold more. Unfortunately, even they have the limit. Reaching beyond this limit is usually fatal as their body doesn''t withstand it and gets ruptured in the best scenario.


    When Stone finally reached a state of clear mind, he felt like never before. The feeling of not being burdened and being free intoxicated his little mind. Meanwhile, the energy which was time swirling around started to little by little fuse with Stone through his skin.


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    The meditation allowed a person to completely relax his muscles and get his pores wider making it possible for energy to enter into the body naturally. Bakur tribe actually doesn''t have the proper technique to absorb the energy of this level so they can only depend on this basic meditation. The technique of poor quality would just kill the user once used on this kind of energy so this kind of passive absorbing is the only way for them.


    Unfortunately, even the simple techniques were too time-consuming to learn so Stone still didn''t have the opportunity to learn them from Kaoran.


    The energy lazily entered his pores and penetrated through his entire body. Each fiber of his muscles got filled with energy until they became overflowed, the temperature of the body dangerously lowering. Stone literally felt as the blood in his veins got colder as the energy invaded his body.


    It hurt quite a lot but so far nothing as horrible as he thought it would be. But that was obvious since the pain he can tolerate is completely on a different level. The only problem in this situation for him can only be the body''s lower temperature which if too low will disable if not kill him. Of course, it depends on how his body will react to this.


    Fortunately, as the body absorbs the energy it will also gain cold resistance. Furthermore, the cold disappears the moment the Cold Energy fuses completely with the body so keeping the right temperature isn''t a big problem problem for him or the other kids.


    The problem begins once you stay in there for too long which normal children won''t experience. But for Stone, it will be inevitable.


    Stone who already gotten used to the new sensation of the energy circulating his body. Started to feel it from the inside. He felt the energy closing in on his innards which could be dangerous but he kept going. The bones in his limbs had already penetrated and the Cold Energy already got to his marrow at those parts.


    ''Ugh'' This pain was a surprise for the boy as he never felt it before. The gastric acid never managed to get through the bones as his body regenerated in time.


    The pain was amplified as the poisonous herb started taking effect.


    It was a really uncomfortable feeling but he persisted because while it hurt he felt something new. He felt as his body slowly got tougher and tougher which was a euphoric feeling. Furthermore, something different in his body got stimulated, and started to move across his body.


    That''s right. It was the settled-down herb essences slumbering inside his body!


    And now it made the first move! Through stimulation, it started to circulate together with the Cold Energy making them contradictory forces clashing with each other stimulating themselves even more.


    Why contradictory? Well, the more the essence flowed through his body the more his body heated up. Mixing the heat and cold is a dangerous act and Stone felt it firsthand as he felt his body break up from inside as blood started to blend into the water around him. Before it could regenerate though it started to absorb both the essence and energy together making the entire process much quicker and better than normal. Thankfully the poisonous herb didn''t clash with either of the forces and instead got quickly absorbed deep into the body stimulating it for quick absorption of the essences and energy making them coexist together once fusing.


    The entire process of destruction and creation continued as Stone tried to persist to stay with a clear mind. It was very hard to do so as the pain made him lose concentration. But it didn''t matter that much anymore as the Cold Energy now flowed towards him despite losing his concentration. Either through the cracks of his broken skin or forcibly through now narrow pores as the energy got greatly attracted towards the stimulated cycle of heat and cold.


    In the end, Stone stopped trying and tried to distract himself from the pain by complaining to the person who was responsible for this accident.


    ''Damn you, old man! You knew this would happen, right ?''


    The pain he was going through right now was incomparable with kids around who just passively absorbed the energy. He was feeling as if he was crushed and his body turning into a mangled mess. It was a terrible feeling.


    The fact he didn''t pass out just shows how much willpower the boy had.


    The only good news about this is the fact that he felt in real-time how strong he got! It felt as if he had infinitive strength inside his muscles and his bones became unbreakable!


    Of course that was just an illusion but Stone was still excited despite the pain. The stronger he is the lesser chance he will feel so helpless in the future. The bonus point is that the tougher his body is the lesser the chance to get injured! While he can take a hit without falling apart now he still doesn''t enjoy it at all!


    He also opened his eyes to let the Cold Energy baptize them too. Then he relaxed his body once more.


    He thought about going up to take a breath for a moment but didn''t want to disturb the balance his body was going through right now. It didn''t really matter as not breathing for a while was not a problem for him. The more so when his gift has around enough energy that can help him to keep up his quick regeneration which was his hypothesis that he was quite sure about.


    In this fashion Stone let the two natural forces wreak havoc inside his body for a long period of time.


    Meanwhile, on the surface, the kids who were already after baptism noticed that the lake was turning red at the center of the lake and were horrified.


    "Grand Shaman! The lake! It is turning red!" someone shouted.


    "Is it blood?!"


    "Someone is dying there!"


    The children who were still panicking suddenly heard the gust of wind bringing with themselves a strong yet calm voice.


    "Don''t worry. There is nothing wrong." Kaoran stated as he watched deeply in the water seeing the boy''s misery. The children were bewildered by his statement but he ignored them. He knew the boy will be pissed as he didn''t tell him how big the reaction between essence and energy will be. But he knew this was best for the boy. The essence that was settling in his body would kill a normal person already. In the following months, it could hinder Stone in a very bad way and could ruin his life. So for the boy, this was the best solution which also brings many benefits.


    Naturally, he wouldn''t be so careless with any other child even if they had the same gift as him. The reason why he did this was the boy''s eyes.


    The eyes when he was nailed on the fallen stake, when despite his tiredness and face full of pain he fought for his dear life. Stone wasn''t simply someone with great skill. Even in the future when he will gain power and honor he won''t see him as the valiant warrior. No.


    He will see in him something much more primal than the day he met him. That the boy is...


    The survivor.


    As simple as that. Not everyone can be a survivor as not everyone has the will and self-preservation instincts strong enough to survive. Even the strongest warriors fall once in dire situations. And that is despite there being a small chance. Hope to survive.


    Only a few were like this. And Kaoran felt the boy was the same once he saw him. That is the reason for what he did. He did that so the boy could live. So he can survive in this wildlife.


    Kaoran was already 156 years old this year and he knew that the stronger one''s body is the longer the lifespan will be. Or rather the stronger one''s regeneration is the longer one lives. He doesn''t know how it works or if it has some limitations but he was sure the boy will at least live longer than himself.


    Living that long without strength can be considered as either a miracle or a nightmare.


    The boy must suffer now to not suffer anymore in the future. The irony.

 18 – Baptism

    Stone was a little angry at the beginning but in the end, most of his focus was on his body and the process of baptism. The feeling of power accumulating inside of his body was exhilarating.


    As he lost himself in the meditation his body got farther and farther from the surface sinking into the bottomless pit.


    There was no light from the surface but it wasn''t dark either. The deeper he got the more fluorescent energy coagulated around him. Even the dark blue particles were more common in this depth and were unintentionally absorbed by Stone who was in a trance.


    Those dark blue particles were visibly much superior to the regular energy flowing around and just one particle could make a visible change inside of the boy''s body. If it continued this way it could make it more robust than real rocks. Of course, that is impossible as there was not enough time or energy particles for that. But that was for now. No one knows how strong they will get in the future.


    The real benefit of the baptism will show itself much later once the children grow and train making their upper limit of body higher than others.


    It could be said that the toughening and refining of the children''s bodies is only a side-effect of the real thing!


    And now that Stone came to contact with those dark blue particles he has a chance to get even more ahead of other children. The Cold Energy was absorbed through the basic meditation passively without the outer interference which means that once the human body gets saturated with the energy it won''t be able to absorb the energy passively anymore. That means that those with bigger physiques and better affinities could get better results. But in the end, the difference wasn''t that big as most children had similar affinity.


    But dark blue particles which seem to be a higher grade of energy don''t apply to this saturation! It is naturally more potent making it more invasive when it comes to absorbing. That means that as long as you get saturated by normal Cold Energy and then with dark blue particles, you can get beyond the normal limit!


    That is if you can persist.


    The pain of asphyxiation was actually greater than Stone imagined. His head and entire body hurt and he felt dizzy. He already had experienced suffocation before but he always managed to get a lungful breath in the end. Now it is different.


    Now during the reconstruction of his body, he can''t properly move and was afraid that the energy inside of him would go out of control without his 100% attention. That means that he could not go to the surface to take a breath.


    But Stone didn''t panic too much. He had already thought this could happen so he was mentally prepared.


    The pain could be endured but the real problem was the urge to take a deep breath despite being underwater. If it was normal water it wouldn''t be a problem even if his lungs got destroyed but in Kenera Lake there was the Cold Energy wreaking havoc. Breathing in the water full of Cold Energy would cause horrible consequences even to him and cause death to anyone else!


    Despite his inhuman regeneration, his innards were still fragile, and under constant barrage of the Cold Energy, even Stone wouldn''t be able to survive for long if they didn''t regenerate in time. That would be difficult since this would break the equilibrium of herb essences and Cold Energy effectively slowing the regeneration. Thus he couldn''t afford to breathe that water into his lungs where cold would spread immediately to other places. But the instinct to breathe was strong and the striking confusion and headache didn''t help.


    But although he almost lost consciousness every time in the end his mind cleared and his body got relieved from pain a little after a while.


    The regeneration tries to keep him alive at all costs making him able to live without human basic needs like breathing, sleeping, and eating.


    Of course, it comes at a cost and it is not sustainable for a long period.


    But the current situation is different! While Stone''s affinity with the energy isn''t really great, the amount of it pouring inside of his body is still actually great despite not gulping the water down.


    And since his affinity wasn''t that great most of the energy wouldn''t be absorbed inside of his tissues as the efficacy was awful. Most of the energy instead clashed with the herb essences which actually sped up the process of assimilating both but still, it wasn''t quicker than the new energy pouring in. That means that the energy inside of him wasn''t disappearing and the power of regeneration could be used as fuel for the reconstruction of the body.


    It was shown several times already that his power could speed up the regeneration based on the ''sacrifice'', fuel, energy, or whatever else it uses. Now that he has a kind of ''infinitive source of energy'' it allows him to have an insane rate of regeneration inside the water.


    ........


    Time passed by.


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    The blood around Stone was slowly dispersed and showed no signs of movement as he sank deeper into the water.


    The Herbal Essence inside of him was almost used up so the conflict inside of his body ceased. The Cold Energy already stopped pouring inside of him as it was already saturated and now only those blue particles still floated to him.


    His body which was already good now looked as if he was metodically trained from his childhood to be a warrior. Every muscle was strong, compact, and elastic, and together his body was radiating a ''strength''. Fortunately, he doesn''t look like those bulky teenagers that most of the children in the lake were. His body was much toned and had a more athletic shape. His muscles were nicely outlined with wide shoulders and all but it would also not hinder his movement and allowed all those muscles to turn into power.


    Obviously getting muscles wasn''t the end of the metamorphosis. Most of his body parts were enhanced. Even the organs that were fragile before were now much stronger. He even got a little higher through this time and was already 155 cm high. But the biggest change that wasn''t seen from the outside was his weight which was over 50 kilograms.


    Normally after such intensive regeneration his body shouldn''t be so muscular and be much thinner. The regeneration didn''t substitute for all the nutrients the body needed and Stone still needed to eat. The energy around also didn''t satisfy this need.


    It was actually the Herbal Essence inside of his body. That essence was a mix of all kinds of herbs common or rare that the ''Monster'' ate during the span of three years. The amount of nutrition managed to support this Stone''s baptism allowing him to gain much more than he would be able otherwise.


    Finally when his body got fully saturated, Stone slowly opened his eyes. This time they didn''t get damaged as they got strengthened and also gained a bit resistance against the cold.


    He seemed calm as he looked around himself. There was no urge to breathe anymore. His body''s constant lack of oxygen was very difficult to get through but once he got to the very own limit of his body the urge disappeared. There was still a need for oxygen as any other human but the survival instinct to breathe seemed to stop at this point.


    It was very weird for Stone as even now he was suffocating. He had been in the water for a few hours by now definitively. The only reason he is alive is the constant supply of energy repeatedly regenerating his body and to some extent substituting the oxygen. But that was a temporary solution.


    Stone knew he was completely at his limit. He felt his head hurt quite a lot. The lack of oxygen would already completely damage his brain if not for the regeneration.


    During the baptism even his brain was baptized by the Cold Energy and Herbal Essence making it stronger but it was still extremely dangerous since it was even more fragile than other organs.


    Others won''t go through this stage as Kaoran always pulls them out before the Cold Energy gets through completely. Actually in this case the skull was a really good shield against this kind of energy that gets only passively absorbed and it takes a long time for the energy to continue after toughening the skull itself.


    But most people don''t get to that point as usually their affinity is too low and the energy won''t get that deep. That also means that most of the children only have enhanced muscles after baptism. Only after growing up will those children spread out the leftovers of the Cold Energy into the rest of their bodies toughening them further. And that is only after years of vigorous training.


    But Stone''s situation was diferent. Stone got the energy spread out equally in his body completely absorbed thanks to the herbal essence and that poisonous paste Kaoran created. The bones, joints, organs... The brain. All of them were equally baptized and refined.


    While the basic baptism with Cold Energy can basically make any body part tougher, the refinement that Stone went through will completely nourish it and rebuild it from scratch.


    That was beyond careless even with the regeneration he has. But in this case, it wasn''t Stone''s fault, not really. He was after all just 11 years old boy who had just little education about herbalism.


    It could be said that it was Kaoran''s decision from the beginning that led to this. Of course, he took this risk with a calm mind. He knew that Stone could survive brain injury. After all, he saw it when his head was caved in when he fell with the stake. Yet he not only survived but was actually awake for some time until his energy ran up.


    But still, he didn''t bet on it as he watched Stone during the baptism the entire time. He used his spiritual eyes to watch him and his internal conflict. He saw everything and as someone knowledgeable in medicine he was sure that Stone''s regeneration could in truth negate all side-effects the injuries could do.


    Even now he was surprised by that insane degree of regeneration. He even felt that the regeneration got a little stronger by the end! If that was actually true...


    Just how strong it will become in 10 or 20 years?


    Kaoran took a deep breath. While he wasn''t that much calculative when he took the kid in, now he realized that the entire tribe profited!


    Kaoran was thinking about the bright future of the tribe but then immediately ceased his thoughts as he had things to do. He then jumped into the water and dived deep into the water to take Stone out.


    As his weight and density got higher he was sinking deeper and deeper and now was tens of meters below the surface. With Stone''s depleted strength swimming up was impossible. But he was calm since he knew that Kaoran would fish him out...


    ''Huh..?''


    But Stone who waited for him got distracted by something. He was extremely deep in the water in a very special state of mind and felt like he was hallucinating. Deep down below him, he was seeing flashes of light. Those flashes were always very brief but the light it radiated always lit up the entire bottom of the lake. But not in a blue color like that of Cold Energy. It was pure golden and it was very beautiful. Stone didn''t know what this mysterious light was but he was completely captivated by it. He even felt that his headache decreased in that moment and he fell into tranquility he never felt before.


    That was until Kaoran caught him from behind completely surprising him.


    Kaoran didn''t waste the time and immediately started to swim towards the surface not even looking at the bottom. As if he didn''t see that light. But how could he not see it when he even got the ability to see spiritually? Kaoran explained to him that he was also born with gifts the same as him. But his gift was centered around the ability to see and hear the spiritual beings and energies. With his decent spiritual talent, he was perfect for the shaman''s position.


    So obviously there was no chance he wouldn''t see it. But that wasn''t on Stone''s mind anymore as he slowly started to lose consciousness while looking at the golden lights flickering at the bottom of the lake...

 19 – Solid Foundation

    When Stone finally woke up he was already in his tent. The surroundings were dark and not much could be seen.


    Normally, that is.


    Stone, who lay down on the fur''s bedding, opened his eyes as he looked around. He immediately realized this was his new tent. It was dark so he was mostly outlines of the tent but that was enough to surprise him.


    During night when the tent is closed there is almost zero visibility in the tent. But now he can vaguely navigate through this tent just fine. He wondered what happened until the memories hit him.


    "Oh. The baptism... Was it successful ?" muttered Stone to himself as he started to feel out his own body.


    ''Well, I definitively feel much better now. Before I still felt a little stiff. Probably thanks to that Herbal Essence...'' thought Stone happily as he stretched himself.


    In truth, he wasn''t feeling that much negatively before. It was just that the difference now was too big for him. He felt as if his body lost the invisible shackles and was now finally free! He felt invincible.


    When was Stone finally satisfied he tried to stand up. He almost tripped as the strength in his eyes was much greater than expected but he quickly composed himself. Then he went steadily towards the opening of the tent.


    Stone put the fur covering that hole to the side and took a step outside of the tent. As he looked at the dark sky he realized that it was nighttime. The crescent moon was still in the sky almost covered with clouds while the stars around shined with splendor.


    He was now sure that his eyesight improved. Even back in the tent where almost no light was coming in he was still able to vaguely see but now on this starry night, he saw almost as good as during the day.


    Not only that but he felt the gentle warm wind generated from the Totem brushing his body much more sensitively than before while hearing and smelling things he was never able to.


    For a moment his mind was overwhelmed.


    Fortunately, it was just momentary, and soon he managed to catch his breath. These changes were too sudden but with time he will be able to completely adapt to this.


    As Stone wondered why his senses got so much better, he heard the call from behind.


    "Ayo kid, are you up already? I kind of expected you to sleep for days like last time! BAHAHAHA! the boisterous laugh was heard right afterward.


    Stone got goosebumps when he realized who was behind him. When he turned around he saw the man full of muscles who towered over him as if he was a bear. It was the leader of this tribe and also his trainer.


    "Degres ?" Stone was dumbfounded at the moment. He doesn''t know him for a long time but he knew how loud this over two meters tall guy really was. The fact that he managed to sneak up on him at this moment when Stone''s senses were in literal overdrive after testing them was absurd to him.


    "HA ha, what? Did you think that after this day you would be able to beat your teacher? No way-"


    "Shut up, Degres! It still isn''t morning so either don''t be so loud or get out of camp immediately!" Before Stone could register what was


    Degres saying the loud scolding sounded out from the shaman''s tent.


    Degres looked awkwardly at the body was still a little dumbfounded and told him quietly:


    "Well, for now, let''s go on our way. I will tell you everything once we get farther from the camp." then he turned around and went towards the forest behind Stone and Kaoran''s tents.


    "Where ?" Stone called out but didn''t get an answer.


    With an annoyed look, he then turned towards the shaman''s tent. He contemplated for a moment but then sighed as he followed the big man into the still-dark forest...


    ........


    After who knows how long, he finally caught up to him somehow but Degres still didn''t slow down and went farther and farther from the camp.


    Stone had plenty of problems during this time. He literally just woke up and was completely unfamiliar with his body making it difficult to walk let alone run.


    During the way Stone tripped dozens of times and once even bumped into his side a tree... The only reason why he even got a chance to see


    Degres'' back was that Degres always extremely slowed down when Stone was sprawled on the ground while laughing to himself.


    Now that Stone was finally able to keep up somehow with him he finally asked.


    "Huff... Huff... Where- where are we going ?"


    Degres turned his head, not even looking before himself, and laughed happily.


    "We are going to your future training place, obviously! Now that you got rid of all of the defects your body had, we can begin the ''True training''! Hah hah hah..."


    "What...?"


    ''What real training ?'' Didn''t they train together since the beginning? So why would he say that.. ? Unless...


    The more Stone thought about it the more he didn''t like it. It wasn''t like he didn''t want to work hard. He wanted to be powerful, to be able to control his own destiny. To take revenge. But even the ''basic'' stretching he did for those two months made him dead tired. What about now when Degres planned to increase intensity and probably the time to train too?


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Of course, the intensity needs to be changed based on how much his body got strengthened but what Degres really talked about was the foundation he always talked about. He was treated as ''broken'' before but now his body can support bigger intensity of training. And with a strengthened body after the baptism, the intensity will increase accordingly...


    ''Just what we will be doing ?''


    *Bang*


    Just as he was thinking he didn''t realize there was think branch before him. Degres with nimbleness completely not fitting his bulky body crouched down as he continued. Without warning Stone, obviously.


    On the other hand, Stone who was distracted bumped right into it. They weren''t running very quickly, more like they were just trotting so the impact wasn''t that big and it made Stone only lose his balance and fall on his butt.


    Stone groaned for a bit and looked before himself. Degres finally stopped running as he also turned around and waited for Stone to get up which made him surprised.


    "Now then, I think that the warm-up of yours was pretty good, wasn''t it? Ha hah! We will be there soon so there is no need for quick tempo anymore. Once we get there we need to let you use every muscle of yours to truly get used to that new body of yours~"


    Stone was surprised. So that was the reason for this behavior of his. But why do this?


    "Why did we have to do this? I got tripped so many times. Wouldn''t it be better to take it easy for me to get used to the body slowly ?" asked Stone with a sour face.


    "Ha ha, It is a tradition! Also, the quickest way to get used to the new power your body has is through using it in extreme situations! Yes you will be injured but that is what shamans are for, aren''t they ?" Degres said smugly.


    Stone groaned. He was never good at arguing. So he chose to just let it go since it was true that he could now use his legs comfortably. Instead, he chose to ask a few questions regarding this.


    "Others will also take this training since it is tradition ?"


    "No, they will have their instructors do this once the sun arises.


    "Why can''t I also start at sunrise ?"


    "You woke up sooner then why the wait, right ?"


    "..."


    After a few seconds.


    "And wouldn''t there be some side effects for some of them? Everyone just got through a big change in body and could have some problems during this ''tradition''." as Stone asked again he looked at Degres.


    "Huh, You don''t need to be worried about that. Old Geezer already checked out all of you for any hidden injuries, deformations, energy accumulations, or whatever could happen during the baptism. There are only two children who are not in the state to start the training and even those will start in the week at most. Ha ha ha, of course, they will have it harder than you as you can just recover from anything. Others do not have this privilege and will get injured quite a lot. Of course, their training is just ''normal''. You will receive the ''real'' training where we will use the full potential of your gift. Look forward to it, Heh heh heh."


    Stone groaned once again...


    ........


    After that, the conversation stopped for a moment until they got to their destination. Once they got through the neglected path full of thorns and thick branches of bushes, which by the way Degres stormed through without caring whatsoever, they finally got to their destination.


    Once they got outside of the forest Stone saw the place in its entire form. It was a frozen wide spot surrounded by cliffs from all sides except the one they came from. There was plenty of space for training all the kids but Degres plans to train solely Stone here. While there were signs of human touch in this place it seemed to be a long time since Degres didn''t visit this place for years. There wasn''t anything out of the ordinary, it was just a place completely isolated allowing undisturbed continuous training which Degres as someone who liked to do long training sessions, appreciated a lot.


    The clouds were already turning orange and red, indicating the arrival of a new day, and the rays of light showered on this place making it look picturesque.


    By now every adult in the camp was already up and those children who still slept, like the dead men, had an unpleasant surprise awaiting them. But still, their new regime won''t be as excruciating as what Stone goes through by far. Degres will make sure about it.


    When Degres entered the hidden spot he came to the center and with arms opened wide open and with a boisterous laugh he said:


    "Well then kid, welcome to your new training place! From now on, every day you will be here an hour before the dawn for the training!"


    When Stone heard this he wasn''t very enthusiastic but he chose to be quiet.


    Degres, seemingly satisfied with the lack of complaints, continued in his speech.


    "Originally, I wanted your daily training to be from dawn to dusk, unfortunately, the old geezer wants to teach you those stupid tricks of his.


    Even though you are completely born to be a warrior uncontested in the Frozen Valas Tundra and maybe in the farther lands! Well, it doesn''t matter. Since you can''t train for long then we will just increase the intensity." Degres then showed his teeth as he smiled.


    "The moderation and rest days are important, just not for you but for others."


    When Stone heard this he knew that his days won''t be simple from this day onwards... But he was still curious. So he interrupted Degres and asked:


    "Why are you guys taking so much regard for me? I mean, from the beginning your treatment towards me... Kaoran already said he wants me to learn the profession of Shamans while you rehabilitated and trained me from the beginning... And yesterday you gave me the opportunity that probably changed my life. What for ?" Stone then looked Degres right into his eyes.


    Degres who was looking back, for once, wasn''t smiling as he said seriously.


    "Didn''t we already tell you that when you woke up from the coma back then? You are our investment. We Bakur Tribe are not samaritans.


    This place is dangerous and any tribe of the Tundra can disappear at any time. We take care of abandoned children we find not only to save them but also to save us. And YOU are the biggest investment that Kaoran ever made. And for that reason, I believed him and invested in you too and I already believe that I did right."


    Stone''s mouth was agape. He wasn''t as gullible as to think that they saved him without any kind of ulterior intentions. On the contrary, he was at some point if they didn''t want to the something similar like that crazy clan and were hiding it behind the smiles. But Stone at that time wasn''t in the right condition so he was just going with the flow. But now when he heard the real reason he was surprised. Not only it was just too simple of reason but also he didn''t expect Degres to say it outright like this. But then, a sudden memory of him listening to granny Meddie talking about the ''North Barbarians'' who weren''t that big of thinkers, hit him and he guessed the reason.


    "That''s it ?"


    "That''s it, kid, what else were you expecting? Ha ha ha. You should already understand what kind of beast I can make out of you! At that point, I don''t need to constantly fear about the tribe''s situation. Furthermore, I simply enjoy this training of yours so far! I already trained a big bunch of kids but nobody could keep up as you can and you can learn things quickly since you have a smart head on your shoulders."


    "I see. That makes sense, I guess," said Stone who already understood what he needed to do next. Instead of thinking about receiving things without giving anything back, he will just train harder until he can pay off everything he owes with some interest. He didn''t know what his future would be like for now he wouldn''t think about that and just focus on the present.


    Degres who heard that smiled and then took out some small tool and handed it to Stone.


    "What''s this?"


    Degres then pointed at the cliff farthest from them.


    "Do you see that cliff covered in ice ?"


    "Yeah ?"


    "behind it is the small cave where I left all the training equipment. Dig it up. You already warmed up your lower body during the sprint so this will help you to get used to your upper body!


    "..."

 20 – The Way Of The Body

    Just this task took him two hours. The tool used for the digging of the ice was just a small ice pick which made it much harder to dig. After this Stone was completely spent even before the main course of training. The ice pick in his hand was covered in blood as Stone hurt himself several times during this time. If not for his regeneration his hand would be full of wounds...


    "Huff, huff, damn it..." Stone, who finally got inside the cave, put his hands on his knees as he felt the need to rest. But when he looked around he didn''t see any tools or instruments that Degres talked about. That made him stop breathing for a moment. He hoped that Degres wouldn''t let him do all this for nothing. While the pain of sore muscles disappears before it even appears the mental fatigue is there.


    Degres, who waited the entire time, finally entered the cave from behind and went deeper into the cave. The cave itself was very small, just 15 meters in diameter. Degres ended in one of the inconspicuous corners there was a very big rock lying there.


    The rock was as tall as Stone and was even wider. But Degres then rolled the big rock away like nothing and the cave trembled for a bit. Then he turned towards Stone once again and pointed at the place where the rock was before.


    "Here is all the equipment for the training, let''s go." He said with a smile.


    Stone put his gaze at that place. There he saw a small wooden trapdoor leading down. At first, they didn''t look very durable but once he got closer he felt the cold brushing against his skin.


    Those doors were baptized by the Cold Energy! When Stone realized it he was surprised. It made sense to him though. Making those doors from metal would use too much material the tribe lacked. On the other hand not using the Cold Energy would make the door easy to destroy and would probably wear off in a few years. So this was the most cost-effective way to hide the equipment.


    But now Stone really wonders what kind of equipment that will be.


    When Degres finally opened the lock, which was the only metal part of the doors, he went right inside without waiting for Stone and he didn''t know if he should follow inside or not. He stood there awkwardly for a few seconds but before he decided Degres was already back.


    In fact, he didn''t hold that much of things. In one hand held one very long stick with engravements all over itself and in the other the box covered in furs.


    Stone thought he would bring something more interesting so he didn''t know how to feel. Maybe seeing his reaction Degres started to explain.


    "This will suffice for now, lad. Right now, what you need is not the body training to build muscles or training some weapon techniques as Southerners do. Now after you just built your foundation and got strengthened by baptism you need to learn how to use your body efficiently!"


    To emphasize his point Degres flexed his arm muscles whereat Stone just blankly watched and Degres once again laughed. At some point, Stone thought that he was mentally ill. Why is he laughing after almost every sentence? He got a little annoyed by the crazy guy but the training that awaits him will be already hell so he won''t say anything stupid for it only worsens.


    "Use the body efficiently?


    "What I am trying to say is that most people simply cannot use their bodies to their fullest potential. Most of them just chose to learn preset movements to use in some situations or with some items and call them ''techniques'' and ''forms''. But once they lose that thing or are in the situation they were not prepared for they are unable to do anything, hah! But our tribe is different!" when he said it he strode outside of the cave with Stone after him.


    "Our Ancestor, the honored Kennera was the great warrior who traveled from her land of the ancient trees and warm wind to all kinds of places and fought many foes before she settled here. She wasn''t as strong as we are now. She was in fact weak before all kinds of beings born in this world. But she was talented and instead of just putting her life in the hands of others she found her own path. She called it The Way of the Body. Instead of just learning how to fight she first learned how her body worked and how to control it. Once she did she trained herself to the limit. In the legend, when she was at her peak she was able to wield any weapon once she got the hold of it, she could fight monsters with bare hands and use rock to fight against swords."


    When Degres told the tale of his ancestor he was visibly excited and Stone felt his fervor. He didn''t know how much of this was truth but it really was awe-inspiring. He also found out the origin of the Kennera lake''s name. Well, she was probably the one who found it as she settled here or settled here because she found it.


    As he thought about it Degres ended the story and said lightly.


    "This is what every member of the tribe strives for! The complete control over your own body to achieve the unachieable. Fortunately, you have never learned how to fight so you won''t have the problem. Right now you just got out of the baptizement and are just like the newborn baby who doesn''t know how to move properly. I''ve let you do the basic warm-up but that is just to let you prepare for the real training which will begin now!"


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    Immediately after before Stone could react Degres banged him with the stick he held in his arm on the head.


    "Shall we? Ha ha hah."


    The training began...


    ........


    The first impression Stone got when he started the first day of training was that it hurt. And that was despite his pain tolerance. But the second impression that he got right after a while was that it seemed to work already. After all the rookie''s mistakes are the easiest to fix.


    Stone who was under Degres'' constant commands to perform all kinds of movements and poses got hit by that stick in places where he moved poorly. Then he needed to adjust the posture until he got the approval or he would get smacked again.


    Fortunately Stone had already little experience since he was under Degres for over two months knowing his body well and now after the baptism he just needed to adjust a little which was easy after that constant sprint and digging that Degres let him do before.


    Stone''s adjustment was even easier than others since his body got equally baptized without any discrepancy. Even his senses got much stronger complementing his heightened strength. Kaoran already knew about it and told Degres so he could change the training accordingly.


    Thanks to this Stone didn''t need to do all those stretching exercises that teach you the body anatomy and instead focus on the ones which push your limits.


    But despite the heightened senses Degres still managed to sneak up on him in the morning showing his dominance over his pupil. Degres isn''t the type to like losing even in this kind of meaningless thing. Who knows how this man managed to get into the leader''s position...


    As of now he instructs Stone to do basic but irregular moves and guides him with the stick by hitting him precisely into the muscle he should or shouldn''t flex, by the movement he did unnecessarily and other.


    But what Stone didn''t know is that this was just the beginning. It could be said the introduction to the training that will await him in the next days and years.


    After several hours of relentless Degres finally stopped hitting him and said to Stone:


    "We have last hour before I need to give you back so use this time to sit on the ground and meditate. The Way of the Body isn''t so easy to learn is more about the synchronization of mind, spirit, and body. Calm your mind and contemplate the moves you did wrong and after I will explain them to you. This will also help you learn self-assessment and self-reflection of your own body and building your mental strength."


    Stone immediately sat down dead tired with sweat trickling all over his body. Then he looked at Degres with a question in his mind.


    "Degres, what did you mean by giving you back? I know that Kaoran wants me to learn his things but that wouldn''t be now, wouldn''t it ?" asked Stone with little concern.


    "No, your training begins right after this one, of course! I have you from dawn to noon and he has you from noon to dusk, ha ha hah!"


    He replied cheerfully but Stone''s heart turned cold at this point. How is he supposed to survive this kind of intensity?


    The beginnings are always the most difficult to cross for people and he was no different from them. While his mind craved strength and revenge, his heart didn''t burn for it. He felt hollow ever since his village got destroyed and all that anger he had accumulated seemed to dissipate. But in truth, it just got hidden very deep inside of his heart without him even realizing it. As such he was still a little lacking when it came to the motivation.


    But he knew very well that complaining wouldn''t solve anything so he crossed his legs to get into a meditative position and closed his eyes.


    What he didn''t expect was that the meditation state was this time much easier to get into than ever before. It was so obvious that he noticed immediately. This didn''t make sense to Stone though. Just yesterday he meditated just before the ceremony yet the difference was significant. There was only one day difference.


    The first thing Stone thought about was the baptism itself but Kaoran would definitively tell him beforehand since he explained how the baptism worked and what benefits it gives. So Stone thought what else there was unusual that could induce this change...


    ''That golden light!'' at this time the memory struck him and he remembered what happened to him just before he lost consciousness.


    The same light that Kaoran seemed to completely ignore... Stone decided that he would ask him later as now was not the time for it.


    Then for most of the time left he reflected on the movement he did. Without Degres'' guidance, it was too hard to fix the mistakes and improve himself. But it wasn''t utterly meaningless since Degres always hit him where he moved in the wrong way. Injury and pain were already gone but the sensation was still engraved in his mind.


    With this as guidance, he found some of the glaring mistakes in his movement. It was just the tip of an iceberg but for the first time it was passable and Stone was content with himself.


    Then at the end of the session, he went to verify his findings with Degres. Degres, who waited for this, explained everything in detail, instructed him how to change the wrong movements, and helped Stone to form the basic idea of the concept of ''The Way of the Body'' that the tribe was practicing.


    The biggest problem was that Degres wasn''t exactly eloquent in the speech and Stone had a problem understanding some of his explanations since he was still a beginner in the Theras language. Fortunately, most of the things were demonstrated by Degres himself and then guided precisely with Degres''s hands on Stone allowing him to perform those same things much better than before.


    In the end, Stone was totally tired and his clothes were drenched but the inner contentment was something he never felt before. Lying on the ground still in the snow he heavily breathed. There was no need to fear to catch a cold as such a minor thing was never a problem for him. But despite that, he still wants to wipe his body and change clothes before doing anything else.


    "Well, that is all for today. You can now go to your next lesson without me. Don''t forget to clean yourself on the way and get into dry clothes. I have still things to do here now, ha ha hah!" as he said that he turned around and disappeared into the cave. He probably planned to take out all the equipment that he left down there and do something with it. Stone didn''t want to think about it and turned towards the camp until he realized...


    He doesn''t know how to get back! When he got here, he didn''t have the mind on the path at all.


    Looks like it will take some time to get back...

 21 – Spiritual Training

    When he finally got close to the camp, an hour already passed. He didn''t know if he was late so he just ran into his tent, undressed, tossed away dirty clothes, wiped the sweat off, and dressed into new clothes. Immediately after he ran towards Kaoran''s tent and when he got near


    Stone heard calm words from inside:


    "You are here."


    Stone entered the tent breathless. Inside he saw Kaoran sitting on the ground in the center waiting. Then he simply said with an expressionless face: "Sorry I got lost on the way back."


    Kaoran who heard this smiled as waved his hand gesturing to Stone to sit. And so he did. As he sat across from the old man he waited for what he will say next.


    "Hehe, You don''t need to worry, I already expected this. This is just what Degres would do. Did you remember the path properly after this ?"


    "Should have"


    Kaoran smiled at that." Then that''s good. In truth, you didn''t need to hurry so much. I would tell you beforehand if I wanted to you come specific time. You are still not officially my student."


    Stone nodded at him." I see."


    "So now let''s discuss it. Would you like to learn under me? Before I said it on impulse as I found out about your knowledge of herbalism but even without it I thought about teaching you. Not many children are as smart and sensible as you, Stone." Kaoran let Stone decide as he knew forcing this wouldn''t bring any results.


    Stone looked him in the eyes and frowned. He expected this would come as Kaoran said he would like to teach him for real but didn''t expect he could make a choice. In truth, he wanted to learn even more than the body training Degres was teaching him. Despite his affinity for the warrior''s path being much higher, something was attracting him to the spiritual part of the world. The world is full of mystery and adventures! There was a bit of longing in his eyes for a moment but then he shook his head with a sigh.


    "I would love to. But I am pretty sure that my talent in this area is pretty poor so..." Stone was a little gloomy but he knew it would be just a waste of time.


    "Indeed. Your spiritual talent is horrible. Actually, I have never someone with such bad talent." Kaoran who listened to Stone nodded at his words making Stone feel even grimmer.


    "But does that really matter? Your talent is bad but not nonexistent. Most people won''t have even that bit of talent that you have. And now it is only your choice to let it rot like many others who discarded their not-so-good talent or let it slowly develop at its own pace. In fact, spiritual talent is one of few that can be even nurtured to some extent. I assume that you were not born with this talent and actually gave birth to it during some bad experiences you went through." Kaoran looked meaningfully at Stone.


    Stone who heard all of that was shocked. For a moment he was speechless as he thought these things out. So his spiritual talent wasn''t natural? Bad experiences? He went through a few already in his short life...


    "Still, Is it worth it? Won''t it be a waste of time for both of us ?" asked Stone with concern. Nobody wanted to learn something for years without any success.


    "It may be hard." Agreed Kaoran with a nod. " But you are young and you have the time. You probably have all eternity to learn..." He ended saying with an ambiguous tone.


    Stone was a little confused at this as he knew that talent was still more important than the time he spent on training. Furthermore, he was young but what hindered others from learning from an even younger age?


    "Like I said spiritual talent can be altered to some extent so even if most of the knowledge you learn will be useless for now it may not be so in the future. Moreover, I think you completely forgot that I won''t teach you just things like this. Shamans have many abilities and a lot of them don''t need spirit arts to use!" added a smiling Kaoran.


    That was the last straw that made the undecided boy who hesitated finally give in, making him decide to become the student of this old shaman. He doesn''t know what will this bring him or how it will change him but he definitively hopes this was not the wrong choice he made that day.


    Seeing Stone nod made Kaoran elated as he was really looking forward to teaching this boy. He immediately took the wooden goblet filled with some red liquid beside him and opened it. It was already prepared next to him since he expected Stone to agree and the boy didn''t disappoint him.


    " Lean to me and accept the shaman''s blessing," said Kaoran with a serious tone. Stone obediently listened and leaned toward him. Kaoran dipped his in that liquid and chanted ceremoniously as he painted at him:


    "Let the newfound knowledge open your eyes..." he started to paint on Stone''s forehead an eye symbolizing the acknowledgment of the world as it is.


    "Let your heart never waver as weeping was never weakness..." Kaoran continued with his thumb and forefinger painting long lines under Stone''s real eyes symbolising the responsibility towards the kin.


    "Let your hands, stained with mortal''s sin, be tools of creation, protection, and healing instead..." Stone''s hands were then stained with the paint symbolizing the Shaman''s ability to heal, create, and protect instead of the ability to destroy....


    ........


    This continued for some time until the ceremony was done. When it finally ended Stone exhaled the air he kept in his lungs. He unknowingly held his breath the entire time. The ceremony didn''t take long but it was definitively engraved in his young heart. The invisible burden in his also relieved as he felt relaxed at the spiritual level.


    When he opened his mouth to talk to Kaoran the paint which covered half of Stone''s skin suddenly brightened and turned into the light particles which disappeared in the air.


    Stone who saw this was surprised as he thought he would need to wash it somehow later.


    "That was paint made of several rare spiritual herbs. I will tell you about it later."Kaoran who did the entire ceremony was glad that everything was done well. The ceremony wasn''t just a show. The paint was for Stone to build a connection to the spiritual world allowing the ancestral spirit of the eagle in the totem to judge if the boy was worthy.


    And worthy he was. If not he would not teach the body he knew only for a few months the legacy their shamans passed on from generation to generation.


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    Furthermore, this connection didn''t completely disappear since Kaoran used the rarest herbs to concoct this painting. This would help Stone to bridge the lack of spiritual talent to some extent. Some tribesmen may be a little dissatisfied with this favoritism but this was Kaoran''s own collected stack of herbs so they would not be able to say anything to him either way.


    "All right." Stone whose''s curiosity was satisfied for now awaited what will happen next.


    "Now that the ceremony is done there is no need to rush and we can talk in peace," said Kaoran with a relaxed face as he got up again to retrieve something. This time it was a pair of hollow horns of an unknown creature or creatures. He then went to one corner of the tent where there was a small cauldron full of something. Before Stone didn''t perceive it as he was focusing on the conversation the entire time but now he remembered that there was little of steam coming from his right where the cauldron was. It seemed like some kind of beverage that Kaoran let cool down a little during the ceremony. When he got close he scooped the cooled content with those two horns and came back.


    "Here. This one is best to let cool down before drinking it. Also here. You probably didn''t have the time to eat yet." Kaoran handed over one of the horns to Stone with a smile and then as if he remembered he threw him a big chunk of jerky. He sat down and kept the second horn as he inhaled the scent of the drink with serenity on his face.


    "What''s this? Is it for another ceremony ?" asked Stone as he looked at the horn in his hands. It wasn''t that big showing that the animal wasn''t some kind of gigantic monster and it had simple decorations on itself but what really attracted Stone was the herbal smell of it''s content. It reminded him of something he heard about very long ago.


    "Tea ?"


    "Close but no. This is called tisanes. It is an herbal drink made from the herbs I personally cultivated. Try it."


    Stone who heard him took a sip. Just that alone helped him to relax as he felt a little nostalgic despite tasting it for the first time. The taste felt overwhelming for a moment as even his tastebuds got baptized the day before but he adapted to it soon. The drink itself was lukewarm but that gave it the refreshing feel. He then started gobbling the jerky as he was starving.


    It was one of Kaoran''s favorite drinks. In the north, it was normal to drink only hot beverages or alcohol to warm up so this kind of cold drink was rare. But it is not like he or the boy before him needed to warm up through hot drinks so it was fine. From time to time Kaoran made this tisane for himself and seeing Stone enjoying one too made him happy and a little smug.


    The soothing atmosphere pervade the tent as both young and old were content sitting on the ground. Kaoran watched his new student eating jerky while drinking his drink and wanted to break the ice with him since they still had things to discuss.


    "So... How does your body feel after the baptism ?"


    "Good."


    *Sigh*


    "Can''t you be more detailed ?" Kaoran asked since he was curious.


    "Very good."


    "...."


    Black lines formed on the shaman''s forehead. The atmosphere seemed to dissipate at the moment as the tent fell silent.


    ''If I or Degres didn''t force him to speak here and there then Stone''s word count during those two months would be abysmal! This bad habit needs to be fixed as soon as possible!'' Kaoran took a deep breath as he smiled again and asked him differently.


    "Tell me how much your senses got better. I already know about it since I checked your body and watched the baptism but I don''t know to what extent. It is important for your future studies. I told Degres so I bet he already tested you too."


    Stone who was lost in his thoughts looked up at Kaoran and answered seriously this time.


    "I can see much better even when during starry night but still not as good as during daylight. I can also smell many more scents than before but they mix together and sometimes it overwhelms me a little since there are many disgusting smells around. Other senses are also much more sensitive but the one that got improved the most is definitively hearing. I can hear people talking even over 100 meters away, hear things I couldn''t hear before, and more. It is somewhat uncomfortable when there are unpleasant sounds but it can be endured.


    Kaoran who heard that took his chin in hand as he thought. In truth, Stone''s senses should have been much better even before the baptism. The Herbal Essence that was flowing around his body instead of benefiting him made his body dull and weak. And now after it was properly absorbed during the baptism his senses got another improvement together with his body. While others were also baptized they didn''t have either the Herbal Essence inside of them or Stone''s regeneration making their baptism ''normal'' as the Cold Energy just strengthened their body. Thus their senses are almost the same as before with difference being in higher sensitivity towards the cold.


    "That''s good news. Sensitive taste and smell are good for your path as an herbalist while other senses are good for the warrior and spirit path you will go through. There are many benefits. I will teach you from tomorrow how to train your senses to a certain extent as it may cause some inconveniences during daily life otherwise."


    As Kaoran continued to talk about this Stone suddenly interrupted him surprising the old man.


    "Now that we are talking about the baptizement, did you notice that golden light at the bottom of Kennera Lake when you took me out ?" It was a sudden question but Stone really wanted the answer.


    "Golden light ?"


    Kaoran furrowed his brows.


    "No. There was no light at the bottom of the lake. It may be just a hallucination when you were in a semi-conscious state." suggested Kaoran.


    But Stone just shook his head. "I am pretty sure it was real. Those symbols inside of the light were too intricate to just dream them up.


    Furthermore, during the training with Degres, I went to meditate and felt the visible improvement that was not there yesterday."


    Kaoran who heard this furrowed even more his brows. Baptizement shouldn''t have any impact on the spiritual path so any improvement in meditating wasn''t its work.


    "How much better is the meditation now ?" so he chooses to ask more questions.


    "I think that if I try I will be able to fall into deep meditation in two hours at most."


    Those words surprised Kaoran. While this is a mediocre result for most to get into deep meditation it is important to realize Stone''s own talent. He shouldn''t be able to progress that much in such a small timeframe. This means that there was some external help definitively.


    But if it was really something in the lake how could no one notice it before? Maybe the fact that Stone was in a semi-conscious state helped him to see it. Or something else? In the worst scenario, it wasn''t there before and somehow got into the lake in recent years meaning the lake was either discovered or contaminated!


    Kaoran didn''t know but he would need to go to check it as Kennera Lake is too much important for the tribe.


    "Thank you for telling me. I will need to go there tomorrow. Today it won''t be possible as I will need to have a meeting with other elders and Degres." sighed Kaoran


    "Hmm.." nodded Stone.


    "Let me check you first." Kaoran then activated his spiritual eyes and looked at Stone. He didn''t notice anything irregular as he scanned every part of the boy''s body. There didn''t seem to be any change. Bad or good.


    *Sigh*


    "For now let it be. There should be nothing wrong with your body. If my theory is right it should be some form of enlightenment that helped you in your breakthrough of basic meditation. In that case, it was highly beneficial for you."


    With that, the conversation about it ended. Kaoran stood up and said lightly to Stone:


    "Since I won''t teach you today yet let''s end it here. I need to look for others to discuss it. You don''t need to come tomorrow either as I will be in Kenera Lake. But from then on your real training under your master begins!" said Kaoran with an impish grin.


    "We will begin with herbalism as you seem to have a good foundation already and there is mostly no need for spiritual energies. Then later we will continue with learning the medicine which is bound with herbalism on many layers! This will take years so other things will need to wait."


    As he said that he drank the last bit of his drink and came out of the tent. Stone who saw this threw the last bit of jerky into his mouth, drank it down with the tisanes, and went after Kaoran.


    It seemed that he was finally free that day. Before he even said goodbye to the shaman he already disappeared. But Stone didn''t pay attention to it and instead went to his tent.


    Immediately after he plopped on his bed. He knew he wouldn''t be able to do that in two days as he would have every day full of training so he chose to enjoy his free time now. He closed him and for the first time in years, he thought about his future.


    There were many uncertainties within his mind but he knew that this was a much better situation than how he lived before. Even in his village, his family worked their ass off only for being able to have little food in the mouth. But he felt that in this place his hard work would finally pay off.


    ''It will be hard but this kind of hard work isn''t that bad...'' was the last thought of Stone as his consciousness slowly fell into the darkness...

 22 – Hunting

    Time has passed and the seasons have changed. Yet the northern lands seemed to be unchanged and still encased in the eternal ice and snow. On the contrary, it seemed that the weather was even worse as time passed even though winter still hadn''t come yet.


    The cold wind blew across the land and snow covered most of the ground. In those dense forests, there was almost no sunlight penetrating the snow canopy that was covering the treetops. The entire forest seemed to be a white world full of howling wind making this serene scene picturesque but eerie.


    During this adverse weather, most of the animals got into their shelters to conserve their energy or simply hibernate. Of course, there were exceptions.


    A lonely moose was trotting his way in the forest through the high snow with difficulty. It was moving towards new places where there was food it could eat as the weather around became more and more unkind to anything alive.


    It went through an arduous adventure not expecting that it become prey in the eyes of the hunters preying on the crowns of trees.


    *Swish*


    The sound of an arrow splitting the air sounded as the moose got alerted. Unfortunately, it was too late for it as the arrows already arrived before it. One of them hit it into its side but the other one hit it in the neck.


    The hurt moose bellowed as it tried to run away but after a few meters, it fell onto the ground dead. The white world now tainted with red color once again became silent. That was until the laughter sounded out as the adolescent boy jumped from the tree.


    *Thud*


    "Damn, that''s lucky. I''ve been prepared to pursue it for another hour or so if we couldn''t kill it in one go. Your aim is really good. That is the only reason we are not behind the other groups... If only you got yourself that damn wolf too..!"


    The incessant blabbering interrupted the eerie atmosphere that permeated the scene. The boy came to the lying body of the dead moose and viewed it with great interest.


    At that moment another thud sounded as another boy jumped from the tree, bow still in hand.


    "Stop loitering. We need to be quick, Urchin." a curt retort sounded out from another boy of similar age to Urchin. The difference was that his tone was even and bland making him look not so sociable.


    "All right, all right." Urchin rolled his eyes got close to the moose and pulled out the two arrows. One of them seemed to be still usable so he took it while he dismantled the other one and took only iron arrowhead.


    Then he turned around with a grin.


    "Well then, I will go to look for Hunter. You can go to butcher it, Stone." then he disappeared as the sound of laughter was left behind.


    Stone who heard that was a little annoyed but didn''t waste any time as he came to Moose with a knife in hand. Before butchering it he needed to let it bleed out so he made an incision in the throat and severed its jugular vein and carotid artery. The creature already died by bleeding out from its neck but that doesn''t mean that there was no blood left. Leaving the blood in the meat can create many problems so it must be done.


    He went towards its hind legs and tied it with rope he had with himself. Then he looked up and found some sturdy branches on the trees around him where he threw the loose end of the rope. When the rope wrapped around that brach Stone started pulling at it, using it as a pulley, slowly but surely lifting the giant creature above the ground. Once it got a meter above the ground Stone tied that loose end around the tree ensuring it would hold.


    Finally done, Stone wiped the sweat that formed on his forehead and waited for it to bleed out.


    Looking at this from the side people who have known Stone for a long time would realize how much the boy has grown and how much handsome he has become after 3 years he lived in the tribe. After rigorous training and taking care of his health, Stone''s complexion and physique got much finer than before. Not to say they were not good before but that was only compared to men in the north.


    At this point, Stone had grown much taller last few years and most of the baby fat he had on his face already disappeared. His muscles got bigger but stopped growing lately as there was no need to get them bigger anymore and instead, he trained his body only for higher strength. His body shape was accentuated by the simple leather armor and clothes of high quality he wore.


    After that day Stone started to train every day diligently and with dedication. He woke up before dawn and went to sleep immediately after the sunset. The time blurred as the only thing he did during those times was training.


    At some point, Degres took out all things hidden in the cave and started to teach Stone in earnest. Those things included wooden pillars for training balance, all kinds of weapons, weights, and much more.


    Over time Stone was taught how to utilize those weapons and even other items to fight and how to utilize the environment you are in. Learning how to sprint in dense forests or even climb on the trees and jumping from one to another became just one of my regular exercises for Stone.


    At the beginning it was hard but as time passed he became quite proficient at it. Of course, Degres would increase the intensity by that time but it was much more bearable for Stone.


    Stone realized that The Way of the Body isn''t that much about the body but actually focused on the mind of the individual. As such this could be called the mind method than the body method. That is the reason why more and more of the training falls under the meditation and self-reflection part as training progressed, strengthening Stone''s mental fortitude in the process.


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    On the other hand, the training with Kaoran was much easier at the beginning thanks to his solid foundation in herbalism but became harder as new knowledge started appearing. Kaoran was even stricter than Degres and taught him so many things that Stone thought his head would blow off.


    At the same time, it was fun to learn new things so he was still earnestly trying to absorb all the knowledge that Kaoran threw at him.


    Later when his knowledge in herbology got deep enough, Kaoran added to the training medicine knowledge and let Stone be his assistant when he was treating the tribe members. This helped him to improve his relationship with them and his experience quickly rose with all the practice.


    He also became proficient in basic meditation during this time. But it could be still developed so Stone didn''t stop practicing it. Once he had perfected the basic meditation and gained enough merit and approval from the tribe Kaoran promised to teach meditation methods inherited from their ancestors. Other methods are circulating in the tribe but they were either simplified versions of that method or something stolen from other tribes they fought against which were usually much more inferior.


    The reason for that was that the ''Nature Breath Method'' that belonged to the ancestor Bakur was from different continents where the method came from. It was said that his ship was wrecked in this land where he later settled with Kennera who became his wife.


    Together, Kennera as an indomitable warrior with her tamed Storm Eagle by her side and Bakur as the first shaman who showed up in these lands, they managed to dominate the Frozen Valas Tundra. Even after thousands of years their tribe still stood tall thanks to its deep foundation like Kennera Lake or their Totem''s Ancestral Spirit which was exactly the Storm Eagle of Kennera.


    Unfortunately, the spirit slowly dissipated as time passed and now it was much weaker. The process is even more accelerated as the Totem got destroyed several times and the spirit needed to move to a new one.


    But back to reality.


    Stone who waited for a while surmised that this was enough and took down the moose. He used the knife to open its abdomen and started gutting it. He took out its stomach and intestines which were too hard to clean, its bladder and gallbladder, its glands, and lastly the lungs.


    Other innards were normally eaten in the tribe so it would be a waste to throw them away. Then he turned at its antlers. Usually, this would be a kind of trophy but Stone wasn''t interested and he didn''t care for Urchin''s option. The moose was already big as it was and those antlers were heavy so he chopped them down and tossed them away. After he was done he waited for Urchin who disappeared.


    After a few minutes, he heard from the distance the sound of a beast running while pulling a sled on which an exuberant Urchin was enjoying himself.


    Stone for a moment showed a disgusted expression, but soon, his face turned expressionless again.


    Urchin who didn''t know about it came swiftly with a grin on his face. He stood on the sled which was pulled by a big wolf namely ''Hunter''. He was bigger than a regular wolf despite being just one year old but for the one reared by the tribe, he was pitifully small.


    Hunter was not only smaller than his peers but also much more clumsier and more timid bringing mockery to his owner. Most people in the tribe get the puppy of the wolf they then raise by themself. This generation is no different and more than a quarter of the children who turned 13 got their own puppy.


    Others either were not still mature enough or weren''t physically fit to train this kind of Bakur Wolf who could grow to heights of over two meters in just two years when they reach adulthood. Only Hunter was an exception. Some elders wanted to persuade Urchin to kill it and get a new one but Urchin, as willful as he is, refused and raised it with love.


    That is why most teams who hunt the game have at least one wolf in their team. Stone''s team was peculiar as they were only two and the only wolf was still too weak and timid to help in the hunt itself. Stone didn''t want wolves irritating Urchin every hunt as it would immensely help them.


    Of course, Stone had his reason.


    Urchin threw a gaze at that stubborn partner of his with a trace of amusement in his eyes.


    "So have you enjoyed yourself ?"


    "Yes, now help me to get it on the slide."


    "Tsk. No fun with ya."


    "..."


    "Tsk."


    The following task was done efficiently as each of them took in their hands one side of the moose which was over 5 meters tall and loaded it with difficulty on the wooden sled. Urchin then took ropes and tied them firmly so they wouldn''t slide off.


    "Will Hunter be even able to move it ?" He wasn''t so sure about that.


    "He will need to. If not we will need to push from behind," answered Stone.


    Urchin groaned. Hunting was always fun but transporting it back to camp was not.


    Unfortunately, lately, there have been fewer animals in forests near to valley where the tribe resided during the warm days. As the winter was closer lot of animals chose to migrate to the south just as the moose they just hunted. This was abnormal as usually, only a few species migrated, and most stayed. It could be because of the harsher winter but that was a gradual progression that was happening for years. Why would animals escape so suddenly? That was the question of many in the Bakur Tribe and the tribes around.


    When Hunter started to pull it needed to put its entire strength into it as the moose was simply too heavy. Urchin and Stone who saw it started to push it from behind but it was difficult as the snow slid below their feet making it difficult to keep balance when pushing.


    It took them another hour to finally get out of the forest. When they got out they were on a small hill where they could see landscape around. Urchin didn''t care as he only thought that since they would go downhill they won''t need to push anymore. On the other hand, Stone looked around before once again turning towards the sled and hopping on it.


    Urchin also got on and both of them held firmly as the sled started to accelerate Hunter ran at full speed down the hill with happy barks.


    "Yeah, Hunter go at it, ha ha ha!" Urching laughed as he enjoyed the ride. Stone on the other hand was vigilant as he felt something was wrong for a while. And he was right.


    Halfway down the hill, he noticed that in the trees before them was someone hiding. ''Ambush?!'' Stone quietly reached for one of the one-handed axes he had strapped on his waist. then he leaned to Urchin and whispered to him.


    "Ambush ahead." Urchin stiffened for a moment but he still looked thrilled from the outside as if Stone didn''t say anything. But he secretly gestured to Hunter so they could quickly get off their predetermined path if needed and slowly took out his bow.


    Urchin never fought anyone to death so he inevitably was quite nervous. Stone too only once exchanged blows with one of the crazy clan members that wanted to sacrifice him when he wanted to escape. But that can''t be really counted as a fight. So he also wasn''t in the best state as he tightly gripped his weapon and tightened his muscles.


    Both of them reached a silent agreement as both of them chose their roles preparing to fight. Right as they came close to one of those trees...


    *Swish*


    Several arrows showered them!

 23 – First Kill

    "Hunter, left!" roared Urchin and drew his bow as he hid behind the moose''s body.


    In this kind of speed, the accuracy was bad but it could at least help to intimidate those ambushers hidden in the crowns of the trees stalking them just as they stalked the moose.


    Hunter tried to avoid them but some of them jumped from the tree right at the riding sled trying to fight Meelee. It was a man covered in a mask made of bones wearing weird ornaments made of teeth. The daggers he wielded were made from obsidian and aimed at Urchin.


    But Stone, who was prepared, borrowed the momentum of the sled and body slammed the ambusher, whose body made crunchy noises, completely throwing him off. Stone''s body shook as he almost fell but he managed to catch on the moose''s fur and hold his own. He didn''t know if Ambusher was alive or not but he definitively broke a bone or two and wouldn''t be in a state able to fight now so Stone chose to ignore him.


    He looked around and noticed that there were much more enemies than he expected. Hopping from tree to tree they were at a disadvantage.


    So he came to the front of the sled and with one swing he separated the straps that connected Hunter to the sled.


    "What are you doing ?!"


    "We won''t be able to lose them! We need to fight. If he is strapped to the sled he will definitively die!"


    Urching looked at Stone and nodded then he aimed at the men around and started to shoot them. As the sled slowed down his accuracy got better and better until he managed to hurt some of the ambushers and even kill his first enemy. But as it wasn''t in close combat it didn''t have any impact on him. On the other hand, Stone chose to take the hunting spear which was secured on the sled for hunting big animals.


    He already knew that close combat was inevitable. The gap between switching bow and spear could be fatal so it was better for only one having the bow right now.


    While Urchin''s arrows found their target, ambushers couldn''t as most of the arrows hit the moose which the duo used as a shield.


    Fortunately, Hunter also hasn''t hurt as it changed the route every few seconds under Urching''s command. Now that it wasn''t tied to a sled it hid behind the trees and awaited another command.


    Finally, the sled stopped moving and the closest ambushers jumped right at them. Stone took a step forward to take the fort until Urchin switched the weapons and defended against two of the closest attackers.


    But that was obviously much harder done than said. The attackers were just normal people and their strength was much inferior to the Bakur members but that is compared only to other adults. Stone, while outstanding, is still in the growing phase and can only match and not surpass the individuals before it.


    One of them also wielded the spear while the other was wielding a dagger in one hand and throwing knives in the other acting as support.


    Stone deflected the first attacker''s thrust and made a jab to counterattack. Unfortunately, he saw in his peripheral vision the thrown knife so he needed to retreat a few steps.


    The knife flew around his face and lodged itself in the tree while Stone made a step forward and aimed at the spearman''s neck. Two made few exchanges as Stone needed to circle around to avoid the throws. Fortunately, as the rest of the attackers came Urchin who already switched his weapons lunged right at the guy with throwing knives.


    Of course, someone with knives can''t fight head-on with a spearman so when he perceived the attack he planned to retreat. But before he could there was a spear hurled at him impalling his stomach. The high-pitched yell got out of him as he tried to take out the spear.


    Unfortunately for him, Urchin who got closer by that time thrust his spear into his neck swiftly ending his life.


    Stone who found the opportunity to kick his enemy threw away his spear to help Urchin get rid of that guy. Right now rest of the ambushers already come and started to surround them. In that situation, it would be hard to maneuver with the spear. So he took out both of his axes at this time and attacked the spearman before him.


    The attacker once again thrust at him but he lowered his body and dodged by a hair''s breadth with one axe locking with the spear and the other chopping the enemy''s mask and face in half. When the mask slid off it showed the confused split face of a child similar age to Stone making him stiffen a little.


    That was the first man that Stone personally killed but he didn''t have time to think about it as he was attacked from several directions.


    "Stone, those are from the Uhera tribe! Their weapons are poisoned!" he heard Urchin yelling not far away from him as he fought off two spearmen.


    Those three had much better coordination and seemed to be more experienced than the two before making Urchin almost die in a few seconds and could only continuously retreat. Unfortunately Stone couldn''t help as he was surrounded by three others showing that the enemies think of him as a higher threat.


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    Of course, Stone noticed that another two went after Hunter since the beasts are usually more dangerous than men, and letting them go could spell their doom. That means that there were still at least seven attackers alive.


    If it were any other tribe they would be already doomed. But as men of the Bakur tribe, they had their own advantages. The weapons for example. While they had the spears made of baptized iron and wood the enemies used the fragile obsidian.


    So at first opportunity Stone tried to break one of the spears thrusted at him. Unfortunately, the other two made it impossible. All of them were spearmen and continuously circled him to attack him from three sides making it almost impossible for Stone to defend let alone attack back.


    The enemies were silent but the eyes behind the mask burned with desire making Stone feel as if he was watched by a predator.


    "Agh! Damn it!" suddenly he heard Urchin cursing. He didn''t have the time to even look at him but it was obvious what happened. He was wounded. It didn''t sound as if he was heavily injured but a light one was enough. The weapons were poisoned after all.


    Stone knew that the current situation was dire and if he didn''t do anything Urchin and maybe even him would die. So he needed to think of a plan.


    If Urchin didn''t warn him of the poison he would use his body as a meat shield so he could then kill them swiftly. But now if he was poisoned even if it didn''t kill him it would affect him in the battle which is unacceptable.


    As he exchanged another few blows and even more evaded as if he danced he wondered what to do. But there was no time to hesitate so he chose the most straightforward way.


    If he can''t win with skill then he will use his brute strength!


    "Ha!"


    In one moment he was still tangled with them. In the other, he threw one of his axes at one enemy who managed to block the blow but his spear snapped in half.


    Stone immediately rolled towards one of the enemy and while holding the axe with both ends he chopped at his leg.


    "AAHg..!" the blow was so strong that the leg was smoothly severed and the man fell to the ground wriggling in pain. But before Stone could end him he turned around and hurled the bloodied axe at the third enemy who already made a move.


    Because of that he couldn''t block the axe perfectly and got a gash on his main hand.


    Stone who saw this went to a one-legged tribesman and extricated the spear from his hands. But despite the pain, he didn''t let go of the weapon. So Stone took out his butchering knife and decisively stabbed it into the heart. When the struggle stopped he managed to take the spear with difficulty.


    Then he faced off with the enemy whose spear snapped off. He was switching the weapons during this time and took out his short blade. But against the spear, it wouldn''t help him much.


    Stone started attacking both of them aggressively as he gained an advantage over them.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t expect that at this time another enemy showed up behind with one of the axes he threw. Stone with his acute hearing noticed someone was behind one step slow and blocked the hit head-on.


    But as said before there was a difference between the quality of the weapons of the Bakur tribe and the Uhera tribe. Spear snapped and the axe lodged in his right shoulder.


    "Ugh!" Stone grunted in pain as he looked at his assailant. As expected it was a Uhera member but this one was heavy as he had claw gashes around his body bleeding and already lost his mask showing the face of a young adult.


    ''Is this the one who went after Hunter?'' Stone wondered. But as he saw he was heavily injured he let go of the spear parts in his hands and grabbed the hands of the enemy.


    The enemy who thought he dealt the fatal injury smiled a little but little did he expect that Stone would switch the place with him and use him as a shield against the other two!


    This way he managed to stop the other''s attack and then kicked the guy he held at one of them. Finally little breath Stone took the axe lodged in him and tried to take it out. It seemed to be stuck in his collarbone so it was even harder and more painful.


    "Hah! Huff...Huff...Huff" After a strong yank he took it out with a heavy breath.


    The roles once again reversed as Stone was again at a disadvantage and the other Uhera members had once dominance in the battle. Unfortunately for them, they didn''t know that this newfound advantage was short-term as Stone''s shoulder hidden by the broken leather armor visibly healed.


    In just a few minutes he would be able to fight at his full force.


    But that was too long for Stone who knew that time was of essence. The battle between Urchin and the other two enemies was almost at the end as one of them lay in the puddle of his blood while the other slowly cornered the weakened boy against the tree half-leaning.


    *Growl*


    But before they could clash again Hunter who disappeared for a while finally got back and lunged at the distracted enemy biting his head off.


    The last two enemies were staggered so Stone who saw that acted and jumped towards the closest one chopping diagonally into his neck.


    Then he turned to the last one who still wielded the spear and started to sprint to him. That one already knew that this battle was lost but showing the back to his enemy would just make him an easy target.


    So trying to wound the enemy and then running was the best option!


    Stone, seeing the thrust aiming at him, blocked it with his axe but didn''t expect that the enemy would skillfully redirect his axe and then let go of his spear only to lung at Stone''s right side aiming at the right hand holding the axe with his obsidian dagger.


    Stone didn''t have a different option and abandoned the axe. Instead, he caught the hand holding the dagger redirected the attacker''s body, and tripped him on the ground. While still holding the armed hand Stone sat down at the man''s body, stripped his mask, and started to punch the enemy in the face.


    But this enemy was attacking back with punching, scratching and even biting to discourage Stone. Unfortunately, this won''t stop him. Instead, he stopped punching and used his nails which while trimmed all the time were still sharp.


    *Slash*


    "AAAgh"


    He pushed his thumb into the right eye of another young man below hearing him screaming. That young man tried to wriggle to push his hand away but with superiority in strength and the help of gravity Stone slowly pushed his thumb deeper and deeper until most of it disappeared in the cavity.


    Then the screaming ended.


    Both of the arms helplessly fell to the ground as their owner just died a horrible death.


    Stone who was still sitting on him rolled over as he lay down next to him with heavy breath.


    Soon the adrenaline pumping in his blood dissipated and the fatigue and pain got to him. When he turned his head around he felt a little nauseous and so just started into the sky. The carnage around him this time wasn''t just the deed of others but something he personally did.


    This time he was the one who created this kind of bloodshed but the nausea quickly receded and the only emotions he felt at the moment were...peace and quiet.

 24 – After The Battle

    "Damn..." when he heard the voice from the distance he remembered that he still needed to help Urchin.


    So with effort, he pulled himself up as he went towards the tree Urchin was leaning on. Besides him, the wounded wolf was lying down with one eye closed.


    Despite Stone''s aversion, he appreciated this wolf who despite its weakness still fought bravely.


    "Urchin, do you know what poison they use ?"


    Asked Stone who already got closer to Urchin and looked at his wounded side.


    "Yeah... It''s usually the blackthorn. But now I think they used something different. I know probably why..." Urchin who was relieved that the fight ended said with a pale face.


    Stone frowned as he started to examine Urchin''s wound to recognize the poison and waited for him to continue.


    "I have learned a little of their tribe language in boredom once. Those two before me said something about the moose and our bodies...


    Those motherfuckers wanted to eat us together with the moose!"


    "Hah?" Stone who heard this shivered as he realized why they looked at him with such a gaze. It seemed it wasn''t just bloodlust.


    "Seeing your reaction, I guess this isn''t their regular behavior? No that''s not important now. So you think that the poison is something easily curable as otherwise they wouldn''t use poison on ''their food'' ?" When Stone saw Urchin agreeing he nodded to himself as his hypothesis seemed to be right. He was a little confused as to why would the enemies use the poison which can be cured by herb which is literally everywhere but now it makes sense.


    The poison they used was one called Green Dream as it usually slowly paralyzes the body until you lose consciousness. It wasn''t absolutely fatal but still, more than half people who didn''t take the antidote never woke up.


    So he went to look around and in just half a minute he found the herb. He collected it and gave it Urchin to chew on. Then he stopped the bleeding of the wound properly and bandaged it with a clean cloth.


    "Heh, I really envy that regeneration of yours! Now I will need to be weeks in bed! My training will be delayed and my body strength, stamina, and all will regress! I hate it!" Urchin was gloomy as he was complaining about the unfairness of the world.


    But Stone completely ignored him as he treated him. Maybe he was a little rougher as to make Urchin quiet with a pale face as he suffered the pain.


    Once done Stone stood and wiped his hands he told Urchin to get on the sled. Then he turned towards Hunter who still lied down. He came to it and crouched again and checked its wounds.


    Those wounds were long but most of them were shallow with only one deeper. What looked ugly though was the slash across the eye. Stone forcefully opened its eye but fortunately, it seemed that the eyeball wasn''t damaged thus not affecting the eyesight of the eye. Of course, there will be a big scar that won''t disappear even with Kaoran''s help but something like that doesn''t matter to the wolf.


    The problem was when it came to the herb he needed to feed it. The wolf despite its intelligence simply refused to eat the herb so Stone needed to feed it to it with force.


    So he opened its jaws against its will but when he wanted to throw the herb in he stiffened. The smell of the wolf''s mouth made his nausea worsen as he stumbled a little.


    He gritted his teeth and mustered his willpower to put one of his hands into its jaws deep enough so the Hunter could not cough it out.


    Once done he wiped his arm across the snow on the ground to get rid of the saliva. Then he turned to Urchin who watched this from sled.


    "Wait here, I need to check around."


    "All right, thanks mate for Hunter''s sake." Urchin smiled as he patted the grumbling wolf who came to him to complain about the unfair treatment.


    "Sure." after that Stone went around to gather the weapons they left behind. He looked around if the corpses didn''t have anything useful on them and checked the entire area.


    When he got to the place they were ambushed he found one corpse and two heavily injured enemies. The killed one had an arrow in the lung but the real cause of the death was the head turned into a bad angle. By the position of the body, it was obvious that after he got hit he fell to his death from the tree.


    The other injured was also hit by Urchin''s arrow as he lay down further away on one of the tree branches tending to his wounds. He had the arrow right in the stomach narrowly surviving.


    Unfortunately, before he could escape or go to help his comrades everything already ended. Stone who found him with the traces of the blood took out his bow and aimed at him.


    He was thinking about whether to just incapacitate and interrogate him but dismissed the thought. While it didn''t seem so dangerous to him since he has the quick regeneration it didn''t mean he was completely safe. Furthermore, he would need to take him back towards Urchin as he didn''t understand their language. Unfortunately, even Urchin wasn''t fluent so the details would be lost in translation.


    So he drew the bow with an arrow, steadied his breath, and released the arrow. The enemy didn''t even know how he died before he got another arrow right in the chest killing him instantly.


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    Then he returned to the last one who seemed uncoscious. It was the one who Stone slammed out of the sled. He lay down on the ground with blood stains a few meters long behind him. He seemed to try to crawl away when he was still conscious but with his current state, it was impossible. After crashing into Stone his bones cracked and when he fell off the sled at that speed his bones completely shattered and part of his chest caved. It was a miracle that he still lived and Stone wouldn''t believe it if he didn''t see his chest regularly rising.


    But not anymore as Stone mercilessly lifted the handle of the axe and decapitated the man.


    When the man''s head rolled the mask slid off revealing yet another youthful face.


    ''Hmm most of them are in their early twenties. But while young they were still much more experienced than us but seemed quite weak. So what made them attack us in this way ?''


    While attacking other tribes was usual the desperate behavior of those guys was abnormal.


    When he looked closer towards their bodies he realized they were malnourished. It really seemed that they didn''t have a full stomach for quite a while.


    ''So they really wanted to eat us huh... This also explains why they seemed weaker than us in the fight. Is it a problem of the entire tribe or just this particular hunting team ?''


    Bakur tribe as mentioned before let the children usually form teams of two to five and let them hunt and contribute a certain quota of meat to the tribe every month. Those teams are usually formed a few years after baptism after rigorous training and learning how to hunt.


    As Kaoran mentioned before, this tribe doesn''t raise you for free and every child needs to contribute. For a quota''s worth of meat, children get to have enough food, clothes, weapons, rest, education, and training. Once they don''t meet the quota there are restrictions until they do so. Of course, the opposite is the same. Once you give more you get more.


    Stone heard that the Bakur tribe wasn''t the only tribe who did this and many others were the same or even more ruthless. So Stone wondered if this was one of those ruthless tribes. But of course, since Urchin was so surprised then it meant this was an abnormal situation.


    ''Is there so strife in their tribe? Or did the migration of animals influenced them so much? After all in the north meat is the most important source of food since corn and grains won''t grow here let alone some vegetables and fruit trees. But those tribes should be rearing their livestock for meat so there should not be such shortage of meat inside of their tribe unless something happened.''


    He shook his head and stopped to think about it. He will discuss it with Kaoran and Degres once they get back. Stone felt that they should get to the clan as soon as possible and not waste time here.


    Once he made sure that there was nobody else he chose to go back in a hurry. While Urchin had already an antidote and his battle prowess returned it didn''t mean that he could fight next round. Leaving them alone was his trust in them and the need to get rid of all variables.


    When he got back to the sled he was relieved that nothing happened but soon frowned when smelled some pungent smell. Urchin was just tying the sled back to Hunter who seemed to recover some of his strength after a little rest. Little farther from him was snow tainted with vomit. Looks like that once Urchin got out of the dangerous situation he couldn''t avoid the nausea of killing for the first time.


    "Do we still keep the Moose? Those bastards completely perforated it with those poisonous arrows. But on the other hand, I don''t want to give up on it. We just risked our lives for it..." Urchin who heard Stone''s steps turned to him and asked him a question.


    When Urchin said this his face showed a reluctant expression. Stone understood his frustrations as the moose they got was big enough to fill the quota even for other month and lately it is harder and harder to hunt some worthwhile game as a lot of animals migrates to the south because of the worsening winter...


    "The Uhera Tribe is farther in the north than our clan right ?"


    "Hmm? Yes, they should be. Why you ask ?"


    "Did they migrate in the past when the winter came?


    "Hmm... I don''t think so... Most of the tribes in the north do not migrate. Since they settled there they were aware of harsh winter there and adapted." Urchin said with a thoughtful expression.


    Stone furrowed his brows. They needed to hurry.


    "We take the moose. Can''t afford to lose it. Grand Shaman will detoxify it. Now, we need to go."


    Urchin who saw his behavior nodded, turned around, and gestured for Hunter to pull them toward the home...


    Unfortunately, they were already at the bottom of the hill so the only thing they could do was to push too. It was hard after all that fighting but they had a much stronger will than normal children of their age so they managed somehow.


    This time though they were trying to be as inconspicuous as they could be with five-meter-tall moose. They didn''t know if there were any other ambushers around and didn''t want to find out.


    "Stone, why are you in such a hurry? Did you think of anything ?" Urchin who was pushing the sled with exertion turned his face at Stone who was concentrating on the pushing. He also felt there was something wrong but he didn''t feel such a hurry as Stone.


    "Lately animals were migrating from the north to south in very high numbers which caused uproar in the tribe. Furthermore, because of that, many animals from this region also started migrating as if on instinct. And now even tribe from the north that normally didn''t do so turned up here hunting us. So something must have happened in the north. "


    Urchin took a deep breath as he realized the problem.


    Once all animals disappear they will lose the main source of food. Once the tribes further in the north migrate here they will fight the Bakur Tribe for food. Or hunting them as food. Both were possible as they just happened to them and there was a chance that happened to other tribesmen who were outside of camp. Furthermore who said that the problem happening in the north didn''t concern them too?


    Usually, in the Frozen Valas Tundra, bad winters lasted for a few years, and then the weather would get better for another few years. This was the normal cycle of this place. And now when the warm weather will soon end the Bakur Tribe would usually start their journey through the Frozen Valas Tundra as the valley always gets frozen. But in this situation, it may get complicated.


    After saying all this Stone fell into silence and Urchin was also quiet. Stone didn''t know if this was the real reason but all the hints directed to this conclusion.


    In the end, he needed to ask Kaoran to make a real conclusion. But Stoned feared that the times before them would be grim if this was the truth.


    Both of them got farther from the place of the ambush and were sliding through the snow with heavy hearts. Stone''s injury already healed completely showing his unfair ability to regenerate. On the other hand, Urchin''s side stopped bleeding but was still nasty.


    By overexerting himself during the way his wound opened so they needed to stop so Stone could stop the bleeding.


    Because of this tempo slowed down and their already late return was delayed even more.


    When they got already close to the valley it was already deep in the night. All in all, it took them 5 hours to get home after hunting the moose. Now close to home they finally relaxed.


    But they noticed the clamor that wasn''t usual at this time in the camp. Seeing that light was lit all around the camp the duo seemed to be a little nervous as they hurried...

 25 – Sleepless Night

    Soon they got close enough to realize that there was no attack or anything so they were a little relieved. But the atmosphere was still tense as people with torches were discussing something. Many tribesmen started to arm themselves as the rage overwhelmed them. In the center of the camp close to the Totem, they saw many of the people lying on the ground with various injuries. They were getting treated by Kaoran and others but some had already cloth over their face while someone sobbed next to them.


    Most of those were wearing hunting garments as they were out for the hunting including those of the same age as Stone and Urchin. They immediately took two and two and realized what happened.


    As they got closer someone noticed them as he yelled and some people reached for their weapons until Stone and Urchin got to the light showing off their faces.


    Once others realized they were one of their own they stopped and instead some of them ran to them to check out their state.


    "Urchin, Stone! Are you guys alright? There were several ambushes of the teams hunting outside!" as they got closer they heard the voice of the closest person who got to them.


    "Hey, Kamer. Yeah, those bastards almost got me! Fortunately Stone and I managed to take them down." Urchin complained as he held his side.


    When Kamer went a few steps before them he stopped and looked at Urchin''s hurt side and the disheveled Hunter. Then he saw the moose and sled completely covered with the arrows. His face immediately turned unsightly.


    "Fortunately you had Stone with you. Others didn''t have this luck and some passed away even after surviving the ambush. We need to..."


    At that moment Stone who was quiet the entire time interrupted him.


    "While I got him out of the worst he still needs the treatment. I didn''t take the right equipment so I could do just basic treatment. Don''t rush before discussing things with Grand Shaman and Chief. Treatment of others is the most important thing now."


    After saying that he freed Hunter and took forcibly Urchin who was whining that he was fine even though he obviously wasn''t. Hunter was obediently following his master and Kamer while still angry reigned his rage as Stone was right.


    But before he and others could leave he heard Stone yelling from a distance.


    "Process the game! We will probably need it more than ever! Also, it is contaminated with Green Dream so let Grand Shaman detoxify it later!"


    ........


    The smell pervading the place was a mixture of blood, feces, urine, and medicine making even some hardened warriors nauseous avoiding the place. When it hit Stone right in the face he almost threw up but restrained himself. Kaoran taught him long ago how to rein his physiological responses during such situations.


    After that Stone lost track of time as he helped other people learn in medicine. He could still be called only apprentice as he was under Kaoran less than three years but that was still better than most of the tribesmen here.


    After those years the tribesmen found to admire this erudite young man who learned under Degres and yet still had the energy to learn with Kaoran. They found out that Stone wasn''t the fragile man they expected from his appearance but the tough kid as his nickname indicated.


    This made life here for Stone much better as he always was shunned by the others. While he wasn''t trying to show off his gift after years most of them realized that something was different about him since the growth of hair and nails was a constant process. Furthermore, the fact that he never came back from hunting injured was weird even for the best warriors.


    Only Urchin so far found out that he had the regeneration of a monster. After all, they hunted together all the time and could be said to be close friends. But the difference between this place and his home village was much bigger than he expected.


    Instead of disgust, he saw the envy and amazement in Urchin''s eyes when he first saw Stone''s injuries quickly disappearing. In the tribe where strength was revered this was the real gift and not the curse as Stone sometimes perceived it. Urchin even said that once others know his popularity will see a deep rise in popularity!


    Ever since that Stone really felt that he integrated into this tribe. Yeah, he still could not be said to be social since the only people he speaks to daily are Urchin, Kaoran, and Degres but still lot of the tribesmen were already his acquaintances. So seeing so many injured people whom he knew made him a little restless.


    When he was treating all of these people he noticed that some of those injuries were unique. Some injuries were extremely mangled showing that the enemy used heavy blunt weapons. Other injuries had very ugly and deep jagged lacerations obviously done from some kind of saw weapon.


    There were also many times of poisons and other things. From all of this Stone realized that the Uhera Tribe wasn''t the only one. Thinking about this, his hypothesis was surely close to the truth.


    But he stopped thinking as he instead helped to stop bleeding, sewed the injuries, etc. He even needed to amputate several of his limbs during that night. Unfortunately, the drug that worked as the anesthesia was used up soon since there were simply too many injured people.


    So the only things that the physicians could do was to knock out the poor guys and then as quickly as possible sever the limb they needed to amputate.


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    Of course, because of the strong vitality of some of them, it was harder to knock them out and some were simply impossible to knock out without heavily injuring. That''s why the screams reverberated throughout the camp bringing the somber atmosphere.


    New hunting teams came once in a while showing new grotesque injuries that engraved into Stone''s mind. At that time he saw that one team was coming from the darkness. Wolfs rode and pulled the sled on which two anxious boys stood. Lying down was one of their team members with her leg destroyed by mace. Once they got off sled Stone immediately ran to them as he took the equipment.


    Stone, who saw the mangled leg of the girl as old as him, prepared to knock her down until she stopped him with tears in her eyes.


    "N-no.. If y-you let Grand Shaman l-look at it, it will be fine! Please, I beseech you!"


    Stone stiffened for a moment but then hardened his determination and tried to knock her down. Unfortunately, she fought back.


    "Noooo! No, please, someone! Please!"


    The boys who were with her didn''t know what to do. They already knew her leg was beyond redemption but they couldn''t do it under her heavy begging. They used the excuse of not being professionals or not having the right equipment inside of their hearts but that alone almost cost her her life. This indecision made Stone disgusted but he didn''t have time for this if he wanted the girl to survive.


    The girl still struggled despite Stone trying to bring her into an unconscious state. At that moment Stone already gave up. There was no time as she already lost too much blood.


    So he took the sickle and prepared to do the thing.


    He could just chop her leg with his axe in one swing but would hurt her more if he did so. Normal weapons wouldn''t make clean cut since she had body baptized by Cold Energy circulating her body for 3 years already. That would make just another ugly wound if he tried. On the other hand, the baptized weapon would hurt her even more since the Cold Energy from it would seep into her flesh bones, and bone marrow.


    Just because she was baptized and had higher resistance to cold than others she was immune to it.


    "W-what? What are you doing ?! NO!" the girl started to struggle even more as she realized her plea didn''t reach the ears of the guy.


    "Hey... Maybe we really should go to Gran-"


    "Shut up and hold her tight. She will die soon if I don''t do it," said Stone with a calm but forceful voice that made those two silent as they pinned her to the ground despite her screaming.


    Stone then took a deep breath and circled the sickle right above the mangled flesh of the leg eliciting the cries of pain from the girl. He did it quickly and efficiently cutting the flesh all around the bones. He put the sickle aside and took the saw. When the girl and boys saw this they paled.


    But Stone needed to do this as quickly as possible so he immediately did the deep. As he sawed through the bones the girl finally couldn''t withstand the pain and terror she felt and fainted. On the other hand, the boys turned around and puked. These guys were really weakminded in Stone''s opinion.


    Once the leg finally fell off he did the treatment to stop the bleeding. Unfortunately in this case it was impossible to create any medicine as there were other patients. So he could only let her be after he stabilized her state.


    He then turned to those two guys and gave them the herbs that could negate the Green Dream and showed them the people he noticed had the symptoms so he could not just stand there. Some physicians already sent some people to gather those herbs outside of the camp since this kind of herb was too common to normally collect delaying the treatment. But after treating Urchin, Stone took more. And he did right.


    As time passed more and more hunting teams were returning injured and tired needing the treatment. But those were the lucky ones as more than half of the hunting teams never showed ever again...


    In the end, the entire night passed with painful moans of the patients and stressed physicians.


    When everything finally calmed down Stone sat down and fell asleep in the sitting position. His body was still full of energy but the mind accumulated the fatigue from the entire day and night. Not only he was on the hunt almost the entire day, but he also had gone through the same ambush as the others. But instead of rest he and Urchin took the damn moose and pushed it all the way to camp. Then Stone instead of letting others take care of him went to help with the patients completely draining his mental strength.


    So at that moment, he went to sleep not caring that the smell of death was still around him...


    ........


    A few hours later Stone woke up with flinch. The sounds of screaming people resounded in his head as the uncomfortable headache spread.


    Stone was used to having nightmares so this was nothing new.


    Just another event eternally engraved into his mind. This night many people died but the screams will remain forever.


    The sun was already up and the morning wind blew around the camp. When he looked around he saw that most of the hurt people were still sleeping on the ground outside. Fortunately, the Totem''s warm wind protected people inside its boundaries from the cold outside.


    Furthermore, the ground was padded with furs so the patients are in warmth and don''t lie on dirty and cold ground.


    Okere, one of the physicians watching over the patients, saw him waking up and came to greet him. He was an old, balding man who had a grumpy temperament yet gentle nature. But the scar across his blind eye showed that he was still a warrior of the tribe who was as dangerous as any other fighter.


    "Already awake kid, hmm? It was just two hours or so, you should get more sleep. We didn''t want to wake you up so we left you here since this is close to Totem."


    "Later. I need to talk with Grand Shaman." Stone who stretched himself and got on his feet, frowned seeing his hands and other things covered with blood.


    "Yeah, if you want to see him then you will have to wait. He has a meeting in his tent with other elders of the tribe. No place for ya, kid."


    "I see." Stone who heard this nodded.


    It is not like there are no things to do. Before anything he went to his tent to take out new clothes and went to get rid of the blood and grime on himself. That itself took him an hour before he came back.


    "Where is the equipment I used yesterday? I forgot to clean it before going to sleep."


    Okere who was still sitting there with a vacant look laughed as he looked at Stone with the lazy look.


    "Obviously, others did it. The equipment wasn''t yours to begin with so after treating everyone it was retrieved and cleaned immediately.


    After all dirty equipment is worse than no equipment for us physicians, isn''t it ?" the sneer on his face widened.


    "Hmm, right." Stone nodded since it made sense.


    "Stone!" from a distance Urchin who was standing further from the injured looked like he just come from some place. As his injury was indeed much lighter than others he didn''t need too much care. Stone already checked if he had injured organs but it was just superficial despite the deep cut.


    With Stone''s quick intervention, he could already move. Still, it will take him at least a month to fully recover making him sullen.


    "Shut up, Urchin! There are others in a much worse state than you who need to rest!" Okera turned at that annoying brat and scolded him with black lines on his forehead.


    Urchin who heard this rolled his eyes. You are yelling at me back without care so why do you care? But when he saw Stone looking at him as an idiot he swallowed what he wanted to say.


    Stone who saw this nodded to Okera and went to the place where Urchin stood.

 26 – Bottom of the Food Chain

    "That was a really horrible night, I tell you. Thankfully they let me off quickly so I could go back to my tent to rest! But I had to cover my ears with furs the entire night else I wouldn''t catch a wink of sleep." complained Urchin to Stone.


    Stone who heard this clenched his fist and thought whether to smack him or not.


    "You know that as someone who knows medicine, I wouldn''t just go to sleep, right ?" in the end he was too tired for something so childish so he just rolled his eyes as he asked.


    "Ohh... right..." Urchin looked embarrassed for a second until he purposely changed the topic which was his usual tactic so despite Stone''s low emotional intelligence he was immediately aware of it. Once or twice he would be deceived but then not anymore.


    "So did you already ask Kaoran if he knew something?"


    "Not yet. I didn''t have time so far and now they are in the meeting where there is no place for me."


    "Tsk. Old bastards always delaying things." Urchin clicked his tongue. He really didn''t want to wait here as the smell around was horrible.


    But as his curiosity was extremely high he wanted to ask elders about everything they knew.


    After some time they noticed that several people emerged from beyond the valley coming from different directions. Stone and Urchin tensed up for a second but then realized that those were people from the tribe. Some of them were injured but they didn''t waste time and gathered right before the shaman''s tent. One after another they entered before coming out and leaving the place.


    Stone realized that those guys were probably scouts who were trying to figure out the situation before reporting back to elders. They probably already interrogated some of the survivors that weren''t hurt yesterday like those two guys who were teamed up with that girl.


    ''Wonder if she is all right..'' Stone thought about the girl whom he amputated the leg and her painful screams. He didn''t where they put her after that as he went to others immediately. Maybe she was somewhere between those lying people. Or maybe she didn''t survive...


    As Stone had dark thoughts, he and Urchin waited for the end of the meeting. Fortunately soon after the tent finally opened as people from inside of the tent came out and soon swiftly dispersed to do their own things. But Urchin and Stone couldn''t help but notice their tense and angry faces. After all most of those people were the respected elders in the clan and a lot of those teenagers who lost their lives were their children or grandchildren. Their reactions are understandable and the fact that they could still attend to meeting without flipping out is evidence of their wisdom and responsibility for the clan that came with their age.


    Once they disappeared Stone saw Degres and Kaoran coming out with fatigue in their eyes as they discussed something. So Stone and Urchin who waited long enough went to them.


    Soon both of them noticed Stone and Urchin and stopped talking.


    "Stone, Urchin, it''s great that you are fine. I saw you yesterday but as you surely know I didn''t have time to greet you." Kaoran said with a small smile.


    On the other hand, Degres made a big toothy smile as he said boastfully.


    "That''s to be expected! Those little bastards wouldn''t be able to do anything to Stone!"


    "Hey! What about me ?" Urchin felt offended that he wasn''t mentioned.


    Degres turned his eyes on him and said with a nod. "They wouldn''t be able to do anything to you too since Stone was with you!"


    "That''s not what I meant, you geezer!"


    Seeing that Degres was making fun of the little guy even in this situation Kaoran shook his head and turned to Stone.


    "You want to know what is the situation, right ?"


    Stone nodded and Urchin also turned around as if remembering what he came here for.


    "Well then, we have some time before the funeral of the deceased. Come inside."


    Degres who heard that had an unpleasant expression as he finally could stand up after that long meeting yet he needed to go sit once again.


    But nobody cared as Stone and Urchin talked about what happened to them. Ston was concise and didn''t try to exaggerate as he said what happened in few words and also said his thoughts of something happening in the north. Urchin once in a while also added something to the conversation, mainly because he knew the Ohera language.


    Kaoran who heard that was nodding as he drank his drink with a calm gaze. Degres also listened but didn''t seem to be surprised. It was obviously because their situation was far from unique. Everyone who was outside yesterday had the same encounter.


    Degres'' next words confirmed his guess.


    "Hmm, yes, that''s also the same conclusion all of us had. Although we already noticed the abnormal migration of animals for months, it was always within bounds, which it could be explained by the worsened weather. But this time there is no other explanation other than the animals and now even the tribes escaping something. It was so sudden that we couldn''t do anything to stop this tragedy.."


    Stolen story; please report.


    Kaoran had a slightly gloomy gaze when listening to Degres'' words.


    He lived for a long time but this was the first time such a big tragedy happened outside of long-term wars with other tribes.


    "But what could happen that made them flee so quickly ?"


    "We originally wanted to kidnap at least one of the tribesmen after this incident to interrogate him but now it is almost impossible as most of them continued to the south in bigger groups making it impossible for us. So the only thing was for Kaoran to do a divination which unfortunately was crap. But we expected this being just the first wave of the tribes so there will be another chance probably." Degres shook his head.


    Stone who heard that asked. "What do you mean crap? Isn''t divination an important part of being a shaman ?"


    Degres laughed boisterously as he gloated." It''s just a trick! Kaoran''s divinations were always wacky and seemed to be made out of bullshit.


    But it isn''t that weird considering that our ancestor''s records mentioned that the heritage he passed down to us is incomplete and that he was just a small self-taught shaman who stole that incomplete legacy in his homeland."


    Kaoran frowned at this a little as he scolded Degres.


    "It''s rude calling our ancestors like that. Furthermore, you should know that divination isn''t an art that can be learned by anyone. I am lucky enough to glimpse at this land''s destiny once in time without interference." Kaoran turned with a calm gaze at Degres


    "But it''s true, isn''t it? Honored Bakur wrote it down in his records, after all."


    This made Kaoran knead his forehead while Stone and Urchin were surprised. Especially Stone who was learning the arts from Kaoran. He always thought that this was something very potent since Kaoran could do so many things but reality seemed to be different.


    Kaoran seeing this turned to the boys and explained.


    "Our honored ancestor''s records are incomplete but from what was preserved we ascertained that our ancestors took shelter in this land since their birthplace was too dangerous. Honored Kennera was from the southern part of this continent while honored Bakur was born in a different continent in the east. Both of them left their homes to find a brighter future and fate guided them here where they met each other and became a married couple."


    Stone who was listening was surprised. He knew how much this tribe idolized their ancestors and how mighty they were. Kennera created ''The Way of the Body'' method and Bakur managed to catch the spirit of Kennera''s Storm Eagle to create Totem. They were legendary figures. Yet in their own records, they were losers? Furthermore, Bakur was from a different continent. How did he get here and what made him to do such a decision?


    "From honored Bakur''s records he mentioned that in his land there was a legend which was used to create the classification to determine raw strength of individuals..." As Kaoran talked he explained some important information.


    The primordial beasts. Creatures that were born to be rulers of the world. They were known for the fact that they were born even weaker than regular humans but as long as they were not killed they were guaranteed to undergo metamorphosis and evolve. Because of this, they were one of the most dangerous beings in this world. In their life, they could undergo exactly 12 metamorphoses getting just a little weaker than divine beings. And that is if they were not doing anything to improve themselves. Else their upper limit was even more terrifying.


    That was a legend from the Bakur''s continent. As Kaoran talked about it, it was quite hard to imagine all that so nobody of the two had a big reaction. Even with the mention of divine beings, there was just little surprise. After all, they didn''t know or worship any gods or deities in their life. The only deity Stone knew about was the ''Lord'' of the Thearas clan.


    "The people observed and studied those beings and in the end created the classification based on the boundaries of each state of metamorphosis. This way 13 stages were named and based on your strength you could be classified. Those stages were:


    Mortal, Novice, Apprentice, Expert, Elite, Adept, Exalt, Master, Grandmaster, Venerable, Saint, Paragon and Transcendent.


    The Mortal is zero stage before the metamorphosis and corresponds to the regular human who didn''t have the contact with supernatural side of the world. A normal human won''t be able to pass this stage unless they are born unique.


    The Novice is the first stage where you have the first contact with the supernatural and your upper limit gets higher.


    Unfortunately, there is not much of the knowledge about other stages. Simply because our ancestor, Bakur the Great, was just in the first stage. And since honored Kennera was only as strong as him means that she was too just in this stage!


    In truth, while the arts of shamanism in our tribe are better than others here, the legacy is not complete. In the records, it was said to have been stolen from some beastly race that created this profession.


    I am just a mere off-shoot of those professionals. The only reason why I am quite skilled apart from previous shamans is thanks to my innate ability to feel spiritual energy. Furthermore, if the ancestor didn''t steal some kind of one-time-use treasure that helped to turn honored Kennera''s Storm Eagle into spirit then we wouldn''t even have the Totem. In the end, we are at the bottom of the food chain."


    Degres who was listening to all of this with a bored expression. He didn''t believe in any of this despite it being information from the ancestor. If this was really the truth wouldn''t living in this world be just too difficult?


    Meanwhile Stone was thinking about this new information. Urchin tried to talk to him too surprised wanting to discuss it but Stone didn''t notice. He wondered if he was still in the zero stage. He was baptized in Cold Energy... But his skills are still subpar. And he was young so his strength still didn''t reach his natural limit.


    But thinking about the fact that there could be people stronger than Degres and Kaoran made him feel a kind of urgency in his heart. He knew that the word ''safety'' was just a big fat lie ever since he was young. The life of a commoner is as light as a feather and every day could be last. Without his gift, he would have died several times already. Now knowing that the world is so much bigger and more dangerous he felt as if all that hard work he did was completely useless.


    The heritage he thought was priceless turned out to be some incomplete and stolen legacy from a different land and his progress was already slow because of his weak talent. What if he meets some strong being that he will be completely helpless against even with his regeneration? He already met one like that and suffered...


    ''No! I don''t want to be like that ever again... If I want to live a good life where I don''t need to fear about my life all the time I need to be strong as Degres and Kaoran. No, even stronger than that. Stronger than even that wolf monster! If those stages are for real I need to climb as much as my talent allows it.'' As Stone''s conviction consolidated Kaoran who derailed from their original conversation coughed to gather attention.


    *Cough*


    "We''ve strayed from the main topic. This isn''t important now. What is important is what I''ve seen in the divination. Despite my divination being ''wacky'', as Degres said, this time I am very sure about it being the truth."


    Degres hearing this scrunched his face as if he didn''t want to believe that.

 27 – Far In The North

    "Oh yeah! I almost forgot about this problem!" Urchin''s silly words resounded in the tent as the other 3 people looked straight at him with blank faces.


    "...."


    "...."


    "...."


    "What? All that stuff about ancestors and the primordial beings made this thing seem kinda irrelevant..." Suddenly Urchin felt a little shy under their eyes as he held the back of his head while laughing awkwardly.


    People would wonder why someone silly like this boy even had the privilege to sit in the Grand Shaman''s tent listening to information that shouldn''t be accessible to most in the tribe. Of course 14 years old can effectively be considered an adult so tribe members do not see him as a boy but young adult. In the Bakur Tribe, you would be a man or woman once you undergo the baptism no matter your age. After that, the training gets more intensive and soon they are taught how to contribute tribe.


    But still not many get to know and talk about such important things. For example, Stone was a student of Kaoran and could be considered to be the inheritor of his position by many so it was obvious why would Kaoran let him listen to whatever the tribe discussed.


    On the other hand, Urchin albeit mischievous was always a smart and reliable boy. If the fact that he is only second to Stone in combat in his age category is included then he is the best candidate for being the next Chief of the tribe. Of course that is knowledge known only to a few and Urchin himself and the entire younger generation don''t know anything.


    Degres sighed as he noted to himself to whack this little brat. He would love to train him like Stone but unfortunately, normal people would die under such intensity and teaching separately seemed like pain so Degres didn''t teach this brat that much. But it seemed that he needed to teach him some valuable lessons about life. After sighing for the second time he turned to Kaoran and asked him the serious question.


    "Old man, are you sure? I know that you wouldn''t lie during this situation but it is hard to believe that such creatures can exist."


    ''Creatures ?'' Stone wondered what the divination was about as he listened to this conversation.


    "Yes. Some creatures of winter awakened in the north creating havoc there. I don''t know how or from where but I saw them destroying some tribes and animals around. Most of the animals already escaped as their instinct warned them beforehand. That would explain why so many animals left much before the tribes. This way they managed to escape before the calamity. On the other hand, those tribes in the north suffered a great loss. They probably had to travel for weeks here without a rest. And since the game had escaped before them they didn''t have enough food which made them starving. The north is even worse than this place. Without hunting or rearing the animals there is no chance of survival. But rearing animals are hard to move and they probably perished under the jaws of those creatures." concluded Kaoran.


    "Hmm, that makes sense. But what kind of creatures are those ?" Urchin nodded to himself and asked Kaoran another question.


    "Well, I am not sure. Divination isn''t such a handy ability. I saw those things vaguely. The only thing I saw for sure was because of its distinct features. And that was something known in this land. A Frozen Worm." said Kaoran.


    Urchin opened his eyes wide. "Frozen what? That''s a myth! Do you want to tell me that Frozen Worm is real? They are said to be a hundred meters long!"


    "That''s right. The creature feeds on ice and meat that can regenerate from anything and can hibernate for millennials. While it didn''t seem to be as long as in the legends, it was definitively gigantic and its shell made from ice was really spectacular. There were other beings but I didn''t recognize any."


    Degres hearing this shook his head. He didn''t want to believe this. He knew that there were many unexplainable things in this world and that there may exist some mysterious creatures. But creature so big? It''s just scary to imagine.


    "If this is true then life will get rough. There is no way to say if those beings will stay in the north or not. Should we leave too? Our time here is also coming to an end so we could try to escape somewhere." suggested Degres.


    "Where to? We are surrounded by the Cold Sea. This is a peninsula that is connected to bigger land only in the south. But the Valaras Kingdom and Frozen Valas Tundra are separated by the Blood Crow Forest which is the territory of..."


    "Those lunatics!" growled Degres. "Couldn''t we just force our way if we wanted? We are stronger than those skinny bastards!"


    Stone who listened realized that they talked about those guys who put him on the stake to sacrifice. His face was still expressionless but the sudden rush of anger arose in his heart. But nobody noticed his hidden emotions during the conversation.


    "Maybe individually. But they have numerical superiority since they are an alliance of over 50 tribes dispersed in the Blood Crow Forest. If it were the small team we sent then it would be fine but the entire tribe wouldn''t be able to pass the forest without big casualties. And that is when not considering the casualties we suffered yesterday. Over a hundred warriors passed away and twice as much is injured and would be burdened in this kind of travel."


    Unfortunately, Kaoran denied Degres'' words with several facts that made it impossible to move through the Blood Crow Forest in bigger groups. Even when it comes to individuals those maniacs were hunting anyone who tried to travel through that place and either eat them or sacrifice them. The fact that they were almost as strong as someone from the Bakur Tribe who was baptized made it simply impossible for normal people to pass.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    This going on for many generations made the boundary more and more prominent and the contact between those places got lesser and lesser isolating this barren land.


    Stone suddenly realized something as he asked: " Wait, doesn''t that mean that those tribes running to the south are running to the death ?"


    "Yes, while there are several of the tribes they won''t be able to get through. So in the end they will stop or will die trying." nodded Kaoran.


    But nobody cared about them. After all, they killed so many of their own and probably ate the bodies that the tribe couldn''t retrieve.


    In truth, many tribes in the Frozen Valas Tundra practiced cannibalism so this was normal. Bakur Tribe is different and it was probably because of their ancestors who came from more progressive civilizations.


    "Then what? Do we wait for our death or what? We can''t rely on luck that those sealed creatures will miss us or won''t come at all."


    "I thought about going through the west sea which will freeze soon but... It''s too risky now when we have so many injured. Another idea was using the escaping tribes as the tip of the spear to pierce through the Blood Crow Alliance. But they are not strong enough. They lost most of their strength by not being able to eat for weeks during their travel and their mental states must be inferior. So the only feasible thing for us is to stay here and hide." concluded Kaoran with a heavy heart."


    "But this place freezes over during the winter! And now it will be even worse!"


    "That is exactly the point. This place freezes over the valley and will get more hidden and safer that way. With the Totem we can somehow sustain the warmth so we won''t freeze until its energy depletes itself. When that happens we would need to find the solution to this and the lack of food. One of the solutions would be to try to farm more of the herbs and other edible plants we can grow in the boundary of the Totem but that will be hard too. But this seems to be the best thing we could do in our current situation."


    *Sigh*


    Degres hearing all that just sighed as he gave up trying to think of any other idea. In the first place, he wasn''t a great thinker but a warrior.


    He was selected as Chief mainly for his strength and his prestige. The only reason why he was agonizing over all this was simply because this was the biggest tragedy that happened in his lifetime and that in the end turned into an emergency that could jeopardize the entire tribe.


    The biggest problem during this time would be obviously food. The animals will be gone and while there will be definitively some of those sealed creatures edible each of them will be probably strong since a lot of them are from myths forgotten by most. So another source will be plants they could find or grow themselves.


    Unfortunately, their tribe, which always traveled, didn''t have their livestock but only wolves... But those wouldn''t be eaten unless their owners were starving to death. And even so, some would not do it. Of course, those were a minority.


    "Hmph, I guess it paid off to carry that fat moose all the way here despite that ambush." Urchin''s words sounded smugly as he boasted. It''s meat won''t feed the entire tribe but every bite counts....


    "Good job. That''s very helpful since most of the prey hunted this time was taken away by those tribes." nodded Kaoran.


    "What about those tribes, old man? Once they find out they won''t be left through south they will either make a suicide attack at Blood Crow forest or scatter in this area which will hinder our tribe even more." Degres, who already stopped thinking about the creatures he couldn''t even imagine, started to talk about the imminent problem that would eventually happen.


    Kaoran''s eyes, at the mention of this, turned cold as he said with a chilling tone.


    "Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. Since they attacked so many of our people they should be prepared for us to do the same. Once their attack on the forest fails they will be at their weakest. That will be a time when we will strike. Once we take care of the first wave, we will start to attack the late waves too. They caught us off this time but not anymore. This time we will be the hunters."


    After saying that his brows relaxed as he smiled once again. But others, who still had the impression of his cold gaze, felt their blood boil.


    Especially Urchin and Degres, who were battle maniacs with patriotic hearts. Of course, Stone also felt anger at those bastards.


    As such they talked for a few minutes about what to do. In the end, they stopped as just thinking wouldn''t help. Kaoran and Degres already had meetings with other elders. Now the tribe just needed to prepare. No matter if the divination about those creatures were true or not.


    They will prepare the same way regardless of what the danger might be.


    Thus after this, they came out of the tent and dispersed. Degres went to deal with the preparation while Urchin went back to his tent.


    Despite a light injury, he won''t be able to hunt or fight in the next few weeks. Kaoran scolded him for even getting up but he just stuck out his tongue as he ran away in haste.


    "That rascal." Kaoran kneaded his brows once again.


    "Stone, I would appreciate your help. Back there they are building a bonfire." Kaoran showed to the back of the camp where a big pile of compiled logs of wood created a big structure. " We need to carry the deceased ones to it and give them the rightful burial. Some of them died for some time already and need to be purified. I will teach you how to do that. In fact, I will need to speed up my teaching because of all of this. First is the death purification."


    After saying that Kaoran went to Okere who was still watching over the patients and told him to prepare people, who would carry the dead ones to the bonfire. Then he went to those who were completely covered up in furs and took one of them on his shoulder as he went towards the unlit bonfire. Stone did the same.


    A few hours later Kaoran taught him how to purify the dead. He couldn''t do it with his spiritual energy but could use mediums like grinder herbs for that. With that, their soul finally dissipated and merged with nature.


    But even without that, the simple funeral by fire was enough to purify the most. But it was the most crude method. In the end, all of this was for no one to do any nefarious things to the bodies and their soul could proceed in whatever they do after dissipating. Some believe they are gone just like that. Some believe in an afterlife, while others in reincarnation.


    Whatever the truth may be their bodies will disappear and no one needs to fear that they will get up for the second time. Stone, after doing his part, sat down before the bonfire watching those bodies being devoured by the greedy flame. Kaoran was standing next to it giving a speech while many of the tribe members were sad and started grieving for the dead.


    But Stone just watched the fire which reflected in his blood-red eyes. The same fire that almost devoured his own indestructible body. He also thought about his parents. In the village, the firewood was too important to the living so nobody would spare any to cremate the corpses of their neighbours or family members. Instead, the burial was common practice. But that way the body was not purified. That''s why there were big stones on every grave. So the dead ones stay dead and won''t ever rise...

 28 – Guerrilla Warfare

    A few months passed and many things changed. The most important one was that winter had come. The sources of food and even water thinned out making it hard for the tribe to live the same way as before. Nowadays there are ten times fewer game than months ago which resulted in a smaller ration of meat creating dissatisfaction within the tribe.


    On the other hand, most of the water sources froze completely all the way. Because of that the only ways to get water was either to boil the ice or snow or eat snow outright. But the latter was done only in emergencies since eating snow could easily result in hypothermia even with the cold resistance the tribe members have.


    Furthermore, the tribe was at war.


    That''s right. They didn''t wait for too long and attacked every tribe that attacked before or had a bad relationship with them already. It may seem foolish to fight at this moment against so many enemies but the tribe members never thought that much in-depth when dealing with their enemies. They dared to touch their people so they died. Simple as that.


    Of course, Kaoran thought about it as the spiritual leader. Letting enemies go could make some members of the tribe riot as the rage won''t dissipate without reason. Not only that but those tribes became their immediate competitors during hunting so if they were left the Bakur Tribe would have even less food. Besides those tribes would probably attack of their own accord as before since humans are on their menu too...


    So after adopting guerrilla warfare together with superior individual strength Bakur Tribe ambushed the weakened tribes and looted everything they bothered to take from the north. Of course, this will take much longer than normal head-on war but there was simply too many of the escapee and it was simply impossible to get rid of them in one strike.


    Even after months, wave after wave was still coming from the north. Some of them were divided forces of the tribes that already arrived while others were new ones which delayed their escape.


    During this time, Stone was actively fighting those tribes and was gathering experiences in fights, ambushes, and assassinations. Because of that, he cut off some of the Degres'' training which started to have diminished results after years. Power training was still important but real fights Stone experienced were obviously much more valuable.


    Of course, if there was a chance Stone went into meditation after every ambush to reflect as he did during training. This was the essence of The Way of the Body. Stone knew this and that was why he never ceased this habit which made him progress by bounds and leaps.


    By contrast his time with Kaoran got slightly longer since there were many injured people and many... Corpses. Physicians are healers, who treat their patients. The quickest way to learn how to treat all kinds of illnesses, poisons, injuries, and whatnot was to know the anatomy of the body perfectly. And what better way was there than to dissect somebody to look deep into it?


    In this way, Stone learned the secrets hidden in the human body and became already excellent healer. Of course, because of that he progressed in The Way of the Body too, and found out how to injure his enemies more effectively.


    In this way, his fighting potential awakened which raised the approval of others. Not that Stone cared about it.


    Momentally Stone, who was quickly moving through the forest, was in a state of complete concentration as he jumped from one branch of the trees to another. This was not only hard on your body but also mind as you needed to determine if the brach could bear your weight in a split second before looking for another branch.


    Stone was like a ghost as he passed through the trees looking for movement on the ground. He could see from those tracks that the enemies were close so he was vigilant. Soon he saw some snow tracks that were sloppily hidden but with his superior eyesight, he could see it even from the distance at the top of the tree.


    ''Found you.'' Stone''s eyes narrowed as he determined where those men went. Then he turned around. After a few minutes, he arrived at the place he came towards and met with the rest of his team.


    Since the war began most of the younger members joined the teams with adults so they won''t lay down their life without reason. That''s why within the team of six there was only Stone who was under 30. Because of that, Urchin, who already was rehabilitated, joined another team so they didn''t meet as often as before.


    "I found traces. They went towards Southwest and are 10 minutes away from here," reported Stone as soon as he got close.


    "Hmm.. Good job, young Frozen Worm. Now 5 minutes rest, then let us proceed." The leader of the team, who didn''t use any name and instead was called Misty Bear, commanded as the rest of the members grunted in assent.


    Stone nodded to him, however, when he turned around scrunched his face in disapproval. Since he fought this month quite often, the injuries were inevitable. With injuries, others could perfectly see how strong his regeneration was. So after his exploits, most of the members choose for him his Battle name or title!


    And what name was more fitting than the name of the most famous creature in the north known for its undying traits? Without Stone even knowing the entire tribe started to perceive him as a ''Frozen Worm'' overnight.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    But Stone wasn''t really satisfied with it. Legendary or not, the fact that his title had the word ''worm'' inside didn''t change. Moreover, they probably chose it because they suddenly remembered there was such a creature thanks to Kaoran''s divination even if most didn''t believe it.


    Stone didn''t desire any strong-sounding title or something but this sounded a little ridiculous even to him.


    ''It will just bring bad luck.'' Stone clicked his tongue. Just thinking that he has the title of some man-eating creature just makes him feel as if something bad will happen in the future...


    Soon the five minutes passed and they went on their way. This time they didn''t go on the trees as they wanted to save up their stamina. They went in that direction and tracked the group they were looking for. Once they picked up the pace they saw more and more tracks hidden to normal eyes as the group marched here.


    "From here we will take off on the trees to keep hidden." Misty Bear


    ""Yes""


    Once everyone agreed started to climb the trees. Forests around were ancient and trees tall so it was hard for normal people to climb them but the Bakur Tribe with their ability to perfectly control their bodies made it effective. Moreover Bakur Tribe''s main choice of weapons which were axes was designed with spikes on the opposite side of the blade. Those were used in battles but also during climbing and breaking the ice making it extremely useful.


    With it, they stuck to the trunk and could climb with ease just like squirrels. Stone jumped up and with one swing he wedged the spike in the trunk and within a second hoisted himself up where he wedged the spike of the second axe. In this way, he could climb the 15-meter-tall tree in a few seconds.


    Once up they went in the same direction as before. But this time they soon found their target.


    They went closer to them until they could see them clearly but far enough so they could communicate with each other without fearing being discovered.


    "It seems to clan of Vrak." whispered one of the members who were knowledgeable about the tribes and clans in the Frozen Valas Tundra.


    "Beware. Those bastards are like rats. They could do anything if you give them a chance. Poisoning is just the smallest problem. I heard that they piss on their weapons and coat them with their animal shit so that when they wound someone with it they would get infected. Fucking disgusting." The leader said with deep dislike.


    "Ew.." Most of the members seemed unhappy with this. If not for the fact that part of their equipment was the wooden shield baptized by Cold Energy then who knows if they would be even willing to fight this kind of enemy? Depending on which type of infection you get your life could be in danger even with a healer by your side. Not to mention that nobody wants to be tainted by this kind of weapon coated by someone''s piss and shit...


    But even with their reluctance they needed to complete the mission. Hidden in the crowns of the trees they slowly circumvented the group that was going through the forest. The icy blue leaves fluttered in the air as Stone and others stealthily observed them.


    During this time, when they fought almost every day, each person''s standard equipment had a wooden shield, a bow with 30 arrows, long and short daggers, and two one-handed axes.


    Obviously, it was heavily biased on the ambushes since that was the essence of guerrilla warfare. Only the shield stood out but it was mostly used to charge at the enemies at initial attack and strapped at the back when fleeing so the enemies have it harder to injure them.


    This tactic was very successful and that was why they didn''t plan to change it. Even now.


    Misty Bear signaled for others to take out the bows and take aim. So Stone did so. Archery had been one of his hobbies for so time already and the feel of shooting had a calming feel in his mind.


    In truth, he liked hunting altogether. Unfortunately, he didn''t have that much time for it recently as he mostly accompanied Misty Bear in attacking the enemies. Even though that can be also called a form of ''hunting''.


    Stone took a deep breath as he calmed his nerves and took the comfortable position. Shooting from the tree was much harder than from the ground so it took him time to get used to it. Once he was ready, he nocked the arrow on the string and aimed at one of the men passing below. They already allocated their targets so he didn''t need to think whether they would attack the same person.


    Once he extended his bow hand fully he finally drew the bowstring until it was taut. He took a deep breath and watched the enemy as he waited for the signal.


    A few seconds later, Misty Bear whose hand was raised fell down. Stone at that moment exhaled and released the arrow which flew through the forest.


    It wasn''t the only arrow as another six flew from other sides too. Everything happened too quickly and the members of the Vrak clan didn''t have time to respond.


    Before they even realized what happened, seven of them were already lying down with open eyes not even realizing they were dead. They didn''t expect that despite having leather armor they would still be completely pierced through.


    Bakur Tribe was known for their strong bows so it was no wonder that the arrows were quicker and had more strength behind them. Since their strength was stronger than others in the surroundings they used this advantage and created bows that needed as much as twice of power to fully draw them.


    Those treasured bows were now slung over the shoulder and Stone with others took out axe and shield, each in one hand as they jumped down at the enemy with the shield before them.


    Vrak clan members already noticed their enemies as one of them was yelling commands. Unfortunately, his commands were not as effective since he was not the true leader of their team. The real one was already with an arrow embedded in him. While some of them panicked the others got angry at the death of their comrades, turned towards Stone''s team, and started in a hurry shooting with arrows.


    Unfortunately, their half-assed counter-attacks were completely blocked by their shields. Before Vrak members could do anything else Stone''s team was already on the ground rolling to migitate the fall and charging at confused enemies.


    Stone, who still couldn''t meditate the fall from 15 meters properly, chose a different tactic.


    He flew a missile while holding the shield before him until he fell at the unsuspecting barbarian breaking his skull and neck. That managed to slow Stone''s fall for a second which gave him enough time to roll over the victim''s body with ease.


    Next, he charged with others at the remaining members of the Vrak team which seemed to be in disarray. Before they could completely recover Stone managed to slay another two of them.


    Unfortunately, after that, it won''t be as easy since all of them finally started responding to the situation and Stone''s team lost the surprise effect.


    Of course, as part of guerrilla warfare, the hit-and-run tactic was the common way to solve this problem but the Vrak clan wasn''t worthy of this kind of tactic in the eyes of Misty Bear.


    The only reason why they may be cautious is because of their unsightly practice.


    But with a proper shield that won''t be a problem. And so the slightly prolonged battle began...

 29 – Meager Loot

    Since the enemies used mostly spears it was a little hard to get closer to them but with the shield and precise movements, Stone always managed in several exchanges to deal a heavy wound to the enemy or at least destroy their weapon.


    Of course, with a spear, it would be easier but the convenience of bringing two meters long weapon on this kind of mission was foolish. But he didn''t care since this was a good kind of training. The only thing he needed to be aware of... Was not hurt by their weapons or he wouldn''t be able to sleep in the next few days with a peaceful mind.


    Unfortunately, that was harder than said since he fought more enemies at the same time and some of them were shooting the arrows at him. He didn''t know if the arrows were also ''tainted'' but he didn''t want to find out this way! Furthermore, arrows are a pain in the ass even without them for him.


    He got hit a few times by an arrow during this time and it wasn''t pleasant. And why wouldn''t it when his regeneration makes it ten times harder to get the arrowheads out of the wound? Even better is when the arrow shaft gets broken and the flesh gets completely regenerated with the arrowhead still inside.


    Not once did he need to use the dagger to take it out. It was to the point that he started to train with Kaoran how to control the tempo of his regeneration. He already could instinctively speed it up but slowing it down was the real challenge. Obviously, he didn''t want to always injure himself to train it so he trained on his body parts that would always grow up rapidly and it won''t hurt him.


    Those were hairs and nails. Both of them have been inconvenient for Stone ever since he was small. After relentless training, he could feel he could slow it down a little and the same was true for his regeneration of body. It was not nearly enough for him to get rid of his relentlessly growing body parts but enough to take out the arrow right after he was hit if he could make it.


    But he already accepted his long hair and nails as a part of his. His long hair which made even the princes and princesses to shame made him realize how important hygiene is and how comfortable it was. Now after baptism, he could even use his strengthened hair for all kinds of things. For example, he could easily create bowstrings from them and sell them to others.


    On the other hand, his nails which always turned grotesquely curly when growing to some point were now after baptism mostly straight and were only slightly curved just like the claws of predators. With how tough they are he could easily use them as weapons when disarmed. Of course, he was still trimming them since they get in the way when doing other things. Stone wondered if he could learn how to reverse their growth in the future. Just like cats can retract their claws.


    Barely dodging the arrow passing next to his ear Stone tensed his lower body and charged at the enemy before him. Instead of blocking the spear thrust with a shield he used the ax and redirected it. Then he swung the shield with his full strength and bashed the enemy''s skull.


    His wail echoed throughout the forest alongside other wails and war cries. Once he fell he couldn''t recognize the sky from the ground and couldn''t get up.


    Stone who wanted to end him though had to crouch to evade another arrow. So instead he looked at one of the archers and with a deep cry threw his axe. The archer who was still waiting for another opportunity widened his eyes he didn''t expect that the enemy would throw his weapon at this point.


    Deflecting the axe with the bow he managed to survive somehow but was injured and the bow got destroyed. Because of that he, without any hesitation, turned around and ran away.


    Stone clicked his tongue and continued to fight. Once he came to the fallen enemy, he bashed his head once again and this time caved his skull.


    With this savage execution, the enemies around feared to get closer. But other places also weren''t good for them since other team members were even stronger than Stone and already slaughtered most of their enemies. In the end, most of them choose to turn around and flee in different directions hoping for a chance of survival.


    Unfortunately, they didn''t know this was what the team wanted. Some of them even sneered at this sight.


    *Whew*


    Everyone, except Stone, whistled and then waited. In the next few seconds, the second round of slaughter began as growls, tearing flesh, and wails were heard from further away.


    Bakur Tribe''s wolves could be extremely dangerous if given the right opportunity. Of course, they are mostly used during hunting and for traveling since human enemies can be cunning and easily slay them. That is why they are mostly used against the fleeing ''prey''.


    Once the wails ended, the resting members went to check if there were still some escapees. Fortunately, there weren''t and everyone fell under the claws and fangs of the Bakur Wolves.


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    Not even one wolf was scratched during the attack making the team unburdened from having another problem. And since Stone is the healer, it would fall on his shoulders to do it. Unfortunately the same can be said for the team members.


    "Fuck. Kill me, that bastard injured my arm." One of them got injured when three of them attacked him at once and got an ugly gash on his hand. Nothing serious but still uncomfortable when knowing what they use on their weapons.


    So Stone only rolled his eyes and went to treat him. That alone took a few minutes during which others hid their tracks and looted everything the enemy had. Except for the weapons. They didn''t want to touch them.


    "Hm, they have some seeds here! That''s a good haul, isn''t it ?"


    "They have quite a lot of high-quality animal pelts too."


    "Tsk. I found just some blue feathers. They are gorgeous though."


    Stone, who finished, waited for them to loot everything. The wolves around also got closer with their beautiful fur stained with blood looking ominous.


    "Now, let''s return. Since you already reported what you got we will distribute it in the camp."


    Soon after they left the forest. Unfortunately, sleds were too conspicuous so they didn''t bring them. On the other hand, they straddled their wolves with Stone behind the leader. This was possible only because of their enormous size which Urchin'' Hunter didn''t have.


    But this was necessary for quick travel since the snow was to their knees in the open where trees don''t grow. Without the snowshoes, their feet would get stuck but with them team''s maneuverability would disappear and everything would be highly inconvenient.


    Thus climbing the trees in the forest and riding wolves on the plains was the best way to get across distances. Bakur Wolves with their height don''t have a problem with snow and can jump long distances when needed which made Bakur Tribe feared in the vicinity.


    Of course, some tribes also rear their war animals but without, albeit incomplete, Shaman Legacy, the animals they reared could be said to be the same as the wild ones.


    On the other hand, Bakur wolves could be said to be much stronger and more intelligent than the wolves they were originally reared from. Stone knew that in the past Bakur used to implant the spiritual seed into the first generation of wolves which made them more spiritually intelligent and more prone to obedience. It wasn''t that potent but with rearing from birth, there was no problem. Together with feeding them with a kind of medicinal blend that strengthened them in the long term, they got stronger after dozens of generations.


    Stone found out about this just recently so he asked Kaoran for the medicinal blend if he could use it. But the answer was disappointing. It could be used on humans too but it would nourish the body simply by a negligible amount and would take decades for little progress.


    Moreover, those ingredients are edible and could be eaten as normal food so during this period of time they stopped to create those blends even on the wolves.


    Despite that Kaoran taught him how to create it for the future saying that Stone will definitively see the progress. Stone didn''t understand since he didn''t plan to waste away his time with this but the shaman was always a little eccentric in his mind so he didn''t care.


    Once they got close to the valley they made sure nobody saw them before going in. The valley now was completely hidden and without knowing beforehand it would be hard to find it. Even after knowing it, there would still be problems getting in as the winter ice turned it into a hidden fortress. Or prison from a different perspective.


    Soon they got to the borders where they were welcomed by the warm wind of the Totem. Bodies of the team members finally relaxed. They were home.


    "Let''s distribute the things we got since we are here." Leader signaled to those who held something from the loot and gathered it on one pile.


    Stone who got off Misty Bear''s wolf said out loudly.


    "If possible I would like some of those feathers and seeds."


    Others were surprised when they heard this. Normally Stone didn''t care about his cut of loot and let others do what they wanted. But now it was different.


    "No wonder, you want seeds since you are our farmer, heh." One of the members said with a slightly mocking tone while the second one snickered.


    Stone knew that while some accepted him in the tribe there would be still someone who wouldn''t. Not that he cared about them. He realized by this point in time that those who need to mock someone to feel better are not worth it to get angry over. Of course, this was only if they were not planning to do anything beyond verbal mocking.


    "Stone, you want those feathers? They don''t look like something precious..." Misty Bear who also ignored them asked Stone.


    "No problem, it''s the shamanistic thing." Said Stone curtly.


    Misty Bear nodded as he handed him most of those feathers and seeds. Others clicked their tongues seeing this.


    "You always help in scouting and healing so this kind of portion is just fine." then he turned to others and started to distribute the rest.


    Stone, also satisfied, turned around and went to camp. Usually, there were not many things that could arouse his interest in those loots. It was mainly because those tribes were dirt poor. He didn''t care since he thought of this as training. Fighting, healing, scouting. Every day he used all of his abilities and took them to their limits.


    The reason why the responsibility fell on Stone''s lap was because of his abnormal senses. With those senses was much easier for him to hear or see people from a distance nobody else could. Misty Bear noticed this and taught him the basic things scouts and trackers should know.


    As Stone went throughout the camp he saw all kinds of new fields filling the space. Those fields were not there before but now there was no other choice but to keep up with food consumption. They needed to grow only things that grow quite quickly else there would be no food in the future. Fortunately thanks to Totem''s protection, most of the herbs.


    Seeing this Stone nodded to himself with satisfaction. While not good at cultivating the land, he had at least little knowledge and could help Kaoran with some tips and tricks. With his origin as the son of the farmer, it was obvious he knew at least little.


    But it was still hard to grow anything here since even with the Totem''s warm wind the place was too frigid. It felt warm to others simply because the outside was even colder.


    Soon Stone''s feet took him towards the tent of the Kaoran. During the day Kaoran always stayed in his tent unless something big happened so Stone didn''t bother to look anywhere else.


    Once he got closer he announced his arrival and entered inside...

 30 – Becoming Farmer… Once Again

    Once he entered he saw Kaoran who sat on his usual seat and his patient who was leaving.


    "Oh Stone, good timing. I just ended treating Zephyr so you can go escort her to the field," said Kaoran as he signaled to the girl next to him.


    "Hello Stone." Her voice sounded pleasant as she greeted him with a smile.


    It was a girl of the same age as Stone with quite fair and unblemished skin. She had blonde hair in a bob cut which was the usual hairstyle in the tribe and green eyes which seemed deeper with each look seemed to want to drag Stone into them.


    But in Stone was quickly awakened from this as in his mind the most obvious trait she had was her right leg. Or rather the absence of her right leg. Despite getting to know her for three months already, he always thought about that day when he sawed through her leg and she was writhing in agony. He still had nightmares because of that.


    So Stone did not want to have unnecessary contact with her and wanted to avoid her but she was persistent and met with him often. In the end, Kaoran assigned them to the same farming field back then making Stone feel a headache as he knew that the old man with a stupid face was thinking some stupid things.


    Stone nodded to her and turned to Kaoran.


    "Sure. But before that I have something for you." Stone threw him the bundle of seeds of feathers he got.


    "I don''t know if it is useful so appraise it please." then he sat and ignored Zephyr who was pouting her mouth at him.


    Kaoran just shook his head seeing this as he chuckled. "Youth..."


    Stone just rolled his eyes and kept silent.


    The first thing Kaoran took in his hand was one of the feathers as he placed it close before his eyes. Those feathers were over 30 centimeters long and seemed to shine in bright blue light. This surprised Stone but then realized why this happened. In the tent, there was a lack of light making the gentle light more noticeable.


    Kaoran looked it over from every angle but didn''t find anything interesting. So this time he used his treasured spiritual eyes and looked again.


    "Hoh.. Looks like it contains some kind of energy inside of itself. It is not a spiritual one at least. Furthermore, it is hard to say if this is because of the species to which it belongs or the environment where those feathers were. But I have definitively never seen these feathers. I guess that this is from one of the feathered creatures that showed up in the north and that was why those, whom you looted it from, even bothered taking it." Kaoran looked impressed as he appraised those beautiful things.


    "I could try to make an amulet out of it. It will take some time though." Then he put those feathers aside and took the pouch with seeds. He poured the content out and looked at them. Not long after he concluded what those were.


    "Snowstorm Flowers. Those are very rare. No wonder they would bother to take them. They grow only in very cold environments and even then it is very hard for them to bloom. It is said that the scent those flowers give out will clear your mind. You can try to grow them but it needs to be outside of the Totem''s boundary since they need cold. But I would not expect too much if it were me since even I find it hard to cultivate. But if you are willing we can split them and I will try to cultivate the first batch. If I succeed I will give you three and help you grow yours. What do you think ?"


    Stone without thinking that much gave a nod. "Sounds good. Well then, I will go." Then he turned around and wanted to leave.


    "Hey... Don''t ignore me, please~" A Voice sounded behind him as the girl slowly stood up with her crutches. In the end, Stone waited albeit reluctantly for her to catch up to him.


    "Phew~ I don''t understand why are you like this. You already took part of me. That''s a fate, you know ?" She said with a smile as she limped along with the help of her crutches.


    "You mean that part I threw away into the bonfire ?" Asked Stone without hesitation.


    "So mean... Whatever. It is not like there is no other opportunity to speak with you. We are going to the same place after all." Mer said with a giggle.


    Stone rolled his eyes. This girl seemed to have too much energy to spare. It''s good that she was just going to a place where she would spend it.


    But in the end, he sighed to himself. It is not like he disliked anything. But he doesn''t know why she will kinda outlandish to him. Like she didn''t belong here. She was different. That day he had to amputate her leg she seemed like any normal teenager who was about to lose her leg but the next moment he met her she seemed as if the absence of a leg didn''t bother her in the least. It could be that she just got used to it but those who did still were different from her merry behaviour.


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    As he thought about it they passed most of the fields in silence. But then once in a while, she would break that silence and talk to Stone. He would usually only listen and only rarely answer.


    On the way they took a detour and went to take a bucket of the wolf''s dung the Bakur Tribe started to accumulate during those three months.


    A few minutes later they finally got to their place. It was 20 meters long and 10 meters wide making it big enough to cultivate several types of herbs rich in nutritions they needed to grow. Of course, fields with normal crops would be much bigger but each individual herb needs its own care making it harder to take care of them all.


    Of course, the profits were also much more considerable. Not to mention that even hardy grains won''t grow in this place those herbs can grow in a few weeks into the height over over meter and if you don''t take out or damage the roots they will continue to grow.


    So when they came to it they were satisfied seeing their hard work rewarded in those few months of hard work. But the work didn''t end and this was just beginning. They went to the little shack next to the field.


    "Hehe, our field is s¨® bountiful, don''t you think? It is at least better than most of the fields they made." Zephyr seemed to be smug as she said this with her nose upwards.


    "Yes," Stone nodded at it. It was truth after all. He knew about farming a lot a knew something that even Kaoran didn''t know which made him proud a little in his heart.


    It was only big enough to store the basic tools both of them needed like hoes and sickles.


    They took empty buckets and went beyond the field. Soon they came back with buckets filled with snow. They then warmed it until it turned into water.


    Normally herbs are in a dormant state during the winter and gain moisture from the melted snow during the spring since this land never rains. But since they want to grow them this winter they need to water those herbs manually.


    Thus they from herb to herb watering them with the water from melted snow. Each type of herb have its own growing needs so they need to use different amount of water for each delaying their work.


    In the end, when they finally emptied their buckets and watered those herbs, they stored them back in the shack and took the buckets of dung to fertilize those herbs.


    Fortunately, there are no pests to speak of so they do not need to worry about that. They immediately got to work entirely in silence. Even Zephyr who is chatty didn''t speak during their work in the field making Stone appreciate it little.


    ''She is considerate at least and doesn''t hinder our work.'' He thought as he threw the dung around. He looked at her working a few meters away. Despite her obvious disability, she was still nifty and dexterous enough to work efficiently.


    Soon they were done. After that, they took the basic weed control and were done for the day. So they went a little further away where the remains of the campfire from last time were visible and made a fire with flint and a few dry stalks of grass.


    Soon the smell of meat and herbs spread out as they sat around it and held long branches with meat pierced at the tip. The meat was rare in those days but that was only for the weak in the tribe. So Stone didn''t lack even a little bit of meat during those times.


    On the other hand, he didn''t understand where someone like Zephyr got her piece. She was a disabled farmer so she either had to get it from someone or exchange it for something. But this thought disappeared from his mind as he started to munch his first meal since the morning.


    He was weary after the ambush but still had to work at the farm. ''Life is hard.'' He thought.


    Even though it didn''t seem to take that much time they still took over an hour to do this. Farming was an investment that is important for the long haul but takes a lot of time and sweat before they can reap their fruits of labor.


    But Stone was aware. This wasn''t really work in his eyes. The real farmers, those poor peasants who work for their lords are the real farmers. From dawn to dusk they work relentlessly so the family has at least something to eat, can survive the winter, and pay the excessive taxes of nobles. Of course, they didn''t need to fight like Stone and just needed to focus on the field. That was if there were no bandits, wild animals, or corrupted soldiers and officials. Their lives were in the hands of the strong. They didn''t live. They were just surviving. Day by day.


    The farmers like that were for example his parents. People who took care of him and loved him despite his differences. Yet he doesn''t even remember their faces anymore...


    "What are you thinking about ?" The sudden question startled him from his thoughts.


    He turned and saw the girl with greasy fingers and mouth looking at him with a smile.


    "Nothing. Just some memories from the past." Answered Stone curtly. He didn''t like to talk about himself let alone about his past.


    "Hmm.. Stone you said your family was that of farmers before, right ?" said Zephyr as she swallowed another piece of meat.


    "Why ask if I already told you," Stone answered her question with his question.


    "Well... You are sometimes absentminded when we go to the field. You seem to reminiscing a lot." Meanwhile telling this the girl licked the fat from her fingers enjoying the taste.


    "So.. ?" Stone''s appetite seemed to dull a little as he talked with the girl. He frowned at her and waited for her another word.


    "Stone, those who are lost in the past won''t see what they miss in the present. No matter how good or bad, the past is past and it is best to let it be. Instead of that why won''t you look at the future? If you are always like this people will think that your name is connected with your stone heart, hah ha hah." Zephyr laughed loudly at her filthy appearance.


    "So tell me. Instead of brooding in the past, what do you see in the future? Don''t tell me you want to stay in the tribe for the rest of your life." Asked Zephyr with interest.


    "Future, huh? Never thought about it." Lied Stone. When he was younger he always thought about traveling the world and seeing everything life can offer. But in the end, those aspirations died down. The next thing he ever thought about when it came to the future was the desire to destroy the Hearas clan and kill those monsters that destroyed his village. Basically revenge.


    "Stone, did you know that you can''t lie that well, haha? Tell me, tell me!" Zephyr who saw through his lie at first sigh persisted.


    Stone sighed. Damn her.


    "I don''t really know. There are so many things to learn in the tribe. And leaving after that feels wrong. Many expect me to be another Grand Shaman since I learn under him. But I definitely don''t want that. So instead of thinking about it I just go with the flow until the right time comes." Shrugged Stone with a helpless expression.

 31 – Future of Stone

    "Do you think that the right time will come ?" Asked Zephyr, now smile gone as she looked at him.


    Stone shrugged once again.


    Zephyr narrowed her eyes seeing this.


    "You should fight for your future, Stone. Else there will be nothing left once you reach a certain point."


    Stone hearing this stopped eating and looked at the girl whose temperament suddenly changed.


    "They call me Zephyr because of my desire for freedom, my desire to know what is beyond this place. I don''t want to look behind my back or think about useless things. I want to grasp the future itself. That is my aspiration... And so should be everyone else''s." Said Zephyr.


    Stone who was still trying to understand what she tried to imply with this suddenly felt as if he had a big lump in his throat. He didn''t know what to say or think. But Zephyr didn''t care and continued.


    "That day when my leg got crushed. The day you amputated my leg. I cried. A lot. Not because of the pain, not because of the fear of losing my limb. But because I thought my aspiration, my freedom... will disappear. I wanted to leave this tribe. To travel just like my ancestors did.


    For a brighter future. But that day I felt I lost this privilege. I wanted to blame you for this..." When it seemed that the entire atmosphere would turn darker, Zephyr once again smiled like a shining sun and said loudly.


    "But in the end I realized something. The future is only in your hands and is to be shaped by your own hands. Just because you lost something doesn''t mean that the path you desired disappeared. So, Stone... you should do so too. You don''t belong here. You don''t belong in the past. You belong in the future. A future decided by you." Before Stone could recover from the shock Zephyr brought him, she already stood up and left with the last few words.


    "Remember this."


    Stone was dumbstruck by this. He thought this would be just a normal day as any other but this was something completely out of his expectation. He wanted to dismiss her words and just mind his own business but he couldn''t.


    The words which were suddenly uttered stuck in his head and he couldn''t help but think about them.


    "Stone heart... Deciding what to do.." Stone knew what she was trying to say. He stopped thinking about the future when he lost everything.


    Even after joining the tribe, the only thing he did was try to be stronger and learn. But that was just an act without a goal. Revenge? How laughable.


    Will he get back everything if he kills those monster wolfs? Will he be happy once he kills those crazy bastards? Regain peace of mind?


    There was no peace to speak of since the beginning. He was empty. If the wounds were fresh then his anger would mask this reality but they weren''t. Years passed and he realized that revenge isn''t about feeling good or regaining peace of mind.


    No. Revenge was about breaking the peace of those who were the target of your revenge. With this realization, he never planned to give up on revenge. Because this wasn''t about him but them.


    But this revenge was just a fleeting desire of his. Nothing more than just a task to do once he has the opportunity. But can that be called some plan for the future? Of course not.


    He never thought about what to do once he grew up and Kaoran and Degres won''t have anything to teach him anymore. He can''t just leave. Even if he can then where?


    He just sat there holding the stick with meat as he watched the crackling fire in a daze. He always felt the respect for fire. It could keep you warm, cook food, give you light during the night, and help you with crafts. But it could also devour everything in its way if it is given an opportunity. It is just like a beast. If tamed it will serve you well but if it isn''t...


    Stone had a fear of fire. After being almost devoured he knew what it could do even to him. But still, he was attracted to it. Fire is one of the unfettered forces of nature.


    How would it feel to be as unfettered as fire? He knew his opinion was skewed by his trauma but he didn''t care. Stone never had a need to explain himself to others.


    After thinking like this he felt his mind a little cleared and when he looked at the fire he understood its nature a little more.


    "Fire of passion. Should I look for something like that? To find some meaning to my current meaningless life? Find the happiness to peel that stone heart? Well, it is indeed a few years already since I smiled let alone laughed..." Muttered to himself Stone as if he turned crazy.


    Then he tried to smile. Unfortunately, his facial muscles were stiff since he didn''t use them often so his smile didn''t look as smile at all.


    ''Whatever... Smiling is not important... So what should I do? I always thought about traveling and learning as much as possible. Maybe I really should think about it. But... I can''t just ditch the tribe after all that care. I was allowed to go through baptizement, got to learn tribe''s skills and techniques...'' Stone was torn with the situation. Zephyr''s words got stuck in his head and he couldn''t get rid of them.


    ''Just thinking about this wouldn''t solve anything.'' With that, he stood. He wanted to put out the fire but realized the fire already burned out.


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    It seemed that some time passed since Zephyr left and he was lost in his thoughts. Even the sun seemed to be on its way beyond the horizon.


    So he turned around and in a hurry went to his desired destination.


    And that was Kaoran''s tent where he always found the answer he needed. Soon he intruded on Kaoran''s tent. This time without alerting the old man Stone''s mind was too thrown off to care about that.


    "Hmm? What''s the matter, Stone ?" Kaoran was holding the feathers Stone brought in the afternoon and was making something out of them looked at the entrance where he saw his disciple. So he put aside what he was doing and asked. He saw that Stone was acting a little odd. So he took out two hot drinks and handed one of them to Stone as he sipped on his.


    "Kaoran.. Do you expect me to become the next Grand Shaman in the future ?" Stone asked with a tone that he usually didn''t use when talking to Kaoran. Kaoran guessed that something must have happened but didn''t expect that this would be Stone''s first question. So he smiled a little and said:


    "No."


    "What ?"


    "The answer is no. I have never thought that you should be the tribe''s shaman. In truth, there was already a candidate long before you appeared." Said Kaoran with a shrug.


    Stone stopped himself from saying another ''what'' as he looked surprised.


    "There is someone else? I didn''t see anyone learning under you through those years though ?"


    Kaoran smiled. "Well, she is in her late 40s. Okal already learned everything from me and just needs experience."


    "Wait then why did you take me as a disciple ?"


    " I didn''t plan at the beginning. I wanted to teach you a little herbalism at a whim but then then thought about it and decided to take you in for several reasons. Some of them were with ulterior motives, some not. That''s how it is with most things in the world."


    Stone nodded. He knew this since nothing is free in this world. Even kindness has its limits.


    "You see, obviously I expect you to pay off everything that tribe has given you with interest. That''s the creed that I have warned you since the beginning."


    Stone nodded once again.


    "But we have never cared in which way you will pay it off. As long as it is beneficial to the tribe it counts. You heal the injured, farm, bring the game, and fight with other tribes. All of that counts and is not forgotten. We are not the kingdoms of the south which force their servants and even descendants to do what they want." Said Kaoran meaningfully.


    "For example, their princesses have their marriage arranged by their families for the benefit. Then they use the excuse that the poor girl lived in their family with everything she needed and that there was time to pay off her debt never giving her a chance to pay it off differently."


    When he talked about this he felt a little sad for those girls.


    Stone felt the same way. Not having the freedom of choosing with whom you live for the rest of your life and with whom you have your children is something he can''t imagine. Thankfully he isn''t some noble with their quirky responsibilities.


    "If there was no need to keep it secret then why so few learned under you?"


    "It is obviously hard to learn it all. Not everyone is like you who learns with eager expression and never complains when learning new things.


    Some learned only part of the knowledge like the one about medicine but that was their limit. And for some things you needed at least decent talent to be able to learn it."


    "I don''t have it though," Stone said with a blank look.


    "You are a special case." Kaoran shook his head. But before Stone could ask again he continued.


    "The most important reason why I decided to take you as a disciple was that despite all of the things that happened, despite your seemingly indifferent nature after we took you in, whenever we showed you something new or taught you a new thing you learned it with mirth in the eyes. With this trait of yours and your gift, I knew that teaching you has a meaning. It was not just teaching you to pass the torch to another shaman but something more meaningful. It is just feeling but I choose to believe in it and still do even after those years."


    "You are always talking about my gift... Is that why you don''t care that my talent is bad? That it will take ''too long'' to learn all of it?" Said Stone with emotion, which was usually absent, in his voice.


    How could he not know after so many years of learning the medicine? How the body works. How the aging works. He thought that there could be some difference thanks to his gift but he never delved too deeply about it. But.. Kaoran always talked about it. So he knew.


    "That''s right. There will be probably times when you will stop aging. I don''t know for how long your gift will be able to keep it that way but I know it will be surely far longer than me who is already over 160. That is a long time and could be said to be several generations for a normal person. If you can learn the ''Nature Breath Method'' during that time your life expectancy will be even longer... I have never expected you to be the shaman as I knew that this barren land where the weak reside shouldn''t be your final destination."


    With a firm voice, Kaoran said the hypothesis he had ever since he saw Stone''s gift. Kaoran was born with a gift too. A gift that was useful since his birth and made it possible for him to become one of the best Grand Shamans in the tribe''s history. But Stone''s gift, albeit useful since the beginning, will show its true worth only once Stone grows older.


    Stone, who heard this, didn''t know how to feel. He wasn''t excited at the idea of a long life but at the same time wasn''t scared of it. But knowing that people he knows, no matter how small number it was, will die before him was uncomfortable.


    "So you always thought I would leave ?" Stone asked in the end.


    "Yes. Isn''t that the reason why have you come here ?"


    "Did you and Zephyr plan this ?" Asked Stone with suspicion in his eyes.


    "Zephyr? I see, so that''s how it was. I was wondering why you asked so suddenly. To answer you, no, I didn''t know. She is too free-spirited and even I can''t wrap my head around her." Kaoran chuckled thinking about that girl.


    "Oh... Well, what do you think about it? I have never thought about leaving this tribe but her words made me think about it. All those lost dreams and whatnot... I need your opinion on this since I don''t know what to do..." Stone sipped his drink as he was at a loss.


    "Isn''t that obvious? stay." Said Kaoran without a shred of hesitation.


    "Ah?" That made Stone startled. Didn''t he say otherwise before?


    "There is no hurry to go out to see the world no? It is normal for people to grow up properly and only then live in many cultures. You are still a fledgling who didn''t learn how to fly. Before mastering everything I and Degres wanted to teach you and before paying off to the tribe, you can''t just leave." Kaoran waved his hand with a smile as he found Stone funny.


    Stone felt weird. He didn''t cry. In fact, he didn''t show any emotion he had in his heart. But he was definitely touched. This place wasn''t his birthplace, but no matter how short time he spent here, it was his second home.


    "By the way, the ancestral spirit already acknowledged you back then and I believe you too but I have to remind you. If you really leave one day, please don''t go spreading the legacy I am teaching you too much. At least not in this land so our tribe can stay in their advantageous position. After all, it was originally stolen so forbidding others to pass it down as if it was our tribe''s legacy since the beginning is embarrassing. I don''t mind you passing it on but in moderation, all right ?"


    The atmosphere which was slowly built during the conversation was suddenly trampled upon and disappeared without a trace.


    Stone: "...."

 32 – Foraging The Herbs

    Since then nothing changed in Stone''s life despite the conversation that took place that day. Zephyr who started all of this seemed as if it didn''t concern her and was still the same as before. Kaoran was still the same old man who taught him every day something new.


    On the other hand, Stone felt his mind was clearer than ever before.


    He was surprised by this since he expected he would be more absent-minded after realizing what was missing in his own life. But it was the exact opposite. Now that he knows the path he wants to venture in the future he has a goal in his mind. For that, he put an effort into all he was doing so he could be prepared at that time.


    He was even more serious when learning under Kaoran or fighting in the woods with other tribes than before. But he wasn''t tired be it physically or mentally. In truth, he felt as if he was finally alive after so many years. Just this small aspiration could make such a big change in his mentality.


    And that mentality resulted in big progress in his meditation. He even felt that he managed to see spiritual energy flowing in the air! It was just for a split of a second but he was sure. This achievement, he did despite his poor talent, showed how much his mental state improved and got in synch with nature.


    Of course, on the surface, he didn''t seem different at all and only a few could see this change. Old habits are hard to get rid of and he still looked as expressionless as anyone could be.


    But that didn''t hinder him in the things he did at all. In recent days he lowered his time with the Misty Bear''s team and went out with Kaoran to gain more experience. That was the first time for the Stone he ventured farther from camp with him. He was used to going out with Degres who taught him all the basic hunting skills but he didn''t expect this old man to go with him at all.


    Degres went out with him and taught him a lot of trivial knowledge but also some of the essential skills that could save his life in the past. He taught him all the basic knowledge that a hunter should have like the knowledge about the animals and their behavior, butchering and skinning, bowmanship, creation of simple traps, and moving in the shadows without making a sound or breathing without making a sound.


    Those skills were taught to everyone since everyone hunts in the tribe but learning from Degres had its own benefits. Degres was an expert at this and nobody was better than him in hunting in the entire tribe. He was probably one of the best in the entire Valas.


    But now Kaoran, who was so old, seemed to be even more fit than Degres. He could climb the trees faster than squirrels, run faster than deer, and hunt prey better than bears. It made Stone doubt his appearance and age. This seems to be the result of the latter meditating using the ''Nature Breath Method'' which helps you to merge with nature itself. The vigorous training since the youth was also an important part, though.


    But Kaoran wasn''t here to teach him how to hunt but to teach him more about the flora of this place. Knowing herbs is important but knowing about the other plants is also important. If you know that herbs grow only under certain trees wouldn''t your search be several times easier? And that is just one small example of this knowledge''s importance. So Kaoran found time to take Stone out so he could see and understand it firsthand.


    Things like foraging herbs can''t be learned just by hearing the theory. Each herb has its own way of collecting and collecting them incorrectly could destroy their medicinal properties or even turn them into poison. But that is just the worst situation and most of them would just be a little damaged if handled incorrectly.


    Thus he passed his time going from herb to herb carefully collecting each part be it its roots, leaves, stems, or even flowers if it has any. Sometimes he found some mushrooms that could be used for some medicinal soups or were just simply edible so he collected them too.


    Everything he collected he put inside of the leather basket he hung on his back. The basket itself was big enough to cover half of his body so they could collect everything with ease. Kaoran also had one but he mostly collected only something rare or herbs that could be eaten or cultivated for the tribe since he had no need for most of the materials this place could offer. He was just teaching Stone how to collect every herb even if common one and once they get back to camp he will use them to teach Stone how to concoct something out of them.


    Unfortunately foraging wasn''t so easy in this place since almost everything was covered in snow and ice. Many herbs found were completely frozen and couldn''t be used anymore. Only the deepest roots could be still used. Only a few herbs could be entirely fine in this cold weather.


    That was also one of the reasons why they started to cultivate those edible herbs under the protection of the Totem''s boundary. But despite all of this Stone''s experience rapidly grew and his gains were bountiful so he was fully satisfied. He learned a lot about herbs and how could they be salvaged despite their damage. Of course, some herbs could be collected only in warm spring but who knows when that time will come.


    .........


    Stone continued collecting herbs one by one and was grumbling to himself at the state of some of them. He saw some of them were half-eaten by some animals or even trampled upon. But still, he tried to salvage as much as he could. Even if he failed it didn''t matter since he was trying to gain the experience of the foraging and not the herbs themselves.


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    So he was going around while Kaoran was following from a distance doing his things and only when he didn''t know something and needed to explain or show how to do it Kaoran would show by his side. He wondered what he was doing. Yes, he collected a few of the herbs that Stone missed but it seemed he wasn''t focused on that in the least.


    ''Is he looking for something? Or someone? Wondered Stone as he turned around to see Kaoran crouched on the ground looking for some kind of tracks. He wasn''t stupid so he already guessed, that one of the reasons Kaoran ventured this far from the camp with him, was because of this thing he was doing and not just to teach Stone.


    Otherwise, he wouldn''t just leave the camp. As a Grand Shaman leaving the camp was reckless. Not only because of danger outside but also because shamans also the mental support of the tribe and whenever something happens they need to be present to calm and guide the people. Not to mention when someone was on his deadbed and nobody could heal him then the only hope would be the shaman. Shaman has more authority than the Chief but has also more responsibilities it is hard to leave the camp without any good reason.


    But soon Kaoran who was far from Stone turned his head and signaled him to come over. It seemed that this time he finally had something he was looking for whatever whatever it was. Stone quickly but quietly came over to him and looked at what was Kaoran pointing at.


    "Blood... Maybe of some animal. And signs of big struggle, probably fight to the death." Said Stone slowly as he looked at the tainted snow covered in the red flowers of blood. But Kaoran immediately shook his head as he clarified to Stone with a firm and low tone.


    "It is the blood of humans. And since the blood is still clearly visible then it was not long ago this happened. Otherwise, another layer of snow would already cover it. By the marks on the ground, three people were fighting... "


    "Yes." Stone nodded to this as Degres also taught this to him in the past.


    "The real question is whose blood it is if he is alive and what his affiliation is." Concluded Kaoran as he started to track the next tracks leading somewhere deeper in the forest. Once in a while, they saw also little trickles of blood along the way. It was actually so thin that even Stone missed it despite his superior sense of smell. The unfavorable weather was also the reason for this as his senses dulled in such chaotic snowstorms. In truth, the snowstorms were becoming so common these days that Stone managed to get rid of his bad habit of relying only on his senses when outing.


    In the end, they only followed the tracks and stopped collecting the herbs. They had almost full caskets anyway. During the way Stone pondered about it but the easiest way was to ask so he did so.


    "Kaoran, has this something to do with what you were looking for ?"


    "Maybe." But Kaoran shook his head his question. "After those tribes invaded the southern part of Valas they were manhandled by us, some other tribes, and the Blood Crow Alliance in their forest. But lately, those guys were probably unsatisfied that we also hunted their ''sacrifices'' and started to take the initiative in attacking those northern tribes before they entered the forest. But because of that, they started to be more and more bold going farther from their villages deep in the Blood Crow Forest." Said Kaoran with a cold face.


    Stone''s face also turned cold at the mention of those lunatics."So they became a problem ?"


    "So they became a problem." Answered truthfully Kaoran. "They already had conflict with us before and now it is escalating even more. Some of the teams disappeared without a trace lately which is probably their work. That''s why we need to find their temporary camps and try to annihilate them or at least push them back where they belong."


    Soon they arrived at the end of the tracks where two dead bodies lay in the snow. They seemed to be across themselves as if they were facing each other before dying together with spears piercing each other. When Stone focused his eyes on those bodies he realized they were actually from the Ohera Tribe which ambushed him and Urchin a few months ago.


    Stone who saw this felt something was wrong so he stopped and hid behind the trees. Kaoran who was already hidden nodded in approval.


    "Degres didn''t slack off when teaching you at least. So go out to check them but be careful." Said Kaoran with a cheerful expression as he pointed at the corpses.


    At this Stone choose to be silent. He looked at Kaoran for a second but when he saw he was serious he grumbled under his nose. He put down his casket and started to sneak forward despite both of them knowing it was a trap or some other trick. It is important to say it was a badly done trap.


    Firstly the signs of a fight were far away from this place so it was obvious their bodies were set up like this. Furthermore, those two were from the same tribe. That didn''t mean anything since the inner fights were common but it was already reason to have suspicion. The most important is that their bodies were mutilated.


    They had limbs bent at wrong angles and big pieces gouged out of their bodies. Even their masks were destroyed into several pieces. Their weapons made from obsidian which is both fragile and sharp wouldn''t be able to recreate this scene.


    So the one who did this had to be mentally impaired to do this expecting it to work. Or... Stone looked at the tip of the spears they wielded.Or he was poisoned and can''t keep a straight mind. But then if you are poisoned the first thing you do is to ensure your survival.


    Why would you set up traps at this moment?


    Stone forcefully stopped the track of his thoughts as he focused on his surroundings and slowly got closer.


    Once he got out of the cover of the surrounding trees and bushes he stood up straight and went towards the dead as if without care. That was of course just an act for whoever was looking. And it worked.


    As soon as he got closer his keen hearing heard the rustling of branches above him. Without hesitation, he rolled forward dodging some kind of projectile but before he could do anything else he felt that there was another attack above him as the first one was only feint. This time he wouldn''t be able to dodge so he holsted out his axe to block. Unfortunately with a basket on the back, he didn''t have the shield so he could only block and parry with his trusted axe.


    *Clank*


    The impact that Stone felt was so tremendous that his body was lifted from the ground. This was the first time for him. The sudden force turned his arm numb and ruptured the skin between his index finger and thumb. Before he could even register what happened he already flew away. The only thing he was able to do was throw his weapon at the assailant before he collided with a tree with cracks in his bones.

 33 – Integoration and Dissection

    Fortunately, his instinctive attack found its target, and the sound of cut flesh together with a miserable wail sounded out in the forest. But Stone too didn''t come out of it unscathed. The impact was so strong that even the tree was damaged.


    He felt as if his innards overturned and his bones shifted from their original place. The nausea hit him soon after as his head was spinning and his eyes blacked out not knowing up from down. But he knew that this weakness could be fatal in the fight so he forcefully calmed down.


    Immediately after he took out his second axe and held it firmly in his hand. Then he assessed his injuries.


    ''Several broken bones cracked left shoulder blade and lightly cracked spine. My organs seem to shift a little which could be dangerous to fight with. I need to end...'' Stone''s thought process was interrupted as he felt the assault from the front. He swiftly dodged with pain on his face and counter-attacked with heavy attack as the muscles on his arms bulged.


    During the attack, he, for the first time, could see his opponent fully and instantly knew who the enemy was. It was a tall man with a mad glint in his eyes. His entire body skin seemed to be flushed as if he was boiled in the water and his entire figure was gaunt. So gaunt that his ribs could be seen from his exposed chest.


    The enemy was one of the members of Blood Crow Alliance!


    ''Looks like we lucked out. But I don''t know which clan he is exactly from.'' Stone thought as his axe was almost in contact with the man.


    The assailant had a surprised expression since he didn''t expect that the enemy would be still fit to fight after the impact. He was already injured and most importantly poisoned so he too wanted to end this battle as soon as possible. He redirected Stone''s attack and kicked towards his legs trying to get him on the ground.


    But Stone put his leg back easily evading the kick and kicked back at the stretched leg breaking it in the process.


    "Agh!" The enemy grunted in pain again but this time instead of retreating he proceeded to attack Stone with the axe he threw out. Stone also didn''t back down and wielded his second axe against the enemy.


    Stone, who was still dizzy, knew it would be useless to try to fight with Finnese so he chose to evade only the attacks that could either hit his vitals or impair him.


    Two axes clashed together, the opponents exchanged blows, and blood streaks were flying everywhere. It seemed as if two madmen fought each other not caring for their life. Unfortunately for the clansman, Stone had an insurmountable advantage in this matter and could fight like this for hours minimally.


    His injuries from the impact slowly healed as his dizziness left him and could face his enemy with his all. On the other hand, the enemy who was already weakened long before the fight put his all into the first few attacks but got weaker and weaker as the battle continued. When it seemed that Stone would finally land the final blow the gust of wind blew in between them separating them.


    "Well, that is enough. We will still need him for interrogation." Said Kaoran as he held the body of the clansman who had already fallen unconscious. Stone on the other hand had eyes opened wide. He almost forgot that Kaoran was with him and was just watching the entire fight!


    "Hey, why didn''t you help me? This was dangerous even with my regeneration." Stone said resentfully.


    "Exactly for that reason. To show you how these guys are dangerous so you won''t die unprepared later. This guy was probably unlucky and got poisoned by Uhera members else he would be even stronger." Kaoran explained this to him.


    "I see. But then again why would he do this kind of shitty trap? He could easily go away."


    "I probably already understand the reason why. In their belief, once they kill someone their bodies belong to the ''Lord'' they worship. But since he was poisoned he couldn''t safely bring their bodies. But he couldn''t leave them here since there was a big chance they would be eaten. So he chose to make this trap as he probably waiting for other members of his clan. If someone takes the bait then it would be another sacrifice if not then he wouldn''t have to fight. All in all, if he wasn''t poisoned which influenced his thought process it could be a better trap."


    Kaoran concluded as he saw the wound made by the poisoned spear. Then he gave him an antidote he just made.


    While Stone and him fought each other he went stealthily to the bodies and checked out the poisons they used. This time it wasn''t ''Green Dream'' so he took his time to recognize it while making sure with side-eye that nobody died in the fight. Then he quickly made the antidote which was a little difficult to make without his tools but still doable.


    Stone who heard this was relieved that most of the poisons can''t affect him since they can completely neutralize even as strong a person as this one. Looking at the man in Kaoran''s arms Stone couldn''t help but furrow his brows. The man was as tall as Stone but he seemed to be half his weight. Yet he was stronger than him making him curious. Before he could ask Kaoranm who saw his expression, already started to answer.


    "They practice some kind of forbidden technique giving them strength. It has probably something to do with that Blood Crow Lord of theirs."


    "Why forbidden ?" Stone never heard about this type of technique.


    "They are harmful to the user. And sometimes to people around violating the conduct of morality and ethnicity thus forbidding to use. By my understanding, this technique works somehow along the lines of ''Blood is nourished with the flesh of oneself giving it uncomparable strength''. But your vitality will be lost and they usually won''t live over 50 years. On the other hand, they are not reliant on outside resources as our tribe." Kaoran said with a bitter expression.


    "Interesting..." Mumbled Stone to himself. He wondered if this technique would harm his body permanently or not. If not it would be perfect for him! But as he thought about it Kaoran already stopped when he surmised this far it was enough and tied up the man prepared to interrogate him. He also gave him some kind of medicine he took out from his sack which surely wasn''t an antidote...


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    Soon he woke him up with a few slaps on the face. The man who finally woke up opened his eyes violently as he started to cough. Soon this outpour stopped as the man''s sluggish gaze looked around. He seemed confused as the drool was dripping from his mouth.


    "You drugged him!" Stone was surprised to see Kaoran use the knowledge of medicine, which was meant to heal, to do such a thing.


    "Yes, Stone, I did. There is nothing just black and white. No matter what tool or knowledge. All depends on how the user uses it." Then he turned around and started to talk to the man in a different language than the Theares language that the Bakur Tribe uses.


    But Stone didn''t mind since he pondered the words of Kaoran. ''Nothing is innately evil then? Just bad people doing bad things, huh? Then forbidden techniques that lack morality are just normal techniques used or created by wrong hands then.'' Many thoughts flashed through Stone''s mind when screams echoed in the air.


    Kaoran''s integration went smoothly. With the help of drugs Kaoran could easily manipulate the man and get the information from his mouth. When he seemed to be hesitant the little shock of pain would make the hesitancy disappear and soon Kaoran got everything he got from the mind of the man. And so he quickly broke his neck swiftly ending his miserable life.


    As the man fell with a twisted head on the ground Stone asked Kaoran. "Why didn''t you guys interrogate them to tell them about that technique of theirs?" He was curious since Kaoran seemed to envy this kind of power technique that makes those clans so powerful.


    But Kaoran shook his head as he explained." We tried. The techniques are too esoteric for the drugged clansmen to explain and if they are not they won''t reveal anything.They are too fanatical for that. They would rather die than spill the beans and even torture wouldn''t change their mind."


    ''Torture ?'' Stone gulped. He saw many cruelties during the years but torture was new to him. Hopefully, he will not need to torture someone in the future. Or even worse being the receiver...


    "What about the other corpses ?"


    "I already purified them so let them be. Something will take care of them soon." Said Kaoran as he prepared to leave.


    "Stone, let''s go. We can''t stay here since there is a chance that reinforcements will come." Kaoran said as he took in the hands the dead body of the clansman.


    "Why are you taking him with us? Won''t they pursue us if we take him? Because of that ''Lord''." Questioned Stone with a puzzled expression.


    "We will just borrow him for a moment, ha ha ha. He is still useful. I want to show you what their body looks like from the inside since they practice that ''Blood Feeding Technique'' which transforms them from the inside out. It will be a good experience for you. Aren''t you happy I always think the best for you ?" Kaoran said lively as he quickly climbed onto the tree with one hand holding onto the man.


    "Of course... Who wouldn''t be happy to stick hands into the bodies of people they just killed..."


    Stone had a blank expression as he realized that the guy would be abused even in his death. Shouldn''t they rather hurry since he knows the place of their gathering?


    ''Wait... Did he even get that information ?'' Stone suddenly realized that Kaoran didn''t mention that at all!


    "Old man, shouldn''t we go to that camp? Or rather even if we go there they are too strong, no? Instead of playing with dead ones wouldn''t it be better to try to solve the threat they pose to us ?" Stone who barely caught up with Kaoran asked him those questions. After all, this can affect the tribe.


    "Don''t worry I got all the information we need. They have camped deep in the Greythorn Forest and will stay there for at least a month before moving. The camp is made up of men from four clans and there are probably over 100 of them. So we will need to prepare for that."


    Kaoran explained during the way.


    "As for their strength... They are a little stronger on average than them. The reason why this one was so strong was because he was older and trained in their technique for a long time. Furthermore, their strength won''t deteriorate as time passes but instead grow stronger until their death. Those 100 men are probably the elites of their clans so we will need to attack with full force."


    In the end, they found an isolated place far from the place they left half an hour ago. They settled down in a small cave where the snow didn''t reach and put the corpse in the center.


    "I really wanted to show you this since even for me it is fascinating," Kaoran said as he pulled out the dagger. The dagger was small but sharp and with Kaoran''s finnese he quickly sliced the clothes the man had on his torso and threw them away.


    The chest of the man was exposed even before but now his entire upper body was seen. For Stone, it was unimaginable since the body seemed to be only skin and bones. He watched as Kaoran embedded the dagger right in the center of the chest, carefully to not damage any of the organs, and made a big incision which he then widened to make a hole.


    That would be nothing surprising if not for the blood that started to vigorously flow out of the wound even after the death of the man.


    "This is a phenomenon caused by that technique they practice. Because of that their blood is extremely vigorous and even after death, it seems that it still flows in large quantity. But look at this. While the blood is extremely enriched their organs are like dried fruits." Kaoran explained and then exposed the man''s organs.


    They were in a horrible state. It was as if the man was mummified alive despite the blood still flowing in his veins. Even the heart seemed to be just two-thirds of its original size!


    "This happens when they start to practice it for years. It slowly sacrifices your own vitality to gain strength. And it seems that the source of that strength lies in their blood. Because of that, while superior in strength, they do not have that much of sturdy bodies. They are very vulnerable to sneak attacks and swift battles where the enemy attacks first. So if possible killing them as swiftly as possible is the most efficient way to fight them." Kaoran explained many things to Stone as he showed him the body.


    Moreover thanks to the vigorous blood Kaoran could imitate the flow of the blood with little spiritual energy showing Stone for the first time how the body works when you are alive. Stone''s knowledge deepened as he listened to the lesson Kaoran was explaining until he noticed something that didn''t fit the body. It was a kind of lump of flesh seemingly fused with stomach.


    "What is this ?" As he pointed at it Kaoran also looked at it. From his perspective he didn''t immediately notice it and since he was focused on explaining he didn''t examine the body in detail. But when he saw it he had little to no surprise in his expression. In the end, he still checked it and after a while, he answered.


    "That is a tumor."


    "Tumor ?"


    "Yes. And it is one made from the uncontrollable growth of the cells in the body. It is a frequent disease that has many reasons to show up.


    Actually, many of the clansmen I dissected had one or two tumors. It seems that the technique is the culprit. Once those cells grow and affect other body parts it is the end for them. With this tumor at this stage, he would be dead in a few months even without us killing him."


    Explained Kaoran.


    Stone was listening with rapt attention as he watched that tumor that had already grown into the stomach damaging it heavily. Kaoran explained to him how the cells divide and naturally die and this would happen if they grow uncontrollably. Seeing this he touched his chest.


    He wondered if his regeneration would be able to heal this kind of disease.


    Or if it the regeneration would actually make it much worse, turning him into an abomination of flesh and blood...

 34 – Night Raid

    Day Later.


    Once Kaoran and Stone finished the dissection, they quickly returned to the camp. Degres who also returned from his investigation was happy that the duo finally found the clue about those maniacs and immediately called the meeting. Soon the existence of the camp was proved with the help of the scouts who checked the place mentioned by Kaoran and confirmed everything told by the man that got interrogated.


    Others also knew about the Blood Crow Alliance since not every team got annihilated by them and returned with the information. So when the meeting began many volunteers wanted to go fight. Unfortunately for them, Kaoran said he would take only 50 men that would be chosen by him since it was a raid done during the night where they needed to be unseen before the attack. Their tribe had about 3700 people but not everyone could fight as well as others and needed protection so the rest would need to defend the camp before they arrived. After all those 50 men will be elites of the tribe so during large-scale conflict without them they would suffer a lot.


    Stone was obviously chosen as one of the fighters since he was getting stronger at a fast rate. He was already strong as an adults and only needed to fight more to be as experienced as them. Moreover, he had a margin of error and didn''t need to fear most of the fatal injuries making him even more dangerous.


    He also wanted to participate since this ambush would be able to give him enough merit to gain a real name. He never thought about getting one but he felt he would need it one day so why not get it sooner? Maybe the leftover merit can be used to pay part of the debt towards the tribe.


    Of course, the most important reason was because one of the clans seemed to be Heares Clan who almost burned him alive. So Stone had finally a chance to avenge himself. But unless he kills their Chief and Shaman it won''t be complete...


    Unfortunately, those are not on his list since the Chief, Triston, was just a little weaker than Degres. Shaman should be at least as strong as him. How would Stone fight them? He is considered strong in the Valas lands but far from one of the strongest.


    So in the end Stone chooses to begin with the regular members of the clan. He knew that shifting the target of revenge on someone close to the target was bad. Kaoran taught him this principle years ago. But this decision of his wasn''t entirely wrong. After all, everyone in that clan was part of that atrocity done to him. It''s just that Chief and Shaman were the main culprits.


    It could be said that everyone in that clan is a sinner. Or at least that''s what Stone thought at this moment.


    As Stone was pondering about this he calmly cleaned his weapons while sitting on a big rock watching others hurry to step into the camp. Thanks to the baptism he never actually needed to make any maintenance on his weapons but Degres told him to do it anyway as it would form a good habit.


    "Stone! How come you can go with them when I can''t? That''s not fair!" The voice which was annoying Stone for a while sounded out once again. He ignored it for some time but he couldn''t anymore as the man who was talking to him started to shake him which irritated him even more.


    "Stop it or I will make sure you won''t be able to participate in any other fights in your life." Stone''s calm yet chilling voice sounded out as he looked at Urchin with displeasure. This guy was annoying with any stupid thing and wouldn''t stop. The tribe was right for giving him his nickname.


    "Common Stone. You are like this only because they allowed you to go! I wanted to go too! My name would resound in the entire Frozen Tundra Valas and would be the greatest warrior!" Urchin said with an excited voice. But then he deflated once again as his imagination simply won''t come true.


    "Well, great warrior you must train more since you weren''t chosen this time." Sweet voice sounded out with giggles as Zephyr limped to them.


    "Tch. Says the one who lost her leg in the first fight!" Urchin looked at her with a dissatisfied look.


    "Well, that''s because I didn''t have Stone by my side." Said Zephyr with a proud look. Then she ignored Urchin''s complaints as she looked at Stone with a mischievous look.


    "Be careful and survive. Or else all my rambling would be useless wouldn''t it " She giggled once again.


    "Hmph, Stone will obviously come back victoriously in one piece!" Urchin said with conviction.


    "You dumbass, you just jinxed him. Why did you do that ?" Zephyr was furious as she glared at him.


    "Hah?!" Soon they bickered as Stone just sat before them blankly looking at them questioning his life choices...


    Soon they said goodbye to him as the evening came and the people marched out of the camp. Zephyr waived to him as she yelled at his leaving back.


    "Don''t forget! It isn''t a sin to be a monster!" She seemed to be happy as she said this. Unfortunately for her Urchin bonked her on the head as he scolded her for her stupid crap.


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    Stone furrowed his brows. He felt weirdly insulted despite knowing that Zephyr didn''t have any bad intentions. In the end, he thought it was just another of her quirks and waved his hand at them so they stopped yelling.


    ........


    There were exactly 50 men and around 40 wolves. Some people didn''t have their wolf since the beginning, some lost it during the fights... It was a big number for ambush so they decided to divide into five teams and separate from each other. They will then meet together at an arranged place close to the enemy''s camp. One team is led by Kaoran, another by Degres, and the other three by three elders of the tribe that Stone never talked to.


    He was assigned to Degres'' team as they quickly ran through the forest as quietly as ten marching men could be. This time Stone took his spear and shield expecting this would be one of the biggest skirmishes of his current life.


    He would take his bow too but unfortunately, he would be then too burdened. He was taking on regular ambushes with Misty Bear a shield with a bow and quiver and even then it was hard to move around with it let around now with two meters long spear.


    So his back only had holsted the shield and on his hips were his axes that didn''t take much space.


    Degres who was at the front together with him laughed loudly as he asked him a question.


    "How about it lad? Are you nervous? Normally everyone who goes to the fights as big as this one for the first time is nervous. And it is deserved since many will probably die, haha. Right, you guys!" At the end, he roared at the others who also laughed happily.


    "Yeah! Who knows maybe it will be finally our chance to become a chief of the tribe, ha ha!"


    "Haha hah hah."


    Everyone laughed as Stone looked at them with a dumbfounded expression. Truly a battle-maniac tribe... Thankfully despite their loud voices, they were still far from the enemy camp so they didn''t need to fear being exposed making him relieved a little but he tensed as he looked at Degres.


    ''He won''t be so loud the entire time as an idiot, right ?''


    "I am not nervous." Stone curtly answered.


    "Well you can heal from most injuries so it is no wonder!" Others laughed again as one said this.


    ........


    Three days later.


    Everyone was in a good mood during the way until they got to the Greythorn Forest. Then, to Stone''s relief, they started to be more serious and stopped talking with each other they had before. Even the wolves were silent as they ran alongside their owners. They weren''t used for riding this time as they needed to save up their energy for the fight.


    They also met several scouts but those were quickly disposed of by their own scouts. Although they were already divided their number was still high so there had to be some scouts who were looking for enemy scouts that could notice them. Fortunately, there were no mishaps as they traveled throughout that forest until they reached the meeting point where they already met other teams.


    "Looks like others here. We will have a rest until the sunset and then surround the camp." Said coldly Degres. When it comes to this kind of thing it is he who decides despite the Grand Shaman having higher status. Fortunately for the tribe Degres and Kaoran were never at odds making the situation easy.


    A few Hours Later.


    Once the rest ended everyone stood up from their position and started to move towards the enemies with grim expressions. Well, most since there were some excited men with glints in their eyes. They were prepared to die and wanted to draw as much blood as possible!


    Stone progressed closely with Degres as they sneaked under the covers of the night closer to the place until they saw a dim light in the far distance. As they got closer Stone realized that it was fire from the torches and bonfires the clansmen had in the camp. He recalled that even in the Heares Village there were many torches along the way he went through.


    It seemed to be some kind of tradition or something. Unfortunately for them, it was much harder to keep the fires in this cold wind blowing around making it laborious to just keep it burn. But it was to the Bakur Tribe''s and any other forces'' advantage since so much light would impede the eyes of those who were looking outside of the camp. On the other hand, Stone saw perfectly the layout of the part of the camp he was looking at.


    Every team went towards different parts of the camp hoping to do as much damage as possible before the enemies could recover and make them panic. Just as they did with Heares Clan years ago. Attacking them during a big sacrifice they completely caught off guard everyone there and before they could recover Chief Triston already commanded a retreat.


    Degres who saw that Stone didn''t take any bow gave him one of his own that was strapped on his wolf called Tear.


    "Here. It is disposable for a situation like this where close combat warriors do not have a place or time to store the bow. Just throw it away once you are done with it. " He said it but didn''t look at Stone but into the camp.


    Stone nodded to him as he tried out his borrowed bow. It was much harder to draw so he loosened it a little until it was fine. Thankfully he was skilled in this since he was using his hair as strings and made many experiments during the times he was trying it out.


    Soon he took out an arrow from the borrowed quiver and aimed at his opponent. They didn''t use fire arrows as they would probably snuff out before even landing in this cold.


    Soon every team was prepared.


    Everyone aimed with their bows and most of them already straddled their wolfs to descend upon their unsuspecting enemies waiting for the orders. The orders were given not by Degres but by Kaoran since he could use the wind to send signals from the distance.


    Once Degres got the signal from the warm wind he commanded his team to fire. Everyone took a deep breath and released the arrows they had drawn beforehand.


    *Swish*


    Arrows were fired from five directions at the camp and covered the night sky. Clansmen who realized that there was an ambush immediately sounded the alarm by screaming loudly but most sound was cut off when the arrows embedded in their bodies. Some wanted to take cover but not many succeeded.


    Stone managed to hit the neck of the man he was aiming for but wasn''t happy. He was aiming for the heart but didn''t predict the man''s movement... But there was no time to consider this. He fired blindly in quick succession several other arrows as everyone else before throwing the bow away preparing for charge with his spear and shield he took off his back.


    There were screams everywhere as mayhem began. But it was different from Stone''s imagination. The clansmen he expected to be confused seemed rather furious than anything else. They were yelling like crazy and started to use their dead comrades as shields. Truly maniacs...


    Soon the howling of the wolves resounded as everyone charged riding on their wolves while facing the ferocious aborigines.


    The battle began to its fullest.

 35 – Meeting An Old Enemy

    The clansmen didn''t have a chance against the first charge that was pulled out with the full power of Stone''s allies. Many were directly pierced with spears or hacked with big axes without putting much resistance. Once the charge stopped instead of counter-attacking they were under the attacks of the claws and fangs of the wolves which tore them apart.


    But once this first wave ended aborigines'' opportunity finally came.


    The ones resting inside their tents came up and with furious roars attacked the barbarians who attacked them. They were not intimidated by the big wolves or the weapons which were at first glance better than theirs. With spears and clubs made out of bones, they surrounded the wolves and started attacking. Some of them even jumped at the rider trying to get him down on the ground.


    Their weapons were much weaker than the baptized weapons of the Bakur Tribe but still could somehow contend.


    Stone who came in the second wave didn''t use the wolves put before his chest shield when he saw that the clansmen finally responded to their ambush. And he did right as a second later arrow embedded itself in his shield. Fortunately, the archer was soon torn apart as one of the wolves jumped at him when he didn''t expect it.


    With a swift swing of his spear, Stone broke the spine of the arrow for better maneuverability and continued in his charge. Full of momentum he stabbed at first enemy he saw. The enemy wanted to parry but he was too late and his chest was pierced. Stone then kicked him off the spear and looked around himself. Someone ran towards him from the side so he blocked the attack with and thrusted his spear.


    Before the spear could hit its target he twisted his body narrowly evading and attacking once again this time at Stone''s legs which were not protected.


    His weapon of choice was long bone, which Stone recognized as the human femur, used as a club, and was colored crimson just like blood.


    Stone didn''t have time to ponder why it was like that but he was sure that it was the reason why mere bones can damage his baptized shield.


    Getting hit by it would definitively crush his leg and make him immobile for unforeseeable time so in a split second he decided what to do.


    He sidestepped to the side and slammed the shield at the opponent''s main arm changing the trajectory of the blow a little.


    Once the blow missed he stabbed at the opponent''s instep effectively pinning him to the ground. He let go of the spear and gave a quick jab to the throat of the enemy who wanted to yell in pain choking him in the process. This temporarily disabled the aborigine before him giving Stone time to take the dagger out stabbing the enemy to death.


    "Phew..." Once Stone confirmed that no one wanted to attack him again he quickly took the spear out of the enemy foot and took a few deep breaths trying to stabilize his breathing.


    He looked around to check the situation. In the rain of arrows they fired around 15 of the aborigines died. That didn''t seem a lot but considering that many of them were hidden in tents it was a big success. Then after the frontal attack at least another 40 died.


    Unfortunately, their side also took a hit and he noticed at least seven of their men on the ground in the pool of their blood. Some of the wolves also didn''t make it as the Aborigines didn''t fear them and slowly but surely injured them until they got too many wounds and bled out.


    But that was the toll of war. It was a tragic sight full of carnage that made Stone remind of some unsightly memories so he shook his head to stop thinking about those useless things.


    "Haaagh" As he fought with his disgust he heard the roar of a man he knew fully well. So he turned towards the sound and there he saw Degres fully standing on the Tear as he held one of the heads while making war cries.


    This time the aborigines were truly intimidated as some of them faltered only to be chopped by the Bakur members. Stone, with the amount of the ornaments on the head, recognized that this was actually the head of the shaman of one of the clans. This was a disastrous loss for the clan and it could possibly be integrated into another clan or be eradicated and consequently sacrificed.


    Unfortunately, it wasn''t Heares Clan''s shaman so Stone stopped to care about it as he looked at who to attack next.


    Soon he saw two aborigines surrounding one man so he sprinted there to help...


    ........


    Time passed.


    During this time Stone managed to take down another three men but at the cost of injury which was hard even for him to heal. Aborigines were cunning and did everything to take down the intruders.


    The battle was difficult and if he didn''t have his gift then probably even lethal. The fatigue after this almost made Stone''s legs buckle as he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was unsteadily standing above his enemy''s body while holding the bone pierced right in his right lung his.


    *Squelch*


    With force, he pulled it out and threw it away as he groaned in pain. He was breathing heavily but with difficulty as his mouth was filling with blood. He had to cough it out every few seconds until the wound on his chest closed.


    But instead of relief, he realized something weird.


    The wind was howling all around and gained more strength as time passed. The biting cold was penetrating everyone present as if they were naked and the fires so thoroughly maintained by the aborigines got put out one by one and nobody could stop it.


    Soon they noticed from a distance how the white made out of the pure white came towards them with trees, boulders, and any other obstacles disappearing without a sound.


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    "It''s a snowstorm!" He heard someone from far away as he saw the falling snow brought by the wind going their way.


    "Cover up!" Kaoran''s voice was also heard from the distance.


    Before anyone could do something the snowstorm hit them and the entire camp was shrouded by it.


    Soon only the falling snow filled Stone''s eyesight and entire camp lights disappeared in the snowstorm. The men he saw from the distance were nowhere to be seen....


    The wind was so strong that he had to pull his legs apart to keep balance. His eyes were squinted at the stinging sensation of the snow and wind and his hearing was completely impaired thanks to the relentless roars of the wind. He couldn''t even see a meter away from him making him feel a little anxious.


    ''Something is wrong. There was no way that snowstorm would come so quickly that even Kaoran wouldn''t notice beforehand...''


    He realized that it was impossible to not notice this coming snowstorm even within the heat of battle they were going through. It was simply too sudden for natural phenomena. But Stone kept his calm as he chose to go through the camp to find someone. He was expecting enemies to run out of any direction so he was cautious. In his mind, those Aborigines were too crazy to care about this.


    He was listening if he heard something but the snowstorm was too loud so he could only give up...


    Unfortunately during the battle most of the people distanced from each other and there was no one close to him at this moment. In the end, he could only wander as he looked around to see anyone but he only saw the corpses on the ground.


    "What''s this ?" Soon he noticed something weird in those bodies.


    Those bodies seemed to be half-eaten as if something feasted on them. It wouldn''t be important if it was just aborigines as Bakur Wolves could bite off some flesh from their opponents but even the Bakur members were afflicted.


    Stone''s instincts rang a bell and he knew something was wrong. He prepared himself for any attack or whatever that may come to him.


    And he did right.


    Soon a faint sound sounded from behind as he turned around and thrusted his spear.


    The ''thing'' pierced itself on the spear but didn''t stop as it wanted to tear Stone apart. So the only thing he could do was to bash ''it'' with his shield. Soon the struggle stopped and Stone looked at what it was.


    It was a small creature, the size of a dog, with long saber-like teeth. Its fur was white, almost transparent, and it had blue eyes without pupils.


    Stone immediately realized that it looked like some sort of tiger or in this case cat since it was too small. But when he tried to touch it only pain hit him.


    *Shhh*


    "I got burnt by the cold ?" Stone muttered himself surprised that the fur was so cold it burned him.


    But he couldn''t think about it as he heard another growl around him. He didn''t see them but he knew they were there. This was only thanks to his excellent hearing making him worried that others wouldn''t be able to defend themselves if they were also attacked.


    Soon those beasts attacked and Stone could only fight back. There were many of them circling around him with excellent teamwork.


    Thankfully his shield managed to keep them at bay and he killed a few of them. They were not so strong individually. They were actually as strong as regular wolves but whenever they stretched him the pain was unimaginable.


    The cold he thought he was resistant to seeped deep into his bones as the surface of the wounds was layered in frostbite.


    There seemed to be at least a dozen of them around him showing they attacked in packs and were very skilled in it not giving Stone any respite despite the difficult fight he had just before they showed up...


    ''Wait. Is it because of them that the snowstorm came or maybe the opposite ?'' The creatures attacked just as the snowstorm came giving these two possible answers since those creatures are obviously creatures comfortable in the cold environment.


    Unfortunately, the new information didn''t give him any edge against them as he tried to fend for himself hopelessly.


    During the fight against those in the front, he gets bit in his calves and buttocks giving him great pain and difficulty in standing. But if he wanted to turn around then those at the front would be at his back. It was the problem of fighting too many enemies.


    But as he thought about running away he heard the squealing of the dying tigers from the distance. Tigers also noticed it and some of them turned towards that direction with growls. Some of them even went there in a hurry as they jumped at whatever there was. Stone realized that it was probably someone else attacking those creatures so he took the opportunity and killed another three of those tigers that were left behind.


    Unfortunately, when he finished he heard another wailing of the tigers and in another second saw the glint from his light in the distance making him instinctively block it with his spear. That was immediately cut through as the blade hit Stone in the neck following to his chest.


    It wasn''t clean cut as the blade seemed to be jagged so Stone''s flesh was in a horrible state and it hurt him a lot. If he didn''t take a step backward making the wound superficial he would be in an even worse state...


    But the problem just came.


    When he finally saw the assailant his memories hidden deep in his mind resurfaced.


    "Bastard..." Stone muttered to himself.


    Triston, the Chief of Hearas Clan and the one who slays the wolf monster and who puts him on the stake to burn him alive. He was in the camp the entire time trying to find a way how to kill most of those barbarians who dared to attack them. Unfortunately, he wasn''t even equal to Degres let alone Kaoran so he chose to kill as many of the weaker ones as possible and then flee to tell the Grand Shaman.


    In that case, they would attack the Bakur Tribe and retrieve the bodies of their clan members and also the bodies of those barbarians to sacrifice them.


    But suddenly this snowstorm showed up and those small tigers started to attack him. He knew that it wasn''t good to stay here so he tried to get away from the snowstorm. At that moment he saw the silhouette of a man before him.


    Without hesitation, he attacked intending to behead someone. Why? It could be someone from the Blood Crow Alliance right?


    It didn''t matter to him. If the man was Bakur barbarian then it was profit. If it wasn''t one then what is the matter? In the end, their bodies still belonged to their Lord so getting to him sooner should be their honor.


    But the man dodged and survived. He showed there with a ferocious expression looking at the man as he wanted to yell at the insolent barbarian before him in his language. But when he saw Stone''s face his eyes widened as he realized in the beat who he was.


    He knew this face. This thing that brought him failure he never forgot. He then smiled maliciously as the anger was visible in his eyes.


    Triston wouldn''t let this opportunity given by the Lord let go.


    "Lord, guide us. Years ago you spoiled our sacrifice, you devil''s spawn. Now you are calling the biting cold to destroy us? In your dream!


    Before I failed to sacrifice you but now... Now even if I have to bring you back in pieces I will put your head on the altar, you scum." With a roar, he charged towards Stone.


    On the way, he bisected the tiger that jumped at him from the side and attacked Stone who was still in a stupor.


    Fortunately, he dodged at the last moment and blocked the short jagged blade with his shield. The block was successful but the blade was strong enough to break the wood of the shield making it almost unusable after just this one blow.


    The spear was gone so he could fight only with his axes. No allies will come because of the snowstorm and he can''t just run around the camp because of the sneaking tigers.


    The worst thing was that the wound healed slowly as he was almost without stamina which was the energy the gift usually used for the regeneration...


    Stone was in a precarious situation. Triston didn''t seem to care about the camp or his own men but his eyes saw only the boy who was the spawn of the devil or even the devil himself. How else would he survive the fire of their lord? He deserved the worst death possible and showed his remorse towards their lord...

 36 – Preyed Upon

    Stone didn''t know why or how but the raid which seemed to go exactly by the plan got messed up suddenly. It was in a matter of minutes when the snowstorm rolled over the entire camp and made it impossible for most to see.


    Unfortunately, this was the least important in this situation. Men from both sides and even the Bakur Wolves started to get hunted down by the Sabretooth Snow Tigers who came with the bad weather using it as cover for their hunt.


    Those creatures were small but dexterous and with tens in the pack they could hunt even creatures 30 times their weight without a problem. They were one of the reasons why the northern tribes evacuated from their territories. Unfortunately for humans, they are one of the species who go where food is abundant and so go to the south looking for food.


    Whenever the pack of this species goes there is a bigger chance of the appearance of a snowstorm because of their natural spiritual affinity towards the snow and one of the biggest menace in these lands.


    Stone who was persistently attacked by them felt his limbs slowly losing the feel of them. After a long fight with the aborigines he had to kill several of them yet they were not intimidated and still attacked him.


    That was until Triston came and killed a few of them. But for Stone, there was no relief as Triston was an even worse enemy for him than the Sabretooth Snow Tigers. He promised himself that he would kill him in the future but now when the opportunity came he realized how really strong this person was.


    He didn''t have a chance. He was isolated from everyone and he was harassed by those tiny tigers. Thus the only viable solution for this was...


    To ran away from the camp distancing himself from the snowstorm, tigers, and Triston who already forgot about everything else except him.


    And his plan partly worked as after half an hour when he finally got outside of the snowstorm, the tigers didn''t follow him. But before he could sigh in relief he had to continue in the run because of Triston who now had a better vision of Stone since they were outside of the snowstorm.


    Stone wanted to rush into the camp to contact someone but after feeling or rather not feeling his limbs he thought otherwise and tried to shake off the Aborigine who ran after him.


    The tigers didn''t cause big injuries but could make the frostbites and made him feel numb and could easily immobilize him even with his gift. On the other hand, facing Triston while still hopeless is a better option. While he didn''t know the limits of his gift he knew that he still had a better chance and had a margin of error with his gift to try some strategies.


    And so Stone stopped caring about the fight he should precipitate in and tried to shake off one of the Chief of the clan. In truth, this was actually more beneficial to the Bakur Tribe than just killing a few meaningless pawns.


    If they fought properly now they should have an advantage as only two Chiefs were remaining. Thankfully Shamans of the Aborigines didn''t come but that is a matter of course since their death was almost always the end of the clan. So going this deep into the territory of the enemy was too dangerous.


    Kaoran was different as he was even stronger than Degres and had already inherited at home. Even if he fell in battle nothing serious would happen to the clan. Of course for both Shaman and Chief participating in the same battle was uncommon. But the Bakur Tribe always saw the Blood Crow Alliance as an extinction-level threat so they treated it as such.


    Unfortunately, the snowstorm came and everything is now uncertain.


    So the only thing Stone could do was to run. He threw away the heavy shield and climbed the trees. Unfortunately, Triston was still behind him shooting arrows at him with a crude bow he had. Stone couldn''t run any faster as his stamina was on the brink of exhaustion and even holding onto his axes started to be a burden.


    Triston realizing his prey seemed weakened chooses the strategy of wearing him until he won''t be able to move anymore. Then he will hatch him into pieces which he will bind with ropes. This time he will use ropes strengthened by blood so as not to make the same mistake again.


    This rope he requested from the shaman and held it for years exactly for this moment.


    He didn''t care that his men probably died in that snowstorm. Or that the despicable Bakur Tribe will win this battle. Taking away this devil''s spawn Bakur Tribe has stolen from the lord will be their biggest loss and Triston''s biggest merit. That made him elated as he hunted the ''thing'' with relish.


    Soon he shot every single arrow he had on himself and threw away the bow and quiver.


    Stone hissed and broke the spine of the arrow which hit his shoulder. He couldn''t take it out since he didn''t have time so he could only make this temporary solution as he jumped from trees to trees.


    He wasted a lot of time when he was covering behind the trees to make Triston waste his arrows but once he noticed that Triston threw away his bow he ran as fast as possible trying to get as much space as possible between them.


    But Triston who no longer needed stability to fire rapidly arrow after arrow could also climb the trees so he doesn''t need to wade in the snow. With his strength, his jump length was even more impressive as he closed the distance steadily.


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    Stone gritted his teeth as he panted heavily and his heart raced under the burden. His eyelids were also getting heavier as he continued, his legs not listening to him...


    He was too tired.


    But he couldn''t stop. That man was so strong that he couldn''t put a struggle against him. He was lucky enough that the tigers lurking in the snow managed to slow him down and allow Stone to flee.


    His tattered clothes were soaked in sweat, and every now and then, he would glance over his shoulder, his eyes wide squinting. Each time he did, he saw the same thing: a tall, shadowy figure relentlessly pursuing him, just far enough away to be a looming threat, yet not close enough to grab him.


    Triston''s superior body strength made him quicker than Stone so the only thing to get rid of him was to move in a zigzag pattern instead of going in one direction. This way he managed to keep Triston farther from him as his body control exceeded Triston''s making it easier to move in this way.


    Stone wanted to sigh in relief but he couldn''t. He was breathless and the pain searing through his body was unimaginable. The cold sweat invaded his wound making his hiss at the stinging sensation.


    At this point, his wound started to use his fat instead of the stamina to heal itself but even that has its limits. Stone needed to find some sort of energy source to replenish himself. He wanted to take some herbs rich in energy but that was impossible.


    The snow was meter tall on the ground covering most of the flora. Stone couldn''t find anything this way. Stone was despairing seeing the crazy guy pursuing him he felt an emotion he hadn''t felt for a long time. He wouldn''t like this some time ago but now when he finally found his own pursuit... He wanted to live. To be free.


    And so he wanted to do everything to get out of this situation.


    Stone and Triston traveled like this for an hour already and he knew that he wouldn''t be able to keep up anymore. So when he heard a hoot of an owl his eyes lit up. Opportunity came.


    With his acute hearing, he traveled towards the sound. There, a hole in the tree was seen as if waiting for Stone. Owls hunted during the night but this time the cold and wind were too strong so they hid in their home. And Stone took full advantage of it.


    *Hooo!*


    As soon as he got towards the hole with full force he stuck his hand there and grabbed the first thing he could as firmly as possible before continuing in the escape.


    The owl, now dead from his grip, was lying helplessly in his hand as Stone looked at its big lifeless eyes. The owl probably had its young ones hidden in that hole just wanting to keep them fed but now he took it before their eyes...


    "It''s you or me..." Muttered Stone to himself and then with determination he opened his mouth and bit off the part of that owl. His instincts told him to spit out whatever he took in his mouth as the raw meat mixed with feathers were not things that should be eaten by humans.


    But with difficulty, he swallowed everything he could and spit the rest of the feathers that stuck in his mouth. He was used for raw or even rotten meat. Only the feathers did give him problems.


    And so within a few minutes, the full-grown owl was wholly devoured. Stone ate even its talons and bones as he needed every bit of energy and didn''t fear the injury of its stomach walls.


    Soon the soothing sensation enveloped him as his he felt that his body almost instantly started to digest it to regenerate himself. The wound made by Tristone also slowly disappeared. Now he regained some of his stamina and could continue.


    Triston who saw all of this was looking at Stone with little fear. In his head, Stone was really like a beast with human skin, and the fear he had when he saw his regeneration for the first time resurfaced. But he also noticed another thing. He started to regenerate after eating that bird. Which means...


    "You can''t regenerate infinitely, huh ?" Triston smiled with a weird expression as he tracked the boy...


    ........


    Two Days Later.


    The pursuit still continued. Stone took every opportunity to eat whatever animal he saw or heard in the distance and replenished himself along the way giving himself the energy to go on. Triston on the other way was very skilled in tracking and even if Stone managed to lose him for a moment he would be caught up soon enough. Stone''s ability to hide tracks was still too green in his eyes. But Stone''s goal since the beginning wasn''t to lose him but to tire him. He could replenish himself but Triston could not. At least that was what Kaoran told him.


    What he didn''t expect was his seemingly infinitive stamina. Triston didn''t fight before this pursuit so he had an advantage over Stone but still, the three days long pursuit was too long for a person. Even Stone with full energy felt his mental energy diminishing by every second.


    Stone knew that his plan wouldn''t work by the end of the first day so he tried to get back to the camp. Once he got closer to the place he noticed that the snowstorm already receded making him sigh in relief. But then he realized that the place was completely devastated and abandoned. Almost everything disappeared and when Stone arrived he didn''t find anything useful. Only the broken tents. Even corpses disappeared.


    Stone gritted his teeth. He didn''t know if everyone retreated or were devoured and he didn''t have time for that either. Since this plan also failed he could only think of a different one. Going to the camp of Bakur was too far and he wouldn''t make it with his current state. Even if he does then without Kaoran and Degres there would be just too much of casualties.


    He is no hero but he knows to not bite the hand giving him food. So during this time, the only other thing he could think of was to bait the guy to the cliff. And so he quickly left before Triston caught up to him and got him.


    Farther in the north, a day away from this camp, was a cliff high enough to see to hundred kilometers in the north. If he could bait him there and let him fall somehow it would be almost impossible for him to survive. On the other hand, even if something happens Stone would rather try to survive this fall than be dismembered by Triston.


    As such the third day he finally got closer to the cliff with Triston behind his back. Soon the trees before him disappeared as the most beautiful view appeared before his eyes. He stopped running as there was nowhere to. The path before him disappeared and there was only sky before him.


    Before he could properly enjoy this Triston who was tracking the entire time finally caught up.


    "Huff... Huff... Bastard of the devil! Did you finally accept your fate? Even someone as benevolent as our Lord won''t forgive a monster like you." Triston huffed as he prepared to end this. He was pursuing this bastard for three days. Three days! He even needed to tap into the power of his blood to keep up. The blood he so painstakingly accumulated at the cost of his life! He was enraged. The only comfort was that he did it all for their Lord the Savior.


    But at his outburst, he only saw Stone smile as he took out both of his axes. Or at least that was what Stone tried to do at Triston calling him a monster. But to Triston, it seemed a ferocious expression meant to be provocative. And so he took out his jagged blade and lunged at the devil.

 37 – Monster

    As soon as Triston attacked him, Stone started his dance as he fought with him. He couldn''t take Triston''s blows head-on and so he could only evade or parry those attacks.


    Fortunately, while that jagged blade of his was extremely dangerous it was a short blade with small reach. It was a one-edged blade that could be called from one perspective a long knife or short sword. Thanks to that Stone had more space to breathe as he was using his axes with slightly longer range to fight him.


    He was trying to bait him closer to the edge with extreme caution. But while Triston was a person of blind faith he wasn''t completely stupid and was also cautious despite his aggressive attacks.


    Triston guessed Stone''s plan and sneered at it. It was obvious. But he didn''t care and pressed on him. Stone, who was for the first time, fighting a battle where he couldn''t allow even slight injury had to adapt to every savage attack the aborigine did.


    But in the end, everything was futile. And he knew it. The enemy was too strong and experienced for his young self. His plan won''t work.


    And so with a determined gaze, he changed it at the last minute.


    They exchanged several blows until one of the Triston''s swings, which could easily amputate Stone''s limbs, were intercepted by his axes crossed before him. Before Triston could do anything he moved them aside and lunged at the blade in front of him effectively impaling himself.


    Triston opened his eyes wide and instinctively tried to pull out his blade. But he couldn''t. Stone tensed his muscles around the wound so the blade went harder out. Of course, he would get it out with his full force completely ravaging the wound but Stone didn''t give him the chance.


    At an extremely short distance his axes were useless so he let go of them and with one hand pulled out his dagger which he aimed at Triston.


    The second he took hold of the hand Triston wielded his jagged blade.


    "Bastard!" Triston was furious. With his free hand, he managed to catch Stone''s hand before piercing him before he tried to pull out his weapon. Battle of attrition was to his advantage and so he believed he would win this fight.


    But Stone did the inevitable. They were already at the edge so it wasn''t a surprise when Stone finally pushed his body over the edge together with Triston as he said with a savage expression:


    "Fuck you and your demented Lord!"


    After saying that he head-butted the Triston who started to fall together with him. The blood from the broken nose was everywhere as two men fell off the cliff with cries full of hatred, rage, and grievances.


    Those were lamentations of Triston. He was full of hatred for this little monster that made so many difficulties in fulfilling the will of his Lor-


    His thoughts could not be finished as Stone didn''t forget to bash his enemy during the fall making him even more angry and despairing not even registering that Stone insulted his Lord.


    ''Why? Why? Why? WHY?''


    He didn''t think they could survive this fall. He knew this was the cliff of the Frozen Death which was as high as a kilometer. That was an unimaginable height. He knew that no matter what he won''t be able to bring back the devil''s or even his own body to the Lord it belongs to.


    His heart hurt because of that and his mind was full of hatred.


    "You little shit. Because of you... Because of you!!!" And so he started to attack Stone too. Stretching, tearing. He even bites him until he bites off Stone''s flesh.


    Stone''s eyes were cold and his mouth was silent. But he didn''t let this be and fought Triston with all his might. But he didn''t let go. He still held onto Triston. He had to. Stone didn''t have the confidence to survive the fall as he was. But if he has a ''shield'' to mitigate the fall...


    That''s why he didn''t let go. He knew it was stupid since it would mitigate the fall only a little but with his regeneration that was all that mattered. And so he persevered.


    He waited despite his flesh trying to regenerate with the blade still embedded inside of him. That will be extremely difficult to pull out later.


    Fortunately, the time had come soon since the fall took just a minute before he was already close to the ground. And so with full force, he tilted his entire body together with the furious Triston so he was at the top.


    "What are you doing?!" Triston also already understood the situation and wanted to do the same but his mind full of turmoil made it impossible.


    "Making you useful for once. Goodbye." And with this, they crashed into the gigantic tree at the bottom of the cliff breaking through its crown and immediately after through its branches migitating the fall. Or at least for Stone who used Triston as a shield.


    Triston himself was already unconscious with his limbs turning into wrong angles.


    Soon they hit the ground with a thud. Stone who rolled over Triston''s mutilated body lay on the ground and breathed heavily. He felt his consciousness also leaving him but he knew that was too dangerous and that he needed to hide himself at least.


    "Ugh.."


    He groaned as he felt many of his bones breaking and his head was in shock after the impact. Nausea came as soon as his breath slowed down. There were also several wounds that he gained after flying through all those branches.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    If this was the state of Stone then it was obvious in what state would be Triston. Stone cast his eyes at the man and saw that he was breathless.


    The man was dead and became the first person Stone got revenge on in his life.


    Stone''s emotions were complicated when he saw this. It was so sudden and so anticlimactic that he didn''t know what to think. The man that was so strong died just like that.


    Stone mustered the rest of his strength to push himself into a sitting position but failed. He could only look around with his eyes. But when he did look around his eyes shone with worry as he tried again in a hurry. This place was a forest similar to the other forests in this land.


    Only that it was under the cliff. That wouldn''t have been so bad if he hadn''t seen the hints and tracks that some animal was living in this place and it was a predator.


    *Thud*


    *Thud*


    *Thud*


    *Roar*


    Unfortunately, he was too late. Or more like the beast was too quick. Stone felt the ground under him tremble as he heard the trees creaking when something was coming closer.


    But Stone couldn''t move. His body was spent after these three days despite all the replenishing he did. His arms and legs almost didn''t respond to him. So he mustered the rest of his strength and pushed the body of Triston over himself and waited with bated breath.


    It was just a bear.


    Bear over seven meters tall with thick pieces of ice forming a natural armor over its body. Stone who saw this while playing Death almost gasped at the moment. The thing was definitively the biggest creature he had ever seen.


    Each step it took formed the ground and broke the stones as everything trembled. It was sniffing at the air looking for the easy prey.


    When it noticed Triston''s body it visibly drooled and got near to it. Stone had to utilize his knowledge of meditation to slow down the beat of his hurtful heart. He couldn''t move. Not only because he was tired but also to not arouse the bear''s instincts.


    Bears are cunning and opportunistic omnivores so they will eat everything available they find. So it will definitively go to eat the body above him. If he moves the bear will come for him immediately. And that would be his doom.


    But he can''t do anything. If he wants to survive he must do something. He can''t run, he didn''t have the energy for that. He needed to be quick in whatever he wanted to do.


    And so he waited for the opportunity. He watched the bear close on him and Triston''s body with an open mouth as its drool fell on the ground. Its head was right above him sniffing the corpse.


    Stone was disgusted by the smell of the mouth and the nausea he finally lost returned with full force. But he didn''t show anything on the surface.


    *Grr*


    Suddenly the bear grunted as it opened its mouth to the limits and bit off Triston''s torso. Blood sprayed everywhere as the organs spilled out on Stone''s body.


    He was still immobile looking at the bear above him. It seemed to enjoy the taste despite it being so skinny. The reason for that was the richness of Triston''s blood. But once it swallowed the last lit it seemed unsatisfied. While it tasted better than normal meat it wasn''t what attracted it here. The smell of blood that was so full of vitality that the bear never felt...


    It wanted it. To taste it. It smelled the droplets of that blood sprayed in this area. So it started to search for it. Before that, it will eat the rest of the appetizer though.


    But once it did it realized that there was a second body. But it was too late.


    Stone who tensed so much that his muscles damaged themselves sprang up with as much of power as he could and aimed his dagger at the bear''s eye.


    "Argh!" Beast''s wail resounded as he embedded it as deep as he could. He wanted to turn its brain into mush so the beast would die. But the dagger was too short and the bear''s head too big. When he realized that it wouldn''t reach so deep he wanted to take it out but the bear turned his head and bit on Stone''s head. Its second eye flashed with fury.


    Stone let go of the dagger and wanted to evade. But he managed to do so only partly as the bear''s fangs buried into his right shoulder. Before he could do anything the bear jerked its head taking with it his entire arm to its shoulder and threw him to the side.


    "Aaaagh" The pain overwhelmed Stone for a second. The snow around him turned into the color of his blood as he lay on the ground holding his bleeding stump.


    ''What to do... What should I do against this.'' Stone felt panic. He thought he didn''t fear death anymore but when the bear turned its head towards him instead of enjoying his arm he felt dread after a long time.


    When he finally found the purpose he wanted to pursue, the future he wanted to go towards... And by the worst death he could think of.


    Being eaten by a beast. The trauma he had manifested into this immeasurable horror.


    The bear realized that he was the reason why it was attracted here. His blood was the best thing it ever had. But it didn''t go to eat the arm it conquered. Killing the prey was the most important. And so it slowly neared Stone who lay there in the snow helpless.


    ''Damn it. Why always such monsters... What can humans do against such a monster? Huh ?'' As his thoughts were in turmoil he remembered some words he heard a few days prior.


    ''It is not a sin to be a monster.''


    Zephyr.


    Zephyr. What did it mean? Why did she say it? Sin? Monster? Why should I be a monster? To fight another one?


    So many questions passed in Stone''s head. As he thought about his enigmatic acquaintance his breath calmed a little but his thoughts accelerated. The bear was just a few seconds away from him but he ignored it.


    "Being a monster... You need to become a monster to beat one ?" Stone muttered seriously to himself.


    The bear was finally before him and attacked with full force.


    But Stone closed his eyes. He seemed to give up on his life and let nature take its course...


    Something clicked in his brain. He felt as if some limiter disappeared...


    Just as the bear''s claw closed on him he opened his crimson eyes wide open and evaded with as minimal movement as he could and punched the snout of the bear with full force breaking it. The force behind it prompted the bear to distance itself a little. The pain in its snout was not light. Stone''s arm also seemed to be damaged but he didn''t care at the moment. It will heal as long as he wins.


    Bear wanted to attack again but at that moment Stone lunged at the bear. His eyes were full of malice as he used his only arm and legs to climb at the bear.


    Bear was furious at this prey climbing him as a monkey and trying to get him off but unsuccessfully.


    Stone who climbed to the peak got closer to the head of the bear and started to bash it with his hand while holding firmly with his legs. He didn''t care that the ice on its head was protecting it or that each attack he did not only strained but completely ruptured the muscles in his body.


    It wasn''t for naught. While there were no visible injuries the impacts alone affected the brain of the beast. And so he bashed it until it became disoriented.


    And that was the moment his eyes glinted. He opened his hand and let his nails grow as much as possible. At that moment they didn''t look as long nails but as claws of the beast. Once they were long enough Stone bulged his muscles and with full force pushed his hand as a spear into the second eye of the beast.


    "Argh!" Bear once again roared in pain as it struggled but Stone held himself firmly and pushed his arm deeper. That caused an even bigger struggle for the bear but at one point it weakened. Soon when Stone'' arm was completely buried in the skull the bear stopped moving too as its body violently fell on the ground causing it to tremble.


    When Stone realized he won, all of the adrenaline in his body finally dissipated and with a slight smile, he lost his consciousness not caring about hiding or other predators anymore...

 38 – Limit Of The Gift

    "Ugh..."


    Stone blinked, feeling the weight of his eyelids, slowly bringing himself back to reality. Each exhale of his brought a sting of pain from his chest and right shoulder which were both mangled and bloody.


    Pain circulated throughout his body yet the body could not regenerate and heal him.


    As soon as Ston acknowledged the throbbing ache that had spread across his body he sprang up from his lying position.


    "Augh.."


    Once again he groaned as the sudden jerk caused the pain. When he looked around himself he realized that he was lying on the dead bear amidst of nowhere.


    ''Damn it, I passed out. That could end badly.'' Fortunately, nothing bad happened during his sleep as this place was the territory of the bear and other animals didn''t dare to go there.


    Stone didn''t dwell on it for long and assessed the situation despite the pain he felt. He quickly remembered that his arm was missing and found her lying in the snow and then on his right shoulder.


    With this experience, he finally got to know that his regeneration can''t regrow the limbs. For now.


    *Sigh*


    Losing an arm wasn''t uncommon in the warrior''s path but he was still young. He didn''t want to end like Zephyr...


    But when his thoughts turned towards this girl''s crying face he felt some inconsistency suddenly. As if his instinct tried to tell him something was off...


    He shook his head and stopped thinking about it. He can always think about that later.


    For now, he needed to get back to the Bakur Tribe''s camp. The camp of the alliance was already abandoned and barren so it would be meaningless to go there.


    And so he tried to stand up. But the extreme sting of pain in his chest stopped him. He looked down and showed a surprised expression.


    ''I almost forgot about it.''


    Right in the center of his chest was seen hilt. It was the hilt of the jagged blade that Triston used!


    Stone frowned at that. The wound already ''healed'' with the blade still embedded in him. This will cause even worse injury than when he was stabbed with it.


    ''Damn it.'' He knew that the best he could do was to wait until he got to the camp so someone else with operate it out. Unfortunately, if he did that he would need to go back weakened. When he thought about this he remembered how he managed to kill the bear.


    At that time the adrenaline allowed him to fight with it. Furthermore, he felt that he could muster much more strength yesterday. So much strength that even his muscles damaged themselves from the strain they developed.


    ''I don''t think I can do that again. It felt like some limiter being lifted for a moment of danger.''


    When Stone thought about it he was amazed at the wonder of the human body once again. He was convinced that this wasn''t the power of his gift and that was why he was so surprised.


    But that wouldn''t help him in this situation and so he focused on the blade in his chest. He tore off the clothes he had on himself and put them beside him. He was still on the bear but thanks to its gigantic mass he didn''t have any problem. In truth, he felt more safe on it right now.


    Once he prepared the clothes to stop bleeding he put his left hand on the hilt.


    *Hiss!*


    Just that hurt him like hell as he hissed at the pain. But he preserved and squeezed it firmly. He had to do it slowly as the violent force could make it even worse. Of course, the wound would heal but he feared that he could bleed out with so big a wound.


    And so he started with a grimace on his face. He didn''t stop and did it on one slow push. The jagged part mangled his flesh but he endured it until he held the weapon in his hand.


    Instead of checking it out he threw it aside and put the torn clothes to his wound trying to stop the bleeding. He slowed his breathing with meditation and pressed the wound. A few minutes later he felt that the wound was already closing and sighed in relief.


    He feared that it wouldn''t heal just like yesterday. But it seemed that the energy or at least stamina was needed for the regeneration to work.


    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.With this discovery in mind, he stood up, this time with the smaller problem, and slowly climbed down for the bear.


    Looking at its ice armor he realized that this couldn''t be a normal bear and instead some supernatural entity. And those tigers were also weird in Stone''s mind.


    ''Are those the creatures the northern tribes fled from ?'' He already found the answer after a few seconds. Despite knowing about them for some time this was the first time he or any other member of the tribe saw them. And they finally understood why some many tribes fled.


    He went towards it and took the dagger in its eye. Then he turned to the jagged weapon and took it too. It was a good weapon. Now that he looked at it he thought it was quite long. Before he thought it was a long knife but it seemed to be a short sword instead. It was long enough to pierce through his chest and back. He just didn''t realize.


    He strapped it to his waist and then looked around. He didn''t know how much time had passed. He was hungry and thirsty. So before going out on his way, he will need to eat.


    And for that, he had the perfect candidate.


    ........


    Later that day, Stone was roasting on the campfire the meat of the bear to eat and was boiling the snow to drink. It was hard to prepare it all as he wasn''t used to having just one arm. So when he let the meat roast he turned to the arm tossed in the snow. He went to it and took it in his hand.


    ''What to do with it? Should I cremate it? I can''t just toss it somewhere. It would be eaten or it would rot. In an even worse scenario, it would turn undead or something.'' He sat down back to the campfire and thought about it. But he suddenly felt a little itchy on his right shoulder.


    He felt that his instincts telling him something. And so guided by them with a frown he tried to put the torn arm on the stump. He already checked and the arm fortunately didn''t start to rot. It seemed that he had a lot of vitality and the cold preserved it.


    And so he put it on the stump without thinking much. What he didn''t expect was that tissue from both his arm and shoulder started to move as if wanting to reunite. Stone was really surprised.


    ''I can reattach the limbs? That''s great!'' He was excited at this knowledge. He waited but it seemed that it would take a lot of time. So he put it aside before it could connect and instead went to eat. He was hungry and meat was a good input of energy.


    The meat took a really long time before it was cooked but it was worth it. The meat was the best thing he ever ate. Or maybe second. He always liked eggs which his family had always small amounts. It was something special when he was young and the nostalgia made him more biased to it. Unfortunately, there were no chickens in the Valas so he could only take once a time eggs from bird nests. But there were not many birds living in these lands before let alone now during this cold winter.


    Once he filled himself he used the rest of the hot water to clean himself. He was covered in blood of many origins and wasn''t comfortable with it. Moreover, once the animals smelled the scent of blood he needed to get rid of it.


    After that, he took the torn arm and put it in its place again. This time with patience he waited. It took several hours to make a slight connection making him realize that it would take at least several days for him to be able to move the arm again.


    And so once he made sure the arm clings to the stump he went to lie down. Close enough to the bear so weak animals won''t go near and far enough so the strong animals attracted to the blood won''t find him first.


    He didn''t know if there were other creatures like the bear but he didn''t want to risk it.


    ........


    In this way, he spent another few days waiting for his arm to heal to a satisfactory level. Every time he got hungry he would eat a little from the bear''s body or try to find some herbs in the local area and create basic medicine from them. The effect wasn''t really good since he literally lost his arm but the energy from those herbs accelerated the process of the regeneration.


    Unfortunately, some of the creatures got wind of the death of this beast and invited themselves to feast on the corpse. It seemed that this place was infested by them. Stone had to leave prematurely but fortunately, he didn''t meet any dangerous animals on the way.


    Sneaking around was his second nature after so many ambushes he managed to go around unnoticed. Since he couldn''t just go climb that cliff he had to circumvent it which would take him several days.


    Since he left the body of the bear he had to hunt to keep himself full. Every day he had to waste time hunting or foraging for something. If the entire preparation is taken into consideration the entire food problem wastes several hours a day.


    Thankfully no other accident happened along the way as he strode towards the tribe''s camp.


    ........


    On the other side, Kaoran and Degres were already in the camp looking worried.


    "Still no news about Stone''s whereabouts or at least his tracks."


    "Damn it. Those fucking tigers! Without them would our mission end so miserably ?" Degres was visibly furious.


    "Calm down Degres. Being angry won''t help you in any way." Said Kaoran while he smoked a pipe. He was in his tent while resting so he could heal better. After that raid despite the seemingly successful raid only 14 men came out of it without big injury. Another five were injured. The rest was either missing or dead. From the Bakur Wolves, only 6 remained.


    "How can I be calm when all of this happened ?"


    "I know. But we were already aware that this time would come the day I divined. It is an unfortunate accident that it happened when we were in the midst of the raid but we can''t do anything with it. We must now focus on reigning the chaos in the tribe. The fact that those creatures were real and my divination was real made many restless. Because of the loss of our elite warriors, we are in a vulnerable position and need to act. I know you are worrying about him but there were no tracks which means he could be still fine. He has the gift which gave him the best survivability anyone could get. Now go the fuck out of my room and take care of your tribe! My wound hurts again because of you!" With that Kaoran stopped talking with Degres and closed his eyes to rest his mind.


    He tried to look for anyone missing with the wind spirits but it was hard. He didn''t have any contract with them or anything and had just a good affinity with them because of his gift. Because of that with their childish nature, they helped him only when they themselves wanted making him highly frustrated.


    "Old man, do you thin-"


    "Grand Shaman! Grand Shaman! Frozen Worm returned!" Suddenly someone entered without permission into Kaoran''s tent and yelled this. Both Degres and Kaoran stiffened for a moment until a relieved smile appeared on their face.


    "I knew he would be fine!"


    And with that, they set out of the tent going receive their ''undying'' warrior.

 39 – Spiritual Perception

    Over 10 days passed after Stone fell down the cliff. Now when he was finally back in the camp he felt relief wash over his body as his knees buckled. He hadn''t had proper rest since the raid. Only in the camp where he is sure nobody won''t attack him his nerves finally loosen.


    Thankfully he was found by the scouts in the vicinity of the camp who escorted him back to the clan. Right now he was supported by one of them to stand.


    "Stone! You are alive, after all! Ha ha ha, I knew it!" He heard the loud voice of Degres from the distance. His eyes were blurred from the strain so he could not see far.


    "Yes. I am fine" He answered curtly.


    "No, you are not. What happened to your arm? No matter how I look at it this isn''t a fresh wound. Yet it didn''t heal yet." Kaoran who was just a step late after Degres came before Stone and made a simple assessment with the look.


    "Well... It got torn off... So I just put it back..."


    Kaoran facepalmed at this as he felt that this was really inconceivable. He thought that he knew the limit of the boy''s gift after knowing him for so many years but now he knew he was wrong. This power had infinitive potential. But when he looked at the wound he frowned. The wound was ugly. Even if it heals there is a big chance it would not only leave scar but also other problems.


    Having a scar was actually something to pride yourself but if it heals in a bad way making the arm unusable then it could ruin it for good.


    And so he hurriedly told off the scouts and started to head towards his tent.


    "Degres. take him now. He needs the treatment before it is too late."


    Degres simply grunted and took the boys from the hands of the scouts who then went to do their thing. Stone was carefully held by Degres as he helplessly watched himself being taken. But he didn''t struggle since he knew his arm was in a bad state. He already thought if he should self-operate himself but he didn''t have any tools for that.


    As such he hurried to the camp knowing that Kaoran would be able to help. At the moment he didn''t think about those strong creatures, Theras clan, or whatever transpired but just wanted his deserved sleep...


    ........


    Once Stone finally woke up he felt refreshed as never before. There was still stinging pain in his right shoulder but it was migitated so he didn''t care. He was still in Kaoran''s tent lying on the makeshift bed sleeping after the operation.


    When he looked at his right shoulder he saw that his arm was already in better shape. His arm was hinged on some cloth holding his hand in one position so he wouldn''t move it. The closer look at his shoulder makes him sigh in relief. Not only it was stitched up neatly, but it was entirely shifted so the arm didn''t fuse with the shoulder badly.


    ''Kaoran is still the best.'' Sighed the boy realizing that he is still far from Kaoran''s ability.


    "Ugh.." As he moved wriggled around the pain pulsated from his shoulder to the head. He went through worse things but this was the first time something took so long to heal. It was kind of unsettling.


    "Is this how normal people feel?"


    "No, normal people would already accept that they are armless, hehe." Kaoran who just entered the tent heard his murmur and answered him with an amused chuckle.


    "Oh..." Stone nodded at this.


    "How are you feeling?"


    "Fine, I guess. The wound is sore but it is much better."


    "Haha, That''s good to hear. I had to separate some of the muscles and nerves that already regenerated in the wrong way. That way it could take years to fully heal even with your regeneration rate. Thankfully your gift can instinctively regenerate in the way it should so those were just small procedures."


    Kaoran explained Stone''s situation as he sat on a seat close to his arm.


    "Lie down, I still need to check on it, every so often."


    Stone obediently waited as he watched Kaoran staring at the shoulder while muttering something. Then he reached his hand and kneaded the wound a little. Stone expected the pain but instead, he saw some kind of particles of deep green color flowing around Kaoran''s arm and his shoulder. Those particles seeped into his shoulder and seemed to help in the recovery of the wound.


    He recognized them. It was the Spiritual Energy. This one particular was close to the Primal Energy of nature. He knew it since he could see them sometimes when he meditated but only sparsely. But now he saw them so vividly that he was stupified.


    "Kaoran... What are you doing ?" So he asked stupified.


    "Hmm? I am trying to accelerate your recovery. I already showed you during the treatments of patients, didn''t I? You will be able to learn it too once you reach the threshold of the spiritual-"


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Not that. Why can I see it so easily now ?"


    "What ?" Kaoran stopped and looked at Stone. He stared deep into his eyes as he took a moment to understand what the boy was hinting at.


    Then his eyes shined with excitement.


    "Boy, tell me what happened to you during the raid. Quickly!" Stone was surprised to see Kaoran so excited.


    But who could blame him? He didn''t expect Stone to progress so quickly with his talent. He already understood that something had to happen during the time he was missing and thus asked. He didn''t want to ask so soon as Stone was resting but now it was something completely different.


    And so Stone explained how he got chased by Triston. He wanted to show the jagged blade as evidence but he didn''t find it anywhere near him.


    Kaoran calmed him down and showed him the blade that was hidden from the naked eye.


    "Don''t worry. Degres already recognized the weapon so we will hold it for you until you recover. We already surmised that you met the Chief of Thearas Clan during the raid once we saw it. Tell me what happened next."


    Stone nodded and said that he had pursued so long and that when he went towards the camp of the alliance it was deserted. Stone looked with a questioning gaze at Kaoran. But the shaman only shook his head and gestured him with a hand to continue.


    "Later." When he said it his face seemed to cast a shadow as his expression was a little gloomy.


    When Stone described how he used Triston as a shield when jumping the cliff, Kaoran''s face twitched.


    "Stone. Sometimes I wonder... Forget it." He just shook his head. He knew that cliff. Even he would have problems surviving it without the power of the wind. A normal person wouldn''t have an intact corpse.


    "What about Triston?"


    "Dead."


    "Good. With this, your merit is extremely high. But doesn''t explain your arm being ripped off. That isn''t a wound that happens after a fall."


    "Our blood attracted the bear. It was most likely one of those creatures that showed up from the far north."


    "Haah.. I see so those Sabretooth Snow Tigers were not the only ones..."


    "That''s how those tigers are called ?"


    "Yes. They always come with the snowstorm and ravages everything in the area. Our tribe took a deep hit as most of our warriors died. The only comfort is that we annihilated the camp. But that won''t bring the dead back." Kaoran seemed sad. But then instead of falling into melancholy, he asked about the bear.


    "Describe me the bear. I can try to identify him with the description."


    "Well, he had white, almost transparent fur, and some of his body parts were covered in ice reminiscent of armor."


    At this Kaoran thought for a moment. Then he widened his eyes. There was only one species he knew with this description. If the armor was natural then it could be only this kind of bear.


    "Armored Arctic Bear? But... How did you contend against it? Did you run? Or hide? I was surprised when you lost your arm but now that I know the circumstances it is more surprising you ''only'' lost your arm."


    "Well... I killed it."


    "What? How?"


    "I was tired after fighting during the raid and was even more exhausted after the pursuit of Triston. I was wounded and couldn''t almost move. Only with sheer willpower, I managed to fight back when the bear got closer. I mustered so much power that even my muscles ruptured themselves."


    Stone explained with a calm gaze despite the horror he felt during that moment.


    "But I don''t think that was because of my gift. It felt different."


    "I see... It is not uncommon for someone in despair to use power beyond their strength. There is one master doctor from thousands of years before calling it Limit-Lifter. Basically, your mind limits your body so it won''t tear itself apart." Kaoran explained.


    When hearing this Stone finally understood. ''So that''s how it is.''


    "I didn''t see you have wounded any of your muscles. That means that they healed just fine. If that is the case then learning how to lift the limiter would be perfect for you. Unfortunately, I have never heard about someone being able to do so." Kaoran shook his head in disappointment.


    Stone also shook his head. He tried it before and knew it wasn''t feasible.


    "Fret not, Stone! Thanks to this event, it seems you awakened your awareness of Spiritual Energy! With that, you can finally learn the Spiritual Arts from me!" Kaoran seemed to be happy that Stone could finally fully inherit the legacy of shamans.


    "Really?"


    "Yes!"


    Stone was also happy since it was finally the time to learn those arts. He waited for it for too long and was itching to do some supernatural things he heard or saw from Kaoran. He had been trying to perceive the Spiritual Energy for over three years and still, his result was subpar.


    But now suddenly he got this reward making him surprised as he wondered why this happened.


    An old man once said that when your mind is stimulated or extremely stressed it may generate little Spiritual Energy or even Talent thus awakening the latent affinity of the body or even creating one. It was highly probable that this was how I got my talent in the first place. I wasn''t born with one but earned it after years of suffering. Is this situation the same ?''


    Stone thought about the reason why this happened. He could understand that a small increase of talent could happen this way but this was too farfetched. So he thought harder.


    "Is it because I reached a bottleneck and broke it this way inciting a higher reward?" So he asked Kaoran loudly.


    "Hmm? Hehe, you are really bright. That''s right. After diligently meditating every day you perfected your spiritual perception to the limit of your talent. After this, it would take years to make even one step. I did expect it would take you another three years or so to make progress.


    But now when you got through the imaginary wall you got to a completely different realm. You reached the threshold of learning the arts that normal people can''t learn." Explained Kaoran.


    Stone furrowed his brows. He heard this somewhere before. Kaoran smiled and explained.


    "This means that once you learn some of them, you can be officially called a ''Novice''. Just like me. It means you are on your first step towards the spiritual path."


    Hearing this Stone was surprised. ''So I am still in the ''Mortal'' realm so far, huh?''


    Stone relaxed as he lay down on the bed. He was grateful. He knew that he wouldn''t reach his ''enlightenment'' during the fight with the bear if not for ''her'' words. That had to be the moment his spiritual talent broke through and his limiter got lifted.


    "I really have to thank her for those words."


    "Who?"


    "Zephyr. Without her saying those few words before we left the camp I probably wouldn''t be able to fight that bear off." Said Stone while showing a small unperceivable smile. First time in years he smiled a little. But soon the smile was taken from his face.


    When he explained he said it without thinking much but seeing Kaoran''s face turn strange made him frown.


    "What?"


    "Stone, Who is Zephyr?"


    "Huh?"


    Stone didn''t understand. Is Kaoran making fun of him or what?


    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean, you have some acquaintance from outside of the camp? After all, there is no one called Zephyr in our camp..."


    "Huh?"

 40 – Insanity

    Stone was flabbergasted. What did Kaoran mean by that?


    Kaoran seeing Stone being so stupefied furrowed his brows. Stone wouldn''t act like this without reason.


    "What happened? Some problem?" So he asked what the problem was.


    "Zephyr. What do you mean she isn''t from this tribe? You met her every so often. She was your patient after all!" Stone didn''t know why but he suddenly felt extremely anxious as his voice got louder. This didn''t make sense to him. Did Kaoran forget her? But why?


    "Patient?" But Kaoran shook his head. "I am sure that I have never treated someone named as such. You must be mistaken."


    "No way. I have known her for months already! You even allocated her to my field of herbs three months ago!"


    Stone seemed to be even more agitated while Kaoran''s face turned worried as he said:


    "Stone... There is no one else allocated to your field... With your knowledge and strength, it would be a waste to have somebody help you. We agreed to this together. Don''t you remember?"


    "What?! Then what about a patient who lost her leg during the tribe''s ambushes four months ago? A girl with blond bob-cut hair! I had to amputate her leg and she was then visiting you every seven days! How could you not remember?!"


    "Ugh...!" Suddenly Stone felt a headache like never before. He tried to stand from his bed but Kaoran held him firmly.


    "You can''t move. Your shoulder is still recovering." Said Kaoran with a firm expression hiding the worry he had.


    So Stone could only struggle for a moment before he gave up. But the pain didn''t disappear. He felt as if some memories he didn''t have before reappeared. The memory of him talking to Kaoran about the field. It was the same memory as the one he already had but this time without her. A rush of memories flooded his mind, overlapping with the already existing memories making him sick.


    Kaoran saw this and tried to help him with Spiritual Energy and shouted something at Stone. But Stone didn''t hear anything as his mind slowly fell into darkness.


    ........


    ''This is worse than I expected.''


    Kaoran was tending to Stone who passed out suddenly from the pain in the head. It seemed that because of that Stone got a fever, which was a big surprise to the shaman. After all something like fever will disappear in a few minutes under the effect of Stone''s gift. But now...


    ''I knew that his past would have a deep influence on him but that... Is that the reason for it? Trauma... Or even blooming mental illness...''


    Kaoran was very worried.


    When he met Stone for the first time he already understood that a kid of his age couldn''t get to these lands alone and could guess it wasn''t a happy journey. There were many signs of him showing that he was traumatized in his childhood. The respect or even fear of fire was just one of them but it wasn''t as significant as he and Degres expected.


    After all, he was burned alive. If this gives you just a small trauma then what had to happen before to make you like this? The most obvious trauma Kaoran noticed was Stone''s disgust of wolves. He didn''t like them and refused to even consider raising one for himself. Kaoran immediately connected it to that mutated monster the winds whispered to him about.


    The monster which stomach was opened by those lunatics to retrieve the bodies of their comrades. Suddenly Stone appeared during that time. If that wasn''t enough hints then he would be a fool. But something like that... That is unbelievable as much as disturbing it is.


    ''But aside from some discomfort over some things he never showed any other reaction. Was he hiding it behind his expressionless face? No, he wasn''t. He didn''t seem to realize that something was happening.''


    Kaoran shook his head in frustration. This was their first for him. He knows that people can have mental illnesses but he doesn''t know how to treat it. Or if it can be treated. Spiritual Energy is often associated with a mind so it should be possible but he is nowhere near to be able to control it enough to not do more damage than already exists.


    ''But Zephyr, huh? Zephyr is the word for weak wind but it is also associated with freedom. Is she his subconscious desire to be free as wind? Possible. But then he said he was actually treating her that night and that I spoke to her too. It could be some evil entity playing with us.''


    He wondered if there was someone with the features Stone described. He wanted and needed to find out if it was really just a delusion of Stone or a real threat to the tribe.


    "Ahh!" Suddenly Kaoran exclaimed as his old yet wise eyes lit up. He remembered. Small Mer... ''Her features match perfectly.''


    If he doesn''t remember wrong she gained her name early in her life because of the merits of her parents. Unfortunately, they died during one hunting trip that turned wrong. After that, she turned mostly introverted and withdrawn and disappeared from people''s eyes usually. The only one she usually talked to was her older brother who took care of her.


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    But during that day when every hunting squad was ambushed, she got her leg smashed. In the end, she needed it to be amputated to survive. Her brother''s squad never returned...


    ''Stone was probably the unfortunate pharmacist''


    She survived that night and was among the lucky ones. But She didn''t see it that way. She lost everything. Parents. Brother. Her freedom.


    With deep depression, her state was worsening by the day. Until she did the unspeakable and ended her own life.


    It was a sad occurence in the tribe but since she wasn''t very well known among the tribesmen it didn''t cause that much commotion. But Stone remembered her. He was the one who took her leg after all. So he was there when her body was cremated.


    ''But his complexion was terrible that day. I didn''t expect to be so impactful for him...''


    For now, he couldn''t do anything. He knew that to help Stone the body first needed to wake up. And so Kaoran was sitting next to him and waited while tending to the boy who suffered...


    ........


    Once Stone finally woke up the headache mostly receded and just a numb feeling remained. The memories hidden deep in his mind were now easily uncovered as he started to remember.


    ''Zephyr... She isn''t real? That can''t be... So many of the conversations I had with her. She was the reason why I got my determination to leave this tribe...''


    "Damn it."


    Seeing that he is still in Kaoran''s tent he tries to stand up. The arm didn''t hurt that much. After the operation, the entire healing process accelerated. The arm was now firmly attached to his shoulder and he judged that he could already move with it just fine.


    He took it out from the strap holding it and sat on the bed with contemplative expression. Soon he got up and went outside of the tent. He didn''t care that his chest was bare or that his feet were touching the snow on the ground directly.


    He didn''t need to care about such small exposure of coldness. He also didn''t care that some of the tribesmen along the way stared at him. He didn''t have anything be be ashamed of. His body was flawless and looked perfect. The only flaw was the scar on his arm but that just showed that he fought something so strong that it could leave a permanent mark on him despite his regeneration. Just from that, they knew that it wasn''t the scar of a fool but the one of a warrior.


    Furthermore even Stone''s doesn''t know if it will be permanent or not. His gift''s ability is growing day by day and has infinitive potential to Kaoran''s words. For all he know he could be able to grow the limbs directly in the future.


    But these thoughts were shaken off from his mind as he started asking around where the Grand Shaman was. Others hurriedly informed him that the shaman was out of the camp retrieving the bodies of the missing warriors. Recently scouts finally found another remains in the forest near the place where the raid took place.


    Nodding to those he met along the way he went to his tent. He dressed up properly and started to wait.


    Instead of just waiting he sat up and started to meditate. He didn''t have the opportunity to try it out after his breakthrough so he was looking to it despite the predicament his mental health was facing right now.


    Soon he feel into a deep trance trying to perceive the Spiritual Energy around him. And this time he managed just to do that. Not long after he started to feel the energy movement all around him.


    It was weak and definitely not abundant but it was there and that made him quite happy.


    This was an achievement worth boasting about. While he wasn''t someone like that he would at least celebrate it with his friends.


    "Ugh"


    Just one friend.


    One was supposedly just an imagination.


    Even though it was hard to believe.


    But the memories just flooded his mind. They were real. He was sure of it. But the same way he felt about those with Zephyr. He felt conflicted. All he wanted to do right now was to go to Urchin to ask him but he knew better than that.


    Waiting for Kaoran was the best thing to do.


    ........


    A few Hours Later.


    The far sounds of horns were heard as the last goodbyes were said to the fallen warriors. Yet another sad death in this frozen wasteland.


    Everyone was mourning.


    Only one was with a stony expression watching the funeral.


    His countenance seemed to turn more cold after going after yet another bad experience in life. The long effort of Kaoran and Degres trying to make him more ''normal'' crumbled just like that and they could only shake their head in dejection for the young boy.


    But time won''t stop just for them and they needed to take care of the tribe. That''s why they couldn''t talk to Stone for the entire evening until the funeral ended.


    Once it did they did towards the place he stood with serious expression.


    "Stone.."


    Just as Degres wanted to say something Stone interrupted him.


    "Is it true that she isn''t real?" The question came out colder than he intended making Degres scrunch his brows. But before he could say something Kaoran answered.


    "Not exactly. We do not something known as Zephyr nor do we know about anyone being close to you other than Urchin. But the woman you treated by amputation indeed existed."


    "Existed?" Stone asked with confusion.


    "Yes. Her name was Mer. She was quite reclusive before the incident happened so not many people had a big reaction. Now she is late as she ended her own life in sorrow."


    Stone opened his eyes wide. Suddenly a voice sounded out in his mind. It was a little similar to the Zephy but sounded more hoarse. More vulgar.


    "You bastard! You took my leg and called it treatment! Sob...You took away my future, my entire life is in shambles! Only because of you!"


    The scene drawing of a knife and the sound of slicing flesh was vividly imagined in his head. That made him visibly frown.


    "Stone, what''s wrong? Something happened again?"


    Kaoran came to him quickly wanting to check him up but Stone refused.


    "Don''t bother, old man. You yourself told me that you can''t heal something connected to your mind. Instead of thinking of sheltering me, I would like to spend my merit and then continue in my spiritual training. That would be the best measurement for this, wouldn''t it?"


    With that, he told them his piece of mind waiting for their reaction.


    "Yes. That''s right. Training the Spiritual Arts can help strengthen the mind making it easier to treat something like this." Kaoran nodded in approval. Seeing that Stone could still think calmly was gratifying to him.


    "But why would you like to spend the merit? I thought you wanted to accumulate the merit to pay off the debts towards the Tribe so you can leave." Degres chipped in. He knew his ambition as he still trained with him from time to time.


    "Yes. But I can''t leave without a name, can I?" Stone rolled his eyes at his question.


    "Oh, so that''s how it is. But for that, you won''t spend the entire merit you have. That would be just a small part of the giant merit you gained." Degres explained himself. After all, Stone did quite a lot for the Tribe.


    "Yes, but I don''t want to have just any name. I want to name myself inside of the Kennera Lake"


    ""What?!""

 41 - True Name

    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°Why would you want to do that?¡±


    Kaoran and Degres were completely shocked by Stone¡¯s words. For going into Kennera Lake, other than for the first Baptism, a person would need an extreme amount of merit. It would hurt even Degres¡¯ merit pool.


    Thus it wasn¡¯t so surprising that those two were so shocked when Stone said he wants to go there not for the second baptism but just to get his name.


    ¡°Yes. Remember when I told you what I saw in the lake that day? Those golden lights? I want to name myself there because of that. I feel like it can be really beneficial to me.¡±


    Stone answered without any change in his intonation, his voice firm. He didn¡¯t know why but he just remembered about those lights now that he realized that part of his life was just a lie.


    Was that also just his imagination? Was that the reason why Kaoran didn¡¯t notice anything? Or was there some kind of reason for that? He wanted to know.


    Either way, this would probably be his last chance to go to that place before leaving. He had nothing to lose other than time. But that is currency he has plenty of.


    ¡°Stone, I think you should think about that. You may be thrown off because of what happened but throwing away your merit like this is bad. It takes too much merit to enter the lake again. Furthermore, you can¡¯t be baptized for the second time! Your body was fully saturated in the first one and it would probably take decades before your body would properly digest all of that Cold Energy. Think about it. You will just waste all that merit.¡±


    Kaoran tried to persuade him to not waste the merit he gained after suffering so much, but Stone just shook his head.


    ¡°It is not a waste. Firstly, my curiosity will be doused. Secondly, that place was where I was reborn. A place that gave me a chance to pursue power. Getting a name in that place is proper in my case. You could even say ceremonial. I have never forgotten your words. Names have power, right? Then the place, time, and emotion could also affect the might of the name, no?¡±


    Stone calmly reasoned.


    Kaoran, who listened to his words, started to contemplate them. Degres just stood there scratching his head. He didn¡¯t understand what Stone meant by that.


    In the end, Kaoran yielded and gave him the permission.


    ¡°All right, that is feasible. Seeing that you can still think rationally, I will believe in you. But you must wait. Probably a few months at the very least. We can¡¯t open it up just for you only for the Cold Energy to dissipate.¡±


    After the winter worsened, the waterfall once again froze. Normally by this time, the Tribe would leave and return after a few years for the baptism. Fortunately for Stone, since the winter came sooner and stronger than ever before, the Cold Energy accumulated much quicker and the entire baptism process could be accelerated by a few years.


    That means that many children don¡¯t need to waste their time waiting for the chance and can train properly from a young age.


    ¡°Then it is the deal.¡±


    Stone was also satisfied. While his curiosity still burned, he could wait. The name also isn¡¯t important until he finishes his studies.


    And so the agreement was created.


    Seven Months Passed.


    Since that time, Stone never was the same. His already stoic expression became even colder, and he became more reclusive.


    He only talked a few times with Urchin, who also didn¡¯t know anything about a person called Zephyr despite Stone seeing him bickering with her.


    This made it difficult for him to believe in other people¡¯s existence.


    And so he mostly spent his time with Kaoran. This time, however, he spent the entire time preparing for his first journey to the Spirit World.


    Building his foundation with spiritual perception until he could feel it naturally, bathing in spiritual baths made out of rare herbs, and learning to manipulate this kind of energy.


    This step in life was very important as the more you were close to the Spirit World, the more power you could muster. The Bakur Tribe used this connection for naming their people. If you do not have good affinity for the Spiritual Arts or you have never trained in those, then you would be named by Grand Shaman who would help you connect to the Spirit World.


    However, if you make the step yourself, then the quality of the name and potential you could gain with it will dramatically increase.


    Of course, each try was expensive as you needed some rare materials as catalyst for not only the journey but also the naming process. That was the reason why getting a name took so many merits.


    People of the south can make fun of them for this kind of tradition, but the truth is that their names really affected their lives and many cases in the tribe testified to it.


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    And so Stone immersed himself into the way of spirituality for most of the time before he went to visit Kennera Lake.


    Since he already perfected the basic meditation, he could learn the ¡®Nature Breath¡¯ method he coveted for some time already.


    The difference of grade of the methods was painfully visible as he felt euphoric just by practicing it. The entire process changed as he did actually enjoy it.


    He was training like this every day and stopped fighting against other tribes so that his shoulder could fully heal.


    And it did. After so many months, only a scar remained on that place. But even that scar was waning as his gift was growing stronger as he grew older.


    One day Kaoran finally said that there will soon be a ceremony for the children.


    So he started to prepare himself.


    ¡°Phew¡­ In a few days, huh.¡±


    He was lying in the tub full of warm water which was full of herbal essence. This bath was made for an easier split of the material and astral body once you will enter the Spirit World.


    It was an important process especially for those with bad talent.


    This way he bathed for a few hours every day and meditated inside of the tube.


    Thanks to the ¡®Nature Breath¡¯ method¡¯s trait of merging with nature, it was much easier to absorb that herbal essence making it much more efficient.


    A few hours later, Stone stood up from the already cold and translucent bath and put his clothes on.


    Then he went to visit Kaoran.


    ¡°Are you there?¡± He called out in front of the tent waiting for Kaoran¡¯s words.


    ¡°Yes, come in.¡±


    Once he got permission, he entered. There he saw Kaoran sitting at his usual place smoking a wooden pipe. It wasn¡¯t anything weird as he saw him smoking it quite often over the years.


    But this time Kaoran wasn¡¯t the only one to smoke.


    ¡°Here you go.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Kaoran handed him another one which seemed to be already full of some other herbs.


    He lit it up and put it in his mouth.


    ¡°Do you think it will help with anything?¡±


    ¡°That I do not know. It is one of my new prototypes. Smoking hallucinogens could be quite dangerous. But using the ancestor¡¯s records and your situation gave me this inspiration to create it, hehe.¡± Said Kaoran with a smug face.


    Stone with a frown started to smoke. He knew that what he was smoking was utterly different from what Kaoran was so he wasn¡¯t as much disgusted by it.


    Kaoran¡¯s pipe gave off the smoke of disgusting stench giving him bad coughs. Just by smelling it, he knew it must be bad for health.


    ¡®Why would someone without my regeneration willingly destroy their bodies from inside?¡¯ He couldn¡¯t understand at first.


    Of course later he found out that Kaoran had been smoking an actually healthier option that was even helping him with his spiritual affinity and that some people in the south smoke completely useless herbs that are only addictive.


    Furthermore, he knew that it taints the lungs. It is not like his regeneration will clean it up for him. So for Stone, it didn¡¯t bring any attraction and so he never tried.


    But now Kaoran gave him this alternative with Spirit Dew Flowers that didn¡¯t leave anything behind as they literally melted into Spirit Dew. The biggest problem was that it made users hallucinate and could even lightly damage your brain. But now when Kaoran modified the way to use those flowers, it could be used to blur the wall between material and spiritual worlds if used in big quantities.


    For Stone, it was perfect.


    He needed to be careful of serious brain damage but this one was so light that even those without regeneration could use it a few times without consequences. Of course, prolonged use would be a bad idea but by the time Stone¡¯s head would be in pristine state again so it didn¡¯t apply to him.


    And so in the last few days, Stone smoked this weird flower in hopes that it will help him to get a better name in the Spirit World.


    ¡°Don¡¯t expect too much from that journey. Most people won¡¯t even recognize that they entered the place. Both material and spiritual intersect each other and look at first glance the same. That¡¯s why spiritual perception is so important. To see the unseen.¡±


    Stone listened as Kaoran was explaining all kinds of things that could happen and that could go wrong so he doesn¡¯t mess up.


    Kaoran also gave him the herbs he will need to eat before the ceremony. Those herbs cannot be boiled or mixed beforehand and so he needs to eat them raw. Once he does so it will make his Spirit less stable and make it much easier to loosen the anchor that connects it firmly with the material body.


    Meanwhile, he took a puff. It was definitely better than anything else that Kaoran gave him to smoke. It had a pleasing aroma of the flowers calming down his taut nerves. The only problem was that he would hallucinate a little every time. And that was despite the fact that Kaoran blocked most of the effect for the day he will visit the Spirit World.


    That way he could easily cross the line that many others couldn¡¯t.


    In this manner, Stone passed the time until the ceremony came.


    By the evening Kaoran disappeared so he could make the same speech he did four years ago to Stone¡¯s generation.


    Meanwhile, Stone watched from a distance as the excited kids listened to the passionate words of Kaoran. Then he rolled his eyes.


    ¡®You are just repeating the same words.¡¯


    Once the speech ended, everyone was pumped up for the baptism. Children pranced around and parents looked proudly.


    People in the tribe usually have children soon, as nobody knows when you will die.


    Some of the oldest in his batch already have children. Stone didn¡¯t consider one, but Urchin seemed to be anxious about not having a girl to spend time with. He was just 15 years old though.


    It could be said that Degres and Kaoran are exceptions. A welcomed one as not one tribe got destroyed because useless descendants of chiefs and shamans made a mess during the selection of inheritors.


    And so far most people think that Stone will be like them. That was the reason why no girl ever made a move on him. His cold look and reclusive behavior made it hard for them to get near.


    Once Kaoran ended the speech, he started to guide them with a few other adults who had the tools for breaking the waterfall.


    Stone planned to help at the beginning, but Kaoran stopped him and told him to preserve his energy so he could only give up.


    Soon they got to the waterfall and the exclamations of the children were heard everywhere.


    Adults got to work and so Stone stood out as a sore thumb among the children. They were casting glances at him and were whispering why he was there. But whenever his gaze passed them, they avoided his look, his cold disposition a culprit.


    This made him feel uncomfortable. He didn¡¯t like to be the center of attention.


    Fortunately, he didn¡¯t need to wait for too long as the waterfalls fell quite soon.


    Children went inside one by one in an obedient manner.


    When Stone looked at them freely now that their attention was diverted he realized that the oldest one was only around ten years old. Usually a child had to be at least eight years old to undergo baptism or undergo a trial of elders to find out if he has a good enough physique, can swim, and is proficient in the basic medication. Else it could be dangerous, and the child could lose its life even with Kaoran overseeing them.


    Stone waited until everyone was inside.


    Once they did, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and got ready mentally for whatever he will go through.


    Then with determined expression, he entered the cave once again.

 42 - Hallucination

    The entrance behind him was immediately blocked up with ice by the adults waiting for them to enter.


    Everything was completely the same as the day he went for his baptism, but this time there was no one bold enough to talk back to Kaoran, so they went the entire time in silence.


    When they got to the place where the lake was, Stone felt a wave of nostalgia. He was confused for a moment before realizing this.


    This was the first time he felt like that towards some space.


    Furthermore, in this place, he had gone through an important event changing his life. Now there will be a second one.


    Getting a name. How long did he wait for this? Originally, he would need to wait only a few months before he would be able to name himself in the village. But the monsters came and destroyed everything.


    On the other hand, in this place, you need merit to get a name. Of course, the name will be more potent, but some people simply won¡¯t get enough merits before passing away. It is also considered a crime to make some name for yourself without any ceremony with Spirit World.


    That made many weaker tribesmen nameless and only used nicknames or warrior titles.


    But Stone hoped for a normal name. Being called Stone wasn¡¯t a thing he enjoyed that much. To travel and see the world, he needs a respectable name!


    For that, he spent the merit that he was saving.


    But it will be all worth it. He believed in that.


    In just a little while, it was time for the first batch.


    This time Stone thought it would be for the best if he could enter once everyone is done since it will probably take some time and that it could be dangerous.


    He already said this to Kaoran, and he agreed with him.


    Everyone started to undress preparing to dip their bodies and started to take turns.


    Hours passed, and most of the children have gone through the changes.


    Some were satisfied with their results, some disappointed. Not everyone could be the winner.


    At this point, Stone decided to undress himself too so he can go once the last children get out.


    The only thing he left on his body was the amulet created from blue feathers. They were from the time he hunted the Ohera tribe. Kaoran managed to turn it into a protection amulet, and now it was extremely useful as it could get dangerous.


    Now that he was the oldest one here he felt a little weird between other children, but the excitement completely beat off the feeling. Instead, he went to Kaoran.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to baptize the blade.¡±


    ¡°I have it stored here. Once you guys get out, we will use the rest of the Cold Energy, so don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡± Stone nodded at this.


    ¡°Oh Yeah. I almost forgot. Here.¡± Kaoran suddenly remembered something and took out a necklace with a small white pearl.


    ¡°This is a pearl that can hold a certain amount of Spiritual Energy. Now that you can control the energy to a certain extent, you can use it when you are underwater. After all, you can¡¯t practice the ¡®Nature Breath¡¯ method to the fullest potential at the bottom of the water where you can¡¯t do the breath exercise.¡±


    ¡°I know. Thanks. It will come in handy. I will be going.¡± Stone knew this very well. He already thought he would need to switch to basic meditation again if it was too inefficient.


    With this, he will be able to skip the accumulation of energy from breathing, making it much easier.


    He just quickly took out the pouch with the herbs and quickly devoured them. It didn¡¯t matter in what order, so he just stuffed them into his mouth and swallowed them.


    Many children were curious since he was doing something different from others but didn¡¯t talk. They will ask someone later for sure.


    After some time, at last, the last children got out with a happy smile.


    Since he was ready, he didn¡¯t waste his time and jumped into the water.


    Not slowly like the last time since the cold wasn¡¯t unbearable anymore and mainly because he was now a good swimmer.


    Swimming was a good way to train your body, and so he was sometimes swimming with Degres in the northern rivers.


    That made it much easier for him to get to the center where he took a very deep breath and submerged himself.


    Once he did so, he dove downwards towards the place where he saw the golden lights.


    As he swam, he felt the Cold Energy flowing around but not being able to enter his body.


    The deeper he got, the darker the particles got, and he started to feel the cold.


    He didn¡¯t expect the lake to be so deep. He was in a meditative state the last time and so he didn¡¯t realize how much he sank.


    But as soon as he got deep enough, he stopped thinking about such distracting things.


    All that remained in his mind was the golden lights he saw before. Looking around, he didn¡¯t see them, but he already guessed that the reason was that he was half-unconscious last time.


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    So in the end, he just took the most comfortable position he could under the water and closed his eyes.


    He took the white pearl in his hand and started to circulate the method Kaoran was so proud of. While training in it for several months already, Stone still didn¡¯t make that big progress.


    That was mostly because his talent was still bad but also because Kaoran wanted him to accumulate the experience rather than make some big steps and later lament his choices.


    The first step in this method was to connect yourself with surroundings through breathing exercises. These will allow you to have access to the Spiritual Energy around, and you will be able to breathe it into your body.


    Since this method emphasizes nature, it is most potent when it is practiced in places untouched by civilizations. Big cities, dams, or any other man-made structures disrupt the flow of nature, making it harder to practice this.


    The good thing is that Stone was at a place where the biggest structures are shabby cottages, so the nature is more potent here.


    The more so in the place he was right now. The place is seen only by people once every few years, and there are no marks of them since they worship this place.


    Unfortunately, he can¡¯t absorb the energy really well. Stone¡¯s talent made it extremely hard to accumulate the energy without leaking it out.


    That was the usual threshold for magicians of the South to tread this path.


    And Stone didn¡¯t pass it.


    Thankfully his teacher, Kaoran, didn¡¯t care as he believed he would be able to reach great heights one day. It will be hard but not impossible.


    This way Stone started to circulate the energy from the pearl into his body.


    Despite there being a minimal amount of it, it was extremely hard for him.


    He focused his all for it to get inside of his body.


    Slowly, after hours of strenuous work, a strand finally split from the pearl and drilled inside the hand of his.


    Because of his poor control, the energy loss was quite big, and the damage done was also considerable.


    If anyone looked at his arm right now, they would think some kind of worm was drilling a hole inside of his arm and would be horrified by the disgusting sight.


    But he didn''t care about the pain. He already trained in this way and knew the flaws of his. He will fix them later. Now he had to focus on the important part.


    As time passed, the strand of energy passed deeper and deeper inside of his body with slightly faster circulation. As it reached a certain part of his body, Stone felt a certain relief of releasing some kind of block.


    Kaoran told him that this was the block he himself made to block the hallucinogens inside of his body. Now that it was released he will hallucinate for several hours straight.


    Knowing this, he opened his eyes and focused on his Spirit. He wanted to leave the body behind. Wanting to move despite not using any muscle.


    At this point, he felt as if the place was rippling and that the water currents full of the Cold Energy started dancing around him turning into all kinds of wild animals.


    A herd of deer chased by the pack of wolves was doing circles around him while the birds were frolicking above them.


    Bears were fighting together for dominance, and foxes were burying themselves in the snow to catch rodents.


    All kinds of phenomena he saw in years of living in the wilderness were showing up.


    But those were only a fraction of what he saw.


    Things that do not exist or are simply too weird were seen by him as he started to feel dizzy.


    Snakes with heads on both ends were eating each other while tightening themselves around him, birds with teeth were eating creatures made of gemstones and many other bizarre things were happening around him.


    But what he didn¡¯t expect to see was something completely different.


    A monster. It was a gigantic creature with a visage of an eerie wolf. It had bony protrusions on its body and deer¡¯s antlers on its head making it look even more creepy. It had a twisted smile as it slowly neared him while killing everything that came under its paws.


    Stone froze at his sight. Seeing the creature hunting him for years was like a nightmare turning true. For a moment he couldn¡¯t do anything and even forgot for a moment to practice the method.


    The creature¡¯s smile got even more twisted at his show of fear and opened its drooling maw to devour him once again.


    But this time something was different.


    ¡°Stone. You must overcome this. It won¡¯t be able to hurt you. You grew while it regressed. It is a pitiful creature worthy of regret. Ending its life won¡¯t only give the release of yours but also its too.¡±


    A whisper so silent that Stone couldn¡¯t understand what it was saying at the beginning.


    But as it continued, he noticed its feminine tone full of empathy and tranquility.


    This made him calm down a bit.


    However, once he realized whose voice it was, he was astounded.


    ¡®Zephyr?¡¯


    ¡°Don¡¯t be so surprised, Stone. You are just in a state where you can see me once again.¡±


    The voice said with a soothing yet also slightly teasing voice.


    ¡®How?¡¯


    ¡®Now is not the time, is it? Overcome this, Stone.¡¯


    When she said this, it was obvious that she talked about the monster.


    Looking at it, now that Stone got his senses back, he was visibly calmer. The monster still gave him goosebumps but it wasn¡¯t so serious.


    What he didn¡¯t expect to see when looking closely was that it seemed to be much more pitiful than he remembered. It had wounds everywhere, and it seemed to have black rods embedded in its body hurting it. It wasn¡¯t that noticeable in the dark since it had dark fur. But now he saw it and he was shocked,


    But then he saw the wounds on its body rotting as the flesh was falling from it. Its jaw was already bare as he could easily see all of its teeth. The place where the eyes were supposed to be were only the red pits gazing deeply into his soul.


    It definitely wasn¡¯t like that before.


    Or is it just another product of his imagination?


    If it was then why?


    He had so many questions but he knew he wouldn''t get the answers to them. His instincts told him that. And so instead he swirled the water around him so that the creature disappeared. Then he turned his attention to a voice that he didn''t know where it came from.


    ¡®Does this mean you are real?¡¯


    ¡®That is not so.¡¯


    But the voice denied it.


    ¡®Then what are you? Just another hallucination?¡¯


    ¡®Close. I am your imagination. The manifestation of your desire for freedom. Your dream of adventures.¡¯


    ¡®What? That doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡¯


    ¡®And what does in your life, dear little Stone? Your life was already destined to be unlike anyone else.¡¯


    ¡®But why? Why would you appear so suddenly after that night!¡¯


    He was confused and couldn¡¯t understand.


    ¡®I didn¡¯t, Stone. I was there since the time we were trapped. It was just that you were not in a state to hear even your own imaginations.¡¯


    ¡®That doesn¡¯t explain why you appeared so suddenly years later.¡¯


    ¡®Hehe, I am here only when you suffer. When you are constricted and feel suffocated. Don¡¯t you remember? The girl I have borrowed the appearance from. She was the source of your nightmares. Her screams of pain, her hate towards you that made her end her own life. This made it easier to manifest for me and help you.¡¯


    ¡®Why?¡¯


    Stone felt horrible. The knowledge that you have been crazy since childhood was something hard to stomach. Fortunately, Kaoran already prepared him for this outcome, so he didn¡¯t freak out.


    ¡®I am part of you, silly. I wanted to get you out of this place where you can¡¯t lead a proper life. Living like a barbarian isn¡¯t something that fits us. I would guide you for as long as possible but once you fought that bear and broke through your bottleneck in spiritual perception, you couldn¡¯t perceive me anymore since I don¡¯t exist. Pretty ironic, isn¡¯t it?¡¯


    The soft giggle sounded out but Stone still couldn¡¯t see her.


    ¡®Don¡¯t bother. I do not have any appearance. Like I said, I just borrowed the appearance of that poor girl to fit into society.¡¯


    ¡®You just said that I couldn¡¯t perceive you anymore. Is it because of the hallucination that I can see you again?¡¯


    ¡®That¡¯s right. Once it dissipates you won¡¯t be able to see me anymore. And that¡¯s why we should hurry.¡¯


    ¡®To enter the Spirit World, get the name and make the first step to get freedom, of course.¡¯


    And with those words, everything around him lit up.


    Everything seemed to be the same, but Stone knew for sure.


    That everything was different.


    ¡®Welcome to Spirit World.¡¯

 43 - Spirit World

    "Is this the Spirit World?" Stone asked with discernible doubt in his tone.


    In truth, if she didn¡¯t tell him, he wouldn¡¯t even consider it. It felt like he never even moved from his place and was still in the water of Kennera Lake.


    ¡°Hehe. The Spirit World is the Spiritual Reflection of the material world. It is almost the same but completely different. It is just that the senses you rely on won¡¯t give you too much information.¡¯


    Stone nodded at this since it made sense. So instead of looking and hearing, he tried to focus on his poor spiritual perception.


    It took him a while, but soon he could feel the whirlwinds of water around him.


    He stiffened as he didn¡¯t know what they were. He heard the whispers around him but couldn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°What are those?¡± So Stone asked Zephyr in hope of an answer.


    When he did so, he realized that he could talk again. It was as if the water around him didn¡¯t exist.


    ¡®I don¡¯t know. Didn¡¯t Kaoran tell you about some creatures in the Spirit World while I was gone? Thankfully they look harmless, but still, it is better to be careful.¡¯


    ¡°Hah? Aren¡¯t you also a spiritual creature?¡±


    ¡®Nope. Like I said, I am part of you, your imagination, and manifestation of the desire for freedom and adventure. I am not a separate being from you. I only know what you know. Although last year was black for me.¡¯ Zephyr answered with a calm tone despite saying that she was not a being at all.


    ¡°Then how come you gave me so much advice already? How did you know that I would need to fight the monster on the raid? That I needed to let loose to win?¡± The more she talked, the more Stone was confused.


    The gentle smile once again reverberated in his ears.


    ¡®It was things you knew. But you didn''t think about it. It was deep inside your subconsciousness. That¡¯s where I was made, you know? And I gave you the warning based on the instincts that were hidden¡­¡¯


    ¡°That¡¯s not how instincts work.¡± Stone wondered what she talked about.


    ¡®The instincts I am talking about are the ones hidden because of your suspicion.¡¯


    ¡°Suspicion?¡±


    ¡®Suspicion towards the world, hehe. Isn¡¯t it weird that so many mishaps have happened to you in such a short time? You are just 15 years old this year. Yet you already lived through several hells. It doesn¡¯t make sense, does it? That made you suspicious. Yet it never resurfaced to the thoughts of yours. Weird right? And then my warning was right, and you went through another hard to survive ordeal.¡¯


    Every word that she said engraved into his mind and made him remember.


    Born with unimaginable regeneration yet how many times he was close to death. Does it make sense?


    He doesn¡¯t understand why it was happening. He didn¡¯t want to know and so he chose to ignore it.


    ¡®Stone, you must be careful. This world is dangerous. No matter what gift you have, there is a chance you will die the next day. And so give it your all. To be free.¡¯


    With that, the voice disappeared. But Stone didn¡¯t call out. He contemplated her words.


    ¡®I will keep it in mind. Thank you.¡¯


    After a few seconds, he chose not to waste the time, as he knew that he needed to be quick.


    He looked around, and those creatures were still there. There were many of them.


    Thinking hard, he could guess what it was.


    ¡®Kaoran said that there will be spirits everywhere in all kinds of shapes in the Spirit World. So based on the fact that we are in the water, it can be deduced that they are either elemental spirits or the water animal spirits.¡¯


    When he guessed that they are harmless as Zephyr said, he ignored them and started to swim even more down.


    But as he swam, he saw his hands.


    They were translucent.


    This surprised him.


    ¡®So I really jumped from my body?¡¯


    It seemed that he was just a spirit now. If he was in a normal world, he would already dissipate never to be seen again.


    Thankfully, in the Spirit World, even the weak spirits can survive for some time.


    But he can¡¯t leave his body for too long, or he will be assimilated.


    And thus he swam as quickly as possible to the bottom where even his material body can¡¯t enter.


    This continued for a while until he finally felt something.


    ¡®Ugh!¡¯


    He felt a strong pulse going through his body coming out of the bottom of the lake.


    This wasn¡¯t the material pulse nor even the spiritual one. It felt too pure for that.


    The only way he felt that pulse was his mind, nothing else.


    ¡®Is that what I am looking for?¡¯


    Just this was already evidence that there was something down there. Now the question is if it is from the same source.


    After a while.


    He was still swimming further down; he actually started to see more and more as the place around got brighter as time passed.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    He got excited. While he didn¡¯t see the source of the golden lights, he knew that they were the reason why everything was so bright.


    Soon the whirlwinds around actually got a gold tint to their color. In another few minutes, he saw the flashes of light around him and thought that this deep was enough.


    He didn¡¯t want to risk too much.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was that exactly at the moment he wanted to stop, he could finally see the bottom.


    There, a glowing sphere was lying illuminating the entire bottom.


    The sphere was humongous and was shining as brightly as the summer sun. Stone didn¡¯t know what it was, but it seemed to be full of energy.


    In truth, he didn¡¯t expect much from this venture and just hoped to get the answer to his questions. But instead, his questions only rose.


    He noticed that there was another underwater cave from which the water and Cold Energy came from, but the golden sphere was the most fascinating thing.


    But this time he was prepared and reined himself in. Last time he was too tired mentally for that, but now he is different.


    He was looking at the sphere and felt his mind clear.


    Once he was assured that there was an effect, he started to meditate.


    To get a name in the Spirit World, you have several options.


    Get the powerful Spirit to name you. It is the most safe one but also it will restrict you to the being and it will have your weakness.


    The other was through getting enlightenment in the place and molding it into your name.


    The last one was to contemplate about yourself and your life. And name yourself once you understand yourself. It is much easier to get to know yourself when in a Spirit World where your material body doesn¡¯t hide your spirit.


    The third one was out of three; it is the least favorite in the tribe.


    Stone, however, thought it was suitable for him as he was unique in not


    a few things. Not things he would be prideful for but still unique.


    But now when he remembered about the golden light, he thought that the second way can be also good. If everything will go right, then he can even try to combine both of them somehow.


    And so he started to meditate.


    But as he started to circulate the little energy inside of him, the golden light was attracted to him.


    He froze and was alert, but when the light came, it wasn¡¯t harmful, so he didn¡¯t stop. Instead, he felt as if he was getting smarter.


    He felt he started to understand many things he couldn¡¯t before and was basking in that knowledge.


    When he looked around, the golden lights seemed to regain a shape. A shape of symbols. Those symbols were full of wisdom that Stone couldn¡¯t understand. Yet he felt as if he got to know so much more now. About the world and himself. He felt omniscient.


    He couldn¡¯t read in his mother language but could read in Theras language which Kaoran taught him. It had only a few simple symbols. That also makes the records hard to understand since the writing was so simple.


    But the symbols he just saw were on a completely different level.


    He couldn¡¯t imagine how someone could create something so simple as language to something so powerful.


    After a while when he finally came to himself, he started to gaze back at the sphere, which seemed to be the source of the strings of the symbols.


    He stared at the sphere for a long time with fascination as his mind was filled with knowledge never known.


    That was until the sphere gazed back at him.


    It was at that time that Stone realized¡­


    That sphere was a gigantic eye with a golden sheen.


    He couldn¡¯t understand how something so big could exist if the eye was already so big.


    The eye also seemed to be still alive as it turned back to look at him.


    It seemed to look deeply into his eyes as if it could see his soul which felt frozen. The eye, which looked so ancient, shimmered with the wisdom and stories of a bygone era.


    Stone didn¡¯t feel as if he was looking at someone¡¯s eye at all. He felt as if he was something much more fundamental¡­


    The truth.


    Burst!


    The eyes of Stone burst, and his spiritual body started to crack.


    This was so far the worst pain Stone ever felt. He felt as if he saw something so taboo that he couldn''t bear it.


    If he was still sane, then at this moment he would lose it.


    This was a sign that woke him up from his trance, and he started to swim up.


    He was still disoriented, but his survival instinct got the better of him.


    Unfortunately, the symbols around started to attack him.


    They started to tie his body, trying to burn him with the knowledge of the truth.


    Knowledge that shouldn¡¯t be known to any more mortal minds.


    ¡°Augh!¡±


    Stone felt the pain, but even worse were the things he could see in his mind.


    So many things he couldn¡¯t understand and shouldn¡¯t understand.


    He was drowning in them.


    At the last moment, he used the protection amulet on his neck, which brought him a little respite until it broke off.


    The golden light was much stronger.


    But it managed to delay it for Stone to swim further above where the eye didn¡¯t see.


    This time Stone felt like he made the biggest mistake of his life. He felt so stupid. Thinking that he could only reap benefits without bearing the risk?


    In the end, he couldn¡¯t escape the lights. They tangled him and started to pull him down.


    He didn¡¯t know what to do. He couldn¡¯t see anything as he lost his eyes, and most of his spiritual body was destroyed. In a few seconds, he will be done for.


    But then he realized something. The golden light''s main use of attack was to show him the overwhelming knowledge that probably belonged to the owner of the eye.


    It was so unbearable that every mortal would already die.


    But not him.


    Grievously injured but not dead.


    He felt his spirit body slowly healing despite the flashing of the knowledge in his mind breaking him down.


    If he delays any longer, he would die. But he has enough time to try something.


    ¡®Names have power, boy¡¯


    He started to imagine those golden symbols. That accelerated the destruction of his being as he couldn¡¯t bear it but he still thought of them despite not understanding them.


    Instead, he felt them. He felt what they were and started to change their order.


    Meanwhile, he wondered who he was.


    A peasant? Victim? Barbarian or the Warrior? Or¡­


    A monster?!


    No, he was none of these.


    He was someone stronger.


    His body could be destroyed yet it would heal. His spirit could be destroyed yet it could heal. His mind could be destroyed. It couldn¡¯t heal. But it would never break. He won¡¯t allow it.


    He will live to the fullest. He will have the freedom. The power that will guard that freedom.


    And¡­ The thing he just found out about.


    Knowledge is power.


    The golden lights that literally were destroying his spirit under the sheer amount of them were the clear evidence, albeit the crude one.


    But even the most knowledgeable sages could fall easily if they are reckless.


    For that, wisdom was needed.


    Every step he will take. He swears to himself that he will take one with careful consideration. To survive. To live.


    With those traits, he will tread the path he wanted. He needed.


    Boom


    The symbols were changing the order inside of his mind, making the extreme ripples across the entire Spirit World, even affecting the Material World.


    Crack


    The tempo under which his spirit was being broken down was accelerating, and he felt his consciousness fading.


    Yet it was stronger than ever before.


    He felt it.


    The core of his existence.


    Something that weak beings have no chance to feel.


    It was a mere hint but it was there.


    As he felt who he was, so did the symbols that were in his mind.


    He still couldn¡¯t understand them. He wasn¡¯t capable of that. But he managed to write his name with them. A name that could shake the mountains despite belonging to a weak human child.


    When Stone at last opened his mouth to talk, the entire scene was silent.


    ¡°My name is¡­¡±


    The golden lights couldn¡¯t move as Stone was talking with the same language they were written in. His throat, be it the spiritual one or the one in the material body got shredded, yet he continued to talk not caring about that.


    ¡°?¡è%¡Â^¡ì...?>@^&#¡ì!??||%!!!¡±


    Boom


    The water all around swirled as if it wanted to jump


    out of the lake, the ground started to shake, and the skies cried as everything changed.


    Stone dimly heard squealing at the bottom as everything was warping and cracking. The golden lights around them had already dispersed.


    Soon everything flickered as his broken spirit returned to the material world.


    But even here it wasn¡¯t completely calm.


    The swirling water was decimating his already broken body. The area around was completely crimson.


    Yet Stone felt as clearly as he could.


    This time he didn¡¯t lose his consciousness and put all his hope in Kaoran.


    He preserved and swam to the surface with only one thought in his mind.


    ¡®From now on I will be called Illyan Ragnar.¡¯

 44 - Living in Blindness

    When he finally emerged from the lake, the cries of children surrounded him. Not only did the entire place quake as if an earthquake had struck, but the water also turned a vivid red from the injuries Stone, now Illyan Ragnar, had endured. Again.


    Illyan ceased to feel the pain at some point, now only experiencing a euphoric sensation coursing throughout his body.


    ¡°Hahahhahah!¡± He laughed hysterically, lying on the surface with his eyeless face turned upward. It was a sincere laugh after many years, appearing extremely crooked and frenzied.


    Many children, frightened by this sight, ran to the Grand Shaman.


    ¡°Grand Shaman! What is happening?!¡±


    ¡°Is it an enemy ambush?!¡±


    ¡°That guy is weirdly laughing! That¡¯s a sign of insanity!¡±


    The children clamored, casting scared faces at the laughing man.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move from here. He just made a mistake in the meditation circulation. I will go fetch him.¡±


    Kaoran''s soothing voice calmed them as he swam towards the center of the lake with a worried and slightly angered face.


    ¡°Stone!¡± He called out, but the boy wasn¡¯t responding.


    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to, but his consciousness quickly left him after the adrenaline faded.


    ¡®Heh, so reckless¡­ Won¡¯t do that ever again¡­¡¯


    With this last thought, he fell into the embrace of darkness, handing over his life to fate¡ªor, in this situation, to Kaoran, who had already reached him and pulled him out of the water.


    ...


    ¡°Ah... Damn it.¡± When he regained consciousness, he felt as if his body had been trampled by the largest wild animals of the Valas Tundra and slashed thousands of times by the sharpest blades.


    He opened his eyes, yet no light entered. Panic set in, but the core memory of what happened replayed in his mind.


    The realization came to him, but instead of feeling depressed, he smiled.


    ¡®It was a good trade-off.¡¯


    ¡°Stone! You reckless fool!¡± The sudden voice sounded beside him.


    It was the voice of the elderly man, trying to sound angry despite being extremely worried. Upon hearing the insult, Illyan responded with a grateful tone.


    ¡°Thank you for caring for me.¡±


    ¡°You dumbass.¡± Kaoran sighed as he started to smoke his anxiety away. This boy would bring him to the grave sooner than he wanted.


    ¡°How much time has passed?¡±


    ¡°Not much. Just a few hours. It seems your regeneration is quicker than before,¡± Kaoran said with a frown.


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°So, what happened? There is no way nothing went wrong.¡±


    Illyan began to describe the golden eye he saw at the lake''s bottom. When Kaoran heard this, his eyes widened in disbelief. Something like that hiding in the lake for several years, or possibly longer, unsettled him.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ I should have stopped you. I didn¡¯t expect that something like this could be lying there¡­¡± Kaoran seemed to regret not ensuring what lay at the bottom of the lake. After all, nobody went to the lake for anything other than a baptism, so nobody explored the bottom for generations.


    ¡°Not your fault. How could you know about this? The bottom is so cold that even you could have problems down there. Nobody sane would go there,¡± Illyan said with a self-deprecating tone.


    ¡°But you warned me before. I just failed to find anything, sigh.¡± Kaoran remembered when Illyan talked about those golden lights years ago and even went to look into the lake. Yet he didn¡¯t find anything.


    ¡°Just because a delirious kid sees a glow doesn¡¯t mean that there was really something or that it was a threat. You went there to look at it and didn¡¯t find anything. If even you can¡¯t detect it, then who? Anyway, what do you think that is?¡±


    Illyan didn¡¯t think that Kaoran made a mistake. Just because he was the shaman didn¡¯t mean he knew everything.


    In truth, Kaoran even made a basic divination to see how he would fare, and the only thing he got was a huge success. Which turned out to be true in the end.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Stone. If it was really an eye, then it could be the eye of some very strong entity. Like I said before, this tribe is at the bottom of the world¡¯s hierarchy. I traveled a bit when I was younger and was really not much in the world. So it could be possibly anything. I don¡¯t know about that language and the ¡®truth¡¯ you were speaking about, though.¡±


    Even Kaoran couldn¡¯t possibly understand what had transpired there even if he were there.


    Seeing that he managed to change the topic, Illyan sighed in relief.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me Stone anymore. I have the name now.¡±


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Ah! I almost forgot completely what you went there for! Did you get the proper name? That¡¯s great! If the eye disrupted the ceremony and you ended up with a bad name or even nameless, it would be a tragedy!¡±


    Kaoran really forgot about this part. After all, the entire valley went through the earthquake, and he didn¡¯t have time to think about it until now when it got calmer.


    ¡°Heh. It was actually a big success. Just like your divination said. That eye was actually close to getting me, but I used its powers against it as I named myself with its help.¡±


    ¡°What? Then¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, I used the combination of the second and third way of how to get the name you told me about. And the name I got should be really good since I think the entire place started to ripple at the sound of it,¡± Illyan said with confidence.


    But Kaoran stiffened at this. When Illyan talked about the eye, he automatically blamed the earthquake on it. But now it seemed that the eye was innocent in this case!


    He wanted to say something, but in the end, he just sighed in exasperation.


    ¡°So what do you want to call yourself now?¡±


    ¡°From now on, I am Illyan. My true name is impossible to understand in my current state. I managed to say it only once when it formed, and it destroyed my throat completely. So this is an abbreviation of the part I understood,¡± Illyan explained with a blank face.


    The entire time he talked with Kaoran, he lay on his back without moving to look at him. He didn¡¯t see anyway.


    ¡°Your name¡­ That probably means your name is too powerful for your current power. That is unusual and rare. I guess it was really a success. Even at the cost of your eyes.¡±


    Kaoran¡¯s sentence ended with a sarcastic remark, but Illyan nodded at it.


    ¡°Yeah. I was too reckless. I promised myself to be better. Thankfully the prize I have to pay is only temporary.¡±


    He didn¡¯t plan to break his promise so easily.


    ¡°Maybe. But it will take a few years minimally. Eyes are too complicated of organs to heal,¡± countered Kaoran as he watched the blood pits left in his eye sockets.


    ¡°But it was worth it.¡± Illyan closed the lids of his eyes and seemed to rest.


    Kaoran sighed at this until he heard another of Illyan¡¯s words.


    ¡°And the problem concerning the ¡®Zephyr¡¯... You don¡¯t need to worry anymore. I solved it.¡±


    Kaoran¡¯s eyebrows jumped at this. He wanted to ask, but seeing that Stone, no, Illyan, was tired and needed a lot of rest, he let it be. After watching the boy for a while, he left.


    He needed to take care of many things since the valley was lately less safe.


    The northern creatures started to hunt in big numbers in this area, and there was nothing the Bakur Tribe could do to stop it. There were simply too many of them.


    So the question was what step should they take? Originally, they stayed here since they didn¡¯t have another place to live, and living in the wild when those creatures roamed the forests was an impossible task.


    They had already called back everyone outside of the tribe ever since the raid, or else they could easily become prey. It is not like they needed to fight the tribes anymore. They would be taken care of.


    Fortunately, the valley was still hidden from all the danger, but who knows for how long that will be.


    ¡°At least everything retreated from here for now.¡±


    Kaoran feared the earthquake would attract someone uninvited here, but fortunately, it did the opposite, and everything fled.


    That gave them a breather for now.


    ¡°Old man! How is he?!¡± The distant yet vibrant shout was heard by the shaman as he was walking around the camp.


    ¡°Ah, Urchin. He is alright. Well¡­ As alright as someone who just lost his eyes could be,¡± shrugged Kaoran.


    ¡°W-what?! And it didn¡¯t heal? Does that mean he will be blind forever?!¡±


    Urchin seemed to panic as his voice got louder. That attracted some attention, so Kaoran smacked him on the head.


    ¡°Don¡¯t yell. It will take time, but it will be fine after some time.¡±


    Still holding his head that hurt now, Urchin sighed in relief.


    ¡°That¡¯s good then. Lately he has quite misfortune behind his ass.¡± At this, he laughed a little.


    ¡°Yes, he doesn¡¯t have it easy, but this was also my fault for not stopping him.¡± Kaoran sighed at this, and Urchin didn¡¯t know what to say. He was at a loss.


    Kaoran was also silent as they stood there in silence.


    In the end, Kaoran could only smooth the situation with a few words.


    ¡°He is now resting, but you can go visit him once he is awake. He has been in a good mood since he got his name.¡±


    ¡°Ohh! How was it, how was it?! Was it a good name or something lame?¡±


    Urchin was also very interested in getting his own name. And he isn¡¯t far off with his merits. Since he never thought about visiting the Kennera Lake to get himself a name, he only needs to use the merits to cover the ceremony.


    Knowing that Stone got the name, he was hyped.


    ¡°Judge that for yourself. He is now named Illyan,¡± Kaoran said with a small smile. He liked the name that the boy got.


    ¡°Hmm. Not bad! It suits him! But it seems more erudite than classic names in our tribe, doesn''t it?¡±


    ¡°Well, Illyan is smart so he will definitely be much more erudite than me in the future.¡±


    ¡°Do you think my name will be similar?¡±


    ¡°I would say your name will be definitively unique.¡±


    At this, both of them laughed.


    Few days passed, and Illyan finally could get out of the tent. During these days, he was visited by Degres, Urchin, and a few others to see his state.


    But he felt good like never before.


    He had complications with his vision, but Kaoran carved him a cane out of wood to help him walk. Of course, that won¡¯t solve the root of the problem, but Illyan can help himself.


    Thanks to his acute hearing, he could understand his surroundings quite well. Furthermore, as his Spiritual Perception grew, he could feel it around him sometimes.


    That made it possible for him to feel the surroundings a little.


    Moreover, his achievement in ¡®The Way of the Body¡¯ was quite high, so he could move much easier than regular blind people.


    With those factors, he started to walk around the camp. To hide his injury, he also wore a cloth hiding his eyes. He did it so he isn''t the center of attention and to make sure his eyes heal without problems.


    Exposure could cause many unnecessary problems, and he didn¡¯t want to risk it. Especially when it doesn¡¯t cost anything to wear it.


    Illyan couldn¡¯t yet do anything too difficult, as he wasn¡¯t ready for that. But he could tend to his field. Since he remembered the shape, smell, and the position of all herbs on his field by the book, he could do most of the things he did before. Although it took three times more time.


    But he still did it not only to get used to his condition but also to harvest as much of them as possible.


    From Kaoran¡¯s words, Illyan realized that the Sabretooth Snow Tigers and the bear weren¡¯t just a coincidence and that they started to infest the area, hunting the other tribes.


    They were still fine, but that would probably only be for a short time since there were so many of them.


    As such, it was important to harvest as much of the herbs they grew as possible for the possible migration they will need to undergo. Fortunately, the herbs grew quite well after they found the right way under the protection of the Totem.


    In truth, growing the plants should be a basic way to get the food, and most of the tribes did so. Yet the Bakur Tribe, which traveled a lot, didn¡¯t have the time to grow something on their journeys. But now seeing that the herbs could grow so quickly, they would continue to grow them whenever they return to this valley.


    If they return to this valley, that is.


    Fortunately, they managed to do another baptism before leaving the valley.


    So even if they leave for too long, their younger generation is still fine.


    But the generation later will need to find another way to get stronger¡­


    As these thoughts went through his mind, Illyan wondered where to go if this place needed to be abandoned.


    Going with the tribe was something he already decided was not his path. But he couldn¡¯t leave before paying off the merits and before he learned everything from Kaoran.


    ¡°Haah¡­ We will see in the future¡­¡±

 45 - The Progress

    The winds of the north blew across the Frozen Valas Tundra, freezing anything that dared to venture out of its hideout.


    As time passed, blizzards became as common as trees in these lands and could appear at any time.


    ¡°Hah!¡±


    ¡°Agh!¡±


    However, that didn¡¯t discourage some, and instead, it made them even more diligent.


    Deep in some valley in the forgotten corner, there were two bare-chested men fighting each other.


    They danced around each other, hoping to make a hit at the other, but both of them were also being defensive.


    The cold wind was tickling their backs, but they didn¡¯t care.


    With serious expressions, they had only the enemy in front of them in their minds.


    One of them, the one with a spear, was trying to stab the other one with light but elegant thrusts while keeping his distance.


    The other one, on the other hand, wielded an ax in one hand and a blade in the second.


    Because of that, he was at a disadvantage as the other one had a longer reach.


    Furthermore, the spearman was a little more dexterous than the dual-wielder, making it even more challenging to fight with him.


    It could be attributed mainly to the fact that the dual-wielder had a cloth across his eyes and was fighting completely blind.


    Despite this fact, the spearman was taking him seriously, as if he wasn¡¯t confident in winning.


    The blind man was entirely silent as if listening to the surroundings while the spearman was also trying to be as quiet as possible. However, he always grunted while giving his all into the attack, as it was hard to not do so otherwise.


    The blind man was special for being quiet no matter what.


    They circled around each other for some time. The ice on the ground made it harder to keep balance, yet they fought on it as if it was dry ground.


    Hah!¡±


    In the end, the spearman found the opportunity and attacked first.


    The blind man, while less dexterous, seemed to easily predict this and with a small movement, he dodged the stab by bending his upper body slightly.


    However, that was just a feint, and there was another attack coming in the form of a sweep.


    This time he blocked and tried to get closer, but the spearman was faster and got back into a thrusting position.


    This way they fought for hours.


    Not caring for time nor wounds on their bodies.


    Each of them aimed for vitals without any hesitation.


    They clashed and tried to draw as much blood as possible, gradually turning the ground red.


    Both of them got tired and so, wordlessly, they decided to end it in one fell swoop.


    They faced each other and attacked with ferocious expressions.


    The blind man threw his ax at that time, which was dodged by the surprised spearman.


    He then used his palm to strike the shaft of the spear.


    That wouldn¡¯t do much normally, but an anomaly happened.


    Little of the wind coalesced around the palm and deflected the spear.


    The force was so strong that the spear fell out of the man¡¯s hand as he was focusing on the ax aiming for his life.


    He couldn¡¯t do anything.


    In the end, he ended up lying on the ground, knocked down by the blind man with the blade pressing on his neck while drawing a little blood, indicating the end of the sparring.


    ¡°That¡¯s not f***ing fair!¡±


    ¡°Says the one who fights with a blind person.¡±


    ¡°That''s the only reason why I can bridge the gap with you though.¡±


    The blind man clicked his tongue and stretched out his arm towards the spearman.


    The spearman laughed as he took the hand and got up.


    ¡°Anyway, this wind bending or whatever you do is extremely cool, you know, Stone?¡±


    The blind man sighed.


    ¡°I told you to call me by name.¡±


    ¡°Haha, no way. In my mind, you will still be a Stone!¡±


    With a shake of his head, Illyan went towards the ax he threw to pick it up.


    Both of them spared the entire day so they were tired.


    They were training like this lately, as normal training was mostly useless for them. The place they used was the same one where Illyan learned ¡®The Way of the Body. It was quiet here, and there was enough space to fight, so they visited often.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ¡°In that case, I will continue to call you Urchin.¡±


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t call me that! Zers is my name! I worked so hard to get myself a name!¡±


    ¡°In my mind, you will still be an Urchin!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    They bickered like this every day. Illyan changed a lot over the years, becoming more and more solemn with blank expressions on his face. He started to be also more cruel and unscrupulous when it came to the enemies, making others worried. If before he was really like stone, hard but inflexible, then now he was like a blade made out of steel. Hard, sharp, and flexible, always prepared to draw blood.


    Zers, however, never changed. Despite knowing themselves for over six years, Illyan never saw any change in him. He matured little but he acted in the same way as when he was a boy.


    Always being a rascal who does whatever he wants. This, on the other hand, helped Illyan with his mental instability as he felt at ease when being with his only friend.


    Both of them went to take their upper body clothing on and deserted the place.


    They usually fought without it as they didn¡¯t want to dirty it or damage it.


    It didn¡¯t matter to them as the weather could do anything to them. The Cold Energy from the baptism was almost absorbed at this point, as their bodies were stimulated to the limits.


    Zers was quite a genius for being able to do that as young as he was. He was just 20 years old this winter and underwent the baptism six years ago.


    On the other hand, Illyan was as always under average. It was only thanks to the horrible wounds he got in a lot of fights that stimulated his body cells that he absorbed everything in a similar fashion as his friend.


    This made them already one of the best in the tribe. The more so when we count the fact that many elites died a few years ago.


    The tribe was still living in the valley. It was two years after Illyan got his name that their hideout couldn¡¯t keep up, and these days are the last ones here before leaving.


    Nobody knows if they will ever return. So Degres commanded them to get the baptized weapons from the training cave. They then used them for the last sparring they would have here.


    When they returned, they decided to part ways.


    ¡°Hey, I need to go meet that old geezer. Calling me a candidate this, candidate that. It is honestly annoying. Then I need to talk with Yii why I didn¡¯t come sooner. Hah¡­ Sometimes I envy you, Ill.¡±


    ¡°You could have refused back then. Your fault.¡±


    ¡°Oh come on. How could I refuse that!¡±


    ¡°Just like me?¡±


    Zers became red as he pointed his finger at his friend.


    ¡°Like you?! You were out of the game from the beginning! There were no expectations for you!¡±


    ¡°Yet I have more merits than you.¡±


    ¡°Aaaagh!¡±


    Zers ruffled his hair in defeat. Lately he couldn¡¯t win any of his arguments against him.


    ¡°I liked your previous you more!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Ever since seeing the ¡®truth,¡¯ Illyan learned that just being strong won¡¯t cut it. He needed to be learned. Not just at a normal level but at the most excellent level.


    If you are strong but do stupid things then no matter what you will fall sooner or later.


    That made him study more. He learned the Bakur alphabet that was left behind by the ancestor of the tribe. Of course, it wasn¡¯t the real name, but the original one was lost in history, so it was called Bakur.


    Thanks to that, he learned to read and write, broadening his options.


    He read all the recordings in the tribe, learning many things. Then used the merits to use the little skin parchments that the tribe had to use them for important things.


    For example, the information he got over the years about his gift.


    He can¡¯t depend on the thing he doesn¡¯t understand all the time. One day it would bite him in the ass. And so he experimented and wrote his notes.


    And he found many interesting things and confirmed the others.


    Firstly, his gift doesn¡¯t grow as time passes. It grows as long as he uses it. The reason why his gift grew so much was that he suffered too much.


    Secondly, as long as his gift has proper fuel it can go over its limits. Normally it draws stamina from the body, but it can use almost anything as fuel. That was the only reason why he could survive inside of the stomach. He fueled the gift with his wrath. Once his anger dissipated he absorbed the herbal essence of the herbs the monster ate and used it as fuel.


    This immensely quickened the growth of his gift.


    If he knew it before his fight with Triston he wouldn¡¯t need to jump that cliff and could fight him fair and square. His anger towards him was quite high after almost burning to death thanks to him. Back then his survival instincts won over his anger and thus he couldn¡¯t tap on this unlimited energy.


    However, he knew that depending on his anger could be lethal and if he did this often he would turn into a short-tempered person and could make irreversible mistakes.


    He also found that thanks to his body he almost emitted vitality.


    This brimming vitality is the reason why his blood is more desirable by monsters and other creatures than others. But they cannot smell it until he actually bleeds so it is not so serious.


    He had to find this out as he feared that the accident in his village was his fault. But it seemed that it was really just a coincidence.


    He also learned to use his drops of blood to fertilize the herbs. They grow slightly more quickly than normally thanks to that.


    That was even more desirable now as they grew the herbs for two years nonstop to get stash enough for a few years for the entire tribe.


    They would like to accumulate more but the situation worsened. Two years ago, the monsters came from the north and started devouring anything that came under their claws.


    Only the Bakur tribe that hid in this valley and the Blood Crow Alliance managed to do well. Blood Crow Alliance was fine thanks to their home advantage where they could fight off.


    However, even them suffered heavy casualties.


    And now it was Bakur Tribe¡¯s turn. The monster''s number grew too much lately and the place was not safe at all. That¡¯s why it was decided to leave this valley and try to migrate.


    Where? They didn¡¯t have an idea.


    But they will need to be quick else nothing will be left of the tribe.


    Illyan returned with those thoughts into his tent and packed everything up.


    He didn¡¯t have too many things so it was quickly done.


    Then he went to sit down to meditate.


    Meditation was already carved into his body, and it was his instinct to do it minimally an hour a day. Without it, he wouldn¡¯t feel entire.


    He still couldn''t accumulate the Spiritual Energy or any other into his body but already learned to somewhat control the freely flowing one around him.


    He always wondered why he could absorb the Cold Energy and not the Spiritual one, so he once asked Kaoran.


    The answer was simple. There is a difference in absorbing the energy directly into flesh and accumulating it in its pure form. The first one will just nourish the body, making it stronger and add some other benefits like affinity growth.


    On the other hand, the second will allow you to do much more with the energy.


    Unfortunately, that is impossible for Illyan for now.


    However, he can at least affect the energy around him thanks to the martial art that Kaoran taught him. That, in turn, allows him to move the wind or air in close vicinity of his body.


    When he moves a specific way it will spur the flowing energy in the air and move alongside the body when moving. It is highly inferior compared to the real control over the Spiritual Energy or any other form of energy, but for Illyan it was enough. He didn¡¯t have enough talent, so even if Kaoran had this type of advanced techniques, he couldn¡¯t learn them now.


    With this, he could easily combine it with his close combat making it much more useful than if he could make a few gusts of wind with just his mind.


    With enough time, Illyan believed he could also do many more things and overcome the issue of his talent to a certain extent. Maybe one day, he would be able to use it with other elements in the future


    But until then, since the air was abundant with the Spiritual Energy and easily malleable it was the best candidate to become a medium to perform the Spiritual Arts.


    It was the same for Kaoran. With his ability to see and be able to talk with spirits, he could befriend the wind spirits and do many things that were not possible with only Bakur¡¯s inheritance. Because of that, some of the advanced techniques created by Kaoran were not applicable to anyone else. But it also helped him to become one of the strongest shamans that the Bakur Tribe ever had.

 46 - Packing up

    What was most important for him, though, was the fact that he could speed up the rate of his regeneration when using the Spiritual Energy.


    What better fuel is there than pure energy?


    Spiritual Energy was one of the purest energies in the world. The reason for that was because it didn¡¯t originate from the world.


    It was leaking from the Spirit World, which is basically the shadow realm of the material world.


    These leaks are highly beneficial but could also be harmful for the world.


    Elemental Spirits visiting the world could cause natural disasters. Spirits of dead people could manifest as ghosts, and dead bodies could be easily possessed by them to become undead. And many other risks came with it.


    All of this information was recorded by Bakur himself. When reading it, Illyan felt as if he was reading some stories for children to scare them when they were disobedient.


    But the more he was excited when he knew that it was all true.


    ¡°Fuuuh.¡±


    He slowly exhaled the air he had in his lungs and opened his eyes.


    He was meditating for the entire night, and now it was dawn already.


    ¡°It is time.¡±


    Soon, they will take off and start to wander the Frozen Valas Tundra looking for a new home.


    However, he doesn¡¯t know if he will tag along with them till the end. He already has enough merits to pay off everything. Now he only has to learn the rest of the shaman¡¯s art and will be able to leave.


    But when thinking about that, he felt nervous. He didn¡¯t know where he would go or what to do. He even thought whether staying with the tribe wouldn¡¯t be for the best.


    Thankfully, he had support from Kaoran, Degres, and Zers. That made him calm down and made his determination firm.


    While sitting, he took off the cloth across his eyes and checked how they were. He could already see blurrily as they almost healed during those years.


    Kaoran told him that it would take him a long time, but he was aware that his eyeballs were actually damaged several times already.


    In the stomach of the creature and in the Kennera Lake when he opened his eyes to baptize them too.


    There, the entire process was quite quick. But this time it was different.


    He felt a certain force hindering the regeneration, slowing it down. When he found out that he can speed it up with Spiritual Energy, he wanted to try it, but he noticed something extraordinary.


    His eyes changed. Or better said, they have been mutating the entire time. The golden streaks were running across his crimson eyes, giving them mysterious hues.


    Or at least that was what Kaoran said to him.


    It was obvious that his regeneration was fighting against the force and used it as the building stones for creating new eyeballs. He let it be, as it could be beneficial. If not, he will gouge his eyes and regenerate them again.


    Noting this, he covered his eyes again and got out of the tent.


    At this point, most people already packed everything and were taking it on their sleds, which will be pulled by their wolves.


    Illyan also decided that he should dismantle his tent. No way, he wouldn¡¯t take it. Kaoran gave it to him, so he will use it even when he leaves the tribe.


    Fortunately, it didn¡¯t take too long, and he packed everything onto his gigantic backpack.


    Since he didn¡¯t have his wolf, he would need to put everything on his back. Not that it would be a problem for him as he is much stronger than regular tribe members.


    This year, he was 18 years old, yet he was already higher than Degres, who was over 190 centimeters. It was astounding that he grew so much when he was so scrawny when he was young.


    He took on the backpack with ease and went looking for Zers.


    He found him quickly. Zers was talking to Yii, who became his wife last year.


    Now she was already pregnant.


    Illyan shook his head. Who would know that Zers, that little Urchin, could seduce someone so quickly? He was just three years older than him after all.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°Ah! Illyan, you are here! That¡¯s good. The tribe plans to leave as soon as the old man is ready!¡±


    ¡°Have some respect, dear. He was the Grand Shaman.¡±


    Yii, who was beside him, scolded him with a gentle voice.


    ¡°All right, all right. The great previous Grand Shaman is still not prepared.¡±


    Smack


    For this, he got a slight smack on the back of his head. Then, she turned to Illyan and greeted him with a smile.


    She was a woman of small posture with long lush dark hair. Not longer than Illyan¡¯s though.


    ¡°It is good to see you again, Illyan. You are only training or studying.¡±


    He could only shrug at this. It was true that he wasn¡¯t relaxing much lately.


    But that was obvious. Kaoran was getting old. He was already 163 years old this year. Respectable age but in the end, Kaoran was still a novice and couldn¡¯t indefinitely.


    He was getting weaker. That¡¯s why he left the position of Grand Shaman to his first disciple so he could use most of the time to teach Illyan. Despite this, the entire tribe still respected him and waited for him at this time.


    ¡°What can I say. I like it that way.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but if you spend most of the time that way, then you are just wasting it.¡±


    Zers cut him off with his words as his arm went around Yii¡¯s waist.


    ¡°How about getting a girl too?¡±


    ¡°Zers!¡±


    Yii turned at him with a mad expression but Illyan¡¯s mouth twitched a little as he looked at him in amusement.


    ¡°You know that I am three years younger than you, right? When you were my age, you were getting sweaty with other men since you were weaker than me.¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    After all, he was equal to Illyan now when he was blind. So how could his three years younger version be any better?


    Yii giggled at this. That made him even more awkward, and he blushed slightly.


    Illyan only shook his head at this as he wore a relaxed expression.


    Zers, who wanted to change the topic, asked Illyan a question.


    ¡°By the way, where did the old- I mean, Grand Kaoran disappear? You should know, right?¡±


    Illyan just rolled his eyes at this obvious move. However, he answered truthfully.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know. He just disappeared.¡±


    And so, they could only wait as they talked with each other.


    Time passed and most of the tribe members already got on their sleds with everything they needed. Now, only past Grand Shaman missed.


    Grroooo


    Suddenly a very deep grunt reverberated throughout the valley.


    ¡°Damn¡­ That thing is still alive!¡±


    Zers who saw something from behind Illyan widened his eyes as he exclaimed.


    Illyan also immediately turned around as he thought some beast was attacking them, but instead, he was the animal he didn¡¯t see for years.


    ¡°Dor?¡±


    A gigantic musk ox that was easily over four meters tall was slowly treading its way through the snow.


    It was unknown how such a big creature was able to silently get so close to the valley, but after seeing the man sitting on top of it, Illyan got an idea.


    ¡°It is really a miracle that Dor managed to survive in the state of the Valas currently.¡± Yii stated with amazement in her eyes. Kaoran always lets Dor go his way during their time here and only meets him when they leave.


    Illyan always wondered why Kaoran won¡¯t take it to the valley once the arctic creatures invade this place. Kaoran just told him it can take care of itself and that there was no need to look for it. It wouldn¡¯t show itself anyway since it liked to travel.


    Or at least that¡¯s what Kaoran said.


    ¡°Yeah, I was just 14 years old when it left. That¡¯s like over six years.¡± Zers was also dumbstruck seeing the musk ox he was pestering as a kid.


    ¡°Hey, kids! Are you gonna help me or will ya continue watching this old man do all of the hard work?¡±


    Kaoran who sat at the back of Dor yelled as he saw them just talking while looking at him. He needed to pack up some important things that were quite heavy for him already.


    Just a few years ago he was more fit than anyone else, but then he suddenly weakened after getting ill. Since then, it was worsening, and Illyan feared that he just had a few years left at most.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, we will help you.¡± Zers said with a sarcastic tone as rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Zers!¡± Yii was outraged by his behavior towards the elderly while Kaoran lamented.


    ¡°Why such a good girl as Yii ended up in your dirty hands, Urchin. It is a shame, really.¡±


    ¡°What dirty hands?! And don¡¯t call me Urchin! It is Zers! Z-E-R-S!¡±


    As they bickered, Illyan sneaked away not wanting to be pulled into the argument. He got to Dor to greet him with some scratches and stashes of herbs.


    Then he disappeared and went to the tent of his master and started to pack the things up. He was familiar with all things inside, so he didn¡¯t have a problem packing it properly.


    However, there were really some heavy things that Kaoran would have no way to lift now.


    For example, his cauldron was made out of the metal that was extremely heavy, and even for Illyan, it was hard to lift.


    The only way to transport this in long distance was to use Dor.


    ¡°You bastard, why did you abandon me?!¡±


    After a while, the entrance of the tent was lifted, and Zers, who had an angry face entered.


    ¡°I have no interest in getting involved. Reap what you sow.¡±


    ¡°Hah. Unbelievable.¡±


    This made Zers grumpy, but he still went to help. However, he got even more sullen after getting scolded several times by Illyan after packing some things in the wrong way.


    ¡°Why does everything have to be packed in different ways?! It is just a waste of time, you know?¡±


    ¡°Because the thing you hold in your hand is so valuable that you wouldn¡¯t be able to buy it with all of the merits that the entire tribe has.¡± Illyan shrugged at his words.


    But Zers froze as his eyes bulged out.


    ¡°Whaa?! Why didn¡¯t you tell me sooner?!¡±


    His hands started to tremble a little as he felt the weight of the material.


    ¡°Because I thought you wouldn¡¯t be so naive that you would think that the previous Grand Shaman¡¯s belongings would be normal things. Shamans are basically the manifestation of the tribe¡¯s inheritance. All of the knowledge is in their minds and other important things are in their hands. Like the ancestors¡¯ records. The things are several thousands of years old.¡±


    Hearing this, Zers became much more careful. With cooperation, they quickly packed everything on Dor and dismantled the tent too.


    Yii was talking to Kaoran as she was already tired from packing her and Zers'' belongings.


    The pregnancy was taking a toll on her.


    Once they were done, Kaoran turned to them and said with a chuckle.


    ¡°Now only the last thing, heh-¡±


    cough cough


    This made him get a cough fit. Yii tried to help but didn¡¯t know how. In the end, Kaoran spit the saliva with hints of blood on the pure white snow and sighed.


    ¡°Hah.. hah¡­ Damn this age¡­ Illyan, go retrieve the Totem, please.¡±


    With a weak voice, he made his request at which Illyan immediately nodded.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    He turned at the Totem in the center of the camp. Currently, there was someone standing close to it seemingly praying to it.


    As he got closer, the person also noticed him and turned around. It was a woman of a similar age to Degres. She wore colorful clothes that Kaoran wore in the past, showing her title of Grand Shaman.

 47 - Migration

    "Hello, Frost Worm. How is your health?" she asked with an amiable tone.


    She was, of course, asking about his eyes as it was the first injury to take so long for him to recover from.


    "It is getting better. I think I will be fine in a year," Stone also answered politely.


    At this, she nodded.


    "Looks like it is time. It is really a relief that the Master is still taking care of Dor. I don¡¯t really have a connection with it so far."


    The master she was talking about was obviously Kaoran, who taught her since her childhood. Illyan wasn¡¯t even born at that time.


    "No worry, Grand Shaman. Dor will get used to you if you spend some time with him," Illyan answered with a polite tone. This was not Kaoran, who he thought of as family, so his behavior was also different. He was even called by his warrior title, as he didn¡¯t tell most people that he was called Illyan.


    However, even to the closest ones he didn¡¯t tell that his name was divided into two parts.


    Nobody knew he wasn¡¯t just Illyan but instead Illyan Ragnar.


    And he didn¡¯t plan to tell anyone.


    Even if this name couldn¡¯t represent his entire being, it was still part of the name''s form that could hurt him if in bad hands.


    It was normal for tribe members to change their real names a little too. It was one of the first things Kaoran told him. So he wasn¡¯t wrong to do that as it could save his life someday.


    After all, he heard the stories of memory-sucking creatures and other such dubious monsters. If even one of them were real and did suck someone¡¯s memories of his name he would suffer.


    "Yeah, I also hope that I will get closer to him." She just smiled and then sidestepped so he could do his thing.


    "Lately, the ancestral spirit is getting weaker since it had to use a lot of energy to hide before those beasts. It is really concerning."


    "Well, considering that the spirit is as old as the tribe, it shouldn¡¯t be weird." Illyan talked to her as he put his hands around it and with force, he pulled it out.


    Right at that moment, the cupola of energy around the valley started to disappear and the cold winds of winter started to invade everyone present.


    That made everyone aware that they will leave soon and started hopping on their sleds.


    "Well then, Grand Shaman. I will be going."


    "Yes. Let¡¯s talk another time. I need to make a speech together with Degres."


    With this, they said goodbye to each other and went their own way.


    Illyan returned to Dor and put the Totem on one of the straps that hold it on the side.


    "That should be all, right old man?"


    "Hehe, yeah. Now we can set off."


    Kaoran nodded at Illyan¡¯s words as Illyan climbed on the top of Dor.


    Zers who heard that cast his eye on his wife only to see her completely ignoring that. That made him feel indignant for being treated unfairly.


    "Hey, why don¡¯t you scold him too?


    "For what?" However, when he asked her, she just rolled her eyes as she got on her sled with her wolf. She named her wolf a ¡®Hail¡¯ as she was snow white.


    "For what?! He called our great last Grand Shaman an old man! Do something about it!"


    "Haah¡­" When she heard this, she stopped and looked at him if he was really serious. Then she just sighed and kneaded her brows.


    ..." When he saw her like that, he felt a little awkward. However, he was not in the wrong!


    "Illyan is his disciple. He literally grew up with the previous Grand Shaman and probably treats him as his father or grandfather. Are we really gonna compare him with your immature behavior?"


    Illyan, whose hearing was very acute, caught this conversation and felt pity for Zers. That guy always says something stupid and then faces the consequences.


    If only he could see his expression when he was scolded by Yii¡­


    "Listen up my proud Tribe!"


    Then a loud voice was heard across the entire valley.


    The current Grand Shaman started her speech before leaving this place for an indefinite period. Maybe they will never come back. That¡¯s why they felt a little reluctant.


    However, despite her loud voice, her speech didn¡¯t bring up the same passion as the ones Kaoran did. That made Illyan stop listening as carefully and instead made sure he didn¡¯t forget anything.


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    Others still listened as many felt patriotic towards their tribe.


    The speech wasn¡¯t too long fortunately, and Degres took over soon after. As the strongest fighter in the tribe, he is in the front leading the entire entourage together with the weakest members and slowest members.


    This strategy was made so the weak ones determine the pace of the entire tribe so they won¡¯t be left behind. Degres, with a few other strong fighters, then defends them from any kind of threats, and scouts are communicating with him to choose the optimal path.


    On the other hand, other strong individuals are in the back, defending the tribe from behind.


    Illyan and others are in the middle as they got the permission.


    Kaoran has a high status and is too old. Illyan was incapacitated and had to study.


    And everyone who has a pregnant wife or very young children do not need to have the most dangerous spots, so Zers also doesn''t need to be at the back.


    "Well, I wonder where we will be going."


    Illyan muttered to himself as he noticed that Degres already got to the front and heard that people in front of him were already proceeding in a long line.


    "West. We are going west. Remember when I told you years ago that the west side of the Cold Sea will freeze soon? Now after a few years it froze completely, so it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to cross it. That¡¯s the opportunity for us to leave for the smaller land on the other side."


    Kaoran answered him immediately. He obviously knew where they will go as the upper echelon had to decide this before setting off. Aimlessly wandering would just kill them off faster.


    The north was swarmed with the beast, in the south was the Blood Crow Alliance, and in the east was the ocean.


    The difference was that the ocean in the east was much rougher and turbulent, making it impossible for it to freeze to the state where they could cross it.


    That made the west side, the only side that won¡¯t cause casualties of the highest proportions. The elders decided where to go years ago as they knew this migration was inevitable.


    "Did it really get so cold that even the ocean froze? I thought oceans have waves and typhoons and whatnot. How can it freeze when it moves constantly?"


    Illyan remembered Kaoran saying this but never thought deeply about it. At that time he didn¡¯t know much about oceans so he couldn¡¯t imagine it. Now when he was already aware of the size and chaotic nature of the oceans, he was completely confused. How could it freeze so easily?


    "That¡¯s the point, boy. Cough. The complete change of climate had created many ¡®miracles'' across the lands. Unfortunately, those miracles aren¡¯t very friendly to humans and other creatures."


    He already knew that as time passed this land got colder and colder. Illyan doesn¡¯t even remember the day when it was warm anymore.


    However, it was definitely unnatural for this to happen.


    "Why do you think this is happening?"


    In the end, he couldn¡¯t help but ask this. The climate got worse as time passed and he feared that it wouldn''t stop any time soon.


    "Who knows, boy. You¡¯ve already read the records. This change of climate has been happening since our ancestors got here. Honored Bakur mentioned large glaciers in the Cold Sea when he sailed on the ship coming from the north. There have been many theories as to why this is happening."


    Kaoran mentioned that this problem was noticed for generations. But nobody knew why.


    "There is no clue whatsoever?"


    Knowing that there is no explanation for this desire to understand it grew.


    "Well, there are some theories. Some are far-fetched, but some are quite interesting. There is one that says that the gate to hell opened in the north or that some kind of treasure made of divine ice. The most normal one is that some kind of catastrophe happened in the far north. So big that it even implicated us in this place."


    Kaoran then describes all kinds of theories that people came up with in the past as Illyan listened with rapt attention.


    Zers and Yii, seeing them be lost in their conversation, didn¡¯t interrupt them as they rode beside each other and talked about something themselves.


    "What do you think that it caused?" At the end of the conversation, Illyan asked which theory Kaoran believed in.


    But Kaoran just shook his head.


    "Hard to say. However, I believe that it has something to do with the Cold Energy that has been in the Kennera Lake."


    When he said this, Illyan opened his eyes wide.


    If the Cold Energy was really one of the reasons why this change of climate happened, then it would explain a lot. Unfortunately, they do not know about Cold Energy that much either.


    They only found it when it was already in the Kennera Lake where it was sealed. Then after they destroy the waterfall, it would start to dissipate and appear only in winter a few years after.


    Now it has generated much quicker as the winter has been going on for years already¡­


    Moreover, Illyan noticed the underground cave from which the water and possibly the energy were going from.


    Maybe that eye also had something to do with this all?


    So many questions and so few answers. It was vexing.


    Illyan really wanted to explore the place to find out more about it but he promised that he won¡¯t risk his life like that ever again. If he enters that place as he is now, there is a big chance that this time he won''t be able to escape.


    But that didn¡¯t mean he gave up on it completely. If there is a chance in the future, he would love to visit this place again.


    As they began leaving the valley, he took down the cloth once again.


    He looked quite blurry, but he wanted to see this place for the last time. This place was his home for six years. Life was difficult but it was fulfilling. He learned how to be a warrior here, how to tread the path of the supernatural and even what his true desire is.


    He found in this place a figure of a father and grandfather and found his best friend here. In his life, he lost so much in the early days, but here he gained just as much.


    The complicated feeling sprouted in his heart at the sight of the place.


    He never expected that he would feel nostalgic just by looking at this place.


    "As a person grows older, he will go through many experiences. He will accept new people into his life, visit new places and try out all kinds of joys of life. But in the end, there will come the time when he says goodbye to those people or when he leaves the place he loved for good. Nothing is eternal, as everything will turn to dust one day."


    Kaoran¡¯s words sounded beside him, telling him the basic truth of the world. He turned his head to look at him. He could see only a blurry figure as his eyes were still healing. But it was enough to see how fragile the figure became.


    After so many years of knowing him, he thought of Kaoran as family. But seeing him in such a state made him anxious. His words rang in his head, making him realize¡­


    He will not be there for him forever.


    In the end, everything will turn to dust. Including Kaoran. Including him.


    Illyan looked at his hand. It was young and full of strength. Since he has his regeneration, he thought he would live for a very long time. But will he truly?


    How will his hand look in the next 100 years? Or 200 years? Will he be able to survive until such a ripe age? No matter what he will do during those years, everything will turn to dust.


    He clenched his hand into a fist.


    ¡®Nothing is eternal and probably nothing will be. But that doesn''t mean I can¡¯t try to achieve it.¡¯


    Boom


    In the overcast sky, lightning was dancing in the dark clouds as the thunder resounded as if acknowledging his determination to go the path of no return.

 48 - Carving an Amulet

    "Illyan, as you should already know, your theoretical knowledge of herbalism and medicine is already on par with mine. I taught you everything I knew in this profession. Now, you just need to practice, and one day, the day that will be soon here, you will surpass me. However, as a shaman, you must get to learn many other abilities than just healing and a little of spiritual manipulation. Unfortunately, your master is a sham himself and cannot say he is a full-fledged shaman, hehe."


    Kaoran, who was taking pieces of wood from his pouches, was explaining to Illyan the meaning of being a shaman.


    Illyan was listening with interest, as Kaoran was the strongest human, possibly even being, he had ever seen. Yet he calls himself a sham.


    "The strongest shamans are whisperers of nature who can tame all animals with just a voice; they can shapeshift, travel the Spirit World at will while commanding all of the spirits, peer into destiny and see the path of the world itself, heal with the touch of their hands, and create artifacts that can protect their tribes. But the most powerful of all their abilities is the ability to create and set up the Totem. Totems connect the entire lineage of shamans and can use the power of ancestral spirits to create a ¡®domain¡¯. Our domain can just make a warm wind and hide us before the danger, but the best Totem can allow you to control this domain as if you were a god...."


    The Bakur Tribe traveled across the Frozen Valas Tundra with all their might while trying to cover their tracks as much as possible so no animals or humans sensed their march.


    Of course, that was impossible as they had simply too many people. Fortunately, only some weak tribes tried to rob them of food but were slain instead.


    No normal animals were seen during these times as all escaped or got eaten by winter beasts.


    Degres ordered others to preserve tribesmen''s bodies as soon as they fell. Not for consumption. They weren¡¯t cannibals to do such a thing. But they needed to get rid of the bodies as it would entice the winter beasts.


    But since it was like this, it was better to keep them to use as bait when in need. Thanks to the cold, it would take a long time before they start to get spoiled. Even if they get a little rotten, those mindless beasts wouldn¡¯t mind.


    They were much stronger than normal animals, and their instincts were also much bigger and wilder. Because of that, they will eat any meat that gets under their fangs.


    Thanks to this, the tribe learned to use any kind of meat as bait to entice away those beasts from the valley. Even now, the scouts use the meat when there is a need to get out of the way of some strong creature or entire herd.


    When possible, they would just avoid confrontation, but sometimes avoiding is more difficult than just going straight. In that case, using the bait was the best option.


    The problem is when they meet a smarter individual or make a mistake...


    "As I said, most of those abilities were not recorded in the heritage that honored Bakur has stolen. Even going to the Spirit World is difficult for us. However, there are still things that you didn¡¯t learn. Here..."


    Kaoran handed Illyan a piece of wood. It was pinewood, wood that is almost everywhere in this place. But before he could ask, he got a second hand knife. Not a hunting one but one made for carving.


    "To learn how to create Totems and amulets, you must learn crafts like carpentry and gemcraft and other kinds based on which materials you will use. Amulets can be created from anything, be it metal, gem, crystal, herb, feather, etc. What is really important is to make a design, cleanse it from negative energy and mortal dust, and make symbols on it based on your intention. We usually use the letters from the Bakur alphabet, but since it is a normal language, it is weaker than its full potential. The most important part is the attunement with the amulet, subsequent infusion of spiritual energy together with the intent why you are creating the amulet, be it protection, luck, or anything else.


    Totems are similar, but for them, the simple infusion of energy won¡¯t be enough. The spirit must be infused. But thanks to that, it is stronger than normal amulets and has active abilities instead of just passive ones like amulets."


    With this explanation, he started to teach Illyan how to carve wood with a knife. Wood was the best for beginners and was the most used when it came to Totems, as wood is also part of life and can withstand for a very long time.


    It wasn¡¯t important to learn how to refine all kinds of materials. One was enough for Illyan. Once he gets better, he can go to learn the next steps and make his first amulet.


    Of course, he doesn¡¯t plan to stick with wood, but he can learn the rest of that later.


    And so he carved every day.


    A lot of the wood got wasted since he wasn¡¯t good at it and was blind, but as time passed, he started to get the knack of it.


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    He had days of free time where he could only sit, so carving became his hobby at this point.


    Firstly, he carved some simple shapes, but as he progressed, he started to carve some statues of animals that lived in the area. Snow foxes. Bears. Deers and mooses.


    It was crude, but when he showed it to Kaoran, he said that it looked as good as it could be considering the time to learn.


    "Actually, the animal statues are also a type of Totems. You trap the spirit of the animal within and can use it any time as a fighting force. I never tried it, though. It is extremely difficult to trap the spirit for this tribe. When done so, everyone with the affinity for spiritual energy helps, and it is usually when the ancestral spirit of the eagle in the Totem needed to be relocated to another Totem. Yet it takes almost all of the resources of that generation. But without it, our tribe wouldn¡¯t be here already, so it is an acceptable sacrifice.


    ¡°I see. That means we will learn only the theoretical part about it, huh? In that case, learning about amulets first is better since I could take it to practice immediately. The feather amulet you created for me saved my life back then, after all."


    Illyan gave up on totems since he couldn¡¯t utilize them at this moment and instead focused on the amulets.


    Kaoran also agreed with this and taught him how to make wooden amulets.


    It took him another few days to completely familiarize himself with carving until he thought he was at an acceptable level.


    "We will start with a bigger one. That way, you will have an easier time when scribbling the letters on it. Try to carve the word ¡®Protection¡¯ into it. Put your intent into it too."


    The next step was carving. It was one of the easiest ones as the wood was soft, and he needed to just think about what the words meant so the intent came across properly.


    The difficult step came after that. He needed to meditate to attune with the amulets, so they are compatible and connected. This was important, as the amulet wouldn¡¯t work otherwise.


    Illyan was quite confident in his meditation as his ¡®Nature Breath¡¯ method was already advanced. Thanks to it, he could feel the surroundings even without eyes. He needed extreme concentration for that, though.


    And so he took his meditative posture with the carved wood in his arms, trying to attune it with himself.


    Two Weeks Later.


    He finally got the result and could go to the next step.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was that it would take such a long time. He was bewildered at this slow pace.


    Fortunately, since he was making an amulet from simple wood, he didn¡¯t need to cleanse it. This attunement was enough for any traces of bad energy to disappear as the wood got Illyan¡¯s aura...


    "Hahaha, if it was so easy to make amulets, then wouldn¡¯t I create them in large quantities? It was always a pain in the ass to make even one, so I usually make one only when I come across very good material." Kaoran was amused by his face as he laughed heartily.


    It was really unexpected that it would take so long. And he still wasn¡¯t done!


    The last step was to infuse energy.


    "For how long do I do it?"


    "This depends on you. The longer you do, the more energy it has. Of course, wood won¡¯t withstand much, so you can stop one hour later. You should usually infuse energy within you, but since you don¡¯t have any, the energy in the atmosphere will be enough. That will make the connection weaker, and the amulet would be more unstable, but it doesn¡¯t matter." He waved his hand as if it was just a minor problem.


    ¡®To you, it doesn¡¯t matter, but for me, it would be a waste of several weeks¡­¡¯


    Illyan scrunched his face a little when he heard him, but instead of answering, he started to stir the energy around him.


    It was much more difficult when he was in a sitting position since he couldn¡¯t move his entire body to guide the spiritual energy. He could only wave with his hand which ultimately made the movement of energy around him much weaker than when he was fighting.


    Furthermore, some of the tribesmen were staring at him with weird expressions as he looked as if he was striking something with his hand for hours straight¡­


    "Finally..."


    After two weeks, he finally made his first amulet. It was just a piece of wood, but he was holding it as if it was treasure.


    "Not too bad, I guess. The fact that you made it on your first try is really delightful. Making amulets out of wood is the easiest, but still many fail on the first try. Now let¡¯s try it out."


    As Kaoran said that, he reached out his hand and pointed at him.


    Before Illyan could say anything, a wind coalesced on the finger that was pointed at him and shot at him as an arrow.


    His first instinct was to dodge it but it was too quick for him.


    The second option was to block it so he reached out for his weapons only to realize they were gone from their place!


    So the last option was to block it with his body while trying to not hurt any of the important organs or bones.


    But as the air arrow reached him, a small invisible film of energy blocked it for a split second before bursting. The amulet in his arms brightened as the word ¡®Protection¡¯ pulsed with light until it cracked.


    Boom


    At the last moment, the air arrow dodged him and flew somewhere else.


    Others panicked when they saw it, but when Kaoran waved his hand, they started to ignore it.


    Illyan, on other hand, was touching the cracked amulet in his arms. His brows were incessantly twitching as he was frowning.


    It took him several seconds to calm down, and his face turned expressionless right after.


    Then he turned his head at Kaoran.


    "As you can see, it couldn¡¯t block even such a weak attack. So, for the amulets you make to be useful, you need to train and create a lot of them to be skilled. Now that you have learned the basics, I will be able to teach you only some tips and theoretical knowledge about materials and such."


    "But you didn¡¯t need to-"


    "As such, we can start to teach you something else. Learning divination is essential for adventures where you do not know what kind of catastrophe will come out the next day."


    ¡®I was ignored, huh.¡¯


    "So, Illyan, listen carefully. To learn divination to the level where it becomes useful, you need to devote a lot of time and effort. Future is blurry, and destiny is uncertain. Divination is one of the hardest arts in the world. It is a blessing that our tribe actually has some art that even has a chance to make a real divination. Not to mention, our arts are probably one of the easiest and least talent-demanding types. Divination is divided into active and passive ways of observation. I don¡¯t know if the active one is real or not, but the passive way of observation is the mainstream way to divine something."

 49 - Eyes of Truth

    The basic way of passive observation is to look at stars and constellations and see the pattern. That is called astrology. We will learn that too, but the most used way to divine in our tribe is called ¡®Dice Casting¡¯. It is one of the easiest ways and also the least demanding on talent.


    Kaoran was still explaining, completely ignoring his broken amulet, which made Illyan a little upset. He was making it for over two weeks, after all. But as Kaoran continued, Illyan¡¯s interest got piqued, and he started to ask questions.


    ¡°How do you know someone has talent?¡±


    ¡°Actually, the talent assessment for diviner is much harder than for spiritual arts users. From what I heard, in the south, they have extreme problems with the scammers who call themselves prophets and whatnot but can¡¯t divine even basic things. The best way to access your talent is probably by going through a Revelation where you go into a trance while telling the prophecy. However, such divination is rare and can¡¯t be controlled or trained.¡±


    Kaoran shook his head in disappointment.


    ¡°I have never had the honor to have such a revelation. I had visions a few times, but that is just a fraction of such Revelation. And those visions didn¡¯t peer into the future or the past but just into the present.¡±


    As he finished talking, he started to fish something out from his pouch.


    ¡®Hmm?¡¯


    ¡°Was the time you said you saw that the north was invaded by the winter beasts a vision?¡±


    Illyan asked curiously. He always wondered how Kaoran did that. He always thought that divination is what Kaoran described as passive observation. Looking at stars, looking at the palm of the person, drawing cards, and such.


    But this new information changed his view completely.


    ¡°Yes, I was lucky. Normal divinations have a small chance of success if not done by a master, so it could be a catastrophe.¡±


    ¡®So that¡¯s why Degres didn¡¯t believe it that much, huh.¡¯


    At that point, Kaoran finally took several small objects from the pouch as they rattled together.


    ¡°Take this. We will use it for the Dice casting.¡±


    When he handed it, Illyan frowned. He expected dice since it was called ¡®Dice Casting,¡¯ but this was something completely different. He touched it several times until he ascertained what it was.


    His mouth twitched as he asked Kaoran why he gave such a thing to him.


    ¡°Why would you give me human phalanges?¡±


    ¡°Hehe, we were lucky that the enemies tried to raid us recently. I told Degres to give me the left hand of the leader. The ones on the left hand work better. I took them out and covered them in symbols for astrology. When they are thrown like dice, they do not work based on the numbers but the way how they fall. Their distance, direction, and even similarity to something can tell some basic things. Come, let¡¯s start.¡±


    And so, Illyan¡¯s days of numbing training of Divination began, where during his free time, he was creating amulets.


    Those were one of the most boring days of his life.


    Nevertheless, it taught him a valuable lesson. Studying and training aren¡¯t only about those interesting things but also about those dull ones that take an extreme amount of time.


    To progress, you must steadily work every day.


    He also learned a lot about himself as he never expected to feel so bored.


    Sitting entirely for entire days training like this felt much longer than it was.


    Training with the Spiritual Energy was also inefficient as he couldn¡¯t use the martial art to control it properly. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t stagnate as the amulet infusion helped him tremendously. Thanks to that, he could move small amounts of Spiritual Energy for detailed works like infusing amulets much more easily.


    One Month Later.


    Things were going smoothly for the tribe, and there were not many conflicts along the way. Even when there were some, they were quickly taken care of.


    Illyan didn¡¯t have to worry and could devote all his time to practice.


    However, one day, when most of the tribesmen were still sleeping in the safety of their tents, he woke up on the back of Dor with confusion on his face.


    Its back was so big that it wasn''t a problem for several people to sleep on it. Furthermore, it was extremely comfortable.


    Kaoran was sleeping on it every time he was traveling, but recently he stopped. As he got older, he couldn¡¯t keep sleeping in the open without getting ill.


    So he always slept in his tent.


    However, Illyan didn¡¯t stop, as he didn¡¯t have any reason for that. Pitching and dismantling the tent every day was a bother that took his time from practicing.


    Instead, sleeping on the back of Dor was actually more comfortable for him.


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    But now, instead of enjoying the little sleep he had, he woke up in bewilderment.


    The itch that was indicating the recovery of his eyes was finally gone when he woke up.


    He quickly sat up and processed what this meant.


    When he finally realized, his eyes shone with thrill.


    Thrilled, he leaped from Dor and ran to the woods.


    ¡°Hey, Where are you going, Stone?¡±


    Zers called out to him. He woke up early as he wanted to hunt some meat if possible. Yii¡¯s belly started to grow, and he wanted the best for both of them.


    ¡°I will meet up with you guys later. I have something to try out.¡±


    Illyan stopped in his tracks and told him that he will catch up with the tribe later.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ What is it now? Maybe he got crazy from doing all that training.¡±


    Zers only shrugged his shoulders and returned to his tent, as he didn¡¯t notice that Illyan didn¡¯t cover his eyes anymore¡­


    Swinging himself from one of the tree branches to another, Illyan was going further into the woods. His body displayed the dexterity of a monkey, but he exuded the aura of a predator.


    All of his muscle fibers were used to the fullest as he ran on the trees.


    Whenever he saw obstacles in front of him, he dodged at the last second in the most efficient way to not lose speed.


    His face didn¡¯t show any signs of joy, but his eyes shined with excitement.


    While he could live without his eyes, it still impeded him. Mainly in speed, dexterity, balance, and precision.


    But now, he can use his body to the fullest.


    Once he got far enough, he looked for the tallest tree in the vicinity and climbed on top of it.


    There, an indescribable sight appeared before his eyes. The sun was just rising, and accompanying it were lights of all colors flying in the sky.


    ¡®Are those auroras?¡¯ Illyan wondered this as he saw such a high number of them.


    However, he heard that they show up only in the most northern part of the world and that it must be night.


    ¡®No, wait. There is no way¡­¡¯


    After staring at those for some time, he noticed that they weren¡¯t only in the sky but everywhere else.


    The particles were flying together with the wind while other ones were falling with the snowflakes.


    ¡®Is that spiritual energy? But I didn¡¯t even meditate¡­¡¯


    He touched his face as he realized how much better his sight has become.


    ¡®The wait was definitely worth it.¡¯


    With this newfound knowledge, he jumped off the tree and with precise grabbing of the branches on the way, he slowed his fall.


    Soon, he continued on his way looking for a body of water.


    Fortunately, there was not far from them a small river they used for water.


    Once he found it, he jumped down on the ground and slowly came to it.


    When he looked into the clear water of this river, he saw himself.


    After a few years, he can finally see himself again. He noticed how much he changed.


    He was basically a young adult at this point. Normal people his age would already look for their significant other to settle and have children. Just like Zers did.


    But Illyan knows the best, that he doesn¡¯t have a pinch or normalcy in him. It was better to stay away from relationships.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    But as he was looking at his face, he noticed how his eyes changed.


    They still had the same blood-red color, but the golden streaks spread across them. With a frown, he looked closely. Then he noticed that they were actually shining a little.


    Fortunately, it didn¡¯t affect his sight or anything, so in the end, he ignored it. He could just ask Kaoran.


    ¡®My eyes got such superpowers just by getting contact with that ¡®thing¡¯. Maybe it was a high stage being. There are 13 of them so the chance that those at the peak are at least this much powerful isn¡¯t that much of a stretch.¡¯


    As he thought this, he wanted to return to the camp. He wanted to take some things to try out.


    His bow, which he couldn¡¯t use because of his blindness, was catching the dust and he couldn¡¯t do anything with it. But now he can use it again.


    ¡®I am probably rusty with my skills though¡­ But I bet I can use this new eyesight to get better results. After all, I can see better and¡­¡¯


    He stopped walking and looked around. The wind was blowing around him and the particles of Spiritual Energy that were dancing within them showed up in the lines. When both his mind and eyes connected, he got an inspiration.


    So he stopped and got into a horse stance.


    For a moment, he was observing the wind around and waiting for something.


    When a line of Spiritual Energy flowing with the wind flew around, he started to make the martial moves he learned. It looked as if he was fighting the shadow enemies and dancing at the same time showing his precision when it comes to body movement.


    With several stances, the wind started to stir. However, it wasn¡¯t as chaotic as it was normally. This time it easily flowed around his body. Now he didn¡¯t work against the wind. He worked with it, and he felt the force behind it by that much stronger.


    His hand turned in claw as it flowed along the wind and with force he clawed at the tree in front of him.


    The wind pressure coalesced on his fingers and peaked at the moment of collision.


    Crack


    Four long scratches were left on the tree.


    His fingers got slightly bloody after hitting the wood but they healed in a second so he didn¡¯t bother and just wiped the blood.


    Looking at the long scratches on the tree, he felt a little proud of himself.


    If before he was already on the verge of being a Novice then now he was already a certified one. Furthermore, it wasn¡¯t just because he was imitating someone as he did it on his own.


    But thinking about Kaoran, who was the creator of many of such spiritual arts that fit him perfectly, made him douse his own pride.


    Kaoran was someone who he saw as a genius. Who knows how far he could get if he wasn¡¯t stuck with faulty inheritance?


    Just this thought made him once again realize that it doesn¡¯t matter how strong, smart, or even talented you were born. Life was unfair. No matter how hard you worked or tried, unless you were lucky, you wouldn¡¯t succeed.


    Of course, you are even less likely to succeed if you don''t even try. However, luck was still the most important in Illyan¡¯s opinion.


    Luck was objective and people could see it differently, but in the end, all things were influenced by something they couldn¡¯t control. The difference was if it was beneficial to them or not.


    Illyan was very unlucky in his life and suffered a lot. However, he won¡¯t deny that he was also very lucky. He was lucky that he was born with a gift that helps him to keep alive, and he was lucky that he managed to meet Bakur Tribe.


    Believing that his lucky streak ended, he will work harder so even if he got a little unlucky, he could solve the problem.


    ¡®Hmm¡­ What do I call this ability? Can¡¯t say it is just Spiritual Eyes like Kaoran has¡­ Furthermore, there could be more abilities to it. Hmm¡­ Since I felt as if I have seen the Truth itself when looking into that ¡®eye¡¯ at the bottom, then I can probably call this ¡®Eyes of Truth,¡¯ can¡¯t I?¡¯


    With high spirits, he returned to the camp wanting to tell Kaoran about his new abilities but noticed he still didn¡¯t come out.


    Others were already out, dismantling their tents and preparing to leave. When he looked at them, he noticed an almost imperceptible swaying around them.


    Focusing his eyes, it reminded him a little of fire. At first, he didn¡¯t know what it was but then he remembered Kaoran talking about this once.


    ¡®Presence?¡¯


    Kaoran once told him that everyone has a kind of presence that some more sensitive beings can feel. It is the mixture of you exuding your vitality, any kind of energy harnessed inside of you, and other such things. Kaoran said he couldn¡¯t see it so he wasn¡¯t really sure.


    ¡®Those eyes are really useful..¡¯


    He could even feel the presence of others beyond the objects.


    But his good mood fell when he noticed that the tent of Kaoran, who wasn¡¯t anywhere to be seen, didn¡¯t exude any kind of presence.


    ¡®Huh?¡¯


    It didn¡¯t take him long to think the worst as he ran to the tent of the man he thought of as a grandfather¡­

 50 - Conspicuous Funeral

    He entered his tent as quickly as possible. Inside, Kaoran lay in his makeshift bed with closed eyes and a calm smile.


    For a moment, it looked as if he was peacefully sleeping, but there were no signs of life.


    When Illyan realized this, he ran towards him and knelt next to him. He checked his state and fell into despair.


    There was no pulse, and it seemed that death happened during the night, which meant there was no way to help anymore¡­


    The only thing he could do at this moment was to sit and stare in a daze¡­


    Before he even realized it, his face got wet. When he touched his cheeks, there were a few droplets of tears falling out. He didn¡¯t even know that he could still cry at this point¡­


    He sat like that for half an hour. But time didn¡¯t wait for anyone. There were sounds from outside made by tribe members who were preparing to leave this place.


    Illyan knew he had to break the news to the tribe. For someone who was the Grand Shaman, the entire tribe would grieve and have a big funeral¡­


    Just as he prepared to leave, he noticed a little table. Several phalanges were lying on it.


    Those were the ones Kaoran used for divination. However, when Illyan saw them, he frowned.


    It seemed that they were thrown and used for divination recently. And the result was¡­


    ¡®Death.¡¯


    Did Kaoran know about his demise? Or¡­


    Did someone want him to think this way?


    Murderous intent came out of his eyes as he thought about this possibility. Kaoran seemed to pass in a natural way, as he was twice as old as people with a normal lifespan, but there were many ways that could make it look that way that even he wouldn¡¯t be able to discern.


    Just as he came to Kaoran¡¯s body again, he noticed three parchments that fell next to the body. It seemed that they were on the top of Kaoran¡¯s chest, but he didn¡¯t notice them and accidentally pushed them away as he was checking Kaoran¡¯s state.


    What was peculiar was the fact that the three parchments were completely different.


    One was of extremely high quality and could be said to be one of the best in the entire tribe. Furthermore, it was folded in a very compact way, which means that the content was very long.


    The second and third, however, were made of much lesser quality. They were highly unprocessed and looked like faulty products. The only difference was that one of them was longer than the other. Nevertheless, even when put together, they were much smaller than the first one.


    ¡°What are those?¡± He wondered why Kaoran had those on his chest at the time of his death.


    He took the smallest one in hand and spread it open.


    The content inside was written with a very neat writing style, and it was clear to see that it was written with a completely carefree mind.


    As he learned to read and write from Kaoran, he immediately recognized his handwriting.


    ¡®Dear Stone,


    If you are reading this, then my divination of your eyesight returning this day was right. In that case, congratulations.


    I am sorry that I had to break the news in this way. I was aware that the end was near, but it was today I was sure I won¡¯t live past the night.


    There is no need to feel too bad. Instead, celebrate that I had the honor to die of old age in this ugly world full of cruelty.


    I was living a fulfilling life and could even live much longer than a regular person. There were many bad things happening, but the good ones will always be the ones to stick in my mind.


    For all those years, you were to me like a grandson that I have never had. I have never got to know exactly what happened to you prior to our first meeting, but I know that suffered a lot.


    I just hope that you saw our tribe as a place where you felt safe all those years. That you lived a good life during those times. For me, they were the best years of my life.


    I was already exerting myself to keep in the world of living, waiting for you to learn the entire inheritance.


    I tried to teach you as much as I could in this limited time and I think I did a good job at it. The knowledge of divination was the last part of the inheritance, and you have successfully learned it entirely. I know you had to learn some parts only theoretically because of your talents and that the inheritance itself wasn¡¯t complete, but I still hope it would be useful to you.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    During those days, I also wrote my other techniques that belong entirely to me. I didn¡¯t teach you, as there was not enough time, and you wouldn¡¯t be able to perform any of those as they were suited for my own gift. However, I will still give those to you with hope that they will one day be useful to you.


    They were written on the parchment of the best quality, so they will last long enough.


    The third parchment is my will for other members. Please give it to the current Grand Shaman. She will take care of everything.


    By the way, you should get used to this. I am just an old and decrepit man, but with your gift, even if you won¡¯t make any progress in Spiritual Energy in your entire life, you will still outlive at least a few of the younger generations.


    That¡¯s the gift or curse of the fabled Immortals. They gave up on the joy of mortality to get joy of immortality. It is an equal exchange. Yet, you didn¡¯t get the choice and was fated to go the path of no return. I just hope you will be able to get happiness on the way and won¡¯t get stray from the right path.


    Live a fulfilling life where each day will be a delight to go through, my dumb grandson.


    Grandpa Kaoran.¡¯


    ¡°Why¡­¡± Tears continued to stream down his eyes as he read through that long yet so short letter. So many things he had to say yet he couldn¡¯t anymore. He felt lost¡­


    Unfortunately, there was no time to grieve now. He had to announce it to others. Kaoran mentioned in the letter to leave it to the current Grand Shaman so he will go to her first, albeit with a heavy heart¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    A gloomy atmosphere spread over the entire camp.


    Just now, the new Grand Shaman announced the passing of the previous Grand Shaman Kaoran. People started grieving for the man who was there for them their entire lives. He was the oldest in the tribe, which means that everyone knew him their entire lives.


    Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and started to chop the closest trees.


    There was a need to do the ceremony and to burn the body, else the chance of the body turning undead was much higher. As Kaoran was full of Spiritual Energy, the amount of variables got much higher.


    Thus, everyone started to build a gigantic pyre. Not only because of this but also as a form of respect.


    They knew that they could attract some uninvited hosts with this, but they were a tribe of warriors. They wouldn¡¯t avoid fighting.


    Illyan also went to chop down some trees. He took the lumberjack ax that was heavier and wider than his battle axes and got to work in the hope to get distracted.


    After he left the tent, he went right to the Grand Shaman and gave her Kaoran¡¯s will. She was shocked but inside she knew all along that this time would come. While she didn¡¯t show it, she also felt the grief.


    Seeing this, Illyan was satisfied with Kaoran¡¯s successor and was glad that the tribe was in good hands. In the end, it seemed that Kaoran was very good at judging the character of people.


    She then went to Kaoran¡¯s tent and started to collect his things. Most of those were mentioned in the will, and so she will distribute them after the funeral. In the past, Kaoran also owned a lot of things that belonged to the tribe, but those were given to her when she became the new Grand Shaman. Actually, he was still holding the Totem which should be in her hands as it was too big to be carried by a normal Arctic Wolf. So, Dor still has it strapped to its side.


    Soon, even Kaoran¡¯s tent got dismantled, and everyone started to build the pyre.


    ¡­¡­..


    Later that day, a pyre big enough to tower over even Dor was built with Kaoran¡¯s body inside.


    Everyone gathered in front of it and gave Kaoran respect.


    ¡°He was really meticulous. I thought we would need to purify him as soon as possible. I didn¡¯t expect him to have an ¡®Evil Spirit Repelling¡¯ Amulet on his neck and the Amara herb that makes it hard to amass any kind of death energy inside the body.¡±


    ¡°Well, he was the one who taught us all those things.¡±


    The Grand Shaman, who Illyan just found out was called Kara, and he was talking behind the pyre.


    ¡°Yes. He taught us everything yet he was still so much more brilliant than I ever would be able to.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate yourself too much, Grand Shaman. The old man said that the most important thing is to gather experiences. He stopped teaching you years ago when you weren¡¯t fit to be Grand Shaman before but now you are. You still have a long way before you reach your absolute peak.¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah, you are right. I shouldn¡¯t be bothering you about such trivialities at this moment. I know it must be hard for you too.¡±


    Illyan talked with her in this manner for the entire time before it was time for the funeral to begin. He noticed that she was even more overwhelmed than he was and chose to calm her down. She would just throw away the respect that people gave her if they saw her crying like a child.


    She had to look stronger in front of them as she was the Grand Shaman.


    Even Degres, who looked unbothered most of the time, was looking gloomy right now.


    However, he, Illyan, and others had different responsibilities.


    ¡°My apologies, Grand Shaman, however, it is time for the ceremony. Unfortunately, that means that I need to go.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, hopefully no one will show up during this time. Anyways, good luck.¡±


    Illyan and Grand Shaman Kara said goodbyes to each other and went their own ways. She went to start the ceremony while he went together with a few other elites to watch out for enemies.


    Because of the gigantic fire and their not-so-inconspicuous deforestation, it definitively brought some unwanted attention.


    Because of that, some had to defend the surroundings from any threat. Be it from animals or people.


    ¡°Hey, Degres.¡±


    Soon, Illyan met up with Degres who had to lead those people.


    ¡°Oh, Illyan. Good to see you are fine. I thought you would take it much harder.¡± Degres, who was normally a cheerful man, was now frowning as he looked around the forest.


    ¡°Yeah, I guess I need to get used to this.¡± Illyan shrugged his shoulders and Degres raised his eyebrows at this answer. He didn¡¯t understand what Illyan meant with those words as he didn¡¯t know about the separate letter that he got.


    ¡°Anyway, we must get ready. Scouts already found that someone got a whiff of us already. They are humans and strong too as even scouts couldn¡¯t get too close. Those that did, didn¡¯t return.¡±


    Degres started explaining to others.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious who that is?¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Nobody can match us except those motherfuckers!


    ¡°Fuck them!¡±


    ¡°Kill them!¡±


    The warriors were furious that during such a sad event they must go out to fight instead of grieving the man who raised them as their own.


    ¡°Are they Blood Crow Alliance?¡± Illyan asked for confirmation.


    ¡°Yes. They were furious ever since we destroyed that camp back then and are even more crazy than before.¡± Degres nodded at this.


    Illyan¡¯s eyes turned cold.


    Soon, the fire signaling the start of the cremation began. He could only look back for the last time before he disappeared into the forest looking for blood.

 51 - Slaughter

    Stealthily running through the forest, Illyan was looking for his enemies.


    Due to the shortage of the tribe''s elites, they divided themselves and went in different directions. As one of the strongest, he went alone.


    He was glad for that. Illyan wasn¡¯t in a good mood now and felt that this was actually a good opportunity to let loose.


    Still, he would rather watch the funeral to say his goodbyes than to fight some stupid idiots.


    His eyes were like those of a hawk looking for his prey.


    It didn¡¯t take long before he found a group of five clansmen.


    He didn¡¯t recognize which clan they were from, but he was sure that they belonged to the alliance.


    They wore masks made out of the front skull and had regular bone spears.


    One of them had a wooden shield and an ax, showing his higher status.


    Illyan didn¡¯t take any of his equipment this time as he felt it was unnecessary.


    He wanted to test his progress, so using the weapons he used the most while not hiding behind the shield was the best way in his mind.


    The jagged blade and two battle axes were disadvantageous against a spear normally, but for him, that was a good challenge.


    He was still in a bad position when against really good spearmen, but against normal ones, he could easily breach his disadvantage.


    Slowing his breath, he prepared to lunge at his enemies from height when they passed under him.


    Their voices were whispering something in their tribal language, making it impossible for him to understand. But just by their tone and nonverbal gesticulation, they did not come with good intentions.


    ¡®Do they even have some good intentions? Their life seems to be just madness and their lord¡¯s grace in my eyes¡­¡¯


    Just as he thought this, he jumped at them.


    Before they could react, he already split the skull of the first one with an ax and swung his blade at the other closest enemy. That one managed to block him but his spear snapped, allowing the blade to continue unimpeded.


    However, before it managed to draw blood, another spear was aiming at him from behind.


    With a light crouch and movement of his head, he avoided the lethal strike while beheading the opponent in front of him. Because of his blade being jagged, it was not a clean cut, making the blood splatter everywhere.


    That made the other three clansmen go into a frenzy as they started to shout.


    ¡°#&@&!¡±


    ¡°$#&@!


    Illyan wasn¡¯t stupid. He knew that they tried to call upon their comrades. However, he didn¡¯t care. The more, the merrier.


    Before he could make another move, the three clansmen surrounded him and tried to stab him.


    Unfortunately for them, Illyan wasn¡¯t an easy target. With the new upgrade of his eyes, he could easily see even the smallest twitch of their muscles.


    Thanks to his anatomy knowledge, he could easily deduce in what way they will move, effectively predicting their movements before they even move.


    If they were more covered, it would be impossible, but in this place where tribes and clans wear unsophisticated clothes, it was much easier for Illyan.


    Of course, those in his blind spot had an advantage, but that was only objective. As someone who lived in blindness for years and didn¡¯t stop training, he could easily hear the grunts of enemies and the wind flowing around the weapons.


    Albeit not as good as his eyes, his hearing was on a different level compared to normal people.


    So it wasn''t a surprise when they couldn¡¯t hit him even once, giving him another opportunity to strike.


    Like a snake, the blade struck the enemy right in the chest mutilating the flesh around.


    Then, he chopped with his ax at the other one with the intent to slash a deep wound.


    The one with the highest statue used the shield and blocked the strike while counterattacking.


    Illyan redirected the stab and kicked the shield, making the guy retreat.


    As he saw the sturdy shield, he got an idea.


    He opened his eyes wide and looked at the wind flowing around. He started practicing the martial arts that Kaoran gave him. Using his weapons to align with the wind, he danced around his enemies while incorporating the martial art into battle.


    While it was a martial art, it wasn¡¯t originally meant to be incorporated into a functional martial art. This one was created to help the untalented with Spiritual Arts. It didn¡¯t even have a name.


    Even in his arms, it was possible only thanks to The Way of The Body and Eyes of Truth yet it wasn¡¯t really effective. In truth, it was far less efficient than just killing them. But he saw the potential in it.


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    That¡¯s why he decided to give it a name.


    The Elemental Dance.


    ¡°Haah..¡± Once he charged enough energy, he made a horizontal swing with his ax at the opponent.


    The man just calmly put his shield in front of himself, giving him a false sense of safety since any other strikes couldn¡¯t do anything to him.


    How wrong he was.


    Crack


    With just one swing, the shield shattered and his torso was bisected with his innards covering the snow around.


    Both Illyan and the remaining enemy were extremely surprised at this and stopped for a moment.


    However, Illyan collected himself soon and with a swift slash, he beheaded him too.


    Breathing heavily, he leaned on the tree. The Elemental Dance was quite harsh to do during a fight and it took away a lot of his stamina.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have time to rest.


    With the swing of his weapons, he deflected several arrows and rolled on the ground to escape the rest of them.


    The reinforcement came for help. Albeit it was too late for the dead clansmen, it wasn¡¯t their concern. They only cared about the enemy who attacked them.


    With gleaming eyes, Illyan ran towards the trees and with a jump, he started to climb it, starting another round of slaughter.


    ¡­¡­..


    In this way, he slaughtered every clansman he saw that day. Sometimes he met another Bakur member and helped him out but else he was going on a killing spree alone.


    Of course, it wasn¡¯t only Blood Crow Alliance and there were other tribes and even the winter beasts coming over.


    The other tribes quickly retreated when they saw Illyan covered with blood from top to bottom looking at them with bloodlust in his crimson-gold eyes.


    However, the beasts were different. They were only a little smarter than normal animals and so they chose to engage with the humans.


    Of course, they were soon killed. But this time, Illyan didn¡¯t just leave and instead covered the beast¡¯s bodies so the tribe could retrieve them later for meat.


    Soon, he noticed a commotion close to him so he went to investigate.


    There, he saw a group of 30 people with the same skull masks surrounding five Bakur members. One of them was Degres.


    But he didn¡¯t give off the aura of fear. Instead, mirth was on his face as he laughed at the man in front of him.


    When Illyan saw him, he firstly stiffened but immediately after he realized it wasn¡¯t the man he thought it was.


    It was a shaman of one of their clans. However, it wasn¡¯t one of Thearas Clan that threw him on the fire.


    ¡°Hahahah, do you think you can fight us with just this little advantage?!¡± Degres continued taunting the shaman, whose face was red in anger.


    ¡°Bastard, you think your tribe is something superior to our glamorous alliance of lords? You can believe in this little fairy tale before I will use your heart as a sacrifice,¡± the shaman spoke with a great accent and malicious expression.


    When Illyan realized this, he wondered if the shamans of their clan also had the same inheritances as the Bakur Tribe. After all, they had the Blood Feeding Technique or whatever it was called¡­


    If he could make the shaman translate it¡­


    Illyan didn¡¯t waste his time and sneaked slowly closer.


    But he didn''t attack. He waited for the conflict to begin. That¡¯s when they would lose their attention and only see what was in front of them.


    Fortunately, the fight started a few seconds later with Degres attacking first, killing one of the enemies with one slash.


    The chaos began.


    Meanwhile, Illyan sneaked to the farthest one and with one smooth slash, he slit his neck.


    He managed to do so one more time before someone noticed him.


    ¡°@#{&!¡±


    Knowing it was useless to hide now, he quickly attacked other unaware enemies that were closest to him and killed them with swift attacks.


    ¡°Oh, Illyan! Haha, good job!¡± Degres, who saw this, started to laugh raucously as he used the opportunity that Illyan gave him to take down another two.


    Before he was just bluffing. After all, fighting against 30 with just five was almost impossible, even with his great power. He was just delaying so the reinforcement came.


    While Illyan was just one, he was someone who could replace any reinforcement that could come. He was quick, smart, and couldn''t die from simple attacks. He was like a grim reaper that made everyone helpless.


    It would be different if it was the day before as he was still blind, but this day he could finally take down the cloth on his eyes. Illyan told him that he finally recovered completely this morning. At least one positive thing happened this day¡­


    But thanks to this, he could fight freely with a smile on his face.


    The other four tribe members also didn¡¯t shilly-shally and started to mow the enemies.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill the shaman! I have something to talk about with him!¡± When Illyan said this, he ignored them and started to clash with other clansmen around him.


    The shaman, who heard this, was visibly angered as he felt humiliated by a child.


    ¡°Kill him!¡± And so, without hesitation, he commanded his clansmen to attack Illyan in his language.


    Illyan didn¡¯t understand, but he guessed what it meant when he saw them all looking at him like that.


    But he didn¡¯t care. He simply blocked, parried, counterattacked, slashed, stabbed, and chopped. He didn¡¯t care about who it was or what their stories were.


    He just wanted to kill them. When there was no feasible way to avoid the injury, he simply went for the enemy''s head without dodging. In this way, he was like a mad dog without caring for his wounds.


    His enemies were the same. Unfortunately for them, they weren¡¯t born with supernatural regeneration. Thus they were falling like fruits from the tree.


    Soon, only the kneeling shaman was bound by two of the tribe members.


    Three were wounded, but nobody died, which could be called a miracle as they were simply too outnumbered.


    However, Illyan¡¯s intervention disrupted the entire dynamics of the fight.


    ¡°What do you want, you scum?!¡± The shaman, who was pitifully kneeling before the tribe members, stared at Illyan, who said he wanted him to be alive.


    ¡°I want to make a transaction.¡± Illyan answered calmly after calming down from all of that slaughter.


    ¡°Hah.¡± But the shaman just scoffed at this.


    ¡°I will let you live if you tell me about the Blood Feeding Technique. You know what I am talking about, right?¡±


    ¡°You really think I will betray my lord just for my life?¡±


    Illyan¡¯s eyes narrowed at this. He didn¡¯t expect that he would agree easily. But he knew how to make someone speak.


    ¡°It is not just your life. You will not live in misery, that is. There are things worse than death.¡±


    ¡°I see, torture¡­ Hahahahah, fuck off, bitch!! My lord will have revenge!!¡± Saying that, the shaman bit off his tongue, spitting it at Illyan.


    Surprised, he dodged the tongue belatedly realizing that it was the shaman¡¯s tongue.


    Seeing all the blood that was spitted out, he knew it was too late.


    A crooked smile appeared on the shaman''s face that made Illyan feel rage bubbling out in his heart.


    And so, he kicked the man where it hurt the most, as he didn¡¯t want to see him leave the world with a smile on his crooked face.


    Crack


    ¡°Aaaagh!¡±


    One last wail was heard before the shaman bled to death from the wound where his tongue was.


    But Illyan still had to kick the body several times before he felt better.


    He didn¡¯t expect that someone would actually kill themselves while still having a chance of survival. It felt like an insult to him who lived in pain for so long without even considering such.


    But it wasn¡¯t like that this would make him so angry. It was mainly the combination of several factors that made him explode like this.


    ¡°Illyan¡­ Shit happens. We can¡¯t do anything with it. They were always like this. I think that this was the last group here. Let¡¯s go back and waste ourselves this evening.¡± Degres came and patted him on his back and stopped him from kicking the bloodied corpse. Illyan looked dazedly at him as he nodded.


    He was too tired mentally to care.

 52 - Which Way To Go

    Once the ashes of the pyre spread out across the lands with the help of the wind, the tribe went on its way. They had to get as far as they could from this place, as there were simply too many dead bodies. Counting the fact that the commotion the pyre caused made this place unsafe to be.


    Thus, their tempo quickened, and they traveled without rest for the entire day.


    During the night, most went to sleep immediately after the long travel, but not everyone.


    Many chose that day to forget their worries with the help of alcohol.


    Illyan, Zers, and Degres weren¡¯t exceptions. Sitting around a small campfire, they were passing from one hand to another a waterskin. Except that there was no water but an old wine that Degres was hiding for special times.


    ¡°Fr-Frozen Valas Tundra ha-have never h-had good production of a-alcohol¡­ The best t-thing that could be used for its pr-production were h-herbs. But t-those were for m-medicine or food usually so the alcohol ne-never became p-popular here. It was o-only after the old man brought some f-from his journey to the south that I could taste the r-real delicacy! What a shame, what a shame. We could ta-taste it together i-if I didn¡¯t hoard it¡­¡±


    Degres, who acted all tough during the day, was now all a mess of tears and snot while lamenting over the wine he got from Kaoran many years ago.


    He was always saving it for some special times as he couldn¡¯t bring himself to drink it. After all, once he did, he wouldn¡¯t have a chance to drink it anymore.


    However, this time he decided to screw it and started to drink it in big gulps. He invited Zers and Illyan, who were also very close to both him and Kaoran, and started to drink with them.


    Zers, who never had the opportunity to get drunk, had very weak immunity against it and was tottering after a few sips.


    Illyan, on the other hand, didn¡¯t feel any difference. He then realized that the old man told him that drinking alcohol is basically poisoning your body on purpose. He didn¡¯t understand before, but now he does. All drugs give you the kind of effect you desire at the expense of your health. It is just that the alcohol is more gradual. But that made it impossible for him to get drunk. At least, not with this wine.


    And so, to not waste it, he just stopped drinking and gave it to the two idiots before him. Seeing them talking nonsense while falling into the snow made him feel much better than in the morning.


    He thought that the killing he did against the Blood Crow Alliance would help him to let off steam, but it didn¡¯t help. It just felt as if the wound was stirred.


    At least, he knows that mass genocide won¡¯t deal with his sorrow. Instead, it would be the stain of the old man if he really lost himself in the rage and sorrow.


    After all, he was right. He lived twice as long as normal people do and could die in his sleep. How many would envy such a life?


    Yet, emotions are hard to control or understand. He knew that yet still, he felt the world was unfair for taking the man¡¯s life.


    Longevity is just an illusion in the eyes of mortals, and it is the pursuit of desire for the stronger beings.


    Yet, he doesn''t know what to think about it.


    Living a long life was lucrative for anyone, but there are some downsides to it too. Just like Kaoran said, there is a downside to both paths.


    There is no way he could live a normal life if he can outlive others. That means he could live in loneliness or try to find someone who can live as long as him.


    In the first place, why did he long for longevity? Did he even? His life was full of suffering. Some would already kill themselves rather than live another hour let alone live forever.


    Just why?


    The first time he ever thought about this was when Kaoran told him about how his gift will slow down his aging. He didn¡¯t care much at that time. He actually thought of it as a good thing as that was common sense.


    But now it felt just hollow.


    Zephyr gave him a hint at what his heart desires but¡­ Is that really enough? Freedom? Adventure? That is just too broad of a theme for him to take seriously. There are no between steps making it hard to think too far into the future.


    He could still try to live a normal life. The life of mortals. Finding a wife, bearing a child. Raise them. And then die in peace with the wife in the arms of his children and grandchildren. Yeah, he would age slower but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t die. There still should be some things that could kill him. As long as he forsakes fighting and hurting himself, the gift will stop getting stronger.


    However, would Kaoran be disappointed if he knew that all of his effort would go to drain?


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    ¡°You should choose what you want, Stone. There is no need to think of others. It is your life.¡±


    The voice of an old man resounded behind his ears, making him flinch.


    With force, he turned around only to see nothing. Only a breeze bringing the cold towards his face.


    ¡°What¡¯s the m-matter, Ill? You are not too drunk, right?¡± Zers, who just almost fell into the campfire, was talking to the startled Illyan who stood there in stupor. Degres was laughing at them as he drank another gulp of wine.


    ¡°This is g-great!¡±


    ¡°Haah¡­¡±


    Illyan just shook his head. Whatever. I can think about it later.


    You don¡¯t need to have a meaning in your life. Just enjoy it as it is.


    ¡®I want to travel in the same way as you did when you were younger. Unfortunately, because of my state, I will probably never return to the tribe. Instead, I will travel to places you didn¡¯t have the opportunity to visit, old man.¡¯


    In this way, he spent the rest of the night together with these two.


    Unfortunately, later on Zers was dragged away by Yii when he was too drunk and so there was only Illyan and Degres.


    ¡°Ah, Stone¡­ How depressing¡­ I knew the day would come. I k-knew it. But wasn¡¯t it simply too sudden? So sudden¡­¡±


    Degres said this while wobbling in his seat. Illyan could only sigh at this sight.


    ¡°Well-¡±


    Thud


    Snore


    Before he could say anything, Degres fell asleep and collapsed on the ground.


    Seeing this, Illyan could only quickly get to him and close the waterskin he still had opened in the arm. If it was spilled, it would be quite a waste.


    Once he closed it, he looked at the snoring man lying in the snow unbothered.


    He crouched and hung him on his shoulder and took him to his tent before returning to his own.


    Now that Kaoran passed away, he couldn¡¯t sleep on Dor anymore. Dor was Kaoran¡¯s companion but now the ¡®ownership¡¯ was given to Grand Shaman Kara. Dor could live by himself but he was still needed for transportation of some heavy things.


    Illyan couldn¡¯t sleep on him because of that anymore and chose to use his tent. It was an old and decrepit tent that he used for years but it was enough for him.


    It didn¡¯t take him long to pitch it and enter.


    There, he sat and pondered about this day¡¯s events.


    That reminded him of the scroll that Kaoran gave him. He took it out and started to unfurl it. He didn¡¯t plan to train any of those as he wasn¡¯t in good shape. But his curiosity did not let him sleep and he wondered what kind of things there were.


    And so he opened it and started to read the content inside.


    What he saw was truly surprising. Most of the techniques were centered around Kaoran''s gift which was described here in detail. Even with his newfound powers of the Eyes of Truth, he wouldn¡¯t be able to try any of those.


    Not to mention, that the threshold for talent was much higher than his current talent.


    But what attracted him the most was the technique called ¡®Blood Feeding Technique¡¯.


    It was written normally in Theras Language in Bakur alphabet making it possible for him to read.


    He immediately noticed a small note at the beginning.


    ¡®I had this technique recorded for a long time after getting it out of one Shaman that I interrogated. I have never told anyone about it since the Blood Crow Alliance would get crazy over it and would risk their everything to get it back. I translated it back to our language and burnt the original. I was hesitating to give it to you but it shouldn¡¯t have any long term consequences in your case. So, use it with consideration.¡¯


    ¡®He knew I was interested in this technique, huh? I guess he could read me like a book.¡¯


    He felt a little amusement as he realized that Kaoran really knew him the best.


    With high expectations, he started to read the technique hoping to learn something that would be really useful. He knew its effect approximately but until he reads this he won¡¯t know how much it will affect him.


    However, after reading a few lines he frowned. It didn¡¯t take long to read it all. But no joy appeared on his face as he realized how much of a scam this technique was.


    By overtaxing your life expectancy and vitality every day for years, you will build up inner energy within your blood which will make you much stronger. That is not the only downside. The pain you will go through is also substantial.


    ¡®It hurt, it was slowly killing you and it took years before showing any good progress. What a shitty technique.¡¯


    He could only roll his eyes at those guys in the Blood Crow Forest. Why would they sacrifice everything for little strength?


    The way how to start the training also was not something he was happy about. The first step was to eat raw Firestorm Herb. Second was to start working out until your body gets hot. The third one was a special breathing technique that was the core of this technique.


    Your own flesh will start to ¡®burn¡¯ turning into vitality strengthening the blood.


    The herb is needed only in the beginning as in later stages the user¡¯s body usually learns how to use the vitality inside of your body. Basically, the herb was the catalyst for the start of the process. The user¡¯s body will instinctively do this part on its own later on.


    The problem was¡­


    That the Firestorm herb grew only in one place he knew about.


    Blood Crow Forest.


    Without it, he can¡¯t begin.


    ¡®Looks like Kaoran didn¡¯t have any either. I never saw one in the tribe. Those herbs are growing only on the south part of the forest because of the slightly warmer temperature there¡­. Hah¡­ Whatever. I can think about it next time. With some luck, if I experiment with some herbs I should be able to find a replacement in at most a few years. Furthermore, you don¡¯t technically need the herb if you can learn how to release the energy hidden in your body on your own. It is definitely possible.¡¯


    With this thought, he packed it up into his backpack and got under the fur blanket.


    The thoughts about meditating didn¡¯t pass through his mind as he closed his eyes and in a few seconds fell into a deep slumber¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    Next Day.


    ¡°So, Illyan¡­ What will you do from now on? You learned everything you needed from Kaoran and today you used all your merit for the ¡®debt.¡¯ You are completely free to do whatever you want now.¡± Degres, who woke up with a horrible hangover but got over it soon, came to Illyan to ask him about his plans.¡±


    Illyan, who just came, talked with all of the elders of the tribe, Grand Shaman Kara included, was now free of any obligation or commitment towards the tribe and is free to go whenever he wants.


    ¡°I thought about it. However, right now I have only two options. To go with you over the sea or go through the Blood Crow Forest further into the center of this continent. I am also in need of one herb that is there. Unfortunately, it would be unnecessarily dangerous. The herb isn¡¯t so important either. So going with you to the new land would probably be for the best.¡±


    Illyan gave him his thoughts. He already lost any attachments he had in this continent. He gave up on any kind of revenge. He didn¡¯t know where the Wolf Monster was, and the Thearas Clan Shaman was probably deep in the forest where he would be at a great disadvantage. He pondered about it but safety was more important.


    For him, it was all in the past.

 53 - Frozen Sea

    "I see. In that case, we will be glad to keep you around. I bet even those smelly elders won¡¯t complain since we are in need of warriors now more than ever," Degres said to Illyan as he looked at the horizon of the plain in front of them with a serious expression.


    "Hmm? Why would they even complain about something so trivial, Degres?" Zers, who had just joined their conversation, asked with a baffled face while kneading his head. It was the first time he had a hangover, so he felt like a pile of shit.


    On the other hand, Degres didn¡¯t show any sign of having a hangover despite drinking even more than Zers. It was not only because his body was stronger, but also because he was used to acting under bad circumstances. He was a leader. Being sick or injured didn¡¯t excuse him from neglecting his job.


    "By paying the debt off, he basically separated from the tribe. It is one thing for someone like you whose ancestors are the tribe''s founders, but for those who are adopted, like Illyan here, it is normal to leave if they pay off everything at once. It is a kind of tradition," Degres clarified as he turned his attention back to Illyan.


    "Yeah, I know. Kaoran told me. I won¡¯t really need anything from the tribe. I have my things and can hunt for myself too. I will only go along with you, nothing else," Illyan shrugged, but both Degres and Zers didn¡¯t miss the shadow of gloom passing over his expression when he mentioned Kaoran.


    However, he could only release an inner sigh and continue. For the younger generation, it was much harder as time didn¡¯t show them its cruel side yet. But he knew what it was like to age. He had seen many generations of great warriors who could fight ten men at the same time, dying because of a stupid phlegm stuck in their throat. Others were completely confused about their surroundings and couldn¡¯t remember even their family members. Sometimes aging was more cruel than dying on the battlefield. Kaoran, on the other hand, had such a calm way of passing that it could really be called a blessing. Yet, the ¡®boys¡¯ in front of him still didn¡¯t know. They would come to know this as they grew older and experienced more of life. Unfortunately, Illyan would need to get used to this as soon as possible. Else, he would sooner or later break¡­


    Days passed by, and the tribe continued in its way unhindered. They passed trees, valleys, and plains of utter cold without a problem as other tribes didn¡¯t have the courage to attack them, and animals were easily sidetracked by the meat bait they prepared from their enemies. That was until they finally saw from the high cliff in the distance the biggest plain they had ever seen. There were no plants in sight. It was just a flat and white plain radiating the unbearable cold into everyone¡¯s bones.


    "Hey, what is that plain? I thought there shouldn''t be any?" Some of the tribesmen were confused as they voiced out this misconception.


    "Yeah, shouldn''t the Cold Sea be in front of us soon?"


    "We didn¡¯t get lost, right?"


    The panic came over the tribe as some became restless. It wasn¡¯t until Kara, the Grand Shaman, stood out to calm everyone down that they finally stopped creating a ruckus.


    ¡°This is not a mere plain! This is the Cold Sea! This is where the land ends and the Frozen Sea begins! That¡¯s why we came here! To cross the sea that gave us this opportunity! It just blends in since the snow covered everything! There is no need to fear anything.¡±


    Illyan, who was on the sled of Zers, looked at the Sea in front of them with awe on his face. This was the first time he had seen such a large body of water. What was even more amazing was the fact that it was completely frozen.


    ¡°Hey, Illyan, how cold do you think the water must be that even the Sea freezes without waves breaking it into pieces?¡± Zers, who held the reins of the sled, looked over at his friend with excitement written all over his face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. But I don¡¯t think it is naturally cold.¡±


    He could only shrug.


    Yesterday, he tried the Casting a Dice method of divination with the phalanges that Kaoran gave him, and the outcome that came from it was quite daunting.


    ¡®Death.¡¯


    Ever since he learned how to use this, he had been trying it every day to improve his accuracy.


    Kaoran explained to him that this kind of divination didn¡¯t usually work unless you had an affinity or connection to Fate and Destiny, yet he taught him this.


    Later on, he finally found out that the real core of this power isn¡¯t peering into the future nor feeling your destiny. No, it was much more simple.


    The core of Shamanistic powers were spirits. Spirits were much more sensitive to such abstract powers and could help.


    That was why this wasn¡¯t true divination. It was the power to borrow the outcome from spirits who did the divination.


    Of course, that meant that it was usually inaccurate since the spirits were mischievous ones and even if they acted sincerely, their talent in divination was better than an average person, but they couldn¡¯t really peer into something deeper than vague feelings of danger or good luck.


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    But even that was beneficial to a normal person so he trained it every day.


    Unfortunately, most of the time his outcomes were random and the most often they showed ¡®death¡¯ despite nothing wrong happening.


    Often, he would consult with Kaoran but he couldn¡¯t really answer why it was like this. His specialties were medicine and talking with wind spirits.


    Now after his passing, he was still training and sometimes comparing his outcomes with Kara.


    This time she had a word ¡®Hope¡¯ coming while he had ¡®Death¡¯.


    In the end, he couldn''t make sense of it.


    However, it didn¡¯t change the fact that he was still more careful.


    Being careful wouldn¡¯t kill him¡­


    Soon, everyone started to slide down the cliff from the side that wasn¡¯t steep after Grand Shaman assured them. Below the cliff, there was a small shore from which they could safely step on the Sea. It wasn¡¯t very visible because of the snow but some noticed.


    It didn¡¯t take long for the colony to get down, and once again sigh in awe at the sight in front of them. While ice and snow were part of their life and at the same time it was dangerous for fragile humans, it was still breathtaking to see this land of ice.


    However, this tribe of warriors, also called barbarians in the more civilized south, weren¡¯t known to be patient, and it didn¡¯t take long before everyone started to cross over the land and take the first steps on the ice.


    Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t take long before the first Arctic Wolves wailed in pain.


    "Woo!"


    The riders who rode on the sleds showed worried faces as they asked their partners what was the matter.


    Illyan who was in the center of the colony heard the commotion thanks to his acute hearing and told Zers to stop.


    ¡°Zers, stop the sled. Don¡¯t let the hunter take another step on it. Also, spread this info to others.¡±


    With that, he jumped off the sled and went to look what happened.


    ¡°Illayn, wait!¡±


    Zers wanted to stop him but he moved as a ghost and disappeared in a few seconds.


    "Sigh"


    Zers saw him disappear and couldn¡¯t do anything. However, he believed him and chose to do as he says. After all, even he hears the wolves howling in the front so there should be something happening.


    ¡°Yii! Stop the sled! We need to stop the entire colony!¡±


    And so, he called out to his wife who was close by on her sled. She noticed Illyan going by himself so she thought something was wrong.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, honey?!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, darling. We just need to stop everyone.¡±


    With a nod they started to yell to stop those behind them but also those in front of them. As Zers was respected in the tribe it became much easier for them.


    Meanwhile, Illyan quickly ran towards the front where Degres was.


    Once he got to the dividing line he noticed the wolves who passed through had mauled paws on their legs and were whimpering.


    Those that tried to lick their wounds were in an even worse state as their tongues started to lose color and get frozen to the paws.


    ¡°Frostbite?!¡±


    Illyan immediately understood what he saw in front of his eyes. After all, he had so many times to treat this kind of injury during his years of learning medicine.


    Frostbite was one of the usual conditions that could happen in such a cold place as the Frozen Valas Tundra to a naked monkey like a human. But not to animals that adapted to this environment.


    He looked at the ground and after a few seconds of pondering he reached out with his naked finger towards the ground.


    The first thing he touched was, of course, the snow that was constantly falling from the sky but he continued drilling a hole through it until he touched the ice of the sea¡­


    "Sizzle"


    A sizzling noise came out in an instant, and his finger got stuck to the ice. With a twitch, the finger came off but the skin covering it didn¡¯t, which caused the blood to flow out.


    When he looked down he realized the skin stayed on the ice.


    ¡®So this is how they got bloody paws, huh?!¡¯


    He wiped the blood off the now completely healed finger and went to the place where Degres was.


    He could already see him from a distance trying to help his wolf, Tear, with its wounds.


    ¡°Degres.¡± Illyan called out to him in case he didn¡¯t notice him. If that happened and Illyan got closer to him, there would be a chance that Degres¡¯ instincts would kick in to attack whoever managed to sneak up upon him.


    ¡°Illyan. Is this what I think it is?!¡± Degres asked while still looking at his wolf with a frown on his face.


    ¡°Yes, this is frostbite.¡±


    Illyan nodded at his question. This was undoubtedly a frostbite.


    ¡°How is this possible? Arctic wolves were adapted to the cold even before we started to rear them! Now after being strengthened by the shamans for generations they should-¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s talk later! Now, take every wolf out of the ice. No one should touch it since it can hurt even me.¡±


    Illyan said calmly, looking Degres into the eyes.


    ¡°Yes¡­ You are right.¡± Degres nodded at him and went to guide everyone back.


    Fortunately, they were only tens of meters away from the shore and didn¡¯t have to go over too long a distance.


    The problem was that the wolves couldn¡¯t move. If they do, the wounds get even more aggravated and it could possibly cripple them forever.


    Thankfully, this was a tribe of warriors who trained their bodies since childhood. Not everyone but most people could lift several hundreds of kilograms.


    Thus, they took the wolves into their hands and put them on the sleds they used and pushed them together.


    Soon, everyone was back at the shore.


    ¡°What is happening?!¡±


    ¡°The sea is too cold! It creates frostbites in seconds!¡±


    ¡°What do we do?!¡±


    Everyone was once again restless. However, both Degres and Kara calmed them down while the physician started to treat the wolves who got their paws injured.


    Fortunately, they still had firm bodies and weren¡¯t as fragile as that of humans. That made it all much easier. Firstly, they made an ointment to smear on the paws and then lightly covered it with cloth.


    Illyan who was also one of them started to help out with all of them despite a little unkind expression showing his patients.


    After treating them for almost half a day, he could finally take a sigh of relief since there were no more of them to treat.


    Almost one quarter of the colony entered the sea before stopping so that was several hundred wolves to treat for only a few physicians who could do more than just stopping bleeding.


    However, after seeing the legs covered in the paws and then the boots he had on his he thought of something that could be a solution.


    Or more like, it was a solution that humans had for years making them one step ahead of animals!


    ¡°Hey, Degres, Grand Shaman! We need to cover every Wolf¡¯s feet or we won¡¯t be able to cross the sea!¡±


    And so, he gave his idea to Degres and Kara who were arguing with other elders and members of the tribe about what to do.

 54 - Cold Energy

    They decided that it was for the best to set off the next day after realizing they needed to make boots even for the wolves and started to make camp at the shore.


    Once the wolves were treated, their masters went to them and tried to soothe them.


    Meanwhile, others had different work to do.


    Everyone started to take out their saved clothes with pained faces and began to cut them. They had them for bad times when the winter became unbearable or when their own clothes were torn, but now they had to use them for the wolves or they wouldn¡¯t be able to cross the sea.


    Those who could weave started to make shoes for those who could not, and those who had more clothes and fabric gave them to those who didn¡¯t.


    Normally, this wouldn¡¯t happen, and they would exchange it for an appropriate sum of merits or use a method of bartering.


    However, now that the tribe was in a precarious situation, individual wealth was set aside, and everyone worked together.


    Illyan, who had already completed his task, went to check on Dor, who also stepped on the ice. But before he got closer, he saw Kara taking care of him. That made him feel at peace knowing that Kaoran¡¯s companion was properly taken care of. While the hooves ended up in better condition than the paws of the wolves, it was still probably uncomfortable for the big guy.


    When he realized everything was taken care of by others, his sight turned back to the frozen sea. He felt that this kind of cold was too unnatural.


    So he decided to check it out. When he came a little farther from the shore, he took out his jagged blade and confirmed its sharpness with a slight touch.


    As Degres had taught him how to take care of his weapons, he never had a problem with their condition. With a satisfied nod, he turned his attention back to the ice and with all his strength, he stabbed the blade inside of it.


    Once he did so, he started to saw it with the jagged edge. The first thing he noticed was how the ice was much harder than normal, making it harder for him to saw through it to make the hole.


    Fortunately, his strength was strong enough for this, and he soon made a big hole. Then he took out some gloves he had prepared and put them on his hands before removing the ice block.


    Inside of the hole, he found something interesting. The water was flowing underneath the ice as in any other place, but something about it was peculiar. The deep blue particles were flowing inside of it.


    It didn¡¯t take him even a second to realize what those were.


    ¡°Cold Energy?¡±


    He was confused for a moment, but before long, his face turned into one of realization. He always wondered where the Cold Energy was going and Kaoran said it was probably from the north.


    This confirmed his thoughts. Something was happening in the north, and because of that, the Cold Energy flowed through the Cold Sea to the freshwater far inland.


    And those were the diluted droplets only. If it could freeze the entire sea, then who knows how much more concentrated it was and also how much higher the quantity of it was. The fact that the water in Kennera Lake didn¡¯t freeze despite being much colder than the freezing point and this sea being completely frozen showed a lot.


    ¡®But what could cause this?¡¯


    He wondered what kind of phenomena could happen that could change the landscape of who knows how big an area.


    There was no definite answer to this question. The only thing he could do was to note it and continue on his way. The process of the entire sea being frozen was extremely long, so it was unlikely that there would be any problem at this time.


    He shot a look back at Degres and indicated to him with his hand to come over. Degres didn¡¯t waste his time and immediately went to him.


    ¡°Did you find something?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The sea is ¡®contaminated¡¯ with Cold Energy with a much higher concentration than Kennera Lake. It is so cold that it could even create this abnormal ice. It is harder, colder, and probably it will be harder to melt it back to liquid form even with fire.¡±


    After his explanation, Degres¡¯ face showed a myriad of expressions. Worriness, elation, excitement¡­ And even fear. Bathing in Kennera Lake was still manageable, but this water could put you to death in seconds¡­


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± In the end, he could only express his doubt. After all, they treated the Cold Energy for generations as a treasure that was priceless. Now, wherever his sight laid, there was ice made from the same, no, from a better source of energy than what they used.


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    ¡°Yes. This is definitely it. You can try to dilute the seawater with normal water and try its effect. If it really has the same effect, then it is a good opportunity for the tribe to get much stronger. Unfortunately, others will have the same opportunity.¡±


    After saying that, he looked deeply into Degres¡¯ eyes. Imagining that some of the tribe¡¯s enemies like the Blood Crow Alliance got onto this chilled their bodies. This kind of resource that was easy to get was the most dangerous.


    ¡°Now that I think about it¡­ There is a big chance that this is how the winter beasts came to be¡­ They could be just normal animals that got mutated. Maybe not in an instant, but throughout the generations¡­ Just like-¡±


    ¡°Just like we rear our wolves with herb medicines¡­¡± Degres completed Illyan¡¯s sentence with a lost expression. Those monsters were the culprits of their tribe¡¯s plight and the need to migrate. Knowing that they were so strong thanks to the Cold Energy was the same reason why they could survive for all of those years made him have complicated emotions.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too hard about it, Degres. The water will not disappear anytime soon, I presume. So the tribe should use this opportunity to dilute some of the water and strengthen the bodies of those who are able to submerge within it and not suffer too much. It is essential for them to be battle-ready after it, though.¡±


    Illyan explained this to Degres since if most of the warriors took a bigger bite than they could swallow they would be unable to defend against unexpected dangers. This wasn¡¯t their valley where they hid from any kind of dangers. Danger lurked everywhere.


    After this conversation, he went to pitch his tent that he always had on his back with his backpack. As he was already used to this from several weeks¡¯ worth of experience, he built it soon after.


    He then pondered whether he should also use diluted water to strengthen his body. It was one of its kind sources of energy that was actually so easy to absorb.


    Kaoran explained to him that most of the natural energies in the world were mostly dangerous to any living being that wanted to get its power.


    However, the Cold Energy was different. You just needed to enter it, and it would naturally be attracted to your body. This was an advantage that only the Bakur Tribe had in these lands.


    Nothing was free in the world, making it extremely hard for any of the tribes here to gather some substantial power.


    Most of the tribes here were either just barbarians who wouldn¡¯t bow down to anyone or wanted to live life full of freedom or those who were banished here or escaped here from the other places.


    The thing that they had in common was their lack of talent and power. Thousands of years passed yet the best talent in the Bakur Tribe was Kaoran, a Novice stage shaman. That made this place isolated from the rest of the world.


    Those living here couldn¡¯t survive outside, while those outside didn¡¯t care for this barren and talentless place.


    And yet despite all of this, the Bakur Tribe prospered more than ever. They found renewable resources that were easy to absorb for even children without talent.


    What was this Cold Energy? Nobody knew. But Kaoran said that it was so unique that this place would be invaded by many forces outside. And he was speaking about Kennera Lake and not the Sea.


    Illyan could already imagine the havoc that was happening underwater where all the water beings live. The Cold Energy must have killed every weak one, disrupting the ecosystem while the stronger ones got even stronger. Stronger so much that they could fight against their own predators, destroying the food chain.


    Unfortunately, even this kind of energy had its limits.


    It was observed that when anyone entered the Kennera Lake for a second time, the result of absorption was always diminishing.


    If you didn¡¯t merge with the Cold Energy properly the next time, you wouldn¡¯t be able to absorb anything as your body was still saturated from last time. However, even if you perfectly merge with every last bit of the energy, the second time was always much worse in results than the first one.


    That was the reason why Kaoran could enter the lake so often without a problem. His body was already unable to absorb even one particle of the Cold Energy since he was baptized several times over the years for the merits he did.


    That made this energy desirable but not irresistible for someone beyond some stage.


    Usually, the amount was different from person to person, and there was still no definitive answer for why it was like this and why it was so different from other kinds of energies.


    ¡®If I am to guess then affinity should play some role, right?¡¯


    Affinity for Spiritual Energy was one of his weaknesses. However, did the affinity towards the Cold Energy also play some role?


    Maybe even that eye at the bottom of Kennera Lake was somehow connected to it.


    But Illyan stopped thinking too deeply about it. He didn¡¯t have any answers he was seeking but instead he got more questions. Of course, he did not feel bad about it. Instead, it made him even more eager to find out more.


    In the end, he chose to use some of the diluted water for a little.


    He didn¡¯t even consider using less diluted water than others despite his regeneration as he was certain he would regret it immediately.


    Using his power recklessly could kill him even quicker than not having it at all. Or at least, that would be the case if he had a normal life back when he was a child.


    All in all, they decided to try again the next day to cross the sea, and nobody knew how long it would take them to get to another land.


    He would have other opportunities to baptize himself again.


    He went to the sea again and with some tools that were baptized in the valley, he scooped up some of the water from the hole that he made and collected it. Then he collected snow and boiled it before mixing it.


    Satisfied with his creation, he now wondered how to use it. He had it in a bucket, so he couldn¡¯t bathe in it, and just splashing it on himself would be a waste.


    He found a spot further from the tribe and sat down on the ground, watching the sunset falling on the frozen sea with a dazed expression.


    ¡®Should I just drink it?¡¯


    Since the Cold Energy was diluted, it should work without any problems. He knew how the stomach worked, so theoretically the Cold Energy should spread across his entire body if nothing wrong happens.


    ¡°Just a sip won¡¯t hurt. Even if it did, it won''t be a problem to heal it.¡± After muttering this to himself, he took the bucket and took a gulp from it.


    A cold feeling spread in his mouth right into his gullet before entering his stomach. From the feeling, he could track exactly where the Cold Energy was, and it felt quite comfortable.


    He waited for a few minutes while enjoying the scenery before he finally felt the cold spreading to his other body parts.


    A small smirk appeared on his face as he took another sip from the bucket. Then he went to find others to show them this new method before the sun fell down and he would go meditate into his tent.

 55 - Icequake

    In the far north, where the sun set quickly and rose late, it became common to wake up before sunrise. The discipline everyone had to undergo from childhood after baptism made them as accurate as other animals when it came to guessing time.


    The Bakur Tribe, who made camp for the night after yesterday¡¯s failure to get on the frozen land, started to wake up early in the morning when the stars and moon were still shining high in the sky.


    Illyan, who also took a long nap after his session of meditation, went out topless to do his morning training. While his training lessened so much after he focused on the shamanistic arts, he never omitted it either.


    It was one thing to not train every day to break your limits and to neglect this to the point that your body strength regressed and your muscles got weaker. Knowing that the gain from the training isn¡¯t permanent, he always made sure to maintain his condition to his peak performance.


    Unfortunately, today he couldn¡¯t focus properly. He had a bad feeling about something. When he woke up, he noticed the fog covering most of the area and the sea couldn¡¯t be seen anymore.


    Fogs were common and appeared regularly, but that was mostly when the temperature wasn¡¯t too cold. Once it becomes too cold, the droplets freeze, and the fog changes into ice fog.


    Those were also not so uncommon in these lands. However, Illyan felt something was wrong.


    So after finishing his training, he hurriedly left for his tent and took out his phalanges again.


    Once pulled out, a small table to throw them at, he closed his eyes and focused on the Spiritual Energy around. The phalanges were filled with Spiritual Energy too, so once he felt that they were harmonized, he threw them out on the table.


    It didn¡¯t take long for all of them to stop and form a symbol.


    Symbol of Death. Again.


    He knew that his divination could be faulty or that some spirit was being mischievous, but he didn¡¯t want to just let it be.


    ¡®Even if it is a false alarm, I should warn Degres and the Grand Shaman.¡¯


    Unfortunately, even if they would agree with him, the tribe didn¡¯t have any other choice than to charge forward.


    As that was their only way to survive.


    ¡­¡­..


    ¡°So you are saying that you have bad premonitions, Illyan?¡±


    Sitting in the tent, Illyan talked with Degres and Kara with a serious expression.


    ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know the source of it, but I feel it clearly.¡±


    Kara sighed at this. She didn¡¯t have reason to not believe him as seers could have a more acute sixth sense, but at the same time, they didn¡¯t have any other choice than to go forward.


    ¡°You know we can¡¯t do much, right?¡±


    ¡°Right. I am not saying to stop. Just let us be more careful. Anything can happen along the way. We don¡¯t even know if the Sea is completely frozen. What if we get stuck in the middle of the ocean with a cut-off path?¡±


    Illyan said something that started to bother him after seeing the Cold Sea being frozen. The water close to shore may be so, but what about the place far in the ocean? What if the ice didn¡¯t connect two lands?


    However, Kara calmed him down.


    ¡°From what the teacher said, there is one island quite close to here in the northwest. It should be close to us so there is a very small chance that the place wouldn''t be connected to here. And from there we can either stay there or build the ships. Although our tribe isn¡¯t very good at it, we should be able to do it in a few years¡­¡±


    After this, the trio decided to become more careful so they wouldn¡¯t mess up. The lives of the entire tribe depended on it.


    ¡­¡­..


    One Day Later.


    ¡°Haaah¡­ Ice everywhere you look at. This is horrible!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like child Zers! It¡¯s just one day since we set off! You will be a father soon. How will you take care of a child if you are like this?!¡±


    Zers was complaining along the way as Yii was scolding him. Illyan was listening to this, a small smirk on his face.


    After years, he finally found something in himself which allowed him to naturally make small smiles again once in a while. Looking at this couple bickering, he felt a piece.


    Or he would if the itchy feeling disappeared.


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    The ice fog didn¡¯t disappear and instead became even more frosty. People started to hide their children in quilts to hide their skin from the biting cold and hugged their wolves to share their temperature.


    After covering the paws of the wolves, they managed to safely step on the ice made from the Cold Energy and started their journey across the sea.


    Unfortunately, there was no escape from the chilling air flowing around.


    Some of the weaker members, namely the elderly, started to literally break apart from the cold as the frostbites were freezing their body parts. However, everyone went without stopping. They couldn¡¯t stop.


    The entire colony went in a row, making no big fuss as the strongest men were at the front and back to guard the weaker ones from the enemy.


    That was until¡­


    Crack


    The ice under them cracked.


    ¡°Damn it, what happened?!¡±


    Degres, who rode on his Tear, was surprised as he noticed the cracks on the ice.


    ¡°Ground is cracking! What do we do?!¡±


    Everyone was shocked by the sudden ice cracks happening. They wouldn''t be so surprised if it was normal ice but this was ice made out of Cold Energy. Even the strongest warriors couldn¡¯t crack it with their weapons in less than twenty strikes¡­


    Why was it cracking then?


    The loud noises spread in the air as the cracking made a loud sound as thunder and the trembling of the ground underneath their legs made their stability poor, making them hesitant to what to do.


    Kara who sat on Dor also didn¡¯t know what the cause was but for assurance, she ordered the entire colony the next step.


    ¡°Everyone split up! We are too heavy to be in one singular place. Make small groups and go in different directions! Now!¡±


    After saying this, everyone nudged their wolves to start to run.


    ¡°Illyan! Let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°Coming!¡±


    Zers, whose face turned serious at this point, prompted Illyan who was watching this with a somber expression.


    ¡®Is this the reason for my feeling?¡¯


    However, he couldn¡¯t stay for too long as the chance of ice breaking could be still high.


    He went with one group that went more towards the west. Same direction as Degres went and started to run.


    He was usually riding with Zers on his sled ever since he stopped riding Dor but sometimes he was walking on his feet to stretch his muscles or to feel the nature around.


    This time it was the same and he had to run to the sled which was sliding as fast as possible before catching up, getting hold of it and jumping next to Zers.


    Zers didn¡¯t even look at him as he was focused on guiding Hunter who was pulling the sled.


    Illyan also didn¡¯t care as he could easily catch up to them. That¡¯s why Zers didn¡¯t slow down at all.


    While he held reins and rode, Illyan, on the other hand, looked at the cracking ground.


    The cracks started to slowly spread as time passed. However, the ice didn¡¯t sink into the water nor did any kind of water start to leak to the surface. That alone was suspicious in Illyan¡¯s mind.


    ¡®What is happening?¡¯


    He didn¡¯t believe that this was something as simple as the weight of the colony problem. He felt that this ice could support much higher weight than them.


    Furthermore¡­


    ¡®Is it just my imagination or the ice is breaking in-¡¯


    Quake


    Crack


    Sudden quakes of the ice under them made their slide jump in the air before they fell on the ground.


    Thud


    The entire ground was trembling as loud cracks started to show up everywhere.


    Some of the cracks were wide enough for adult people to fall into, and it didn¡¯t take long for some unfortunate ones to do so as they fell right into them.


    ¡°Aaaagh!¡±


    ¡°No! Father!¡±


    Desperate sounds of others sounded out as they watched in horror how the entire place was changing landscape.


    The previously flat frozen land was now full of rolls and twirls making it hard to see what is beyond a hundred meters.


    But these kinds of hills made of ice confirmed Illyan¡¯s guess.


    ¡®The ice is not breaking from the surface¡­ It was from within!¡¯


    ¡°Zers! Be careful! There might be something within or beneath the ice layer!¡±


    ¡°Ugh!¡±


    Zers, who fell badly on the ground, had his left hand bent at the wrong angle as he groaned in pain.


    However, broken bones were the least of their problems. As they fell on the ground, their skin that was not covered with clothes made contact with ice and got frozen to it in a few seconds.


    Illyan, who fell on the right side of his face, felt the chilling pain on it as he lied down. He tried to pull his face away, but it was harder than just pulling away his finger.


    ¡®Damn.. This is gonna hurt¡­¡¯


    As he prepared himself for the pain, he tensed every muscle in his body and put both of his hands covered in gloves against the ground. With one powerful jerk, he separated his face from the ground.


    ¡°URGGH!¡±


    He clenched his teeth as the pain ran across the right side of his face, which was now a complete mess.


    Looking at the ground where the parts of his cheek still laid, he frowned and went towards Zers.


    ¡°Zers! You alright?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.. But I think- Whoa?! Illyan, your face!¡±


    Illyan rolled his eyes at this. He was the last one who people feared for at this moment.


    ¡°It will heal soon. From the look, you should have a broken left arm and a few ribs, right? Be careful to not move in a reckless way or they will damage your insides. Now let me help you with the frozen part.¡±


    With that, he looked at the area around the wrist where he lightly touched the ground. As everyone wore thick layers of clothes, not many had landed with their skin on the ground.


    Unfortunately, the only uncovered part was the face, which was also the worst part to fall at.


    Only a few covered their faces with the surplus of clothes they had. After using up most of it to cover the wolves¡¯ paws, they didn¡¯t have much.


    As Zers had just a small area of contact, Illyan quickly took out the knife and swiftly separated the skin from Zers, who gritted his teeth in pain.


    They could try to separate it with the help of fire to not hurt the skin, but there was no time. Tearing it as Illyan did was also not a good way to do so. It could aggravate the injury and even widen it if something goes wrong.


    ¡°Yii? What happened to her?¡±


    But Zers didn¡¯t care that much about his injury rather than his wife.


    ¡°I will look for her.¡±


    With that, Illyan stood up and went in the direction where the sled of hers was.


    But he didn¡¯t find the sled. Only a big chasm was made by the icequake.


    ¡®Damn it¡­¡¯


    Fearing the worst, he looked around hoping to see her somewhere.


    ¡°Illy¡­¡±


    Fortunately, his acute hearing suddenly heard the voice.


    Going after it, he soon went after a small crease of ice where Yii lay.


    ¡°Yii!¡±


    She didn¡¯t look to be hurt, and as she fell on the back, she didn¡¯t touch the ice either.


    However, her eyes were covered in frozen tears.


    ¡°What happened?!¡±


    So Illyan ran to her and started to check her up. She was pregnant after all, it would be a catastrophe if something happened to the child.


    ¡°Hail¡­ She fell into the chasm because she was tied to the sled¡­¡±


    Hearing her trembling voice full of sadness, he could only sigh. Not everyone was so emotionally connected to their pets, but Zers always loved Hunter and Yii always loved Hail¡­


    Those two were really made for each other¡­

 56 - Winter Beast Tide

    They expected some kind of danger along the way as nothing was free in this world. However, they didn¡¯t expect that the bridge leading to the safety of new territory was going to crack.


    This was the Cold Sea, known for its chilling water and big icebergs floating in it. There was no way that it could freeze under normal circumstances, as one high wave would crush the ice with ease.


    So they were aware that since the sea froze, then it couldn¡¯t be just normal ice but something much colder and also much sturdier. Else it wouldn¡¯t withstand the stormy sea.


    So the fact that it started to crack so suddenly was inconceivable to most of them.


    Yelling, screaming, and crying, they were confused as to what happened and why so many of them died in such a short time. If they died on the battlefield, nobody would bat an eye, but this kind of disgraceful and completely useless death was too scary for this tribe of warriors.


    Fortunately for Illyan, nobody he cared for fell into any of the chasms that appeared on the ground. Except for Hail, that is.


    Now, he could only take Yii into his arms and take her to Zers¡¯ sled.


    Hunter, who was lucky and fell on his side that was covered in fur, didn¡¯t sustain many injuries.


    Illyan then went to Zers and helped him onto the sled too.


    ¡°Looks like the world is ending¡­¡± He muttered under his breath as he looked at the lamenting people around them and the broken ice everywhere.


    ¡°I will go look for Degres. He went in the same direction as we did. Unfortunately, in this stupid fog, there is nothing I can see.¡±


    Illyan said this to the couple and went in the direction where he last saw Degres.


    ¡°Be careful, Stone. As you said, there could be something under the ice. It doesn¡¯t make sense for such sturdy ice to break under our weight.¡±


    Zers warned him as he distanced himself from the sled. He didn¡¯t turn back but waved his hand, signaling he understood. That made Zers sigh in relief. Since Illyan was in some way ¡®immortal,¡¯ he was reckless in his younger years and didn¡¯t fear to go into the midst of danger without any plan. Fortunately, when he grew up, he stopped doing that and started to plan his steps more.


    Meanwhile, Illyan started to look for Degres. Of course, if he met injured clansmen, he would make basic treatment and tell them to be cautious of more danger. The icequake ended a while ago, but they didn¡¯t know if there would be more of it¡­


    After a while of looking for him, he found his silhouette farther from others, standing there like a statue. He was showing his back to Illyan as if looking into the distance.


    ¡°Degres!¡± Illyan called to him, wondering if something happened.


    Degres turned his head and gestured to him to get to him.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Be quiet and listen.¡± When Degres said this, Illyan stiffened. Such serious words meant a big problem.


    So he closed his mouth and even eyes that were mostly useless in the fog. Despite the better eyesight, it didn¡¯t mean he could see through things.


    However, his hearing was unintended here and so he listened.


    Wind was blowing across the skies while the ice under their legs was creaking. Some of the tribesmen were still making noise as their relatives were either injured or fell into the chasm.


    Nothing he didn¡¯t see already.


    That was until he noticed something from a distance. Some noises that were loud enough to spread far across the land. Furthermore, as time passed, he felt that the ice under them was creaking more and more. No, the better word for it would be that it started to vibrate.


    As if the march of hell was happening¡­


    ¡°Did some tribes follow us?! No¡­ This¡­¡±


    Growl


    Screeeeach


    Wooooooo


    Hieeey!


    As the vibrations got stronger, he finally recognized the screeching he heard.


    The Winter Beasts¡­


    ¡°Degres! It is a monster tide! What do we do?!¡±


    Illyan had panic all over his face. They were too spread out to make a proper defensive formation. Furthermore, a human¡¯s most important sensory organ was impeded. They were just like prey waiting for its death.


    Degres could only sigh in exasperation at this moment.


    ¡°Those bastards probably felt the disturbance here. The cracking noise was so loud that the beasts with acute hearing could easily hear it. Once they got closer to us because of their curiosity, they would probably smell us¡­¡±


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    There was nothing they could do now. The tide was going from the shore.


    They did not know how big it was nor how strong the individual beasts were.


    Because they couldn''t see, the information they had was meaningless.


    ¡°The tribe can only run towards the original destination, hoping that the beasts won¡¯t follow them.¡±


    Hearing this, Illyan immediately refuted.


    ¡°The beasts will catch us as soon as we turn our backs to them.¡±


    There was no way they would be able to outrun the beasts. Especially when their sleds are broken and wolves injured.


    Moreover, they couldn¡¯t leave their supplies as that would result in their death even if they successfully escaped.


    ¡°I know¡­ But we won¡¯t be able to fight them off¡­ You can hear that this tide is enormous. It is probably controlled by some big leader. So, there is no other choice left, let the core of our tribe escape¡­¡±


    ¡®Core?¡¯


    ¡°You don¡¯t mean?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I will take a few of the elite warriors to delay them. You should take Urchin and leave as soon as possible¡­¡±


    When he said this, he put his hand on Illyan¡¯s shoulder and smiled.


    ¡°You and Urchin are like sons I have never had. I just hope you can leave-¡±


    He didn¡¯t expect that Illyan would just cut him off.


    ¡°Old man, stop this touching speech and instead help me to think how to fight them off.¡± Illyan didn¡¯t plan to just leave. He just couldn¡¯t.


    There was no way he would just abandon him here. He didn¡¯t want to be reckless and die in vain. However, he also didn¡¯t want to live in regret.


    ¡°Haah, you serious now Stone? We can get eaten up, you know? Even you won¡¯t survive that!¡±


    Snort


    Illyan snorted in amusement.


    ¡°That¡¯s where you are wrong, old man. Now, go do your job as leader. That will be the fastest way since I am still far below you in this aspect. I will go to scout those beasts.¡±


    ¡°Stone, you¡­¡±


    Before Degres could say anything, he already disappeared in fog.


    He pondered why he would have such reactions to his words, but the conclusion was horrifying¡­


    ¡®No way¡­¡¯


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have time for this and could cast only a few glances at him before he started to yell at the tribe members.


    ¡°Everyone! Get up! The Beast Tide is coming! We need to pack our things and leave! Now!¡±


    ¡®Hopefully Kara will notice the disturbance and warn other groups¡­¡¯


    ¡­¡­..


    Illyan was sprinting across the destroyed iceland, going in the direction of the clamor that those beasts were making.


    Because of the fog, he didn¡¯t see anything. He was tense and prepared to fight the moment any creature got close to him. Just because he had good hearing didn¡¯t mean he would hear the beasts that were good at sneaking.


    That¡¯s why he also dispatched a surge of Spiritual Energy once in a while. In this way, he could see back in the day even though he was blind.


    Now when his sight was impeded it was really useful.


    It didn¡¯t take him long before he finally felt some kind of presence. He immediately crouched and stabbed in the general direction where he felt the beast was coming from.


    How¨CHieeeee¡­


    As soon as he felt resistance against his jagged blade, he heard whimpering that soon fell silent¡­


    Looking closely, he saw that he killed a wolf. The blade pierced its skull like butter. It wasn¡¯t Arctic Wolf that Bakur Tribe was rearing but a different type called White Seeker¡­


    This wolf was usually hunting alone or with a really small pack. They lived in snowy lands such as this one and used their white fur to hide in snow storms or merge with surroundings to catch their prey.


    This wasn¡¯t good news for Illyan or other tribe members.


    If this White Seeker was here as a scout, it meant that really strong creatures led this tide¡­


    Tides were usually made of one species. But there were times where more species got together. That usually happens more if those beasts were more intelligent and considered more the benefits than just their instincts.


    ¡®Damn, this is bad. But I still need to look for them. I need to see them with my own eyes to make sure.¡¯


    After this, he cleaned his blood over the fur of the beast so they couldn''t smell the blood on him as he continued on his way.


    But it didn¡¯t take a long time before he stopped in his steps, his entire body frozen as he stared in front of him.


    The fog dissipated as he passed its area of effect and the sight of the tide he was looking for spread out in front of his eyes.


    But the sight completely stumped him. He couldn¡¯t even see the ground as everywhere his sight fell upon, there would be black dots filling the scenery.


    However, those black dots were none other than beasts he was looking for. He didn¡¯t need to count to know there were thousands of them. And as he expected there were several species working together trying to find out the source of the commotion.


    Knowing he would be discovered soon, he decided to turn around.


    However, as he was going to do so¡­


    The shadow darkened the ice under his legs. Suddenly, loud rumbling sounded out as another icequake happened.


    That made the beast tide riot as every beast was panicking and some already fell into one of the chasms.


    ¡®What was that?!¡¯


    He couldn¡¯t believe it. He feared that something was underneath the ice but he didn¡¯t expect it to be so enormous. He saw only part of its shadow yet it was so big. Who knows what kind of creature was that?


    He needed to tell this to others immediately. After this icequake, the monsters became even more unruly and some smarter ones seemed to want to retreat. On the other hand, the stupid ones started to get louder as they stomped the ground.


    Unfortunately, that brought only another icequake.


    Crack


    The place Illyan was a few seconds ago disappeared as a new chasm opened.


    He already started to run hoping to get to Degres as soon as possible.


    ¡®It¡¯s fucking vibrations! It disrupts whatever that thing is and it starts to move around!¡¯


    Once he found out the cause of the problems, he started to be more agitated.


    If it was before they noticed the Winter Beast Tide was coming, then he would be definitely glad. After all, they could just slow down and be more quiet. That would solve all of their problems.


    But unfortunately, the beasts wouldn¡¯t have this much intelligence and would be loud whenever they go.


    Especially this amount of them at one place. It was like a walking disaster.


    Knowing this, he had to tell this to Degres. The normal members should have left by this time, but the warriors should stay for the tide. The question was whether it has some meaning to fight them off now.


    ¡°Degres!¡±


    Soon, he was at the same place he left Degres, and he was once again surprised.


    Another chasm was covering the land.


    Surprisingly, despite so many chasms, there were no splashes of water coming out of them. They were just like a dark abyss that was empty yet full of darkness.


    The sight made him tense even more.


    The fact that the icequake was even here meant that the creature was even more giant than he thought.


    ¡°Illyan!¡±


    Fortunately, it seemed that Degres was alright. When he finally found him, tens of warriors were standing behind him. Most of them were old as they were from the same generation as Degres.


    They planned to sacrifice their generation for the new one.


    However, one of them was standing out.


    ¡°Little Urchin! It is still time to go after your wife! Who will take care of your kid?!¡±


    ¡°Nobody if the entire tribe dies here! You say I need to take care of my child? That¡¯s exactly what I am gonna do right now!¡±

 57 - Brotherhood

    ¡°You¡­ Stupid brat! You still have your mother¡¯s milk on your chin and you want to play hero here?!¡±


    The argument was still going on as several of the warriors tried to shun Zers from fighting. It wasn¡¯t because they thought he was going to be useless. On the contrary, they believed that as the next leader of the tribe he could, with high possibility, even surpass the current leader Degres.


    Many had big expectations of him. But that was exactly the reason why they didn¡¯t want him to waste his life here.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t agree with them and was being stubborn.


    ¡°Hah! Members of our tribe become full-fledged adults and warriors the moment they undergo the baptism! By the tribe¡¯s standards, I have been an adult for years already!¡±


    In this way, they quarreled with each other, and only a few of the present noticed Illyan¡¯s arrival.


    Degres, who saw him immediately, went to him.


    ¡°So?¡±


    ¡°It is horrible¡­ There are thousands of them. I saw White Seekers, Ice Polar Bears, Sabretooth Snowstorm Tigers, and other unknown species. I didn¡¯t see any leader but there must have been one strong enough to lead them all.¡±


    Others who heard their conversation got quiet as they listened with serious expressions.


    ¡°I see, do you think that we can delay them?¡± Degres asked a question that everyone wanted to know. They didn¡¯t care if they died but if they could fight those beasts long enough for their families to run.


    However, Illyan shook his head in helplessness.


    ¡°It should be possible to stop them or at least distract them for a limited time if we won¡¯t fight head-on with them. But that is only if we will put our life on the line and do our everything to stop them. Otherwise, we will collapse soon.¡±


    When he said this, it made others confused. They didn¡¯t understand why Illyan looked so despondent if he concluded that they could win this fight against time.


    Yeah, the fight to the death was scary to most humans but not them. War was like daily bread for them. It was normal to die to let the younger generations live on. They were shields who defended the tribe. Nobody here expected to return to the tribe after this fight. They were prepared to die.


    And they didn¡¯t think Illyan was any different. Degres already told them he would participate with them. Albeit there were some who were thinking he was so ¡®brave¡¯ only because he couldn''t die because of his regeneration those veterans saw Illyan¡¯s true self.


    His spirit of a warrior. Of a survivor.


    Yet, he was willing to risk it all for the tribe he didn¡¯t share blood with.


    That would move even the most stubborn old men.


    ¡°What is the problem?¡±


    Degres, on the other hand, immediately knew that there had to be a different problem if Illyan looked like this and asked with urgency.


    ¡°The ice¡­ It didn¡¯t crack under our weight. The amount of the monsters being able to get so far is evidence. What really caused the ice to crack was the creature underneath the ice. I saw its shadow. It is as big as a mountain. It probably got roused after the vibrations we made spread throughout the ice.¡±


    When Illyan concluded everything he saw when he was scouting everyone got silent.


    They were aware that once they clashed with those beasts a gigantic disturbance was undoubtedly going to happen.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just run then? The beasts will bring their own doom.¡± One of the warriors suggested not out of cowardice but out of practicality. Nobody wanted to die in vain, after all.


    But Illyan immediately shot down this suggestion.


    ¡°No, while there is a big chance of collapse soon, the beasts are also very close. If they catch up to the core of the tribe then they will take down everyone. We can¡¯t rely on our luck.¡±


    Others started to suggest new ideas but Illyan gestured to Degres. They couldn¡¯t just stay here and do nothing.


    Degres, who saw this nodded and announced loudly.


    ¡°We are wasting our precious time here. They can be here any second. Let¡¯s begin our preparation. Everyone takes a bow and arrows and then let them hide and ambush them in the unevenness of the ice that cracked.¡±


    After he said this he gave those who didn¡¯t own their own a bow with 30 arrows.


    Zers, who also prepared his spear, got closer to Illyan and started to discuss with him how to do this.


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    ¡°Are you sure? You will be a father soon, you know?¡± But even Illyan couldn¡¯t help but ask him about his determination.


    But that made Zers only roll his eyes.


    ¡°Even you will be like this? Come on, it is not like we need to die. We just need to do what we are good at. Kill them all!¡±


    With a bloodthirsty expression, he bared his teeth and smiled ferociously.


    ¡°Sometimes things are not as simple and things can¡¯t be decided by men¡­¡± But Illyan just shook his head. He knew that many things can¡¯t be affected by a person''s effort no matter what. Be it by inner qualities or luck in life.


    ¡°This is why you became so boring, Stone! Fuck the heavens! Let us ¡®mere¡¯ mortals decide what is right and what is wrong. Why else do we wield weapons? For ideals of some divine entity who would use us like puppets? Just like the Blood Crow Alliance is? I would rather die then!¡±


    But Zers had a different view of it. While he understood what Illyan was saying he still wanted to fight. His blood was still young and vigorous. He wouldn¡¯t stop struggling at this time just because he knew how hopeless something was.


    ¡°Hah¡­ I guess you have a point. What¡¯s the point of living if people don¡¯t struggle? Having bad luck doesn¡¯t mean you have to have a bad life.¡±


    Illyan sighed and agreed with his best friend. He realized that after going through some experiences he started to view the world differently. He felt like everything was predestined and that fate couldn¡¯t be broken so easily. Not with the power of mortals at least. Learning the divination under Kaoran also didn¡¯t help him with his opinion.


    But that was why he felt Zers was so important to him. He was the one who kept him on the ground. The one who let him know that he was still human.


    ¡°I knew you would understand, Stone! Hahahah!¡±


    Zers started to laugh loudly as he repeatedly smacked Illyan on the back.


    ¡°Stop it, you idiot.¡±


    ¡°Hahahah!¡±


    They bickered as they always did while going in the direction of the tide facing death itself with smiles on their faces¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    It didn¡¯t take long for everyone to spread out thin and hide with bows in their hands. If they had more time and the place of battle was forest they could build very effective traps to impede and even kill those beasts.


    Unfortunately, they were on even plain of ice. Even if there was a place to hide it was because of the icequake that happened.


    Behind one of such hump of ice were Illyan and Zers hiding prepared to shower anything that was moving.


    The ground under their feet was vibrating as the sounds of wild animals were getting closer.


    While Zers was still joking around, Illyan noticed his nervousness. He was also silent as he wasn¡¯t exactly in a good mood.


    ¡°Illyan, do you fear death?¡± At that moment, Zers asked a sudden question that stumped him.


    ¡°Why do you ask?¡±


    ¡°I just wonder what kind of a view a person who can regenerate like you have on this topic. You were always jumping in the danger as if it didn¡¯t bother you, after all. On the other hand, I personally don¡¯t really want to die. I fear death. Yet, here I am prepared to fight to the death.¡± Zers explained his emotions at this moment as he glanced from time to time from the hump they were hiding behind.


    Illyan wanted to answer but when he opened his mouth no words came out.


    What kind of view did he have? Until a few years ago he always thought he was indifferent to death. He maybe even thought he craved it. The eternal rest where he didn¡¯t need to relive his memories of suffering.


    But was that really true?


    Whether he really desired such an anticlimactic end¡­ No.


    He came to the conclusion that he wanted to live. That he wanted to survive. Any time his life was in actual danger his instincts told him how to survive. Always without a doubt.


    That made him realize that he was no different from a normal human. His opinions were just a little skewed because of his gift.


    He didn¡¯t want to just live. He wanted to have a worthy life that wasn¡¯t just full of suffering.


    The longer he lived the more he felt that living a long time didn¡¯t need to be a curse as Kaoran said. It could be a gift. It was only on him to live up to it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I fear death. However, I know that I desire to live. It was a little different in the past. But¡­ My younger self was just drowned in memories that no child should have. Now I am different.¡±


    Illyan said this with confidence. He felt the difference in him as he gradually grew up.


    Zers, on the other hand, looked at Illyan with a pondering gaze.


    Sigh


    ¡°You¡¯ve changed, Stone. Not in a bad way though.¡±


    Both went into silence as they waited.


    Lying in the cold watching for creatures that could come any second.


    Swish


    Before long Illyan released an arrow that disappeared in the fog. The only indicator that the target was hit was the sudden wail before the deafening silence fell upon them again.


    Both of them were aware that this must have been one of the White Seekers who became scouts of this tide so there was no need to say anything.


    However, Zers wasn¡¯t silent for too long before he spoke once again.


    ¡°Hey, Illyan?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Illyan turned to look at Zers who seemed to be more and more serious as time passed.


    ¡°Did you know that in our tribe there is one tradition? When one is willing to fight to the death alongside their longtime friends¡­ They become more than just comrades¡­ They become brothers.¡±


    When he said this Illyan got silent as his eyes widened.


    ¡®Brother¡­¡¯


    How long has it been since he heard this word?


    For five years? Or was it even longer?


    Maybe it was ever since his brothers were eaten?


    His eyes quivered as he looked at Zers who waited for his answer.


    This so-called tradition didn¡¯t mean anything if one of them wasn¡¯t willing to acknowledge it. That was why he said this and then fell into silence.


    There were so many thoughts that passed through Illyan''s mind right now. This conversation stabbed into his sore spot but he couldn¡¯t blame Zers. He didn¡¯t know anything. And even if he did so what? That was so many years ago. Was the word ¡®brother¡¯ forever a taboo word for him? There was no way that would be true. He must move on.


    He closed his eyes for a moment remembering his family. How his parents took care of him, how his brothers worked hard to let their younger brother have better food to eat¡­


    It was so long that he didn¡¯t even remember their faces anymore¡­


    They were long gone.


    When he opened his eyes they brimmed with new light.


    ¡°It is quite lame to be your brother but I guess I can¡¯t choose right now.¡± With a light smirk, he said this to Zers who looked quite happy until he realized the meaning.


    ¡°Hey! What do you mean by that? It is perfectly fine to be the brother of a great guy like me!¡±


    ¡­¡­..


    They bickered in this way for some time while still being aware of their surroundings. However, it didn¡¯t take too long before the vibrations got stronger and they got quiet.


    Illyan had already prepared the next arrow as he listened to the movements of the beasts.


    ¡°Prepare yourself. We will empty our quiver as quickly as possible before we jump at them from the side together with others flanking them.¡± Illyan explained the plan one more time and with a deep breath started to release one arrow after another inside of the fog.

 58 - Heart Of Warrior

    Arrow after arrow shot into the endless fog. However, while it looked as if they were firing blindly in hope of hitting something, it wasn''t like that. As hunters accustomed to such a harsh climate their entire lives, using other senses was a necessity.


    Illyan didn¡¯t even need to waste his mental strength to feel the Spiritual Energy. Just from the vibrations and noises those running beasts made, he could deduce their distance. Although he couldn¡¯t pinpoint exactly where each beast was, it didn''t matter.


    This was a tide with thousands of ferocious beasts running towards their direction. Even if they shot randomly, it was destined to fall on one beast or another. The wailings of hurt animals resounded as big impacts made the ground tremble. It seemed that the first wave that fell under their arrows made it hard for the other beasts to pass, causing the second wave to impact those corpses since they didn''t have time to slow down.


    It didn''t take more than a minute for all their arrows to disappear. The beasts were now just tens of meters away. Throwing away the bow, which was now just a burden to him, he tried to flank the beasts from the side with Zers.


    Fighting those beasts head-on would be extremely dangerous. It would be basically suicide, even for Illyan. Instead of comparing their strength, using the strategy of humans was a better idea. It didn''t take long for them to see other shadows of their comrades who also hid and shot all of their arrows.


    When it comes to animals, you would never know until you clash with them or observe them for a long time how much intelligence they had. They didn''t want to risk it, so everyone attacked from all directions. There would be beasts who noticed the ambush, but now it would be harder for them to pinpoint the direction.


    Unfortunately, the beast tide was still enormous. It was ''just'' a few thousand, but when there were under fifty men trying to hold the fort, it was almost impossible. However, the only thing that gave them the courage needed for this was their tribe, the family¡ªthe elderly, women, and children. They needed to protect them as they were their future.


    At first, Illyan was out of place in the midst of such warriors. He was adopted by the tribe and already had plans to leave this tribe. He was reclusive, and if he didn''t need to, he usually didn''t talk with anyone outside of his circle. He didn''t owe the tribe anything either. But nobody raised their eyebrows at his decision to fight with them. It was only natural in their eyes.


    Illyan was the weirdest member of their tribe. Nobody would argue about that. He was always alone in a daze without showing much of his emotions. On the other hand, he was someone who had the best ability for warriors that anyone would envy. His skin was so light and smooth as if he never worked hard, but it just hid his hardworking personality. But at the same time, he had the intelligence to become a disciple of their last Grand Shaman.


    Everyone knew he suffered when he was a kid and was pitied by Kaoran, Degres, and other warriors. That was why he was taken in. However, when he paid off all of his debts in his preparation for leaving after Kaoran¡¯s death, some thought of it as betrayal. He was given everything by this tribe yet he wants to leave. These kinds of rumors were spreading in the tribe.


    But most of the people, especially those who know Illyan, just laughed it off. Leaving the tribe wasn¡¯t so uncommon as it could be seen. After all, there would always be people who want to discover the world and leave this freezing hell. Most of the tribesmen think of it as a child leaving their parent¡¯s house. They would live apart but they were still family.


    And for most, Illyan was someone worthy of being a proud Bakur Tribe member. He was a warrior, shaman, and son of the tribe. He was someone younger that the kids and even his peers either admired or despised. Most of the kids his age were either to stay with the tribe as they were the ones protecting children, women, and elderly and were the ones who would need to help repopulate the tribe after they would survive this calamity. After all, they lost most of his generation that fateful night, and they were still recovering after all that time. However, making children in such a dangerous situation wasn¡¯t wise, so they had to wait until they got to a safe place.


    Only two of the younger generation waited for the inevitable clash. ¡°Aarrh!¡± With a furious roar, the brave warriors of the north ran to their deaths with ferocious smiles on their faces.


    Illyan together with Zers also started to run and attack the beast¡¯s tide from its flank. There was extremely bad vision so they could not see farther than just a few steps in front of them, but they didn¡¯t hesitate and ran towards the loud creatures. The beasts also already noticed something was wrong and started to make even bigger noise. Illyan would expect that their survival instinct would make them slow down, but instead those beasts ran even more ferociously, ready to fight their ambushers without care for their life.


    However, only a few men awaited their wrath. Some of them already lost their wolf partner years ago, and some lost him today during the ice quake. Those like Zers who still had them let them go with the tribe. Lot of the wolves died today, and people lost their means of transportation. In that case, they would be unable to run away as the beast would easily outrun them.


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    Because of that even Zers¡¯ loyal partner had to be given to Yii that lost her Hail and could not use her sled without her. As such it was only men who were ready to lay down their lives here.


    Soon, two sides collided. Or better said, the Bakur warriors lunged between those monsters and started to slaughter them before they got devoured. Illyan also didn¡¯t take long before seeing his first target. It was a gigantic boar with long tusks. It was over five meters tall and looked intimidating. Zers and him looked into each other¡¯s eyes and nodded. ¡°Hey, you fat ass!¡± Zers yelled as he attacked with his spear from the front. That was extremely dangerous and reckless from the perspective of a hunter. However, he didn¡¯t plan to fight with the boar. He had his brother after all.


    Roar


    Painful roar resounded as Illyan stabbed an animal in its side with his jagged blade. He didn¡¯t do it to kill, though. Boars had thick skin and rough fur. If not for his strength he wouldn¡¯t be able to make even a shallow dent into it. Instead, he used the lodged blade as leverage to jump at the back of the creature. After he jumped up the back of the enormous boar he went straight to its head and without hesitation attacked its eye. For creatures like this that were hard to kill, eyes were his easiest target. Just like he did with the bear back then.


    The boar started to struggle as it wailed wanting to take him down. However, with his strength he could hold himself while still stabbing the blade deeper until the beast weakened and fell with a loud thud. All of this happened in a matter of seconds and by that time Zers was already engaged with three other beasts while others were coming.


    Illyan used the higher footing to his advantage and lunged at the beasts around Zers to help out. With one swing he split the skull of one with his trusty ax and sliced the jaw of another with his blade. Others also got surprise in the form of a kick that could easily break bones of normal people. But before it could recover the spear stab ended its life.


    It didn¡¯t take long to take care of all three beasts, but they couldn¡¯t relax as new ones arrived. Thankfully, the beasts did keep distance between themselves and didn¡¯t squeeze each other to death. As that would bring everyone¡¯s death much quicker since they would be squashed together with those beasts. This kind of tide usually happens when the animals were running from something. On the other hand, this showed that those beasts were commanded by stronger and more intelligent beasts and that they were the predators looking for prey. It was a matter of time when that beast showed up.


    However, Illyan¡¯s mood didn¡¯t fall; instead, he showed a ferocious expression as he started to slaughter anything that wasn¡¯t human in his surroundings. Roars and wailing of beasts were sounding everywhere while the fog impaired his sight. He depended on his hearing and acted on his instinct, fighting mindlessly. Sometimes he heard roars and dying screams of something that wasn¡¯t a beast but before he could get to that location only blood remained. However, he didn¡¯t fall to despair as those men were the ones to choose this.


    They were warriors. They didn¡¯t need to be pitied. In such a way, everyone did their everything to keep killing beasts while taking their attention from the running forward. They didn¡¯t even need to try hard as those beasts already thought that they were the one causing the commotion and thus were the target they were looking for, their prey.


    Unfortunately, soon after the inevitable happened. Boom. This time the quake was so strong that it threw even those beasts off their balance. Illyan, who was already prepared, was still shocked when he found his body being several meters above the ground. Fortunately, he turned himself in time to catch some beast¡¯s fur.


    ¡°Damn it, this is way worse than I expected!¡± While Illyan used all his strength to stay on that beast, he looked around. It was as if the world was ending. The ground under the beasts and humans alike broke, creating even bigger chasms than before. There was extreme pressure coming from them making the wind and fog move back. This made it possible for him to see around to see this. But through all that wailing of the falling beasts, he heard Degres mighty roar. When he looked in the direction of the scream, he saw him gesturing to others to retreat.


    They already did their job. To delay the monsters so that the tribe¡¯s core members could retreat. But this was an even better outcome as they didn¡¯t need to waste their lives and just let those beasts die by falling. Seeing this Illyan jumped down from the beast that was already losing its balance and started to run.


    ¡°Zers, retreat!¡± He called out to Zers who was still fighting as he didn¡¯t hear anyone. But when he heard Illyan, he stopped and started to run with him.


    ¡°Are we going back to the tribe?¡± Zers asked Illyan with wonder. They fought for just a few minutes at most. He didn¡¯t expect the dynamic of the fight to change so quickly.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t want to fall down, then yes!¡± Illyan rolled his eyes at the stupid question.


    Soon they reunited with Degres and others. ¡°Let¡¯s go! We''ve done our job! Once we get out of the radius of this, we will intercept the rest of the beasts that are going the same direction!¡±


    Degrees guided everyone towards the more stable part of the ice. When Illyan looked back, he finally saw little of the water coming out of those chasms as the water surface started to grow. But that made him alarmed even more.


    ¡°Degres, I think that the thing underneath will rise-¡± But as he turned around to warn the man running in front of them, he noticed a shadow lurking.


    Squelch. Time slowed down for Illyan when he saw the man who taught him so much and took for him for such a long time, being torn apart. Other warriors wanted to react, but soon another shadow also attacked them from the sides, tearing them apart.


    Illyan wanted to roar, but he couldn¡¯t. This sight was all too familiar to him. The familiar sight that fell upon his eyes was bringing back his memories. Memories full of despair, fear, and pain. The Wolf Monsters that ate his family. The leader was even bigger than before. However, its mass seemed to lessen as its flesh was rotting and falling apart.


    Instead of a wolf head, it now had only a skull full of fangs and deer¡¯s antlers. The full belly of the past was gone, with its ribs protruding out, showing its rotten organs to the world.


    Right at this moment, in its gigantic mouth, was Degres¡¯ body, thoroughly being chewed before swallowing. It learned this lesson in the past.


    Then it turned right at Illyan with its now empty sockets for eyes. But the intention was still easy to see.


    It wanted to devour him thoroughly this time.

 59 – Dire Situation

    ¡°No¡­¡± Illyan, who was in a daze, muttered as he saw Degres fall in such a way.


    ¡°What the hell is this monster?¡± On the other hand, others had much more violent reactions. To the point that they even forgot for a moment that the ground under their feet was crumbling as they roared in indignance at those monsters.


    ¡°Fucking undeads!¡±


    Even Zers, who was usually calm and collected at important times, was now watching with bloodshot eyes at that monster. It was so quick that nobody could do anything as the monsters were hiding behind ice protrusion and were using the fog to hide their tracks.


    ¡°Aaaarhg!¡± As the first one, he wanted to charge at the beast who ended his father figure.


    This roar woke Illyan from his lamenting as he stared at the beast. He saw how it was looking at him with nobody else in its sight. It was as if time slowed down when he saw its rotten half-missing cheeks inch up in a disgusting smile as it crouched looking ready to lunge at him.


    But this time it was different. He felt it. The malevolent energy flowing throughout its body and the pressure it gave off. He didn¡¯t know if it was only because his younger self was too young and weak to perceive it or if the beast got stronger¡­ However, he was sure of one thing.


    Right now, it was the strongest creature he ever saw.


    Realizing this, he kept eye contact with it to not lose sight of it and with hurry grabbed Zers who was now running in front of him with a lifted spear.


    ¡°Ah-?!¡± What are you doing, Stone?!¡± Zers¡¯ furious roar resounded as he didn¡¯t understand why Illyan would stop him.


    However, Illyan completely ignored him.


    When he got hold of him he used his full force to force him back and hurled him as far as possible.


    ¡°Wha-?¡±


    Just as Zers was flying in the air, the monster didn¡¯t miss the opportunity, and with its great speed, it disappeared. That alarmed Illyan but unfortunately, he was too late to dodge.


    Boom


    Squelch


    With great force, he flew across the land as his chest was lacerated with deep wounds.


    However, with great control over his body, he flipped himself and landed on the ground. He ignored the lacerations and instead focused on the beast who had already closed the gap and used its massive body to its fullest advantage.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Without any other option, Illyan could only defend frantically. It growled as its empty sockets looked at him. He felt the resentment in them that he now could finally understand. It wasn¡¯t just resentment towards him. It felt more like resentment towards everything.


    And this emotion fueled its power as it charged at him again and again.


    Unfortunately, this time it didn¡¯t just attack. It wanted to grab him. Before, he used the force behind its claws to make distance, but now he couldn¡¯t and instead had to dodge at all cost.


    Zers, who just fell on his feet, opened his eyes wide as all of those several attacks happened in just a few seconds. If he were where he stood before, he would be already minced meat. This was as cold water doused his bubbling rage, and several drops of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.


    But he couldn¡¯t just stand there and do nothing. Soon, another beast attacked him with ferociousness he never saw in any other species. It was using everything to inflict any kind of injury as it could. It was clawing at him, trying to bite him, and even charging at him with their antlers.


    The only thing Zers could do was to keep a distance with his spear.


    However, that wouldn¡¯t solve anything as more and more people died at the hands of those monsters and were then eaten. Some were even eaten alive by those of a bigger stature.


    Seeing this, he could only clench his teeth.


    ¡°Agh!¡± With a mighty roar, he charged at it and exchanged blow for blow. The beast was already half-rotten. There is no way that it can move after losing the means to!


    In this manner, he exchanged over ten moves with the creature until it finally took the last breath.


    ¡°Hah¡­Hah¡­Hah¡­¡±


    Heavily breathing, he tried to catch his breath as he looked around. It was mayhem.


    The only luck was that there was a small number of these creatures.


    However, he noticed that the ice fog was once again returning. If that really happens, all of them would perish here.


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    It was only after he saw the frozen fur on their rotten bodies and the cold air coming out of their maw that he realized why this was happening.


    ¡®Wait, are those beasts behind this fog?!¡¯


    With eyes full of horror, he started to run towards his comrades to warn them.


    Unfortunately, the places to tread on were slowly disappearing as the fissures were widening and new cracks were created¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    ¡®Damn it, Damn it, Damn it!¡¯


    If there was anything Illyan wanted to do now, it was to scream his lungs out at this fucking beast that destroyed his life. If he could, he would inflict as much pain on it that it would rather end its pathetic life than live anymore.


    ¡®Why?! Fucking Why?!¡¯


    That was if he really could do something. But the current Illyan? He couldn¡¯t do anything. For all this time, he thought his growth was quick enough and to be proud of. He thought he was already stronger than some weaklings.


    But now when he saw the beast that was definitively much weaker in his younger age surpassing him with such ease he felt so much inner wrath ailing his already broken heart.


    The only good thing was that the wrath was then fuel for his gift, and his wounds were healing at record time. Even the frostbites that were unexpectedly appearing on his body were healing.


    ¡®Is it also using the Cold Energy? Or is it something else?!¡¯


    That was the only thing he could think of before the extreme cold that even his baptized body couldn¡¯t withstand blew through its maw.


    It was at that moment he noticed more of the difference from years ago. The antlers that were white pristine before were now completely frozen and looked even more dangerous. The same was with its claws¡­ He didn¡¯t notice much as in this place full of Winter Beasts it was normal, but it seemed it had a more profound meaning.


    ¡®I can¡¯t beat it¡­ Not in a short time. But we can¡¯t waste our time here or we will all fall.¡¯


    He couldn¡¯t do anything except defending himself. The beast was too quick for him to perceive without fully focusing on it, completely ignoring the surroundings.


    But that started to be even more dangerous as the vibrations they created caused the reaction of the shadow underneath the ice to wriggle, making even bigger cracks.


    At first, he thought only the surface layer froze over in the same way it does in lakes and other water bodies, but he underestimated the coldness of this Cold Energy. Whenever he looked down one of those fissures, he just saw darkness. It was as if the entire sea froze throughout. But in that case, the water he got from the shore was just an ice capsule full of water probably with impure Cold Energy¡­


    This made him think deeply. Wasn¡¯t that too coincidental? Wasn¡¯t there actually too many coincidences this time? He felt like he was cornered from all sides, carefully guided here.


    ¡®Was the divination right in the end? Will this be my resting place?¡¯


    Thoughts as these started to pile up in his mind as his mind was disoriented. This made his moments sluggish, which caused him to accumulate more and more injuries.


    At one point, the monster even caught his arm for the first time. It didn¡¯t take a second for it to squeeze it dry of blood as every bone was turned into mush.


    Illyan used his axe to sever one of its fingers to get out of its claws, but his arm was already mangled. He wanted to counter-attack and hit its organs that were visible, but he couldn¡¯t reach out to them as his weapons were too short.


    ¡®I should have taken the spear..!¡¯


    Illyan, who preferred the freedom of movement over bigger weapons, rarely walked around with bigger weapons than his one-handed battle axes. He usually didn¡¯t need long weapons as his abilities already far surpassed normal humans and so the weapon advantage wasn''t a big deal for him.


    But that is only against normal people or even normal animals. This monster was neither of them.


    He used his full power swing only to chop off one of its fingers, yet it didn¡¯t seem to be bothered at all.


    Instead, it looked at him with hate. He couldn¡¯t understand why. It was this monster that caused him to suffer, not the other way.


    But it was at this moment when the monster opened its maw.


    ¡°...Hum-aan¡­Haa-teee¡­!!¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡®It can talk?!¡¯


    It was so baffling that he stopped moving for a moment. However, the monster didn¡¯t stop from trying to tear him apart. It was moving erratically as if it didn¡¯t know how to move properly and was charging madly at him at any given opportunity.


    If Illyan didn¡¯t have such high proficiency in the [The Way of the Body] then he would probably fall in this battle right at the beginning.


    It didn¡¯t take long before his body started to fail him as his stamina was exhausted after a relentless exchange of blows and regeneration of his wounds.


    Just as he thought he would need to put his life on the line to get out of here, he heard the cry of agony.


    With wide-opened eyes, he noticed Zers who sneaked behind it and used its spear to pierce the inside of its body. That made it finally cry out as it wriggled in pain.


    But Zers, who thought this monster wouldn¡¯¡¯t be able to survive this in the same manner as the last one, didn¡¯t know that he was in a perilous situation.


    The monster wanted to turn around and turn this hateable human into mush.


    However, the moment it turned around, Illyan lunged at it and threw his jagged blade at its heart.


    Growl


    Once the blade hit its heart, it lodged deeply inside of it, making it feel even more pain. But that was not all as Illyan jumped on its back and used his axe to bash its skull until the bits of the cranium didn¡¯t fall down on the ground.


    ¡°Zers!¡±


    ¡°Got it!¡± Zers, realizing this wasn''t the same as the previous one, quickly retreated with his spear.


    Illyan, who also knew that his best opportunity had passed, jumped down from it as it started to swing with its claws all around as it roared in wrath.


    ¡°...Hu¡­Mannss¡­!!¡±


    Its face turned even more malevolent as it stared at them in hate.


    ¡°Stone, I think it is some kind of undead! We need fire or a purification ritual!¡± Zers, who saw this immediately thought of some weaknesses that the undead had but Illyan immediately shook his head.


    ¡°How do we create fire in this weather? Also, I can¡¯t purify it! I can¡¯t use it in a fight yet!¡±


    Yes, Illyan learned how to purify the dead so they won¡¯t revive in the form of undead or even something worse as they pass on the Spirit World. However, he didn¡¯t have that much experience and could only use it on really dead bodies¡­


    ¡°Damn it¡­ Then we can only run. I already told others to run once they get the opportunity. There are only 20 or so of those monsters and none of them are as strong as this one.¡± Zers looked indignant as he definitely didn¡¯t want to run from this thing. He wanted it dead.


    Illyan nodded at this as he sighed. He knew exactly how he felt¡­ But when you are weak, throwing your life away wouldn¡¯t solve anything.


    ¡°We should-¡±


    Boom


    Creak


    ¡°OOOOOooooooooagh!!!¡±


    Just as they thought about retreat the sound so powerful that their ears started to bleed resounded from within the ice below them. And then¡­


    The entire Frozen Sea started to rise together with them¡­.

 60 - Frozen Worm

    "What the heck?!" Zers, whose spear had fallen who knows where, almost lost his balance. It felt as if his inner ear got hurt, and he couldn¡¯t maintain his balance after hearing that sound. Fortunately, he also had good control over his body and quickly took out a knife. With all his strength, he pierced the ice on which he stood.


    Illyan did the same, using the second side of the axe that had the spike to keep himself close to the ice that started to move at an unprecedented speed towards the skies.


    Once his vision, which had gotten dark for a moment, brightened, he noticed that the monster also did its best to stay in the same place without sliding down.


    But the same couldn¡¯t be said about the other winter beasts. They started to fall like ripe fruits from a tree. Some of them tried to lodge themselves in the ice, but they were either too weak or too heavy and, in the end, fell into the abyss with wailing.


    This horrifying scenario made Illyan realize that they were too late to run from the shadow underneath them and that it reached the limit of its patience, finally showing itself.


    The worst thing was that it was so huge that it even split the light of the sun into two, as the sea where he could still see was crumbling.


    The only luck was that the core of the tribe already left. But the same thought made him realize!


    "Oh no!" He looked all around, searching for any kind of survivors, but he didn¡¯t see even a shadow of a human. Instead, he noticed that the ice covering the shadow also started to crumble and fall down.


    "Zers! We need to climb! Now!" Once he realized that, he yelled at Zers that they needed to get to the real back of the creature or they would fall soon.


    "Ugh¡­ I will try¡­" But Zers had a much bigger problem. He was completely disoriented. His inner ears were damaged, which caused him problems with orienting himself. Illyan had the same problem but healed soon after.


    Noticing that, he used his axe to climb towards Zers, held him in his now uninjured arm, and used his entire strength to climb up without slipping. The monster did the same, but it didn¡¯t look like it did so for survival. No, it was looking at him and Zers. It wanted their blood.


    However, while Illyan was much weaker than the monster, he had compensated for it all with his control over his body and his dexterity. He started to climb as quickly as any monkey, evading all cracks or pieces of ice that were falling around, until he made one big jump and fell at the back of that enormous creature.


    "Oh, shit¡­" But once he got there, he noticed that the other wolf monsters were also there. Some were eating the rest of the warriors, while some were trying to bite the beast they were standing on. But all that stopped when they noticed the new prey.


    What nobody expected was that two of the smallest ones would screech with so much power that it intimidated the bigger ones as they charged at them.


    When Illyan noticed them, he felt kind of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t very comfortable as he started to remember. His facial expression turned for the worse as he threw Zers on the ground and, with his only weapon now, he split the one in half and bashed the second one¡¯s head with his fist.


    "Arrrrgh?!"


    "Eiigh!!"


    The half of the body started to crawl on the ground, still staring at him with hatred and hunger as it reached for his legs. However, he didn¡¯t let it as he lifted his leg and stomped its head with full force.


    Squelch


    Then he charged at the second one and, with a single swing, decapitated it.


    "Haah¡­ Haah¡­Haah¡­" Illyan tried to catch his breath as he stared at the corpses of his enemies.


    ¡®I¡­ finally avenged you¡­¡¯


    But before he could rejoice, the being that they were standing on made another sound.


    "OOOOoooooorrrrgh!"


    "Ugh!"


    That made the already hurt Zers yelp in pain as he lay on the ground, while Illyan also squirmed in pain as the blood flowing from his ears stained his neck.


    The beasts, however, didn¡¯t have this problem. They seemed to be uncomfortable but not at the same level as Zers or even Illyan. Instead, the blood of Illyan, full of vitality, awakened their hunting instincts.


    Howl


    With ferocious expressions, they ran towards him, prepared to feast on his flesh. They didn¡¯t care that he already killed two of them. The only thing on their minds was to eat them.


    On the other hand, the leader of the monsters was also crawling on top of the back where everyone was. Seeing this, most of the wolf monsters showed reverence as they looked at it.


    Back then, when it was still ¡®alive,¡¯ Illyan was trying to make it suffer as much as possible from within its stomach. That made it incredibly weak, which made the other creatures ignore it and eventually even abandon it.


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    However, after its stomach was forcibly opened by the Thearas Clan Leader, it managed to survive. Not only that, but it reunited with its pack. It ate the ones who were unwelcoming or didn¡¯t want to be under its commands and managed to reach its former peak. No, it managed to go even beyond.


    That made those monsters more tame as they listened to it. But now, the same monster had the only thought in its mind¡­


    And that was to kill those humans!


    "K-illlll¡­!!"


    "Eee-at¡­!"


    They started to wail and lament as they stared at him.


    ¡®What should I do? I won¡¯t be able to fight them all, the more so when he had Zers to take care of.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was that at that moment Zers stood up, albeit with difficulty, and took some herbs out of his sack to chew on.


    "Heh, don¡¯t worry, Stone. People like us who can die easily have always prepared some medicines. We need to take care of those bastards, right? To avenge the members of our tribe..."


    It was true that Illyan completely forgot to feed him any type of medicine during this event. A fatal mistake of a physician. Illyan usually didn¡¯t have herbs on himself as they would impede his movement. He usually had them in his backpack. On the battlefield, he didn¡¯t need herbs, while others were healed by full-time physicians.


    But now he didn¡¯t even know where his things were. It didn¡¯t even pass his mind as there were too many things that happened in such a short period.


    It is most probable that either it was still on Zers¡¯ sled together with Yii or it fell into one of the fissures. Either way, the only things he had was his axe and jagged blade that was now stuck in the heart of that monster.


    "That is the Red Leaf Herb¡­ That will keep you standing only for a few minutes at best!"


    But Illyan knew that there were no convenient herbs that could heal everything. The most universal were those that would either upgrade your immune system or speed up your regeneration. But those still fell short in so many cases.


    That''s why Illyan didn¡¯t bother to carry herbs for every case around. It wasn¡¯t efficient.


    "Hehe, that¡¯s enough for us."


    But this herb was neither. It was also called Berserker¡¯s Kiss¡­ The herb had the trait of making the ones who eat it berserk, as its name suggests. What was most important was that it could, to some extent, help the user with its body functioning despite some of the parts failing.


    Thanks to this feature, Zers stood up and was prepared to fight despite the damaged inner ear.


    "Haah¡­ You are stubborn¡­ Let¡¯s go before that drug comes off." Illyan only rolled his eyes and charged at the monster that didn¡¯t wait for Zers to block its attacks.


    "It''s not a drug, hahah!" Zers laughed as he also went for the smaller ones with his long dagger.


    The fight itself was much more dangerous than before, as every small movement of the creature underneath them was the same as an earthquake for them. The creature seemed sluggish, as if it was sleeping under that ice, but once it would fully awaken, they would be completely swept away without an ability to do anything.


    They needed to get down as soon as possible. But running wasn''t an option. Those monsters could easily outrun them. Because of that, they had to get rid of them somehow.


    Thud


    The trembling of the enormous creature was visible to him as the bits of ice crumbled. However, once everything fell down, he finally saw more recognizable traits of this creature.


    The body part they were now standing on was the same as any other. It was just one segment of many others...


    The only difference in these segments was the uneven protrusions that looked like icebergs. It took him just one look to realize what this creature was. Kaoran told him about this mythical creature a lot.


    After all, his warrior title was named after it.


    "Frozen Worm?!"


    The massive creature, which should be at least one hundred meters long, lived in the far north, consuming ice and having the ability to survive almost any kind of injuries. That was the Frozen Worm.


    So many questions passed through his mind.


    Why was it here? Wasn¡¯t it just a myth? And why the heck was it so big? Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have time to ponder such things as he fought to the death with a wolf monster.


    The only positive aspect was that he had a much better time running around now, not standing on slippery ice and being able to maintain his balance better.


    His wounds once again piled up on his body as he fought for his life while Zers moved around, killing the smaller ones.


    Once Zers even sneaked up on the wolf monster that Illyan fought, albeit with failure.


    However, it was just a diversion, as he only wanted to draw the beast''s attention. When he made contact with Illyan, both of them nodded. The beast also wasn¡¯t stupid and learned its lesson as it expected Illyan¡¯s attack.


    But it didn¡¯t come. Instead, cries of agony spread across the body of the Frozen Worm as Illyan started to annihilate other monsters. Zers had only a dagger now and faced the same problem as Illyan. Furthermore, he was much weaker than Illyan, who was going all out, so he couldn¡¯t kill them all. The fact that he could fight for so long with them was already an achievement.


    This obviously angered the biggest one as it turned around and shot at Illyan with high speed. However, this time Illyan also learned a lesson.


    ¡°Agh!¡± He grabbed one of the beasts charging at him and lifted it in the direction of the bigger one!


    Before it could stop, the beast in Illyan¡¯s hands was torn apart as it wailed its last breath.


    Illyan used this opportunity to attack the beast right after.


    ¡®Bastard! I will leave this place alive while you return where you belong. To hell!¡¯


    With one swing, he aimed at its wide-open mouth. With a crack, he felt that the jaw broke, so he took the lower part with his free hand.


    ¡°You ugly son of the¡­¡±


    Squelch


    Pulling back, he tore off its entire lower jaw, with rotten blood overflowing from the wound.


    ¡°Urrrgh!¡±


    But, of course, that made the monster even more violent as it started to wave its hands around in hopes of turning him into a pulp.


    However, he dodged, crouched, and even deflected all of those attacks and retreated.


    Unfortunately, this made him breathless as he couldn¡¯t keep up and had to reunite with Zers.


    He quickly got closer to Zers to fight together while still looking warily at the monster. He knew that Zers¡¯ capability to fight would end soon, and there was no chance for them to beat it. In that case, they should¡­


    ¡°Stone, watch out!¡±


    ¡°Aaaaarrrrgh!...Wh-yyy¡­.?! Huuu-maaan!¡±


    Suddenly, the beast crouched and lunged at him with such speed that he couldn¡¯t react. It pierced his body with its antlers and lifted him up as it continued to charge. That was until it charged headfirst into one of the protrusions of the Frozen Worm.


    Boom


    Illyan, who crashed into it first, took the full brunt of it and groaned in pain.


    ¡°Agh¡­ Stone! Are you still alive¡­?!¡± The weak voice from his right made him look in that direction. There, Zers pressed on that protrusion and breathed with difficulty.


    He was lucky since the beast didn¡¯t aim at him, and it just grazed him. But his left hand was pierced through by one of the branches of those antlers, effectively pinning both him and Illyan on one of those protrusions as those antlers pierced through it too.


    Now they were trapped within the reach of the beast who wanted to kill them.


    And if that wasn¡¯t enough.


    ¡°OOOOOOoooorrrrrrrrrghhggh????!!! OOOOOOoooooooorrghh!!!¡±


    These protrusions that the Frozen Worm used to break down the icebergs it swam in between were the most difficult to recover parts of the Frozen Worm. That made them especially sensitive to any damage.


    And they definitely wouldn¡¯t like it.

 61 - Without Regrets

    ¡®Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!!!¡¯


    Illyan, whose chest was pierced in three sections, was cursing under his breath as the ¡®ground¡¯ under their legs started to tilt¡­


    Zers this time was completely knocked out after the Frozen Worm cried out again. On the other hand, Illyan tried to grab the antler which pinned him on the Frozen Worm and pull it out. Unfortunately, the pain in his arm made him notice something which made his face go pale.


    Looking at his palm, he saw tens of small red dots as if he was pierced several times there.


    ¡®The antlers have miniature barbs on them! Fuck!¡¯


    How long was it since Illyan felt so angry yet helpless as now? Because of those barbs, he now couldn¡¯t take it out!


    Not because it would tear his flesh! There was something worse¡­ The barbs were now stuck in the protrusion of the Frozen Worm. Not only would it be extremely hard for him to pull it out, but it would also stimulate the Frozen Worm and make it more and more aggressive¡­


    Swish


    And he was not even talking about the wolf monster that got stuck because of its antlers as it still used its claws to attack him. He was utterly helpless in whatever he wanted to do¡­


    The only rescue right now was that the turn of the Frozen Worm caused some of the Wolf monsters to fall off the edge while the wolf monster in front of him had to take the brunt of the worm turning around while it was still hanging on the protrusion with its antlers. That made it hang from the overturning Frozen Worm with the antlers being the only body part that was holding it. The pressure on its neck was immense as it had to use its claws to hold onto whatever it reached for so that its head wouldn¡¯t come off from twisting too much.


    The cold breath was spreading from its body and Illyan¡¯s wounds started to freeze. It was only thanks to his great resistance that he was able to shake it off and repeatedly attack the monster with his axe. However, as he couldn¡¯t put his entire body into these swings they were almost negligible.


    ¡®What should I do now? At this point, the Frozen Worm will take us down underneath¡­¡¯


    Frozen Worms had two ways of attacking. One was extreme freezing breath that could rival even some weaker ice dragons, and the second was a body slam with its massive body. As they were worms even though they grew exponentially and had power that most creatures would envy, it still had the intelligence of a mere worm.


    The only way of releasing the coldness it ate all day was to spit it out through its gigantic mouth that could even stretch twice as wide as the widest segment of its body.


    But this kind of full-powered attack is hard to use on something that is on its body where it could hurt itself by using it or it could simply not reach that part because of the limits of its biological body.


    Because of that, the best way it had to shake off such pests was to go swim right against the icebergs or in this case in the frozen sea using its protrusion to tank all the ice in the way. Most of the creatures that were holding onto the Frozen Worm this way would die.


    And Illyan and Zers would be one of those if he wouldn¡¯t do something. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have any idea what to do. When his warrior¡¯s body failed him his mind wandered to the arts of shamans looking for an idea. However, his prowess in this specialization was too weak.


    He couldn¡¯t even use the [Elemental Dance] he learned to fight against the Wolf Monster let alone against something like Frozen Worm. As it took time to accumulate the Spiritual Energy with the help of the martial dance he couldn¡¯t use it in such a quick and erratic fight.


    Because of that, he could depend only on his instincts, battle-awareness, and his regeneration.


    At one point Illyan suddenly felt weightlessness that made him wonder what was happening. But one glance at the head of the worm in the distance which was directed down he realized what was happening soon enough¡­


    The weightlessness took only a second before extreme pressure crushed upon them as his wounds got aggravated. The worm started to descend with unprecedented speed as its massive body parted the clouds in the sky.


    ¡®If I can¡¯t destroy the protrusions then I have to destroy the antlers of this monster.¡¯


    ¡°Hiii- Hu-maan!¡±


    But the monster also didn¡¯t seem to want to give up as it was swinging its claws at him with bloodthirst.


    As the antlers were quite long the swipes of those attacks could only graze him but it didn¡¯t change the fact that it quite impeded him. Having no other choice he had to withstand this while waiting for the best opportunity before swinging his axe right at the antler that was holding his body. Unfortunately, the outcome was undesirable and made Illyan feel despair.


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    Clank Cink


    As he watched the part of the edge that had been chipped off the axe made him feel numb.


    There was no way he could get out of this situation in such a short time.


    But time was now the only thing he didn¡¯t have.


    He wanted to bellow at the sky and ask the heavens why it was him who had to go through this. The emotions that have been bottled up in him ever since he felt the unfairness of life when he was but a small child. It felt as if he had a big dumpling in his throat.


    He felt so suffocated at this moment.


    Why did he have to fall here together with this disgusting thing that killed his family while waiting to be crushed.


    ¡®Not to mention you¡­¡¯


    Then he turned his head to the right and looked at the unconscious Zers.


    The only person he could say from the bottom of his heart was his friend. Yet now, his fate seemed to be sealed because of¡­


    ¡®Me¡­¡¯


    Illyan knew that lamenting won¡¯t solve anything but as his mind was chaotic something caught his attention.


    ¡®Why? Why is there so much misfortune around me? Is it because of me? Or are there other external reasons?¡¯


    He felt it. It was distant but there was a feeling, the sensation he felt.


    At that moment, his eyes brightened with a golden hue as he saw the fragment of the ¡®truth¡¯.


    ¡®Someone¡­ Or something¡­¡¯


    Ever since he was small he felt that his life was normal. That he was a normal person with one small gift. But was it really so? His gift was something that grew ever since he was small to the point that even he couldn¡¯t even start to guess what kind of gruesome attack would it take for him to succumb to injuries.


    His blood seemed to be delectable to any animal that was intelligent enough to realize the difference.


    If that was the case¡­ Wouldn¡¯t even the village incident be his fault?


    ¡®No¡­ If that was the case they would find me sooner. It was only after I was bitten by those smaller ones that this one probably smelled the blood¡­ That means that my brothers¡¯ death was my fault¡­If I didn¡¯t¡­¡¯


    He shook his head. There were no IFs. And there was no guarantee that they would survive either.


    But there was one thing he knew for sure. His blood was precious. Very precious.


    But were the animals the only ones who were interested? Maybe if he didn¡¯t develop this ability¡­


    However, he has a hunch that there was something more behind the scenes than just this. Something that was the cause of his misfortune. At one point he believed that his misfortune was the result of the world balancing fate because of his strong ability.


    But no more.


    The moment of enlightening gave him the hint about this world¡¯s hostility. Or rather the ones pulling the strings. He didn¡¯t know what it was. Whether some gods, ghosts or demons. Or why won¡¯t they come themselves. But he knew he wasn¡¯t welcomed in this world.


    And that everyone around him will suffer.


    This knowledge hammered into his heart as he fell into deep thoughts.


    The winter wind was blowing against his face, biting his skin and the sun was covered by the body of the gigantic beast. Every Wolf Monster who managed to keep themselves holding on the surface of the Frozen Worm already fell or was crushed under the friction of air and the descending beast.


    Everything turned chaotic. Only Illyan¡¯s mind turned serene as all the noise turned silent.


    ¡®In the end, my gift is really just a curse...¡¯


    He always wondered whether this ability was something to be grateful for or something he should hate with passion. It brought him such enormous advantage in this world that kept him alive for many years and was his only reason for him surviving to this day.


    But the opposite was true too. If not for this ability, he would never suffer like this. If he was eaten back then and dissolved in a matter of seconds then wouldn¡¯t he have his peace already? Not to mention that he just now made a guess that much of his suffering was some sort of scheme. Be it Goddess of Misfortune not liking him or some mortal lusting after his gift.


    But even though such thoughts were crossing his mind he never crumbled under the pressure. He always strived for the chance of a better life.


    ¡®You shouldn¡¯t shun your own ability. Instead, turn it into your biggest advantage, make it the extension of your limbs. Since you were born with such a gift then it would be a waste to not use it to its fullest potential, wouldn¡¯t it? Hohoho~¡¯ The face of an elderly man showed up in his mind laughing as he was puffing his pipe.


    ¡®Do you sense it? The clear air after pushing your body to the very limit. Your mind is as clear as water in the lake. The union of the mind and body. That is what I think bliss is. If there is a small flaw everything will fall down as the snow statues. While both your body and mind are full of potential you are just a mess at this very moment. Learning to love yourself and life itself is the key. Or at least that''s what records say. Whahahahah~!¡¯ The boisterous laugh of the bear-like man lying in the snow while his body was covered in sweat appeared in his mind.


    ¡®Freedom. That¡¯s what you are craving for. Until you truly know what true freedom is then how could you give up and forsake your life? Dying full of regrets while lamenting this unfair world. Is that what you want?¡¯ This time a melodic voice resounded from a blurry figure in his mind. He couldn¡¯t discern what kind of voice or body it was but he could immediately tell who it was. It¡¯s just that she threw away her shell of a little girl who gave up on living.


    ¡®Freedom¡­ No regrets. Loving myself¡­ My biggest advantage¡­!¡¯


    Hearing this his eyes showed clarity just as they neared the surface level of the sea. Illyan knew that doing something at this time was futile. However, if he struggled for his life he should be able to survive this ride to the end.


    Unfortunately, this didn¡¯t apply to his sworn brother.


    And so with determination in his eyes, Illyan used his broken axe to make a nick in his right wrist and put it over the mouth of the unconscious man.


    He didn¡¯t know what it would do or even if it would do something but testing it won¡¯t hurt him.


    On the other hand, since his blood seems to be a great tonic for most beasts then there was a good chance that it would be beneficial for humans too. While there wasn¡¯t a threat to Zers¡¯ life he would probably be crippled for life with his inner ear destroyed.


    Not to mention that there was a need to survive the extensive bleeding that would come to be¡­


    He waited for them to be as close to the surface as possible. And that time soon came.


    Brandishing his half-broken ax he looked at his only friend and made a small smile.


    ¡°Sorry buddy but this will come as a big shock to you once you wake up!¡±


    After saying that, he put his entire strength into his swing and severed Zers¡¯ arm that was impaled on the protrusion.


    Once he did this Zers¡¯ body started to fall on its own but before it could fly off somewhere Illyan put his entire strength to the point of bursting his muscles to throw him upwards to the side where the surface of the frozen sea still wasn¡¯t broken.


    ¡°Live, you fool.¡±


    And with that darkness swallowed Illyan as he dived deep into the frozen ocean together with two other beings¡­

 62 - Relevation

    Illyan''s mind was hazy as the unrelenting feeling of being crushed made him wish for death. He couldn''t feel any of his limbs or any other body part. The only reason he knew that he was still alive was the pain coursing through his body.


    His eyes were closed the entire time as the broken bits of ice were flying around at high speed, so he didn''t have an idea of how far and deep this worm had gotten. Nor did he know how much time had passed. His reality perception was distorted as he was focusing only on circulating the power of his gift throughout his body.


    That was one of the two reasons why he was still alive. Although bloodied to the point of bleeding out and with crushed bones to mere powder but still alive. The only relief he felt was that he managed to throw his friend upwards and save his life. Albeit with one hand less.


    The other reason, however, was quite ironic.


    Wooooo-rgh!


    The tangle of flesh and bones pressed upon him was wriggling while tanking most of the damage caused by Frozen Worm crashing every piece of ice it could see. The antlers were not only the cause of doom for him but also for the Wolf Beast that got stuck with its antlers in the Frozen Worm¡¯s protrusion.


    As Illyan had to endure all the pressure, the sharp shards of ice, the beast had to endure a hundred-fold more. At this very moment, there was already no similarity with wolves as it did in the past.


    Now, its flesh and bones were uncovered while it was staring at its prey with empty sockets for eyes on its skull. It was a beast no more.


    It was a monster. An undead monster.


    Illyan heard about the undead from a young age when his parents were still alive. He remembered the stories about not going out during the night and never desecrating a dead body that wasn¡¯t buried.


    The stories of the dead coming back to life to bring misery to the living.


    But was this really the same case?


    This beast was weird from the very beginning. Illyan didn¡¯t perceive it as much before as he didn¡¯t know that it seemed to be different from normal beasts but now he remembered¡­ The small details that made him wonder¡­


    In the first place, the fact that he was stuck in this monster¡¯s stomach for over three years was unthinkable. Not mentioning his gift, even the monster¡¯s body should react in some way to either digest him or throw him up.


    But what if its digestive system was defective from the very beginning?


    The more Illyan thought about it, the more he felt something was profoundly wrong.


    He covered his eyes with his hands and risked another injury to his eyes to look at it. If not now when it couldn¡¯t sweep its hands on him and needed to endure all of the destruction then when?


    However, despite all of that, it was still extremely difficult for him to focus. The Frozen Worm was swimming in the solid sea at an extreme speed, making not only ice but also air and water that was trapped in the ice in the form of water capsules constantly giving him a hard time to even breathe.


    Fortunately for him, he was used to not breathing for prolonged times, and his body would also be able to withstand it.


    Thanks to that, after a few minutes, he finally could open his eyes widely and focus on the beast that, albeit in a sorry state, was still looking at him with hatred in its eyes.


    He could almost feel the intangible feeling of its feelings. Yet the face it was making was completely the same as he remembered it from his past.


    But the way he perceived it back then was completely different. Back then he thought that it was an evil monster that was enjoying the suffering of humans as it delighted in eating human flesh.


    Nothing changed as he still thought so. But¡­


    The motive was completely different. While back then he thought of it as just a mindless beast full of evil, now he saw the emotions that were similar to that of humans.


    Hatred.


    Hatred that seemed to be full of insanity hidden by its creepy smile as it gazed at his kind.


    ¡®Stone. You must overcome this. It won¡¯t be able to hurt you. You grew while it regressed. It is a pitiful creature worthy of regret. Ending its life won¡¯t only give the release of yours but also its too.¡¯


    The words of Zephyr resurfaced in his mind. She told him this when he was facing the hallucinations of this monster during his trip to the Spirit World¡­


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    ¡®She knew?¡¯ This was the first thing that came to his mind when he finally remembered. In truth, he thought she said what she said to help him overcome his fears. But now when he thought about it, it seemed that she knew something was wrong. And since she was part of himself then it meant that his inner him knew it all along. However, it was hidden deep in his subconsciousness.


    In the end, this thought came to light in the form of Zephyr, his imaginary friend¡ªor what he should call her. Even the hallucination that he had was probably influenced by her thinking, as the Wolf monster was already rotting in that image.


    But still¡­ That didn¡¯t explain anything. Why was it like this, and what was this creature truly?


    Illyan always thought of it as the ''Wolf Monster'' for the sake of simplicity, but it was obviously far from normal wolves. Only its look resembled wolves, albeit distantly. But now, only bones and rotten flesh remained, making it look horrendously dissimilar to any other ''living'' creature.


    Another difference he noticed during this reunion was its ability to talk. Even if the complex emotions this monster held were easily missed by his younger self, this significant detail was impossible to ignore.


    That made him wonder if it was some kind of evolution that Kaoran once talked about. He said that there were circulating legends about non sentient creatures getting enlightened and gaining intellect equal or even superior to other sentient beings, such as humans.


    But Illyan didn¡¯t think that this was the case. On the contrary, it felt like the Wolf Monster was devolving despite the increase in its strength and ability to control coldness to some extent.


    Looking at its wild yet sorrowful visage as it shuddered from all the pain, he felt conflicted. However, despite knowing all of this, he couldn¡¯t forgive it. He didn¡¯t want to either. That it had some unbearable problems didn¡¯t matter to him, as it had literally killed his entire village, together with the others that were probably dead already.


    Still, the look of anger and hunger, as its jawless maw spewed saliva in hopes of tasting his flesh, made him pity it a bit.


    ¡°Arrrgh!¡±


    Its muffled roars resounded as it tried to claw him. But it was not successful, which frustrated it to no end.


    ¡°Wh¨Cyyy?! Huu¨Cmaaans! Why did yooo-uuu dooo th¡ªaaaat to meee¡ª?!¡±


    It once again started to speak. Illyan didn¡¯t understand how it did it as it missed most of its jaw, not to mention that he was aware that the structure of most animals disallowed as good pronunciation of words as that of humans.


    ¡°Flesh! Flesh! Flee¡ªsh! Hu¨Cman Fleesh! Wh-y?! Why do I?! N¨Ceeed it¡­¡±


    Its incoherent mumbling was chilling to hear, as Illyan didn¡¯t have any other chance. Even the destruction and the speed of their movement didn¡¯t stop him from hearing its lamentations.


    Its voice that at first reminded him of an old man then turned more feminine and younger sounding as it was lamenting. In this way, its voice started to change from one voice to another. This made Illyan realize that it wasn¡¯t exactly its voice. It was imitating a human voice.


    It was as if it was some kind of curse¡­


    ¡®Curse?¡¯


    Since he never thought deeply about it, he missed many little details.


    And this thought process made him remember.


    ¡®Didn¡¯t that image of this monster in my hallucination show that it had some kind of black rods impaled in it?¡¯


    He focused his eyes even more at the body of the monster and then widened his eyes in disbelief. There were still bits of skin and fur covering its body in some places, but when he focused more, he noticed that many parts of its bodies were forcibly held together by the same black rods¡­


    It was no wonder that this walking corpse still didn¡¯t decompose itself to the point of collapsing.


    At this moment, Illyan was very sure that this wasn¡¯t the work of this monster.


    This monster was a victim. And he could deduce from the beast¡¯s unending hatred for him, no, for humanity he could only guess¡­


    That this monster was the result of human work.


    This deduction made Illyan feel the chill up his spine.


    He knew the cruelty of humans, as there were many who bullied him when he was younger. But his outlook changed when he lived through the real cruelty when his village was destroyed by those monsters. That made him loathe them and fear them at the same time.


    He thought that only a beast that can¡¯t feel empathy could be so cruel.


    Of course, as time passed, he got to know even more cruel humans, such as the ones from the Blood Crow Alliance.


    But they were just mad men following the teachings of another ¡®monster¡¯.


    But this¡­


    He didn¡¯t know how or why.


    But he felt sick. He felt indignant. He felt angry.


    The thought that all his suffering came from the hands of humans¡­ Who probably didn¡¯t even plan the attack on the village¡­


    It was just an insignificant incident that took the lives of insignificant people.


    His wounds started to tighten around the antlers as his anger fueled his regeneration, but he didn¡¯t care.


    Instead, he looked at the beast that should have been his last target of revenge so he could feel the peace of mind.


    Unfortunately, he hardly knew that it would be his first target instead.


    ¡°WHO?! Who did this to you?! And why? Who are you?!¡± And so he screamed with so much power that his vocal cords got damaged. However, in his rage, they soon regenerated again, and the physical pain meant nothing to him at this moment. The mental anguish that was filling his mind right now was the thing that truly wounded him.


    Looking at the disgusting creature that changed over the years from beastly to horrifying outlook, he couldn¡¯t help but think that he wanted to die from all of this intake of information. He thought that his mind was strong after all of the things that happened. But that was not the truth. He was still the sensitive little boy that he was once. And this knowledge destroyed him and his heart.


    However¡­ He still didn¡¯t forget. This was just a temporary feeling. He still had many things to do in his life.


    And right now, a new task appeared on his list.


    ¡°Tell me who!¡± He stared dead into the eyes of that monster, his eyes devoid of any negative emotions towards it. Only wrath remained. So much that even the beast¡¯s hatred waned for a second. But that was really only for a second. The beast could speak right now, but that didn¡¯t mean it was more intelligent. In truth, it was long gone.


    ¡°Ah¨CAhg¨CHu¨Cmaans--Taaa¡ªbooo¡­.Ea¨Cting Fle¡ªsh! Hu¨Cman! Eat! Corppp-ssees¡­¡±


    It was hardly understandable, but the key words that it uttered weren¡¯t missed by Illyan.


    ¡®Taboo? Taboo concerning humans? Or eating? Is it corpses eating humans or¡­ Humans eating corpses? But which ones? That of hum-?!¡¯


    Then it finally dawned upon him.


    ¡°Aaaargh?! Huuu-maans¡­. Eeexp¨Ceeerimeeent.¡±


    The beast was still groaning as it was talking while its empty eyes were gleaming with desire when it talked while also sounding so sad.


    ¡°Prooject¡­ WENDIGO¡­¡±

 63 - The Eternal Slumber

    Cannibalism.


    Something that was very common in the world, as many animals practiced this activity. Some did it for mating rituals, some fed the flesh of their mates to their progeny, while others ate each other for the cruel hope of survival.


    Yes, nothing uncommon.


    But that only applied when it came to non-sentient beings.


    Once any kind of creature managed to enlighten themselves or was born enlightened, they would instinctively avoid eating their kind. Whoever ever tried and was found out became an outcast.


    This became an unwritten rule. Subsequently, it became a society law. Then it became the world¡¯s law.


    Thereafter, the taboo of cannibalism came into being.


    There were some naturally malevolent beings that did not care or fear this taboo, but for the majority, it was something to be careful of.


    Of course, there would always be some exceptions.


    People¡¯s will to survive was many times much stronger than a sense of morality. Their instincts of self-preservation would consume their minds. And that¡¯s when it would happen.


    When their mind was completely gone, there was a chance that they would turn.


    They would become evil spirits.


    Spirits with many abilities. They lurked in snowy mountains trying to lure unsuspecting victims with their ability to imitate voices or even bear the ability to shapeshift. They induced fear in their prey and never stopped the pursuit of the ones they marked as their target.


    They came in many forms. Sometimes they kept the form they had before turning or lost all their hair as their limbs grew to disproportionate sizes. Other times they grew into beastly monsters with antlers. What didn¡¯t change was that as time passed, their bodies became more and more rotten, and their eternal hunger for more flesh of their kind would never cease. That was their fate for violating taboo.


    This was Wendigo. Evil spirit of winter, famines, and cannibalism.


    ¡­¡­..


    Illyan had a look of realization on his face. Although he didn¡¯t remember that much, he still had the recollection of some stories that he listened to when he was small. The story was recounted by Granny Meddie once when they talked about the lack of food in their village and the impending famine.


    He remembered that she didn¡¯t like to talk about these kinds of things to him as he was just a child but forced herself to do so in order to discourage him from trying anything stupid.


    Later on, he completely forgot about it. Only his principle of not eating humans was engraved deeply in his bones.


    Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t sure if he could say that he was innocent. Back then, in order to survive, he ate anything that the monster itself swallowed into its stomach. He didn¡¯t remember, as those days were blurry, but who knows if he tasted some forbidden flesh.


    Just thinking about the fact that he could turn into the thing he swore to kill made him sick.


    However, when he remembered the fact that this creature was in some way tampered with by humans or maybe other humanoid races similar to humans, it made him feel even worse. If before it was just his guess based on the state of this wendigo, then now he was completely sure after its confession.


    Just thinking about it made his head spin.


    Why would they do that?


    Why would they send packs of wendigos to the northern villages? Those villages were completely barren and didn¡¯t have anything worth. He didn¡¯t have any idea what was in their head when this happened.


    Or were their lives so insignificant to them that they were considered just mere collateral damage.


    The more he thought about it, the more he was mad. Illyan wasn''t a justice-seeking man. No, he saw himself as quite selfish. He wouldn¡¯t seek out evil people for something intangible as ¡®justice¡¯. But this was different. This was not about justice. When he saw the hatred-ridden eyes of the wendigo in front of him and then remembered his brothers¡¯ screams. He closed his eyes.


    His heart was beating painfully as the thoughts inside his mind got more violent. The urge to kill was almost unbearable. He gritted his teeth so hard that some of them cracked, and blood started to flow inside his mouth. It was hard to calm down as Illyan was used to being able to control his emotions quite well.


    However, after years he would need to be stupid to not realize it.


    He had extreme anger issues.


    Not the ones that the alcoholic losers had as they beat their women for no reason since they were simply short-tempered. He saw one of the villagers be like that and he was completely disgusted.


    But his anger came more from within the soul. He was like a ¡®calm before the storm¡¯. Always gentle and indifferent, not caring for any insult or even offenses against him, patiently waiting for the best opportunity to strike back. He almost never let himself be controlled by emotions.


    But sometimes when something really bad happened, his mind just wanted to see the world burn. To see those he hated to suffer as they cried tears of blood while regretting even thinking about making a move against him.


    He definitely wouldn¡¯t let this slide. He promised this to himself back then and now when he finally found a new clue that there were other culprits, there was no chance he would just let it go.


    No.


    ¡°Is there anything else you want to say about them as your last words?¡± He turned his attention back to the wendigo that was still mumbling. Unfortunately, nothing from it made sense, and it could not help him.


    Instead, it seemed that its antlers started to pierce deeper into the protrusion as time passed from all the pressure built on its body. That made the Frozen Worm even crazier as it was writhing everywhere.


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    It made Illyan sick when they changed directions so many times or when he got upside down.


    On the other hand, wendigo only lamented as its claws that got closer to him thanks to the shift of the antlers could almost touch him.


    ¡°Huu-maans¡­Haaa¨Ctee!¡± It was repeating a few words showing its hate. Illyan didn¡¯t know when it got the ability to speak, but he was glad that it couldn¡¯t speak that way when he met it for the first time as such a thing would make the incident even more harrowing to him.


    That made him think that it changed over the years a lot. Its abilities grew while its flesh rotted. He didn¡¯t know how much of these changes were the result of those experiments that were done on them or the results of their natural abilities. The only thing he noticed so far were the black rods that were almost unnoticeable at first glance.


    However, with Illyan¡¯s eyesight once he noticed them he inspected them carefully to realize he couldn¡¯t recognize the material. Not only that, he also felt that there were some symbols on it and it was pulsating in some rhythm. Another thing he noticed was that each pulsation resulted in twitching of the wendigo¡¯s remaining muscles.


    It hurt it a lot.


    He looked into its malformed face that already lost most of its rationality except its hunting instincts. Just because he found out the real culprit didn¡¯t mean that his hate for this creature lessened even a bit. He understood its plight but that didn¡¯t exempt it from his revenge.


    His eyes shone with the blood-red color as his bloodthirst seemed to coalesce. He lifted the hand that still had the half-broken ax and cast his eyes at the bare heart. The jagged blade he threw at it before was still lodged there, slowly drawing its blood.


    Now that he knew its circumstances, he wasn¡¯t sure if going for the heart was a good idea anymore and if he should rather aim for its head.


    But then he thought more deeply about it. The blade itself blocked the blood that would flow out otherwise. That didn¡¯t mean that no blood was flowing, but it impeded it a lot. Considering that even after the entire battle, the monster still didn¡¯t bleed out, it either meant that it recovered a lot or there is simply too much of the blood inside its body. The former is impossible as its body literally rotted.


    Moreover, the most important reason why he considered the next attack to the heart was that the monster was visibly weaker after the prolonged fight.


    That means that the attacks worked.


    Of course, the barrage of Frozen Worm extremely helped.


    There was always fear of undeads, as normal attacks didn¡¯t work against them, but Illyan almost forgot that by definition Wendigo was an evil spirit that mutated from normal humans or animals. It was not undead and so it could be killed by normal methods.


    Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t mean that the monster was harmless now. On the contrary, it was now closer to him, ready to rip apart his body to taste his flesh. Its antlers were burying themselves deeper in the Frozen Worm¡¯s protrusion which made its claws extremely close to ripping him apart. At that time, Illyan won¡¯t have any way to defend himself. Because of the impaling, he couldn¡¯t muster his strength properly and he would be at the mercy of the beast.


    ¡°I have only one chance for this¡­¡± He looked at his ax and knew he would need to throw it as the jagged blade to reach the wendigo¡¯s heart. That also didn¡¯t seem to be the right way as there was only one chance that if missed will be probably his end. After all, trying to fight the wendigo with a broken ax in melee combat is still better than fighting barehanded.


    But it was the best shot he got.


    He prepared to throw the ax. But the same problem arose. He had problems with mustering strength and being able to properly swing it. But he didn¡¯t hesitate. Instead, he looked at his oldest enemy with painful nostalgia.


    ¡°Haah¡­ I guess it is time to end your suffering, wendigo, no, human.¡±


    And then he threw. His arm movement was so smooth that he felt like he managed to make the best throw in his life. It was at the moment when he felt the muscles in that arm tear that he realized what happened.


    The ax flew at an extreme speed but it still took some time to reach the wendigo. Not because they were far but because the wendigo¡¯s body was also moving at an extreme speed together with the body of the Frozen Worm.


    Fortunately, Illyan threw it in the moment when its arms were waving far from its chest, giving the flying axe a free pass to the inside of its rib cage. There, the slowly pumping heart that was dark and slimy was working its best to provide the body of the wendigo with blood.


    But now, it all came to an end.


    Slick!


    A big gash appeared on the heart as the ax continued on its way down the abyss with pieces of heart and blood. Not only that but the gash was so big that even the jagged blade loosened and fell into the abyss. The blood immediately burst out from the wounds, and the wendigo wailed in agony.


    It started to wriggle even more but it couldn¡¯t do much. It was losing strength at an even more rapid speed as it continued to be battered from behind.


    ¡­¡­..


    And so he waited and waited.


    Seconds.


    Minutes.


    Days.


    He didn¡¯t know when exactly the beast died. As its time on the mortal coil was going to end it couldn¡¯t even move properly and looked to be dead.


    Because of its rotten body parts, its vitality was very misleading. Illyan sighed in relief when he realized that he made the right choice. If he chose to fight in close combat, there was a big chance that he wasn¡¯t the one who would win.


    Even his gift has limits.


    His stamina was already drained, and his body lacked blood. Now after several days of not sleeping, eating, or even drinking, he was completely helpless.


    And so he could only rest for now. He didn¡¯t want to meaninglessly try to get off the Frozen Worm as he knew he had no strength.


    On the contrary, he was grateful that it finally stopped raging and also went to rest. Albeit its resting place was deep in the ocean where Illyan had no way to escape.


    The Frozen Worm also finally realized that its mindless bludgeoning through the ice didn¡¯t help it solve its issue. Then after the wendigo got weaker and stopped moving its antlers, it hurt only when the body of the wendigo clashed with icebergs. And that subsequently made its head and antlers bore deeper in the protrusion. And so the most logical thing the Frozen Worm did was to stop moving.


    But this allowed some peace to Illyan. He closed his eyes and started to relax.


    However, that didn¡¯t last too long. He felt the Cold Energy particles. So concentrated and pure. He wasn¡¯t in his right mind at the moment, and it was just now that he realized how cold it was here. Not to mention the pressure of the ocean as they were so deep.


    He was so numb that only through his spiritual perception, he finally awoke.


    ¡®I guess I could try to absorb it.¡¯ He was completely empty when it came to energy right now. So taking in this could very well help him in getting out of here.


    With closed eyes, he started to meditate, relaxing his body. Slowly but surely, his body started to be filled with the Cold Energy from the surroundings.


    And so he began to tread on his path to freedom.


    Or so he thought.


    ¡°I finally found you.¡±


    A booming voice resounded in his mind. It felt as if his soul trembled as all of his orifices started to bleed.


    Illyan opened his eyes in shock only to see two gigantic blue balls. In the middle of them were long slits that bore right into his eyes.


    ¡°The fact that you are trying to absorb both the lasting power of mine and the power of that pathetic bastard infuriates me to no end¡­ God of Truth? How laughable... He is only one of the parasites encroaching on this world¡­ I may have fallen but I will not go alone. Regret trying to absorb his disgusting power, you foolish mortal.¡±


    Illyan couldn¡¯t process anything as he was trying to endure the pain that was invading his mind. He wanted to ask what it was talking about but no words were coming out.


    But the moment when he saw the two balls distancing he froze.


    It was another beast. But this one was different. He felt it deep inside of his gut.


    It was enormous but not to the point of towering over the Frozen Worm. But the aura it gave off was incomparable. It was a gigantic lizard that had quite a long body. It also had long horns on its head, and its body was covered in sapphire scales that gave off a chilling feeling. Its body was seemingly translucent, almost dissipating but it didn¡¯t stop it from giving an oppressive feeling just from watching.


    Illyan didn¡¯t know what it was. Or maybe he knew but his mind just denied it.


    However, when it opened its mouth, the deep blue light started to converge inside of it; he couldn''t deny it anymore.


    ¡®A dragon.¡¯


    Only this thought passed in his mind as the chilling light exploded into a wide pillar coming for him.


    Boom


    ¡°OOooooonnnngh-?!¡±


    With the accompanying wailing of the Frozen Worm, Illyan¡¯s point of view got completely covered in piercing ice, seemingly falling into eternal slumber in the same way his archenemy did¡­


    END OF THE FIRST VOLUME - Northern Tribes

 64 - Change Of Mind

    VOLUME 2 - Chains of Society


    On one inconspicuous coast that seemed to be abandoned, it continued to be filled with ice shards. Those ice shards were created by the destruction of icebergs that were continuously flowing out of the sea and crashing on the underwater cliffs near the coast.


    The water torrents were coming from the northern part of the sea where the cold reached such extremity that the entire sea seemed to freeze. In recent years, it seems that the escalation of this freezing has slowed down, making some chunks of ice blocks collapse, but those were only on the Southern part of the sea.


    However, recently there was another small iceberg coming with waves to this barren coastline.


    The iceberg was crashing into many obstacles yet it didn¡¯t collapse. It only cracked a little. It felt as if it was a completely different type of ice.


    It didn¡¯t take long before it finally got flushed out from the sea on the shore. Surprisingly, it didn¡¯t start to melt despite the weather being above the freezing point and stayed the same.


    Time passed, and nothing changed on the coast. From time to time some animals passed here and tried to touch the ice but quickly gave up. No matter what weather, the iceberg still seemed to be unbreakable.


    Until¡­


    Crack


    After several days, months, or even years, the iceberg¡¯s crack started to widen. The sound it made startled the birds that were trying to find some food on the shore, and so they swiftly took off and left.


    The cold mist started to come out of the cracks, which looked both enigmatic and mysterious. However, it didn¡¯t take long before another thing started to rise from the iceberg. It seemed to be a hand, but it was too skinny and pale. It seemed to be the hand of a person who was not alive and died from freezing to death.


    That hand felt the surroundings by touching and then grabbed the edge of the crack.


    Crack


    The almost non-existent muscles started tightening as the force was created. This caused the big crack to widen even more.


    After that, the hand still didn¡¯t let go of the edge. Instead, it leveraged itself to get out of that iceberg.


    Exhale


    A small sigh was heard as the cold mist stirred up. A very thin body came out of the iceberg. It seemed to be that of a boy. He was naked, completely pale, while being so skinny that it seemed to be dangerous. What was the most prominent, though, was that he was missing his left arm up to his shoulder.


    With every movement, his hair, or rather what remained out of them, started to break and fall as if they were out of solid material.


    But the boy didn¡¯t care about all of that. When he finally got out of the iceberg and felt the morning sunshine on his skin, he almost moaned in delight. He didn¡¯t delay and jumped down from that iceberg.


    That was quite dangerous for someone with his state as the iceberg, albeit smaller than regular ones, was still over 10 meters in diameter. However, he didn¡¯t want to touch that chilling ice anymore.


    Thud


    Once he fell down on the ground he just spread his legs and arm and closed his arms as he enjoyed the sun¡¯s blessing. In truth, this was still far in the north where normal people would die in minutes if they were naked. However, the boy who managed to survive in an iceberg created by the ice breath of a dragon felt like he was sunbathing on the hottest day of the summer.


    Yes, the young man was Illyan. He didn¡¯t know how but he survived. Unfortunately, this survival once again showed him the cruelty of this world. With a heavy heart, his mind lost consciousness finally getting the deserved rest¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    At the last second before the breath hit him, Illyan used up the entire potential of his body and pulled on the antlers. Those finally loosened up and cracked under the pressure that he mustered up.


    ¡°Agh!¡±


    Even though he managed to do so he knew that he couldn¡¯t escape as his danger sense was ringing bells. But he saw the opportunity when he noticed the opened torso of the wendigo.


    With determination, he pulled on its dead body and put himself right in the opening of its chest using it as a shield.


    Immediately after, the ray of death arrived and completely froze over the entire area.


    While Illyan couldn¡¯t escape the fate of being frozen, he managed to avoid death. His decision to use the wendigo as a shield paid off, and together with his tenacious body, he managed to survive.


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    The same couldn¡¯t be said about the Frozen Worm, though. Albeit it thrived in cold places, it didn¡¯t change the ultimate difference between species. With an excruciating wail, its middle area got frozen completely penetrated by the chilling cold. Although the protrusions could withstand it, the soft flesh its body was made out of couldn¡¯t. This part froze over and then completely separated from its body effectively dividing the entire creature into three parts.


    Unfortunately, despite it being the creature Illyan inherited his warrior title, it didn¡¯t manage to survive such a barrage and died later on.


    However, Illyan survived. His body froze over but it didn¡¯t manage to completely penetrate him on cellular level. The body of the wendigo had a good affinity with winter so it had high resistance even after its death. Its antlers broke because they became more brittle after it lost its life, though.


    But he didn¡¯t care about all of that. Instead, he concentrated on how to survive. He hated himself for the fact that he almost died in such a sudden way. If he wasn¡¯t lucky, then he would be already part of the Frozen Sea.


    Even though he promised himself that he would be more careful, more cautious.


    Yet, he still was so unreasonably careless.


    Thanks to the wendigo¡¯s body and the protrusion of the Frozen worm, the ice formed a thick cocoon around him, completely sealing him inside. Of course, the ice pierced inside too but not so deep that Illyan couldn¡¯t move a little.


    And so he began to focus and also repent on his ways. Firstly, he thought about his basic needs. The ice around could hopefully be used as a source of water even if it was a doubtful method. However, the food problem was even worse. He looked around and saw only the rotten body of wendigo and¡­


    ¡®Zers¡­¡¯


    The Zers hand that was still pinned on the protrusion next to Illyan. He could only close his eyes. He wanted to take a deep breath but stopped himself. The place was sealed so there was no air coming in¡­


    However, this time he was much calmer than ever before. He lived through so much that he already felt that this was normal.


    And that he would survive¡­


    ¡­¡­.


    The curious crow was flying in circles on the shore and was staring at the carrion that lay there for some time. It was cautious as it recognized that it was the same species as the ones living in the forest and watched it for some time. Still, when it noticed that it didn¡¯t move or even give off a hint of warmth, it decided to take a taste of it.


    However, as soon as it got closer, the hand moved like lightning, and with a firm grasp, it killed the crow.


    CRA!?


    Illyan, who saw the food in his hand, smiled a little and started to get up slowly.


    He was so hungry that he wouldn¡¯t mind eating it raw, like how he once did during the chase with Triston. But he wanted a hot meal. A meal that not only would satiate him but also warm his soul.


    With his weakened body, he distanced himself from the iceberg and started to pick up firewood. After making a fire, he also started to pluck the feathers of the crow and prepared it for cooking.


    A few hours later, he already sat down and chomped on the delicious meat. He almost wanted to cry, but because of excessive dehydration, he couldn¡¯t muster even one tear.


    It didn¡¯t take long before he devoured the last bone of the crow before dozing off while looking at the fire he made. His body was still invaded by the Cold Energy from the Ice Breath, which caused his current situation. It was the first time when his regeneration couldn¡¯t keep up with the injury he got.


    Not only could his body not absorb the Cold Energy as last time, but instead, it caused his entire body to become weak and brittle.


    The worst thing about it was that he felt that he didn¡¯t survive thanks to his tenacity.


    No. When he saw that dragon talking about the so-called ¡®God of Truth,¡¯ it didn¡¯t take him long to connect it to the ball that he saw in the Spirit World at the bottom of Kenera Lake.


    According to its words they were enemies.


    However, it was obvious that ¡®God of Truth¡¯ was in no good state and was probably lying there for years. If that was the case then why would the dragon not finish him up if he was so strong?


    There were several reasons why it could be. It could be sealed in the sea, for example. But the most reasonable answer to this was¡­


    That it was dead. Or at least in the same state as ¡®God of Truth.¡¯


    As a former disciple of a shaman, he was aware that there were remnants of spirits of creatures that passed away. There were many reasons for such a thing to happen but there was one thing that could raise the rate of it happening. And that was either by strengthening the spirit manually or being naturally blessed in this line.


    The reason why he thought about this was because of its body being translucent. It felt as if the body of the dragon could dissipate at any second.


    Thinking about it Illyan felt gloomy and remembered the stages that Kaoran told him about years ago:


    Mortal, Novice, Apprentice, Expert, Elite, Adept, Exalt, Master, Grandmaster, Venerable, Saint, Paragon and Transcendent.


    He was at the bottom of the pyramid. So there were many predators that could hunt him down.


    The beings like him should hide and live in the shadows rather than live as extravagantly as he did to this point.


    His village was destroyed suddenly without a warning. Why couldn''t the same be done to him? What if a meteorite suddenly hit him?


    What if he entered a cave to sleep in and met a being at a transcendent stage?


    Knowing this, Illyan was more determined to get stronger. The freedom he wanted, it was now clearer. It wasn¡¯t only freedom of going wherever he wanted. It was freedom from luck and fate.


    What was the point of having a long lifespan if he died before the normal person of his age did?


    If even dragons and gods could die in this world, then some mortal with little stronger regeneration couldn¡¯t depend on it and expect his life to go smoother. He had to be better than that.


    Suddenly, he felt extreme gratitude to Granny Meddie and Kaoran who taught him the things that made him more than just an extremely durable person.


    He wouldn¡¯t disappoint them.


    He was told by Degres that he was born a warrior. And he felt it was true. It made him even proud. But¡­


    He never considered it at a deeper level. Did he want to be a warrior? Only because he was born for it?


    Of course, he didn¡¯t want to give up on the path itself but he didn¡¯t want it to be his identity.


    In truth, his regeneration didn¡¯t mean that he was good at fighting or should be a warrior. It just gave him a natural advantage on that path. But regeneration had a good effect in other areas too.


    What he wanted to focus on was his knowledge. To learn more. That was also one of the reasons why he accepted Kaoran¡¯s proposal. He wanted to develop his spiritual arts and learn about new professions out there.


    It may seem non-intuitive to learn something that he didn¡¯t necessarily have the talent in, but he was sure that his biggest advantage wasn¡¯t the regeneration itself.


    It was the long lifespan that would come with it. If Kaoran was right, then he had at least several hundred years before he should even consider his lifespan. By that time he should progress in whatever he wanted no matter what, right?

 65 - Towards The South

    "Now¡­ Where should I go?" Illyan murmured to himself. The first thought he had was to catch up with the tribe. It was an instinctive thought to recuperate in the place he considered home. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know where they were and how much time had passed.


    Not to mention that there was only Zers left if he managed to survive¡­


    Guilt passed through his eyes when he remembered Zers. He had to cut his hand off to save him. That wasn¡¯t so uncommon as many injuries were simply not treatable. The problem was what happened to the hand after.


    All sources of food within that ice cocoon were too bad for Illyan¡¯s mental health. At first, he hoped to get out of it before the need to eat, but the ice was reinforced with Cold Energy, and it was simply impossible.


    So, in the end, his eyes fell on the meat of the wendigo. Eating rotten, raw meat was nothing new to Illyan as he was doing exactly that in the stomach that was protruding from its torso years ago. However, eating the wendigo seemed to be even more wrong than that. He feared what side effects it could have.


    And so, after a while of hesitating, he turned to look at the hand that was still pinned there. Although cannibalism was taboo, it couldn¡¯t be worse than wendigo meat, right?


    In the first place, he wasn¡¯t sure if he even tasted human meat back in the years as he ate whatever the wendigo ate. And since he now knew it was wendigo¡­


    He just hoped that the journey to the north it took was not that fruitful and that it didn¡¯t meet any other human settlements after his village¡­


    In the end, he ate both. While the fear of turning into the thing he despised, it didn¡¯t override his instinct to live. Unfortunately, there was not much left out of the wendigo since its rotten body was losing flesh for some time and after the Frozen Worm¡¯s madness, half of the wendigo¡¯s body was smashed into paste that dissolved in the ocean.


    Normally, that would be enough for him but as his body was in a bad state, his regeneration drained the stamina at first, then his fat and muscles. In the end, his body was in an even worse state than now.


    So another drastic solution came to realization.


    He sighed when he looked at his left hand. Or rather, the lack of thereof.


    ¡®It should grow back if I train my ability to a newer level.¡¯ Illyan didn¡¯t do it without thinking about it. Thanks to his ability, he could afford this kind of risk as he was confident in his ability¡¯s potential.


    Even if it did not, then he would rather lose an arm than his life.


    After thinking about it, he turned towards the forest and without hesitation he entered. Just one crow didn¡¯t satiate him.


    Moreover, this forest was along the way he wanted to go.


    He already recognized it. By watching the sun¡¯s movement, the mountains in the distance, he already guessed that this was the west side of the Blood Crow Forest.


    And since he decided to go in the south, he just needed to pass this forest.


    He gave up on going after the Bakur Tribe. He toiled for so long to pay off his debts in order to travel the world only to return to the tribe at first separation?


    Not to mention¡­


    With slight fear he looked at the ice cocoon he stayed at.


    That dragon was staying in the ocean. What nerves would he need to have to return? He just hoped that others weren¡¯t targeted because of the Cold Energy in their bodies.


    Yes, he already guessed what happened. The Cold Energy has something to do with the dragon. Its dragon breath had the same aura not to mention that the dragon itself mentioned that he absorbed both its and the God of Truth¡¯s powers. He didn¡¯t know what relations Cold Energy had with the dragon but he was sure their power was from the same source. Maybe the dragon came from Cold Energy or vice versa.


    Although he doubted they were really on God''s level. If that was the case then even if they were dead just mere mortals should die in both incidents, right?


    But despite his doubts he would not trespass the sea. In no way. At least not the one in the north part of this continent.


    He didn¡¯t even know how much time had passed. It would be impossible to find Zers in a short time. Or at least his body if he didn¡¯t manage to survive¡­


    With a shake of his head, he turned around to enter the forest to find prey. He had a lot to recuperate, after all.


    But then, he remembered something.


    ¡®Almost forgot it. My only leads to those motherfuckers.¡¯


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    He turned around and returned to the ice cocoon. He wasn¡¯t thrilled at that but he deemed it necessary. And so he climbed back and jumped in the crack.


    After a few minutes, he took out several black rods with mysterious symbols on them. However, they were already dim and it didn¡¯t seem as powerful as before.


    ¡®Doesn¡¯t matter. I will research it so I can understand at least what they were trying to accomplish with it¡­¡¯


    There were exactly 24 one meter long rods under his armpit. It was obvious that the wendigo had many more of them inside of its body but these were only ones left after its life expired.


    With little difficulty in carrying those, he ran to the forest, this time for real, to hunt and kill¡­.


    ¡­¡­.


    Like a winter demon, he was sneaking into the snowy forest hiding from all life thriving in it. After almost starving himself, he was extremely weak. Not only that, his body was brittle because of the Cold Energy and missed his left arm.


    Since his clothes completely solidified and broke, he was also running there butt naked. The only positive thing was that it couldn¡¯t do anything to him. The coldness he was going through when he was inside the ice cocoon was way beyond the natural winter in the north.


    He actually felt warm as he stood barefooted on freshly fallen snow.


    ¡°Haah¡­¡±


    Illyan exhaled and focused all his senses. As the winter progressed, it wasn¡¯t only humans who suffered. Many animals and plants died too and so there was a lack of them in the entire northern peninsula. Fortunately, he had extensive knowledge about hunting and tracking thanks to Degres and Misty Bear who was once the leader of his team¡­


    When he remembered Degres his face turned somber. The cruelty of such sudden death was not targeted towards the one who died but to those who didn¡¯t. He saw it yet he couldn¡¯t do anything. He felt regret that he couldn¡¯t even let Degres say his last words.


    But he shook his head and stopped thinking about it that way. This was life.


    His eyes turned determined.


    ¡­¡­..


    In the next few days, the only thing he was doing was to hunt, hunt, and hunt.


    Since his body was in a precarious situation, he couldn¡¯t depend on his speed, strength, and regeneration but what he could use was his ability to merge with nature.


    It wasn¡¯t perfect, but at least he was much less noticeable than before. He learned by practicing the [Nature Breath Meditation]. This method allowed him to breathe in the ice cocoon just by making a small nick in the ice. That nick was extremely hard to do and it took him almost all his strength to create it. But it saved his life.


    Then, with the trait of meditation, he used the small hole to feel the air outside.


    In this way, he managed to not suffocate. Not to mention that he made great progress as he usually meditated at all times inside. Unfortunately, it blurred his perception of time¡­


    The unsuspecting animals he met along the way were swiftly killed by his long nails which were his only weapon at this moment. Then he skinned their fur and cooked their meal.


    He knew that after fasting for a long time, the normal body couldn¡¯t handle eating properly. Especially big portions of meat. Fortunately, this problem was just a small thing that even his debilitated body could handle. And so he ate.


    He actually ate so much that his weight was growing at a visible speed.


    After eating, he made the bones into a spear and the fur was used to cover his body. He also made a basic carrier for those rods with the rest of the furs.


    He couldn¡¯t sew it up as he didn¡¯t have anything to do it with but this was enough for now.


    But still, it was infuriating that he lost all his belongings. His treasured weapons were gone and broken. His tent was gone too.


    However, for Illyan, the most important things were all the scriptures!


    He lost all techniques that Kaoran gave him!


    That frustrated him the most.


    The only consolation was that he remembered most of it.


    ¡®Huh? How can I remember it so vividly? I didn¡¯t think about it ever since the monster flood. And that was minimally a year ago. And that is just my guess¡­ Even if my memory wasn¡¯t that bad, this is kind of extreme¡­¡¯


    For a moment, Illyan became confused. He just realized that he remembered almost every technique that Kaoran gave him. The rest were those he didn¡¯t bother to read as they were simply insignificant and were not interesting or were not possible for Illyan to perform as they were not suited for him so he just read the description before letting them be. Basically, he remembered every technique he read at least once.


    ¡®Did I ever have such a memory?¡¯


    Obviously not. He didn¡¯t even remember the faces of his parents anymore¡­


    Now that he thought about it¡­ His memories were so clear only from recent years.


    Older years were much more foggy as they always were. It also applied only for his sight since he was pretty sure he couldn¡¯t remember noises as nearly good.


    Sight. Eyes.


    ¡°Ah, I see.¡± He nodded to himself in realization. This was another perk of his mutated eyes.


    And now, he was really grateful for it. If not then this would be an even bigger loss to him.


    After thinking about it for a little while, he decided to arrange his memories properly once he stopped hunting and tried to find a solution for the problem his body had. He wouldn¡¯t expect for his ability to just miraculously heal him.


    While the eating amount of meat that was almost half of his current weight caused his body and the gift to work at a higher tempo it didn¡¯t help that much.


    ¡®Now then¡­ I need to orientate myself somehow¡­¡¯


    ¡­¡­.


    The sun was already setting off and the light in the forest rapidly waned. Because of this, Illyan decided to rest. After all, his body wasn¡¯t really happy that he was moving so rapidly after sitting for over a year or for how long he was inside of that iceberg.


    He only did it to fill himself.


    After climbing the tallest tree in the vicinity he looked at the stars in the sky.


    Thanks to his basic knowledge of Astrology, he could navigate himself even through the stars. There was one Star in the South that looked reddish and thus was called Bloody Star while in the west was one with a green hue called Windleaf Star.


    With those it was usually easy to know in which directions he should tread. It was also easier and more accurate than just looking at the sun.


    Since he already knew where to go, he decided to sit on one of the thick branches to rest for the day.


    ¡°So, do you already know where we want to go?¡± Suddenly, a voice resounded in his mind as he stared blankly into the forest. Sharp pain crossed his head as he kneaded his temples while grunting.


    However, he didn¡¯t panic. He was used to it. Especially after this event.


    ¡°Damn it¡­ Zephyr do you really need to talk to me if it is unnecessary? It hurts like hell.¡±


    Illyan who was used to the pain of the body was still not used to the pain of his mind that appeared recently whenever Zephyr appeared.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that your fault though? You are the one with an unstable mind because of not talking to anyone for so long. You are just talking to yourself, after all, dummy, hehehe~¡±


    Giggling was echoing in his mind as he rolled his eyes.


    ¡®How is that my fault?¡¯

 66 - Blood Feeding Technique

    "Hehe~" When he heard her giggle like that, he couldn¡¯t be angry anymore.


    After the time he spent there, his mental state worsened over time. He thought he was used to being alone, but after joining the tribe, there were not many days where he didn¡¯t talk to someone. So this change was a hard blow to his mentality.


    But it also showed him that he was still not prepared for what was to come. His body was still growing, but how long will it continue to do so? Kaoran theorized at one point his appearance would stop aging completely or extremely slow down as if frozen in time.


    In truth, he didn¡¯t know how much time passed inside and so it was possible that his body had already stopped aging¡­


    At that time, his heart would be drowned in loneliness. Now, he was mentally just an 18-year-old young man who still hasn''t experienced much.


    Unfortunately, damage was done from his younger ages so it was hard for him to adapt despite him meditating most of the time inside of that iceberg.


    The better focus he had during meditation, the faster the time flowed for him.


    But in the end, Zephyr emerged once again.


    She still appeared seldom but when she did she helped him to order his own thoughts and control his emotions. She was a great support in his situation and who knows if he could persevere without her ranting.


    ¡°So? Do you have any plans now that you have made the first step towards your freedom?¡± She asked again.


    At this, Illyan sighed and answered.


    ¡°Yeah. I plan to return to the kingdom I was born in. There, I will settle down in some town for a few years and get used to everything. And I will learn to read their letters so I can read the books. Then I want to travel further south but since I don¡¯t know much about that place, I am still not sure.¡±


    Varanas Kingdom.


    Place where his village was founded. He didn¡¯t know much about it despite living there for almost a decade. As commoners or even serfs, the villagers didn¡¯t have almost any knowledge about the outside world beyond a few neighboring villages.


    The only source of information he got was from Meddie who was from a different nation. Unfortunately, she also didn¡¯t tell him much as most of his efforts came into learning herbalism.


    And now, he didn¡¯t even remember the language properly. Just thinking about the initial struggles made his expression sour.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to live normally as you are now, though. You are too vulnerable. Wouldn¡¯t it be better for you to live here for a few years to recuperate?¡±


    Zephyr asked as she was floating around him. She didn¡¯t have any form. Instead, it was like a silvery breeze was swirling around him whispering him the deepest thought within his mind.


    ¡°I already have a solution for that.¡± Illyan answered curtly.


    ¡°Oh? Tell me.¡±


    Illyan closed his eyes and reviewed the content of the technique that he wanted to use. After a while, he explained.


    ¡°I want to use [Blood Feeding Technique] once I gain some weight.¡±


    Zephyr, who heard that, shook her head.


    ¡°It is not a very effective technique, isn¡¯t it? For what reason do you want to use it?¡±


    Illyan actually didn¡¯t plan to use the technique for its original purpose of nourishing the blood. That would be only a small bonus in this case. And that was only thanks to his regeneration ability. While he didn¡¯t want to completely depend on his gift, he also thought that it would be a waste to not exploit it to its fullest potential.


    To nourish blood, you had to sacrifice your flesh. Right now, he was too skinny so practicing it could be dangerous but once he regained a few kilograms he could use it. If his deduction was right then the Cold Energy trapped inside his body would also be step by step diluted and become part of his blood¡¯s nourishment. Not only that but this kind of change in the body was documented by Kaoran as [Burning The Flesh].


    Using the Firestorm herb as a medium you would heat up your body and in the end completely burn the flesh to nourish the blood. It didn¡¯t mean that his body would be literally on fire, but it should be extremely hot during the practice.


    This reminded Illyan of one story Kaoran told him.


    Kaoran explained that some people in the south were so rich yet so lazy that they could eat whatever they liked until the fat started to overflow from them. To Illyan, who lived in poverty and famine this sounded like a total fairytale. Or maybe as dystopia since one group of people was dying from hunger while the other had health problems from eating too much.


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    Of course, there were some exceptions. And that¡¯s where the similarity came from. People realized that fat was just stored energy for a long time already. However, most of the time only some forbidden techniques could utilize this energy in an efficient way. And most people wouldn¡¯t use those because of their self-preservation or society pressure. In the end, some less efficient techniques that came to be managed to convert the fat tissue into universal energy.


    The question was, where did the loss of efficiency come to be? And the answer was that most of the energy spread across the body in the form of heat! While one used the heat to sacrifice the flesh the other sacrificed the fat only to turn into energy and it was mostly heat energy on top of that.


    This made Illyan wonder if there was some deeper connection to heat, flesh, and fat causing this kind of reaction inside of the body.


    Unfortunately, he only heard some stories and didn''t know that much about the topic to ponder about it.


    Instead, he explained his reason to use [Blood Feeding Technique] to Zephyr but she seemed doubtful as if showing him that his subconsciousness was hesitant.


    ¡°And it will work?¡±


    ¡°Theoretically.¡±


    Illyan could only say so as he really didn¡¯t know. If it wouldn¡¯t work then he would need to make another plan. But it shouldn¡¯t take him long before trying out as he was in Blood Crow Forest where the Firestorm herb grew and try it out soon.


    After saying that, both of them went quiet as they watched the night forest that was full of noises as numerous creatures that lived only in the night finally came out. As he listened to the wildlife, his eyes slowly closed up as the lulling sounds brought him to sleep¡­


    ¡­¡­


    The next day, Illyan focused on searching for Firestorm Herb. As the name suggested, this herb¡¯s most distinguishing trait was its ability to raise its temperature. It was one of the most rare herbs that could be found on this peninsula but it was tightly hidden and protected by Blood Crow Alliance.


    The reason for its high temperature that was even influencing the close surroundings was to survive the harsh winters in the north. That was why Illyan believed that if he found another forest similar to this one somewhere where it was very cold he would eventually find some Firestorm herbs. But since he was already here, he would use the opportunity to collect some.


    But what fascinated him the most about those herbs was their ability to have a symbiotic relationship with other herbs and plants.


    Many herbs would die when the cold became unbearable. That¡¯s why the plants survived during the winter only thanks to their roots deep in the ground. But what if there was a place that was warm and humid during the winter? Of course, the plants would grow there happily!


    And this place was the place where Firestorm herb was growing, making it a small sanctuary for herbs in this cold weather. Illyan could only imagine how many of them would be there to collect.


    But because of this, the ¡®sanctuary¡¯ could be seen from long distances. How could it help Firestorm herb if it was exposed by all of those herbs and got collected too?


    The answer was that it wouldn¡¯t. Out of all herbs, Firestorm was one of the most inconspicuous plants out there. In the midst of all the herbs, it wouldn¡¯t be found unless a professional came.


    This was all that Illyan knew about the Firestorm herb but¡­


    Stab


    Gheee-?


    He didn¡¯t expect that this place would also be a sanctuary for the wild animals!


    But it made sense. Wild animals also needed warmth and plants to survive while the Firestorm herb also benefited. The more life that gathered here, the more clashes there would be. Even carnivorous animals needed warmth. And if the sanctuary was full of food then why wouldn¡¯t they use the opportunity too?


    Thanks to that, the sanctuary was balanced between life and death. Life in the form of herbs was used to camouflage the Firestorm herb while the dead bodies were used as nutrition for it.


    Truly, the most magnificent herb Illyan ever saw.


    After killing the big fox that was going to eat some of the herbs, he started to forage them all. It may look quite barbaric to take everything without letting even roots be, but since Illyan didn¡¯t plan to return here in the near future, he wanted to gather most herbs so he could then grow them by himself.


    After he took all visible herbs, he focused all his attention to look for the Firestorm herb. After a while, his mouth¡¯s edge culled up a while as he looked at the greeny-brown moss that blended into the ground.


    ¡°Who would think that such an amazing herb would look so plain?¡±


    However, he still didn¡¯t pick it up. Instead, he looked at the human skull on a stick that he ignored the entire time.


    Illyan was aware that sooner or later they would notice him and the prolonged fight would begin. However, he wasn¡¯t worried. He didn¡¯t have anything to lose anyway so he could get loose during the fights and could use guerrilla warfare strategy to mow them gradually.


    He took out the bone spear out of the fox and skinned it to make a bag for the herbs. Then, he made fire close to the sanctuary and started to roast the fox while he cleaned the herbs he collected from all dirt and pests that could be living on them.


    It was quite hard to do with one arm but he adapted quickly.


    After several hours, he ate as much as he could from the fox and cleaned everything up. He then put his focus on the Firestorm herb as he feared that he could damage it if he was careless. Fortunately, after several minutes of examining he finally collected it and then left the place.


    A few days later after Illyan left this place, several silhouettes closed in on the place Firestorm grew. However, when they got close enough to notice that all of the herbs were missing, their faces darkened.


    ¡°Go check the Holy Herb!¡± One of them barked out in an unknown language as the other two men ran to the sanctuary.


    As they knew where the herb was in the first place, just one look was enough to realize it was missing.


    ¡°The Holy Herb was stolen!¡±


    ¡°What?! Do you want to say that someone sinned to take the Holy Herb for himself?!¡±


    The man who seemed to be the leader out of three yelled in anger.


    When they noticed some tracks made by someone they raged.


    ¡°It should be either someone out of our Lord¡¯s Alliance or an outsider.¡± Leader judged. Normal animals wouldn¡¯t normally even glance at Firestorm. Not to mention how perfectly it was collected.


    ¡°We need to find the intruder or esteemed Shamans and Chiefs will be pissed.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Fortunately, we still have a chance to find him.¡± One of them found drops of blood on the ground that belonged to the fox that Illyan hunted down.


    ¡°Since we check on Holy Herbs every few days it means that it had to happen recently. So look for another tracks! We will catch that heretic that was audacious enough to go against our Lord!¡±


    ¡°For our Lord!¡±


    ¡°For our Lord!¡±


    Illyan, who was already far away, didn''t care whether they found his tracks or not. He didn¡¯t even waste his time hiding his tracks as he knew that this place was infested by those maniacs.


    If they wanted to come, then he was happy to accept them.


    After all, his revenge against them was far from complete¡­

 67 - Alleviating The Symptoms

    Since that day, all Illyan did was to forage herbs and hunt game to build stock for his journey. He also used them to replenish all kinds of nutrients for his body that he was deficient in. Every time he collected enough, he made a small basic oven in the pit he dug, filled with embers, and dried everything.


    While there was no immediate danger of it spoiling as the cold kept it edible, he still needed to make it smaller and lighter to carry more. Herbs also weren¡¯t exactly happy from being collected in a warm environment and then being plunged into harsh cold.


    After doing so several times in the span of weeks, he had a big bag of food, medicines, and seeds. If he wanted, he could travel to the south and leave this cursed place.


    ¡®Even though I don¡¯t know how long it would take¡­¡¯


    From what he knew from Kaoran, this forest was quite big.


    Not to mention, the approximate length of his stay in the wendigo¡¯s stomach was around three years, which meant it took that long to get from the south edge of the forest to the northern edge of the forest.


    ¡®Maybe they didn¡¯t just go straight and were wandering around for food?¡¯ This idea popped into his head but was immediately thrown away.


    ¡®No way those maniacs would allow it to rampage in their territory.¡¯


    Those guys would hunt them at all costs. But that created a question. How did the wendigos travel to Frozen Valas Tundra?


    ¡®Traveling through the west coastline? But that would be unfeasible. Not to mention that the village of Thearas Clan should be far more on the east side¡­ East¡­ Maybe the eastern mountains?¡¯


    Eastern mountains are a long range of mountains that come from the southernmost part of the Vanaras Kingdom up to Frozen Valas Tundra. However, the safety of coming through that path was questionable. The fact that the tribe would rather travel through the frozen sea rather than these mountains said a lot.


    Illyan was also aware that there were western mountains too that spanned across the entire Vanaras Kingdom from the left side. But they didn¡¯t continue further, making the left side of the Blood Crow Forest open. That¡¯s where Illyan landed a few weeks ago.


    And this all makes access to Vanaras Kingdom extremely hard, making it quite a poor nation.


    The only way to get into it was through this forest from the north or from the southern path that was also difficult to cross.


    ¡®Whatever, I need to stay in this forest to keep collecting Firestorm herbs, anyway. Without it, I won¡¯t be able to use the technique.¡¯


    While the technique could be later used without it, you would need to be skilled at controlling your body and using the technique at that point. Yet it would be skill inferior as to when you use the herb as a catalyst for the technique.


    Since he already had enough things, he chose to find some safe place to begin with the technique.


    Fortunately, this forest was perfect for hiding. The trees were not so tall as in the north and had many branches even at the bottom. Jumping through these would be difficult for normal people, but for someone who grew up climbing trees with Degres, this was paradise.


    Not to mention that the ground was not covered in too deep snow since it couldn¡¯t get through the crowns of the trees, which made it even easier for him to run around.


    It didn¡¯t take long before he found one tree that was splitting into three parts full of branches. He climbed on top, sat at the junction of those branches, and leaned on one of them while he hung his bag on another.


    ¡°Huuh.. I hope it is effective¡­¡± He really didn¡¯t want to look for another solution when this one was at hand.


    Then he took out the pill made out of the Firestorm herb. It was quite difficult to make without any proper tools, regardless of efficiency, he did the job. At first, he pondered whether to make a gel out of it to spread it on the skin, but he wasn¡¯t sure about its efficiency. The records about the technique that Kaoran gave him didn¡¯t say in what form they used the Firestorm herbs.


    But Illyan wasn¡¯t surprised. While the technique was protected, if it was to be used by the general people of the clans, it would still be vulnerable in front of other greedy tribes. However, collecting and making the herb usable was probably even more protected, as only a few people, mainly shamans, could make those. And without it, it was probably impossible to use the technique¡­


    Fortunately, Illyan didn¡¯t study for years for naught. While probably not as good and effective as the recipe of those shamans, he believed that it was good enough. He also used some tips that Kaoran wrote about it that helped immensely.


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    Before swallowing it, he started to meditate to clear his mind and after an hour, he started.


    Gulp


    Without hesitation, he swallowed the pill and waited with closed eyes.


    At the beginning, nothing changed.


    But after a few minutes, his stomach started rumbling and a hot feeling started to spread out. When he noticed this, he proceeded with rhythmic breathing. This caused the hot feeling to spread even faster.


    Soon, the hot feeling changed into a searing feeling, and the pain intensified tenfold in seconds.


    However, while the pain was becoming unbearable, there was no mistake that Illyan also felt extremely comfortable. The pain was nothing new for him and so he could ignore it.


    What he was excited about was that the piercing chill that was deep inside of his body was giving a feeling of thawing. He felt his heart pumping harder and quicker than ever before and felt every body organ heating up.


    At last, the muscle and fat tissues he managed to regain after weeks of hunting after his sea accident started to give a burning sensation as his skin started to redden.


    The broken hair that he had on his head also started to thaw as it became normal once again, and a large amount of sweat was pouring from his body trying to alleviate the heat only to evaporate.


    This stage was taking almost a day, but Illyan lost track of time as he focused only on his insides.


    The energy stored inside of his muscles and fat were being slowly but surely refined into a kind of flesh energy and then with the help of rhythmic breathing guided into his bloodstream.


    At first, it almost blocked the blood and made him collapse, but as time passed, his blood accepted it and later on fused with the energy. Unfortunately, there was a big loss of efficiency as the technique wasn¡¯t perfect and Illyan didn¡¯t have the right proficiency in it.


    But since his purpose wasn¡¯t ¡®feeding the blood,¡¯ he was pretty satisfied when he opened his eyes.


    ¡°Oof¡­ Ah, this is great. I feel like I can breathe much better than before¡­¡±


    Illyan murmured to himself as he stretched his limbs that were numb because of the lack of blood circulation.


    Not only could he breathe better, he also felt that the chill in his body was much milder than before and that his body was a little more flexible. He also felt that his stagnant regeneration now had much less of a burden on itself and worked a little faster. This made the stump on his left shoulder itch as the long-awaited regeneration of that part began. It didn¡¯t have the power to fully regrow it back, but it didn¡¯t have this power even at its peak. But the charm of his gift wasn¡¯t the present but the future, so he wasn¡¯t worried. Even if it didn¡¯t regrow in the end, so what? He survived in the end and that¡¯s what mattered the most.


    On the other hand, he didn¡¯t feel much difference in his strength, which was the main reason why this technique existed. But Illyan didn¡¯t mind that and instead wondered how his blood changed.


    He bit his finger on his and looked at his blood and then tasted it.


    ¡®Hmm¡­ I¡¯m not sure if I feel something. It may be just a delusion since the change is so small for now. Well¡­ I will check on it after every session. As for now¡­¡¯


    He looked down at his bare chest that had visible most of its bones as his chest cavity made him look like a dead man.


    ¡®Back to eating I guess.¡¯ He, of course, wouldn¡¯t touch the food he dried for so long and went to hunt other animals.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t plan to run off immediately. The rest after this physically demanding procedure was needed so he planned to take a nap. With his proficiency in meditation, he could effectively cut down the time needed to sleep a little, but now he didn¡¯t even think about that as he was too tired.


    But before that¡­


    ¡®I need to wash myself.¡¯


    His face showed disgust as he smelled the sweat on his body. It is not like he couldn¡¯t live without washing up, but he recently felt highly uncomfortable.


    At first, the wendigo¡¯s stomach where he was literally drowning in the gastric acid and rotten meat he felt he had the innate disgust towards many things like the smell of vomit and rot. But the most important thing was the feeling of being unclean. It was unbearable. Fortunately, he managed to overcome it to some degree only for it to reappear again.


    In what manner?


    It was very simple. After being closed in that place for so long he had to answer the call of nature and relieve himself. And that¡¯s where the problem began. Because of the closed-up space he had a very small amount of space to maneuver. Fortunately for him, the coldness made the smell mild inside, and in the end, it froze everything up.


    But the disgust remained. Especially since he had to eat once in a while to not starve to death, so he couldn¡¯t just stop.


    When he remembered those times he shuddered and quickly ran to find the nearest source of water, taking with himself only the bone spear.


    Splash


    After finding a small lake he jumped into it without care and started to scrub off his body. The extreme coldness was permeating his body again but for the sake of being clean, he didn¡¯t care one bit. After a while, he also touched his hair that was half of what it had been and noticed that they started to slowly regenerate.


    While long hair were in most situations bother he grew to like them as he wore them ever since he remembered.


    When he finally felt that he was devoid of sweat he relaxed and laid down on the surface of the water as he closed his eyes.


    He just laid down there and let his body float as he listened to the sounds of nature. It didn¡¯t take long before he fell asleep. But he wasn¡¯t worried about being drowned. If his body turned abruptly he would immediately wake up.


    And that wasn¡¯t the only thing that could wake him up.


    After several hours of deep sleep¡­


    Crack


    When he heard a distant sound his eyes suddenly opened up. He didn¡¯t waste time and swam directly to shore and took the spear he had prepared for these situations and listened.


    His eyes narrowed when he heard the rhythm of walking.


    ¡®Three men. They were quick to find me. Or more like I was unlucky. Now, what should I do with them?¡¯


    While his body was recovering, he was still far from his peak. Fighting head-on was not an option.


    Fortunately for Illyan, he had other ways to take care of them. This place was perfect for him to ambush them.


    ¡®Well then. It¡¯s time for revenge, I suppose. I was wondering whether I should just let it be and go to Vanaras Kingdom right away, but since it is like that, then I will take care of you guys¡­¡¯


    With that, he disappeared into the crowns of trees like a ghost, ready to reap some debts of blood¡­

 68 - Tracking Thearas Clan

    It took him no time to spot the three silhouettes navigating through the forest, attempting to find the already faded tracks.


    ¡®Hmm. So they tracked me down. From what point, I wonder. Probably from the place I collected the herbs. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they checked up on them once in a while since they are essential for their clans. Well, it doesn¡¯t really matter, I guess.¡¯


    With that, he quietly climbed the tree in front of them and waited for them to pass beneath.


    ¡°Those tracks are recent. The heretic is close!¡± One of them said in a low voice as the other two bared their teeth in ferocious smiles.


    ¡°He will pay! Before giving him to our loving Lord¡¯s hands, we will show him what it means to disrespect our Lord.¡±


    They spoke in low voices, trying to be sneaky in hopes of catching the perpetrator unprepared.


    Illyan didn¡¯t understand much of their language, but he felt the enmity they radiated, so he didn¡¯t hesitate at all.


    As they approached, he stretched his hand and with a swift and strong fling, he threw the bone spear like a javelin at the one he deemed the weakest of the bunch. Then he lunged down and swung himself on the branches to get closer to the other two.


    Before they realized what happened, one of them was already impaled. The other two were alarmed and tried to prepare themselves for another attack, but were too late as Illyan swung himself at them while kicking both in their chests with each of his legs.


    The attack alone didn¡¯t hurt them, but it stunned them as they retreated under the force of the kick.


    Once Illyan hit the ground with his legs, he swiped his long nails at the eyes of one of the aborigines.


    Slash


    ¡°Ahhh!?¡±


    Cries of agony resounded in the quiet forest as Illyan turned to the last one. That one had already taken out his femur club intending to attack him, but Illyan¡¯s quick kick to the side of his thigh slowed him for a second.


    After this, Illyan retreated and waited for him to attack first, looking at the man with a cold expression.


    ¡°Bastard!¡± The leader of this group was extremely angry and threw insults in his native language as he sprinted towards Illyan. But to his surprise, after a few steps, his leg missed a beat, and he started falling forward. It was at that moment when Illyan lunged at him once again.


    The leader panicked and wanted to swing his club, but his wrist was caught and twisted by Illyan, who subsequently hit the leader¡¯s chin, making him lose consciousness.


    But the fight still didn¡¯t end as Illyan had to dodge the frenzied attacks of the blinded aborigine who was yelling in pain and rage. Unfortunately for him, his attacks didn¡¯t reach Illyan, and instead, it was the leader who Illyan used as a shield who was pummeled.


    ¡°Eh?!¡±


    That pain obviously woke him up, but he was immediately knocked out by his own femur club that Illyan took away from him. Then he threw it at an unsuspecting aborigine.


    However, the aborigine also had some experience in fighting, and when he heard the movement of air, he blocked the femur. But the moment he did, he was attacked from the other side by Illyan, who moved like a ghost and put his hand on the aborigine¡¯s neck, and with one quick squeeze, he broke his neck.


    ¡°Phew¡­¡±


    It had been some time since he last fought against humans like this. He even missed it a little.


    After checking whether the person in his hand was really dead, he threw the body away as he went to check on the one who was impaled. That one was already lying in his own blood as the spear impaled his chest throughout, coming out of his back.


    Because of the bone being hollow, the bone spear didn¡¯t slow down the bleeding, and the man bled out within a minute. Seeing him like this made Illyan realize that while their technique makes them stronger than regular men, it also makes their bodies much more fragile and defenseless. If the man had some muscles on his chest, then he would have had a chance to survive the attack, which wasn¡¯t that strong.


    Of course, even then, he would die during the battle with Illyan.


    Checking the two weaker ones are as dead as they can be, Illyan turned his attention to the strongest one who just lost consciousness. Illyan needed him alive to surrogate him. He wanted to find out where the Thearas Clan was or whether it still existed.


    He knew that Thearas Clan had a main village in the northern part of the forest, but after the Bakur Tribe wrecked that place, they ran away into deeper parts of the forest.


    He didn¡¯t know how much time passed and in which state the clan currently was in. Or whether the people who almost burned him alive were still living. Time was the enemy of all.


    If Illyan wanted to find them, he couldn¡¯t just go in one direction hoping for them to be in his way.


    And so, he got closer to the leader and crouched in front of him. Illyan didn¡¯t have any ropes or something to tie the aborigine down, so he had to ensure he wouldn¡¯t move in a different way.


    He could just smash his limbs, but he didn¡¯t want to put up with the noise the man would cause.


    With slow movement, he took hold of his shoulder, channeled the little of spiritual energy he could muster up in his state and¡­


    Clack!


    Dislocated it.


    In this way, he dislocated all four limbs so that the guy couldn''t move even if he was awake.


    Usually, dislocation hurts extremely, but for someone like Illyan who was adept in the anatomy of the human body, doing it with minimal pain and discomfort was quite easy. Not to mention, this guy was hit quite violently. Dislocation was his smallest problem. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t seem that the wound on his head was so bad that he wouldn¡¯t wake up.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Knowing that the guy was immobile now, he ran towards his hideout where he had all his things.


    While the rest he had was shorter than he expected, it was still enough for him. In no time, he collected everything before leaving the place. Once he got back he saw that the man was still unconscious which made his mood better since his job would be easier.


    He took out several herbs out of his bag. Once he measured how much he would need of each, he forcibly opened the aborigine¡¯s mouth. While it wouldn¡¯t be as effective as if he properly boiled it in hot water, it didn¡¯t matter since the target was no one other than an aborigine who didn¡¯t know how to think for himself and was weak-minded.


    Once the aborigine¡¯s mouth was opened, he stuffed all those herbs in and then closed the mouth. After he made sure that the aborigine swallowed it all, he waited.


    The mix of herbs Illyan fed him was the simplified recipe for befuddlement of the mind. Several of those herbs were poisonous and with the right proportion made the mind and nerves weaker, which made it easier to interrogate the person. Only those , he couldn¡¯t just go in one direction hoping for them to be in his way.


    And so, he got closer to the leader and crouched in front of him. Illyan didn¡¯t have any ropes or something to tie the aborigine down, so he had to ensure he wouldn¡¯t move in a different way.


    He could just smash his limbs, but he didn¡¯t want to put up with the noise the man would cause.


    With slow movement, he took hold of his shoulder, channeled the little of spiritual energy he could muster up in his state and¡­


    Clack!


    Dislocated it.


    In this way, he dislocated all four limbs so that the guy couldn''t move even if he was awake.


    Usually, dislocation hurts extremely, but for someone like Illyan who was adept in the anatomy of the human body, doing it with minimal pain and discomfort was quite easy. Not to mention, this guy was hit quite violently. Dislocation was his smallest problem. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t seem that the wound on his head was so bad that he wouldn¡¯t wake up.


    Knowing that the guy was immobile now, he ran towards his hideout where he had all his things.


    While the rest he had was shorter than he expected, it was still enough for him. In no time, he collected everything before leaving the place. Once he got back he saw that the man was still unconscious which made his mood better since his job would be easier.


    He took out several herbs out of his bag. Once he measured how much he would need of each, he forcibly opened the aborigine¡¯s mouth. While it wouldn¡¯t be as effective as if he properly boiled it in hot water, it didn¡¯t matter since the target was no one other than an aborigine who didn¡¯t know how to think for himself and was weak-minded.


    Once the aborigine¡¯s mouth was opened, he stuffed all those herbs in and then closed the mouth. After he made sure that the aborigine swallowed it all, he waited.


    The mix of herbs Illyan fed him was the simplified recipe for befuddlement of the mind. Several of those herbs were poisonous and with the right proportion made the mind and nerves weaker, which made it easier to interrogate the person. Only those with strong wills and a healthy body would be able to avoid the muddled and confused state.


    And those aspects were exactly ones that these maniacal aborigines were lacking in. Their technique made them strong, but their bodies were weak and easily susceptible to poisons and diseases. On the other hand, they were brainwashed from their young ages to worship their Lord and even sacrifice their lives for him. They were not taught how to think for themselves or use their mind for something creative.


    Their minds were weak and immature.


    It was actually quite pitiful when Illyan thought about it like that.


    But the die was already thrown. He couldn¡¯t change their mindset. He didn¡¯t know how, and he didn¡¯t have the desire to do so either.


    Illyan waited another few minutes before the leader started to twitch a little, showing he will wake up soon¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    When he groggily opened his eyes, they were full of confusion. When he wanted to move, he found out that piercing pain was coursing throughout all of his limbs.


    ¡°What is this?¡± He muttered to himself as he stared in a daze.


    ¡°Hey, do you understand me?¡± Suddenly, he heard a voice from above. He lifted his head and made contact with blood-red eyes with hints of golden. Those eyes completely captivated him. The coldness swirling in them felt as if he wasn¡¯t looking at human, let alone that young. It felt as if he was staring at an unfeeling creature that sought to bring cruelty to the mortal world. They weren''t as vibrant as those of normal youths. Instead, they were dim as if the owner lived through countless vicissitudes. All of this made the leader more attentive to the words that were being said. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t understand.


    But at that moment¡­


    ¡°You. Where. Is. Thearas. Clan?¡± Suddenly, the voice of the being resounded. This time with the language that he knew. But its accent was heavy, and its speech was broken, which made it all the more scary.


    What is Thearas? And why does he need to know? Such questions didn¡¯t pass through his mind as he didn¡¯t have the capacity for that. Instead, he mustered as much mind power as he could to remember from his memories where this ¡®Thearas Clan¡¯ could be.


    ¡°Ah, ah, ah~?!¡± Then he remembered something. The leader who thought he would devote his life only to his Lord yielded to the man in front of him and tried to explain where Thearas Clan was. The moment he stopped talking, he wanted to look back at the eyes of the being, but only eternal darkness enveloped him as the sharp pain on his head reappeared¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    ¡®Fortunately, I learned a few words of their language. Else it would be difficult to do this. But¡­¡¯


    Illyan was quite displeased. While the guy gave him a rough idea of where the clan was, it was just that. Rough. There were many clans, and not even members of the alliance remembered them all, let alone their locations.


    The only reason why this guy remembered them was that years ago, they had to move an entire village deeper into the forest because of the heavy attack of the Bakur Tribe. That was the time when Illyan met Kaoran and Degres for the first time. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know how many years ago it was.


    ¡®It was so long ago¡­ Yet time flies really quickly at the same time.¡¯ Thinking about it like this made Illyan realize how time was deceitful. Perception of time was mysterious, as the passage of time that you lived through could be so long yet it could feel as just one winter. Or, on the other hand, it could be as short as one day, yet it could feel as if the time didn¡¯t flow at all.


    Right at this moment, it felt as if Illyan had an epiphany about how the mind and time worked.


    Once he came to himself, he threw away the femur club that he used to kill the leader and went to retrieve his bone spear. He pondered whether he should make a more elaborate weapon for the attack he planned but deemed it as a waste of time.


    Instead, he looked at those three bodies and groaned in annoyance. He couldn¡¯t just let those bodies rot here. There was a chance they would turn undead because of that. If they did and other aborigines found them, they would turn even crazier to find him. Making the bodies rest after killing someone was a courtesy that went beyond language barriers. However, he couldn¡¯t make a pyre for them either.


    Firstly, making a fire big enough to burn bodies in the forest was a very bad idea.


    And secondly, it would still bring attention.


    He could also purify them as it was part of the shaman doctrine, but that was too time-consuming considering they were not someone he should respect.


    Of course, if he wanted, he could just tear their limbs and throw them to the bottom of the lake, but he didn¡¯t feel that was something he wanted to do. After going through starvation almost his entire life, he never felt comfortable wasting anything that was edible or spoiling the source of water that tens or even hundreds of animals depended on.


    ¡°Even after death, they are unbearable¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­..


    Grrrr


    ¡°Don¡¯t whine. Here you have something to feed your cubs!¡±


    Thud


    Because he found the lake, he believed there would be at least one den full of starved carnivorous beasts that would gladly take the ¡®meat¡¯ in the vicinity. The water source was as important for the animals as it was for humans.


    And he was right. Soon, he found one den of some kind of animal he didn¡¯t recognize. It reminded him a little of the snowstorm sabretooth tiger, but it was definitely a local animal of this forest. There were two adults and at least a dozen cubs. All of them had visible ribs showing how they were devoid of food.


    However, even though they were starving and tired, they were still ferocious when they saw the intruder.


    Illyan didn¡¯t waste time and threw those three bodies at them and left immediately after. The beasts were at first confused and still waited for some kind of danger, but when they realized he wouldn''t be returning, they smelled the blood that was coming out of the bodies.


    Soon, the sounds of tearing flesh and the happy grunts of cubs were heard within the den¡­

 69 - Devil Has Come

    Since that day, several weeks had passed as Illyan moved in the direction that the aborigine had given him. Once in a while, he slowed down to replenish his nourishment, which his body was devoid of. It took him a while to replenish it, even with his regeneration, but just one day to lose it all. It was kind of frustrating.


    But at the same time, it was thrilling. After his third attempt, he felt significantly better. Not only that, but his regeneration was also slowly coming back. His left arm, which was missing, had already started to grow back, and it almost reached his elbow. It seemed that during his time in the ice cocoon, his ability gained a significant boost.


    Despite that, he still felt that his arm was much weaker than before, and it would probably take him several years to properly recover. But he wasn¡¯t impatient, as he had swiftly become accustomed to having only one arm.


    Instead, it was still the chill in his bones that was bothering him.


    Unfortunately, he usually performed the technique only every fortnight, as his body wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up otherwise. The aborigines probably had it even worse since they did not have his gift and could perform this technique only rarely.


    But this time, even though Illyan felt that he could once again do it, he didn¡¯t. He felt that he was close to his objective and didn¡¯t want to be in a weakened state.


    Moving like a shadow, he kept jumping from one tree to another without leaving any traces and listened to any sounds in his surroundings.


    The closer he got, the more aborigines he met along the way. But he didn¡¯t touch them. That would alarm them immediately. He tried to listen to their conversation to try to catch some information, but he didn¡¯t have much luck and didn¡¯t hear any words that he knew.


    The problem came with the bags and black rods he was carrying, as their existence made it easier for him to be discovered. And so, Illyan found one tree that was unique and started to dig a hole next to its root.


    He put everything inside and took only a small portion of dried meat since he couldn¡¯t hunt in this vicinity and one small pouch filled with unknown substances.


    Then he turned his head in the direction of the clan, and with a cold glint in his eyes, he once again disappeared from his place and hurried on his way.


    ......


    Thearas Clan¡¯s village was at the moment peaceful. Ever since they moved, they had to put all of their minds on recreating the entire village. Fortunately for them, they discovered a young Firestorm Herb that hadn¡¯t been taken by other clans. Thanks to that, they created the village around its sanctuary and made themselves its guardians.


    Even though there were more Firestorm Herbs than there were clans in the alliance, there were still many clans who weren¡¯t fit to be guardians. It was usually the strongest clans that occupied all those Firestorm Herbs. But since they were far apart from each other, they had to send sentries to look after them once in a while. However, they weren¡¯t worried since no animal would eat the Firestorm Herb instead of the ones surrounding it.


    Thearas Clan managed to recover after many years of hard work, but unfortunately, their clan suffered another misfortune.


    Many strong clans were not satisfied with how Thearas Clan managed to profit from the misfortune and even seize one of the sanctuaries. That was why they united to pressure Thearas Clan years ago to send reinforcements to Frozen Valas Tundra.


    Because of the turmoil in the far north, an enormous migration of tribes towards the south gave the Blood Crow Alliance the opportunity to collect a high amount of sacrifices.


    And Thearas Clan was chosen as one of the clans who would send its people to the tundra to hunt those tribesmen under the pretext of ¡®knowing the place the best¡¯.


    Because of that, many strong and young, together with their leader Triston, ventured to the north, while the weaker ones stayed in the village. Unfortunately, vultures rallied soon after and took advantage of their village.


    They couldn¡¯t steal the Firestorm Herb, as that was a sin towards their Lord, but they stole almost everything else. Not only that, but they also kidnapped several children who were young enough to be raised as part of different clans.


    During that time, Thearas Grand Shaman was wounded but survived. They expected a cruel revenge after their people returned, but reality was harsh.


    Their people and even their leader perished together with the entire group that ended up in Frozen Valas Tundra.


    This was a blow that brought Thearas Clan to their knees. Since that day, they didn¡¯t even dare to show their bitterness as they were recovering. After that, they were regularly raided by other villages with their children being kidnapped.


    However, Thearas Clan couldn¡¯t do anything.


    They could only choose the best candidate as a new leader, and the shaman also took a new disciple from a new batch of children that managed to avoid kidnapping. This disciple would replace him the moment he passed away.


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    Because of the trauma of his injury, the shaman got weaker over the years but still held on. Many members of their clan and even members of the entire alliance expected him to peacefully breathe his last during sleep.


    What they didn¡¯t know was that there was a shadow sneaking around the village for the last few days, waiting for the best opportunity to turn this peaceful place into that of a wasteland devoid of life¡­


    ......


    After Illyan buried all his stuff, it didn¡¯t take him long before he finally found the village. It wasn¡¯t hard because, as always, there were more human skulls impaled on pikes the closer he got to it.


    Unfortunately for him, despite finding his target, he couldn¡¯t just storm in and end this. While he already recovered some of his strength, he was still far weaker than at his peak. That would still allow him to take care of a few of the aborigines at the same time but not the entire village. That would be impossible even before.


    Not to mention, his arm was missing and his weapon was inferior. So Illyan had to make a plan. During the next few days, he got to the village; he only observed from the shadows and didn¡¯t touch anyone.


    The reason why he got so good at sneaking lately was thanks to his breakthrough in the ¡®Nature Breath Method¡¯ he used during the entire time inside of the iceberg. While still far from the realm where you could literally merge with nature itself that Kaoran told him about. Of course, Illyan took it with little salt. It was just theory and probably even Ancestor Bakur didn¡¯t reach higher levels of proficiency in this method.


    But Illyan¡¯s accomplishment was still enough for him to dilute his aura, which made it harder to feel his existence.


    He used this newfound ability to watch all members of the clan and assessed the danger. Be it the elderly, young adults, or children, he was observing them all with a cautious look.


    If possible, he didn¡¯t want to kill the youngest ones as he hoped they were still salvageable, but he had the foreboding that everything wouldn¡¯t go as smoothly¡­


    ......


    In this manner, he waited for the best opportunity. And he didn¡¯t have to wait for too long. One day, a few hunters brought two wolves, and others started to cheer. The sight was familiar to Illyan, who was once part of the same event.


    His eyes turned even colder when he remembered the pain he went through because of them.


    But he didn¡¯t let his emotions take over him, and in the moment when most people ran towards the altar where the sacrifice would happen, he went towards the place where their well was.


    It was normal for villages to be built near a source of water like a lake, but when it came to Guardian villages that were built around Firestorm Herbs, they had to dig a well to find the source of water underground.


    And that was the place that Illyan was looking for. Since the source of water was secondary in their case, they could only hope that there was either a lake or underground water near the sanctuary.


    Fortunately, Illyan didn¡¯t need to look for it at this moment since he already spotted it days before during his observation. Like a ghost, he walked within the shadows and was careful to not meet anyone, even if most people left for the altar already.


    Once he got to the well, which was decorated with bones, he took out the pouch he made and dumped its content into the well.


    Then he retreated and waited.


    ......


    This time there was no burning at stake since those were just normal wolves and not ¡®devil¡¯s spawn¡¯ like he was labeled. Instead, they slit their throats in front of the container and then put their dismembered body parts on the altar.


    There, he saw the shaman who was guiding some child through some rites. Just one look was enough to confirm it was the same man that put Illyan through so much suffering.


    However, Illyan was happy to see him. He didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, but since the guy still lived it meant it wasn¡¯t that much time. Not only that, but he was also itching to kill the man with his own hands¡­


    After that, the celebration began. Horrifying screams and laughter of people filled with madness permeated through the air as they danced or ate food. Some of them were even kneeling on the ground worshiping their lord as their knees started to bleed while others started to procreate on the ground in their birthday suit in front of everyone.


    It was a tangle of madness that deeply disturbed Illyan. He already saw something similar once, but his body was in a state of shock back then, and he didn¡¯t even consider the atmosphere.


    However, seeing this all now when he was an adult with a cool mind, he was disgusted beyond words.


    He was even more so when he saw the children proliferating in the crowd, making weird noises as they were stained with mud and probably some of their body liquids. He was also surprised that most children were at least one decade old. Illyan didn¡¯t know the reason why there was such a lack of children.


    But their age didn¡¯t correspond to their behavior. They were wild and seemed to have language problems, making them even more pitiful in Illyan¡¯s eyes.


    He was glad that the powder that he prepared before wasn¡¯t deadly but one that would only paralyze the muscles. He used that poison because of the jarring weakness of those aborigines. They sacrificed their own flesh, which included their muscles, for the sake of their blood, which makes their muscles more susceptible to this kind of poison.


    As for where he learned this from?


    He created it himself. Everything had two sides, and nothing was just black and white. Especially when it came to medicine.


    He learned the secrets of the body and learned the methods that could save lives. But the opposite was the truth too. The more he learned, the better he was at understanding how to harm the human body, be it in close combat or through some poisons.


    But he usually didn¡¯t use poisons as he didn¡¯t have a reason to. Until now.


    He was waiting for them to use the well so he could end them later on. He wasn¡¯t sure how long it would take for the poison to start working, but he was a little worried that some of the older ones who performed the ¡®Blood Feeding Technique¡¯ would take longer because of their blood and thus their bloodstream being different.


    Using something for the first time was always full of uncertainty, but everything was for the first time one day in the end.


    Fortunately, it seemed that Illyan was too worried as once the sun disappeared beyond the horizon, everyone was slowly losing strength in their bodies.


    After a long celebration, most of them were dehydrated and had to fill themselves with water.


    Then when they started to lose strength, they attributed it to fatigue since the celebration was intense and went to their huts to sleep.


    Only some of them were still up, acting as guards, but even those were swiftly losing their ability to move muscles.


    There were also some who didn¡¯t drink anything and were still strong, but they were in the minority.


    And so, it was no wonder when Illyan descended upon them with murder in mind, they couldn¡¯t muster up any resistance.


    While everyone else slept peacefully in their beds, Illyan assassinated every guard outside without a strain.


    ¡°Prepare yourself. The devil you feared so much has come to collect the debt of blood.¡±


    With winds taking his whispers away, Illyan was prepared to show them what the real devil was like.

 70 - Stained With Blood

    Cough Cough


    The old man had another coughing fit, spitting phlegm with blood on the ground. Once he calmed down, he used a fur to wipe his mouth and then carefully lay down on the fur bed in his hut.


    He was aware that his end was near after his injury he received years ago. But no gloom was visible on his face. It seemed that he was even glad as he smiled weirdly.


    He was happy that he would meet his Lord soon enough after fulfilling his role. He even met the inheritor of his Grand Shaman role.


    ¡°Heheh~ I feel a little weak today. It seems the ceremony took a big toll on me¡­¡± Shaman had to prepare for the ceremony and ritual that he participated in as he guided his disciple through a baptism of blood in front of everyone. That already made him tired, but as a devout believer, he didn¡¯t go to rest immediately and instead worshipped his Lord for an hour before finally getting up.


    Now, he could finally relax as he closed his eyes.


    Soon, even breathing sounded in his hut as he fell into a deep sleep.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that one hut after another was being raided and people inside being disposed of by someone who poisoned the entire village¡­


    Crack


    The newly appointed leader who took the position only a few years ago died quietly in his sleep. Because of the lack of manpower, the new leader was too old and much less formidable than his predecessor making the murder much easier.


    Illyan, who already killed everyone outside, quietly crept into the closest huts where the unsuspecting aborigines slept and snapped their necks. It was the cleanest way to kill them in his situation. His bone spear was only sharp enough to pierce the skin when huge force was produced but in this situation, it would draw attention.


    Because of that, he twisted their necks in their sleep.


    However, he didn¡¯t linger in normal houses for too long. He ventured there to take those strongest since they were a minority that was an actual threat to him.


    And so, it wasn¡¯t surprising that after he took care of them, his attention turned to the one who was the biggest threat in this village to him and who he had the vendetta against.


    It wasn¡¯t hard to find as it was close to the center of the village and was the biggest building in the village. While he wasn¡¯t aware of the shaman¡¯s prowess, he didn¡¯t dare to be negligent. A skilled shaman could probably play a warrior of the same realm even if he wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat him. Truth be told, he was a little nervous when he poisoned the village well as he feared that the shaman would notice. He made the powder tasteless and colorless, but even then someone of Kaoran¡¯s caliber would notice it in tandem.


    He didn¡¯t believe this crazy guy was at the same level as his mentor, but he was still careful. He dared to poison the water only during the ceremony when the shaman didn¡¯t have time to drink so that even if he noticed it would be too late for most villagers.


    Quietly, he got closer to the hut and listened to the noise inside.


    When he heard the even breathing, he slowly opened the hut''s door only enough for him to slip in. Inside, he immediately looked around for possible attacks. However, the shaman was truly sleeping on his bed. When Illyan saw him lying there so peacefully his eyes glinted with coldness.


    But he didn¡¯t immediately come to him, and instead, he looked around the room. It was a plain room despite it being the room of the shaman. In one corner, there was a small cauldron and dried herbs hung from the roof, and it was the place where a shaman was concocting. However, the cauldron which was made out of clay was old and half-broken. It had to be quite difficult to do anything more challenging inside it.


    Without proper tools, it was impossible to make big progress in herbalism and any other kind of profession. It would take years to learn to make small improvements which would dishearten anyone. That¡¯s why the first thing that Illyan planned to do after getting out of this forest was to get proper tools for his use.


    As such, since there was nothing of worth, he didn¡¯t continue to look in that direction and instead turned his attention to the second corner which was obviously dedicated to the so-called Lord.


    It was a small altar made out of the horns of some animals with a wooden bowl filled with already hardened and black blood. Next to it was a small and shiny ritual knife that was curved as if made for slitting throats.


    Illyan¡¯s eyes shone at the sight of the first proper weapon in this place. After losing everything, he hoped to find another aborigine who had at least decent weapons like Triston did but he didn¡¯t have any luck throughout his time in the forest.


    He didn¡¯t understand why those guys didn¡¯t have any metal weapons or even utensils. The ones that they did have probably belonged to other tribes or even people from the south. Did they lack the right techniques to make ones? But they should be able to steal the knowledge from others, right?


    ¡®Tch. It is probably another of their stupid traditions.¡¯


    After all, even if metal was impossible for them, the stone and wooden weapons shouldn¡¯t be a problem to create. But their obsession with bones and flesh was probably the reason for their creation of bone weapons.


    He didn¡¯t let this thought distract him as he stole the knife. But before he left he noticed another thing that seemed to be of high quality. It was a black robe. He saw the shaman use this robe only during today''s ceremony. Like the knife, it was clear that the robe wasn¡¯t made in this clan or even in the entire Frozen Valas Tundra.


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    ¡®I will take it later.¡¯ He decided and came to the bed of the shaman.


    Once he got closer to him, he put the knife against his neck prepared to end his miserable life. But his hand didn¡¯t move.


    Instead, his hand started to shake and his eyes fluttered. He remembered how this man put him on the stake with complete indifference and looked at him as some kind of monster.


    Now, when he finally came to take revenge he would kill him in his sleep? That easily?


    Not only that, but Illyan sensed that his body was in a very bad state. Wouldn¡¯t he soon drop dead even if Illyan didn¡¯t do anything? Then what was the point of this revenge?


    His face, which was usually expressionless, twisted as he gritted his teeth.


    ¡®¡°No way I will let you die so easily, you bastard.¡± He brandished his newfound knife, and with fluent movement, he severed the shaman¡¯s tendons. Shaman immediately woke up from the sensations. Filled with pain, he instinctively wanted to scream but before any noise came out of his mouth, his neck was stomped on by Illyan who coldly looked at the old man.


    Shaman, horrified by the pain and the sight of a stranger in his hut, wanted to resist but not only his muscles were weakened but his tendons were now severed making him cripple for the rest of his life.


    ¡°Hmmmph~?! Hmmm!¡± Unable to speak, the shaman started to struggle for his life. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t do anything.


    ¡°Hope. You. Remember. Me.¡± Cold voice with a heavy accent resounded in the quiet hut which made the shaman look at his assailant.


    ¡°Hmph~?! Hmmmmmmp?!¡± For a moment, he didn¡¯t recognize the man in front of his eyes, but then realization came to him when he saw the long hair and bloody red eyes.


    When Illyan saw the realization in his eyes, he swiped his knife and immediately pierced both of the old man''s eyeballs.


    The old man wanted to scream, but he couldn¡¯t even make a sound. Streams of blood tears were flowing from his eyes as he turned his head to one direction with a pleading gaze towards some direction.


    But Illyan didn¡¯t panic as he immediately knew whose help this guy pleaded for.


    ¡°Your Lord won¡¯t help you. Because he doesn¡¯t care about you.¡± He said this in the Theras language, but he didn¡¯t care if the shaman understood him.


    He was satisfied that he was recognized and could begin.


    Stab Stab Stab Stab Stab


    ¡°Hmmmmmph! Hrrrrmph?! Hrm~¡±


    He stabbed and slashed at the defenseless man, squirming under his foot. Making wounds always deep enough to bring pain but not so severe to make him bleed out.


    The time, as if stopped for Illyan, as he maniacally stabbed the man. For a moment, even more cruel ideas passed through his mind, but then he woke up from his trance.


    When he saw the man at his last breath, he put his leg away and retreated a few steps to calm down. Feeling overwhelmed by his emotions, he didn¡¯t know how to feel.


    On one hand, he felt the exhilaration going through his veins as the unprecedented cruelty made him feel alive for a moment, but on the other hand, once he calmed down a little, he felt like the biggest monster.


    But he didn¡¯t want to feel like that. What was the point of revenge if he felt like this?


    Remembering the smell of his burned body parts made him feel unwell as he stared at a man whose body was mutilated to the degree where he didn¡¯t look human anymore.


    ¡®No, I can¡¯t think like this.¡¯ Soon, he calmed down. His arm stopped shaking when he remembered all his vendettas in his short life.


    ¡®Revenge was never about the feelings of the one who makes the retribution. It isn¡¯t about avenging people who will never come back. No. It is about the recipient of the revenge. Why should they be able to live their lives after what they did? How many victims were there before you, and how many would there be after you? Even if I don''t care about others, I should still make sure that those who hurt me will be hurt back equally or even worse.¡¯


    When his eyes were firm again, he prepared to leave, but at that moment, the creaking of the doors resounded.


    Illyan didn¡¯t have time to avoid as he felt the air being sliced behind him and so, he did a back kick to whoever attacked him.


    Boom


    Squelch


    But when he made contact, he felt something was amiss as the body was too light.


    When he turned around, the worst scenario showed in front of him.


    A small prepubescent girl was there, impaled on one of the horns that the altar was built out of, as she stared at him with hatred in her eyes.


    ¡°Kill, Kill, Kill! I will kill you!¡± She screamed out loudly as she stared at the man who murdered her master.


    ¡®Why was she here? Did I wake everyone up before? No. That¡¯s impossible. I am pretty sure that I was quiet.¡¯


    When he saw her bleeding there impaled on the altar, he fell into a small shock as he didn¡¯t expect a small kid would attack him so viciously.


    Then he noticed her face. She was the one who helped with the ceremony back then.


    ¡®His disciple. Why is she still able to move? Did she not drink the entire time?¡¯


    Then he remembered all those bowls of blood they used during the ritual.


    ¡®Could it be that she drank the blood?¡¯


    She, who seemed to be only around one decade old, was viciously looking at him as she tried to get out of the horn.


    She tried to scream more, but Illyan swept in as he put his hand over her neck.


    He wanted to pacify her before trying to reason with her, but he didn¡¯t expect that the first thing she would do was to bite off part of his flesh.


    Bite!


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Seeing her like this made him doubt himself.


    What could he do with children like this if he wasn¡¯t willing to put them down?


    Let them be? Isn¡¯t it like letting the roots of weed alone only for it to pester you in the future?


    Deep down, he hoped for the children to be more reasonable so that he can guide them on the right path but¡­


    ¡°Vrrrgghh!!!¡±


    He just realized once again how much this alliance and its so-called Lord was cruel. The children were treated as the Lord¡¯s tools from birth and were devoid of any morality or even the ability to think for themselves.


    His plan was destined to be doomed from the beginning.


    ¡°Haah¡­ I am sorry, little one¡­¡±


    ¡°Aarrgh! Arhg-¡±


    Snap


    Letting go of the limp body, he stared at his palm.


    The palm was free of any blemish, but Illyan knew¡­


    That it was stained with blood. Blood that couldn¡¯t be washed away.


    The once vibrant shine in his eyes was now getting dimmer as they started to emit coldness once again.


    ¡®In the end, this is what this world is truly like. People like Kaoran, Degres, and Zers are rare.¡¯


    Illyan was aware that this was probably a small drop in the ocean and that there were much worse things happening.


    And he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. He didn¡¯t even know if he should.


    Even if he dedicated his life to saving others¡­ What would come of it? Few more lives would be saved yet the cruelty plaguing the world would never disappear. Why should he try to fight it?


    He never aspired to be a hero as other children did.


    He wanted to live his life for himself, not for others.


    ¡®Just let it be. Her soul is now free of this rotten life.¡¯


    He just sighed and stopped thinking this way.


    This was just one village out of numerous ones in this forest. Soon, he would be discovered. He couldn¡¯t win. Nor should he try. Those kids living in this forest were doomed from the beginning.


    ¡°It is just a waste of time.¡±


    With a snort, he came back to the body of the shaman as he took the knife which was still stabbed inside of his abdomen, cleaned the knife up, and put it behind his clothes. Then he came closer to the altar where the robe was and tossed it over his shoulders as he put it on himself.


    Without looking back, he left the hut with murderous intentions as he was prepared to finish his job¡­

 71 - New Beginning

    At the edge of an immense forest stood the silhouette of a person, gazing at the vast lands in front of him. Stretching as far as the eye could see, an endless expanse of ice blanketed this land¡ªa frozen canvas untouched by humans.


    The chilling breeze tickled his face as he basked in the rare occurrence of the sun above. After several months of being unable to feel the sun''s touch, this was extremely refreshing. Not only that, but the change in climate overall was noticeable. The snow was still everywhere, but he felt the difference.


    This was the northernmost part of the Vanaras Kingdom. A place abandoned by most. People from the north can''t pass through the forest filled with aborigines, while the aborigines are aware that they would be slaughtered at sight.


    On the other hand, people from the south also don''t have a reason to travel to this place. Only a handful did so. The weak and slow are intercepted in the forest, while the strong ones are aware of the north''s barrenness and wouldn''t waste their time going there.


    Even the Vanaras Kingdom didn''t regard this place very well. Only some colonial villages managed to live there, but even those were small in number. Some of them unified and created small cities, while others were destroyed over time in these adverse surroundings.


    ''Just like my village was,'' thought Illyan as he took his first steps into the Vanaras Kingdom after over ten years. However, no feeling of familiarity or nostalgia came to him. He didn''t recognize the place as he never left his village. Back then, Illyan was a mere peasant who was destined to live his entire time in the village if nothing drastic happened.


    He would work in the field every day, find a neighbor''s daughter, take her as a wife, have children, all while hoping that none of them would die in their infancy. And just trying to survive overall. This is what Illyan would do if ''that'' incident didn''t happen. He felt a little conflicted about it as he couldn''t even imagine living like that now. He even despised the idea.


    He could want to live in peace all he wanted, but the problems would still get to him in the end, so why bother? He would rather get stronger so that he doesn''t need to feel the loss anymore.


    With light steps, he continued on his way with the only goal being the south. But then he thought about something and stopped. He sighed and looked at some easily recognizable landmarks, trying to orient himself a bit before steering away from his original direction¡­


    ¡­


    Looking for the place he was looking for was hard, and it took him over a month to get there. But he didn''t care. Time was something he didn''t lack, and he needed to find this place for the peace of his mind.


    During the way, he noticed some villages from afar but kept his distance as he was not prepared to talk with the people. He probably wasn''t even interested. Instead, his eyes were drawn only towards the place he was looking for the entire time.


    Standing at the threshold of the ruined village, his cold eyes finally softened. At first, he couldn''t bring himself to make even one step inside, but after hesitating for a bit, he forcefully made his first step inside the village where he was born.


    Going through the places he knew since his childhood, he felt estranged by how different everything was. And it isn''t surprising considering how everything was destroyed. Most of the buildings didn''t stand anymore. Some of them were trampled upon by wendigos, while others fell because of no maintenance over the years. Wood rotted, and snow accumulated on the roofs.


    Unfortunately, the happy memories that he had in this place were blurry a long time ago. The only vivid memories of this place were of that ''day''. Soon, his steps took him to their house. It was in an even worse state than he remembered. It was just ruined by now, and the fields surrounding it already disappeared as if the place was never cultivated.


    Finally, some memories of him playing with his brothers came to his mind. The careless days without thinking whether they will be able to survive the next day. He also remembered the father and mother''s smiles¡­ But not face. Those were still blurry.


    At this moment, he felt profound loneliness in his heart. But surprisingly, it didn''t hurt. It couldn''t hurt anymore. He felt spent after all this time. Maybe his mental state was just too weak. He couldn''t tell.


    He looked around if there was something worth salvaging but nothing remained. With a sigh, he turned around and ventured further into the village. After walking for some time, his feet took him to another familiar building.


    The memories of sitting on the warm chair while listening to all kinds of stories from granny flooded his mind. This was also the place where he learned his herbology from. He wondered if some of the tools there were still usable. It would save him a lot of effort. And so, he came before the doors of her house.


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    Surprisingly, while the roof seemed to fall through because of the brunt of the snow, it was still standing. Thanks to that, he could easily enter the house.


    Creak


    Crack


    As he tried to open the doors, the hinges loosened, and the entire door fell on the ground. Illyan ignored it as he entered the house and looked around.


    Because of the hole in the roof, most of the room was filled with snow. However, the stains of blood that darkened over the years were still there. However, the body wasn''t there anymore.


    "Haah¡­" Illyan sighed as he started looking for anything useful. Soon, he found the cauldron the granny was using back then. Unfortunately, it was already rusty and thus useless for him. But soon, he found some glasses he could use. Although they were weathered down, he judged that they could still be used. Then he went to one of the chests that granny had next to her bed.


    The chest had a lock but with one swift hit, it fell off. When he opened the chest, he finally found something interesting. ''Are those books?'' Several books were neatly piled up inside, covered in cloth and protected from the weather. Illyan took out one carefully and opened it.


    Inside of it, he found some notes and images of all kinds of herbs. Unfortunately, he couldn''t understand. He learned a little about the Vanaras writing back then, but he didn''t remember anymore. However, seeing it being in such a good state was definitely good news for him.


    It didn''t take long before he took everything useful and then left the house. He looked into other houses as well and took whatever he could use. And when he noticed some of the clothes that the villagers were holding onto, he remembered that this was not the north where everyone just draped random furs over their bodies.


    If he wore something like that in some cities, he would probably be too suspicious and stand out in a very bad way. At this moment, he wore the black robe that hid his body but wearing something normal was more desirable.


    He threw away the makeshift clothing he had and started to take on the peasant clothes. When he finally was done, he felt his skin being caressed comfortably and closed his eyes. The peasant clothing was rough and bad but that was compared to people of better standing in the south. However, people in


    the north never made their clothes fancy or comfortable. The only purpose they had was to warm you up so you don''t die.


    This clothing was much more inferior than the piece of fur he wore, but that didn''t matter to him as this little cold was nothing to him. The further south he went the less cold it was. Then he even found shoes and took them on. Finally, after several months of running inside the forest, he felt like he was a member of civilized humans once again.


    Once everything was done, he chose to visit one last place. Farther from the village at the edge of a small forest, there were two dug holes, now filled with snow. When he found them, he stared at them in silence. After a while, he took a rusty shovel that he got along the way and started to take the snow out of it. It was quite hard as his left hand was still gone from the wrist, but he managed somehow.


    After the snow was gone, he started to fill it up with dirt. This took him several hours of hard work, but he didn''t care as the only thing he focused on was the graves of his parents. When he was done, he took several big rocks and put them on those graves and engraved them with Theras language symbols that meant ''Mother'' and ''Father'' and underneath the symbols for their names.


    Then, he got up and intended to leave. But he stopped. In the end, he turned back and brought another five big rocks that were piled next to the two graves. On the first big rock, he wrote a symbol for ''Oldest Brother'' and underneath it he wrote ''Evan''. The most caring older brother who wanted the best for his brothers.


    On the second big rock, he wrote a symbol for ''Second Brother'' and underneath it he wrote ''Olen''. The brother who always alleviated the gloomy atmosphere to not burden the hearts of his family and acted as the family clown¡­


    The next rock was dedicated to Granny Meddie who wasn''t his blood relative but definitely was his family. She showed him the joys of learning and the feeling of accomplishment after creating something from your own hands. She also taught him how big this world was and awakened his adventurous spirit.


    The next rock was dedicated to Degres who was like a father to him after he lost everyone and taught him how to enjoy living life even in the darkest times. Smiling in the face of danger, he showed Illyan what bravery was.


    And the last one¡­ Was dedicated to none other than Kaoran who was like his grandfather and who taught him how to accept himself. The man who taught him how small he was and how big the world was and what he could achieve if he used his gift to its fullest potential. None of the present had a proper funeral except Kaoran. They deserved at least this much respect and dignity.


    Once Illyan was done, he kneeled down on one of his knees and stared at those graves. Maybe no one will remember them in the next 50 years, let alone much later. But he will. They are the ones who shaped him to who he was at this moment. He can''t forget as forgetting would mean that he forgot himself.


    However, he didn''t make the grave for Zers as he hoped for his survival. While Zers wasn''t as tough as Illyan was, he was still a northerner who went through many hardships. He severed his limb and threw him out of the Frozen Worm because he believed that Zers could survive this much. ''Zers¡­ I hope you are doing well¡­''


    ¡­


    After this, he left the village and once again embarked on the way. This time, there was nothing holding him back. He left everything behind. Zers was beyond the sea if he survived. The Thearas clan was destroyed, and all of the wendigos died. There was nothing worth it for Illyan to stay there.


    The only direction where he can go right now is¡­ South. To the south. To a place where civilization thrived. He would meet new people, learn new knowledge, and see the wonders of the world. He wouldn''t be obscured by a false sense of morality and justice. Illyan would do only what he wanted to do. He would live his life to the fullest. This would be his new beginning....

 72 - Ride In Wagon

    "The wagon will set off soon!"


    "Hurry up, you lazy ass! If we are late because of you, I swear to my mother that I will kick your ass!"


    "I am going!"


    Numerous noises converged at the center of the small village with fewer than 200 inhabitants. Twice a year, a merchant with his wagon came to sell his goods, which made it a rare event in the boring lives of serfs and peasants.


    However, while for most, the goods themselves were the most important part, for the youths with ambitious dreams, it was not what they desired. No, what they wanted was a ride. A ride to the town where they could develop themselves and become successful. Or, in most cases, come back home after broadening their horizons.


    The wealthy and mighty merchants wouldn¡¯t do such a thankless service as letting poor people ride their wagons, but for someone like Bor, a small merchant with two old horses and a half-broken wagon, this kind of extra income was indispensable.


    "Is everyone here? If yes, then we can go. We are already late¡­" Bor said as his bald head was sweating despite the cold weather. He wanted to quickly leave this place and return to the town as he could afford only two guards on his journeys, which made him an easy target for some more fearless and desperate bandits roaming the roads.


    And so, he already hopped on the driver''s seat and took reins into his arms.


    "Hey, for how much do you give a ride?" However, at that moment, a deep voice with a light accent resounded beside him, which gave him a big scare.


    "Ahgh?! W-what?" He wanted to curse at whoever scared him, but when he saw the man covered in a black robe being over two heads taller than him, he shrank back, fearing this man could be dangerous.


    "For how much?" The man asked once again.


    "Ehhh¡­ That would be four bronze pieces, dear customer." Visibly nervous, Bor said with a very light voice.


    The man reached his right arm into his robe and soon took out four bronze coins and put them into the merchant''s hand.


    "I will go find my seat."


    "A-ah, yes!" Bor nodded like a chick with a fawning smile until the man disappeared into his wagon. Then his face turned ugly as he muttered to himself.


    "Fucking great, another weirdo. This guy definitely isn¡¯t from this village. His talking was weird. Fucking outsiders. Hopefully, he won¡¯t do anything¡­"


    Illyan, who opened the wagon doors, heard the mumbling of the merchant, but he didn¡¯t react as he simply entered. Several people were already sitting there, and when they noticed the new traveler, they turned their heads at him.


    However, Illyan completely ignored the stares watching him as he found an empty place for him to sit and for his luggage to put off.


    Then, he simply closed his eyes and started to meditate.


    "We are setting off now! Hiya!" Soon, the merchant Bor yelled out as he whipped the reins against the old horses.


    With a strong shake, the wagon¡¯s wheels started to turn as they began to make their way towards the closest town in vicinity.


    The journey was peaceful as most of the people minded their own business. However, there were always exceptions in this world.


    "Ah, I can¡¯t wait to get into Winterfrost town! I heard that it is also called the ¡®Northernmost Town¡¯ in the entire continent. That is what people told me, at least."


    A young man, around the tender age of 16 or even younger, started to speak to other youths around him. Some of them rolled their eyes while others smiled wryly. It was obvious that they knew the youth but weren¡¯t in the mood to reciprocate his chattiness.


    "Cut it down, Terren. Nobody cares about your talking. You are repeating yourself every day, as if you believed that we would forget after hearing it so many times."


    Other youths whose complexion was extremely pale because of a lack of sun during the winter frowned when they heard the boy start his rant excitedly.


    "Nord, don¡¯t be like this! This is the beginning! The beginning of our new life, of our success!"


    But the kid¡¯s enthusiasm wasn¡¯t doused in the slightest, and he started to talk to other travelers. Some of them were from the same village while others were from different villages that the merchant visited before.


    And some of them were not happy that their peaceful time was disrupted like this.


    "Hey, kid! Can¡¯t you be quiet?! People are tired after a long ride!" One of the guards who was inside lashed out at the kid, who winced at the yell and got quiet.


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    "Damn it, kids these days are so noisy." The guard then snorted as he leaned on the wagon¡¯s wall.


    He was riding inside on the command of the merchant, as Bor feared there could be some pesky thieves trying to take some of his leftover goods that he didn¡¯t manage to sell. And it suited the guard well as he could laze around all day. Although, the long rides could be really tiring just as he said.


    The other guard was sitting next to Bor as he observed any possible danger. Or at least, that was his mission, but it was obvious he was lazing around just as much as the first guard. This place was usually safe, and so he didn¡¯t have the reason to be too uptight.


    "Sorry¡­ I will be quiet¡­" The boy shrank down at the yell of the guard and shut his mouth.


    Some girls who boarded the wagon giggled at this while the boys snickered, but nobody spoke out.


    In this manner, several hours passed.


    Some of the youths showed hints of nausea after all of the shaking, but the merchant Bor didn¡¯t have intentions to stop at all until the sunset. The only things they could do was to bear with it or throw up, facing the displeasure of other passengers.


    Terren also wasn¡¯t feeling the greatest, but his natural curiosity won over his nausea as he was always looking around while fidgeting.


    "Stop the shaking, immature brat! Making me nauseous and all!" The old man on his left side turned at him with a red face as his fidgeting limbs were annoying him.


    "Ah, sorry, hahahah." Feeling the gloomy atmosphere around, young Terren didn¡¯t want to make it even worse and so he apologized as he held the back of his head in embarrassment.


    But he still didn¡¯t stop looking around. He liked to look at the back of the wagon where he could see through the waving cloth the outside road and changing terrain. However, looking in that direction made him involuntarily look at the man on his right closest to the exit of the wagon.


    He boarded as last, but he was sure this wasn''t a villager from his place.


    If


    that was all, then he would be only a little curious, but the man seemed even more interesting since he wore some kind of robes that seemed to be better than regular clothing and covered his face. Not only that, but he was the tallest man the young Terren ever saw.


    Yet, despite his size, when someone looked closely, they could see that his left arm was more covered, as he only moved with his right arm. As if he was wounded on his left arm.


    ¡®Does he have some kind of injury? Moreover¡­ Why is he not moving at all? He is like a stone statue¡­¡¯


    Wondering about this mysterious man, Terren finally settled down until the sunset came. When the sun was already close to the horizon, the merchant¡¯s wagon slowed down on the forest road as he found a clearing made for merchants like him.


    There, another wagon was already parked while the bonfire was warming a bunch of people. Soon, both parties noticed the other party as they stared at each other.


    "Hey, Bor. You comin¡¯ out of that hole beyond this forest?" The merchant who owned that wagon called out to Bor as he smiled with his teeth bared. It wasn''t a pleasant sight as he missed quite a lot of teeth while the ones he had were yellow and crooked.


    Seeing him being so friendly, Bor rolled his eyes as he spat in disgust. Being a merchant in this kind of place was quite a risky profession as there were no proper customers since everyone was too poor to buy a lot of things. Every good they could sell counted.


    That made every merchant who could potentially steal the customers a concurrent or, more rather, an enemy. The lives of merchants depended on it.


    "None of your fucking business, Ujir¡­" He ignored the guy as he put his wagon as far as possible from the guy before finally stopping.


    "Tch. No fun with ya." Ujir only shrugged his shoulders before he turned his smile towards one of the people next to him who wore a gray robe with a pale face.


    Bor, who saw that, snorted as he started to get down from the wagon.


    "Go find some firewood and make a bonfire." Without even looking, he waved at his guard to hurry up.


    The guard groaned at that but didn¡¯t talk back as he turned towards the forest.


    "Wait a second. I changed my mind. Screw that, stay here." Bor changed his mind when he looked at Ujir¡¯s side. He noticed that he had more guards by his side which was unusual for such a money-grubber as him since every new guard is one new person you personally need to take care of.


    Food, a place to rest, drinkable water, tool and gear maintenance¡­


    Usually, the merchant was the one who paid for this during the duration of the service. And with so many guards, it was so costly that the trip wouldn¡¯t be even profitable.


    And this made Bor more cautious. There was no way Ujir would do this without any reason. He could think of several reasons for this, but he didn¡¯t like any of the conclusions he could think of.


    One of them was that he heard rumors about bandits or wild animals roaming around lately and needed some protection. Another was that he wanted to take care of somebody. Like him, for example.


    Shivers went down his spine when he thought about that. However, soon he calmed down.


    ¡®Calm down. There is no way he would try something stupid like that. There are too many witnesses too¡­¡¯


    Instead, he turned his head on the variable that he noticed.


    The pale man.


    He couldn¡¯t guess his age but Bor believed that he wouldn¡¯t be over 30. He didn¡¯t recognize the man but knew that robe. Once in a while, Winterfrost town was visited by a group of men covered in such robes. They were quite mysterious as most people didn¡¯t know where they came from.


    Not only that but even the mayor of the city seemed to be wary of them, always fawning over them as if his life was at stake.


    This made the entire group outcasts in the eyes of the townsfolk.


    Before he could ponder more, however, the pale man suddenly lifted his head as he stared back at Bor. That made the merchant flinch as he quickly turned his head and headed to the back of the wagon to tell others to make a bonfire.


    Meanwhile, Terren was enthusiastic that they finally could get out of this place as his body couldn¡¯t bear not to move the entire time.


    "Ah, finally! We will finally-" Thud


    But as he hurried towards the wagon¡¯s back door, he accidentally tripped over the man he looked at before.


    "Terren, you idiot! Can¡¯t you for once do something that won¡¯t bother other passengers?! I am so sorry for this idiot! Terren! Apologize too! Sir, I hope you can forgive this imbecile. I-"


    The moment he tripped, one of the girls who was quiet the entire time stood up as she started to apologize to Illyan. She seemed to know Terren quite a lot and had a good relationship with him.


    "Ah! I am so sorry! I didn¡¯t mean to-" Terren also realized what he did as he noticed everyone was staring at him unpleasantly and started to apologize in a fluster.


    "No need. I don¡¯t really care." However, for someone like Illyan, this wasn¡¯t something to get angry over and simply stood up as he exited the wagon, leaving everyone behind.

 73 - New Identity

    Terren was surprised at the cold voice of the man but didn¡¯t waste his time as he quickly jumped down from the wagon. There, Bor was waiting for everyone.


    ¡°If you guys want to be warm tonight, then quickly go collect some firewood.¡±


    After saying this, he turned to the second guard and beckoned him to join Bor and the first guard. Seeing them leave, Illyan pondered whether he should waste time on going for firewood or just ignore it.


    After all, he didn¡¯t need the warmth of a measly bonfire to keep him warm.


    However, when he saw that others, albeit with grumbles, started to go towards the forest without hesitation, he also tread inside. He didn¡¯t want to be suspicious or standing out the very first day he reunited with his fellow citizens.


    Not that he had some patriotism in his heart or he felt some kind of connection to them, though.


    It was just that he felt some complicated emotion after finally meeting Vanaras citizens. It had been a long time since he just sat and listened to others¡¯ rambles or talked to somebody.


    Humans were sociable animals, and Illyan was no exception. He was a loner, maybe, but there was still a desire to have someone to talk with.


    ¡®Maybe that¡¯s how Zephyr came to be¡­¡¯


    Not to mention, while Illyan was raised in the barbarian tribe, he still considered himself civilized. The desire for a proper house to live in was intense after living almost a decade in a tent.


    So the first thought that came to his mind when he finally found a bigger village was to settle down. Of course, he wasn¡¯t so foolish to really do that. Now that he was probably already beyond the Mortal Realm and knowledgeable in medicine, he wouldn¡¯t waste his time in a no-name village no matter how much of time he could afford to waste.


    After listening to some villagers¡¯ gossip, he found out the northernmost town in this place was WinterFrost town and decided he would settle down there for at least a few years before deciding what to do later.


    He still had a lot to learn about. While Kaoran traveled a little when younger, he didn¡¯t tell him much. Instead, all of the focus was on Bakur¡¯s legacy.


    However, one piece of advice was given to Illyan.


    ¡®Never offend anyone unless you are sure he won¡¯t be able to bite back.¡¯


    They could be in the 13th realm, yet so many people probably wouldn¡¯t even know about it.


    Why? Well, the strong ones didn¡¯t flaunt their strength in front of weaklings. Yet they probably walked in the midst of them, so it wouldn¡¯t be weird if someone made the powerhouse angry and then disappeared without knowing how¡­


    When he passed over the second wagon, he turned his head to assess the others and immediately noticed the man in a gray robe.


    ¡®Speak of the devil¡­¡¯


    With his eyes having much better spiritual sight, he noticed small fluctuations of the spiritual energy around the man. It was just a small detail as those fluctuations were extremely small and close to the man¡¯s body, but Illyan noticed. He didn¡¯t slow down as he continued on his way. He didn¡¯t dare to stare too much in fear of getting in conflict.


    ¡®Is the south really that mighty that in just one day I would meet some kind of a master?¡¯


    Unfortunately for Illyan, he didn¡¯t know what this spiritual fluctuation meant. He never noticed such fluctuation from anyone else. He got his [Eyes of Truth] only a few years back and didn¡¯t meet anyone who had such a reaction from his eyes. Not even Kara, who was the shaman of the Bakur tribe, had any fluctuations.


    ¡®The only man who would probably have it died the night before I obtained this ability¡­¡¯


    Because of that, Illyan didn¡¯t have anyone else to compare the fluctuation. Those fluctuations weren¡¯t the result of the presence that everyone had but something different altogether. Was the man stronger than him or not? He didn¡¯t have a clue.


    The strong fluctuation didn¡¯t necessarily mean that the person is stronger. It could easily mean that he wasn¡¯t able to hide it as he wasn¡¯t that capable.


    Not to mention, he still doesn¡¯t know why he had those fluctuations.


    There were hundreds or even thousands of professions that could cause this.


    This kind of unknown made Illyan tremble. Not in fear but in excitement.


    How long was it since he felt such curiosity?


    If he wasn¡¯t rational enough, then maybe he would even consider jumping the guy and then slicing open his body to explore his secre-


    Cough Cough


    He interrupted his thought process as he quickly started to collect firewood.


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    ¡®Before considering anything, I must recreate my new ¡®dices¡¯ to assess the situation. Even if the result won¡¯t be that useful, I need to use it until the spirits won¡¯t mess with it.¡¯


    Back then in Blood Crow Forest, he suddenly remembered he lost his tools for divination and so he took a left hand of the Thereas Clan¡¯s Shaman and deboned the last segments of the fingers.


    They were still not usable since they were not cleansed and carved yet. He wanted to make them with as much quality as possible¡­


    ¡­


    It didn¡¯t take long before he took enough firewood into his right hand. However, he didn¡¯t leave immediately and instead came to the pines to collect cones and then returned back to the wagon.


    The sun was already halfway beyond the horizon, and the guards were trying to make fire from the firewood that others brought.


    ¡°Damn it, why would you bring such wet wood? Do you think that will burn?!¡±


    ¡°But everything is covered in snow. It would be wet obviously¡­¡±


    ¡°Shut up, I didn¡¯t ask for your opinion. Bring something that will burn good.¡±


    One of the impatient guards said this and chased away the peasant kids.


    Thud


    Illyan came before him and let go of the wood in his arm and then threw cones at him.


    ¡°Those burn well.¡±


    ¡°Oh, someone here is at least not so clueless.¡± The guard nodded as he took the pines and then with little effort made a fire.


    At that moment, the sun already disappeared, and two bonfires became the only sources of light.


    Once everyone came back, they brought all the firewood and then sat down around the fire to warm up. Most of them also started to prepare some food that they got from their home or those who didn¡¯t have any started to buy some from Bor who already had his business smile.


    Illyan watched all of this with an impassive expression as his mind was completely elsewhere. Especially on that robed man in another group. He sat around the fire with the second merchant while the ones surrounding them were armed men. Was it just cautiousness or-


    ¡°Eh, sir, you won¡¯t eat?¡± Terran who was speaking with his friends the entire time noticed that Illyan didn¡¯t take out his food or anything as he just sat there.


    Illyan looked back at the boy who was probably a few years younger than him and immediately felt a discrepancy. While the boy was young and full of vigor, he already has gone through so many vicissitudes of life in just less than 20 years.


    This naivety, while dangerous and stupid, was also something that Illyan lost at a very young age and now felt a tinge of envy


    towards this young man.


    ¡°No need. I already had my fill today. You don¡¯t need to worry about it.¡± Illyan said as he shook his head.


    As someone with extremely quick regeneration, he was always in need of energy to make the ability to work properly. And food was one of the sources of energy he currently had. The normally lengthy process of digestion was always quick whenever Illyan was in dire need of energy. This trait was highlighted during his time in Blood Crow Forest where he quickly gained back all his weight.


    However, after doing this so many times because of the [Blood Feeding Technique], he noticed that his appetite was getting bigger even when he was in no need of so much energy.


    He deduced that after using this technique it would also change his muscles little by little as they always got destroyed and then recreated. Illyan felt his muscles were getting denser and a little leaner. Slowly but surely.


    ¡®Aborigines probably didn¡¯t have this privilege since they couldn¡¯t get their muscles back at some point¡­¡¯


    And while this was an advantage in most cases, it also brought this little disadvantage when it came to food. It was harder to maintain his food supply. Because of that, before he visited the village, he ate the entire boar he hunted down as eating so much in front of normal people would be too conspicuous.


    ¡°But you should be wounded, right? You should eat more to recover properly.¡± But Terren still advised with good intentions.


    This made others who sat around the firewood look at Illyan closely and then finally noticed that he had hidden his left hand in the robe the entire time.


    ¡®This guy starts to be annoying. Next time, I will take food with me whenever I go so this kind of stuff won¡¯t happen.¡¯


    Illyan immediately realized his mistake as he stared at the nosy boy. People who acted differently from the rest were standing out. Now, Illyan was such a person in other¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°My arm is already healed. It is just weakened after not using it for a time, so it will take some time to rehabilitate it before it will be fine.¡±


    ¡°Oh, wouldn¡¯t the kind sir consider Harn to inspect your arm? He was a soldier in his younger ages and learned something about healing.¡±


    Bor who listened suddenly chimed in as he pointed at the older guard who just sat there. But when he heard his name, he lifted his head and just said.


    ¡°That would depend on what kind of injury it is. I know just a little to not die of infection.¡±


    ¡°My injury came from¡­ Very greedy and hungry wolves. They were so hungry that they couldn¡¯t resist attacking me¡­¡±


    When he said this, most people just nodded in realization while others felt that Illyan¡¯s words had some kind of different meaning.


    ¡°As for looking at the injury, there really isn''t a need as I am a physician. This kind of injury isn''t a problem for me.¡± He finished his take as he refused Harn¡¯s check.


    Hearing that Illyan was a physician, some of the present opened their eyes wide while others immediately became more friendly.


    They didn¡¯t know if Illyan was bluffing or not, but acting nice didn¡¯t cost them anything. Instead, it was always good to be on someone adept in medicine¡¯s good side. It could save their lives.


    ¡°Oh, sir, is a physician? I heard that you need to study for many years to be a capable physician. I would never be able to do that. I¡¯m too dolt for that.¡± Terren laughed as he said.


    Some of the friends he had nodded seriously at this as they agreed with it.


    ¡°Because of that, my dream is to become a knight of the kingdom! No need to think hard, only use your body to win the honor!¡±


    Many laughed as they continued the conversation enjoying themselves. Some of the younger ones were nervous as they left their village for the first time.


    Illyan, on the other hand, didn¡¯t stop in looking at the man discreetly. He noticed that every armed man was careful and cautious as if they expected some kind of attack.


    However, they ignored his group so it wasn¡¯t them who they were beware of.


    ¡°By the way, sir, I didn¡¯t catch your name?¡± The merchant asked with a smile. If before he mumbled badly about Illyan behind his back then now he was interested in getting acquainted with him as there was a big lack of good physicians in this region.


    Getting to know one could be profitable for him.


    ¡°... You can call me Kaoran¡­¡±


    Illyan said as he nodded at Bor. Illyan grew up in a group that believed in importance of names so there was no way he would just disclose his real one to random people.


    ¡°Oh, so it is sir Kaoran! What An exceptional name! My name is Bor if you haven''t heard of it yet. You can call me as such-¡±


    Swish


    Suddenly, rain of arrows started to fall on the two groups. Fortunately the densest part was targeted on the second group that had many guards and so only few were hit in Illyan¡¯ group.


    However, then suddenly a horde of people started to run against them with all kinds of weapons while roaring.


    ¡°Kill everyone!¡±


    ¡°Ransacks the wagons and rape the women!¡±


    The bandits, who were said to be not common in this area, showed up as they ran towards them with crazed expressions.

 74 - Free Corpses

    Everyone started to panic as they noticed the charge of men with weapons in their hands. Some of the peasants who wanted to start their new life in the town wanted to run but had nowhere to go. The bandits attacked from all sides in hopes of killing everyone.


    On the other hand, two guards of Illyan¡¯s group unsheathed their swords as they prepared to fight. However, their faces showed signs of nervousness when they saw at least 30 men. One of the men who ran at the front shouted out with craze in his eyes.


    ¡°Haha, give us all food you t-hargh?!¡±


    Suddenly, a bolt appeared and pierced his neck which instantly put him to death. Not only him, but several others in his vicinity were hit.


    ¡°Be careful! They have crossbows!¡±


    Illyan, who watched all of this with a calm expression, looked at the second group and saw that several over 10 guards had in their hands something called a ¡®crossbow¡¯. He had never seen it, but he could easily deduce its purpose.


    ¡®It can hold the arrow - no, a bolt for long periods, but it seems that loading will take a long time. It is good only for weak people or on some occasions like an ambush.¡¯


    And he was right. Right after they shot their first volley, they put their crossbows away, unsheathed their two-handed swords, and charged at the ¡®bandits¡¯.


    The bandits started to fall like ripe plums under the sharp swords of trained guards, and only a few managed to fend off their opponents.


    ¡°Fuck. T-they¡­ They were prepared! Why are there so many guards for one wagon?!¡±


    ¡°Retreat!¡±


    Seeing them panic like that, Illyan felt the entire event extremely underwhelming but at the same time was relieved he didn¡¯t need to show his prowess. He wanted to pass as a physician, not a warrior.


    However, while Illyan was relaxed, the same couldn¡¯t be said about others. One of the younger men was hit in the chest and passed away, while the other got hit in the leg. Fortunately, no artery was pierced, so there was a chance of survival. But this alone made others extremely fearful.


    ¡°What in the world¡­ Why did the bandits show up here?¡± Harn, who was still covering with the second guard and other passengers of Illyan¡¯s group, muttered. He really didn¡¯t want to risk his life if possible, even if it was an amateur bandit group like this. He valued his life a lot.


    ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be anything of value for them since this path is used mainly for wagons returning from the northernmost parts of the kingdom and are usually empty. Damn bandits.¡±


    Bor, hiding between everyone, said this as he spat in disgust while talking about them, but still, he didn¡¯t plan to come out from the ¡®circle of people¡¯ in fear of being hit by some stray arrow or crazy bandit.


    Illyan just shrugged his shoulders, not caring about this. When he saw that the fight finally started to end, he went to the boy who got an arrow in the leg. He already passed out since the pain was too much for him.


    Illyan snorted in his heart at this. ¡®It¡¯s just an arrow.¡¯


    While treating the boy, his thoughts wandered back to the bandits.


    ¡®They look similar¡­¡¯ However, Illyan, who looked at the corpses of the bandits, knew the reason immediately. Their faces were bony and pale, showing the malnourishment they went through. The clothes they wore were torn and worn out. Most of them were young men, maybe as old as the passengers of the wagon. But their expressions were different. While the passengers of his group had faces full of hopes for a better life, these bandits were filled with crazed and hysterical emotions. As if they were despairing for a long time until they chose to do this drastic solution. To ransack other people.


    He saw this many times during his time in the Frozen Valas Tundra where food was scarce.


    He had many questions but he didn¡¯t plan to ask anyone. Illyan wanted to be low-key in this new environment and this could very well lead to something far from being low-key.


    ¡®This place, while still barren, is far from being as bad as Frozen Valas Tundra. Why are they so malnourished? Also, if there is such a big problem, then how come this is the first time, and everyone is so surprised? No, wait¡­ Not everyone.¡¯


    Illyan¡¯s eyes turned back to Ujir¡¯s group where the merchant talked with the robed guy with a smile on his face. As if everything was under their control.


    The guards also seemed to be relaxed as some of them started to check the bodies for any valuables, and if they didn¡¯t, they just kicked the body in frustration.


    Only the passengers who were just using the wagon for the ride seemed to be disturbed. Especially since the volley of arrows was clustered on their group. Over half of them died.


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    On the other hand, only three guards died. Two of them died because of the arrows hitting them in bare places where the armor didn¡¯t reach. They had some kind of low-quality leather armor, but it was enough for the rest of them to withstand the even lower-quality arrows created by some hungry peasants.


    Once Illyan was done with the boy''s leg, he stopped caring as he stood up.


    ¡°Sir Kaoran, you are really skillful! Such a horrible wound yet you treated it so quickly!¡± Terren, who looked with rapt attention on the entire fight, seemed to be unwell but at the same time excited. But after the guards finished fighting, his attention came to Illyan, who started the treatment.


    ¡°It is just the basics.¡± Illyan said curtly and left.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Terren nodded to himself and then sat next to the young man who was wounded.


    ¡°Terren, don¡¯t wake him up. Since sir''s physician didn¡¯t do so, let him wake by himself.¡± One of the girls came to him as she saw him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Cara. I am not so stupid, haha!¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know about that¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    While they started to bicker, Bor who finally sighed in relief decided to ask Ujir for an explanation.


    ¡°Ujir! What the fuck is going on?! You knew this was gonna happen, right?¡±


    He yelled out at Ujir, who was comfortably sitting next to the robed man. As guards were surrounding them the entire time, no harm came to them as they watched the guards slaughtering the bandits.


    ¡°Oh, of course I didn¡¯t know about it. Who knows what is going on through the heads of those barbaric thieves and murderers?¡± Ujir said mysteriously before he completely ignored Bor just as Bor did before.


    This made Bor furious, and he wanted to continue interrogating him, but Harn, who worked with Bor for years, stopped him.


    ¡°Sir, I think we shouldn¡¯t meddle in this. They have many guards and that man next to Ujir is also weird. I think he belongs to the group that visits the town from time to time and makes business with the mayor.¡±


    His eyes showed worry when he looked at Ujir¡¯s group. They had seven skilled


    guards. Not deserters like him who can be used only for deterrence for bums.


    ¡°And what do you think we should do then? They almost got us killed because of this?!¡± Bor, who was in a bad mood, turned to Harn with a stern expression. But seeing that he stopped looking at Ujir made Harn relieved.


    ¡°We should ignore it for now and later file a complaint to the mayor. Fortunately, nothing happened to us-¡±


    ¡°What do you mean nothing happened? Per died and Erte got an arrow in the leg! Shouldn¡¯t we¡­¡± Terren, who overheard the conversation, meddled in as he got angry at their indifference to his acquaintance.


    ¡°Kid, this is not our problem. Life is harsh. If you want a peaceful life, you should just stay in your shitty village. Risks were always there. You just choose to not heed them.¡± The second guard named Val turned to Terren and said sternly.


    ¡®Living a peaceful life in your shitty village, huh. How laughable.¡¯ Illyan, who was just standing aside, listened to everything with an expressionless face.


    From the appearance of bandits, he could already guess that there wouldn¡¯t be any so-called ¡®peace¡¯ in most villages but famine. Terren¡¯s village was lucky enough to be close to the main Northern road which made it easily accessible to merchants.


    But for villages that were too far or were badly accessible¡­


    If Illyan remembered correctly, his village got to see a merchant once or twice a year, and the amount of things they could buy was humble. The villagers always thought that was normal, but now when he saw several merchants passing over him with full wagons, he realized that his village was always one of the last stops for the merchants where they sold off their leftovers for higher prices¡­


    ¡®No wonder people starve if there are similar villages. And it would make sense that this guy would have his fingers in it since he is a merchant¡­¡¯


    Looking at Ujir, who was talking with the robed man, he frowned.


    He saw them getting close to the corpses and commanding their guards. He thought they would burn them on a pyre or something, but they started to roll them into some fabric and loaded them on their wagon.


    ¡®What are they doing?¡¯


    The rest of the peasants from Ujir¡¯s group were also disturbed by it as they sat closely and didn¡¯t dare to talk anymore. After the volley of arrows, four of them died while another two were injured. Only one escaped unscathed.


    But now they looked at their fellow neighbors being rolled up as some kind of material which made them angry but terrified at the same time. One of them wanted to object to it and wanted to make a pyre for them as per traditions but was stopped by another one who just shook his head.


    No matter how good relations you may have with your neighbor, it wasn¡¯t worth your life. Those peasants wanted to look for a better life in town. They didn¡¯t expect that this would happen on the way but it already happened. As long as they could get to Winterfrost town everything would be fine.


    After they took every body, be it a bandit or peasant on their wagon, one of their guards started coming Bor¡¯s group¡¯s way. That made everyone on this side except Illyan tense.


    But once the guard got close, he only asked indifferently.


    ¡°Can we ¡®take care¡¯ of this man¡¯s body?¡± And showed towards Per¡¯s lifeless body.


    ¡°Of course n-¡± Terren who had bottled up his emotions wanted to speak again but Nord, his friend, put a hand on his mouth as he made him shut up.


    Bor, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes as his trembling hand was wiping the cold sweat from his face.


    ¡°Why? Accidents happen, and I am used to burning bodies of passed ones who died on the way.¡±


    ¡°Sir Ujir is even willing to pay up.¡±


    Bor started licking his sticky lips as he heard about potential profit. But before nodding he¡­


    ¡°I can¡¯t really do that. I would like to build his pyre in his home village where his family-¡±


    ¡°Yes or no. Answer me.¡± But the guard didn¡¯t put up with his bullshit as he called out sternly while slightly touching the handle of his sword.


    This made Bor terrified as he immediately nodded before even knowing the price.


    ¡°Here.¡± Guard snorted as he threw mere two bronze coins on the ground while taking the body away.


    Bor¡¯s expression was ugly but he still crouched down to take the coins.


    Then he immediately entered his wagon and didn¡¯t go out anymore.


    Ujir who saw this from the corner of his eyes laughed in his heart.


    ¡®Oh, Bor, Bor. Before you were a pain in the ass and always made my life harder. But now, you are nothing. Every merchant in this region is nothing. And once I make a proper contract with sir, I will be living as king!¡¯ He laughed in his heart as he still had an amiable conversation with the man in front of him. At the same time, a hint of fear and worship showed up in his eyes when he looked at the man in front of him who was hiding behind his robe¡­

 75 - Winterfrost Town

    That night, everyone was squeezed inside the wagon as they slept¡ªor at least tried to sleep. Many couldn¡¯t do so after yesterday¡¯s incident, and as a result, most of them were extremely tired with dark bags under their eyes.


    The place where they slept made it even worse, as the wagon was uncomfortable, and there was a lack of space. However, sleeping outside in the snow without a tent was a stupid thing to do.


    They only had a few coins on themselves and maybe some necessities¡ªsome not even that. Items like tents were probably owned only by some hunter households in villages.


    Illyan could withstand it just fine, but not the normal people.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t do so because he didn¡¯t want to be in front of the eyes of the second group of Ujir. So, he quickly retreated in the evening to the wagon, fearing that the group would want him to treat their injuries, which could possibly result in them finding something about him.


    But even without them, he would stay inside as if he were a normal person; knowledgeable but still normal.


    Fortunately, he didn¡¯t have the same problem as others, as he just meditated the entire time in a sitting position. What he found intriguing was that the result was quite diminishing.


    ¡®Is it because I am in the wagon and not directly in nature?¡¯ He already had a guess, as his [Nature Breath Method] had the trait of becoming stronger in nature while getting weaker when he got far from it.


    He never understood it properly, as in his mind, the entire world was basically nature. But ever since he started to meet the villages after he got outside of the Blood Crow Forest, he noticed the depth of his immersion in meditation was getting shallower.


    ¡®Civilization is the problem, huh? Makes sense. Unfortunately, I need civilization much more, so I won¡¯t get good results for some time¡­¡¯


    While meditation was useful, it wasn¡¯t to the point of him staying in the woods.


    The method was said to have big potential, but that would take a long time before it could live up to it. Now, after years of training, he just had a small achievement in it as he finally got to the Beginner stage called [Exhalation], allowing him to merge his presence into surroundings. So waiting a little more wouldn¡¯t hurt him. Instead, he would use that time to learn new things that he could use immediately.


    The next morning, he stood up and stretched his cramped limbs. Then he went outside of the wagon for fresh air. With one glance, he saw that Ujir¡¯s group had already left. Not even one body was left behind.


    Based on how shady they acted, it seemed that they didn¡¯t even try hiding their motives.


    ¡®What would they need the bodies for? Well, as long as it won¡¯t disturb me, I will not meddle needlessly. But¡­ If it had something to do with those wendigos experiments or something else that will or already did harm me, then I will end you. Even if it takes decades or centuries.¡¯


    Thinking so, he started basic work out. Normal training wasn¡¯t as helpful as in the past after getting stronger to a certain stage, but it still helped him maintain his blood circulation, flexibility, etc. Not to mention, he needed to rehabilitate his arm.


    He started one hour before dawn and didn¡¯t stop until finally someone else came out of the wagon.


    When Illyan looked and saw that it was Harn, he nodded slightly and then continued with his rehabilitation. He looked on the ground for a bit and took one bigger rock in his left hand. Then, he just moved it around in certain ways.


    This made Harn look strangely at him, as he didn¡¯t understand what Illyan was doing.


    In the end, the curiosity in him won over as he asked.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    At this question, Illyan turned back at the guard and, in a light tone, asked back.


    ¡°Have you ever been bedridden for several days?¡±


    Harn frowned. However, as weird as the question was, he still answered.


    ¡°Yes. Once I got very sick when I was a kid and once I got heavily injured when I was still working as a soldier.¡±


    ¡°I suppose you were not able to jump around right after, I guess?¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡± When Harn heard this, he realized what he meant by this.


    ¡°I see¡­ Just because your hand healed doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t other side-effects. Good to know, doc. Just don¡¯t do it for too long as we will set off at dawn.¡±


    With that, he ventured to the forest, probably to relieve himself.


    Soon after, others also woke up and went out to stretch their muscles a little, since they would need to stay still for another entire day.


    Bor didn¡¯t even waste his time for breakfast and immediately set off with a worried expression.


    Not only did he have fear of another bandit group being in the vicinity, but he was also extremely worried about Ujir¡¯s intentions. While he still had some good acquaintances with his business rivals, Ujir definitely wasn¡¯t one of them.


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    Seeing him being so unscrupulous was not something he wanted to see.


    And so, the long and arduous journey started. The travelers from different villages also got acquainted with the constant barrage of questions from Terren and started to talk about themselves in order to relieve the boredom. In the end, Illyan also added a little about himself but was usually quiet if no one initiated the conversation with him.


    Several days passed, and they were still on the road. But the difference in landscape was obvious to Illyan. Forests were turned into grasslands, and some trees showed even a bit of greenery.


    The winter was still harsh, but it was obvious that further south the less cold it became.


    Illyan realized that the signs of spring finally started to show up after over 10 or even more years.


    ¡®So it was the dragon¡¯s fault, huh.¡¯


    He connected the dots after thinking a bit about it. The winter was getting stronger, and it didn¡¯t seem it would end just like that. Later on, he found out that the entire sea and even the center of the Frozen Valas Tundra were invaded by the Cold Energy, which was connected to that dragon.


    He reminisced about the entire incident and remembered the fact that the beast was translucent and the only explanation he had for that was that it died together with the Big Eye it hated, and this was just its spirit or something in that sense¡­


    ¡®But why did it get weaker so suddenly? The coldness in the north was worsening for millennia at this point, which means that this Ice Dragon probably survived for so long¡­¡¯


    He thought for some time as he sat in his meditative position. Then his eyes brightened.


    ¡®Unless its legendary Dragon Ice Breath took a big toll on it! After all, while the aura it emitted was so heavy, the strength of the breath itself wasn¡¯t as despairing; else, I would be dead already. If I am not wrong, it also missed its mark a bit as the breath first hit the Frozen Worm I was on, which took the biggest brunt of the attack and died in the process¡­¡¯


    But why would the dragon risk its spirit dissipation for someone like him? It was just a small fraction of that Big Eye¡¯s power yet¡­


    Then he remembered his own thoughts back in the Blood Crow Forest.


    Re


    venge was never about the feelings of the one who makes the retribution. It wasn¡¯t about avenging people who would never come back. It was about the recipient of the revenge.


    This made Illyan realize that sometimes there were things more worth in your eyes than your own life.


    But realizing and understanding were different things altogether. While Illyan suffered in his life, he would never sacrifice his well-being for revenge. Let alone as petty one as the dragon¡¯s one was! After all, he was also a victim of the Big Eye ¡®god¡¯ yet he got pummeled by that dragon for no reason.


    ¡®I guess even legendary dragons are still beasts unable to think clearly.¡¯ Because of that seed of contempt emerged deep inside of his heart for dragons.


    However, he quickly suppressed the thought as he knew it would bite him in the ass in the future if he really thought like that.


    In the end, he stopped thinking about that as he closed his eyes and listened to the other passengers¡¯ conversations. It was not because he was curious about them or was just bored but he tried to pry as much information from them as possible.


    While the people like Terren were young and naive, he still had much more knowledge about the general things than him that Illyan would be seen as a caveman.


    ¡®Not too far away, now that I think about it.¡¯ After all, the Bakur Tribe wasn¡¯t exactly civilized except for its medicine that was stolen from different continents¡­


    ¡°I heard that Winterfrost Town is one of the oldest cities in the kingdom. Do you think it is true?¡±


    ¡°Well, obviously it would be one of the oldest cities in the kingdom since the city was here even before the kingdom''s foundation,¡± said Harn bragging about his knowledge. At first, he wasn¡¯t interested in talking, but after several days of boredom, he joined the chat.


    ¡°How do you know?¡±


    ¡°I heard it from one of the academics in the town¡­¡±


    When Illyan heard this, his ears perked. As someone who learned for years, he could be said to be a novice academic himself. And so, it was no wonder that he was interested in this topic.


    ¡°Ah, I see. Academics, huh. That¡¯s not very interesting! I would rather be stupid and rich than smart and poor. Being a merchant like Sir Bor is much more interesting.¡± One of the kids named Garan said with a bored expression.


    ¡°Talk for yourself. You wouldn¡¯t be able to become academic even if you spent your entire life on it. So you would be both stupid and poor.¡± Nord, who had interest in being an academic, frowned as he said this.


    Others started to laugh as Garran rolled his eyes.


    From this conversation, Illyan got a lot of information that was useful to him.


    He found out that Nord, Cara, and two others planned to become academics in the Academic Institute, which was a place for people to learn and study. It was said to have a big library that was probably the largest in the entire kingdom.


    This surprised Illyan a lot. How could such a faraway town have such a library? Was it normal in this kingdom for each city to have one?


    Of course not. The kids in front of him mentioned that they were lucky to be close to this town, which was unique across the entire kingdom. It was said to be like this because of its long history.


    This sparked Illyan¡¯s interest in this little town. After all, there should be some reason behind this, right?


    ¡°By the way, Sir Kaoran, you are also visiting this town because of the institute, am I right? After all, capable physicians have no reason to visit such a poor place. You don¡¯t need to say it if you don¡¯t want to.¡± Harn mentioned this as he smiled at Illyan. Then he realized he was probably asking a bad question and so he added the last sentence.


    He was pretty sure that Illyan was quite capable in this profession. He didn¡¯t know about his ability to treat diseases and such, but at least the physical wounds were something he was sure that Illyan had expertise in. He saw him treating Erte''s leg with such precision and speed that people like him who just learned out of necessity would be able to do this.


    Illyan, who heard this, smiled in his heart. Now, he had a good excuse for his visit. No, it may not even be an excuse as he was actually interested in that place.


    ¡°Yes, I want to further my studies in this place and get the academic title in the same way as Sir Nord and Miss Cara.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great! That means we will be colleagues!¡± Cara smiled.


    Nord also wanted to say something but at that moment Bor¡¯s voice boomed from the outside of the wagon.


    ¡°We are here! Please get out of the wagon! Guards will be angry if you remain inside!¡±


    When he said this, everyone looked confused except Harn or Illyan, who was almost always impassive and got out of the wagon.


    Then, the biggest man-made structure they ever saw appeared in front of their eyes. Walls of white stone were as tall as trees and looked majestic.


    It could be seen from a distance that the place was old. Even ancient. And because of that, it was inevitable that the place was worn down. But that didn¡¯t make the young people who didn¡¯t see the world disappointed as they gawked at the town.


    Harn smiled at this with a smug grin and waved his hand.


    ¡°Welcome to Winterfrost Town, the northernmost city on the continent and the oldest city in the entire kingdom.¡±


    Illyan clenched his fists. With this, a new era of his life would finally begin.

 76 - Entering The Town

    It was rare for the city gate to have a line of visitors, so they didn¡¯t need to wait and could immediately enter. The guards guarding the gate were slack and seemed tired as they leaned on the town wall.


    "For such a fortress, it seems these people are not exactly fit to be guarding here," Illyan thought as he saw Bor starting to fawn over them while giving two of the guards two bronze pieces with a smile.


    Winterfrost Town was situated where the East and West mountain ranges were closest to each other, making it a natural fortress where you could assess the town only from the northern gate or southern gate. The question was: Against whom was the fortress built to defend?


    "But seeing the state of the walls and the so-called guards, I don¡¯t think they can hold for much longer if something really happened."


    ¡°My dear Milords, as usual, I am returning after my journey to northern villages and bringing some of the new citizens. They are all assembled outside as per your requirement. I hope you can be lenient as they are mere peasants.¡±


    ¡°Hah, that depends on how obedient they are,¡± one of them scoffed as he started to look at those mud people with an indifferent expression. He had seen hundreds like them after years of working as a guard. Their expressions were filled with hope and excitement.


    Yet, how many of them could really achieve their goals? Definitely not many. For that, they needed to be talented, hardworking, and have extreme luck. But peasants usually only had their hard-working mentality. And that, without the talent and luck, was completely useless in the guard''s eyes.


    His eyes passed by each guy with a brief glimpse as he scanned for some kind of troublemaker. By protocol, he should also check their belongings and Bor¡¯s wagon for any kind of weapons or some other contraband, but he was too lazy for that.


    What things could peasants have on them? Maybe dried meat if they were ''rich''.


    He sniggered in his heart as his fleeting gaze passed almost everyone. But then, he noticed one tall man with a robe covering his body. He was inconspicuous, as the guard didn¡¯t even notice him, just like any other peasant, but it was rare for one of them to be as tall with their malnourished bodies.


    ¡°Hey, you! What do you have in those bags of yours?¡± Not to mention that he had quite big bags that could easily fit the belongings of everyone in the wagon.


    ¡°Dried herbs, flowers, and seeds. Some spare boots and clothes and other basic things you would need to survive,¡± Illyan answered without changing his expression.


    He already expected that his bag would bring some attention after seeing that everyone else didn¡¯t have almost anything.


    His bags actually didn¡¯t have anything much of worth except the Firestorm herb and the black rods he got from the wendigo. But that was exactly something he didn¡¯t want to show as he put it at the bottom of his bag. Of course, he had some excuses even if they found it.


    At most, he would give it to them and take it back some other way.


    ¡°Herbs, huh. Show me,¡± the guard said with a stern expression. Illyan just opened the bag and showed him the herbs within. The fragrance of those plants wafted in everyone¡¯s nose when he opened it as their curiosity heightened.


    However, the guard didn¡¯t start to touch the inside of the bag as he didn¡¯t want his hands to smell like medicine for next week. Instead, he snorted as he interrogated Illyan.


    ¡°So, what are you?! Some kind of herbalist quack? Trying to get some money. I will tell, none of those fakes ended up well in the town as they got beaten by guards to death. So if you are planning to do something shady then stifle that thought,¡± the guard said to Illyan.


    It wasn¡¯t uncommon in society to find charlatans who would only mimic the real professionals and try to scam people. In this town particularly, there were only two certified physicians. Unfortunately for the townsfolk, one of them worked for the mayor and seldom accepted other patients and if he did then for a big sum of money and the one was too old and was retired already.


    ¡°Sir, you needn¡¯t worry. Actually, we were assaulted back in the forest by bandits and one of the passengers got injured. But Sir Kaoran here managed to treat the wound in no time and it is obvious he has a lot of experience,¡± Bor, who listened all the time, said this as he vouched for Illyan.


    This could be said to be Bor¡¯s attempt to make good relations with this physician. Even if he wasn''t a certified physician, he still could at least treat superficial injuries. And that alone in this place where one scratch could be deadly was welcomed.


    ¡°If you say so Bor. But if I see him doing something stupid I will beat him to death¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course, of course.¡±


    ¡®I fear that 10 of you won¡¯t be able to beat me to death.¡¯ Illyan snorted in his heart. He may not see the strength of that robed man, but just one glance at this man was enough to know he was just a weakling who was wasting his life lazing off and drinking booze whenever he had time. Thus he just rolled his eyes in his heart as he ignored the gaze of that guard.


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    With that, the guards let them pass through the gates as they stood back to their positions.


    Everyone lined up as they went behind the wagon prepared to enter the city.


    ¡®At least he didn¡¯t find the rods. That would be annoying.¡¯


    Illyan passed through the guards and gazed to the front. His ears also caught some whispers of others in his group talking about this check with fear.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know they would control the access to the town like this. It is quite scary.¡±


    ¡°Right. What if they didn¡¯t let us pass? They could choose anyone out of us just like they did with that physician and then beat us or even kill us.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even want to think about that.¡±


    For a moment, the group made several steps in the darkness as they went through the gate and then were once again welcomed by the light coming from the other side.


    Not only that but the big mix of noises was added to it as many townsfolk people were out on streets either trying to sell something or for other not always good reasons.


    The sounds of several vendors buzzed in everyone¡¯s ears and the liveliness of the town opened up right in front of their eyes.


    For many, this was the first time they saw such a lively place Illyan included.


    The Bakur Tribe was huge but it never gave him such feelings like just one look in this place. Unfortunately, the wondrous feeling of being connected with society was rudely interrupted by an unbearable stench coming out of the streets.


    ¡°What''s this smell? It¡¯s horrible.¡±


    ¡°That''s the smell of shit¡­¡±


    Illyan also frowned. He was used to bad smells but that didn¡¯t mean he enjoyed them.


    On the other hand, villagers were for a moment confused by the smell until they realized what was happening.


    ¡°Because there is no place to dump your waste, it usually ends up on the streets. Not pleasant I will tell you. That is one of the benefits of living in a village where you can take a dump in the forest,¡± Harn


    , whose nose wrinkled, said this as he quickly boarded the wagon.


    ¡°Well, this will be our goodbye. My task was fulfilled as I got you inside your town. Now it is on you what you want to do. You should try to find a good inn before sunset. Guards won¡¯t let you on the streets and kick you out of the town or imprison you. I recommend the Summer Snowflake Inn. It is quite cheap for newcomers who lack the money. That¡¯s all. If fate wills it we will meet again. Farewell!¡± Bor who sat on the wagon turned to them as he waved his hands and soon disappeared in the streets leaving the poor plebeians on their own.


    Illyan noticed that he was a little unnerved and realized that the event with the other merchant still didn¡¯t leave his head.


    Then he turned his attention back to the vendors and noticed how everything was much more expensive than in the village.


    ¡®It was a good idea to rummage my village back then to take as many coins as possible. Else I would be in trouble.¡¯


    Although it was obvious someone was already there to steal they couldn¡¯t get under some of the ruins of the buildings. For example, he remembered that his parents had some coins hidden in their house and so he had to dig it all up. Thankfully, he was strong enough to do that.


    ¡®That money was originally for the merchant to buy something to eat but he didn¡¯t visit our village for over two years.¡¯ Thinking about the money that the villagers hoarded with hope made his mood conflicted.


    ¡®At least that money won¡¯t be wasted.¡¯


    As he thought so he turned to other plebeians who were talking about what to do now. Some of them already left as they weren¡¯t bonded with others and only the most friendly ones stayed to talk to each other. And Illyan who was thinking during that time.


    ¡°Sir, where will you go now? We planned to go through the town for now. Do you want to go with us?¡±


    Terren, who was in the center of them, asked with an excited expression without asking others. Some of them showed a positive expression while others weren¡¯t so thrilled. They were a little uneasy in front of such a gloomy guy like Illyan.


    ¡°No, thank you. There is a lot of time to look around later but for now, finding the inn is a priority for me. And for you, it should be too. The town is quite big so it will take some time before finding the right place. I will go to the Summer Snowflake Inn that the merchant suggested so if you and others will go there too then we will meet again. Before then, farewell.¡±


    Illyan also turned around and entered the crowd of people on the streets. The group didn¡¯t have time to respond before they lost their sight of him as if he disappeared within that crowd.


    ¡°That guy is kind of creepy. I don¡¯t really like him.¡±


    ¡°No. He doesn¡¯t seem like a bad guy. Just being a little mysterious.¡±


    Terren, who was looking at Illyan leaving, was silent and wondered what was so weird about this guy¡­


    Walking through the crowd, Illyan was trying to find the inn.


    ¡®He could tell us where it is¡­¡¯ Cursing Bor under his breath, he started to look around at the street market and its goods. People were yelling, trying to entice people to buy their goods with small discounts.


    People were selling fish from the rivers, game that hunters brought to the town, or even some trinkets that should supposedly bring you luck.


    ¡°Sir! Do you plan to buy some fresh vegetables?! You can buy-¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Of course, Illyan wasn¡¯t interested in anything on this street. How could he? Firstly, he was poor and had to find a way to make money and secondly, there was nothing that enticed him. He had most things he needed and as for food he could always get it when needed.


    Instead, as he looked around he asked some other passersby for directions.


    ¡°Can you please tell me where the Summer Snowflake Inn is?¡±


    He came to one of the market shops where a plump lady was selling some tomatoes and potatoes and other types of vegetables. The lady at first seemed to be wary of the tall man suddenly talking to her but he just gave her one penny which made her immediately warm up.


    ¡°This inn isn¡¯t far away. It is just one street away! You just need to go straight and then turn left once you see a small fountain in the center. That¡¯s the center plaza of the town.¡±


    The lady explained as she showed him the directions.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    After he left he went in the direction she showed him. However, along the way he noticed a small group of burly men talking to some of the vendor shops.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care. If you can¡¯t pay up then your little shop will go to shit. Bring the money next week. That¡¯s the ultimatum boss gives you.¡±


    ¡°I u-understand¡­¡± The old man who was talking shivered as he nodded.


    When Illyan was walking around he stared at this, which one of the guys noticed and yelled out


    ¡°Fuck off, you cunt! This is none of your business!¡± At that moment Illyan turned his gaze away and continued on his way. He also noticed that most of the people also ignored the scene.


    Fortunately, the guys didn¡¯t go after him, so he hadn¡¯t gotten into some trouble on the first day.


    ¡®Quite aggressive for one look. Did his mother die today or something?¡¯ Thinking as such in a good mood, Illyan finally got in front of the inn that he was looking for.

 77 - Relearning To Read

    He saw a small wooden building sandwiched between other buildings. The only thing hinting that it was the inn he was looking for was the sign with the symbol of the sun and snowflake. That made him realize that normal citizens were probably illiterate and were using these kinds of images to get by.


    ¡®However, I still need to relearn the Vanaras letters as soon as possible.¡¯


    While you could get by without learning how to read and write, you wouldn¡¯t get far in life. Fortunately, Illyan didn¡¯t need to learn from scratch as he once learned the letters in granny¡¯s house.


    Now that he had her books, he would read through them, trying to figure out all the letters.


    ¡®I will need to keep close to those kids for now. Since there is such a good opportunity to blend with people and even get some initial position in society, I will not let it pass. Academics. I think that will suit me.¡¯


    Satisfied, he opened the doors to the inn and looked around. There were only a few people, as it wasn¡¯t time for dinner yet, nor time to get drunk, as everyone needed to work hard.


    Only a few people who seemed to be wasted looked at him with slightly wary eyes before turning them away. Illyan ignored it as he walked up to the counter where the middle-aged man with sideburns stood with a bored expression as he washed the wooden tankard.


    ¡°How much for the night?¡± Illyan asked immediately as he stared at the man.


    ¡°Two bronzes. Three if you want warm food twice a day,¡± the man replied without even looking at Illyan as he boredly stared into the tankard he held.


    Illyan took his pouch out and put 3 bronzes on the counter.


    ¡°I will take a room for one night for now.¡±


    Hearing this, the man finally looked at Illyan. Seeing that Illyan was quite tall, he didn¡¯t dawdle as he took out from under the counter a small key with a sign.


    ¡°The sign is the same as the one on the doors of the room. The room is on the second floor. You can come down two hours later for dinner. The dinner isn¡¯t served after the tenth hour but you can still buy drinks. The first meal of the day is served from dawn to midday. The restroom is at the end of the second floor¡¯s corridor,¡± the barman said with eloquence as if he had said the same things a hundred times already.


    ¡°Alright. I will be here in two hours,¡± Illyan nodded as he went up the stairs.


    However, he frowned when he hefted the pouch and noticed how much lighter it was.


    ¡®I found only 23 coins in the village. Now I have only 20 of them left¡­ That means that I have 7 ?even days to find a way to make money. With my capabilities that shouldn¡¯t be a problem, but I can¡¯t be too conspicuous. Especially after seeing that weird robed guy. I will need to investigate it a bit before considering showing my capabilities.¡¯


    Illyan knew that meaninglessly hiding yourself wouldn''t get you anywhere, but at the same time, you couldn¡¯t just venture into new territory while showing all your cards.


    He always thought that the Vanaras Kingdom was harmless. But that was out of his ignorance. Now that he knew there was a guy like this the moment he reunited with humans, he knew that hiding was the right choice at this moment.


    Especially because of his gift. Kaoran always said that his ability was unique. And what was unique was also feared and exploited. The northerners didn¡¯t care as it matched their warrior''s soul, but not everyone was so open-minded.


    That¡¯s why it was a godsend that he already found a place where he could go without even doing anything. He didn¡¯t know much about that place yet, but from what he heard from the kids, he could go there to take some sort of test and if he passed he could start as an academic apprentice, which would help him to cover all his living costs while giving him access to the library¡­


    ¡®Terren said that you would live poor as an academic, while Nord said it depends on the contributions. That probably means that the majority won¡¯t achieve success and only a few will be competent enough to make big money. I should have no problem with it as I should be considered a competent physician as of now so making some extra money should be easy.¡¯


    He came up the stairs and went down the long corridor as he watched the door symbols for match. The doors looked shabby and were useless if there was any kind of intruder, but Illyan could guess that this wasn¡¯t something considered. Most travelers would put their fate in the hands of guards and just enjoy that they could sleep under the roof.


    He passed over half of the corridor and still didn¡¯t find his door. What he realized, though, was the fact that there was some kind of systematic progression of the symbols. At that moment, vague memories flooded his mind.


    ¡®Are those numbers?¡¯


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    When he realized that, he started to deduce the numbers on each door. With the help of the old memories and his newfound ability to remember whatever he saw, it was much easier.


    ¡®There should be ten symbols. From zero to nine. The larger numbers are the combination of these¡­ So the number on my keys is¡­ 16¡¯


    Satisfied that he could derive this, he skipped the next door and just counted. When he counted the number 16, he stopped and looked at the door on his right.


    ¡®Match.¡¯


    Sliding the key into the keyhole, he opened the door and entered the room. What he found inside was a narrow space with a small bed and little table for storing some belongings.


    There was dust and webs everywhere but Illyan didn¡¯t care for the moment as he closed the doors behind him, put his bag on the table and sat down on the bed.


    He closed his eyes for a moment, resting his mind and putting his thoughts in order. After all, being in the close proximity of utter strangers wasn¡¯t something Illyan would enjoy. No matter how much time passed or how much he got close to someone, he always enjoyed the sessions of solitude.


    If he was really lonely, then his problem with Zephyr would manifest much more often, making it much harder for his mind to feel alone.


    ¡®Since I already began with the Vanaras numbers, I should review the letters. The sooner I will do so, the better for me.¡¯


    He took out the books he got from granny¡¯s house and put them beside himself. One of them stayed in his hand as he carefully opened it.


    The characters that were written in order from left to right were different from those of Theras language. Theras language was read from top to bottom and it was completely different. Illyan knew that Theras language was from a different continent altogether, so it wasn¡¯t so surprising.


    At first, he couldn¡¯t recognize any of those, but he remembered that he read something like this in the past. As the current memory ability of his eyes didn¡¯t help him with remembering what happened before he got them, he had a hard time remembering such things.


    However, his familiarity grew as he browsed through the pages. The biggest help came when he finally found an image of the herb he knew.


    ¡®This is Brahann Herb, isn¡¯t it?¡¯


    And


    once he realized that, he started to figure out the words on the page.


    The title was definitively the name of the herb. Then he deduced other words that were connected to one part of the herb. With this, in no time he deduced the entire alphabet and managed to read the page.


    ¡®Brahann Herb, also known as Mind Relieving Herb, is a type of small bush that grows almost anywhere on the Oberuan continent. When the leaves are used as the tea, it will bring the calming effect while improving the focus. The roots could be also used for¡­¡¯


    After reading the knowledge that he already knew, he was content with his job. While he still read with difficulties, but as time passed he got better at it as he remembered all the characters which made it easy for him.


    ¡®There are 32 letters in the Vanaras language and 10 number signs¡­ With my eyes I should be able to read fluently in a few days¡­¡¯


    Of course, the condition was that he would train every day. Which he planned as the information inside of the books was priceless to him. Not only were there new herbs that didn¡¯t grow in the north that Kaoran never mentioned but there were also many techniques of how to refine those herbs into something useful. Not to mention, there were also some tools that Illyan only vaguely remembered from his childhood.


    In the north, the craftsmanship that didn¡¯t include warring was always obsolete. Highest form of tools there were just low-quality mortars, pestles and cauldrons. This made the herbalism overly simplified which was both beneficial and detrimental to Illyan.


    Thanks to that, he knew how to make simple solutions, pastes and whatnot with just his hands and some basic tools and heat treatment of the herbs. That was the reason why he managed to poison Thearas clan even though he didn¡¯t have anything on himself.


    But because of that, his proficiency in herbalism was also kind of superficial. He knew a lot but only in the theoretical realm. There were many things he couldn¡¯t do as the lack of tools made it difficult to do any detailed work and there was also often loss of medicinal potency because of bad efficiency.


    Of course, people like Kaoran could bridge this gap with Spiritual Energy. But how could Illyan when his affinity was at the complete bottom?


    Because of that, Illyan was looking forward to getting proper tools and learning the orthodox way that a normal apothecary learned how to concoct medicine.


    ¡®It has been quite some time since I last trained in Spiritual Energy Control¡­ Since my perception got quite good and my [Nature Breath Method] had breakthrough it should be easier for me to progress.¡¯


    His lack of control and inability to hold the Spiritual Energy inside of his body bothered him for a long time but now when he stopped to be eager for quick progress he realized that as long as he worked hard enough for a long time there should be some reward at the end of the road. Of course, even if life would give you lemons, in the end, you would just need to make lemonade out of it. If he could not do it with his natural talent and the time then he would use the long time to find another way.


    ¡®After all, the affinity for Spiritual Energy wasn¡¯t set in stone. Originally, I was probably without even a trace of any affinity for it. Without the shock therapy that happened to me I wouldn¡¯t be able to awaken my latent potential.¡¯


    Unfortunately, this kind of method couldn¡¯t be artificially created nor be used several times. After that time he went through several other shitty situations but nothing changed.


    ¡®There will always be a way.¡¯


    He shook his head as he continued reading the book from the first chapter.


    With passage of time he got more and more familiar with words written in Vanaras and his tempo in reading also got quicker. Before he realized the two hours already passed as the small window in his room showed that the sun was already going down.


    Because of that, he closed the book, put it into a bag and came to the doors. However, before going out he stopped and turned around to look at the webs and dust.


    His eyes twitched thinking about how he was sitting around it. He didn¡¯t like messy environments like this at all so he made sure to get rid of it before leaving.


    But when he was leaving he took a look at his bag and pondered.


    The bag contained important things that he couldn¡¯t afford to lose. The herbs were just buffers that made it big but the real things were the rods, books and the Firestorm Herbs he took from Thearas Clan village. One of the herbs could be used over 15 times but he didn¡¯t have many of them since it would bring too much attention in that forest.


    That¡¯s why he decided that taking the bag with himself would be a better option than believing in the security of this shabby inn.


    With that, he took the bag, locked the door and went down to take his first meal in the town¡­

 78 - Academic Institute

    With calm steps, Illyan descended the stairs. When he made eye contact with the man behind the counter, the man nodded and disappeared through the doors behind him, presumably into the kitchen.


    After this, Illyan found an empty table in one corner of the inn and sat down, placing the bag next to him. Then he closed his eyes and waited. In this way, over 20 minutes passed before the doors were opened by an old lady with an apron. The barman immediately pointed at Illyan, showing her where the customer was.


    ¡°Here is the food and hot water,¡± she said with a smile as she put everything on the table.


    Illyan nodded as he took the wooden spoon and tasted it.


    It tasted horrible. It was a kind of porridge made from leftover vegetables, corn, and cereals that one could gather. It was standard food for poor people. With that, hard bread that needed to be soaked in it for you to even chew it was added as a side dish.


    While Illyan didn¡¯t live some extravagant life in the north, when it came to food it was a high-quality one. During those times, he probably ate more meat than the entire village during one generation. And when it came to meat, there were not many ways to mess it up.


    Simple heat treatment and adding salt made it delicious.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that Illyan was a picky eater now. He ate it without problems as there were times when he needed to eat worse things in his life and this was nothing in comparison.


    Not to mention, this kind of meal gave him tingles of nostalgia as he remembered times when he ate this kind of meal with his family from one big pot while smiling at each other¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    Next day, when he came for breakfast, he decided to stay as he waited for Terren''s group. Yesterday, he didn¡¯t wait for them as he went inside his room to continue reading but he knew that they entered the inn as his acute ears heard Terren¡¯s voice when they came in.


    He could go to the Academic Institute alone but having a veil of a group was more comfortable for the current him who lacked the common sense of normal citizens. While following them, he didn¡¯t need to find out the things on his own so he was in good mood.


    ¡°Oh, sir!¡±


    Cara, who was going down the stairs, waved her hand as she scurried to him. Nord was behind her as he nodded.


    In the end, Garan and Terren came together as they had bags under their eyes while having tired expressions showing their reluctance to wake up.


    They just wobbled on their way as they came to the table while the old lady came with the hot food.


    Terren, albeit still sleepy, started to eat without thinking while others started to talk to each other.


    ¡°Sir, where have you been?¡± Nord asked as he put the spoon inside his mouth.


    ¡°I was here long before you and stayed in my room. We were after a long journey so I went to rest,¡± Illyan said as he waited for them to finish their meal.


    ¡°Oh, makes sense. I was also so tired yesterday¡­ Even now, my entire body hurts¡­¡± Cara complained a bit as she stretched her muscles.


    In this way, they had a peaceful conversation during their meal. People came and left the inn as time passed but they, even after they finished their meal, stayed in the place as they discussed what to do from now on.


    ¡°Where are the others?¡± Garran, whose mind cleared up after filling up his stomach, asked when he realized that others hadn''t gone out yet.


    ¡°Some of them decided to rest for a few days as the journey was harsh. Especially for Erte whose leg was pierced by those damn bandits. Others decided to leave sooner. We are not that close after all,¡± Nord shrugged.


    ¡°So, what do we do next? I don¡¯t really want to wait for others¡­¡± Terren mumbled as he still kneaded his eyes.


    ¡°How about we divide into two groups? Garran needs to go to the Mayor to buy a Merchant license and Terren needs to go to the mayor too to ask to be enlisted into his army. On the other hand, me and Nord need to go to the Academic Institute to become apprentices. Oh, and sir too,¡± Cara suggested as she was used to deciding such things for the irresponsible boys.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to call me sir. Just call me Kaoran.¡± Illyan who listened said this abruptly. Being called sir didn¡¯t dwell well inside of him.


    ¡°Alright, Kaoran,¡± Cara nodded with a smile and then turned to others.


    ¡°Will that be fine?¡±


    ¡°Well, not quite. I need to go first to the merchant guild that will take me under their wing where I will learn the stuff and then after they train me I will need to get a license from the mayor. Or so I heard. So Terren needs to go alone to be mayor.¡±


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    ¡°Wha?!¡±


    Terren started complaining as his face twisted. He didn¡¯t want to go to the mayor alone.


    Illyan just shook his head inside of his heart as he listened to the youths in front of him.


    ¡­¡­..


    After a while, they ventured out of the inn and divided exactly as Cara suggested. Since the Merchant guild was quite close to the center, Garran and Terren would go in the same direction for a while. But even then, Terren seemed to be discontent. Or rather desperate because he needed to visit the mayor alone.


    He was just a young man, after all. There was no way that he wouldn¡¯t be nervous when going to unknown territory alone. Fortunately, while he would just visit the vicinity of the mayor mansion he didn¡¯t need to talk to him personally and would just need to talk with some officer.


    The reason why he had to go such a roundabout way to become a soldier was because there were no barracks in this town as it simply didn¡¯t have enough budget to have one or needed that many soldiers. Not that soldiers wanted to stay here. For anyone worth some penny, they would happily leave for the more lucrative capital.


    Even Terren didn¡¯t plan to live in this place for his entire life and set his gaze on the capital city instead.


    However, despite his ambitions the first step was always the hardest to cross.


    But others weren¡¯t pitying him as they themselves were in front of a nerve-wracking event. If they messed up then their dreams would be buried deep in the ground never to be seen again.


    Illyan noticed that especially after he observed Nord and Cara when they walked through the streets. That made him curious what the tests would be like. They couldn¡¯t be that hard since it was normal for uneducated peasants to become apprentices, right?


    When he asked, Cara sighed as she explained.


    ¡°That may be true but they still assess you in the beginning. If they think you are someone not befitting of becoming academic then they wouldn¡¯t take you in. Also, the less you know the harder it will be later on to advance from apprentice to full-fledged academic. For that reason, we paid back in the day a private tutor who visited our village to teach us to read and write which makes us better than average villagers but I am still nervous that something will go wrong.¡±


    ¡°The biggest variable, Terren, isn¡¯t going with us. Nothing will happen.¡± Nord forced a laugh as he said this and then turned


    to Illyan.


    ¡°Kaoran, you should be in a better position since you can just say you are a physician. They will test you out and then you can build off this as you continue to study. The more so when I heard that there is actually a small number of physicians in the town.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Illyan nodded as he pondered their words. But that didn¡¯t last for too long as they soon found the biggest building that Illyan saw except the outer walls.


    It looked quite shabby but it showed its long history. The pillars were going from ground up to the skies where they supported the roof while being adorned with small carvings and symbols. At the front doors were two statues showing an old man and woman with a book in their hands.


    Intrigue passed through Illyan¡¯s eyes when he saw this and was looking forward to seeing the inside of the building.


    Cara and Nord also marveled at this ancient building but when they noticed that Illyan was already going up the entrance steps they quickly followed after him.


    When Illyan opened the doors the first thing he noticed was the extremely high ceiling. The room was filled with bookshelves that were reaching from bottom to top making it look little like a maze full of books.


    In front of that ¡®maze¡¯ was a front desk reception behind which was an old man. He was bald but his beard compensated for that as it was as long as his forearm.  Right at this moment, he seemed to be sleeping on that counter as he had several books opened around him.


    ¡°Aaah!~ I almost forgot that this institute also substitutes for a public library in this town! So many books¡­¡± Cara exclaimed with wide eyes as she looked at so many books.


    Illyan and Nord were no different.


    For Illyan who was living in the wilderness most of his life this broadened his horizons by a lot.  Not to mention, seeing so many books at one place made him want to go read them at this very moment.


    After the initial wonder waned they came closer to the counter and Nord knocked at the counter to wake the old man up.


    ¡°Hmm.. Sir, wake up, please!¡±


    ¡°Hmm?!¡± At first, the man was unresponsive but when he opened his eyes a little and noticed that there were people in front of him he almost fell from his chair.


    Agh?!¡±


    He widened his eyes at them as he breathed heavily. Then he realized what was happening and started to fake heavy coughs as to play off his embarrassment.


    ¡°Welcome to the Academic Institute! How can I help you?¡± His expression turned professional as he smiled at them with a straight back.


    ¡°Ehhhm¡­ We would like to apply for an academic apprentice probation¡­¡± Nord said with a slightly awkward expression.


    Illyan felt like he heard the crack inside of Nord¡¯s mind when facing this old man. As if his expectation of real academics was crushed in one efficient strike.


    He laughed in his heart seeing this.


    ¡®No matter what position, profession, or experiences one has, they are still people. With all good and wrong.¡¯


    The old man¡¯s face cleared up hearing this as he smiled.


    ¡°Oh, so it is my future juniors! It¡¯s been a while since the last batch came. Unfortunately, only one of them managed to get promoted so far after so much time had passed¡­ Well then, I would like to ask you some basic questions first before sending you to the one who will settle everything up with you.¡±


    He took out three forms and took out a feather pen and submerged its tip into an ink container. Listening to Cara¡¯s answers who came first he wrote them down.


    He asked for names, age, reason for applying, and other such questions.


    ¡°Some specialties?¡±


    ¡°Umm¡­ Do you count reading and writing as specialties?¡±


    ¡°Oh, how brilliant! It looks like you guys came prepared! This makes it much easier for you¡­ So I guess the little friend besides you is the same, right miss?¡±


    His eyes fell on Nord who seemed to be nervous.


    ¡°T-that¡¯s right¡­¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± After finishing Cara¡¯s form he continued with Nord.


    Of course, now that he knew he could read and write he could let him do the form himself but he was used to writing those forms so much because of the large percentage of the population being illiterate that he didn¡¯t even have the thought of letting them fill it themselves.


    ¡°And now the last one¡­ I guess you would be a young male? I apologize, but it is hard to see through that hood of yours¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh..¡± When Illyan heard it he hesitated for a moment and then put his hands on that hood and put it down.


    His long hair was finally released and his young countenance showed in front of them.


    ¡°My name is Kaoran. I am 19 years old and was born in one of the villages in the north. However, I was traveling a lot in my younger years. I can read and write and learn basic herbology and medicine from my adoptive grandfather on the frontline.¡±

 79 - Becoming An Apprentice

    Since the central building of the Academic Institute functioned primarily as a public library, they had to head to the left wing where the offices, workshops, and labs of the official academics were located.


    It was in the left wing where all the important activities took place, prompting the three of them to head there for a small interview with one of the lower-ranked academics before officially becoming apprentices of the institute.


    ¡°Wait here for a moment. I will return soon. Just sit down and relax. The interview will be simple,¡± the receptionist, who had guided them until now, instructed them before disappearing through one of the many doors in the area. Illyan promptly sat down, followed by the slightly nervous duo.


    ¡°Kaoran, I didn¡¯t know you were so young. I thought you would be in your thirties¡­¡± Cara remarked, glancing at Illyan''s flawless countenance with slightly red ears.


    ¡°That pristine face of yours was unexpected,¡± she also added.


    ¡°Do I seem that old?¡± Illyan asked with a curious expression.


    ¡°Well, we didn¡¯t see your face properly through that hood of yours and your low voice was always so calm and composed that it made us feel you had lived through a lot of experiences over time¡­¡±


    ¡°It also makes your voice sound deeper as you have kind of¡­ Limited emphatic intonation,¡± Nord chimed in.


    Listening to their explanations, Illyan frowned inwardly.


    ¡®People already think I am older than I look when I am mentally just around 19 years old¡­ How bad will it be in the future?¡¯


    He already expected that his behavior would change along with time while his face would age slowly. But he didn¡¯t expect the discrepancy would happen so soon.


    His childhood ended when he was eight years old. Since then, he stopped being a child and became a survivor fighting for his life.


    ¡®I guess there is a price for everything, huh. This makes me think over some things¡­ Since I planned to be in this place for a while, I should also find some recreational activities¡­ I should enjoy myself once in a while¡­¡¯


    During his life, Illyan didn¡¯t have many hobbies or fun activities to do. When he was younger, he was always looking for a way to fill his stomach, and the only fun activity he got to have was learning herbology and listening to stories. In his later years, the only thing he did was train, fight and study. While he loved each of those activities, it was far from all what life offered.


    As he pondered, the old man reappeared and brought Cara with him.


    From then on, only two of them waited.


    But after time enough only to drink a cup of tea, the old man returned and took Nord with him.


    ¡°Where is Cara?¡± Nord asked as he left with the old man.


    ¡°She is discussing accommodation with the staff right now. Don¡¯t worry, you will be able to communicate together once you finish,¡± the old man answered before guiding Nord inside.


    As the door closed, there was only Illyan waiting in the room for his turn in silence. Because of the silence, Illyan closed his eyes and calmed his mind into utmost tranquility as he waited.


    Fortunately, just as with the first case, this time it also didn¡¯t take much time before the old man returned.


    He didn¡¯t need to say anything as Illyan stood up immediately and followed him inside the doors. The old man smiled as he remarked.


    ¡°I already mentioned your expertise to academic Falia. But you need to be honest with her about your abilities and experience as you will need to be requalified by academic physicians. Each try is very expensive. There were many who bragged and then went poor dirt after failing several times. So, just tell her as much as you can while being transparent.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, elder,¡± Illyan nodded as he made a small bow.


    ¡°Hoho~ There is no need for such formalities. If everything goes well, then we will be colleagues in no time. You can just call me Ollie or old man like everyone else does.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Mr. Ollie.¡±


    After that, Illyan went through the other doors where academic Falia was already waiting.


    ¡°Please, sit down.¡±


    Before he could say anything, she prompted him with a cold voice. Illyan nodded and sat down at the chair in front of her desk. She was a middle-aged woman with a pale countenance. Her face already showed wrinkles from age, but Illyan could guess that her frowning was also partially at fault.


    She had a monocle over her left eye and was reading some kind of paper while ignoring Illyan. When he noticed her brown hair tied into a ponytail to avoid getting in the way, he wondered if he should also tie his hair up.


    ¡°So¡­ Mr. Kaoran, was it right?¡± At last, she put her eyes away from the documents and looked at him.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


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    ¡°Well then, from Ollie¡¯s words, you are an uncertified physician. Can you please tell me more about you? Why did you decide to pursue the path of physician?¡± Falia asked with an apathetic voice, as if she had done this hundreds of times.


    ¡°You see, since I was small¡­¡± Illyan started to explain about himself, highlighting his time learning herbology from a young age and then learning medicine on the frontline with his ¡®grandfather¡¯. Of course, while the most important things remained unchanged, his story was still very different from reality. He couldn¡¯t say he was from the north where only barbarians lived, after all.


    Instead, he decided to change his story to where he was from the south and worked as an assistant to his grandfather during the war. He decided on this story ever since he heard from Terren that large-scale skirmishes were common in the south.


    ¡°I see. How far does your knowledge and proficiency go?¡±


    ¡°I pretty much can heal any kind of physical injury as long as I have the right tools and herbs. I know and can detoxify most common poisons and treat most diseases that are not too rare.¡±


    The conversation was definitely much longer than that of the duo, but Illyan was prepared for it, as he was aware that she would ask about his abilities.


    She was asking, and he was answering.


    ¡°Now, I would like to test whether you can truly write and read. It is common procedure as there were cases of liars trying to become academics without making an effort, to make profit or for other nefarious intentions.¡±


    She put an old parchment, which was half-filled with text, in front of him.


    ¡°Please read the text written on it.¡±


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    When he looked at the parchment, he saw the small letters. They were familiar, as he had trained reading them the entire day. As such, he didn¡¯t even get stuck as he read fluently.


    ¡°The ancient city of Naaza is known for its unrelenting brunt of the dark miasma¡­¡±


    At first, he read for the sake of reading, but seeing that the content was interesting, he also absorbed whatever information it gave him. Of course, one paragraph of text was nothing, but it still piqued his curiosity.


    ¡°Good. You can read quite well for such a young man. Now, please try to write your thoughts about the text you have just read. The length of it should be the same as the content you have read.¡±


    She gave him


    a feather quill and an ink bottle. Illyan focused, knowing this would be his first obstacle.


    While he learned reading, he never actively wrote anything, as even the old parchment he was using right now was expensive.


    He took the feather quill and carefully dipped it into an ink bottle.


    Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t too stiff with it, as his experiences with [The Way of the Body] made him extremely nimble with his body and whatever item he was holding.


    Of course, that still didn¡¯t make him professional, but for casual use, it was sufficient.


    At first, he pondered what to write, but then he just thought that writing his honest thoughts would be easiest. As he wrote from his perspective, he mentioned his interest in that place and also his guesses as to what was happening there based on his knowledge.


    ¡°Sir Kaoran, I wanted the text to be the same length as the original text¡­¡± When he stopped, he realized he had filled the parchment by two-thirds. That made him a little awkward.


    Cough


    ¡°I apologize. I was carried away.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ It doesn¡¯t matter. Let me see¡­¡±


    She took the parchment and started to read it. At first, her frown deepened, and she used her feather quill to write something into the text. But as time passed, not only did her expression loosen, but it also seemed that her eyes sparkled a little.


    After a minute passed, she took a deep breath and looked back at Illyan.


    ¡°There are several grammatical mistakes. It is not bad considering that you probably didn¡¯t have much practice, as parchments and paper are expensive or even unavailable in some places. Your penmanship is also sub-par. For normal people, that would be enough, but not for academics, so you will need to practice more. As a benefit of being an apprentice here, you will be given five standard parchments every month. You may take this to look at your mistakes.¡±


    She said as she gave him back the old parchment. Illyan looked at it and noticed some scribbles next to some words he wrote. However, those scribbles were much smaller, elegant, and more artistic than his, which looked as amateurish as it could.


    He stopped looking at it before putting it in his bag before looking back at Falia, who didn¡¯t stop talking.


    ¡°All in all, it wasn¡¯t horrible. But what took my interest was the content itself that you wrote. That itself shows a lot about a person. And you, Sir Illyan, seem to be a very curious young man, yet being rational while looking from more perspectives. That is a trait that is very welcomed here. As for your curiosity, I will indulge you for this one. Yes, the city of Naaza exists, but it is very far away from here.¡±


    After she said this, Illyan nodded satisfied. While the text was interesting, he didn¡¯t know if it was just fiction. Now that his curiosity was satisfied, he thought inwardly about whether he would get a chance to visit the place in the future.


    ¡°Now, I have one last question. I personally think it is not needed in your case as your text already showed it all but still. Procedures are procedures. The question sounds: "Why did you choose the path of academics?¡±


    After the entire interview, Falia seemed to be much more friendly than at the beginning. She still didn¡¯t smile, but she didn¡¯t frown either.


    Illyan didn¡¯t need to think about the question as he promptly said.


    ¡°Because I like to study and learn new things. And because I think knowledge is power.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± Falia nodded as she took out an account book.


    ¡°Sir, before completing this interview¡­ There is a small one-off fee to become an apprentice. It is five bronzes. Once you pay it, you will be given accommodation, three meals a day, free lectures on basic subjects, and free access to the library for as long as you stay as an apprentice here. Of course, you will also have other responsibilities once one year passes. If you don¡¯t have¡­¡±


    ¡°No, it is alright. I have that much. Here you go,¡± Illyan, while pained that most of his money was gone, still gave her the fee. After that, she started to scribble something in that big account book before looking back at him.


    ¡°Good. Congratulations, Mr. Kaoran. From now on, you are an apprentice of this institute. Study diligently as the apprentices are being tested every month. If you are not getting better, then you will be expelled. But if you get promoted to a full-fledged academic, then you will be fine. For you to get promoted, you must be proficient in at least one field and get tested minimally by three academics of that field. That costs a lot too, since academics don¡¯t have that much free time. The first time is just one silver coin, but after that each try costs over ten silver coins.¡± She said this with a serious expression as she stood up and gave him a hand.


    That confused Illyan a bit, but then he realized it was probably a cultural thing and took her hand, shaking it.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry. You will be given more details by one of the instructors once you get proper accommodation. Before that, you can do whatever you want, but please stay in the building before everything is done. You can either rest or go look around the library.¡±


    After she said this, she opened one of the drawers and took a small bronze badge.


    ¡°This is confirmation of your identity. Put it on your robe and don¡¯t lose it. Also, don¡¯t try to exploit it, or there will be consequences.¡±


    After she gave him advice, or more rather a warning, she saw him off at her office. Outside, there was another man waiting for him¡­

 80 - Valas Peninsula

    Once he got into his new accommodation, where he would probably spend a long time, he decided for the first time to completely unpack his belongings. The room, while small, was of much higher quality than the inn¡¯s room and had much better furniture.


    There were two beds, implying that the room was for two roommates, and had basic wardrobes and dressers for their belongings. The room Illyan was in was shared together with Nord, who also became an apprentice. However, since Illyan¡¯s interview was prolonged, Nord already unpacked everything and was nowhere to be seen.


    Illyan went to his own wardrobe and put everything he got in his bag there. He planned to toss the bag away after this as it was of low quality, since he built it in a hurry back then. He would buy a normal one later.


    When he finally put everything away, he took the black rods at the bottom and pondered where to put them. Although this was their room now, he still feared theft. In the end, he decided that he would hide them in the bed. He put the mattress of the bed away and put the rods there before putting the mattress back. Then he sat down and wondered what he should do.


    He and the duo were told to wait before being officially added to the apprentice list and being able to participate in lectures of other academics. There, they would learn the basic knowledge that every learned person should know. That included elegant penmanship that Illyan lacked and ability to take care of books.


    Of course, there would also be lectures on the main fields like medicine and history, but those were optional as it was up to individuals to choose their specialization.


    Illyan already chose medicine since he was already skilled in it. That wouldn''t stop him from reading other information in the library later on though.


    But for him to pass the test, he first needed to pay up one silver or ten bronzes. That was half of his fortune. So of course, he had to be sure of his success before even trying.


    By talking to the staff that guided him to the room, he found out that there was just one academic physician in the institute right now. The problem was that for the test, at least three of them were needed. There was another in the town, but he served as the personal physician for the Mayor and was quite selfish and uncooperative. On the other hand, they would need to call another physician from the region which would also take a lot of time.


    All in all, it would take at least three months before he could even try to be requalified.


    Illyan didn¡¯t mind. Instead, he took out the two books he owned and started to read them. Before becoming a physician, he didn¡¯t have a good way to make money so he planned to read those books and then sell them to the institute. While Illyan was a sentimental person, he wouldn¡¯t let those sentiments make his life difficult. Since his eyes allowed him to have almost perfect eye memory then why not use it?


    Thanks to that, he didn¡¯t need to own the books to relearn things after they dissipated in his memory.


    While feeling a little reluctant as it was the only thing left after the person he thought of as a grandmother, he still believed that it was not the things that held the value but the memories he still retained. As long as he wouldn''t forget it would be alright¡­


    ........


    It took him two days to finally finish those two books. The more he read, the quicker his tempo was. Now, every word was engraved in his mind as if he had read it thousands of times.


    Some of the content inside was already known to him, but he still read it all as it was now immortalized in his mind. He realized a long time ago that memories would fade away and that was why you needed to practice whatever you learned repeatedly, but now he was excited to know that anything he read was perfectly copied in his mind.


    That meant that he could read more without considering his memory capacity.


    That made his mood especially good.


    And so, he decided that he would visit the library that day. He took the books he wanted to sell and went out of his room.


    The accommodations where they would live until they leave or get promoted were in the right wing of the institute where most apprentices lived. Of course, some of the academics lived there too, but most of them would choose to have residence outside as the rooms inside were too limited.


    When he finally got to the main hall, he saw that Ollie was still sitting there while commanding some young people with books in their hands.


    While he was acting as a receptionist, he was also the librarian who took care of this library. Since the library was officially public, there were people visiting. Those who did were usually wealthy people like merchants and lords, but there were also many people of lower ranks of hierarchy.


    Some of them were poor people who wanted to educate themselves or even fulfill some kind of distant dream.


    Unfortunately, most of those poor people couldn¡¯t even read and just looked around. Some of them even had dirty hands while wanting to hold the old books. That was why most of them couldn¡¯t even pass the reception into the library.


    Stolen story; please report.


    That was also the reason why most people desired to become students of academics. But those usually accepted only those from the upper class of society and thus those at the bottom couldn¡¯t do anything but wallow in despair.


    However, because of that, the number of academics started to decline in this land where most rich and affluent lived more in the southern part of the kingdom.


    Thanks to that, the apprentice system was created where even village peasants could start as apprentices for a small fee. Of course, while it was a small fee, because of their poor nature, they usually paid off in different ways such as free labor, assistance in academics¡¯ works, and so on.


    Until they became full-fledged academics, they had to work in this way. After they became one, they could decide whether to leave and use their new title to find a new path or continue being affiliated with the institute and working with other academics in the projects they were working on.


    When the young men left, Ollie turned his head to Illyan and welcomed him with a warm smile.


    ¡°It is good to see that you were successfully accepted as an apprentice. Hopefully, though, you will not stop at this position and soon climb up. After all, there is a lack of proper physicians in this town, hoho~.¡± Ollie laughed out.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Yes, I also hope so¡­¡± Illyan could only nod as he saw the laughing man.


    ¡°So, what brings you here? Are you also interested in the library?¡± Seeing that Illyan didn¡¯t continue the conversation, Ollie asked what he came here for.


    ¡°That too, but firstly I would like to sell those books.¡±


    He brought out those two books from his robe as he put them on the desk. Olli opened his eyes wide as he observed those books before turning back to Illyan.


    ¡°You would like to sell those?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­¡±


    After saying so, Ollie started to examine the books. They were old, and so he had to take care of them carefully while also looking at the content of the books. Those books had generic names like Herbology Book and Herbalism Book and there were tens of books named like that just in this library alone. Because of that, it would be bad if they were just copies of books that were already in the library.


    Ollie didn¡¯t ask why he wanted to sell them as he could already guess. Instead, he said to Illyan that he should wait for the answer for a bit as Ollie needed to make sure those were original books which would take some time.


    ¡°It will take a minimum a day, so feel free to visit the library. As an apprentice, you don¡¯t need to notify anyone as you can enter whenever you want. Just don¡¯t bring or make fire inside even if it is in the form of a candle, have clean hands, treat the books with respect, and don¡¯t make too much noise inside.¡±


    After saying that, he scurried away while calling another man to go sit at his original seat substituting for him.


    Seeing this, Illyan didn¡¯t waste his time as he turned his attention to the library. On his otherwise cold expression, a hint of expectancy showed up as his eyes twinkled with interest.


    He started to wander around the bookshelves to get to know the layout of the library while also reading what each bookshelf encompassed.


    ¡®History, Archeology, Astronomy¡­ There are so many, huh¡­¡¯


    It took him over ten minutes before he stopped and decided to take one book out of the bookshelf. The section he was in was the history and there was a name of the book that sounded familiar.


    ¡®Valas Peninsula¡¯s history.¡¯


    Wondering if it was the same Valas he thought it was, he took the book out and found an empty seat in one of the reading alcoves.


    There, he opened the book and started to browse through it. The first thing that took his attention was the simple map of the territory. It wasn¡¯t detailed and even Illyan could say it was quite rough but it fulfilled its objective.


    The good maps were monopolized by the nobles, royals, and military, after all.


    When he looked at the map he noticed that in the corner it showed the individual cardinal directions.


    ¡®North, West, South, and East¡­¡¯


    When he looked back at the map he saw that far in the south the land spread everywhere beyond the map while the more north the land was the more narrow it got surrounded by the Cold Sea.


    The territory was divided into five places. One was the southern tip of the land beyond the peninsula called Arkravav Empire. At the start of the Valas Peninsula started the Vanaras Kingdom that took over half of this land.


    The kingdom borders ended in front of the Alchemy¡¯s Doom Forest¡­


    ¡®Alchemy¡¯s Doom? Never heard of it¡­ But it feels like this is the place where the Blood Crow Forest is. How weird¡­¡¯


    While confused he continued looking more north and as he expected there was Frozen Valas Tundra taking the second biggest part of the land and this tundra ended far in the north at the tip of the peninsula where were small Frozen Islands which were called the Land of Eternal Winter...


    Once he confirmed the basic layout of the Valas Peninsula he looked back at the ¡®Alchemy¡¯s Doom¡¯ Forest.


    It was between Vanaras and Frozen Valas Tundra. It should be the same forest he thought of. But the name was different.


    That was nothing new as everyone liked to call things with their own names and so he was used to the fact that some of the herbs had several names under their belt.


    But he wondered why it


    was Alchemy¡¯s Doom.


    ¡®What does it mean?¡¯


    He didn¡¯t have an idea. However, he remembered this piece of information as he planned to look for other books for an explanation later on.


    Instead of pondering, he continued observing the map. He noticed that Western Mountains that he saw for years when he was young were called the Snowless Mountain Range since there was no snow on its peak despite its altitude while the Eastern Mountains that reached beyond Vanaras were called the Iron Troll Mountain Range.


    The names intrigued him a little and so he planned to look at them in more detail.


    Anything beyond the Vanaras Kingdom was barely documented and so his eyes fell back on Vanaras. The first and only landmark known to Illyan was the Winterfrost town he was in right now and based on it he learned where the other towns and cities were.


    He noticed that there were no villages marked on the map and realized that they were just insignificant to most people. Nobody cared about such peasants who were living difficult lives in their hell holes.


    That made Illyan frown. While he was far from an ordinary peasant he still didn¡¯t forget his origin. The most ordinary life where you work half a day to not die of hunger during the night.


    Now, he was in a place where most peasants can only dream about.


    But that was not enough. As time passed, greed crept up into Illyan¡¯s heart. He wanted to climb to an even higher position. Somewhere where even the most privileged people couldn¡¯t even look up to.


    This was only the beginning. Now that he had means to educate himself, he would create a solid foundation that he would build on for the rest of his life.

 81 - Transactions

    This time, it didn¡¯t take even three hours for him to finish the book. It was because the book was much thinner than those herbology books, but also because Illyan had gotten used to reading this language.


    Not only that, but he also felt that thanks to his [Eyes of Truth], he could absorb more information from one glance, making it easier and quicker to read literally anything.


    After that, he continued to wander around history books as he became more interested in the land where he was born.


    Many things were something that he already knew, but he didn¡¯t mind, as this way he engraved it in his mind forever.


    What he found intriguing was why the eastern mountains were named as the Iron Troll Mountain Range. It was said that those mountains were infested by mountain trolls, a type of malevolent monster also known as demons that ate humans.


    What Illyan was surprised about was that this monster was humanoid. Illyan never saw such a being, as the only supernatural creatures he saw were the winter beasts that were just bigger animals. Maybe only the wendigos were distantly humanoid-looking.


    They were also the reason why nobody wanted to travel the mountains. Not even the maniacs from the Blood Crow Alliance nor the barbarians of the north.


    While Kaoran didn¡¯t know why it was so dangerous, he knew from the attempts of their ancestors that nobody who traveled through those mountains survived for too long.


    However, Vanaras soldiers would once in a while raid the mountains with the excuse of culling their numbers under the commands of creating some mines there as it was known there were iron veins throughout the entire mountain range. That was why the word ¡®iron¡¯ was included in its name.


    The western mountains, on the other hand, seemed to be less intriguing because of their name Snowless, but the opposite was the truth. The reason why there was no snow was simple.


    Several slumbering volcanoes were amongst them. While there was no threat of exploding, it still gave off heat that made any snow melt.


    It was also rumored that it was a nest of wyverns, a sub-species of powerful dragons. That interested Illyan as he was pretty sure he saw a true dragon back in the north, and so he wanted to know more about its weaker descendants.


    And so, he went to find some books about those creatures. Unfortunately, the only books about them seemed to be just speculations and legends instead of facts. While the Vanaras Kingdom was aware of how big the world was, it didn¡¯t dare to show its head too high in fear of being decimated. That¡¯s why most of the information about the world beyond the peninsula was distorted.


    Still, what he found was shocking. The weak ones were nothing much. Just lizards as big as normal-sized bears with crippled wings instead of front legs. They also didn¡¯t have any racial abilities like dragons did.


    But the strongest wyverns were as big as small dragons while being able to fly. They could hunt elephants easily or destroy the entire city.


    ¡®And that is only wyvern. Of course, I need to take this information with a bit of salt, but still¡­ Wasn¡¯t the ¡®dragon¡¯ that I saw too weak? Wasn¡¯t it such a wyvern as this?¡¯


    Then he shook his head. That wasn¡¯t possible. It could speak human language, while wyvern¡¯s intelligence was at most that of other animals. It also had an undeniable aura that made Illyan recognize the difference of existences between them.


    There was no way that was wyvern.


    He already deduced that it was the dragon''s spirit that was dead for thousands of years and knew that if it was at full strength then he would be dead, but he never thought too deeply about it. But now he realized how lucky he was to survive the confrontation.


    If it had even a fraction of its original strength, then he would probably die instantly. The dragon said that it went toe to toe with that eyeball thing which he called the God of Truth, and it seemed to be true.


    The desire to get stronger grew the more information he absorbed as his horizons broadened. And so, he spent the entire day reading books. Nothing else.


    In the evening, he went to visit the cafeteria for the first time and ate the soup they gave him before going back to his room.


    There, he greeted Nord who was already inside.


    They didn¡¯t talk too much as both of them felt spent after the entire day and went to sleep immediately.


    The next day Illyan planned his reading until he would get notice of the lecture.


    However, as he opened a new book he noticed from the corner of his eye that someone came to him. When he turned around he realized it was Ollie.


    ¡°Hello, Kaoran. I have good news for you.¡±


    After saying that, he invited him into his own office where they sat down.


    ¡°We already checked their content. The books are original and there are no other copies in the library. It was quite difficult to find out as I had to ask someone who read all medicinal books here. And that guy is hard to find¡­ But it paid off. Each of these books¡¯ value is no less than fifty silver ones. That makes it one gold coin. I assume that this sum will be alright?¡±


    Illyan readily agreed. As he took the pouch with money, he noticed that Ollie had a little sly grin on the corner of his mouth and realized that he probably took advantage of it because of his ignorance.


    But he already accepted the money, and it was too late.


    He sighed internally but didn¡¯t care that much actually. Money was secondary to him. Right now, he had enough money to live for a few months or even a year. During that time, he would probably find a different source of income. Not to mention, he could use the library for free. Thinking about it, he still felt that he was still on top when it came to profit.


    ¡°Thank you very much for the patronage. The books will be stored here so you can reread them if you want in the future. Well, not immediately as the physician VaeI told you about already confiscated them after I showed them. Thankfully, you accepted the offer or it would be quite an awkward situation.¡±


    Seeing Ollie¡¯s awkward expression, Illyan felt the corners of his mouth twitching.


    So his books were already gone before they were sold!


    When Ollie noticed Illyan¡¯s weird expression, he averted the attention towards different topics.


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    ¡°So, what do you plan to buy, Kaoran? While this much money isn¡¯t too much for those of an upper-class family, it is quite a high sum. You should be careful with handling such money as there are still some small gangs who would love to beat you to death to take the money.¡±


    When he mentioned this, Illyan remembered the scene of the man screaming in the middle of the street.


    ¡®Are those the gangs Ollie talks about? I want to see them try.¡¯


    Realizing they were just weaklings, he put his worries away as he pondered whether he needed something.


    He wanted to save this money until he could get a stable income.


    ¡°I need a new bag and some of the tools for herbalism and medicinal tools¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh? I thought that the bag you used seemed to be weird. So it was of low quality, huh.¡±


    ¡°It was made by me after I lost most of my things. My group met a big pack of wolves one day, and I managed to escape only with luck, leaving most things behind."


    The made-up story he thought of before was brought up again as he had to explain his poor state. Ollie opened his eyes wide.


    ¡°I see! You were lucky! Those beasts are horrendous. They are greedy and devious. There were already several campaigns where soldiers had to hunt some large packs in recent years.¡±


    Ollie nodded in understanding as he knew that wolves could be like devils in animal skin.


    ¡°Then, I know one place that you can visit. There are some containers and other tools that could be used by physicians. Also, I advise you to buy something to tie your hair with. It gets in the way during reading, right?¡±


    When he mentioned it, Illyan realized he was right. When he leaned over the book, his long hair started to fall on it, and he had problems seeing through them. However, as he was used to them, he didn¡¯t bother with them.


    It was not like he could just cut them off permanently. He still didn¡¯t have that much control over his ability.


    ¡°Hmm.. I guess you are right.¡± Illyan agreed with him and noted in his mind to buy something for his hair.


    They then talked about other unimportant topics, especially about how Illyan was satisfied with his accommodation. They talked for around half an hour before finally deciding to end the conversation.


    ¡°Haah¡­ I really enjoyed this conversation. Unfortunately, I still have some things to do so we need to cut it off.¡± Ollie said as he stood up.


    Illyan also stood up prepared to leave.


    ¡°Also, before you leave, two days later go to room number 302 in the left wing. There will be a three-hour lecture that day about Arithmetic which is quite important for academics.¡±


    Then he took a list on his table and gave it to Illyan.


    ¡°This is the list of books whose contents you need to know to safely pass the test of medicine academic. There are over 50 medicinal books and another 10 miscellaneous books that are obligatory for every academic. If you are confident then tell us and within a few months, we should be able to gather three certified physicians to test you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    After saying that, Illyan left the room.


    But instead of going back to read the books he had prepared, he went out of the institute prepared for his first shopping spree ever.


    He went around the town and first bought a big high-quality bag that he then started to fill with new things. He bought several box containers for herbs to store in, then he visited the store Ollie told him about and bought a new mortar, pestle, cauldron, glass bottles, and other things needed.


    Then he went to a blacksmith to buy a knife. The blacksmith was a little reluctant to sell Illyan the knife as selling weapons to random people was quite taboo. Fortunately, Illyan had a good excuse. He needed a knife for foraging.


    After finally getting it, Illyan left satisfied. While he already had a knife for foraging that he got from Thearas clan, it was too small and unsuitable for fighting. On the other hand, while the new steel knife was not made for fighting either, it was much more useful.


    The blacksmith would probably grit his teeth in indignation if he knew that Illyan had the knife for the same reason that the blacksmith didn¡¯t want to sell it.


    Of course, Illyan didn¡¯t plan to kill randomly. He bought it because of those gangsters and that robed man.


    He also bought from the blacksmith a small whetstone for the knife. However, he also planned to use it to grind his own nails since they got too resilient and needed to be trimmed this way.


    After this, he looked around the stores looking for anything useful. He didn¡¯t find much, but he felt his horizons broaden once again.


    Finally, after a long time of looking around, he noticed one small stall that was selling all kinds of accessories. And between them, there were long ornamented wooden sticks. The lady that was selling them had them pierced through her tied-up hairstyle on top of her head, giving her a unique look.


    Once he got closer, she turned her head and widened her eyes.


    ¡°Ah! I see that sir is in dire need of my accessories! Would you like to buy one set or maybe two? They come in pairs!¡±


    She started to show several pieces, each with different ornaments, trying to tempt him.


    After seeing how it looked, he was pretty sure that if he wanted, he would be able to carve it, although without the ornaments. But since he was already here, he could buy one set.


    ¡°How much for one?¡±


    ¡°Five bronzes!¡±


    ¡®Isn¡¯t that too expensive? This much can allow me to live one day in the town comfortably. This is a rip-off¡­¡¯ This time he realized that this wasn''t a good trade-off before he lost his money. However, he didn¡¯t want to waste his time by carving new ones at this moment as he wanted to spend most of his time in the library.


    ¡°How about this? You give me these ones and then show me how to tie my hair with it for those five coins.


    ¡°Deal!¡±


    He tossed her the coins while grabbing the hair sticks, and she untied her hair.


    ¡°Look closely, sir!¡±


    Then she started to methodically tie her hair while explaining the origin of this hairstyle.


    ¡°It is said that it comes from southern coastline countries where the jungles are prominent and high temperatures are the norm. I would love to see it once but the journey must be dangerous¡­¡±


    After finishing, she asked if he needed her to show once again, but he just shook his head as he tied his hair himself. He had little problem with his left hand, but after a little struggle, he tied his hair perfectly.


    Same as with the books, after seeing it with his eyes, he had it engraved in his mind as clear as when she was showing it to him.


    Now, with his hair tied, he looked one step closer to a civilized person and left with a satisfied expression.


    Then he just wandered around, looking just like the Terren¡¯s group the first day. He didn¡¯t know for how long he would stay here, but he guessed it would be a long time, so knowing the town was advantageous.


    However, just as he had a peaceful moment, he heard whips and screams.


    When he turned around, he noticed that on the square there was a crowd of people looking at guards who were leading some people in chains into wagons.


    There were minimally 20 of those. But one of them seemed to be familiar.


    When Illyan got closer, a gust of wind blew towards him, and he felt a comfortable smell similar to some herbs. Or at least that would be the thing that most people would smell. This smell, albeit strong, couldn¡¯t deceive Illyan¡¯s good senses.


    He smelled rotten meat in some of those wagons. When the realization hit him, he narrowed his eyes.


    ¡®Is this that merchant¡¯s wagon?¡¯


    And when he looked around as if to prove his theory, he saw several robed men going across the street while the guards looked to be submissive, and the passersby also stopped gawking.


    Soon, the robed men got on the wagons and traveled out of the town¡¯s southern gate. As Illyan observed, a sense of unease settled in his stomach. Something about the situation didn''t sit right with him. He remembered the merchant he had encountered earlier, and a nagging suspicion grew within him.


    Ignoring the impulse to simply turn away, Illyan approached one of the guards, his curiosity piqued.


    "What''s happening here?" he asked, trying to keep his tone casual.


    The guard eyed him warily before responding, "Just rounding up some troublemakers. They''ve been causing a ruckus in town, disrupting the peace."


    Illyan''s gaze shifted to the prisoners, and he noticed the varying degrees of fear etched on their faces. Among them, one figure stood out to him ¨C a man whose eyes held a flicker of defiance amidst the fear. It was the merchant he had spoken to earlier.


    "Why are they being taken away?" Illyan pressed, his voice steady despite the rising apprehension within him.


    The guard shrugged. "Not my place to say. They''re being dealt with according to the law."


    Unsatisfied with the vague response, Illyan continued to observe as the wagons disappeared into the distance. There was something off about the whole situation, something he couldn''t quite put his finger on. The sight of the robed men accompanying the guards only added to his sense of foreboding.


    As the commotion died down and the crowd dispersed, Illyan lingered for a moment, his mind racing with questions. What was the true reason behind the merchant''s arrest? And who were those robed figures, and what role did they play in all of this?


    With a determined set to his jaw, Illyan made a silent vow to uncover the truth. Whatever secrets lay hidden beneath the surface of the town, he was determined to unearth them, even if it meant delving into danger''s depths.

 82 - Arithmetic Lecture

    ¡°Why are they being taken away?¡± Illyan mumbled to himself as he watched them leave the gates. Most of those chained people had grim expressions as if their life had ended, while others seemed to be in complete despair.


    ¡°They are prisoners who were sentenced to slavery. You are new here, right? This is normal here. Those guys always come once every few months or even years and collect people who were in the prison.¡±


    Someone next to him started to talk as he looked indifferently at those guys.


    ¡°They are probably fucking thieves and rapists anyway, so why bother? Let them enjoy their lives in chains for the rest of their lives.¡±


    The guy spat on the ground as he looked at those wagons, or rather at those people inside, with disdain.


    ¡°What will they do as slaves?¡± Illyan asked curiously, as he never knew the Vanaras kingdom had slavery.


    ¡°What else? Either fight in the arena of the capital, work in mines, or be fucked up by those fuckers.¡±


    ¡°Fuckers?¡±


    ¡°Well, those¡­¡± At this moment, the guy realized what he said as his face paled. He looked around to see if someone had heard him, but thankfully, nobody had, and so he sighed in relief.


    ¡°Nothing, I just spoke nonsense! I have to work now. Goodbye!¡± With that, the man disappeared into the crowd.


    ¡®Those fuckers, huh?¡¯


    He could already guess that he was talking about those robed men. It looked like they collected prisoners for some reason, and they were even collecting dead bodies. But it seemed that even though they didn¡¯t bother hiding it, this guy and Bor didn¡¯t know about it¡­


    ¡®Interesting¡­¡¯


    With this thought, Illyan turned around and left.


    ¡­¡­..


    After this incident, Illyan returned to the Academic Institute. The first thing he did was to return to his room and completely rearrange all his belongings. The herbs that were piled in one heap were separated by their names into boxes he bought. He put the medicine tools out on the table where he would use them, and the rest of his belongings were put into his new bag.


    Once he was done, he could finally focus on the list of books that Ollie gave him. He knew that it would be more beneficial to him if he quickly became academic, and so he wanted to put his effort into it.


    Seeing the long list of books, he frowned, wondering which he should read first.


    ¡®The ones about medicine probably won¡¯t be so useful to me, as I will be reviewing the knowledge I already have. So for now, I should try some of the miscellaneous¡­¡¯


    Reaching this point of thought, his eyes turned to one of the books.


    ¡®The Language of Scholars: Mathematics¡¯


    Two days later, he would have a lecture about arithmetic, which was just one small branch of mathematics. To be honest, Illyan knew only basic counting and wasn¡¯t well versed in this subject. But he knew that it was extremely important.


    So, he didn¡¯t hesitate as he went to the library to read the book.


    However, he didn¡¯t expect it to be so difficult.


    ¡®What is this?¡¯


    While he expected the numbers, he certainly did not know all kinds of symbols without an explanation. There were walls of text, but the style of writing was completely different and mixed with all kinds of words he didn¡¯t recognize despite him being able to read them.


    After browsing through several pages and realizing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to understand it unless he put a lot of time into it, he chose to abandon the book and look for another one.


    Since he had an arithmetic lecture soon, it was a waste of time trying to learn it on his own.


    Illyan returned the book and went looking for others. In this way, he spent those two days reading the recommended books while waiting for his first lecture.


    The day when the lecture would begin, Illyan, together with Cara and Nord, went to the west wing and looked for the room where the lecture would take place.


    Fortunately, it didn¡¯t take too long as they saw other apprentices scurrying on the way and just followed them.


    Illyan noticed that most of the people were going alone, looking as if they didn¡¯t want to speak to anyone. However, this kind of situation suited him as he didn¡¯t plan to make new acquaintances. Even Cara, Nord, and others were just someone he thought of as useful for the time being, and he kept his distance from them.


    They noticed this too and didn¡¯t care that much since they already saw that this was how Illyan acted to everyone, and it was not just them being the problem.


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    As their group went through the corridors, it brought certain attention from others, but aside from some side glances, they were ignored as everyone hurried on to the lecture.


    While there was enough space for everyone since there were not so many apprentices in the institute, people still preferred to sit close to the academic who taught the subject.


    Once they entered the room, half of the seats were already filled up. What, however, took their attention was another group of people who were sitting together. It was other acquaintances of Cara and Nord who said they would rest for a few days before visiting the institute. Among them, even the young man named Erte, who got an arrow in the leg, was sitting with a pale face.


    Cara and Nord both frowned when they saw them.


    ¡°They said they would look for us after they joined the institute.¡±


    ¡°Well, it looks like they are not that interested. Whatever. It is not like we were close. We are just from the same village.¡± Nord, who was more pragmatic, ignored them as he looked for the better seat.


    Illyan, who wasn¡¯t interested in the breakup of the crew, was already sitting at the back of the room where nobody was.


    ¡°Huh? Kaoran, you will sit here? Isn¡¯t it better to sit in the front?¡±


    ¡°It is alright. The front seats are too crowded for me.¡±


    When Illyan said this, they visibly hesitated. They thought of sitting together but feared that they would miss the words of the academic at the back. At this, Illyan only rolled his eyes.


    ¡°We are here to study. It is not like we need to sit together. Focus on the subject if you want to succeed.¡±


    He gave them small advice which they immediately understood as they went to find their seats.


    They didn¡¯t wait too long before the last apprentice arrived and seated himself.


    Not long after, the doors were opened again, but this time, an old gentleman with a cane and book in his hands walked in.


    Everyone in the room got quiet as they waited for him to speak. However, the man just lightly smiled at them as he calmly went to his front table where he put his study materials. The clicking noise of his cane clinking over the floor was the only sound that reverberated in the room.


    Illyan noticed that nobody showed impatience, and so he deduced that this happened normally.


    ¡°Good morning, apprentices. I see that there are many new faces, so I will introduce myself. My name is Korin Moratte, and I am an academic in the subjects of Mathematics, Architecture, History, and Archeology. Today we have another lecture on arithmetic, which is quite a difficult topic, so be careful to record everything I will say.¡±


    He spoke up with a gentle voice as he put one extremely large piece of parchment on the back wall behind him. It was obvious that it was made from the hide of a gigantic creature, but Illyan couldn¡¯t guess what kind. Instead, he looked at the content that was written on that parchment and immediately memorized it.


    He was delighted to realize that there were some explanations that were missing in the books and could finally connect the dots.


    However, he was in an even better mood once the academic started to talk. It was obvious that he was very eloquent as he started to talk in even greater detail than what was written on the big parchment.


    The sound of scribbling resounded in the room as everyone started to write notes of what Mr. Korin was saying. Nobody wanted to miss even one word that he said, as there were many details that were not recorded in the books. That was also the reason why most of these bookworms even decided to stop reading books and participate in this lecture.


    Illyan also didn¡¯t hesitate as he took out the five parchments that he got as a training tool, together with a feather quill and ink bottle, as he started to take notes in a serious manner.


    While his eye memory was outstanding to the point where he remembered everything with a glance, his hearing memory wasn¡¯t that good. It was only average or slightly above average, and so he couldn¡¯t afford to just listen.


    Fortunately, his hearing was acute, and so he didn¡¯t miss even one word that was said.


    The more Mr. Korin talked, the more Illyan felt that this man really knew what he was talking about. This kind of erudite person who could explain the difficult topic with a few words was always something Illyan admired and strived for.


    Unfortunately, instead of wholeheartedly listening, he had to put most of his focus on writing.


    Illyan had difficulty with writing as he wasn¡¯t used to it, and so he wasn¡¯t as smooth as others. He made several blots on the first parchment, and it felt as if he was scratching instead of writing.


    However, after the first parchment came the second, and after it came the third. The more time passed, the more he felt that he got better at it. His handwriting seemed to be more pleasant to the eyes, and there were fewer blots in the text.


    He also got quicker.


    Thanks to that, he could focus more on what was said. Most of it was still beyond him, and he couldn¡¯t understand, but some of the words resonated in him as he


    remembered them from the mathematics book he browsed through.


    In this manner, these three hours of lecture passed.


    ¡°...And in this manner, you can calculate this formula¡­ Oh my, look at me, we ran overtime! I guess you are tired after this, but you should not forget to absorb the knowledge and train it a little to understand it better¡­¡±


    Many of the apprentices were dead tired as they had to focus for so long, and their wrists hurt.


    For Illyan, though, it was nothing, and so he didn¡¯t hesitate as he took his belongings and went to the front table where Mr. Korin was also packing his things.


    ¡°Excuse me, Mr. Korin.¡±


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    When Mr. Korin heard someone calling him, he turned around. His eyes widened as he had to raise his head a little up, as the one who called him was just that tall. When he saw the red eyes staring at him, he felt like this man didn¡¯t look like a scholar at all.


    ¡°What can I do for you, apprentice?¡±


    However, as someone who lived for a long time and went through many experiences, he was still calm and asked with a gentle smile.


    ¡°I have a few questions for you regarding mathematics if it doesn¡¯t bother you.¡±


    ¡°Aha. I don¡¯t mind, ask away.¡±


    Illyan didn¡¯t waste any time as he started asking about things he didn¡¯t know about. It was mostly about what each symbol meant, as there were still many that he didn¡¯t know about.


    ¡®So he is a beginner, huh.¡¯


    After this thought passed through his mind, he started to meticulously explain each and every question.


    Illyan listened while asking some additional questions that came to his mind.


    While Mr. Korin was patiently explaining this to Illyan, the other apprentices started either to leave or also came closer to the academic with some questions in mind. Since Illyan had a lot on his mind, it took quite some time, and so some of them gave up and left, while others were impatiently fidgeting.


    But in the end, Illyan stopped asking as he got the basics. Now, he just needed to go read that book before asking another question.


    ¡°Thank you for answering me.¡±


    ¡°Haha, that is no problem!¡±


    After that, Illyan thanked Mr. Korin with a little bow and left the classroom in a hurry. The only thought in his mind now was to go read the book he left alone before. There were so many things he had yet to learn, and so he didn¡¯t want to waste any time as he once again submerged into the sea of books in the library, seeking all the knowledge within for the rest of the day¡­

 83 - Will To Get Stronger

    In the following month, he filled most of his gaps in his education and understanding of how society worked as he read through over one hundred books. His reading tempo quickened to the point where he could devour several hundred pages in just a few hours while still retaining a clear memory of the content.


    With newfound understanding, he managed to smooth out the incongruity that some felt around him when he behaved differently than normal people would.


    The only thing that prompted him to leave the library were the lectures of the academics as he attended every single one, diligently recording everything.


    He learned about literature, logic and rhetoric, penmanship, care of books and other academic tools, the history and laws of the kingdom, philosophy, theology, natural philosophy, and the common language of the continent, known as the Oberuan language¡­


    In most of those, he learned only at a superficial level and was nothing in front of the other apprentices who had studied these topics for years, let alone the fully-fledged academics.


    However, that couldn¡¯t be said about the mathematics that intrigued him to no end.


    When he didn¡¯t understand it, it was frustrating to the point of pulling his hair, but once he understood the logic behind all of those unknown formulas, he started to enjoy the process.


    He still wasn¡¯t at a level where he could use it in real life, but he felt that he got much better.


    And since this was the topic he focused on, he talked about it a lot with Mr. Korin whenever he had a lecture. This made Mr. Korin acknowledge him as a diligent student and have a good opinion about him.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t forget about his current goal, which was to become a full-fledged academic. From these one hundred books, sixty of them were the ones he needed to learn for the test.


    Thanks to that, his medical knowledge sublimated as he read all those medicine books. It wasn¡¯t because the knowledge inside was much better than what he knew. After all, while the legacy of Bakur was incomplete, it was still something desired by most. However, he had a different perspective. While the one he learned his entire life was more based on spirituality, the one he read in the books was based on pure logic and physical treatment.


    Now that he knew both perspectives, he felt as if new doors opened to him.


    He was looking forward to the examination that they would prepare for him. Illyan already visited Ollie and explained to him that he was prepared a few days ago.


    Now, he just needed to wait for all three physicians to gather. Ollie told him it would take from one month to six months as those old men were unpredictable.


    But he didn¡¯t mind as he would just spend the time in the library.


    The other times, Illyan was either in his room where he mostly slept or talked to Nord on some occasions or at the dining hall where he talked with him and Cara. That was his entire schedule. Waking up, meditating for hours, going to lectures if there were any, and then spending the rest of the time in the library until the evening when he would finally eat and go to rest.


    While he didn¡¯t mind Nord, he was looking forward to getting a proper room or even a house for himself.


    He was already getting fidgety from the time he didn¡¯t train his body properly. The only proper movement he had all this time was the rehabilitation of his weakened left arm, but that was already healed at this point.


    There was no mistake, he enjoyed just sitting in a quiet room while reading, but it was also a fact that he liked to do some kind of action from time to time since he was growing as a warrior.


    That made him wonder how the training of the soldiers in this town was.


    ¡®Should I visit Terren for once with Nord and Cara? He became a trainee there¡­¡¯


    He just shook his head as he cleared his thoughts.


    Illyan was right now in his room sitting on the bed while meditating. He cut the time of his meditation since entering the town from several hours to only one hour as it got extremely hard to meditate.


    As the name hinted, [Nature Breath Method] was something to be used in nature. When he entered the town, the entire process of the meditation was similar to going through a quagmire.


    It actually even felt that the meditation didn¡¯t bring him any gains.


    But he still preserved it as he felt that his mind got tempered with this kind of exercise. He also felt that his perception of nature itself was getting better.


    If before he was in the sea, then now he was in the desert looking for the droplets of water. Once he got better, he felt that his method would go through another breakthrough.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    However, that would take too much time to depend on it. While he had time, it didn¡¯t mean that others would wait for him.


    Illyan already guessed that his luck was quite bad during his entire life. Maybe he was paranoid, but he didn¡¯t plan to test the waters. He needed to find a way to get stronger as soon as possible if he didn¡¯t want another misfortune to befall upon him.


    The knowledge was important, but it didn¡¯t give him any edge against his enemies. For now.


    The first thought that passed through his mind was about those robed men. They definitely were strong. But it seemed most, if not all, of them left and even if they didn¡¯t, they didn¡¯t seem exactly friendly.


    Because of that, some wild thoughts passed through his mind.


    ¡®Should I just kidnap one of them if I see him?¡¯ Once he thought about it, he started to really consider it.


    If he kidnapped one of them and managed to get out of them the way they got stronger, then it would be for the best. If they didn¡¯t cooperate, then he would dissect their bodies to find the truth. He did it hundreds of times with Kaoran. Only not with living people.


    ¡®But those guys terrorize this place, right? Taking corpses and slaves. It seems that they are planning something foul.¡¯


    After his logic and rhetoric lecture, Illyan unknowingly made his first but poor excuse for a horrible act that he had in his mind. Marking them as evil men gave him inner justification to go after them. After all, he still had some bottom line in the corner of his mind that was built over time with good people around him.


    But they were not here anymore to hold him back¡­


    In the next few days, he didn¡¯t stop reading, but he took some of his time going around the town looking for a good place to practice.


    Because of the effect of [Blood Feeding Technique], he couldn¡¯t practice it either. He needed some abandoned place where he could be alone for days if needed.


    He found some of these, but they were too ruined for him to live there.


    During these times, he also looked around for a way how the soldiers trained themselves. But it seemed like it was classified information.


    That made him a little expectant. After all, if it was classified, then it should be good, right?


    Because of that, one day he started talking to Nord more than normally.


    Nord was already in his bed groaning. Illyan at first thought he was beaten or something, but it seemed like it was something different.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    When he asked lightly, Nord cast his eyes at him.


    ¡°Academic Natasha is so quiet that I had problems hearing her even in the first row! Cara also had the same problem! No, it seemed that every apprentice had the same problem¡­We asked if anyone knew what she was talking about, but they just shrugged their shoulders. It is such a pain¡­¡±


    When he complained, Illyan immediately understood. In his mind, an image of the old woman who was mumbling under her nose about the law of this kingdom appeared.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask me?¡± Then he felt a little weird that Nord didn¡¯t come to him. After all, they could be called acquaintances or even friends. At least superficially.


    Nord rolled his eyes.


    ¡°You are always at the back of the rows. How could you hear anything?¡±


    When Illyan heard this, he almost snorted in amusement.


    He took out his notes and gave them to him.


    ¡°Here you go.¡±


    Nord took them and casually looked at what he got. Then his eyes widened as his mouth twitched.


    ¡°You recorded everything?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°How? You couldn¡¯t possibly hear her if the ones in front seats didn¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°I just have better hearing than average.¡± Illyan shrugged.


    Nord held it firmly in his hands as he looked at Illyan.


    ¡°Can I borrow them?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the reason why I took them out.¡±


    When Nord heard Illyan¡¯s words, he revealed a delighted expression.


    ¡°Thank you! I will rewrite as soon as possible and then¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to. The topic is quite simple so I don¡¯t have a problem with it and don¡¯t need it.¡± Illyan said with an impassive tone.


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°Just buy me a good meal or something. It has been a while since I ate something different than the food in the dining hall. I need some change. We can go out with Cara and meet the other two. Garran and Terren. We didn¡¯t see them for a month¡­¡±


    Illyan gave a suggestion while hiding his ulterior motive. He planned to talk to Terren about the Knight Training he was going through.


    Since he didn¡¯t plan to use Cold Energy ever again, he needed to find another way to temper himself. He would also like to learn the ways of the weapons that he never used.


    For example, swords. Most of the soldiers he saw used them, and so he was interested in wielding one. He already used a similar jagged blade in the past, but that was just a long knife at most.


    If the techniques of knights would be sub-par, then he would need to focus on those


    robed men only.


    After Nord agreed with him, thinking that it would be a fine idea to rest their minds after the mindless study, he visited Cara and decided that tomorrow they would visit Garran and Terren. As they didn¡¯t have a way to contact them, they could only surprise them as they would visit.


    The next day, after another lecture, they gathered together and left the institute.


    At first, they went at a leisurely pace, but when they noticed the burly guys walking around, they picked up the tempo.


    ¡°Damn it, why are they everywhere?¡± Cara muttered resentfully.


    ¡°Probably because the guards are not doing anything.¡± Nord guessed.


    Illyan also felt tired of walking on his tiptoes because of such weaklings. The guys walking around were from the same organization that he met on his first day in this town.


    He didn¡¯t care much about them, but it was irritating and even a little amusing that they acted as if the world belonged to them.


    Illyan investigated a bit and found out that there were at least two memorable gangs in this town that the mayor or anyone else didn¡¯t do anything against.


    One of them was the Venomous Viper Gang. They were a gathering of small-time criminals who blackmailed, raped, and stole. It was just a pile of vermin.


    On the other hand, the second organization was called Heart Bearer Gang. They were the ones collecting the fees around for protection. But other than that, they actually protected the civilians against the other gangs. That made them feared but not that hated. Other than that, they were known for giving loans to poor people. Those loans were obviously one big scam which made the poor people despair even more. They would then squeeze all the worth they had until they would make them debt slaves. While frowned upon, it was actually a legal thing to do so in this kingdom.


    And since giving a slave to the authorities would give you a certain sum based on what person it was, this was easy business for them which made them extremely wealthy in a short time.


    As for what would happen to those slaves, Illyan was already aware.


    They would be taken away to the capital by those mysterious men¡­

 84 - Lets Have A Drink

    Soon, they arrived at the merchant guild. The building itself differed from any other in the town. If the Academic Institute was somber and dignified while showing its long history, then the merchant guild displayed a pompous style through various decorations that must have cost a lot of money.


    ¡®Impressive¡­I wonder if anyone tried to steal these parts.¡¯ Illyan looked at the decorations with intrigue as he entered the guild. With this much, an ordinary family of four would be able to live for hundreds of years. And that was just his ignorant estimate.


    Fortunately, as someone who didn¡¯t need anything at this moment, he didn¡¯t feel anything despite seeing this and calmly entered the guild.


    Cara and Nord were a little different as they saw those golden flowers wrapped around the inscription of ¡®Merchant Guild.¡¯ However, they came to their senses when they saw Illyan enter already and followed after.


    After several minutes of asking around, they found Garran, who had black bags under his eyes while holding an abacus as he counted something.


    Nord almost laughed, but a glare from Cara made him silent.


    ¡°Hey, Garran!¡±


    When he heard a familiar voice, he lifted his head.


    ¡°Ah, you guys¡­¡±


    They talked for some time, and after a while, Cara suggested that they could go for a meal, and Garran readily agreed.


    ¡°Sure! But you need to wait until I finish my job.¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡±


    Since everything was arranged, they walked out and then headed towards the barracks where Terren trained.


    Fortunately, trainees didn¡¯t need to be disconnected from society and could leave when all their duties and training were done.


    And so, the soldiers guarding the barracks from any intruders didn¡¯t show too much surprise after seeing someone visiting one of them. Since the place they visited was only for trainees, there was no harm done. Cara, as a female, could easily communicate with them showing a friendly smile, and it didn¡¯t take too long before they gained access under supervision.


    Illyan looked around for anything interesting, but it felt like a barren land with only some accommodations and a place to train.


    ¡®I guess it makes sense¡­ They are soldiers, not scholars, to document their techniques¡­¡¯


    With a sigh of disappointment, he followed others and found Terren.


    As a newbie, he had to train even harder than others, so it was not surprising that when they found him, he was sweating like a pig while being shirtless.


    He was training with other trainees with a wooden sword, but it was obvious that he wasn¡¯t as skilled as the others. People around cheered and jeered as they laughed at the spectacle.


    When they got close, they just watched in silence as both sides fought each other.


    They swung their swords, trying to hit each other while parrying, dodging, or at least deflecting the incoming attacks. Terren was in a disadvantageous situation as his stamina was clearly inferior since he had trained just a little over a month.


    However, Illyan¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t miss that sometimes his sword got closer to the sparring partner at tricky angles where it would be hard to defend against and would cause devastating damage. But¡­


    Hesitation passed through his eyes as if fearing that he would hurt the other guy.


    In the end, after being hit on the shoulder, he sprawled on the ground as his sparring partner just shook his head with a small laugh.


    ¡°You need to train more seriously, newbie.¡±


    With this, he left while others could only leave in disappointment as they expected a little more.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, I heard that Favon got some liquor on himself. I was sober for too long to be comfortable.¡±


    ¡°Ha ha ha!¡±


    Leaving the young man breathing with difficulty from the training, they went to do their own things.


    This gave the trio an opportunity to get closer to him.


    ¡°Hey, why are you sprawled here like this? You will get sick.¡±


    Cara immediately reproached him as he was still without a shirt.


    Surprised, Terren looked around and noticed them. With an awkward look, he greeted them despite the difficulty.


    ¡°H-hello, haaah¡­haah¡­¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    Fortunately, since this was Terren¡¯s last training session that day, they didn¡¯t waste time as they forced him to agree to go with them for a meal. At first, he seemed reluctant but gave in under the pressure of his childhood friends¡­


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Later on that day.


    After everyone finally gathered, the group of five wandered through the town and bought several meat skewers that the wife of a veteran hunter was selling.


    The meat was quite expensive as it was forbidden to hunt in the nearby forests since they belonged to the mayor. Only those who got special permission could hunt under conditions of selling over 80% of the game to the mayor under market price.


    That was why it could be said to be quite luxurious food for villagers who didn¡¯t have much meat their entire life.


    But for Illyan, the meat was of low quality. He didn¡¯t complain, though, as he could eat almost anything.


    When they got their food, they went back to the inn where they slept the first night and bought soup. Unfortunately, in such a town, there were no places where they could go to rest. The town was also quite small, and the business was small, so this inn also worked as a tavern.


    Once they ordered the food, they sat down at the table in the corner.


    ¡°Aaah¡­ Finally, food after a long shift. You don¡¯t know how tired I am these days¡­¡± Garran sighed in relief after he sat down and started to eat his skewer.


    ¡°No, we can see it just right.¡± Nord immediately retorted with a roll of his eyes.


    ¡°Yeah, you two look like you went through war,¡± Cara said.


    ¡®One of them is going through soldier training, so it shouldn¡¯t be weird.¡¯ Illyan thought in his mind at Cara¡¯s words.


    ¡°Actually, I am not that-¡±


    ¡°¡±Shut up, idiot!¡±¡± Nord and Cara cut off Terren who tried to protest.


    As such, they started once again bickering as they waited for the food. Illyan especially waited and didn¡¯t even touch the meat that felt tasteless to him since it was without spices.


    Once the old lady brought the soup with bread, he put the meat on the skewer into the soup.


    ¡°Oh, that''s a good idea!¡± Garran, who was beside him, saw this and did the same thing.


    For a while, they ended up in silence as they took their first mouthful into the mouth.


    ¡°So, Terren, what the heck happened there? It looked as if you were bullied there.¡± Cara, in the end, couldn¡¯t endure anymore and asked.


    ¡°Ah, well¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to lie, it is not like we will laugh at you.¡± Garran, who noticed the situation, said this with a full mouth as he didn¡¯t stop eating.


    ¡°It is nothing as serious. Really. It is just that the training is harsh and the sparring is quite brutal. To be honest, others there are even more ruthless against each other. I just can¡¯t catch up as I started just a month ago and am too wea-¡±


    ¡°You are not weak. You are just being too weak-willed, and they are trying to beat it out of you.¡± Illyan cut him off.


    ¡°Kaoran, I don¡¯t think that this is a really normal way to welcome a new recruit, isn¡¯t it?¡± Nord frowned at Illyan¡¯s words as he didn¡¯t understand.


    But Illyan just shook his head.


    ¡°It actually is. If you can¡¯t stand it and give up, then you will at least keep your life. It should be standard procedure. Terren, ask yourself, is the dream you have worth risking your life for? Because once your training is done, you will fight. And you will definitely be injured much more than those few bruises from sparring at some point. Dying for the cause is a soldier''s duty. Even if you don¡¯t agree with this, the higher-ups who will send you to death will have a smile on their faces.¡±


    With a casual tone, Illyan explained to Terren the bleak life of a soldier. Becoming a knight was a good dream but only if you were able to survive in one piece. While Illyan wasn''t a soldier himself, he thought of himself as a warrior and was taught the ways of warriors by Degres. When he was younger, it was normal to be beaten to a pulp by him while he was laughing. And it was even worse in his case since he would recover too quickly.


    The wounds disappeared but the pain and trauma remained. Illyan smiled wryly in his heart when he remembered this.


    ¡°Umm¡­ I guess you are right. I need to train more¡­¡± Terren and others also understood what Illyan was trying to convey. Terren also wanted to express his gratitude, but Illyan didn¡¯t stop.


    ¡°But there was one biggest mistake that you made today. Do you know what it was?¡± Illyan asked Terren.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t block the seniors¡¯ blows properly, and¡­¡±


    ¡°No. Not being able to win with technique against your seniors should be normal. The mistake was something else.¡±


    Illyan looked Terren deeply into the eyes.


    ¡°You hesitated. I saw that you had at least two chances to hit him. Once in the knee and once in the solar plexus. But you didn¡¯t. You still wouldn¡¯t win in that spar. But you wouldn¡¯t lose that miserably either.¡±


    After saying that, he turned his attention to food and started to eat. Illyan wasn¡¯t used to talking this much but for the sake of his plan he had to.


    Others also became silent as they looked at Terren.


    He also felt awkward.


    ¡°But if I hit them there they would be wounded.¡±


    This time,


    Illyan didn¡¯t need to talk again as Nord knitted his brows.


    ¡°You mean, just like you are now wounded?! What did you think? That soldiers would just play around?¡±


    As everyone started to berate him, Illyan wiped his mouth.


    ¡°If you are hesitant to give bruises, then what about when you are told to kill? I know it is hard, but you need to address this issue as soon as possible.¡±


    Illyan gave his earnest advice while trying to look concerned.


    ¡°I see¡­ You are right¡­¡± Terren knew that Illyan meant good but felt conflicted.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to look like that. Pain is common in war. Your comrades won¡¯t blame you for a few bruises. If they do, then you have bad people to entrust your back to.¡±


    ¡°You seem to be quite knowledgeable in this topic, Kaoran.¡± Cara mentioned as she looked at Illyan with curiosity.


    ¡°I grew up on the front line as a physician. I saw many wounded youngsters from such basic mistakes.¡±


    ¡®Basically not a lie.¡¯


    After all, while tribe wars didn¡¯t use words as front lines, there were still some places where they fought more often than anywhere else during those hard times. While he acted as a warrior most of the time, he also treated his allies when there was a lack of healers on the battlefield and just one extra help could change the tide of the small-scale skirmishes. And usually, the first ones to be hurt were the young ones who made some stupid mistakes and faced consequences.


    ¡°Ohh¡­¡± Others nodded in realization.


    As the mood fell to the bottom, Illyan¡¯s eyes glinted with a cunning light.


    ¡°But this isn¡¯t something you should dwell on. Remembering it, yes but more than that I think you should try to relax first¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you shouldn¡¯t blame yourself too much, Terren. It is better to have empathy than being an emotionless bastard or maniac who kills for thrill.¡±


    Others also showed agreement at Illyan¡¯s words.


    ¡°I think all of us deserve a little rest and relaxation. Terren trained until he bled, we studied while neglecting our sleep while Garran also had his problems¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Those guys dumped all the boring things on me!¡± Garran nodded with sad eyes.


    ¡°So¡­ Let¡¯s have a drink tonight. What do you think, guys?¡±


    After saying that, the group went into silence as they considered Illyan¡¯s suggestion.


    ¡°They sell alcohol here? Great!¡± Garran, who seemed to be a lover of food and drinks, looked excited.


    ¡°I guess, we can.¡± Nord also didn¡¯t seem to be against it since the mood was really low.


    ¡°Ah, you guys¡­¡± Cara only shook her head but didn¡¯t dissuade them.


    Terren, who saw this, was a little hesitant as he had never had alcohol, but in the end, he agreed too.


    ¡°Hey, lady! Five drinks of your ale please!¡± In the end, Garran shouted out as he was excited at the prospect of forgetting his sorrows.


    And in this manner, the long evening began¡­

 85 - Joyful Evening

    "Di-d-d y-you know? Our serg¡­ sergeant told me that the knight profession i-is the only o-orthodox path on the way to t-the t-top! All other p-professions across the woo-rld are scattered and everyone looks for a way blindly¡­ Only knigh-tss go with a c-clear path!¡±


    Terren, who was completely drunk after two tankards, got more cheerful as he started to boast about the knight¡¯s profession.


    ¡°What the heck are you talking about? Orthodox path? I thought the roads were paved normally in other countries¡­¡± Garran, who already drank five tankards while only being tipsy, looked at his friend with a weird look.


    ¡°Pffft!¡± Cara started to laugh in an unladylike manner as she wheezed.


    Nord snorted in amusement as he was hugging his tankard.


    An hour passed after their first drink, and everyone was in a good mood. Peals of laughter resounded from other tables in the inn too, as the regular customers came after their work was done.


    The old lady and another young maiden who bore a similarity to her showed up with trays of tankards while smiling, giving the men their drinks. It seemed that it was the busiest time of the day, and so they couldn¡¯t even stop for rest.


    Everyone was enjoying themselves except for one.


    Illyan, who had kicked the fourth tankard down his throat, was red in the face and had curled the edge of his lips. However, nobody noticed that his eyes were completely clear.


    At the same time, he was listening to Terren¡¯s words with interest. While the words seemed to be gibberish to others, he could understand what they meant.


    ¡®Orthodox path? Are there other paths like spiritualists? Hmm¡­ In any case, learning this won¡¯t hurt me. Orthodox or not, it will be the foundation for me to pave my own path¡­¡¯


    When he let Terren finish his words, he asked him.


    ¡°Huh, is that sergeant of yours strong?¡± Illyan asked while acting drunk. He wasn¡¯t professional, but in front of other drunk kids, he had no problem acting.


    ¡°Of course! He is a-already a Fl-flow master! I saw him c-crush a stone in his hand!¡± His cheeks reddened in excitement as he recalled how valiant his higher-up was.


    ¡°Flow master?¡± Nord repeated in confusion.


    ¡°O-oooh, you actually don¡¯t k-know since you are n-not in the military¡­ A g-rand scholar doesn¡¯t know-hahaha!¡±


    ¡°Shut up and just tell us!¡± Nord pointed his finger at Terren as he cursed at him.


    ¡°To become a knight, one must train in certain t-techniques¡­ The first stage i-is to become one with the Flow¡­ Although the f-first stage, it is already a b-big achievement¡­ Y-you need to create inner flow within your body-y which can then strengthen you, make your moves smoother, a-and can do much m-more with other auxiliary tec-techniques! For example, the leader of the V-venomous Viper Gang was a deserter w-who became a flow master and l-learned how to p-poison people through his own flow¡­¡±


    After saying this, Terren hiccuped as he drank from his tankard of stale ale.


    Illyan¡¯s eyes shined at the new information.


    ¡®Good. Even if I can¡¯t get the technique from Terren today, I can still take it from that gang¡­¡¯


    ¡°Deserter?¡± Garran looked weirdly at Terren.


    ¡°Well, this is s-supposedly nothing new¡­ I heard t-there is some w-war going on for y-years in the south. H-however, this one is cunning as a f-fox and so he wasn¡¯t caught y-yet and actually made this gang¡­¡± Terren shook his head in disappointment, seeing the military having the criminal under their nose yet doing nothing to stop him.


    Others also became silent when they heard him. While they were all here just for a month, they noticed the state of the town. Guards were lazing off, gangs were promenading themselves on the streets, and news of peasants-turned-bandits ambushing the carriages and wagons was becoming more frequent.


    Of course, once the talk came to bandits, the group¡¯s thoughts came to that fateful night when the bandits attacked them¡­


    Only to be massacred and their bodies taken by those mysterious guys.


    Fortunately, the atmosphere at their table wasn¡¯t gloomy for too long as the surroundings influenced their mood.


    The lively atmosphere in the inn was quite unique, even for someone like Illyan. People had fun as some were betting who was stronger and started arm wrestling, while others were playing some kind of cards.


    Everyone had fun despite having a hard time during the day. And so, they didn¡¯t think too hard as they changed the topic.


    ¡°By the way, how is Garran doing in the guild? You still haven''t told us yet.¡± Nord was the one to change the topic as he turned to Garran.


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t wanna know¡­ It is terrible! The seniors who came before me use me as a servant and make me do their duties on top of mine! If I wasn¡¯t good at it, then I wouldn¡¯t even have time to sleep¡­¡±


    Just as everyone was listening to Garran¡¯s complaints, Illyan turned his attention to the old lady who was coming to give them new drinks.


    Secretly, he took out a small bottle full of a concoction that he prepared before they met up and held it tightly in his arm.


    When she came close to them, he took two of the drinks and, with a nimble movement of his fingers, poured the content into the tankard that was in the same hand with which he held the bottle. This was only possible thanks to his acute control of his body, which allowed him to do this without anyone noticing.


    ¡°Thank you! Here you go, Terren, Garran.¡±


    ¡°T-thank youuu!¡±


    ¡°Ghahaha, thanks! That¡¯s what I needed the most right now!¡±


    With a small smile, he gave the tampered drink to Terren and the untampered one to Garran to make it less suspicious.


    After that, he stopped caring about taking any information and just enjoyed the evening. While he came with ulterior motives, there was no need to not enjoy the moment he was living in.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    He started to drink the ale, which although couldn¡¯t make him drunk, it still tasted quite good. As he wasn¡¯t used to drinking it, a froth beard appeared on his mouth.


    After a while, they even borrowed the same cards that the people at other tables played with from the inn and learned how to play with them.


    ¡°What is this play called?¡±


    ¡°I think I heard someone call it a ¡®Thieves¡¯ Trove¡¯...¡±


    The goal of this game was to hold a card called Thieves¡¯ Trove until the end of the game. The way to end it was very simple. Every time someone lost all their cards, they were out of the game.


    You needed to watch others'' expressions and act based on that.


    Most of its rules were simple as most players were uneducated people, and so they learned it quite easily despite being drunk¡­


    Unfortunately, while everyone was going through some wins and losses, there was one person who completely failed.


    ¡°What the heck, Terren? Can¡¯t you be any less obvious?¡±


    Looking at the guy who couldn¡¯t control his expression, most of them laughed and thought that he was completely drunk. Which wasn¡¯t completely wrong, but it wasn¡¯t completely right either.


    Only Illyan¡¯s eyes shone with joy.


    In this manner, the entire evening passed as they enjoyed themselves to the fullest, Illyan included.


    It wasn¡¯t until much later when the inn owner behind the bar called out loudly.


    ¡°In an hour it will be curfew! Drink up your last drink and either pay up for the room or leave!¡±


    They concluded that it was time to go back and came out of the inn with wobbling legs, especially Terren, who couldn¡¯t even stand on his legs without someone supporting him.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ We overdid it¡­¡± Cara was mumbling as she saw Nord retching not far away from them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. Once in a while it is not so bad!¡± Garran, on the other hand, laughed as his face turned red as a tomato from all that alcohol. While he still had dark bags under his eyes, he was much more energetic.


    ¡°Hah¡­ You are maybe right, but what do we do with these guys?¡±


    Cara pointed at Terren, who was just standing there with a foolish smile.


    ¡°I guess I will help him out to get into his accommodation¡­ After drinking so much, I need a little fresh air.¡±


    Illyan, who was quiet until this moment, spoke up. He was already supporting Terren, so they weren¡¯t surprised that he offered to do this.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better if I help you? I have it closer to the barracks than you do.¡± Garran also offered himself, seeing Terren leaning on Illyan.


    ¡°No need, while I may not look like it, I am quite strong.¡± But Illyan turned him down with a calm smile.


    ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t look strong? You would be considered a giant in our village¡­¡± Cara, who was listening, muttered her disbelief in his words with an astounded expression.


    Illyan ignored her words as he started to walk off while waving his arm.


    ¡°Until tomorrow, Cara, Nord.¡± With those words, he left into the darkness of the night.


    ¡°Wait for me!¡± However, Garran immediately ran after him. He didn¡¯t want to return alone at such times. It wouldn¡¯t be weird if he was mugged. The


    times they believed in guards protecting them were gone the moment they saw the guard at the southern gates lazing off during their work.


    In a few minutes, they stopped at the guild where Garran was currently living.


    ¡°See you later, Kaoran. It was fun with y''all.¡± After saying that, he disappeared through the doors.


    Illyan turned silent at this as he continued while holding Turren, who had completely passed out. However, his tempo visibly slowed down.


    The entire evening was for this. He came out with them to inebriate Terren and tamper his drink. What he gave him was a type of relaxant that made a person relax not only physically but also mentally. You would stop thinking about difficult stuff and would be in a much better mood.


    However, the drug was much more potent when mixed with alcohol and could make the person almost too open. Thankfully, Terren was an upright young man and didn¡¯t make a scandal.


    Not only that but he was still weak, and so the relaxant worked just fine. On aborigines, this didn¡¯t work as their strengthened blood made them more resistant against this or any other drug. The other useful trait of this drug was that it amplified the chance of losing the memory during his drunk state. It was a win-win situation for Illyan.


    Seeing that Terren fell asleep, Illyan frowned. If he was unconscious, then he was useless.


    Smack


    ¡°Huh?!¡±


    With shock, Terren woke up and looked around in confusion.


    ¡°Oh, you are awake, Terren?¡± Illyan played dumb as he looked at Terren.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Ugh, I felt pain for a moment¡­¡± Terren¡¯s face crooked as he felt the pain at the back of his head.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that from that spar of yours? Obviously, your body is hurt. You will need to rest after this.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ I guess you are right.¡± As if just realizing, Terren nodded his head.


    As they walked, they started small talk. Terren was extremely honest under the effects of the drug and was talking to Illyan with a smile.


    ¡°By the way, you said that the sergeant of yours can easily crush stone with bare hands. Is it true?¡± Illyan asked with fake wonder.


    ¡°Of course! I don¡¯t have a reason to lie!¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make whatever technique he used to achieve this a godly scripture? It must be amazing. Did you learn it already?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes! It is a type of breathing technique that will strengthen your burst power in battle and will create a Flow within you in the long t-term¡­ The entire technique is divided into four smaller techniques. The one I learned is the first one: Flow Breathing. The second one is called Aura Igniting, the third one is called Mind¡¯s Eye Opening, and the fourth one is¡­ Warlord¡¯s Conquest!¡±


    Terren said this with a proud face as if he had already achieved the peak of martial arts himself. And Illyan was very much happy to listen to it as he got new information from almost every sentence that Terren spoke.


    ¡°That sounds so amazing¡­¡± Illyan said with widened eyes. However, his eyes dimmed after a while.


    ¡°I think I already saw someone like that during the wars. They were like unbeatable heroes on the battlefield¡­ Unfortunately, he met his opponent one day and lost. He was heavily wounded. But not to the point where it would be impossible to save him. But I couldn¡¯t save him because of one simple reason¡­ This certain energy which I now know is called ¡®Flow¡¯ wouldn¡¯t let me save his dying organs¡­ I don¡¯t know if it was just the ability of his flow but it automatically defended him even though it was detrimental in this situation¡­¡±


    Illyan made a regretful expression.


    ¡°At one point, I also wanted to gain this ¡®Flow¡¯. Not to kill. To save others. If the patient''s Flow is blocking me, then my Flow would be able to nullify it¡­ Unfortunately, I am not a fighter but a physician. I can¡¯t get the technique anywhere and the military¡¯s conditions are not very good¡­¡±


    At this, Terren stopped as he looked at Illyan seriously. Then he nodded in agreement.


    ¡°R-right¡­ Just for the first part of the technique, I need to serve for six years before being allowed to retire. Otherwise, you will be deemed a deserter. That¡¯s why most soldiers would decide¡­ To not learn the t-technique since they didn¡¯t want to be in such harsh commitment¡­ I wanted to be a knight anyway, so I don¡¯t care, but for scholars like you¡­ E-especially since you want to save and not to kill¡­¡±


    His legs stopped, and he almost fell if Illyan didn¡¯t hold him. Terren made a conflicted face. His brows scrunched up, and it looked as if he was frowning.


    But it didn¡¯t last long as his face slowly relaxed.


    ¡°Kaoran. Can I trust you?¡± Terren asked tentatively.


    Illyan knew that it was time. He thought about what he should say, but in the end, the simplest way was the best solution.


    ¡°Yes!¡± One word was enough.


    ¡°I will tell you how to d-do this breathing t-technique. B-But! You can¡¯t tell anyone! You and I would be dead!¡±


    Seeing Terren¡¯s serious expression, there was a hint of hesitation on Illyan¡¯s face. But it didn¡¯t last long. It was a high-risk, high-reward type of action. When he was in the wagons with others, he also thought about going to the military, but once Terren mentioned that you had to be one for at least six years, he dropped the idea immediately. Even if he did have the time, he didn¡¯t want to spend six years as a small-time soldier. He got another option this evening by knowing that the Venomous Viper Gang¡¯s boss knew the technique too, but that would be risky. He didn¡¯t know how strong the Flow Master was. Not to mention, the man was a Flow Master when he deserted. Who knew how strong he was now.


    ¡®Maybe he is already a¡­ Aura Master? Are they called that way?¡¯


    But this thought passed in his mind as quickly as it disappeared as he answered Terren.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will never tell anyone about this!¡±


    Terren¡¯s serious expression melted as he beamed.


    ¡°Then listen properly¡­¡±


    As Terren started whispering something, Illyan looked around and even tried to use his Spiritual Perception that he didn¡¯t use for a long time because of the strain in using it. Once he checked that nobody was close, he listened to Terren¡¯s explanation with a serious expression while his inner thoughts were running wild with delight.

 86 - Flow Breathing Technique

    Once he got in front of the barracks, Illyan handed Terren over to one of the guards who seemed to be against him going alone inside of the barracks and threw him out. However, Illyan didn¡¯t mind at all as the entire evening was a success.


    Not only did he get the thing he desired, but he also got some intriguing information.


    ¡®I just need to get to know why the knight path is considered orthodox. The spiritual path seemed to be superior¡­¡¯


    While the tales Terren talked about sounded very remarkable, it still didn¡¯t change the fact that one Frozen Worm would crush an entire army of knights. Or at least that would happen if they were only as strong as Terren recounted.


    Unfortunately, Illyan didn¡¯t know much since Terren also said only things he heard from other soldiers during training.


    However, he didn¡¯t think too much about it as his mind came to the breathing technique he just got out of the drugged young man who would not remember this tomorrow.


    The technique was once again named with a simple and concise name.


    [Flow Breathing Technique]


    ¡®I will try it out tonight since I am already outside. When I am in the institute, I don¡¯t have any place to practice.


    To be honest, Illyan was already frustrated by the lack of privacy.


    He wasn¡¯t bothered when he was younger, but after he lived for years in a tent alone, the thought of living in the same room with someone was abhorring for him.


    Not to mention, he had too many things to hide that it felt as if he was tied, and it felt almost claustrophobic.


    Fortunately, once he becomes an academic, he would be entitled to a private room and office.


    On the other hand, Illyan was still more greedy as he wanted to have land unaffiliated with the institute somewhere on the outskirts of the town. He wanted a garden to cultivate his herbs, a place to train, and also his own laboratory.


    The institute was mainly an intellectual place and didn¡¯t have places for such things.


    Illyan could only hope that it would not be too expensive¡­


    Soon, Illyan found some remote place in some abandoned alley to not be seen by guards. The curfew would start in less than an hour, and they would not be happy to see someone wandering on the streets.


    There, he leaned on the wall, closed his eyes, and started to breathe the air in a rhythmic manner. The best way to do this would be in a sitting position since he was a beginner, but the ground in the town was too disgusting.


    People would throw their wastes outside of their windows without caring, which made the entire town smell outrageously, especially on the rare hot days where the smell would get more intense.


    Sitting on such ground would probably make Illyan¡¯s clothes unsalvageable.


    ¡°Haah¡­Huuuh¡­¡± Taking a deep breath with his nose, he filled his lungs with the smelly air, but he ignored it as he exhaled through his mouth.


    In this manner, he breathed while feeling what was happening in his body. He felt the circulation of his oxygen speed up and with that, the entire blood circulation sped up too. His heartbeat quickened to the point where he felt the strain on it and pain spread across his chest.


    Illyan didn¡¯t care much about the injuries, but if his heart literally exploded, then even he would be a goner. So, he slowed down with his breathing, calming his beating heart a little.


    Normally, this kind of breathing wouldn¡¯t do anything to the human body, but Illyan understood what happened.


    ¡®The Spiritual Energy in the air.¡¯


    Through the rhythmic breathing, it became stimulated, which allowed it to be breathed in and circulate across the body. Unfortunately, it was in complete circulation where the Spiritual Energy was inhaled each breath and then exhaled. Nothing remained in the body once you stopped the technique.


    In this manner, the knight''s burst power during breathing was several times higher. That was if they managed to master the technique. Most people would only use it to meditate when in complete peace to condense their flow.


    If they tried to use it during a real battle, then it would not be surprising if they died from self-inflicted inner wounds instead of their opponent''s strikes¡­


    Illyan could be said to be quite talented in this as he managed to induce such a reaction from his body just from the first try. He didn¡¯t do it right, but that didn¡¯t matter to him. As long as he didn¡¯t go overboard, then his innards would always heal.


    Even though Terren was extremely drunk and under the effect of the relaxant, which should cause the victim to stop thinking about consequences, he still reminded Illyan several times of the danger of wrong circulation.


    The technique was hidden from the eyes of the normal populace, but even if it was leaked just as now, the authorities would be indifferent. Why? Well, because most people who tried the technique would be dead after the first try without someone to guide them.


    As of now, Teren could only cultivate in front of his seniors who would help if he messed up. Even if he was willing to teach the technique to Illyan, he would still never do so since he believed that anyone who wasn¡¯t in the military would die after trying.


    What Illyan didn¡¯t know was that over a hundred years ago, a young candidate of the Bakur Tribe¡¯s Grand Shaman position also gave up on bringing this technique to the tribe because of this.


    He traveled across this kingdom and the empire neighboring to it as he widened his horizons. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t bring anything of worth too much since travelers like him who didn¡¯t want to be tied with the forces didn¡¯t have a chance to get any profound knowledge.


    Only by chance, he came across this mainstream technique. But it was too risky to teach a tribe that had only a few thousand people. Not only that, it was risky, but it took a long time before it was useful.


    It was at that time when he realized why his honored ancestor Kennera, who lacked talent, didn¡¯t dwell on this technique and created her own called [The Way of the Body].


    It was an auxiliary technique that didn¡¯t strengthen the body or give additional bursts of power to the user but allowed him to control his body to the inhuman extent. She was said to be so natural with it that no tool was difficult to use in her hands, no environment was her obstacle, and no man was able to touch her with her impeccable footwork.


    Together with a resource now called Kennera Lake she managed together with her husband to create a tribe that lasted longer than the kingdom where Illyan was right now.


    He still wasn¡¯t nearly as proficient in it as she was but could be said to have nimble fingers and had good climbing and jumping abilities.


    Obviously, he didn¡¯t plan to stop training in this technique.


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    He planned to use both [Flow Breathing Technique] and [The Way of the Body] together to reach a higher realm. It would be hard, but he wasn¡¯t discouraged.


    After all, he had time to train in it. Not to mention that there were many training dummies.


    Tap Tap Tap


    Sounds of legs stepping on the ground resounded as several people showed up from the edge of the street. Their faces were dirty, and their clothes were ragged. It was obvious that they weren¡¯t regular citizens.


    In truth, Illyan already noticed that someone was tailing him with Terren. While his first try to sense someone failed, after a while, he noticed someone was looking at them while hiding.


    At first, he thought someone wanted to either hear the details of the technique too or the opposite, wanted to report it to authorities.


    However, Terren talked quietly, and most of the explanation was about breathing so the person had no way to understand it from a distance.


    Then, he realized he was probably overthinking, and this was the so-called mugging attempt.


    They waited until he and Terren parted their ways and disappeared.


    That didn¡¯t mean that he changed his mind. Illyan was aware that thanks to the stories that Nord and Cara told him that most muggers came in groups in case that the one they mugged was no pushover and beat him with their numbers.


    Since they saw that Terren was from the military, they didn¡¯t risk it and came in a group of five. Even sober soldiers would be done for if they met five enemies, albeit sloppy ones, let alone drunk soldiers.


    Unfortunately, they didn¡¯t know that Illyan was not drunk even though he was in the inn the entire time and that he wasn''t a soldier. But something worse.


    ¡°Hey, you!¡±


    When they finally got closer to him they realized that he was leaning there on the wall as if he was resting on his stroll.


    ¡°Heh, is he so drunk that he couldn¡¯t walk too far?¡± One of them made a remark which made others laugh a little.


    ¡°Hey!¡± The one who called out to him at first got angry when the guy didn¡¯t respond and got closer. He couldn¡¯t even see through his cape because of that black robe he wore.


    ¡°What?¡± Illyan finally opened his eyes and asked back languidly.


    The mugger who seemed to be the leader saw in the darkness only blood-red eyes which made him a little uneasy. However, he shook his head inwardly as it was just eye color and snorted coldly.


    ¡°Who do you think you are to ignore me?! Huh?¡± He asked as he wanted to take Illyan¡¯s attention for the other four to surround him before he tried to escape.


    ¡°Who do you think ¡®you¡¯ are to think I can¡¯t ignore you?¡± Illyan asked in a relaxed tone. If it was a few years ago then he would be just looking expressionless at this guy while not knowing what to say.


    However, in this month of time, he realized that he got innate talent that could be one equal to his battle talent.


    Acting.


    At first, he didn¡¯t plan to act and be just himself when he came to the wagon. But then he realized that this kind of behavior was unusual in any kind of society and could bring him problems.


    He was a loner in the Bakur Tribe because of this.


    After all, it wasn¡¯t until he became more social that others in the wagon started to talk with him. And if he didn¡¯t talk with them then he would lose a lot of opportunities and even information he got during their talks.


    He was glad that he changed his mind at the last moment.


    Not only it gave him more opportunities but it also opened more windows in his self-discovery. His smiles were not so forced anymore, and his tongue was more nimble. This would overlap with his personality even if he stopped acting now.


    The essence was still the same, but the aura was different. Right now he was Kaoran, a commoner physician.


    ¡°Hah?! You must be a crazy motherfucker! Can¡¯t you see what is happening? Just give us everything you have else you will have your intestines on the ground tonight! That robe of yours also looks good so take it off!¡±


    The mugger seemed to lose his patience as he brazenly said that he was here to rob.


    ¡°Before I do so I have a question for you¡­¡± Illyan looked him in the eyes and asked while still leaning on the wall.


    ¡°Are you from Venomous Viper or Heart Bearer Gang?¡±


    An innocent question which stumped the leader and others ensuing in utter silence. It wasn¡¯t until a few seconds later when a burst of laughter resounded.


    ¡°Bah! Do you think that we would go after likes of you if we-¡±


    ¡°Good.¡± Illyan didn¡¯t waste his time and took a deep breath. Then, his muscles tensed up and with a quick jab he slammed his fist into the closest guy¡¯s, namely the leader of the group¡¯s, face.


    Crack


    His body flew as a puppet with its strings cut and fell into an unnatural position as his head was directed in the wrong angle.


    The slightly sweet and iron taste accumulated in Illyan¡¯s mouth as he swallowed it down with a slight frown.


    ¡®My arm is numb and the burst power which should be amplified instead impedes my natural strength. Not to mention that my lungs and some vessels burst. It indeed is hard to train in. But that¡¯s why there are targets like them.¡¯


    He turned his attention to others who couldn¡¯t react in time as he was too quick and waited for a few seconds until his lungs patched themselves up.


    ¡°What¡­ What the heck?!¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t he a scholar?!¡±


    ¡°Damn it, he is a skilled soldier! Attack him together!¡±


    They have already hit the steel plate several times in the past. Yet they took down those few soldiers this way albeit with casualties. Knowing that running away would just bring their doom quicker they attacked at once from different directions. Even if he deflects three blows and returns two back he would still get one knife in his stomach while two of the muggers would live.


    Even elephants would succumb to an army of ants, let alone soldiers that didn¡¯t reach Flow stage.


    Unfortunately¡­


    With a slight movement of his hips he dodged one knife thrust going for his chest and used his arm to deflect one knife chop coming for his head which caused light gash on his hand but he paid it no heed and with a tight squeeze he held the guy¡¯s arm. Then he shot his leg like a whip into the third mugger¡¯s gut and launched him into the wall opposite of them.


    The fourth guy was delighted as he managed to go through Illyan¡¯s defense and thrust his knife into his stomach.


    ¡®Huh?¡¯


    Realizing that the knife didn¡¯t go in as deep as he hoped for, he looked up only to notice the elbow closing at high speed which hit him square in the face, cracking his skull. His consciousness quickly darkened, never to be woken up again.


    ¡°You bastard!¡± The guy who missed yelled out as this time he slashed horizontally.


    This kind of attack was harder to dodge unless you moved out of reach, and so he flung the guy he held by arm like a weapon with his inhuman strength.


    ¡°Aaah?!¡± The guy yelled out in horror when he realized he was in the air for a second before he was thrown at high speed towards the ground where the last guy was.


    The mugger¡¯s eyes almost fell out of his sockets as he threw his body aside only to hear a squelching sound. When he looked back, he saw his partner lying in the mix of mud, shit, and blood from other guys while squirming in pain.


    ¡®Shit, Shit, Shit!¡¯


    He quickly stood up and wondered what to do. He didn¡¯t expect him to be so strong. They usually watched who their enemy was, and they were aware that this was a peasant who came from the wagon over a month ago and became an apprentice academic. They were still careful as they saw him being friend with trainee in the military yet they still underestimated him. But how come he was so strong?!


    Seeing him going slowly towards the man who was squirming in pain, he used the opportunity and started to sneak off.


    Unfortunately, Illyan didn¡¯t forget about him as he took out the knife which was still embedded in his stomach. It didn¡¯t hurt his organs as his muscles were tightened, but it would still make some soldiers incapable of fighting.


    For Illyan, it was nothing though.


    He held the knife and noticed it was rusty.


    ¡®Hopefully I won¡¯t be blood-poisoned¡­¡¯ He was never stabbed by a rusty weapon and wasn¡¯t sure if his ability would cover this too.


    Then he threw the knife at the fleeting enemy. His aim could be said to be passable thanks to his proficiency in [The Way of the Body].


    However, as he never used throwing knives, let alone cheap knives like this, it was a bad throw.


    Crack


    ¡°Agh?!¡±


    It still hit him. It was just not the blade but the hilt which probably cracked his spine and made him fall down.


    ¡®Even though I aimed for the heart¡­¡¯ Illyan shook his head. He wasn¡¯t proficient in throwing knives. It should be obvious.


    He quickly got closer to the squirming guy and put his leg on his chest.


    Pui!


    With little pressure, his entire chest cavity collapsed, and he stopped breathing.


    Then, he came to the guy who was crawling with his arms while his legs didn¡¯t move. He was paralyzed from the throw which, albeit clumsy, hid extreme kinetic energy. This would be impossible even with Illyan¡¯s strength.


    Illyan was satisfied. At the last moment, he managed to muster such burst power with his throw. Well, his arm was broken in three parts and he felt the blood in his throat again so it wasn¡¯t perfect but that was only a small matter to him.


    ¡°Wait! Please, spare me! I will give you everything I have! I can even serv-¡±


    With smooth movement, Illyan took the knife from the ground and slit the guy''s throat.


    ¡°Guys like you are worthless to me.¡± Illyan muttered as he felt his muscles relax. He wasn¡¯t tired. It was just that he felt unrest since he couldn¡¯t move his body properly and this fight relieved his muscles and relieved his battle instincts.


    ¡®I shouldn¡¯t forget about this part of me despite my other interests.¡¯


    His thirst for knowledge albeit stemming from curiosity still overlapped with his thirst for power. If he were to study only for his strength to decline, then it would be like putting a cart before a horse.


    ¡°Here was the noise!¡±


    ¡°Quickly before they run away!¡±


    With his acute hearing he heard from a distance that guards were ¡®quickly¡¯ closing in after hearing the ruckus, and so he took the pouches on the guys¡¯ belts which were probably the only thing of worth on them and started to climb on the walls of the house, disappearing onto the roofs.


    When the guards finally came, only five corpses were found.


    ¡°Follow them in the alley! There is no other way to get out of here!¡± In the end, the officer who thought this was a fight among gangs commanded his subordinates to look for culprits in the alleys unaware he was already hopping from roof to roof back to his nest¡­

 87 - Magisters

    Illyan returned to his bed without any problems afterward. He noticed that Nord was already snoring on his bed with saliva dripping from his mouth.


    Without a care, he took off his robe and looked for any blood stains or tears. He quite liked the robe, and it would be a waste if it got destroyed so quickly.


    Soon, he sighed in relief. There was nothing, and the robe still looked as new.


    ¡®That¡¯s a relief.¡¯


    He took out the pouches and dumped their contents on the table.


    Only a few clinks resounded as Illyan saw several silver coins and tens of bronze coins.


    ¡®Not great, but still better than nothing.¡¯


    With this mindset, he put the coins into his own pouch and laid down on the bed with a sense of accomplishment.


    ¡­¡­


    The next day, Illyan woke up as if nothing had happened. To him, drinking wouldn¡¯t make a dent in his physique, while the incident afterward was just a warm-up for him.


    Instead, he couldn¡¯t help but be in a very good mood at this moment as he had so much information to digest.


    The feeling of happiness was short-lived, however, as he noticed a stench in the room. He glanced at his roommate who was still sleeping and frowned.


    Nord slept like a log, but his expression was awful. It was obvious that once he woke up, he would have a difficult time.


    The stench was wafting off him, making Illyan feel uncomfortable. It wasn¡¯t anything serious like him retching in the room. In that case, Illyan, whose phobia towards vomit was strong, wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep and would wake up immediately after it happened.


    It was just a strong smell of sweat and alcohol. ¡®What an unbearable combination,¡¯ Illyan thought. It was not like Nord was unhygienic and smelled. It was just that Illyan¡¯s sense of smell was special.


    After this, he sniffed his own armpit and breath. The smell of alcohol was gone, but it was true that he was sweaty. He was ultimately just a human being who was fighting to death yesterday. Even if it wasn¡¯t hard, it still made him sweat a little.


    He took a cloth from his belongings and went to wipe off his sweat.


    Pure water was quite a scarce commodity in the town, so for someone like Illyan who was a poor bloke, there was no way to bathe himself.


    That didn¡¯t stop him from grumbling to himself.


    ¡®If I had an easy way to go outside of the town, I could just jump into the river and let the flow wipe my sweat off naturally.¡¯


    Unfortunately, if he was going in and outside of the town every day, it would bring too much attention from guards.


    At least unless he had some excuse. He already had something in mind, but it would need to wait until his examination.


    He quickly found the room meant to clean the bodies and wiped his sweat.


    Then he didn¡¯t waste his time and went towards Mr. Korin¡¯s office.


    They agreed to meet this morning to discuss mathematics over tea. Over the course of the month, they hit it off since the old gentleman appreciated diligent students and even more, the ones who were passionate about the subjects he taught.


    He was more than delighted to explain all kinds of intricacies in this topic that made many hate it. Even Illyan, who had the motivation and diligence, had the problem of learning it just from self-studying.


    This once again validated the choice he made when he came to this town.


    However, as he walked through the normally quiet halls of the institute, he heard whispers of other apprentices with hushed voices.


    ¡°Did you hear that? A murder happened in the Baralan Alley!¡±


    ¡°Everyone knows that! But did you know that there were several bodies that were completely mutilated? It was as if a monster tore them apart!¡±


    ¡°I heard that it was a werewolf! Someone in the town is playing the citizen while under the veil of darkness, he changes into a beast!¡±


    ¡°There was no visible moon! It is documented that werewolves need the moon to change!¡±


    ¡°I think it was a demon!¡±


    Numerous hushed discussions were overheard by Illyan, who was calmly going with a poker face despite being aware of the discussions. But he didn¡¯t really care as they didn¡¯t have a way to connect the case with him.


    However, one discussion took his attention.


    ¡°Did you know? At first, the guards didn¡¯t want to disclose the information about the incident as one of the freaks was going to collect them, but since the scene caused a big commotion in the alley, there were several witnesses by the time they were done.¡±


    ¡°Again them?! I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they were the ones orchestrating this fight at this point.¡±


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    ¡°Shush! If you don¡¯t want to disappear one day, then steer away from the problems! Rather, don¡¯t even talk about them.¡±


    Once they disappeared behind the corner, Illyan frowned inwardly.


    ¡®Freaks? Well, I can guess who they were talking about. It fits them.¡¯


    With a shake of his head, he came to Mr. Korin¡¯s office and knocked on the door.


    ¡°Come in.¡± The old yet strong voice reverberated in Illyan¡¯s ears. He didn¡¯t waste his time and entered.


    ¡°Good morning, Mr. Korin.¡±


    Inside, a room full of books, parchments, and other documents showed in front of his eyes. Behind the office table sat an old gentleman reading a book.


    His hair and groomed mustache were already silver, and his face was covered in wrinkles, but his eyes were as bright as any other youth at the peak of life.


    When he heard Illyan¡¯s voice, he lifted his head and smiled.


    ¡°Good morning. You are early.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to do anyway.¡±


    ¡°Hohohoh.¡±


    They started having small talk as Illyan sat down. However, it didn¡¯t take long before they started to discuss mathematics. Or rather than discussion, it was Illyan asking questions and Korin answering in a concise and easy-to-understand manner.


    In this manner, the first half-hour passed while Illyan was focusing on his parchment where he wrote his notes.


    Korin, on the other hand, took the teapot and started to fill two cups. There was steam coming out of both of them as he put one in front of him while the other in front of Illyan.


    ¡°This is called Tea of Clarity. It is a renowned tea in the Arkravav Empire. Their scholars and Magisters use it daily to keep a clear mind whenever they feel down. It is quite expensive, just so you know, so unfortunately, I don¡¯t have much left¡­¡±


    Korin touched his mustache as he laughed quietly.


    ¡°Magister? What is that?¡± Illyan tore his eyes away from the parchment and looked at Korin in confusion.


    He knew about ¡®scholars.¡¯ Illyan himself could be said to be a scholar in the medical field before he was academic. Academics were mostly scholars tied to some educational institution just like the Academic Institution.


    On the other hand, the word Magister was something new to Illyan.


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t know? I guess it could be said to be classified information in the Vanaras Kingdom. Even though I know it just because I became Chief Academic level and visited the empire¡­¡±


    Nodding as he kneaded his mustache, he pondered how to explain the concept of magister, something so special that even he still had some regrets in his heart.


    ¡°Magisters are scholars of mysteries. They are seekers of the Truth and the manipulators of the universe¡¯s laws. Or at least they are trying to. I personally don¡¯t know much since they have a much higher position in society than someone like us. Not only do they have knowledge, but they also know how to turn that knowledge into power that is far beyond humans¡­¡±


    Korin surmised with a wistful expression.


    Illyan¡¯s eyes almost bulged out of his sockets. There was such a thing?!


    ¡°How could they control the laws of the universe? Does that even make sense?¡±


    Korin waved his hands.


    ¡°Not in a literal sense, of course. That is the domain of gods. However, it is true that they can control the energies of the world to do their bidding.¡±


    When he heard this, Illyan immediately connected this to spiritualists as they could do that. But was that really all?


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much, but I am sure the most common energy source they use is called Mana. It is energy born in this world. It is in the air, in the mana veins, and there are rumors that even trees produce this energy.¡±


    When Illyan heard this, he couldn¡¯t help but frown as he retorted.


    ¡°But isn¡¯t the energy in the air Spiritual? Or at least that¡¯s what I heard.¡± At the last second, he added the second sentence as he feared that he would be exposed for knowing too much.


    Korin, who heard this, glanced at Illyan. He noticed that Illyan had quite a high interest in this topic. That made him reach for one of his drawers.


    However, he didn¡¯t forget to answer Illyan¡¯s question.


    ¡°Hmm. You may be right, but I believe you are aware that Spirit Energy isn¡¯t native to our world¡­ It is said to belong to a mystical Spirit World that cannot be seen. I can¡¯t tell you why it is like this, that the Spirit Energy overflows to our world, but I am pretty sure that magisters wouldn¡¯t be mistaken about something like this.¡±


    After saying that, he took out some kind of rod. At one end, there was a small and sharp needle coming out of its middle part while the rest of the rod was made


    out of some kind of tube filled with an unknown liquid. The tube was also covered in some scale markings with weird symbols.


    Illyan recognized them as numbers from zero to nine in the Oberuan language, also called the common language on the Oberuan continent, which was the name of the continent Illyan was born on and was still living on.


    ¡°This is the Mana Affinity Measurement Tool that I managed to get from one of my friends. I see that you are interested in this stuff so why not try out your affinity? If you have good talent, then it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to go to the Arkravav Empire to become a Magister. I once also had an urge to try to become one, but my talent for magic is insufficient. For you to have some chance to walk on this path is to have talent at the level of three on the scale of this tool. I have only 2.4 level which, together with my old age at that time, sealed my fate.¡±


    After saying all this, Korin sighed. Illyan didn¡¯t need to think too deeply to realize that it seemed to be a big regret for Korin. But he still had to ask.


    ¡°Why are you telling me all this, Mr. Korin? Didn¡¯t you say it is classified information?¡± He didn¡¯t ask only because he was curious but because he started to feel a little cautious as he looked at Korin.


    Korin, as if he read Illyan¡¯s thoughts, just chuckled.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry. Every once in a while, when I meet some outstanding student, I tend to use it. This was actually the reason why I invited you today into my office. You see, those with good talent are rare, but there are many who covet those talents. If I can refer to such talent, I would get some benefits too. You surely know about those acolytes that occupy this land, right? They are acolytes working under magister organizations. While they do not necessarily all have good talent, there are some that could reach a magister¡¯s level.¡±


    Worry clouded his expression when he started to talk about them.


    ¡°Most of those organizations are cruel and don¡¯t think of people as living beings at all. You should be careful not to offend them. They also conduct talent tests on young kids every five years and then take them away forcibly if they are talented.¡±


    When he finished, Illyan¡¯s face turned ugly for a moment. Aren¡¯t you selling me to such an organization then?


    As if realizing that what he said sounded wrong, he awkwardly made fake coughs as he clarified himself.


    ¡°Of course, the organization I refer to is different. They are mostly centered around machinery construction where mathematics is needed.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Illyan nodded. While he wouldn¡¯t trust someone just based on their words, he still didn¡¯t have a reason to think that Korin would try something against him.


    After all, his talent was¡­


    ¡®Wait. Isn¡¯t my spiritual talent and magic talent a completely different thing?¡¯


    Illyan looked intensively at the tool and pondered if that was the case. Korin noticed the gaze and asked him again.


    ¡°Do you want to try?¡±


    ¡°If I do so and will have good talent, will I need to attend that organization?¡± Illyan asked. While it sounded exciting and all, he wasn¡¯t prepared for something like that. Especially since he would be just a mouse in a cat¡¯s territory at that point. He would rather slowly develop here unless he got some benefit worth the risk.


    ¡°No, of course not. But conducting the test with good results can open many doors for you.¡±


    ¡°Haah¡­ Alright then¡­¡±


    Illyan nodded in the end with a resigned sigh. He couldn¡¯t resist the temptation to find his talent for that new kind of energy that was completely unknown to him¡­

 88 - Contract

    ¡°There are only nine levels?¡± Illyan asked as he took the tool into his hand carefully.


    ¡°From what I heard, those are the most common levels of talent. However, there are always exceptions,¡± Korin replied.


    After saying that, he pointed at the sharp tip that looked like a needle.


    ¡°You only need to prick your finger with this to draw blood. Then, based on the affinity, the liquid inside, acting as a reagent, should start to luminesce with a light blue color. The better the talent, the more the liquid would shine. Then, based on the measurement scale, we can deduce the affinity you have towards the mana.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­.¡± Illyan looked at the needle and felt the need to ask.


    ¡°Is it disinfected?¡±


    Korin was at first surprised that Illyan asked this kind of question, but then he realized the reason and burst into laughter.


    ¡°I almost forgot that you are not majoring in mathematics but in medicine! What a shame!¡±


    He took a moment to calm himself a little and then he put his monocle, which almost fell off, properly on his eye.


    ¡°Do not worry, I would not make such a mistake.¡±


    ¡°Alright then.¡± Illyan nodded and without any delay, he pricked his finger. Despite not showing any emotions, there was kind of anticipation deep in his heart. Nobody wanted to be ordinary.


    A tiny droplet of blood showed up on his finger and stained the needle. It didn¡¯t take long before the droplet was sucked upward through some unknown means and disappeared into the middle part of the tool, which was covered by a metallic part.


    For a moment, nothing happened, which made Illyan unnerved, but seeing that Korin still waited, he didn¡¯t assume anything yet.


    After a while, something started happening. The liquid inside started to bubble as if it reached boiling point. Slowly, the liquid started to luminesce from the lowest point, slowly budding its way through.


    It went slowly but surely.


    0.05


    0.1


    0.15


    0.2


    0.25


    0.3


    It was only after it reached 0.3, not even one full level, before the boiling started to calm down.


    ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Korin was visibly disappointed. Illyan also felt a tinge of disappointment but quickly erased it from his mind. At least, there was no chance that someone would be interested in his talent.


    ¡°I guess this means I am not talented, huh. Is it impossible to use mana with this?¡± What he was really interested in was whether he could use this mana. If it was really zero talent then it would be hopeless, but if talent of 0.3 was enough to make slow progress then he didn¡¯t mind.


    Korin visibly hesitated before trying to formulate an answer.


    ¡°It is not like it is impossible. Although negligible, you still have affinity. Slightly lower than the average person who has around 0.5 on the scale. Some magisters don¡¯t depend only on their affinity towards the mana and use other methods to control it. However, with such affinity, you would need years before being able to even feel the mana let alone control it. I apologize, Kaoran. I really hoped you would have at least level 3¡­¡±


    Looking at his visage, Illyan just shook his head.


    ¡°No matter. It is not like I planned to become a magister. I was just curious.¡±


    That was a lie. This was the profession he was looking for. However, he didn¡¯t have a reason to tell this to Korin.


    ¡°I¡¯m relieved then. It would be too bad if you became dejected and then missed your chance and failed the examination a few months later.¡±


    Korin sighed in relief. He didn¡¯t want to shake Illyan¡¯s mind. In truth, he always felt that Illyan was special. That¡¯s why he didn¡¯t waste his time walking around circles before letting him measure his affinity.


    Fortunately, Illyan wasn¡¯t like other children his age. Even if they didn¡¯t plan on becoming magisters, there would still be a gloomy atmosphere around them whenever he measured their affinity.


    ¡°By the way, what are the other ways to control that mana?¡± Illyan asked with a curious glance.


    Korin looked at him worriedly, which made him crack a small smile.


    ¡°You can¡¯t just say all of this without satisfying my curiosity, Mr. Korin.¡±


    That made the old gentleman feel awkward for a second. Unconsciously, he touched his mustache again as he kneaded it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much about the details but I heard that some of them are using only the power of their mind to control mana. Others could use some kind of runes or incantations. That¡¯s what I heard only. But what I know for sure is that some of them use mathematical formulas to help themselves.¡± After saying that, Korin looked a little taller as he puffed up his chest.


    Mathematics was his strongest ability after all.


    ¡°Huh? How can this knowledge help at all?¡± This made Illyan confused.


    ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t know. But since you read the ¡®basics of mathematics¡¯ book then you should know how useful math is in so many fields. In most fields, actually. It is like the universal language of this world. I can¡¯t say for sure how they use it, but that is because I have no deeper knowledge about magisters. In truth, the only way I found out about all of this was because one of the Magisters of Magic Engineering Department of the Royal Family of Arkravav Empire discussed mathematics with me in hope of finding inspiration over 30 years ago.¡±


    He didn¡¯t know much. Only the basic things that were once said in front of him by those behemoths¡­


    ¡°To tell you the truth, I think you have great potential in this field. That¡¯s why I wanted to test you as soon as possible. Unfortunately¡­¡± Korin shook his head.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. If you will be as diligent as you are now then in a few decades you will be able to reach the position of Chief Academic like me. You would then have a smooth sailing life in front of you. Why won¡¯t you consider a change of fields? I know that as an academic with several specializations myself, you could learn several fields over years but mathematics and medicine aren''t going well hand in hand¡­¡±


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    Korin changed the topic while also giving Illyan an image of what he could accomplish even if he wasn¡¯t talented in mana¡­


    He also wanted to entice Illyan to become a mathematician instead of a physician. He was still a beginner, but the questions he was giving Korin showed that he actually knew what he was learning, which would normally take a long time for people to learn. No matter how difficult formulas you could calculate, if you couldn¡¯t put it into a real-life scenario then it was useless knowledge of theory.


    But Illyan learned math for this exact reason. If it was useless to him then he wouldn¡¯t learn it with such passion.


    And this made Korin admire him a little. Even he wasn¡¯t so passionate in his younger years. He would still strive to enjoy his life with friends most of the time instead of hiding in the library all day.


    Hearing this all, Illyan just shook his head.


    ¡°Thank you for the compliment. However, I have been learning medicine for almost ten years now. On the other hand, math is something I started learning just a month ago. The disparity is too high. If I choose the latter then I wouldn¡¯t become academic any time soon. I want to get my residence as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Why the need?¡± Korin asked curiously.


    ¡°I need the land to grow the herbs and I need the lab to create my medicine. While I can get my office inside, I still prefer to have my privacy.¡±


    To that, Illyan only shrugged. What he said was the truth albeit not the entire one. There were wild ideas as to what to do in that residence once he gets hands on one.


    ¡°Hmmm¡­. I guess I can sympathize with that. Back in the years I also immediately bought the residence once I saved up the money. In the end, I had to move into the capital only after a few months of living inside of it. I still feel bitter thinking about it.¡±


    Although he said that, his face showed more wrinkles as he laughed.


    ¡°How about this Kaoran? I still own the residency. Back in the day, it cost me around 30 gold coins to buy it. Its price should have been raised during this time, but since I left and didn¡¯t leave anyone to take care of it then it remained in horrible state. But¡­ Otherwise the quality of this residence is higher than those available nowadays. It is on the outskirts of the town on the western mountain slope. I bought it from one small noble who was given an official position by the King. Little did we know that half a year later we would meet again as colleagues, heh¡­¡±


    Korin laughed as he remembered the good old memories.


    ¡°What I wanted to say is this: I can sell you the residency for ten gold coins. I am aware that now it would be too much for you, so you would pay it off to me gradually.¡±


    After saying that, Illyan narrowed his eyes. Ten golds were a lot of money to him, but he was aware that it was only a matter of time before he managed to get that much. He was also aware that normal residences cost even more, so he was sure that Korin wasn¡¯t after money. While he didn¡¯t think that Korin was a bad person, he wasn¡¯t too keen to believe someone would be so willing to help him.


    ¡°What are the conditions?¡± So he asked the obvious.


    Korin, who heard that, took out some kind of parchment, took a quill, and started scribbling something on it before he gave it to Illyan.


    ¡°The only condition is for you to not give up on mathematics and once you reach a higher level then help me out with one mathematical problem that I have had difficulties with for a long time. It means a lot to me. This is the contract between us with the stamp of the kingdom and the institution which would give it legitimacy. Nothing too serious. Only that you will not give up on mathematics and will continue in studying it until you reach a certain point where you would be able to assist me¡­¡±


    Illyan looked at the contract and there were the same words on it. The main condition, however, was to reach a theoretical level of at least a senior academic in ten years¡­


    ¡°You mentioned it before but there are divisions between academics?¡± Illyan asked with sincere curiosity.


    ¡°Of course. There are differences between the depth of knowledge of academics and the difference in the number of fields they are specialized in after all.¡±


    Korin immediately nodded as he explained.


    ¡°When you first come here you would become an Apprentice Academic. Those are unofficial ones who are basically just students or some low-level assistants. Then you become a Junior Academic who is specialized in at least one field. After that, there is Associate Academic, Senior Academic, Chief Academic, and at last Court Scholar who works for the King. The higher position the deeper level of the knowledge you have to master¡­¡±


    After explaining that, Illyan frowned.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be hard?¡±


    He was just a beginner in the field and was nowhere close to becoming a junior, let alone senior academic.


    ¡°That is true. It would be impossible for normal people who are self-studying. However, since I have this request, I would not shy away from helping you. Not only can you come to my office as often as you need to ask about anything, you can also take my personal books about mathematics. There are some rare pieces that are not accessible to the public even in the Arkravav Empire!¡±


    ¡°That sounds tempting. But what if I won¡¯t reach that level in ten years? Also, why didn¡¯t you give this opportunity to other people? You have the residency for years after all¡­¡±


    Illyan sounded only curious but in truth he started becoming more than wary. This kind of deal sounded too beneficial to him.


    ¡°Hohohoh~¡± However, Korin just chuckled.


    ¡°I almost forgot to write that. Give me the parchment. Hmmm¡­ How about this?¡±


    He showed two fingers while continuing.


    ¡°Every year after the first ten years your interest will be raised by 20%. This increase will last for another ten years.¡±


    Illyan thought about it. It sounded like a lot of money he didn''t really care for as ten years was enough to reach a senior''s knowledge level in his opinion and so he nodded.


    ¡°Alright. As for your second question¡­ I made the same contract with others. Many of them were those who I tested for their talent too. However, everyone is interested in different things. There is a reason why most academics are hidden inside of the institution¡¯s walls.¡±


    Illyan nodded. It made sense if he said it like that. But Illyan still felt something was fishy. Not to mention¡­


    ¡®This parchment is weird¡­¡¯


    The parchment they wrote the contract on was different. He didn¡¯t see anything weird with his eyes of truth at the start but the more he looked at it the more dissonant it felt from normal parchments. It wasn¡¯t the quality. That was definitely better but not so much to result in this feeling.


    ¡°So? If you agree with the deal you only need to write down your name here. Then you will have a long time to deepen your knowledge to the requested height.¡±


    It was at that moment when Illyan heard, with his acute Korin¡¯s heart beating slightly quicker through the distance. The only time he had such a quick beating of his heart was when he anticipated the results of Illyan¡¯s test.


    And this was the last straw that broke Illyan¡¯s slowly raised trust in this man. He didn¡¯t know what he was planning, but he could guess that it was nothing good.


    However, Illyan wasn¡¯t too disappointed as he was always guarded around new relationships. Even with his new group, they looked like good friends.


    He didn¡¯t have time to make friends. He needed to get stronger before someone killed him.


    ¡®Hmmm?¡¯ However, he suddenly realized something weird.


    ¡®Why would I think someone wants to kill me? H-Hmmm?! Wait, why am I in such a hurry to get stronger anyway since I have a long lifespan anyway?¡¯


    Suddenly, a long-forgotten memory ran through his mind. It was the fragment of truth he saw when he was pinned to the Frozen Worm¡­


    ¡®How could I forget something like this?!¡¯


    He was alarmed when he realized this. Illyan quickly looked up to Korin who was still waiting for his answer eagerly and immediately dismissed him as the culprit.


    This was some different problem altogether.


    However, when he realized that Korin was waiting, he forced a smile and agreed.


    ¡°Sure, I will agree to it. The house is exactly what I need.¡±


    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s great! Do you want to visit the residence before finalizing the contract?¡± Korin asked kindly.


    ¡°There is no need. I believe in Mr. Korin¡¯s upbringing. I am also not demanding regarding this.¡± While the first sentence was a complete lie, the second one was true. He was in dire need of a private residence, but it didn¡¯t need to be luxurious. He lived almost a decade in a tent and was used to discomfort after all.


    As for the contract itself¡­ The words written on the surface were just about paying little money so he didn¡¯t have a problem with it. As for the deeper meaning, he had one simple countermeasure against it.


    And so, he didn¡¯t hesitate and started scribbling the name on the contract.


    There were no suspicious words on it so if there was something wrong with it then it had to be on some more profound level. He heard that you could, for example, form contracts with spirits or beasts. Swearing to heavens was also a form of contract. Not feeble contracts based on mutual agreement that normal people use and that Korin made him believe this one was.


    He also heard that there could be hidden clauses in it that could cause big problems to those who wrote their names on it.


    Illyan smirked in his heart.


    ¡°Done.¡±


    He gave the parchment to Korin who seemed to be heartened.


    ¡°Alright! I will make sure to change the ownership to you as soon as possible. There are some legal procedures so you will need to wait for a bit. I think you could have it by the time your examination begins¡­¡± When he checked that there was properly written ¡®Kaoran¡¯ on the contract he was satisfied.


    ¡°Yes, thank you, Mr. Korin.¡±


    Illyan made a happy expression as he showed his gratitude to Korin.


    After that, they talked a little about the details of the deal before Illyan excused himself.


    However, the moment he left the room his happy expression disappeared and in its left stayed only cold visage.


    ¡®Hmph¡­ If you think you can swindle me then you should be prepared to be swindled yourself.¡¯

 89 - Fate Trials

    His heartbeat couldn¡¯t stop beating hard since he had never felt so uneasy. It was one thing to be unable to change the outcome of whatever was happening in the world, but to not have his own mind under control unnerved him to no end.


    With haste, he hurried to his room. Nord was nowhere to be seen as he had already left, so he had nothing to worry about.


    He quickly took out a stash of parchment and started to write his messed-up memories. The writing was incoherent, but the more words covered the parchment, the more he remembered.


    After several minutes of frenzied scribbling, he stopped and sat down in exhaustion. He wasn¡¯t tired physically but mentally.


    However, he was still feeling uneasy, so he started to read everything he had written down.


    Despite its messy nature, everything quickly clicked together as his mind cleared. It felt as if his mind managed to free itself from some invisible chains.


    ¡®What the fuck¡­¡¯


    He completely forgot the suspicion he had before. Maybe not even suspicion since he felt that his [Eyes of the Truth] also warned him.


    Someone or something was after him.


    And it wasn¡¯t just some random nobody.


    It felt as if fate was against him.


    He had such a strong ability, yet it was driven to its limits time and time again in such a short time span.


    Some could call it misfortune or simply blame it on his acts. But¡­


    Was that all there was to it?


    He didn¡¯t believe it.


    Illyan took another parchment and this time wrote everything down neatly. He also started to write other thoughts he had in his mind.


    If there was something against him, then who and how many were there?


    This was unknown to him. But he could guess one or two things from the events that happened to him.


    Firstly, they had to be strong. Very strong. If the Frozen Worm, God of Truth, and Ice Dragon encounters were its fault, then it had to be minimally as strong as them¡­


    Secondly, it seemed that it could not influence the world directly. After all, such a strong being would be able to squash him immediately.


    And thirdly, it couldn¡¯t touch him whenever it wanted and had to have the right opportunity. If not, then he would probably be dead the moment he got frozen by the Ice Dragon.


    He didn¡¯t know whether it was God, Fate, or even Heaven¡¯s will, but it had some kind of grudge against him.


    Why?


    That wasn¡¯t that hard to guess.


    ¡®The first¡­ Hmm¡­ How to call it¡­¡¯ Illyan pondered for a second.


    Since those horrible events were beyond his control, he decided to just call them Fate Trials.


    When his first Fate Trial began, he was just 8 years old and there was nothing interesting about him except one thing.


    His ability.


    Now then, his ability was still weak, so why would they bear hostility towards him?


    That also wasn¡¯t that hard to guess.


    The biggest advantage of his ability didn¡¯t lie in the present day but in the future. The ability grew as he used it more.


    He still didn¡¯t know whether there was some kind of limit, but if all his deductions so far were right, then it meant that his ability was really good.


    But he wasn¡¯t happy. How could he be since he realized that there was an enemy that he couldn¡¯t deal with and just waited for his doom?


    Not to mention, he still didn¡¯t know the exact reason why they bore hostility towards him except that the main factor was his ability.


    ¡®Should I just pack my things and leave?¡¯ Through Illyan¡¯s mind several thoughts passed, but he just shook his head as he snorted.


    As if that would be so simple. Back then he also left with the entire tribe only to meet misfortune after misfortune. He could already guess that no matter where he went he would be in danger. After all, God''s eyes were everywhere¡­


    There was no place to hide. Even if there was, he didn''t know about it and probably wouldn¡¯t be able to get there¡­


    He then remembered the words from the Theology lecture.


    ¡®There were three Gods governing our world. God Ezeraas, the most loving of them all, Forefather of love and life, governing over sun, light, life, and the goodness of the world.


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    God Kerafion, the harbinger of the night, the punisher of evil who sees all the sins of the world, governing over the moon, darkness, death, and evilness of the world.


    And the last one, God Vazarwen, the most impartial of them all, bringing peace and balance to the chaotic world with his all-seeing eyes, governing over the law, knowledge, justice, and wisdom¡­¡¯


    There were other worshipped gods like the Blood Crow, but that was only in some isolated places. Most people believed only in those three deities.


    ¡®Are they the culprits?¡¯ Illyan frowned. If they were the ones, then he needed to be extra careful when it comes to their believers and churches. On the other hand, he didn¡¯t dare to offend them either since he wasn¡¯t one hundred percent sure.


    ¡°No matter¡­¡±


    He didn¡¯t know who, but he knew that they would probably strike at some point. Maybe Korin was another pawn in their hands trying to take his life.


    He couldn¡¯t run. A person couldn¡¯t escape fate.


    However, what he could do was to anticipate the danger and avoid it. Or¡­


    Benefit from it.


    Since the contract with Korin should be null because of him not writing his real name, he could just take the house and ignore Korin. But that would be risky.


    While the contract was probably a magical one, it still had the legal power in this kingdom. Breaching it would cause unnecessary problems for him in this town.


    Paying those few gold coins wasn''t a problem. After all, the entire suspicion he built up at the beginning was the fact that the prices were really low.


    Even if it wasn¡¯t worth it in Illyan¡¯s eyes, there were still the consultations with Korin and use of his exclusive books. Just because he realized that Korin wasn¡¯t such a gentleman as he seemed to be didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t use his support.


    Now that he had a direct goal, he knew what he needed to do.


    There were some small goals such as to read all the books in the library, creating the flow within his body, or just deepening his knowledge of mathematics to please Korin.


    However, his main goal now turned into finding out how to become a Magister.


    He didn¡¯t know much about them yet, but he knew this would be the right way to go.


    The path of knights could be mainstream, but that didn¡¯t mean it was the strongest.


    While Korin wasn¡¯t going into details about them, he still saw the awe in his eyes.


    The user of magic who can convert knowledge and energy into anything they wish.


    How terrifying was that?


    Now that Illyan thought about it, spiritualists were something similar. Did that mean that Spiritual Arts were also a school of magic?


    Hmmm¡­


    Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t focus on Spiritual Arts. He was aware that spreading too thin could make him master none of it. But the problem was that he simply didn¡¯t have any proper stepping stone in Spiritual Arts to make his path.


    His knowledge was so shallow in this matter that he didn¡¯t even build up the foundation. Even Kaoran probably didn¡¯t have one either and only relied on his superior talent.


    Illyan already invented his own [Elemental Dance], but it was still unusable in real battles.


    Brooding blindly while paving your path was still a distant dream to current Illyan who was too weak. He needed to have something more tangible to hold onto.


    His previous thoughts were on the breathing techniques of the military, but now his focus turned to the robed men. Or as Korin called them, Acolytes of different organizations outside of the kingdom.


    Before, he was hesitant as he didn¡¯t know whether they really were the ones he was looking for, but now he had the confirmation.


    And that made him covet their techniques.


    But he didn¡¯t plan to attack them right away. He was cautious. If they really controlled mana, then fighting would probably cause a big ruckus. He wasn¡¯t confident in winning either.


    There was no way to raise his ability in the short term, but he knew how to create the shamanistic amulets. If he created several of them, then it should give him some kind of protection.


    But even with that, he still needed to find some opportunity.


    From what he saw, most of the robed men left, and the rest of them were in the mayor¡¯s mansion.


    All in all, Illyan didn¡¯t plan to strike at least until he became the junior academic with the residence that Korin would give him.


    As for something like guilt for planning to attack those guys?


    None of it. Not to mention the fact that they were probably evil themselves, even if they weren¡¯t, he wouldn¡¯t care. This was for his survival. He needed to get stronger to not be trampled by others.


    To live one must seize the lives of others.


    ¡­¡­..


    With the new resolution, he spent most of his time in the library during the time he waited for his examination. He also gave up on the [Nature Breath Method] for now and started to practice the [Flow Breathing Technique] every evening.


    He still felt that he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it effectively in a fight, but he felt that his body was becoming lighter as if all the blockades inside his body were opened through the circulation. Even his mind felt clearer. It was a liberating feeling.


    Thanks to that, he managed to read over 200 books during this time. If anyone knew about this, their jaws would fall on the ground in astonishment. If before he took a month to review these 50 books and read some simple ones at the top, it would be understandable.


    However, this case was different since each book¡¯s content was new knowledge for him and so he didn¡¯t just browse through them.


    Just a clear mind didn¡¯t explain this phenomenon. In truth, Illyan also cut down his sleep time by half from before. He went to sleep late in the night when Nord was already sleeping and woke up before dawn.


    Because of that, his social relationship naturally declined. He still sacrificed a little time spent with them, but it was just a fraction of his time. But his ¡®friends¡¯ were understanding as they believed that he was studying for his examination.


    Little did they know that he had already furthered his knowledge about medicine to a new level by that time. On the other hand, Illyan noticed that he had already finished all the books about medicine in this library. After all, this library wasn¡¯t infinite and definitively didn¡¯t have all the knowledge about all fields.


    Since physicians in this place were rare, it was no wonder that there was a lack of books since no one was contributing their books to the institute. And the opposite was true too. Since there was a lack of books, there was a lack of physicians.


    But this changed this day as three physicians gathered in this town to examine one apprentice in the field of medicine. It could be said to be the highest number of physicians gathered in the town in many years. Or at least the certified ones from the kingdom. There were many who had some skill but didn¡¯t go through such examinations.


    Such as Illyan until now.


    ¡°Kaoran, good luck! Hopefully, after we see each other again, you will already be an academic,¡± Cara, who met with two roommates, said excitedly.


    ¡°Yeah, once you become one, don¡¯t forget about us! We will need someone to take care of us¡­¡± Nord also smiled slightly.


    Three of them sat in the dining hall of the institute eating early in the morning as Illyan wanted to fill himself before being examined. He was aware that this examination wouldn¡¯t be a short one since medicine was a difficult and revered profession. Unqualified had no way to be certified physicians.


    ¡°You won¡¯t need me since sooner or later you will also get promoted. After all, history is only about accumulation¡­¡±


    Both Cara and Nord decided to be historians as they always loved to listen to old stories in their young ages. The main factor, however, was like Illyan said, the simplicity of learning compared to different fields.


    As long as one¡¯s memory wasn¡¯t too shabby, there was no problem becoming a historian. At least a low-leveled one.


    Suddenly, voices resounded at the table next to them where one of the apprentices turned around at them and glared at Illyan.


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t you think you should stop with this bragging of yours? It is irritating!¡±

 90 - Physician Examination

    When the trio heard someone speak to them, they turned around in confusion. They were just trying to relax, yet someone had the energy to be hostile to them right in the morning.


    At the second table, a scrawny, short young man in a baggy robe sat down and frowned at them.


    Illyan didn¡¯t recognize him, which meant that he had never met him before since it was almost impossible for him to forget someone¡¯s appearance.


    ¡°Do you know him?¡± he asked the other two if they were the targets of his insults.


    ¡°No,¡± both of them shook their heads at the same time.


    Is this guy really attacking us for what we just said? Does he have so much free time?


    The moment Illyan realized the man was someone they didn¡¯t know, he lost interest and turned back to his meal.


    Why would he waste his time bickering with someone he didn¡¯t even know?


    ¡°You don¡¯t have anything to say, huh? Can¡¯t you feel ashamed that you are here talking about the esteemed academic¡¯s examination as a mere joke?¡± The guy continued his gibberish while Illyan didn¡¯t bother answering him.


    When the young man saw that, he felt even more irritated.


    Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t so loud that everyone in the dining hall would hear him, but a few tables around were looking at them strangely. More importantly, they frowned and stared with disdain at the man who was disturbing their breakfast.


    ¡°What¡¯s your problem? It is none of your business what we are talking about here!¡± Cara, feeling indignant, puffed out her cheeks as she glared at the guy.


    ¡°Hah, what is my problem? My problem is that you peasants don¡¯t realize how privileged you really are to even have a chance to enter this institute, yet you are still spouting nonsense,¡± sneered the guy.


    Nord realized what the guy said and recoiled in horror.


    ¡°Y-you are noble?¡±


    ¡°No. I am the son of a knight! My name is Arun! Remember it!¡± Arun didn¡¯t mind being compared to a noble. On the contrary, it flattered him as he puffed out his chest.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Nord suddenly rolled his eyes. If he wasn¡¯t noble, then he didn¡¯t have anything to fear.


    Arun noticed his change and felt furious.


    ¡°You idiotic trio really don¡¯t know how the world works at all! Always loitering around and playing¡­¡±


    Arun wanted to retort but was suddenly interrupted.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you keep your mouth shut?¡±


    Illyan, who wanted to have just a peaceful breakfast, felt terrible as his good mood was gone. At first, he wanted to ignore the guy since he thought he would just throw a few insults before turning back, but it seemed he was mistaken.


    ¡°What¡­¡± Arun¡¯s face turned red. As a proper erudite person, he always talked with reason and elegant words. Yet, this guy actually hurled such vulgar words at him?


    Unfortunately for him, Illyan interrupted him again as if on purpose.


    ¡°What, what? You are annoying us because of such stupid things. Don¡¯t you have better things to do? My confidence in passing the examination doesn¡¯t have anything to do with you. Maybe, if you weren¡¯t wasting time arguing with strangers and studied properly, then you would already be an academic yourself by now.¡±


    With that, he stood up and left. He ate quite quickly as he wanted to arrive a little sooner. After all, arriving late would probably bring him minus points. They wouldn¡¯t fail him just because of that since it took so long to gather, but they wouldn¡¯t be happy either.


    With elegant gait, he left the hall while leaving Arun with an open mouth.


    ¡°Pfff!¡± The other two also started to giggle after their astonishment faded and left with laughter.


    They never knew there was this kind of side to Illyan.


    The same could be said for Illyan, however. After living in the town for over four months, it was inevitable that he met some random pricks that were just using their words. As a warrior, Illyan would just break their teeth or limb at least, but that was prohibited in the town. If he couldn¡¯t touch them, he could just say his own words. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t that good with words originally.


    However, he realized that whenever he was in this kind of frustrating situation, he had the desire to throw everything back with even more force! As such, he started to be more active at lectures of logic and rhetoric.


    It was something he focused on the most after he finished all the medicine books¡­


    As for whether the guy would want revenge?


    So what? The guy was already hostile from the beginning without a reason. There was no guarantee that he wouldn¡¯t cause problems even if he was docile.


    Since he was the son of a mere knight, then he would gladly use him in his experim¡­ beat him up. As for his father, the same applied. Illyan was already aware that most knights in the town were in Flow stage and with his newfound understanding of the technique, he was pretty sure he could win against such warriors without much problems.


    But he didn¡¯t believe that such a scuffle would be the reason for such an outcome. If that was the case, then the entire kingdom would be in chaos already¡­.


    After he left, Arun was furious but didn¡¯t say anything anymore.


    It was mainly because he felt the ridiculing stares of others in the hall, but also because of his inner embarrassment.


    Even a child would understand what Illyan meant by his words, let alone an apprentice academic like him.


    We are complete strangers, so why do you meddle in our conversation?


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Unfortunately, what was done was done. Arun was always hot-blooded and tended to act sooner than he could think things through. One of the traits that he inherited from his father.


    Or it could be also said to be the only thing he inherited from him. His father was a burly and tall man with a handsome face. He was someone highly regarded by the mayor after his expedition in the Iron Troll Mountain Range, where he managed with his squad to take down three trolls with zero casualties.


    As such, he was immediately knighted the day he returned.


    While everyone on the Knight Path could be considered a knight, it was still different. The reason why it was called the Knight Path was that anyone who could reach Flow Master stage would automatically be knighted.


    However, Arun¡¯s father was knighted even before that. That was because he was skilled in the use of the Breathing Technique, giving him an edge over other warriors.


    Now, decades after the incident, he grew old and a new generation was starting to take over.


    The oldest son was already serving the mayor as one of his guards, while his second son was leading a group of soldiers hunting down the bandits that were showing up recently.


    Only his youngest son, Arun, who showed effort but didn¡¯t have any talent, was deemed as problematic.


    While his scrawny body was disadvantageous in close combat, it was still something simple to disregard since the breathing technique could easily turn it into an advantage. However, since he didn¡¯t seem to be able to fight with the breathing technique, he could only give up on this path.


    In the end, his father could only decide to send him to the institute to become a learned man and pave his own path.


    And Arun didn¡¯t disappoint as he gave it his all in the institute.


    After two years here, he turned 15 years old and felt smug and proud for learning at a quicker pace than his other peers did.


    However, when he heard Illyan¡¯s words today, he felt as if all the hard work he did was belittled by those words. It made him angry as he lashed out. He was a child with an inferior complex with the need to prove that he wasn¡¯t useless.


    Unfortunately for him, he didn¡¯t expect that the guy would scold him back even harder than him.


    It made him embarrassed so much that when he saw others staring at him that he just fled with tears forming in his eyes.


    ¡®That guy¡­¡¯


    ¡­¡­..


    Illyan, on the other hand, already got in front of the room where his examination would take place and entered it.


    Inside the room, nothing stood out. There was only one long table and four chairs.


    One chair was in front of Illyan, which he sat down on, and the other three were on the other side of the table designated for the examiners. There were also other doors on the other side of the room solely for them.


    As Illyan came early, there was still a long time, so he just trained in his breathing technique. While it didn¡¯t have the calming effect of his meditation technique, it allowed his blood circulation to flow into his brain more easily, which made him think more clearly.


    The feeling of being freed from the shackles of the limits of his body was euphoric.


    It didn¡¯t take long before the sound of entering resounded in the silent room as three old men entered the room and started to take a seat.


    Illyan used that time to observe them. The first man was someone he knew, albeit only superficially. He was the only physician residing inside the institute and was named Vael.


    There was nothing outstanding about him when it came to appearance. He looked like any other grandfather on the street. However, the smell of herbs lingering on him and his skills were undeniable. He was recently ailing, so he coughed a lot.


    For many, it seemed ironic that the physician was ill, but considering his age was nearing one hundred, it wasn¡¯t all that surprising.


    Illyan was aware that there were people living even longer, but those achieved this through some way like nourishing their bodies with spiritual energy.


    The second one was someone he didn¡¯t recognize, but he seemed to be on good terms with Vael, and there wasn¡¯t


    much Illyan could observe from him.


    However, the third one caught Illyan¡¯s attention.


    While the other two were in their 90s and were nearing their end, this old man seemed to still be in his 60s. He had his long gray hair in a ponytail while the top of his head was already balding. His face looked twisted and wrinkled, as if frowning was his default expression, and his long nose was bent down, looking like the beak of a hawk.


    The thing that brought Illyan¡¯s attention, though, was his behavior. While the other two seemed to be friendly, this guy was grumpy as if he didn¡¯t want to be here.


    ¡®So this is the mayor¡¯s personal physician named Perus, huh¡­¡¯ Illyan had already heard about this physician.


    He was the only capable physician in the town. Vael, while also capable, was too old and was, in fact, already retired.


    But Perus cared only about money, and so he stayed with the mayor most of the time and treated others only if they paid the hefty sum for his services.


    Illyan didn¡¯t really care about that. It was the man¡¯s skill, and he could do whatever he wanted with it. He didn¡¯t owe the townsfolk anything.


    However, he had a feeling that he wouldn¡¯t be too happy that another, young and capable, physician showed up in his territory.


    ¡°Good morning, elders. It is my honor to be examined by great physicians such as you.¡± Illyan didn¡¯t let his thoughts show up on his face as he calmly greeted the trio.


    After living in this place for so long, he realized that he had to be careful with his words. While it was taxing to be two-faced all the time, it was better than creating enemies everywhere.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that if anyone would harass him, he wouldn¡¯t retaliate.


    ¡°Hoho, good morning, lad. We are glad that there is finally someone trying to pass the physician examination. We are already too old to fulfill our obligations.¡±


    Two of the elders started to have an amiable conversation with Illyan. It didn¡¯t take long for the third one to fake a cough to bring their attention.


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t waste our time like this. I still have some matters to attend to today.¡± He frowned at the shriveled men.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, Perus. It is not so often that we gather together¡­¡± Vael smiled wryly.


    Perus only shook his head as he turned to Illyan with a stern expression.


    ¡°Apprentice Kaoran, before we start with the examination; have you already paid the fee?¡±


    ¡°Yes, elder. Yesterday, I paid the money to Academic Falia.¡± Illyan acted humbly as he bowed a little. However, in his mind, he clicked his tongue.


    The blatant greed for money was so obvious that Illyan felt speechless.


    ¡°Good, let¡¯s begin.¡± Not willing to waste any more time, Perus glared at the other two physicians and explained how the exam would take place.


    ¡°The examination will be simple. We will be asking questions, and you will be answering. Based on your answers, there could be some additional questions about it. The duration of the examination depends on you. The more questions you answer wrong, the bigger the chance we will throw you out soon after. If your answers are good, then it will take a long time for us to completely gauge your level of skills¡­ If you don¡¯t answer after one minute¡­¡±


    Then he continued to mention some other rules before finally officially starting the examination with his first question.


    ¡°How many seeds of the Gaoruuza herb are needed to expel Hur Parasites from the human body and how do you apply it?¡± He asked the first question that came to his mind as he remembered the mayor having this problem recently.


    ¡°Seven, and half of them is the right amount. Any less, and the expulsion would take too long, and any more, and it could cause stomach ulcers. You need to grind these seeds and then mix them in hot water with a little bit of honey which is then ingested by the patient¡­ Once he does so, the parasites would automatically be excreted¡­¡±


    Illyan immediately answered. This information was something he read in the books as he never met someone in the north having this problem. This was probably the difference of constitution between northerners and normal people here.


    Hearing Illyan¡¯s answer, Perus grunted in acknowledgment as he let the other two men continue.


    ¡°Alright, now is my turn.¡± The man called Vael laughed out as he turned to Illyan.


    ¡°How would you treat a villager with Jalov Illness?¡±


    Illyan stopped for a moment and pondered about the meaning of the question. Then he started to name all the ingredients for the ointment needed to treat this illness.


    ¡°The last and also main ingredient is the Jalov Root, which the illness was named after.¡± Illyan said calmly. Vael nodded and wanted to speak out, but before he could, Illyan continued in his answer.


    ¡°However, considering the fact that the patient is a villager, it would be better to exchange the Jalov Root for the Vatan leaves, since the Jalov Root is too rare and expensive for normal villagers¡­ While the treatment would take longer, it wouldn¡¯t leave any negative results.¡±


    When Vael heard this, he smiled in mirth. He didn¡¯t expect such a perfect answer and was completely satisfied.


    The other two also didn¡¯t object as the examination continued¡­

 91 -Deciding On Target

    Later on in the evening, Illyan had already sat there for the entire eight hours, having a profound discussion about medicine with the masters of this field. Once they found out his theoretical knowledge had a solid foundation, they started to ask other not-so-simple questions.


    Some of them were not even mentioned in the books. Illyan could guess that those were used to gauge his practical experiences. So, after little thought, he just mentioned what he would do in such situations. And as he expected, they didn¡¯t seem to be disappointed or disagree with his opinion about the cases mentioned in the questions. Instead, it showed that Illyan wasn¡¯t just someone who read the books all the time but was actually someone who dabbled in this field for a long time.


    It wasn¡¯t surprising that once they concluded the examination, they started to discuss Illyan¡¯s outcome with excitement in their eyes. Or at least two of them did. ¡°This is amazing! If I didn¡¯t know better, I would think I was discussing this with another academic who was a physician for decades!¡± ¡°Agreed. If it wasn¡¯t against the rules, then I would suggest examining him to the associate level immediately!¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ His answers were presentable, but that¡¯s all¡­¡±


    Fortunately, Illyan didn¡¯t need to wait for too long as they finished everything up in ten minutes. They were tired too, after all. They took out a parchment which just looked much more extravagant than what Illyan was used to writing on, and each of the three in front of him stamped it with their seal and wrote their name on it. Perus seemed to be reluctant, but he couldn¡¯t just refuse to do so without any good reason.


    In the end, Illyan also wrote ¡®his¡¯ name on it and got his official certification put in the wooden box so that it wouldn¡¯t be damaged. He also got a small badge and white physician¡¯s robe showing his new status. ¡°Oh, Kaoran,¡± Vael, whose voice was now laced with cheerful undertones, called out to Illyan. ¡°I heard that you made a deal with Mr. Korin where he will give you the residence he held onto for so many years.¡±


    When he said this, Illyan furrowed his brow. Why would he ask about that? ¡°That¡¯s right, Mr. Vael. I should get it soon.¡± ¡°Good. Then if you could, visit my office once you move in. I have a surprise for you.¡±


    After that, they parted ways without much fuss as the old savants were too old to do this kind of thing. They were glad that this was only the low-level examination where the practical exam wasn¡¯t needed. The junior physicians usually use only their knowledge in herbalism to concoct the medicine. As long as the physician knew the ins and outs of the recipe, then there was no way to mess it up. Basic herbalism usually depended mostly on the natural effects of the herbs, and only a few basic concoctions were a mix of at least five herbs.


    Illyan never understood how this could be, but Kaoran explained to him that even herbs and other plants adhered to the power stages the sages created back then. That meant that most herbs Illyan knew about were mere mortal stage herbs¡­ Maybe Firestorm Herb was enough to reach Novice Herb.


    Those who were talented enough to create complex medicine recipes from more than five ingredients would usually keep it as a family heirloom or sell it to some forces. However, most would not waste their time on mortal herbs. Even if they weren¡¯t talented in the path of magister, their specialization would still make them excellent assistants and so they would be poached by various organizations, either through rewards or through force.


    But that was just a passing thought as Illyan hurried to his room. While his body was completely alright, he was mentally drained after all those hours.


    However, just as he came out of the examination room, he met someone he just talked about. ¡°Hello, Kaoran! Congratulations on your promotion!¡± Korin smiled gently as he greeted Illyan. ¡°Hello, Mr. Korin. Thank you. Did you wait here for a long time?¡± Illyan asked curiously. ¡°Not really. I know that it would take a long time so I came here not too long ago,¡± Korin said as he started to reach inside of his pocket. ¡°The reason I did so was to give you a gift.¡±


    ¡°A gift?¡± Illyan wondered what he talked about. However, when Korin took out the key from the pocket, he could already guess. ¡°I already wrapped everything up about the residence a few days ago but didn¡¯t want to burden you with it since your examination was just around the corner. You can move there as soon as you want.¡±


    He gave the iron key to Illyan as he said that. ¡°Thank you for your gift.¡± Illyan showed a grateful expression as he bowed a little. The thoughts he had were completely different though. ¡®Calling something you sold me as a gift, huh. How brazen...¡¯ ¡°Hahah, no need to thank me. After all, we had a deal.¡± Korin also didn¡¯t want to seem to be too shameless and just laughed it off. ¡°When do you plan to move?¡± ¡°Probably tomorrow. Today, I am too tired.¡± Illyan shook his head as he said the truth. ¡°I see¡­ Well, don¡¯t just stay there and visit the institute often. You need to study hard after all¡­¡± Korin said with a smile as he said goodbye to Illyan. However, for Illyan, his smile seemed to be weird and made him uncomfortable.


    At first, he came right to his room intending to go to bed before moving out the next day, but the growling of his stomach made him realize that he hadn''t eaten since the morning. Even though he was used to not eating for prolonged periods, it didn¡¯t mean he enjoyed the feeling of starving.


    So, once he changed his mind, he left the room and went to the dining hall. Along the way, he noticed some of the apprentices were looking at him and talking about something. He didn¡¯t find it weird as he was already aware that new academics were often gossiped about. Else, he would worry about it.


    But he decided to be still careful and listened to what they talked about. ¡°Hey, do you see it? He doesn¡¯t have the robe!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t all academics have new robes?¡± ¡°Heh, so he was bragging at the end. Arun was so embarrassed even though he was right. Someone should tell him.¡±


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    After hearing all the whispers, Illyan only shook his head. Why would I wear the robe the moment I finished the exam? Give me a break¡­


    Seeing the peers of his being so superficial despite having such a perfect place to study was making him feel disconnected from them. Not that he had some deep connection with those young students.


    He has been different since he was born. At first, it was just his ability but now it was his demeanor too.


    There was no need to care what others thought of him unless it would be detrimental to him. Considering the fact that most of those rumors were just a form of entertainment for them, it wasn¡¯t something he would care about.


    That was only considering the commoners though. Nord already told him that some of the apprentices could be sons or daughters of nobles who had a slim chance at becoming the heir. They didn¡¯t have much authority, but they were still something that a normal person shouldn¡¯t provoke.


    However, for the sake of not being interrupted by them like in the morning, he fished out the badge and put it on his chest. The apprentices¡¯ faces changed when they realized that he was promoted in the end and started to whisper together even more.


    Fortunately, people like Arun were rare among the apprentices, so nobody bothered him. In truth, only bored or lazy ones would gossip as most of them studied hard for the chance of becoming academic.


    Soon, Illyan got to the dining hall where he met Cara and Nord, whose eyes shined in excitement when they noticed the badge as they congratulated him. They wanted to invite him for a celebration, but he refused under the pretext of being tired and retired to his room after a full meal.


    The next day, Illyan woke up with a clear mind once again. He didn¡¯t dawdle around and started to pack everything he had. It wasn¡¯t much, so in half an hour, he was done.


    ¡°You are leaving already?¡± Nord, who sat up on his bed, asked with a sleepy look. He used to wake up one hour later than Illyan who woke up early. This time, he got up early to say goodbye to Illyan and help him if necessary.


    After all, they were over a quarter of the year roommates so even if they continue to see each other, it would be much less than before.


    However, since Illyan¡¯s belongings were just one bag, he didn¡¯t have anything to pack at all as he prepared to leave. ¡°Yes, Mr. Korin told me that the residence is old, so there will be a lot of work to do. I want to go look to find out what needs to be changed.¡±


    He then bid Nord farewell as he hurried out of the institute. Nord offered help, but since Illyan didn¡¯t even know in which state the residence was, he refused and told Nord that today he would just inspect the house rather than anything else.


    As he went out on the streets, he frowned as he looked into the west side of the town. Korin already told him where the residence was, and it shouldn¡¯t be hard to find since the place should be far from other buildings.


    That didn¡¯t change the fact that Illyan was disgruntled for needing to look for it. Korin


    could at least lead him to it.


    He didn¡¯t dwell on it though as he treaded across the streets with a pensive expression. So far, everything went his way and there was no problem going on. Unfortunately, that didn¡¯t make him happy and instead made him more worried.


    Now that he finally realized that there was something after him, he felt on edge. He couldn¡¯t hide; he couldn¡¯t escape. He could only face it head-on.


    However, he was just a novice stage warrior. Self-proclaimed one.


    Depending on his strength was impossible. At the same time, it was necessary.


    Because of that, he decided to push his plans forward now that he finally got the residence. During those three months or so, he didn¡¯t just study for the exam but also observed the organizations in the vicinity.


    The first who came to mind when talking about nearby forces was the mayor. He lorded over the town with a heavy fist. It may not look like that because of the useless guards, but those were just pawns who had to keep up appearances only.


    His own force was hidden away only for his use and could be reckoned with as there were rumors of several of his subordinates being Flow Masters.


    Perus also belonged to this force by his own choice.


    The next was the force of the Venomous Viper Gang. A few decades ago, one of the soldiers deserted from the military and chose the criminal life of the underworld. The mayor wanted to purge him but never managed to do so.


    In the end, the gang leader called Varel unified most of the lesser gangs and purged the resisting ones. In the end, only two gangs remained. Varel also stopped his conquest as he was aware of the situation of the second gang and made a truce with them even before the fight.


    Others didn¡¯t know what the content of the deal was, but there had been less violence on the streets ever since and were quite happy about it so they didn¡¯t care either.


    The third force which was already mentioned was Heart Bearer Gang whose influence was rooted in the town for several generations at the very least. The townsfolk knew only that much about the history as most information was inherited through words.


    What they knew for sure though was that they collected bodies. For as long as they remembered, the members would take part in funerals of normal citizens and take down any criminals that were wreaking havoc.


    And all those bodies were passed to¡­


    There was also a fourth force in the town or rather an outside force which encroached on this place. The robed men. Most people didn¡¯t know much about them or didn¡¯t know them at all as they showed up only once in a while.


    However, from what Illyan found out, they had dealings with both the mayor and Heart Bearer Gang and by extension the Venomous Viper Gang. Not to mention, there were some rumors about someone forming a big bandit group beyond the walls stirring chaos. From the incident in the wagon that also seemed like their doing.


    All of the forces were connected to it one way or another.


    Normally, he would rather steer away from such problematic things. But all this time, he had inner thoughts to go against them. Now he realized that it was because of his subconscious desire to get stronger to overcome another Fate Trial.


    Since they had the way for him to get stronger, he decided to steal it. Out of all the forces described, he decided that the first victim would be the Venomous Viper Gang which should be the weakest one considering their hierarchy.


    Illyan still didn¡¯t know the true prowess of Flow Master and so he didn¡¯t plan to barge into their headquarters head-on. If possible, trying to sneak in to steal the technique would be ideal.


    Unfortunately, he was aware that this was too unrealistic. In the first place, did Varel even have this kind of written form of the technique? There was no need for him to steal the written form of technique back then since he didn¡¯t have access to it and didn¡¯t need to either as he was already proficient in it.


    Later on, he probably didn¡¯t rewrite the technique either. After training in it for a few months, Illyan realized that there was no way to forget this technique. It felt like part of him already even though he only half-succeeded.


    That meant that Varel could just teach it word to word to anyone he wanted to. And those would be only his closest family or subordinates¡­


    From what Illyan knew, he taught only his three sons the breathing technique.


    ¡®Alright. They are the ones¡­¡¯


    Once deciding on his target, his gait quickened as he quickly disappeared from the crowded area of the town¡­

 92 - New Residence

    It didn¡¯t take long before Illyan arrived at the outskirts of the town. Since the town was situated in the mountain pass between both Valas Peninsula mountain ranges, the town¡¯s western and eastern sides gradually ascended up the slopes of the mountain.


    Any building constructed there would offer a picturesque outlook of the entire town. Because of that, this domain was usually inhabited by affluent and wealthy individuals only. Nobles had their villas built here, while accomplished war veterans would retire here with their saved-up money.


    Since every building had its own land, they were far from each other, making it easier for Illyan to search for the right one.


    After some time of looking around, he finally found the right place.


    He could see that it was quite a small building compared to the other residences in the vicinity, but its garden was splendid. To be honest, Illyan didn¡¯t care about the luxury. As long as it had enough rooms for his work, then he would be happy.


    Just as he approached the building, a man who was waiting at its doors noticed him and came to him with long strides.


    Illyan frowned. He didn¡¯t know the man. However, it wasn¡¯t hard to guess what he was here for¡­


    ¡°Who might you be, sir?¡± Regardless, he still asked the man with a respectful tone. It didn¡¯t cost him anything anyway, so there was no need for a confrontational stance.


    ¡°You must be Mr. Kaoran. My name is Itis, and I am a real estate agent sent here by the Merchant Guild to finalize all the procedures.¡±


    A slightly plump man with missing eyebrows quickly approached Illyan and greeted him with a polite but insincere smile.


    ¡°Oh? I see, nice to meet you. What kind of procedures do you speak of?¡± Illyan asked tentatively. He wasn¡¯t happy that there would be additional procedures, but he wasn¡¯t surprised.


    While there were no books about trades in the institute, he could just ask Garan, who worked in the merchant guild, to find out.


    This allowed him to already anticipate this encounter.


    ¡°There is no need to worry. As the deal wasn¡¯t facilitated through the Merchant Guild, we are just responsible for showing you the state of the residence and guaranteeing that the contract wasn¡¯t a fraud¡­ Let¡¯s not waste our time in front of the door and come in!¡±


    The enthusiastic merchant gestured to Illyan to open the door.


    As he was the only one who had the key, he could only come to the door and insert it into the keyhole.


    ¡®I will need to change the lock later on.¡¯ For all he knew, Korin could have a spare key with himself. While he didn¡¯t see the lock as a reliable way to stop intruders, he would still feel uncomfortable knowing that someone had easy access to his place.


    With a click, he opened the door and entered. What welcomed him was the stale air and musky smell.


    From the outside, the house didn¡¯t look bad. It was the opposite, actually, as it was a building created for a minor noble. The only problem was that its interior was in a pitiful state.


    The walls and roof stood tall against the trial of time since they were made out of bricks and other solid materials. However, the same couldn¡¯t be said about the furniture. Some of the wooden furniture was already rotten while covered in a thick layer of dust.


    The ground was covered by feces of some animals who managed to dig holes into the house, and the corners were covered in webs.


    When Illyan saw this, he was stunned. He expected that the place wouldn¡¯t be in good shape, but he didn¡¯t know it would be this much!


    Without being able to control himself, he showed a disgusted expression. His instincts were telling him to run from such a dirty place, as his hate towards this filth filled his mind.


    Seeing his expression, Itis immediately smiled apologetically as he explained.


    ¡°Normally, if the deal was mediated through the Merchant Guild, there would be free cleanup of the place and also discounts for whatever reconstructions are needed or desired¡­¡±


    Basically, he was saying that this wasn''t the guild''s fault. Not that Illyan planned to blame him.


    ¡°No problem. I will clean it up later myself.¡± He just shook his head as he took a deep breath and started to observe the interior in detail.


    When he entered, he got into a big room where a person would spend most of his time. There were another two doors to other rooms and two stairs. Ones leading down and the other ones leading up.


    Itis smiled as he started to explain the interior of the house.


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    ¡°The residence has five rooms overall. This big room is the main one while the other ones behind the doors are rooms with a bathtub and latrine. The bedroom is upstairs with a beautiful view of the entire town. The last room¡­¡±


    He started to guide Illyan around while explaining each and every detail he knew about this house. Illyan didn¡¯t care about that, so he just casually listened as he used his own eyes to look around.


    Firstly, he didn¡¯t find anything suspicious with his [Eyes of Truth]. That made him relieved, as he was worried if Korin tampered with the house somehow.


    They also looked around the house at its courtyard and garden. It wasn¡¯t very big, but it was definitely enough for him to grow a few herbs. The garden was also surrounded naturally by the slope of the mountain range, so there was no need to fear someone trying to barge in from that side. They would need to get through the residence into the garden¡­


    Soon, they finished up the inspection except for the last room.


    ¡°As you surely noticed, I left out one of the rooms.¡± After they entered back into the main room, Itis smiled as he gestured towards the stairs leading down.


    ¡°But as someone who believes that the best should be kept last, I am confident that sir will be satisfied.¡±


    He led Illyan down as he continued babbling on.


    ¡°This is the wine cellar! The original owner of this building loved good wines and loved collecting them even more, so he built this entire cellar underneath.¡±


    It was a big room with a few old wine racks standing in rows. They were obviously empty¡­


    ¡°Later on, Mr. Korin planned to renovate this cellar into his study, but as you already know, he had to abandon the idea as His Excellency called him to the Capital¡­¡±


    Illyan was silent. While he wasn¡¯t picky, he didn¡¯t expect that this place would have so much space. Ten gold coins was a lot. But that was only in the eyes of commoners. For nobles, paying for houses that cost even a hundred gold coins would be acceptable if the quality was matching the price.


    While it didn¡¯t look that spacious, as long as he got rid of the wine racks, the room would be even bigger than the main room.


    At first, Illyan considered whether he should build his lab in the main room, but that thought was gone once he entered the cellar.


    This place was perfect!


    Seeing the satisfied expression on his face, Itis started enthusiastically talking about some other minor things before taking out another document for Illyan to sign. Fortunately, this one wasn¡¯t sketchy and was only confirmation that the deal went smoothly.


    ¡°Hehe, it was my pleasure to work with you, Mr. Kaoran. If you are interested in any renovations, please use my name in the guild. I will give you a discount. The same goes if you someday consider selling the property. The residences are constantly rising in prices, so one good decision can secure your life savings for the rest of your life¡­¡±


    Illyan was just nodding, letting everything come in one ear and out of the other. He had just bought the property with great risk, and the guy already wanted him to sell it back to them. The urge to roll his eyes at this audacious little merchant filled him up, but he endured it as he waited until he finally left.


    Then, alone in the residence, he started to ponder what to do next. However, one look around was enough to know that the place was currently uninhabitable.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ This will take a long time¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­..


    After Itis left, Illyan got down to work immediately. He left the house to go buy some tools and returned soon after. Then he threw away all the rotting furniture, swept away all webs and other disgusting stuff until the house was completely clean.


    Then, he went to the cellar and checked on the wine racks.


    Seeing they were made from good wood, he didn¡¯t throw them away and instead dismantled them. Since he still didn¡¯t have a stable income, he didn¡¯t want to waste money on new furniture and planned to rebuild them himself.


    For that reason, he bought a small hammer with lots of nails and other stuff. At first, he was a little clumsy, but soon he got the knack for it and created everything from scratch. When some parts didn¡¯t fit, he could carve them a little with a knife, as he was used to.


    His bed was also crafted from wood, but he draped several furs over it that he collected in Blood Crow Forest to make it more comfortable.


    It was shabby compared to normal furniture, but he didn¡¯t care.


    All of this took him around six hours. Satisfied with himself, Illyan looked at the cleaned-up interior of the house.


    When he didn¡¯t notice anything wrong, he decided to visit Vael. He remembered that the old man wanted something from him¡­


    As he already knew the way, it didn¡¯t take him even a quarter of the time when he was looking for the residence in the morning, and soon he found his way to Vael¡¯s office.


    Knock Knock


    ¡°You may enter.¡± A feeble voice answered Illyan¡¯s knocking, and so he entered the room.


    The room looked similar


    to that of Korin. However, instead of parchments covered with difficult formulas, this room was filled with all kinds of jars with human body parts and all kinds of liquids sealed in test tubes.


    When Vael noticed it was Illyan, he smiled kindly.


    ¡°Hoho~ You came earlier than I expected. I was pretty sure you didn¡¯t move yet.¡± After saying that, he started to cough heavily while holding onto a white cloth. However, the cloth soon took on a red shade as Vael coughed up blood.


    ¡°Are you alright, Mr. Vael?!¡± Illyan, who didn¡¯t know what happened, acted worried as he planned to check on this old man but was stopped with a wave of his arm.


    ¡°Don¡¯t come closer. The disease I have is contagious. You should keep your distance.¡±


    Seeing the old man wheezing for air, Illyan frowned.


    ¡°What kind of disease is this?¡± To be honest, while Illyan read all the books, he was still more specialized in healing and treating wounds from physical harm rather than diseases. Those were most often in the north, after all.


    He was too young to see all the diseases out there.


    ¡°It is called tuberculosis¡­ It is a bacterial infection primarily affecting the lungs. Not a fun way to go, I tell you, heh¡­¡± Vael still didn¡¯t lose his humor despite all that blood, so Illyan could guess it was nothing new for the old man.


    ¡°I have heard of it. Isn¡¯t that treatable?¡± Illyan read about it in the book.


    ¡°Yes, it is in normal circumstances. But the one I have is a mutated one, and the treatment doesn¡¯t work.¡± Vael shook his head.


    ¡°You still didn¡¯t answer my question.¡± Vael changed the topic, as he didn¡¯t want to talk about this.


    Illyan took his hint and stopped asking as he answered.


    ¡°I got the key yesterday right after I finished the examination and moved in today. I would have come sooner, but I had to clean the mess up.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s good. As a physician, you should always keep your place as clean as possible.¡± Vael nodded as he stood up.


    ¡°Since you have already moved, then let¡¯s go. Like I said, I have a surprise for you.¡±


    With that, he left the office with Illyan through the side doors in the room. Beyond the doors was a room twice as big as the office, full of all kinds of tools.


    ¡°Welcome to my laboratory! This is where I create potions and research all kinds of cures for the population.¡±


    Vael showed a proud expression as he gestured with his hands wide open.

 93 - Laboratory Equipment

    Observing the laboratory, Illyan got itchy as he felt an urge to try all the tools out. As someone who studied herbalism and medicine almost his entire life without proper equipment, he couldn¡¯t do many things despite his theoretical knowledge.


    But here, he could further his mastery of medicine one step further in a short time.


    But why did Vael guide him here?


    With doubt in his mind, he turned his attention back to Vael, who already sat down on one of his chairs. He was breathing heavily as if those few steps he made took a heavy toll on him.


    But Illyan wasn¡¯t surprised. After all, he was literally coughing out bits of his lungs. If he could breathe properly despite that, then that would be the weird part.


    ¡°Sir, why did you bring me here?¡± Instead of wasting his time, he asked directly.


    ¡°Huhu, impatient, aren¡¯t we?¡± Once Vael caught his breath, he smiled as he teased Illyan.


    However, Illyan was impervious to such teasing as he replied curtly.


    ¡°I like to use my time effectively. I have too much to do on my list, you see.¡± What Illyan said was his honest feelings as it was true.


    While Illyan could take his time when it came to his lifespan, it didn¡¯t change the fact that there was only so much he could do at once. He already had four techniques to practice, namely [Nature Breath Method], [Blood Feeding Technique], [The Way of the Body], and [Flow Breathing Technique]. Unfortunately, he could not put all his time into them as he also had to study.


    Now, he also had to fulfill his responsibility as a physician to make money too.


    Not to mention that he planned to expand his collection of techniques and knowledge by stealing from numerous forces of this town.


    Illyan felt a little overwhelmed, but he knew he couldn¡¯t take it easy as the fear of misfortune was too strong. That¡¯s why he refused to waste his time unless necessary.


    When Vael heard his words, he nodded in understanding.


    ¡°Time is a scarce commodity. Youngsters these days love to squander their time in pubs and brothels. It is gladdening that someone like you showed up in this institute. Your diligence and passion are what this place needs the most. Especially in the Medicine Department, which is almost empty by now.¡±


    Vael shook his head as he caressed the beakers full of some liquid as he continued.


    ¡°Those who study medicine would either travel to the capital where the people are wealthier and pay more, or they would go even further south, far beyond the kingdom where the very long war rages in which people are dying by the thousands if not more daily. Small towns like this don''t need that many physicians. Unfortunately, if everyone thinks like that, there will be no physicians left to treat the ill¡ªCough, Cough¡­¡±


    A sudden fit of cough made him almost fall, but he managed to hold on. Illyan watched the man cough the bits of his own lungs with an impassive expression and wondered what Vael wanted to say with this speech.


    ¡°Kaoran, do you plan to leave too? I am actually curious since you just bought the house here.¡± After a while when Vael stopped coughing, he asked what he was interested in.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Illyan nodded in understanding. So it was about that.


    It was not like he had the need to lie about this, so he answered truthfully.


    ¡°I don¡¯t plan to live here forever, but I don¡¯t plan to leave anytime soon either. Else, I wouldn¡¯t buy the residence.¡±


    At that, Vael smiled.


    ¡°That¡¯s good, that¡¯s good.¡±


    He then started rummaging the place and took out some of the things and placed them on the table.


    ¡°You see, this place is my homeland¡­ It carries an inexplicable feeling in my heart. That¡¯s why I became a physician. To make this place a better place. I don¡¯t know whether I achieved that, but I don¡¯t regret anything¡­ But now that I am turning old and ill, I can¡¯t take care of myself let alone others,¡± Vael chuckled.


    Illyan nodded as he could see that the old man was in no shape to treat patients.


    ¡°I planned to buy new laboratory equipment with my wealth for my granddaughter, you see. She is an apprentice here and treads the same path as me despite her foolish father¡¯s protests.¡± The changes on his face were palpable as Illyan saw his doting look when talking about his granddaughter while his frowning face when talking about his son.


    ¡°However, I thought it would be too much of a waste to throw away my old equipment. While old, it still should fulfill its purpose. For someone who lacks funds, it should be a good opportunity.¡± After saying all that, he smiled with an ambiguous expression while watching Illyan.


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    On the other hand, Illyan finally found out why the old man called him here and couldn¡¯t help but widen his eyes in surprise.


    However, the first thought that came to his mind wasn¡¯t that this old man was kind but instead¡­


    Is he also trying to scam me?


    In his mind, the face of Korin showed up with his gentlemanly smile as he put the contract in front of Illyan.


    ¡°For how much and which type of equipment?¡± Illyan still put up the facade of politeness but his eyes glinted with coldness.


    Vael didn¡¯t notice that as he chuckled and shook his head.


    ¡°You misunderstood, lad. I am not selling them. If you didn¡¯t show up, I would either donate it to the institution or if they wouldn¡¯t want it then throw it away. After all, some of the pieces are several decades old and there is a chance of malfunctioning.¡±


    Illyan looked around. While the first sight of the laboratory made Illyan look at those things with rose-tinted glasses, it was true that many of the tools around were worn out by the time. If you had money to spare, then you would probably want to buy new ones.


    But Illyan didn¡¯t have any spare money. He wanted to start his career as a physician to make a living and pay off the money he owed to Korin. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have the equipment to make the more elaborate medicine. Yes, he could make medicine even without tools just as he did in Blood Crow Forest, but that couldn¡¯t even be called medicine at all.


    As long as one knew the effect of some stronger herbs, they could do the same. Even uneducated commoners ate some herbs that were known for alleviating certain illnesses.


    For that reason, he needed the equipment to create proper medicines. But for that, he needed money which he wanted to make by creating the medicine¡­


    Because of this vicious circle, Illyan considered that he would try to rob someone. For example, the Venomous Viper Gang. Since he planned to kidnap the son of the leader, there was no harm in stealing from them anymore¡­


    However, his problem was now solved.


    ¡°Is this really alright?¡± Still, he was full of suspicion as he stared at the dying old man.


    ¡°Yes¡­ Actually, I didn¡¯t plan to give it to you at first. However, when I asked you some of the questions during the exam, your answers were spectacular to the point of even me admiring it. It showed that you didn¡¯t learn medicine just because of money. The fact that you even learned alternative ways of treating illnesses just to make the medicines cheaper is giving me hope that there are still good physicians.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Illyan nodded in understanding. However, his mind was filled with different thoughts.


    ¡®I see, so it was a misunderstanding, huh.¡¯ There were times when he thought of learning medicine only to help people. But those times were gone for a long time. While he loved medicine itself, it didn¡¯t mean he was some benevolent saint to help others for free. It was just that, thanks to his [Eyes of Truth], he could consume any type of knowledge without it slipping from his mind, so he didn¡¯t need to consider such small things.


    If there were several variants of medicine with the same effect, it meant he wasn¡¯t dependent on certain herbs. It would also solidify his foundation once he finally decided to research the herbs more in detail to find out how they worked.


    All in all, it was no loss to learn more knowledge.


    However, Vael misunderstood that as him thinking of the poor people.


    But since it gave Illyan this opportunity, he would be a fool to pass it.


    ¡°Thank you for your generosity, senior.¡± Illyan bowed a little as he thanked Vael for his consideration.


    But Vael just shook his head and with an amiable smile, he continued.


    ¡°This is just a small matter. It is usually hard for small academics like ourselves to gain proper equipment and further education if you don¡¯t work in the institution in your early years. Many failed and became poor or worse because of it despite their profound knowledge. It doesn¡¯t matter how much you know if you don¡¯t or can¡¯t get the opportunity to apply it in real life¡­¡±


    Vael showed a sour expression. It was obvious that he saw many such cases during his long life and didn¡¯t want to see another one, especially when it came to such a promising physician.


    Now that Illyan thought about it, this institution was never about grooming the younger generation but rather allowing someone to further his studies in the library while allowing them to have their own research in the labs. While there were lectures, they were done by only a few willing academics and only when they were free, which wasn¡¯t that often. Most of the time, apprentices just self-studied and worked as assistants for academics. That¡¯s why it was always preferable if the applicants were already erudite since they weren¡¯t considered students but employees to work for the institution


    for the chance of learning.


    Illyan read that in the capital of Vanaras and further in the south in the Arkravav Empire there were organizations called academies that were customized for young people to learn knowledge and the practical uses of it. The professors were the learned academics and scholars, and the lectures were frequent and compulsory. They would teach you anything you would need, and once you graduated, your prospect of looking for a career would be much easier.


    Unfortunately, it was mostly for young nobles to attend. Adult commoners like him would be able to attend such a place only as a professor if they were capable enough, which he probably wasn¡¯t as of now.


    Not that Illyan considered attending the academy; it was just a passing thought¡­


    ¡°However, I have a small condition, or rather I need a favor from you.¡± Vael suddenly said as he stared into Illyan¡¯s eyes.


    Illyan furrowed his brows. He just said it was free, but now he was asking for something¡­


    As if noticing the unease in his eyes, Vael explained hurriedly.


    ¡°It is nothing serious. As I said, my granddaughter is working as an apprentice diligently to become a physician. However, she is a reckless and stubborn lass, only doing whatever she likes. Before, I could look out for her, but now¡­¡± Vael shook his head as he coughed.


    ¡°I just ask you to look out for her and help her a little on her path to becoming a physician.¡±


    ¡°I see. I will definitely help her.¡± Illyan nodded immediately.


    He feared that he would want another contract, but it was just a verbal promise. Illyan didn¡¯t mind that. As long as helping her wouldn¡¯t jeopardize his life and plans, he didn¡¯t have a problem helping her out a little. Moreover, since it was just a verbal promise, he could just not do it if he didn¡¯t want to¡­.


    After exchanging some other small pleasantries over the next few minutes, Vael took several boxes and put all the things he wanted to give to Illyan. It wasn¡¯t much. Just basic tools like beakers, flasks, test tubes, pipettes, Bunsen burners, centrifuges, all kinds of scales, distillation apparatus, even basic mortar and pestle, etc.


    Many of those things were something Illyan never saw, let alone used, but it didn¡¯t douse the excitement flowing in his veins as he was looking forward to finally bringing his skills to the fullest potential.


    ¡°There is too much of it, so I will have to let the wagon bring it to your residence. You have enough space inside, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there is no problem.¡± Illyan nodded.


    ¡°Good.¡± Vael smiled gently. Unfortunately, his smile was ruined with the drop of blood flowing out of his mouth¡­

 94 - True Age

    During the next few weeks, Illyan was rebuilding the cellar into his new laboratory with his newfound equipment given by Vael. His excitement was almost palpable as he toyed with each piece of equipment like a child would play with a toy.


    The cellar was big enough to store everything, so he didn¡¯t have a problem with that either.


    Soon, a fully functional laboratory was in front of Illyan, whose chest was swelling with a feeling of accomplishment.


    Of course, it still wasn¡¯t fully done as there were still several wine racks, and he didn¡¯t take everything Vael gave him yet. But still, if he wanted, he could already start with some kind of experiment if he was impatient.


    But he was more interested in what Vael left him in the last boxes. Those were with the help of the Merchant Guild transported from the institution to his residence and then put right into the cellar to not hinder the space above.


    He then unboxed one of the last boxes and took out some sophisticated machine.


    ¡®What is this?¡¯ With confusion, he started to look at it from several angles. It reminded him a little of the telescope that he read about. However, the tube didn¡¯t point up towards the sky as described but towards the ground. There were also several big and small magnifying glasses on adjustable arms that could be aligned with that scope.


    Furthermore, several small rectangular glass pieces were stored with it.


    After watching a little, he could somewhat guess what it was for. However, he noticed a small note that was in the box that told him a detailed way how to use it.


    ¡®This is called a Microscope. It is an invention from the Arkravav Empire. You can put any kind of substance between two of these small glass pieces and put it in front of the scope. Then you can adjust with the magnifying glasses how much enlarged the substance will look like. You can research those substances more in-depth. I will also give you a book that is a good combination with it.¡¯


    After reading that, Illyan took out the book with a red cover out of the box.


    Its name was ¡®How to utilize blood in a hundred ways.¡¯


    Seeing this name, Illyan was interested and started to browse through the book.


    It was a medical book so most of the things here were to save someone¡¯s life.


    For example, transfusion of blood. It gave a detailed explanation of the several types of blood that were incompatible with each other and how to recognize them.


    There was also a way to ascertain whether someone was blood-related or not.


    However, most of that wasn¡¯t important to Illyan right now. He would definitely read the book as soon as he finished the building of the laboratory, but it would be mostly from interest in new knowledge than from need. The book wasn¡¯t at the top of his priority list right now.


    That was until he browsed to the last method in the book.


    ¡®How to ascertain your biological and chronological age¡¯


    Through this method, it was possible to find out your age and the state of your body. Depending on how someone lived, their bodies could be much younger than their chronological age and vice versa.


    But for Illyan, this right now meant that he could finally find out for how long he was imprisoned in that damn iceberg.


    That completely changed his plan for today as he wanted to plant all the seeds he collected in the Blood Crow Forest originally.


    However, now he just quickly took the rest of the tools from the boxes, put them in their new places, and immediately started with the experiment as if he couldn¡¯t wait any longer.


    He took out a flask and filled it with water. He then put it on the bunsen burner which he set fire on and let the water boil.


    He looked at the book if he didn¡¯t miss anything and started to proceed according to its steps.


    He started to put all kinds of herbs into it. Some of them had to be ground beforehand while others were thrown into it raw.


    Unfortunately, he was clumsy with the new tools and after 30 minutes, the gray smoke started to waft out of the flask.


    Illyan didn¡¯t care much as all those herbs were common but wasn¡¯t very happy with wasting them like this.


    So Illyan shrugged and chucked down the liquid he created.


    This wasn¡¯t something he should drink as even if he did it right it was still undrinkable. However, it was just a failed mix of mortal stage herbs so it was impossible to kill him.


    At most, it would damage him from inside which would subsequently heal on its own.


    Why would he do that then?


    To train his ability of course!


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    How was he supposed to train his regeneration ability if he was studying behind the walls the entire time? He even considered stabbing himself with his knives as the form to train, but he didn¡¯t want to deal with the mess it would cause.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ This is actually a neat way to solve it.¡± Illyan muttered to himself.


    Two birds were down with one stone thanks to this.


    No, maybe even three. He didn¡¯t need to waste his herbs despite him ruining the reagent he planned to make, and he could speed up the training of his ability thanks to it. Not only that, he also didn¡¯t need to waste time by trying to get rid of this substance. It was not like it would magically disappear normally.


    ¡°Huuh¡­¡± Illyan shook his head as he started focusing on the creation of the reagent inside the book.


    It took him another three tries before he finished it. Thankfully, the reagent itself wasn¡¯t that hard to create.


    He observed the substance inside with great interest, it didn¡¯t have any color and became transparent and with every move of it, it started to bubble.


    This was a reagent that should react together with his blood. He took the flask and poured some of its content into a very tall graduated cylinder. He only poured enough for it to reach the first graduation of the unit of measurement.


    Then with a small needle, he pricked his finger and let the drop of his blood fall into a flask.


    Sizzle


    With sizzle, the reagent started to bubble as the bubbles started to rise. It also started to change color into that of blood as the surface of the substance started to rise.


    From the first graduation to the second. From the second to the third and from the third to the fourth.


    Eventually, the foam disappeared as only the reagent remained. However, this time the surface level was much higher as if the volume increased.


    ¡°Graduation of 58.7, huh.¡± Illyan looked at it and was satisfied. This test showed his biological age. With this number, he just needed to use a simple formula to calculate his age which turned out to be 20.


    It was the same or at least a similar age he hoped his chronological age was. After all, he guessed he was minimally a year in the iceberg, but he hoped it was not more than that.


    Since he was done with it he chucked the liquid down his throat and looked at the rest of the reagent in the flask.


    He checked whether it was already cool. Once he did so and found out it was, he put it back at the bunsen burner and threw into it one herb. The herb seemed to melt inside in a matter of seconds.


    Illyan stirred the contents of the flask and took it down again.


    This time he took a little glass from the microscope and poured a few drops of the reagent on it.


    After that, he pricked his finger once again and smeared it with blood before sealing it with a second glass.


    This time, however, the reagent didn¡¯t sizzle and didn¡¯t show any reaction. Without any hesitation, he put the glass under a microscope and started to play with it. It took him some time to familiarize himself with it but soon he stared at the mix of reagent and his blood under a microscope.


    He didn¡¯t know what he was watching, but it didn¡¯t matter as he mostly just needed to record it in his head and then use it for some kind of formula to calculate the result.


    That made his mouth curl a little as he thought that his effort in studying mathematics started already paying off as he used it continuously today in the field of medicine.


    Unfortunately, the mirth didn¡¯t last for a long time.


    ¡°I-Impossible.¡± With a trembling voice Illyan stared incredulously at the calculation he just wrote on old parchment.


    With a shake of his head, he started to calculate again as he was sure he made a mistake. But a few minutes later, he saw the same result.


    ¡°Did I make a mistake in making the reagent?¡± Illyan muttered to himself.


    He didn¡¯t ask anyone in particular, but ¡®she¡¯ answered his question as his mind turned unstable once again giving her a chance to speak with him.


    ¡®You already know, don¡¯t you? Time flows differently for everyone. Especially for those who meditate for a long time. It is not impossible for you to be unaware of time during that time since you meditated the entire time to not suffocate yourself to death. But take it positively. While it looks like a lot of time it doesn¡¯t change anything for you even if you were encased there for hundreds of years. No, maybe one thing. The Thearas shaman would pass away by then and you wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve your revenge, huhu~¡±


    The serious voice suddenly turned cheerful in half of her speech as he was coming to terms with the fact that his chronological age was already 31 years old.


    He was a little over 17 when he got frozen, and it was already a year since he got outside.


    With a simple calculation, that meant he was inside of that place for around 13 years.


    Over one decade, he wasted his time there¡­


    ¡®You didn¡¯t. You didn¡¯t consider that with your measly talent it would be years before you would make a slightest breakthrough in [Nature Breath Method] and your


    spiritual perception. Without the constant use it would take much longer. And while it may seem quite useless now I believe that in the future it will be a crucial technique.¡¯


    While incomplete, the [Nature Breath Method] was still the most incredible technique he had the honor to train in.


    There were just two and a half stages in the inheritance the Bakur Tribe got.


    First was Exhalation. It was the ability to spread out into nature. With it, you would become one with nature as your individual presence became insignificant and became part of nature.


    The second stage was Inhalation. Once you were one with nature it would help you on its own accord. The rustle of the leaves on the trees, the smell of blossoms of the flowers and even the noises wild animals made would be clear in your mind as you would start to comprehend the language of nature itself.


    And the third one was Primal Breathing which allowed you to absorb nature and primal energies in exchange for spiritual energy inside of your body. However, the explanation of the use of nature and primal energies was cut off and even Kaoran reached only the early second stage so Illyan didn¡¯t know anything about it.


    This kind of method was extremely difficult to cultivate even for talented people like Kaoran let alone someone like Illyan.


    ¡®Not to mention, this was also the reason why your regeneration got so strong already. You had to endure the cold for so long that you can regrow even limbs now. Also, the coldness inside of your body won¡¯t disappear completely by implementing [Blood Feeding Technique]. Only the excess energy that is hurting you. Of course, most of it is excess energy but there will still be some leftovers absorbed by you making your body tougher and more resistant to coldness. I think it is a win-win scenario.¡¯


    ¡°Even so¡­¡± Illyan knew that what she was saying was true but he didn¡¯t like the fact that he was in a powerless state for such a long time. The fact that so much time seeped through his fingers just like that¡­


    Moreover¡­


    ¡°Zers is already 34¡­ And his child is already-¡± Zephyr interrupted his muttering.


    ¡®Cut it out, will you? It is not like you planned to visit him anyway. We can¡¯t cross the sea unless you want to be frozen for an even longer period or die permanently. You probably won¡¯t see him ever again. Deal with it. You will need to get used to it.¡¯


    With saying that, her presence dissipated as if never being there in the first place.


    ¡°Deal with it, huh.¡±


    Illyan pondered for a second before shaking his head.


    ¡®Like she said, at least the Thearas Clan was still intact by this time and the shaman was still alive.¡¯


    The revenge was satisfying enough to placate his heart a little¡­

 95 - Hidden Room

    That day, Illyan didn¡¯t continue his work in the laboratory and went to meditate to clear his mind. Obviously, the news he got was a little too disturbing for his current self, and he needed to come to terms with it.


    So much time seeping through the palm of his hand like sand was something no one would want to happen to them, especially when they were as young as Illyan.


    He was always consoling himself that he had a lot of time and could afford to waste some, but that was only theory. He could not test the limits of his ability as it would end up with him being either crippled or really dead. That meant that he could only theorize together with Kaoran back then.


    Fortunately, it seemed that Kaoran was right.


    While 13 years had passed, there was almost no change in Illyan¡¯s look. It was as if his appearance was stuck in time. That didn¡¯t mean that he looked to be in his teens though.


    He always developed faster than his peers. He called his ability regeneration, but it was not an accurate name as it had much more to reveal.


    Thanks to that, Illyan already looked to be in his mid-twenties at the peak of human body development since his teens.


    In the north, he didn¡¯t stand out because of that as other children also developed faster.


    Through all that rigorous training during their youth and the right nutrition that most commoners in the Vanaras Kingdom lacked, they became larger than regular people in the south. Together with their wild visage, it was no wonder that they were called Barbarians¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    In the end, it didn¡¯t change anything for him, and Illyan chose not to dwell on it like Zephyr told him to.


    He took out all the hidden seeds he had and started to plant them in his new garden. He had little proficiency in this as he grew the edible herbs back then, but the ones he was planting today were medicinal, so he was extra careful. Their value was much higher, and he couldn¡¯t afford to buy new.


    Unfortunately, since he dried most herbs, he couldn¡¯t replant them.


    However, Illyan wasn¡¯t disappointed. There was one herb that radiated enough heat for itself despite being uprooted and wasn¡¯t in need of being dried.


    Illyan took what remained out of the Firestorm Herb he stole from Thearas Clan and put it in the middle of the garden. With that, other herbs would have an easier time growing up.


    He was satisfied that he chose not to use it all. Back then he didn¡¯t think about it much and used up the first one completely to accelerate his progress of getting rid of the hidden ice energy, but now he realized what a big waste that was.


    The aborigines probably did it the same way as they cut off only the surface level of the herb and let it regrow anew.


    He just needed to find the right opportunity to use them. And that kind of opportunity would soon come¡­


    He took the rest of his dried herbs and ventured into his new lab with the intention of creating several medicines and poisons.


    However, he stopped what he was doing as he noticed that he still didn¡¯t finish everything up as there were still several boxes littered on the ground and a few last wine racks in the corner of the cellar.


    With a sigh, he took out everything in the box and put them away before he went to the racks and broke them down into planks for future use.


    But just as he intended to leave with them under his armpits, he noticed a small breeze of wind. It was just a minuscule amount. In fact, it was so minuscule that if not for his eyes detecting the particles of spiritual energy within the wind he wouldn¡¯t notice at all.


    He narrowed his eyes. The wind was coming from the stone wall or rather the wall cracks.


    ¡®Is there something behind?¡¯


    With hurry, he put the planks where he planned to put them and returned to the suspicious wall.


    ¡®It was hidden behind the racks¡­ Was it something that Korin wanted to hide?¡¯ Thought passed through Illyan¡¯s mind, but then he shook his head.


    The room had to be here since the first owner. Korin said to reside in this place only for a few months before leaving. Such a hidden cellar would take time to build. Illyan was pretty sure that Korin didn¡¯t lie about his early departure as there were several other old academics confirming this.


    Of course, they could be lying too, but Illyan didn¡¯t see the reason for them to do so.


    He stared at the wall in the corner and tried to find something out of it. However, the only thing he saw was its unevenness.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± His eyes lit up as he thought of something and started to touch the wall systematically. From the left top to right down.


    Eventually, he touched one of the uneven stones which then embedded itself a little deeper into the wall with a click almost inaudible to human ears. Once he heard that, he tried to push the wall with one hand, but it wouldn¡¯t budge.


    His brows raised as he put considerable strength in that push. This time, he used both of his hands and put the weight into it. Finally, the wall gave way as he was pushing it to the side slowly showing what was behind it.


    Illyan grunted with satisfaction as he stared into the dark staircase that showed up in front of him.


    ¡®This is hidden very well. If not for my Truth Eyes, unnatural hearing and my strength, I wouldn¡¯t even notice it was here.¡¯


    With slight hesitation, he entered. He didn¡¯t need the source of light as while it was dark, it didn¡¯t pose a problem to him.


    With a quick gait, he passed through the stairs only to appear before other doors. Those had a big lock on them with chains covering them.


    Fortunately, they were rusty and weak after years of abandonment and couldn¡¯t stop Illyan who literally tore them apart with a slight tug.


    The stale smell permeated the place, but he ignored it as he opened the doors.


    A wave of cold air passed through his body as the layers of dirt within the room rose up and swirled in the air.


    Cough Cough


    Illyan, who inhaled a little of the dust, started to cough as he waved his hand and blew away the dust in his vicinity.


    Once the dust settled down, a dim room came into Illyan¡¯s view.


    It was so dark that even he had the problem to see as the light from the laboratory didn¡¯t reach here. However, once his eyes finally got used to this, he could glimpse at the place.


    But what he saw stumped him.


    At one corner, there were several small cages filled with human skeletons. However, those skeletons were too small to be that of adults¡­


    Then, Illyan looked at the other side. There, on the walls, were hanging some kind of weird tools that gave him chills down his spine.


    Underneath them was a table that was high up with handcuffs in each corner signifying what it was used for.


    ¡°What in the hell was that noble doing here¡­¡±


    Illyan got closer to one of the cages and opened it. Same as with the doors, its look was decrepit and shattered with a slight tug.


    Once he did so, he crouched down and checked out the remains of those who passed away in the cage.


    ¡®Young boys¡­ The oldest is only 14 years old while the youngest one is as young as 8 years old.¡¯ Illyan shook his head in disbelief.


    He didn¡¯t know what exactly was happening here back then, but seeing the tools hanging on the wall gave him an idea.


    This place was probably one of the many spaces where degenerative nobles used to place helpless victims. In this case, it was young boys who suffered here back then.


    Illyan used to hear stories since he was young that nobles of the kingdom were responsible for the well-being of the common folks, but a lot of them used this authority to terrorize them instead.


    He didn¡¯t think about it much back then since he never saw a noble and didn¡¯t understand what the villagers and merchants talked about, but once he got to Winterfrost Town, he heard the same rumors once again.


    Of course, in the town, the rumors were a lot more hushed down as nobody wanted to be caught when saying that.


    Illyan knew that common people liked to exaggerate and gossip as there was nothing much else to do in their lives, and so he took the information with reservation and decided to believe only in things he saw with his own hands.


    And now, he finally saw what a true deranged person could cause.


    He saw what kind of life was lived by aborigines in Blood Crow Forest. But those were just brainwashed fools who ¡®served¡¯ their Lord. On the other hand, this noble or whoever did this was someone who was part of normal society.


    The fact that such people were walking the same streets as normal people was very surreal.


    ¡®Not that I am any different.¡¯ After all, if people of this place knew his ¡®true identity¡¯ they would probably be even more scared than being in front of a noble.


    What kind of identity? Well, first of all, he would be considered a barbarian who lived as an animal in the far north. When the word barbarian came in only negative thoughts showed up in the minds of people.


    Even if that wasn¡¯t enough, he had an ability to regrow even his limbs at this point. Illyan believed that there was no way that this kind of ability was unique to him, but that wasn¡¯t something people cared about.


    For them, he would be a monster born to kill.


    And they would not be wrong.


    Illyan¡¯s eyes glinted with dangerous light when he looked at the tools and the table with handcuffs.


    While he didn¡¯t intend to kidnap boys or girls to play with, he definitely planned to kidnap people for his own gain.


    At first, he planned to prepare a place in his laboratory since no better place was in the residence, but this changed a lot.


    Illyan¡¯s mouth curled a little. He didn¡¯t know why the noble would sell this residence with such a secret to Korin, but since he got it into his hands, he would definitely use it to its fullest potential.


    In the end, he was not so much different than the noble who did this.


    He grew up in a quite good family with principles and then was living with warriors with hearts full of honor. However, Illyan never fully understood or wanted to understand this honor. He wanted to go by with his own principles and didn¡¯t want to be shackled by others.


    Ever since he got to the town, he considered a way to get stronger and didn¡¯t really care about the way how to do it. Still, when he considered hurting those who he didn¡¯t have a personal grudge, he still looked for justification.


    Those guys were evil. They hurt innocent people, so they deserved it anyway.


    ¡®So stupid.¡¯ Illyan shook his head.


    In the end, he considered doing the same thing that this noble did. Kidnapping someone because of his greed¡­


    ¡®Whatever¡­ I desire what they have. That¡¯s enough of a reason for me to get it. If they cooperate there will be no need for carnage¡­¡¯


    Of course, Illyan didn¡¯t expect them to cooperate. Nor did he care about it.


    Once again, the small shackles made by society¡¯s rules inside his mind were loosened. At first, he didn¡¯t notice, but the more time passed after his parting with everyone he knew the more his mindset changed.


    However, he didn¡¯t mind. Instead, he embraced it without hesitation. He was still himself but more adapted to survive in this world. Kindness was like poison. Only those strong enough could even consider being kind to others.


    ¡®Since I got a place to use for my plan, I can start with preparations¡­¡¯


    With such thoughts in his mind, Illyan decided that he would use this secret room for his own plans which could be considered as vicious as the previous owner¡¯s...


    ¡®Venomous Viper Gang¡­¡¯ Illyan¡¯s eyes turned determined as he got out of the hidden room.


    Meanwhile, the gang that didn¡¯t even know of his existence was unaware that they had become prey in someone¡¯s eyes and was working as usual in the town, exploiting people and doing shady businesses with other forces. Everything went smoothly for them.


    Not for long though¡­

 96 - Disguise

    Since that day, Illyan decided that it was time to implement his plan and started to prepare.


    He took out the skeletons of the children and took them to his lab. There, he ground them to powder and mixed them with other herbs to create fertilizers for his herbs in the garden, as he saw it as wasteful to just get rid of them.


    Then, he cleaned up the messed-up room so that he could use it later on.


    While he called it a plan, he still didn¡¯t know almost anything about his ¡®enemies¡¯ or how to achieve his goal, so he chose to prepare as much as possible before doing anything.


    The first thing Illyan wanted to do was to make poison. Using poison could be crucial to him if the opponents were stronger than him.


    He also used a solution to properly cleanse the remaining bones of the shaman¡¯s left hand that he sliced off, only leaving behind the pristine bones. He took its phalanges and carved on them the shamanistic symbols with care.


    He recreated the phalanges into dice runes for his divination to make sure his mission was safe. He wouldn¡¯t fully believe it but as a reference, it was something indispensable. Last time he didn¡¯t heed its results, he turned into an ice sculpture¡­


    The last thing Illyan considered doing was to create some amulets.


    For that, he would need a lot of time and wood. Fortunately, the wood from the wine racks was from old oak, which was quite good for amulets.


    That took him almost a week for each piece. It was much faster than before thanks to his better perception of spiritual energy. Fortunately, he still didn¡¯t work as a physician and didn¡¯t accept any patients during that time and could finish it without being interrupted. Others in the institution also didn¡¯t find it suspicious as they knew he was renovating the house.


    They just didn¡¯t expect him to be so quick with it, as he did most of the things himself in a few hours, letting it be as simple as it could be. As long as his house was functional and clean, he didn¡¯t care about anything else.


    After finishing all of this, he was almost prepared.


    Next, he started walking in the town trying to collect information about the gang.


    He couldn¡¯t just beat one of them up and get the answer out of him, since it would startle the snake. Or rather, startle the ¡®viper¡¯.


    Looking around the streets with people going erratically doing their own business, he saw once in a while a small group from the gang. However, they were the bottom-feeders and could not bring much value. So he just listened to their conversation before looking for another group.


    Because of such a non-aggressive approach, it took a long time before he found out what he wanted to know.


    ¡°Did you hear it? There was one chick in the slums that fell into debt after borrowing from big bro Garret¡­ She is supposedly a great beauty, hehe.¡±


    ¡°Ohh?! Do you think we could ask for a share?!¡±


    ¡°Why do you think I mentioned it?¡±


    ¡°Really?! That''s great! I was starving for some new flesh. I am tired of the whores in the brothel already. Let¡¯s meet big bro tonight!¡±


    After hours of listening, he heard another disgusting conversation. Illyan just shook his head as he decided that listening to this was unnecessary and wanted to retreat¡­


    ¡°Nah, he can¡¯t right now. This week is his turn to be in service in the arena. He is preparing for that. In truth, the girl would be used there as a maid for the esteemed guest. If we are lucky, we can get the leftovers later on.¡±


    However, just as he planned to leave, he heard something interesting from one of the gangsters¡¯ mouths.


    ¡®Arena? Interesting.¡¯ And so, he decided to continue to listen.


    ¡°Aw~? You put my expectations so high and then say this?! Fuck you, Fahren!¡±


    The other gangster, who was already salivating at the thought of a new girl in his arms, got angry when he found out that the girl could very well end up in higher-ups'' arms. And those bastards didn¡¯t like sharing at all.


    ¡°Haha, don¡¯t be like that! There will be more girls there, even if they are not as beautiful as this one. Not to mention, that this time the event should be much more interesting than normal.¡±


    The first gangster smiled with a sly expression as he didn¡¯t continue talking. This made the other one agitated as he asked what he talked about.


    ¡°Hehe, look at you looking so anxious. But it¡¯s true that this time it would be much more fun to watch. After all, they managed once again to catch a troll! The last one died over a year ago, making the arena make much less profit than before¡­¡±


    With this, the two gangsters started to discuss with excitement how many people would be needed to subdue such a monster¡­


    Meanwhile, Illyan, who listened to them, was satisfied that he finally got some useful information.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    After listening for a little longer and making sure that they wouldn¡¯t talk about anything else that he was interested in, he retreated.


    After returning home, he was content. The event in the arena seemed to be important, so important people of the gang would definitely show up and amongst them would definitely be one of the gang leader¡¯s sons.


    Illyan was confident in it, as he found out during the few days he was looking for the information that all of his three sons were high-ranking people in his gang. He also gave all of them his beloved technique that made him the man he was now. It was obvious that despite his cold heart he still loved his blood.


    But that gave Illyan an opportunity to steal the technique. While Illyan already had the basic technique, the gang leader mastered it to the point where he managed to create a sub-technique which Illyan desired.


    His heart, now susceptible to greed, couldn''t abandon the thought of such a lucrative treasure that could not only make him stronger but also possibly speed up his progress of creating Flow as it would give him additional points that were missing in the basic technique.


    As such, he decided that he would visit the arena in a few days when the troll was supposed to show up.


    If there would be only his sons in the arena, he decided to act. However, if the boss showed up as well, he would wait and look for an opportunity to strike. He wasn¡¯t confident in beating the boss who was known throughout the town and would be rather cautious than end up dead.


    However, he couldn¡¯t just enter it as he was.


    Illyan looked at his attire. The black robe that became his favorite was loosely hanging on his body.


    ¡®Fortunately, I already bought some clothes that I haven''t used yet for a long time.¡¯


    Illyan decided to take some inconspicuous attire later on to not bring any attention.


    But that wasn¡¯t enough. Illyan didn¡¯t want to expose himself during the event, as it would bring him unimaginable problems. Moreover, living here in peace would be impossible for him anymore.


    And so, he prepared several strategies to change his visage.


    The first one was to shave his head bald. Nobody would connect a physician with long and lush hair with someone bald. He could also make the hair grow back to original in a few seconds, so it was an immaculate tactic.


    He also experimented a little with the Firestorm Herb during his free time and learned how to make one session with less than a quarter of the original dosage. It was very crude and the loss of efficiency was insane, but he didn¡¯t care about that.


    What Illyan wanted to achieve was to reduce his physique to a certain extent while still being in his peak state.


    Normally, the technique would suck out all of his muscles into mysterious energy that would nourish his blood but with his new dose, it would take much less.


    However, that was enough to change his physique to a certain extent, which would once again make him less recognizable.


    And the last one¡­ was probably the most brutal. There were not many people who would be willing to do that¡­ But Illyan was an exception.


    ¡­¡­


    In the next four days, a sense of unrest spread in the town as the date of the underground arena event was coming closer. The peak of all this stir was the day when the arena opened its doors for the people.


    Normal civilians didn¡¯t know what was happening and decided to go home sooner lest they would be caught in some crossfire while criminals started to get excited as they entered deeper into slums.


    There, some disputes broke out but the perpetrators were soon subdued by the people of the Venomous Viper Gang.


    Meanwhile, there was one man walking amongst the other bottom feeders of the society hidden beneath his crappy robe. It was obvious that his clothes were randomly sewed low-quality fabric.


    He was walking with his head down as if fearing making eye contact with others. There were some troublemakers who wanted to pick on him but whenever he lifted his head a little to make the so-called eye contact they would scramble back in fear.


    And so, no one was bothering him as they waited in front of one inconspicuous house sandwiched between other shabby houses in the slums.


    From the side of this house was the entrance to the underground arena which was literally underneath the town.


    Most of the guests were already inside waiting for the show or trying to strike some business.


    Unfortunately for others, they were nothing but underprivileged wretches that did not have the right to enter the arena as guests. The only way for those like them was to become part of the arena show.


    And that of course meant becoming a gladiator that would fight for the entertainment of the real guests. This often ended up in the death of many.


    But still, like moths flying towards the fire, new ones always showed up to fill


    up the arena next time.


    The reason for that was the monetary reward that the victors took away. Not only that but they could also impress someone watching, getting the opportunity to turn over their fate of being bottom-feeder.


    ¡°He he, this time I will make it big this time¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t lie, Old man¡­ I bet you always survived only because you cowered in the corner while others shed the blood!¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t think it is impossible to win against a knight if we surround him and attack at the same time...¡±


    Illyan, who was leaning on the side of the house, was listening to all the murmurs of the people as he waited.


    He realized that this underground arena was something completely normal in the eyes of the folk here. Or at least, for those who lived dishonest lives. Normal people didn¡¯t seem to realize that there was an underground event happening.


    However, from what Illyan read about the Vanaras Kingdom¡¯s history, it seemed that slavery and gladiatorship were normalized since its inception almost a thousand years ago. This small town was too poor so they didn¡¯t even have a proper colosseum like in the cities in the south, but they had different advantages which the gangs chose to exploit.


    Those were the trolls which were easy to find if you veer off to the east of the town.


    However, because of that, they could only organize this kind of event two to three times a year. Both trolls and the people were resources that couldn¡¯t be easily squandered.


    Trolls were hard to catch while it took time for a new generation of slum inhabitants to grow. That¡¯s why a lot of the fights ended up without deaths.


    The knights were especially precious to throw away their lives in such meaningless matters.


    Of course, incidents happened. Particularly, when it came to fights with monsters¡­


    ¡°Hey guys! Line up and be obedient! The entrance fee is one silver so don¡¯t even think about sneaking up on me!¡± Several people with tattoos of vipers on their arms came out with proper weapons like swords and spears while guarding the entrance.


    ¡°What?! One silver?! That¡¯s daylight robbery!¡± One of the residents of the slums who definitely wasn''t a good guy called out with an angry expression.


    ¡°Pay up or fuck off.¡± The guard said with an indifferent expression.


    As such, those who wanted entry could only comply and made a line. Illyan also lined up without any problems as nobody was making problems.


    Soon, it was his turn as he gave the guard a fee.


    ¡°Alright, you can go-¡± The guard didn¡¯t seem to be interested in the guy but when he looked underneath his hood he got surprised as he noticed his disfigured face.


    The scars looked old as if they healed over years yet the traces of horrible wounds stayed. Because of that, the face was completely unrecognizable as Illyan entered the staircase towards the arena¡­

 97 - Underground Arena

    The entrance into the slums was reserved for gladiators of the lowest status, so Illyan didn¡¯t encounter anyone he needed to be cautious of. Without any issues, he descended the stairs slowly until he entered one large room filled with people.


    There was the sound of them talking, but it was drowned out by the cheers and clashes of steel that Illyan heard from his left side. When he looked in that direction, iron bars were there, and beyond them was a circular area with two men clashing with their swords. The arena was surrounded by high walls, and above were seats filled with an audience cheering enthusiastically.


    He could see that most of the audience consisted of higher-status individuals, wearing clothes of much better quality and displaying clear skin without blemishes.


    Most of them were from high-class families or wealthy merchants who were simply relieving their stress by enjoying this kind of entertainment. However, through the bars, Illyan noticed that some who were more isolated from the others appeared to be much more important.


    Unfortunately, that was all he could see as the viewpoint was quite awkward. So, he found a place to settle down and watched the battle beyond the bars. The people around him seemed to have only one thing on their minds, which was money, and most of them were there just to fill the quota, so he wasn¡¯t interested.


    On the other hand, the people fighting in the arena were much more interesting as he realized they were using the [Breathing Technique]. However, from their plain attire, he could guess they hadn¡¯t yet reached Flow Rank.


    Only knights were eligible to wear full-body armor, which was too expensive for regular warriors to use.


    In the kingdom, the word ¡®knight¡¯ had two meanings. One was a warrior who had been knighted by a noble, and the other was a warrior who had reached Flow Rank.


    The reason for this was simple: as long as someone became strong enough, they would eventually be knighted. If someone was knighted before reaching Flow Rank, they would receive resources to speed up the process. Ultimately, in this kingdom, the word ''knight'' was used interchangeably for both.


    And there was no way that knights would fight without their armor, even if it was just a performance. All kinds of accidents could happen during fights with real weapons, and they could easily end up crippled for life or dead.


    There was no way that their masters would allow that.


    ¡°Hah!¡± The fight in the arena reached its peak as the warrior with a slim build exhaled loudly, his leg whipping out on the ground with tremendous force which propelled him with high speed at his enemy. His sword flew at the enemy''s head with a diagonal slash from bottom trying to end this battle.


    The other warrior backed up as he dodged to the side and used his sword to redirect the slash and send a stab at the enemy immediately after.


    In this way, they exchanged several blows until one of them made a small mistake which cost him an arm.


    Squelch


    ¡°Aaargh!¡± With a scream of agony, he fell on his bottom as he held the bloodied stump.


    With a smirk, the victor didn¡¯t pursue the defeated enemy anymore as this wasn''t a fight to the death and lifted his sword in a sign of victory.


    ¡°Yaaaaay!¡± The audience started to cheer ferociously when they saw the spilling of blood.


    The victor enjoyed his moments of fame before people entered from side doors into the arena with urgency as they took the poor man on a stretcher while another man took his dismembered arm.


    Illyan frowned at that. The man would die soon from losing blood if they let him go like this. However, when he saw a certain old man waiting beyond the doors to the arena, he realized what was going on¡­


    ¡®Perus, huh. So, in the end, it was true all along that all the forces here have connections among themselves. Good for me that I have a disguise¡­¡¯


    Seeing the mayor¡¯s physician being so ready for treatment as if he was used to it, Illyan realized that it would not be easy to find an opportunity to kidnap one of the higher-ups of this event.


    Of course, if he found another gladiator who became Flow Master, he would gladly change his target. Unfortunately, they were too rare.


    But he couldn¡¯t give up. Or rather, he feared what would happen if he really did so. His paranoia started to deepen as more time passed.


    Now that he was aware that 13 years had passed since he got sealed, he was scared that another misfortune would befall him soon after so many years. One could say that all those years could be counted as one big misfortune that ended just recently and now he should have some respite, but that wasn¡¯t enough to calm him down.


    Illyan desired power. He needed it.


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    And for that, he was willing to take some risks. The art of survival was about knowing when to risk your life to save it later on.


    Suddenly, a guard came into the room and called out.


    ¡°Five of you guys prepare! You will go against another group of five from the opposite side! This is a death match so if you aren¡¯t prepared to die then fuck off!¡±


    With that, several people stood up with crazed looks and started to try to overtake others by pushing them.


    In the end, five burly men stood up in front of the guard with confident gazes.


    The guard only nodded indifferently and guided them somewhere.


    Others seemed to be dejected that they weren¡¯t chosen, but there were some that were sneering.


    ¡°The opening performance is always that of skilled soldiers that were there to make a show for people. Their masters would never let them die here. So to appease the audience the second battle is usually the most bloody and there is often no victor ke ke ke¡­¡±


    The old man, who Illyan saw outside, was mumbling to himself as he laughed loudly with a sneering gaze.


    Soon, the iron bars from the side opened as the five men entered the arena. On the opposite side, another five men also came out. Guards also came out as they put weapon racks with various weapons to choose from next to each group.


    It seemed that there was another entrance to the underground from the other side. Both of these were then eventually pitted against each other.


    There were also normal gates on the left and right side which were used by the previous fighters which probably meant that they were used by warriors of higher status¡­


    The men started to fight as soon as the bars closed. Most didn¡¯t even consider which weapon to choose as they lunged at their enemies with whichever weapon they liked.


    This, of course, caused horrible bloodshed as the grounds of the arena were spilled with blood.


    The ruffians were extremely ferocious and didn¡¯t waste their time with being careful and so the entire fight was even shorter than the fight of the soldiers. There was even quite confusion where one man confused his ally for the enemy and directly executed him before his head was smashed from behind.


    In the end, only two men stood up from the battlefield alive. However, one of them lost his eye and several fingers on his hand. But surprisingly, there was a shit-eating grin on his face as if this kind of injury was just a small sacrifice for the compensation he would get. His face was still twisted in pain though.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, please applaud these two heroes for their courageous hearts and endurance which allowed them to come out as victors in this bloody fight and bring home five gold pieces each!¡± The voice resounded through the arena as someone at the front started to speak with a loud voice.


    This prompted the already excited audience to yell even more fiercely as they enjoyed the cruel fight even more than the fight between the skilled warriors.


    Soon, people came to take the bodies of the fallen, and the victors were treated on the spot. They were not treated by Perus but by several people who Illyan could see were no masters in what they were doing. It was obvious that the men were just expendables in the eyes of the organizers.


    On the other hand, the bodies seemed to get certain attention.


    Illyan narrowed his eyes on this, ¡®In the end, this entire event is just another way to collect the bodies. What the heck are they doing with so many of them?¡¯


    Once the wounded warriors and bodies were cleared out from the arena, the man started talking again.


    ¡°This time, we will not send humans against each other as that would be too boring. We prepared something special for you! The weather is getting warmer each day and with it certain hideous creatures are coming out of their caves stealing our cattle, children, and women. Fortunately, our magnificent mayor sent his valiant soldiers to wipe their roots from our forest before they managed to proliferate!¡±


    After saying that, the gates opened and the sound of ferocious growls resounded in the arena. The audience gasped as several small creatures ran towards the center of the arena under threat of torches from the guards.


    They were humanoid creatures of short stature with a disproportionate body compared to that of humans. Their arms were as long as their bodies while their heads were in the shape of cones with sharp fangs in their mouths. The skin was gray and harsh as if made out of stone.


    ¡®Goblins¡­¡¯ Illyan immediately guessed the species of the creatures. They were a literal catastrophe to most villagers. They stole whatever they could and were adept in kidnapping.


    Fortunately, they were weak and without any tools they were helpless against the flock of angry villagers.


    However, strength was never their advantage. It was their numbers. Their ability to reproduce was something well known even in the Arkravav Empire. Illyan read some records of Arkravavians dumping several goblins in the enemy¡¯s territory only


    for them to reproduce into a big army which drowned the enemy into wit¡¯s end.


    The only reason why Vanaras Kingdom was doing so fine until now was thanks to the harsh winters which dampened their reproduction to a certain extent while their natural predators were living in the mountain range so close culling their numbers.


    ¡®I really wonder what those Mountain Trolls truly look like.¡¯ Thought Illyan.


    Mountain Trolls also known as Iron Trolls were living deep in the mountains living on their own. Rarely, they would come down to attack humans as they never had food shortages despite their large build and number. That was only thanks to various settlements of goblins hiding in the mountains together with them.


    This kind of delicate balance in the ecosystem made most people avoid those mountains in fear of creating disaster. Mayor only rarely sent expeditions when the numbers of either goblins or trolls grew too much and were in need of culling.


    Of course, if either creature went down the mountains on their own then the only fate that awaited them was either enslavement or death¡­.


    ¡°Aaargh!¡± The goblins in the arena growled at the guards as they avoided the torches. Soon, they were driven to the center of the arena. Their only equipment was dirty loins and iron knives.


    With one quick look, Illyan counted that there were 20 of them. It was a very high number but considering that even normal villagers could kill them if they got the right opportunity it wasn¡¯t so weird.


    Loud noise reverberated through the room as guards once again entered.


    ¡°Choose 10 among you that are willing to give it a try. The reward is three gold coins for each.¡± More words weren¡¯t needed as everyone understood.


    Even though the reward wasn¡¯t as good as the fight before, most believed that this would be much less dangerous and became enthusiastic.


    This time, Illyan also stood up as he came in front of the guards. He didn¡¯t plan to make his move yet but he needed to check out the area before doing anything. And that was impossible while waiting here.


    With a quick heartbeat beating in his chest, he followed with other nine men the guard to the different room with the doors leading to the arena¡­

 98 - Target Found

    ¡°Wait here for a moment. You can calm your nerves for the time being. You will need it, heh,¡± the guard sneered at the group of dirty men as he left. He looked down at them for risking their lives for the vision of getting a few gold coins. Yeah, he envied those who won in the end but if they ended up crippled then what was the point of living. Not to mention, most of them were already fertilizing the land.


    Some of them got angry at his condescending tone but were quiet. Offending people from the Venomous Viper Gang was the last thing they wanted.


    However, some laughed at those guards. One of them was the delirious old man who went through this event several times.


    Yet, despite so many victories, he still wore torn clothes like some vagabond.


    Illyan waited in the corner, prepared to check out the surroundings the moment they would come out to the arena. It was quite a crude plan, but anything more meticulous would take too much time. After all, the security was quite considerable despite individual strength being lower than his, and it would be hard to pierce through all that defense.


    Especially when this wasn¡¯t something he specialized in at all. He was a warrior, beginner spiritualist, and now he was also a scholar who learned the theory of many subjects. But nothing he learned prepared him for this kind of infiltration.


    Because of that, he would have to choose a more radical approach if there was no option left.


    Suddenly, the gate in front of them started to make noises as it slowly opened. The cheers outside were hardly heard when the gate was closed, but the moment they entered the arena, their entire bodies vibrated with the sound.


    Some enjoyed it, while the more experienced, like the old man, were indifferent to it. However, that was only a minority as most, Illyan included, felt nervous and uneasy.


    ¡°Agh!¡± This similar unease was felt by their opponents who growled in confusion. But once the goblins saw the men in front of them coming their way, their instinct to hunt was aroused.


    ¡°Vrrrr!¡±


    Scared, the men quickly ran to weapon racks and took their weapons. Most of them chose swords as it was considered a weapon of knights, and because of that, they unconsciously thought of it as the best option.


    Few took different weapons. There was one guy who took a spear. It was obvious he was a beginner, but Illyan nodded in approval as he also took the spear.


    ¡®At least I won¡¯t stand out too much for taking different weapons.¡¯ In Illyan¡¯s opinion, fighting against a goblin whose height was much smaller than a human''s with a spear was the best option for beginners. With it, even Illyan could easily fight against the goblins without looking too skilled. He could keep his distance and only stab when necessary.


    However, that wasn¡¯t the reason why he entered the arena. He focused on his spiritual perception, and soon the area around him was felt. While he still needed extensive focus that could be easily broken, he now was much more sensitive thanks to his endless usage of [Nature Breath Method] during these 13 years.


    His sense first ran through the 28 auras in the arena and then continued up towards the stands where the audience sat. With one look, he could see all kinds of people. Some were important at a glance thanks to their elegant upbringing and expensive-looking clothes.


    However, what he was looking for was something within. He didn¡¯t know what the young masters of the Venomous Viper Gang looked like, so he had to find them by feeling their Flow. Of course, Illyan never saw someone with Flow in his life, but he knew what to look for, so he wasn¡¯t worried.


    It didn¡¯t take long for his perception to finally feel some kind of resistance.


    ¡°Uh?¡± Suddenly, someone he perceived stared down as if trying to find the one who stared. Illyan got goosebumps as he quickly retracted his senses and pretended to stare fearfully at the goblins.


    Fortunately, his acute hearing managed to filter out the noises from the arena and heard the voice of a middle-aged man.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, my lord?¡± The man in his forties who used to act arrogantly in this town was now being subservient to the man in front of him. But he didn''t feel the shame in it. He was actually excited. A better connection with this man could bring an endless amount of benefits to his gang and mainly to him!


    This man was called Caleb and was the second son of Varel The Viper. He was the one who recreated the arena from the capital into this town¡¯s underground arena over 20 years ago.


    The reason why he managed to take this fat pie for himself was thanks to his deep insight and luck. As this place was too poor and the prospect of an arena was too small, not even the Mayor wanted to invest in this kind of facility.


    However, Caleb wanted to take the risk and gambled. He managed to make a connection with one of the organizations beyond the kingdom that was regularly sending their people to this town to collect bodies and prisoners.


    Since he knew what they were after, it wasn¡¯t hard to get support from a few of them. With them, he also managed to persuade many merchants from the capital in secret to invest in his project.


    Because it was at that time when the Great Bandit started to plague their wagons and carriages for the first time, they feared visiting any towns further in the north.


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    However, thanks to the protection of the robed men, they managed to circulate their goods at an even higher speed than before, which made them grateful and considered the deal.


    In the end, some of them agreed and later on were gleeful as the gold coins were flowing into their hands.


    Thanks to several coincidences, he managed to become one of the richest men in Winterfrost Town.


    But no complacency was found in his eyes as he didn¡¯t forget who gave him this opportunity back then.


    Man who can shoot fire from his hands and control dead bodies¡­


    A Mage.


    ¡°Nothing. I just thought that someone was observing us. We can¡¯t afford to fail.¡± The robed man with cold eyes answered indifferently as he took his eyes away from the arena, not interested in the fight at all.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s possible since there are so many people. Maybe they are interested in sir since-¡±


    ¡°Caleb.¡± The man stared into Caleb¡¯s eyes with hidden meaning, which made him gulp in nervousness.


    ¡°I overstepped my boundaries. I apologize, my lord.¡± Caleb once again bowed his head.


    Meanwhile, Illyan¡¯s ears perked when he heard the name ¡®Caleb.¡¯ While he didn¡¯t know the faces of the sons, he definitely made sure to know their names. Even though the names weren¡¯t unique and there were many with the same names, how many Calebs would talk with someone who could notice his Spiritual Sense?


    He waited for a moment before he sneak-peeked at those men and made a small smile afterward. Just as he thought. The one who was called Caleb was a muscular man with a sword on his waist.


    Not only that, but Illyan could see with his eyes the energy that was flowing in his body. It was faint, but it definitely was there.


    On the other hand, the man next to him had the same gray robe as the other Corpse Thieves. That¡¯s how Illyan chose to call them as he didn¡¯t know anything else about them.


    This man had a similar film of pulsation around his body like the first Corpse Thief he met, just much stronger. At first, he didn¡¯t know if strong pulsation meant the person was strong or not, but now he got a clue.


    Since the one with weaker pulsation was with a small merchant, he could already guess that this guy was much stronger. That also meant that they didn¡¯t have the way to conceal their powers.


    But talking about concealing oneself¡­


    ¡®Who was it?!¡¯


    Illyan realized in horror that he made a miscalculation. When he was sensing the people in the arena ground with his Spiritual Sense, he only felt 28 auras in the vicinity.


    Eight were that of the human species, and twenty new auras he never felt before but knew that were auras of goblins.


    But there were nine people excluding him in the arena.


    Once he remembered roughly where each aura was, he looked around until his eyes fell on one person.


    The old man who was known for entering this arena several times while surviving each time. He took two short swords into each hand while standing there nonchalantly with a toothy grin on his face. He was missing a few teeth, while his hair and beard were messy, giving him a wild appearance.


    He didn¡¯t seem to realize the Spiritual Sense intruding into the arena, but when Illyan glanced at him, he turned his head and met his eyes. His face was surprised for a second as he noticed Illyan¡¯s mutilated face, and then he grinned. The two stared at each other for a moment before they nodded at each other before shedding their eyes away.


    Illyan¡¯s heart was throbbing as he pretended it to be just a casual look. But now he was sure.


    The man was dangerous. Maybe even more than the man in the stands.


    He couldn¡¯t see anything in the old man¡¯s movement as it looked like he was a complete amateur, but Illyan¡¯s strong instincts were telling him that the man could pose him great danger. Coupled with his carefree toothless smile, he made Illyan be extra careful next to him.


    While he didn¡¯t have the reason to cross his hands with the man, he didn¡¯t know why he was coming to this place that was meant for the sc


    ums of society.


    If he wasn¡¯t careful, this man could easily destroy his plan if he wanted to.


    However, now wasn¡¯t the time to strike yet.


    All of this happened in just a few seconds, so his attention turned to the goblins which were already closing in.


    ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t just stand there! Get into formation, you dumbasses!¡± One of the rough men started yelling at the nervous guys, Illyan and the old man.


    The old man just shrugged his shoulders as he went forward.


    Illyan didn¡¯t say anything either as he got closer to the group and waited.


    ¡°Listen to me! We must work together to kill them! Prepare yourself!¡± Another said as he held his sword.


    Soon, both sides were ready to clash as the goblins ran towards them with their salivating mouths wide open.


    However, just as the first row started to slash with their swords, one of the people felt his legs buckle as he wanted to turn around to get behind others.


    Unfortunately for him, the goblins didn¡¯t let this opportunity go as one of them shrieked and threw its knife.


    ¡°Agh!¡± The knife embedded into the guy¡¯s leg, which made him fall.


    ¡°You cretin! What are you doi-Argh?!¡±


    As the man was falling, he tried to support himself by catching onto someone else. This made the other person burdened, and soon several goblins lunged at him as they frantically stabbed him.


    Fortunately or unfortunately, the goblins weren¡¯t exactly strong creatures, and so the wounds weren¡¯t deep enough to kill them in one strike.


    This allowed the man to swing his sword a few times, killing two goblins before he succumbed to wounds.


    The one who tried to escape didn¡¯t have as much luck as he fell on his stomach without being able to put any strength in his attacks as he was swiftly stabbed to death.


    While the rough guy at the front was annoyed at this sight, his eyes glinted. Several goblins were surrounding the two men while stabbing them, making a perfect target.


    ¡°Attack them!¡±


    ¡°Agh!¡±


    ¡°Grrrr!¡±


    ¡°I want to surrender! Pleas-Argh-Squelch¡±


    ¡­¡­.


    The fight didn¡¯t last for long. The last goblin fell in the first few minutes as a guy with a spear managed to toss his spear right into the creature''s stomach, ending its life.


    Out of ten people, only five survived, while one of them was heavily injured. However, for this kind of fight, it could be an overwhelming victory for the human side.


    That was, of course, because two skilled men were pulling the strings from behind. Well, one of them since Illyan was even more careful and didn¡¯t contribute much as he killed only two goblins.


    But the old man was different. He killed three goblins, but his real contribution came from guiding other humans to victory. Even if his indirect guidance led some to death.


    To normal people, he didn''t do such a thing as he was inconspicuous while doing that, but for someone already suspicious of him, he immediately noticed his little scheme.


    Fortunately, he kept his distance from him, not suffering from his shenanigans at all.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen! Did you see this exemplary victory?! With the help of our already famous champion, Ityril, who won many times in the past, they managed to kill the horde of goblins with just 50% of casualties! This is why humans are rulers of this world as no beasts are opponents for us!¡±


    The commentator passionately talked about our victory, which made the survivors yell in joy. Even the rough man¡¯s mouth curled into a crooked smile as he thought about the money he would get.


    ¡°Hah!¡± However, the one, Illyan just realized was called Ityril, who was the champion of this fight, just snorted at the commentator''s words as if dissatisfied.


    Illyan narrowed his eyes but shook his head immediately after as he retreated back into the room beyond the gates¡­

 99 - New Offer

    "Now you have two options. Take the money and go home or¡­¡± The guard who welcomed them back behind the gate grinned as he saw the satisfied men.


    ¡°Or you can go for round two. If you win the second round, then you can get twice the prizes!¡± The guard said with a tempting voice as the men''s eyes turned greedy for a moment.


    ¡®I see. So that¡¯s how they save some of their money.¡¯ Illyan nodded to himself in realization.


    He could see that each fight caused many casualties, which was beneficial to Corpse Thieves, but there had to be a winner from time to time, or people would refuse to risk their lives here for a non-existent victory.


    However, if one won, they would subsequently be tempted for the second round to fight again. If they lost in their second round, then the prize of the first round would stay in the arena.


    For all he knew, maybe some lucky guys who won but were actually weak would find themselves dead not in the arena but in some abandoned alley because the gang would not be happy to lose so much money to a nobody.


    When he saw the greed in the eyes of his ¡®comrades,¡¯ he shook his head.


    In the end, though, fear won out in two of them and they flat out refused.


    ¡°No thanks. This is enough for me to buy that medicine¡­¡± The spearman said with a soft voice. Hiding behind his cape, nobody could see his face, but his petite body made Illyan suspicious.


    However, just as the spearman noticed his gaze and turned his head at him, Illyan turned his head to the second guy who spoke out.


    ¡°Y-yeah¡­ I almost died already. I won¡¯t tempt fate anymore,¡± the other one said with a shaky voice.


    ¡°Hmph. Cowards. What about you guys?¡± The guard snorted in contempt as if he was the one risking his life before turning to the other three winners.


    Illyan, the old man, and the rough man.


    While Illyan and the old man acted quite nonchalantly when it came to money, the last guy was different. His eyes showed endless desire when the guard talked about money.


    ¡°Yes. I will take the leap of faith,¡± and soon, he reaffirmed that he would go for the second round.


    The guard smiled amiably as if he saw a good customer.


    ¡°That¡¯s the spirit!¡± In truth, he was probably glad that he managed to persuade another victim. Maybe he got some bonuses for each man that he managed to tempt¡­


    ¡°I will stay too¡­¡± Illyan said with a deeper voice than usual. He didn¡¯t have a way to change his voice but could, to a certain extent, do it naturally. He learned to imitate certain types of animals back then to bait and hunt them, so changing his voice was nothing new.


    The guard nodded in satisfaction.


    When he finally turned towards the last fighter who was also the ¡®champion¡¯ of this fight, the old man just shrugged with a small curve on his face; ¡°Why not? More money for me~¡±


    The guard¡¯s eyes turned a little complicated for a second before becoming firm.


    He waved his hand, sending other guards to guide the victors out of the arena with their rewards. The winners had a happy expression, not knowing that some of them could meet some mishap on their way home¡­


    Then he turned towards the three with a fawning expression.


    ¡°This time¡¯s fight with goblins was the most legendary fight I saw! As you surely know, this arena is conducted with a high-risk, high-reward mindset. Because of that, there were not many instances where heroes such as you managed to destroy goblins¡¯ groups so easily,¡± the guard started to praise them as he mentioned the arena¡¯s policy.


    When someone mentioned how they conducted fights here to someone for the first time, they would always think that it was a scam. And they weren¡¯t wrong. The arena really didn¡¯t like giving money to some random riffraffs without any skill.


    Even the arenas in the capital weren¡¯t so bloody. It was quite the opposite, actually. In the capital, they would never invite random citizens to fight. They would always use their knights or use slaves to create real gladiators who would devote their lives to the arena. However, because of that, each fighter was much rarer and thus indispensable for the arena and couldn¡¯t be sacrificed at will.


    So, while most fights were on a much higher level there, rarely they ended up in the death of someone.


    On the other hand, only some fights didn¡¯t end up in bloodshed in Winterfrost Town¡¯s arena, and those were always the ones that didn¡¯t bring that much attention to the audience.


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    Only when the fights were cruel with many deaths was there a high possibility of some drunk noble donating tens of gold pieces because of his merriness. The poorer audience also had a tendency to buy stuff to either throw at the losers¡¯ bodies or eat during such fights.


    All in all, over 80% of income always came during these kinds of fights.


    And because of that, they couldn¡¯t just pretend that it wasn¡¯t like that and instead made it its selling point.


    Each winner got such a high reward that even the audience was green with envy. They also used a lot of animals and monsters as they didn¡¯t need to pay for their victory.


    The only shady thing they did was to the winners after the event¡­


    But only few knew about it.


    ¡°Yes, we know that. Why are you getting at?¡± The rough guy asked with an annoyed expression. He knew that this place was dangerous since he almost died several times during this fight.


    The guard gave the rough guy a side-glance full of disdain for a second before changing his expression and continuing.


    ¡°Yes, where have I been? If you want to fight the second round, wouldn¡¯t you like to gain even more? If you make more accomplishments, you could receive a favor from some higher ups¡­¡±


    The guard said with a tempting tone. However, when he saw that nobody spoke or showed any kind of reaction, he could only reveal his intention.


    ¡°This time, we finally captured another troll after the last mishap-¡±


    He couldn¡¯t finish himself as the rough guy interrupted him.


    ¡°What?! A fucking troll? Are you fucking kidding me? Just one swing can pummel all three of us into a pulp of blood! Fuck this!¡± He showed fear when he talked about those monsters as he knew their horror. Those things were called stupid and clumsy, but nobody was so keen on mentioning how they could lift twice their own weight and could even regrow their limbs which made them almost unkillable by normal means¡­


    ¡°Hehe, last time someone rigged the fight, and it caused quite a commotion, so this time we made sure that the security is much stricter! Not to mention, the troll will be chained down, and we didn¡¯t let it eat ever since it was captured. The goal is to make it lie down for ten seconds, nothing difficult for heroes like you¡­¡±


    The guard continuously babbled on, which made the rough man hesitate. On the other hand, the old man and Illyan didn¡¯t seem to have any different reaction on the outside.


    However, Illyan was sneering down inside.


    ¡®Wouldn¡¯t starving it to a half-death state make it even more dangerous?¡¯


    He was aware that once an animal was at the brink of death, it was most dangerous.


    Weakened? Maybe. But it didn¡¯t change anything for them.


    But he didn¡¯t have much concern. Instead, he pondered how to use the troll to complete his operation.


    Now that he was aware of the man beside Caleb, who was definitely one of the stronger Corpse Thieves, there was no way he could just continue with his plan.


    He didn¡¯t know how strong the man was, and that was the problem. Before, he could deduce through Terren¡¯s explanation that he could with high probability win against Flow Master, but this man was a complete mystery to him.


    ¡®Korin talked about the Magisters, but who knows if he was telling the truth.¡¯ The man was laying a trap for him, so lying to him about such classified information wouldn¡¯t be strange.


    Even if he didn¡¯t, he still knew the minimum.


    ¡°Goddammit, tell us the price!¡± The rough man seemed defeated as his desire for money won over him. When the guard heard that, he smirked.


    ¡°Ten times the first price. Quite good, right?¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Rough man was flabbergasted, while the old man also raised his eyebrows in surprise.


    Illyan was surprised too. However, the surprise soon turned into contemplation. If he was going to continue with his plan, then that money was fated to be forfeited.


    However, if he proceeded with his plan and succeeded, then the reward would be probably several times the few measly gold coins.


    ¡®Depends on the situation. If there is an opportunity, I will take it.¡± Deciding this, he agreed as he looked at the old man, who just laughed as he nodded to the guard''s words.


    ¡®Speaking of the opportunity¡­¡¯


    This made the guard extremely happy since he managed to persuade at least three of them.


    ¡°When will we enter the arena?¡± Old man asked.


    ¡°Since sirs fought for so long, you must be tired. The troll¡¯s fight would take place three times today, so I would recommend you taking the second fight. Before that, we will guide you to the resting room for our treasured warriors with free treatment.¡±


    After that, the guard explained things to them as he guided them to an isolated room completely different from the one the rest of the people were waiting in.


    Though Illyan didn¡¯t miss the fact what the guard was trying to do.


    ¡®Throwing normal people against the Mountain Troll in the second round is just plain murder.¡¯ He read about the


    trolls in the institute.


    They reached a height of five meters, and their weight could even reach several tons. They had very long arms and big hands which allowed them to catch their prey or wield big rocks or trees as weapons.


    And against the popular beliefs of people they were quite nimble too.


    Or at least the Mountain Trolls were since they were living in the mountains. Their arms were especially useful during climbing.


    Not to mention, their regeneration was commendable. If the records were right then the adult troll¡¯s regeneration was not only at par with his own but more likely surpassing it.


    With their thick skin, it was almost impossible for normal people to fight against them. Illyan wasn¡¯t sure he would win either. That¡¯s why whenever there was an expedition they would surround the troll with several knights while using military ballistae from behind.


    That made Illyan wonder how they subdued it. Just then, his thoughts came to that man in the audience.


    ¡®Was he really that strong?¡¯ But then, he shook his head.


    If that man was so strong then they would catch the troll much sooner after last time. It took time and probably an opportunity too.


    That made Illyan sigh in relief since if the man could not only slay but also catch alive the troll which Illyan didn¡¯t have confidence in slaying then this entire plan was utter failure.


    But now, the opposite was true. If the troll got out of the chains¡­ Wouldn¡¯t that make chaos big enough for him to slip away with Coleb?


    New and better plan was forming in his head as he considered all variables.


    There were two big variables in his mind. One was the Corpse Thief with unknown power and the second¡­


    Illyan glanced at the old man who was just now refusing the treatment from the doctors.


    If before he considered him quite mysterious then now he felt the headache. He was pretty sure that the man was strong.


    While the man was trying to act weak Illyan was already suspicious and was observing him so he didn¡¯t miss that he was moving too smoothly for a normal person. His footwork was impeccable even when he was downplaying himself.


    At least Illyan wouldn¡¯t be able to do that.


    Now the question was¡­ What was his motive?

 100 - Orgaziners Schemes

    While Illyan was thinking about this, time passed as the three people waited in the room.


    The room was quiet, and they could not hear anything from the outside. While Illyan had great patience and the old man seemed indifferent, the third guy wasn¡¯t that good at controlling himself.


    He was fidgeting the entire time, and his body was tense.


    Just as he wanted to stand up, guards opened doors and guided new people into the room.


    Same as them, they were winners of their fight.


    They were made to wait here as the event continued.


    Just like Illyan''s group, there were three of them. But contrary to Illyan¡¯s group made out of strangers, they seemed to know each other quite well.


    While Illyan wasn¡¯t interested in them, he still made sure to remember each of them.


    One was skinny with a goatee that had the clothes on his shoulder crimson, showing that he got slashed there. On the other hand, the second one was the sturdy man who had lost his right eye. He had a few other superficial wounds but nothing important to note. The last one had a crooked nose which was definitely not natural, and his left hand was missing three fingers.


    All of them were injured, yet they still decided to risk even more for money. Illyan felt a seed of disdain for them until he quickly extinguished it.


    ¡®Who am I to judge them? Am I also not going here to risk my life?¡¯ Illyan realized that he was not much different from them.


    Yeah, he wasn¡¯t after money since it had limited use for someone like him who could live an ascetic life if he wanted, but for the people who grew up on the streets, this kind of opportunity was life-changing no matter the risk.


    Actually, the thing he planned out to do was much more difficult. Not to mention the consequences if they recognize him.


    However, Illyan didn¡¯t plan to passively grow how he planned out in the beginning, as he feared that another Fate Trial would strike him down anytime soon.


    He didn¡¯t choose to meditate this time and chose to listen to the trio that went into one corner with physicians who treated them.


    ¡°Damn that hurts¡­¡± The one with the goatee complained. The one-eyed man rolled his eye at him.


    ¡°You have the lightest injury. Moreover, your injury isn¡¯t permanent unlike us. Right, Joe?¡±


    The third man grunted with acknowledgment as one physician straightened his nose into its original place.


    ¡°I know, but you know that I am no good when it comes to fighting while injured. Why did you agree to have that second round? We have no chance against the troll!¡±


    The man seemed upset as he stared at them.


    ¡°I only agreed because we will fight in the second round of the troll¡¯s fights. While we recuperate, the troll will be weakened. There is no way the organizers wouldn¡¯t use all three fights with the troll as a grand finale and will use it three times in succession, giving it no time to recuperate. Which means that the second round will have an advantage over the first one.¡±


    ¡°Ohh, as expected of big bro. But then, wouldn¡¯t the ones in the third round have an even greater advantage?¡±


    ¡°Heh, of course, but since they didn¡¯t give us the offer, it means they planned something for it already, so what does it matter?¡±


    Illyan listened to them and then he realized that they too would be participating in the second fight with the troll.


    That made Illyan narrow his eyes.


    Just then, the old man who was sitting close to him started to mutter to himself while giggling.


    ¡°Hehe~ Those stupid chicks are going to be slaughtered the moment they enter the arena. Just like livestock, they got wool around their eyes to not see the first batch getting torn apart. Only on the third fight, several knights would ¡®win¡¯ against the beast, showing their might.. Shame that there would be no third round¡­¡±


    Illyan turned his head at the old man. He didn¡¯t know if the man talked to people in the room or was just murmuring to himself, but the things he said made an impact on him. The old man was leaning on the wall while flopping around his legs as if he was enjoying himself without any worry. He quickly shed his eyes away, fearing that he would be discovered again, and thought to himself.


    ¡®I see¡­ So I was right. We are here just to lose lives. And we got into this room to not see or hear what would happen to the first batch to not change our minds¡­


    Time passed and several other groups entered.


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    In the end, there were 18 people in the room waiting for their time to shine once again.


    Just as the last group entered, Illyan felt it. An extremely minuscule tremor. Then another. Tremor after tremor. Silence.


    Groooaaar


    A normal person wouldn¡¯t catch it since the room was quite isolated. No, rather, the room served exactly for this.


    To isolate the sounds of this disaster of nature.


    Thud


    The only thing he could hear and feel were the tremors and occasional roars of the beast, but that was all.


    However, that was enough for him to realize how the fight was going on.


    The roars were full of excitement, and the tremors were stable. The troll was a starving hunter, and now it finally got its prey in front of its eyes.


    The one-eyed man thought he was smart, but in fact, he was just a laughable pawn in the eyes of the organizers. The troll would get only stronger after the first fight thanks to its stamina returning after filling its stomach with human meat.


    ¡®Or will it?¡¯ However, Illyan didn¡¯t think that the organizers would allow that. Firstly, it would make the giant uncontrollable.


    And secondly¡­


    ¡®Once the bodies fall dead on the ground, they belong to Corpse Thieves¡­¡¯


    A normal person would feel despair, but Illyan was excited.


    He was looking for a good opportunity. Now that he knew that the old man beside him planned to do something, he got the feeling that he could exploit that.


    If he also destroyed the chains that were restraining the troll¡­


    Illyan¡¯s eyes shone with golden streaks.


    Today¡¯s divination, which was also the first one with the phalanges made out of the shaman¡¯s hand, was favorable, showing the word ¡®Prospect¡¯. Usually, he wouldn¡¯t blindly believe it, but since the last time he didn¡¯t heed the warnings of the divination, he decided to not make the same mistake.


    If the divination was right, then it was great, but even if it was sham, then it was no problem since as long as he was not exposed he could try again how many times he wanted¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    After several minutes of waiting, the disturbance disappeared. No more roars or tremors of the ground.


    Illyan immediately realized that the fight had ended.


    He turned his eyes to the door awaiting the guards. However, when he saw from the corner the old man also looking at the doors, he turned his head away.


    ¡®Did the man also notice? But how is that possible?¡¯ It may sound arrogant, but if there was one thing that Illyan was confident in except his gift, then it would be definitely his acute five senses.


    After suffering through so much, his body was equally tempered, his eyes, inner ears, inner nose, tongue, and skin included.


    From what Illyan knew, there was no one who could replicate this kind of tempering in the north if they lacked his gift.


    He wasn¡¯t so naive to think that there would be no other way to train them, but it was still discouraging and at the same time alarming that such an expert showed up in the first town Illyan ever entered.


    ¡®What kind of dangers do other bigger cities in the south have? I made the right choice settling down here for a bit before continuing traveling.¡¯ Illyan wiped the cold sweat that was forming on his forehead while still maintaining his expressionless face on the surface.


    He just hoped this powerhouse didn¡¯t realize anything about him yet.


    ¡®Maybe I shouldn¡¯t tempt fate¡­¡¯


    Just as he thought that, the doors opened with the guards coming in. People waiting in the room stood up, either with nervosity or expectation, as they stared at the incoming guards.


    The guard also didn¡¯t disappoint as he stared at everyone with a serious expression as his somber voice resounded.


    ¡°It is time!¡±


    ¡­¡­.


    All of the winners from previous fights who agreed to participate in the second round went out of the room and prepared themselves to enter the arena.


    ¡°Choose the weapon now. You will not have much time once you are in the arena.¡± Guards grinned devilishly as they stared mockingly at them.


    Some of them got angry while others got visibly nervous, even having second thoughts about all this.


    After all, some of them were just tempted by temporary greed, but now when they got in front of the gates to hell again, they felt their throats getting dry while their backs were wet from cold sweat¡­


    Unfortunately, it was too late to back off now.


    Illyan quickly went to the rack as he wanted to get weapons of his choice.


    This time, he didn¡¯t go for the spear.


    Funnily enough, this time there were many more people going for the spear when they realized its advantages. The rough guy was one of them. When he saw Illyan and the other guy fighting from a safe distance, he realized that fighting with a sword without skill was almost suicide.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that Illyan didn¡¯t choose the spear this time because he was pretty sure a normal spear would be useless against a troll''s thick skin.


    Since he knew he wouldn¡¯t get any more chances, he decided to take more weapons this time.


    And what different


    weapons to take than the ones he was already used to?


    He took one one-handed axe that resembled the ones he used back then and the same short sword that the old man used and put them behind his belt.


    Albeit the weapons were similar to the battle axe and jagged blade he lost, they were still different weapons. Especially the short sword.


    Swords were hailed as the weapons of knights and royalty in the south. Illyan would lie if he said he wasn¡¯t interested in them.


    What was important, however, was the fact that swords seemed to be weapons with a good affinity for [The Way of the Body].


    The technique¡¯s purpose was to heighten the user¡¯s precision to such heights that they could fight with any weapon without touching it ever before.


    And the sword seemed to be a weapon that emphasized precision, so Illyan decided to take it.


    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t use it against the troll. After storing the two weapons away, he turned his head to the two-handed weapons. There were many options for him to choose from, but he didn¡¯t hesitate as he reached out and took the weapon of his choice.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Several people glanced at him with strange eyes as they saw the weapon in his hands.


    Technically speaking, people took light and speed-oriented weapons since they were aware that one slap from the troll would turn them into mincemeat.


    But Illyan chose the opposite.


    He chose a war hammer.


    A one-and-a-half-meter-long weapon with a blunt hammer on one side and a long pike on the other side. The thing itself was quite heavy, as normal people would have trouble swinging it, but Illyan didn¡¯t have such a problem.


    With his strength, he could use this weapon in each hand without a problem.


    It didn¡¯t take long before everyone finally made their decision as they stared at the gates while clenching their weapons.


    ¡°Alright, since everyone already took their weapons, we will start.¡± The guard, whose duty was to guard the gate, nodded as he opened the gate.


    Illyan expected his ears to be affected by the cheers from the audience, but this time the sounds were much tamer than before. It almost sounded artificial to Illyan.


    ¡®Did they get scared off by the troll? Or¡­¡¯


    As Illyan thought so, he, together with others, took their steps towards the arena beyond the gates¡­

 101 - Mountain Troll

    The creaks sounded out as the gates opened, but the cheers were much more tamed than before. That already made Illyan suspicious, but when he saw from the corner of his eye the old man¡¯s malicious grin, he became even more vigilant.


    Soon, the gate was fully opened, and their group went out to meet their enemy. The first thing Illyan noticed was that the sand under his feet was completely crimson, telling the story of the first round.


    At first, Illyan didn¡¯t understand why they would put a layer of sand on the ground of the arena, but now seeing the contrast of the white and red, he kind of understood the dramatic effect it could have. Moreover, he felt his footing was so stable that it was almost impossible to fall off. As someone who trained on ice-covered land where one could slip all the time, this feeling was refreshing.


    However, the bodies and the troll were nowhere to be seen. Illyan was sure they would not let the troll eat the bodies unless they were collecting them for the sake of feeding it.


    But that didn¡¯t make sense to Illyan either since trolls didn¡¯t care whether they ate humans or pigs. Normal livestock would be enough to feed them.


    Moreover, the bodies were carried back to the capital and maybe from the capital to somewhere else...


    That meant that they needed to put the troll back behind bars else the bodies would end up in its belly.


    Thanks to that, Illyan had a chance to look around secretly. This time, he didn¡¯t have the courage to use spiritual energy as he only glanced around.


    There were people cheering, but it was less than half of the previous audience. What Illyan didn¡¯t expect was the fact that the second half of the audience, which was quiet, didn''t have even a trace of aura!


    ¡®What the hell...¡¯ Illyan didn¡¯t dare to stare too much as the alarm bells were ringing loudly in his mind. He also noticed that the original room where everyone waited behind bars was also full of these people without aura. However, before, he didn¡¯t notice such things, so they had to relocate others or silence them.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the second round of the fight against the evil giant and the heroic people of our town! Will they win this time or will they end up as the last batch?! We will see!¡±


    Despite his misgivings, the commentator was still passionate as he started off the battle.


    Soon, the ripples showed up on the sand as the tremors and jingling of chains were heard. The others became visibly nervous as they clenched their weapons strongly.


    ¡°Wrraaaah.¡±


    The roar of the monster reverberated through their whole body as their ears rang. Illyan felt that this monster was quite formidable, but now he felt quite comfortable hearing it.


    This monster was, in the end, just a monster. It was stupid and acted only on its instincts. On the other hand, the schemes that were happening around him made him feel suffocated.


    He didn¡¯t know what to expect at all.


    ¡®Now that I think about it... Did I actually shoot myself in the foot?¡¯ Illyan¡¯s chase after power to avoid the Fate Trials did guide him to a situation that was quite problematic even though Illyan still wasn¡¯t sure what the heck was happening.


    At first, he wanted to blame himself for being stupid and rash, but then he cleared his mind.


    His eyes shined like golden molten as he realized something.


    ¡®If it really does have something to do with fate, then no matter what I do, I will end up in danger. If that is the case, then my choice of looking for an opportunity in the midst of danger was the right one...¡¯


    There was a small smirk on Illyan¡¯s mouth as he knew that this time would be different from last time where he only suffered defeat. What he was satisfied with was the fact that he didn¡¯t even need to look for proof of his conjecture.


    At first, he didn¡¯t notice and just thought he had some burst of confidence in some of his conjectures, but it ended up being the intervention of his eyes that mutated from the influence of the God of Truth. Whenever he ended up uncovering the truth, he would feel it.


    Unfortunately, it didn¡¯t work most of the time and only worked when the truth was connected to him. He also felt that his eyes were getting dimmer over time and feared that this ¡®power¡¯ wasn¡¯t his but just the remains of the god¡¯s power that would dissipate over time. But still, it was something incredibly useful as he would be clueless without it by now and would probably suffer.


    Just as he was thinking about that, the gates on the opposite side opened as the towering shadow fell upon them.


    The roar of the troll shook the entire arena as the colossal creature had to bend to even pass the gate.


    Everyone got pale when they saw the creature.


    The troll went in a slow gait as its legs were chained together and had to pull behind it a big lump of steel. But that didn¡¯t stop it from looking intimidating as it stared angrily around.


    The wrath was almost tangible as it was making havoc. It was manipulated around by the people the entire time, and when it finally thought it would feed itself, it was deprived of those bodies which made it furious and restless.


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    Its body that was over five meters tall was trembling as it swung its long arms around. However, the chains were covering its arms too as it couldn¡¯t swing them properly.


    The guards were holding other chains around its body and once they managed to guide it back to the arena they left before the troll could do anything.


    Soon, the gate closed as the only people inside became the group Illyan was in.


    The troll at first looked around as it wanted to climb to the audience seat with its long arms, but since it couldn¡¯t lift its arm above its head, it was impossible.


    Because of that, it didn¡¯t take long before the troll stopped doing this and turned its attention to the people standing in front of it.


    ¡°Gwwaaaargh!¡± A powerful roar came out of its mouth together with its spit as it started charging at them.


    ¡°Prepare yourself!¡± One guy yelled out. Though, he didn¡¯t seem to prepare himself for the clash at all as he was retreating to the side.


    Others also didn¡¯t hold any formations as they scattered in all directions. Nobody wanted to suffer the troll¡¯s first strike as they knew the person would be gone.


    Fortunately, trolls weren¡¯t that fast, and with the chains constricting it even more, they had enough time to fully dodge to the side.


    That didn¡¯t lessen the pressure they felt though.


    Illyan also felt high pressure when he saw the mountain of flesh rolling at them. It was comparable to the leader of the wendigos he had history with.


    That meant that this creature was stronger than him.


    ¡®That¡¯s good.¡¯


    However, Illyan wasn¡¯t discouraged, and instead, he saw that there was a path he could tread to achieve his goal.


    But for now, he played to be just part of the mob as he got out of the way with a panicked expression.


    Just as they all started retreating towards the back of the beast, the troll tugged strongly with his chains as he changed directions. This caused the lump of steel chained to its legs to hop from the ground at high speed for a second.


    ¡°Ah, oh no-Arrgh?!¡±


    One person got too close as the steel ball brushed lightly against his arm. Unfortunately, that was enough for it to entirely shatter with brittle cracks as his body made several flips in the air until he fell heavily on the ground. It was unknown to others whether he lived or not.


    ¡°For all saints, you can¡¯t be serious...¡± One of the younger men started to mumble to himself as he prayed to all human saints he remembered.


    That didn¡¯t stop the troll¡¯s raging, though, as it reached its hand and grabbed the closest person next to it.


    As the arena was originally made for human fights, the troll was so huge that it could reach almost anywhere with its long arms making it impossible to get out of its reach.


    ¡°Ah? Aaagh, noooo!¡± The person who got caught started to struggle frantically as others watched in horror.


    However, the troll didn¡¯t kill him immediately. It already lost its meal once today, and it didn¡¯t plan to lose it again.


    This time, it wouldn¡¯t crush them to death. Instead, it slowly brought him to its mouth.


    ¡°N-noooooo!¡± The man finally realized he still held the sword in his arm and started to swing it at the beast.


    When others saw that they were petrified. Only a few managed to get out of the daze as they used the opportunity to attack its legs!


    ¡°The joints! We just need it to fall down!¡± The rough man who fought in the first round with Illyan yelled out as he charged first. This gave the others the courage needed to attack as they stopped hesitating and attacked too.


    Illyan, on the other hand, looked with an expressionless face at the man who was about to get eaten.


    While he looked calm, he was covered in cold sweat as his arms trembled.


    There were few things he feared, and they were usually the result of his trauma in childhood.


    And one of them was the fear of being eaten alive.


    The feeling of being held in the monster¡¯s hand as it opened its mouth to swallow you. The helplessness you would feel when you were pressured by the gullet of the monster down the throat.


    Illyan felt as if he returned back to his village as the smelly breath of the monster violated his senses.


    However, in the end, Illyan woke up from his daze as he heard the squelching sound of flesh being torn.


    The bulge on the troll''s neck together with the body without a torso


    in its hand hinted at the fate of the man.


    But as the troll was enjoying its meal, it suddenly felt prickling pain on its legs.


    ¡°Guooh?¡±


    When it looked down, it saw tiny humans slashing at it with their swords and spears.


    Small wounds were accumulating on its legs but soon sealed up with its superior regeneration. The pain remained though and the troll was infuriated by them.


    It wanted to stomp them to death, but the lump of steel made it too slow and everyone managed to get away.


    Illyan also came to his senses and retreated to the back of the creature and waited for the opportunity as he once in time attacked with the hammer.


    ¡°Grrroooooaaaar!¡±


    The fight ensued as the group was losing its members at a very high pace. Fortunately, under secret guidance from the old man, they managed to circle around the beast without having to fight it head-on.


    Attacking only one of its legs caused it to have unstable balance as it wobbled around.


    Illyan saw the opportunity as he rushed in head-on and smashed the hammer into its kneecap which caused the collapse of its legs.


    ¡°Hoaaaaer?!¡± With a sorrowful roar, it was falling to the ground, but Illyan didn¡¯t let down his guard.


    Because, it was at this moment when the old man who was holding back the entire time finally rushed in. The speed wasn¡¯t that impressive, but it felt as if he was unstoppable and his attack was inevitable.


    He used one of the survivors as a stepping stone as he jumped up at the falling troll and with two slashes he beheaded the troll.


    Or at least, that was what Illyan expected. But instead, the sound of air being slashed open resounded before it was drowned down by the sound of clanking metals.


    The sparks flew everywhere as the old man did several flips in the air and fell down on the group with elegance despite the blood flowing out of the corner of his mouth as he chuckled.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that you would show up, my old friend.¡±


    The old man ignored the falling troll as he stared up towards the audience.


    ¡°Oh? Weren¡¯t you the one who was secretly observing me during your first round? How else would I notice you?¡±


    The robed man was standing at the edge of the audience seats as he stared down at the old man.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember doing that, though, hahah!¡± The old man still didn¡¯t seem to be panicked at all as he stared at the man. However, his eyes glinted in displeasure since his plan got exposed.


    ¡°Hmph, I don¡¯t care what you have to say. This day is the one I will end your miserable life, Ezekiel.¡± The robed man waved his hand as underneath his robe rose up dozens of blood-red bone spears with runes covering them.


    ¡°Heh, you are the only one who still uses my name, Aziro. I like the title of great bandit much more, though.¡± The old man was picking his ear as he stared upwards with a grin on his ugly face.


    Aziro stared at the man expressionless as he waved his hand again.


    Ezekiel was prepared to dodge the bone spears, but they didn¡¯t move at all.


    Instead, the entire audience stood up as they pulled their weapons and jumped into the arena rushing at him.


    ¡°Fucking...¡± Ezekiel mumbled under his nose as his face turned ugly when he saw the horde running at him...

 102 - Chaos

    Almost every single ¡®spectator¡¯ wearing robes jumped down with their weapons charging at the lonely man.


    Although everyone could see his mood was terrible, there still wasn¡¯t any kind of panic in his eyes.


    Instead, he grabbed the closest member of their group by the collar and threw him at the fastest warrior charging at him.


    ¡°Ah? Wha-?!¡± He couldn¡¯t even yell in pain before he was bisected by a green streak of light as the warrior moved in between the two body parts like a ghost.


    ¡°Aura Master!¡±


    Ezekiel seemed surprised as he stared at the middle-aged man in full armor that attacked him before he deflected his sword thrust.


    ¡°You must be Caleb, right?¡± A dangerous glint appeared in Ezekiel¡¯s eyes. There was a certain grudge he felt towards this man. So, he didn¡¯t waste more words as he slashed out with his two short swords.


    Soon, his swords were being dyed black as if black tar was tainting them while he exchanged several moves with Caleb.


    ¡°Heh¡­¡± Caleb also didn¡¯t waste his saliva as the moment Ezekiel attacked, he focused on defense.


    He knew how strong this man was and didn¡¯t wish to lose his life yet.


    The light green light was covering both his body and sword as he retreated with his footwork.


    The light was similar to a flame, but it was kind of unstable and didn¡¯t seem nearly as dangerous as the dark matter covering Ezekiel¡¯s swords.


    However, he knew that he couldn¡¯t beat the man since the beginning and wasn¡¯t the main force of this operation either.


    Soon, his reinforcement came in the form of the bone spears that attacked Ezekiel from several directions.


    However, he didn¡¯t panic as he dodged it all with minimal movement or deflected it with his swords as he lunged at Caleb.


    This time, Caleb felt the danger to his life as he finally panicked.


    This all happened in the span of a few seconds that even Illyan didn¡¯t have time to process.


    During that time, the other warriors finally reached Ezekiel as they attacked. Unfortunately, they were not nearly skilled or equipped to face him as with simple attacks he ended their lives.


    However, Ezekiel recoiled in horror when one guy who he disemboweled before jumped at him with his claws instead of a weapon and injured him. When he looked under the robe at the face of the man he realized the problem.


    ¡°Damn it¡­¡± Ezekiel couldn¡¯t keep his attention on Caleb at all as he attacked the man whose intestines were dragged on the floor.


    The warrior didn¡¯t defend at all and was bisected with his sword.


    But even then he didn¡¯t stop moving as his upper body started to crawl towards Ezekiel.


    ¡°I hate necromancers¡­ Really wasting the potential there.¡± Ezekiel frowned as he stomped on the head of the undead.


    He knew that Aziro would use his undead toys but he didn¡¯t expect that he would use his strongest ones that could injure even him.


    Since everyone wore robes and their rotting smell was disguised with the smell of flowers he couldn¡¯t recognize who was undead until it was too late, so he mumbled an incantation under his nose as his eyes shined with green.


    Soon, he could see the life force of the people around him and jumped away from those who not only didn¡¯t have any but instead were tainted with strong Corpse Energy.


    What he didn¡¯t expect, though, were two strong life forces outshining everyone else.


    He knew about the troll who he came here to slay but who or what was the second that was almost comparable to the troll?


    He and Aziro were still just warming up, so he wasn¡¯t worried, but once their fight got heated this variable could cause problems.


    While he danced around between the blades of his enemies, he turned his eyes to the aura he felt and his eyes narrowed.


    ¡®It¡¯s this guy?¡¯


    When he saw the scarred man with the hammer, he realized that the strong person was next to him the entire time.


    ¡®I was too careless. But it doesn¡¯t matter-What the hell is he doing?¡¯


    He stared wide-eyed at the man before he shouted.


    ¡°Aziro! Stop that man! He is gonna kill us!¡±


    ¡­¡­..


    Meanwhile, Illyan was trying to dodge all enemies as he tried not to stand out.


    The warriors seemed to attack the old man, but their blades were also turned at the gladiators in their group as they were quickly put down as if they were being silenced.


    When he looked up, he saw that several gray-robed men were staring down at Ezekiel, prepared to strike down the moment he would decide to climb up.


    ¡®They prepared thoroughly for him. But isn¡¯t that too much? He seems to be struggling already.¡¯


    He saw that Ezekiel was injured by the man.


    At first, he felt slight admiration for the man who attacked despite his organs spilling out, but then he realized the man didn¡¯t have any aura and finally realized what bugged him the entire time.


    ¡®They are dead!¡¯ When he saw that dozens of the warriors didn¡¯t have any aura, he felt goosebumps.


    Moreover, there were more of them as new ones were coming from the gate. The arena would soon be completely filled up.


    The only variable to the fight in the eyes of those two sides would be the troll.


    When he turned his eyes to the monster that was still lying on its back like a helpless turtle, he noticed one of the robed men surrounded with some weird fluctuations making him hard to see sneaking up on it with some kind of pouch.


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    How could he not recognize something like that when he grew up in the care of a herbalist?


    It was a pouch for some kind of medicine. And if his suspicion was right then this would be some kind of sedative that would calm it.


    ¡°As if. Since you got under my arms, you can forget about leaving.¡±


    With a sprint, Illyan rushed at the man.


    The man who was close to the throat of the troll felt the disturbance as he looked around. He was at first surprised that he was discovered but then he sneered.


    ¡°Miserly peasants¡­¡± When he saw that one of the men who fought for their lives like dogs just for a few coins, he felt repulsed as he just waved his hand and mumbled something under his nose.


    Illyan, who heard him, was confused as what he was saying didn¡¯t feel like normal language at all.


    Suddenly, a small drop of liquid the size of a fist was flying at him from the hand of the robed man.


    Illyan didn¡¯t understand what kind of sorcery he did but planned to rush through it.


    Fortunately, before he did, his instincts felt the danger as he copied the move Ezekiel did and quickly grabbed one of the warriors close to him, putting him in front of his body.


    Sizzle


    The sizzling noise resounded as the liquid sprayed on the man¡¯s body.


    A miserly cry, which was soon drowned out in the heat of the battle, resounded from the mouth of the man before he fell into eternal darkness as his flesh literally melted.


    The robed man was surprised when he saw Illyan doing that but sneered as he lifted his hand again.


    Unfortunately for him, a glint of light appeared in front of his eyes as he noticed the steel weapon flying his way. Before he could do anything, his head split open by the axe Illyan threw.


    While disappointed he couldn¡¯t catch this man alive, Illyan knew that he didn¡¯t have time for this as he ran towards the troll.


    Then, with his full force, he attacked it. Or rather, he attacked its chains that were constricting it.


    ¡°Aziro! Stop that man! He is gonna kill us!¡±


    Suddenly, a voice so strong that it managed to drown out the battle cries of the men resounded in the arena.


    Illyan knew that the man noticed him and hurried.


    With one resolute strike, he took down one chain before the red streak flew at tremendous speed at his head.


    Without hesitation, he flicked his leg at the chain that he just broke to kick it in the direction of the bone spear that flew his way.


    Now that he knew that even the weaker robed men could cause such damage, he didn¡¯t have confidence in his regeneration at all.


    Normally, he would take enemies¡¯ attacks head-on and then retaliate, but now he realized how flawed his strategy was. If he continued, he would find an opponent who would end him for real.


    And so, he used the delay caused by the chains to jump behind the troll¡¯s thigh legs.


    The chain burst out as its pieces flew like projectiles all around, even killing a few people.


    The one who took the most brunt, though, was the troll, being closest to the explosion.


    ¡°Guah?!¡± Angry, it finally stood up as it turned around and with a sweep of its arms, it pummeled several people.


    Unfortunately, its legs were still tangled in other chains so Illyan lifted his hammer intending to free the troll.


    He noticed that Ezekiel was already close as he ran at full speed but he wouldn¡¯t get to him in time.


    Ezekiel, knowing that, didn¡¯t hold back in the slightest as he put all his mana into the swords and slashed out as the dark mana parted from the blade.


    It was similar to the aura Caleb displayed but on a much higher level.


    Two black streaks at high speed at Illyan, but he didn¡¯t hesitate as he hammered down the shackles with his mighty swing and then threw the hammer at the sword slashes hoping to destroy them.


    With a boom, one of them dissipated together with the hammer while the other got redirected and unintentionally cut off the right arm of the troll.


    ¡°AAaaaaaarraghggh!¡± The troll, who was already angry, started to rage as it attacked everyone.


    It was complete chaos.


    But that wasn¡¯t enough for Illyan yet.


    ¡®Finally, I can test it out.¡¯


    There was something he theorized about for a long time but never tried it.


    He took a vial with red content and aimed it right in the middle of the arena where Ezekiel was.


    As the vial was thrown, it quickly flew through the air. But it was struck down before it could land as Ezekiel felt the huge amount of life force and thought someone attacked him.


    ¡°Huh?¡± When the extremely heavy scent of blood permeated the arena, he felt something was off when he looked at the content spilled on his clothes.


    ¡®Is this blood? But why is the smell so strong?¡¯


    ¡°Rooooooaaaaarr!¡± The injured troll roared in excitement as its snout started to move.


    When Ezekiel saw what was happening, he felt furious.


    He quickly realized from which angle the vial was thrown and knew it was Illyan.


    He wanted to retaliate, but the troll that was now freed started to run at high speed. It took it only three steps before he was in reach as it smashed its hand down. Everything in its path was demolished or squashed to death.


    The only exception was Caleb in his armor. However, even then he fell unconscious just from one slap of the raging monster.


    Its stump, now fully healed hand, attacked Ezekiel who was dodging or deflecting the meaty hands.


    In the end, the inferior swords from the arena snapped as he was barehanded.


    He felt upset but there was nothing he could do. He wondered if he should go all-in, but if he did that Aziro would ambush him.


    ¡®Aziro!¡¯ His eyes turned into crescents as he stared at the man who was just watching up there not caring that his men were dying.


    He was a necromancer and was used to letting his subordinates fight for him. Only when the enemy was injured would he join the fight.


    ¡®Hmph, I was thinking about slaying this thing only, but since you are here, I will let you suffer a bit. And that bastard¡­¡¯


    Then he turned around to look at Illyan but was confused when he noticed he was gone.


    But he didn¡¯t waste his time in finding him as he ran at full speed and ran on the wall towards Aziro.


    The robed men immediately hurled several spells at him but he didn¡¯t retreat at all.


    ¡°Since you started this fight then finish it.¡± Aziro said calmly as he blocked Ezekiel¡¯s path with bone spears.


    However, Ezekiel focused as his ribs suddenly burst apart!


    A pair of mantis-like arms showed up as they bisected the spears and spells without any problem.


    Aziro¡¯s pale face showed surprise.


    ¡°This power of Biomancer is really wonderful. Completely wasted on a cowardly dark elf like you.¡±


    Green flame appeared on his arm as he sent a wave of heat towards Ezekiel. His other hand held his head as if he was uncomfortable but he didn¡¯t stop as a wall of flames gushed out of his hand.


    ¡°And you think you are worthy for what reason?¡± Ezekiel, who avoided the flames, said as his mantis blades pierced through the robed men who were close to Aziro.


    ¡°You! Sir, what do we do?¡± Other robed men started to panic as they saw Ezekiel. He was too fast and would easily kill them at such proximity.


    ¡°You filthy..!¡± Aziro felt the fury as he stared at the men who were killed by him. He already saw that one of them was killed by Illyan, but now there were two more.


    While they weren¡¯t that precious, this was considered peaceful land. If there were that many deaths of his subordinates, the higher-ups beyond the kingdom would ask questions.


    ¡°What?¡± Ezekiel didn¡¯t waste his mana on disguise anymore as his face started to wriggle. Anyone who saw this would feel extreme discomfort.


    Soon, his rosy complexion turned white-gray while his eyes turned red. His ears started to elongate while his gray hair turned into silver color.


    The old man turned out to be a completely different species from humans.


    Dark Elf.


    ¡°I will-¡± Aziro was furious, but then he felt horror engulf him as he realized it was a trap and jumped aside.


    Crack


    The troll, who ran after Ezekiel, didn¡¯t see the wall as an obstacle at all as it started to climb it. However, its weight was too much and the wall crumbled together with people standing on it.


    Seeing that so many of his subordinates died today and others being in danger, Aziro knew that they would need to put out the beast even if his heart bled because of it. Even he could catch one troll alive only when the opportunity arose.


    Now he would need to kill it which wouldn¡¯t bring him any benefits.


    As such, he felt the fury towards Ezekiel who brought the beast up to the audience seats.


    But mainly, he felt anger towards the man who freed the troll.


    If he didn¡¯t do it, his plan to take down Ezekiel wouldn¡¯t fail in such a spectacular way.


    He turned to look down at the man but didn¡¯t see him anywhere.


    Thinking that he already fled, he yelled out.


    ¡°Caleb! Catch the one who fled alive immediately!¡±


    While he didn¡¯t care before about the gladiators the moment he thought that Ezekiel could be amongst them he observed them all. So it was no wonder he remembered that ugly scarred face. Because of that, he was also sure that he hadn''t met the man before either.


    He wouldn¡¯t forget someone with such a face.


    That¡¯s why he was confused about his objectives. But he could just wait for him to be caught since the power he showed was around the level of an Aura Master. If Caleb used his subordinates there should be no problem catching him.


    However, Caleb didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°Caleb?¡± Confused and upset, Aziro looked down to find the man he was talking to.


    But he was nowhere to be seen.


    It was as if he evaporated¡­

 103 - Biomancer vs. Necromancer

    While the three parties stared each other down, Illyan was already sprinting at full speed through the underground corridor. He didn¡¯t need to see their fight to know he was heavily outclassed, and the longer he stayed there, the more danger he would be in.


    Fortunately, there were not many guards as they were probably called off since the enemy was too dangerous.


    Soon, he ran up the stairs and reached the entrance in the slums above. But seeing the curious and malicious stares around, Illyan didn¡¯t stop as he ran off in a random direction.


    ¡®I need to hide somewhere first lest I show them where I live¡­¡¯ If someone was tailing him right now or had the ability to find him, then his disguise would be completely useless.


    It wouldn¡¯t be weird for them to look for him after all of this ends since he freed the troll.


    Not to mention¡­


    Illyan glanced at his shoulder where the corpse of the robed man he killed was and at his other hand held at the nape of Caleb who was still unconscious.


    This was his spoil.


    It was even better than he originally hoped for.


    However, there was unease in his heart as he felt everything was quite easy so far. Yes, he went through several life-threatening situations, but that was far from what he expected.


    So, he was prepared for some mishap.


    A sudden rumble shook the ground as Illyan almost missed a step. Screams of the civilians resounded as some buildings started to crumble.


    ¡°Grrroooooooaaar!¡±


    ¡®They didn¡¯t stop it?¡¯ thought Illyan as he stared back.


    There, a giant stood from the rubble of the stone pavement and the houses of the slums. The entire ground was collapsing as it tried to pry itself out of the arena.


    On its body, several men were hanging with their hands trying to immobilize it to a certain extent.


    Only after the wind took away their robes were revealed their rotting bodies as they were biting off bits of meat from the troll.


    That unnerved the being even more, making it even more aggressive.


    But their objective was completed as the jets of green flames engulfed the area where the troll and undeads were.


    That included the houses and people in the vicinity.


    The houses exploded and people were burned to death as the smoke covered the skies. Sorrowful cries of the troll only added to the horrendous ambiance that was created by the indifference of the perpetrator.


    Illyan didn¡¯t stay in the same place to watch as he instead ran as far as he could after sensing the horrendous heat coming from the flames.


    However, the commotion created still didn¡¯t go unnoticed. The troll, covered in flames and blisters, quickly ran off the arena while waving its arms. It didn¡¯t care about obstacles as it destroyed everything in its path.


    Its skin charred black and covered in burns and soot while the still burning undead were clinging to it while burning themselves. It tried to take them off, but that only burned its arms as they continued to bite and scratch it to death.


    Eventually, the troll made the last few steps before finally falling down, crushing several undeads underneath.


    However, one being that was clinging to its back was different. It was covered in darkness and seemed to be defended by¡­ a tail?


    ¡®Damn, what is that man?¡¯ Illyan opened his eyes wide when he saw who that was.


    Ezekiel, who was holding onto the troll to get out of the arena without being swarmed by undeads, finally relaxed as he stood up.


    There was a black tail slithering around him which guarded him from the flame. It was over three meters long with tens or even hundreds of half-meter-long barbs at its tip. And in the center, one big barb that was much thicker and longer than other barbs shone with red viscous liquid. It wasn¡¯t blood but something more sinister.


    The tail was scorched, but at least his main body wasn''t completely scorched.


    Illyan also saw the several meters long mantis blades coming out of Ezekiel''s sides where his lower ribs should be.


    Together with the dark aura he gave off, he was the most menacing-looking being Illyan ever saw. Not even the wendigos reached this level.


    ¡°Can you still call yourself a person if you sew so many body parts of monsters on yourself, Ezekiel? Especially when it comes to man-eaters like manticores?¡±


    Aziro, who slowly came out of the rubble, said as he stared at Ezekiel.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that corpse fucker like you can judge others, hihiheh,¡± Ezekiel started to giggle as his body wriggled unnaturally.


    This made Aziro stare at him coldly as the rage surged within his heart.


    However, in close combat, he would lose quickly and so he could only call upon his creations. Fortunately, he had many undeads in reserve and wasn¡¯t lacking in manpower. The only shame was that he could only use around thirty or so at a time before he would lose control over them.


    But that should be enough for him to win over the slightly injured Ezekiel.


    This time he didn¡¯t call only human bodies.


    ¡°Grrrrgh!¡±


    The menacing growling and barking resounded as several rotting mutts were running around, circling Ezekiel.


    Once Aziro was done with Ezekiel, he planned to use these to find that damn man who messed up his plan. He could finally end the miserable life of Ezekiel and use his Biomancy to make progress in breaking through the apprentice stage¡­


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    But the milk was already spilled, and Aziro couldn¡¯t split his focus on some insignificant person.


    Even if it took another twenty years, he would never stop attacking the man in front of him until he chipped him off bit by bit¡­


    Meanwhile, Illyan already stopped watching as he ran at full speed in a different direction from his house. If needed, he would even run beyond the walls to hide for a few days.


    When Ezekiel saw the dogs circling him, he sneered.


    ¡°Do you think you can keep me here?¡± With a flick of his tail, he launched himself in the air.


    However, before he could do anything, a wing flapped through the air as a dark crow swooped in on Ezekiel.


    When he saw the creature from the corner of his eyes, he planned to kill it as a precaution to Aziro¡¯s schemes. But the crow elegantly dodged the slash as it rammed right into his chest.


    The force behind it wasn¡¯t anything great, but upon contact, it burst as the rotten flesh flew in every direction.


    ¡°Argh?!¡± Sudden pain enveloped Ezekiel as the place where the flesh touched him started to turn black.


    Seeing that several other birds were flying in circles above, he abandoned his plan of escaping as he returned in the midst of undead dogs.


    ¡°We have known each other for so long. Did you think I would repeat the same mistakes again and again?¡±


    Aziro talked as he waved his hands. His voice and expression seemed apathetic, but his eyes shone with greed. But he didn¡¯t let himself be consumed by it as he prepared other spells.


    ¡®I can¡¯t use the ghost fire anymore¡­ My mind will collapse if I use it any more.¡¯ He inwardly frowned.


    The so-called Ghost Fire was the green flame he was using against Ezekiel the entire time.


    It was his strongest magic, different from spells of wizards. Only his will and power of mind were enough to unleash its power. But that was also its biggest cost as it literally drained his precious mind power he had collected over years.


    However, if he could catch Ezekiel, it would be worth it. He knew for a long time that he had no chance of progressing just by depending on necromancy.


    ¡®But if I catch Ezekiel¡­¡¯ He wasted over 20 years in this goddamn place. And Ezekiel was the reason for it.


    He recognized him the moment he saw him for the first time. He knew his crime. He knew what he got in that place¡­


    And he wanted it.


    That¡¯s why he told his higher-ups that he gave up on advancing in his strength and tried to catch this guy on his own.


    Unfortunately, he was too slippery for Aziro, making him suffer losses after losses.


    Not only that, but they were also a bad match as one was a necromancer manipulating death while the other one was a Biomancer who was manipulating life.


    They naturally countered each other.


    However, necromancers have much fewer practical ways of using their magic in direct fights in early stages so he was always at a disadvantage.


    The standard necromancers let the armies of undead swarm their enemies while hiding. But he couldn¡¯t do that against someone like Ezekiel who could move quickly like the wind.


    This was a common problem of most necromancers. Because of that, they needed to learn some tricks to be able to fight head-on.


    Some used curses while others poisons.


    But Aziro stuck to the basics. The ability to turn life to death.


    Aziro mumbled something as he called out the first spell he ever learned and also the only spell he managed to modify.


    ¡®Necrosis Touch¡¯


    His fingers turned slightly violet as the sizzling noise resounded. With the sweep of his arm, a claw-shaped magic energy leaped at Ezekiel who was defending from undead dogs.


    Ezekiel used his mantis blade to strike it down and received another bout of necrosis on his body.


    At the same time, one after another, crows started to sweep down as they exploded into bloody mist.


    Aziro felt content for being able to apply the magic model of the [Necrosis Touch] on the bodies of those crows, something only Inscriptionists could do.


    However, since he was very familiar with the spell he managed to pull


    it off.


    ¡°Errgh¡­ I must say, Aziro. Your plan was very thorough. Unfortunately, just one random guy made such a mess, hmm?¡± Ezekiel said with a mocking tone while pulling his arm out of the cavity of one dog that was biting on his waist.


    His face was contorted from the pain as the wounds on his body developed necrosis from the crows¡¯ attacks. He also had a suspicion that the mouths of the dogs were spreading the necrosis too.


    He was heavily breathing as he ran his mana across the injured parts of his body trying to slow down the necrosis¡¯ effect. Unfortunately, while he was a biomancer he didn¡¯t develop that much in the recovery specialization¡­


    For normal wounds, he was alright but necrosis wasn¡¯t something that could be healed that easily.


    ¡°Do you think I will fall for your provoca-¡± Just as Aziro had a disdainful glance at him, Ezekiel¡¯s tail sprung up from the ground as its barbs shivered before shooting off in several directions.


    Then, sudden waves of darkness surged from his hands as it covered the entire street.


    Everything happened too quickly for Aziro as he was engulfed within the darkness.


    He was alarmed and immediately used another spell which molded the bone spears he had under his robe into armor.


    After that, he called upon his loyal hounds as if feeling the retaliation was near.


    And he was right as the sudden red streak flashed upon him. It struck him right into his chest which blasted him several meters into the air.


    Fortunately, the spear bones¡¯ armor protected him and the attack only grazed him.


    ¡°Sir Aziro!¡± The robed men who finally ran out of the underground arena only to see their boss sprawled on the ground called out as they ran to him.


    Aziro wanted to yell to back off since Ezekiel could easily strike them to death but by the time the darkness dissipated he was already gone.


    Ezekiel already finished his goal of killing the troll just as he did a few months before. He believed he hid it from him since Aziro would never watch over such events. Unfortunately, Caleb recognized some of his behavior traits.


    Thanks to that, they knew he would attack soon after they caught another troll to destroy their commercial might and also to lure them into the mountain woods where Ezekiel had his ¡®toys¡¯.


    It was an open trap as they really couldn¡¯t stop with the arena anymore. If decades ago the arena brought a surprising amount of profit then now it was the norm for the superiors beyond the kingdom.


    If the supply of bodies and money would be cut off they would ask questions. Something that Aziro couldn¡¯t allow.


    For that reason, he needed trolls that were the biggest entertainment in his arena that drew even nobles from other cities.


    ¡®Next time¡­¡¯ Just as he thought about it he realized that Caleb went missing. At first, he thought he was just somewhere he couldn¡¯t see him but he never showed up afterwards.


    ¡®Where did he go?¡¯ Confusion filled Aziro¡¯s mind as he fell into a daze.


    Meanwhile, he was surrounded by his subordinates who stared at the glaring wound on his chest. He was just lying there while watching the skies above with an empty gaze.


    However, he noticed their gazes. Unlike those loyal subordinates who would be horrified, sad, or try to help him, their expressions were expressionless or even gleeful. Some of them were already prepared to finish him while he was down.


    That was how their organization and many others in the Arkravav Empire worked. Kill or be killed.


    As someone who was almost an Expert Stage Necromancer, he had much better things that they coveted.


    ¡®Did Caleb also decide to betray me?¡¯ Soon, he threw this thought away as he remembered he went unconscious the last time he saw him.


    ¡®No¡­¡¯ Then his mind went towards the variable of his plan.


    That man.


    His eyes narrowed.


    Just then, one of the robed men called out.


    ¡°Why do we wait until he recovers? We can just divide the loot. It is not like there are many of us since others are dead anyway.¡±


    Others were silent but they didn¡¯t show any signs of stopping him either.


    Then without saying anything else he raised his hands and mumbled the incantations.


    Unfortunately, before he could do anything several crows flew at him. This time they didn¡¯t explode on contact but instead pecked at his head.


    ¡°Argh?!¡± This way they gouged one out his eyes as he screamed in agony.


    However, as he wanted to retaliate, one of the hounds that was pierced by the barbs stood up as it jumped at him and tore him apart.


    His cries of agony made the others turn pale as they stood there while watching Aziro slowly stood up, taking a vial from his robe.


    The robed men seemed terrified as they watched completely indifferent Aziro who was thinking.


    ¡®This manticore¡¯s poison is dangerous¡­¡¯  The poison came out of the biggest barb that was similar to the scorpion¡¯s stinger. While the poison itself was lethal to people of higher stage it would still cause them to fall into a daze, which was enough for skilled manticores to play them to death.


    Thinking about the failure today, he didn¡¯t fall into rage. Instead, he turned even more determined to catch Ezekiel to get stronger.


    As for that other guy¡­


    Aziro healed himself in the midst of rubble as one of his subordinates was eaten alive while screaming for mercy.


    With the sweep of his hand, the head of the robed man fell on the ground.


    ¡°I will kill you myself!¡±

 104 - Unavoidable

    While Aziro was still contemplating whether to dispose of his disloyal subordinates, Illyan was already far away. At first, he planned to leave the town secretly while chaos was ensuing and return later on when everything calmed down.


    Unfortunately, with the baggage he carried around, namely the robed man¡¯s body and Caleb, he would have problems leaving quietly without anyone noticing.


    In the end, he decided to enter one of the abandoned houses where he hid for a moment. He checked out with his spiritual perception if someone was tailing him, and when he realized that he was not, he sighed in relief.


    He put both the body and Caleb in one of the rooms and put their equipment away, especially Caleb''s sword and armor, since he was just unconscious and not dead.


    Fortunately, the robed man had already prepared sleeping powder for the troll, so Illyan just took a really small dosage and sprinkled it on the unaware man.


    Then, he looked through the robed man¡¯s things for something useful. He saw some scrolls, vials, books, and other materials but didn¡¯t know any of that. That was good news since it meant he got something mysterious, but for the current him, the dull sword and armor of the knight were more important.


    The sword was a two-handed longsword with a bluish hue on its blade. The quality was completely different from other weapons that he saw. The Bakur Tribe always had extremely durable and sharp weapons, but that was only thanks to the baptism of cold energy and not the technique of forging.


    He was also pleasantly surprised to find a bag with a set of throwing knives hidden at his belt. With a quick count, there were twelve of them.


    Satisfied, Illyan tried wielding the sword and swung it with the sound of slashing air. While the sword could be used with two hands, he was much stronger and taller than the original user and could easily use it with one hand. The sword was not exactly heavy either.


    However, he saw the advantage of using two hands when doing some more difficult sword moves and was intrigued.


    But for now, he didn¡¯t have time for that as he put his eyes on the armor. While he took it off Caleb, he already knew how the straps and everything else worked, so he quickly donned the chestplate himself, hiding it inside the robe.


    The armor was small for him, so he had the straps looser than Caleb, but he still felt that it was useful. He didn¡¯t take any other parts of the armor on himself as he felt it would impede his dexterity and decided to just put them away for the moment.


    When he was finally prepared, he thought about leaving for now and retrieving the bodies later on. Even if he couldn¡¯t do so in the end, he was already satisfied with the robbed man¡¯s belongings.


    Just when he wanted to walk out, his ears trembled a little, like those of wild animals. He froze and stopped moving and even breathing. Instead, he pondered whether to use the [Nature Breath Method] to try to dilute his presence. He was aware that it was useless but he still wanted to try.


    But soon, he threw the idea away. He knew the enemy was already aware of him. If he did this, he would also know that Illyan knew of him, giving away a precious advantage.


    ¡®Haah¡­ I feared that this would be the case¡­ I really can¡¯t avoid it, can I?¡¯ Illyan¡¯s theory of ¡®Fate Trials¡¯ was once again validated as he felt like prey in front of a predator.


    While he was aware of the enemy, he wasn¡¯t complacent as he already knew that this would not be an easy fight.


    Carefully, he distanced himself from the two bodies while his muscles tensed up.


    He listened carefully, not even daring to use his spiritual perception while trying to play clueless.


    It was then when the wall burst out, and the dust covered the entire place when two gigantic blades were coming for him at high speed.


    Illyan knew that he would not be able to dodge this attack. He lowered his body into a horse stance and held the sword with his two hands to deflect one of the mantis blades while letting the other one graze his ribs.


    Fortunately, Illyan already had the armor, which protected him from deep wounds. Albeit with a price, as the relatively new armor was already cut through. However, the preparation was worth it.


    Seeing that the mantis blade wanted to move again, he quickly let go of the sword with his one hand and put the mantis blade under his armpit in an effort to try to stop it.


    He held the blade with bare hands, which made them bleed but managed to hold both of the mantis blades off.


    However, the blade he held with his hand was suddenly devoured by the darkness and was slowly coming for him. Illyan felt that it gained more power and the blade itself felt sharper. Slowly, the blade was slipping through his palm. His hand was in jeopardy, but he didn¡¯t let go even as he felt his fingers fall one by one.


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    This all happened in but a second as another wave of attacks ensued. There was a subtle disturbance of the dust in front of him, and he immediately knew it was some kind of projectile.


    This time, he could only try to dodge some that were targeting his vital organs while taking on the others. Some of them were deflected by the armor, but most of them lodged inside as if it was made out of mud. Thankfully, it mitigated a lot of damage done to him.


    ¡°You are quite daring to try schemes against someone at the third stage¡­ I thought you were some kind of hidden expert with that life force of yours, but it seems I have been mistaken.¡±


    When the dust finally settled, Illyan finally found the old man named Ezekiel staring at him with resentment in his red eyes. He seemed to be in bad shape, with several purple and blackish wounds covering his body.


    Illyan also noticed his new monstrous visage and was horrified when he saw the sweeping of the big red stinger right at his head.


    He loosened his arm with the sword, letting it fall down as he quickly crouched, dodging both the stinger and mantis blade that was held off with the sword before he caught the sword again only to swing it at Ezekiel''s unprotected body.


    ¡°Hmph¡­¡± Ezekiel snorted as he waved his arms, which were free the entire time. The unblemished palm of his started to distort as several teeth grew out of it and opened to show a bottomless mouth.


    And from that mouth, a black tendril came out. It wasn¡¯t something solid. It was the same thing that covered Ezekiel¡¯s body but just in a different shape.


    Illyan would be intrigued at any other time if that was also just aura or something completely different, but he couldn¡¯t now as he had to fight for his life.


    After exchanging several blows, he felt the danger of death creeping on him when he fought the man in front of him.


    ¡®Why is he here?¡¯ Illyan¡¯s thoughts were filled with questions as he was running around. He threw all the furniture at the man, trying to stop him without any success. Once they exchanged several more blows, Illyan ran out of the hole Ezekiel created.


    ¡°Because of you, my plan almost got ruined and I got heavily injured. But taking your life force should suffice as compensation, hihihihe. If I will not use that delicious life force of yours to the fullest potential, it would be a very heavy crime against the god¡­¡±


    At one time calm and charismatic, and at another, a quietly calculative killer.


    The more Illyan saw Ezekiel, the more he felt this man didn¡¯t have it right in his head. And now, when he saw his delirious state with mumbling about gods, he felt he was right.


    ¡®Are all gods¡¯ believers crazy?!¡¯ Thinking about Blood Crow worshippers, he felt as if the images of both overlapped. The difference was that Ezekiel was strong and monstrous to the point where even Illyan didn¡¯t know how to fight against him.


    ¡®Also, was the leader of the robed man killed? Why isn¡¯t he showing up?¡¯ Illyan, who didn¡¯t watch the entire fight, was a little confused as he hoped for them to battle it out until they took each other¡¯s lives. Unfortunately, what he didn¡¯t know was that Ezekiel didn¡¯t plan to battle it out with Aziro at all, let alone kill him, which would jeopardize his safe haven here.


    Illyan was attacked from five angles in close combat because of Ezekiel¡¯s hands, mantis blades, and his tail stinger, and whenever he distanced from Ezekiel, a volley of barbs showered him from a distance.


    This created a highly bad situation for Illyan. He couldn¡¯t run, but he couldn¡¯t fight back properly either. Fingers could regrow at a fairly high speed, but if he lost a limb or was heavily harmed in a different place, then his fighting prowess would fall even more and he would be killed easily in the end.


    Not to mention, the only weapon that wouldn¡¯t get destroyed while clashing against the mantis blades was the longsword he wasn¡¯t well-versed in, which was displayed as he got endowed with many injuries while trying to either block or parry the attacks.


    The only reason he didn¡¯t completely crumble was because of [The Way of the Body], thanks to which he instinctively moved the sword in the best way his anatomy allowed.


    As a result, Illyan did whatever he could to fight back with the help of the environment and things around them. He hid behind the carts and stalls, running inside the buildings through the windows trying to use confined space to his advantage.


    Of course, Ezekiel


    was like a natural disaster and destroyed everything that appeared in front of him, but he still slowed down a little, and Illyan finally got some respite.


    There was no one around them at the moment as all of the people had already evacuated long ago, but he still heard screams from the surroundings. But he didn¡¯t care.


    What he cared for now was survival.


    Right at the moment, Illyan climbed all the way up to the roof of one building and was prepared to jump to another.


    ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t have time for this¡­¡± However, Ezekiel, who was chasing after him thinking he was just an easy target, started to get exasperated.


    The dark flames that Illyan identified as aura converged on mantis blades, merging with the already dark substance covering them, and swung them at a speed he couldn¡¯t perceive.


    It was as if time stopped as the wind got calm. However, Illyan¡¯s heart got many times louder as its beating sound resounded in his ears.


    The two blades of darkness flew at him at high speed, where he didn¡¯t have time to think things over. He only trusted his instincts and jumped to the side down the building.


    A loud boom that was almost deafening resounded out behind him as the bits of rubble prickled his back and even hit his head.


    When he turned his body mid-air, he noticed that five buildings in a row got sliced through as they now crumbled down. It was a total catastrophe.


    Unfortunately, this wasn¡¯t the end. Ezekiel didn¡¯t do that move just for the sake of it.


    Just as Illyan was a few meters above the ground, he heard another crumbling sound as he saw Ezekiel grinning at him. His tail, which was several meters long, coiled behind him like a spring and used the roof as leverage.


    His mantis blades were also directed straight at Illyan, who was now helpless.


    The building literally burst out as Ezekiel jumped with such strength that demolished it to the ground.


    Ezekiel, even normally, was much faster than Illyan, which made it hard for him to dodge or retaliate. But now, it was completely impossible to do so.


    He was aiming at Illyan at such speed that Illyan didn¡¯t have time to fall on the ground and could only watch as the mantis blades were coming for him¡­.


    ¡®If I live long enough, will I be able to get as strong as this?¡¯ At this moment, there was no fear on Illyan''s face but only awe. He thought he was careful and that he prepared enough for this, but he was sorely mistaken.


    It was not the difference in skills that awed him. In truth, he felt that when it came to battle instincts, he was on par with the dark elf. However, the raw power of his body and the energy he used to fight completely overpowered Illyan. The only way he could compete was with his regeneration.


    The desire to get stronger burned deep down within him. He didn¡¯t want to die here.


    He wouldn¡¯t allow it¡­

 105 - Merciless

    "Should I try to counter-attack with a sword? No, that won¡¯t work¡­¡± Now, Illyan felt stranded. It would take only a second or two to fall back on the ground, but it felt like an eternity to him.


    The enemy, lunging at him like a dart, seemed confident in his victory as his arms spread outward while dark tendrils came out of his palms.


    However, this movement revealed his body under a robe.


    Illyan expected it to be quite disfigured, given his limited understanding of the man. After all, he had to put these mantis blades on his body somehow.


    But what he didn¡¯t expect was the material embedded in his body.


    Illyan¡¯s eyes shone for a moment in golden light until they dimmed and the crimson color returned to his eyes. Falling, the hood on his head fell, revealing his bald and scarred head, but it was his eyes emitting the haunting bloodlust.


    Ezekiel noticed the change but couldn¡¯t change his body''s course, so he instead covered his body in more darkness.


    Illyan, on the other hand, closed his eyes and reached inside his robe to take out three small wooden amulets. He didn¡¯t take them out before as they were difficult to use properly. They didn¡¯t discern between superficial injuries and life-threatening ones, and with Illyan¡¯s fighting style, they would be used up in a few exchanged blows.


    But now, he had a use for them.


    Just as Ezekiel got closer to him, Illyan threw the amulets at the mantis blades.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Ezekiel saw it as he was prepared, but when he saw it, he sneered as he mumbled to himself, ¡°What inferior goods¡­¡±


    When the tip of his mantis blades touched the amulets, a small force field showed up. As all three of them were activated at the same time, it was much stronger, but it still wouldn¡¯t take even a second for Ezekiel to get through.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was Illyan taking a deep breath as he flipped his body mid-air upside down and used the temporary force field as a springboard to jump on the ground faster.


    When he was about to hit the ground, he took off his robe and threw it at Ezekiel as he flipped again to fall on his legs.


    The moment the tips of his legs touched the ground, he started to exhale the air inside his lungs and used the rebound as leverage as he aligned his sword edge with the flow of wind and flicked it in one long diagonal swing using [Flow Breathing Technique].


    However, as he fell faster than Ezekiel, he was too far to even reach him with the tip of the sword.


    Ezekiel also felt the distance between them despite being temporarily blinded by the robe and didn¡¯t care.


    Unfortunately for him, Illyan didn¡¯t stare at him and instead observed the wind around and the particles of spiritual and mana energy converging inside it as the swung sword started to pull the power around, pressuring the air at its edge.


    Just as he finished the swing while fully exhaling all the air inside his lungs, the pressured air also left the body of the sword and became an air blade.


    ¡°Oh fuc-¡± Ezekiel, who realized belatedly that Illyan used his first ranged attack, wanted to dodge but was defeated at his own game as at that very moment it was him hanging helplessly in the air.


    Blood sprayed everywhere as Ezekiel''s body flew over Illyan¡¯s head. But he knew it wouldn''t end, as Ezekiel managed to lean to the side, evading the life-threatening injury.


    What he noticed though, was that his left side was completely shaved with an arm, leg, and mantis blade lying in puddles of blood on the ground.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t come out unscathed as his torso was torn, and he saw his innards spilling out. The armor completely crumbled and fell to the ground. He turned the blade of the sword down and used it as a support as he used the other hand to stuff everything back into his stomach while staring at the flailing tail of the enemy that was next to him.


    Then he smirked.


    With a limp, he came closer to it and threw away the sword. He saw the chitin carapace covering it and with his current strength, it was impossible to cut it. So, he instead hugged it tightly.


    Ezekiel, who tried to recover from losing his limbs, suddenly felt the sensations on his tail and tried to stand up quickly.


    But just then, he heard a mighty roar as Illyan strongly pulled and spun his entire body with the tail in his hands. Ezekiel¡¯s body, like a puppet on the string, was suddenly pulled as he quickly met with the wall of the buildings on the side of the road.


    He tried to muster up his aura of darkness, but each time he crashed into another obstacle, he would lose focus. And without the aura, his defenses were similar to Illyan.


    The only difference was that he wouldn¡¯t recover from this.


    Boom


    Just as all the buildings around were leveled with the ground, Illyan roared again as he lifted the tail overhead and slammed Ezekiel¡¯s body into the ground.


    Feeling the strength in the tail becoming more feeble, he started to pull at it, trying to get Ezekiel closer to him. But Ezekiel didn¡¯t plan to just give up.


    The tip of the tail rattled a little as the barbs started to fly at Illyan¡¯s back. He didn¡¯t care as he hunched over to protect his head and continued pulling. The barbs were falling on his back as blood started to make another puddle on the ground.


    When Ezekiel, who was being dragged on the ground, saw this, his eyes gleamed with desire. Despite his current state, he still didn¡¯t panic.


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    ¡®What a remarkable life force. If I had the same amount back then¡­ No, it doesn¡¯t matter. If I take him down I will have it now and finally finish my grand project¡­¡¯


    With a flick, the red stinger at the tip of his tail finally moved, prepared to stab Illyan. Ezekiel didn¡¯t think it would hit but just hoped that he would let go of the tail.


    But once again, Illyan¡¯s actions went against his expectations as he just turned around and¡­


    Bit down on the stinger.


    For a second, Ezekiel doubted what he saw. After all, no sane man would do this.


    The cracking noise resounded as the jaw turned at a weird angle. The bloodied teeth started to fall out of the mouth, and the painful poison flowed down his throat.


    His entire face was even more disfigured than when he scarred it himself. But his eyes shined with determination as he pulled on the tail with even more strength.


    When Ezekiel got closer, he wanted to use his second mantis blade to attack, but Illyan just put the tail in front of it. If he didn¡¯t want his tail cut off, he couldn¡¯t do anything. Soon, he got close enough, and Illyan stomped on his chest.


    With a crunch, Ezekiel grunted as he gasped for air.


    Then, when he noticed Illyan reaching out for his head, he knew that today was his defeat.


    ¡®I apologize for underestimating you¡­ It just makes me happy for how wrong I was hihihe..¡¯


    Just as Illyan wanted to crush his face, Ezekiel¡¯s cheeks expanded like that of a frog and spat out gray liquid. It pierced through Illyan¡¯s arm and exploded in his face, turning into gray mist.


    Pain enveloped Illyan as the mist corroded his body, but he still held onto the tail. Unfortunately, suddenly there was a clicking noise and subsequently the slimy noise as the tail, or rather the carapace covering it, became looser.


    When he noticed how the tail became lifeless, he spat out the stinger and groaned in annoyance. But he felt content. However, this liberating feeling didn¡¯t last long as he heard loud noises and clanking of iron against iron. There was also the neighing of horses and the sound of hooves hitting the ground.


    Soon, a big group of soldiers surrounded the street Illyan was in.


    They looked scared when they stared at the destruction around. It was as if a natural disaster had come to this region. That was why the soldiers didn¡¯t dare at first to get closer to Illyan who was in the midst of this at all.


    However, when the leader came on the horse and saw that the only being around was Illyan, who seemed half-dead, he made a speech to encourage his soldiers.


    ¡°We are the swords of the mayor! How can we allow scourges like this to destroy our hometown? Arrest that man in this instant! For the mayor!¡±


    Soldiers who finally noticed that Illyan was wobbling around regained some of their bearings as they yelled out.


    ¡°In the name of the law, surrender yourself!¡±


    Illyan¡¯s head was down, and thus they didn¡¯t see his face, but they didn¡¯t care because as long as they captured him, there would be no way out for him anymore.


    Illyan, who was using his spiritual perception to make sure Ezekiel really escaped, heard the yells of the soldiers and was quite amused.


    Now that he had exchanged blows with Flow Masters, he knew that those soldiers were not themselves. Even the leader didn¡¯t develop tangible flow within his body.


    When he saw them strutting toward him as if he was completely helpless, he even chuckled out loudly.


    He may be crippled in the eyes of others, but to him, this was the norm.


    Silence ensued in the street when Illyan started to laugh. It wasn''t a normal laugh as he inhaled the corrosive mist, which damaged his respiratory system and his vocal cords.


    Not only that, his jaw was disfigured too, and as such, the noise he was giving out was hoarse and gruff. It sounded extremely creepy, which made the soldiers stop in their tracks as they made a circle around him.


    ¡°What are you doing?! Don¡¯t let him recover! Get him!¡± The leader, who saw this, beckoned his horse and prepared to interfere as he knew something was wrong.


    Soldiers holding spears, prepared to puncture Illyan¡¯s legs so that they could capture him, heard their leader''s voice and came out of the trance.


    However, it was at that moment when Illyan lifted his head and smiled at them.


    His cheeks were torn apart, and his gums were cracked open and unnaturally red from the venom of the manticore. Some of the teeth were missing, but it wasn¡¯t visible as the flow of blood was coming out of his mouth. The joints of the jaw were completely dislocated and broken down, creating a grotesque sight.


    And now, the smile further distorted his mouth as if he smiled from ear to ear. Literally.


    The soldiers who saw this once again stopped.


    But Illyan already flexed his fingers as his nails started to grow at a visible speed.


    ¡°What kind of monster are you¡­¡± One of the soldiers muttered in horror while others started to pray to their god.


    Even the leader''s expression changed. And when he saw that Illyan was actually really recovering, he recoiled in the saddle in horror.


    ¡°Change of plans! Don¡¯t hold back! Kill that thing!¡± Then he drew his sword and prepared to attack.


    ¡°Crossbows! Use the crossbows!¡± The soldiers in distance took out the crossbows while the spearmen in front made way for them while still being in formation to attack if Illyan tried to attack.


    But Illyan saw it. The fear, the hesitation. They were different from Ezekiel and Aziro.


    They seemed to have humanity left in their soul. They were just normal people trying to live their lives. Trying to feed their families and achieve their dreams. Some of them were young. Maybe even younger than his fabricated identity of Kaoran, who was 19 years old.


    It reminded him of Terren.


    He looked down at his stomach. The hole from which his innards were spilling was already sealed up.


    He looked up again.


    However¡­ He felt that the need to justify his every action already dissipated deep inside his body.


    He was liberated.


    Illyan didn¡¯t care anymore¡­


    ¡°Fire!¡± Just as the crossbowmen fired, he used the breathing technique to put all his strength in his legs as he sprang himself in the direction of the closest soldier.


    He caught his spear and with a strong pull, he dragged him into his arms.


    ¡°Argh? Noo-¡± Before the soldier could do anything, he was penetrated by several bolts. Illyan didn¡¯t block every one as they were surrounding him, but as long as his heart and head were alright, he didn¡¯t care.


    Throwing the corpse of the soldier away, he closed in on another. The soldiers wanted to defend but didn¡¯t know how. It seemed as if Illyan was just passing through while their throats were slit open.


    This made others more scared.


    ¡°He learned the [Flow Breathing Technique] too¡­¡±


    The leader, who knew that the morale was extremely low and swept in with his horse hoping to lop off Illyan¡¯s head.


    Instead, Illyan, who noticed the horse, flicked his leg at the molted carapace of the manticore¡¯s tail into his arms and swung it at the charging leader.


    Obviously, the sword he had was of lesser quality and couldn¡¯t cut through it at all, so the only result was him ramming straight into it which not only dismounted him but probably broke his spine too as he fell on the ground motionless.


    The horse, on the other hand, was so scared that it didn¡¯t stop at all and continued running in the same direction far from Illyan.


    Other soldiers who saw the fall of their leader also wanted to retreat, but Illyan didn¡¯t dawdle as he swept in on them and soon killed all of them amidst the screams and begging for life.


    When the last soldier turned into a corpse, Illyan was gasping for air as he couldn¡¯t breathe properly. His lungs were corroded by the mist and it was difficult to even move, let alone fight like this. But he endured.


    Now that everyone was dead, he stood up and prepared to leave.


    But not before taking his loot.


    Out of everyone around here, he was only interested in Ezekiel¡¯s body parts. He took the molt of the tail, the mantis blade, and his two limbs and started to limp away before anyone discovered him.


    However, his eyes were cold as he stared at the left arm and leg which were covered in black bumps. But if one looked closely, it was not just a bump that was at the surface of the skin but rather it was something embedded inside of the limbs.


    Something that was made out of unknown black material¡­

 106 - Mission Accomplished

    Stumbling across the destroyed street, Illyan furiously scratched at his neck while wheezing for breath. Once in a while, he stopped to vomit blood as he felt extremely dizzy, leaning on what remained of the walls.


    At some point, he even fell into a daze as he listened to his surroundings.


    But when he heard other soldiers coming this way, he forcibly suppressed his state and stood up, limping away.


    The manticore¡¯s venom was giving him problems as, despite his body being resistant to most poisons, he felt this one was hard to expel. The other factor was that his entire body was heavily injured, and his regeneration was working at its fullest potential.


    Because of that, he also lost control of it, and his face started to heal at an abnormal rate. Hairs started to rash out of his bald head, and the old skin with scars started to peel off.


    Fortunately, by then, Illyan had already disappeared from the streets and hid in the same building where he left Caleb and the body.


    But he knew that this place wasn¡¯t safe as everyone could see from the destroyed building that the fight started here.


    He took another speck of sleeping powder, sprinkling it over Caleb while taking out two sacks.


    He saw them outside lying next to one of the broken carts full of potatoes. So, he dumped the potatoes on the streets and took them away.


    Inside those sacks, he put everything he collected, Caleb and the robed man¡¯s body included. It was not for the disguise as everyone going around at this moment would be suspicious. It was more for the sake of convenience as he didn¡¯t have a way to take everything at the same time.


    Once he left, he sneaked around using the [Nature Breath Method] to hide himself to a certain extent. He didn¡¯t want to repeat what happened before.


    However, from what he heard, Ezekiel knew about his regeneration or rather about his strong life force. That meant he could feel or see it. And with Illyan¡¯s current rate of regeneration, he could guess how strong his life force could be in a town where most people were at the mortal stage.


    But Illyan couldn¡¯t hide his life force at all, so it was useless to think about it.


    On the other hand, while Aziro felt his gaze back then in the arena, it didn¡¯t feel like he was aware of his life force. He only noticed him when he scanned the area with spiritual perception. Ezekiel didn¡¯t feel that or at least didn¡¯t show anything in his behavior.


    Actually, Ezekiel didn¡¯t seem to notice his life force at the beginning at all.


    ¡®Is it some kind of active ability? Or spell? Does Ezekiel count as a Magister too?¡¯ He was already aware that the robed men were an organization of Magisters, but Ezekiel was different.


    He was using his body to fight most of the time and even modified it. However, the foundation was his aura and the other tar-like energy that Illyan suspected was mana. He didn¡¯t know if every mana was like that as Aziro¡¯s energy seemed to be also different.


    Their use of the energy was also different. One was using abilities that were methodical and simple to use yet lacked certain flexibility while the other one looked like he consciously controlled the energy to move around to do his bidding.


    All in all, both of their abilities were different, and Illyan certainly couldn¡¯t predict what their retaliation would look like even after this clash with them.


    So, for his sake, he was trying to evade everyone he met along the way. If he couldn¡¯t, then he would strike with one swift blow, killing the patrolling soldiers along the way.


    Sometimes, he would hide inside one of the houses along the way since there were many soldiers, and he even heard the barking of dogs.


    That made him scared as he feared that they would smell him or other things he had. He could create powder hiding his smell, but he didn¡¯t make it this time. However, his fear was unwarranted, as they didn¡¯t even stop when they were going around his house and just passed.


    ¡®Weren¡¯t dogs supposed to have an acute nose?¡¯ Illyan was confused for a second and wondered if they just didn¡¯t take his smell at the crime scene where he kidnapped Caleb.


    ¡®No, even if they didn¡¯t, they should know the smell of Caleb.¡¯ He saw that Aziro and Caleb had a certain relationship with each other and knew that those dogs were his.


    After all, while he was running, he still listened and heard the barking and Ezekiel killing the dogs back then.


    ¡®They probably can¡¯t smell since they are dead.¡¯ This was the only explanation that he thought of. At first, he thought that the undead should have five senses since they could move around and ¡®see¡¯. But there was no proof of that. For all he knew, they could just move based on Aziro¡¯s commands.


    But this all was to his benefit, so he didn¡¯t complain.


    ¡­¡­..


    It took him several hours to circle around in the town and make sure no one was observing him. This time, he didn¡¯t dare to hide as casually as he did before and did it properly. Fortunately, it really seemed that Aziro couldn¡¯t feel his life force, and Ezekiel was nowhere to be found either.


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    He sneaked into his own house and looked to see if there was something wrong. After looking around for a moment, he didn¡¯t find anything suspicious and immediately ran to the laboratory.


    Since the house was on the complete opposite side of the place where the catastrophe took place, it didn¡¯t suffer any damage. After all, his house was in a high-class district while the arena was under the slums. There was no way they would be close to each other.


    Once he got inside the laboratory, he didn¡¯t waste time and opened the secret room while dragging the full sacks behind him.


    When he entered, he quickly lit the candles that he bought recently to replace the old ones. The place had good ventilation, so Illyan didn¡¯t need to fear anything as he put away the sacks while taking out the still unconscious Caleb.


    It looked like the powder that could make even a troll sleep was so strong that even one day wasn¡¯t enough for him to wake up. But that was exactly what Illyan needed right now as he wasn¡¯t prepared for whatever he wanted to do with him¡­


    He put Caleb on a table in the center and strapped all of his limbs.


    Of course, the straps were meant for helpless children, so he didn¡¯t depend on them. In the cages, there were still some chains that he took out and tied around him.


    Then, he cut his tendons with a knife. After that, he dislocated all the joints in his limbs.


    ¡°Grgh¡­¡± Caleb, who was like a wooden log the entire time, started to grunt in pain as he was squirming.


    Illyan¡¯s brows went up a bit before he sprinkled the sleeping powder again.


    Now, after watching Caleb for the entire day, he was sure that he wouldn¡¯t overdose with this much and would be fine once he woke up.


    After taking care of this, the only thing on his mind was to inspect the belongings of the robed man. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t.


    He had to adjust his visage to his original appearance. If someone came to his house and saw him like this, it would be like confessing to doing something suspicious.


    The only thing he did was collect a little of the venom that was dripping from the red stinger on the tail in the small vial, knowing the venom would dry out soon.


    After that, he took out all the barbs and bolts that were still embedded inside him and put them away for now. Then, he threw away the clothes he was donning and then focused on his regeneration. Especially on his face. Fortunately, the entire day was enough to heal most of his injuries, so now he was just getting rid of all blemishes that could jeopardize his identity.


    He also used the whetstone he bought to trim his long nails that were darkened by the dried-out blood.


    When he was sure there was nothing wrong with him, he went to wipe off all the sweat and blood on his body with a wet cloth. He would love to take a bath in some river, but there was none in the town, and preparing a bathtub just for this was a waste of time.


    After he was done, he took his black robe and arranged his regular hairstyle with the wooden hairpins.


    Feeling relaxed that he finished his mission while also surviving yet another fate trial, he sat down on one of his chairs and closed his eyes as he started to meditate. Not for any kind of benefit, but simply to relax both his mind and body.


    Time passed, and the sun outside was moving at a rapid pace.


    When it was about to reach beyond the horizon, sudden knocks resounded on the doors. He opened his eyes immediately.


    ¡®Did I celebrate too soon?¡¯


    His body was taut as he was prepared to fight whoever it was.


    ¡°Kaoran?! Are you there?!¡± A loud voice that sounded familiar to him was heard beyond the doors as the knocking continued.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Illyan sighed in relief as he stood up and went to open the doors.


    ¡°He isn¡¯t there! What are you going to do? Do you think he was in the center of the town when it happened?!¡±


    ¡°Terren, calm down. You knocked literally a few seconds ago-¡±


    The doors creaked as Illyan opened them. In front of him was a group of close friends that looked disturbed.


    When they saw his face, their expressions finally brightened.


    ¡°Kaoran! You are alright!¡±


    Terren cheered as he went for a hug, which Illyan promptly evaded.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on with you?¡± Illyan asked calmly while still being vigilant. He scrutinized each of them,


    trying to find something odd about them. However, seeing their behavior being normal, he loosened his tense shoulders.


    He feared that they could find out what happened and be here to confront him or, worse, be doppelgangers sent by Aziro.


    While he had never seen a doppelganger and didn¡¯t even know if they existed, the stories of them in his childhood were still vivid even after many years.


    ¡°You probably don¡¯t know, but the town is in mayhem! There were explosions everywhere, and many people died. Not to mention, people saw and heard a freaking troll in the distance! I was the closest of the group at that time, so I felt the vibrations and roars too¡­¡±


    Garan, who was pale as a sheet of paper, explained with a few words what happened.


    Nord, who noticed that he didn¡¯t continue, explained more.


    ¡°It seems that some kind of underworld skirmishes happened in the slums. That¡¯s what old man Ollie said. They actually had an underground arena there all along doing illegal fights¡­¡±


    ¡°We wanted to warn you sooner, but everybody was forbidden to leave. We were stuck at the institute while Garan had to stay in the safe room of the Merchant Guild. Else we would visit you sooner.¡± Cara also said.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I definitely heard a lot of noise, but¡­ Anyway, don¡¯t stay here in the open and come in.¡± Illyan played ignorant as he invited them into his house for the first time.


    ¡°Terren was lucky that he wasn¡¯t summoned as he was just a trainee. He was huddled the entire time in the military camp.¡± Nord snickered.


    ¡°What do you mean, lucky? I became a knight for a reason, you know? What is the point in hiding all the time if you have a sword in your hands?¡± Terren obviously didn¡¯t agree with him at all and instead felt offended.


    ¡°Not a knight yet.¡± Garan chimed in with a teasing grin.


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    ¡®How lucky indeed.¡¯ However, Illyan¡¯s expression was placid. He knew that a greenhorn like Terren would be just a meat shield. No, he wasn¡¯t even qualified for that.


    Seeing that Illyan was alright, they felt relieved, and their worried expressions disappeared. They started to talk about the fight whilst not knowing that one of the perpetrators was next to them.


    Time passed as they theorized what happened. Meanwhile, Illyan got up to get some drinks for them.


    ¡°By the way, did you make all of this by yourself? Last time, you said that there was no furniture.¡± Cara, who was already sick of talking about the killing, turned her attention to the silent Illyan, who brought several cups of water for them.


    ¡°Yes. It is a little rough, but it is enough for me.¡± Illyan nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing! How about you make a tour for us?¡± Terren, who overheard that, turned his head around. He didn¡¯t think too deeply about it until Cara mentioned it.


    ¡°Sure, why no-¡±


    Just then, several loud and heavy knocks reverberated through his doors. Illyan furrowed his brows.


    ¡°Doctor Kaoran! We find ourselves in dire need of your skills! A skirmish in the town has left many of our soldiers wounded, and the mayor has entrusted me with the task of enlisting your aid.¡± A voice called out from outside with a sense of urgency emanating from their tone.

 107 - The Bitter Remedy

    "Hmm?" Illyan raised his eyebrows when he heard the man. Then he realized that he was officially a registered physician now. His status rose, but his responsibilities would grow accordingly.


    Illyan excused himself from the table where others were and went again toward the door. He was still cautious, but hearing the man¡¯s beating heart even from beyond the doors, he felt there was nothing to be scared of and opened the door before the man could knock again.


    There, a slightly plump man with a gray mustache and hair donning a tight uniform was standing while sweating profusely.


    ¡°Are you talking about what happened in the lower district?¡± asked Illyan as he stared at the man with only a slightly opened door, playing a cautious and fragile man.


    ¡°Oh, you already know. Then it will be much easier to explain on the way. Please, let¡¯s go!¡± The man was hurrying him up as he prepared to jump on his horse.


    The horse was further down the road away from his house, and its reins were held by several subordinates of the man.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that dangerous right now? Moreover, you didn¡¯t show any type of identification. How do I know you are telling the truth?¡± Illyan asked with ''concern''.


    The man turned around with a glare. Illyan¡¯s words were quite logical, but the man didn¡¯t take it that way. He reached into his uniform and took a certain token.


    ¡°My name is Cornelius Baraste, and I am here to represent the Mayor as the constable of Winterfrost Town owing to the small problem in the slums. You don¡¯t need to worry much, esteemed physician, as the mayor is gracious and promised the compensation of two silver coins per each saved life of his soldiers,¡± the man said with a slightly proud and dignified tone as he hoped this would be enough to assure the young man in front of him.


    Illyan widened his eyes at this. He just said it for the sake of playing his identity. He could guess who this man was even without a token.


    He certainly didn¡¯t expect that the constable would mistake his question for greed. But hearing the amount of money he could make, Illyan gladly accepted this.


    Seeing him suddenly agree so readily, the constable snorted in his heart.


    ¡®All physicians are the same.¡¯ With that thought, he jumped on the horse and prepared to leave.


    ¡°Wait a moment, I will take some things with me,¡± Illyan said as he went back to the house.


    ¡°Alright. However, be at haste, sir. We don¡¯t have time to lose!¡±


    The constable yelled out from a distance just as Illyan closed his door.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening, Kaoran?¡± Cara asked with concern.


    ¡°Did you forget? I am a physician. I need to go treat the people. Don¡¯t worry, the danger should be gone already. Unfortunately, the house tour will have to wait a bit,¡± Illyan explained as he quickly ran into the laboratory to take out one small suitcase that was left there on the table.


    The suitcase contained many tools that were a must for physicians in the terrain. Vael gave him these too with the laboratory equipment, which was very convenient for Illyan.


    ¡°Oh, let¡¯s hope that¡¯s true,¡± Garan nodded with fear flashing in his eyes. He was closest out of the four and knew what kind of danger could be lurking out there.


    ¡°Don¡¯t dawdle here. Let¡¯s leave since it¡¯s rude to stay here,¡± Nord said to Terren and others as they stood up.


    ¡­¡­..


    With haste, the group of soldiers guided Illyan through the town¡¯s streets. Only the constable was on a horse, though, and so they had to follow on foot.


    The town looked completely desolated, and they didn¡¯t meet any citizens on their way. The mayor¡¯s forces had already made a warning that everyone outside near the incident would be heavily punished.


    Not that many planned to go there at this time. After all, even the buildings weren¡¯t spared, and the entire place was wrecked. If someone accidentally met one of the perpetrators, then dying would be certain. Not to mention that some people would take advantage of the chaos to make a mess.


    ¡°What exactly happened? I heard some rumors but am not sure if it is true,¡± Illyan asked as he looked ''astoundingly'' around. He did this for the simple prevention of them finding him suspicious.


    ¡°Doctor, I believe sometimes it is better to let some questions go unanswered,¡± said the constable with a side-eye.


    Illyan nodded ''meekly'' as if understanding the underlying warning or rather threat and turned silent for the rest of the way.


    In the end, they finally got closer to the place where the fight ensued. At first, only a few buildings had some hints of destruction on them, but as they got even closer, they saw the pure destruction.


    Some of the buildings looked as if they fell apart from an earthquake while others seemed to be scorched by fire. The place was completely silent, adding even more to the eerie atmosphere.


    Count in the horrible stench that was oozing out in the air, and the soldiers that were guiding Illyan seemed to be wholly disturbed.


    ¡°Ew, this smell is disgusting¡­ I don¡¯t remember that dead bodies smell like this. Maybe I am getting too old for this¡­¡± One of them muttered, which Illyan promptly overheard.


    ¡®Hmm, fresh bodies certainly don¡¯t smell like this. Even if they are several hours old. The smell is perpetuating the entire space, so it is unlikely to be from one source, which means the troll¡¯s body is also unlikely¡­ Then it should be the undead bodies which Aziro moved around¡­¡¯


    Making an educated guess, he looked around for some kind of proof. In the end, his acute sense of smell managed to distinguish between different smells, and he noticed that most of these smells were originating from the bottom of the rubble.


    It seemed that some undead were buried under all of that during the fight against the mountain troll and Ezekiel.


    ¡®However¡­¡¯ Other than that, Illyan didn¡¯t find any other bodies, which was odd since he was aware that many more people died¡­


    ¡®They were collected, huh¡­¡¯ He just shook his head internally and didn¡¯t think too much about it. After all, he finally found out why they were collected.


    And that was to be later on turned into undead. But probably not all of them belonged to just Aziro. Else, they wouldn¡¯t export them from the town¡­


    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    As he thought about that, he suddenly stopped as there was a sudden depression of the land in front of them.


    The horse of the constable neighed and refused to get any closer, so he could only get down reluctantly. Everyone else also looked nervous when they looked down.


    There, several buildings were buried together with their owners. And underneath it were the remains of the arena.


    ¡®Am I supposed to go there fishing for survivors?¡¯ Illyan glanced at the constable who entrusted his horse to one of the soldiers strutting in some direction.


    He definitely didn¡¯t plan on playing hero here. In the first place, he expected that he was supposed to save the soldiers. Isn¡¯t this literally confessing that they were part of this underground arena?


    ¡°Isn¡¯t this the infamous arena? What deal do we have here?¡± So he asked innocently.


    This made the constable glare at him with annoyance.


    ¡°The mayor wanted to raid the arena during the event because of its illegal nature, and our soldiers went into a skirmish with the gang members inside. That was before the land collapsed,¡± he explained with forced patience.


    ¡°I see, I see. The mayor really values justice and the lives of his people,¡± Illyan nodded as he kneaded his chin.


    ¡°Mr. Cornelius!¡±


    Just then, from a distance, a loud call resounded as another officer called to him. The man was on the other side of the depression standing at its edge, waiting for them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Cornelius turned his head and prompted his subordinates and Illyan to follow him.


    They quickly circumvented the hole and met the officer on the other side. There, another batch of soldiers were currently diving down the hole and were saving the people inside that were still alive.


    The entire scene looked unreal to a normal person as the screams of agony and despair made the air around somber.


    Some of the less firm soldiers couldn¡¯t bear the sight of crushed limbs and went to retch to the side, while others were also visibly shaken.


    ¡°Where is physician Perus?¡± Illyan expected the old man to be on the scene already. After all, being one physician, treating all of them would be difficult. Especially since some of them needed to be treated as soon as possible.


    The officer looked at him and then noticed the bearing of an erudite person. He connected the dots together and greeted him.


    ¡°Greetings, Doctor Kaoran. Currently, Doctor Perus is-¡±


    However, before he could finish, Cornelius cut him off.


    ¡°He is outside of the town for the moment and won¡¯t be here on time. That¡¯s why we needed to implore you, sir. Please, don¡¯t waste any more time! We need to save them!¡±


    Seeing that the man was already fed up with him, Illyan just sneered in his heart knowing that Perus definitely wasn¡¯t outside the town. He was actually here before the fight even began¡­


    ¡®I guess he was hurt or better, finding his own doom here.¡¯


    Illyan saw Perus treating some of the fighters in the arena, so he was sure that the mayor was in cahoots with other forces, and now he was forced to treat the ¡®soldiers¡¯. One glance was enough for him to know that most of them were from the Venomous Viper


    Gang.


    There were even some robed men. These got much better treatment as other robed men splashed some contents of liquid on them only for the wounds to heal at a visible rate. Other soldiers were wide-eyed when they saw this sorcery.


    However, some with pure hearts wanted to chastise the men for wasting something so precious on small wounds while some of their comrades-in-arms were having their entrails hanging from their chests.


    Fortunately for him, others quickly stopped them before he could do anything and dragged him away.


    Illyan, who saw this, just shook his head.


    Without any more delay, he took new gloves on his hands and started with the most wounded man. He opened his case and started doing his magic as his hands moved at high speed with such precision that other soldiers could only watch in awe.


    Seeing some of the soldiers just watching, he barked some of the orders at them without turning his head as he began operating.


    Of course, he gave them relatively easy-to-follow orders for patients that weren¡¯t in immediate jeopardy of their lives.


    Time passed, and Illyan¡¯s robe got completely stained by blood. Some people didn¡¯t survive the treatment as they were too hurt, but that was just a minority. His rate of success was great as he saved others at high speed.


    Eventually, he noticed a stare at him. He was aware of people staring at him once in a while, but this one felt uncomfortable, so he turned his eyes to look at the person.


    Then, he just nodded and bowed a little before he turned back to his work, his heart beating painfully in his chest.


    The man who was staring at him for a moment was actually Aziro, who decided to monitor the treatment of his subordinates. They would be willing to kill even him if he wasn¡¯t careful enough, let alone their weakened colleagues¡­


    Because of that, he decided to postpone his rest.


    Suddenly, two of the soldiers came out of the rubble holding one man. The man was heavily injured with a sunken chest, but Illyan could see that if he was quick enough, he could save his life.


    The soldiers also realized this as they brought the man right to him.


    However, the man who was unconscious until now finally regained his clarity as he groggily looked around. Because of that, he accidentally made eye contact with Illyan.


    Then his eyes widened.


    Illyan also froze for a moment. Then his eyes turned ice-cold.


    ¡°You can go now. I will take care of him.¡±


    ¡°N-no...¡±


    The man wanted to refuse, to ask for help, but Illyan stopped him as he hushed the men away.


    ¡°Quickly go look for others. If I am lucky, I will be able to save him.¡± Then Illyan started the ¡®treatment¡¯. The soldiers also didn¡¯t think much before they returned to the ruins.


    ¡°Y-you... It is really you...¡± The man stared at him in horror. The last time he saw Illyan was when he was scarred and bald, so he was confused and horrified.


    This was the gatekeeper inside the arena. The one that let Illyan in and out of the arena. They didn¡¯t have any conflict at that moment, but the moment Illyan decided to do what he did, it was destined for them to be enemies.


    In truth, the reason why the man was so heavily injured was actually because he met Illyan when he tried to sneak out through the gate. The man was ordered to keep everyone inside, so he attacked. It was at that moment when he made a deep eye contact with Illyan and remembered his unique red eyes with golden hue.


    Illyan, who had his hands full at that time, could only kick the man away. This made his chest collapse. For a normal person, that would be the end, but he was lucky to survive.


    ¡°You c-can¡¯t kill me in front of others... Please, I won¡¯t tell anyone...¡± He started whimpering as he begged for his life. He thought he was safe when they finally took him out, only to be thrown into the hands of a demon.


    ¡°Maybe...¡± Illyan said enigmatically as he was doing some treatment to him. To most people, it seemed as if he was trying his best, but he was just delaying.


    Illyan was just waiting for the opportunity as he stared at the snotty face of the man with a placid expression. His eyes turned so cold and empty that the man felt chills. He wanted to scream but couldn¡¯t. He wanted to move but couldn¡¯t. He could only whimper.


    ¡°Sir! There is a survivor from that decimated squad! He is currently unconscious, but maybe he has some information on the enemy!¡±


    Suddenly, someone came on the horse and called out to Cornelius, who was just watching.


    When he heard this, he got interested.


    ¡°Get me to him!¡± he barked out as he once again got on his horse prepared to leave.


    However, an unexpected company decided to leave with him.


    ¡°Take me too,¡± Aziro said with a shallow voice.


    ¡°Of course, sir.¡±


    Then he turned to Illyan for a second but didn¡¯t call him in the end.


    He saw Illyan tending to the subordinates of both the mayor and Varel the Viper, so calling him over now could cause some degree of unrest.


    ¡°Please call Doctor Kaoran once he finishes tending to people here.¡±


    After saying that, they soon left with haste.


    Others stared at the commotion and started to whisper to each other.


    Unfortunately, this happened to be the worst luck for the gatekeeper.


    The moment they put their eyes away, Illyan struck like a viper. It was ironic considering the target was a member of the Venomous Viper Gang.


    ¡°Ugh...¡± The man wanted to groan, but Illyan clamped his mouth with his hand as he was whispering to him with a constant tone.


    ¡°Shhhh, it will be fine. The pain will go away as soon as the remedy is ready.¡±


    Illyan whispered as he put his hand on the sunken chest. He was pressing it slowly down and down, making the man feel extreme pain.


    Because the ribs and the sternum were already broken, Illyan could move his hand deeper until he felt the organs.


    ¡°Hmmmppp!¡± The tears of pain were rolling down from the man¡¯s eyes as he struggled, but he couldn¡¯t muster any strength.


    In the end...


    The man literally heard the rupturing noise inside of his body as his organs couldn¡¯t endure the pressure anymore.


    The pain was excruciating.


    However, soon his vision was turning black as the pain was becoming numb.


    Illyan just watched impassively as he put his hand away from the chest. Then he put his hand away from the mouth and closed the man¡¯s eyes as if he was just a patient who he failed to save.


    However, his eyes were anything but compassionate.


    When the soldiers who came back from the rubble with another man noticed this one wasn¡¯t breathing anymore, Illyan nodded to them.


    ¡°Cause of death: failure of organs from the trauma on his chest...¡±

 108 - The Smiling Devil

    Once he finished talking, he quickly took the man they were holding into his care. This man was also unconscious, and Illyan didn¡¯t plan on waking him up.


    His left hand was completely crushed by the rubble, and Illyan decided that amputation was the only way to save him.


    After treating this man, he went around and treated the rest of the gangsters and a few of the real soldiers who were helping out in the arena during the event.


    Once he found that most of the people were already stabilized, he was told to hurry up to the squad leader who was a few streets away.


    Someone led him to the street, which he immediately recognized as the place where he and Ezekiel had a death fight.


    There, over a dozen men lay on the ground, unmoving with their eyes wide open.


    However, nobody was giving these even a simple glance as they were surrounding the man in much more intricate armor, indicating his status as squad leader.


    Unfortunately, his lofty look was no more as his body was twisted into weird angles.


    It was obvious that even if the man was alive, it would be just a temporary occurrence.


    Illyan slowed down when he noticed the man was waking up.


    He saw the others taking out the leather flask full of water and trying to let him drink. Illyan was watching that placidly, knowing that they were dooming the guy because of that, but didn¡¯t stop them. After all, if he died, then his secret would be safer.


    Letting a person who had a broken spine drink water was something that could easily kill him. It could aggravate his injury or choke him as spinal injuries can impair the ability to swallow¡­


    Unfortunately, Aziro didn¡¯t just stand by.


    ¡°Stop.¡± His voice was strong as he stared at the soldier who planned to let the squad leader drink the water.


    ¡°But, sir¡­¡± Before he could finish, a spear bone flashed in front of his head. Not even a second after, it easily passed through with some blood and brain matter gushing out.


    Other soldiers were horrified by this scene as they watched the man¡¯s body plop on the ground.


    ¡°If I say something, then do it,¡± Aziro said as he then turned his attention to the squad leader.


    He looked delirious and didn¡¯t even notice what just happened.


    ¡°It hurts so much, urgh¡­ I want to move to a different¡­ugh¡­ position.¡± The man seemed to struggle, but it showed up only on his face as his body didn¡¯t listen to him.


    He was paralyzed from his neck down, so even if he survived, he would probably drive his family to poverty. Seeing that, the soldiers felt pity but didn¡¯t dare to stand out to say or do something after seeing the fate of their colleague.


    ¡°What happened here?¡± Aziro asked indifferently, without caring for the squad leader¡¯s discomfort.


    The man turned his eyes to Aziro, but his eyes were hazy as he just muttered to himself.


    ¡°We heard a big commotion here¡­¡± He gasped for air as he started explaining.


    ¡°However¡­ When we came here, it was already over¡­¡±


    ¡°What was over?¡± Cornelius asked as he felt his body tense up in nervousness.


    ¡°The fight¡­Cough¡­ Cough.¡± The man fell into a coughing fit as the blood was rising through his throat and flowed across his mouth on his neck.


    ¡°What a waste¡­¡± Illyan heard Aziro mutter as he took out one vial with blue content and forcibly let it slide down the man¡¯s throat.


    ¡°Huh..huh..huh..¡± They waited for a moment before his breathing finally got even and he could talk again.


    ¡°Who fought whom?¡± Cornelius asked.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ Gray-skinned man¡­ He was monstrous. Weird monster limbs were protruding from his body¡­¡±


    The man gasped for air as he explained.


    Aziro narrowed his eyes. He knew that Ezekiel ran away since he probably didn¡¯t plan on fighting him to the death, but why would he pick another fight after being injured?


    ¡®Did he want to catch that guy?¡¯ Remembering the guy that let the troll go wild made him gloomy.


    ¡°The other one¡­ When we finally came here, he stood in the middle of the street. Covered in grime and blood¡­ Next to him were the body parts of the second man who was throwing some kind of gray mist to escape. The tail, mantis blade¡­ Cough¡­ Even arm and leg. It lay in the puddle of blood while that man stood there¡­¡±


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    For the first time, the squad leader showed an expression of horror. Meanwhile, Aziro furrowed his eyes as he looked around. Unfortunately, everything was swept by Illyan, so he didn¡¯t find any of Ezekiel''s body parts.


    ¡°At first, we thought that it would be easy to subjugate him as the man was heavily injured¡­ He even had his intestines in his palms¡­ But he just laughed as his body recovered at high speed¡­ When he finally lifted his head at us, it was the most dreadful thing I have ever seen¡­ His mouth was twisted, and his smile went from ear to ear with a bloody maw where its teeth were growing at a rapid pace¡­ Its nails were also long and sharp¡­ But the worst were its cold eyes full of madness¡­ He massacred us with a smile on his face¡­ It was truly¡­ The devil¡­¡±


    With that, he breathed his last as he closed his eyes in peace. He said everything he knew and felt he fulfilled his duty.


    But the others had their breath stuck in their throats as they listened to him.


    Most of them were just normal soldiers and were in no way stronger than the man that just passed away. If they were part of the squad, they would be already dead.


    And as they were mostly uneducated and superstitious, this caused a huge ripple in their hearts.


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡±


    ¡°A devil¡­¡±


    ¡°What do we do¡­¡±


    Cornelius knew he should stop them and berate them for their stupidity, but he felt the lump in his throat stopping him from doing so. After all, he was aware of who Ezekiel was. And someone who could literally tear him apart with a smile still plastered on their face¡­ It couldn¡¯t be human.


    Even Aziro felt a bit shaken. He thought the man was responsible, sure. But he thought it was through some plan and trickery. Not through strength. He wasn¡¯t as arrogant as to think that he was the only one who was strong as Ezekiel, but it was alarming to find out that someone of that strength would visit this barren kingdom. Not only that, but he didn¡¯t feel any fluctuations from the man. It was as if he didn¡¯t take mana into his body.


    Only Warlords could clash with them without mana and mind power. But then Warlords definitely didn¡¯t have this kind of ability to recover.


    And why did they fight in the end?


    ¡®No¡­ Maybe it is exactly because of that regeneration that Ezekiel was interested. He is a biomancer, after all.¡¯ Aziro ignored everything around as he pondered.


    After a while, when the soldiers finally recovered from the man¡¯s last words, they decided to collect the bodies for the cremation. The constable, however, beckoned them not to do so after seeing Aziro¡¯s glare.


    After this day, Aziro lost most of his human undeads and was in need of new bodies, which were perfect. The soldiers weren¡¯t content but couldn¡¯t do anything against it.


    Seeing that it was over, Illyan decided to just wait for his payment as he didn¡¯t have anything else to do here.


    However, the constable didn¡¯t seem to be in the mood as he just threw a money pouch at him.


    ¡°It should be enough for your services. You can keep it.¡±


    After saying that, he walked off with urgency with Aziro.


    Illyan just stood there for a moment before he started to count the money he got. All in all, there were exactly fifty silver coins inside.


    Today, he saved around twenty people, so he got ten more silver coins than he should have.


    ¡°I am quite lucky¡­¡± Illyan muttered to himself.


    The only thing that kept him on edge was the squad leader who leaked a lot of information about him. His strength, his recovery rate, and even his ability to use his nails which could be used as surprise attacks. The only comfort was that they didn¡¯t know that it was exactly him.


    They only knew it was the bald man with scars on his face.


    Illyan was glad that he put the effort into his disguise or he would already be exposed by now.


    He sighed as he looked at the pouch and then at the surroundings. However, the destruction didn¡¯t have anything to do with him now.


    All work was done here, and he didn¡¯t have any reason to stay. Knowing that, he turned on his heels and went back to his manor.


    A day and a half had passed since then and Illyan did use that time to efface any possible traces that could lead to him. He had a strong urge to isolate himself in the hidden room and look at his spoils, but he didn¡¯t fall for the temptation.


    Caleb still didn¡¯t wake up, so he didn¡¯t have to be in a hurry. It looked like the medicine was really strong that it took him out for so long.


    He decided that he would test it later on if he could replicate it.


    However, for now, he would pretend to be a good citizen.


    Thanks to that, he could finally finish some of the miscellaneous work he was delaying because he was always busy.


    He went out in the town to splurge the new money he got. While a lot of stalls and stores were closed because of the incident, it was mostly only those close to the slums. In better districts, the situation was better and the mayor called off his command of not going out yesterday.


    Illyan decided to buy several big chunks of meat to fill the missing nutrients his body was lacking and some other ingredients. Mushrooms, vegetables, fruit, eggs¡­ Everything.


    The more he lived, the more he realized that life wasn¡¯t only about unseasoned meat and porridges. He decided that it was time to learn how to cook properly.


    Unfortunately, while there were some recipe books in the library, they were not professional in any way. Illyan didn¡¯t care and decided to learn by himself. The food he ate in the cafeteria for months completely numbed his taste buds, and he wanted something new.


    He also decided to buy a lot of gardening tools, seeds, and some fresh herbs in hopes of cultivating them.


    Tending to his small garden was quite a calming experience. Not to mention, those herbs were useful for him.


    ¡®Should I read some Botanic Books?¡¯ Since he decided to be serious about it, he would read some books about it too.


    Once he bought everything, he went to visit Koran. Once in a while, they would always meet and discuss mathematics. After all, that was a deal.


    They had a debate for around two hours before Illyan left. Once again, he learned something new, but he wasn¡¯t really happy knowing the man had ulterior motives.


    The moment he left, he decided to still visit someone. The old man Vael, who already retired. He considered visiting the man since he gave him almost the entire laboratory. And it shouldn¡¯t be too fruitless either. After studying medicine and herbs from different angles, Illyan found himself asking questions that couldn¡¯t be answered in the books.


    Thus, he decided to visit the old man and ask him.


    Vael was pleased to meet him and had a very long debate with him that answered all of his questions. Once he got to know Illyan was also interested in botanics, he recommended some books and even gave him his recipes for fertilizers and the place where he collected the best dirt for the plants.


    All in all, today¡¯s harvest was grandiose.


    However, after taking the books about botanics from the library, he started to hear some rumors which were rapidly spreading.


    ¡®Who leaked the information? Haaah¡­¡¯ Illyan could only sigh in defeat.


    The rumors were about the Smiling Devil who slaughtered the soldiers of the town like livestock with a huge smile on its face while doing so¡­

 109 - Appraisal Of The Loot

    Once he returned home, he sighed. He overheard several conversations about the ¡®Smiling Devil,¡¯ which meant the rumor spread fast. It was a little uncomfortable for him at first.


    But then, he realized it could be to his benefit. No one could guess that he and the Smiling Devil were one and the same person, and the ¡®smiling¡¯ part now became even more misleading. Anyone who heard this title would instinctively think of a smiling man or monster. However, Illyan didn¡¯t smile often.


    This could misdirect the ones looking for him.


    Hopefully, that would be so¡­


    Just as he thought about it, he decided that it was time to go to the hidden room and check on his loot.


    To be honest, he was thinking about it the entire time, and only with his strong willpower could he focus on something different.


    So, now that he allowed himself to check them out, he was so excited that he almost hopped into the hidden room. Inside was still the unconscious Caleb, whom Illyan also checked to see if he wasn¡¯t just pretending to be unconscious or whether his health hadn¡¯t deteriorated.


    Just in case, Illyan created a small nutritious pill that he pushed into his mouth.


    The pill itself only had the most important nutrients and didn¡¯t have any energy. That meant that Caleb¡¯s body would have to burn its own tissues to survive. That was something Illyan aimed for, as the fat and muscles would be used first, which would make Caleb weaker.


    Even if he was confident in winning against him, there was no need to test it out.


    Once he made sure Caleb wouldn¡¯t be a threat, he took out the things he collected.


    It wasn¡¯t exactly wise to have them in the same room with the captive, but Illyan didn¡¯t want to take them out in fear of someone finding them. Even though he knew it was too paranoid, he didn¡¯t want to take the risk. Rather, the risk of Caleb getting these things and using them against him scared him less.


    He put away Caleb¡¯s inventory that he had already inspected before.


    The full-body armor, which now missed the chestplate, the longsword, and the set of throwing knives.


    Instead, he took one of the barbs that had been stuck in his body before and inspected it.


    Each was around the size of thirty centimeters and was smooth and sharp at its tip. Illyan played with it in his hands before deciding that they could be used in combat. Maybe he could find another purpose for them later on if the combat use would not be effective.


    Then, he finally turned his attention to the prized belongings of the apprentice magister whom he killed in the arena. While the man wasn¡¯t that hard to take care of, it was mostly because he depended too heavily on his attacks while not putting up any defense.


    However, when Illyan thought about that attack, he felt shivers going down his spine. While he could regenerate, it depended on how severe the injury was. He was pretty sure that if he melted here and there, he wouldn¡¯t be able to recover in months, let alone in the moment of the fight.


    When he started to get through the things, the first thing that caught his attention was a small pouch. There were several purple coins he didn¡¯t recognize and small pitch-black rocks that were somewhat familiar to him.


    He guessed that the coins were currency outside of the kingdom, but he didn¡¯t understand why the rocks were in the same pouch.


    Were they a type of currency too?


    What surprised him was that after looking at them for a long time, he started to feel small pulsations coming from them. The pulsations were definitely different from the spiritual energy, and so Illyan could calmly guess that it was mana pulsation.


    Since he couldn¡¯t guess what they were for, he turned his attention to other things.


    First, there were three vials full of green liquid. Illyan saw the same vials used by the acolyte to heal other acolytes. While they were doing so, Illyan was secretly eavesdropping and looking at the results of the healing.


    And his opinion was¡­ If solely compared to his regeneration, then it was subpar. However, he never saw any other medicine that could achieve this level of recovery. Of course, it was probably primarily for healing physical wounds, and it wouldn¡¯t serve as a universal panacea, but it was still useful.


    Next, he found some incense sticks and powders. He already knew that one pouch of the powder was the troll sedative, so he let it be and then opened the second one.


    It took him just a whiff to feel the difference.


    His pupils dilated as his five senses were strengthened to a certain extent. He felt his perception of the surroundings extremely slow before it gradually dissipated, leaving an empty feeling in his heart.


    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡®What was that?¡¯ Illyan pondered. Then he remembered the day he went through the baptism. It felt a little similar. It was a strong perception of energy. However, this time it wasn¡¯t Cold Energy, but probably mana.


    ¡®Interesting¡­¡¯


    Thinking so, he looked at the rest of the loot. He left the best for last. Those were all written recordings the acolyte had on himself.


    There was one book that Illyan recognized as a diary, two other books with black covers, and the rest were mostly loose parchment scrolls.


    He looked at the first parchment and read the content.


    They were notes. Probably of the acolyte. They were written in the Oberuan language, which was the common language of the continent, but Illyan had already learned it, so he didn¡¯t have a problem at all.


    ¡®The Mana Circulation Method works properly only if the user has mana talent of at least level five. However, depending only on mind while circulating the mana could cause high depletion at short notice and could even cause harm in the body if not careful. Thus, the delicate combination of the two should be used. Mind as the driving power and Mana Circulation Method as the guiding element driving it safely through the body¡­¡¯


    As Illyan read, he felt his blood boil and felt he found a golden vein.


    ¡®Each strand of mana that is absorbed needs to be purified and refined before being carefully embroidered into Mana Nexus. The Nexus needs to be built in a dome shape where every strand of mana leans on others effectively supporting each other. Only once you become a Magister will the Mana Nexus solidify and be able to recover mana automatically.¡¯


    The man¡¯s notes were the culmination of years of hard work. It was obvious that the acolytes didn¡¯t have proper education and had to do everything through trial and error. Or, like Illyan, they could kill someone and steal their notes, as probably everyone had to record their knowledge.


    Illyan finally understood how the power system of the robed men worked.


    They absorbed the mana in the air or other materials rich in mana and put it in the artificial container called Mana Nexus, also called Mana Sea. This container should be built a little under the navel in the body where the energy can flow equally through each body part.


    They also strengthened their minds to manipulate the mana easier.


    Illyan looked at other parchments. When he unfolded one of them, his mind immediately stung with pain, but his mouth couldn¡¯t help but curl up.


    At the top was written in big letters ¡®Mind Strengthening Runes.¡¯


    Underneath were some kinds of symbols. These were probably what was mentioned as runes. They were simply written with elegant calligraphy and didn¡¯t seem special. But when Illyan looked at them, they seemed extremely difficult to look at.


    The individual lines started to wave and even with Illyan¡¯s golden eyes, he couldn¡¯t remember them!


    After the pain reached a certain threshold, he turned his eyes away from them. The pain didn¡¯t affect his body but rather his mind. Because of that, he felt heavy brain fog and couldn¡¯t focus for a moment on anything.


    Then he noticed other instructions under the runes which explained how to gradually strengthen the mind with these.


    He put it aside for now and looked at the other scroll. After another unfolding, he saw other symbols covering the parchment. This time, however, he didn¡¯t feel pain.


    There were many more symbols written there, but they were much sloppier. Some of them were obvious copies of the Mind Strengthening Runes but were visibly less mysterious. Then there were others and some notes on them.


    Illyan guessed that the acolyte was trying something with the runes. Either learning how to use them or at least understanding them.


    For now, he didn¡¯t go through it since he didn¡¯t understand it and there were no notes. They were probably in the diary.


    So, he looked at the last parchment. This one was of higher quality than the other ones. When Illyan looked inside, there were the same symbols as on the previous parchment. The difference was that they were connected in difficult ways, creating certain geometrical shapes. At the top of the parchment was written ¡®Blight.¡¯


    There was nothing else.


    This made Illyan frown, but after several minutes of observing, he didn¡¯t find anything special, so he decided to let it go.


    The last two books were probably something even more interesting.


    He browsed through the first one and found similar runes and geometric symbols, but this time they were divided into individual pages and explained. At the end, it showed a three-dimensional model of the spell called ¡®Barrier.¡¯


    ¡®Spell Model?¡¯ Illyan read the description of the spell and was thrilled.


    ¡®Zero rank spell model of standard quality. It generates pure mana in a thin but wide shape enveloping the user and defending him from any threat from the outside, be it physical or magical. Its durability depends on how much mana is sent into it, but once the attacks reach beyond the first rank,


    the spell won¡¯t be able to endure.¡¯


    It was a spell for defending.


    ¡®Hmm? Why didn¡¯t he use it though?


    If he used this, he had a chance to survive¡­¡¯


    Illyan pondered about it before he realized something.


    Maybe these spell models were not the ones he had learned already but rather these that he was just learning. After all, having these books on your body after learning them was useless.


    To prove his theory, he looked at the other books. If the book didn¡¯t have the spell that the man used against him, then he was probably right.


    Illyan nodded to himself when he opened the second book. The spell the acolyte used was some kind of acidic liquid, but this one was named Mana Rope.


    It used pure mana to generate a thin rope of mana to bind enemies. However, this time it wasn¡¯t a spell of standard quality but of grand quality. He didn¡¯t know what that meant, but hopefully he would once he read the diary.


    Actually, he hoped that the diary had a lot of answers to his questions. After all, the only thing he knew about the robed men came from Korin, who wasn¡¯t trustworthy at all.


    Thus, he put everything away carefully, fearing that he could destroy the precious parchment, and took the diary into his hands.


    The diary was small and dirty. He even saw dried blood in it. He was sure that the man had used the diary for a long time.


    He opened it and started to read the first page. Everything was in the Oberuan language, so he didn¡¯t have a problem with reading at all.


    ¡®In the year 5371 of the Oberuan Calendar, I, Armen, was born in the slums of Arkravav''s capital Yihla. I lived there like a rat for nine years until I was kidnapped by what I now consider a ¡®home¡¯. Black Obsidian¡­ One of the many organizations in northern Oberuan.¡¯


    ¡®When they took us with other kids to their headquarters, they used the tool for affinity measurement and then divided us into two groups. I have never seen the kids from the other group since then. It took me years to realize they were kids with insufficient talent in mana and so were then trained into knights and when they finally used up all of their potential in the body, they were turned into undead for the Darkstone War¡­¡¯

 110 - Armens Diary

    When Illyan read to this point, he narrowed his eyes.


    Just this little text gave him so much information.


    Black Obsidian? Darkstone War?


    Illyan felt a strong reaction in his mind.


    ¡®The damn war has been going on for almost a millennium. Just for the sake of some mines, several races are fighting others to the death. I lost everything because of it once my parents died due to starvation caused by the prolonged war. And now, it was my time to serve in the war. I spent five years in the Obsidian¡¯s facility, where I studied magic as a Novice Magician. The day I finally reached the first rank of Acolyte was the day I was dispatched for compulsory military service¡­.¡¯


    ¡®I never understood what we were fighting for when I was younger, but now I am fully aware. Years ago, humans discovered, at the border of their biggest force called the Arkravav Empire, a mine. Not just any mine, but one that was full of minerals tainted with profound darkness. I don¡¯t know if the higher-ups know the reason for that, but it is not important.


    What is important is that because of this event in the far history, I ended up as a corpse retriever on the frontline and almost lost my life several times. The Black Obsidian was one of the organizations that was created to support the empire in the war. We are the cannon fodder that creates other cannon fodder through necromancy.¡¯


    Illyan opened his eyes wide. So, the reason why they needed so many bodies was because of war¡­


    ¡°Since that time, I was never the same. I was soon relocated after two years. Unfortunately, the place wasn¡¯t that much better as I was forced to work with the Necromorphs in the ancient city of Naaza¡­¡¯


    ¡®I remember that name¡­¡¯ Illyan had already heard of this city. It was the city that was mentioned during his interview for apprenticeship. A city that was forever covered in mist.


    ¡®2 January 5387 of Oberuan Calendar


    I was so stressed because of those ugly creatures that I decided I would write a diary from this moment on. Firstly, I will write down in short my biography up till now. I heard from somewhere that it was great to relieve stress...¡¯


    ¡®27 May 5387 of Oberuan Calendar


    My luck turned there as I actually managed to obtain a small inheritance from an inscriptionist! I am so happy. While I didn¡¯t use many magic scrolls in my life as they were damn expensive, I am happy that it is so at this moment. But I know that I am not exactly gifted and needed to choose one spell to perfect¡­


    ¡®29 May 5387 of Oberuan Calendar


    I chose the spell blight. It was for one simple reason. My colleague managed to buy one of grand quality. If I manage to reverse engineer that magic scroll, I would be able to live like a king. It felt a shame to kill someone I understood so well. Especially in this horrible place where most people were hostile to us. But a man had to do what he had to do¡­¡¯


    ¡®8 June 5389 of Oberuan Calendar


    The work of an inscriptionist is harder than expected. Maybe if I didn¡¯t have to reverse engineer the damn scroll, I would be already done¡­¡¯


    ¡®29 October 5393 of Oberuan Calendar


    My luck is horse today. I almost died to a stage two mutant. If not for some experts quickly dispatching it from this world, the city would be demolished. Some idiots didn¡¯t clean up the bodies which caused them to merge into this disaster. This is exactly the reason why nobody in Arkravav wants to have anything to do with this damn place. Only little slaves like me have to work while hoping that you won¡¯t turn into a monster the next day. Fortunately, the mutagen in the mist still didn¡¯t make any contact with me, so I am safe for now¡­


    ¡®9 June 5395 of Oberuan Calendar


    I finally reached rank two Acolyte. From Novice Magician to rank two Acolyte, it took me over fifteen years of the culmination of mana. It could be said to be an average result. But I am not content with it.


    If I succeeded with the inscriptionist¡¯s inheritance, I would not lack any resources and could reach the same height in less than five years. Why am I so miserable? I am still twenty-four years old, but after I reach my thirties, my body will start to deteriorate and it will become harder and harder to break through to the Magister Rank. Only then would the mana become one with the body, thus prolonging one¡¯s lifespan by several decades¡­¡¯


    ¡®12 December 5399 of Oberuan Calendar


    Finally, I was relocated again. This time, the place seems to be Vanaras Peninsula. I don¡¯t know much about it. But I am pretty sure it is much better than shitty Naaza¡­¡¯


    ¡®15 January 5400 of Oberuan Calendar


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The superior I got this time is a complete lunatic. This Aziro guy already spent twenty years in this place while hunting after some phantom enemy. However, he is a pseudo-magister, not someone I could mess with. If only I could become an inscriptionist. Even Aziro would have to fawn upon me¡­¡¯


    ¡®24 April 5401 of Oberuan Calendar


    It seems that the one Aziro is going after is a dark elf. How did he get here through the Arkravav Empire? Who knows. But it seems that nobody outside this kingdom is aware of it. My guess is that he is a deserter from the war. But what is he doing here? Well, this place is called Playfield for a reason. It is not like you would destroy any precious resources by destroying the environment and nobody could retaliate here either. Maybe Ezekiel came here to experiment with something dangerous¡­¡¯


    Illyan quickly browsed through the entire life story of the man named Armen until he finally reached the last entry.


    ¡®21 March 5411 of Oberuan Calendar


    He is at it again. Ezekiel will probably try to disrupt the business that Aziro built with Caleb after several decades. Last time, he managed to sneak in and kill the troll we so painstakingly captured after so long a time. It was quite a blow to the business but not so much as the slaughter he caused when we came on another expedition in hopes of catching another troll.


    Aziro is unwilling to call for reinforcements, probably because Ezekiel has something he desires, which Ezekiel fully understands and exploits. This time, however, Aziro created a trap that will hopefully end this. I was scared that I would need to face Ezekiel, who was as strong as a pseudo-magister, but fortunately, I got an easy job. I just need to use Mind Numbing Powder given by Aziro to put the troll to sleep once the fight begins. Does he think the troll will escape from the chains or something? There is no way that would happen. But thanks to Aziro¡¯s paranoia, I will not need to risk my life so I am happy hahahah¡­¡¯


    From then on, there were no entries in the diary.


    Armen thought he got the best job there but in the end, he was probably the first acolyte that died there. He was also relatively young. Forty years old was quite young in Illyan¡¯s mind. Despite mentioning longevity in the diary, he couldn¡¯t even reach the full potential of a mortal''s lifespan.


    ¡®Hmm¡­Now that I think about it. Since I am thirty-one and this year is 5411, then I was born in 5380¡­¡¯


    There was a lot of information to digest from this diary, but fortunately, Illyan didn¡¯t have much problem since he could easily remember each word.


    Firstly¡­ He finally understood the situation beyond the borders of the kingdom. If he went to Arkravav Empire without knowing this, he could end up in trouble easily. Even though he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid it, he still could prepare.


    He also confirmed Aziro¡¯s and others¡¯ objective in collecting the bodies. He thought it was for personal needs, but it seemed that the amount was big enough to support even war as the hordes of undead demolished the enemies.


    There was also folded paper inside the diary full of notes about the inheritance of the Inscriptionist and Arwen¡¯s attempts at reverse engineering the Blight Magic Scroll that Illyan was holding before.


    From what Illyan understood from the descriptions, an inscriptionist was someone who could engrave a spell model onto some medium. It was mostly parchment, which then became a magic scroll. The spell also had to be permanently engraved and dissipate only when used or when the medium was destroyed to count as true Magic Scroll.


    Illyan was definitely interested in this, but no joy was found in his heart as he thought about the information of Ezekiel.


    ¡®Ezekiel¡­ Why did you come here?¡¯ He finally let go of Arwen''s things and went to look at Ezekiel''s hand and leg, which he preserved in a certain solution.


    When he took the hand out, he forcibly pulled out the black rod inserted inside. The blood squirted out as the embedded rod slowly but surely slid out.


    The first thing he noticed were the runes covering it. But they were different from the ones in the rods he already had. The shape difference aside, the ones that he took out from the wendigo were already faint without much energy, but this rod was fresh, and the runes were pulsating with power.


    He checked with the copy of runes whether he could identify the runes. And he did with some. One of the runes was named Harmony, while the other was Empowering. The purpose was obvious


    .


    Illyan could also guess that the rods were some kind of mineral, most likely the darkstone after which the millennial war was named, from the mines that Ezekiel stole from. That also explained the darkness covering him. It was the power of these rods.


    He then went into a corner where he hid the other rods and looked at their runes to compare. With the notes, he finally understood what the runes stood for.


    His face hardened the moment he did so.


    ¡®Mind Weakening Rune and Chaos Rune¡­¡¯


    Illyan was already suspicious before. But now?


    ¡°Ezekiel, I will end you in the most horrible way I could think of if it was really you¡­¡± Illyan muttered dazedly.


    The same rods but with opposite purposes. One was to strengthen the user while the other was probably for the sake of making the user a mindless beast. There could be others who could do it, but it was improbable.


    But even if it was him, Illyan would not chase after him. It could be seen as foolish since he probably had an advantage in recovery, but even so, he was sure he wouldn¡¯t be able to take out that man.


    It shouldn¡¯t be forgotten that the man overpowered him despite being quite heavily injured by Aziro in the fight before. While it didn¡¯t seem so serious, Illyan recognized the symptoms of necrosis. The fact that Ezekiel could still fight him with such ferocity was shocking even to Illyan, who was used to such a fighting style. The difference was that Illyan knew he would easily recover.


    The only reason he could land a good blow was because the man became careless. Or rather, Illyan, who managed to send out an air slash without even a bit of mana or flow, was unpredictable. Then he used the chaos to catch the tail and beat the crap out of him.


    Yet the man could easily escape even though he was missing three out of six limbs.


    And now, Illyan was sure the man would be prepared. And would fight in familiar terrain. Illyan didn¡¯t know the forest around Winterfrost Town and wasn¡¯t confident in fighting the assassin-like freak who could bisect him at the slightest mistake.


    But Illyan could wait. His raid on the underground arena was extremely successful. He got the information he needed, techniques to get stronger, and even some tools.


    Once he becomes strong enough, he would find the man and destroy him thoroughly¡­


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Suddenly a groan resounded in the hidden room.


    Illyan, who was full of dark thoughts right now, turned his head at the man who just woke up.


    His eyes shone with a cold and cruel glint.


    ¡°I almost forgot¡­ I still have one technique to obtain.¡±

 111 - Breaking Point

    ¡°Ugh¡­¡±


    He had just woken up, and the pain he felt in his body was unbearable. He felt as if the troll itself had stomped on him several times with its full weight.


    His vision was blurred as he tried to focus his eyes. Unfortunately, only faint light entered his eyes, as there were no other sources of light.


    ¡®Is it nighttime?¡¯ Thinking that since the fight was probably over and he was still alive, it meant he had to be in his bed or the infirmary inside the mayor¡¯s mansion that belonged to Perus.


    However, when Caleb wanted to move his arms, he only felt the sharp pain and clanking of the chains.


    That made his hazy mind instantly wake up with clarity.


    When his eyes finally started to focus, he noticed, despite the darkness, that he was in a place he had never been before. It almost looked like some cellar.


    Just then, he heard the sounds of feet hitting the floor slowly as someone was walking towards him.


    He wanted to raise his head but realized it was strapped to the bed he was lying on and couldn¡¯t move at all.


    ¡°Hey! Who are you?¡± He asked loudly as he felt his heartbeat pounding. Thoughts of playing dead passed through his mind, but he was aware that the man had come to him because of his groaning, so there was no way he could make a surprise attack.


    In fact, Caleb felt he couldn¡¯t even make a normal attack. He felt weakened, and pain was coursing through his body. Not to mention, he was strapped to the ¡®bed¡¯ with chains.


    ¡°Good morning, Mr. Caleb. Or rather, good afternoon. I am just a small and unimportant person with some questions for Mr. Caleb.¡± Illyan spoke at that moment as he came eye to eye with Caleb and stared down at him.


    ¡°You¡­ We don¡¯t know each other, right? There should be no grudges. Are you sure you want to offend so many people? Because once I go missing, they will definitely look for me.¡± Caleb spoke hoarsely but with forced calmness as his eyes looked around for any opportunity to run or fight back.


    ¡°It is nothing personal, Mr. Caleb. Let¡¯s just say you were unlucky. And I am already aware that Aziro and the mayor''s people are looking for you. There is no need to try to intimidate me. For now, let me just check your state. I need you to be in top shape¡­¡±


    After saying that, Illyan reached his hand towards Caleb¡¯s arm to check his pulse. Then it seemed he was focusing on something.


    However, after a little time had passed, Illyan felt sudden pricking pain in his heart as he coughed up blood which flowed through his mouth.


    Caleb stared at it with calm but cold eyes as if knowing what had happened.


    ¡°Heh, so this is the famous Venom Flow, huh? It seems like it doesn¡¯t have anything to do with venom but rather the ability to inject the flow into the enemy through contact and then destroy the body from within.¡±


    Caleb felt that victory was at his grasp for a moment, but then his expression changed. What Caleb didn¡¯t expect was for Illyan to just chuckle at the wound on his heart as he wiped the blood off his mouth with his sleeve.


    ¡°While I don¡¯t think it is a technique solely unique to your father, as this is the logical next step in the application of the flow, he is still excellent at learning it on his own.¡± Illyan muttered to himself with excitement on his face as he felt the flow wreaking havoc in his body.


    ¡°You¡­ Who are you?!¡± Caleb asked the same question he had after he woke up, but this time his voice trembled as fear spread through his body. He didn¡¯t fear fighting a strong enemy, but he feared something he couldn¡¯t fathom.


    He felt that his flow had managed to make a large incision on the target¡¯s heart, so how does he still smile so nonchalantly?


    Did he pretend? No, there was no way. The blood would pump through the incision to create an even bigger wound, making him bleed out in seconds. But the man was unfazed.


    Realizing this, Caleb¡¯s scalp was tingling.


    Hearing his screams, Illyan woke up from his reverie.


    ¡®I shouldn¡¯t waste time like this.¡¯ He looked back at Caleb, who was scared, but it was clear to Illyan that he hadn¡¯t given up on escaping.


    Given an opportunity, just like when Illyan tried to check his pulse, the man would strike just like a viper. Of course, Illyan did it on purpose as he wanted to feel the flow firsthand.


    The alien feeling in his body gave him the picture of what the flow really was.


    Now, he just had to get the technique out of Caleb¡¯s mouth.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°I believe I already answered this question of yours, Mr. Caleb. Well then¡­ We made our greetings, it is time for business. You see, I am not interested in creating a similar technique out of nothing, so I would appreciate it if you could just tell me how it works.¡±


    Illyan said as he played with something in his hand. Caleb didn¡¯t see it, but the dread he felt made him realize that he would probably not pull through this without a scratch.


    ¡°Hah, so that was your goal? And here I thought you were trying to oppose Aziro or something. Looks like you are a weakling who even needs this kind of technique¡­¡± Caleb mocked Illyan.


    However, Illyan just smiled back.


    ¡°Maybe. Maybe not. Right now, however, my strength isn¡¯t important at all as we have some hearty conversation in front of us.¡±


    Illyan lifted the knife he had been holding the entire time, which allowed Caleb to see it finally.


    ¡°You won¡¯t get anything out of me.¡± Caleb just turned his eyes away.


    ¡°There is certainly some chance of that since this is the first time I will be doing this. But it will be fun too.¡± Illyan said as he slashed through the clothes to see his chest properly.


    ¡°Ugh, do your worst.¡± But Caleb still didn¡¯t show any weakness.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Where to start?¡± Illyan pondered as he lightly moved the knife across Caleb¡¯s body. He shivered at the sensation of cold iron touching his body while his anticipation of pain made him tense and nervous.


    Then, pricking pain assaulted him. He yelped, but then he noticed that it was just a small incision.


    Looking down at his chest, he saw a small scratch as the knife¡¯s edge was painted in red. It was basically nothing to a knight like himself.


    However, his anticipation caused his body to be even more sensitive than normal.


    Meanwhile, Illyan was deeply concentrating and thinking about how to begin.


    He didn¡¯t want to mutilate him too much, as he had to do something with him later on. At the same time, he felt that the man would not choose to concede so easily.


    Illyan thought about what kind of pain was extremely uncomfortable while also not doing any extreme damage. After thinking for a while, he suddenly smiled and then turned around and left the room.


    This made Caleb bewildered and, at the same time, relieved as his tense muscles finally relaxed.


    But just as he did so, Illyan returned with a bowl with something white inside it.


    He put it on the table and then turned to Caleb.


    ¡°I am curious, Mr. Caleb. Do you know how the salt feels in the wounds?¡±


    When he heard that, he felt as if he was looking at a monster.


    ¡°N-no. Why?¡± Caleb asked as he stared at the bowl.


    However, while he wasn¡¯t looking, pain assaulted the fingers of his arms.


    ¡°Agh!¡± He thrashed around, but the chains were holding him down. The more he struggled, the more the chains bruised his arms and legs as his bones creaked.


    Illyan decided to start with the nails. He heard that it was a great way to make someone feel pain while also not hurting them.


    However, to tell the truth, his motive was deeper than that.


    He needed to learn how to do it efficiently with as little mess as possible.


    This was because he realized that simply using a whetstone on his own nails took too much time. He decided that it would be easier to just cut these nails at their root.


    He avoided doing that all the time because of instinctive dislike towards self-harm and pain. But in truth, this was just like a little scratch to him.


    So Illyan trained.


    At first, he made a lot of mess with blood as he accidentally stabbed the tip of the knife deeply into the finger, touching even its bones.


    This made Caleb yell hysterically and made him thrash even more, causing Illyan to be even more inaccurate.


    ¡°Hu hu, you should stop struggling. It would make it less painful, I swear.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ ah¡­ aghgh!¡±


    The more he fought back, the more pain it brought to him. And the more pain he suffered, the more he struggled.


    This cycle made Illyan absorbed in the act as he played around.


    At some point, he took out all of the nails and stared at the mutilated arms and legs.


    Caleb was gritting his teeth as some tears were rolling down his eyes.


    But just as the pain numbed a little, Illyan took a pinch of salt in his hand.


    Caleb¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°N-no-Arghg?!¡±


    Then Illyan started to literally massage the salt into the wound. It was slow and deliberate, causing the sharp and burning pain inside the already irritated wound.


    ¡°Aaagh! Please s-stop! I will tell you! I will! So please!¡± Caleb finally yielded as


    the pain surpassed a certain threshold.


    After all, he wasn¡¯t his father who was feared by the people of the town. He was his son who was born into the prosperity his father brought him. He wasn¡¯t used to pain that much.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t plan to play along either. He just wanted the pain away for now.


    But unfortunately, that didn¡¯t happen.


    ¡°Ugh?! Hey! I said stop! P-please!¡±


    But Illyan didn¡¯t listen as he continued. He felt as if the man¡¯s screams were a harmony while his finger massaging the wounds was him playing an instrument. For a moment, he got lost in the feeling.


    The feeling of power over his helpless captive. The feeling of ecstasy to cause harm and not be the one at the receiving end.


    His eyes turned empty as a hint of insanity flashed inside them.


    Caleb saw this but couldn¡¯t say anything as he was already frothing from his mouth. The pain was too much for him.


    Just then, sharp pain attacked Illyan¡¯s mind as he heard a whisper.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget what you kidnapped him for.¡± A feminine voice resounded in his mind, waking him from his reverie.


    Illyan stopped what he was doing and then looked at his hands tainted with blood and salt before looking at the writhing man.


    He didn¡¯t feel sympathy. He also didn¡¯t feel regret for doing what he was doing.


    But the realization that the man could die at this point was alarming.


    ¡®I am still inexperienced¡­¡¯


    Thinking so, he muttered loudly.


    ¡°Thanks, Zephyr.¡±


    No one answered him back, but he was sure she heard him. She was his alter ego after all.


    Caleb, who couldn¡¯t even think straight anymore, heard how Illyan was talking to himself and was cursing his luck. The man was mad and was probably causing him harm for fun. Who knows what would happen to him if he even lied to him.


    ¡°I will talk! Please!¡±


    When Illyan heard this, he turned his attention to Caleb and smiled once again.


    But to Caleb, the smile was one of the scariest things he had ever seen.


    ¡°Please talk. And tell me everything about the techniques. Every tip and any trick you have learned. The same about the aura level you reached. Also, tell me everything you know about the forces in the town.¡±


    He sat down in the chair he had brought before and waited for Caleb to start talking. If he lied, he would notice thanks to his acute hearing that would detect the anomaly in the man¡¯s beating heart.


    If that happened, he would continue the torture and wouldn¡¯t stop even if the man pleaded again. He would wait until he reached the man¡¯s breaking point and only then would he let him go, only to continue once the pain receded¡­

 112 - Body Research

    However, it looked like the man was really willing to speak now.


    Before, Illyan noticed the fluctuations coming from his body with green streaks emerging from him and was prepared for retaliation. He recognized that Caleb wanted to use an aura, which he didn¡¯t have much information about.


    Illyan only knew how destructive it was.


    Fortunately, it seemed that the man couldn¡¯t focus properly as the pain caused him to lose concentration every time he wanted to accumulate the aura.


    That amused Illyan as he thought that if Caleb had used it right from the beginning, it would have caused a bigger problem for Illyan than just the small prick at the heart.


    But, of course, Caleb couldn¡¯t know that. In his opinion, one sharp attack at the heart was much more lethal than an explosive aura attack.


    And he was right. The aura attack was dangerous, but it wasn¡¯t lethal every time. But the flow attack was. It was created by someone who had spent his entire life in the military, after all.


    But to his misfortune, it was a mistake to do that to Illyan.


    If he had created momentum with the aura to break off the chains and throw Illyan away with the force and then tried to fight back, he would have had some chance.


    Then again, Illyan already knew about it and simply cut off his tendons and dislocated his joints for the very same reason. Even if he got rid of the chains, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything.


    And his aura wasn¡¯t that intimidating to Illyan either, as he was aware that it took a lot of energy to make it explode with force that would injure him. On the other hand, it was much less flexible than flow and couldn¡¯t leave the body. At least, Caleb¡¯s unstable aura couldn¡¯t.


    Ezekiel moved the tendrils of darkness and sent slashes of darkness at him, but he wasn¡¯t sure if it was a pure aura or mana attack or if it was a combination of both.


    All in all, Illyan was careful but wasn¡¯t worried.


    And sure enough, after some time, Caleb didn¡¯t try anything as he spilled everything he could.


    ¡°Y-you just need¡­¡±


    The way the technique worked, how to speed up the process with some medicines, and even how to form the aura.


    Again, Varel the Viper, who only got the technique of flow during his time in the military, managed to reach the Aura stage with just his talent and then pass it on to his children.


    Illyan felt a little awe in his heart for the man as he listened to Caleb¡¯s sobbing voice.


    He also told Illyan how he met Aziro and made a deal with him. He explained the rivalry between the several-decades-old Venomous Viper Gang and the several-centuries-old Heart Bearer Gang that had worked for Black Obsidian ever since they were created.


    The fact that even mayors worked with them explained how deep this force was in the kingdom. It wasn¡¯t just this town. This was happening almost everywhere in the kingdom for generations.


    People outside of the kingdom saw this place as a simple playground where they could do whatever they wanted and not face any consequences.


    ¡°How strong is each leader of this town¡¯s forces?¡± Illyan asked somberly. He already had some idea, but he needed more details.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ My father is too secretive and doesn¡¯t show his strength often. He is at least an aura master like me. However, he is much stronger¡­ Heart Bearer leaders should have made some deals after generations of servitude that allowed them to get some of the techniques, but I am not sure how strong they are. But I am sure that the leader isn¡¯t stronger than Aziro. The mayor should be just a normal person.¡±


    Caleb had problems with breathing as he said everything as quickly as he could.


    ¡°What about Aziro and Ezekiel?¡±


    ¡°They¡­ I don¡¯t really¡­ Wait¡­ I remember that one of the acolytes once said that Aziro was at the turning point of becoming a magister. From what I know, becoming a magister means that you would be welcomed anywhere on the continent.¡±


    As Illyan listened, he finally connected some dots as he got a more comprehensive understanding of the strengths of other power systems.


    He learned from a young age that on the other continent, they used the thirteen stages based on the Primordial Beasts.


    But he didn¡¯t know much about them and thus couldn¡¯t gauge who was in which stage.


    Now, however, he finally knew the first few stages.


    The people on the Oberuan continent did not seem to count the Mortal Stage at all. Instead, the Novice Stage was the first acknowledged stage.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Any mortal who started to go beyond the mortal possibilities of the human body was considered Novice Stage.


    To be counted as one, you could either become skilled in [Flow Breathing Technique] or become a Novice Magician like Arwen did.


    Once you managed to condense a Flow, you would become an early Apprentice stage.


    Each stage had three sub-stages: early, middle, and late stages.


    The aura master corresponded to the middle Apprentice stage, and the mind eye master corresponded to the late Apprentice stage.


    Only by becoming a Warlord could you reach the potential of the Expert stage or rather the first rank of Magisters.


    Before becoming one, you would need to become a Novice Magician and then, by creating a Mana Nexus, become an Acolyte that was divided into three levels based on the amount of mana in the Mana Nexus.


    Aziro and Ezekiel were in an awkward position as they were both at the turning point of becoming Magisters but were still considered acolytes. That was also the reason why they looked for ways to become stronger.


    ¡®So Kaoran was wrong. He and Degres weren¡¯t Novices. Based on their powers, they were already in the Apprentice stage. As I am right now. The stages will probably be getting exponentially harder to reach later on, but the first few are quite easy to achieve even if you aren¡¯t talented.¡¯


    Of course, Caleb also mentioned that Aziro once said to him that Magisters weren¡¯t the strongest beings on the continent. That meant that even if people were at the same power stage, there could be a difference in real power. For example, Warlords were not as strong as full-fledged Magisters despite both being in the Expert Stage.


    As Illyan thought this, he decided that it was time to choose a goal for himself.


    For now, he decided to pursue both the path of knight and acolyte since he had techniques for both. He knew it wasn¡¯t time-effective, but Illyan was sure it could be useful for him someday.


    After all, he could see that even though the acolytes were strong, they were very weak in close combat.


    They could learn some spells like barriers, but that all depended on the luck and wealth they had. The path of magic required a lot of resources, which Illyan lacked right now.


    Not to mention, his ability to hold mana in his body was probably not much better than spiritual energy, and he needed to find a way for himself.


    That¡¯s why he decided that reaching the flow stage was the most important right now.


    ¡°Thank you, Mr. Caleb. You told me everything I needed to know.¡± So Illyan ended the conversation when he had extracted all the information out of him.


    Caleb¡¯s eyes shone with hope as he asked.


    ¡°Will you let me go now? Please!¡± He knew it was unrealistic to ask something like this, but he still couldn¡¯t let go of hope. Even if he had to die here, at least the pain would stop.


    ¡°Hmm? Oh, my apologies, but that won¡¯t do. There are still some answers I would like to get out of you.¡± Illyan shook his head as he refused.


    ¡°Eh? But I already told you everything!¡± Caleb yelled indignantly.


    ¡°I want answers not from your mouth but rather from your body,¡± Illyan said as he prepared his physician¡¯s suitcase at the table next to Caleb. He also put simple white gloves on his hands.


    Soon, he took out some scalpels and even some medicines. He opened the bottle where some liquid was and put the scalpel inside. This was to disinfect it.


    Then he took some kind of vial and slid it down Caleb¡¯s throat while forcibly holding his jaw.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry. You should survive as this concoction stops most of the bleeding that will occur. Unfortunately, I fear there would be some side effects if I gave you some anesthesia, so you will need to endure, Mr. Caleb.¡± Illyan smiled nonchalantly as he prepared some other tools for the surgery.


    ¡°W-what?!¡± Caleb¡¯s eyes almost popped out of his sockets when he realized that Illyan was even more evil than he expected.


    ¡°Why? Why are you doing this?!¡± He yelled as tears rolled down his face and saliva flowed from his mouth. His eyes were still bloodshot as the suppressed hate for Illyan, who did this to him, exuded from his body.


    The aura, before weak and dissipating, was now getting stronger as the deep green flame-like substance covered Caleb¡¯s body.


    ¡°You told me everything you know. You didn¡¯t do anything wrong. It¡¯s just¡­ Your body knows a lot more about you.¡± Illyan said as he held down Caleb.


    The moment he touched him, his skin cracked and fell off in bits while his bones cracked from the forcible pulsation.


    He didn¡¯t care though as he took the scalpel and made one long incision on Caleb¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Agh!¡± The pain coursed through his body, but this time he persevered as the aura didn¡¯t dissipate.


    The chains creaked while the table trembled.


    Illyan frowned as he saw this and struck the man¡¯s throat. The jab was light, but it was enough to make Caleb cough and gasp for air.


    The aura immediately calmed down.


    With a nod of satisfaction, Illyan could finally begin the second part of his plan. He opened Caleb¡¯s chest while he was still conscious, hoping to see and understand how the flow worked inside the body and where it came from. The same went for the aura.


    Illyan¡¯s mind turned tranquil as he began to research the man, while screams of agony escaped from Caleb¡¯s mouth.


    Unfortunately, nobody was going to hear his lamentations...


    Several days had passed since Caleb first woke up.


    For Caleb, it was hell. He was captured by a madman who tortured him for information, and just when he thought it was over¡ªeither by death or by getting free¡ªhe suffered another blow by being used as a research subject.


    His ragged voice couldn¡¯t even make a sound anymore, his vocal cords damaged from excessive screaming. His vision was blurry, and he couldn¡¯t focus on anything.


    He was weakened, both physically and mentally, to the point where he couldn¡¯t even muster the thought of trying to escape.


    Illyan was cautious most of the time and wouldn¡¯t allow a single mistake to destroy everything. So, on the first day after he finished the surgery, he immediately used sleeping powder on Caleb.


    He couldn¡¯t fully focus on Caleb, as after the incident where he treated a lot of soldiers, people realized that a new physician was in town and started to flood his house.


    Illyan also decided to make his consultations cheaper, which made him even more popular in the eyes of common people who couldn¡¯t afford Perus¡¯ consultation fees.


    So, during the day, he invited people over and treated them, while during the night, he conducted experiments on Caleb. He slept only a few hours a day at most, as his body could easily recover in that time.


    He also didn¡¯t need to fear that people would hear him, as he had already made sure the hidden room was soundproof.


    Of course, he was still careful and wasn¡¯t complacent. That could cost him the living environment he had worked hard for, and maybe even his life, if he was unlucky.


    He also decided to work hard on his breathing technique. With a combination of meditation, it worked wonders, as he felt energized every day.


    However, after several days, he felt his mental energy was not as good as his physical energy and realized he should start learning the mind-strengthening technique he had received from Arwen as soon as possible.

 113 - Troubled Mayor

    While Illyan was finally solidifying his path towards greatness, the chaos in the town finally calmed down.


    But that was only on the surface.


    The mayor, who usually didn¡¯t come out of his mansion often, had to do so this time as he was going around the town trying to soothe every force¡¯s anger.


    He didn¡¯t care when the common people were angry because of the illegal arena matches happening in the town, but if the acolytes were feeling uncomfortable, then they could easily level the town.


    The mayor only had a few knights who could fight them, but the acolytes¡¯ advantage lay in their numbers and the unpredictability of their spells. The variety of spells each acolyte wielded could not be compared to the difference in weapon styles.


    Furthermore, just Aziro alone was enough to destroy everything.


    And so, he just went to visit him to discuss the further activities in the town, especially the ones in the underground arena. Whether the business would be cut off or the arena would be rebuilt.


    They also had to solve the problem of the missing Caleb, as he was the main partner of Aziro concerning the underground arena. There were so many things to discuss¡­


    The chubby man in the carriage was wiping off his sweat as he was looking nervously out of the window.


    ¡°This is horrible¡­ How did the situation come to this?! Damn that Aziro for trying to fight that dark elf in my town¡­¡±


    He was angry at the indifferent man who was destroying his town, which he then had to pay to rebuild.


    Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t do anything. No mayor before him could. The town was Vanaras Kingdom¡¯s territory, but not many people there were aware they were actually the vassal state of the Arkravav Empire.


    It was just that they weren¡¯t that useful and thus weren¡¯t exploited that much.


    The mayor scoffed at this information that he heard from the capital nobles.


    ¡°If this wasn¡¯t heavy exploitation, when they kidnapped every third citizen, raided all graves, and were corrupting officials in almost every city, then I am king of the world¡­¡±


    *Knock knock*


    Sudden knocks were heard by him as the driver of the carriage explained to him they had arrived.


    ¡°Sir, we are here.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± The mayor nodded as he opened the door and waited for the servants to bring the stairs for him to get off the carriage.


    Then, with the help of a strong servant, he was supported as he came down.


    They arrived in front of one of the biggest mansions in the town, inferior only to his own. This was the home for Aziro in the last several decades he was living in this town.


    However, this normal mansion was now giving him chills when he looked at it. It felt as if the place had turned into the colors of its owner.


    The mayor shook off his thoughts as he looked down to the front doors of the mansion.


    In front of him was one of the robed men who was staring expressionlessly at him. This brought great pressure to the mayor, who was just a normal person, as he started to fawn upon the man.


    ¡°Well met, Mr. Hall. I see that you are in great health as usual.¡± The mayor wanted to continue, but the man cut him off.


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste my time. Sir wants to meet you as soon as possible.¡± With that, he turned around and went into the mansion.


    ¡®Tch.¡¯ The mayor only quietly clicked his tongue but didn¡¯t say anything as he followed after.


    ¡­¡­..


    On the other side of the town, close to the slums and red-light district where most rough men coalesced, was a hideout where armed people were angrily discussing how to kill their enemies.


    Most of them were on the verge of even attacking their own comrades as they argued, spitting saliva in the face of others.


    This all happened around one big table in the dark room without any candles or different sources of light.


    However, the men were used to it and were not inconvenienced at all.


    In the end, one old man was still staring at the guy arguing with his legs on the table. He seemed unconcerned, but those who knew him would notice that he was getting annoyed.


    The man was very old and frail-looking. In truth, he was also very small. Except for his bald head, which had several scars, he didn¡¯t look like someone who should be in this circle of people. All in all, it was someone who didn¡¯t look that threatening to most people which made them unconsciously underestimate this man.


    That was one of the biggest mistakes his enemies made before losing their lives.


    Even in his youth, he didn¡¯t look like someone who could become a knight, but he proved everyone wrong.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    During his time in the military, he probably killed more people than the population of the entire Winterfrost town, and he murdered even more after he deserted and became a simple gang leader.


    This was Varel the Viper. The man who built everything he had with his own hands and the blood of his enemies.


    When the argument in the room reached its peak and one of the members wanted to swing his weapon, Varel unhurriedly took out a dagger from his belt, and with a simple flick, he threw it.


    ¡°Agh!¡± The man immediately let go of the weapon as the hand holding it had the dagger embedded in it.


    Silence ensued in the room as only the slight groaning of the man resounded. However, even he didn¡¯t dare to be too loud anymore as he held his arm tightly while carefully looking at Varel, who was still leisurely sitting.


    ¡°Keran, how many times do I have to tell you that drawing your weapon at your brethren is forbidden? If you have pent-up frustration, you can go out. In the slums, there are many people whose disappearance wouldn¡¯t be noticed by anyone¡­¡± Varel sounded annoyed as he fiddled with yet another dagger in his hand.


    ¡°M-my apologies, boss.¡± The man bowed obediently.


    Varel kneaded his goatee that was tied up by some strings.


    He was just looking in front of him without focusing on anyone or anything and just let his thoughts flow. This time, however, nobody was willing to make noise as they waited for their boss to speak.


    Eventually, Varel took a deep breath.


    As he exhaled, the other members tensed up.


    ¡°It is an unfortunate incident that my precious son went missing¡­¡± Varel started speaking.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know where he is or what the perpetrator¡¯s motives could be except for the business my son was doing with the corpse puppeteers. It is prudent to assume he is already gone.¡± After he said that in a calm tone, a desperate scream resounded in the room.


    ¡°How could you say this about your own son?¡± A woman with a shrill voice that cracked up after yelling stood up as she looked pleadingly at the old man.


    ¡°Please¡­ Father-in-law! I know that your relations with my husband weren¡¯t the best, but he was still your son!¡± As she poured her heart out, she started to cry. Many others in the room felt uncomfortable as they knew the boss would be like this, but it was still giving them a creepy feeling when seeing him so indifferent.


    Even now, nothing has changed.


    Varel watched that expressionlessly as he snapped his fingers.


    ¡°Bring this hysterical woman to her room. Also, whip ten times the one who let her in on the secret meeting. The women have no place here in the first place.¡± His voice was hoarse, but it was filled with dignity.


    The woman was soon dragged out together with another man who was actually her cousin.


    ¡°Where was I again? Oh, yes. It is very unfortunate what happened to Caleb¡­¡± Varel said.


    Nobody interrupted him as they listened.


    ¡°However, it was brought upon him as he did what he did behind his family¡¯s back. He was keeping secret the profits of the underground arena and was even investing the gang¡¯s money for his profit. It was only because of my love for him that he wasn¡¯t branded as a traitor.¡±


    Varel explained calmly in the face of the unrest that was brewing in the hearts of his subordinates.


    After all, everyone¡¯s heart would turn cold if they found out their boss would sacrifice even his own child.


    ¡°But, in the end, he was still my son, no matter how foolish. That¡¯s why we will send a group to track him down. Also, I will personally visit Aziro and hold him accountable for what happened. From what I know, he planned some kind of trap for his enemy there only to mess up like this.¡±


    Varel¡¯s eyes shone with a crafty look. To be honest, he didn¡¯t care at all whether Caleb died or not. It was not like he didn¡¯t appreciate human relations. It was just that Caleb was always someone ambitious and never wanted to help grow the gang. Instead, he took from the gang to grow his own assets.


    In the end, Varel had two other sons who were much more sensible, so instead of grieving, he decided to use this situation to his advantage and try to strike up a deal with Aziro to fill the gap the disappearance of his son caused.


    If everything went right, he could have a much higher share than his son.


    Of course, that was only if everything went right. Aziro wasn¡¯t easy to deal with, after all.


    But the same applied to Varel.


    He couldn¡¯t beat the man, but he wouldn¡¯t fear him either.


    Varel was someone who went to war in the south many years before as part of the reinforcement that the vassal kingdom sent to help the Arkravav Empire.


    He saw the way acolytes fought. They were terrifying to his younger self. But in the end, while they died in agony, he was still alive, getting older, surrounded by his family.


    Power didn¡¯t mean you


    would survive when it really counted.


    ¡°Ahh, well.¡± Varel suddenly exhaled as he stood up, spinning a dagger around his fingers with such dexterity and confidence that nobody feared he could injure himself.


    With long, straight steps, he headed out of the room, passing through the quiet gang members. This was supposed to be a meeting, but only one person was talking.


    ¡°I just called you here for one thing. To tell you not to do anything out of place. I have my own plans¡­¡±


    The man then didn¡¯t care enough to stay as he left with strong strides heading right in the direction of Aziro¡¯s mansion¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    Aziro¡¯s Mansion.


    ¡°Preposterous! Do you think I can just let go of this business?! Most of the violet coins that we earn go right to the capital, and the small amount I have for myself is used for my undead creations and other tools.¡±


    Aziro was fuming after the mayor proposed to stop the underground arena¡¯s business for the time being.


    ¡®Without them, I will not be able to keep Ezekiel at bay, and he is aware of that!¡¯ Aziro thought as he bit his lips.


    ¡°But sir¡­ I w-will not be able to help you out with this! There would be too many expenses to rebuild the entire underground area. Our town doesn¡¯t have such a budget to do that.¡± The mayor was covered in cold sweat as he tried to explain himself.


    In the first place, this wasn¡¯t even the mayor''s responsibility as managing the arena was Caleb¡¯s job. The mayor was always the one helping with security and attracting the high-paying customers.


    Not that he had a choice in deciding that.


    ¡°I won¡¯t ask you to do it for free. Once we are done, you will be taking over the shares of Caleb.¡± Aziro decided with a placid tone.


    The mayor felt like crying when he heard it.


    ¡®This is not just about money!¡¯


    This incident gave the mayor a huge blow. Not only did a lot of his soldiers, two who actually mastered the breathing technique, die in that place, but also his personal physician was heavily injured and was now taken care of in his mansion.


    A big portion of the town was also destroyed, which he needed to take care of. Furthermore, many civilians died or were injured because of that.


    If he decided to rebuild the arena, then people would be rebelling sooner or later.


    Aziro noticed the mayor''s reaction and frowned.


    ¡°The people¡¯s opinion doesn¡¯t matter. Whoever has thoughts about rebelling will be dispatched immediately.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Does that include me?¡±


    Just then, voices resounded in the hall.


    ¡°Stop ther-Argh?!¡±


    ¡°Sir! Varel came to cause trouble!¡±


    One of the robed men quickly came through the front door and explained the situation while having his arms in front of him maintaining a barrier spell that was almost cracked open as a small dagger was embedded inside, radiating green light.


    He didn¡¯t attack back as he felt that it would recklessly put him in danger, even though Aziro could take care of it.


    Unfortunately, the second robed man wasn¡¯t as lucky as he held the stump of his right arm while putting some liquid on it to stop the bleeding.


    ¡°Ai, ai¡­ Nothing changed. The magicians are always so weak in direct combat. Tch, tch¡­¡±


    The man said as he walked in nonchalantly while smiling.


    That man was Varel. The warrior who had a lot of experience in fighting magicians¡­

 114 - Blood Saber Brynjar

    ¡°Hiey!¡± the Mayor screeched as he moved closer to Aziro, who was just sitting there with narrowed eyes.


    ¡°What is this supposed to mean?¡±


    ¡°What indeed¡­ I guess it could be said that the heartbroken father has come to avenge his son,¡± Varel shrugged his shoulders.


    But Aziro just snorted in disdain.


    ¡°Quit the nonsense. It¡¯s not like I wasn¡¯t aware of your relationship. If you really want to avenge him, then find that cripple who caused this mess.¡± Aziro was too annoyed to argue with Varel.


    He didn¡¯t even care about the subordinate who lost his hand. He was a glorious acolyte who was being worshipped by the masses like a god, yet he was done in by a mere meat shield. It was an utter disgrace.


    ¡°I already sent my men to look into that ¡®Smiling Devil.¡¯ It was this guy who did it, right?¡± Varel said with a grin.


    Aziro showed a grim face. Back then, before the squad leader died, he noticed a small piece of steel on the ground. It was lying under one of the dead bodies, which made it the only evidence that was not cleared.


    When Aziro took the piece, he immediately realized it was a piece of Caleb¡¯s armor.


    ¡°Tch.¡± The only thing Aziro could do was click his tongue as he crossed his arms.


    Varel just sat down on one of the chairs around the table and stabbed the apple that was on the tray along with other fruits. Usually, the winter was so harsh that most of the time there would be no way to cultivate fruits, and so most of them were imported from the south.


    That made them extremely expensive, but Varel didn¡¯t care as he lifted the dagger closer to his mouth and took a big bite out of the apple.


    ¡°So, what do we know about the guy?¡± Varel asked as he focused on nibbling the apple.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you already know?¡± Aziro asked sarcastically. The man knew so much that it seemed as if he was there. And he probably was once he realized what was happening.


    He was an assassin who could easily sneak somewhere and get whatever information he wanted. Not to mention, Aziro was sure that some of Caleb''s men were actually Varel¡¯s men, so he wasn¡¯t surprised at all by everything the man knew.


    ¡°Hehe¡­ It took me some time to arrive at the scene. When I finally arrived, the guy was gone. I didn¡¯t see anything.¡± Varel shrugged his shoulders.


    Aziro just rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Why did you come here?¡± He didn¡¯t like playing these kinds of games and asked straightforwardly.


    ¡°Anxious, aren¡¯t we? Isn¡¯t it obvious? Because of your trap, my son ended up kidnapped, possibly dead. Don¡¯t you think you should hold some responsibility and face consequences?¡±


    Varel flicked away the stalk of the apple as he swallowed the last bit of the apple and then started to nitpick his teeth with the dagger.


    Aziro¡¯s face turned dark. He had already guessed the reason for Varel''s visit, but it still made him furious when he heard it.


    ¡°Should I really? Your son was the one who decided to collaborate with me on his own. You have never supported him the least bit or shown any interest. But now, you want a piece of the pie?¡± Aziro just leaned on the chair he was sitting on as he observed the man.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. My son was successful on his own and never really needed my help. In the end, blood is thicker than water, and my heart bleeds at the thought of my son dying in vain. And as far as I know you, you would definitely take my son¡¯s shares and immediately put some of your dogs in his place, thus taking over the entire business.¡± Varel glanced with a grin at the quiet Mayor who had been quiet until now.


    He didn¡¯t take any strong guards to Aziro¡¯s mansion as he knew how much the man hated it when the Mayor brought someone strong. This, however, left the Mayor extremely vulnerable, which made him fear for his life.


    Fortunately, Varel wasn¡¯t interested in him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that it would be better if you hand over my son¡¯s shares and a little more interest to me? After all, the members of our gang are already used to the work, and when my son ¡®returns,¡¯ I will just hand him the shares back. Isn¡¯t that a wonderful idea?¡±


    Varel showed his teeth as he smiled hypocritically at Aziro, who kept an expressionless face while trying to calm his nerves.


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible.¡± In the end, Aziro just said this curtly.


    ¡°Why not?¡± Varel still smiled obsequiously without a care.


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t agree. Simple as that. Who do you think you are to pry something of mine out of my hands, you inept dullard?¡± Aziro didn¡¯t feel like maintaining civility any longer as he felt Varel wasn¡¯t his equal.


    ¡°Oh? That¡¯s interesting. Someone who can¡¯t reach a Magister Rank for decades calls me an inept dullard? How many times did you fail at getting your imprint, pray tell me?¡±


    Varel just mocked Aziro¡¯s arrogant words.


    ¡°What¡­ Did you just say?¡± Aziro¡¯s eyes shone dangerously, and the pressure started to emanate from his body.


    Meanwhile, the Mayor decided to evacuate, running from the room while others entered.


    They seemed to be soldiers, but the inauspicious aura emanating from them couldn¡¯t be hidden.


    Some of them limped as their legs were twisted, while others had mutilated chests.


    It looked like Aziro filled his stock with the soldiers that didn¡¯t make it through the incident. Soon, the room was swarmed with undead beings as they surrounded Varel.


    ¡°You heard me.¡± Varel still sat there without doing anything. He only raised his brows provocatively as he grinned at Aziro.


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    ¡°You have become arrogant, Varel.¡± Aziro said expressionlessly as he did some mysterious incantation gestures, which caused his palms to shine with purple light.


    Meanwhile, the undead surrounding Varel prepared to make their move.


    Varel¡¯s eyes turned into crescents as he reached behind his belt.


    But just then, a loud and dignified voice resounded through the room.


    ¡°Halt.¡± A tall man entered the room through the broken doors. He was covered in a dark red coat with dark linings and had a saber strapped to his belt. He had perfectly trimmed ginger hair and beard, and his green eyes with indifferent expressions shone with pride.


    He stood upright, reminding people of a blood-red spear aiming toward the sky, and truly looked like an extinguished gentleman with aristocratic blood in his veins as he entered with long and straight steps inside.


    ¡°Do you all think this place is a public tavern or something?!¡± Aziro finally lost it as he growled at the newcomer.


    ¡°Aziro, don¡¯t overstep your boundaries. This town isn¡¯t yours to act like a tyrant here.¡± The man didn¡¯t even flinch at Aziro¡¯s aggressive stance as he just stated the words he came here to say.


    ¡°Overstep my boundaries? The same could be said to you, Brynjar! Who do you think you are to enter my house without permission? Just because you have deep roots here doesn¡¯t mean you can do whatever you want here.¡±


    Aziro was blinded by anger as he was crashing into walls one after another in recent days and wasn¡¯t able to do anything.


    Filled with frustration, he waved his hand, and the blood-bone spear he had hidden suddenly spurred up and sped toward Brynjar¡¯s head from behind.


    ¡°Do you really want to do this?¡± Brynjar, however, didn¡¯t change his expression as he asked.


    Meanwhile, his saber suddenly shuddered as it jumped off its sheath on its own and bisected the blood spear aiming at his head. Both sides of the spear helplessly fell on the ground as the blood-red saber hummed before flying back to its sheath.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Aziro groaned in frustration. He stared at Brynjar, and Brynjar stared at him.


    Varel just stood there smiling nonchalantly as he reached for another apple, not caring that he was surrounded by corpses.


    ¡°You think you can beat me?¡± Aziro asked, trying to suppress his emotions.


    ¡°Normally, no¡­ But now? Definitely. The undead you recreated are of low quality. The blood spears that you bought from us are also almost gone. And most importantly¡­ Your mana is at its lowest point, right?¡±


    Brynjar asked with a small smile.


    ¡°Meanwhile, my mana is in perfect shape, and my aura can easily regenerate, so I won¡¯t end up in terrible shape in the same way as you.¡±


    ¡°If you think that is enough to kill me, then help yourself. I will not fall without making you regret it.¡± Aziro said as ruthlessness passed through his eyes.


    ¡°You misunderstood me, Aziro. I am not here to threaten you or try to kill you or anyone else. I am here to play mediator.¡±


    Brynjar said as he came to one of the chairs and sat down.


    ¡°Mediator? For what? To give my stuff to this guy?¡± Aziro sneered. He knew very well those greedy guys and that they had eyed his business for a long time. However, since Aziro was strong, they never bothered him and just waited.


    But now, when he got a crushing defeat against Ezekiel and his mana was low, they finally showed their motives.


    ¡®Damn it, if I were a Magister, this would never happen.¡¯ Aziro lamented as he remembered the times he was optimistically thinking that he could reach Magister Rank if he was diligent in his meditation and mana absorption.


    But the despair came when he tried to reach Magister Rank for the first time. He prepared everything he could with his fortune at that time, but in the end, failure awaited him.


    Fortunately, it didn¡¯t end up that badly since he survived and didn¡¯t lose any progress. In fact, he went beyond the third level of acolytes. The step he was in was called Eclipse, and it was universal for the stage except Novice Magician.


    As his foundation was shaken because of that, many believed his path on the magician¡¯s way was already cut short.


    But he was prepared to give up and focus on his retirement. However, one day, he found out that there was a deserter from the Elven race who escaped into human territory.


    At first, he didn¡¯t care.


    However, when he accidentally met him on his way to his new workplace, namely Winterfrost, and almost lost his life despite Ezekiel being just a third level acolyte at that time, his interest in him grew.


    He started his research on that man and found out that the reason he actually became a deserter was that he stole something from the mines.


    And it wasn¡¯t something as simple as the minerals there. Most soldiers fighting there usually took some of these as part of their loot. The mine was so humongous that the forces that fought for it didn¡¯t care for the scraps. After all, only this type of mine would be worthy of being fought for over millennia.


    What Ezekiel really stole was a kind of inheritance. Or rather, its part. Aziro couldn¡¯t find anything about the inheritance. The only thing he knew was that Ezekiel became proficient in biomancy after that.


    Since the big forces didn¡¯t go after him, and it was just smaller officers and officials who showed interest in him, it meant that the inheritance wasn¡¯t that good or that he had a really small part of it. But Aziro didn¡¯t care. It actually was good since he had a bigger chance to obtain it.


    It was also at that time when he met Caleb, who made several deals with him until they became fully business partners. Aziro used the money to bribe some of his superiors while buying tools to get stronger since he reached the peak of his personal strength.


    He also started cultivating the forbidden technique of the Ghost Flame, which he deemed useless before because of its self-destructive characteristics. But for the sake of his future, he decided that learning it was a must.


    This was twenty years ago.


    As he reminisced, the loathsome voice appeared in the quiet room.


    ¡°You wanted to say ¡®my son¡¯s stuff,¡¯ right?¡± Varel grinned, not caring about Aziro¡¯s anger at all.


    Aziro took a deep breath.


    ¡°Were you written in Caleb¡¯s will? Because I believe Caleb¡¯s children have the claim to this share.¡± Aziro sneered in his head. Even if he lost the shares, he wouldn¡¯t let them fall into Varel¡¯s hands.


    Varel frowned as he cast his eyes at Brynjar.


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste your breath, Aziro. By the laws, the descendants who have not reached adulthood yet have no claim to their parents¡¯ possessions if there are other adult relatives in the family who will temporarily hold onto the possessions until they mature.¡± Brynjar said with a calm tone.


    Aziro gritted his teeth. However, the fight only began.


    The argument took several hours with a lot of curses thrown out.


    In the end, Aziro gave up on keeping the shares. Instead, he took advantage of it to throw the rest of his problems onto Varel.


    ¡°Good. Good. Since Varel has the claim to Caleb¡¯s shares, then taking it means also taking responsibility for what happened, am I right?¡± Aziro sneered.


    Varel¡¯s expression froze.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± This time, he didn¡¯t smile as he frowned.


    ¡°Well, it was Caleb¡¯s fault for the failure of action that ended up in the destruction of the arena. If Caleb were here, he would need to pay for it from his pockets. Taking his money means taking the responsibilities of my business partner. I just talked with the Mayor about this.¡± Aziro said with a triumphal expression.


    The Mayor who was mentioned shirked off even more, cursing Aziro for trying to drag him in the mud.


    ¡°That¡¯s a big pile of horseshit!¡± Varel said as he wanted to argue against this. After all, if he did so, then most of the earnings he would get from Caleb¡¯s shares would end up on the repair of the town and the arena itself. It would take years before this deal would generate income.


    ¡°Deal.¡± Brynjar said as he stood up prepared to leave.


    ¡°What? This is not what we agreed on.¡± Varel stood up too and stared at Brynjar.


    ¡®So they really arranged this all.¡¯ Aziro stared expressionlessly at them, waiting to see if they decided to face each other.


    But Brynjar just stared back as he said expressionlessly.


    ¡°We agreed to get your son¡¯s shares. Now you get them. Nothing else is my responsibility. Don¡¯t push it, Varel. The only reason why I am doing this is for the respect of her. Else, Heart Bearers would never allow a young gang like yours to proliferate in our town like this.¡±


    And with this, he turned around and left.


    ¡°Bring out our guest. He seems to be quite unwell.¡± Aziro said as several robed men appeared. They didn¡¯t attack but tried to guide Varel outside.


    ¡°No need.¡± However, Varel waved his hand, slapping off the robed men as he left with long strides after throwing dirty looks at Aziro.


    ¡°Finally over.¡± After the discussion ended, the happiest person was the one who didn¡¯t even talk during that time. The Mayor just sat down as he stared into nothingness, pondering whether he should just retire...

 115 - Acupoint Sealing

    While all of this was happening behind the curtain, Illyan just minded his own business as he looked for a way to speed up and strengthen his progress in the [Flow Breathing Technique].


    Caleb told him a lot of things, but his body told him even more. Thanks to constant experimenting, Illyan finally didn¡¯t need to use the sleeping powder to neutralize Caleb.


    He discovered that aura was something that could be said to be a mixture of emotions, intentions, and body vitality. It stemmed from deep inside the user.


    However, if the user wanted it to manifest outside of his body, it would need to pass through certain energy points.


    In southern medicine, they were called acupoints.


    Illyan had only heard about them but never knew how to find them or use them. Until now.


    With his eyes, he could see that whenever Caleb¡¯s aura burst out, there were small points covering his body from which the aura was gushing the most.


    Through some drugs, he repeatedly forced Caleb to manifest his aura until he finally understood it properly.


    Once he did, he started to experiment with them.


    The screams of Caleb were even worse as he did so, which made Illyan realize that they were a kind of weak spot for him.


    He actually crippled several of them, making recovery impossible, which made Caleb¡¯s aura even more unstable.


    In the end, however, Illyan succeeded and managed to seal the acupoints.


    ¡°Who would have thought that I would use these for acupoint sealing?¡± Illyan thought to himself as he fondled the manticore¡¯s barbs he got from Ezekiel.


    If you were precise enough, you could literally stab the tip of the barb inside the acupoint to completely seal it. And if he did it right, he could do so without harming the acupoint or even causing pain. He reckoned that there were other ways or methods he just lacked for now, so this was enough for now.


    There were simply unlimited options for how to use this new knowledge.


    However, the first thing Illyan considered was to seal his life force. He still didn¡¯t forget that Ezekiel found him from a distance only based on that. Illyan didn¡¯t have any idea how he did that and feared that he would be discovered.


    Fortunately, he found a possible solution after hearing Caleb¡¯s explanation. The reason you needed a strong body before igniting your aura was that the aura itself was part of your life force.


    That meant that if you seal the aura, you seal the life force. Of course, that was just Illyan''s conjecture that would need to be proven yet.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Caleb¡¯s quiet groaning was going into Illyan¡¯s ears, but he ignored it as he looked into his chest, which was opened like a book for him to read.


    He fell into focus he had never felt before as he stared at the pulsating energy. It was very difficult to notice it at first, but after several days, he managed to force the body to move the flow around, effectively manifesting it while the body was still open.


    Thanks to that, Illyan could observe the most instinctual flow movement that was happening as a reaction to certain things.


    Like pain, for example.


    Unfortunately, the flow always seemed to dissipate whenever it contacted the air, which made it impossible for Illyan to get any sample. That would explain why they didn¡¯t use the Flow the same way magisters used mana.


    At the end of the day, Illyan closed the man¡¯s chest by sewing it up and stabbed his acupoints precisely before leaving.


    Lately, he found himself using the technique of sewing quite often as he had to close the man¡¯s cavity unless some bacteria got inside and killed the man.


    He learned to stitch basic wounds back in the day with Kaoran. But only now did he use it for something like this.


    Once he was done with Caleb for the day, he decided to go out to his laboratory.


    There, he stared at several herbs he had prepared beforehand.


    From Caleb¡¯s mouth, he found out that to speed up the flow formation inside the body, there was some kind of concoction that could be added to the bath in which you could increase the efficiency of the breathing technique by several times.


    Thankfully, Caleb knew the ingredients and the process of creation, but it still didn¡¯t change the fact that Illyan had to create it for the first time.


    The ingredients were on the rarer scale but still nothing he couldn¡¯t get. Now, he didn¡¯t dare to buy them as it could bring attention to him if someone who knew about the concoction too noticed, but even if he didn¡¯t fear that, there would probably be some herbs that could not be bought normally as they were more precious than common ones.


    ¡®I didn¡¯t know you could use the blood of animals to create concoctions too¡­¡¯ Illyan, pondering over the recipe, realized that his view was too narrow as he was mainly focusing on his herbalism knowledge when it came to medicine.


    Because of that, he was missing many other useful ingredients that could be used in some of the concoctions he used.


    As he thought so, he prepared a new beaker and started crushing all kinds of herbs and seeds inside the mortar.


    Thanks to this new concoction that was supposed to help people get stronger, he remembered the one concoction he planned to make years ago.


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    It was the same concoction that the Bakur Tribe used to feed their wolves across generations.


    He wanted to make it on a whim back then, but now thinking about it, if it could speed up his training even a little, it would be worth it.


    Fortunately, the herbs needed were very common and also cheap, except for a few core herbs needed for their high nutritious and energetic value. But even those were readily available in the merchant¡¯s guild¡¯s stock.


    And since the ingredients were completely different from the ones that were meant for the flow formation, he didn¡¯t waste time and immediately went to buy several batches of the herbs and even their seeds.


    It was quite costly, and he left with many fewer silver coins than he came before with, but he was satisfied.


    Only a few hours after he stopped experimenting with Caleb, he made the first concoction.


    He was looking at the glass bottle where the slightly green liquid was and frowned.


    The liquid should be reddish-brown, so it could be said to be a failure.


    But he didn¡¯t care as he donned it as normal water and started anew.


    Soon after, sickness overcame his senses before slowly dissipating while his body regenerated any kind of harm the concoction caused.


    His regeneration got stronger the more he used it, and he felt that sooner or later, he would be able to regrow entire limbs in a matter of hours and later even in a matter of minutes.


    Just thinking about that made him realize how amazing this gift was¡­


    ..........


    In the middle of the night, he finally finished the reddish-brown liquid. It was bubbling slightly while smelling like fresh earth after heavy rain.


    Illyan was satisfied as that meant he succeeded. Even though he knew the recipe, he had never tried it before. Back then, when the Bakur Tribe was in need of food, they forsook this recipe and instead used the herbs as food.


    But now, Illyan could finally try it out.


    He went to his bedroom and sat in the lotus position. Normally, the liquid would be fed to wolves through their food since they wouldn¡¯t eat it otherwise, but there was no need for that in Illyan¡¯s case.


    He took the glass bottle and drank it in one gulp before throwing it aside. Then, he closed his eyes and waited for any change in his body. The taste was quite undelectable, but it gave off the feeling of filling your stomach.


    Illyan even felt a little sleepy after drinking.


    That was weird since Illyan¡¯s body was almost in no need of sleep lately. In truth, he only slept because of mental fatigue. And that was just a few hours a day at most. And even this time was getting shorter as he was waking earlier and earlier as time passed.


    In a few years, Illyan reckoned he wouldn¡¯t need to sleep at all.


    But now, he felt the almost forgotten feeling of sleepiness that lulled him to sleep.


    Illyan didn¡¯t even realize when he fell asleep, letting the concoction work in his body.


    The next day, he woke up with hunger afflicting him as he was sprawled on his bed.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Illyan just checked his body but didn¡¯t find any change. But it didn¡¯t mean there was no change at all.


    The change was gradual, and it began with helping his food digestion and absorption. Not only that, but Illyan also realized that he had a sudden body odor.


    Normally, Illyan hardly sweated even during body training, but now his body was covered in sweat that was a little more smelly than normal.


    ¡°Hmm¡­It seems much more effective than Kaoran said it would be on humans¡­¡± Illyan muttered to himself.


    Of course, there was no sudden spike in his strength or body composition, but the fact that the secreted sweat had a weird smell and his sudden hunger told him that something more happened.


    ¡®Maybe it is because my body is more similar to a beast than to a human?¡¯ Crazy thoughts came to his mind.


    He remembered that the reason it worked on beasts better was because they had stronger digestive systems.


    Normal beasts in this world don''t have the option of choosing the way they want to get stronger and just eat their way to the top.


    After billions of years of evolution, even the weak normal animals have much stronger digestive systems than regular humans.


    But Illyan was a little different. He could easily digest a high amount of food when his body was lacking


    in energy.


    When his body was missing energy, it actively helped him out to regain it.


    That made him even wonder if his ability wasn¡¯t regeneration but something more beastly.


    His nails, long hair, regeneration, and digestion kind of hinted at this possibility.


    But Illyan shook his head as soon as he thought about that. After all, his ability didn¡¯t make him beastly or anything. The nails would grow even without the ability. The hair was the same.


    To Illyan, it felt like it was just sped up because of his ability. As if the uncontrollable life force needed to be applied somewhere.


    However, thinking about this wouldn¡¯t do him any good for now. If he wanted to get to the bottom of the truth, then he would need to put in a lot of time to fully understand the core of his ability. The time he didn¡¯t have for now.


    He stood up from his bed and went to cook something for himself.


    Illyan was getting better at this as he made eggs, meat, and some vegetables for himself.


    It was simple but delicious.


    After that, he wiped his body sweat before he went to check on Caleb. He fed him and then let him be.


    Today, he wanted to try something new.


    He was training in the breathing technique almost any time he could. Actually, the thing was supposed to be used during a fight in short durations. Furthermore, each breath got you closer to forming the flow.


    Because of that, he decided to use it whenever he could instead of just sitting in a lotus position without moving for hours, wasting time.


    He felt that thanks to that he would get closer to Flow Master than a normal person, and once he got the herbs for the bath he would be even faster. But it still wasn¡¯t enough.


    He wanted to try something else.


    Illyan took the barbs on Caleb¡¯s body and put him to sleep with the sleeping powder.


    After disinfecting them, he went to the laboratory. He felt like it would be better to do it there.


    After studying the acupoints for so long, he had already identified where they were even on his body.


    So, with precise stabs, he sealed his own acupoints.


    Not every one, but enough to make any warrior¡¯s inner energy slowly flow like thick honey.


    Illyan didn¡¯t have the energy yet, but that was the point of his endeavor. He wanted to use the breathing technique during the acupoint sealing to try if it could put pressure on him and speed up the progress.


    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t dare to do so if he didn¡¯t have the ability that he did have.


    Thanks to that, he could be much more courageous than others without facing the same consequences.


    Still, he wasn¡¯t careless and prepared one of the vials that Armen had for healing if needed.


    Right after sitting down, he noticed that it was harder to breathe. His first inhale was slightly painful as he started the [Flow Breathing Technique].


    Each breath caused the feeling as if his chest was pressed down by a boulder and the more time passed, the stronger the pressure became. He felt the spiritual energy, which albeit thin in the closed space, was still wreaking havoc in his body and was difficult to be exhaled.


    Blood flowed on Illyan¡¯s face as his seven apertures started to bleed. The veins started popping on top of his arms and around his neck while he felt the strength build up in his muscles.


    These actually turned red and swelled as his clothes became tight.


    Now, every time he exhaled, the sound of wind ripping the air apart resounded.


    The barbs embedded in his body were trembling as if they were on the edge of popping out, and his bones started creaking while on the verge of dislocating.


    *Cough Cough*


    In the end, he splattered a big amount of blood that spurted out of his mouth on the ground and stopped.


    Wheezing for a breath, he coughed out the still-flowing blood infused with some spiritual energy.


    ¡®This was not that great an idea¡­ But it should work.¡¯


    Once he caught his breath, Illyan reviewed the entire incident and how to improve this idea into a working state.


    He knew that he would have long days in front of him¡­

 116 - Botanic Enthusiasts

    However, as he wanted to get up, his ears trembled.


    *Knock Knock*


    ¡°Kaoran, are you there?¡± There was a voice above calling out to Illyan.


    At that time, Illyan visibly shuddered.


    ¡®Vael?¡¯ Trying to guess why the old man was coming to his house, Illyan quickly jumped down, threw away his blood-soaked robe, and took out the barbs from his acupoints. He washed up as quickly as possible before putting on the physician''s robe he usually used during his time consulting patients, cleaned up any blood, and ran upstairs.


    ¡®Damn geezer, giving me a fright.¡¯


    After he hurriedly came to the doors, he took a deep breath before he finally opened them.


    ¡°Good morning, Mr. Vael. What brings you here?¡± The doors creaked as he looked outside.


    This was the first time Vael had come here. It was no wonder since it was quite far from the institute, and old men like Vael could not walk such long distances that often.


    However, now, the man came with rough clothing, a straw hat on his head, a shovel on his shoulder, and a bag full of things with a grin on his wrinkled face.


    ¡°Oh oh, finally you answered. This old thing thought I would die of old age here.¡± Vael laughed.


    Illyan¡¯s face twitched, but he let the old man in.


    ¡°So¡­¡± Illyan wanted to start a conversation and make tea for the man, but he just waved his hand.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have time! Let¡¯s go to your garden. And also, have you already finished the botanic books that I recommended?¡± Vael asked.


    ¡°Yes?¡± Illyan slowly came to understand what the old man came for.


    ¡°Then what are we waiting for? Let¡¯s dig some holes for new babies.¡±


    Seeing Vael so enthusiastic was very strange to Illyan as he showed him the way to the courtyard behind his house. After all, the man had helped him out several times, so he couldn¡¯t just throw him out.


    ¡°Quite beautiful. It would be perfect to have afternoon tea here.¡± Vael nodded with a satisfied smile as he looked around.


    Illyan just rolled his eyes.


    ¡°So you are here to help me with botanics?¡± Illyan asked with curiosity. He had never seen this man so forceful before.


    ¡°But of course, I can see that while you are quite knowledgeable about all kinds of herbs, it is more focused on their effects in medicine rather than knowing them properly.¡± Vael crouched down to one of the herbs, whose leaves had a yellow shade, and rubbed them with a disapproving gaze.


    Illyan tilted his head. The color of the leaves was right, so why was he like this?


    ¡°The Olomaver Bushes¡¯ leaves turn slightly yellow once it is time for them to bear their berries, but yours is just a few months old. That means that it is probably infested by some pests.¡±


    He reached into his robe, sprinkled something on the plant before sighing, and turned back to Illyan.


    ¡°But I am glad that you are interested in this branch of study. Plants are such wonderful and unique things covering our lands¡­¡±


    The old man started babbling about plants without caring what Illyan thought.


    This annoyed Illyan a little, but the knowledge behind Vael¡¯s words was precious, so he listened without interrupting the old man.


    Now that he thought about it, Illyan remembered that Ollie, when he wanted to sell his herbology books, had told him that a physician named Vael actually confiscated the books before the transaction.


    Illyan finally knew why.


    He was really enthusiastic about vegetation.


    ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t come just to annoy you today. I remember when we talked to each other recently that you needed some other herbs that you couldn¡¯t get anywhere.¡±


    Vael said as he took out some bottles from his bag, where carefully stored seeds were.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Illyan opened his eyes wide. He didn¡¯t expect that Vael would bring him other things after giving him so much already. It almost felt suspicious.


    Vael immediately gave them to Illyan, who saw the labels on the bottles. He immediately recognized that some of them were even the ones he needed for the bath training.


    There were some missing, but still, it was great.


    ¡°Why are you giving this to me?¡± Illyan asked doubtfully.


    ¡°Why? Didn¡¯t I tell you last time? I am growing old. I can¡¯t take the things I have into the grave, and the only one I want to give them to is a wild brat doing crazy things.¡± Vael showed a frustrated expression as he spoke.


    ¡°I have a small garden close to the institute, but most of the seeds would never have a chance to be planted there, so it is just better to give them to different people. Of course, the only one who would gladly accept these would be that smelly Perus, but there is no way I would give him anything. He would just try to make more money out of it, leaving the poor miserable.¡±


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    Vael just shook his head. Then, suddenly, he pointed at the Bolokov Flower Illyan had planted the other day.


    ¡°We need to replant this. It can''t be at that place, as the sun would shine there for at least four hours a day. However, this delicate flower grows best if it gets sunlight only three hours a day. That means¡­¡± Vael looked up at the sun with his hand shielding his eyes before choosing the new spot.


    ¡°This place would be perfect. One palm deep is enough.¡± Vael said as he pointed at the ground near one of the trees and put the shovel that was next to him into Illyan''s arms.


    Illyan didn¡¯t like to be pushed around like this, but he actually liked the bluntness of the old man. It reminded him of the good side of his childhood.


    Without saying anything, he simply started digging. He frowned a little since the shoveling reminded him of that fateful day, but he shook the thought off. It didn¡¯t take long for him to create the hole as he was strong.


    ¡°Be careful of the roots of the tree, Kaoran. We don¡¯t want to kill another plant for the sake of others.¡± Vael chimed in as he was tending the other herbs.


    Fortunately, no roots were at the place where he dug a hole, so he was quickly done.


    ¡°Young ones are really full of energy. It was a matter of seconds.¡± Vael said with wonder as Illyan quickly dug up the flower before replanting it with Vael¡¯s instructions.


    ¡­¡­..


    Several days passed in this manner.


    At first, Illyan thought it would be just a one-time event but was surprised when Vael told him he could rent the carriage for cheap to visit often.


    It seemed that one of the drivers once had a very sick son and couldn¡¯t afford the medicine. However, Vael treated him for free. The driver could not give Vael anything of value except his skills in driving. They kept in touch ever since as good friends.


    Thanks to that, if Vael really needed to go somewhere, he could just tell him.


    In truth, he had many such connections across the town and even in other cities.


    However, Illyan didn¡¯t see him as a respectable physician but rather as an honest farmer.


    He never noticed, as the physician¡¯s robes were baggy and Vael seemed to be frail, but there were still some remains of well-sculpted muscles behind.


    During these few days, they debated in depth over this topic and found great pastimes doing so.


    Illyan was shoveling new holes for planting seeds as he sweated under the sun. Ever since he started to drink the Beast Serum, he was sweating much more. He still didn¡¯t find the source of why this was happening, but he was sure that it worked. The Bakur inheritance, albeit barren, was full of useful things. He didn¡¯t believe it wouldn¡¯t work if he concocted it right.


    He wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the sun.


    It was getting warmer.


    At first, he didn¡¯t notice, but recently, the weather was becoming warmer. The snow turned into rain, and the eternal white sky turned into a bright blue sky with the sun above.


    ¡°The spring is arriving.¡± Illyan smiled a little.


    ¡°It has already been several decades since the last spring ended. I guess the heavens want you to keep farming, haha.¡± Vael laughed as he noticed Illyan gazing at the thawing snow on the mountain trees in the distance.


    ¡°Heavens?¡± Illyan asked doubtfully.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone, but I am not really religious. The three gods look shady to me. The church of three is propagated everywhere, but misery stands. Instead, the heavens are fair as they are the world itself.¡± Vael explained his view on the world, and Illyan nodded thoughtfully.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really care about gods either. I just live the way I see fit.¡± Illyan shrugged. He wouldn¡¯t say that in front of others so that he wouldn¡¯t be called a heretic, but since Vael said his part, he didn¡¯t mind sharing his view too.


    ¡°Haha, young cub tigers don''t know the fear. Be careful with what you say; your head could be lopped off the neck for saying such blasphemous things.¡±


    Vael warned Illyan out of goodwill since he didn¡¯t want the young man to die early.


    The good mood was accompanying them these days as Illyan was learning botanics during the day and was training and visiting Caleb during the night. Vael would probably be horrified that under the disguise of a compassionate physician, a cruel torturer and madman was hiding.


    However, Illyan didn¡¯t plan to be hindered by the morals of other people.


    He had his own principles and would live the way he wanted.


    ¡°By the way, what is this herb? I never saw it. It looks kind of inconspicuous, but my instinct tells me a different story.¡± Vael contemplated as he found the hidden Firestorm Herb that was keeping all other herbs warm.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the name of the herb.¡± Illyan immediately lied. He didn¡¯t know if Vael knew the name and just didn¡¯t see the herb through his eyes.


    Although there was just a small chance of that happening, if the man got greedy and wanted to steal the herb, Illyan would have to kill him or keep him in the secret room to get all the knowledge of the plants he knew.


    That would be annoying. He was already tired of dealing with Caleb, let alone getting a new person.


    Illyan¡¯s experiments were coming to an end anyway, so he already planned to get rid of the man.


    ¡°What I know, though, is that it kept me warm throughout the winter and saved my life.¡± Illyan lied, but he couldn¡¯t hide the warmth it gave off.


    Actually, Vael probably already noticed that there was a slight change in temperature in Illyan¡¯s garden but didn¡¯t vocalize it yet.


    ¡°Oh!¡± The sudden hit of realization made Vael brighten as he observed the herb.


    ¡°Marvelous. I see that you have just a small part of it, so I won¡¯t ask for a sample. However, can I ask you where you found it?¡± Vael asked as he patted the moss-like herb.


    Illyan turned thoughtful. He knew that telling the truth thoughtlessly could cause problems. He had already said he was living in the south before, after all. But he didn¡¯t know any other place in the south¡­


    No, wait. He had been seen by other young villagers in the northern villages a few months back anyway. So saying this would be for the best¡­


    ¡°It is from the Alchemy¡¯s Doom Forest. When I was small, I lived in one of the villages at its edge and found it by accident. It kept me warm, so I took it with me.¡± Illyan said with a hint of nostalgia in his voice.


    He was telling half-truths, so he indeed felt a little nostalgic.


    ¡°When the village was starving, my family decided to leave for the south. Now, after many years, I found out the village was already abandoned. I also tried looking for new herbs recently since I finally realized the value of this herb. Unfortunately, I found none.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Vael nodded.


    ¡°You were indeed lucky. The Alchemy¡¯s Doom Forest is infested by barbarians, so they probably were collecting this kind of herb to keep themselves warm too. If I am not wrong, then this kind of herb is not something mere mortals could find. Looks like the heavens favor you.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean that no mortals could find?¡± Illyan was confused. Did he mean by that that the normal herbs were Mortal Stage? Was this kind of knowledge that most people with some education had?


    ¡°The herbs we are collecting are just normal plants, but some of them are much more magical than any of us can imagine. I heard that southern jungles have the most unique herbs and vegetation in this world where plants could be man-eaters or could even move themselves to replant in different places. There are even some that can treat incurable diseases...¡±


    The passionate yet kind of wistful voice of Vael was interrupted as knocking resounded from the front of Illyan¡¯s house.


    ¡®What now?¡¯ Illyan felt a little annoyed that so many people were always knocking on his door wanting something.


    But there was nothing he could do as he left the garden with Vael to see who was behind the doors.

 117 - Preparation

    "I didn¡¯t expect you to be so quick with refurnishing the manor. I remember leaving it in a dreary state,¡± Korin stated as he tasted the cup of tea Illyan had just placed in front of him.


    The one knocking on the door was him. He was here to discuss something with Illyan. Vael, who was always courteous to his colleagues, decided to leave the manor and let them discuss whatever Korin wanted to talk about in private.


    Illyan noticed that Vael didn¡¯t look exactly happy, as his face was glum. Maybe the old men weren¡¯t on good terms.


    On the other hand, Korin looked grateful to Vael, but Illyan didn¡¯t believe it one bit.


    ¡°I wanted to finish it as soon as possible. I don¡¯t like incomplete things,¡± Illyan answered placidly as he sat down on the chair once he finished preparing the tea.


    ¡°Hohoho, I see, I see,¡± Korin laughed as he looked around with wonder.


    ¡°What brings you here, Mr. Korin? You didn¡¯t come here just to compliment me, right?¡± Illyan already knew that the man was focusing most of his time on studying.


    In fact, Illyan felt like Korin was even more diligent than he was in learning.


    Whenever he went to visit him, Korin was always reading some book or writing something on parchments.


    Such a man wouldn¡¯t just visit him for small talk.


    ¡°Haha, I guess I shouldn¡¯t waste your time,¡± Korin chuckled. Then, his expression turned somber as he stated the reason for his visit.


    ¡°The mayor visited the institution,¡± Korin started brusquely.


    This surprised Illyan.


    ¡°The mayor? Why?¡±


    ¡°It was decided that in half a year, there would be an expedition into the Iron Troll Mountain Range to cull some trolls. It is probably to quell the anger people felt towards the underground¡¯s troll incident half a month before or something. You will probably be part of the expedition and won¡¯t be able to refuse,¡± Korin explained, but Illyan just furrowed his brow as he realized what he was talking about.


    ¡®Damn it¡­¡¯ Illyan cursed under his breath. He probably wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid this trip as he was a physician. Perus was in a bad state, and it was questionable if he would recover in time. And since Illyan still worked under the Academic Institute, he was obligated to help the mayor if requested.


    However, if possible, he wanted to avoid going. He didn¡¯t care much about the danger of trolls. They were not intelligent, so he would be able to deal with them.


    Unfortunately, there was a different kind of beast in the woods.


    ¡®Ezekiel¡­¡¯ Thinking about the man who almost finished him made Illyan cautious.


    Yes, he won against him, but that was because he was in peak performance while Ezekiel was already injured. And even then, he was losing badly. If not for him using an air slash to incapacitate Ezekiel for a second, he wouldn¡¯t have won.


    The air slash became his new trump card that could easily contend with aura masters, but he probably couldn¡¯t use it often as it was difficult to keep [Flow Breathing Technique] going throughout a fight.


    And since Ezekiel already knew about it, he would be able to counter it.


    ¡®If only I could hide my life force, then I wouldn¡¯t need to fear him discovering me¡­¡¯


    His thoughts were cut off as he noticed Korin¡¯s look.


    That made Illyan wonder. He was a physician, so it made sense why he would need to participate.


    But what about Korin? He wasn¡¯t a physician, after all.


    ¡°What does that have to do with you?¡± His question didn¡¯t surprise Korin one bit.


    Korin puffed out his chest as if he was proud before saying the rest.


    ¡°You see, our archaeologist department has a certain deal with the mayor. There is an ancient miner city in the mountains where residents were mining iron. It is one of the reasons why this academic institute even came to be. To explore the place and learn its mysteries. With the help of soldiers who keep us safe, we enter the place to study it. In return, we must share almost all the information with the mayor.¡±


    It was just now that Illyan realized Korin wasn¡¯t just a mathematician but also a historian and archaeologist. He introduced himself as such, but Illyan forgot about it since he was most interested in math out of the three specializations.


    ¡°Is this the thing you wanted to solve?¡± Illyan asked with a placid face. Korin and he made a deal where he got the manor for ten gold coins while promising to reach a certain level in mathematics to help Korin.


    However, he was still far from the requested level.


    ¡°Yes, it could be said so. There are more ruins in Vanaras Kingdom that I need to crack open. They are ruins from the kingdom before Vanaras. The civilization in this place back then was highly advanced, with complex mechanisms covering the cities. Only through a high level of mathematics and geometry did we manage to make some of the mechanisms work,¡± Korin sighed with a wistful expression.


    ¡°I understand your intention, Mr. Korin. However, our deal included me reaching the level where I could help you. As of now, there are probably many apprentices that can surpass me when it comes to mathematics.¡±


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    If possible, Illyan wanted to avoid going, but even if he could not, he would rather go as a physician. Who knew what Korin planned to do there?


    ¡°Kaoran¡­ I am aware that asking that of you is inappropriate, but I must beseech you. You are one of the most talented people I have come to know in this field. If I show you what we are working on, you will definitely progress much faster!¡±


    Korin said this as he held tightly to the chair he was sitting on. The unrest in his voice made him tremble, which subsequently caused him to cough.


    The coughing was so serious that he needed to take a tissue to wipe his mouth, now covered in red foam.


    ¡°What is the matter?!¡± Illyan stood up with feigned concern as he looked at Korin with cold eyes.


    ¡®This is no normal disease or injury.¡¯


    ¡°N-no¡­ Nothing. It is just my long-lasting injury from youth¡­ You don¡¯t need to think about it. It isn¡¯t something physicians can solve,¡± Korin huffed for air as he explained.


    ¡®Did he do it to gain sympathy?¡¯


    However, Illyan''s distrust in others made him wonder if this was just a sham. He could see the man was really injured, but that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t fake this.


    But it didn¡¯t matter for now. What mattered was how Illyan should get out of this mess.


    ¡°Even so¡­¡± Unfortunately, Illyan knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to do so without antagonizing Korin.


    And that was something Illyan was unwilling to do. It wasn¡¯t because he liked him or didn¡¯t want to lose the opportunity to learn from him.


    Rather, he felt that Korin was too big a variable to make an enemy out of him.


    He didn¡¯t feel any strength from the man, but he had magic contracts and magic tools. He didn¡¯t know his goals or his allies.


    The only reason Illyan knew something was wrong was because of his eyes noticing the contract being magical.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry if it is about safety. Actually, it is normal for us to hire some bodyguards whenever we go on such expeditions. You also don¡¯t need to do that much on this trip. There will be others like you that just need to learn. I don¡¯t expect we will make any big progress this time anyway.¡±


    Korin explained patiently.


    Illyan sighed after hearing this.


    ¡°Alright¡­ I will try.¡±


    Korin brightened up as he heard his answer.


    After that, they had small talk before Korin stood up to leave.


    ¡°It is still early. It will be half a year later, so we still lack some information. I will keep in touch with you to inform you when needed.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Thank you for sharing the information,¡± Illyan thanked Korin. He knew that the information would go public much later, and he would be one of the last to be informed.


    ¡°Hohoho, no problem.¡±


    With that, Korin turned around to leave. But then he stopped.


    ¡°Ah! I almost forgot. I have a small gift for you to show my sincerity. I believe that with your help, we will be able to make a big leap in our project.¡±


    Saying that, Korin left a big bag on the table.


    ¡°It is half of my stash of the tea of clarity. You can use it whenever you feel your mind is foggy or when you need to pull an all-nighter.¡±


    *Click*


    The doors closed as Korin finally left.


    Illyan just sat there staring at the tea bag with a dazed expression, thinking about what to do.


    ¡®This is driving me crazy.¡¯ In the end, he could only sigh in exasperation.


    It was annoying that he couldn¡¯t do anything to refuse, but that¡¯s how things were.


    If he didn¡¯t want to work under the kingdom¡¯s forces, then he would need to leave the institute. That was something he could not do, as the library was still important in his eyes.


    It was also too soon to burn bridges with Korin.


    Illyan could only yield for now.


    He grabbed the tea bag and went towards his laboratory.


    There, he checked with his tools whether the tea leaves were poisonous or harmful.


    When he found out they weren¡¯t, he brewed himself a cup of tea.


    The aroma was the same as the one that permeated Korin¡¯s office. It was a subtle but lasting aroma that gave a feeling of clarity.


    Illyan took a sip and immediately noticed that his taut nerves were starting to calm down.


    He took a deep breath and started to ponder what to do next.


    He didn¡¯t think that Korin lied to him about this. Nor did he think that this was some kind of trap. Korin probably really needed him, and the contract he created was a foolproof way to control him if needed.


    But since Korin needed him, he couldn¡¯t afford for him to die a dog¡¯s death in the mountains¡­


    ¡®I need to prepare. I have six months to strengthen myself and find a way to hide from that freak¡­¡¯


    The cogwheels in his head spun furiously as he thought about what he should focus on. After his raid last time, he found himself in a dilemma of having too many techniques to train in but not enough time¡­


    ¡®I definitely need to go outside of the town to forage for the herbs I need for the herb bath¡­ If I do it consistently, then I should be able to strengthen myself a bit even if I won¡¯t condense the flow.¡¯


    Illyan decided this was the best step for now.


    The herb bath¡¯s nutrients should be absorbed into the user¡¯s body while performing the breathing technique, which would cause high pressure inside and make the nutrients fuse with the body. Flow condensation was only one of the benefits.


    He could try to turn his body tougher with it just like he did during baptism years ago.


    ¡®When I visit outside, I could hunt some animals to eat and then perform [Blood Feeding Technique] too.¡¯


    Then he remembered the technique he used half a month ago to make himself slimmer. Now, his body had already returned to normal to some extent, but he was still much less muscular.


    ¡®What else? [Nature Breath Technique]? No, that is useless unless¡­¡¯


    Illyan¡¯s eyes brightened.


    ¡®Unless in nature¡­ The expedition would be in the mountain ranges, so it should work properly until we reach the ancient city¡­ Maybe Ezekiel won¡¯t be able to notice me with it.¡¯


    So far, he thought of two ways to hide from that guy.


    First, use the acupoint technique to seal his body in hopes that it would hide the life force within him.


    And second, use [Nature Breath Technique].


    Both ways were completely opposite, so it was difficult to decide.


    ¡®The sealing technique is too uncertain for now. Until I understand the body better, I will put my hope on the distillation of presence¡­¡¯


    Illyan¡¯s thoughts went over all the techniques he currently owned.


    He decided to make a few amulets but could not make too many as it was too time-consuming.


    In the end, the one thing he completely gave up for this trip was the magic practice.


    The mana rope, barrier, and other things were desirable, but he knew his limits. He would be happy if he could feel the mana in half a year, let alone be able to use it in a fight.


    The last thing was¡­


    ¡®Mind Strengthening Runes.¡¯


    Something he viewed with high regard. He believed that he could, to a certain extent, excel in this.


    ¡®Alright! Let¡¯s do this!¡¯ Illyan¡¯s eyes turned determined as he stood up and headed to the hidden room.


    There, the man was sprawled on the table looking pitiful. His body was sewn up several times since Illyan had to close him up every time, and his body was skinny after not getting proper nutrition.


    But this time, Illyan wasn¡¯t here to experiment. He had already finished all his experiments, and now any further experiments would come with steeply diminishing results.


    So, he took the short sword he had and, with one smooth swing, ended Caleb¡¯s life during his sleep and finally freed him from his suffering.


    Then, he took the body to the laboratory and used a certain solution with acidic effects that melted the body into a red liquid, which Illyan promptly collected inside a vial.


    After that, all he needed to do was to prepare all kinds of tools and bags before putting a sign on his manor¡¯s house indicating his absence as he left the manor.


    His direction was towards the town¡¯s gate¡­

 118 - Three Professions

    "Halt! State your business beyond the city walls," the guards standing on the inner side of the town''s walls called out to Illyan, who came closer.


    "Greetings, sir. My name is Kaoran, and I am the institute¡¯s physician. I am going out for some time to forage for herbs," Illyan stated calmly as he flashed the badge that confirmed his identity.


    The guard looked at the badge and then back at Kaoran before stepping aside.


    "Hmm. I heard that there is a new doctor in town. Good for us. It looks like God is watching over us and has noticed our misery," the guard lamented before waving his hand.


    "Alright. I won¡¯t keep you here anymore. Just be careful and don¡¯t die out there, alright? That would be a catastrophe."


    Illyan nodded at the guard as he passed through the side doors meant for individuals like him.


    As he was going through the wall¡¯s gateway, he saw the moist and damp stones it was made of. There was moss growing in some parts, and the smell wasn¡¯t great.


    If someone really attacked, the walls would fall in no time.


    However, he didn¡¯t have time to ponder this as he quickly came out from the other side, where he nodded at the other guards, who were different from the last time.


    At first, he went straight on the road until he got far away, and then he headed right into the dense forest on the side.


    The moment he did so, he inhaled the scent of the woods and relaxed his body.


    His aura slowly receded as he employed the [Nature Breath Method], making him less noticeable to the eyes of others.


    Illyan didn¡¯t notice anyone following him, but it was better to do it. Even if there wasn¡¯t anyone, he still improved his proficiency in doing so.


    Once he felt his presence was as shallow as it could get, he started to run deeper into the forest.


    He was evading trees and bushes while jumping over depressions in the ground.


    When the ground was inaccessible, he climbed a tree and jumped from tree to tree. He sometimes even swung himself on the branches just like monkeys would.


    However, while he was running like this, he ran his spiritual perception at full capacity, feeling the plants around him. Whenever he noticed the herb he needed, he immediately jumped down to carefully collect it.


    He even prepared a special satchel for them.


    "This Ice Droplet Root is exactly what I need," Illyan nodded in satisfaction before he once again went on his way.


    After several hours of running around, he was so far from the town that he didn¡¯t need to fear meeting someone accidentally.


    His body was also so pumped up that his veins were visible on his arms and neck as he felt the blood flowing inside of him. It felt deafening.


    The reason why he was so willful in running around was not only to travel fast but also to train the [Way of the Body] that was turning rusty after no use for so long. The town was truly suffocating him.


    Once he was satisfied with stretching himself, he found a big rocky crag and climbed on it to watch the surroundings.


    He had a certain goal in going out.


    He was lucky as he immediately saw what he needed. Without wasting time, he ran in the direction of what he saw.


    Soon after, his ears trembled as the sound of flowing water reached him. He hastened his tempo, running through trees until he finally reached the clearing with the river.


    The weather was already warm enough that the water didn¡¯t freeze.


    Once he found the river, he went next to it against the flow. He looked inside the clear water and saw fish swimming inside.


    The sounds of birds chirping also calmed his mind as he emptied his thoughts.


    His meditation suddenly reached as much efficiency as it would have if he sat still. Normally, there would be high inefficiency because of the movements and the thoughts concerning them, but now Illyan felt as if he was floating in the clouds.


    Without even realizing it, Illyan arrived at the end of the river. There, water was flowing from the cracked rock several meters high above the ground. He found a small waterfall among the rocky environment.


    Illyan¡¯s mouth curled up as he took a small shovel from his bag.


    "It is time to begin¡­"


    ¡­¡­..


    The animals inside the forest were disturbed as loud noises resounded within it.


    Birds flew away while other animals ran away.


    Meanwhile, Illyan didn¡¯t care as he found flat ground next to the waterfall and started digging the dirt. It took him time, but with his relentless digging, he soon made a hole over a meter deep and wide.


    Once he was satisfied, he went towards the river and crouched down at the riverbank.


    There, he collected the clay into a small container that he had in his bag and mixed it with water. After that, he coated the insides of the pit with it.


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    He repeated this thousands of times until he covered the entire pit with clay with the thickness of his palm.


    Afterward, he started collecting big rocks and stones and began covering the clay in the pit with them. At first, he made the bottom, then he covered the walls. He sealed the holes between them with smaller rocks and more clay.


    Once he was done, he jumped out and started collecting firewood. When he had enough, he set up a fire around the pit.


    To distribute the heat equally, he made eight fireplaces.


    At first, he made them small so the heat wasn¡¯t overwhelming, but as time passed, he added more and more firewood to the fires.


    This entire construct took him over half a day to make.


    Now he had to maintain the fires for who knows how long.


    But he was patient.


    What he was doing was essential for him.


    And that was¡­


    A bathtub!


    There was no way for him to buy bathtubs inside the town as they were quite expensive. Not to mention that the water to fill the bathtub would cost him an arm and a leg.


    Especially at the frequency that Illyan planned to bathe.


    He covered the pit with clay and rocks to prevent water leakage, but he knew that if the clay didn¡¯t dry out, the man-made bathtub was useless.


    Unfortunately, even if the weather got warmer, it would still take weeks or possibly even months for the clay to dry out by itself.


    So he set up the fires to keep the surroundings warm. He couldn¡¯t make the fires too big or too close to the pit as the thermal shock would crack the clay, so it was kind of tiring for his mind.


    However, once he got the knack for it, he always had some time before he needed to check the fires again, so he hunted some birds and cooked them on one of the fires with herbs he collected before.


    Once he was done eating, he took one of the parchments he took from Armen.


    On it, the Mind Strengthening Runes were pulsating with power.


    He stared at them and tried to feel all of their intricacies, but the more he did, the more they blurred.


    Once he couldn¡¯t bear watching it, he turned to the notes written at the edges of the parchment.


    ¡®This is a poor replica of the real Mind Strengthening Runes and was made by one of the inscriptionists of The Black Obsidian. But it should be enough to push oneself over the 30th point of the Mind Unit to open up your Seat of Consciousness and reach the Magister level of the Arcanist¡¯s profession. To achieve that, you must be able to visualize all of the runes in your mind in the diagram of eight suns¡­¡¯


    After reading all of that and most of Arwen''s diary, Illyan realized that there were three most prominent professions on the continent that Magisters could become.


    Those professions were Mage, Wizard, and Arcanist.


    Three similar but at the same time different professions that had a specialized approach to the study of magic.


    As the notes of Mind Strengthening Runes hinted, Arcanists¡¯ main power source was their mind.


    They used their minds to move mana around or shape reality with its strength alone. They focused on their intent to do something and were easily able to make abstract magic.


    Their center of power was inside their head where the Seat of Consciousness lay.


    Once they collected enough knowledge, which would enlighten their minds and allow them to practice Arcane Magic, they would be especially dangerous.


    But the profession of Mages was much simpler.


    Their main characteristic was¡­


    Talent.


    Most of the Mages had extreme talent in the mana and could manipulate it just through their will alone. They also used their affinities for certain elements to their advantage, becoming walking disasters.


    Though, because of that, they also needed inhuman focus and the ability to visualize as they needed to keep the mana under their control at all times.


    Thanks to that, however, they were limited only by their imagination and the quality and quantity of their mana collected inside the Mana Nexus.


    The last profession was at first glance the combination of both in the eyes of ignorant people, but they couldn¡¯t be more wrong.


    Wizards used mana in the same way as mages. But they didn¡¯t need as much talent.


    They collected knowledge like Arcanists, but they didn¡¯t use it directly as a power source like Mind Power did.


    They used their intelligence and memorization to calculate a more efficient way to do magic.


    Instead of feeling the mana like Mages did, they used the logic behind the magic to manipulate it.


    Even their source of power, which was the Magic Circuit carved inside and out of their entire body, was focused on being the most efficient.


    The creation of magic mediums was the result of that.


    The most typical mediums for them were Vocal Chants, Hand Incantations, Magic Circles, Wands, and Runes.


    Of course, whenever they wanted to learn or create new magic, they always had to adjust their mediums, which was extremely difficult to do in a short time.


    Because of that, Wizards were known to prepare the most out of the three professions. They were the most rational and calculating of them.


    That also gave them an edge in battles. The mediums could become traps hidden from the eyes or could be accumulated in the form of magic scrolls.


    These written models of spells could then be passed on to other people to learn.


    That¡¯s how the sub-profession of Spellcaster came to be. These were people who learned simple spells that Wizards made despite not being able to create them themselves.


    There were many other professions and sub-professions out there, but these three were the basic foundation for most Magisters.


    ¡®So that¡¯s how it is, huh. Ezekiel seemed to focus mainly on the Mage profession as his attacks were straightforward and not so smooth. On the other hand, Aziro seemed to be more dependent on his Mind Power while using some spells.¡¯


    Illyan pondered while sitting next to the fireplaces.


    ¡®Wouldn¡¯t that make him a Spellcaster too?¡¯


    It was then that Illyan realized that most people would probably dabble in more professions to combine them to create the best results.


    Only a few would choose purely one profession.


    Even the basic way to progress to Magister was to create your Mana Nexus, Mana Circuit, and a minimal amount of Mind Power.


    It was then a personal choice which of the three one would focus on.


    But for the current Illyan, this question was not important.


    He couldn¡¯t even be considered a Novice Magician.


    For now, he had to take things slowly, step by step.


    ¡®I need to strengthen my mind first. Since my mana affinity is bad, I should help myself with Mind Power. Not only that, but this should allow me to think more quickly as the mind itself will get stronger¡­¡¯


    Illyan nodded to himself as he once again started to stare at the runes.


    However, doubt crept into his heart.


    ¡®I wonder why everyone on this continent uses only mana. Is it because the Bakur Legacy was from a different continent? But even so¡­¡¯


    "Ugh!" As his thoughts were wandering, the runes turned even more blurry while his mind trembled.


    He even saw the silver breeze flowing past him. The more his mind was unstable, the clearer connection he had to Zephyr.


    Fortunately, his mind soon stopped hurting.


    That gave Illyan an idea.


    The more he stared at the runes, the stronger his mind was becoming. But the progress had to be reset to a certain extent every time he had to rest his mind from staring.


    But if he ignored the pain¡­


    Arwen¡¯s notes described that some people would lose their mind and go insane.


    But Illyan should be able to recover.


    In fact, Illyan¡¯s mind was once cracked before it recovered.


    And that was when he once visited the Spirit World.


    He always thought that it was his spirit that entered the world, but that was false.


    Kaoran had once revealed it to him. Spirits weren¡¯t that easy to separate from the body.


    It was only his astral body that visited the Spirit World. His Astral Body was just a brittle condensation of his mind. Normally, people wouldn¡¯t be able to do this, but thanks to Bakur¡¯s tribe''s extreme training and fights, people¡¯s willpower grew, making their minds denser too.


    Together with the drug from the Bakur Legacy, they were able to condense an Astral Body for a limited time.


    But that wasn¡¯t important now.


    What was important was that since his Astral Body could recover, then his mind should too.


    ¡®I guess it is time to exploit my regeneration¡­¡¯


    Illyan smirked as he opened his eyes wide at the pulsating parchment.

 119 - Combining Techniques

    Several days passed by as Illyan still maintained these fires.


    Nobody was around despite the smoke billowing into the sky.


    It was only Illyan alone.


    Only animals made noise in the distance, but even they didn¡¯t come close.


    However, Illyan didn¡¯t waste his time sitting around and doing nothing.


    He hunted down several boars during these few days and employed the [Blood Feeding Technique] before quickly recovering.


    The more often he employed this technique, the more he realized the intricacies of his gift.


    His newfound knowledge about life force helped a bit too.


    His ability wasn¡¯t only about regeneration; it was more like the ability to consume energy, be it from food, spiritual energy, or something as vague as his emotions, to convert it into the life force that eventually regenerated him.


    Not only that, he tried several experiments on himself to test one of his theories.


    He dislocated his wrist with one simple twist of his second hand.


    Then he waited.


    Soon, his stamina was being depleted as his wrist trembled.


    With a click, the joints returned to their original places. Before applying the medicines to others, he always needed to align the joints to their former place manually for the medicine to work properly.


    But his body would do it automatically.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think about this sooner?¡±


    Illyan mumbled to himself as he finally realized another hint about his ability.


    His ability wasn¡¯t just pure regeneration or generation of life force; it was helping him to develop his body to its utmost potential and helping him to revert it to its best form.


    That¡¯s why his eyes mutated instead of the energy just being ejected out of his eyes.


    ¡®For now it works probably only on the body and my mind. Even then, the ability to recover the mind is much slower. Will the power spread as the ability gets stronger?¡¯


    Illyan¡¯s eyes narrowed.


    After Korin gave him the tea of clarity, his mind felt clearer than ever.


    He was boiling the water on one of the fires and made himself tea every hour.


    Illyan didn¡¯t feel like he was being wasteful.


    Once he ate half of the boar and recovered most of his muscles, he turned his attention back to the [Mind Strengthening Runes].


    But then a question came to his mind.


    What if he took the tea of clarity before the session?


    So, he tried it.


    And the result was excellent.


    Not only was his mind clearer than ever, but even the session itself made some progress.


    It didn¡¯t feel easier; actually, it was the opposite. As his mind felt clearer, he could see the runes clearer too, which made an even bigger toll on his mind. But that sped up his progress as he could almost visualize a simplified version of one of the runes inside of his mind for a short time.


    That, on the other hand, made his mind grow to the point where he almost produced the smallest amount of Mind Power after just a few days!


    Thanks to that, his mind felt clearer even without the tea of clarity¡¯s effect as his mind permanently strengthened.


    ¡®Mind Power Training is definitely much easier than Spiritual Training¡­¡¯


    Illyan felt a sense of accomplishment that he felt only two times in his life.


    Once, when he successfully survived the last training with Degres and the second time when Kaoran told him that he absorbed all the knowledge of medicine he knew.


    Illyan always yearned for the mystical powers like Spiritual Energy but was also realistic.


    His talent was so-so.


    Without it, it would take him too much time before he made good progress if he went the normal way.


    But, any normal person would already give up if they saw the arduous path before them.


    People in Illyan¡¯s situation would probably choose to become a knight and be satisfied with it.


    But not Illyan.


    He wanted more. Greediness was one of the few things that remained in his heart.


    But doubt emerged inside of him.


    If he was compatible with this mind practice, should he give up on the path of the knight and the path of mana?


    Especially the knight path.


    After all, he could already see that the end of this path wasn¡¯t that glorious.


    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Ezekiel was at least an aura master, yet Illyan could face him off with all other advantages that Ezekiel had. So, a pure aura master wasn¡¯t his match.


    There were only four realms in the knight path, but just Illyan¡¯s pure body strength could achieve the same results.


    It seemed useless to learn it if this was the result.


    But the idea of discarding the thing he risked his life for disgusted him.


    After being in a dilemma for some time, his brows relaxed as he took a sip of the tea.


    Learning it would not be a disadvantage.


    He already saw that Ezekiel actually combined the usage of the aura and mana, giving it stronger power.


    There was no way it was useless.


    ¡®But there is not enough time¡­¡¯ However, catching two rabbits at once would result in not catching either.


    Illyan stared at the pit as he waited for the clay to harden. Then, he started to consider how to solve this problem¡­


    Another day passed.


    Illyan sat down as he was chiseling a tree trunk he found. It looked like the roots were broken after a storm and not because the tree was dead as the wood was sturdy.


    He was carving a wide groove on the surface of one side of this trunk.


    Firstly, he cut out most of the wood by using the axe he hid in his bag and then used the knives to chisel out the details.


    The fireplaces were still burning, but Illyan looked inside of the pit to confirm whether it was ready.


    Just one touch was enough to feel the sturdy structure he made.


    ¡°Good. Let¡¯s begin.¡±


    He jumped out and took the long tree trunk in his hands.


    Then, he lodged one of its sides at the edge of the pit and the other right in the middle of the waterfall.


    Once he felt it was stuck between the rocks, he let it go as he watched the streams of water fall into the pit.


    Soon, the bottom was covered with water.


    It was then when Illyan reached his hand inside of the fireplaces.


    There, hot red rocks were being heated under the temperature of the hot embers.


    Without caring for his hands, he took them and threw them into the pit.


    He ignored the sizzling sound of his hands as he threw all rocks from all of the eight fireplaces inside.


    Then, he put other cold rocks in the center of the fires.


    Once a certain time passed, he jumped inside of the pit and retrieved the now cold stones before throwing the second batch inside.


    He was repeating the process every time the stones in the fire got hot and the stones in the pit got cold.


    After an hour, when the water was filled, Illyan put the trunk away but continued to heat up the water with the stones.


    Thankfully, his unrelenting effort resulted in the water starting to bubble little by little as the water came to the point of boiling.


    It was then when Illyan started to throw large quantities of herbs and other plants inside of the water.


    He also threw some body parts of the creatures he hunted down during his time spent in the wilderness.


    After doing this, he just waited for the water to cool down to the acceptable level while stripping himself and piercing the barbs in some of his acupoints before jumping in.


    ¡°Agh..¡± It was still extremely hot as Illyan¡¯s skin turned bright red, but he didn¡¯t care.


    The scent wafting out of the water was tempting as he sat down in the pit.


    His nose was barely above the water point. This was on purpose. He didn¡¯t want his body to absorb the nutrients unevenly, so the moment he employed the technique, he could just crouch his back a little to cover his entire body inside.


    However, he also wanted to be able to breathe air when he needed to, so this was the best he could think of for now.


    ¡®I can begin now. Time to test the idea I had.¡¯


    He started the breathing technique with his head outside of the water.


    He knew that the technique was made with the spiritual energy in the air in mind. That¡¯s probably why the herb bath helped a lot.


    With his eyes, he could see the dense particles of Spiritual Energy around him.


    That made him wonder¡­ If the herbs were full of Spiritual Energy, then why did Korin tell him that plants produced mana?


    He shook his head as he put this question aside.


    The pressure inside of him was getting worse and worse, but he didn¡¯t care.


    Instead, he started to meditate to clear his mind.


    But this time, his meditation was different.


    He employed the [Nature Breath Method] as that was his best meditation method, but he took a different approach.


    To reach a meditative state, you had two options.


    One was for you to empty the mind and not think about anything.


    The other was the opposite. It was to focus on one and only thing.


    It could be one of your senses, mostly hearing. Or it could be the Spiritual Energy flying around.


    Or it could be something you imagined in your mind.


    And Illyan imagined. Or rather visualized.


    These days of mind practice weren¡¯t useless at all as the rune he could visualize gave him an idea of how to solve his problem.


    If he didn¡¯t have time to practice these three techniques separately, then he needed to just find a way to combine them into one!


    Of course, the strain on his body was unimaginable as a normal person¡¯s body would already collapse. But Illyan withstood it.


    His ability was a curse but at the same time a blessing.


    He always suffered because of it, but now it was time to exploit it.


    When he reached the equilibrium of three techniques, the only thing on his mind was the rune. But his body automatically performed the rhythm of the breathing technique. It became almost muscle memory after performing it most of the time in recent days.


    However, as he didn¡¯t think, his body started to incline towards the water subconsciously as there was more Spiritual Energy to breathe in.


    Then he submerged his head inside of the hot water as he breathed in the water.


    The sensation was familiar to him, so he didn¡¯t fall off his meditative state.


    His lungs were filled with water as the Spiritual Quality of it was filtered down and passed inside of the body while the water flowed back from where it came when he exhaled.


    The same could be said about Spiritual Energy, but since it should also be ejected through his acupoints, it couldn¡¯t leave at once, accumulating inside of his body.


    That was a dream for past Illyan who wanted nothing more than to accumulate Spiritual Energy inside of his body.


    But now it was just a fleeting thought, not even that, as he focused on the rune.


    Time passed by before he finally noticed that a lot of the Spiritual Energy was actually flying towards the sky as the water would soon lose the efficiency that he wanted.


    That made him come out of his meditative state as he contemplated the solution.


    Soon, another crazy idea came to him.


    Just this day, he came up with an idea of how his body worked.


    He made an experiment which confirmed half of his suspicion.


    Now, he thought about how to confirm the other one.


    Did he need to consume the energy internally for it to be absorbed?


    He didn¡¯t waste time as he employed the technique he didn¡¯t think he would use so soon after using it just a few days ago.


    He didn¡¯t have a Firestorm Herb with himself now as he used the only one piece he had in his bag when he employed the technique before. However, as he practiced this technique tens of times already, he felt he could create enough heat within himself to make it work.


    The water¡¯s temperature also helped a lot as he felt his muscles heat up.


    Once the technique started to work, it couldn¡¯t be stopped, so he didn¡¯t dwell on it as he turned his focus back to the rune in his mind.


    Time passed by.


    The extreme pressure was getting even steeper.


    His muscles slowly deflated as each fiber turned into mush of vitality essence that was absorbed by the blood.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was that as his muscles were refined away and were condensed inside of his blood, it caused tenfold of pressure on his body.


    Squelching sounds resounded in his body as his blood vessels burst open while his bones literally cracked.


    But he persisted.


    Suddenly, the water surrounding him came to disturbance as the energy within was flowing towards him as if he was a siphon.


    The energy was used by his ability to regenerate his body at a heightened rate as his bones reconnected and his vessels sealed themselves. Even his stressed-out mind that was visualizing the rune felt refreshed by the supply of energy.


    Not only that, but the amount of nutrients inside of the water was so high that his half-refined muscles started to heal!


    The moment this happened, a tug-of-war between the [Blood Feeding Technique] and his ability began.


    But Illyan perceived this only vaguely as he was in a deep state of meditation¡­

 120 - Droplet Of Mind Power

    The next day, Illyan finally came to his senses.


    When he opened his eyes, he realized that he was sitting in just a small puddle.


    The puddle was crystal clear, displaying that any medicinal aspect it should have had was already gone.


    Illyan tried to stand up, but his legs almost didn¡¯t listen to him as he wobbled out of the pit with difficulty.


    Once he did so, he just lay next to it on his back as he stared at the sky.


    ¡°Hahahahah!¡±


    The birds were scared and flew away when they heard Illyan¡¯s hoarse laughter.


    ¡°Finally! Finally, a way to get stronger in a short time!¡±


    He felt ecstatic.


    While his body felt depleted, he should be able to recover in a few days.


    At that time, he should be able to feel some changes, even if minimal.


    How did he know?


    Well, it was because he finally condensed his first drop of Mind Power.


    It was nothing in the grand scheme of things, but to the current Illyan, it was a priceless treasure.


    Because, thanks to that, he could ¡®see¡¯ or rather feel the situation inside his body. His Mind Power allowed him to observe the insides of his body.


    With that, he would have a much easier time doing some techniques or testing some medicines. The number of uses this power had was limitless.


    ¡°The one droplet¡­ I guess that¡¯s 0.001 of the first point¡­ To reach the first level of acolyte, you need five points.¡±


    Illyan was muttering to himself like a madman as he felt a big progress on his path.


    That meant he needed to ¡®just¡¯ repeat the thing he did now 1000 times, and he would be in the second stage, also called the Apprentice Stage.


    To reach each level of acolytes, he needed to accumulate five, ten, and fifteen points respectively.


    Once he did so and met other conditions, he could become a Magister.


    Of course, the other condition was to create a sturdy Mana Circuit and Mana Nexus, where he needed to collect at least the same amount of mana as the Mind Power within his head.


    Arwen didn¡¯t know much about how to continue after that, but he knew that Magisters needed to create an imprint within themselves.


    That would be the attribute that would be imprinted in your very being for the rest of your life.


    The attribute could be anything from a natural element to something as vague as fate.


    Only talented people could have more specific or powerful attributes, though.


    What Illyan was interested in, though, was the fact that you could also reach a Magister level just by collecting another fifteen points of Mind Power and opening the Seat of Consciousness when you gather all thirty points worth of it.


    He guessed the same applied to his mana.


    That meant he had many options to choose from in the future.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± It was then that Illyan realized that there were still barbs inside his acupoints.


    With a groan, he started to pull them off.


    The sudden relief almost made him moan in pleasure as the gusts of Spiritual Energy started to leave his body in a hurry.


    He didn¡¯t care. His goal this time wasn¡¯t to absorb the Spiritual Energy anyway. He could find a way for that later on.


    Now, he just wanted to rest¡­


    ¡­¡­


    Once he recovered enough to stand up, Illyan started to clean the tracks he left around and hid the bathing pit by putting some branches and dirt over it.


    He hoped to use it many more times in the future and didn¡¯t want some animal or human to break it.


    Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t spend his time here for that long.


    Illyan could already imagine that people were looking for him.


    In the town that lacked a physician, he was someone sought after.


    With a sigh, Illyan packed his belongings as he went on his way.


    This time, however, he went much more slowly as his body was still shaky.


    But since he was so slow, Illyan felt like it was a waste of time.


    So, he took out some of the throwing knives he got from Caleb.


    He wanted to learn to throw them properly for some time already. It shouldn¡¯t be too hard with his control over the body.


    Furthermore, now that his mind was stronger, he should be able to perform some tasks more easily and learn them quicker.


    All in all, he was a better version of his old self.


    And so, as he went on, the knives were flying towards the closest trees.


    Big splatters of splinters then exploded in every direction while the knife itself recoiled and fell on the ground, leaving behind a large dent in the tree.


    The aim itself wasn¡¯t a problem. However, the knife would turn into the wrong angle which caused it to not penetrate the tree at all. He needed to find a way to balance the throw in order to let the blade of the knives enter the target first.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Once the knife fell, Illyan would come closer to collect it back.


    This process repeated itself as Illyan threw knives at every tree in the vicinity.


    Thanks to that, Illyan managed to learn the throwing of knives pretty soon.


    Instead of explosions upon impact, only a small slit appeared on the tree with only a small part of the hilt coming out of it.


    But Illyan was sure that if he put his entire strength into the throw, he could pierce through the entire tree without problem.


    He once again looked at the blades with a blue hue in curiosity.


    He wondered how this was forged. If it came to raw toughness and sharpness, then the Bakur Tribe¡¯s cold weapons won out, but the technique of the forging was definitely better.


    ¡®Now that I think about it¡­¡¯


    After finally gaining a bit of Mind Power, Illyan could feel more keenly the things around himself.


    With the combination of his eyes, he could see much more clearly the energies flowing around the world.


    The Spiritual Energy overflowing in the air, the sparse Mana which seemed to be more stationary, and even the auras of the trees.


    But he also felt the aura of the sword. Or rather, the traces of aura.


    ¡®It was tempered by aura?¡¯ An idea sprung into his mind as he stared at the blades.


    The aura was like a fire, and it was meant to cover your body and weapons, so it wouldn¡¯t be strange to use it to temper them.


    Now that he finally concluded this, he was glad to choose to stick to the path of knights.


    It could bring him a lot of benefits in the future if he played his cards well.


    Coo-coo


    As Illyan pondered about this, a bird was emitting a sound on the tree carefreely while grooming its feathers once in a while.


    Illyan looked up.


    And then, his hand holding a knife turned into a blur as the blue streak shot at the bird.


    The bird¡¯s music was cut short as its body was pierced with a blade.


    Its helpless body fell from the branch right into the hand of the attacker.


    ¡®Now I finally have a way to attack at long range. If only I could walk around with a bow and arrows, this wouldn¡¯t be such a problem¡­¡¯


    After Illyan lamented a bit, he continued on his way¡­


    ¡­¡­


    Subsequently, he managed to leave the forest and enter the town without incident as he rushed to his manor.


    But as he entered the town without a hitch, the sudden rush of information hit his head.


    The people were doing their own things as they walked on the streets, stood in the stalls selling goods, and other mundane things.


    Even before, Illyan felt little discomfort at this as he lived in reclusive places most of his life.


    However, after several months, he was already used to it.


    Until now, since he felt his mind overwhelmed by the amount of information he got.


    He felt all of his senses taking in much more information than before. He could see better, he could hear more distinct sounds, he could differentiate the smells in the air, and he could even feel the vibrations from the ground.


    His body was tempered yesterday, so maybe his senses got a little stronger too, but he was sure that most of the changes were the result of the Mind Power.


    He could process more information thanks to it, and the things that would just blend together normally were now recognizable.


    Unfortunately, there were not many pleasant sensory stimuli inside the town.


    People were unwashed, the feces were rotting on the roads, and rotten animals could be found in some abandoned alleys. That¡¯s if they weren¡¯t devoured.


    It took him several seconds before he adapted to the new perception and then hurried to his place.


    Fortunately, as he got closer and closer to his place, the area became cleaner, and he could sigh in relief.


    But that was temporary, as the moment he saw his manor from a distance, he could also see a lot of people standing in front of his doors.


    These people didn¡¯t seem to be important as their clothes were just rags, so Illyan guessed they were patients.


    When he got closer, they noticed his presence as they looked around. Their looks were tired and almost despairing. With dim eyes, they eyed the newcomer, expecting another person in need of treatment.


    However, as they saw Illyan¡¯s tall stature, their eyes shone brightly.


    ¡°Doctor! Doctor is here!¡±


    ¡°We can finally be treated!¡±


    ¡°My child! Please treat my child, sir!¡±


    All of them ran towards Illyan, who just stared at them expressionlessly.


    Despite being a physician, he didn¡¯t feel the obligation to help people.


    He could see that some of the people were disgruntled because of his absence. They didn¡¯t say anything as they still needed to be treated, but he could almost feel the intangible resentment.


    ¡°


    Good morning. Please wait for a while. I just came back from foraging and need to store my herbs¡­¡±


    Illyan explained as he avoided them and hurried to his doors.


    But then he stopped as he looked at the little girl in the man''s arms.


    She seemed to be unconscious with tears drying up on her face.


    The man¡¯s face was tired and full of worry as he held her gently.


    The image of her face overlapped with the girl he killed in the Blood Crow Forest, and he sighed.


    ¡°What happened to her?¡±


    ¡°Doctor! H-her¡­ My daughter¡¯s stomach suddenly started to hurt very badly, and I don¡¯t know what happened¡­¡±


    The father was on the verge of crying himself as he explained what happened.


    Unfortunately, other patients didn¡¯t have the same sentiments as they stared at the man with anger.


    ¡°Hey! We were here first! Doctor, you should treat my shoul¡ª¡±


    ¡°Argh?!¡± Just then, the little girl woke up screaming. She started to wriggle in her father¡¯s arms, which made him almost let go of her.


    The horrifying screams of pain prompted the other people to get quiet as they looked at the little girl.


    ¡°Take her in.¡± Illyan said as he opened the doors for the man.


    The father quickly entered the doors before Illyan turned to the others.


    ¡°Emergencies have priority. Please wait for a while.¡± After saying so, he closed the doors with a bang.


    ¡°Carry her downstairs.¡± Illyan said expressionlessly as he went down to the laboratory.


    He didn¡¯t like people going into his laboratory, but when it came to emergencies, it was better to go to a sterilized environment where he had all the equipment ready, even for surgeries.


    Thankfully, he always made sure that there wasn¡¯t anything suspicious left and cleaned everything whenever he finished in there.


    Illyan took her from her father¡¯s arms and put her on the table.


    Then, he rolled up her clothes to reveal her stomach.


    Seeing that the girl wasn¡¯t ready to answer his questions, he had to come up with a diagnosis all alone.


    So, he had to touch the tummy to feel it a little.


    ¡°Aaaargh!¡± The screams got even worse as she started to wave her hands around.


    ¡°Doctor! What are you doing?!¡± The father was flustered seeing his daughter like this and started screaming as well.


    ¡°Don¡¯t speak when I do not ask you to.¡± Illyan just looked at him coldly, which made the man¡¯s legs go soft.


    Then, he held the girl¡¯s limbs and forcefully strapped them on the table with leather straps. He bought these after seeing the hidden room¡¯s ones.


    However, these ones were for patients and not captives.


    After immobilizing her, he started to diagnose the problem.


    He also used a little of his Spiritual Energy Manipulation he could muster to send it inside to feel her innards. Thanks to his Mind Power, the feeling was now more clear, so he felt he should be able to find the problem soon.


    At first, he felt her tummy and found the problem was somewhere underneath her navel since she felt stronger pain there.


    The moment he touched the right place, her stomach started to wriggle.


    Illyan narrowed his eyes.


    ¡®Something is inside. And it¡¯s alive.¡¯


    ¡°I need to open her abdomen.¡± Illyan explained expressionlessly as he took out a scalpel. He also sprinkled some of the sleeping powder.


    This was one he created himself, as the one made for trolls would be too strong for her.


    Since he didn¡¯t need to see her reactions anymore, it would be just more difficult to operate on her while she felt everything.


    When the father heard Illyan¡¯s words, he paled.


    However, Illyan didn¡¯t care as he made one long incision on her stomach.


    The wound started to bleed, so he quickly wiped it off before using another tool to pull the sides of the incision apart.


    Once he did so, he started to observe the insides and even probed it with his Spiritual Energy. He was patient as he looked for the problem.


    ¡°Crrieyrgh!¡±


    Suddenly, a shriek resounded inside as a black blur appeared in Illyan¡¯s vision.


    With small tweezers, he quickly snapped at the thing.


    Feeling the resistance through the tool, he knew he caught it, so he yanked it outside and put it inside the bottle he prepared.


    Once he sealed it, he looked inside the bottle.


    ¡°Centipede?¡± Illyan muttered in surprise.


    Centipedes were uncommon in this area. And even less common was that they entered the bodies of humans.


    However, feeling the similar fluctuations it gave off, Illyan realized where it came from.


    ¡®Acolytes, huh¡­¡¯

 121 - Benefits Of High Vitality

    Once he realized who, or rather what, the troublemaker was, he decided to finish the operation.


    He looked into the little girl¡¯s stomach and found another tree of these centipedes.


    They were just around the length of a finger, but it was enough to cause a big problem inside the body.


    Once he successfully extracted all of them, he started to heal her body.


    But her body was weak, and the injuries caused by the centipedes were quite serious.


    Fortunately, Illyan had a solution. He started to concoct medicine on the spot with the new herbs he brought.


    He then took out one of the vials used by the acolytes and used a pipette to extract a drop, which he put inside the concoction.


    He had already done some experiments with the thing and decided that distilling it like this would create a good substitute for a medicine for normal people.


    The contents inside the vial were too strong by themselves, and Illyan was unwilling to waste a high amount, but this solved the problem.


    Of course, he wouldn¡¯t waste it on everyone. Only when people were dying and he could save them with this.


    Nobody wanted to be treated by physicians who failed at some point.


    The fewer people who died under his care, the better credibility he had as a physician.


    Once he finished the concoction, he started to apply it to the places that were injured. Seeing the immediate reaction, Illyan nodded to himself.


    Then he stitched the incision before turning to the father.


    ¡°She should recover in a few days. Don¡¯t feed her anything during that time since her digestive system needs to recover.¡± Illyan then waved his hand, indicating they could leave.


    The man kneeled on the ground and cried.


    ¡°Thank you! Thank you so much!¡± The man kowtowed and then took a pouch, taking all the money he had.


    Illyan took some but left the rest. The man wouldn¡¯t be able to pay off the drop of the vial with such meager money, so taking everything he had only for him to die by starvation wasn¡¯t the best course of action.


    The man was even more thankful, seeing this as he cried¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    Several days passed.


    Illyan was slowly recovering and already felt his strength rising. His muscles got leaner and were also more elastic. He also felt that his veins were more prominent on his body when he flexed his muscles, making him wonder if it was because of his strengthened blood.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have much time during that period to train as there was a serious problem going on in the town.


    The centipede epidemic began!


    Several people visited him daily because of abdominal pains. He could only surgically cut them out while looking for a medicine that would solve the issue.


    Watching the woman who was lying on his surgical table and was unconscious, he started to open her stomach with an expressionless face.


    He usually found from three to twelve of these creatures per person. He had to look deeply for them each time as they were cleverly hidden.


    But this time it was different.


    The rustle echoed as sudden pain was felt on his little finger.


    ¡°Hmm?¡± Illyan was surprised that the centipede attacked instead of hiding but didn¡¯t hesitate to neutralize it. However, the centipede this time was crazy as it writhed trying to bite him again.


    But in the end, it ended up in a jar as he put it away.


    He looked at his finger and noticed the small droplet on the verge of dripping off his finger.


    Another close look made him see another color in the wound.


    ¡®Poison, huh.¡¯


    He took a universal antidote just in case and continued the operation.


    However, another twist happened as several blurs flew out of the abdomen trying to reach him.


    Or rather, his wounded hand.


    ¡®Are they after my blood?¡¯


    Illyan¡¯s quick thought process made him realize the crux of the matter as he caught them all in one swoop.


    Once he did so, he hurried to sew the woman up and send her away.


    Then, he returned to the laboratory to carry the jars of centipedes to a hidden room.


    He had already collected 86 of them and was sure this wasn¡¯t the end of it.


    That, however, gave him some margin for error as he started to study them. He dissected several of them to understand them better.


    If this did not end soon, the entire town would be contaminated.


    And him being a physician would not have time to do anything other than just treating these people.


    So, looking for a culprit and creating some kind of medicine would be for the best.


    He already knew that it was probably one of the acolytes who was in the town.


    Aziro and Ezekiel were also options, but considering the strength of the individual centipede, it was improbable.


    They grew in strength as they consumed the flesh inside the people they parasitized while leaving the dead cells behind, which he had to surgically cut out later on.


    Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    However, the growth was limited. Firstly, the normal mortal couldn¡¯t nourish a magical beast to a high level. Illyan guessed that either the centipedes were wasted on the mortals or that they were simply a naturally weak species.


    When he tried to vivisect one for the first time, it exploded into a dark mist that tried to corrode him. But the power the explosion gave off was at most at the first stage. The same applied to their venom.


    Only the higher number had a chance to be at the level of the acolytes.


    But now, as he was putting the new jars inside the room, he noticed that one of them grew thicker in a matter of seconds.


    He looked over to observe it. It was the one that bit him.


    Its vitality was growing at a visible pace as it writhed incessantly inside the jar.


    Sighing, Illyan put the other jars away and drew blood on his fingers with a flick of his nails and opened the jar.


    He was careful not to let the centipede fly away. The thing, albeit big, was extremely light and when it jumped, it could glide through the air at high speed.


    The moment it smelled the scent of the blood, it began to screech, trying to lunge at him.


    But with Illyan¡¯s superb reactions, he caught the creature while letting some of his blood drip inside its mouth.


    It shivered as if from pleasure.


    Illyan¡¯s eyes glittered as he put it back inside the jar and waited.


    A quarter of an hour later, the centipede grew several new segments on its body and grew so much thicker that it almost didn¡¯t fit inside the jar.


    But just as Illyan wanted to take it out, the creature exploded inside the jar, shattering it into many pieces!


    The shards of the glass flew everywhere as Illyan¡¯s arms and face got hit by several of them.


    Looking at his wound-covered hand, he started to remove the shards expressionlessly one by one.


    Once he was done, he started to research the liquid left after the explosion.


    After several hours, he found a reason.


    ¡®The body vessel¡¯s limit of vitality was exceeded to the point of explosion¡­¡¯ This new discovery confirmed his thoughts about the creatures being inherently weak.


    The experiments continued as he tried to find the exact limit that the creatures could withstand.


    After killing dozens, he found out that four droplets of his blood were enough for them to reach their maximal potential. Any more and they would literally swell until they were torn apart from inside.


    However, this time Illyan didn¡¯t let the liquid just splash everywhere and collected most of it.


    This liquid was extremely acidic, so he had to prepare bottles that would withstand it. He was then trying to understand all of its properties.


    Since the centipede was venomous, the black liquid also became a strong poison. Not nearly strong enough to take down the likes of Ezekiel, but it could have an effect on Aziro, who had a weaker body.


    He even touched the liquid to check on the acidic level and found out it could slightly burn him. So, another step was to taste it. He always wanted to find something that could speed up his ability growth.


    Taking one of the bottles up to his mouth, he drank it all at once.


    ¡°Ew¡­¡± The taste was anything but pleasant, but the taste mostly faded away soon since his taste buds were literally melting.


    Soon, the bubbling sound was emitted from his stomach.


    ¡°That was disgusting.¡± Illyan then sent his Mind Power to observe the result.


    The liquid was acting violently but was gradually digested. This caused the poison to spread to his entire body, but he quickly regenerated any damage it caused.


    What was good to mention was the fact that the centipedes were energy and nutrition dense. He could almost feel his body scream in delight despite being also destroyed at the same time.


    His Mind Power didn¡¯t feel much vitality radiating from the liquid despite the centipede devouring his blood. Now, he knew why it was so. It nourished the centipede¡¯s body.


    Seeing this, Illyan went to try a new experiment with another centipede. This time, however, he didn¡¯t give it his blood and just let it detonate by itself.


    Once the creature exploded, he collected the liquid and swallowed it.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± His eyes shone. Not because the liquid was better. In fact, the effects were minimal. The poison was weaker, and the nutrition was nothing special.


    But that meant that as long as he fed the centipedes his blood, he could grow his little farm to create poisons and devour the rest.


    He felt like eating those would allow him to continue using [Blood Feeding Technique] at a higher rate.


    Of course, for that, he would need to find the man responsible for this. After all, he didn¡¯t know how to take care of them¡­


    However,


    that had to wait as Illyan didn¡¯t want to cause any other problems before getting a little stronger.


    .........


    Two weeks passed by.


    Illyan still continued treating his patients to get more of the centipedes, and the entire town fell into chaos during this time.


    Unfortunately, the mayor didn¡¯t say anything as he watched his people suffer.


    The people began to be desperate.


    It was at that time when Vael came up with the serum that made the centipede leave the bodies.


    Despite being retired, he was still much more experienced than Illyan and after ¡®borrowing¡¯ some of the jars from Illyan, he created this medicine.


    This made the townsfolk unbelievably grateful as they shed their tears for the man. He even gave the serum for free since most of these people were poor.


    Illyan, on the other hand, focused on his training. He had already condensed the second drop of Mind Power and was ecstatic.


    His mind got even clearer than before. Of course, it wasn¡¯t as enormous a difference since he already had one drop before. The more drops he would condense, the lesser the feeling would be.


    But Illyan didn¡¯t care. Patience was the key.


    Illyan also noticed that his countenance was smoother. It felt as if the [Blood Feeding Technique] in combination with his innate ability made him reconstruct his body bit by bit.


    Normal people would not notice, but Illyan with his Mind Power did.


    The feeling of progression was exhilarating.


    At this moment, Illyan was planting new seeds that he collected while taking away the herbs he needed for the Spiritual Taming Food. He collected all the parts when he was outside and just had to plant the herbs inside his garden.


    But it was at that time when Illyan was dealing with the centipedes and so he thought of a brilliant idea.


    Since the blood was tempting for all beings that were greedy for this vitality, then plants should count too, right?


    Dripping the blood on one of the seeds, it soon turned into a seedling.


    Illyan felt as if his life was overturned.


    Since then, every planted herb was fertilized by a combination of Vael¡¯s fertilizer and Illyan¡¯s blood.


    Some of the herbs even grew within a few hours!


    Thanks to that, he could start concocting the Beast Taming Supplement every day to consume.


    And together with the sudden inspiration, he combined it with the centipede¡¯s liquid to drink.


    Everything went smoothly.


    .........


    Another week passed by as Illyan visited the library a lot. He was still far from reading all the books inside and wanted to fill his blank spaces with information.


    Whenever he felt he was at his peak state, he would go forage the herbs and temper his body and techniques inside the hot tub.


    When he came to the manor, he tried to breed the centipedes, albeit with failure. Because of that, he slowed his consumption of them and prepared to look for the culprits.


    In truth, it wasn¡¯t that hard to guess the reason for this happening. All of the acolytes were running around doing their own stuff.


    Just that was enough to understand they would be part of the expedition too. As for what they were preparing for¡­


    Illyan doubted it was because of the trolls. Yes, they were dangerous, but not threatening if you weren¡¯t dumb.


    So, Illyan feared that there would be another clash with Ezekiel deep in the mountains. Maybe, he would not be alone.


    He investigated and found out that Ezekiel was actually known around as the Great Bandit who had been mugging everyone and everything in the vicinity for the last two decades.


    It made him wonder why a man like this was living this way.


    However, Illyan didn¡¯t continue thinking about it as he slowly sneaked throughout the town.


    He quietly left his manor while hiding his presence, donning Arwen''s robe.


    Under his hood, a hideous face was revealed with a bald head.


    He didn¡¯t waste his time during these three weeks and was looking around for the ones causing the centipede problem.


    In the end, he found that there were three insect breeders in the midst of the acolytes¡¯ group.


    He didn¡¯t have to look hard as they were traveling often beyond the walls after Vael came with the treatment.


    Illyan could deduce that they were looking for another food for their insects.


    He watched them going around for a week now.


    Whenever they came back, a strong stench of blood wafted out of them even though they tried to hide it.


    So, he decided to go after them. Even though the treatment was created, people still suffered from time to time and were visiting him daily. It was pretty annoying, to say the least.


    ¡®Maybe introducing myself as a physician wasn''t a good idea.¡¯


    Shaking his head, he traveled to the abandoned part of the wall and started to climb it.


    There were all kinds of cracks covering it, so it was no problem for him to get over it and jump down on the other side.


    Once he employed his [Nature Breath Method], he went in the direction of the three acolytes with a cold glint in his eyes.

 122 - Bandit Camp

    ¡°Haah¡­ This is killing me. Why did we survive the war conscription, only to risk our lives for something completely meaningless? That guy is just aberrant who¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t call him that, Jeren. It will just bring misfortune. This guy, albeit deceptive, isn¡¯t aberrant.¡±


    A carriage was being driven through barren land that was completely silent, the only noise coming from inside the carriage where a heated discussion was taking place.


    Outside, several guards accompanied the carriage, prepared to defend their masters.


    The three occupants inside the carriage were acolytes.


    Beside them, several boxes emitted clicking sounds, suggesting creatures were sealed inside.


    ¡°His abilities are similar, though. Sewing body parts onto himself to gain strength. But his abilities aren¡¯t that freaky. Now that I think about it, we should be glad that we were transferred here instead of to the City of Naaz.¡±


    One of them spoke calmly while smoking a pipe.


    ¡°Hah! That place is just one big trap. The only neutral place in the northern part of the continent? What rubbish!¡±


    Jeren scoffed sarcastically as he looked out of the window.


    ¡°In the end, that place is filled with monsters and fiends. It¡¯s not weird that it¡¯s dangerous there. From what I heard, that one blond guy was actually deployed there and managed to survive for a very long time. He could be said to be a veteran.¡±


    One of them discussed the rumors.


    ¡°You mean Arwen? What kind of veteran would die after employing one spell before dying, haha?¡± The man laughed hard, unable to understand how such a weakling survived in Naaz.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need strength to survive there, Bast. You just need to hide better and run faster than others. Arwen was such a guy. He learned [Shadow Cloak] and [Light Boots]. That¡¯s why he was even sent there, to be a scout. He was just unlucky to meet that Smiling Devil or whatever title he was given.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ That¡¯s true. He was really good at being inconspicuous. I didn¡¯t even know about him most of the time. He was always studying something.¡± Bast nodded thoughtfully.


    ¡°Then why didn¡¯t he use the [Shadow Cloak], Harven? If he hid, then he wouldn¡¯t have died that day,¡± Jeren asked suspiciously.


    ¡°How would I know? I certainly didn¡¯t notice him back then. Maybe the guy had a spell to spot him?¡± Harven shrugged.


    ¡®Ah, so that¡¯s how it was.¡¯


    Illyan, silently following the caravan hidden on the side of the road within the forest, realized the reason why he could kill Arwen so easily.


    Actually, he had been suspicious for some time that Arwen, a second-level acolyte, was employing some kind of stealth spell during that time. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if he was awkward in using another spell; using two spells was probably something admirable already.


    As for how Illyan could see him¡­ He could guess the reason.


    With his eyes, he could probably see through such a spell and maybe just didn¡¯t realize that there was mana around. He couldn¡¯t perceive mana properly after all.


    He was also intrigued hearing another mention of the City of Naaz. This city was mentioned on the parchment that Falia gave him, which made him interested in that place.


    Actually, as time passed, Illyan also overheard that these guys bought these insects from a merchant coming from Naaz to the capital of Vanaras. Of course, these three could afford only this kind of thing from the merchant.


    They were considered the lowest stage creatures, also known as Mortal Insects.


    But with a large enough number, they could still terrorize other acolytes given the right circumstances.


    ¡°If only that old fart hadn''t created that antidote¡­ Now we have to go hunt some bandits like peasants would¡­¡±


    Bast complained quietly.


    ¡°Can¡¯t we just get rid of him?¡± Jeren asked.


    ¡°No.¡± Harven shook his head. The other two looked at him in confusion, so he quickly elaborated.


    ¡°The old man has been a pain in the arse for a long time. But even Aziro can¡¯t just get rid of him since he was supposedly part of the Heart Bearers in the past.¡±


    When Harven revealed this, the other two men were shocked.


    But they weren¡¯t the only ones shocked; Illyan, who was stalking them, had a surprised expression on his face.


    ¡®That happy-go-lucky guy was from that corpse-collecting gang?¡¯


    Imagining the old grandpa who was coming to visit him with a shovel on his shoulder being part of such an organization made him shiver. Illyan never let his guard down, but it was still disturbing to realize the person beside him was completely different from how he presented himself.


    ¡°What? Then why would he treat the centipede¡¯s hosts?¡± Jeren asked in confusion.


    ¡°The Heart Bearer Gang is old, so it is inevitable there will be factions. I don¡¯t know much, but the man should be quite famous in the previous generation and still have many loyal men to him in the gang,¡± Harven shook his head.


    ¡®So it''s like this.¡¯ Illyan suddenly realized that he could come to the wrong conclusion. The Heart Bearer Gang was something like a clan. The core members were actually a family. So it was possible that Vael was just born there but had different ideals.


    Many thoughts passed through Illyan¡¯s mind, but he was still careful not to expose himself.


    Time passed as the carriage proceeded on its way, Illyan following them while listening to their conversation. Most of it was just gibberish, but sometimes they talked about interesting things.


    For example, they talked about the world beyond the Vanaras Kingdom.


    From what Illyan read in the books and overheard from various conversations, this place could be said to be one of the most barren places on the continent. This also made it one of the weakest regions since not many strong people would visit this place.


    While he liked to hear about it, he still was serious as he had never slipped up during the entire time. He could have slain them the moment they got out of the walls, but he feared that someone would notice if it happened too close to the town.


    Illyan had already tailed them for several days but never let his guard down.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Finally, one day, the carriage stopped on its way.


    Illyan curiously observed what they were doing.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Harven came out of the carriage to give orders.


    ¡°You guys hide in the forest! We can¡¯t startle the snake with you all surrounding the carriage. Only the driver and one guard will stay with us.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The guards nodded, immediately leaving their posts to enter the forest on both sides of the road without complaint.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ Why do we need to do it like this? Can¡¯t we just find some desolate village and be done with it?¡± Jeren groaned in frustration.


    ¡°No. Aziro made it clear that any more targeting of villages would be punished,¡± Bast said with slight fear in his tone.


    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t kill the goose for the sake of the egg, can we?¡± Harven spoke once again.


    It was obvious from their conversation that Harven was the more senior among them. His voice was deeper and calmer, and his age was quite advanced.


    The other two were mostly obedient, becoming quiet after he spoke up.


    In silence, the carriage continued on its way, but no guards surrounded it. Only one guard with a spear sat next to the driver, looking around vigilantly.


    It looked like the carriage belonged to some merchant on its way to the villages in the north.


    ¡®Are they trying to bait someone?¡¯ Illyan immediately realized their intent.


    Since they couldn¡¯t attack villagers, based on their earlier conversation, there was only one target left they could comfortably attack while meeting their quota.


    ¡®Bandits, huh¡­¡¯


    As bandits plagued this land, the robed men took advantage to collect them.


    Illyan could see this from the first time he had been in the wagon driving into Winterfrost town.


    They were easy targets that actually formed groups. That made it even more convenient to collect large numbers of them than to hunt wild animals, which rarely formed large groups and were harder to find.


    All in all, bandits were a hot commodity here in Vanaras. Yet, many people still chose to become bandits in hopes of avoiding starvation.


    Life was harsh here, although it could be said to be relatively safer than the world beyond the borders.


    But Illyan didn¡¯t feel any compassion for them; he just followed the carriage with his own interest¡­


    ¡­¡­


    One particular evening, deep in the forest.


    Over twenty men surrounded one person with a cloak wrapped around them, while one held them tightly.


    They wore ragged clothes and were mostly malnourished, but their eyes emitted a light of greed.


    ¡°Hehe, what a beauty. Aren¡¯t you some daughter of a noble? I have never seen anyone like you.¡± The one holding the person laughed merrily. However, if one listened closely, they would hear the hatred behind the words.


    ¡°I-if she is a daughter of a noble, then shouldn¡¯t we let her go? What if the nobles come after us?¡± One of the men was scared witless when he saw the face of their hostage.


    ¡°Hah! And let the opportunity of touching the woman of my dreams go? As if!¡± The first man growled.


    ¡°No! If she truly is a noble¡¯s descendant, then we should ask for ransom! They will give us money! With that, we should be able to survive until the spring fully melts the snow! Then we can grow our food again!¡± One of them tried to persuade the group.


    ¡°And then what? We will be slaughtered like


    pigs! You are too naive, Brendon!¡± Another one said with a resigned face.


    Suddenly, the bushes started to make noise as the branches cracked. That startled the men as they reached for their weapons.


    Surprisingly, most of their so-called weapons were just farming tools. Most of them wielded hoes, shovels, scythes, sickles, pitchforks, and such.


    Soon, a person emerged from the bushes, calling out to the others.


    ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± It was a man. He held a makeshift spear in his left hand and three dead foxes by their tails in the other.


    His face was covered in wrinkles, and his hair was already gray, but his eyes were still bright.


    ¡°Village Chief!¡± One of the men called out loudly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me that when we are like this.¡± The man coldly gazed at the careless guy.


    ¡°B-boss, what do we do with this person? We fear that she may¡ª¡±


    The person was interrupted.


    ¡°She is not a noble. What would an aristocratic lady do in the middle of the forest alone?¡±


    The old man just shook his head as he threw the foxes on the ground.


    Only now did others notice the plentiful game that the man had brought. Their eyes turned even greedier than when they looked at the woman they held.


    It wasn¡¯t common to catch this much in one day. In truth, their boss was very good at hunting, as he was the oldest son of a hunter in the village back in the day.


    It was only after he helped the village through its worst days that people accepted him as their village leader.


    Just as the people ran to the foxes, preparing to cook them, the chief approached the girl and forcibly pulled down the hood covering her face.


    The scared face of the fair lady showed up. Her big green eyes stared back at the man as her entire body shook. She looked young, maybe just under two decades old. The man also could see that she wasn¡¯t as malnourished as them, which made him frown.


    However, the most striking feature about her was her long hair. It was wavy and, most importantly, auburn. When her hair waved in the cold air, it looked as if the forest caught on fire.


    Even the old man was stunned to see this.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± His mind was clear as he stared at the woman, wondering if he was mistaken with his first assumption of her not being an aristocrat.


    ¡°E-eh? M-my name is¡­¡± She seemed so scared that her legs almost wobbled.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ I asked about your family, not you.¡± The man was too tired after the day and wasn¡¯t interested in an interrogation.


    ¡°Em¡­ I¡­¡± The woman hesitated, her eyes darting around.


    The chief sighed.


    However, his eyes turned cold. If the woman didn¡¯t talk, then the safest option was to kill her and then leave with the group.


    They acted as a bandit group at this time and couldn¡¯t afford to be careless.


    But as he held his spear, preparing to kill her with one stab, he stopped himself.


    The bandit lifestyle and the environment associated with it brought a lot of stress to the men.


    Even the chief missed the touch of women.


    Looking at the beauty before him, he contemplated whether to take her into his bed for one night at least.


    ¡°Sir! If you want her, it''s fine! But leave something for us, hahahah!¡± One of the men, already skinning one of the foxes, noticed the chief''s hungry gaze at the girl and lewdly grinned.


    Others also guffawed upon hearing this.


    ¡°N-no! Please!¡± The woman''s eyes widened in terror upon hearing this, wanting to escape.


    However, the chief caught her hand tightly and didn¡¯t let her go.


    ¡°It is your fault you got lost around here, little girlie.¡± The man sighed. Her scared face reminded him of his daughter who passed away a few years ago, making him feel guilty for a moment.


    Only for a moment, though.


    Seeing her unblemished face, his eyes turned savage.


    Women like her, who probably never felt the burdens peasants had to endure, should be woken up to reality, as harsh as it may be.


    He touched her chin as he propped up her face, staring into her eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will be gentle.¡±


    As he said that, his face drew closer.


    However, he couldn¡¯t continue his endeavor.


    ¡°Well, well. I said I would find them faster this way instead of just waiting for them to attack us.¡±


    A voice resounded from the corner of the camp the bandits had made.


    From there, tens of men emerged from the forest. Most of them had weapons and leather armor, equipment much better than the bandits¡¯.


    It was clear they were soldiers.


    What made the bandits even paler were the three men the soldiers surrounded.


    ¡°Oh n-no!¡± One of the bandits shook and shrieked in pure terror.


    Bast, the one who had guided them here, clicked his tongue as he put away the shriveled head back into his bag, grinning at Harven.


    ¡°Alright. I admit that was fast. Jeren and I will reimburse you with spirit coins for your mana consumption.¡± Harven nodded at him.


    They all entered the camp but acted nonchalantly.


    That was mostly due to their innate arrogance but also their indisputable strength.


    Each of them was capable of disposing of every single person in this camp with little to no effort.


    Of course, whether or not they would do so was a completely different topic.


    Most acolytes would not.


    Why?


    This was a simple question with an even simpler answer: They could not recover their mana and mind power. Every time they used it, they were effectively crumbling their own foundation.


    Even the mighty Aziro and Ezekiel were no exception.


    That was the reason Aziro was so spent after the battle with Ezekiel. Since he was set on killing Ezekiel, he used a lot of his mind power. And with his unique technique, his mind power became even more pitiful.


    The only reason nobody tried to fight him was because his reserve of mana was still high enough.


    On the other hand, Ezekiel kept a lot back. He didn¡¯t have a reason to fight Aziro to the death, especially since it brought him no benefits.


    He mostly used his dark mana with a combination of his aura, which allowed a lot of mana to be retracted back to his body with minimal expenditure.


    Unfortunately, not every acolyte had the same amount of proficiency as Ezekiel.


    In the end, it became customary to have several meat shields around all the time.


    They would do the fighting most of the time and also shield their masters when it came to danger.


    ¡°Good day, my lords. What brings such esteemed masters to this humble camp of travelers?¡± The chief of the bandits asked as he hid his shaking hand.


    He tried to act collected, but his face was covered in cold sweat.


    He knew that getting out alive from this place was almost impossible now. But his mind couldn¡¯t help but spin as he tried to think of a way to survive.


    His hands instinctively let go of the girl he was holding.


    He completely ignored her existence as he stared at the men in front of him.


    However, the woman didn¡¯t use the situation to run away; she just seemingly trembled in fear.

 123 - Damsel In Distress

    ¡®Hmm¡­ Why would they show up like this when they had them surrounded?¡¯


    Illyan was currently sitting high on one of the branches, looking down at the commotion. His presence was completely hidden, which made even birds sit down next to him without knowing.


    He observed as the three robed men came out of the bushes to show their presence with several of their guards while having the rest of them hidden around the bandit camp.


    In truth, Illyan was starting to get impatient as he had been tailing these men for several days in a row.


    But he was aware that killing all these guards and the three robed men efficiently would be quite difficult.


    If even one escaped and got close to the Winterfrost, then many accidents could happen.


    Illyan didn¡¯t think he could fight Aziro on an equal level.


    The reason was simple.


    He saw only the apex of his and Ezekiel¡¯s fight when they were low on fuel.


    That meant that whatever spells they used in the underground arena were probably something Illyan couldn¡¯t face at this moment.


    And he also didn¡¯t plan to underestimate the normal acolytes.


    While Arwen seemed to be weak, he was mostly too stunned to retaliate back then. Illyan thought it was because the guy wasn¡¯t used to fighting, but now, after overhearing the trio, he knew that Arwen was stupefied at the fact that someone attacked him when he was cloaked with magic.


    But even then, he managed to construct a spell that made Illyan feel an immense crisis.


    Of course, as someone who was fast on his legs, Illyan had a big advantage in close combat as the acolytes needed time to construct the spells.


    He was pretty sure that no one here was skilled or talented enough to manipulate the mana directly.


    But he would not be careless.


    This situation with bandits was actually a perfect opportunity.


    The moment when both sides reached the peak of the conflict, Illyan would jump down in hopes of killing at least two of the robed men in one go.


    Just as Illyan decided that, the man called Jeren started to talk.


    ¡°There is something that only you can give us.¡± Jeren¡¯s face was placid, but his eyes shone with cruel mirth.


    The chief bandit noticed that and became wary. In fact, he was prepared to use the woman next to him as a shield just to have a small chance of survival.


    In front of the robed men, people lost their hope and showed their true selves.


    ¡°And what might that be?¡± But still, he tried to talk despite holding his spear tightly.


    It was at that moment when the guards that were secretly surrounding them threw out with all their strength rope nets.


    ¡°Your lives, of course,¡± Jeren said calmly as he stood there.


    The other two men didn¡¯t even bother to talk with the bandits as they planned out what to do with their pets.


    The face of the chief hardened as the yells of confusion rang out around the camp. His men started to retreat in a chaotic way but didn¡¯t have a way to avoid the nets.


    In the end, most of them were caught right away. The nets were made out of material they couldn¡¯t cut through, so they could only take them off manually.


    Unfortunately, the guards wouldn¡¯t let them do it.


    ¡°Stop resisting!¡± In an aggressive way, they pummeled down everyone who tried to take down the nets.


    However, their yelling was overwhelmed by the screams of pain that the bandits gave off.


    Only the chief, being decisive enough, threw the woman in front of the net and jumped away.


    ¡°Yiah?!¡± The girl screamed as she was embraced by the nets while the chief ran at full speed towards the forest.


    Of course, since the camp was surrounded, he soon met with obstacles.


    But he didn¡¯t panic as his eyes gave off a glint of madness.


    Brandishing his makeshift spear, he took a deep breath.


    Havren¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡°He has the breathing technique!¡±


    His warning came too late, however.


    The body turned into a blur as the chief raised his spear and stabbed in front of him with might.


    The guards, while too versed in the breathing techniques, weren¡¯t able to parry the attack at all.


    Their chests were pierced with their organs impaled. The chief then took a half step back only to release the tip of the spear from their chest, leaving behind only the puncture as he attacked another person.


    In quick succession, he killed four of the guards, creating enough free space to run away from the encirclement.


    Seeing this opportunity, he left without looking back.


    ¡°Chief! Help us!¡± The screams of pleas were heard but ignored as the bandits watched in despair at the man escaping on his own.


    ¡°That was certainly a surprise,¡± Bast said nonchalantly.


    ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t expect some bandit would achieve the Flow Realm. Such a person should have no reason to act like a petty thief,¡± Havren nodded thoughtfully.


    They didn¡¯t even blink despite the death of four of their subordinates as they talked without a care.


    ¡°Whatever, just send dozens of the guards, and they will be able to get him,¡± Jeren said dismissively as he was looking for something in his bag.


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t underestimate this. The fact that a peasant like him even had the opportunity to learn the technique is something rare. But managing to learn it on his own? Impossible. Someone was definitely guiding him. The question is why. We must capture him at all costs.¡±


    Havren inferred this while Bast prepared to give chase.


    ¡°Don¡¯t! Maybe it is a trap. Take the guards with you,¡± Havren said calmly.


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


    That made Bast hesitate.


    ¡°Then why not go together?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no way. Do you think I would outrun a knight? I don¡¯t have any spells that would allow me to do that, unlike you,¡± Jeren rolled his eyes.


    ¡°Same with me. But don¡¯t worry. Here, take some of my dark stones. If you are in danger, then you can detonate them.¡± Havren reached into his satchel as he took out a dark stone that was similar to charcoal and threw it into Bast¡¯s hand.


    Illyan, who was watching from above, recognized the dark stone as the same thing that Arwen had in his bag. He read in Arwen''s diary that they could be used as power sources or as mana reservoirs during mana absorption. However, he lacked the essential information, so he didn¡¯t touch them yet.


    Bast grinned.


    ¡°What if I won¡¯t need it?¡±


    ¡°I will give you half.¡±


    Havren sighed.


    ¡°Thank you very much. I will get back soon!¡± With that, Bast started to mutter something as he waved his hands in a weird incantation.


    Soon, his boots started to shine a little as the winds were swirling around him.


    With that, he commanded several guards, and all of them disappeared into the forest.


    ¡°You are as thorough as ever,¡± Jeren said lightly.


    ¡°It is better to be careful,¡± Havren said indifferently.


    ¡°Is it worth it to use a dark stone, though? The thing is hard to get with the exorbitant fees to be even allowed to bring it here. More importantly, you are already on the verge of a breakthrough. If you reach the Magister¡­¡±


    Havren interrupted Jeren as he sighed with clear irritation.


    ¡°As if it was so easy to become a Magister. I still have a long way to go. Did you see Aziro¡¯s state? Do you think I want to hasten things and end up like him? Half-Acolyte, Half-Magister. What a disaster.¡±


    Havren shook his head.


    Meanwhile, Illyan was listening to the conversation with curiosity.


    ¡°I see¡­¡± Jeren nodded, but his face revealed that he thought otherwise.


    Havren saw that and planned to be quiet, but then his eyes glittered.


    ¡°There is also another reason as to why you should get rid of the dark stones.¡±  Havren started saying.


    That made Jeren curious. But after seeing that Havren was not collaborating, he sighed exasperatedly as he gave him a bag full of silver coins.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you actually don¡¯t know about it. I know they are trying to hide it from us, but you should be able to get the information on the black market.¡± Havren shook his head at his ignorant colleague.


    ¡°There is a reason why nobody comes to this barren land. After all, even if it is barren, there would still be some people who visit it once in a while for whatever reason. But they don''t. The reason for that is that something actually saps away all the energy from here. The stronger you are and the longer you stay, the more power would be sucked away from you. The same goes for the dark stones and other items. That is one of the reasons why they put exorbitant fees on any item you want to bring here.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Jeren yelped loudly, his eyes wide.


    ¡°How is that possible?¡± He couldn¡¯t believe his ears.


    As someone who was holding several dark stones in his possession, hoping to achieve the breakthrough to the peak level of acolytes, he was devastated.


    ¡°But why didn¡¯t I notice before?¡± Jeren asked numbly. He had been on this peninsula for several months already yet didn¡¯t notice anything.


    He came here with Bast by command and was to serve in this place for five years. Wouldn¡¯t his dark stones turn into normal stones by then?


    ¡°This power is mysterious. It doesn¡¯t conform with normal magic as it doesn¡¯t use mana or any other mystical energies. It is hard to feel and these dark stones can actually resist the power quite well. It is also the only reason why I brought a few here for emergencies.¡± Havren shook his head.


    ¡°There are some legends and rumors about this phenomenon, but to learn these costs a lot of money, so I didn¡¯t bother with it. But basically, this place could be said to be one of the safest places in the world as Magisters and other stronger beings can¡¯t be here without losing their power after some time has passed, which they would not accept. Many people were looking for the root of the cause but never found anything. Since the powerful have no way to stay here for too long, they could never uncover the reason for this happening. But there are still people looking for the source in hopes of finding some treasure.¡±


    Havren concluded with a forlorn sigh. When he was younger, he always loved hearing such stories as he hoped to get the opportunity to reach the heavens in one step.


    But his dreams were cut off early when he first entered the bloody war that was fought for people he had never seen and never would see. He was born a pawn and should be happy to just get some leftovers.


    While Havren¡¯s eyes dimmed with disappointment and acceptance, there was another person who had a completely opposite reaction.


    Illyan¡¯s eyes glittered. Even though he felt like he had too much on his plate already, he still wanted more. It was like an instinct to him who had, since being little, always hoarded whatever he found. Especially food. He always collected the trash that even other villagers from his village didn¡¯t want. He ate the inedible herbs and fungus. Hell, he even collected feathers one by one to sell later on.


    Now, his standards had risen, but it didn¡¯t change the essence inside of him.


    ¡®If I get a chance, I will look into it.¡¯


    ¡°Do you think that this is the reason why Aziro stays here?¡±


    Soon, his attention was taken by Jeren as he asked.


    ¡°Possibly. But in my opinion, he actually uses the power to destabilize his foundation to rebuild it before he tries to reach the Magister level again.¡± Havren explained.


    Jeren¡¯s eyes glittered. After all, this was not only a good deduction but also a good idea to realize in the future if his foundation was too shaky.


    ¡°Don¡¯t waste any more time. Let¡¯s get done with these bandits. I want to go back as soon as possible. I hate cold weather. My back hurts every time.¡± Havren groaned.


    They finally turned their attention toward the bandits. Fortunately for them, they didn¡¯t have to worry about anything as the guards took care of everything. They just needed to take the centipedes and start the magic.


    That was also what Illyan waited for. He had already considered attacking the moment Bast left but decided that it was better for him to get farther and at the same time for the other two to focus fully on these centipedes of theirs.


    Only in that situation was Illyan confident enough to catch both of them off guard and dispatch them before they managed to cast any spells.


    However, the two acolytes were surprised to see their guards talk with excited voices as they surrounded one person.


    Havren immediately noticed it was the same person the chief used as a shield and threw away. But it was just now that he started to focus on her.


    ¡°Hmm? What is the matter?¡± Jeren was intrigued as he listened to their whispers and got closer.


    As he got closer, he heard a soft weeping. Looking at the person in the robe, his eyes went wide as his heart started to itch.


    Jeren didn¡¯t believe in love. His mother was a whore while his father was a drunkard that beat him every day. He never pursued love as he didn¡¯t see any purpose for that. Visiting a brothel once in a while was enough to satiate his needs.


    But now, he felt as if he finally understood.


    The woman in front of him was perfect in every sense. Her eyes full of vulnerability, her beautiful hair flowing down her nape.


    Her dainty mouth¡­


    Jeren¡¯s eyes glazed over as he waved his hands.


    ¡°Get away from her!¡±


    Without any hesitation, other guards immediately retreated several steps from the woman. Life was much more valuable than a random woman to them after all.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It is over now.¡±


    Then, Jeren started to approach the woman with softened eyes.


    Illyan was also looking at the woman. She was truly beautiful. He never saw a more beautiful woman in his life. In truth, none he knew could even reach her heels in beauty.


    But his eyes were placid. He didn¡¯t feel anything despite seeing her being thrown around like a toy by these men.


    He wasn''t a hero to save damsels in distress.


    But the more important reason was¡­


    Suddenly, the woman turned her head, looking upwards in the crown of the tree and made eye contact with him as she stared coldly with her green eyes. Then, her eyes flashed with surprise before she cast them away. His body shuddered.


    These eyes weren¡¯t those of prey.


    But those of a hunter.


    ¡®How did she notice me?¡¯ Illyan thought as his muscles tensed and his mind reeled.


    But he wasn¡¯t the only one to feel uneasy.


    ¡°Jeren! Get away from her!¡±


    Havren¡¯s horrified voice resounded through the camp as he noticed something was wrong with Jeren.


    No matter how beautiful the woman, he would never tell his guards to retreat and approach her like this.


    ¡°Ah?!¡± It was at that moment when Jeren blinked his eyes and realized what was happening.


    But it was too late.


    Clank.


    The sound of steel drawn resounded as the reflection came from inside the woman¡¯s robe.


    With one smooth movement, she took out a hidden saber that was underneath her baggy robe and slashed at Jeren!


    Jeren panicked, but as someone who went through many battles, he didn¡¯t hesitate as he waved his hand and overburdened his many reserves to use the raw mana burst since there was no time to use any intricate spells that required time to cast.


    Explosions rang out as the blood-red saber and raw mana collided.


    However, while the mana could deflect the blade to a certain extent, it couldn¡¯t destroy it nor could it stop it completely as it cut through the mana like butter and instead of cutting off his head, it separated his arm from his elbow.


    Blood splattered everywhere as Jeren fell several meters back, holding the stump that was left of his arm.


    ¡°Argh!¡± His eyes turned bloodshot as he stared at the woman in front of him.


    ¡°You dare to use mind techniques on me, you bitch?!¡± He roared in fury.


    Meanwhile, the lady took the full brunt of the raw mana blast that rammed into her as she started to bleed from her mouth.


    Her low-quality robe was also torn apart by the torrent of mana as it revealed the leather armor underneath and her heroic appearance.


    However, her expression didn¡¯t change as she once again prepared to lunge at Jeren with her saber. She took a deep breath and aligned the edge of her saber. The moment she exhaled, the ground under her legs burst as her figure blurred right in front of Jeren.


    ¡®Interesting¡­¡¯ Illyan thought as he observed with a cold look.

 124 - Immense Power

    The woman closed in on Jeren, who was sprawled on the ground, in just a second, her saber flying through the air, aiming for his head.


    The guards were shocked and immediately unsheathed their weapons. Alas, they were too slow as she left them in the dust.


    The red saber was elegant but also practical. The curve of its one-edged blade was very subtle, giving it the appearance of a straight sword. The hilt was carefully carved, with the guard hiding her petite fingers.


    Despite its beauty, Jeren felt a deadly crisis befall him.


    Fortunately, just as the saber¡¯s edge almost reached him, he finally finished the incantation he had been preparing.


    ¡°Magic Hand!¡± In his stressful situation, he called out the name of the spell he cast.


    The spell, Magic Hand, as its name hinted, conjured a mass of mana in the shape of a hand.


    The hand materialized from the stub of his real hand, giving him the ability to utilize it instinctively.


    In a matter of life and death, he used the hand and caught the saber just moments before it reached his throat!


    The saber didn¡¯t budge as the woman didn¡¯t have the physical strength to tear apart the mana.


    ¡°Haha!¡± Jeren laughed in relief as he prepared to reach for something inside his robe since he couldn¡¯t use two spells at the same time.


    Unfortunately, the rustle of her clothes made him glance at her. His face fell as he shivered.


    ¡®Fuck!¡¯


    She used her free hand to reach for her belt, where there was another red saber!


    Just as she unsheathed it to slash him down, several black streaks glided through the air at high speed. Those more perceptive would notice they were black centipedes.


    Noticing them, she changed the trajectory of the saber and slashed them down.


    Boom!


    The centipedes exploded upon contact with her saber, destabilizing her. The black clouds created a veil around her, obstructing everyone¡¯s vision.


    At that moment, Havren came out in front of Jeren and cast a spell.


    ¡°[Mana Rope].¡± Mana started to take the shape of a long, thick string. Illyan, observing from above, noticed the amount of mana escaping from the mana construct thanks to his special eyes. Despite the black smoke obstructing his vision, he could observe without a problem.


    Havren didn¡¯t care about the low efficiency as he held the end of the mana rope tightly and flicked it around.


    The sound of mana tearing the air apart resounded as the rope flew toward the woman like a whip.


    Despite not being able to see anything, the woman felt the mana pulsation and employed the breathing technique to propel herself away.


    It was fortunate she did so, as the ground where she stood moments ago split apart while a tree burst, its crown falling to the ground.


    Meanwhile, the guards, too slow to dodge and standing in the way, were pummeled by the mana rope.


    Havren stopped waving the rope, flicked it back to himself, and reabsorbed the mana back into his body.


    ¡®Ah! Finally, I understand. This is exactly what Ezekiel did with his mana tendrils. Since acolytes can¡¯t recover mana automatically, they have to reabsorb it slowly each time they use it. But with this trick, they can use a much smaller amount of mana with the same amount of power.¡¯


    Illyan looked back at Jeren, who also reabsorbed the mana hand before crawling to his severed hand.


    Jeren took out a vial from his robe and poured the contents on his stub and on the severed hand before putting them together.


    ¡°Guards! Attack!¡± Havren commanded coldly as he took out a pouch with dark stones.


    He then took out a parchment with various symbols written on it, a magic scroll.


    Havren started placing the dark stones on the parchment and mumbled some words.


    As he did that, the guards charged toward the woman.


    However, she danced around them, killing those close to her while speeding toward the two men.


    ¡°Jeren! Use the dark stones!¡± Havren howled, feeling the woman was extraordinarily dangerous.


    Jeren didn¡¯t answer but listened to his older colleague. He took out a dark stone and sent his mana inside it.


    The delicate balance inside of the stone was interrupted as uncontrollable mana went crazy as its own stored mana started to collapse.


    Jeren threw the dark stone right at the woman.


    She scowled as she dodged once again, not before throwing one of her sabers at Jeren.


    Another explosion rang out, this time big enough to uproot several trees, which fell on those surrounding them.


    ¡°Aw?¡± When Havren heard the feminine yelp, he celebrated inwardly and sent another wave of centipedes in that direction.


    Meanwhile, the dark stones in his hands started to dwindle as the magic scroll brightened.


    At that moment, the saber flying toward Jeren accelerated.


    Seeing that, Jeren immediately cast a mana barrier.


    Fortunately, or unfortunately, the saber couldn¡¯t cut through but didn¡¯t stop either as its power grew stronger.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Jeren grunted as the barrier cracked. The burden of the barrier transferred to him, causing his apertures to bleed.


    He knew he would die if he didn¡¯t stop it. Havren was powering up his magic scroll, but he didn¡¯t believe it would save him.


    Gritting his teeth, he reached for his pouches.


    Throwing another dark stone seemed hopeless, so he planned to use his centipedes.


    He threw the entire pouch at the point where the saber invaded the barrier and jumped away.


    That deactivated his magic, letting the saber free.


    However, when it collided with the pouch, tearing it apart, a swarm of centipedes wrapped around it, slowing it down as they gnawed at it.


    Without hesitation, Jeren ran at full speed toward Havren.


    In the periphery of his vision, he saw the bloodied woman. It wasn¡¯t her blood; it was the blood of the guards.


    When they made eye contact, she reached out her hand, palm facing the sky.


    [Water Droplet]


    The thawing snow and the moisture in the air gathered atop her hand, swirling into the shape of a droplet.


    This made her look awe-inspiring as she stood with a straight back.


    [Accelerate]


    She mumbled another spell as the water above her palm swirled even faster.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°Fuc-¡± Jeren¡¯s eyes widened as he tried to cast another spell.


    But he was too slow.


    The water droplet launched at high speed, piercing his chest without resistance.


    Jeren stared at the hole in his chest in disbelief before his body fell to the cold ground, lifeless.


    The droplet continued much farther before exploding outside the now-destroyed camp.


    ¡°What a waste of mana¡­¡± She sighed with annoyance, turning her attention to the now-prepared Havren.


    ¡°Witch, you won¡¯t be able to kill me. Even if you can, you will pay a price. Think it over.¡±


    Havren spoke somberly, threatening the woman.


    The woman didn¡¯t respond, charging at him with her saber.


    As she closed in to slash him, an invisible barrier rippled in front of her.


    ¡®Was that what he was preparing the entire time?¡¯ Illyan, jumping from several fallen trees to others, curiously watched the fight.


    He hesitated to interfere. She was strong, perhaps not as strong as him, but he didn¡¯t know if this was her limit.


    Not that she was necessarily his enemy, but he was used to thinking that way.


    Since she didn¡¯t react to him, it must mean she either didn¡¯t fear him attacking her or didn¡¯t see him as an enemy.


    ¡®I just need the damn technique about the centipedes. I don¡¯t need anything else, despite it being tempting. If possible, I will just ask for a trade. I have some dark stones in my pouch¡­¡¯


    Nodding to himself, he continued watching the fight.


    He wondered how Havren planned to proceed.


    However, just as the saber almost cut through the barrier, Illyan widened his eyes.


    ¡®This is interesting.¡¯


    With his eyes, he saw the strength behind the saber reacting within the barrier, causing a backlash with the same power, making the woman cough blood.


    Havren showed signs of discomfort inside the barrier, but it was nothing compared to the power the woman felt coursing through her body.


    ¡°If you understand, then give up!¡± Havren hollered, hoping she would stop. The parchment was his trump card for many years.


    It was a parchment of a better version of [Mana Barrier], further enhanced by an array master. Thanks to that, the parchment could be powered with external mana and reused until it lost its properties.


    It was extremely difficult and dangerous to obtain. Unfortunately, it wouldn¡¯t last long as the mana needed for it always took much of Havren¡¯s fortune.


    The woman snorted, sheathing her saber. Instead, her hands started making magic incantations, showing her determination to kill him.


    Havren¡¯s expression fell. He took out the pouch with centipedes and threw them outside.


    The centipedes glided through the air, their mandibles aimed at her fair skin.


    She had to stop and step aside, unable to cast spells while moving.


    Just as she frowned, she saw Havren¡¯s imperceptible smile.


    Realizing her mistake, she started to retreat, but it was too late to dodge.


    The sound of air splitting apart was heard as the mana spear pierced her waist. Fortunately, she turned her body to avoid injuring her organs.


    But the pain slowed her down as another wave of centipedes exploded into acidic mist.


    She held her breath and dispersed the mist using raw mana.


    Then she looked at her ambusher. Bast, holding the head of the chief bandit, stood with a darkened face.


    ¡°Havren! What happened? I heard the explosions from afar!¡± Bast couldn¡¯t recognize the woman as she had the robe before.


    The guards around him were the ones who came with him and were now furious at the deaths of their comrades. They unsheathed their weapons and prepared to lunge at her.


    ¡°She was the body shield the chief bandit threw at us. She ambushed us after you left and killed Jeren. It was probably planned out beforehand by her!¡±


    Meanwhile, she took medicine and drank it. Then, she looked at her enemies. She was surrounded. She could fight them, but it would waste a lot of mana.


    That would mean this fight was completely useless, and she would just startle all the acolytes in the town without doing anything substantial.


    So, while staring at them, she decided to gamble. Even if it didn¡¯t work, it could still serve as a distraction toward the men around.


    ¡°I want to make a deal.¡±


    She said calmly.


    Bast¡¯s face was grim.


    ¡°You think you are in any positio¡ª¡±


    His sentence was interrupted as she continued speaking.


    ¡°If you help me to kill them, you can take everything they own. I only want their bodies,¡± she said with a cold expression.


    Bast frowned, not understanding her words.


    But Havren turned pale.


    ¡®What? Someone else is here? Or is it trickery to deceive us?¡¯


    Illyan narrowed his eyes.


    He immediately knew she was talking to him.


    ¡®Is she trying to force me to fight by revealing me?¡¯


    Illyan thought for a second, then shook his head. She didn¡¯t even look in his direction, which made it impossible for the robed men to know where he was. If he disappeared, they would be none the wiser.


    ¡®It could be said to be sincere. If she only wants the bodies, then the deal would be extremely beneficial to me.¡¯


    Illyan decided to risk it. If it came to worst, he could just run.


    There was no profit without risk.


    So, without wasting time, he took out several throwing knives and threw them at the guards.


    Then he took a deep breath as he employed the breathing technique.


    He imitated the move of the female as his legs trembled from the burden before he burst the tree branch he was standing on in half while propelling himself at high speed in the direction of Havren.


    ¡°Agh?!¡±


    Just as several guards fell to the horror of others, Illyan''s body slammed entirely into the barrier!


    ¡°Ugh!¡± Havren spat blood as he felt the immense power rushing to invade his body.


    On the other hand, Illyan twisted his body to let himself be ricocheted by the backlash at high speed in the direction of Bast.


    When Bast saw that, his eyes widened in horror as he planned to dodge, but it was at that moment when he felt the air around him harden, thus immobilizing him.


    ¡°Mind Power!¡± Bast was scared witless as he saw the female pointing in his direction.


    Then his vision started to spin.


    He even saw the headless body being tackled by the ambusher while holding two bloodied knives.


    ¡®Ah¡­¡¯ Realizing it was his body, he felt regret in his heart before his vision darkened¡­


    ¡°Damn.¡± Illyan groaned as his bones snapped together and returned to their places. The backlash was enormous, as it was the power he had actually accumulated during that lunge.


    Of course, Illyan noticed that Havren had to endure a fraction of that power too, so it was not a loss.


    The still-living guards retreated as they saw the man with twisted limbs rearranging himself into normal appearance. It was like a nightmare.


    Of course, Illyan conspicuously took some of his medicine to at least pretend his regeneration wasn¡¯t completely natural. Even though hiding his gift completely was impossible, he could still downplay the results at least a little.


    They wanted to run away, but Illyan was faster. He lunged at the nearest one and clamped his hand around his neck.


    A crackling sound resounded as he killed the man while taking away his spear.


    Without stopping to move, he stabbed everyone in reach to death.


    When he wanted to follow the others, the flying saber came to the rescue as it bisected them without resistance.


    Havren¡¯s face fell.


    He wanted to plead with the man. He even prepared to promise him that Aziro would give him a reward if he survived, despite it being a lie.


    But when Illyan turned around, Havren felt despair.


    The ugly face covered with long scars showed up.


    ¡°Smiling Devil,¡± he whispered as he stared at Illyan.


    Illyan heard that and grinned at him to live up to his name.


    The female looked at him without showing anything on her face.


    ¡°Don¡¯t attack him from close. The backlash is probably less dangerous if we attack from a distance. I will cast a spell that will overwhelm the barrier, so keep him busy, please.¡±


    As she said this, she ignored everything else as she started to use hand incantations while muttering chants.


    Illyan glanced at her before getting to the dead body of Bast, taking his possessions.


    However, he didn¡¯t have time to look inside as he noticed Havren reaching inside of his pouches again.


    ¡°Not gonna happen,¡± Illyan muttered as he took position to throw a spear.


    His muscles tensed for a second.


    Then he threw the spear at the highest speed he could muster.


    It was flying with such speed that the barrier was almost pierced through.


    This all was the result of his training in [Blood Feeding Technique] and other techniques that strengthened his body.


    The immense power was coursing through his body.


    Of course, the spear immediately shattered as the same amount of power flew at Illyan.


    But Illyan was prepared as he dodged to the side while flicking his leg to kick another weapon into his hands from the ground. Some of the power still hit him, but he regenerated immediately.


    ¡®A sword, huh.¡¯ Illyan smirked as he held the weapon. He thought about using the air slash, but considering that he didn¡¯t know the woman, it was better to hold some trump cards up his sleeves.


    He threw the sword, which then shattered after colliding with the raging mana. Havren howled in pain as fine cracks appeared on the barrier.


    Illyan started to circle the barrier as he kicked into his hands any weapons that lay on the ground and threw them at the barrier with his full strength.


    He suffered the backlash quite heavily, as some of the backlash attacks couldn¡¯t be avoided since Havren also threw the centipedes at him as a form of distraction.


    But it was futile.


    [Fire Spark]


    Suddenly, the female ended her incantation as her palm, facing the sky, revealed the swirling flames of orange and red.


    The hot air hit the cold air of the north, creating a breeze that made the woman look even more dangerous.


    [Accelerate]


    She then uttered another spell.


    After seeing this fight, Illyan realized the extreme advantage of those who can keep two activated spells in a battle-ready state at the same time. She couldn¡¯t cast them simultaneously, but it was still good.


    Then, the fireball disappeared from her hand.


    In the next second, the barrier seemed to explode in flames.


    The flames surrounded the entire barrier, completely encompassing it.


    Immediately, the backlash flew at her at high speed. It didn¡¯t have the properties of flame, but the power behind it was the same.


    Illyan saw that and knew that the female was injured. But he didn¡¯t plan to help. Since she attacked, she should be prepared for this.


    And he was right.


    She unsheathed the saber once again and visibly infused mana inside of it before swinging it down at the backlash.


    Crackle


    Illyan felt that her stance was perfect as she cut the mana in half. It was as if she had been practicing the saber arts for decades despite looking so young.


    There was even a small feeling of inferiority when he saw her. She surpassed him in magic arts, which was completely understandable, but now he felt she was even better in martial arts.


    If we were to not take into consideration his body strength, then just her technique was more refined.


    ¡®Sigh¡­ Time¡­ I just need more time than others.¡¯


    He knew he wasn''t a genius, but he didn¡¯t lament since he had a solution.


    ¡°Arrrrrghh!!!¡± The screams of pain resounded in the now silent forest as Havren had to feel the pain of the barrier crumbling.


    The flame was surrounding it, which actually overwhelmed the barrier into not making any more backlash moves.


    Now, they just needed to wait.


    So, the woman started to treat herself in front of him. It seemed that she really didn¡¯t consider him a threat.


    The mana spear in her waist had already melted, so now a gaping wound was revealed.


    Meanwhile, Illyan went to retrieve the possessions of Jeren.


    She looked at him but retrieved her eyes afterward, focusing on her wounds¡­

 125 - Imperfection

    Two people, one male and one female, watched the dome being set ablaze as they waited for the opportunity.


    Of course, the fire itself couldn¡¯t be sustained for long, as it would take too much mana.


    The young woman knew this and used her blood sabers to attack from a distance.


    Sometimes she made a slash similar to his own air slash, but it was made out of mana. Other times, she just threw the sabers, and they flew on their own, slashing the dome, then returning to her hands.


    Illyan was incredulous at her magical abilities and sabers. In truth, he felt the temptation to take these sabers for himself.


    But he knew it was a worthless endeavor. The lady was much stronger than she had shown. The acolytes would use all their mana only during hopeless situations. He would probably end up in a very bad state.


    Considering they didn¡¯t have a grudge against each other, it would be too foolish.


    Not to mention¡­


    When Illyan looked at her face, he didn¡¯t feel the emotions that other men would feel. The only emotion that flashed inside his eyes was a kind of discomfort. Remembering the little girl in the forest, he shook his head.


    ¡®So foolish¡­¡¯


    Instead, he focused on her saber arts.


    While she was using the breathing technique, Illyan saw that she didn¡¯t use any flow or aura during her entire fight. Instead, her battle was fueled solely by mana, and mind power was used as auxiliary power.


    Just then, a loud crack came from the magic dome as one of the thrown sabers managed to pierce through it.


    She didn¡¯t hesitate as she charged forward.


    Once she got closer, she held the other saber closer to herself as she took a deep breath.


    Then, she widened the crack with a forcible strike.


    Crackle.


    ¡°Phew¡­¡± She gritted her teeth as the backlash caused heavy bleeding from her seven apertures as she jumped through the opening of the dome.


    Havren, who was already listless, saw her and immediately threw something at her.


    At that time, his eyes shone with hints of madness but mostly resignation.


    Then, he channeled even more of the mana inside the scroll, thus mending the hole and casting another barrier magic that was barely enough to cover his body.


    The young woman¡¯s eyes shone as she stared right at the thing he threw.


    It was another activated dark stone. But this time, it stopped midair, being suspended by her mind power for a second.


    She drifted right past it and jumped above Havren¡¯s makeshift barrier.


    There was no escape, as the barrier was sealed even from inside, so she could only run as far from the dark stone as possible.


    Boom.


    The explosion rang out behind her, but she was already behind his mini barrier, which shielded her from the most grievous injuries.


    Unfortunately, the barrier didn¡¯t last, as it cracked immediately after throwing Havren back.


    She, on the other hand, made an incantation with her hands as she took out a blood-red dagger with ornamental symbols covering it and cut her own wrist.


    Her voice started to melodiously chant as the blood flowing from her wrist began to rise, forming a very thin, almost translucent membrane in front of her.


    Then, she kneeled and hoped for the best.


    Illyan, who watched all of this, didn¡¯t show much reaction. Instead, he felt that the woman didn¡¯t make the right choice and that if she died because of it, then it was her fault.


    Since she had her flying sabers, she could have kept attacking the crack from afar, but she decided to attack personally, falling into Havren¡¯s trap.


    It was one thing to do this when you have the ability. For example, Illyan was jumping into enemies¡¯ traps often, as he knew he could endure the onslaught and turn the tide of the battle thanks to it.


    But he was still careful. Depending on his ability, too much damage would still be the end of him.


    Of course, she could be the same as him and just as confident in that magic of hers as he was in his regeneration.


    Or¡­ she was actually not that experienced in fighting.


    When the dark stone exploded, the entire dome shook as numerous cracks appeared, covering it. Fortunately for Havren, the attack was done from inside, which nullified any backlash it could cause, saving his life.


    Illyan narrowed his eyes as he used his spiritual perception to look inside the dome.


    But¡­ never would he have expected that just as his perception invaded the dome through the cracks, he felt some kind of energy crossing his path.


    The energy was familiar but at the same time different. It was much stronger than his own.


    When his perception clashed with the said energy, as if lightning fell and thunder cracked, Illyan saw lights inside his mind as unbearable pain coursed through his head.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± He grunted in pain, as this kind of pain was felt by him only when his astral body was almost destroyed in the Spirit World.


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    ¡°What was that?¡± He muttered to himself.


    At the same time, his acute hearing registered the slight feminine noise of confusion inside the dome and then the sudden sound of steel slashing through flesh.


    Seconds passed.


    The dome finally collapsed, and the dust from the ground and vapor from the snow disappeared as she walked out unscathed with a straight back and her hair waving behind her.


    In one hand, a saber; in the other, a dead body.


    She took the pouch and even the barrier scroll and threw it at Illyan.


    ¡°Just as promised.¡± Her voice was cold, but Illyan could feel that she didn¡¯t like looking at him as she quickly averted her eyes.


    ¡®Is it because of the scars?¡¯ Illyan thought. But he didn¡¯t care that much as he prepared to leave as soon as possible before she changed her mind.


    ¡®Wait¡­ Now that I think about it, how did she know about me in the first place?¡¯


    This was definitely something he cared about. He looked at her.


    It could be a worthless endeavor or even cause animosity between them, but his curiosity won him over.


    ¡°Wait a minute, miss.¡± So, he called out to her.


    She knew he was still here, so she could guess he wanted something. Thus, when she turned around, she didn¡¯t look surprised to see him.


    ¡°How did you notice me? I was pretty confident in my technique. I can even pay. With money or bodies,¡± Illyan asked calmly.


    Her eyes narrowed as she stared at him. Their eyes connected, but both were looking at something much deeper behind the eyes.


    ¡°I could feel your ugly foulness the moment you arrived at the camp,¡± she uttered calmly as she stared at him.


    Now, Illyan furrowed his brow. Was she insulting him? For what reason?


    ¡°Not your outer appearance. I can see from the angles of the scars they were self-inflicted. With your strong regeneration and some ointments, it should be easy to heal into a pristine state.¡±


    She smirked as if she could read his mind.


    Illyan¡¯s pupils dilated when he heard her words.


    She inferred so much information just from this short fight. In Illyan¡¯s eyes, she turned into quite a big threat, but he didn¡¯t act on it yet as he saw that she hadn¡¯t finished.


    ¡°You are very strong. As a matter of fact, I think you could fight me on equal terms even with all my powers. We both can fight level three acolytes, but we are fundamentally different. I am a mere level one acolyte if we compare raw power. But my foundation is impeccable, thus elevating my power. But you¡­ you are imperfect in every way. And I can feel these imperfections. You built your foundation on sand and constructed your unsteady tower from glass. It is high, but it is also fragile. That makes you look like a lamp during the night to me.¡±


    After saying that, her smirk disappeared from her face.


    ¡°The mortal is just a blank slate. But it is from that point when people can start to build their foundation, excavating the potential of the body. Then people reach the Novice stage where they adapt to the mana and mind power or any other magic energies. Their affinity and perception are refined, and their bodies are fully saturated with that mana. Only then do they start to create the mana sea.¡±


    Illyan remained silent as he listened to her words and absorbed all the information she shared in a matter of seconds. Even though she still didn¡¯t explain what he asked about, he still felt that he benefited.


    ¡°Even then, you need to build the mana sea with care and fortify the mind power. But you¡­ your body is full of imperfections. It feels almost unnatural. The only people like that are the ones crippled for life or with birth defects. But you are not one of these. It is actually quite peculiar. Your body must have gone through quite a hard time, I guess. The same goes for your mind.¡±


    When she looked at him as a whole, she could see the cracks in his mind and the blemishes on his body. She was actually quite shaken when she noticed him for the first time.


    ¡°I also sensed that you used spiritual energy, which isn¡¯t common on this continent. But if you don¡¯t defend your perception with fortified mind power, you could end up with a completely shattered mind. Realistically speaking, you are at the beginning of the Novice Stage at most.¡±


    She shook her head in disapproval at first but then stopped as she sighed.


    When Illyan heard that, he opened his eyes wide. Not because he didn''t expect this, but more because this was exactly the same conclusion Kaoran had. He never talked about this perfection or whatsoever, but he always talked about himself as a novice, despite the fact that his raw power was much higher.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take it personally. Actually, your foundation is quite good for a loose practitioner. It¡¯s just¡­ in front of perfection, no blemishes can remain.¡±


    She scowled in discomfort as she turned around and took a rope to tie the corpses.


    ¡°No, your words actually benefited me a lot. I appreciate that,¡± Illyan acknowledged as he made a polite bow to her.


    ¡°I see that you still haven¡¯t started with mana absorption. You actually don¡¯t need mana to continue practicing magic, but it is still the most orthodox path of magisters. Before absorbing mana, try to just course it through the body to let it adapt, and then saturate the body with mana. If you can find similar techniques like the one you used for mending your body that would fortify the mind and weave the inner mana properly and continue training in it until the absolute peak, you will have a sturdy foundation.¡±


    ¡°By the way, it is quite impolite to ask other people about their abilities. Other acolytes would turn hostile, so don¡¯t ask others carelessly if you want to survive.¡±


    After saying that, she disappeared from his view as she held the end of the rope, carrying away the bodies.


    Meanwhile, Illyan just stood there in a daze.


    He just asked a simple question, but she made him question his entire journey so far.


    Illyan clenched his hands until blood appeared.


    He didn¡¯t feel anger. Not at her or at himself. Just a disappointment that he hadn¡¯t progressed as much as he thought.


    But at the same time, he felt determination coursing through his veins. He was glad that he heard her advice on how to continue on his path.


    ¡®Since I am not talented, I need to work on my foundation so that it won¡¯t collapse. This was something Degres beat into me since I was small. But now, I heard the same words again. She told too many things about me nobody should know, so she was definitely not talking nonsense. Whether it was harmful or not is another question¡­¡¯


    Illyan shook his head in denial. Even if it was nonsense, it wouldn¡¯t harm him in any way. He would just waste some time. That was a sacrifice he didn¡¯t mind, and at the same time, he was aware that she had no reason to do this.


    Illyan decided that instead of standing here in the middle of the barren camp, he should leave as soon as possible and return to his manor.


    He took all the pouches, the scrolls, some of the good quality weapons, and leather armor from the guards before jumping at the closest tree and disappearing from the now completely empty camp.


    Only the corpses of the guards remained, and the crows were prepared to feast on them for quite some time. The moment Illyan went away, they descended and started to peck the soft tissues¡­


    ¡­¡­.


    ¡®I need to first identify the technique she talked about.¡¯


    Illyan wondered what she meant. The technique that mended his body.


    He didn¡¯t think she was talking about [Blood Feeding Technique]. In fact, this technique could even be the reason why he had so many blemishes. But he guessed these were the small flaws his regeneration left on his body over time. After all, it wasn¡¯t perfect¡­


    Illyan narrowed his eyes. In the end, he couldn¡¯t fully understand how she could feel him. She just said she could feel his imperfection. He didn¡¯t know if it was true, but if it was, then it was a freaky ability. But considering she could see so many things about him just from looking at his body¡­


    ¡®If it wasn¡¯t [Blood Feeding Technique], then it must have been [The Way of the Body].¡¯


    After all, this technique was meant to fully master the body. All kinds of stretching, body workouts, running, climbing, and all kinds of different disciplines were applied to fully train this technique.


    And once someone fully mastered their body, there was no way they wouldn¡¯t notice the blemishes and systematically remove them through training, medicine, or other means.


    Illyan smiled.


    He knew the next few months would be arduous as he would need to find a way to get stronger as quickly as possible.


    But that was exactly what he was excited about.


    Because training until he could barely breathe was something he came to enjoy after years of training under Degres¡¯ tutelage.


    Illyan¡¯s mind was filled with nostalgia as he ran across the beautiful snow-covered landscape, reminding him of distant childhood memories¡­

 126 - The Stances

    The moment Illyan finally returned to his manor, he took down the sign indicating he was away from his door and sat in his bedroom, contemplating the words the woman had said.


    He didn¡¯t know anything about her, nor did he know if she could be considered friendly. But at least, the words she spoke resonated deeply within him.


    An hour passed like this as he sat deep in thought before he took out his finger bone runes.


    He wanted to know if he should listen to her words. While everything made sense to him, he still felt he should confirm it somehow.


    He started praying to the spirits of the world, putting his all into this divination.


    Then, he threw the runes high into the air and asked loudly:


    ¡°What will happen if I follow the advice of the crimson woman?¡±


    His voice was emotionless, but it gave off an air of mystery as the runes stopped midair.


    It seemed as if they were attracted to each other since they suddenly clustered together and fell into Illyan¡¯s arm in one piece.


    When Illyan looked at the shape of the cluster and the sides of the runes that were facing up, he felt this divination was successful. After all, he had never managed to get this result before.


    ¡°Eternal Glory¡­¡± Narrowing his eyes, Illyan decided that since he now had light illuminating his road, he should use it to the fullest.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do this.¡±


    Illyan took his belongings and entered his hidden room.


    There, he took out the pouches of the three acolytes.


    Each of them had two pouches: one for their belongings, while the other was stuffed with centipedes.


    He put the centipedes into jars and set them aside. Then, he took out Bast¡¯s pouch.


    He found two dark stones, two hundred violet coins, and several miscellaneous items. The space in the pouches was limited, after all, so they probably didn¡¯t carry everything on them.


    Looking at the dark stones, he remembered the huge explosions. If one of the explosions hit him head-on, there was a chance he wouldn¡¯t be able to continue the fight. It was, in fact, terrifying.


    However, Illyan noticed that each stone had slightly different pulsations. It would make sense that each stone wasn¡¯t perfectly cut, and so the energy levels of each were a little different.


    He also found other vials of medicine that could even reattach limbs. He actually already had this medicine from Arwen, but only now did he realize how great the effect was.


    The last item was a dried-up head. He recognized it as the tool Jaren used to find the bandits. He didn¡¯t know how it worked, but it seemed useful, so he carefully stored it in a box wrapped in cloth.


    He then checked the other two pouches but was mostly disappointed. They were definitely a poor bunch.


    But it made sense. From what he read in Arwen¡¯s diary, these acolytes were mostly involuntary disciples of the Black Obsidian.


    They were kidnapped, bought as slaves, or scammed into joining. Once they joined, they became property of the organization. Those with acceptable talent usually made it into the inner circle of the Black Obsidian, becoming true members.


    But common acolytes didn¡¯t have that privilege. They were used however the higher-ups deemed fit and were always given the worst jobs with the least rewards.


    This wasn¡¯t limited to the Black Obsidian. Most human organizations under the reign of the Arkravav Empire operated this way. Mortals were livestock in their eyes.


    In truth, most of the surrounding kingdoms were farms where most of the empire¡¯s mortals were raised. Within the empire¡¯s boundaries, only the large cities had mortals living inside them.


    The Arkravav Empire, also known as the Empire of the Hundred Treasures, was the wealthiest force on the entire continent.


    However, let alone mortals, even the lesser acolytes lived in poverty.


    Most of the money they earned was immediately spent on resources to strengthen themselves.


    And the result was displayed before Illyan¡¯s eyes.


    The final tally was seven dark stones, 1,200 violet coins, some red seeds, a barrier scroll, the magic model of the [Magic Hand], and a book called the [Darkglide Centipede¡¯s Guide].


    Illyan felt it was a shame, but since he had gained what he sought, he was content.


    The Darkglide Centipede was the name of the centipedes they had infested the town with. Illyan browsed through the guide and was satisfied with it.


    He found instructions on how to feed and breed them.


    He also found some spells. There was a way to imprint their minds with Mind Power, thus fully enslaving them. One spell made them self-destruct, while another guided them to glide toward their enemies.


    However, Illyan wasn¡¯t interested in these at all. The centipedes were nasty but quite weak. Not to mention, the use of Mind Power was astronomical. You needed to imprint each centipede individually, which made this process strenuous without great rewards. Illyan could only imagine the frustration the men must have felt when they used up most of their centipedes during the fights.


    For now, Illyan would use only the knowledge of breeding and feeding¡­


    As for the [Magic Hand], he would wait to use it until he had cultivated enough mana. In truth, he preferred to accumulate mana without using it until he reached the Magister level, as it would take years to replenish it.


    Illyan also examined the seeds but didn¡¯t recognize them. He would need to look them up in the library or ask Vael.


    Once he sorted out the loot, he decided to get back to work.


    He went to the table where he had previously tortured Caleb, looking at the unmoving object lying on it with an expressionless face.


    It was a naked human body, embalmed for preservation. It was the body of Arwen.


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    At first, Illyan had only conducted a basic inspection of the body after Arwen died. Unfortunately, since his death, the energies inside his body had become unbound, causing chaos within.


    A person with strong perception of these energies could learn a great deal from that, but unfortunately for Illyan, he wasn¡¯t that kind of person.


    Illyan decided to wait until the energies fully dissipated before beginning the dissection. Despite the energies vanishing, the traces left behind were what Illyan needed the most. He needed to find the pathways Arwen had used, the exact spot to build the Mana Sea, and so on. This would save him a lot of time and effort.


    He took out a knife and began dissecting the body.


    ¡°Well, Arwen, this is the last bit of worth you have. So once I¡¯m done, I¡¯ll purify your body for cooperating so well.¡± Illyan¡¯s mouth curled slightly as his eyes glinted with madness.


    Having already gained experience with Caleb, he had no problem opening the chest and harvesting the organs, just as he would with wild animals¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    Another month passed, and the weather grew warmer.


    Illyan sat in the hidden basement, sharpening what appeared to be a very thin needle. The length was only about that of a palm, and the thickness was like a blade of grass.


    Its shine was wondrous but seemed to hide a dangerous quality.


    The whetstone Illyan had previously bought for his nails was now being used to sharpen this needle, but it was a slow process.


    This was, of course, because the needle was made from rods of dark crystal.


    Illyan had to pour all the spiritual energy he could gather from the air into the whetstone to make any progress at all.


    Beneath the needle and whetstone, another vessel was filled with fine dark crystal powder, which Illyan intended to use.


    He wanted to create a set of needles for medical use, but seeing his progress, he knew it would take a long time. That didn¡¯t discourage him, though.


    As long as he completed the first one, he could assess whether the effort was worth it.


    He also hoped to use it as a hidden weapon in a crisis.


    The powder, on the other hand, had many potential uses.


    But for now, Illyan, who needed to grow stronger, found the perfect use for it.


    He would dilute it in water and bathe in it, just like with the medicinal baths.


    He didn¡¯t mix the medicine bath with the powder, as there could be a conflict between the two and decided to do it separately.


    Not only separately but differently.


    To absorb the dark matter in the water, he used the same technique the Bakur Tribe used with Cold Energy. In truth, it was very similar.


    The only difference was that the element was darkness, not coldness.


    He meditated inside the water, allowing the pores and acupoints to open and letting all the energy seep inside.


    This energy was much more destructive than the Cold Energy inside Kennera Lake but was weaker than that in the sea.


    Thanks to that, his body bloated with energy as it was invaded.


    When that happened, instead of leaving, Illyan started to do the basic stances of [The Way of the Body], which were meant to teach him about his body.


    The tricky positions stretched out all the muscle groups inside the body as the dark matter within him compressed a little, leaving space for more.


    The energy flowed smoothly through his body, smoothing out a few of the blemishes that the woman talked about.


    How did he know about it?


    He never focused on it before, but since he owned Mind Power, there was no way he wouldn¡¯t know the condition of his body once he was aware of the problem.


    And this situation helped to some extent. On the other hand, it also caused the appearance of new blemishes.


    This dark energy was destructive, thus causing injuries that were then healed immediately. But the regeneration wasn¡¯t perfect.


    That was a shock to Illyan. A minuscule flaw encompassed his entire body from head to toe.


    Normal eyes wouldn¡¯t notice such flaws.


    But now Illyan did.


    Illyan pondered how to solve this problem a lot.


    Actually, he was thinking about it even now.


    Slick


    He finished the last stroke of the needle and put it down.


    ¡°Oof, that is enough for today.¡± Illyan had been sharpening it for two hours, and his mind was already filled with some ideas about how to solidify his foundation.


    He stood up and went to the table that was filled with many parchments and books.


    Some of these books were borrowed from the library. That was one of the benefits of being an Academic: he could borrow books and bring them home.


    But most of them were books that Korin had given him. After the last time, he started to shower Illyan with more complex math problems and gave him some of his collection.


    Illyan sat down at the table, looked at the parchments, and started to modify one of them.


    These parchments were covered with drawings of male bodies lying in star shapes. Some of them showed the organs within the body, while some showed the nervous system.


    The most detailed one had notes about magic.


    Words like Mana Sea, acupoints, and Seat of Consciousness were marked on the body. Not only that, but several pathways within the body were also indicated.


    Most of them came from the Mana Sea, going into the limbs, and two of them came directly into each hemisphere of the brain.


    This was the magic circuit Arwen created.


    While the mana was gone, the traces of it flowing within him for years took a much longer time to dissipate.


    With this, he could take another step. He was very serious about this. Every time he made one discovery in the body, he immediately recorded it.


    In this way, he had already found around 136 acupoints within the body.


    It was quite shocking that he kept finding new ones.


    But that wasn¡¯t important now.


    He took the parchment with the man doing a stance. The mana pathways and acupoints were drawn on it too, but they were distorted.


    This stance was, of course, from [The Way of the Body].


    Since the woman talked about the foundation technique, he started to study it more in-depth.


    What Illyan found was shocking.


    The illusionary Life Force he discovered recently was actually reacting during this process!


    It was actually following the paths of the acupoints within the body, which wasn¡¯t that surprising¡ªat least until Illyan found a way to control that.


    Thus, he started experimenting with the stances and tried to connect them together so that the practice was fluid.


    And as the stances became more fluid, it made the life force resemble that of the tide, or rather...


    ¡®This is a flow. A flow is made out of strands of life force.¡¯ Illyan¡¯s eyes shone.


    And since the way of condensing flow was to use breathing techniques...


    ¡®The act of condensing flow is using the spiritual energy within the air to refine the strands of life force. Thanks to that, even ordinary soldiers can control the flow with their thoughts and can even weaponize it.¡¯


    Thinking how both techniques went hand in hand, Illyan thought of integrating the breathing technique into [The Way of the Body]. After all, controlled breathing was also important.


    But once he did so, he realized that it was quite difficult.


    At the same time, he had fun doing so. Kennera should be able to come into contact with the breathing technique during her journey, but she didn¡¯t incorporate it into her technique.


    Thinking of surpassing someone in the technique they created was something that hadn¡¯t crossed Illyan¡¯s mind ever before.


    Illyan continued modifying the stances until late at night.


    Once he was done, he tried out the stances with the changes.


    He started with the horse stance before slowly lowering his body.


    Then his body sprang up. It looked as if he was doing some martial arts combined with dancing.


    However, Illyan focused mostly on the life force within him. His life force was mighty, and it wasn¡¯t difficult to make it burst, but it was very difficult to control it.


    Fortunately, he didn¡¯t need extremely accurate control.


    Everywhere the life force flowed through, the blemishes became fainter.


    The muscles were more elastic, the bones were harder, and the skin was more vibrant.


    Illyan felt that he could even fight a troll now.


    ¡°Fuu...¡± Illyan exhaled as he finished up.


    His mind was a little tired, but his body was pumped up.


    ¡®I need to go to the waterfall. During the night, it is easier.¡¯


    Since the time Illyan sneaked outside of the town, he rarely went the honest way. It was a waste of time, and people could track his movements easily.


    During the night, there would be nobody looking for him, so it was even better.


    The entire process took several hours, which allowed him to leave at dusk and return at dawn.


    That was taking into consideration the dark water process before the main one.


    Normally, a person would not be able to absorb more energy within the body without any appropriate technique.


    But Illyan had one: a crude one, but functional.


    Every time his body was saturated with dark energy, he entered the medicine bath and continued the original training.


    However, after using the [Blood Feeding Technique], the same thing happened to the excessive Cold Energy within him; it was absorbed deep within his body where even his Mind Power couldn¡¯t perceive it.


    But he wasn¡¯t afraid that it was lost. Instead, he believed it was integrated deep within his body to the point of becoming part of himself.


    ¡®Could it be that this is how affinities are polished? Arwen said in his diary that affinities toward the elements aren¡¯t as fixed as mana talent and could be improved with the right resources. This must be one of those.¡¯


    Illyan was very satisfied. He felt like he found a good rhythm during his training. Time passed by so quickly he didn¡¯t even realize...

 127 - Korins Colleagues

    Illyan fell into a comfortable rhythm as days passed.


    Every day, he sharpened the needle for two hours and then researched the breathing technique and [The Way of the Body].


    He also used the guide to breed the centipedes during his free time, which caused his hidden room to be filled with jars of centipedes.


    In the end, he had to put the centipedes together, which caused an unexpected result. They started devouring each other, which then ended up with the ultimate centipede.


    The liquid Illyan extracted from it was actually two times more acidic than that of a normal centipede. This discovery made him even more enthusiastic about breeding these things as he studied the Darkglide Centipede¡¯s Guide thoroughly.


    However, most of the time spent during the day continued to be inside the library, where he read the books he hadn''t finished yet.


    It was also because he had it closer to Korin and Vael there.


    Vael¡¯s condition got a little worse after he expended himself to create the antiparasitic medicine for the town.


    So, instead, Illyan decided to visit him. No matter what, the time he spent with the man made him actually enjoy it. The amount of information Illyan got from him was the most important to him, but the good company was a pleasant bonus.


    Information from him was mostly about the plants, but Illyan felt that the man could slip up one day and tell him something about the supernatural side. The acolytes were saying he was part of the Heart Bearers, after all.


    But that wasn¡¯t important. If the man showed up to be an obstacle, Illyan wouldn¡¯t hesitate to make a move against him.


    On the other hand, his time with Korin wasn¡¯t as enjoyable. The man didn¡¯t know what he knew, so there wasn''t a problem, but the more time passed, the more hurried and obsessive Korin seemed to be as he managed to overwhelm even Illyan with all the knowledge.


    The topic they focused on the most was geometry. According to Korin, geometry was one of the most important branches of mathematics and also the one needed to finish this project.


    Illyan didn¡¯t disagree as he absorbed all the knowledge like a whale would swallow water with plankton.


    However, that was only during the day.


    Every third night, Illyan sneaked out of the town to fill the bathtub with the dark crystal powder and medicine solution. These nights, Illyan trained until his body gave out, and at dawn, he returned home to continue his routine.


    As his body and mind grew progressively stronger, he spent less time sleeping.


    At some point, he just meditated to recover.


    Not even acolytes could achieve something like that without collapsing at some point.


    But Illyan¡¯s tenacity was on a different level.


    Since the training outside the city was very taxing on his body, he spent the next two days recovering during meditation and also using [The Way of the Body] to get rid of blemishes on his body foundation.


    Every time his body¡¯s flaws got mended after training diligently, but during the next bath session, they once again showed up. It was an endless cycle.


    But Illyan wasn¡¯t disappointed at all. Not only did he completely stop the destruction of his foundation, but his body also became much stronger than he was before he entered the town.


    The strength his muscles could muster, the flexibility of his tendons, and the hardness of his bones made him someone who could break stone walls with his fists and jump several meters into the air.


    He also finally got rid of the external Cold Energy that was plaguing his body, which caused his body to be in even better shape.


    His blood was circulating with force in his veins as every movement could cause destruction.


    If Illyan faced Ezekiel once again, he felt confident he would come out in much better condition. Of course, that was under the premise that Ezekiel didn¡¯t have any trump cards. Illyan feared that once the man used proper magic spells, it would be like hell on earth.


    Aziro was very dangerous too. Illyan didn¡¯t fear the undeads as they didn¡¯t seem powerful enough, but just looking at the ghost flame that Aziro conjured showed the terror of strong acolytes.


    That¡¯s why Illyan was confident but didn¡¯t become complacent.


    Every single day, he put his all into everything he did.


    Time passed so quickly that he didn¡¯t even feel its passage, and soon the agreed-upon time knocked on the doors¡­


    ¡­¡­.


    Half a year had passed since Korin¡¯s first visit to Illyan''s manor.


    This time, however, it went differently.


    Illyan glanced at the man walking next to him. It was Korin who used the beautiful cane to support his walk. There was seemingly no change during that half year, but his eyes shone with an obsession that Illyan had never seen before.


    He was curious why he was acting like that, but he didn¡¯t ask. It was not in his nature to ask too many questions when he didn¡¯t play his ¡®friendly¡¯ persona. In fact, he found this kind of acting even more tiring than his nightly training.


    With the expedition just around the corner, Illyan was invited by Korin to visit his research room.


    This was not the first time Korin guided him there, as Illyan had visited the place several times during this half year. Mainly to continue his study but also to test out certain theories to better understand mathematics.


    They walked in silence inside the academy as the other apprentices greeted them respectfully along the way.


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    Korin nodded at them with a smile and greeted them back.


    Meanwhile, Illyan just nodded his head at them.


    After becoming an academic, many people acted submissive in front of him, but he didn¡¯t care.


    This kind of authority didn¡¯t give him any pleasure or satisfaction.


    He sought knowledge and power, not validation and control over people he didn¡¯t know or care about.


    ¡°Kaoran, I didn¡¯t tell you yet, but there are already some of the people you¡¯ll work with during the expedition.¡±


    Just as they got in front of the research room, Korin turned around to say this to Illyan.


    Illyan tilted his head in confusion.


    ¡°People? Are these the ones you made the contract with?¡± Illyan asked, while his eyes flashed with a cold glint.


    But Korin didn¡¯t notice as he kneaded his mustache with a smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The thing I want to accomplish is very difficult, and only a higher number of accomplished people could do that.¡±


    Illyan was a little surprised.


    He knew that Korin worked hard on this project and knew how knowledgeable the man was in this specialization.


    In fact, Illyan was pretty sure that this man was a genius with a lot of experience in mathematics.


    His brilliance was almost blinding. If Illyan couldn¡¯t see something was wrong with the contract back then, he would probably even admire the man.


    The way he solved the formulas, the way of his thinking. All of that, Illyan absorbed like a sponge, which made him progress at such speed that he could now become a junior academic with a mathematics specialization with ease.


    When Korin suggested this, however, Illyan refused without hesitation.


    He didn''t need to do any more tests. The only thing he would get out of that would be attention and a worthless certificate.


    Korin also didn¡¯t bother him after Illyan refused, as there was no need for him to do the tests just to help him.


    ¡°Well, you don¡¯t need to worry. All of them are good people. You¡¯ll see.¡±


    Korin smiled as he opened the door.


    There, a room full of parchments covered in weird symbols and tools was strewn around as several people were working on something.


    Things were messy, but the people around seemed to have an order in it, so they didn¡¯t bother to clean it up.


    However, in Illyan¡¯s eyes, his impression of them was already at the bottom.


    The older he got, and the better environment he lived in, the more his distaste for messy things grew.


    The fact these people worked like this made him frown.


    But nobody cared about this as they looked at Korin in surprise before greeting him in a subservient way.


    ¡°Well met, Mr. Korin!¡±


    The first to greet him was a middle-aged man. He was nothing special. His hair was brown, and his eyes were brown. His face was plain and easily hidden in a crowd.


    Illyan looked at him and imagined that this was the exact appearance of the average citizen of the Vanaras Kingdom.


    But he didn¡¯t underestimate him, as he had to have something in his head to be in this room.


    ¡°It is a pleasure to work again with you, Mr. Korin! My husband and I hope that we will soon achieve our long-desired goal.¡±


    The person who spoke now was a woman who hugged the arm of the middle-aged man.


    She had brown wavy hair to her shoulders and green eyes. She wasn¡¯t the prettiest woman, but there was a certain mature charm to her.


    Others also stopped doing whatever they were doing and came to greet Korin.


    Illyan noticed that Korin was essentially their leader.


    But Illyan didn¡¯t see any resistance.


    That meant they either didn¡¯t know about the trap in the contract or...


    Korin did something to them or gave them enough benefits for them to be satisfied.


    One of these people was a messy old man who seemed to move erratically.


    There was also a relatively young woman with dirty blonde hair and a sweet smile.


    But Illyan felt she was somewhat weird, as if he were staring at an empty shell.


    However, when Illyan looked at the last person, he was surprised.


    The other person also looked at him in surprise before turning their head aside as the person¡¯s cheeks turned red.


    Illyan recognized the person.


    It was Arun. The son of the knight.


    It was the same person who had gotten angry at him during his time in the cafeteria.


    ¡®What is this guy doing here? Don¡¯t tell me Korin trapped this boy too? He doesn¡¯t look exactly smart¡­¡¯


    Illyan was a little stumped. His first impression of this boy wasn¡¯t the greatest. In fact, he had just thought of him as a fool before dismissing him from his mind.


    There was no place for such people in his mind.


    And he hadn¡¯t met him again after that incident, so he didn¡¯t think about him. But he didn¡¯t forget, because Illyan never forgets people who antagonize him.


    ¡°Guys, come here to greet your new colleague! His name is Kaoran.¡± Korin smiled as he introduced Illyan.


    ¡°Oh, a new one to the family? That¡¯s great! My name is Tami, and my husband¡¯s name is Mufa.¡± The middle-aged female smiled as she introduced herself and her husband.


    Illyan nodded curtly to them with a small bow.


    Then, the old man came over and gave him a toothless smile.


    ¡°Greetings. The name¡¯s Neddard.¡±


    ¡°Hey~ My name¡¯s Vanda! Let¡¯s hang out someday!¡±


    The old man was shoved aside as the young female smiled at Illyan and reached out her hand, being the first to do so.


    Illyan nodded to her and the man as he shook her hand.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you supposed to be a physician?¡±


    At that moment, a slightly high-pitched voice resounded in the room.


    Illyan turned his head toward Arun.


    This time, Arun didn¡¯t show any hostility. In fact, he seemed kind of shy and embarrassed.


    But mainly, his face showed confusion.


    And this question piqued the curiosity of the others.


    ¡°Now that you mention it, there was definitely a new physician academic named Kaoran recently. Even I heard about it.¡±


    ¡°Ohh?¡±


    The others curiously looked at Illyan, wondering what he was doing here with them.


    Then they looked at Korin, as it was Korin who had invited all of them.


    Korin just smirked.


    ¡°Kaoran is a physician, indeed. But you all should know that academics can be knowledgeable in other specializations, right? Am I not proof of that?¡±


    Saying that with a cheerful smile, he made the others nod in acknowledgment.


    After all, he was one of the academics certified in at least three specializations.


    No one could deny his deep knowledge.


    ¡°So, Mr. Kaoran, what is your other specialization? I¡¯m into history, but I can do a little mathematics too.¡±


    Vanda said with a teasing smile as she puffed out her bountiful chest. She seemed proud of that.


    ¡°Same here.¡±


    Neddard was the same, as he was one of the best historians in the institute.


    Meanwhile, the couple was different.


    ¡°We are mainly archaeologists. But since the ruins we are researching are the way they are, we also need to have basic knowledge of mathematics.¡±


    Tami spoke with a partly tired and partly annoyed tone.


    It was obvious that the work was tiring.


    It was only then that Korin called out cheerfully.


    ¡°It¡¯s only little Arun who specializes only in mathematics. But don¡¯t be mistaken. He¡¯s actually at a similar level to yours.¡±


    When Korin said that, Arun widened his eyes and looked at Illyan.


    ¡°For how long have you been studying mathematics?¡±


    Illyan frowned. The kid had annoyed him back then, and now he was acting like this.


    ¡°Hoho~ Actually, not even a year ago, Kaoran was questioning me about mathematical notation.¡±


    Korin laughed out loud. Others turned a little more interested when they heard this.


    ¡°Wow, if you¡¯re at this level after such little time, then you must have worked hard!¡±


    ¡°Not only that, but his talent in this is indisputable.¡±


    Arun¡¯s eyes dimmed, and he looked a bit disappointed.


    ¡°In the end, I¡¯m still no good.¡±


    Bowing his head, he clenched his fists.


    But at that moment, Korin came up behind him and patted the boy.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that. You came under my care not too long ago too. Learning is gradual. You can¡¯t be discouraged this soon, hoho~ Instead, use this opportunity to learn from each other. With both of your talents, progress will be a piece of cake.¡±


    Arun, who heard that, nodded as he understood the man¡¯s words, but his heart still felt bitter. He was the exact opposite of Illyan. He sought validation in everything he did.


    After his father sent him to the institute, he worked hard not to disappoint him. But he still felt it was never enough...


    After saying that, Korin moved deeper into the room in front of the main desk and turned serious.


    ¡°In a few days, we will go to the Iron Troll Mountain Ranges. The group will be camping in the ancient city of Faruin for a few months, so we will use this opportunity to crack some of the puzzles there. I would love to find some of the clues there too... and finally finish what I¡¯ve worked on for so long.¡±


    As Korin¡¯s serious voice reverberated, the others turned quiet as they listened with somber expressions.


    The meeting began, and Illyan could finally see some of the clues about what they were doing.

 128 - Eternal Gondoris

    One hour passed as Korin calmly explained their goal during this expedition.


    He took out the detailed architectural plan of the entire city and showed several main points where they would try to break through.


    ¡°As Mufa and Tami visited the city with me once, they should know how dangerous it is, so we need to be extremely careful. If our mission accidentally caused a disturbance and lured some of the trolls, the entire expedition would take a big loss.¡±


    Korin¡¯s severe tone made other members somber while Tami and Mufa shivered a little. They knew how dangerous those trolls were. They could easily tear apart a knight if he got caught.


    ¡°Thankfully, last time there was some breakthrough, so we will have a chance to get what we need...¡±


    Korin used his cane to point at some of the points on the plan in front of them.


    Illyan listened properly, but his mind veered off when he saw the cane. The cane was coated with gold, and its tip was in the shape of a roaring lion.


    He had never noticed before since Korin¡¯s hand covered the head, but now he could see that the mouth of the lion was hollow, and the hole led deeper into the cane.


    ¡®Interesting. I should watch out for that.¡¯


    Illyan noted this as he once again turned his attention to Korin.


    ¡°This is the supposed place where the royal members stayed during the time of their visit in the city. It is the main reason for this expedition. I even prepared some of the records I brought from the Arkravav Empire that should help with figuring out the right method for entering.¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t we just barge in? The knights should be able to break in, right?¡±


    Suddenly, Arun raised his hand like a dutiful student and asked curiously but at the same time confidently as if believing knights should be able to do it with ease.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ Child, unfortunately, that is not the case. Don¡¯t forget that the city is deep inside of the trolls¡¯ territory. Yet it still stands. The city is from a civilization that was technologically equal to Arkravav back then. No, in fact, it was better in some aspects.¡±


    When Korin said this, Arun gasped while Vanda next to him covered her mouth as she giggled at him.


    That made Arun wake up as he turned red and shirked.


    It was at that moment when Illyan raised his hand.


    ¡°Hmm? You can ask right away, Kaoran.¡± Korin noticed him and prompted him.


    ¡°I am still in the dark with the main goal of all of this. And it is kind of hard and discouraging to work on something you don¡¯t really understand. So, can you tell me more about this and for how long you¡¯ve worked on this?¡±


    Illyan stopped talking as he felt he expressed his thoughts just fine. Or rather, the thoughts he wanted to express.


    He didn¡¯t know what Korin was after, which gave him a disadvantage if Korin wanted to make a move against him.


    Of course, he couldn¡¯t believe him even if he said the reason, but he still wanted to try to find out.


    He also wondered for how long he was working on this. After all, if he worked on it for a long time, it meant that Illyan would need to spend a lot of time on this too.


    That made Illyan consider that once he finished the books in the library and learned everything from Korin, he would just kill him and then escape to Arkravav to seek more power instead of wasting time working for him.


    But for now, he waited for Korin¡¯s answer.


    ¡°Well¡­ It wouldn¡¯t hurt you to know. Actually, only Arun and you are the ones still held in the dark. I apologize for that.¡±


    Korin said apologetically as he adjusted the monocle on his eye.


    ¡°The civilization I am researching was called Eternal Gondoris. It is estimated to have existed around 20,000 years ago before the catastrophe struck. The place full of vitality withered in a matter of days. Now, this place is one of the most barren places on the continent.¡±


    Korin sighed. It was rudimentary knowledge that this place was very barren. But most people didn¡¯t know the reason. They just thought it was always like that.


    But that, of course, wasn¡¯t the truth.


    ¡°This place was completely devastated. How? Well, that¡¯s what we are trying to find out. But many academics think that it was a self-inflicted blow. Maybe civil war. Maybe something more sinister.¡±


    Illyan widened his eyes, he could feel that Korin was telling the truth. But he never expected that this place had such a history.


    ¡°In fact, the academic institute was originally built to find out about this mysterious civilization and to excavate its knowledge and artifacts. And it managed to inherit many books from other such organizations in the past. That¡¯s the only reason such a poor place could afford a library as big as we have.¡±


    ¡®I see. So not every city has libraries? I didn¡¯t think about it but it makes sense.¡¯ Illyan didn¡¯t doubt Korin since he heard his calm heartbeat.


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    It also made perfect sense as he finally connected dots in some of his questions.


    Korin suddenly coughed.


    ¡°But that¡¯s me veering off the subject. As you can see, the institute lost interest as more time passed and the outside powers also weren¡¯t interested. However, for me, this is my lifelong work. It¡¯s been 30 years since I started working on this.¡±


    When Korin confessed this, Illyan¡¯s face fell.


    Tami and Mufa also seemed to be gloomy while Neddard acted indifferent.


    What was interesting was Vanda¡¯s expression. She had cold eyes, and Illyan could see wisps of anger in her presence.


    When she noticed his gaze, she smiled sweetly before turning her head away.


    The one who was most expressive was the youngest in the room, Arun.


    ¡°What? So long? Then wouldn¡¯t this expedition be just one of the many? How do we know we will be successful now?¡±


    He asked loudly, but Illyan could tell he was a little agitated.


    That made Illyan narrow his eyes. Arun acting like that showed that Korin wasn¡¯t telling the truth. Korin said both of them didn¡¯t know anything, yet Arun seemed very concerned.


    Either he knew more than Illyan, which would make sense as others also showed similar reactions, or Korin made some promises to him.


    Possibly, the promises had something to do with Arun¡¯s contract.


    ¡®Whatever¡­¡¯ But Illyan just shrugged it off. He didn¡¯t care if the guy died or not.


    Rather, he was interested in the answer Korin would give him.


    After all, he really didn¡¯t want to spend too much time on this.


    ¡°Haah¡­ I know. I worked on this for so long that I even started to doubt myself many times. But I persevered! In fact, during these 30 years, I managed to get more and more clues about the Gondoris. In fact, this cane is one of the items I found in the city that is in the Snowless Mountain Range.¡±


    Korin lifted his hand holding the cane and showed it to the rest.


    ¡°I believe that I am getting closer to the truth each day. And now that we have Arun and Kaoran, who could even be called geniuses, it will be even easier for us to make progress!¡±


    Korin turned passionate as his feeble voice turned into a loud cheer.


    Arun turned red after being complimented like that, while Illyan just shook his head internally.


    ¡®What genius? I just memorized everything¡­¡¯


    He was definitely more intelligent than other average peasants, but he wasn¡¯t arrogant enough to think he was a genius. He knew that a big factor in his fast progress was his eidetic memory.


    With that, he just needed to remember the formulas, and half of the work was already done.


    ¡°This expedition, I seek another breakthrough as we get full support from the mayor. That means that we can go all out and will stay in the city for a few months at the very least. Within that time span, I am confident that we will be able to enter one of the rooms. That room is one big milestone for us, as I hope to find a ¡®key¡¯ to the capital of Gondoris there! And once we find the key, we will have access to the legacy of Gondoris! A legacy wanted by many in the last 20,000 years, yet no one has managed to obtain it!¡±


    Korin now showed complete infatuation as his eyes stared into nothing while he breathed heavily. Illyan could see the deep madness within him, and others could see it too.


    But they didn¡¯t react much. The only one uneasy was Arun once again. Illyan almost found it amusing that such a guy was the one who tried to argue with him back then.


    However, what took his interest the most were Korin¡¯s words.


    ¡®Legacy? I guess that it would be a magical legacy.¡¯ He couldn¡¯t see how one civilization could match in technology the Arkravav Empire full of magisters without using magic, so he could immediately imagine the nature of the legacy.


    That made Illyan wonder why Korin needed it.


    Then he shook his head in disdain.


    ¡®Here I am kidnapping people for the sake of dissecting them for a little power, yet I question others'' need for legacies?¡¯


    Most people desired power. It was instinctual. Questioning that would lead him nowhere.


    Instead, he started to ponder whether the magical legacy had some connection with the mana test Korin made him do.


    ¡®Wanting to sacrifice people with high talent? It is definitely possible¡­¡¯ Thinking so, he decided that he would be extra careful¡­


    It was just at that moment when Korin came to his senses and showed an embarrassed expression as he coughed.


    ¡°I hope I have answered your question, Kaoran.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Thank you.¡± Illyan nodded as if he appreciated the man¡¯s words.


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue with the meeting then.¡± Korin nodded with a smile.


    Without wasting time, he turned back to the architectural plan and started to talk about their mission.


    He even showed the images of several of the buildings and the carvings on them as he explained their importance and the reason he brought them up.


    Once he was done explaining all of that, he took a bunch of parchments and gave them to everyone.


    ¡°I already divided the tasks that need to be done for each of you. Don¡¯t worry, I chose the most fitting tasks for you.¡±


    Korin said as he gave everyone one or two parchments.


    When Illyan got his, he opened his eyes wide. On one of these parchments was a very detailed geometrical diagram. Illyan almost felt dizzy from staring at it.


    However, the diagram seemed to be incomplete.


    Illyan then looked at another parchment where the explanation was.


    This diagram was actually one of the mechanisms in the doors leading to the royal room of the citadel in the middle of the city.


    It was explained that it had been destroyed long ago and that Korin managed to recover the mechanism to open the door. Subsequently, he figured out the puzzle.


    But that was only one thing needed to open the doors, so Korin didn¡¯t manage to open them.


    What was interesting was that once Korin visited the place for the second time, the diagram was once again in disarray. Not only that, but the diagram had also changed.


    After observing the mechanism for a long time, Korin realized that the mechanism changed as time passed, as if it had an inner clock installed inside!


    Illyan was surprised.


    ¡®What an ingenious mechanism.¡¯


    This caused Korin to solve it every time he visited. Now, he gave the opportunity to Illyan.


    It could be said to be a test of his capabilities. The mechanism could and would be solved by Korin as he already knew how, but it would take time. Giving the task to Illyan meant he could focus on more difficult things, and Illyan could be useful despite working on the simple task.


    In the end, his experience would soar during this trip.


    ¡°Kaoran.¡± Suddenly, Korin called out to him in a whisper as he sat next to him.


    ¡°Yes, Mr. Korin?¡± Illyan asked uneasily, as he felt uncomfortable with Korin being so close to him.


    ¡°This expedition¡­ It is very important to me. I give you this task as I trust your capabilities. Your pace of learning is astonishing, but you are not proud. You are a steadfast kid. That¡¯s why I hope you can finish this task before joining me in the main puzzle to open the damn door. If we do so, we will get something that even the fabled magisters couldn¡¯t get. They can only watch from outside of the kingdom while sending out some weak people here once in a while to try their luck, but in the end, they are several steps behind me.¡±


    Korin then stared into Illyan¡¯s eyes with utmost seriousness.


    ¡°The power desired by magisters¡­ Can you imagine that? I, for sure, can¡¯t. And that¡¯s why I want it all the more. There is something I need to do, no matter the price. And for that, I need this legacy. Of course, once we get to the end, there will be rewards that could change everyone¡¯s lives.¡±


    Korin whispered as he clutched tightly at the cane.


    ¡°I understand.¡± Illyan nodded seriously.


    ¡°Good.¡± With that, Korin smiled as he patted Illyan¡¯s back before standing up and leaving in the direction of Arun.


    Illyan just stared at him while contemplating his words.

 129 - Blood Energy

    After several hours of listening and discussing their missions, they finally dispersed.


    Some of them didn¡¯t leave yet as they talked about private matters, while others, like Arun, dispersed as soon as possible.


    Arun almost ran away as if he didn¡¯t want to be in the vicinity of Illyan anymore.


    Vanda, who saw that, sniggered.


    ¡°I heard what he did back then to you. He is such a stupid kid,¡± Vanda then turned her attention to Illyan.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t think about it if I were you. It is just a boy going through puberty,¡± she added with a grin.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t plan to,¡± Illyan answered curtly.


    ¡°Hehe~¡± Vanda smiled sweetly as she got closer to Illyan while posturing herself in front of him.


    It was obvious that she wanted to continue the conversation in a more intimate tone, but Illyan just stared at her expressionlessly for a moment before excusing himself.


    ¡°Heh, what a shy boy¡­¡±


    Vanda muttered as Illyan left right away...


    ¡­¡­..


    Illyan was on his way to his manor as he thought about the expedition they would go on in the next few days.


    Vanda already disappeared from his mind as he wasn¡¯t interested in the opposite sex nor the actions that could arise between them, as his mind was occupied by more important things.


    At first, Illyan wasn¡¯t interested in Korin¡¯s matters, but after seeing all of this, he couldn¡¯t say he wasn¡¯t intrigued.


    But he still kept his mind cool, as he knew that he had to prepare for any unforeseeable accidents on the trip.


    Illyan was already mentally prepared that he would need to use the [Nature Breath Method] for the entire duration of the expedition, as he found out his life force was thinned out with its usage, which should help him hide from Ezekiel¡¯s perception.


    If possible, Illyan wanted to return back to Winterfrost town as soon as possible without any hitch.


    Illyan was now closer than ever to finding his way of getting stronger, and being interrupted like this wasn¡¯t exactly comfortable.


    He would rather stay cooped up in his manor for at least another few years before leaving. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t meant to be, as the mayor¡¯s command wasn¡¯t something Illyan¡¯s current status could go against...


    But Illyan didn¡¯t consider running away. Even if it was dangerous, he would attend.


    His eyes glinted with murderous intent as he remembered the hand and leg that he severed from Ezekiel¡¯s body and the dark crystal rods that were embedded inside.


    Illyan felt his heart beating with burning desire to find the truth.


    And if it was really as Illyan thought...


    ¡°I will kill you myself, even if I need to tear you limb from limb,¡± Illyan muttered to himself.


    He returned to his manor and took out all the ingredients he needed for the last medicinal bath before leaving and went to the waterfall.


    Recently, he refined the body parts of Ezekiel into very strong medicine powder and wanted to use it in the medicine bath for it to have a better medicinal effect.


    He also used the severed mantis blade, as the monster¡¯s essence inside was perfect for tempering the body.


    He wanted to find a way to create a weapon from it, but unfortunately, it was too clumsy to be used as is, and it couldn¡¯t be shaped either.


    At first, Illyan thought it was metallic, but then he found the mantis blade was made out of chitin.


    In the end, he gave up and ground it by softening it in a medicine solution first.


    The same was done with the chimera tail¡¯s skin, except that the poison was extracted from it beforehand.


    He also took the essence of Caleb that he made back then and the newly created essence of Arwen to use in the bath.


    Illyan felt conflicting emotions going through his mind as he stared at these vials. This wasn¡¯t something normal and definitely wasn¡¯t accepted by broad society.


    But the burning desire for power and knowledge made Illyan forget such insignificant things, as he promised himself that he would not stop even if he had to turn into a fiend...


    ¡­¡­..


    In just an hour or so, Illyan got back to the waterfall and filled the pit with water and medicine.


    The stronger he got, the faster he could move around.


    As of now, Illyan collected 14 drops of Mind Power, and his body was as strong as that of a bear.


    And now, he would go through another bath. He felt there would be a small breakthrough in the blood energy he had created during his [Blood Feeding Technique] sessions.


    He felt the tension in his blood veins as the circulation of blood seemed to be slower, as if something was blocking it. He felt as if the blood needed power to break through this invisible veil to gain higher momentum!


    Illyan calculated that it would still take time before breaking through this bottleneck.


    However, with the help of the previously mentioned ingredients, Illyan had confidence in reaching his goal.


    Soon after the cold water filled up the pit, Illyan opened the corks of the vials and carefully poured the essences down one by one.


    At first, the medicine bath had a slightly greenish color because of the herbs and plants, but because of this, it turned into a slightly reddish or yellowish color.


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    The water didn¡¯t even need to be warmed up by the hot rocks, as the reaction of the essences being poured caused the thing to suddenly bubble.


    The sign of boiling surprised Illyan, but he didn¡¯t waste time as he sealed some of his acupoints before he jumped inside.


    There, he did the exact same thing he did every time.


    He sat down in the lotus position and closed his eyes.


    His focus this time wasn¡¯t on the runes, as this session wasn¡¯t about Mind Power. Instead, his focus lay only on his blood.


    He used a bit of Mind Power to observe it from the inside as he started to breathe underwater using the [Flow Breathing technique].


    He still hadn¡¯t condensed even a strand of the flow, but he mastered the breathing technique to such a high level that even experienced warriors would watch in amazement.


    A normal person would be able to employ the technique for a limited time before needing a long recovery, but Illyan was different.


    He trained in the technique for long periods to the point of his body breaking down.


    The Spiritual Energy was flowing through his body naturally, as he did it so often that even his affinity rose up a bit.


    But that was secondary, as he started to employ another technique.


    [Blood Feeding Technique]


    The already boiling water began to boil at an even faster rate, as another source of heat started to come off from Illyan¡¯s body.


    Suddenly, the medicine started to swirl around his body as it entered Illyan¡¯s body through his skin¡¯s acupoints, mouth, and nose.


    His muscles, despite being flexible and strong, started to tear apart fiber by fiber as they turned into flesh essence before mixing with the medicine essence.


    The pressure built up as the energy slowly proceeded to be embedded into the blood vessels through mysterious power.


    Illyan didn¡¯t notice at that moment, as he had closed his eyes and was in deep meditation, but his blood started to glow with a mysterious light.


    The glow could be seen through his veins, illuminating the entire medicine bathtub.


    Each of his veins was accentuated at this very moment with a slightly red and orange color, as his blood started to gain unimaginable properties.


    If before, the magical properties of the blood were invisible and incorporeal, then now it was as if his blood had turned magical.


    The blood started to circulate much faster through his body as it passed through all his body parts.


    This also caused his body to be washed by this mysterious energy, creating symbiosis. His flesh regrew at a rapid pace as his blood nourished his body.


    The next day.


    Illyan woke up hungry, but there was no weakness in his body, and he felt great.


    He looked at his naked body and saw that it was sculpted to perfection.


    If, before leaving the Blood Crow Forest, he was giant with a bulky physique, then now he was like a mortal god walking on earth.


    Each of his muscles was defined and aesthetically pleasing. The originally bulky appearance had changed as the muscles compressed to a much smaller size. However, they were far from being only aesthetic.


    The power coursing through Illyan¡¯s body was like that of a raging bull.


    Illyan felt satisfied with his newfound strength as he wanted to rise from the pit.


    ¡°Whoa?!¡± However, the moment he did so, it was like he was flying for a second as he jumped several meters up.


    What he didn¡¯t realize was that as he took a deep breath, he unknowingly employed the flow technique, which caused his blood energy to rise for a second.


    But while he was surprised for a moment, it didn¡¯t take long before he did somersaults during the flight, easily landing on his legs.


    The ground violently shook as his legs hit the ground.


    ¡®Am I heavier?¡¯ Illyan felt that his body was leaner than ever, but at the same time, it was at its heaviest.


    Illyan worried that it could cause some problems when he walked around, especially in towns where the roads and floors were made from various materials.


    Fortunately, it didn¡¯t seem that bad as he walked around for a bit before getting used to it.


    With light steps, Illyan soon became as nimble as a doe thanks to his precise body movements.


    He ran around enjoying the wind caressing his face and the hair he left loose as he jumped around.


    This time, he didn¡¯t even need to climb the trees, as he could jump over five meters when he got serious. He felt like he could take on dozens of acolytes in just a few minutes with all the strength coursing through his body.


    And that created a question in his mind.


    How strong was he?!


    When he jumped back on the ground, he turned his attention to one of the trees.


    The tree was so thick that Illyan would have a problem hugging it completely, which meant it was perfect to test his strength.


    He grinned as he threw a punch at it casually.


    Boom


    His fist embedded itself in the tree trunk, but it withstood his power.


    With a slight tug, he pulled it out.


    His strength had risen, and his body was tougher, but he still had a slightly bloodied hand as the skin was torn a little.


    But Illyan only smiled as he watched the wounds seal immediately after.


    Then, with the help of the breathing technique, he channeled the blood energy.


    He didn¡¯t know exactly how it worked or whether it was an efficient method, but he didn¡¯t care for the moment as he stomped while punching the tree as hard as possible!


    Boom


    The entire trunk exploded into splinters as the tree shuddered, and all the snow on its branches fell down, veiling Illyan¡¯s sight.


    A few seconds after the snow settled down, Illyan saw the result of his attack.


    A hole the size of a head appeared in the middle of the tree, while the surroundings were completely broken and twisted in a circular shape, as if the explosion came from within and not from an external attack.


    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Illyan¡¯s eyes widened as he laughed out loud.


    If Ezekiel dared to meet him right now, wouldn¡¯t he be completely demolished?


    The feeling of power was intoxicating to him as he thought of murdering that man.


    It was just then that he felt the breeze caress him again.


    Maybe it was just him, but he felt the wind was slightly silvery.


    At that moment, he stopped laughing, his expression returning to an emotionless state. This sudden change made his calmness look extremely eerie, and anyone who witnessed it would think he was a madman.


    But Illyan was simply thinking deeply about the acolytes and their methods of fighting.


    Illyan was like a savage beast stalking its prey. Once it attacked, it used its entire might to kill the prey at once.


    But the acolytes were different.


    They used every possible way to avoid using their mana, and if they were in dire straits, they tended to use the least amount of mana possible.


    That was mainly because Illyan¡¯s recovery was much higher than the acolytes¡¯ mana recovery.


    They didn¡¯t want to lose their progress in an unwanted battle.


    That¡¯s why they furthered their interests through servants and other means, such as the darkglade centipedes.


    This caused a huge disparity in most of their battle experiences. Illyan could easily beat them in one-on-one battles. Maybe even two-on-ones if they were on the same level as the centipede trio.


    In the end, hesitation was their doom.


    If they hadn¡¯t split up and had gone all out from the beginning, there was no way the girl could have played them like that back then.


    But even then, they would have struggled.


    Her casting speed was much faster, and her spells were stronger despite creating lesser fluctuations. It was obvious that she was much better than them at using her powers.


    In the end, she asked for his help not out of necessity but out of convenience and interest in him. His interference allowed her to save some mana.


    Now, this woman hadn¡¯t shown power stronger than that of Ezekiel, yet she was already so terrifying.


    Then what about him? What did he hide?


    Was his molting his tail really a miserable escape, or did he just toy with Illyan?


    He didn¡¯t know. But he knew that by now he had probably recovered with his strange powers.


    And since he was a peak acolyte who had learned not to underestimate him¡­


    ¡®He is dangerous...¡¯ Illyan¡¯s eyes glinted. He needed to be careful now.


    The same went for Aziro. That man was dangerous too. He didn¡¯t need to expend much energy to cause a huge burst of power through his undead or the green flame he used.


    In the end, Illyan curbed his ego.


    ¡®Transcendent¡­ That¡¯s the stage when I will allow myself to be arrogant. Everything below is an insect...¡¯


    Despite not knowing how strong a Transcendent Person was or if they really existed, Illyan decided that it was his long-term goal for now. If he found the Ice Dragon or the Truth Eyeball to be stronger, he would gladly change this goal, but for now, this was it.


    As for his short-term goal¡­


    Recultivating the mortal, novice, and apprentice stages to full completion sounded like a good goal.


    All for creating a solid foundation to break through the Expert Stage.


    Just as Illyan thought about this, he returned to his manor.


    However, he noticed that there were two people sitting on the bench in front of the main door.


    One of them was Vael. He was wearing a face mask covering his mouth due to his illness.


    However, the second person was much smaller with a petite posture.


    The person was covered in robes, which made Illyan think of the acolytes.


    But when he noticed the strands of the person¡¯s hair, he froze as he stared from a distance.


    This person was familiar!

 130 - Vaels Granddaughter

    "Oh, Kaoran! You are back! That''s good, that''s good, haha-"


    Cough Cough


    Vael, who noticed Illyan coming, waved at him with a hand in greeting before he was overcome by a coughing fit.


    It was obvious that Vael¡¯s condition was worse than before. Illyan had even studied the disease; he wanted to find out why Vael had failed to treat it, but only more questions piled up.


    Illyan was suspicious that the disease was not mutated tuberculosis but something different.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have a way to find out.


    However, at this moment, that was the least of his concerns as he stared at the woman next to him.


    The perfect face in front of him, with sparkling emerald eyes and a nose covered with small freckles, appeared before him. From his understanding of medicine, freckles were actually just an imperfection of the skin, but in this case, it didn¡¯t seem to apply, as it looked completely natural on her.


    It was a petite woman with robes covering her body, but the red strands of hair couldn¡¯t be hidden.


    It was the woman who had hunted down the acolytes in the forest a few months back!


    At this very moment, she was also looking at him. At first, her face was indifferent, even a little annoyed, but after scrutinizing him for a second, she widened her eyes.


    ¡®She recognized me?¡¯ Illyan¡¯s heart shook. He had a disguise that made him impossible to recognize at a glance, but she had done it in a matter of seconds. Wouldn¡¯t Ezekiel be the same, then?


    ¡®No. Each acolyte seems to have a different set of powers. Ezekiel can only feel the life force when he consciously looks for it. On the other hand, this woman is different.¡¯


    Illyan remembered the time she had told him about his inner flaws. Since she could see that, it meant she had abilities beyond Aziro and Ezekiel in this regard.


    When she realized she had stared at him for too long, she simply nodded in greeting before averting her eyes. It seemed as if she was whispering something to Vael next to her.


    It was at that moment Illyan realized these two were together, and Vael seemed to be very close to her.


    But how could he have such an acquaintance?


    ¡®Wait¡­ Is she part of the Heart Bearer Gang?¡¯


    Illyan widened his eyes. He remembered the acolyte trio saying Vael was a member of this gang back then, and he had also mentioned his granddaughter.


    Now, Vael was talking with a young woman who was magically talented.


    ¡®I saw her using blood as a catalyst for the spell too¡­ Heart Bearers¡­ That would fit.¡¯


    Realizing the origin of the clan¡¯s name, he narrowed his eyes, wondering what this was about.


    ¡°Greetings, Vael. What brings you here with this lovely lady?¡± When Illyan came closer, he smiled slightly as he greeted them.


    The young woman rolled her eyes at him at an angle where Vael could not see it.


    On the other hand, Vael laughed.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so polite, is there?¡±


    While saying that, he used his hands to support himself as he stood up from the bench in front of Illyan¡¯s manor. The woman, seeing this, immediately reached out to help him.


    ¡°I need to introduce you. Kaoran, this is my granddaughter, Aurelia. Aurie, this is Kaoran. I¡¯ve already mentioned both of you to each other, so you shouldn¡¯t be surprised, hehe.¡±


    Vael smiled as he introduced the woman called Aurelia to Illyan.


    Illyan had some suspicions since Vael had talked about his granddaughter several times already, but it was still a little shocking that this woman was the ¡®sweet little girl¡¯ Vael had sung about.


    He remembered how Vael had hoped he would help take care of her, but he didn¡¯t expect this girl to be so strong.


    To be honest, Illyan wasn¡¯t sure he could beat her.


    But he still took a deep breath as he reached out his hand after making a small bow.


    ¡°It is my pleasure, my lady.¡±


    Aurelia looked at the hand in silence before sighing and shaking his hand.


    ¡°Well met, sir Kaoran.¡±


    As they shook hands, Illyan couldn¡¯t help but notice she wore a pair of white gloves.


    Soon, their hands separated, and Illyan quickly invited them inside.


    Illyan prepared hot tea before sitting down and making small talk.


    It was mainly Vael talking while Illyan chimed in once in a while, while Aurelia remained mostly silent.


    She even looked impatient as she sat there.


    But Illyan didn¡¯t care much. She didn¡¯t seem hostile, so he turned his attention to Vael.


    Vael also saw it was time to stop talking before looking deeply into Illyan¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Kaoran, do you remember when I asked you if you could take care of my granddaughter when I am no longer able to?¡±


    Vael asked with seriousness. Meanwhile, Aurelia glared at him, her cheeks pouting slightly. However, no one noticed as she quickly masked her facial expressions.


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    ¡°Of course. I just didn¡¯t know she would be¡­¡± Illyan glanced at Aurelia. When Vael had given him all the tools in the laboratory, he had made a small condition to help him take care of her. He had expected her to be a young girl who only had her grandfather to depend on.


    Little did he know she was a full-grown young adult with power that could take on dozens of armored knights.


    ¡°Hehe, I know, I know. Our little Aurie is a beautiful young woman, but she can take care of herself. I don¡¯t want anything too much from you. It¡¯s just¡­¡± Vael sighed. It looked as if he were giving up on something.


    ¡°You see, since she studied under me in the arts of medicine, a lot of people have wanted to take advantage of her. Now, her darned father made some dealings with the mayor and forced her to participate in that stupid expedition.¡±


    Vael then started to talk about the so-called father and all his misgivings about this person, who was presumably his own son.


    Aurelia didn¡¯t give any opinion, but since her face didn¡¯t change at all, Illyan guessed she thought the same.


    ¡°Even though her father will also join, I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll even stop to think about her well-being. So, I want you to take her under your wing. Since you¡¯ll be the highest-ranked physician in the expedition, nobody would dare do anything to her.¡±


    After saying that, Vael bowed slightly.


    Despite the solemn mood, Illyan couldn¡¯t help but think it was a bit amusing.


    He felt that even Aziro would suffer a bit if he dared to offend her, let alone random soldiers who couldn¡¯t even use breathing techniques.


    However, it was at that moment when Aurelia glared at him with intensity.


    ¡®Don¡¯t tell him.¡¯ When she made eye contact with him, a sudden voice resounded in his mind. The voice was neither overbearing nor pleading. It was a request that you would give to an equal.


    Illyan was surprised and didn¡¯t know how to answer back, so he just winked several times at her.


    That made her furrow her eyebrows before she realized he couldn¡¯t speak to her.


    But she didn¡¯t continue talking to him as she herself felt that using telepathy was quite difficult.


    Especially for someone who wasn¡¯t willing to expend their Mind Power.


    What she did was shape the Mind Power into a strand and then connect it with Illyan. After saying what she needed, the Mind Power retracted back to her head.


    The efficiency was extremely high, and the distance between these two was small, so there was almost no loss of energy.


    Seeing her not talking anymore, Illyan turned his attention back to Vael.


    ¡°Take care of her? I don¡¯t know if I will have time. I have to help Korin with some work.¡±


    After saying that, Aurelia narrowed her eyes.


    Even Vael had a bad expression.


    ¡°Kaoran, for your safety, you should beware of Korin. He is a very obsessed man¡­¡± Vael whispered as if fearing someone would hear him as he told this to Illyan.


    ¡°Thank you, I will be careful.¡±


    Seeing that Illyan didn¡¯t say anything else, Vael could only sigh. He didn¡¯t know if Illyan took his warning seriously or not. Sometimes, he felt that this young man was kind of unfathomable when it came to what he was thinking.


    ¡°In that case, you don¡¯t really need to worry. I just ask you to be beside her once in a while in public and guide her a little if she makes some mistakes. She is a smart girl who learned most of the knowledge from me, but a new angle in the same specialization would immensely help her.¡±


    After saying this, Vael waited for the answer. Illyan could only sigh.


    In the end, he already accepted this the moment he took the tools back then. He still had the principle of giving back favors.


    Fortunately, this looked like it would be simple, as Aurelia seemed to be able to take care of herself. However, Vael didn¡¯t know this. Or at least, he didn¡¯t seem to know.


    Illyan didn¡¯t know why she was hiding this fact and didn¡¯t plan to ask either. He knew that there were some secrets that shouldn¡¯t be asked. He had too many to count himself.


    ¡°Haah, alright. This time I will help.¡±


    Thus, Illyan agreed with Vael and nodded to both of them.


    Vael smiled broadly.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. That¡¯s good¡­ I hope you can get along with each other.¡±


    Suddenly, Vael stood up.


    ¡°I still have something to do, so I will have to excuse myself. You two young children arrange the rest yourselves.¡±


    Vael said as he winked at Illyan and then looked at Aurelia and patted her head. She just sighed and nodded.


    Illyan¡¯s perception didn¡¯t miss this as he wondered what this was about.


    In the end, the old man who was the connection between them disappeared, and they sat there in silence.


    ¡®This old man did this on purpose, didn¡¯t he?¡¯ Illyan cursed under his breath while Aurelia took a sip of the tea.


    Afterward, she put the teacup down as she spoke:


    ¡°So, mister Kaoran¡­ I didn¡¯t expect that you and the smiling devil are the same person.¡±


    She said with a small smile.


    Illyan shrugged his shoulders.


    ¡°Well, I also didn¡¯t expect the ¡®sweet girl¡¯ that sir Vael always talked about was such a ferocious woman either.¡±


    Aurelia froze. She didn¡¯t know what was more embarrassing: that Vael talked about her behind her back, calling her a sweet girl, or this guy calling her a ferocious woman.


    She felt her cheeks turn crimson a bit, so she tried to mask it with a snort.


    ¡°Whatever. You can ignore grandfather¡¯s words. He is overprotective of me, just too much.¡±


    She started to rub her head as if having a headache.


    ¡°That¡¯s what having family is about, no?¡± Illyan gave her a smile.


    He had already lost everything, but the embers of warmth were still in his memories.


    Aurelia stopped for a moment before nodding in acknowledgment.


    ¡°I suppose so.¡±


    Aurelia then turned silent as if thinking about what to say.


    But it didn¡¯t take long before she said what Illyan was interested in.


    ¡°You already know our origin, right?¡±


    Illyan nodded. Seeing this, Aurelia continued.


    ¡°My grandfather himself was a strong individual back in the day. Unfortunately, he lost his foundation early in his life. He never wanted me to go on the same path. Especially since I will¡­ Well, he simply would love it if I just went on the path of healing or at least did something that is not dangerous¡­ But that¡¯s impossible for me.¡±


    Illyan listened carefully. Finding out that Vael was a really strong character back then was a big blow to him.


    He would never have guessed that under normal circumstances.


    Eventually, Aurelia continued talking.


    ¡°So I would appreciate it if you could keep some distance between us. You saw my ability. I can take care of myself just fine. It is nothing personal, but I just can¡¯t trust you since you are quite a dangerous individual. I just hope you won¡¯t betray my grandfather¡¯s trust.¡±


    Saying that, Aurelia showed her indomitable aura. It was not a corporeal aura like that of the aura master, but Illyan could almost feel it.


    Feeling a bit awed, he nodded.


    ¡°You don¡¯t really need to worry. I don¡¯t care much about your Heart Bearer Gang and have nothing against sir Vael. In fact, he helped me a lot.¡±


    What he didn¡¯t say was that there was some thought of going inside their gang to look for techniques. The acolytes talked about the Heart Bearer Gang not as mere mortals but as a strong gang, which meant they had strong techniques to train in.


    But now, he hesitated a little. If such a young woman as Aurelia was this strong, then wouldn¡¯t he be massacred there the moment he entered?


    As such, he promptly gave up on the idea.


    ¡°Fine, I will believe you.¡± Aurelia nodded.


    She seemed to be reasonable and also didn¡¯t ask Illyan much about his feats as a smiling devil or how he managed to disguise himself the way he did.


    Illyan actually liked communicating with such an intelligent woman.


    They didn¡¯t exchange any pleasantries as they talked about the expedition and how they would travel together for a bit before she stopped and took out some kind of tool.


    Illyan could immediately see the fluctuations of mana wafting out of it, so he wondered what she wanted to do.


    ¡°To be honest, if you were just a regular mortal, this would be much easier. You see, we have already noticed for some time Korin¡¯s doings. But he has quite a backing, so neither I nor my grandfather did anything.¡±


    Illyan widened his eyes.


    ¡®So even Korin had some kind of backing, huh?¡¯


    ¡°However, he wasn¡¯t happy to find that you even fell into his trap. The moment you sign your name on the magic contract, the hidden clauses would turn you into his slave.¡±


    ¡®As expected.¡¯ Illyan had already thought of this before, so he wasn¡¯t surprised. He also wouldn¡¯t be surprised if all of Korin¡¯s colleagues were the same as him.


    ¡°But since you seem to be capable, I guess you already knew.¡± Then she narrowed her eyes.


    ¡°However, since you still signed it and got this manor, then it means¡­ Kaoran isn¡¯t your name, is it?¡±


    Illyan shrugged his shoulders again.


    ¡°I just really needed this manor.¡±

 131 - Expedition Team

    After talking for a while, Aurelia decided to promptly leave.


    Once she did, Illyan sighed in relief.


    While it was a refreshing conversation, it was still a little unnerving. He felt that he had to watch every word in front of this young woman, or he would suffer one day.


    Fortunately, she didn¡¯t seem to be unreasonable.


    Since she only hoped they would keep their distance without divulging each other¡¯s secrets, Illyan didn¡¯t have a reason to oppose her.


    In fact, it was something he preferred.


    Illyan didn¡¯t plan on getting close to people anyway. In fact, his relationship with the peasant quartet and Vael was already too close for his liking.


    He always preferred time alone since he was younger. He would always run off to do something on his own, like herb foraging to rejuvenate his mind and enjoy the serenity.


    But even so, he was still human, and the thirst for human contact was within him.


    Unfortunately, other misgivings sprouted within his mind. He just didn¡¯t want to lose everything again¡­


    ¡­¡­.


    Three days later, at dawn.


    Illyan had already packed all of his belongings needed for the expedition.


    He even took the longsword and other weapons he got and hid them inside his bags.


    The longsword was his best weapon as of now, and fighting with it could give him the bit of advantage needed to kill his enemies. The throwing knives were a must too, but his best hidden weapon was the black needle. It was almost finished, but it had already become so sharp that even thick wood was easily penetrated.


    He also took his medicine suitcase, where he had all the tools and herbs to deal with any injury or disease.


    All in all, Illyan felt that he had prepared everything he needed before putting up a sign on the doors of his manor that he would be gone for the expedition.


    With that, he left for the institute where he arranged to meet Korin and other academics¡­


    He didn¡¯t hurry, as he already knew the exact amount of time he needed to pass from his manor to the institute. He knew he would arrive at the exact time they should set off. And he was right, as the moment he arrived, he saw over a dozen carriages with people inside, prepared to set off towards the northern gates.


    There were also people who were seeing them off and the curious crowd that made the event even livelier. Children were cheering while the men and women were hoping for the expedition to be successful.


    Only the academics that were part of the expedition didn¡¯t seem to be very merry. Most of them seemed a little scared or annoyed.


    ¡°Kaoran! Come sit here!¡± Korin, who was looking around with a vexed expression, finally brightened as he waved his hand from one of the carriages.


    Illyan nodded in greeting as he sat up on the side of the driver¡¯s seat next to Korin.


    ¡°Good morning.¡±


    ¡°Do not ¡®Good morning¡¯ me! Why did you take so long? Did you sleep in?¡± Korin playfully hit Illyan¡¯s shoulder as he asked.


    Illyan almost frowned at this. He didn¡¯t like unnecessary contact with others.


    But he held his emotions as he smoothly answered.


    ¡°I like being punctual. Waiting here early doesn''t make sense.¡± Illyan just shrugged.


    ¡°But even so, being early is better than being late, right?¡± Vanda, who put aside the cloth between the driver¡¯s seat and the inside of the carriage, looked outside with a smile.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be late since I calculated my speed, time of departure, and length of the route I was going through.¡±


    Illyan gave both of them a side-eye before taking out a book with mathematical formulas, ignoring them.


    Korin and Vanda were a little speechless after hearing that.


    Vanda turned her head to Korin with a questioning gaze, but he could only shrug with a wry smile.


    Sometimes, Illyan was a little quirky and didn¡¯t do things like others.


    A normal person would rather go ten minutes earlier than calculate something so meaningless.


    But not him.


    Realizing that this was the result of his teachings, Korin just smiled as he also turned silent. Of course, this was quite simple to calculate in the realm of mathematics, but it was still good to see Illyan¡¯s passion for learning.


    Only that way could he help Korin with his life goal¡­


    ¡­¡­.


    The line of carriages was going through the main road of the town as most of the stalls disappeared and instead a mob of crowd filled up the space to cheer.


    Illyan looked at that and felt it was laughable. These people probably thought that the recent attack was external from the mountains and felt indignant, yet the real perpetrators were in front of them, hailed as heroes.


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    Humans were deceptive beings. That¡¯s what Illyan understood when he came to society a year ago.


    In the north, the strongest survived with only basic strategies. But here, the rules were endless, yet so many didn¡¯t heed them. Especially those who set up these rules.


    Unfortunately, all was hidden in the sea of fake smiles and pleasantries.


    Because of that, Illyan decided the moment he sucked up all the knowledge from Korin, Vael, and the entire library, he would vanish without a trace. An ascetic life suited him better.


    This environment felt like a prison to him. He felt shackled and helpless.


    His mind was sublimated during these times as he learned that pure violence wasn¡¯t always the answer.


    He became more deceptive, more cunning. Naturally, he was far from being comparable to old foxes out there, but he felt he was doing fine.


    He at least hoped he wouldn¡¯t get deceived easily by others.


    As he thought about this, he looked at the driver of the carriage he was sitting on. He was sitting beside him and Korin, but he was absolutely silent.


    To be honest, Illyan completely ignored him at the beginning.


    When the driver noticed his sight, he smiled and bowed with a crooked smile.


    Illyan nodded back before turning his gaze towards the front.


    Soon, he again stopped thinking about the man as he saw another batch of carriages far in the front.


    There were at least two dozen of these carriages. However, the difference was that most of them were of much higher quality than those the academics were riding in.


    The other difference was the small number of people who could fit in one, as luxury was the priority.


    Illyan could easily guess that some important people were in these, like nobles or the acolytes.


    There were also some wagons full of supplies. Illyan could even recognize two people driving the wagons: Bor and Ujir, two merchants he met during his ride to this town. However, Ujir, the one who seemed to have dealings with acolytes, had several wagons under his command, while Bor had only one.


    The other, less important people, like the soldiers, were standing in basic formation at attention as they waited for orders.


    The generals and other officers were sitting on their horses in front of their respective platoons. It almost seemed as if they were going to war.


    And a lot of the soldiers even looked like that. Their faces were pale, their hands trembling. They knew this lengthy and arduous journey would be extremely dangerous.


    It was hard to capture a mountain troll in the mountains, especially when more mountain trolls were wandering around.


    There were even horses harnessed to wagons where the military ballistae were stored.


    It was obvious that the organizers of this expedition were very serious about this.


    There were also several other forces that were clearly divided from the main soldiers.


    The first was a band of people in robes. These robes were different from those of the acolytes. Illyan had already seen these robes once. It was in the underground arena, where there were people with the same style and coloring of clothing. Caleb himself had similar garments.


    These were from the Venomous Viper Gang.


    Thanks to that, Illyan, for the first time, saw Varel, a man whose son had been kidnapped, tortured, experimented on, and subsequently killed by him.


    At first sight, the man didn¡¯t look dangerous, but Illyan felt this man was actually more deceptive than others thought.


    Illyan noted his appearance as he turned his attention to others.


    The other force¡¯s theme was the color red. Most of the people wore red robes and attire, making it even easier to recognize who they were.


    ¡®Heart Bearers, huh. Wonder what they have to do with this.¡¯ Being ignorant of the chaos his interference caused and the secret deals of these organizations, Illyan could only guess.


    As Illyan thought about that, he saw the man on horseback in front of his men. It was a man with fiery red hair and a tall stature. If Illyan wasn¡¯t wrong, this man was the current leader of the gang.


    Illyan could feel the strong fluctuations coming from him and felt that this man was at least on the level of Aziro.


    The difference was that this man¡¯s balance was extremely high, as he didn¡¯t even hold the reins of the horse, which made Illyan realize he was also a martial artist.


    He was going the same double path as him.


    However, the glaring similarity of his was the thing that surprised Illyan the most.


    When he looked around, he wasn¡¯t surprised to see a familiar face next to the Heart Bearer leader.


    ¡®Aurelia¡­ Wait, is she the daughter of this guy?¡¯ Illyan was a little surprised.


    Wouldn¡¯t that make Vael the father of the leader of the Heart Bearer Gang?


    Illyan certainly didn¡¯t expect that.


    He immediately started to ponder all kinds of implications this caused.


    Meanwhile, Aurelia was also looking around a bit.


    When she made small eye contact with him, Illyan saw her cold face and nodded to her.


    She also nodded to him before turning her head away.


    Illyan looked for other important people but didn¡¯t find some of them.


    Aziro was nowhere to be seen. However, Illyan could guess that he and the acolytes were in the carriages.


    On the other hand, he saw the mayor finishing some kind of speech from the balcony of a manor, making the crowd cheer even louder.


    He wouldn¡¯t be going, but he had the responsibility of keeping the crowd satisfied and under control.


    Academics weren¡¯t really interested in this speech and didn¡¯t want to stand here like soldiers did, so they came later.


    In the end, the entire expedition team was almost prepared to leave.


    It was just that some of the academics had to be identified before they left on the expedition.


    One of the officers came riding on his horse with some documents in hand, going around the carriages.


    Illyan was one of them. Most of the apprentices and academics were going on the command of the institute or voluntarily, so the mayor didn¡¯t care about them.


    But Illyan, who was indispensable to the expedition because of Perus¡¯s grievous injuries, was ¡®requested¡¯ to come as well. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t refuse¡ªnot until he decided to leave the town for good.


    This was also the reason why Illyan and Korin were sitting next to the driver.


    ¡°Doctor Kaoran, is he here?¡±


    The officer called out urgently as he read some information from the parchment.


    ¡°Here.¡± Illyan called out clearly.


    The officer looked at him and then at Korin, who nodded at him, and he sighed in relief.


    Korin was quite famous for going on these expeditions, so he was easily recognized. Now his nod was kind of a guarantee that Illyan was truly Doctor Kaoran, and the officer wouldn¡¯t be forced to search for the man or need a way to prove his identity.


    ¡°We can go inside now,¡± Kaoran called out as he immediately left for the inside of the carriage.


    ¡°I will go after. I don¡¯t like cramped spaces,¡± Illyan answered curtly.


    Korin smiled in understanding as he left Illyan alone.


    In the end, the carriages finally set off as the numerous foot soldiers slowly marched beside them.


    The soldiers were like one big entity as they walked in unison, except for a few mistakes made by rookies.


    However, these mistakes were jarring when looking from outside the formation, as Illyan noticed these rookies.


    Funnily enough, he recognized one of them too.


    ¡°Terren, huh. Didn¡¯t expect that rascal to turn out like this.¡± Illyan was surprised. While he made mistakes, it was not something surprising considering that he was a trainee for just over a year.


    In fact, Illyan only noticed his newbie moves because of his strong perception and Terren¡¯s strong nervousness, which made him make these mistakes.


    But at the end of the day, Terren had grown several centimeters and bulked up a large amount of muscle mass. Even his temperament had grown more serious.


    Illyan noticed his changes over time when they rarely met, but now, when he saw him among the elite soldiers, he finally realized how big the change could be for a normal person in just over a year.


    ¡®What about a decade? Or a century? How will I turn out by then?¡¯ Illyan was intrigued by how his future would unfold, not knowing that this forced expedition would completely change his life¡­

 132 - Arduous Journey

    The birds were chirping, and the sun was rising.


    The leaves of the trees and blades of grass were covered in dew as the cold winds of night collided with the warm winds of day.


    Deep in the wilderness in the north, nocturnal animals went to sleep while diurnal animals woke up, prepared to hunt for their food.


    However, the noise of human activity daunted them as they hid in their burrows and nests.


    In the mountainous forest, where no men should ever tread, there was a camp that covered the entire clearing. The noise was overbearing and bustling.


    The neighing of horses, the whetting of weapons, the laughter of the rough soldiers, and their training resounded in the big camp.


    It was dawn, and people had just woken up, prepared to continue their arduous journey.


    Illyan was one of such people.


    At this very moment, he snuck off from the camp and relieved himself on the tree. However, it didn¡¯t take too long, as he finished in just a few seconds. The stronger his body became, the fewer impurities his digestive system couldn¡¯t get rid of.


    It was the same with his sleeping habits. The need was slowly disappearing. The only thing that made him feel still human was the need for a huge amount of food to sustain his body.


    Once he was done relieving himself, he wandered around like a ghost and collected some plants and herbs in the vicinity.


    He felt an intimacy with nature as he employed his [Natura Breath Method]. This time, he didn¡¯t use it to hide his aura entirely. Instead, he just dispersed some of his life force to look like a common person. He felt a little lethargic because of that, but he didn¡¯t dare ease up at all. Ever since they left the town, he didn¡¯t dare to stop circulating this method.


    If he slackened and Ezekiel was around at that time, then he wouldn¡¯t even have time to cry about it.


    In fact, even going out like this was still a little risky, as hiding in the carriage would be best.


    But this was something he could not compromise on.


    He knew damn well that he would stay the entire day in that carriage again and couldn¡¯t help but stretch his body by walking around.


    In fact, he very stealthily employed [The Way of the Body] to move his muscles, to remove all the cramps and sore spots, and to help the blood circulate.


    It was not that he couldn¡¯t endure a day of sitting.


    Unfortunately, it was already the third week since they left the gates of the town, and they were still far from their destination.


    The mountainous roads that were not maintained were hazardous to ride on, and the speed at which they proceeded was a testament to it.


    If even Illyan felt like this, then the others felt even worse.


    In the end, Illyan had to help them by creating ointments that relieved all these problems. Fortunately, the mayor¡¯s people weren¡¯t beginners in this, and Vice-mayor Hatar, who was also the mayor¡¯s son, commanded that they would set off ninety minutes after dawn each time to let people adjust.


    Of course, the soldiers who had to go on foot had the opposite problem.


    Thus, they were also glad that they had more time to rest.


    However, some still didn¡¯t miss their training sessions as they wielded their blades.


    Terren was one of such people, as he held the bastard sword in two hands at one time and in one hand at other times. He was sweating like a pig, but his focus didn¡¯t waver.


    At the side, Nord, Cara, and Garran sat watching him work.


    Yes, they were on this expedition too.


    Nord and Cara chose the history specialization, and as such, they were offered the option of becoming assistants to other historians and archaeologists in this place for money.


    Two poor people obviously wouldn¡¯t miss such an opportunity, especially when two of their friends were part of the expedition by default.


    Garran, hearing this, went to the administration of the merchant guild and pleaded to be an assistant to the merchants who would tag along the way. Since he was actually capable, they didn¡¯t have a problem with it at all, and he also joined the group!


    Illyan was sitting at the side with his hands propping his bored face as he stared at these guys.


    ¡®They are really inseparable.¡¯ His thoughts drifted to Zers, his only childhood friend.


    However, he didn¡¯t drown in melancholy as he stared at Terren¡¯s swordplay.


    It wasn¡¯t great, but Illyan greatly benefited.


    [The Way of the Body]¡¯s goal was not to depend on any techniques, but ironically, it progressed the fastest when learning new body or weapon techniques.


    Terren¡¯s movements were flawed, but with Illyan¡¯s experience, he immediately fixed them inside his mind and permanently imprinted them into his memory.


    He wouldn¡¯t have problems with swords after watching Terren and other soldiers train for almost a month. His mind was filled with sword techniques.


    That¡¯s why he always found some time to observe during the morning and even asked Terren to show him something new once in a while.


    Terren was also very happy to show off as he only thought Illyan was curious.


    ¡°We are setting off in ten minutes!¡±


    In the end, an order was given as everyone prepared to leave.


    Illyan also said his farewell to Terren and the others as he left for his carriage.


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    As he passed through the camp, many respectful greetings were thrown in his direction, and he nodded back.


    ¡°Good morning, Dr. Kaoran!¡±


    The role of physician was highly respected by the townsfolk. They had also passed through several villages already, and there he was also the most welcomed person.


    In fact, the amount of respect they gave to the vice-mayor was just a fraction of that given to him.


    It was mainly because there were many sick people or people with poorly treated injuries that could not heal properly.


    In the end, he was like a god who came and solved their problems with a wave of his hand.


    Illyan personally didn¡¯t like this spotlight, but there were some apprentice academics who seemed sour.


    After all, they had been working toward their aspirations for years already without any rewards. On the other hand, Illyan had already paved his path in just a little over a year.


    But it was just a bitter feeling of jealousy. Nothing more. They knew what they were getting into when they became apprentices back in the day. Nobody came into the institute to seek riches.


    They just wanted to tread on the path of the specialization they chose further than anyone else and be validated by others, for their names to be written in history.


    Of course, some of them weren¡¯t interested in such a life and yearned for fame, riches, and women. But these usually left the institute and even the north to live their lives in the south, where they would be employed by someone.


    Korin¡¯s story was similar to that, except that he was summoned by the king of Vanaras to work instead of going voluntarily.


    ¡®Sounds familiar¡­¡¯ Illyan sneered in his mind. He didn¡¯t really like that he had to listen to someone¡¯s orders.


    However, he respected the rules since he knew that becoming an academic had its disadvantages too.


    There was no free lunch in this world. Even in the Bakur Tribe, he had to hunt and fight to pay off all his debts.


    But it didn¡¯t change the fact that he disliked it very much. Now that he knew the taste of stealing the loot from enemies¡¯ bodies, he felt that going back to being an obedient citizen would be an impossible task.


    Not that it was needed.


    The world was a mess. Or at least, that¡¯s what Illyan guessed.


    From the recordings on the Arkravav Empire in the library, the diary of Arwen, and the behavior of the acolytes, Illyan was pretty sure that the world outside the Vanaras Kingdom would be much different.


    Be it the natural disasters, the rise of the undead creatures, or just the war between people, the anarchy was a huge problem there.


    Because of that, mortals who couldn¡¯t fight were mostly living in the big cities. Anywhere else, they wouldn¡¯t be able to die a natural death.


    That¡¯s why the Arkravav Empire mostly imported mortals from their vassal kingdoms, which were usually in the corners of the continent where even birds wouldn¡¯t shit.


    As such, most of the people in the empire of a hundred treasures would have one or two things up their sleeves.


    The resourceful people would be able to survive in this place. The powerful people would be able to survive too.


    However, only those who were both resourceful and powerful could truly thrive in this kind of environment.


    That¡¯s what made Illyan excited but terrified too.


    Now that he knew the Vanaras Kingdom was a kind of haven for weak people due to the energy leakage occurring here, he felt that leaving this place too soon would be an unwise move.


    Training to the limit here should be his priority.


    However, he knew that the common techniques he had obtained from the acolytes would limit him greatly, which made him hesitate.


    But he also knew his own talent, so trying to acquire better techniques wouldn¡¯t change anything if he couldn¡¯t train in them.


    ¡°One step at a time¡­¡± Illyan muttered to himself as he finally arrived at the carriage and sat down inside.


    ¡°Did you say something?¡± Vanda, who was sitting across from him, grinned as she leaned toward him.


    Illyan almost sighed exasperatedly as he stared at the woman in front of him.


    He was somewhat oblivious to the opposite sex, but even a block of wood would realize this girl was the seductive type who liked to cause chaos in the hearts of poor men.


    Unfortunately for her, the only person affected by her coy behavior was Arun, next to her, whose face quickly filled with blood.


    Illyan, on the other hand, felt nothing. He stared at her, and his eyes even stopped at her exposed neckline, appreciating it for a bit before turning his gaze away. But that was all.


    His heart was too weary to feel such youthful passion.


    Just as the carriage jerked before setting off, Illyan responded with a blank face.


    ¡°Nothing, I was just muttering to myself.¡± Then, he closed his eyes and ignored the woman.


    ¡°Aww! Come on! Don¡¯t be like that! Can¡¯t you tell your big sister?¡± Vanda, who liked to call herself a big sister, came closer with her eyes wide open.


    But Illyan was unmoved.


    ¡°Tch, you¡¯re such a stubborn guy. But I like it.¡± Vanda smiled devilishly before letting him off.


    Others in the carriage just smiled wryly as they minded their own business.


    They knew that Vanda liked to mess around like this a lot.


    What she enjoyed most was the feeling of conquest.


    The more stubborn the man, the more enthusiastic she became. Until she had them completely infatuated, she wouldn¡¯t let go.


    On the other hand, men like Arun could not give her that thrill. She usually ignored them¡­


    ¡°Where is Mr. Korin?¡±


    Arun couldn¡¯t stand the awkwardness and asked loudly. Korin wasn¡¯t in the carriage despite their already setting off. This made him feel uneasy.


    ¡°He¡¯s discussing something with the vice-mayor. He¡¯s been in the city several times already, after all. But he should be joining us later.¡± Tami explained with a kind expression.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Arun nodded thoughtfully.


    Illyan also heard this and felt regretful.


    While he considered Korin untrustworthy, he still felt that his company was enjoyable.


    Every discussion they had was rich, as the man was one of the most knowledgeable people Illyan had ever met.


    He even felt that if the man didn¡¯t attempt to scheme against him, they could be good colleagues. But it was not meant to be.


    Since Korin would not be coming anytime soon, Illyan simply pulled out some books and parchments and began to study.


    These books weren¡¯t his. They were Korin¡¯s, as he used this time to educate his people further on their specializations. Spending so much time inside this carriage would be a waste if it wasn¡¯t productive.


    Illyan felt the same way as he plunged into his studies without a care, but others were less pleased.


    Still, they didn¡¯t complain. Illyan could see no passion in their eyes in whatever they were doing, but he could see the obsession behind their eyes.


    He was interested in what motivated them, but not enough to ask, as he kept his distance.


    In this way, several more weeks passed.


    They had already crossed valleys and forests and were now skirting the mountain range, slowly nearing their destination.


    They stopped every evening to sleep and eat, setting off again in the morning.


    During the day, Illyan mostly studied mathematics and its profound applications, and during the night, he practiced meditation. He didn¡¯t dare move around much, feeling that someone might notice him.


    The fact that he was already constantly running the [Nature Breath Method] was enough strain on him.


    One day, as they traveled along the mountain with the deep valley on their left side, the carriage suddenly halted violently, causing the passengers to be thrown forward.


    ¡°Aw?¡± Vanda immediately squealed as she fell into Illyan¡¯s arms.


    He rolled his eyes and pushed her away.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    One of them asked.


    ¡°Something is probably wrong,¡± Korin murmured with a furrowed brow.


    Since he had rejoined them after leaving that day, he hadn¡¯t needed to accompany the vice-mayor again, so he spent his time in the carriage.


    ¡°There are trunks on the road!¡±


    At that moment, soldiers began shouting, informing those farther back.


    ¡°Hmm? Wooden trunks? That¡¯s it? Just get rid of it.¡± Arun, who had seemed frightened before, now scoffed in annoyance.


    However, Korin¡¯s face turned aghast.


    ¡°At this place and time?¡±


    Illyan immediately understood his implication.


    Spring was coming, and with it, the rainy season had begun.


    Not only that, but the snow was melting, turning the ground into mud.


    Now, in this unsavory weather, they were traveling on an unmaintained road at the edge of the mountain.


    On their right side was the steep slope of the entire mountain, impossible for humans to climb.


    It was then that a piercing crack sounded in everyone¡¯s ears as dust rose all around.


    Before anyone could react, a huge boulder weighing several tons rolled down from above, crashing into one of the merchant wagons.


    The entire structure collapsed like a house of cards, with splinters and rocks flying everywhere. The horses pulling it were crushed and quickly pushed over the road¡¯s edge, scattering widely across the valley floor.


    ¡°It¡¯s a rockslide!¡± one of the soldiers roared as people stared at the muddy mountain, where the land was loosening and crumbling.

 133 - Landslide Disaster

    Everything happened too quickly for anyone to react.


    However, once the first boulder hit its target, officers started yelling for soldiers to retreat.


    They were on a very thin road and could only choose to retreat or rush forward.


    Unfortunately, the path forward was blocked, and they didn¡¯t have time to clear it, so they went back immediately.


    Illyan looked outside the carriage to see which carriage was hit, then observed the mountain for other boulders.


    ¡®Seems to be one of Ujir¡¯s wagons.¡¯ Confirming this, he turned his attention back to the mountain, watching for another boulder.


    ¡°We need to get out quickly!¡± Korin yelled as he quickly left the carriage, and others followed him.


    The carriages and wagons couldn¡¯t be turned around in such an awkward place and had to be left behind.


    However, Illyan didn¡¯t bother coming out. He knew that this guy wouldn¡¯t allow the landslide to destroy the entire expedition.


    ¡°Stop running. Get closer to the carriages.¡±


    At that moment, Aziro¡¯s cold voice resounded in everyone''s ears.


    It didn¡¯t matter how far they were or if they were panicking.


    The moment Aziro spoke, it was as if everything else came to a standstill.


    People also calmed down after this.


    Acolytes started to come out from the carriages, holding some kind of tools with serious expressions, while the Heart Bearer members took out their blood-colored weapons.


    Illyan was also staring upwards, waiting for the inevitable.


    Crack


    Just then, a loud crack resounded as dust flew everywhere.


    ¡°Boulder on the right!¡± one of the soldiers called out.


    The boulder was clearly falling to the right, where it would seal their escape route. This made Illyan suspicious. Looking upwards, he noticed that some of the rocks above were moving erratically, so he focused his sight on them.


    After a while, he noticed the patterns¡ªthe ugly faces with gray skin and the long sticks in the creatures¡¯ hands.


    ¡®It¡¯s the goblins, huh.¡¯ Realizing this, he was dumbstruck. These weak creatures he could kill with a wave of his arm were causing such a disaster. If the boulder hit the carriage he was in, he wouldn¡¯t die but would definitely be grievously injured.


    He saw the goblins gibbering about something as they used the sticks to loosen some of the rocks, making them fall off.


    Since the weather had been quite bad recently, the water softened the ground and turned it into soft mud, creating a perfect opportunity.


    Illyan looked down at the acolytes who were preparing.


    One of them had a magical binocular and then explained the situation above.


    Another team of five started chanting something.


    While Illyan didn¡¯t understand, he realized it was similar to the chant of [Mana Barrier].


    And he was right, as a slightly blue but still transparent barrier appeared above the head of the entire group.


    What Illyan was surprised about was that it wasn¡¯t a five-layered barrier or something but rather a completely upgraded spell that used the mana of all members.


    When the boulder hit the barrier, the power and speed were so great that the boulder immediately shattered into many small pieces.


    The barrier itself also barely held on as the acolytes nearly fell to the ground.


    However, nobody was mocking them, not even in their minds.


    Illyan guessed that this boulder was around two meters in diameter. With rough calculation, he guessed that it weighed over eleven tons. And with the velocity¡­


    No matter how strong his body had become lately, it would be smashed and ground until only a blood stain remained.


    But they withstood it.


    If Illyan were to guess, then these guys were not much stronger than the centipede trio he and Aurelia fought. They were just more coordinated and decisive than those guys.


    Illyan felt that especially the old man Havren could have done better. Instead, he still didn¡¯t use many spells and closed himself in that reflective barrier, sealing his fate.


    On the other hand, at this very moment, Illyan could see how effective magic spells were when they could be calmly prepared.


    If Illyan could guess, then the acolytes were at a disadvantage against body combat warriors in the early stages. At least, the weaker ones who did not strengthen their bodies and could not defend against the onslaught of relentless fighters.


    This disadvantage should disappear soon even for the least powerful Magisters as they would be able to move the mana as fast as their bodies, and their chanting would be minimized too.


    But that was just Illyan¡¯s speculation that he couldn¡¯t prove in any way.


    Meanwhile, the moment the acolytes blocked the boulder, other acolytes completed their chants too. What they did, however, was different from Illyan¡¯s expectation.


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    He thought they would throw magic projectiles at the boulders, but they actually pointed their spells at one of them.


    That man glowed for a moment before using [Mana Rope], which he tied around a hook he had and threw upwards at the cliff, where it got stuck between some of the rocks.


    With one simple tug, he immediately flew upwards with unprecedented speed.


    Meanwhile, the Blood Bearers didn¡¯t just wait, as they slashed down the smaller rocks that could hurt the people, while some of them took out big crossbows and loaded them with bolts.


    Illyan could see the red symbols on them and thought to himself that they were on a different level than the Venomous Viper Gang.


    Glancing at them out of the corner of his eye, Illyan could see they didn¡¯t care about the situation as they didn¡¯t move at all.


    However, Aziro suddenly glared at Varel, who stared back without a shred of fear.


    This situation lasted several seconds before Varel snorted and beckoned with his finger to one of the middle-aged men next to him.


    ¡°I understand, Father.¡± The man respectfully bowed as he rushed toward the cliff.


    He didn¡¯t use any hooks or spells like the acolytes did. Instead, the dark green aura sprouted from his being as he jumped up several meters and started to expertly climb at high speed.


    The soldiers gawked at this sight, as this was something they strived for. Especially Terren, who almost jumped in amazement when he saw it.


    Illyan also heard the Vanda next to him clap her hands as she cheered. It was very strange that she didn¡¯t lose her smile despite everything happening. That made Illyan even more wary of her. But his attention wasn¡¯t on her for long.


    ¡®His aura is deeper than Caleb¡¯s. Is he the oldest son?¡¯ Illyan pondered as the man elegantly used any protrusion to propel himself at high speed towards the peak.


    What surprised him the most was the usage of the aura. When his feet made contact with the wall, their soles exploded with green fire, and when he reached with his hands, the flame extended from his arm to hold onto a higher protrusion.


    While the man¡¯s constitution wasn¡¯t on par with Illyan''s, his abilities were definitely superior despite both of them being warriors.


    ¡®I need to get the flow as soon as possible.¡¯ To be honest, his progress was quite fast considering that he hadn¡¯t fought often during this year.


    But Illyan wouldn¡¯t be at ease until he had at least some other means besides physical violence.


    That was also the reason why he tried several times out of boredom to feel the mana.


    Whenever he did that, he used the incense he got from Arwen to sharpen his instincts. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t feel the mana.


    Even the spiritual energy perception he painstakingly built up wasn¡¯t as hard to develop.


    So, in the end, Illyan decided to give up on this endeavor for now.


    However, that didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t continue in the future.


    He thought that he should focus on it after at least condensing the flow within his body. He was sure that with his strong body and the power of the flow, he would be invincible in the apprentice stage.


    Or at least, at the peak of regular acolytes. He could see that each acolyte was unique, and even the weaker ones could be a fatal danger if he was not careful.


    On the other hand, they were also still very vulnerable.


    A warrior¡¯s power was mostly constant, but on the other hand, acolytes had so many variables going on that most of the time, they weren¡¯t able to fight to their fullest potential.


    At last, both the acolyte and Varel¡¯s son arrived at the top.


    A flash of dark green almost blinded the people below as the man slashed down his sword.


    The acolyte wasn¡¯t as flashy.


    He waved the hook he tied to the mana rope as he swung it around.


    But it didn¡¯t fly the way others expected.


    At one point, it was like a whip slashing through the masses of screeching goblins, and at another time, it was like a fish in the ocean changing direction mid-flight.


    Illyan couldn¡¯t see the fight properly, but he could hear the echoing screeches of the creatures. At one point, the Heart Bearers raised the crossbows and shot their salvos.


    It was at that moment when his ears twitched. He was always wary of his surroundings out of habit, so he noticed the small noise coming farther from behind them.


    If in front of them was the entire mountain from which the boulders were falling, then behind them was a slope they could easily fall off right back into the valley¡ªnot in one piece, though.


    He didn¡¯t waste time and slowly moved farther from the slope.


    He waved his hands at Nord and Cara, who were watching the fight above in horror.


    When they saw him, they decided to get closer. Garran, who was nearby, also decided to move toward them.


    Terren couldn¡¯t talk with them at the moment as he was a soldier, but he was already far from the slope, so he should be alright.


    What was interesting was that Aurelia also started to move farther from the edge. She was the one who saw through his [Nature Breath Method] after all, so it wasn¡¯t surprising she noticed what he noticed.


    Both of them could stop whatever was happening. But they didn¡¯t. Life wasn¡¯t fair, and they weren¡¯t heroes.


    ¡°Hm?! Don¡¯t you dare¡ª¡±


    Aziro felt something and suddenly turned around, manifesting the green flame. But this time, it formed into the shape of a fireball as he furiously threw it.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was that a huge creature jumped from the edge of the slope right in front of the fireball, only to spit white mist.


    The fireball and mist collided, scattering the blast of fire around.


    Screams of pain and terror resounded as some people were hit by the green flame, while others started to run from the creature.


    It was humanoid-looking with pale white skin, completely hairless with elongated limbs and long claws.


    Its eyes shone with a red, malicious glare as it bared its fangs.


    ¡°Mi-issed¡­.¡± The creature created a voice as it mocked Aziro¡¯s attempt. Its voice reminded people of a small girl, but the thing definitely wasn''t a small girl.


    Illyan froze for a moment. This was too similar.


    ¡°Toooo late!¡± It grinned as it revealed one of its hands that was covered in dark rods.


    The hand pulsated with blood and darkness as it swelled.


    But it didn¡¯t care as it swung its hand down.


    ¡°No!¡± Aziro immediately waved his blood spears and beckoned his undead army, while Brynjar, who had stood there the entire time, suddenly rushed at high speed with his saber in hand.


    But neither of them was fast enough as the darkness collided with the ground.


    The ground started to collapse as the already terrified horses became even more uncontrollable, falling to their deaths.


    People at the edge also started to slip, while the wagons and carriages began to fall as well.


    The creature grinned, but it didn¡¯t last long as Brynjar cut off the dark hand before making another move.


    Meanwhile, the blood spear pierced through the creature¡¯s joints, while the undead soldiers hung onto its body, biting the flesh out of it.


    It cried in pain but quickly shook them off before stomping them with its long skinny legs.


    On the other hand, Aziro¡¯s eyes flashed as he forced the people falling to stop with his mind power.


    It was the power of telekinesis. He couldn¡¯t move living things, but he solidified the air surrounding them to bring them back.


    He then broke the blocking trunks on the road and pushed the people aside.


    Unfortunately, many still died under the rampaging creature. Its long limbs gave it an advantage as it ran from Brynjar while massacring the soldiers.


    No matter how many bolts hit it, it didn¡¯t stop fighting.


    ¡°It will detonate itself! Use the blood seal!¡± Aziro called out from a distance, making Brynjar change his expression.


    The beast started to swell unnaturally as tumors grew on its body, and it glared at them with visible resentment.


    Brynjar rushed in and muttered some incantation before plunging his hand into the monster¡¯s entrails.


    A blood-red light shone upon the wound as several blood runes appeared on the creature¡¯s body, and it writhed in pain, trying to bite him.


    But Brynjar didn¡¯t waste time as he used his other hand to decapitate the creature in one swing.


    Crack


    The beast¡¯s headless body fell to the ground as he breathed heavily.


    The others didn¡¯t stop, though, as they scurried away.


    When they finally sighed in relief, thinking it was over, the cliff on their right started to crack.


    ¡°Rush forward!¡± Brynjar could only roar as he rushed forward with his gang members.


    Before that, he looked around for his daughter.


    She stood in a safe place, unharmed, so he beckoned her to move.


    When Illyan looked upward, he saw that the entire cliff seemed to be slowly collapsing, falling upon them. But his mind was still focused on the creature. Still, that didn¡¯t stop him from running to safety along with the others.


    As everyone rushed, they just got out of the danger zone as the entire path behind the last couple of soldiers completely collapsed.

 134 - Negotiation With Aurelia

    The entire group didn¡¯t dare to stop as they hurried along the way.


    The elite soldiers protected the rear while the acolytes observed the sky for other boulders.


    Fortunately, they acted fast enough to escape the threat.


    Of course, the losses were horrendous.


    Previously, the entire expedition team was made up of 2,000 men, but now two dozen had fallen. Even more were wounded by the collateral damage.


    That was when Illyan¡¯s expertise shone.


    The moment the team found a relatively safe place to set up camp, an officer rushed to Illyan¡¯s side with a panicked expression.


    ¡°Sir!¡± Illyan just nodded as he took his suitcase and left.


    On the way, he saw Aziro in the distance, drinking from a vial with his pale lips. He didn¡¯t seem alright.


    But Illyan could imagine why. The amount of Mind Power Aziro had condensed over half a year wasn¡¯t anything great. If he squandered it in a few seconds, he would feel pain in his heart.


    Yet the amount he had was nowhere near enough to lift several people from falling to their deaths.


    Illyan could almost feel Aziro¡¯s bad mood, so he didn¡¯t dare stare too long as he made his way to the tent where the patients lay.


    There, several apprentices were already tending to the men, but they could mostly help only those with small external wounds.


    Once they saw him, they bowed, seeking his guidance. Illyan glanced at one apprentice with striking red hair and commanded them on what to do.


    ¡°Go to the patients with small wounds and bruises. I¡¯ll take care of the high-priority cases. Tell me their conditions.¡± Illyan waved his hand, and one of the apprentices came to explain the situation of the injured.


    Once Illyan finished listening, he nodded and hurried to the one most in need.


    ¡°Dr. Kaoran! This is a very serious problem. To avoid distractions, you should take at least one assistant!¡± one of the apprentices insisted.


    Illyan turned his head, giving the apprentice a strange look.


    It was Aurelia who had said this.


    ¡®Quite good at acting, aren¡¯t we?¡¯ Illyan thought amusedly.


    But his face didn¡¯t change as he nodded and beckoned her to come along.


    She bowed and followed him silently, while others scurried away¡ªthough not without casting strange glances at them. They didn¡¯t know Aurelia well, mostly due to her distant behavior, but this scene was glaringly noticeable.


    Still, people knew to mind their business as they went to treat others.


    Illyan, meanwhile, went straight to the person whose entrails were ripped open by the creature¡¯s claw.


    He took a deep breath when he saw the patient. It would be difficult, but he could manage.


    He let go of his suitcase, opened it, and took out several needles.


    After finding that his set of dark crystal needles would take years to make, he had visited a blacksmith to make him a set of 120 steel needles.


    The blacksmith was surprised but didn¡¯t hesitate to help, as Illyan came as a physician.


    Illyan had asked for 120 needles because he had discovered many acupoints in the body.


    While he believed there were more, he hadn¡¯t yet had time to discover them.


    Creating additional needles was unnecessary for now, as Illyan couldn¡¯t use them all at once.


    For now, he wanted to seal some of the vital acupoints to stop the bleeding.


    Aurelia¡¯s eyes opened wide as she observed him.


    But she didn¡¯t speak, instead coordinating with him as he placed the needles in the patient. She prepared herbs to completely stop the bleeding and put the patient into an artificial sleep.


    They worked in silence, adjusting to each other¡¯s techniques with just a look.


    In a few minutes, they stabilized the patient, assigned an apprentice to monitor him, and moved to the next case. This man had a large gash on his arm, though it wasn¡¯t life-threatening. Unfortunately, the hand was infected and, at this point, would likely need amputation.


    ¡°Take out and measure a hundredth of a gram of the dried Mahona Herb, and grind it with Grostum Stems,¡± Illyan instructed as he worked, occasionally requesting what he needed.


    Aurelia usually prepared everything perfectly, but this time, she asked for clarification.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Mahona Herb poisonous?¡± she asked, furrowing her brows, though still doing as he asked.


    ¡°Not in this dosage. With slowed blood flow, it will stay in the applied area and kill whatever¡¯s causing the infection,¡± Illyan explained as he applied the powder to the hand.


    ¡°Interesting. There¡¯s no information on that in the library. Not to mention, most physicians wouldn¡¯t research poisonous herbs to know this¡­¡±


    Aurelia looked at him suspiciously before relaxing her brows.


    Illyan didn¡¯t know what she concluded and didn¡¯t care much.


    The reason he knew something like this was simply due to his regeneration. To better understand vegetation, he had chosen to consume most of them in their raw state, including Mahona Herb.


    In medicine, dosage often determines whether something is a remedy or a poison, so he had experimented with lowering the dosage of poisonous herbs to see if they could be used medicinally.


    Through this, he developed many new treatments, furthering his path in medicine.


    Stolen story; please report.


    They spent the rest of their time in silence.


    Only after they finished all their work did Illyan finally ask.


    ¡°So, what is your reason for doing this? Didn¡¯t you want to keep your distance?¡±


    ¡°Well, I did until I saw the look of familiarity in your eyes when you saw that wendigo.¡± When she said this, Illyan¡¯s eyes widened.


    After a few seconds, he sighed.


    ¡°So it really was a wendigo.¡±


    ¡°You weren¡¯t sure?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. This one is different from the ones I know.¡± Illyan explained how the wendigo he knew had antlers, a beast-like body similar to a wolf¡¯s, and bone protrusions.


    Aurelia listened and nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s the same evil spirit but with a different birth. Usually, beast wendigos transform when they¡¯re in the wild. The slender wendigos, however, form in isolated, dark places like caves.¡±


    She frowned as she continued.


    ¡°Of course, there are other factors, like the emotional state of the person who sinned. Those full of hatred become beasts, while those feeling guilt turn into slender types. Additionally, those who eat their own kind actively and with relish become beasts. In contrast, if it was merely for survival when they had no choice, they turn into slender wendigos.¡±


    Aurelia explained all of this.


    Illyan listened attentively, as this was the first time he had heard such details.


    Still, he had some doubts.


    ¡°What¡¯s the difference in their abilities?¡± He was curious since this beast seemed weak. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was just a weak individual, especially since he had survived an encounter with smaller wendigos as a child.


    ¡°They¡¯re usually more cunning and rely on stealth. The ones you know are more savage beasts,¡± Aurelia shrugged.


    ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± In the end, Illyan had to ask, as he couldn¡¯t understand her thought process.


    She looked at him with an austere gaze, then sighed.


    ¡°I just wondered how you knew about them. But it seems you don¡¯t know much.¡±


    With that, she began to leave.


    ¡°Wait.¡± However, Illyan stopped her.


    ¡°It¡¯s Ezekiel, right? You suspected I was collaborating with him?¡± Illyan asked, realization in his voice.


    Aurelia turned around.


    ¡°Yes. It was a small suspicion because of the mess both of you caused in town. During long winters, it¡¯s common to see one or two wendigos appear in this region. However, Ezekiel has a certain power that allows him to create and control them,¡± Aurelia explained.


    Illyan didn¡¯t know how she knew all of that or why she cared, nor did he particularly care.


    At that moment, Illyan felt his blood boil. So it was really him. A cold glint flashed in his gaze as he thought about tearing that bastard apart.


    ¡°Well, we are far from allies. I just used him back then. We even fought. I cut off his limbs, and he opened my stomach. But thanks to that, I got these black rods and connected the dots between them and the black rods in the wendigos I met years ago.¡±


    Aurelia was surprised.


    ¡°You got the Refined Dark Crystals?¡±


    Seeing her expression, he paused for a moment before nodding.


    ¡°A little.¡±


    ¡°Are you willing to sell them to me?¡± Her eagerness surprised Illyan. He knew the crystals were interesting but didn¡¯t expect her to be this interested.


    Aurelia noticed his reaction, and her face turned rosy for a moment before regaining its usual pale complexion.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be honest with you, since you are a friend of my grandfather. The Dark Crystals are something I really need, so I¡¯m willing to pay above market price.¡±


    Seeing her earnest expression, Illyan smirked slightly.


    It seemed he would have a big gain this time. Aurelia was very knowledgeable about the supernatural aspects of the world, something Illyan lacked at this moment.


    He guessed it was due to her background, given that her gang dabbled in magic as well.


    Feigning reluctance as if unwilling to part with the rods, he responded, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I risked my life for them and don¡¯t have many. It depends on what you can offer.¡±


    Aurelia pursed her lips. She could see through his pretense easily but didn¡¯t know how to counter it. She knew she had been hasty with her proposal without offering anything concrete.


    ¡°You may have guessed that I am the daughter of the Heart Bearer Gang¡¯s leader. I can offer you some minor techniques that can be shared with outsiders without issue. We also specialize in blood tools¡ªtools such as weapons or armor that are strengthened by blood.¡±


    When Illyan heard her words, he thought for a moment.


    In truth, he wanted the techniques, but he already had too much on his plate. Instead, the tools were something he lacked. He had seen her blood saber, which was a very effective weapon in combat. However¡­


    Illyan was fairly certain he couldn¡¯t control them as she could.


    ¡°Are Aziro¡¯s blood bone spears made by your gang?¡± he asked out of curiosity, noticing the similarity.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Most of the items acolytes possess here are made by our gang. The Arkravav Empire forbids bringing powerful tools and items into the kingdom without hefty fees. Most people only bring the few things they truly need, selling or leaving the rest. The local stuff here is mostly worthless anyway.¡±


    Illyan considered her words. Since this place was relatively weak, it made sense that there would be restrictions on imports.


    ¡®There¡¯s also a high chance that the energy siphoning here affects these items too. So it makes sense that bringing valuable items here would be impractical.¡¯


    Thinking this, he asked the obvious question.


    ¡°What about blood weapons? Do they have any issues?¡± Illyan didn¡¯t intend to buy them but was interested in their weaknesses. Given that some acolytes used them, he felt it was worth knowing.


    Aurelia glanced at him with a sidelong look.


    ¡°If you¡¯re referring to the energy depletion here, it generally doesn¡¯t affect these weapons. They¡¯re powered through Blood Energy. Like Mind Power, this energy is part of your body, making it harder to drain away¡ªat least if the energy levels are low. When it exceeds a certain threshold, it will be siphoned off quickly.¡±


    Illyan absorbed all this information, pleasantly surprised by her knowledge.


    ¡°All right, I have a counteroffer for you.¡± He had decided on what he wanted most.


    ¡°What is it? As long as it¡¯s reasonable, I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± She seemed confident in her ability to provide whatever he requested.


    ¡°You said before that I¡¯m full of imperfections, correct?¡± Illyan said casually.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. But I can see that those flaws are much less pronounced now¡ªat least in your physical body.¡± Aurelia nodded, her expression then crumbling.


    Illyan grinned with amusement.


    ¡°I want a complete foundation for my future, including my Mind Power and Mana. You must have a way to fix this issue, right?¡±


    He spoke with confidence, though he tried not to show his excitement. If he succeeded in this negotiation, his long lifespan would be matched by a clear path forward.


    Aurelia furrowed her brows, deep in thought.


    ¡°How much Refined Dark Crystal do you have?¡±


    Eventually, she asked, hesitating.


    ¡°How much do you need?¡±


    Unfortunately, Illyan wasn¡¯t sure of the crystal¡¯s true value or how much she expected he had, so it was safer to let her name her price first.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Considering what you¡¯re asking for, I should offer an appropriate reward. How about five kilograms?¡± she asked, her expression uncertain.


    Illyan held back a smile. The crystals he had back at home weighed over twenty kilograms, so he could afford that.


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a lot, to be honest¡­¡± But he still shook his head as if he didn¡¯t have that much.


    Aurelia sighed. She knew it was difficult to obtain such crystals here, but she needed as many as possible.


    ¡°However, I can give you two kilograms,¡± Illyan offered.


    Aurelia shook her head.


    ¡°At least four. They also need to be high quality.¡±


    They negotiated for a while before finally settling.


    ¡°I¡¯ll give you three and a half kilograms of crystals. If the quality doesn¡¯t meet your standards, you can have five kilograms.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯ll show me that acupuncture technique of yours,¡± she added suddenly.


    That surprised Illyan.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Acupuncture is a southern tradition, rarely seen in the northern part of the Oberuan Continent, so I¡¯m curious. How did you learn it?¡±


    Aurelia looked very interested in its origins.


    ¡°Self-taught.¡± Illyan only shrugged. He couldn¡¯t admit to dissecting living people, could he?


    She looked suspicious but didn¡¯t back off.


    ¡°Actually, I think this will be mutually beneficial.¡±


    ¡°Oh? How so?¡±


    Aurelia smiled charmingly.


    ¡°The foundational technique I¡¯m selling you is also self-made. I was born with a gift, one that lets me see imperfections. I can spot flaws in techniques or crafts, even impurities in metals. Because of that, I was repulsed by the techniques my gang possessed. So, I recreated the [Thirteen Layers of Blood Energy]. I heard of a similar technique from the past and used that as inspiration to develop my own.¡±


    As she said this, she looked proud and dignified.


    But her face soon turned gloomy.


    ¡°Unfortunately, these flaws only lessen but never fully disappear. Without this cursed gift holding me back, I¡¯d already be a Magister or even a Great Magus. Instead, I¡¯m just a lowly apprentice, progressing at a snail¡¯s pace.¡±


    She forced a smile, but Illyan sensed her pain. Seeing imperfections might be a worse curse than his own. Now, he realized she was probably like him.


    That made him feel closer to her.


    But he still remembered his objective.


    He would strip away all the benefits she could offer!

 135 - Thirteen Layers Of Blood Energy

    Once they finished their negotiation, they decided to split up, as Aurelia had to go report to her father about the state of some of the injured gang members.


    Illyan was initially worried she would tell her father about it, but considering the father-daughter duo didn¡¯t have the best relationship, he thought he would be fine.


    However, as she left, he noticed how she draped her robe across her face and tucked away her red hair. Now that he thought about it, the acolytes who should have dealings with the gang didn¡¯t recognize the daughter of the leader.


    It seemed she didn¡¯t like the blood connection.


    Well, Illyan didn¡¯t dwell on it for now as he thought about how to compile the acupuncture knowledge. He would probably need to teach her himself since it would be faster.


    The agreement between them was that Illyan would teach her acupuncture during this expedition, and in return, she would teach him the first three layers of Blood Energy. The rest of the transaction would be completed once they got back to Winterfrost, as Illyan didn¡¯t bring the Refined Dark Crystals with him.


    However, that would need to wait for now.


    Illyan went to the vice-mayor to report that most of the patients had been treated and just needed rest to recover. This made the man sigh in relief, but he still commanded that they should be on their way in half an hour.


    Despite the journey being hard on the patients, they didn¡¯t dare stay in one place too long, lest they fall into another trap.


    Aziro was already furious, as he had to go into deep meditation.


    Illyan could feel the heavy fluctuations in his carriage and wondered what he was doing there.


    However, it didn¡¯t take long before he overheard the answer from the Heart Bearer Gang members.


    ¡°Aziro is using that technique, huh! Just to recover faster, he would waste so many Dark Stones¡­¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t judge him. We didn¡¯t even get close to that ancient city yet, and we already had such casualties. Who knows what will happen there.¡± Another member just shook his head, shuddering at the thought of that balding creature, also known as the wendigo.


    Illyan, who was listening to their conversation, finally addressed this problem.


    The entire ambush was strange. At first, it was a group of goblins above the cliff that caused the landslide.


    From what Illyan knew, it was normal for goblins to make small ambushes, but this should be beyond their capability.


    It was also strange that, the moment everyone¡¯s attention was diverted, the wendigo sneak-attacked them.


    With the self-detonation, it was pretty obvious that it was Ezekiel¡¯s work. The question was whether he could also control the goblins. If yes, then he was even more dangerous than Illyan already thought.


    Illyan was also suspicious that while the ambush worked, it was somewhat underwhelming. If Ezekiel had even half the number of that pack of wendigos Illyan met years ago, then this entire expedition would lose, even if they fought head-on.


    So something was fishy. And Illyan¡¯s guess would be proven in the next few days¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    ¡°They have returned!¡±


    Later that day, the group was going through a dense forest when they heard some of the patrols cry out loudly from the rear.


    People were scared at first, fearing that another ambush was on its way, but when they saw several officers speeding on their horses toward the rear, they sighed in relief.


    Officers wouldn¡¯t risk their necks if it was real danger.


    When they also saw Aziro and Varel going, they had a sudden realization.


    There were two people who climbed the cliff to slaughter the goblins, accidentally avoiding the wendigo¡¯s sneak attack. But because of that, they were also abandoned and left to fend for themselves.


    It seemed they were still alive and managed to catch up in the end.


    When Illyan heard the commotion, he listened for a moment before closing his eyes again.


    On the other hand, others in the carriage seemed to be interested.


    ¡°How do you think they managed to catch up to us?¡± Arun asked with amazement shining in his eyes.


    ¡°These kinds of people always have their own ways,¡± Korin said with a small smile, but his eyes weren¡¯t smiling at all.


    ¡°I rather wonder what happened to them afterward. Goblins are very dangerous in high numbers,¡± Tami chimed in with a thoughtful expression.


    ¡°Goblins are nasty and filthy, so hopefully they killed them all,¡± Vanda said with a disgruntled face.


    Everyone laughed at that. Goblins were one of the least liked creatures in the Vanaras Kingdom. They weren¡¯t very well received anywhere else, either.


    Suddenly, someone knocked on the carriage, and a voice outside resounded.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    ¡°Dr. Kaoran, you are needed in the rear!¡±


    When Illyan, who was meditating, heard that, he sighed as he stood up to leave.


    ¡°Well, I need to go. See you later.¡± He bowed to Korin and everyone as he called out to the person outside.


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    Once he left the carriage, he nodded to the officer and asked him to guide him to them.


    The officer avidly nodded as he scurried across the standing horses and foot soldiers who had to wait.


    It was ordered that they should wait. If the state of the two was not that bad, then they would continue until they found a suitable clearing for the camp. If not, then they didn¡¯t have a choice but to stay at this place.


    That made Illyan wonder if they would really stay here just for two men.


    He understood that the swordsman was the son of Varel, so his background was quite good. But that father of his didn¡¯t seem to really care about Caleb¡¯s absence, so it was hard to tell.


    On the other hand, the other man was just one of the acolytes. But he seemed to be quite skilled. Maybe someone groomed by Aziro personally?


    As he thought this, he arrived at the scene where Aziro and other notable figures stood in front of the duo.


    When they noticed his presence, they made way for him.


    Illyan didn¡¯t forget courtesy, bowing to them before going to the duo.


    They were standing straight, but they were visibly tired.


    ¡°Please, let us go somewhere private so as not to disturb your privacy.¡± Illyan said this to them, but it was mainly directed at the leaders around him.


    After all, there were soldiers not far away who were watching everything.


    The leaders didn¡¯t need to say anything as Aziro waved his hand and let one of the officers lead him to a makeshift tent that could be pitched in a few seconds.


    Once there, Illyan began assessing their wounds.


    It wasn¡¯t a detailed inspection; he just needed to determine whether they were fit to be treated along the way or if they needed to stay while resting.


    ¡°Remove your robes so that I can look at you,¡± Illyan said without a change in his expression as he touched the acolyte¡¯s arm.


    It was bitten, with green fluid covering it.


    ¡®Goblin¡¯s bite.¡¯ Illyan found it amusing that such a capable man was bitten by a goblin.


    Varel¡¯s son frowned as he said imposingly to Illyan, ¡°Why should I? My wound is on my arm.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is. However, you may have other wounds, however small, elsewhere. You just may not feel them now,¡± Illyan explained politely.


    The man furrowed his brows even more before relaxing and putting his heavily damaged armor aside.


    The clothes beneath seemed dirty but not bloodied, implying that he wasn¡¯t injured. But he didn¡¯t try to argue as he took them off and revealed his chest.


    After checking him thoroughly, Illyan noticed a small scratch on his back. It was not deep and didn¡¯t look like anything, but Illyan¡¯s instincts kicked in.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move, and breathe deeply and steadily,¡± he commanded as he examined the scratch.


    Varel¡¯s son did as he was asked and took a deep breath. Illyan observed the wound closely and also checked the man¡¯s heartbeat.


    After a while, he sighed.


    ¡°As expected. You were poisoned. I don¡¯t know the poison, and it seems to be slow-acting due to your aura,¡± Illyan explained as he prepared several herbs and other ingredients.


    But before that, he went out and waved at one guard.


    The guard noticed him and came hurriedly with a subservient attitude.


    ¡°Please relay my message to the vice-mayor. The patients were poisoned by an unknown substance, so it will take some time to treat them. We need to stay.¡±


    Without waiting for the guard¡¯s response, he disappeared into the tent.


    The guard just stood there for a second before speeding off into the distance with urgency¡­


    ¡­¡­.


    Ten days had passed since Illyan treated the men.


    They didn¡¯t talk to him much, so he didn¡¯t have much information. Once he extracted the poison and gave them the provisional antidote along with a few drops of the healing vial that Aziro sent, they left without saying anything.


    However, he noticed that Aziro didn¡¯t enter his carriage to rest anymore.


    Instead, he was outside next to the driver¡¯s seat with his eyes closed. Others didn¡¯t care, but Illyan was worried that Ezekiel would ambush them again.


    It didn¡¯t make sense for him to launch such a half-hearted attack.


    In the first place, what was his goal?


    Illyan didn¡¯t know.


    But he had another guess.


    He remembered Ezekiel talking about his life force and that he could use it to its fullest potential.


    In fact, that was the reason why he was attacked. Ezekiel wouldn¡¯t bother with petty revenge if there were no visible benefits.


    Now the question was¡­ What did he want it for?


    His magic? After all, Illyan knew from Arwen''s diary that he was a Biomancer who manipulated life force.


    It would definitely help him get stronger.


    But Illyan felt uneasy.


    He sensed that there was something deeper.


    Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do for now.


    Instead, he focused his mind on three parchments he received from Aurelia.


    It seemed she wasn¡¯t worried he would scam her. She even told him that he would know how much he would lose out on if he saw the first three layers and decided not to learn the rest.


    Seeing her so confident made Illyan extremely excited as he read the parchments in the morning, the only time he could be alone.


    The letters were neatly written. Each letter was exactly the same size yet unique from normal letters, showing a hint of her personality in this style.


    Illyan was amazed at this masterful penmanship. It truly fit her perfectionist ideology.


    ¡®Her perfection¡­ Is it really the same type of gift as mine? I really wonder¡­¡¯


    As Illyan thought this, he began to read the first layer.


    ¡®The first three layers, which also count as the lower part of [Thirteen Layers Of Blood Energy], are meant to be cultivated when you reach the peak of your body limits in the Mortal Stage. It is at that time when the results are best, and your body would adjust to the worldly energies most effectively.¡¯


    Illyan read slowly. He didn¡¯t want to miss any hidden meaning in the text, so he was very careful.


    ¡®The First Layer is about generating strands of Blood Energy. For this, there is no requirement except a strong body. It is power from within your body that comes from your vitality. This is the power that is used by Sorcerers with their innate magic in the south¡­¡¯


    Illyan read the text as he discovered what Blood Energy was and how it was generated.


    What surprised Illyan, though, was the fact that it was really similar to his [Blood Feeding Technique]. The blood energy was generated within the body and could freely flow everywhere, but the goal of this scripture was to fuse itself with blood.


    ¡®Is this Blood Energy?¡¯ Illyan used his mind power to feel his blood and sensed the strong tugging energy within. But he wasn¡¯t sure if it was truly the same energy.


    Soon, Illyan shook his head and continued reading. There was not much time before they would set off again.


    ¡®The Second Layer is about using this Blood Energy and letting it flow through the entire body. This will not only help to consolidate your foundation but also help the body adjust to the worldly energies. The body would strengthen to some extent, and the sensitivity toward the energies would heighten¡­¡¯


    Illyan was intrigued. This technique was truly all-encompassing and taught him a lot about the supernatural aspect of this world.


    Now, Illyan was sure that this was a very profitable deal.


    But he still continued reading.


    ¡®The Third Layer uses the Blood Energy and heightened senses to open the seven apertures: the eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. With Blood Energy, the limit of human senses is trivial, and opening the apertures allows one to feel the world completely differently than before. There are some additional things to achieve in this layer. I believe that it could help with opening the sixth sense and even the perception of worldly energies. The acupuncture points could also serve as minor apertures, but I am not sure yet¡­¡¯


    After reading this, Illyan finally realized why she managed to notice him back then in the forest. Together with her ability to see imperfections, her senses were probably even better than his!

 136 - Ezekiels Schemes

    Thinking like this, Illyan felt even more excited.


    This thing was perfect for him! At this very moment, he didn¡¯t have the talents, resources, or knowledge to back up his ambitions.


    He knew that everything would take a long time and was prepared for it, but he still feared that just effort and time wouldn¡¯t be enough.


    Now, though, he was sure that this [Thirteen Layers of Blood Energy] could consolidate his foundation for the future. He believed that once he left this barren land with the right foundation, he would eventually find his own path toward the apex, no matter how much time passed.


    ¡®So these three layers correspond to the Novice Stage that adjusts the body to accommodate the foreign energies¡­ Interesting.¡¯


    Thinking so, he started to plan how to begin cultivating this scripture.


    At this moment, Illyan¡¯s stage was completely chaotic.


    His body strength was around the middle of the Apprentice Stage, but his power was at the peak of this stage.


    On the other hand, whether it was mind, mana, or spiritual energy, he was barely at the Novice Stage.


    Everyone was gaining their power in a unique way, as there were too many ways to get stronger.


    Despite that, there is still a kind of power system built by old sages: thirteen stages and the norm of using mana and mind power to create the Mana Sea, Magic Circuit, and Seat of Consciousness.


    Illyan wondered why the power system hadn¡¯t become more developed and felt a strand of suspicion.


    But in the end, he couldn¡¯t do anything about it for now, so he focused on himself.


    ¡®I can use this scripture to build my foundation, and from that, I can slowly unify more of the techniques and systems into something mine.¡¯


    Despite all of this, Illyan didn¡¯t give up on absorbing everything. It felt as if he wanted to swallow too big of a bite.


    But Illyan didn¡¯t fear choking on it.


    Whether his stubbornness paid off, only time would tell.


    Illyan put the scripture away as he went to train in [The Way of the Body].


    From what he understood, since the stages just showed the raw power, you could train in the basic techniques meant for Novices despite being at a much higher stage.


    Of course, the stronger one was, the higher the tree on top of the foundation, the more difficult it was to change something at the bottom.


    It wasn¡¯t impossible, but it was definitely a difficult and strenuous thing to do.


    However, it didn¡¯t apply to completely different power systems.


    For example, Illyan could get stronger with the help of mana but could easily start anew with spiritual energy. It would still be more difficult, as the body was molded in some way, but it was still manageable.


    The same applied if someone who focused on body tempering decided to learn magic.


    And in the first three stages, namely Mortal, Novice, and Apprentice, the foundation was the most malleable.


    Because once one reached the Expert Stage through some specialized method, they would metamorphose to a certain extent.


    People would usually choose to pursue the Expert Stage through these specialized methods in the fastest manner despite this obvious limitation.


    Why? The answer was simple. People found that their strength made a much higher leap of power when one used these methods.


    The most important factor, however, was energy recovery.


    Worldly energies didn¡¯t recover until they literally became part of one¡¯s being by forever changing the foundation of the body.


    Because of all this information, Illyan decided to thoroughly train his power and dispose of most blemishes in his body before he started cultivating this scripture.


    Then, he would put all his mind into cultivating each layer as seriously as he could until he reached the peak, where he would decide how to progress further.


    He wanted the best foundation he could create. After all, he had as much time as he needed and didn¡¯t have to consider his lifespan like other acolytes¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    Days passed slowly as they continued on their way.


    Unfortunately, the morale was at its lowest since they met another group of goblins recently. The goblins attacked the rear and managed to hurt some men.


    This greatly angered Aziro, as he let his undead soldiers guard the perimeter of the convoy while taking the bodies of goblins for his experiments.


    He also harshly punished the scouts who didn¡¯t foresee their enemies and warned others for being useless drags.


    Because of that, people were even more stressed than they already were. Not to mention the danger of being ambushed, they also had to be careful around their leader, who held their lives in his hands.


    The gloomy atmosphere loomed over the convoy as they carefully marched toward the distant city.


    However, Illyan didn¡¯t care about this at all.


    He felt that he saw through Ezekiel¡¯s thoughts and believed that no attacks would actually be a threat to the convoy. The only ones falling to these half-hearted ambushes were the weak soldiers.


    But this was enough to fulfill the goal Ezekiel had.


    At first, Illyan wondered what the goal was, but then realized when he looked at the leaders of this expedition.


    Brynjar, the leader of the Blood Heart Gang, was somber, but that didn¡¯t imply anything, as he had acted the same since the beginning.


    Varel was also leisurely with his group, even after his son reported to him what happened to him after he climbed the cliff.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Only the vice-mayor and officers were nervous.


    But it wasn¡¯t because of Ezekiel. Rather, it was because of Aziro, who became paranoid about everything.


    This man seemed to be obsessed with Ezekiel, and this was driving him crazy.


    His eyes turned red while he was barking commands at others now and then in an angry tone.


    Seeing the man he considered a powerhouse fold like this after such a simple trick made Illyan sigh in disappointment.


    ¡°What is the matter, Kaoran?¡± Korin, who was recently teaching him one-on-one the mysteries of geometry, asked softly.


    Illyan pondered what to say but chose to be truthful in the end.


    ¡°It is just a shock that someone with such sinister and great powers would be so easily beaten in mental warfare.¡±


    Korin smiled teasingly at Illyan¡¯s honesty.


    ¡°You know that saying this out loud could cost you your head, right?¡±


    ¡°Who is gonna tell on me? You?¡± Illyan cast a side-eye at the man.


    ¡°Haha, of course not. You just need to be more careful.¡± Korin laughed.


    At this moment, others were not in the carriage as they were out preparing their dinners around the small fire pit.


    Korin, as the head of the group, didn¡¯t need to make his meal himself, while Illyan, who had to treat patients that day, was excluded from the work.


    So, they used the opportunity to get into deeper learning. Illyan was like a sponge as he absorbed all the new information.


    The more he learned, the more he felt like mathematics was one of the main aspects this world was composed of. He started to see the patterns that no one else noticed and began to use the knowledge in his everyday life.


    Especially in medicine creation, as he started to adjust his medicine recipes by using different proportions of herbs and other ingredients.


    In the Bakur Tribe, they usually just measured things by eye, which could cause loss of efficacy and even different outcomes. But now, he had proper tools for measurement and could slowly calculate what ratio was best for each recipe, giving him a great sense of accomplishment.


    Of course, it was mostly to douse his boredom on his way, as most of his effort went into understanding the [Thirteen Layers of Blood Energy].


    He could revise its content whenever he wanted since he remembered each word from that scripture thanks to his mnemonic memory.


    While he decided to postpone the cultivation for the time being, he felt that there was much information hidden in that scripture. Aurelia didn¡¯t hide anything, as she wrote her thoughts and the origin of her inspirations when she was creating this scripture.


    Everything was written down.


    Illyan could once again read about the wondrous lands beyond the Vanaras Kingdom.


    The Primal Skull Demon Mountain Range divided the Oberuan Continent in half and was a place where people trained mainly in Blood Energy, or the Forest of Dark Stillness, where people opened their seven apertures to avoid falling victim to any dreadful creature or plant that lived there.


    These were the places from which Aurelia drew inspiration to make this scripture, and Illyan loved it.


    Reading about these places made him feel almost sad that he still sat here on his bum learning mathematics.


    However, Illyan didn¡¯t feel that way for long. In fact, he actually liked this type of lifestyle, where he could leisurely study and experiment in his laboratory.


    It was just that the adventurous spirit within him was begging him for some action.


    Thankfully, Illyan was sure that these shenanigans of Ezekiel¡¯s now were actually the calm before the storm, as the real stuff would happen once they arrived at the destination.


    Thinking so, he scrolled the parchments on mathematics and stood up.


    ¡°I am going out for a bit,¡± he said coolly as he left the caravan.


    ¡°Are you hungry that much?¡± Vanda, who sat in front of the firepit stirring the pot, turned around to smile teasingly.


    ¡°I am going to check if there are some people to treat,¡± Illyan stated curtly.


    ¡°These small wounds and diseases could be treated by apprentices, no?¡± Tami asked curiously.


    ¡°Yeah, but I promised one of my friends that I would help out one of the apprentices and show him a bit of my knowledge to broaden his horizon.¡± Illyan shook his head as he turned away and left promptly.


    Vanda snorted cutely while others just waved their hands.


    ¡°Come back in an hour for a meal, lest you get to eat it cold!¡±


    After leaving, Illyan went through the camp as he watched the numerous fires being lit up with people sitting close to them, trying to warm themselves.


    The leaders didn¡¯t stop them from making fires, as they were sure Ezekiel was aware of them either way.


    Not letting soldiers eat warm meals would just hit their morale even more, and that was the last thing they wanted to see.


    Along the way, he also visited Cara and Nord, who were reading some parchments.


    Cara noticed him and smiled.


    ¡°Kaoran! Good to see you!¡± Cara and Nord nodded in greeting as they smiled.


    Illyan noticed that lately, they had become closer together. Always together, always smiling.


    It was obvious to him that they were becoming more intimate.


    He wasn¡¯t ignorant of this part of life but felt that he didn¡¯t understand it.


    Even back then, when Zers met his wife, he couldn¡¯t understand the appeal of it.


    So, he guessed this was some deep-rooted problem because of his childhood trauma.


    But he was content with it, as he wasn¡¯t distracted by vixens.


    Like Vanda, for example.


    That girl was always trying something on him.


    In the end, he just made some small talk with them before leaving them be.


    As he left, he pondered over their words.


    The parchments were copies of the books in the library.


    They were some records of the city they were visiting.


    It was called the City of Dust and Iron, as the place was built mainly to mine iron in the mountains, but its real name was Faruin City.


    Illyan absorbed the knowledge of the city that the duo told him as he went toward the patients¡¯ tent.


    There, people who were hurt or sick went to get some medicine or rest under the care of physician apprentices.


    Once Illyan entered, people inside politely greeted him.


    Illyan just nodded as he went toward Aurelia.


    It was easy to spot her every time he went looking for her. Her bright red hair made her location almost instantly recognizable.


    She was, at this moment, tending to one of the history apprentices who seemed to be sick.


    When he came to her, she didn¡¯t even turn her head and continued working.


    Illyan didn¡¯t mind. Instead, he took some of the needles and asked:


    ¡°What is the illness?¡±


    ¡°Lastur illness,¡± Aurelia said expressionlessly as she looked at Illyan.


    Illyan handed her the needle.


    ¡°On her neck, there are several acupoints. Considering the illness, I believe that once you put pressure on them in quick succession, it would relieve the patient¡¯s pain.¡±


    Illyan said calmly.


    Aurelia stopped for a moment as she pondered this option. Then her eyes shone.


    ¡°That might work.¡± She immediately tried it on the man, who was already unconscious.


    Normally, it wouldn¡¯t be good for either of them to experiment on their patients with newfound knowledge, but Illyan didn¡¯t really care for the patient¡¯s well-being.


    He didn¡¯t know if Aurelia felt the same way, but he could feel the confidence emanating from her as she worked with the needle.


    ¡®She is even more precise than me, despite not learning [The Way of the Body].¡¯ Illyan felt dejected when he started to teach her for the first time.


    The moment he taught her something, it was immediately absorbed by her without any problem. She was what he considered a genius.


    Illyan stared in awe.


    However, as she started to prick the acupoints, she began to hum a soothing song that made Illyan nostalgic.


    On the other hand, she suddenly became more focused as she started to pierce the needle into the patient.


    Illyan watched as he listened to the sometimes fast and sometimes slow song, feeling as if he were flying.


    She was humming in a low voice so others didn¡¯t hear, but Illyan heard every change in her humming. The song was almost perfect but, at the same time, felt extremely discordant, which should have ruined the song but made it even more unique.


    Eventually, she stopped as she finished.


    Illyan, who was in the afterglow, suddenly woke up.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good song. What is the name?¡± Illyan asked curiously. He hadn¡¯t heard it before.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t have a name. I just started humming this when I was younger to remind myself that sometimes less is more,¡± she said with a small smile.


    Illyan felt his mouth dry up. ¡®Of course, she made it¡­¡¯


    In the end, he showed her some other acupoints and what he found about them before rushing back to his group. They didn¡¯t talk much, but Illyan felt that her humming of that song made him understand her more than before.


    He could understand what she meant by ¡®less is more.¡¯


    He didn¡¯t know exactly what power she had, but he knew it was of immense usefulness just from reading the scripture.


    If she really could see imperfection, then the obvious result would be her trying to remedy it and turn everything around to perfection.


    But nothing is perfect. And trying to achieve that would just end in failure.


    Thus, she made imperfect songs that kept her mind calm.


    But Illyan felt the song was already perfect, as he remembered his days when he wondered about the value of life.


    Life was valuable because it was limited.


    Did that mean that his own life was worthless?


    No, it wasn¡¯t.


    His gift was just like hers. It gave him something others could only envy, but it also took some things from him. Illyan had to accept this imperfect life to truly live to the fullest.


    Feeling his mind lighter, Illyan felt a little enlightened as, unknowingly, the Mind Power in his head stirred as he condensed another droplet without using the Mind Strengthening Runes¡­

 137 - Arrival Of The Convoy

    Day by day, the convoy continued on its way.


    After the first ambush, the convoy was attacked several times more, mostly by goblins. Wendigos never appeared again after the first time.


    Illyan, who found the right rhythm during the journey, didn¡¯t feel any boredom at all.


    Most of the time was spent learning mathematics with Korin, but whenever the opportunity arose, he would try to polish his body to perfection with his [The Way of the Body].


    Despite deciding they should have kept their distance, he and Aurelia found a certain solace within each other as they exchanged a lot of information.


    Illyan showed her his training while she taught him the basic knowledge of the magical world.


    She also taught him how to seal the Dark Stones he kept with him so as not to waste their energy in the mysterious energy vortex.


    ¡°These stones could be used to quickly recover mana or to fuel some kind of construct. Be it a magic formation or machine, it needs energy far surpassing the capacity of the human body. It can also be refined into some kind of magic tool or treasure. The possibilities are endless as long as you have enough of them or they are of greater quality,¡± Aurelia explained to him in a soft voice. She had already realized that he wasn¡¯t an acolyte at all and could be said to be a self-taught bumpkin.


    But she didn¡¯t look down on him. Instead, she felt a little admiration for this man.


    He was a warrior who could fight against acolytes yet still yearned for knowledge. This was something she appreciated a lot.


    Never limit yourself with your talent.


    With her gift, she could feel the terrible affinity he had towards mana. It wasn¡¯t nonexistent; it was just¡­ imperfect.


    She didn¡¯t think he could progress much without external help or training for a very long time.


    ¡®But with the life force within him¡­¡¯ Before, she could feel a very strong life force within him and saw him reconstruct his body in a flash.


    Such people weren¡¯t rare if you take the entire world into consideration.


    She believed he was born with such strong regeneration and could live at least a few hundred years before even considering his aging.


    So it should be possible for him to step into the magical path after training for years.


    What she didn¡¯t know was that even if he failed the first few hundred years, his gift would be on a completely different level, which would give him an even longer lifespan.


    ¡°How do you grade them?¡± Illyan asked as he looked at the stone in his hand with a curious glance.


    ¡°Well¡­ There are twelve grades corresponding to the Great Primordial Ranking. Do you know it?¡± Aurelia asked.


    Illyan frowned and contemplated her words.


    ¡°You mean the Mortal, Novice, Apprentice, and so on stages?¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°But these have thirteen stages. Does the Mortal stage not count?¡± asked Illyan after some thought. After all, people in the Mortal stage didn¡¯t have any energies within their bodies or couldn¡¯t even perceive them. If they did, they were already Novices.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. But they are usually named as Grade One and so on. The Novice or Grade One stones are quite brittle, so they are usually refined into purple coins, which is the main currency outside of the Vanaras,¡± Aurelia said as she took a stone that shone with fiery light.


    ¡°However, the stones are usually imbued with different energies and elements as they are created naturally by the worldly energies and change depending on the place where they take a form. However, in this world, the most common stones are the Dark Stones. Especially after the mines were discovered at the foot of the Primal Skull Demon Mountain Range, which caused the thousand-year-long war to ravage this continent.¡±


    Hearing this, Illyan felt the history of this world unravel in his head. He couldn¡¯t imagine how terrifying this war could be.


    ¡°I don¡¯t recommend you use the Dark Stones, though, if you don¡¯t want to specialize in darkness,¡± Aurelia¡¯s tone turned serious.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you use several types of stones once in a while since absorbing all kinds of elements inside the body could be beneficial. If needed, you could even get rid of the element while just absorbing the energy within. However, once you start to absorb only one type of stone for a long time, the element within it will slowly seep into one¡¯s body and merge with it to an irreversible state. Some people use it to their advantage, but it also seals their path in different branches of magic.¡±


    Aurelia waved the stone in her hand as if attracting Illyan¡¯s attention.


    Illyan felt the wave of scorching wind hit his face as he realized that this stone was probably imbued with an element of fire or something similar.  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    The stone was different from the Dark Stone as it was pulsing with orange and red colors. It seemed to be more volatile as the colors changed all the time.


    ¡°This is the Fire Stone. Of course, it is the most common one with normal flames. The ones of higher grade, for example, turn blue because of high heat. There are also a lot of different variations. Some are similar to each other, while others are completely different.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want to do in the future, but if you want to progress further with your lacking talent, then external use is a must. However, one must go about it in a smart way. Change the types of Mana Stones every time you use them, or in the best scenario, use the Pure Mana Stones. Unfortunately, these are quite rare.¡±


    She sighed after saying all of this.


    Illyan was also silent as he absorbed all of the new knowledge she taught him.


    These recent days were truly fruitful for him as he learned so much from Aurelia.


    Aurelia also benefited from him as he taught her where all of the acupoints were and even showed her a bit of his [The Way of the Body].


    He didn¡¯t plan to teach her the technique personally since he wouldn¡¯t spread the techniques of his benefactor to strangers, but he at least explained to her the concept.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was that Aurelia managed to use this concept to push her body control to the limit.


    This made him envy her a lot, but he didn¡¯t show it on his face.


    Illyan knew that his talent would not allow him to stand at the top of his peers.


    But he didn¡¯t mind. He would just outlive them one by one.


    So, Illyan wasn¡¯t anxious. He would slowly progress on his way as he learned new things.


    Slowly but surely.


    Right now, he was pondering when to start cultivating the first layer of [Thirteen Layers of the Blood Energy].


    He didn¡¯t train his body much as he focused all his time on perfecting his body foundation.


    Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be completely perfect, but it would be much better than some Rogue Acolytes who started to cultivate when they were old or with some kind of injury that made their body incomplete.


    The flow of energy would be impeded in that case, and the hope of reaching higher stages would diminish every day.


    When Illyan asked Aurelia for advice, she nodded.


    ¡°My father said that we will arrive in a day or so. Once we settle down, I will help you cultivate the first layer. It should be easy with your powerful body,¡± Aurelia said with an annoyed expression.


    It wasn¡¯t because she needed to teach him. She was actually surprised that Illyan¡¯s company was much more pleasant than she expected. She thought that her grandfather was really good at discerning people¡­


    What she was truly annoyed at was her father.


    Illyan was always cautious when meeting with her as they made a deal to keep their distance. While they started to discuss magic in private, they still wanted to be just physician colleagues in the public eye.


    For Illyan, it was just his nature, but for Aurelia, it was because of her father.


    There was hidden resentment in her eyes as her father tried to control every aspect of her life.


    But she didn¡¯t yield as she ran around all the time avoiding him. One of her refuges was the institute where her grandfather lived.


    Unfortunately, this time she couldn¡¯t refuse to go on this expedition.


    At least, a pleasant surprise appeared.


    When she glanced at Illyan, who was focused on polishing his body, she sighed.


    If only he had better talent¡­


    How much would he be able to achieve?


    But she felt that she hadn¡¯t seen everything he could offer.


    The flaws in his body showed how much trauma his body had suffered over the years, yet he survived.


    Not even battle-hardened warriors had such blemishes. Even trolls with their super regeneration didn¡¯t have such problems despite being hurt all the time.


    It made her wonder if he was hurting himself to refine his body on purpose.


    Such brutal techniques definitely existed, but he didn¡¯t seem to own them and would need to rely purely on his regeneration to achieve this body strength and these flaws, which would be insanity to do so.


    As she thought this, they left for their caravans as it was time for the convoy to set off.


    Both of them didn¡¯t waste much time as they mostly talked directly with each other and didn¡¯t talk about superfluous things like other educated people would do. They were more practical as they valued their time.


    Illyan also didn¡¯t want to be seen with her as he had already noticed that Brynjar was staring at him from time to time. He didn¡¯t know what his problem was, but he didn¡¯t want to bring any more attention to himself. Fortunately, he had a good excuse to visit her since he taught her the new medicine methods, something she, as a physician, should learn.


    Not to mention, it was Vael himself who wanted him to take care of her in this profession, so Illyan just fulfilled the request of his benefactor. Nothing more, nothing less.


    Illyan once again sat down and talked with Korin while waiting in the moving caravan.


    The sun was slowly rising as it reached the highest point of the sky before once again falling down.


    It was at that moment when the convoy finally left the canopy of the trees as the big clearing unraveled in front of it with a very big construct made out of black stones in the distance.


    This black city was Faruin, the mining city of Dust and Iron.


    It was connected to one of the mountain peaks with various rails coming inside of the man-made tunnels.


    There were no high buildings in the city, or at least none that Illyan could see, but the city was still awe-inspiring to him.


    The convoy started to slow down before it fully stopped.


    ¡°Hmm? What is happening? Why aren¡¯t we going to the city directly? I waited for two damn months to arrive here and we need to wait again?¡± Arun, who had been boredly sitting around the entire time, now anxiously asked as he trembled in excitement.


    ¡°They need to find out if the city is safe. Who knows what kind of creatures have made nests there during these times? If we entered now, we could very well be eaten by demons,¡± Neddard, the old man who was usually quiet, said this as his face showed a dark smile.


    Arun gulped audibly as he looked at Faruin. The awe-inspiring city now looked demure and gloomy as if it was the dark monster that wanted to devour the world.


    ¡°Don¡¯t scare him like that, Ned. This is a normal procedure to ensure safety. Nothing to be scared about,¡± Tami¡¯s husband, Mufa, said this in hopes of calming the youngest Arun.


    Slowly, they left the carriage as they waited.


    In the center of the camp, all of the forces converged. Be it soldiers, the gang members of both gangs, or the acolytes, they stood close to each other as they prepared to enter the city through the massive stone gate, which showed the grandeur of the old civilization.


    Illyan observed in silence as he didn¡¯t need to go with them.


    That could mean two things. Either way, physicians weren¡¯t needed during the scouting¡­


    Or they didn¡¯t dare to risk the life of their best physician there because they weren¡¯t confident they could keep him safe despite all of the experts going too¡­


    ¡®Hopefully, Ezekiel¡¯s scheme won¡¯t affect me¡­¡¯ Illyan muttered to himself as he saw the rows of soldiers open the moldy and rusty old gate with a clank and squeaking sound as they entered the abandoned city with resolute expressions.

 138 - Exploration Of The Abandoned City

    While Illyan waited in the safety of the camp, the soldiers who were sent into the city felt extremely nervous. Even the wagons, now fully built and loaded with ballistae prepared to shoot whatever creature might appear in front of them, didn¡¯t help to calm them down.


    They were well aware that they were cannon fodder meant to buffer the numbers of this expedition.


    The first line would hold on while the acolytes and members of the gangs delivered the finishing blow, thus taking all the credit.


    Of course, they were unwilling, but they didn¡¯t have a choice.


    So, they could only grit their teeth as they entered the ancient city.


    The somber atmosphere permeated the air as they looked around cautiously.


    All of the buildings were built of the same material as the city wall, making the entire city look dark. The buildings were also very simple, with little to no decorations. It was obvious that this place was built with practicality in mind.


    However, after all this time with no one occupying the place, nature began to take back its lost land as lush green trees and flora covered the buildings and paved roads.


    It was truly eye-opening for the soldiers who came here for the first time.


    These newcomers were the majority, as not many would be willing to visit this place for a second time. The mayor acknowledged this fact, so only the first time was obligatory for the soldiers unless there was a lack of rookie soldiers.


    But how many would survive this first round was the real question.


    ¡°Wow¡­ This is creepy¡­¡± Terren, who was among the soldiers sent out, muttered to himself.


    ¡°Shhh! Do you want us to die? Be quiet for once.¡± The soldier beside him showed a terrified expression as his face darkened at Terren¡¯s antics.


    Terren awkwardly smiled as he wanted to apologize.


    However, before he could do that, the soldier waved his hand across Terren¡¯s mouth.


    Screech


    Suddenly, a strange screech resounded deep within the city, making everyone freeze.


    Terren gulped as he realized his mistake.


    The soldier next to him nodded with a fearful expression, and both continued to walk in formation.


    That soldier was Terren¡¯s senior by a year. He was one of the few people who had taught Terren all kinds of knowledge and skills that knights should have. In the process, he had to keep Terren¡¯s carefree spirit in check, as the young man was like a moth flying toward the fire when it came to problems.


    After spending a long time together, they became close friends. Or rather, Huart, the soldier¡¯s real name, felt that he had become an older brother to a kid who lacked some basic survival instincts.


    Huart could only sigh as he felt his soul leaving his body.


    The soldiers around also looked scared and angry at them but didn¡¯t dare say anything as they continued their march.


    They were right in the middle of the soldiers¡¯ formation, so they were relatively safe from every direction. But still, that could change in seconds, as the monsters here were capable of destroying small armies.


    ¡°Split up into squads and make a distance of two meters between each squad.¡±


    One of the higher officers barked out orders without a care for their fears, and the entire formation slowly started to change into a completely new form.


    If it were the formation of elite soldiers, this pace would be considered a failure. People were slow, scared, and confused. Some of them didn¡¯t feel the pressure at all, as they were completely laid back.


    The officer sighed. His name was Cornelius, and he had worked for twenty years as a constable in the town.


    However, after the recent incident, he was promoted to high officer and sent by the mayor himself to help lead the soldiers.


    There were other leaders, but few had the same prestige as him.


    One of them, called Awur, was the firstborn son of a knight of an older generation. But mainly, he was the oldest brother of Arun. Not that they were too close, as there was an age gap of over fifteen years between them.


    All of these leaders were giving orders to their groups in the formation as they sat on their steeds at the back.


    The reason they commanded the soldiers to keep a distance between each group was simple. If there was truly a troll in the depths of the city, then one attack could dispatch the entire army.


    Thus, being in one big clump was suicide.


    They slowly advanced as the scared soldiers looked around in amazement.  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Cornelius could only shake his head at that.


    ¡®If only the Arkravav Empire didn¡¯t stop us from building a proper army¡­ Vanaras wouldn¡¯t be in such a bad state if it could fight back against the four Forbidden Regions¡­¡¯


    The so-called Forbidden Regions were nothing more than parts of the Valas Peninsula surrounding the Vanaras Kingdom.


    Snowless Mountain Range in the west, Iron Troll Mountain Range in the east, Alchemy¡¯s Doom Forest in the north, and lastly, the Ancient Swamp of Zerhuins in the south, which divided the kingdom from the Arkravav Empire.


    These places weren¡¯t that dangerous from the average perspective of the Oberuan continent¡¯s inhabitants. However, for the kingdom¡¯s citizens, these places were death zones where people would die like flies.


    In the north, people were hunted down by unknown aborigines who attacked people on sight. Even flow masters who fell in the forest were never seen again, sacrificed to an unknown god.


    In the end, the kingdom stopped sending people there, as there was nothing profitable anyway.


    The eastern mountains were obviously infested by Goblins, Gremlins, and mainly Mountain Trolls. On the other hand, the mountains in the west were nests for flocks of Wyverns, which were even more dangerous than trolls.


    The only place left was the swamps of Zerhuins. That place was home to the man-eater giants called Ogres and Serpent Slugs, who would dissolve their victims in their embrace. There were many other dangerous creatures, like Feathered Raptors, Water Leapers, Giant Mantises, Chimeras, and whatnot.


    Illyan believed that it was this place where Ezekiel collected the materials to build his inhuman body parts.


    However, he wondered how he passed through. From what he knew, the swamp was difficult to pass, and almost nobody had passed through over the years. Instead, there was another way into Vanra, the capital city of the Vanaras.


    Unfortunately, that was as far as Illyan¡¯s knowledge extended¡­


    Because of all this, the Vanaras Kingdom had pretty bad discipline in its military. Only those who volunteered to enter the Arkravav Empire to fight in the Dark Stone War could be called the elites.


    But how many of them would return?


    Most of them would die, while the rest would either realize how backward the Vanaras Kingdom truly was and choose to live in the Arkravav Empire, or, if they were lucky enough to reach the Expert Stage, they would not be able to return without giving up all the power they had accumulated.


    In the end, Cornelius could only sigh as he focused on the exploration. He looked around, searching for any danger, as it was common for abandoned buildings not to be completely abandoned, as some animals and monsters chose to make their nests there.


    The city was once a bustling, vibrant place full of life and industry. Now, it was a hauntingly beautiful ruin, echoing with memories of its past.


    Rows of abandoned houses were carved into the rock, with wooden doors hanging off their hinges to their right, as some of the groups entered each house one by one, looking for any lifeform that could threaten the expedition.


    However, nothing was found.


    At some point, they arrived at the area of the city where the storage rooms were situated.


    Obviously, they had been empty for a very long time.


    What the soldiers were interested in, though, were the broken rails coming out of these storage rooms, converging into one rail leading somewhere.


    On these rails, several broken and rusty carts lay as if left by the citizens in the middle of the work they were doing.


    Some of them were derailed or turned on their side.


    Everyone gawked at them. It wasn¡¯t that they were surprised to see these carts.


    No, they were surprised to see their size.


    These carts were as high as five meters and weighed tons.


    The members of the Vicious Viper Gang were staring with eyes full of desire at these storage rooms and carts as some of them looked pleadingly at Varel.


    Even if the entire city had been ransacked countless times, they still hoped to find some leftovers. If they managed to do so, they would be rich for the rest of their lives.


    Varel just laughed loudly without care as he waved his hand, allowing them to go.


    These members smiled as they ran off.


    Cornelius and the others¡¯ faces turned ugly when they saw Varel do this and his careless laugh.


    Sudden creepy noises resounded across the city, and the soldiers turned fearful.


    Brynjar, on the other hand, didn¡¯t change his expression. Without saying anything, he charged like a shadow toward the greedy gang members and used his flow to break their necks. Drawing blood here was unwanted and could cause catastrophe.


    Fortunately, Brynjar was a skilled fighter.


    The two gang members who took the lead didn¡¯t even have time to scream before their consciousness turned into darkness for eternity.


    Then he turned his head defiantly at Varel and other members who also wanted to go looking for treasures.


    Other members flew into a rage but didn¡¯t dare say anything as Varel just waved his hand.


    Then he just smiled at Brynjar.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be that uptight. We live only once, no?¡±


    Brynjar just snorted at his words and didn¡¯t say anything.


    Cornelius sighed in relief as he wiped his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief.


    ¡®These guys are mad!¡¯


    As he cursed under his breath, he looked around, fearing retaliation from any creatures living in the city.


    It was soon after, when they saw the small ravine in the ground in front of them, that they met danger for the first time.


    The ravine seemed to exist even before the fall of the city, as most of the buildings were built around it, with few rails leading inside it.


    Rrrahr!


    The reverberating growling resounded from within the ravine.


    Swish


    With the sound of flapping wings, something the size of a dog flew out of the ravine.


    It was a dark blur that lunged at the closest soldier.


    ¡°Ah?! What is thi-Argh!¡±


    It didn¡¯t take long before the creature bit into his neck and sucked out all the life essence from the poor man.


    ¡°The blood-sucking bats!¡± One of the members of the Heart Bearer Gang shouted out of terror as he tried to warn these greenhorns.


    ¡°Don¡¯t kill-No!¡±


    However, the soldiers had already aimed their spears at it, as their instinct told them to kill it before they died first.


    ¡°Die!¡± With a roar, one of them pierced the creature¡¯s body with his spear.


    When one looked closely, they would notice that it was a dark, furry creature with membrane wings and a huge maw of sharp teeth.


    The bat made a sorrowful cry as it died under the spear, which made the soldiers sigh in relief.


    However, those who were aware had somber expressions.


    ¡°Take the shields and prepare for the attack!¡± In the end, Awur called out quickly as he took his shield to protect himself.


    The soldiers were confused for a second but listened.


    ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Terren muttered to himself.


    ¡°What?¡± Huart turned to Terren. He had never seen him like this.


    ¡°I once entered an abandoned cave near my home village. There, on the ceiling of the cave, were thousands of bats that I accidentally disturbed, so they all flew out. I almost peed myself that day¡­¡±


    After saying that, Huart turned silent.


    Most of the uneducated people didn¡¯t know, since bats were quite rare in Vanaras, but these creatures almost never lived alone.


    And it was soon proven, as it didn¡¯t take long before more angry howls resounded from the ravine together with the flapping of wings.


    ¡°Prepare yourself!¡± This time, even Cornelius didn¡¯t hide his voice as he called out to the soldiers.


    Then, a big dark cloud flew out of the ravine, with only uncountable number of dark red eyes revealing that it was dozens of the creatures huddled together.

 139 - Cleansing Of The City

    "The bats are coming!¡± Nobody knew who yelled those words as they stared at the shadow looming over them.


    The soldiers¡¯ teeth rattled as they shook heavily, but in the end, they could only grit their teeth and point their spears at the danger in front of them.


    At that moment, they heard the snap of fingers.


    Aziro, who had been silent the entire time, snapped his fingers, releasing a green wave of unbearable heat at the enemies.


    The shadow of the bats immediately fell apart as screeches of pain resounded.


    Every bat flew in a different direction, trying to escape the fire, but only a few managed to do so.


    However, at that time, some of the soldiers started to move at high speed toward the bats.


    They moved unnaturally, as if not caring about the anatomy of their bodies, and hurled themselves at the bats, which were still several meters above the ground. Because of that, their legs broke, but they didn¡¯t care at all.


    The other soldiers were aghast seeing this but soon calmed down, as they had seen this once already during the attack of the wendigo.


    These were the undead creatures that Aziro raised!


    Now they attacked the bats in full force.


    They scratched at the eyes and bit the flesh off their bodies.


    The bats, however, didn¡¯t just wait for their doom and bit the attackers back!


    Unfortunately, the little blood that was still within these undead had long been rotten and full of death energy, which caused the bats to fall dead before even realizing what had happened to them!


    Soon, the ancient city fell silent once again. Only the steps of Aziro resounded as he got closer to the bodies of these bats.


    ¡°High-quality material¡­¡± A few who had acute senses heard his muttering and realized that he planned to use these bodies to raise new undead.


    ¡°Varel. Take care of the rest.¡± Aziro¡¯s cold and indifferent voice came out of his mouth as he played with the corpse.


    Varel sighed while others were confused. No bats could be seen anymore. Who or what was he talking about?


    ¡°Hyia!¡± The war screech resounded through the city.


    Before anyone could realize what was happening, several heads of the soldiers burst apart!


    One of them was right in front of Terren, who was now covered in blood and brain matter.


    He stood there in a stupor before his instincts kicked in, and he defended his head with a shield against any possible attack.


    ¡°Rhar!¡±


    Another wave came in. This time, the ambushers attacked personally.


    The gray blurs lunged at the closest soldiers and started to stab them with knives in whatever body part they could reach.


    ¡°These are goblins?¡± Terren muttered to himself.


    Seeing the creatures, he immediately guessed their nature. However, some of them were quite huge, almost as big as a regular person but much more muscular.


    Farther back, there were smaller goblins holding onto some rope that strapped stones at the end and flung them at high speed at the people.


    These were the slings that goblins created.


    When soldiers realized it was an attack of goblins, they roared in anger as the closest goblins were immediately impaled by the spears.


    The other goblins roared in rage but couldn¡¯t avenge their comrades as the members of the Venomous Viper Gang finally made a move.


    They didn¡¯t use magic like acolytes and the Heart Bearers. They used mere daggers and knives or maybe short swords.


    But nobody underestimated them for it, as their elites reached the peak of skill.


    The blades phased through the bodies of the goblins like a hot knife through butter. The vile creatures didn¡¯t even have time to scream in pain before they died under their blades.


    ¡°Grwaaa!¡±


    The huge goblins didn¡¯t like that at all, as they growled and unleashed their maces at these gang members.


    Unfortunately for them, before they could hit them, their bodies swayed as if their balance was off.


    Soon, they began to bleed from their noses before falling to the ground while making guttural noises.


    ¡°Hmph, filthy hobgoblins¡­¡± One of the members sneered at the creatures as they harvested their lives like livestock.


    There was a reason why the Venomous Viper Gang was named as such. Not only did their fighting style resemble that of a treacherous viper, but they also specialized in poisons.


    The sleeping powder from the underground arena was actually their own creation, and it was on par with the concoctions of strong acolytes.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Meanwhile, the goblins in the dark realized that this prey was a larger mouthful than they thought they could swallow. Normally, they wouldn¡¯t attack armies.


    But since they disturbed the blood-sucking bats, the goblins expected them to be considerably weakened.


    That didn¡¯t happen, though, as Aziro dispatched them easily.


    The goblins didn¡¯t even have time to process that, as the less intelligent ones attacked the moment the bats were gone.


    Now, the goblins knew their plan had failed and started to retreat.


    But it was at that time when the gang members of the Heart Bearer Gang raised their crossbows and shot their bolts in volleys at the escaping vermin.


    ¡°Argh?!¡± The screams of pain resounded throughout the otherwise silent city as they ran for their lives.


    In the end, the goblins couldn¡¯t survive the barrage at all, as most of them died miserably. On the other hand, the few lucky ones were confused and scared and disappeared into the shadows of the abandoned buildings.


    The soldiers could finally sigh in relief when the danger disappeared.


    Unfortunately, the leaders didn¡¯t allow them to let their guard down for even a second.


    ¡°Don¡¯t relax! Until every corner of the city is purged by us, we can¡¯t rest here! Before, we didn¡¯t meet the trolls on our way, but that was mostly because they seldom go to the edge of the mountains. But now, we are deep in their territory. If we can¡¯t make this city our safe haven, then there is a big chance we will perish under their attacks outside. So focus!¡±


    Awur shouted loudly, not caring to hide his voice anymore. The noise they made through fighting revealed their position already long ago.


    This little speech invigorated the soldiers as they raised their spears in a battle cry.


    ¡°Yeah!¡± Terren, who was fear-stricken, felt his blood boil as he yelled out loudly.


    Huart just sighed at these naive little boys and shook his head.


    ¡®Hopefully, we won¡¯t encounter anything too dangerous¡­¡¯


    And so, the scouting was uninterrupted by any wild creatures as they continued to search every corner and eliminate anything that could be a threat to the convoy¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    Meanwhile, people outside were anxiously waiting for the victorious return of their elites.


    Of course, there were also people who were completely at ease, like Illyan.


    He decided to use this time, when Brynjar wasn¡¯t close to Aurelia, to finally prepare for his first cultivation session.


    While Aurelia was a gang member of the Heart Bearer Gang, she wasn¡¯t needed in the scouting group and instead was responsible for the members that didn¡¯t participate and waited outside.


    However, Aurelia¡¯s stance towards the gang was dubious, so she didn¡¯t hesitate to use her time to lecture him. The time spent with Illyan was quite enjoyable thanks to his diligent nature and natural curiosity, as they both strived to achieve their own goals without any distractions.


    For example, while she didn¡¯t think that her appearance should be given much attention, there were many who would turn their heads just from seeing her red hair and then be completely smitten by her face.


    These people were mostly young men, but they were not the only ones.


    However, in the end, in most cases, no beauty would be this fawned upon by others in this world.


    This world was too grim, and the people were too focused on improving their lives to actually care about the appearances of strangers.


    Unfortunately for her, her ability was acting up, turning her into something ¡®perfect.¡¯


    Almost perfect. Because nothing was perfect. Even Aurelia didn¡¯t know how to define perfection.


    The only thing she knew about perfection was that no matter how good something was, it was never enough. Without giving up on perfection, she couldn¡¯t live her life properly.


    So, her appearance had no meaning to her.


    However, others thought differently.


    Because of that, she felt disconnected from all these people complimenting her. She couldn¡¯t understand them and felt uncomfortable in their presence.


    Illyan, though, was someone who was absorbed in himself and his training, which made him more likable to her.


    He didn¡¯t ask questions that didn¡¯t have anything to do with their transaction and didn¡¯t bother her if there was no need.


    ¡°When do we start?¡± The sudden voice awakened her from her reverie.


    It was obviously Illyan, who was sitting in the lotus position waiting for her instructions.


    Normally, no one would allow someone they barely knew for a few months to oversee their cultivation of internal energy. If anything wrong happened, then internal bleeding was one of the lighter options, while your body exploding into bits of flesh was the harsher one.


    But to Illyan, this was no problem. He was confident in his gauge of her personality and that she wouldn¡¯t do anything. But at the same time, he was aware of her acting skills that allowed her to sneak attack the acolyte trio back then.


    However, Illyan believed that if she really tried anything, then he would be able to survive and kill her, or escape even if the wound was grievous enough.


    Even if his heart burst open, Illyan felt that his regeneration was already advanced enough to survive such a grievous wound. Or at least, Illyan had such feelings. He had his heart injured several times already, but it was never a severe wound.


    And Illyan didn¡¯t plan to test it out either until he found some safe way to test the limit of his ability.


    ¡°We can do it now. Start meditating to clear your mind,¡± Aurelia said as she sat behind him with a palm on his back.


    Illyan did as she said as he sat there for ten minutes straight in silence before he finally heard her words.


    ¡°Now, use the chant from the scripture in your mind and breathe fast to agitate the potential inside your body,¡± Aurelia said calmly.


    Illyan once again listened to her words as he started chanting inside his head.


    The chants were esoteric and didn¡¯t make sense to Illyan, but at the same time, he felt as if his body¡¯s primordial instinct had awakened.


    His blood felt as if it was boiling as his veins showed up on his body.


    With the breathing as the guide, he started to breathe in the essences hidden in the air, be it spiritual energy or mana.


    The infusion of worldly energies caused his dormant blood energy to shine a bit as his veins showed a magical sight.


    ¡°Hmm? You already have blood energy? I didn¡¯t even notice¡­¡± Aurelia noticed the anomaly and was surprised to see he already had a bit of blood energy in his body.


    ¡°It is quite pure. And infused in the blood¡­ Ah, I see.¡± She suddenly nodded in realization.


    ¡°What?¡± Illyan was focusing on his meditation, but with her talking, his mind veered off. That wasn¡¯t because he was inept but simply thanks to his mind power, which allowed him to take in more information into his head.


    It also allowed him to barely do two slightly complicated things at the same time.


    ¡°The blood energy you have is a little different from the one I applied in my scripture. My blood energy is the power source of sorcerers, also known as innate mages. Their magic is dormant within their bodies since birth, and because of that, they adopted the power of blood energy, which could be said to be semi-innate. This type of blood energy is usually rampant in the energy pathways in the body and is infused with mana for better results.¡±


    ¡°On the other hand, the blood energy within your bloodstream is the result of martial artists and body refiners accidentally finding this energy after breaking the limits of their bodies. If that is the case, then the blood energy would manifest in the blood, thus creating the name blood energy. Martial artists infuse the blood energy with spiritual energy and then create scriptures that mainly depend on willpower and intent. Pure blood refiners use only blood energy. It is quite rare to see such people, though.¡±


    Her eyes shone with curiosity, but she didn¡¯t ask as she observed the blood energy move alongside his blood.


    ¡°Is that bad?¡± Illyan finally confirmed his suspicion about [Blood Feeding Technique]. But it made him feel uneasy as he was wondering whether this would negatively affect the [Thirteen Layers of Blood Energy].


    ¡°No. Actually, this is an even better outcome. Begin!¡± Aurelia¡¯s eyes shone with passion as she said that. Illyan didn¡¯t understand her, but was happy to be lucky once in a while¡­

 140 - Accumulating Blood Energy

    Since she had already given him a signal, it would be unwise for him to waste time.


    Illyan completely let go of his worries and began to gather the blood energy.


    Normally, the scripture would take a very long time to take effect, and the blood energy would be misplaced and wander through the body.


    That was because this was an unorthodox way to awaken the blood energy.


    There were only two orthodox ways to create blood energy that would appear in your pathways.


    One was for body refiners or other body practitioners to reach the limit of their bodies, and the second was for one to have inborn might within them. Sorcerers were like this.


    However, Illyan was different. He had obtained the strange technique from the aborigines, which actually focused the essence of his body deep into his blood, purifying and strengthening it.


    The other effect was the blood energy condensing within it.


    While this was also considered an unorthodox technique, it achieved results in the same way as the orthodox methods, making this technique quite valuable.


    Now, because of his already formed blood energy, it started to attract the power that Illyan was trying to form, empowering his blood.


    Aurelia, who observed this, didn¡¯t show a surprised expression as she had already guessed this outcome.


    However, there was a flash of envy in her eyes.


    When she created this scripture, she knew she would need to generate this energy and guide it properly into her energy pathways and bloodstream so that it wouldn¡¯t flow loosely inside her body.


    Illyan would save quite a bit of time because of this.


    Of course, it would also be that much more dangerous. There was a reason why only sorcerers and body practitioners obtained blood energy in the orthodox way.


    There was no way to avoid the impurities and such that would coalesce together with the blood energy. These could easily poison someone if they entered the bloodstream.


    Only through rigorous training and body tempering would pure blood energy form. On the other hand, only sorcerers with a certain purity in their bloodline could form blood energy without any technique.


    She assumed that Illyan had gained his blood energy through relentless training, so she wasn¡¯t coveting the technique he hadn¡¯t revealed to her.


    She also knew that now the scripture technique would cause his pure blood energy to turn slightly impure due to this quicker gathering. Whether it would harm him depended on how pure his blood energy had been previously.


    ¡°Your bloodstream will gather some impurities through this. Are you sure you want to continue? We can start from the second layer since you already have some blood energy.¡± She didn¡¯t want to hide this from him, as she had certain principles she didn¡¯t wish to violate.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Illyan said indifferently as he continued. He saw her good intentions, but there was really no need.


    With his regeneration and [Blood Feeding Technique], what did he have to fear? If the impurities weren¡¯t too severe, his regeneration would keep him safe until he extracted them.


    If they were more serious, he could use the [Blood Feeding Technique], which would likely resolve the issue easily.


    With such a mindset, Illyan continued gathering the energy.


    Aurelia guided him, as he was a little clumsy at the start. He would sometimes make mistakes in chanting or guide the energy incorrectly.


    It wasn¡¯t anything serious to him, but it would definitely slow his progress.


    But with her mentoring him in real time, he corrected all of his mistakes and didn¡¯t repeat them, perfecting the practice.


    After some time, the bright light from his veins started to dim. It wasn¡¯t because he had stopped practicing or because his blood energy had lost its potency. In fact, it was stronger than ever.


    However, impurities had now appeared in his blood, veiling the bright and pure blood energy.


    ¡°All right, you can stop. Since your gathering of blood energy is quite fast, it also means you gather impurities quickly, and now you need to oust them from your body.¡±


    Aurelia explained the next step of the first layer.


    Illyan listened to her words as he changed the chanting and contracted his muscles. This chant was meant to put pressure on his blood energy, thereby extracting the impurities within.


    In the scripture, the extraction of impurities was done through the pores as her blood energy flowed through her pathways, and this was the best method available.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Unfortunately for Illyan, he wasn¡¯t that skilled in controlling the blood energy and feared he would fail miserably.


    Thus, he decided to get rid of these in a rather brutal way.


    He continued to extract the impurities by slowly separating them from the blood energy. It showed on his veins, which once again shone brightly but with small blotches of dark covering them in some places.


    These were the impurities.


    Seeing them piling up, Illyan decided it was time.


    He started to move the energy from his left side to his left arm.


    The black spots covering him were visibly moving inside the bright veins on the left side of his body as they slowly entered his hand.


    And from his hand, they traveled right to one of his fingers.


    Spurt


    With one flick of the long nails on his right hand, he deeply cut his forefinger, causing the blood to spurt out like a geyser.


    The blood dimmed the moment it left the body, but the black blotches remained as they melted inside the blood.


    The disgusting blood fell on the ground as the viscous impurities created small mounds on the floor of the tent.


    Aurelia used incense sticks to mask the scent of blood as he continued his bloodletting.


    The reason why the blood spurted so much was because of his blood energy manipulation, which caused the blood to flow at a much higher speed than it normally would.


    Illyan almost groaned in pleasure from the feeling but felt that his right side¡¯s impurities almost overflowed to his left side, so he immediately focused and started to do the same thing on the right side.


    The reason why he did both sides separately was because of Aurelia¡¯s warning not to let the impurities flow in large quantities through the heart as it could cause problems in the long term.


    Illyan knew she was right since staring at the vile impurities spilled on the ground in front of him almost made him want to vomit.


    Its smell was rotten and putrid, making him feel nauseous that something like this was inside his body. It made him feel dirty, especially since he liked clean environments.


    Aurelia¡¯s brows also rose and fell as she took out a handkerchief to cover her mouth in an elegant style. Nobody would expect this noble-like lady to be actually a fierce fighter who was killed in cold blood.


    When he cut his right forefinger, the left side was already done as his left forefinger had already sealed itself.


    There was a certain loss of the blood energy that he had accumulated, but it was worth it considering the time he would need to use to get rid of the impurities while retaining all of his blood energy.


    The loss was negligible considering this.


    The bloodletting continued as he got rid of the rest of the impurities.


    At first, he was aghast that every time he bled, he would lose blood energy, but fortunately, that was not the case at all.


    Only when he consciously circulated the blood energy into the place of the wound would there be a slight loss. After all, the blood energy was only a wisp inside the real blood, so most of the blood was just ordinary.


    Not in Illyan¡¯s case, of course, since his blood was tempered by blood energy and had hidden life force within.


    But fortunately for him, he could regain any loss almost instantly.


    When he was done, he stopped to check on his body. There were still wisps of impurities so small that they were negligible, but they were still there.


    That made Illyan frown.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It is almost impossible to get rid of all impurities. Not to mention, these are the ones that are visible to you. The problems are those that can¡¯t be seen.¡±


    Aurelia sighed after seeing his expression. How could she not understand his feelings? She had the very same feelings, except hers were much more intense.


    Everything she had done was not enough to get rid of these imperfections, which annoyed her to no end.


    However, Illyan didn¡¯t dwell on it for too long as he knew he had a lot of time to fix that. One step at a time was crucial for building a foundation.


    Illyan comforted himself with the optimistic thought that being talentless could actually be beneficial to him.


    People with great talent usually sped through ranks as they lusted after power to dominate their peers.


    Not all of them were like this, but most of these people would rather consider the problem of an imperfect foundation later on when they have proper strength, wealth, and backing, despite it being much harder to change. After all, people with talent were numerous. But how many of them were actually able to live up to their potential?


    Many of them were killed before even being able to realize they had any talent. Those who discovered it were targeted by others. Only those with great talent and background had certain guarantees to succeed.


    On the other hand, people with average talents usually fought not with their talented peers but mostly with their inner selves. Only by working diligently and being careful with laying down your foundation could you make some progress.


    People didn¡¯t care how you became strong or how long it took. They only cared about your capabilities.


    Because Magisters who could change the tide of war were always in demand.


    Unfortunately, in the end, most of them die trying or just die naturally with their lifespan being at its end.


    But this was where Illyan¡¯s gift shone the most.


    He was almost unkillable, and his lifespan was longer than others.


    That meant that he didn¡¯t need to be disturbed by anyone as he slowly climbed at his own pace.


    There were definitely many ways for him to die, but as Illyan continued to survive them one by one, his experiences grew as well. He was now confident in his survival capabilities.


    Thinking so, Illyan exhaled the putrid air in his lungs as he stood up and stretched his arms.


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel much difference,¡± Illyan said without a change in his expression.


    What he said wasn¡¯t exactly true. What he meant was that he didn¡¯t feel any difference in his body strength. However, his blood energy felt different somehow, but he couldn¡¯t guess why.


    ¡°You won¡¯t feel any differences even if you accumulate more. The way of accumulation and usage are different, so it obviously won¡¯t feel the same. The sorcerer¡¯s blood energy is usually much calmer than the refiner''s blood energy and will erupt only when performing magic. However, once both types of blood energy fully fuse together, it could be said that they would complement each other,¡± Aurelia said.


    Illyan saw the desire in her eyes but ignored it as he acted as if he didn¡¯t see it.


    Instead, he focused on her words.


    ¡°Did you say you can perform magic with just blood energy?¡± Illyan involuntarily widened his eyes as much as he could.


    In the [Thirteen Layers Of Blood Energy], you could perform magic once you fused the blood energy with mana. Even sorcerers couldn¡¯t avoid this if they wanted to cast better spells at higher efficiency.


    Illyan was prepared for a long wait before he would be able to fuse the mana into blood energy to finally use magic. Seeing these acolytes wield the elements of nature made him feel like a child again, as he was hyped to perform such acts too.


    However, Aurelia said something contradicting the scripture she wrote.


    ¡°Well¡­ Magic can be performed even with just blood energy. It would be just weaker and less efficient. Moreover, the blood energy would be depleted faster during casting when there is no mana in it. It is better to wait to fuse the mana with it before performing the magic.¡±


    Aurelia explained with a calm expression.


    Illyan¡¯s eyes shone when he heard that.


    ¡®I guess I will have the opportunity to use magic much sooner than expected¡­¡¯

 141 - Blood Ignition

    In the same manner, Illyan slowly cultivated. He was very careful, as he couldn¡¯t be too rash lest he accidentally stopped executing his [Nature Breath Method].


    He used this technique for the entire duration of the expedition and didn¡¯t stop even once.


    Even during nighttime, he just meditated while pretending to be asleep, since he wasn¡¯t proficient enough to sleep while hiding his presence.


    But he felt that he would soon get the knack of it, as he gained a lot of experience along the way.


    However, that was for later, as now he focused on the blood energy in his body, learning how to guide it without using [The Way of the Body] and instead purely using his blood energy to move itself.


    It was an interesting feeling, and he got absorbed in it for the entire day until evening came.


    ¡°They still didn¡¯t come out? Something must have happened.¡± People outside of the tent conversed with each other as their concern overflowed from their words.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that! What if you jinx it!¡± Another person scolded the first one, but the unease in his words was palpable.


    Most of the elites entered the city. That meant that if everyone inside died, they wouldn¡¯t have the strength to leave the mountains, let alone catch the troll.


    Illyan, who was roused from his cultivation, listened to the words outside as he asked,


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°Nothing yet. Since they didn¡¯t come out yet, it means that they met some creatures inside. It will probably take some time for them to get rid of them.¡±


    Aurelia said this indifferently, as she knew it always took a lot of time to kill all these creatures completely, as they could be in any corner of the city.


    ¡°Huh.¡± Illyan nodded as he wanted to get up.


    He felt his energy being drained, as he had cultivated for almost the entire day. Now, he planned to return to Korin¡¯s group.


    Aurelia, on the other hand, started to chant some mysterious words.


    Illyan looked at her confused before she conjured a spark of fire, which she immediately flicked toward the dark blood on the ground.


    ¡°I will give you a friendly reminder. The fighting style you showed back then won¡¯t be really ideal if you want to go into the acolyte society one day,¡± Aurelia said nonchalantly as she cleaned up everything and hid the evidence of them ever doing something here.


    ¡°Blood?¡± Illyan raised his brows as his mind started to think of the reason.


    All kinds of scenarios passed through his head at high speed.


    What did all acolytes have in common? Obviously, it was magic.


    So it had to be something with magic.


    Spilling of blood¡­


    Suddenly, Illyan thought of the possibility as his expression turned ugly.


    If this idea was real, then it was very bad news.


    ¡°How can the blood be used after spilling it, and how long does it take before it becomes ineffective?¡± So Illyan asked in a serious manner, looking right into Aurelia¡¯s eyes.


    Aurelia wasn¡¯t surprised that he realized it, as she explained,


    ¡°In many ways. In fact, blood is one of the most versatile mediums in the world of magic. However, the most important is that when one is in possession of another''s blood, he has certain power over him. He can curse him, enslave him, or even possess him.


    Of course, it has many limitations as well. The blood needs to be very fresh. Very few people could use blood older than ten minutes for this kind of magic. It also depends on the blood owner¡¯s capabilities. If he was strong enough, then it didn¡¯t matter even if he donated his blood to others.¡±


    What Aurelia said was exactly what he feared.


    Fortunately, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone who actually got his fresh blood so far¡­


    Wait¡­


    ¡®No¡­ There is one¡­¡¯ Illyan widened his eyes at the realization before they glinted with coldness.


    ¡®Hopefully I am just too cautious. If not¡­ Then he really did me in¡­¡¯


    Thinking about Korin, who took a drop of his blood when he tested his talent back then.


    He was too inexperienced in the art of magic, so he was making some basic mistakes that no acolyte would make.  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Seeing his expression turn ugly, Aurelia already knew that he didn¡¯t know beforehand and had let someone take his blood.


    So she took a deep breath as she considered whether to help. She took a look at the young man and pondered about her choice.


    While Illyan¡¯s company was comfortable so far, she didn¡¯t feel they were that close for her to help him without any benefit. On the other hand, she knew he was an acquaintance of her grandpa, who she loved the most in this world¡­


    ¡°Sigh¡­ I can¡¯t help you if someone harvested your blood and sealed it in some way, but I can help you with future problems. However, you will have to pay an equal price,¡± Aurelia said with a serious expression.


    When Illyan heard that, he smiled a little in his heart. In the end, he wasn¡¯t really as distraught as he was showing. While it was truly a problem, he still had some confidence in his ability to turn the tides, even if his enemy had in his possession Illyan¡¯s blood.


    However, he still knew that he needed some method to defend himself from such nefarious ways.


    At first, he didn¡¯t know if she had some good way to get rid of the blood, but now he was sure.


    He was really lucky to meet Vael and become friends with him.


    Without him, he wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to befriend this aloof lady and make this trade at all.


    He already had in mind what to trade. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know if she would accept it. After all, they could get it if they entered the Blood Crow Forest.


    That¡¯s right, he wanted to trade the [Blood Feeding Technique]. He didn¡¯t feel any pressure in selling the technique. It didn¡¯t belong to any of his seniors, nor did he fear that someone could use it against him. Only a few could use it as efficiently as he could.


    ¡°Firstly, please describe the method you talk about. Based on that, I will trade.¡± So, Illyan had a calm face as he looked at Aurelia.


    Aurelia raised her eyebrows at him. With her ability, she could see through imperfect things, emotions included, so she was aware that his negative emotions were real but a little exaggerated. She didn¡¯t expect him to completely change his expression, though, and wondered if she was duped.


    But in the end, she shook her head internally, as she knew this was for the best. If the man truly had something useful of equal value, then she would only benefit.


    ¡°The technique is called [Blood Ignition]. It is the ability to use the minuscule amount of blood energy within the spilled blood to make it explode. However, depending on proficiency, you need to be close to the blood. It also doesn¡¯t work on old blood, as the blood energy usually dissipates in a few days at most...¡±


    After explaining other details, Illyan fell into contemplation.


    The technique was quite good. In fact, it was perfect for him. However, he still wasn¡¯t in a hurry, as he asked other questions.


    ¡°Am I able to use it without mana? And how long does it take an average person to learn?¡±


    ¡°It can be used just through blood energy with the same disadvantages I mentioned before. As for the learning process, it takes on average around three months to learn.¡±


    Hearing this, Illyan wondered how he would fare in learning this. He didn¡¯t know how his affinity towards blood energy was, but he hoped that it was better than his spiritual and magical talent.


    When he asked all of his questions, Illyan decided to make his offer.


    ¡°I have a technique that allows me to accumulate blood energy in the so-called orthodox way. Are you interested?¡± Illyan asked with a calm expression.


    He was pretty sure this was something she desired, as she herself described the plight of using other methods.


    ¡°Huh?¡± Aurelia shot him a surprised look as her mouth opened a little, showing her white teeth.


    She thought he trained his body to the limits, thus gaining the blood energy, but it seemed she was mistaken.


    ¡°What? Do you really have one?¡± Aurelia asked, her eyes almost shining. However, when she realized her behavior could be detrimental to this deal, she reined in her expression as she just nodded calmly.


    Illyan chuckled at that in his mind. If before she had the leverage in this deal, now they were on the same level.


    Maybe he was in an even better position, as she was clearly more interested in the technique than he was in her method.


    ¡°My energy blood method is quite peculiar¡­¡± Illyan explained how the technique worked and its dangers during practice.


    He didn¡¯t lie, as it would be quite difficult to swindle this girl. She was much more knowledgeable than him and would immediately find out the disadvantages this technique had.


    Not that he would do it even if he was confident. He wouldn¡¯t have such qualms with others, but Aurelia was very helpful all this time, so it would go against his principles to give her this flawed technique without explaining first.


    Aurelia listened quietly but then gasped a little as if she realized something.


    ¡°Where did you get this technique?¡± She shot him a look of suspicion.


    Illyan hesitated. Telling her this should not be a problem, but it could reveal a lot of information he wasn¡¯t willing to share.


    Unfortunately, she already guessed.


    ¡°You got it from Alchemy Doom Forest, right?¡± Aurelia asked with certainty in her tone.


    This time, it was Illyan¡¯s turn to be surprised. However, this soon turned into gloominess.


    ¡°So you knew about this technique already, huh?¡± If that was the case, then she probably wouldn¡¯t trade anyway.


    Aurelia turned silent, seeing him like this. She pondered for a moment before deciding to explain herself.


    ¡°Our Heart Bearer Gang has known this technique for generations. After all, the Alchemy Doom Forest is neighboring our territory. There were times the Vanaras Kingdom fought against these savages inside.


    Unfortunately, they are too poor. The only good loot we found there was this technique. But, in the end, the elders of ours deemed the technique too evil and dangerous and marked it as a forbidden technique.¡±


    Aurelia sighed. In fact, she had been eyeing this technique for some time already, as it fit her scripture in some way. If she could see it, then she would definitely find a way to adjust the technique to get rid of the dangerous parts.


    However, Brynjar, her father, always refused, as he didn¡¯t want her to train too much in the ways of the acolytes.


    Thus, she couldn¡¯t get it. But now, she finally had a chance.


    ¡°Do you have a complete method?¡± She asked with a composed expression. However, her eyes shone with determination to get this technique.


    ¡°Yes. After all, I used this technique to accumulate my current blood energy.¡±


    ¡°But from what I heard, this technique needs some kind of magical reagent to activate.¡±


    Without it, the technique would be useless to her.


    Illyan smiled a little. Of course, he didn¡¯t plan to sell her the technique only. The Firestorm Herb was already cultivated by him and could be sold too.


    Even though he abandoned his manor and garden, he didn¡¯t need to worry too much, as Vael volunteered to take care of his garden.


    He didn¡¯t have a reason to refuse, so he agreed.


    However, the herb was quite precious, so he didn¡¯t plan to sell it so easily without a fight.


    ¡°I have the herb that is used with the technique for the best results. But the herb is too precious. It took me a lot of time and effort to get it.¡±


    Aurelia shot him a glare. He was trying to squeeze her dry!


    After gritting her teeth, she asked:


    ¡°What do you want?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡±


    In that manner, another heated negotiation began¡­

 142 - Oath

    During this time, they negotiated with a desire for profit in their minds, but in the end, both of them managed to strike a good deal.


    ¡°Do you have proof of having the herb?¡± Aurelia asked. If he didn¡¯t, it would be harder to finalize this trade.


    ¡°I have some dried stash on me. Here, take it as a gift since we trade quite a lot and will meet each other often.¡±


    Illyan smiled as he threw her a small pouch with the dried Firestorm Herb. While he didn¡¯t need it, it could still be useful in his blood energy cultivation, so he kept some with him.


    Aurelia looked it over before her eyes shone.


    ¡°It is really a Novice Stage Herb! These are incredibly rare here!¡±


    After saying that, she hurriedly hid it away as she took note of Illyan¡¯s goodwill.


    ¡°I am very satisfied. Since it came to this, we can finalize our deal with a magical oath. With that, we will be proper allies without a fear of betrayal,¡± Aurelia said with a small smile.


    She was truly satisfied with how things went with Illyan.


    And so, she made a promise.


    ¡°Since we finally agreed on our terms, we can finalize the trade.


    As long as you fulfill your part of the deal, I will do my best to teach you all I know, guide you properly, as we will be allies until the end of the transaction. I swear on my name, Aurelia Cecile Nyssara, and on my existence.¡±


    A mysterious wave of energy blew against Illyan¡¯s face when he heard that. Subconsciously, he was already aware that the name was really her true name and not a pseudonym.


    He also suddenly felt as if someone was observing them. Not human or beast, but something much more profound. Not even that god¡¯s eye or the dragon god gave him this feeling.


    This made him serious as he stared at her, guiding the power in her palm and stretching it out towards him.


    In this trade, he would give her the [Blood Feeding Technique] and later on would give her the Firestorm Herb and teach her how to cultivate this herb.


    In return, Aurelia would teach him the ways of an acolyte. She would teach him the spells, techniques, and knowledge that were needed to truly embark on the path of magic.


    This may seem to be an unfair trade, but they decided to do this as Aurelia was already guiding him a little before ever since their first deal.


    Thus, it was easiest for them to make this oath and turn it into one big mutual transaction.


    This so-called contract was the most basic oath in the world. But since it worked, it was one of the most used magics. It used the true name as the medium to make promises or to make transactions without a fear of being scammed.


    Of course, there were many ways to bypass it, but only the truly strong or gifted could do that. Like demons, for example, as they could play with the power of contracts and true names as easily as lifting their limbs.


    Many also didn¡¯t like the middleman in the contracts that watched over them and knew everything. It was speculated that it was one of the gods or even the world''s will, but nobody knew for sure.


    However, people still had new methods to make contracts.


    Korin¡¯s contract was actually a slightly advanced form of this.


    Because there was no impartial observer, he could hide hidden clauses in the contract.


    But it had some disadvantages too. Since he wanted to deceive Illyan, he himself didn¡¯t consider that Illyan could use a fake name.


    In the end, the deceived one was him alone.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Illyan asked with a serious expression. The will that was surrounding them was giving him chills up and down his spine. At the same time, he felt like he could finally let down his guard since this deal would definitely go through without a hitch.


    ¡°Some call it god, others heaven. I don¡¯t truly know. Does it matter right now?¡± Aurelia snorted in amusement as she stared at the curious man across from her.


    ¡°I suppose it doesn¡¯t for now.¡± Illyan also chuckled as he looked at her palm.


    In her palm, there were intertwined energies in the form of strings prepared to connect with something.


    Illyan took a deep breath as he hesitated.


    He didn¡¯t like the fact that he should reveal his name, but since she was the first one to do so, he should proceed as well.


    ¡°Alright then¡­ I, Illyan Ragnar, swear on my name that as long as Aurelia Cecile Nyssara fulfills her part of the deal, I will give her my knowledge and put all effort into helping her when in need, as we will be allies until the end of the transaction.¡±


    Illyan said quietly but with a strong voice.  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Aurelia was surprised at something but didn¡¯t speak yet as Illyan lifted his arm, which was now also filled with energy.


    Illyan looked at his arm curiously as the energy was intertwining on his arm up to his palm, looking for a connection.


    Once they connected their hands willingly, the oath would be finalized, and their relationship would change into true allies. At least for the duration of this oath.


    Illyan didn¡¯t plan to make any allies in the Vanaras Kingdom at first at all. He just wanted to settle here for a short time to get prepared to see the real world.


    He didn¡¯t expect that so much would happen here. Meeting enemies, studying the constitution, and stealing techniques.


    Now, he has another opportunity. The opportunity to make swift progress and learn the gaps in his knowledge in a short time. With her help, he was sure it would be possible.


    However, he needed to bear the risk of betrayal.


    But he didn¡¯t hesitate for long.


    Illyan looked right into her emerald eyes and nodded at her as he held her hand.


    The interconnection between them suddenly shone as the strings of energy intertwined together and formed a connection between them on a spiritual level.


    Both of them felt it, and the entity overseeing this oath saw it too.


    Soon, the wind calmed down as the lights stopped shining and everything returned to normal.


    Only the two people stood there with hands holding each other.


    Aurelia was calm, but Illyan was very curious. Before, he was solemn and didn¡¯t dare to let his mind wander.


    But now that it finally ended, he was very interested in this magic. It was so mysterious, and he wondered what the principle behind it was and what the being or thing that acted as overseer was¡­


    ¡°Good. The deal is sealed, Illyan Ragnar. I hope our cooperation will be fruitful.¡± This time, Aurelia gave Illyan a bright smile as she slowly let go of his hand.


    Illyan also nodded with an indiscernible smile.


    ¡°I hope for the same, Aurelia Cecile Nyssara.¡±


    .........


    After a while, Illyan left the tent with a soft smile on his face. His deals with Lady Aurelia were so far the best opportunities he had ever had.


    Now, he would have her full support as he continued studying.


    He could take his time as he absorbed all the knowledge he could.


    Only then would he leave the Vanaras Kingdom and start his journey to the south¡­


    Clank


    The sudden sound of the main gates resounded as they started to open once more.


    Everyone heard the commotion and turned their attention toward the gate.


    Illyan sighed as he knew that this wouldn¡¯t wait and already went towards the physician¡¯s tent.


    Such scouting would definitely end up with a lot of injured soldiers, so he had to be ready.


    When he looked back at the gate, he knew he was right.


    He was far away, but his eyesight was excellent, so he saw the group who was still inside the city clearly.


    While there were not many casualties, there were a lot of soldiers with external injuries.


    When he looked at the wagons with ballistae, he noticed they were still loaded and guessed that they didn¡¯t meet any troll or other huge creature.


    ¡®I guess it would be much worse if that happened.¡¯ Thinking so, Illyan calmly treaded on his way.


    However, the scouting group didn¡¯t leave the gates. Instead, the message from them quickly spread across the camp.


    ¡°Quickly pack up and enter the city!¡±


    This sentence resounded in every corner of the camp as everyone hurried.


    Illyan furrowed his brow before he changed his direction.


    But he didn¡¯t get far as he encountered Vanda on his way.


    ¡°Oh, Kaoran, here you are! I was wondering where you were! Come quickly, we need to hurry! Korin said he wanted us to look at our assignment today already, and we need to prepare!¡±


    Vanda smiled as she carelessly closed in on Illyan and locked her hand with his.


    This made him frown as he tried to pry off her hand, but she started to pull him.


    ¡°Hurry up!¡±


    In the end, Illyan twisted his arm in a way that Vanda didn¡¯t expect as he untangled himself, and with a quick stride, he overtook Vanda as he wiped his hand.


    Vanda, who was slightly behind him, bowed her head. This would make anyone who looked sad seem sad that Illyan didn¡¯t accept her touch.


    However, Vanda was just madly grinning as she stared at the ground. It took her a while to control her facial expression before she turned normal.


    ¡°Wait a minute!¡± With that, she hurried after Illyan, the man she was interested in¡­


    ¡­¡­.


    Soon after Illyan reunited with Korin and others, their carriage set off on its way as the convoy slowly but surely passed through the gate.


    Arun, who was restless, was looking outside of the carriage as he gasped at the environment inside the gate. Others giggled at his silly antics, but he didn¡¯t care as he stared at everything.


    Illyan was also curious, but he would rather wait in the carriage than make a fool out of himself. It was not like he cared about their opinion of him, but he simply didn¡¯t like to show weakness in front of others.


    ¡®Sigh¡­¡¯ Some old memories emerged from his mind as he fell into deep thought.


    A quarter of an hour later, the carriage finally stopped.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out. We should be at the center of the city. We will stay here for the unforeseeable future, so you need to familiarize yourself with the area.¡± Korin, who was silent the entire time, suddenly called out to everyone with a calm smile.


    But Illyan could feel that his smile was anything but a smile. Others also seemed to be restless, especially Tami, Neddard, and Mufa.


    Arun was just nervous, while Vanda still had a silly smile on her face.


    When Illyan looked towards her, she noticed his gaze and winked at him.


    He could only roll his eyes in his head as he expressionlessly turned his head away.


    Korin just gave some encouraging speech before everyone started to leave the carriage.


    Illyan also planned to do the same but was soon stopped.


    ¡°Kaoran¡­¡± When Korin called out to him, Illyan stopped and waited for his words.


    Korin looked at him seriously.


    ¡°Come with me. You will have time to look around later on.¡±


    When Illyan acknowledged his words, Korin just left with Illyan right behind him.


    Rays of light entered Illyan¡¯s eyes the moment he put the fabric covering the entrance of the carriage away and looked around.


    They were in a big square. Korin mentioned that this square was the center of the city and that the first buildings were built here.


    It was also here where the convoy chose to stay for the duration of the expedition.


    Despite the brightness, the city seemed to be demure and solemn. However, Illyan felt this atmosphere was majestic at this moment.


    The simple structure of the buildings that were built inside the mountain, the dark stone used¡­


    Everything showed how functional this city was meant to be, as this was no place to play around.


    People who lived here worked with a huge burden on their backs as they worked hard every day, sometimes even at night.


    But this didn¡¯t mean that the city was ugly.


    In fact, Illyan found the beauty of it. He also noticed how the city was built with certain patterns.


    ¡°Is this a geometrical pattern?¡± he muttered to himself as he looked at the positions of each building.


    ¡°You noticed so soon?¡± Korin exclaimed loudly.


    ¡°Yeah, it is not hard to notice.¡± Illyan answered half-heartedly as he looked around.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ You are really talented. Thank goodness that I managed to find you in time. Let¡¯s go.¡± Korin gave a relieved smile as he pointed at the center of the city.


    There, a big structure towered over the rest of the city. It had three towers rising through the clouds with domes at the top.


    Several big statues stood in front of the wide stairs leading to it, acting as monuments showing a piece of history.


    ¡°Welcome to the Citadel of Valas,¡± Korin smiled brightly.

 143 - Deadly Seduction

    Illyan felt the pressure as he observed the tall building towering over everything. This citadel felt unbreakable, withstanding all environmental changes as an ancient aura emanated from it.


    It was the only building that seemed to have some decorations on it, yet most of these were already too faded or destroyed.


    ¡°In historical records, it is mentioned that these domes were entirely covered in gold. However, as generations passed after the Eternal Gondoris'' fall, people completely ransacked the entire city, citadel included.¡±


    Korin gave a forlorn sigh as he passed the statues, gently patting them.


    When Illyan got closer to the first statue, he looked up at it.


    It was a man in a robe.


    It gave Illyan a similar feeling to the acolytes.


    But this man¡¯s robe was much more intricate.


    His face had a dignified expression as he stared into the heavens, with his hand pointing a saber in the same direction.


    In his other hand, he held close to his body a cauldron with intricate decorations.


    When Illyan saw this, he was stunned.


    This statue was meant to be awe-inspiring, showing the man on the battlefield, but who would take a cauldron to war?


    ¡®Was he a physician or something?¡¯ Illyan didn¡¯t know the reason but didn¡¯t think that this was just a random item.


    He also passed other statues, but these were much less interesting and in much more dilapidated states. It was obvious that the first statue was made from much better material than these other statues.


    Illyan went up the stairs step by step as he came closer to the citadel.


    From up close, Illyan could finally see the minuscule flaws on its walls¡ªsmall cracks and worn-down bricks.


    However, no plants were covering it, unlike other buildings.


    ¡°Despite many people wanting to enter the citadel over the years, not many managed to do so. There are some records that some entered at last, but the doors, once opened, were closed the moment these people left.¡±


    Korin said with a slight cough as he put a handkerchief in front of his mouth to wipe it.


    When Illyan brought his attention to these doors, he felt they were strange.


    Instead of being made of some sturdy material, built with the least amount of parts, it was made with many small parts and cogs, barred on the outside layer without any protection.


    Illyan felt that there were certain rules behind it, but it was too difficult to guess from just one glance. A lot of time and effort would be needed to crack this puzzle.


    ¡°Is this the puzzle you want me to take care of?¡± Illyan was already sure in his heart, but he still wanted to make sure.


    ¡°Yes. I believe that in two weeks or so, you will be finished. It took me around that time when I was here for the first time.¡± Korin nodded with a smile.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just break the walls? Is it too difficult?¡±


    Illyan asked curiously. While the material was definitely of high quality to survive such a long time without collapsing, Illyan didn¡¯t think it could just depend on that. Otherwise, people would have found a way to destroy it.


    ¡°Hehe¡­ You guessed it right. Other buildings, while sturdy, can be destroyed by force. But not this citadel. People have tried so many times over the years, yet not even scratches remain.¡±


    Korin told Illyan about how many heroes of the past passed here and wanted to open this mysterious vault to find treasures of ancient civilization.


    But nobody managed to successfully destroy it.


    Korin started caressing the doors as if they were his old lover as he sighed.


    ¡°Only a few had the chance to open the door, but nobody managed to retrieve anything of good value. Because of that, people have given up on it later on. But I know that there are definitely things of immeasurable value.


    With that, we could achieve something impossible. Have you ever had a dream, Kaoran? Not a dream that regular people have. No. I mean a dream full of ambition. Because I have one, Kaoran. And I plan to achieve it no matter what.¡±


    Saying that, Korin¡¯s expression turned solemn as he started to move some of the parts making up the diagram on the doors.


    Illyan, who had been listening the entire time, was pondering Korin¡¯s words. He could understand Korin¡¯s sentiment. He himself hadn¡¯t had any dreams for a long time. Peasants didn¡¯t have the time to dream. But once he grew up and realized there was so much to see in the world, he wanted to see more and learn more. It probably wasn¡¯t such a grand dream, but it was a genuine one with Illyan¡¯s sentiments.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Kaoran, listen well. I will need to leave for a while while we are here, so I will depend on you with this puzzle. I will explain how it works and give you some tips that could shorten your time cracking it.¡±


    Korin suddenly said, waking Illyan from his reverie.


    Illyan came closer and started working on the doors as everyone else in the square worked on their own responsibilities...


    ¡­¡­..


    Half a day later, Korin left without a trace as Illyan focused on the doors.


    Of course, he didn¡¯t plan to finish his task too quickly. That would be counterproductive as he wasn¡¯t on the same side as Korin.


    He just tested the waters for now to understand the system behind the doors.


    Most of the time, he just moved some of the cogwheels and observed what would happen. Sometimes, there would be light flashing when moving some of the parts, making him think deeply.


    ¡®It looks like it needs to be aligned in some way to achieve the result.¡¯ Once Illyan came to this conclusion, he began to wonder what alignment it could be.


    ¡®It should be one that changes with time.¡¯ Since the diagram changed every time Korin came, there had to be some outside factor that caused that.


    He just needed to find out what it was to speed up the process of cracking this puzzle.


    Once he felt he could understand the diagram a bit, he chose to leave.


    There was no hurry.


    He took a deep breath and decided to explore the city a bit.


    There should be nothing dangerous as the scouts cleared the city, so he had no qualms about looking around.


    When he went past some soldiers, they respectfully nodded to him.


    That made him realize that he hadn¡¯t helped the injured men from before.


    Thinking about them, he chose to visit them and help the apprentices treat them.


    Most of them were already treated, but there were still some injuries that weren¡¯t that easy to heal. Illyan didn¡¯t waste time as he concocted some medicine on the spot and made them swallow it.


    Later on, when he left, he decided to get farther from the camp.


    Some soldiers politely warned him that there could be danger as he walked past them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t plan to go too far. I just need to stretch a bit and look around before swiftly returning.¡±


    With a soft smile, he thanked them as he disappeared into the shadows of the ancient city...


    This could be said to be his first adventure, and he planned to enjoy it despite the dangers lurking around.


    He walked past the abandoned buildings, exploring these ancient ruins as he enjoyed himself.


    He read a lot of books in the library, and quite a few of them mentioned the older civilizations on the Valas Peninsula before the Vanaras Kingdom.


    The information seemed to be nothing of importance, as he read only some cultural facts and some customs people had in those ages.


    However, now that he was here, he felt as if he were really walking through those times as he imagined the life people lived here.


    It was mostly housewives and their children selling goods for the highly muscular men who sweated under the sun before diving deeply into the mining pits for several days.


    This city was meant for the poor who worked hard to keep their mouths full.


    Their pay was miserable, but each man and his family got to have three warm meals a day, which was something many desired but couldn¡¯t afford.


    As time passed and the Gondoris were renamed to Eternal Gondoris, this place¡¯s people got even better living conditions.


    But, in the end, everything fell into the ash.


    Illyan sighed, thinking about this. Nothing could be eternal in this world. Illyan didn¡¯t even have a notion in his head of what eternity was. It was too difficult for him to comprehend.


    If there was truly something eternal, it was beyond him. At least for now.


    ¡°Why the long face?¡± Suddenly, a teasing voice sounded right behind him.


    Illyan slowly turned around with an expressionless face, but his heart was shaken at that moment.


    There, Vanda was smiling at him, her eyes turning into crescents.


    ¡°I just thought about something. What are you doing here?¡± Illyan acted calm as his mind processed a lot of things.


    ¡®How did she get behind me? And why didn¡¯t I notice her?¡¯


    These were the first questions to appear in his mind, as his senses were truly exceptional, so it was difficult not to notice someone sneaking up on him.


    Not even Ezekiel managed to do that.


    ¡°Me? I just saw a handsome man walking here alone¡­ I couldn¡¯t help but follow him, I guess?¡± She put her finger on her chin, and Illyan immediately knew she was acting cute in front of him.


    If it had been before, he would have been annoyed and ignored her, but now he felt that he needed some information before deciding what to do.


    ¡°So you stalked me?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it like that. I just noticed you and wanted to go around with you. You wouldn¡¯t want a fine lady like myself to walk around alone, right?¡±


    While saying that, she got closer to him with a grin on her face.


    Normal people would see it as the silly smile of a young lady, but Illyan found it unsettling.


    ¡°Whatever you say¡­¡±


    ¡°Yay!¡±


    Illyan could only roll his eyes while Vanda started to spout some gibberish.


    When she wasn¡¯t looking, he turned his eyes to her and observed her.


    He tried to feel something, but there was nothing. She was just a normal human.


    That¡¯s what he felt.


    He wanted to use spiritual perception, but he wasn¡¯t confident in hiding it from her.


    Especially since she was seemingly an expert at this.


    In the end, Illyan could only walk around without doing anything substantial as he was watched by her.


    He tried to get some information out of her, but she was either playing dumb or didn¡¯t care enough to say anything at all.


    Because of that, Illyan got into a bad mood as he started returning to the camp.


    ¡°Eh? Are we going back already?¡± Vanda asked with a pouting mouth.


    ¡°Yes, I need to work on the citadel doors. I just had a break, but I should get back. I don¡¯t want to disappoint Mr. Korin.¡±


    Vanda gave him a side-eye as she sniggered.


    ¡°Is that so? Do you think you will be able to finish it in a week or two?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It is quite complex. But I don¡¯t think so. Even Mr. Korin took a lot of time despite being much better and more experienced than me.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, don¡¯t look down on yourself too much. From Korin¡¯s words, you are a really smart fellow. You will get it soon.¡±


    ¡°Are you and Korin close?¡± Illyan asked with curiosity in his tone. Vanda didn¡¯t seem as respectful towards him as others. Was it simply because of her strength? Or were both of them partners in crime?


    ¡°Well, we have known each other for a ¡®very¡¯ long time. I am the first one to make a contract with him.¡±


    After saying that, she didn¡¯t reveal anything else. But Illyan felt that her words had some different meaning than it seemed at first.


    When they finally entered the camp, Illyan looked around, hoping to find someone he knew to run off. Vanda was too persistent, and only by throwing away all pretenses would he be able to get rid of her.


    But he wasn¡¯t willing to do that.


    As he was observing, Vanda¡¯s annoyed voice echoed behind him.


    ¡°Are you looking for that red-haired girl?¡±


    Illyan¡¯s brows raised as he turned around.


    What he didn¡¯t expect was that she suddenly rushed at him and, with a quick movement, pressed a deep kiss into his mouth.


    Illyan didn¡¯t expect this as he wanted to withdraw immediately, but she was quicker, leaving behind only a trail of saliva as he retreated.


    For a moment, Illyan felt that her eyes were those of someone mad before she smiled sweetly and said,


    ¡°Don¡¯t think of other girls when I am around, alright?¡±


    And with that, she disappeared into the crowd of the camp, leaving Illyan standing there, confused¡­

 144 - Condensing Flow

    One week had passed since that day. Since then, Illyan had been very cautious around that girl, but fortunately, she hadn''t done anything too outrageous.


    However, Illyan still preferred to avoid her if possible, as she was definitely bad news.


    Instead, he started focusing on the diagram on the door and his blood energy practice with Aurelia.


    Korin was who knew where, and Aziro and the other leaders had set off a few days ago for troll hunting.


    Only a few soldiers, meant to protect the logistics men and academics, remained, mostly lazing around.


    But that gave Illyan the opportunity to fully focus on his training.


    With Aurelia¡¯s perception, even Ezekiel or Vanda would be discovered in seconds if they got too close.


    And so, they could easily sneak out of the camp without attracting attention.


    Clash


    The sound of steel clashing against steel rang out deep in the ancient city as blurred figures moved at high speed, clashing with each other every second.


    One of them was fast and hard, while the other was fluid and precise.


    Both seemed to be equal despite their different styles, and neither was able to gain an edge over the other.


    ¡°Not bad. You¡¯re learning much faster than expected. Only your blood energy manipulation is falling behind.¡±


    Aurelia, one of the blurred figures, retreated from her opponent as she panted slightly.


    She held her blood sabers in her hands before sheathing them in their scabbards.


    On the other hand, her opponent, Illyan, also stopped as he took a deep breath and felt a sudden shift inside his gut.


    He had been sparring with Aurelia for the last few days to improve his blood energy manipulation.


    Blood energy was one of the energies that came from within the body, and thus it was easiest to train when using one''s body.


    Since both Aurelia and he were adept at close combat, this was the best way to refine his control.


    However, Illyan used this opportunity to observe Aurelia¡¯s blade combat as he borrowed some low-quality sabers from her.


    In the past, the only bladed weapons he had used were daggers, knives, and a jagged blade he had taken from Triston.


    All of them were short and easy to handle, but sabers were not the same.


    Illyan noticed that swords and sabers were quite popular in the south and decided to learn.


    It was easy for him as he was adept in [The Way of the Body], but the sparring with Aurelia accelerated his learning even more.


    However, Illyan didn¡¯t think about all of that as he closed his eyes in surprise and ignored Aurelia completely.


    Aurelia noticed his silence and curiously looked at him.


    Inside Illyan¡¯s body, deep in his navel, he felt a sudden force.


    This force was subtle, and it hadn¡¯t suddenly appeared as it might have seemed.


    Its embryo had been there for a long time, intangible and weak, waiting to slowly condense.


    Illyan didn¡¯t hesitate as he sat down in the lotus position and started to feel this energy.


    For a normal person, this would be an extremely vague feeling, and the person¡¯s talent would decide how far they could go. But Illyan, with his mental power, could feel every tremble of the energy.


    It reminded him of fluid, while his body was the vessel holding it.


    This was the flow¡ªenergy created through constant training and fighting in the breathing techniques of knights.


    He had finally condensed his first strand.


    It had only been about a year since he started training, but he had already condensed his flow. Only a few geniuses managed to do that.


    But he wasn''t a genius. He simply had advantages others didn¡¯t have.


    He could train longer than others and could ignore his injuries.


    He also used other unorthodox methods to speed up the process.


    Thanks to that, after the intense sessions with Aurelia, he felt that the last bottleneck in his flow had been broken through, and he had managed to become a Flow Master.


    While blood energy and flow were completely different, they were still powers that came from within the body. When he trained his blood energy, his breathing technique became smoother too, which caused him to make a jump in progress.


    ¡°Congratulations¡­ you¡¯ve become a Flow Master,¡± Aurelia, who had seen all of this, suddenly said.


    Illyan opened his eyes wide and stood up.


    ¡°You¡¯ve trained for a long time too, right? Shouldn¡¯t you be a Flow Master too?¡±


    Illyan was pretty sure that she used the breathing technique masterfully, but didn¡¯t have flow or aura.


    Aurelia snorted at his question.


    ¡°There¡¯s no real reason for me to train in that incomplete technique.¡±


    ¡°Hmm? Incomplete?¡± Illyan furrowed his brows. Was the knight''s path defective from the beginning?


    Well, Illyan wasn¡¯t too surprised, as he had thought so too, but he still felt there was value in learning it.  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Aurelia shook her head when she saw his expression.


    ¡°Yes, I can feel it. It¡¯s not bad, but it¡¯s missing its essence. There were some rumors from acolytes that the knight''s path is from a different continent where it flourished. Because of that, I didn¡¯t practice too deeply. It would be more beneficial to focus on magic.¡±


    Aurelia said confidently.


    It was then that Illyan realized that despite her talent, she was clear-minded and wasn¡¯t consumed by arrogance or greed.


    On the other hand, he, who was lacking in most areas, was the greedy one, deciding to train in more paths.


    Seeing him fall into contemplation, Aurelia giggled lightly, and as if to change the subject, she raised her saber once again and pointed it in his direction.


    ¡°Condensing flow is great for your training, as it can synergize with blood energy, and it¡¯s supposedly one of the easiest energies one could control. That¡¯s also the reason why normal people without any magical talent can manipulate it just fine. But in the end, the best way to refine one¡¯s control is through training.¡±


    With a soft laugh, she lunged at Illyan, who was still listening to her words.


    Surprised, he quickly rolled away and took out his sabers before glaring at her with his expressionless face.


    As they came to know each other more closely, Illyan came to realize that Aurelia had a mischievous side to her.


    She usually acted collected and calculative, but in the end, she was a young lady at the start of her life.


    ¡°Heh¡­¡± Illyan saw her attack as a challenge as he raised his sabers, only to stab at Aurelia from a difficult angle.


    While Aurelia was also a close-combat warrior, her main path was a magical one. Her body couldn¡¯t keep up with someone like Illyan, who could wrestle with bears.


    However, because her proficiency was much higher than his and her ability to see through imperfections, she could break through his strikes and was overall a better fencer.


    But that was to be expected. Illyan had only recently learned the way of sabers and swords.


    However, when fighting, he didn¡¯t look for excuses. Instead, he focused on his improvement.


    Since she could see the flaws in swordplay, he would take advantage of it and learn from the mistakes.


    For normal people, this would be something extremely time-consuming to do, but for Illyan, whose eyes had mutated, this was as easy as walking.


    Whenever he made a mistake, a slash would appear on his fair skin, only to quickly disappear.


    Aurelia wasn¡¯t surprised at all. She didn¡¯t know the extent of his healing, nor did she care.


    Now, the only thing in her mind was the fight they were going through right now.


    Several fast clashes resounded as Illyan was the one rushing at her.


    If he wanted, he could use his abnormal regeneration to endure her blows and end the fight from the beginning, but then the fight would lose its meaning.


    Instead, he imitated her swordplay while adding his already extensive knowledge of weaponry and battle awareness to fight in his own unique style.


    His hair was still tied up, so he looked scholarly, but at the same time, he seemed ferocious.


    Because of that, Aurelia grinned as her sabers glowed slightly with a reddish hue.


    ¡°Since you¡¯re so comfortable, I guess I can expend some of my blood energy to teach you.¡±


    With that, she swung her saber at high speed toward the spot Illyan was planning to step into.


    Illyan noticed too late and couldn¡¯t evade.


    His instincts kicked in as he used his saber to deflect hers.


    But when the sabers made contact, Illyan knew he had to do something, as his saber was on the brink of collapse.


    The sabers he used were just random ones she took from her gang, while hers had been carefully nurtured by magic for years. There would be obvious differences, especially since she powered herself now with blood energy.


    ¡®I¡¯ll power myself up too, then!¡¯ Thinking this, he mustered all his willpower to move the little strand he had just condensed right into the fight.


    He feared it would disappear if he used it too early, but his instincts told him it was fine. This wasn¡¯t external energy like mana. It didn¡¯t need to be harnessed every time for a long period to recover the lost energy.


    This was the flow of his own body¡ªa part of him.


    Just resting alone would allow him to recover!


    Clink


    Just as he commanded, the energy moved without any obstacles and reached the tips of his fingers, where it entered the saber.


    This was when he finally felt some hindrance, as there was a lot of energy loss.


    But it was enough as he flicked his hand with the saber and disarmed one of Aurelia¡¯s sabers directly from that one clash.


    ¡°Ah?!¡± Aurelia yelped as she didn¡¯t expect him to make such a move this fast and almost fell on him as she lost her balance.


    Illyan, seeing this, sidestepped and slashed at her with both of his sabers.


    Aurelia kicked one of the sabers away, and using it as leverage, she retreated by doing a somersault.


    Her fall was just a little trick that Illyan could see from miles away.


    Both of them panted lightly as they circled around each other.


    Clear battle intent shone in their eyes as they waited for the opportunity to lunge at their sparring partner.


    This time, Illyan rushed at her with a flick of his legs. Because of the flow, the speed he could achieve was astonishing, and he reached Aurelia in just a second.


    But she, like grass in the strong wind, evaded in the most efficient manner and counterattacked, aiming for his neck with a thrust.


    Illyan blocked the attack by redirecting it and slashed with the second saber at her legs.


    She jumped to avoid the swipe, which he took advantage of as he took a step forward and threw a jab with his elbow into her stomach.


    A loud thud resounded as his elbow embedded itself in her gut.


    But feelings of accomplishment didn¡¯t come, as she suddenly moved her legs to lock his arm, disarming it completely.


    With his arm disarmed, he could only use his second saber to deflect her two attacks.


    There was already a look of victory on her face as she smugly grinned at him.


    ¡®This girl really changed after we gave our vows, huh¡­¡¯


    Illyan grumbled in his heart, but in fact, he felt a vitality flowing inside his body. Not physical, but spiritual.


    Before, only strong stimuli could make him feel strong emotions. The example could be his interrogation of Caleb. The cries of pain made him feel a certain elation. He became even more distant from others.


    But now, he felt enjoyment after a long while.


    ¡®It¡¯s like with Zers.¡¯


    With that, he gave her his genuine smile as he pushed the last bit of the flow into his legs.


    She was too light, so there was no need to support his arm with flow.


    Aurelia, seeing what he was doing, let out a mocking laugh.


    ¡°Hah, you can¡¯t run away¡ªHuh? Hey, stop¡ªAaagh?¡±


    With a rough laugh, he flicked one of his legs and started spinning at high speed.


    Hearing her screams of terror made him feel sadistic satisfaction as he laughed loudly.


    ¡°You! Stop it!¡±


    In the end, she couldn¡¯t endure, as she let go of his arm, forgetting to attack him, and jumped away in retreat.


    Unfortunately, Illyan could see that the landing wouldn¡¯t be smooth.


    ¡°Ugh!¡± With a sense of imbalance, Aurelia fell right on her butt with a groan.


    She glared at Illyan, who was looking at her strangely.


    After a while of silence, both of them burst into laughter.


    ¡®This feeling is kind of liberating,¡¯ Illyan and Aurelia thought.


    Both of them had closed off their hearts because of their experiences and weren¡¯t used to having much fun.


    But since they now had someone who had made oaths with them, they could let go of their guard.


    Even if the contact could be broken, Aurelia was sure that Illyan, who was a novice in magic, knew nothing about it, nor did he look like a person who would repay kindness with evil.


    On the other hand, Illyan was sure that the more Aurelia helped him, the less chance there was for her to win in the duel.


    The biggest example was blood magic. If she hadn¡¯t told him about it and kept the knowledge for herself, she would have had leverage against him. But she didn¡¯t hide it.


    He also saw her sincerity. Literally ¡®saw.¡¯


    At first, he thought he could just understand people, but with his closed-in personality, he soon realized that was a wrong assumption.


    However, recently, he noticed that Vanda¡¯s words were hiding ulterior motives. He tried to listen to her in detail and realized that he could feel¡ªor rather ¡®see¡¯¡ªwhen she spoke the truth or lied.


    His eyes were the eyes of a powerful entity. They were something he put his trust in.


    With such reassurance, he chose to put a little bit of trust into this red-haired woman.


    Not to mention that Zephyr also didn¡¯t say anything to persuade him not to make the oath with Aurelia. That meant he had gauged Aurelia''s character even deep in his mind¡­


    Thinking about this, he felt jubilated that he finally had a companion¡­


    Unfortunately, his joy didn¡¯t last long as his laugh got cut short¡­


    His logical mind reminded him that he had reason to avoid companionship.


    He looked at Aurelia. In the end, he could still be very well alive while she might turn into a pile of bones in the future.


    ¡®Sigh¡­ No reason to think about it. People come and go. That¡¯s life¡­¡¯


    Thinking so, he decided that contemplating the future was futile.


    What he didn¡¯t know was that Aurelia had a similar expression on her face when she looked at him¡­

 145 - Alchemy Inheritance

    Illyan didn¡¯t realize it, but all of this socializing with Aurelia alleviated his stress by a good amount.


    This amount of fun was something he lacked in his life. If he was serious all the time and had to focus only on getting stronger, sooner or later, he would be completely burned out.


    Now, with a clearer mind, Illyan felt that he could face his problems much better.


    He stopped thinking about Ezekiel¡¯s schemes and Korin¡¯s plan and chose to do something useful instead.


    The next day, he visited the gates of the citadel and worked on them the entire day.


    Hours of work showed progress as he finally realized what he needed to open the door.


    It was the alignment of stars. He needed to find a certain constellation to fit this puzzle and, with it, solve the puzzle.


    ¡®If that¡¯s the case, then working on this during the day is just a waste of time. Couldn¡¯t he just tell me?¡¯


    Illyan grumbled to himself as he thought about the hateful Korin, who didn¡¯t tell him this important piece of information.


    ¡®Wait¡­ Maybe not only the puzzle, but also the way to complete it changes over time? After all, stars change their position in the sky during different time periods¡­¡¯


    Illyan realized why this puzzle was so hard to finish, even if you managed to do so in the past. It was like doing something completely new.


    Thinking so, Illyan left the doors and went to visit other colleagues.


    He already got a clue as to what to do and knew that now, during the day, he didn¡¯t have anything to do.


    So, he decided to mess up others'' work a bit. It wasn¡¯t because he wanted to get them into trouble, but because he needed to slow down Korin¡¯s plan and figure everything out.


    Since he didn¡¯t know Korin¡¯s schemes, as he was mostly kept in the dark, he couldn¡¯t make any countermeasures, which made him defenseless.


    But he wouldn¡¯t leave this to fate and chose to do whatever he could to come out on top.


    ¡°Hey Kaoran! What are you doing here?¡± Tami, together with her husband Mufa, was sitting near their carriage with several parchments on a small table in front of them.


    It seemed that they were studying something.


    When Illyan took a look, he saw certain symbols and drafts drawn on them. He could not understand them, so he could only sigh internally.


    If he didn¡¯t understand, he couldn¡¯t do anything to delay them.


    ¡°I got a clue as to how to crack the puzzle, but it will take time. It¡¯s the stars.¡±


    Illyan smiled bitterly as he explained to them the way he needed to open the doors.


    Tami and Mufa listened quietly. In the end, Mufa muttered slightly.


    ¡°That sounds like a pain. But we need to do it¡­ If you need help, just tell us.¡±


    It was rare to hear Mufa speak, so Illyan nodded to him with a slight smile.


    At the same time, he noted the slightly sorrowful tone in his voice.


    Tami held his hand tightly as she turned her head to him.


    After a while of silence, both of them nodded.


    ¡°By the way, what do you think is behind these doors?¡± Seeing them like this, a seed of curiosity budded inside Illyan¡¯s mind.


    These two worked for Korin much longer, so they should know some of the secrets.


    ¡°Eh? You don¡¯t know?¡± Tami asked, surprised.


    ¡°No. Korin only said that we are going for some inheritance,¡± Illyan said calmly.


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Suddenly, Tami gave him a pitying look.


    Illyan looked at her with a perplexed expression.


    ¡°Kaoran, how did you become part of our team?¡± Tami asked carefully.


    ¡°Well¡­ I bought a house from Korin?¡± Illyan shrugged his shoulders.


    On the other hand, Tami gasped while Mufa raised his brows.


    Illyan already guessed that others had different reasons to work for Korin and that some of them probably got a ¡®better¡¯ deal. He didn¡¯t care, as he never trusted Korin, but he was interested in the information that came with Korin¡¯s promises.


    ¡°What did he promise you?¡± Illyan asked.


    Tami¡¯s face turned dark for a second before she took a deep breath.


    ¡°We lost something¡­ Something priceless. Korin promised us that if we get the inheritance, there should be a way to get it back¡­¡± Tami turned silent after saying that.


    Illyan had never seen someone that sorrowful. Her eyes turned empty as her voice cracked at the end of her sentence.


    ¡°The civilization of the ruins we are in was named Eternal Gondoris. However, its name wasn¡¯t always like this. Only the last generation of kings renamed Gondoris as ¡®Eternal¡¯.¡±


    Mufa said quietly while Illyan perked up.


    Both of them were historians, so their information should be reliable.


    ¡°It is pretty ironic, but he had every right to name the empire this way. Did Korin mention to you what that inheritance is?¡± Mufa asked Illyan.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    When Illyan shook his head, Mufa sighed.


    ¡°Alchemy. Boundless inheritance of alchemy. With it, it would be no problem to take over even the entire kingdom and chase out these despicable acolytes!¡±


    His face flashed with hatred as he gritted his teeth.


    Hearing the term alchemy, Illyan remembered the local name of the Blood Crow Forest.


    ¡®Alchemy Doom¡­ Before, I didn¡¯t know what it was, and there were no books about it either¡­¡¯


    ¡°What is alchemy?¡± So, he asked Mufa since he seemed to know.


    ¡°It is an ancient practice that allows you to transform materials. However, the more proficient alchemists can make miracles in this world. They can extend life or transfigure metals into other ones. The possibilities are endless. Some compare this practice to ancient magic, while others believe that it is just a branch of the magister profession. But nobody can deny its power.¡±


    When Mufa was saying that, his eyes shone with desire. But deep behind it, Illyan could feel despair.


    But he didn¡¯t dwell on it for too long as his mind was focused on Mufa¡¯s words.


    ¡®It can do all of that? Isn¡¯t it then as strong as the path of magisters? But then, it seems to be a profession practiced by other magisters, so it depends¡­¡¯


    ¡°Can you tell me more about this alchemy?¡±


    Mufa regained his bearings when Tami hugged him from behind as he sighed.


    After a moment of silence, he just sat down, beckoning Illyan to sit next to him as he started talking.


    This made Illyan more interested as he listened to Mufa¡¯s words.


    From what Mufa and Tami knew, Korin managed to retrieve a certain basic diagram that showed the branches of basic alchemy.


    There were nine branches in total.


    Six of them were practical, while three of them were hypothetical.


    Transmutation was the most known to common people. It was the ability to transform one material into another. The complete change of structure from the inside out.


    The other best-known branches were Potioneering and Refinement.


    The ability to turn certain ingredients into elixirs with all kinds of effects and the ability to turn even scrap material into something useful.


    Potioneers created all kinds of potions from materials, which they then turned into consumable items. On the other hand, refiners enhanced other materials and created items and weapons through sophisticated purification.


    These three branches were the most known and the most used.


    The other three were used less as they were more difficult and were basically advanced versions of the first three.


    The branch of Elements, which could be said to be an advanced version of Transmutation, allowed a person to manipulate, divide, combine, and transform all kinds of elements in nature.


    They could use basic elements like fire or wind to do their bidding like mages would, but the more proficient alchemists could go much further. Scholars compared this branch to chemistry, which allowed the alchemist to control things at a much deeper level than mages ever could.


    The branch of Life was the advanced version of Potioneering, as most ingredients contained the power of life, and most elixirs were focused on it. Not always, but it was mostly like that.


    This branch allowed people to control organisms and manipulate them. Alchemists could combine creatures to create chimeras or strengthen someone like biomancers could. It was said they could even manipulate souls as they liked.


    The sixth branch was Engineering, which reused the refined materials and items to turn them into something even more sophisticated.


    It was the ability to make golems, machines, puppets, or other artifacts with mysterious powers.


    In the end, only the three hypothetical branches remained.


    They were the branches of Creation, Destruction, and Eternity.


    One strived for the creation of life, energy, and matter, while the other strove for the opposite.


    The last one, however, strove only for one thing: to keep one of the previously mentioned things eternal.


    It was the ultimate peak of alchemy: eternal life, eternal energy supply, eternal knowledge.


    Eternal Empire¡­


    All of these made countless alchemists across the eons salivate with greed.


    But in the end, how many people could even reach the tip of these three branches?


    With their powers, it would be too difficult.


    However, in the diagram that Korin owned, all of these branches surrounded one thing.


    One thing that was the beginning and end of alchemy. Its origin and result of alchemy at the same time.


    It was the Philosopher¡¯s Stone.


    Nobody knew whether the concept of the Stone existed before alchemy or after, or how to create it.


    But there was an utmost desire to create this treasure.


    With it, you would reach the peak of alchemy. Or at least that¡¯s how alchemists dreamed about it.


    It could turn everything into anything; it could create and destroy, and it was an infinite source of energy.


    With it, you would become a god.


    After listening to all of this, Illyan fell into a daze. Recently, he had heard a lot of stories that would sound extremely unrealistic to a regular person.


    Becoming a god by owning a stone? What a joke!


    But Illyan wasn¡¯t surprised anymore. Heck, he even saw a dragon! Albeit probably just a dead one¡­


    His eyes gleamed with greed for a second before he reined himself in.


    He had too many things to learn already and shouldn¡¯t spread himself too thin.


    But he still asked a few questions to know more.


    ¡°Is alchemy still practiced nowadays?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know personally since in Vanaras there are none, but in the Arkravav Empire, there should still be alchemists. However, alchemists should be rarer than normal magisters, so who knows how many of them really are in the world. Thanks to this, their status is much higher as they can make elixirs and artifacts.¡±


    After saying that, Illyan was once again surprised.


    He remembered Arwen¡¯s ramblings in his diary. The diary itself was a good source of information, but the acolyte wouldn¡¯t write every single thing inside. Especially something that should be common knowledge. That caused Illyan to be slightly confused sometimes.


    But now, he realized that Arwen actually mentioned alchemists in his diary several times!


    It was just that he called them Muck-meddlers as he didn¡¯t like them at all. Calling them greedy pigs and so on.


    ¡®So they definitely exist. And can make good money.¡¯


    While money wasn''t important to him in this kingdom, it should be different farther in the south. There, magical and supernatural phenomena were the norm, and not having money meant losing opportunities at every corner.


    That reminded him of Arwen¡¯s effort to become an inscriptionist. A profession that created magic scrolls and charms.


    He knew what a magic scroll was but was still in the dark when it came to charms.


    Now, he realized that if he managed to finish what Arwen started, he could make a good first step when he stepped outside of this place.


    Of course, if he could get that alchemy inheritance, it would be even better.


    ¡°How strong is that inheritance?¡± Because of that, he would like to know what benefit that inheritance could bring him.


    But unfortunately, Mufa shrugged his shoulders.


    ¡°That I don¡¯t know. I only know that it is strong enough for many people outside of the kingdom to yearn for it. But for some reason, they can¡¯t get inside. I know that because Korin once mumbled something about it. They can only send some of their subordinates once in a while to try to find that inheritance. But after many years, most of them gave up. However, that gave a chance to people like us.¡±


    Illyan could feel the couple¡¯s determination. They definitely seemed to desire this alchemy not just for the sake of it.


    But Illyan wasn¡¯t a fool. During these few conversations, he could understand what they lost.


    Their daughter. This couple had a sweet child back in the years.


    At first, he thought they were just grieving. But now, after realizing alchemy could manipulate life, his thoughts drifted in different directions.


    ¡®They are obsessed¡­¡¯


    Seeing them like this, Illyan could understand. Letting go was hard.


    And if there was hope, then letting go was even harder.


    But Illyan felt that they would just fall deeper into the abyss of despair later on.


    Either by their own hands or by Korin himself.


    Illyan didn¡¯t think that they could bring their daughter back that easily. Their explanation of how alchemy was difficult made it even harder for him to believe in their plan.


    They probably knew it too, but how could they stop now? They already made a contract and all¡­


    In the end, Illyan didn¡¯t want to be immersed in their gloomy atmosphere.


    After talking for a little longer, he excused himself and went to see Neddard¡¯s work.


    Nedd was usually a quiet person, but Illyan felt there was a certain perverse madness within him, just like in the couple but maybe even worse, which made him uneasy around him.


    Fortunately or unfortunately, he didn¡¯t need to be around him by himself, as the moment he came closer to him, Vanda suddenly showed up like a ghost with a grin on her face.

 146 - Sabotage

    When he heard her voice, his face almost unconsciously grimaced. Fortunately, he had quite good control over his facial expressions, so he held it back.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Vanda asked as she started to invade Illyan¡¯s personal space.


    That made Illyan annoyed as he sidestepped, but she just continued clinging to him.


    In the end, he just sighed. His body was tense and prepared to take her down if she wanted to do anything, but he managed to continue the conversation.


    ¡°My research had a major breakthrough, and to finish the puzzle, I needed to wait for nights, so I came to look at others'' progress.¡±


    Illyan shrugged as if he didn¡¯t care about it that much and just came to soothe his bored mind.


    But it couldn¡¯t be farther from the truth.


    Illyan came to observe to find an opportunity. An opportunity to sabotage their work. Not completely to startle the snake. Just enough to slow down the progress so Illyan could strengthen himself with Aurelia¡¯s blood magic and find out what Korin was doing.


    Now Illyan knew what Korin was looking for, but there was no way Korin didn¡¯t have any sinister scheme in his mind since he used contracts to bind his ¡®colleagues¡¯...


    ¡°Oh, you found a clue?! You are so awesome! Last time, it took Korin over a month before he realized that the key to finish the puzzle was the pulses of the seismic waves! What is it now? No, let me guess! Since you can work only at night, then it should¡­ Stars!¡±


    Vanda laughed cutely as she hung her entire body weight on Illyan while Neddard just stood there quietly.


    Illyan felt that the old man was too quiet while Vanda was too loud and felt uncomfortable.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. What about you guys? How is it going?¡±


    Neddard was still silent as he stared at Vanda. She smiled back as she turned her head up at Illyan.


    ¡°I think we just finished here. You see, while most of us here are historians, there is not much to do. Most of the history was already uncovered, and the rest would either be too difficult to track or was forever lost in the flow of time. We are here just for our rich knowledge.¡±


    Vanda said as she finally hopped away from Illyan and pointed at the statues and other landmarks in the city.


    ¡°Do you see them?¡± When Illyan looked at them, he narrowed his eyes.


    His perfect sight memory remembered their positions differently than before.


    ¡®Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡¯


    ¡°A lot of things here are made in a way that allows people to manipulate them or even move them to different places. If you are knowledgeable in the Gondoris¡¯ culture, you would be able to find hints where they hide the locks and hidden mechanisms that make this possible.¡±


    Vanda put her hands on her hips as she looked smug.


    ¡°Then, with the history knowledge, we will move all these hidden items to the right place to activate one of the hidden mechanisms that is needed to open the citadel.¡±


    When Illyan heard that, he finally realized why the historians were needed in this expedition. Without them, it would be almost impossible to complete this...


    ¡°Why such a complicated way to open it? This citadel doesn¡¯t have that inheritance, right? From what I know, this citadel stood there even before the inheritance existed. Why would the previous owners make it so difficult to enter?¡±


    Illyan already had an idea that this place was later on rebuilt by the owner of the inheritance, but he still asked to confirm his thoughts.


    ¡°You are quite informed.¡± Vanda smiled teasingly.


    Illyan almost rolled his eyes. He was starting to get annoyed a lot by this girl.


    If he didn¡¯t want to show his violent side to others, he would have already thrown their friendly pretense aside.


    Seeing that Illyan didn¡¯t have any outer reaction, Vanda sighed in disappointment.


    ¡®What are you sighing for?¡¯ Illyan already realized this girl was messing with him, but seeing her doing it so openly made him wary.


    ¡°You can probably tell already, but the citadel was rebuilt later on by the last emperor. It was made this way to hide whatever is inside. We don¡¯t know exactly what is inside, but we think it should have something to do with the inheritance. Some clue or part of it. The emperor probably didn¡¯t want to give his inheritance to just anyone but to someone capable.¡±


    Vanda said calmly, but her eyes showed a strong desire. It seemed that she also wasn¡¯t bereft of the yearning for that alchemist¡¯s techniques.


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    In the end, Illyan could only nod as he continued the conversation.


    However, since he got to know what he wanted, he chose to cut the conversation short and left.


    Neddard was mostly silent the entire time while Vanda was talking to Illyan, but he wasn¡¯t interested in talking to her more than necessary.


    Vanda was soon out of his mind as he pondered about the inheritance.


    In fact, he couldn¡¯t understand why someone would make such a thing at all. It didn¡¯t look like it was made for his descendants. It wouldn''t benefit them but rather some stranger thousands of years later.


    What was the reason? To continue his legacy? Illyan didn¡¯t understand such sentiments.


    But it could be because he hadn''t accomplished anything big in his life yet.


    Thinking so, he went to look for Arun.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    He and Arun weren¡¯t in a good relationship, so he didn¡¯t plan to talk to him but just look from afar.


    Arun was just a boy of fifteen or so years and was doing mathematics, something Illyan was proficient in.


    He concluded that Arun would be the easiest target to sabotage. Of course, that depended on what his role in this expedition was. If it was a minor role, then he would need to find a different approach.


    Fortunately, when he looked from afar at what Arun was doing, he was relieved.


    Arun was walking around with a lot of parchment in his hand while looking at something on the ground.


    At first, Illyan didn''t understand what he was doing, but then he realized that Arun was looking at the grooves that were engraved in the pavement.


    Illyan didn¡¯t think about it too much before, as the patterns looked to be decorative or meant to flush out the rainwater.


    But now, Illyan focused his mind on them and found they were familiar. They weren¡¯t anything that he had seen, but he could see the similarity of something he owned.


    The spell scrolls he got from Arwen!


    They weren''t the same, but there was a similar veil of mystery on them.


    Arun was observing them while writing something on parchment.


    Illyan secretly climbed a small building and looked at the content of these parchments from above from a distance that was almost impossible to see anything of such small size.


    But Illyan did. He could see all kinds of geometric shapes drawn with formulas and equations written next to them.


    It seemed that Arun was trying to put it into operation. Illyan could understand what Arun was writing but didn¡¯t know how it would influence the grooves.


    But that didn¡¯t matter to him.


    He branded the content of the parchments into his eyes and quietly retreated.


    Then, he took his own stash of empty parchments and rewrote it completely.


    He also shaped the parchments he had to be as identical as possible to these original Arun was holding and wrote the text in the same handwriting as Arun!


    That would be impossible for normal people, but Illyan¡¯s [The Way of the Body] made this as easy as being able to walk or breathe.


    He rewrote all of the content so that it was almost identical. Almost. That was important as some of the letters or numbers were subtly changed. It wasn¡¯t a jarring change as that would be too suspicious, but it was mostly a change of symbols for others that were similar.


    That would make Arun or others later on believe that Arun made a slip of the pen and scold him for it. Most importantly, it would probably delay whatever he was doing.


    Illyan smirked in his mind. It was a simple yet effective plan¡­


    Several days later¡­


    It took him several days to finish the parchments completely as he was very careful to make them as alike as possible.


    Then, he waited for the right opportunity when Arun wasn¡¯t looking and switched the parchments!


    With success, Illyan felt more at ease and immediately burned all of the original parchments in his possession.


    Once he did, he sighed in relief and decided to relax for a second.


    He was focusing a lot in the last few days and didn¡¯t even have time to rest.


    Aurelia''s teachings had priority for him, so he was still training with her while during the nights he was harassed by none other than Vanda.


    Ever since he said he had to work during the night, she was visiting him under the excuse of ¡®helping¡¯ him.


    Fortunately, she didn¡¯t discover anything, or at least she didn¡¯t show any change in her behavior. Illyan was extremely careful and took his time with those parchments, so it would be outright embarrassing if he couldn''t even use them.


    But in the end, Vanda was interested only in him. Illyan didn¡¯t know whether to feel lucky or unlucky. However, he decided to humor her as he spent more time with her trying to feel her out.


    In this manner, ten days had passed.


    During the day, he secretly spent his time with Aurelia and learned about some simple spells that allowed him to use magic. Of course, learning them and mastering them were completely different things.


    It would take him some time to properly use them. At least, he made some progress. Blood Energy wasn¡¯t mana. When weaving spells, mana was more malleable and had more uses. On the other hand, blood energy was more explosive and crude. It was also the main building block of the body, so it wasn¡¯t wise to squander it.


    However, one day Illyan found out something amazing.


    ¡®Hmmm?¡¯


    While sparring with Aurelia, he felt blood energy was automatically moving inside of his body, bolstering his strength and helping in other areas too.


    This would inevitably spend some of the blood energy, which would take a long time to recover.


    But Illyan recently realized that he almost never felt any depletion of the blood energy, so today he was focusing on his inner workings.


    He could do it despite still sparring with Aurelia, thanks to his ever-growing mind power and the fact that Flow created an edge for him during these combats.


    His rise in proficiency helped too.


    For a second, Illyan wondered the reason for such a phenomenon, but it didn¡¯t take long to realize. The only thing that was special about him was his regeneration.


    That meant that his blood energy regenerated too!


    His eyes almost twinkled in excitement.


    Acolytes were strong, but they used their powers only in dire or lucrative situations since the mana they used was hard to recover. Only by becoming Magister would the mana recover automatically as it became part of the person.


    ¡®Was this the same case?¡¯ Illyan wondered. If the blood energy was part of him, then it would make sense that it would regenerate too. His regeneration wasn¡¯t only about the body. Even his astral body regenerated back then.


    His gift¡¯s potential was limitless. Kaoran always told him that, but he was skeptical.


    But now?


    If he became Magister one day, wouldn¡¯t mana also become part of him? In that case, how fast would his energy recover? It would be unimaginable!


    Of course, Illyan knew that it would be impossible to recover as fast as with his flesh. The mana and blood energy were literally energies. Even his ability didn¡¯t create energy out of nothing. If he wanted to recover them, it would be siphoned from somewhere else.


    But that didn¡¯t douse Illyan¡¯s excitement.


    Thanks to that realization, Illyan decided that it was a waste not to use his blood energy properly to refine his control. He also wanted to test Aurelia¡¯s limits. He felt that she didn¡¯t use her full power. He didn¡¯t either, but now he felt the urge to fight.


    His barbarian upbringing couldn¡¯t be denied.


    Unfortunately, just as he grinned, a sudden blast of explosion resounded.


    He and Aurelia glanced at each other before quickly retreating to cover close to the buildings.


    The sound came from the western side of the city where the gates were, so they should be safe, but cautiousness wouldn¡¯t kill them.


    Other sounds of screams and clashes of steel resounded.


    Aurelia had a cold gaze as she moved stealthily towards the main square. Illyan felt that she knew something, so he asked.


    ¡°Do you know what is happening?¡±


    She gave him a side-eye and visibly hesitated. But then she gritted her teeth as she was checking every word she said.


    ¡°It is probably an ¡®ambush¡¯ made by Ezekiel. They probably won¡¯t allow us to get out of the city anymore. Not only that, but most of the soldiers here would just play along to ¡®protect¡¯ others to keep the bandits away.¡±


    Aurelia seemed to be annoyed while Illyan¡¯s mind reeled from all of that information. He could feel the sarcasm in her words. Normally, she didn¡¯t speak in such a way, which could be said to be information in itself.


    He realized she couldn¡¯t speak about it for some reason.


    ¡®The soldiers will play along? So they were allies all along¡­ Doesn¡¯t that mean that other powerhouses of Winterfrost have some fingers in it too?¡¯


    A chill ran up his spine after realizing that.


    Feeling the foreboding, Illyan picked up the pace.


    When they arrived at the corner of the square, they saw the fights.


    Two sides fought in messy individual fights.


    To a normal person, it looked bloody.


    But to Illyan, who experienced dozens of battles, and Aurelia, who was unusually perceptive, this all looked like one big farce.


    The so-called bandits killed only a few mayor¡¯s soldiers and injured a few acolytes who stayed here, but that was all.


    Against Heart Bearers and Venomous Vipers, they fought with a certain lightheartedness that only skilled warriors would notice.


    ¡®They are all in it together!¡¯ Illyan narrowed his eyes.


    What did it mean? And what was their goal?


    Illyan narrowed his eyes.


    There was one of the bandits who just finished one soldier off with a dagger by slitting his throat as he smiled cruelly.


    The soldier fell in battle quickly as he actually didn¡¯t face the bandit head-on. He just wanted to run away. From one look, he was still a teenager.


    But the bandit didn¡¯t care as he followed after the boy and killed him skillfully.


    Unfortunately, he got farther from his pack of hyenas and got near a dangerous lion¡­

 147 - Rotting From Inside

    The soldier who wanted to crawl away took his last breath as the bandit reached out for his possessions.


    Unfortunately for him, the moment he leaned towards the still-warm body, someone attacked from behind like a strike of lightning, easily knocking him out.


    It was Illyan, who then took the bandit¡¯s powerless body and quickly approached Aurelia.


    ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± Aurelia asked as she cautiously looked towards the square.


    ¡°Let¡¯s find a safe spot and interrogate this guy first before doing anything.¡± Illyan gave a suggestion, which Aurelia promptly agreed with as they sneaked away.


    Neither of them had any thought of joining the fight and instead planned to gather information first.


    They settled down farther in one of the abandoned buildings as Illyan threw the man like a sack of potatoes on the ground.


    Aurelia took out a dagger and rope as she approached the man, but Illyan stopped her and shook his head.


    ¡°He is just a regular person, so it is fine. I have a certain drug that will make him speak,¡± Illyan said confidently as he held the man so he couldn¡¯t drown and took a vial from his pouch, which he subsequently poured forcibly down the man¡¯s throat.


    After waiting for a while for the drug to take effect, he slapped the man in the face. The strength used was enough to wake the man but not enough to hurt him in any way.


    The shock spread through the man as his eyes suddenly opened, and he looked around in disorientation.


    The man could not muster any kind of resistance as he spilled out everything he knew before he was beheaded by Illyan.


    From the man¡¯s words, it seemed that this attack was just another jab to keep the convoy uneasy. However, there was a slight difference. They wanted to keep ordinary people who had nothing to do with this power struggle, like Terren and others, in fear of leaving the town or even the main square of the city.


    The reason was unknown to this bandit as he was just a pawn, a hungry peasant who crawled into Ezekiel¡¯s claws for the sake of keeping himself fed.


    But Illyan felt that Ezekiel wouldn¡¯t want to keep them in one place for no good reason.


    Illyan sighed. The situation seemed to be even more difficult than he originally thought.


    ¡°Aurelia, do you know anything about this?¡±


    In the end, he could only ask Aurelia. He was suspicious that she knew something about this since she knew about the powers working together.


    Aurelia looked him straight in the eyes before shedding them away.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know much. I only know a little bit that I overheard from my father.¡± After saying that, she gently caressed the hilts of her sabers.


    ¡°You see, my mother¡­ She had an incurable disease. No doctor or acolyte could guess what kind or what was its cause. It just appeared out of nowhere. This disease or illness caused my mother¡¯s state to rapidly deteriorate. She couldn¡¯t live past thirty years.


    From what I know from other elders, my father tried everything he could to save her. But he failed miserably. She died in his arms. Afterward, I was the only reminder of her existence in this world. That bastard hated the idea of seeing me, which caused him to remember his failure, and he started to avoid me completely, failing at being a father.¡±


    There was no sorrow in Aurelia¡¯s eyes. Her mother died soon after her birth, so she didn¡¯t have many feelings for her. On the other hand, her eyes shone with silent resentment when she spoke of her father¡ªnot because he didn¡¯t act as her father.


    She couldn¡¯t care less for that piece of shit to be her father. What she cared about was the fact that he tried to control her for most of her life.


    Illyan, who heard all of this, opened his eyes wide and became speechless for a second.


    His social experiences didn¡¯t prepare him for this as he didn¡¯t know what to say or whether to say something. There was a feeling of wanting to comfort her but at the same time a feeling of incongruity because he wasn¡¯t used to such things at all.


    ¡®Is this the so-called tenderness towards the fairer sex?¡¯ This was something Zers had told him. It was at that time when he started meeting Yii and bragged to Illyan at every turn for a good while.


    The only females Illyan was close to in his life before were his mother and Zephyr, who was just the seed of his imagination.


    That made him wonder if he really lacked a woman¡¯s tender touch. It wasn¡¯t for the sake of comfort.


    He just realized¡­ that Aurelia had gotten quite close to him over these few months, and it scared him. Despite his determination, his heart softened a bit when it came to her.


    And that made him afraid. He didn¡¯t fear challenges of fate or gods. But if he was ensnared by some woman and failed to realize his goals because of it, he would never forgive himself.


    ¡®Love is an obstacle that needs to be avoided at all costs.¡¯


    Illyan didn¡¯t feel love towards the woman in front of him, but he couldn¡¯t say that he hadn¡¯t become attracted to her.


    She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and was also intelligent and powerful at her young age. And most importantly, he felt at ease with her.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    But this was never meant to be. There was too much disparity between their lifespans.


    Now, with his blood energy, he could actually estimate to some extent his own lifespan.


    He could already live up to 2,000 years.


    How strong did someone have to be to even have such a lifespan? Meanwhile, he didn¡¯t need to do anything and would probably live even longer than that.


    In the end, love was a distraction in Illyan¡¯s eyes to achieving his goals, no matter how grand or petty they were. He remembered the stories of knights saving princesses that Granny Meddie told him in the past and could never understand why someone would even want a partner who only ever brings trouble to you.


    He would never¡ªSmack


    ¡°Agh?¡± He suddenly felt a burning pain on his forehead.


    When he looked up, he saw Aurelia¡¯s annoyed expression with her hand lifted.


    ¡°Why are you lost in thought when we haven¡¯t even started with the serious things!¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­ I apologize,¡± Illyan said with an expressionless face as he acted as if nothing had happened.


    Aurelia, seeing this, found it funny as she just shook her head.


    ¡°What to do with this freak¡­¡±


    Illyan didn¡¯t bother to argue against her mumbles as he asked.


    ¡°Since you talked about that, I guess your father didn¡¯t give up, right? Is it about alchemy inheritance?¡±


    Illyan felt the crux of the problem as he asked, which made Aurelia nod.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. This inheritance is something our gang has wanted to get its hands on for millennia but without avail. It was not until recently, when several people joined forces, that there was some progress. My father is one of them because of his obsession with reviving my mother.


    I don¡¯t know exactly when, but he joined hands with Ezekiel behind Aziro¡¯s back and also with Varel and Korin. I don¡¯t know how Varel came to this alliance as he didn¡¯t have any leverage, but Korin was valued for his deep knowledge of mathematics.


    Together, they tried to open the vaults several times but to no avail. Now, they are trying again, and this time it seems to be quite violent. I think they want to do a blood sacrif¡ªUgh!¡±


    Suddenly, Aurelia started to cough as all of her seven orifices began to bleed.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ I thought I managed to keep it under control¡­ Sorry, but I can¡¯t say anything more. A blood seal was put on my body after my father realized I knew his plans. He didn¡¯t want me to spoil his stupid schemes. My father¡¯s knowledge of this seal is quite subpar, so I can bypass it to a certain extent, but this is my limit.¡±


    When she vomited a certain amount of blood, Illyan stepped in, and with a quick jab, he used his fingers to seal some of her acupoints with his newfound flow.


    He had this idea in his mind for a long time, and this was the first time he implemented it. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t screw up as the bleeding stopped and he could feed her some medicine.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright¡­¡± Aurelia said weakly, but Illyan ignored it as he continued treating her while using his mind power to examine her.


    At the same time, he was grumbling in his heart that if that man really loved his wife, he wouldn¡¯t put his daughter through all of this suffering.


    His actions weren¡¯t logical at all.


    But as he continued, he noticed something much more horrifying.


    He found the blood seal. But the blood seal wasn¡¯t the source of his terror.


    The blood seal also wasn¡¯t the source of her injury. From what Illyan saw, he guessed that it would just stop her from talking and wasn¡¯t dangerous.


    However, because of that, it triggered something much worse.


    ¡®What is this?¡¯ Aurelia¡¯s organs were a decaying mess, rotting and disintegrating with each passing second. Her flesh, though outwardly firm, was riddled with an unseen substance corroding it. Bones had grown brittle, sinews slack, and every breath seemed to bring the structure closer to collapse.


    ¡®What kind of disease¡­¡¯ Illyan¡¯s eyes widened the moment he realized something.


    When he looked Aurelia in the eyes, she couldn¡¯t keep eye contact as she turned her head away, ignoring his gaze.


    Illyan could only blankly look at the inner state of her body.


    ¡®Is it hereditary?¡¯


    Illyan felt that something was wrong with this world as he gritted his teeth.


    ¡­¡­.


    The square soon turned silent as the bandits retreated with jeers, leaving the soldiers bewildered.


    At least some of them were.


    However, those unaware were soon relieved as the strength left their bodies, and they barely stood. This was especially true for academics who could not fight at all.


    Some of them accidentally got into crossfire and lost their lives. Especially those who were not in the square and were wandering outside as they studied the ruins.


    Most of these were chased back to the square as the bandits wanted to create the illusion of the square being the safest place for them, but some of them were mercilessly killed to make an example.


    Then there were those smart and lucky enough to hide.


    Slowly, after the bandits left for some time and the chaos in the main square was calmed down by the remaining leaders, they came back cautiously.


    This made other academics cheer as they noticed their colleagues were alive.


    Terren, Cara, Nord, and Garran, who were quiet most of the time, suddenly noticed one of the silhouettes and happily called out to him.


    ¡°Kaoran! You are alive!¡±


    They were relieved when they saw Illyan coming slowly from one corner. In fact, during the battle, there was not much time to think, and they thought only about their survival.


    Cara and Nord hid behind one of the statues, and Garran hid in his carriage while Terren, who was the soldier, engaged in a fight with the bandits.


    And surprisingly, he managed to take down his first enemy!


    Other soldiers were proud of him and wanted to praise him, but when he started to throw up after the battle ended, they comforted him instead.


    All in all, they were quite lucky. However, they didn¡¯t celebrate when they realized Illyan wasn¡¯t there from the beginning. They started to panic while looking for him.


    The only comfort was not being able to find his dead body.


    Fortunately, Illyan came in one piece.


    While everyone was happy the fight ended, Illyan sighed inwardly. He thought about Aurelia¡¯s state.


    ¡®That¡¯s not something that could be fixed.¡¯ Thinking about it, he looked around, trying to see if she had already arrived.


    To deceive people, they decided to separate and come to the square from different directions at different times.


    Illyan didn¡¯t agree at first, but when Aurelia showed she was fine, he just went with it.


    It seemed that this disease had been permeating her body for years and that she could function normally. It was only because of the blood seal that she collapsed.


    But that didn¡¯t change the fact that she was dying.


    By Illyan¡¯s estimate, she should live a year at most. A few more, depending on the abundance of her Blood Energy, which should revitalize her.


    Illyan¡¯s eyes, which were blank for the entire time, slowly turned cold.


    ¡®I don¡¯t need any companions in this life. Zephyr is enough¡­¡¯


    Thinking so, he suppressed his negative emotions, which he hadn¡¯t felt for a long time, and smiled at his group of ¡®friends¡¯ as he reunited with them.


    Unbeknownst to him, there were two women sighing in melancholy as they saw him like this.


    One was Aurelia, who was standing in the distance and felt the mortality of her life, muttering to herself.


    ¡°Not perfect at all¡­ If I get the inheritance, I should be able to reforge my body to perfection¡­ Should I ask for his help? He seems to care about it. But he doesn¡¯t want to. He seems to be scared to care¡­ But that makes him worthy of putting my trust into him¡­¡±


    A complicated expression adorned her face as she thought about her disease¡­


    On the other hand, the second female was no one other than Zephyr! Most of the time, she was quiet or slumbering, but now she felt the disturbance of his emotions as she observed what was happening and sighed.


    ¡®You need to put yourself together¡­ If your mind collapses even more, then even I won¡¯t be able to hold it together. Even if your power regenerates the mind, the scars will remain. But I guess that''s who you are. Shattered pieces sticking together despite all the physical and mental trauma inflicted upon them¡­ That¡¯s also the reason why I was chosen to help you. Soothing your scars and helping you find your way is my pleasure and responsibility¡­¡¯


    Zephyr smiled mysteriously as she dissipated soon after, while Illyan didn¡¯t have any idea¡­

 148 - Eventful Night

    That evening, Illyan forced himself to smile as he kept them company. However, in the end, the somber atmosphere that permeated the rest of the square doused the group¡¯s enthusiasm.


    This gave Illyan an opportunity to leave as he decided to clear his mind a little.


    He went in front of the citadel where no one was and sat down, his back to the humongous building, closing his eyes and simply feeling the icy wind caressing his cheeks.


    Illyan¡¯s mood was terrible, and he needed time alone.


    Sigh


    He was bewildered as to why he felt such turmoil.


    Instead of thinking over how to overcome the dangers that Korin, Ezekiel, and others could bring him, he thought about the state Aurelia¡¯s body was in.


    It felt like he was going through his childhood all over again. All the acquaintances that he got closer to than necessary disappeared in the flow of time.


    ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter. She and I are in a mutually beneficial partnership. If I keep my distance now, I can minimize the losses.¡¯ In the end, Illyan hardened his heart.


    As of now, Aurelia wasn¡¯t close enough to him for Illyan to be too sorrowful. He was indeed feeling demure, but it wasn¡¯t something terrible.


    Instead, he felt rage towards his fate.


    It felt as if a higher power wanted him to suffer. And from his deductions, that may not be a complete delusion.


    However, the disease that Aurelia inherited must have tortured her for a long time for her body to end up in this state.


    Did it mean he couldn¡¯t escape the machinations of fate, or that he was guided to her by destiny?


    If it was the former, everything was predetermined, be it past or future, and it was useless to fight. While if it was the latter, he was forcibly manipulated to fulfill the destiny by those in power.


    Both of these options were something he despised.


    Clenching his fist, he promised himself that he would survive. He would grow stronger and destroy everything that hurt him.


    His eyes opened wide as the cold glint shimmered inside them. He looked towards the sky as if trying to see the beings that made his life miserable.


    ¡®I will not give up. No matter how long it takes or how much I will need to suffer in the future, I will live long enough to kill you, even if you are a god or the heavens themselves.¡¯


    Determination filled his body as he made that vow to himself.


    ¡°What are you looking so serious about, mister?¡± A soothing yet ticklish voice floated into Illyan¡¯s ears as a certain person came closer to him.


    ¡°Vanda¡­¡± Illyan, who had spaced out for a bit, saw Vanda standing in front of him, leaning closer to his head. He just sighed, as he was not in the mood to argue.


    ¡°Oya? Our little boy isn¡¯t feeling alright? Do you want me to comfort you a little?¡± Vanda smiled seductively as she sat down next to him.


    However, Illyan didn¡¯t show any reaction. He knew that she wasn¡¯t hostile for now, so he didn¡¯t bother to keep his distance. Not that he didn¡¯t have his guard up, though. He would never let his guard down, no matter how low he felt.


    ¡°Do you feel sorry for those that died?¡± When he didn¡¯t say anything, Vanda¡¯s tone changed. It turned slightly indifferent, as if she were asking about the deaths of some insects.


    Illyan noticed the subtle change but didn¡¯t show anything on his face.


    ¡°You don¡¯t? I am a physician, after all,¡± Illyan said calmly.


    At that, Vanda just snorted in amusement.


    ¡°Me? I couldn¡¯t care less. Those people have nothing to do with me; they are just specks of dust to me. I personally think you are very similar to me. Don¡¯t try to hide behind your profession. Not everyone is as selfless as Vael. Perus, being the finest example. And that is completely fine. People should be selfish, or they wouldn¡¯t be able to survive in this world.¡±


    Vanda said slowly as she took out a smoking pipe and puffed it.


    Illyan looked at her with a frown, but she just grinned.


    In fact, Illyan had once tried smoking pipes from Kaoran, but he wasn¡¯t exactly a fan of them. He did it only because of the benefits, but they were too negligible, so he stopped.


    On the other hand, if done with bad herbs, it could cause addiction, bad health, breathing problems, and so much more.


    Vanda giggled after exhaling smoke from her mouth as she leaned against the wall before offering the pipe to Illyan.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Give it a try. It¡¯s no ordinary herb. Inside, there are a lot of exotic herbs mixed together. The feelings it gives are indescribable.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Her eyes were vacant as she spoke to him.


    Illyan could see that she was in a daze and furrowed his brow.


    Did she just offer him some kind of drug that would incapacitate him for who knew how long?


    ¡®It doesn¡¯t seem like a trap. But I should still be careful. Fortunately, these kinds of harmful compounds usually dissipate in my body sooner than they could cause any harm.¡¯


    When he felt Vanda force the smoking pipe into his hands, he sighed and puffed a big amount of smoke into his lungs.


    It was a risk, but with his newfound flow and blood energy, he could extract it from his system, even if his regeneration alone couldn¡¯t.


    The taste of the smoke entered his respiratory system, and he felt the world tremble in front of his eyes.


    His eyes opened wide as he looked at the pipe and then at Vanda, who was giggling to herself.


    ¡®This is strong! I¡¯ve never felt like this¡­¡¯


    Illyan just sat there as he watched the gloomy city turn into a colorful mix of real and unreal.


    He could dispel this state, but in fact, he felt the stress he¡¯d accumulated over time slowly dissipate.


    In the end, he and Vanda just wasted several hours there, having hallucinations until the day turned into night.


    Normally, Illyan would be disgusted at the thought of being influenced by this kind of drug, but since it didn¡¯t affect him to the point where he couldn¡¯t fight, he let go of his worries and relaxed.


    Vanda next to him did the same. They talked and laughed, though he didn¡¯t even know about what exactly. And he didn¡¯t care. It was mostly just rubbish and nonsense.


    He also tried to extract some information from the intoxicated lady, but she wasn¡¯t as helpless as he thought. She easily avoided all his questions without any problem.


    ¡®That, or she¡¯s completely gone,¡¯ Illyan mused.


    In the end, Illyan didn¡¯t even know how it happened, but they vacated the main square and found an abandoned building. Vanda started crawling toward him, kissing him deeply.


    He wanted to push her away, but gave up. It didn¡¯t matter to him. If she wanted to try something harmful, he wouldn¡¯t have a problem smashing her against the ground.


    But nothing like that happened.


    So, he let his mind wander as they continued making out.


    At first, he didn¡¯t know what to do, but as they went on, he gained some minor experience and started kissing her back. He held her lithe body, touching a woman¡¯s body for the first time.


    Her hands were reaching inside his robe.


    ¡°Oh my¡­ You¡¯re quite packing there, huh?¡± Her teasing voice resounded in his ears, but he ignored it as he tore her clothes.


    ¡°Hiya?~¡± Her seductive moan filled the air as they laid down on the ground where Vanda had placed a blanket for them.


    At that moment, in that small house, the cold day turned warm as the smell of sweat permeated the abandoned building with cries of joy.


    However, despite all that noise, nobody heard anything, as if there had been no sound from the beginning¡­


    ¡­¡­..


    Illyan was having a good dream. In fact, it was the most relaxed he had felt in forever.


    As he drifted through the chaotic dreamscape, he heard a feminine voice in the distance.


    ¡°I need to go for now, my dear pure fawn¡­ It looks like the process encountered certain problems. But don¡¯t worry, I will come to see you again. This was the first time I felt so... dominated, hehe~¡±


    Since Illyan didn¡¯t sense any hostility, he didn¡¯t bother to fully wake up, allowing himself to enjoy his dream even after the voice faded away.


    Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever.


    Bright sun rays began caressing his face, making him uncomfortable. He tried shifting his body, but the light was too intense.


    It took several minutes before Illyan finally woke up with a sigh.


    He raised his upper body, looking around with a haggard expression.


    ¡°What the fuck¡­¡± The words slipped from his mouth subconsciously as he surveyed the mess they had caused during their steamy and passionate night.


    It took only a split second for his memory to return, his mind already feeling recovered. His body too¡­


    ¡°She¡¯s fucking crazy¡­¡± he muttered.


    On the blanket they used, there was blood. In fact, it was more red than whatever the original color had been.


    It wasn¡¯t that she attacked him during their play. No, she had just been too wild, scratching his back with her sharp nails, even biting him until she drew blood!


    That had been a real pain for him. The last thing he wanted was his blood anywhere near people like her.


    Unfortunately, blood ignition was beyond his current ability, so instead, he used his flow yesterday to infuse his blood with it before she could take advantage of it.


    The Varel technique Caleb had taught him was ingenious¡ªhe could infuse flow into his own blood and destroy it from within. While it was still his blood, its value was greatly diminished once corroded. But this kind of tactic could only be done when anticipating the attack and being in very close contact with the blood.


    In this manner, Illyan had quietly fought even as they played together.


    However, the more aggressive she became, the more strength he used against her. In the end, his first experience was raw and primal, like beasts in heat.


    Illyan certainly hadn¡¯t expected this. In fact, he had never even considered women in such a way. Now that he had finally tasted the forbidden fruit, he could understand why so many people got lost in such pleasures.


    But¡­ it still didn¡¯t feel worth it to him. In his mind, this wasn¡¯t a life-changing event. To him, this was just another experience on his journey. He felt his mind sublimate a little as he reflected on it.


    He also noticed something else. This wasn¡¯t just a night of risk and indulgence in pleasure.


    Illyan had managed to perceive, to a certain extent, the insides of Vanda¡¯s body.


    It was minuscule, almost imperceptible. But even that small observation gave him valuable information.


    Thanks to this, he could now guess that Vanda was, in fact, a magic user. Sneaking up on him with just her physical body would have been impossible.


    But there was another, more solid piece of evidence.


    He had felt his life energy shifting within him when they were connected.


    It had flowed toward her. The movement was so subtle that Illyan nearly missed it¡ªif not for his recent training to detect such shifts in his body. The fact that his body had already recovered from such a small loss didn¡¯t help either.


    ¡®She could drain my vitality¡­ Did she want to kill me? No, it was too weak to kill even an ordinary person. She didn¡¯t want to kill me; she just parasitized on me a little.¡¯


    Thinking this, his eyes turned cold. Despite sharing such an intimate experience with her, he wasn¡¯t naive enough to think it meant they were closer.


    She was his enemy.


    Illyan thought this to himself as he stood up and began to fix his appearance.


    His hair sticks had been thrown to the side along with his robe. Fortunately, Illyan had kept his composure last night and tossed them aside as soon as he realized something was about to happen.


    He didn¡¯t want his belongings to be damaged over something so stupid.


    In fact, he had deliberately torn Vanda¡¯s clothes instead of his own. It was a petty form of revenge on her for constantly annoying him. He figured she wouldn¡¯t be too angry, assuming he had been drugged by her.


    Now he wondered how she had managed to leave the place.


    Her torn clothes were nowhere to be found, meaning she had probably taken them with her. The only thing left behind was the bloodstained blanket.


    Illyan folded it and tucked it into one of his bags, planning to burn it later.


    ¡°Sigh¡­ I need to get to work as soon as possible. Then I need to see what Korin and the others are up to¡­¡± Illyan muttered to himself as he recalled Vanda¡¯s words from when he was half-asleep.


    Soon, he was completely groomed, his cold, composed visage restored, as he opened the door to the building and stepped out into the morning.

 149 - Climbing The Citadel

    When Illyan came out of the building, he took a deep breath of fresh air while covering his eyes with his hand from the light that almost blinded him.


    He hadn¡¯t realized it before, as he woke up inside, but the air there smelled funny because of their dutiful work during the entire night.


    Now, when he came out, he felt the sweet air of the mountain range to be especially refreshing.


    He also thought about the night yesterday and how blissful it was to lay with beautiful ladies. It felt like a dream.


    However, wasting time wasn¡¯t his style, and so, with a fast gait, he went back toward the center of the city where the others were.


    Despite choosing to spend time with Vanda on a whim, it paid off for him. Not because he finally lost his virginity in his thirties, but because she gave him a hint.


    Something had happened on Korin¡¯s side, and she needed to go there to help. It meant that she definitely wasn¡¯t just some nobody. He already knew that much, but the verification was very much appreciated.


    It also meant that this kind of ritual or whatever wasn¡¯t just situated inside the city.


    If what Aurelia said right before her blood seal kicked in was true, then they were planning on sacrificing people inside the square to open those damn doors.


    ¡®However, there were people from both gangs and even the colleagues Korin collected. They wouldn¡¯t throw them all away, right?¡¯


    Illyan thought deeply. If Korin wanted to throw him away after one use, then he would not need to bind him down with a contract.


    ¡®So there should be a way to avoid this. Firstly, I need to find how they want to perform that blood ritual. Then a way to counter it¡ªNo. In the first place, why should I?¡¯


    Now that Illyan thought about it, there was no reason to stop it unless it affected him.


    He couldn¡¯t care less about the rest of the people inside the city.


    Only the kids he met for the first time had some kind of relationship with him, so he thought about helping them a bit. That was, as long as he didn¡¯t have to pay too much. He wouldn¡¯t risk his life for them.


    Instead, as long as he was sure he could survive this, he could exploit as many benefits as possible from this¡­


    ¡®For example¡­ stealing that inheritance¡­¡¯ Illyan¡¯s eyes shone with slyness and greed. He wouldn¡¯t push it, but if the opportunity fell right into his arms, then he would be a fool not to grasp it firmly in his hands, right?


    ¡­¡­..


    ¡®Where is that lass? I need to consult the next steps with her,¡¯ Illyan grumbled to himself as he looked for Aurelia.


    She was the only dependable ally in this place that he could share his troubles with.


    He chose not to think too deeply when it came to her condition.


    People were dying every day. It was obvious some of them were people he knew. As long as they kept their beneficial yet distant relationship, there would be no reluctance on his part.


    Of course, if the inheritance could revive even dead people like others said, then it wouldn¡¯t be impossible for her to survive.


    However, if it wouldn¡¯t work, then it¡¯s a pity since he finally felt at ease around someone, but it couldn¡¯t be helped.


    ¡°Hey, Kaoran!¡± Suddenly, someone called out to him from a distance.


    There, Garran waved at him with a weird grin on his face.


    ¡®What now?¡¯ Illyan inwardly rolled his eyes but decided to humor him since he couldn¡¯t find the girl for now.


    Without any words, he came closer to the slightly chubby man and greeted him. Even though Illyan was slightly annoyed, he didn¡¯t show any of that on his face.


    ¡°Good morning, Garran. What is the matter?¡± As he didn¡¯t want to waste time, he asked straightforwardly. But he had a bad feeling when he looked at the silly-looking apprentice merchant in front of him.


    It was not a dangerous premonition but something just very annoying¡­


    ¡°Hehehe, as straightforward as ever. I just wanted to ask, as friend to friend¡­ How was last night? Did you have fun?¡± Garran guffawed when he saw the blank expression on Illyan¡¯s face.


    ¡®Ah¡­ so this is about it¡­¡¯ Illyan¡¯s thoughts came back to the memories of yesterday¡¯s night and his escapade with Vanda.


    While they were mostly acting low-key, they were still walking arm in arm when they left the square. It wasn¡¯t surprising that someone noticed them and deduced something out of it.


    ¡°It was fine, I guess.¡± Illyan, who had nothing to hide, just shrugged his shoulders. From Garren¡¯s expression, he knew that if he tried to change the subject or hide information while being ¡®embarrassed,¡¯ Garren would become unbearable and mock him.


    While Illyan wasn¡¯t someone to lose control over himself just because someone was mocking him, it would still be irritating.


    So, he just didn¡¯t show any weakness as he nodded at Garren¡¯s words, thus confirming it.


    Garren, who didn¡¯t expect that, showed a surprised expression and sighed.


    ¡°You are really different¡­ I made a bet with Terren that this time you would definitely show an embarrassed expression. But there was barely any change in you. It makes me wonder if you can even feel emotions sometimes, hahaha!¡± Garren laughed loudly, but Illyan noticed the reluctance in his facial expressions.


    ¡®He probably bet a lot of money on this, huh. You shouldn¡¯t bet on something where you have literally no guarantee of winning. Serves you right¡­¡¯


    Illyan felt that this was truly absurd.


    ¡°So Terren was also part of this bet? Do you believe me if I say that I have concoctions on me that can make you miserable for a very long time?¡± This time, Illyan showed an ¡®unfriendly¡¯ expression as he narrowed his eyes.


    If he didn¡¯t stare at them a little, they would think he was an easy target and annoy him even more. They were already adults, yet they were so childish. Was this the result of having a good childhood?


    If so, then he needed to put them into their rightful position.


    When Garren heard this, he showed an awkward expression.


    On the other hand, a sudden noise resounded behind the caravan that was next to them.


    Soon, an embarrassed Terren showed up from behind in his guard uniform as he ran toward them.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°H-haha, I am sorry, Kaoran! We didn¡¯t mean it in the wrong way!¡± Terren¡¯s face, which was already crimson red, turned one more shade darker as if he would fall to the ground any second.


    Illyan just cast a side glance and sighed.


    ¡®These guys really have too much time on their hands.¡¯


    As he was thinking about how they should focus on their jobs, they started bickering about who started the bet.


    This irked Illyan even more, and he sternly stopped them.


    ¡°Stop the ruckus. Instead of wasting your time doing this, you should do something useful for once.¡± In the end, Illyan wasn¡¯t in the mood to have a lengthy conversation with them, so he only scolded them a little before going to look for Aurelia once again¡­


    When Illyan had already left, Terren turned his face to Garren with an anxious expression.


    ¡°I told you that we shouldn¡¯t do this! Now he is angry! W-what do we do? We need to apologize¡ª¡±


    ¡°Terren, you are really naive! If he was really angry, then he wouldn¡¯t advise us even now. Sigh¡­ He is really collected and mature. I guess that¡¯s when you grow into a man¡­¡±


    ¡°Garren! Stop the rubbish!¡±


    ¡°What? He basically confessed! So there¡¯s no need to guess. He really got lucky, that guy¡­¡±


    Garren grumbled in jealousy. Now that Nord and Cara had ended up together, he, Terren, and Illyan were supposed to be the lone dogs.


    But Illyan betrayed them so suddenly!


    ¡°I mean¡­ Kaoran is much better looking than us¡­ It should be obvious.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it like that!¡±


    And so, two childhood friends, bonded through loneliness and jealousy, continued bickering, not knowing that Illyan¡¯s hearing was powerful enough to hear them despite being already far away¡­


    ¡­¡­.


    ¡®Those guys¡­ Is it really so important to get a woman? It was definitely a ride I do not regret, but it isn¡¯t something you can¡¯t live without¡­ Well, I guess they have different priorities. Villagers always marry as soon as possible.¡¯


    As Illyan reminisced, he felt another gaze on the back of his temple.


    The gaze wasn¡¯t hostile, so Illyan didn¡¯t hesitate to look back at the source.


    High in the clouds, where the peak of the citadel¡¯s tower stood proudly, a woman was sitting on its edge as if she didn¡¯t fear falling at all while staring at him.


    ¡®No wonder I couldn¡¯t find you¡­¡¯ Illyan muttered to himself. Even with his eyes, he had problems seeing that high. If he didn¡¯t focus his entire mind on it, he wouldn¡¯t have noticed her.


    The Gondorian buildings were that impressive. Everything was tall and big, yet sturdy, as if it couldn¡¯t be destroyed at all.


    ¡®Now that I think about it¡­ The walls in Winterfrost look similar. Are they imitations, or was Winterfrost a city of Gondoris before?¡¯


    His eyes shone with a small golden light as he narrowed them¡­


    ¡­¡­.


    Since the building was inaccessible to anyone, Illyan had to climb the tower from the outside.


    This was the first time he climbed this high, so Illyan felt a certain exhilaration as he looked down. Not even the highest trees he had climbed upon reached a third of the height of this tower.


    The wind blowing against Illyan¡¯s face was chilling and coarse, but he didn¡¯t mind at all. There was nothing to worry about when climbing for him.


    In fact, climbing was already deeply engraved into his body as he skillfully relocated his weight from one limb to another while grabbing tightly onto every jut or cavity in the tower as he swung himself up.


    The only thing to worry about was hiding his presence from people on the ground.


    However, at some point, he was so high that normal people would have trouble seeing him. Of course, Illyan, being cautious, still chose to climb from the side of the building where people in the square wouldn¡¯t see.


    ¡°You are here.¡± At last, he heard a soft voice as he finally reached the peak of the tower.


    ¡°Hufff¡­ You are really hard to get along with.¡± Illyan complained as he gasped for air. Despite his stamina recovering quickly, it was still difficult to do something like this in one go.


    ¡°You should have used blood energy or flow.¡± Aurelia covered her mouth with her slender hand as she laughed.


    ¡°I could, maybe, but then there would be a chance of someone noticing.¡± Illyan grumbled as his breath soon evened out.


    Aurelia looked surprised at this for a moment but didn¡¯t say anything.


    Instead, she commended his cautious nature.


    ¡°You are really different. While most acolytes think similarly and don¡¯t show off too much, they are still far behind the attitude you have.¡± She looked genuinely impressed by his thought process.


    But Illyan wasn¡¯t proud. Not because he was being humble, but because of his reason for being cautious.


    ¡°When I barely know anything about my enemies, it is always best to prepare for the worst,¡± Illyan said as he sat down next to her.


    She already knew that he was mostly ignorant of the magical side of this world, so it didn¡¯t matter to admit this.


    ¡°Hehe, I guess that¡¯s true too. Well, I wouldn¡¯t be afraid too much if I were you. You have no mana while the blood energy, mind power, and flow are internal powers that are usually easily hidden if not used. Acolytes are mysterious to normal people, but they are still just ¡®apprentices.¡¯ That¡¯s why the old sages named the power stage ¡®Apprentice Stage.¡¯ Even if it is an outdated way of ranking strength, it still shows a lot of knowledge these ancestors of ours had.¡±


    Aurelia explained calmly as she waved her dangling feet over the edge.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I see.¡± Illyan nodded.


    He knew that the thirteen stages weren¡¯t used that often on the Oberuan Continent.


    The Mortal Stage wasn¡¯t acknowledged at all, for example.


    It made Illyan feel annoyed but at the same time excited that there was so much to learn yet.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will teach you everything I can. We made an oath, after all.¡± Aurelia smiled at him.


    Illyan frowned. How could she smile like that when she was rotting from the inside?


    He sighed before asking her a question.


    ¡°Since we made an oath, it means we are allies, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Aurelia showed confusion as he asked such an obvious question.


    ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, then we should join forces.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± The confusion on her face melted as if it hadn¡¯t been there in the first place, and she showed an ambiguous smile. She wasn¡¯t a fool, so she could guess Illyan¡¯s intention.


    ¡°You are quite a greedy one, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Being greedy isn¡¯t a problem. In fact, without greed, I wouldn¡¯t achieve anything. You only need to be in control of that greed and know your limits and when to stop,¡± Illyan said with a small smile.


    ¡°So you think this is within your limit?¡±


    Aurelia was really curious why he looked so confident.


    But she didn¡¯t expect what he would say next.


    ¡°No. I think that it is within our limits. As long as we work together, we should be able to do it.¡±


    Obviously, what he was talking about was the inheritance of the Eternal Gondoris¡¯ alchemist. She needed it to survive, while he wanted it to get stronger. The other competitors were both their enemies too, so it made perfect sense to join forces and get it together¡­


    Seeing him like that, Aurelia¡¯s smirk disappeared from her face as she stared seriously into his eyes.


    But Illyan didn¡¯t dodge and kept eye contact.


    In the end, it was Aurelia who got embarrassed and turned her head away.


    ¡°It will still be dangerous.¡±


    ¡°I thrive in dangerous situations anyway. And you also don¡¯t have anything to lose, right? There is no resignation in your behavior at all.¡±


    What he said hit Aurelia deeply. Before, she had weak thoughts about surviving.


    But she didn¡¯t take it seriously. She was too weak. In fact, it was all the fault of that disease. If not for it corroding most of her body, then how would she be so weak?


    However, drowning in despair never crossed her mind.


    Her grandpa didn¡¯t raise her like that. Life was one of the most precious things someone could have.


    She clenched her fists.


    But then she released them as she elegantly laughed and teasingly asked back.


    ¡°You say that, but didn¡¯t you dance yesterday in that bitch¡¯s hand?¡±


    Hearing the venomous words, Illyan was surprised.


    ¡°Do you know her?¡±


    ¡°I have my suspicions,¡± Aurelia said with a snort.


    Illyan¡¯s heart sank. If she was someone that even Aurelia took note of, then maybe his secret was already out.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry too much. She probably felt part of your life energy and used that time when you played together to take some, but she probably doesn¡¯t know too much. From what I know, she was heavily injured in the past and lost most of her means.¡±


    Aurelia explained, albeit with annoyance.


    Illyan sighed in relief as he smiled.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s good. It was worth it.¡±


    ¡°Worth it?¡± Aurelia¡¯s brows violently went up as she stared at him.


    Illyan glanced at her.


    ¡°Yes. I finally know why she bothered me so much. I also found out that she left today because there was a mishap on their side.¡±


    Illyan explained this while Aurelia calmed down. She didn¡¯t care much about the fact that he laid with a woman, despite her being an enemy. However, she could tell that he decided to let off steam because she showed him her weak side, which was unforgivable!


    She knew from looking at his face back then that some traumatic things happened to him in the past and he was now unstable. She wanted to comfort him the moment she took care of her injuries, but who would have thought that he would already be in bed with that bitch?!


    How could she not be annoyed?


    Seeing her like this, Illyan decided to change the subject as he asked her.


    ¡°Do you know what they are doing outside the city?¡±


    Aurelia narrowed her eyes when she saw his clumsy attempt at diverting attention. But then, she chuckled. She wasn¡¯t someone who would hold a grudge over silly things like this.


    ¡°But of course¡­ They are setting up the four nodes of Blood Star,¡± Aurelia said with confidence.


    Then, she pointed her finger down.


    ¡°One of Korin¡¯s lackeys is setting up the main array, ¡®Blood Sacrifice of Thousand Stars.¡¯¡±


    When he looked down, he saw only small dots that were the people doing their own stuff. It would be too hard to see anything else.


    But Illyan felt that when he focused his mind power, he could truly see the grooves that Arun was maintaining. When one looked at them from the ground, they didn¡¯t look special, and most people would think they were part of the sewer system.


    However, looking from above, Illyan could see the geometrical shapes covering the entire square, shaping a circular array around the citadel¡­